High Prices and Preferential Treatment for the Wealthy - Walt Must be Rolling Over!

by Lisa P | More from this Blogger

10 Sep 2007 05:30 AM

Walt Disney's dream was to be able to share the magic of Disney with people of all ages and financial means. In fact, it was very important to him that the hotels and resorts built at Disney World range from the very inexpensive to the upscale for just that purpose. He wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the magic of Disney regardless of their income. Now, Walt Disney World in Florida has raised their admission prices for the third time in less than two years and there is a patent pending on new technology that would allow guests who spend more money at Disney resorts to get preferential treatment at Disney parks!

Look what they're doing to your dream, Walt!

While you can pay less per day for multi-day tickets, the one-day, one-park tickets at Walt Disney World will now cost you $71 for adults and $60 for children ages 3 to 9. The same tickets for Disneyland cost $63 per adult and $53 per child.

Now about this preferential treatment for big spenders...

It seems that Walt Disney World wants to get really technical with the Fast Pass system. (A system implemented to cut down on long ride lines by allowing guests to basically reserve a ride seat for a certain time.) They have a patent pending for a system that would allow people to order Fast Passes from their cell phones or computers and not just from the individual ride Fast Pass kiosks any more. In fact, the patent application suggests that priority levels for Fast Pass customers could be introduced to give the best times to people staying in Disney's luxury hotels, then the moderate hotels, then the budget hotels, and then by day visitors. Day visitors who order their Fast Passes online or by phone could then get better ride times than those poor schlubs who actually go to a Fast Pass kiosk!

If you ask me, the whole idea stinks.

Luckily, the patent application was only just filed at the end of August and there is a lot of development that such a system would have to go through before it was implemented. Hopefully, the folks at Disney will remember Walt's intentions and come to their senses before doing such a terrible thing to the most magical place on earth.

Learn more about Lisa P

Lisa used to be a freelance writer and Community Manager for Families.com, but she has finally made the jump to novelist.

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