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I would bet the $39 pass member fun card is the cheapest it's going to get.

No mention of single day tickets (as of yet). As they now have dynamic single day tickets for HOS (implying they were a success for Christmas Town last year), I'm guessing the single day dynamic pricing just hasn't been released.
 
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The HOS pricing structure is not actually the same as the dynamic pricing they tested last year.

For HOS they have varied the prices of the single day tickets, based presumably on expected attendance.

For CT last year, they started with a similar structure, but then raised prices in response to actual sales. We explained the process fully here and here.
 
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An early Christmas gift. A $68 increase for a family of four. Yay! What a fantastic family friendly thing for them to do. And the usual "Pass Member Appreciation" of a $6 increase over the GP increase. Merry Christmas to you too Busch Gardens.
 
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Thanks for the clarification. I remembered the price varied by day, but forgot they raised prices based on actual sales.

But, is my memory even more faulty than I remember, or is HOS 2017 now the 2nd time, overall, they varied single day ticket pricing based upon peak days? If so, I would say it was a result of this idea being successful at CT last year.

Given this difference between CT and HOS, I wonder if CT attendance is less predictable than HOS attendance.
 
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I have no problem with an across-the-board price increase (have actually been begging for higher prices for years...) but it is really hard not to feel screwed over as a pass member when your price jumps substantially more than the price for non-pass-holders.

EDIT: PrincessArlenasDad collected the numbers and, though pass holders are facing a much larger price increase this year, in reality, the pass holder price is just finally catching up to the overall ticket price trend.
 
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Well, we all knew that CT was severely underpriced in order to drive up demand and popularity. Apparently this underpricing is coming to an end. Only question is whether there will be a significant price increase next year, as well.

Not happy about the increase, of course, but can't say I'm surprised. With the crazy crowds they had the last 2 years, demand reached the point where they knew they could dramatically raise prices.
 
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PrincessArlenasDad said:
Thanks for the clarification. I remembered the price varied by day, but forgot they raised prices based on actual sales.

But, is my memory even more faulty than I remember, or is HOS 2017 now the 2nd time, overall, they varied single day ticket pricing based upon peak days? If so, I would say it was a result of this idea being successful at CT last year.

Given this difference between CT and HOS, I wonder if CT attendance is less predictable than HOS attendance.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but I personally don't see a correlation between the two.  They are both responsive to predicted crowd levels, but they seem to diverge radically beyond that.

My impression of the dynamic pricing at CT last year was they were trying to use the cost to drive people to visit on days that actually (vs predicted) had lower crowd levels.  As prices rose on Day 1, people would, in theory, be more likely to visit on Day 2.

The prices for HOS can't have the same impact, because they are static and unresponsive to real world sales.

My impression was that they were hoping the dynamic pricing would alleviate the massive overcrowding they experienced in 2015.  CT has been unique in facing numbers of guests that overwhelm the paths and attractions to the point that people literally could not move.  Not even HOS has ever experienced that dangerous problem.
 
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PrincessArlenasDad said:
Well, we all knew that CT was severely underpriced in order to drive up demand and popularity.  Apparently this underpricing is coming to an end.  Only question is whether there will be a significant price increase next year, as well.

Not happy about the increase, of course, but can't say I'm surprised.  With the crazy crowds they had the last 2 years, demand reached the point where they knew they could dramatically raise prices.
Click to expand...

I would add that hey know KD plans to debut a competing event in 2018. I imagine it will be harder to raise prices, if the event up the road turns out to be significantly cheaper.
 
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Sure they can increase the price. But what is keeping them from giving us HOS 2017 quality decorations and immersion in return? Popular corporate trickery anymore is to double-whammy the consumer by increasing the price, but also decreasing the portions.
 
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Nicole said:
I could be wrong, but I personally don't see a correlation between the two.  They are both responsive to predicted crowd levels, but they seem to diverge radically beyond that.

My impression of the dynamic pricing at CT last year was they were trying to use the cost to drive people to visit on days that actually (vs predicted) had lower crowd levels.  As prices rose on Day 1, people would, in theory, be more likely to visit on Day 2.

The prices for HOS can't have the same impact, because they are static and unresponsive to real world sales.

My impression was that they were hoping the dynamic pricing would alleviate the massive overcrowding they experienced in 2015.  CT has been unique in facing numbers of guests that overwhelm the paths and attractions to the point that people literally could not move.  Not even HOS has ever experienced that dangerous problem.
Click to expand...

I think both pricing models are an attempt to drive people from peak days to non-peak. But, what if they can't predict too well which days are non-peak (especially with Dec weather)? Or, as they found out from the Twinkle tickets from 2015, non-peak tickets have the potential to cause over-selling (weren't those the most crowded days that year, as opposed to peak days?). The 2016 structure is designed to move people to non-peak days (like HOS), but cap the number of discounted tickets.

Looking back, what are everyone's perceptions of crowd levels last year? Days when the park was empty (not weather related)? Often overcrowded? Did the park achieve it's goal of evening out the crowds across the event?
 
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Zachary said:
I have no problem with an across-the-board price increase (have actually been begging for higher prices for years...) but it is really hard not to feel screwed over as a pass member when your price jumps substantially more than the price for non-pass-holders.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this.

Historical CT pass prices (PM/GP):
2017: $39/$49
2016: $22/$38
2015: $25/$35
2014: $25/$32

Two year price increases:
$14/$14

Three year price increases
$14/$17

I think it would be more accurate to say that pass members got a reprieve from CT price increases since 2014, and even greater than usual CT pass discount in 2016, than it would be to say that PM are getting the shaft in 2017.

It's as if PM are getting the last 3 years of price increases all at once. Sucks this year, but actually better than a $5 or so increase each year.
 
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Yep that's the one. I wouldn't mind doing some kind of volunteering for the park. I do a lot beginning the first week of November so what's a little more ha. And yes, I voted for free food as well haha.
 
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