First, looking at our Facebook page, people seem to be generally interested in and enthusiastic about the new pricing structure. Honestly, I don't think it is all that complicated: it is the same concept that airlines and hotels use. Demand drives increases in the price.
Second, I know that most of our members look at this news and think, "why should I care?"
The fact is that I see real implications for pass members. I'm sure I'm missing some points, but here are some examples of how the new structure could affect people with CT Passes and Fun Cards directly:
- Fewer super-crowded days. As I explained in the article, if the structure works as intended and taking into account the extended hours and additional days, people will have incentives to visit the park on less crowded dates, minimizing the number of times the park hits max capacity.
- Fewer really light days. The downside to the leveling of attendance numbers across days is that there probably won't be as many really light attendance days, ignoring the impact of weather.
- The possibility of being turned away at the gate. People with single-day, dated tickets will be guaranteed entrance, because the park will hold their spot in reserve. BGW will know exactly how many people to expect, based on on-line sales, and then will limit the number of multi-day pass holders and undated ticket holders (Pass Member discounted tickets and in-person/over the phone sales). So, while the likelihood should be reduced by the new system, there is still the potential that your pass will not get you access to the park on max capacity days.
- Better discounts than on the pass member site. I always like to bring guests to CT, and usually use the pass member discount. This year, however, I may try to use the dated tickets, because the prices for many of the days start so much lower than the $24 cost on the pass member site.
- The dynamic calendar provides a way to predict crowd levels in advance. Because the costs reflect demand, the current price listed provides insight into actual ticket sales by day. So, we can plan to go to the park on days, when the fewest tickets have been bought on-line.
- Better times for shows. The park plans to schedule the shows to optimize crowd flows. This change could lead to show times that work better for everyone's schedules.
- Additional attractions. To manage crowd flows, the park has also opened up additional areas and attractions, which should keep people off the paths. That will give us all more to do and fewer people to contend with.
Essentially, this new system provides us a fairly predictive crowd calendar and minimizes the risk that we will be at the park when is hits max capacity.