There was an interesting post about International Price Comparison for resorts here:
http://micechat.com/forums/walt-disney-world-resort/109534-international-price-comparison-resorts.htmlBasic idea: The hotels at Walt Disney World are much more expensive than those at other Disney parks.
Examples:
Hong Kong Disneyland hotel - $1,078.67
Disney Pop Century hotel - $1,749.36
Here are my thoughts:
I wonder if some of this is 'they can, so they do'. While many visitors to WDW are form outside the US, I would assume that most are from the US East Coast. An unscientific proof is watching the board at Project Tomorrow plot visitors, as shown in this picture:
Plot of visitor home-towns. You can see many come from the US East Coast.
BTW, more Project Tomorrow Pictures starting here:
Project Tomorrow picturesBut I digress...
So, many of these folks don't or won't travel internationally, or doing so would blow the price of their holiday out of the water. They want a quality vacation experience, and Disney is a safe and consistent choice, expecially for families. And when they compare the price of Disney to similar quality vacation options around the US, the Disney prices don't seem so crazy.
Disney can, so Disney does.
Summary of my theory: Most visitors are from the US east coast. Their total cost of a Disney vacation, including travel, is "reasonable" compared to other options.
What do you think?
Free pictures of Walt Disney World in Florida
