Friday, August 1, 2008

How Do You Fit $4 Gas Into A Theme Park Ticket...


Well, it appears the rising cost of a barrel of oil/a gallon of gas has trickled down to a day of admission at a Disney theme park...

Disney always raises prices as does every corporation when it comes to the cost of doing business, but it normally doesn't raise them year over year. It usually takes closer to two years between increases.

Not this time. With the global economy needing more oil(particularly China and India), rising competition and America's lack of resolve to drill for more, the cost of oil goes up...

And so does a ticket into the American parks:


Walt Disney World ticket prices

Adults $75(up $4), Children $63(up $3).

Disneyland ticket prices

Adults $69(up $3), Children $59(up $3).

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"America's lack of resolve to drill"? Wow, that sounds remarkably Republican.

You do realize that the oil companies are already currently sitting on millions - yes, millions - of acres of land that has the same potential as the so-called "offshore" property that they "desperately" need to get to in order to "save" the economy, right? Of course. It's remarkable how they could already have this land & yet do absolutely nothing with it but this is exactly the type of 'shell' (pun intended) game that the oil companies always play - Grab as much land as they can, hardly do anything with it & then howl for more the moment that it's politically viable to do so.

Of course, we can all imagine for a moment that they truly actually, for the first time, really do need the additional off-shore space to "save" us. That's not real, mind you, but let's imagine it anyway just for your benefit.

First, the actual tangible benefits of all that additional drilling that you feel America doesn't have the resolve for wouldn't be evident until one decade from now. Yes, as in 2018.

Second, we do have to remember the little shell game that the oil companies tend to play - Use disputed data that this land is a swimming pool of oil just beneath the surface, cry as loud as you can that without this precious land that America will be invaded by [fill in your favorite enemy here] & then, once you inevitably get it, take your sweet time doing anything with it because, odds are, there isn't much there to begin with.

You are aware that one of the oil companies dirty little secrets is to grab land & then, once all the hype has died down, they sell it back to private citizens (or even the government itself!) for a grotesque amount of profit, right? Of course. It's a ridiculous cycle - The government gives them land for next to nothing, the oil companies quietly sit on the land for about a decade or two doing virtually nothing with it & then, in the dead of night, sell the land privately. Then, in another decade, declare that new tests reveal even more oil on the land then before. Cry foul to the government even louder, get the government to give you the land all over again for next to nothing, sit on it... Well, you're smart enough to figure out the rest, aren't you?

Of course, if Americans really want cheaper prices quickly, perhaps they can finally ditch all of those wheeled tanks they've purchased over the years. You know, the ones that get about 4 miles to the gallon if you push them off of a cliff. Well, guess which industries have been fighting tooth & nail to insure that you're not driving a car that gets 50 mpg? That's right - the car & oil industries. Curious, isn't it? But, of course, you knew that already.

Just to clarify, though, that the auto industry hasn't truly had a change of heart (that would require them having a heart in the first place), their own personal shell game has gone remarkably well. By making everyone think that hydrogen fuel cell cars are the messiah, they've been able to avoid mass-producing electric vehicles which would - ghastly! - cut into profits. You remember the GM EV1, right? Maybe not & that's their whole game. When they finally got California to ditch legislation realistically forcing them to even create the EV1 in the first place, the EV1 went straight to the scrap heap. Who knew that a non-renewable energy source would continue to diminish?

Oddly enough, your blog is titled "Blue Sky Disney." Have you ever wondered what our skies would be like if we didn't have all of these pesky regulations hounding the oil & power companies to constantly clean up their act? (You know, the one's they're constantly trying to reverse only so that they can serve you for the better & save our economy) Well, you'll find out during the Olympics in Beijing... If you can see it. Even someone like yourself has probably read of all of the smog & debris that Beijing must suffer through, needing all of that extra oil we seem not to have the resolve to drill for. NBC, understandably, is very nervous about the same thing, going to great lengths to develop technologies that will lessen the yellowish hue that might develop while filming the outdoor events. Some countries' athletes are refusing to train in China itself because of the health ramifications, going so far as to be in China for the bare minimum amount of time necessary to compete & then leave as quickly as possible. Remember, this is the America that the oil & power companies have wanted for decades if they could only remove those pesky environmental laws. Oh well, at least they have China to dream about.

Speaking of dreams, I wonder how Walt Disney would have resolved our transportation demands? Oh, that's right - EPCOT (the first version, while he was still alive). Mass transit. I wonder whatever happened to that? Why not ask the oil companies between their tantrums of not being able to drill in lands they haven't gotten the government to grab for them yet...

Anonymous said...

like anonmous said, "America's lack of resolve to drill?" A little biased?

Oil companies along with coal and other energy companies are making record profits. You'd think with a couple of those billions that they're making they could invest in a better way to find oil on their millions of existing acres.

Seriously, that line was unneccessary and not something I would expect from a blog of your quality. You have left me extremely disappointed.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous #1:

"You do realize that the oil companies are already currently sitting on millions - yes, millions - of acres of land that has the same potential as the so-called "offshore" property that they "desperately" need to get to in order to "save" the economy, right?"

If you get past the soundbites about this land you'll understand that you don't drill where there's not any oil. You really believe that you sit by and twiddle your thumbs where you have a huge source of untapped oil waiting to be drilled, refined and sold? Especially with what oil is selling for right now?

Do you realize that the reason they're not drilling for oil there is because there could possibly be no oil there to drill?

Oil companies are not the big, bad boogie men. They are businesses. Do you really think they would avoid land that had huge potential to bring in oil and more profits? It's their business, I don't think they want to go drilling where they don't believe there is oil.

"First, the actual tangible benefits of all that additional drilling that you feel America doesn't have the resolve for wouldn't be evident until one decade from now. Yes, as in 2018."

How many of these wonderful alternative fuel sources do you think will be online within ten years? And if so, be able to be produced in the same quantity and at as cheap a price as oil within that time period? There's nothing wrong with looking for alternative sources of energy so we can ween ourselves from the foreign oil we get, but also we need to drill for oil. We should do both.

"It's remarkable how they could already have this land & yet do absolutely nothing with it but this is exactly the type of 'shell'"

In the states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming we have a potential 800 billion barrels of oil. That's three times as much oil as Saudi Arabia is our second largest importer of oil. Think about how that could affect having to buy oil from these countries.

"Of course, if Americans really want cheaper prices quickly, perhaps they can finally ditch all of those wheeled tanks they've purchased over the years."

Being someone who values freedom, I don't care what Americans or anyone else buys. I care what I buy. I don't believe in telling others what to drive.

As for electric cars? When they get one that can go for as long as a tank of gas and cost relatively the same as one you'll have a point there.

Anonymous #2:

"Oil companies along with coal and other energy companies are making record profits. You'd think with a couple of those billions that they're making they could invest in a better way to find oil on their millions of existing acres."

I have news for you. Profits are not a sin. And if you think making record profits is bad, look inside these companies quarterly reports. Take Exxon for example. It recorded record profits in it's last quarter, but if you look a few pages further you find it paid record amounts of taxes in that same quarter. Three times as much taxes as it made in profits. I find it ironic how the oil companies make record profits, but when a government makes triple what the company did and had nothing to do with creating those profits people say nothing.

And as for the land issue, see my response to Anonymous #1.

Having lived in Japan I've seen what it's like to be a country that has no real supply of oil of its own and having to depend on other countries for it. America isn't like that and has huge potential to keep itself from having to be that position. Nothing is wrong with searching for other ways of meeting our energy needs, but nothing is wrong with drilling for oil as well. Both are needed.

Anonymous said...

Lots of wrong facts above, such as the confusion about oil company leases of public lands for exploration. The fact is that oil companies LEASE public lands to explore for oil for limited periods of time (5-10 years is normal). If they don't explore and develop that land, the land reverts to the public. So, we (the public) make out like bandits...the oil companies pay us for land they don't subsequently develop which can then be re-LEASED.

Also, how long do you think senior management of oil companies will keep their job if they are paying for LEASES they don't use? Leasing is a risk-based capital expenditure to search for oil/gas fields that are profitable for development...management would be fired outright if they systematically refused to produce on leases that were verfied as profitable fields.

Finally, "who" are the oil companies? They have been so demonized...but who are they? They are the stock holders and employees (lots of union folks, BTW) of the company. Senior management in these companies own very low percentages of the stock. Pension funds, retirement funds, public employee funds, small investors, and big investors are the owners...i.e. lots of normal Americans and any of us who own diversified mutual funds. How did we all decide that oil companies are anything other than us?

Honor has a great deal of common sense. America's long term energy needs will require both more supply and less demand. Yes, that means more environmentally-friendly drilling (which we know how to do...and will produce lots of good jobs both for the drilling and enviro-tech aspects) and much more focus on conservation (which we need to do much better). Even Sen Obama recognized this dynamic in the headlines this morning...

Honor Hunter said...

Guys,

I know I've said this before and I always have to repeat it...

This isn't a political site. If you want to wax on about your political beliefs, fine. But there are plenty of other sites to do it at. My statement was not a political one, but one of fact. This country hasn't had a serious energy policy dealing with oil and any other sources since the 70's. That wasn't a statement made to rile people up, it was a simple reflection of the reality. Those trying to read anything into to it need to go back to their magic 8-ball and shake again...

And if you still plan on talking politics, be civil and polite with no bad language. Anyone stating post like that will be deleted...

Anonymous said...

You people with your bias totally miss the point. The article was about the increase in ticket prices. Take your political gripes to Fox or Drudge or some other site and quit looking for hidden agendas.

Anonymous said...

"Oil companies along with coal and other energy companies are making record profits. You'd think with a couple of those billions that they're making they could invest in a better way to find oil on their millions of existing acres."

Really anonymous number two? So I take it you know exactly how much they spend on research? I mean, I'm sure you've read their annual report in coming to this conclusion? Of course, if they want to do research it's totally fine, but I see no reason why they should have to. After all, should Ford do research into alternatives to the automobile? Oil companies are in the business of selling: oil. What a shock!

I don't understand constantly demonizing oil companies. They are a business like any other business. Don't like paying for gas? Don't drive a car. Take a jet plane like Al Gore, I'm sure he's saving the planet one trip at a time.

Anonymous said...

This 'it wasn't political, but fact' is the kinda thing Rush Limbaugh would tell you too. To some, their opinions and 'the facts' are one in the same.

Don't blame the commenters for causing the political debate. The initial line about America's lack of drilling could have been omitted with the point of Disney hitting up their guests for rising gas prices left in tact.

IMO, Disney's greed in the time of a sour economy would have been a point worth making. The cost of just traveling to a Disney resort has gone up for all guests over the last year. Now getting into the parks is going up too. You have to wonder if these increases will exceed some people's breaking point causing some people to sit 2009 out.

Anonymous said...

It's called capitalism. Deal with it. Perhaps you'd feel better in one of the socialist garbage dumps I visited going through eastern Europe last year? If Disney charges too much, they'll pay for it. Less people will come. They'll have to lower prices. The market will adjust. Get off Honor, anonymous. He didn't make any big point except that the ticket prices are going up. You take one line in the whole article and try to find a conspiracy. The economy is in a downturn. Disney is adjusting. And America still hasn't dealt with its dependence on foreign oil. Sometimes you guys read what you want to into this. I mean, really? Rush Limbaugh? So you're comparing Honor Hunter who writes a nice blog that focuses on Disney primarily to a right-wing radio host?

Really?

Spokker said...

Forget about all this oil nonsense. The three things that will fix 90% of America's problems are an investment in high speed rail, nuclear power, and the legalization (and taxation) of marijuana.

As for Disney raising prices, they are free to do whatever they want, but I question the move in this economy, especially considering how relatively "light" this Summer has been reported to be.

But then again, they have better numbers than we do.

I probably won't be getting a new AP until November anyway. Just no interest in going, and the price hike certainly isn't helping.

Spokker said...

I've read that that the price of tickets to Disneyland have outpaced inflation by a significant margin. When adjusted for inflation, cast members are earning significantly less than they did 20-30 years ago.

What did cast members make back then anyway?

Anonymous said...

Spokker I agree we need nuclear power, but it's not going to help ween us off oil though. We use around 3 percent of our electrical power from oil. But it would be a great, cheap source of power.

Light rail isn't going to work because this isn't Europe. Americans like their freedom and public transportation doesn't go over nearly as well here as overseas.

As for smoking your pot, that isn't going to make us free from foreign oil but if you want to light up go right ahead. Just don't do so while driving.

Anonymous said...

"Wow, that sounds remarkably Republican."

And that is a problem because? Last time I looked Walt Disney was a Republican. I guess Walt couldn't be perfect, eh?

I'm amazed at the venom and lack of civility spread on these blogs by people that say they're for freedom and tolerance. The point of this blogger's argument was about prices going up and he casually mentions the fact (yes, it's a fact) that our country hasn't dealt with this need for oil for decades has contributed to the problem. It was a small, small side comment and you people go and blow it up to into a case of the blogger being a right wing fanatic?

There are plenty other places to foam at the mouth when it comes to politics. I've read this blog for the last couple months and quite like it's perspective. It has very little, if any political bent. It seems those that are looking for one should perhaps look elsewhere or at the very least lighten up.

Anonymous said...

"What did cast members make back then anyway?"

Thirty years ago, as a DL casual/seasonal CM, I made $3.25/hr. That doesn't sound like much now, but adjusted for inflation, that $130.00 weekly paycheck was the equivalent to $436.29 today. For CMs making $9.15/hr now, that's about $70/week more.

Two bedroom apartments within 3 miles of DL with the "high-end amenities" like covered assigned parking spaces, laundry rooms, and swimming pools/rec areas rented for $250/month. Many complexes south of DL were affordable (with roommates) and within walking/biking distance. The neighborhoods surrounding the park were less like DMZs than they are today, so you rarely felt unsafe by yourself at night.

Back then, you could easily work full-time during the summer to pay for your community college books and tuition/fees for the upcoming school year, then work part-time during the school year to meet rent and expenses. Best part, area managers were more than willing to work with YOUR schedule to make that happen. As a result, most of the other CMs I worked with were in college like me. I highly doubt that's the case today.