Spectromagic Done

It was a long time coming, but Spectromagic is officially dead at age 21. Opening in October 1991, Spectromagic had been a mainstay of the Magic Kingdom's nightly entertainment roster through 2010 when it was suddenly shuttered. In it's place, a a newly refreshed Main Street Electrical parade was imported from California Adventure as part of that year's Summer Nightastic promo. Insiders indicate the final remaining floats were recently destroyed and currently reside in a trash bin just outside Magic Kingdom. The question on everyone's mind at this point seems to be...what's next? It looks like for now, we've got the Main Street Electrical Parade hanging around until Festival of Fantasy begins it's run in Spring 2014.

Breaking point?

With each annual Disney Parks price increase, I find myself asking - "When do we finally hit the breaking point of diminished returns for both the Disney World and Land resorts?" "When does the average family in America finally declare a vacation at one of resorts to simply be too expensive?" My family, as you might expect, is not like normal folks when it comes to watching the goings-on at the parks. We are downright offended every year that goes by with more price increases than new experiences at the parks. Its tough paying more for the same thing you've already experienced a year earlier at a cheaper price point. More likely however, is the scenario that a family's trip planner will jump online to book a WDW vacation, note the prices are still in the same ballpark from last year, and book that week-long stay at an All-star value resort over spring break.

And the execs know that.

They know the brand will keep the folks coming regardless if it cost $100 more than the previous year. So what if there is nothing new? So what if that favorite attraction has a extra layer of dust as a result of cut-backs. So what if more and more dining facilities and attractions seem to close up shop earlier than the posted closing times. So what if the attractions and shops feel a few degrees hotter than in previous summers? So what? Unfortunately, its you and I, the hard-core fans that get the proverbial middle finger in this whole deal. We're the ones buying the more expensive annual passes and being told we asked for it.

To be fair, Universal was the first out of the gate this year on the increases. It does, however, seem different when you're opening attractions that give the fans a good reason to return.

It does appear, however, the while there's gridlock on the Magic Kingdom's Main Street seemingly year round, we'll continue to see the annual price increases.

But again...Where's the breaking point?