Will Knotts market their value vs. Disneyland's admission prices?

[jcruise86]

While Knott's advertising should emphasize what it in their park, it would be bold and interesting if they would also refer to what a great value their park is in contrast to Disneyland. I love Disneyland more than I like Knott's, but some direct competition from Knott's would be fun.

And I'd like to see Knott's attendance increase (though not at the expense of Disney's attendance) to reward all the work they've been putting into beautifying their park. Many Disney fans have complained about the increase in Disneyland's admission prices, but if 50,000 switched to Knott's Season Passes instead of a Disneyland APs for a year, Disney might notice. I wouldn't bet on Knott's getting 50K new long-term relationships though. At least not with oldies, but moldies rock (or any pop music) blaring throughout their otherwise superbly themed Ghost Town.

[Broadway Guru]

They will if they're smart.

Funny, a few days ago, I mentioned on another thread that you can get an AP to Knott's for the price of a 2 day hopper to DL. As of this price hike, that became a 1 day hopper. On top of that, USH has Buy a Day, Get a Year. That means for the price of a SoCal DL AP, you can get AP's to both Knott's and Universal. I wonder how many people will pick up on this and dump DL.

[indianajack]

Knott's needs to up their game theme-wise if they want to attract Disneyland fans. Judging from the muzak in Ghost Town and their recent rebranding slogan as an "amusement park," I don't see that happening anytime soon. Knott's is positioning itself to compete against Adventureland, Six Flags and Castle Park; they hoisted the white flag to Disney long ago.
Universal with Potterland in a few years could provide some competition however...

[jcruise86]

They will if they're smart.

Funny, a few days ago, I mentioned on another thread that you can get an AP to Knott's for the price of a 2 day hopper to DL. As of this price hike, that became a 1 day hopper. On top of that, USH has Buy a Day, Get a Year. That means for the price of a SoCal DL AP, you can get AP's to both Knott's and Universal. I wonder how many people will pick up on this and dump DL.

We're near the end of a two-year break from having Disneyland APs, and we did get:
the super-cheap Knott's Season Passes,
the 5 Universal visits for $59 Costco deal,
an Exploratorium membership which has also gotten us into many other cool science museums,
one visit to Knott's Scary Farm
and one late afternoon and evening visit to Mickey's Halloween party.

And now we're really excited about going back to Disneyland! (Beginning in the less-crowded fall.)

There is no substitute for Disneyland (unless you can fly to Tokyo Disneyland or time-travel to Walt Disney World in the 1970s or early 1980s), but Knott's marketers could have a lot of fun joking about Disneyland's prices.

[Gullywhumper]

I just did the math. I'm going to renew my Disneyland Annual Pass, at the Deluxe level, not the Premium level that I've gotten over the years. The money I will save is almost exactly the cost of a Platinum pass at California's Great America, (a park near my home in San Francisco); the Platinum pass also includes Gilroy Gardens (not far from home), Boomerang Bay, Knott's Berry Farm, all Knott's Soak City locations AND all Cedar Fair parks throughout the country!
For the same price as a Disney Premium Annual Pass, I now will have admission to five differant theme parks and four water parks in California! When at Disneyland, I will use the new Anaheim Shuttle Route to Knott's when Disneyland has a Block out day!

[orlandodude]

While Knott's advertising should emphasize what it in their park, it would be bold and interesting if they would also refer to what a great value their park is in contrast to Disneyland. I love Disneyland more than I like Knott's, but some direct competition from Knott's would be fun.

And I'd like to see Knott's attendance increase (though not at the expense of Disney's attendance) to reward all the work they've been putting into beautifying their park. Many Disney fans have complained about the increase in Disneyland's admission prices, but if 50,000 switched to Knott's Season Passes instead of a Disneyland APs for a year, Disney might notice. I wouldn't bet on Knott's getting 50K new long-term relationships though. At least not with oldies, but moldies rock (or any pop music) blaring throughout their otherwise superbly themed Ghost Town.

Disney will not only notice, they'll probably consider it a failure if only 50,000 leave. I think Disney WANTS about 200,000 non-renewals. 800,000 is much more manageable, yet they keep the same revenue with the price increases.

[clippers6]

Keep in mind Knott's offers a season pass, not an annual pass. It expires on New Year's Eve.

[DJM]

Disney will not only notice, they'll probably consider it a failure if only 50,000 leave. I think Disney WANTS about 200,000 non-renewals. 800,000 is much more manageable, yet they keep the same revenue with the price increases.

Plus they keep more passholders with disposable income and have to hire less personnel, AND less wear-and-tear on infrastructure.

Knotts can bring in the Disneyland crowd despite the pop music in Ghost Town. I love how people use that as some sort of sign that knotts is declining or something. it's beyond absurd. They provide something different than Disney. That's not a statement of inferiority or superiority. The music is fine.

[indianajack]

Legoland is more likely to reap the young families that will abandon Disneyland due to the much higher price of four APs. For my kids, Knott's was fun once a year or so, but Legoland they could go to a couple times a month and still not get bored. They actually might prefer Legoland to Disneyland on a given day. If Knott's wants to chase the young families that might shy away from the high cost of DL then they're going to have up their game significantly theme-wise (and abandon the rusty iron park mentality wholeheartedly).

[Linus]

I'm waiting for USH to do so. Though It looks like we're going to wait for WWHP.

[CMHusband]

Knotts SUCKS. Service is abysmal, talk about employees who don't really give a hoot. Other than a few good rides, overall the park is LAME. that's why the passes are cheap. You really do get what you pay for.

[Ryan120420]

I just did the math. I'm going to renew my Disneyland Annual Pass, at the Deluxe level, not the Premium level that I've gotten over the years. The money I will save is almost exactly the cost of a Platinum pass at California's Great America, (a park near my home in San Francisco); the Platinum pass also includes Gilroy Gardens (not far from home), Boomerang Bay, Knott's Berry Farm, all Knott's Soak City locations AND all Cedar Fair parks throughout the country!
For the same price as a Disney Premium Annual Pass, I now will have admission to five differant theme parks and four water parks in California! When at Disneyland, I will use the new Anaheim Shuttle Route to Knott's when Disneyland has a Block out day!

Heres a little tip. DO NOT take ART from Disneyland to Knotts! Take LA Metro 460! Its cheaper, faster, and runs to and from Disneyland far more frequent. The 460 picks you up at the Harbor Boulevard entrance to Disneyland and drops you off right across the street from Knotts!