Magic Mtn's Prices for '07-'08

[madskier6]

Magic released their daily lift ticket prices recently. Check it out:

http://www.magicmtn.com/lifttickets.php

It looks like an increase from last year's prices but still in the affordable range IMHO. Especially if they deliver on their increased snowmaking capacity claim. I hope we're not going to get into a debate about whether Magic gave serious thought to their pricing structure & strategy. :wink:

I'm looking forward to hitting Magic several times this season. I believe Roark will have a season pass there. Will anyone else want to meet at Magic during the season on a good Southern VT powder day? I will definitely be there those days. :smile:

 

[bvibert]

I'm looking forward to hitting Magic several times this season. I believe Roark will have a season pass there. Will anyone else want to meet at Magic during the season on a good Southern VT powder day? I will definitely be there those days. :smile:

We've talked about this already before somewhere...

I don't think I really even need to answer this question, but I will anyway...

YES, I definitely want to hit up Magic again on a good snow day this season!

 

[snowman]

Magic released their daily lift ticket prices recently. Check it out:

http://www.magicmtn.com/lifttickets.php

It looks like an increase from last year's prices but still in the affordable range IMHO. Especially if they deliver on their increased snowmaking capacity claim. I hope we're not going to get into a debate about whether Magic gave serious thought to their pricing structure & strategy. :wink:

I'm looking forward to hitting Magic several times this season. I believe Roark will have a season pass there. Will anyone else want to meet at Magic during the season on a good Southern VT powder day? I will definitely be there those days. :smile:

Wow. It looks really pricey to me for what it is too. I think I'd rather pay the B'east. I honestly thought they would be less, because they appear to have way less infrastructure. And yes, I know they have more vert. I have a real problem paying big money to ride lifts I know I could buy for 10 or 20K down and loaded. Again, as usual, that is most likely just me. Seriously though, Do you think it's fair for an area with 100K of infrastructure to charge the same amount or more than an area that's invested 20 million? That's what bothers me.

 

[bvibert]

I really don't want to get into this with you again, so I'll just say this and go to bed...

Yes I think it's fair for an area to charge whatever they want. I don't care how much they spent on infrastructure as long as they have a safe, reliable lift to get me to the top and they have good, interesting terrain. LOVE the classic, natural, winding terrain at Magic. I'd pay more to ski at a place like that than a place with all the 'improvements' in the world if they had boring terrain.

I don't know why you're so bothered by prices that mountains charge down here, but if it bothers you so much then just stick the little cheap mountains you have near by and be happy...

 

[snowman]

I really don't want to get into this with you again, so I'll just say this and go to bed...

Yes I think it's fair for an area to charge whatever they want. I don't care how much they spent on infrastructure as long as they have a safe, reliable lift to get me to the top and they have good, interesting terrain. LOVE the classic, natural, winding terrain at Magic. I'd pay more to ski at a place like that than a place with all the 'improvements' in the world if they had boring terrain.

I don't know why you're so bothered by prices that mountains charge down here, but if it bothers you so much then just stick the little cheap mountains you have near by and be happy...

Fair enough. You're you, I'm me. We can't change that. I'm with you on not wanting to get into it again. I'm just posting my feelings on their prices.

I just like to see good value for money. I think I'll actually be doing a few days out at Butte while they're free. That's pretty awesome value for money.. :lol: Yes, I understand the false economy of going somewhere just for free tickets, but they however have a good, reasonable, lodging base and I'm always looking to go somewhere different. On top of that, I can damn near land on the mountain with Aeroplan miles. What better time to try them out than when they're free?!?!? :grin:

 

[snoseek]

Wow. It looks really pricey to me for what it is too. I think I'd rather pay the B'east. I honestly thought they would be less, because they appear to have way less infrastructure. And yes, I know they have more vert. I have a real problem paying big money to ride lifts I know I could buy for 10 or 20K down and loaded. Again, as usual, that is most likely just me. Seriously though, Do you think it's fair for an area with 100K of infrastructure to charge the same amount or more than an area that's invested 20 million? That's what bothers me.

your just not getting it. faster, higher capacity lifts, food courts, villages, all that bullshit doesn't make a good experience. magic has what no other ski area in southern vermont has and that gnarly, steep terrain. christ these goddamn lifts everyone obsesses over would kill the place, as would a giant fleet of groomers, and the widening of the trails would be an obvious next step after the detachable lifts. the only thing they really need is more snowmaking, and actually imho a bit more grooming, along with other simple day to day stuff. don't get me wrong i love to ski at sunday river/killington ect.... but i also make a point to buy several day tickets to places like magic over the course of the winter. just imagine it snows 2 feet, you can go pay 80 dollars down the road at stratton and ski with massive crowds of people bitching about how they can't ski powder, or throw magic 56 and have the place to yourself. this is the same reason i'll take saddleback (t-bar and all) over sugarloaf anyday with new snow. its a simple balance, if you have enough mega resorts, there will be a demand for lesser known areas. this is the same for every region i can think of.


i'm out

 

[snowman]

your just not getting it. faster, higher capacity lifts, food courts, villages, all that bullshit doesn't make a good experience. magic has what no other ski area in southern vermont has and that gnarly, steep terrain. christ these goddamn lifts everyone obsesses over would kill the place, as would a giant fleet of groomers, and the widening of the trails would be an obvious next step after the detachable lifts. the only thing they really need is more snowmaking, and actually imho a bit more grooming, along with other simple day to day stuff. don't get me wrong i love to ski at sunday river/killington ect.... but i also make a point to buy several day tickets to places like magic over the course of the winter. just imagine it snows 2 feet, you can go pay 80 dollars down the road at stratton and ski with massive crowds of people bitching about how they can't ski powder, or throw magic 56 and have the place to yourself. this is the same reason i'll take saddleback (t-bar and all) over sugarloaf anyday with new snow. its a simple balance, if you have enough mega resorts, there will be a demand for lesser known areas. this is the same for every region i can think of.


i'm out

Pretty much in 100% agreement. Myself, I'm not real big on older, slower, potentially sketchy lifts myself, or narrow trails.... 90% of the time. I like to ski groomers on a good pair of GS or SG skis at about mach 5, and put in a lot of vert in a day. If I tried skiing in my typical fashion at Magic, I'm pretty sure I would end up busted up in a hurry after hitting some unmarked obsticle or bad patch of snow. Can't beat having a place like that to yourself on a powder day though! The powder days sure are getting few and far between. I guess that's why they have to charge $56. It's to make their money on the few days people actually do show up.

 

[Greg]

Pretty much in 100% agreement. Myself, I'm not real big on older, slower, potentially sketchy lifts myself, or narrow trails.... 90% of the time. I like to ski groomers on a good pair of GS or SG skis at about mach 5, and put in a lot of vert in a day. If I tried skiing in my typical fashion at Magic, I'm pretty sure I would end up busted up in a hurry after hitting some unmarked obsticle or bad patch of snow. Can't beat having a place like that to yourself on a powder day though! The powder days sure are getting few and far between. I guess that's why they have to charge $56. It's to make their money on the few days people actually do show up.

Well, you're in luck then. There are plenty of places that charge more than Magic, but have boring vanilla groomers and several high speed lifts. They are more expensive though. Magic has some of the most technical terrain I've skied south of Killington. I will try to divert this thread again with.......what else.....a video! Enjoy.



Someone should start an MRG thread so snowman can enlighten us how they're overpriced and their infrastructure sucks. I got a video for that one too. Oh...and Jeff - name the powder day and I'll be there.

 

[pepperdawg]

What happended to the $25 midweek??? I ***thought*** the magic rep was on here a few weeks ago stating that would be the deal again this winter.....

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Wow. It looks really pricey to me for what it is too. I think I'd rather pay the B'east. I honestly thought they would be less, because they appear to have way less infrastructure. And yes, I know they have more vert. I have a real problem paying big money to ride lifts I know I could buy for 10 or 20K down and loaded. Again, as usual, that is most likely just me. Seriously though, Do you think it's fair for an area with 100K of infrastructure to charge the same amount or more than an area that's invested 20 million? That's what bothers me.

I think every ski area in the US would seem a little pricey to you...lol

 

[riverc0il]

I love Magic but snowman actually has a point and it is only fair to give him credit for a good point. Magic is now priced $2 higher than comparable skiers mountains such as Cannon and Mad River Glen and only $3 less than Jay Peak and Wildcat. About on par with Burke but their rates are not yet posted. This compared with only $42 about four years ago and as mentioned before the old mid-week deals such as $25 mid-week, back to the 70s day, etc. My issue of contention is two fold: first is demand. If demand is high, then prices should by default go up but demand is low at Magic. Second is not much infrastructure to pay for at Magic. Usually they only run a single lift, sometimes two, one lodge, low staffing needs, etc. They do have the increased snowmaking to pay for both equipment and personel. But it is still a big jump in price and not for a proven track record. Never thought I would see the day that Mad River was a better deal than Magic. Like I said, I love Magic, but that pricing structure does not jive with what Magic has to offer compared to what other mountains have to offer. Just my two cents... as a guy that really loves that mountain and a guy that has been trying to get people on the Magic band wagon for several years before the new management and things started to turn around for the place.

Props for already announcing the mountain will extend opps to 5 P.M. after day light savings time hits in the Spring.

 

[roark]

The increase is a bit more than I had expected. Hopefully the snowmaking improvements are on a similar scale.

 

[Elf28p]

Awesome video ,...

Sweet vid...that just got me pumped....

 

[snowman]

I love Magic but snowman actually has a point and it is only fair to give him credit for a good point. Magic is now priced $2 higher than comparable skiers mountains such as Cannon and Mad River Glen and only $3 less than Jay Peak and Wildcat. About on par with Burke but their rates are not yet posted. This compared with only $42 about four years ago and as mentioned before the old mid-week deals such as $25 mid-week, back to the 70s day, etc. My issue of contention is two fold: first is demand. If demand is high, then prices should by default go up but demand is low at Magic. Second is not much infrastructure to pay for at Magic. Usually they only run a single lift, sometimes two, one lodge, low staffing needs, etc. They do have the increased snowmaking to pay for both equipment and personel. But it is still a big jump in price and not for a proven track record. Never thought I would see the day that Mad River was a better deal than Magic. Like I said, I love Magic, but that pricing structure does not jive with what Magic has to offer compared to what other mountains have to offer. Just my two cents... as a guy that really loves that mountain and a guy that has been trying to get people on the Magic band wagon for several years before the new management and things started to turn around for the place.

Props for already announcing the mountain will extend opps to 5 P.M. after day light savings time hits in the Spring.

Yep, I'd sooner try all of the above mentioned before I'd pay the same for Magic. I'd say Wildcat is the best example. They have similar old school terrain, and are pretty much the same kind of drive time from population bases. Most importantly, they have atleast 100 times the money sunk into the place, one of my precious HSQ's, and charge the same amount? :blink:. I don't need 50 HSQ's, just one that gets me from base to peak on a mountain is plenty. Because of this, the place will indeed track out a little bit faster on a powder day than magic...but hey, I'm going to get 2 or 3 times the vert in on a powder day and not destroy my skis in the process because they actually make some snow... and that's what I look for. For me atleast, nothing runs a powder day quicker than tearing half your base off on a boulder, and I think that would be the net result of a visit to magic :-(

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

Yep, I'd sooner try all of the above mentioned before I'd pay the same for Magic. I'd say Wildcat is the best example. They have similar old school terrain, and are pretty much the same kind of drive time from population bases. Most importantly, they have atleast 100 times the money sunk into the place, one of my precious HSQ's, and charge the same amount? :blink:. I don't need 50 HSQ's, just one that gets me from base to peak on a mountain is plenty. Because of this, the place will indeed track out a little bit faster on a powder day than magic...but hey, I'm going to get 2 or 3 times the vert in on a powder day and not destroy my skis in the process because they actually make some snow... and that's what I look for. For me atleast, nothing runs a powder day quicker than tearing half your base off on a boulder, and I think that would be the net result of a visit to magic :-(

While WC is a nice place with good terrain and one of the best views in NE (IMHO), the terrain (on piste) is weak compared to Magic. The fact is, in the East, if you want to ski steep (other than on the leeward side of the Presi's, or under a massive fleet of guns) you better expect to be making sacrifices to the P-Tex gods.

Your economics based argument that you're willing to pay more for a ticket based on the amount that the montain has invested is laughable. Please, head to Dear Valet or Flatton or Vail. Don't argue that Magic isn't worth a trip because they haven't updated their infrastructure. This year's upgrade aside, what has MRG put into their infrastructure?

 

[MikeTrainor]

Besides the HSQ I find Magic and Wildcat are quite similar. Wildcat may get more natural snow though and as mentioned above has better views.

 

[AdironRider]

The whole how much money they have sunk in the place argument is BS. Its about comparable product offering which sets pricing. Just because they dont have 20 mil invested in pointless stuff most real skiers dont care about (and lets face it, Magic skiers arent going to places like Tremblant or Killington - im talking stereotypes here).

 

[snowman]

The whole how much money they have sunk in the place argument is BS. Its about comparable product offering which sets pricing. Just because they dont have 20 mil invested in pointless stuff most real skiers dont care about (and lets face it, Magic skiers arent going to places like Tremblant or Killington - im talking stereotypes here).

So, using the logic I'm reading here, in order for me to be a REAL skier, I need get ripped off by a mountain? :blink: At Magic, you're plain and simply not getting value for your money. To me, a REAL skier supports a mountain that he or she can see is putting the money you pay them back into improvements, which in turn improves skier safety. Magic doesn't seem to ever invest in anything in the off season short of a few cans of paint, and they can't possibly have any serious debt to service. That means SOMEONE is getting rich from you skiing there and doesn't give a crap about making things any better for you. If they don't care about their mountain or me....why the hell should I care about them???

 

[madskier6]

So, using the logic I'm reading here, in order for me to be a REAL skier, I need get ripped off by a mountain? :blink: At Magic, you're plain and simply not getting value for your money. To me, a REAL skier supports a mountain that he or she can see is putting the money you pay them back into improvements, which in turn improves skier safety. Magic doesn't seem to ever invest in anything in the off season short of a few cans of paint, and they can't possibly have any serious debt to service. That means SOMEONE is getting rich from you skiing there and doesn't give a crap about making things any better for you. If they don't care about their mountain or me....why the hell should I care about them???

You're right. You shouldn't care about them. Please leave Magic & BEast to us unwashed people who can only hope to enjoy it. We'll defer to you & your choices regardless of reality. Let's not let facts get in the way of a good story after all!

 

[MikeTrainor]

So, using the logic I'm reading here, in order for me to be a REAL skier, I need get ripped off by a mountain? :blink: At Magic, you're plain and simply not getting value for your money. To me, a REAL skier supports a mountain that he or she can see is putting the money you pay them back into improvements, which in turn improves skier safety. Magic doesn't seem to ever invest in anything in the off season short of a few cans of paint, and they can't possibly have any serious debt to service. That means SOMEONE is getting rich from you skiing there and doesn't give a crap about making things any better for you. If they don't care about their mountain or me....why the hell should I care about them???

I highly doubt anyone is getting rich off of Magic. It seems that real estate puts money into mountains, ticket sales just cover costs. Mountains without real estate are usually run pretty bare bones.