« A very good article on health care economics | Main | Mathematics of a Zombie Attack »
The economics of Legoland and the revelation principle
At Legoland, admission is discounted for two-year-olds. But a child must be at least three for most of the fun attractions.
At the ticket window the parents are asked how old the child is. But at the ride entrance the attendants ask the children directly.
The parents lie. The children tell the truth.
That is again Jeff Ely, from cheeptalk.wordpress.com
Posted by Tyler Cowen on August 16, 2009 at 01:55 AM in Games | Permalink
Comments
Why? Presumably Legoland wants to stop 2-year-olds from getting on the fun rides, but also wants to stop them from getting a discount. So why not ask the children directly, both times?
Posted by: Autodidact at Aug 16, 2009 2:30:23 AM
They presumably want to keep children under three off the rides for safety reasons.
But when deciding on the admission charge, they would like to practice discriminatory pricing. Since the 2-year-olds get less out of it, it makes sense to charge them less. And it also makes sense to charge less for 3-year-olds whose parents are sufficiently price-conscious to lie about their child's age, since they otherwise might not come at all.
Posted by: Radford Neal at Aug 16, 2009 2:40:03 AM
Did I understand it right? For example, the child is three, so the parents tell two years (they want the discount) and the child, when asked, says it is three and gets the ride. Does seem to be a good deal for the parents ;)
Posted by: Max at Aug 16, 2009 5:42:29 AM
Max, there's no link anywhere in the story to any actual research, but what the story alternatively implies is that parents will claim that two-year-old Jill is three, and pay for her entrance ticket. She's really only two, so she would be eligible for free entrance, not to a "discount".
But, when little Jill tries to get onto a ride, they'll ask her how old she is, and she'll answer that she's only two, so no ride.
The story makes no sense economically for the owners of Legoland, and it makes some heroic assumptions about the communication ability of two-year-olds.
I call bullshit.
Posted by: SJ at Aug 16, 2009 9:39:19 AM
The idea that most 2 year olds can answer that question at all is ridiculous. The idea that most 3 year olds can answer accurately is equally ridiculous.
Posted by: Allison at Aug 16, 2009 9:40:55 AM
For rides where the kid has to be four years old, they do ask the kid directly; I know that from experience. Like the previous poster said, asking a 3 year-old his age might get you an accurate answer (especially if he were 3 1/2+), or it might not.
Most of the restrictions though are height ones.
4-8 is the sweet spot for LegoLand, I believe.
What I really want Tyler to talk about is strategies for the first few rides. We found that arriving when the gates open, we could easily run right onto a roller coaster or two that require long waits later in the day. My son liked the roller coasters so much, he wanted to wait in line later in the day to do it again; I convinced him to do other, less exciting activities, that involved no waiting. Should we save up for something big or enjoy little treats periodically instead? This question goes to food and travel especially.
Posted by: KenF at Aug 16, 2009 10:08:12 AM
Disney asks the kids at the gate (but sometimes doesn't ask at all), and uses measureable height for rides. On some intense rides have subtle wall marks that a 'cast member' can use to judge kids' heights unobtrusively as they walk by.
The commenter who asked whether two and three olds can answer the questions is obviously not a parent. Try it and see. It's like asking grandparents to show you a picture of their grandkids.
Posted by: DK at Aug 16, 2009 10:54:03 AM
Allison, my three year old will tell you her age AND her birthday. (fishing for presents?)
Don't discount that a two year old would lie to get on to a ride either. All they need to hear is another child say 'three'. When they know the magic word they'll use it.
They, the two year old, might also be prompted by a parent who thinks the restriction is silly, or their child is ready for the ride.
Posted by: Tom at Aug 16, 2009 11:48:54 AM
Allison, my three year old will tell you her age AND her birthday. (fishing for presents?)
Don't discount that a two year old would lie to get on to a ride either. All they need to hear is another child say 'three'. When they know the magic word they'll use it.
They, the two year old, might also be prompted by a parent who thinks the restriction is silly, or their child is ready for the ride.
Posted by: Tom at Aug 16, 2009 11:49:03 AM
Kind of off-topic, but I thought I would ask it under this thread anyway. Why do young workers/lifeguards at the water parks act like little autocrats towards the kids (and the parents)? The same at the YMCA swimming pools. I refuse to take my kids to these places. The lifeguards make you feel uncomfortable and probably don't provide much benefit. Often it's not even health/life related that they're discipling you about. But the same young worker won't say a word at other places where young kids misbehave around their parents.
Posted by: Alvin at Aug 16, 2009 4:23:10 PM
The real economics is that Legoland makes their money off the concessions, and getting parents and/or an older sibling in and buying toys and food is well worth losing the admission for the 3 yr olds.
Posted by: sbrylow at Aug 16, 2009 7:25:55 PM
Several years ago we were in Legoland Windsor, U.K. My son at 2 1/2 was speech delayed and had very few words. He was tall enough to go on a lego car ride where children could drive the car independently around a track. We said, "Aiden when they ask you tell them you are three years old," eventhough he knew he was only 2. The attendant asked my son "how old are you", and he said "thwee." It was awesome! Made the whole trip for me. Never thought about the economics angle, though.
Posted by: rfockens at Aug 16, 2009 10:25:04 PM
In my experience most 1-year-olds can say they are 1, if they are instructed how to answer this question, and virtually any kid 2 and up will tell you how old they are. Although in the case of my kids (2, 4) they think it's hilarious to lie.
Posted by: Paul N at Aug 16, 2009 10:27:02 PM
i think dont care bad things . the worlds is lie
chat sohbetsarkisohbetankara sohbet sohbet sitesicetsohpetsarki dinlemuzik dinlemp3 dinleonline sohbetonline chatislami sohbetislami chatsohbet kanali avrupa sohbet avrupa chat antalya sohbetantalya chatsiirt sohbetsiirt chatnigde chatnigde sohbetmugla chatmugla sohbetbursa chatchat sitelerikonya sohbettrabzon chatantalya chatege sohbetegelimhatayçet
thnks
Posted by: sevda sohbet at Aug 17, 2009 2:30:40 AM
