None of this is surprising, It's the predictable result of moving to a business strategy of almost entirely depending on season passes.
The season pass is a sunk cost, but a day of skiing still has the same value it always has. Back when you were buying day passes you were paying ~$100/day but with a season pass you still have that $100 in your pocket while you're skiing. Paid parking and high food and beverage prices are just ways for Vail to grab that $100. If you don't give it up that $1000 you spent last summer is a total loss.
I wish I could go back to when everyone was so excited about all the cheap multi-passes and find all the posts I wrote in various places about how it was gonna end up sucking for most of us.
mm
