Walt Disney World introduces new ticket-pricing plan

October 16, 2018, 6:15 AM · The Walt Disney World Resort has introduced its new, date-based pricing structure for multi-day tickets.

The price of a one-day, one-park ticket now ranges from $109 to $129 for all four parks. The old prices for the Magic Kingdom were $109, $119, and $129 in the former three-tier structure, with the other three parks being $7 less at each tier.

Multi-day tickets are now priced based upon the first day of your visit, and there are more than three pricing tiers. For two day tickets, the per-day prices range from $101 to $119 day for one-park-per-day tickets. The old price was $105 per day, rounded to the nearest dollar, as Disney's online ticket price calculator now does. The two days must be used within four days of the ticket's first use.

Three days (must be used in 5 days): $98 - $115 (old: $101)
Four days (used in 7 days): $93 - $109 ($95)
Five days (in 8 days): $78 - $91 ($79)
Six days (in 9 days): $67 - $78 ($68)
Seven days (in 10 days): $58 - $68 ($59)
Eight days (in 12 days): $53 - $61 ($53)
Nine days (in 13 days): $48 - $56 ($48)
Ten days (in 14 days): $44 - $51 ($45)

As you can see, prices are down a touch at the low end, but up now for most days, with price increases ranging up to 15 percent on peak attendance days.

Park Hopper tickets range from $164 - $184 for one day, as they did before.
Two days: $133 - $152 (old: $137)
Three days: $120 - $136 ($123)
Four days: $112 - $128 ($114)
Five days: $93 - $106 ($94)
Six days: $79 - $90 ($80)
Seven days: $69 - $79 ($70)
Eight days: $62 - $71 ($63)
Nine days: $56 - $64 ($57)
Ten days: $52 - $59 ($52)

Flexible-date tickets are also available, at the highest price tier. Tickets must be used within 14 days of first use and before December 31, 2019. Here's Disney's video on the changes:

And here is Disney's FAQ. You can price your vacation online at disneyworld.com/tickets.

With this new variable-priced ticket system, Disney is trying to provide more incentive for people to shift their trips from busier days to less popular ones, smoothing attendance patterns during the year. That also maximizes the efficiency of the parks, which would no longer have to operate at boom and bust capacity, as long had been the norm for year-round theme parks. Special events and annual pass blockouts had been the tools of choice to do this in the past, followed by one-day ticket price changes. Now date-based variable pricing applies to all Walt Disney World tickets.

Update: Parking is now up, as well, to $25 a day. And here are the annual pass price changes for Florida residents, with increases up to 10 percent:

Platinum Plus: $849 (old price: $829)
Platinum: $749 ($729)
Gold: $609 ($589)
Silver: $479 ($439)
Weekday Select: $319 ($289)
Epcot After Four: $289 ($279)

Replies (12)

October 16, 2018 at 9:29 AM

Too complicated for anyone but the already insane Disney fans.

October 16, 2018 at 9:30 AM

Great America has been doing something similar for years.

October 16, 2018 at 9:59 AM

"Disney is trying to provide more incentive for people to shift their trips from busier days to less popular ones, smoothing attendance patterns during the year."

Nope...They're merely trying to maximize their revenue based on projected attendance on a given day. If Disney really wanted to shift trips to slower times of the year, the differential in seasonal ticket prices would be more than a few dollars. Instead, what will happen is guests that might have started their trip on a Saturday, may instead make their first park day a Monday, or the previous Friday, particularly for guests planning to spend more than 4-5 days in the parks.

I do wonder though about the 14-day limit. If you purchase a 10-day pass with the "Water Parks and More" option, you technically get 10 days of water park, golf course, and WWOS admission as well (20 total admissions). So unless you do more than half of your plusses on the same days as theme parks (or utilize multiple plusses in a single day), you couldn't physically utilize everything on the pass within the 14-day limit. These new rules make passes 7 days and longer less valuable, yet prices for those admissions have not been significantly reduced to reflect the diminishing returns now built into longer passes. 10-day passes are essentially worthless when compared to an annual pass.

October 16, 2018 at 10:14 AM

I basically moved to Orlando for Disney World. I had the highest level annual pass and spent lots of money at Disney. I dropped the pass because the cost went way up. Service went way down, as well as new rides and attractions being added were disappointing to say the least. I basically stopped going. There are those who just kept giving Disney their money and I stopped. The parks are way over crowded, the fast-pass is worse than before, the food quality is really bad in some areas. I found Pineapple Dole-Whip mix on-line for a huge bag.....so no need to go back. I am keeping my Universal passes, because they actually seem to be doing some exciting projects.

October 16, 2018 at 3:11 PM

I don't mind price rises as long as their is investment in new attractions. The past decade prior to Avatar was a disgrace with no top tier attractions built.

October 16, 2018 at 4:53 PM

Now that they are fleecing us further by increasing parking to $25 from $22 - what happened to a single $ rise per year? - Mrs Plum and myself will be packing our fold-up tandem bike in our suitcase in December.

October 17, 2018 at 6:48 AM

I agree that the pricing scheme is way too complicated for most guests. Unfortunately, Disney isn't in this for the guest any more. They're in it for the dollar. A normal day in the Magic Kingdom used to be "all day". Now they have special events before and after their "normal day". So, you may pay for the day, but not get the evening unless you want to pay again. The Disney plan is to make it so complicated that you just pay whatever they want.

October 17, 2018 at 9:32 AM

its wild how one of the positives of competition in a a capitalist society is suppose to be lower prices but Disney has its first real competition in decades but prices keep going higher and higher.

October 17, 2018 at 7:59 PM

Increasing their minimum wage to 15.00 for employees recently seems like a good time to increase their cost of tickets?? Hmmm easy way to pass the buck and say they are the best employer the same time

October 18, 2018 at 12:03 AM

As others have written, Disney now only cares about the money - who cares about the guests anymore. Disney is shutting out the poorer guests that can't afford $ 10,000 for a week's vacation now. They give us new garbage attractions, dumpster quality food and expect us to pay more and more. Disney is building new hotels and a new gondola and new attractions and we have to pay for it even though I don't stay at Disney or plan on riding these new garbage attractions.I have been a lifelong Disney fan, but I'm feeling that Disney is taking advantage and I don't know whether I will continue to go there anymore.

October 18, 2018 at 9:34 AM

I understand that Walt Disney wanted to create a clean, fun place where typical parents could take their family. I wonder if he intended those families to be in the upper 1%.

October 19, 2018 at 9:27 AM

ProPlum - In regards to the parking increase, Universal will match it starting Saturday(tomorrow).

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