Disneyland raises its ticket prices - one day now $96

May 18, 2014 at 10:54 AM · In other news today, the sun rose in the East.

May 18, 2014 at 11:52 AM · It's all relative. When they raised the price of the original WDW ticket in '73 from $3.50 to $4.50 I'm sure people started panicking and wondering if it would ever go over $10. And my grand kids will wonder if the price will ever top $500.

May 18, 2014 at 1:22 PM · I think $99 is as high as they'll go for a while. It's that mental block that people have, such as why so many things at the store cost $__.99.

When it hits $100, I'll be interested to see how that affects things.

May 18, 2014 at 1:47 PM · When we went to DLR last year we bought 5 Day 1 Park tickets, which are still a bargain at $53/day. My local amusement park charges about that much (without discounts) to visit as well. Far as I am concerned, DLR (and WDW, for that matter) is still a great deal for the multi day visitor.

May 18, 2014 at 4:06 PM · The one day ticket is a psychological play to make the multi day price of over $200 seem like a bargain. It already worked with the example from the post above ($53 per day is equivalent to a $265 five day ticket). I imagine Disney wants to earn over $200 aggregate per customer, which is the current sweet spot for both customer spending and demand. It should soon topple $300 aggregate.

There's a very good article in Yahoo that explains Disney's reasoning for temporarily not offering the local's AP. Too much demand causes overcrowding. They will offer it again after attrition.

May 18, 2014 at 6:00 PM · Thanks for posting this Robert!
This just further established my point regarding Disney's outrageous pricing on theme park admissions. As I previously posted, Disney over chargers for admission into their parks, but people will pay it. Disney continues to test their customers to where they will either not renew their passes or not even attend a 1-day admission. Not only did Disneyland raise their prices, but also the Magic Kingdom increased to $99.00.
I would encourage readers to not attend a Disney park until they lower their prices to a reasonable price. But, as I previously posted "people will pay it".
I would like to see a poll regarding, "Would you pay to enter a Disney park if a one-day admission increased to $100.00+?"
Yes-one-day admission is fair to ask since most people attending will purchase a one-day admission pass.
What is it about Disney makes the price so high? The Disney experience alone? Each park has some state of the art ride. But the majority of the rides when going down the list are trash. For example, Indy speedway, Stitch's Great escape, primeval whirl ride, Captain EO, Imagination w/Figment etc..etc....etc....
I love Disney, and please don't mistake this as a negative post, I would just like to see affordable pricing for the average American family!

May 18, 2014 at 9:10 PM · While the raise in the prices aren't a surprise the "unavailable" So Cal pass would definitely end our continued purchase of the annual pass. The Deluxe Pass has always been out of our reach budget wise. The So Cal pass was a nice compromise since the So Cal Select was too restrictive after we went through some schedule changes at our respective jobs. We will be watching this closely over the year and when it gets closer to our renewal time I'll really be watching this turn of events. As it is if we did not have the annual passes we both agree that the price increase has reached the point where we would go maybe once every 2 years and spend our time going to the movies or visiting places like Calico Ghost Town instead of Disneyland.

May 18, 2014 at 9:32 PM · People should not go if they can't afford it, but Disney will not lower their price because they have no additional capacity. Thus, the idea that waiting for the park prices to be lowered will ensure you never have to bother because you won't ever go.

Disney is raising prices to reduce attendance. Only in the off season will prices drop somewhat for locals only. Chances for lower prices for tourists are remote. You can either pay or stay home.

Some filler rides at Disney may be crappy, but are still better than other theme parks. It should be noted that people go to Disney theme parks for the full experience of attractions, dining, shows, parades, spectaculars, and meet and greets. The current longest wait is the Anna and Elsa meet and greet.

The decision to go should be regarded as once every few years or longer. Then you can justify or rationalize your decision to go.

May 19, 2014 at 1:06 AM · I bought my first Deluxe Annual Passport in November of 2009 for a cost of $289. In November of 2011, I purchased another Deluxe Annual Passport for a cost of $379, an increase of $90 in two years. In May 2013, I purchased another Deluxe Annual Passport for a cost of $489, an increase of $200 from just three and a half years earlier. Now in May 2014 the price is $519 making the increase $230 from just four and a half years ago.

One problem with the price increase is that people will continue to go. It is slowly eliminating some people from being able to go and it will continue to which is unfortunate because Walt wanted it to be a place where any parents can go with their kids and all could have a good time together, not just those wealthy enough to go...

May 19, 2014 at 12:18 PM · I love Disney, and I have enjoyed every Disneyland vacation I took. It has never disappointed me with service, cleanness and attraction they offer. Even with the price increases, I've always somehow convinced myself that the theme park needed the funds to maintain the park. Until I checked the sister park, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.

Unlike other sister Disneyland around the globe, both Tokyo Disneyland, and Disney sea are not owned by the Disney Corporation. They are own by the company called the Oriental Land co. and they pay fees to Disney to license the characters, and the park it self.

Now, both parks in Tokyo offer the same service and identical attractions you would expect from Disneyland in U.S , but with cheaper park ticket price. The 1 day park entrance fee for adult is 6,400 yen, child 12-17 is 5,500 yen, and child 4-11 is 4,200 yen. That's about $63.28 for adults, $54,38 for teens, $41,53 for child. Now, that sounds reasonable compared to our u.s. park prices.

Why Disney corporation gauging more money when sister park in Tokyo could maintain the park the same way we do? we never know. As long as people continue to pay the unfair ticket prices, they will continue to push the limit until the consumer say "no more" to the company.

May 19, 2014 at 9:43 AM · Wow... not entirely sure what to do now then. I'll be a first time Cali visitor from the UK this year. Based on that, would locals/regular visitors say a park hopper is the way to go?
Based on what I know from 25 yrs at WDW I am swaying towards that. The extra on a few days ticket seems a small price to pay for park hopping when it's so easy to do there too.

May 19, 2014 at 9:54 AM · How much of a day is spent waiting in lines?

May 19, 2014 at 11:11 AM · Well, Disneyland, thanks for making your park unaffordable for many families. Way to go!

May 19, 2014 at 11:15 AM · To stop offering APs to locals because of capacity issues suggests that maybe they should stop the new ride moratorium and really add more park capacity at minimum. They should consider expanding DCA by adding another land with E-Ticket. Consider the third park plus a doubling of Downtown Disney and parking lot capacity. The Southern Cal's AP is worth $379. That's a lot of money to leave on the table. Too bad for Disney. The opportunity is lost forever. Disney won't recover this loss. Short term, too many people are priced out of the market. More money left on the table.

May 19, 2014 at 11:26 AM · The demand must be there or they would be retreating in their pricing. I can remember back when they had a special price for "date night" in the 1970's. We could get in on a weekend night for not a lot of money and they had name entertainment there as well. They opened in the mid 1950's and the thing that amazes me is how clean a fresh the place looks today. Maintenance costs must be huge to keep the place that neat and clean.

Ski passes are up near the $100 mark and there seems to be no decrease in demand. I worked with a guy who was seriously thinking about refinancing his home in order to take his family to Disneyland. All I could think was how dumb is this?

May 19, 2014 at 11:30 AM · Hey, if Disneyland no longer cares about it's guests and we are now just all dollar signs to this multi billion dollar conglomerate, then perhaps it's time we give Mickey Mouse a reality check and all start going to other more reasonably priced theme parks!!!!

May 19, 2014 at 11:32 AM · Why don't you just raise the price to $125.00 then you can pass on the next one. This is a place for the rich only.

May 19, 2014 at 12:09 PM · As much as I love Disney, they have raised their prices a lot over the past years. I too think that eventually the average family won't be able to take their children to WDW or Disneyland. By the time you add on parking, hotel, food, it gets very steep into the thousands of dollars. Plus every time I visit now the parks are packed solid no matter what time of year you go....waiting times in lines are back up to 50 to 60 minutes. You can't do everything in one day there. Most people complain in conversation that it's impossible to get all the things you want done there in a day. Years ago it was cheaper and didn't seem as crowded and you could get things done if you moved constantly from one thing to the next. I too wonder what will happen in a couple years. I have almost not renewed my annual pass in Florida a couple times. With the airfare increases and Disney raising the hotels, it's gotten expensive. It's really a shame, I too think Walt would prefer it to be priced right so families can afford to come with their children. If people keep paying it, they will keep raising it because they can. This is a business and in the US it's all about the $$$. Time will tell.

May 19, 2014 at 12:15 PM · I agree with all the comments about Disney being overpriced for the normal population. I have been trying to find a way to take my g-grandson to DW but just cannot do it. As to the book they talk about regarding working there, I worked at DL in 1958. Sure, I got free parking and free park pass, but after being on my feet all day, I didn't really want to go back for enjoyment. I worked as a cashier at a place called Aunt Jemima's Pancake House and was lucky to get a 15 minute break for my entire shift. The wages were not the best either. I actually went to work too soon after having my daughter but I had to, and had to leave, but I did get the experience of working there.

May 19, 2014 at 12:16 PM · They are going to put themselves out of business! At that rate in price who can really afford it? The average person can not afford it! Unless you take out a mortgage on your home! I make $17,000.00 a year and can't afford to take my family! When I was younger we went to both the California and Florida Disney and we did need separate pass for different parts of the park! Why now? True they have upgraded the parks but think about the people coming to the parks, make it affordable for EVERYONE to be able to go! Not just the Jones's!

May 19, 2014 at 12:34 PM · If Disney want to limit guest they should take away the payment plan, or sell limit AP pass to SoCal residence.

May 19, 2014 at 1:31 PM · I don't understand the complaints about the price increase. The cost of movie tickets has gone up in the past year. The cost of cable and internet access has gone up. Going out to dinner is more expensive now than it was a year ago. Tickets to a top-notch Broadway show will set you back more than $100 per seat.

So, why all of the disgruntlement about Disney raising their prices?

The parks are packed. Their revenue streams are fantastic. They provide a high quality product and a great entertainment value. Are they supposed to operate like a non-profit agency and keep their prices as low as possible? Last time I checked, they are a publicly traded company with an obligation to their stockholders. Management has to do everything they can reasonably do to make a profit for the company.

I know that a lot of people are struggling right now to make ends meet. I feel for you because I've been there for far too much of my life myself, but this is what my son calls a "first world" problem. As long as you have food, water, shelter, and your health, does it matter one iota if Disney goes up on their prices?

You're not mandated to go to Disneyland, and you don't have the "right" to go there. What you do have is the opportunity to go there, and the only hard part about it is figuring how important it is to you and what you're willing to give up to go there.

May 19, 2014 at 1:50 PM · Prices are way out of line and they are allowing more people in so very crowded you we spend hrs aday in line not enjoying the park. So my advice just DON'T go .Ther are lots of things to do and see for a lot less money.

May 19, 2014 at 2:31 PM · If you do not like the price, do not go. Disney has shown by their price hike that they only want the " upper " end crowd. I quit going and taking my family when all the " items " to buy were NOT made here in the good old U.S.A.

May 19, 2014 at 5:40 PM · What does it mean? It means you should stay home and save your money. These parks get most of their money from international tourists anyway. This is the only reason these parks are doing so well while the rest of our economy is tanking.

They couldn't care less if the parks are affordable for us natives. The dollar is so weak, international tourists are flocking here cause they get more bang for their buck in the US. The price increases are only trying to keep up with exchange rates. This is a consequence of QE - And you thought it did not affect you personally.

You're not going to be able to compete with international money on this turf anymore. Those days are gone. But if you're willing to pay thousands of dollars to spend a few days crammed in close quarters with disease carrying foreigners from every part of the globe coughing in your face, then by all means, enjoy!

May 19, 2014 at 7:59 PM · Is $17k a year an average income? Not trying to knock anyone's livelihood, and I am by no means a Rockefeller (good lord, not even close), but I made $17k a year when I worked full time at a bookstore while I went to college. That job was back in the 90's and I could barely afford my normal, necessary monthly expenditures on that salary, let alone a trip to a top notch theme park!

And whoever is thinking about borrowing money to go on a vacation... seriously, do not make that mistake. Going into debt is not the kind of sacrifice to make for Disney, Universal, or any other park/beach/cruise/resort in the world. Cut entertainment spending, make better choices at the grocery store, skip the misc expenditures, and save, save, save. When you have enough to pay for your whole trip, then book it. Contrary to popular belief, and to the example our government continues to set for us, having a large amount of unnecessary debt is never a good thing.

And again, don't waste money on single day tickets unless you go to a single day park (i.e., Knotts, Six Flags MM, Universal Hollywood, etc.). When you go to Disney parks or Universal Orlando, plan on staying for a few days - there's plenty to do and you'll get cheaper tickets in the process.

May 21, 2014 at 2:50 PM · Anyone having any luck purchasing Disneyland Southern California Passports from Von's since the price hike? I was able to purchase three this evening, at the old price, but they wouldn't activate. Since the gift card help desk was closed, I'll have to call again tomorrow to see if they'll activate them or refund my purchase price. I know in the past you could purchase passports/tickets at the grocery stores for a short while after price hikes, but the suspension of SoCal passes was never an issue. On the one hand, they DID let me purchase them, so the SKUs are still in the system... on the other hand, the cards wouldn't activate. I'll post again tomorrow once I know more. Just thought I'd ask if anyone here was having the same problem. Thanks! UPDATE: They were unable to activate the passes, and so they refunded the purchase price. Wish I hadn't let my SoCal passes expire. :(

May 20, 2014 at 5:23 AM · For the anonymous poster who made the comment about "disease ridden foreigners from every part of the globe coughing in your face" - really? Can you be any more xenophobic, or is this a side effect from the lack of sunlight in your parent's basement?

The foreigners who come to this country to visit Disneyland and Disney World provide a tremendous benefit to our economy. The money that they spend provides jobs, pays taxes, and helps offset the trade imbalance that we have in our imports and exports. A lot of people all over the country depend on their business.

These "disease ridden foreigners" are also amongst the best and brightest and most entrepreneurial of the folks in their countries. I hope some of them look around while they are here, see the opportunities in this country, and decide to move here, or at the very least send their kids to go to college here. I hope that all of the foreign tourists who visit the American theme parks go home with a positive impression of the United States and Americans. I also hope that they don't run into someone who whines like you do because people like you poison the well.

I find your comments extremely disgusting, and I hope in the future that you go troll another website, because you're an embarrassment to theme park enthusiasts and to Americans in general!

May 21, 2014 at 7:44 AM · Well said Tim! (From a non-disease ridden, ready to spend loads in your country in September, foreigner)

May 22, 2014 at 12:43 PM · Thanks, Kelly. I know you've been around the site long enough to know that our anonymous troll is not indicative of the folks on this site, and you wouldn't cancel a trip to this country because someone without intelligence or courage makes a ridiculous comment. I just hope that international visitors who haven't been to the States don't get turned off by this kind of attitude and think that they are unwelcome here.

I've actually had a lot of fun talking to foreign visitors while waiting in queues in both Disney and Universal parks, and I think they enhance the experience. The Brazilian tour groups can at times be somewhat frustrating because of the group chants and World Cup type of behavior, but when you take the time to talk to them one-on-one, they are extremely friendly and upbeat.

And that's something I can't say about our xenophobic friend. His negativity and erroneous belief that he's got an inside line on the truth are extremely off-putting, and in reality his biggest problem is his attitude towards the world and the people around him.

May 23, 2014 at 12:41 PM · Well I have had a pass most of my life, but it seems like Disney is moving too a Country Club for the rich and don't want the middle class or anyone else there. So next month my pass expires and I will not return to Disney unless there passes go down. I just purchased a Six Flags Gold Pass, Knott's Berry Farm Pass and a Universal Pass today and for all three passes are still less than my Premier pass at Disney. It was good while time lasted but will never see Disney again unless there passes and tickets go down. This is a sad day in history and Disney should be ashamed of themselves.