Disneyland offers new Evening Ticket for $59
Disneyland has dramatically lowered the cost of getting in the gates at its theme parks this summer.
The resort today announced a new Evening Ticket that will get guests into Disneyland or Disney California Adventure for $59. The ticket is good for one evening at one park and is valid on Sundays through Wednesdays from July 12 through August 5. The Evening Ticket admission begins at 5pm at Disney California Adventure and 7pm at Disneyland.
Given that Disneyland typically closes at midnight and DCA at 10pm, that means five hours of park admission for your $59.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the Evening Ticket's last day is August 5, which comes the final week before the summer blockout lifts for Disneyland's wildly popular Imagine Magic Key annual pass for Southern California residents.
The Evening Ticket will provide access to Disneyland's nighttime spectaculars, but buying Lightning Lane access during that time might not be the best deal, given how those slots often get booked earlier in the day. So fans who buy these tickets probably should expect to use standby queues for any attractions they wish to experience.
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Replies (8)
As a local, I like this. I just got rid of my pass after having it for 5+ years but I want to go for an evening every once in a while.
Regarding what Russell said above, everyone knows that the best time to hit up rides is during the shows.
I suppose this is a way to inflate their numbers when passholders are blocked out and out of area travel is down. Personally, I couldn't see using this at Disneyland (not nearly enough time for the park), but it could be a good way to hit DCA and check out the new version of Soarin' plus ride a few favorites.
Russell: "Having just been to Disneyland, we experienced first hand how crowded the parks can get during the evening shows."
And then AJ claims that Disney may be using the discount as "a way to inflate their numbers"?
That's hilarious.
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"
"Regarding what Russell said above, everyone knows that the best time to hit up rides is during the shows."
We tried doing that, and it's next to impossible. The problem is, at least on the day we were there, they were stacking shows around the park (Paint the Night clogs everything from Small World to Main Street, Fantasmic! gridlocks New Orleans Square, Wondrous Journeys essentially closes the hub and Main Street, and Fire of the Rising Moons turns Galaxy's Edge into a sea of people). We watched the first performance of Paint the Night near Small World, and then tried to see what we could get to after the parade, and Space Mountain still had 60+ minute waits, so we instead went to BTMRR where we had grabbed a LL just before the parade (standby line was 30 minutes and looked longer than that), but getting over to Frontierland was a struggle where the Fantasyland path was constricted and the castle walkthrough closed due to Wondrous Journeys. We could see the mass of people in Galaxy's Edge (app listed 45 minute wait for RotR), and while it was cool to see the end of Fantasmic! from BTMRR, we got off just as that show ended, and it was a royal pain in the you know what just to get across the hub when Wondrous Journeys started with the exodus from New Orleans Square and entrenched crowds waiting for Wondrous Journeys, which kicked-off just as we hit the hub. We did finally get across to Tomorrowland where Space Mountain still had a 60 minute wait, so we rode Buzz instead with a LL (listed 15 minute line).
So no, it's not a great strategy to try to ride attractions during nighttime shows at Disneyland, unless you want to experience rides that are right next to each other, and even then it's not going to decrease waits significantly. The strategy might have worked in the past, but not anymore when you have multiple shows occurring either at the same time or within 10-15 minutes of each other at various locations throughout the park. Not only that, but all the Fantasyland dark rides are closed during shows, and Micky's Toontown closes just after dark to prepare for fireworks.
@TH - I kind of see where AJ is coming from. He's suggesting that Magic Key holders who are blocked out might actually buy these tickets as a way to enjoy the park at a lower price on days where they can't visit on their MK, thus padding Disney's numbers by generating additional revenue from those who would otherwise just wait for a non-blackout day.
@Russell: Nice use of proper punctuation on "Fantasmic!"
My theory was they convinced themselves that low grade AP holders don't spend cash at the parks and increasingly blocked out more passholders during the summer months by reducing the variety of pass offerings and raising pass prices forcing more passholders into the cheapest pass. Then suddenly realised they were losing out on the revenue of passholders coming and filling their restaurants for dinners during the late summer nights.
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This is an odd promotion. Having just been to Disneyland, we experienced first hand how crowded the parks can get during the evening shows. They really don't need to make it easier/cheaper for more people to stuff into the parks in the evenings. This feels like an unnecessary cash grab that is going to make the parks insufferable.