Disney theme parks announce ticket price increases

August 3, 2010 at 2:51 PM · How do these increases compare to last years'?

August 3, 2010 at 2:58 PM · WOW, Looks like in a couple of years, we will all have to sell our first born just to go to Disney. I thought the pricing was bad when it hit the 70 dollar price point.

August 3, 2010 at 3:14 PM · As much as I hate prices going up (especially for parking), it's not really going to make any difference. Disney can charge whatever they want and people will still be lining up by the thousands. All the price increases mean is that those of us with limited budgets aren't going to be able to go as often. Sad.

August 3, 2010 at 3:23 PM · According to the Disney Blog the cost of parking will only be going up at Disneyland and will be remaining the same at WDW for now.

August 3, 2010 at 3:38 PM · Universal and Busch high five each other knowing that they can now follow suit and increase their gate prices like they always do. Monkey see, monkey will do yet again. A few dollars isn't much, but it compounds over the years. $100 one day passes will be here soon enough. Hopefully the Yeti will work by then.

August 3, 2010 at 5:19 PM · Irrelevant, no one pays front gate prices anymore. Everyone comes in with discounts or multi-day tickets.

August 3, 2010 at 6:11 PM · When will they release the 2011 prices for the WDW resorts? When can you start booking for 2011 dates?

August 3, 2010 at 6:46 PM · I hope they use the extra money they are charging for something cool to make it worth paying the extra to get in!

August 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM · Never hit the Raven first. Everyone does that. Just go straight back through Christmas and into the Fourth of July first unless you want to go the the Water Park. After 1 - 2PM there won't be any wait, and there will be much less wait for the Legend too. The Voyage still has a pretty good line all day, and it seems to never get up and running until after noon, so generally don't run there first or you'll just be sweating and disappointed. Also, the ABSOLUTE WORST time to try and ride the Voyage is just about the time the Water Park closes when hundreds of people will leave the Water Park and IMMEDIATELY linbe up for the Voyage. It's better to get there before that happens.

August 3, 2010 at 7:40 PM · I feel Disney and the other theme parks, should reduce the price of their tickets. By doing this, more people will want to go to Disney for the day, or another theme park. More people equal more money. Disney and the other parks should stop being greedy, after all everyone is struggling these days.

August 3, 2010 at 8:23 PM · Glad we bought a bunch of never expiring tickets last year, something i dont have to worry about now.

August 3, 2010 at 9:07 PM · 'atta boy, Rod. Who needs to read the topic headline before posting, anyway?

August 3, 2010 at 9:21 PM · Lol...

August 4, 2010 at 7:03 AM · when do the park learn that if they drop ther price more people will come and they will make more money in the long run. i know that with the prce going up i will not be going. I have a friend that worked for disney and was part of a group to look at making the parks better. he said lets look at lower ticket price and now he no longed workd for them. They canned him for even thinking about lower front gate ticket prices.

August 4, 2010 at 7:11 AM · Would love to see data in regards to the point people decide to skip a year cause of the cost. Grocery stores study this big time. You can keep raising prices and fewer people may buy xyz product but the mfr makes more profit per unit. But eventually if, as in theme parks, a family decides to go every 3rd year instead of every year they would be loosing thousands over often a small perceived greedy price increases. When we go it is often 10k and over the years we maximize dollars spent. If we don't perceive value we look elsewhere. Were not going back until 2012, so that will be 5 years without a visit. And prior it was the annual destination. And we love Universal now along with Sea World, so we still often stick with Orlando, but without Disney getting a cut. The price increases is one factor, no new rides, lower quality food, limited hours of operation.

August 4, 2010 at 8:09 AM · Disney is really getting outrages with their prices.

August 4, 2010 at 8:23 AM · Thanks for the heads up. Not to be picky, but the Walt Disney World $228 tickets are 5 Day Tickets, they do not include the Park Hopper without an additional cost.

August 4, 2010 at 10:36 AM · I realize virtually no ones pays that price, but a $3 increase for a one day pass? Ouch. What were they thinking with that one? Disney really can't lower prices thought, but they could keep the prices steady. If they decide to lower tickets prices, they have to lower it a significant amount in order to attract more customers. A $5 price reduction really wouldn't attract any new customers. They would probably have to drop prices below their competitors to make any true gains. But lowering prices sends mixed messages from a branding stand point. To the customers, it would signal something was wrong. It would also be difficult for Disney to position themselves as the premiere theme park but then be priced lower than their competitors. That implies they aren't superior anymore.

August 4, 2010 at 11:39 AM · Bring back the old Monorail Clubcar lounge and add more hippos to the Jungle Cruise.

(I've decided to embrace Rod's approach to these conversations).

August 4, 2010 at 11:40 AM · Do you think Rod's over on the Holiday World thread trying to figure out why Robert rejected his comments?

August 4, 2010 at 11:54 AM · Although we Insiders realize this ticket up-charge, most people won't. Most park-goers still buy their tickets at the front gates or resorts and wouldn't know that the tickets went up $3 in price. Most guests would probably notice, say, a $20 increase, but $3 is something Disney knows it can get away with.

August 4, 2010 at 1:38 PM · Several comments have been made to the fact that no one buys one day tickets anymore. That is simply not true. We do. We stay in Daytona and usually only want to visit one park during our week vacation so we buy one park one day tickets. So for us, the price is becoming more than outrageous. $83 is getting on the top limit of what we want to spend. As of right now we are in a family discussion about going next year. Yes its just 3 dollars but where will it end? $100, $150, what is the cap?

August 4, 2010 at 1:38 PM · Several comments have been made to the fact that no one buys one day tickets anymore. That is simply not true. We do. We stay in Daytona and usually only want to visit one park during our week vacation so we buy one park one day tickets. So for us, the price is becoming more than outrageous. $83 is getting on the top limit of what we want to spend. As of right now we are in a family discussion about going next year. Yes its just 3 dollars but where will it end? $100, $150, what is the cap?

August 4, 2010 at 1:45 PM · Phil B – Universal had an increase already this year….

August 4, 2010 at 2:04 PM · Ms. Faulkner's post was so nice it posted twice!

She writes: "Several comments have been made to the fact that no one buys one day tickets anymore."

I Respond: I don't think the posts claimed "no one." I think they clearly implied the majority of ticket sales are either multi-day tickets, annual passes, Florida resident discounts, etc.

August 4, 2010 at 2:23 PM · Sorry for the double post, my computer went crazy for a minute. As for ThCreative's comment, someone above posted this sentence...

"Irrelevant, no one pays front gate prices anymore. Everyone comes in with discounts or multi-day tickets."

No not everyone. If your buying a one day pass, you can't find a discount on them or a 2 day for that matter. It's not until yo buy 3 day passes that a discount kicks in. So we as one day park goers are stuck paying gate prices.

August 4, 2010 at 2:26 PM · Just another reason to do the Seaworld & Bush Gardens or the other attraction in the area this sept.. all for only 89.00 per person for 14 days entry.. (seaworld & bush gardens) plus a luxury bus to tampa from orlando included in the price.

My guess is like another posted stated people are going to start skipping disney for a couple three years and do Universal, sea-world, bush gardens instead.. last time i did disney was 2000.. did one day last year (2009) on free pass.

Universal had a modest price increase this year partly due to the Harry Potter attraction.. give it a couple years and they will be back to $99 per person for 5 days usage.

when was the last time you went to Silver Springs and ride the glass bottom boats,, or went to Weeki Wachee Springs! Home of the World Famous Mermaids!.. that what everyone when before disney and universal.. Time to go back to the original theme parks.. I am .

peace out.
carl

August 4, 2010 at 2:37 PM · I was waiting for someone to jump on this one.
There are a number of issues here.
First, I agree with David Kirby, it IS a branding issue. One of the things that hurt both the Cadillac and Mercedes brand names, was when they started making less expensive models. And related to that, when your theme park is a the lower priced one in the market, you attract the "rift-raft". Now I don't want to sound like an "elitist snob", but places like Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm attract gang bangers, young teens and other trouble-makers. Even when Disneyland used to offer "everyone gets in for the kids price", they attracted young punks who had no respect and would trash the place. A better strategy is what Legoland offers and that's kids free with a paid adult.
Second, while Disneyland (and other theme parks) ARE expensive, when compared to other ENTERTAINMENT offerings, they are not THAT expensive (or at least in the same ballpark). Compare Disneyland's ticket prices to the movies, to concerts, to sporting events and you will see that OVERALL Disney (and others) are still a good value. Everyone wants to compare Disney (and others) to offerings that are NOT in the same industry. You MUST compare Disney (and Universal and Sea World, etc) to their peers. You CAN"T compare the food prices at Disneyland to the food prices at McDonalds. You MUST compare their prices to the prices at the ballpark, at the movies, in Las Vegas, etc.

And before anyone starts making claims, I am NOT an employee of the Walt Disney Co. I am however, a MINOR stockholder in Disney (less than 100 shares) and I worked at Disneyland in the late 80s, early 90s, while I was in high school.

August 4, 2010 at 4:02 PM · I agree with that guy up top.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I wanted to see World of Color! I too, have seen this coming.

August 4, 2010 at 4:05 PM · I think Ted works for Disney.

LOL.

August 5, 2010 at 5:12 AM · Ahh here we go again..Disney vers Universal, Busch..And on and on...Well Im off to Disney World "Magic Kingdom today..With a party of four at ful gate price and Ill give a a tally of the costs for all in another post. With Roberts permission. Ill give you parking, gate and food coasts for the whole day. Not counting gas, to and from.

August 5, 2010 at 6:06 AM · The real fact is as long as people are willing to pay whatever the price Disney or other parks set why would they charge any less. They are a profit based company. In big business it's all about the profits. Jerry C

August 5, 2010 at 6:33 AM · Brian Emery - Actually, Universal Orlando only never raised their single day park admission back in January. I'd be stunned if they don't follow up in a few weeks and match Disney's increase. Both were at $79, let's wait and see, I'm sure the bean counters at Universal are salivating as we speak, or type in this case.

August 5, 2010 at 8:03 AM · My husband and I are seniors and have been going to Disney World since it's opening in 1971. 6 years ago, we have become Florida residents and purchased an AP every year. It is so sad that even a senior residents can't afford the luxury of going to Disney World anymore. We only live 1hr and 20 min away and absolutly love to go 2 times a month. The only way we can do it, is make sandwiches and soda and a snack, and eat it in the parking lot before we can go in. We have our own scooter to save that way too. Not only is it expensive to get into, but try buying a hotdog coke and fries without hurting your budget. Seniors get hit just as hard as families. We all have limited funds, and budgets. Our daughters had Disney themed weddings and went to DW on their honeymoons even own a brick, but the sad thing is, one has now canceled their planned visit to us and Disney because of the increase. And these are families who work hard and make a decent living. One daughter even owns a time share. But with the raise in prices, well it just went over the top. You have to put a lid on it somewhere and this year is the time.
My Ap ends in February. I am sick at heart that I may never go there again because of their greed.

August 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM · If everyone is so upset with this as I am, there is a simple way of showing your displeasure..Boycot Disney. Hit thenm in the pocket as they have done to you. As I can see in the past few years,there are days I go in and go on rides 3 times in a row, no lines, that must tell you something. Oh and Ted..You want to make dividends on your Disney stock don't you. No attendence,no dividends!!!!

August 5, 2010 at 9:57 AM · Do the parks still offer a multi-day, never expire ticket. Way back in 2003, I bought 4, 3-day never expire tickets for Universal. After 1 day at the IOA, we found that the park was not geared for small children. In 2009, we went back for another day; the tickets were accepted and we had a great time at Universal Studios. We still have one more day to use. Hopefully we will get back in December this year or next. I am one of those people who can't stomach the thought of spending a whole week waiting in large lines, so we like to only spend 1 day at the parks in Orlando when we head to Florida. I think the one day price is to expensive and will rather not go to Disney if it means spending $320 plus parking and food for a family.

August 5, 2010 at 10:12 AM · Once again its a supply demand issue. All the people who want Disney to lower ticket prices are the same ones that cry when Space Mountain has a 3 hour wait. People are paying the prices, so they will continue to increase.

August 5, 2010 at 5:43 PM · It's me again.
Why has this become a bash on Disney thing??? Universal Orlando is $79 for 1 day, 1 park and Sea World Florida is $78.95 for 1 day, 1 park.
I agree with the above poster. This is CAPITALISM. It's supply and demand. Disney (and Uni and Busch) will raise their prices until people won't pay them anymore. Then they will offer sales to entice people back. Like free dining.
The REAL truth in this is that Disney (in Florida) doesn't WANT one day visitors. They WANT multi-day visitors that stay ON PROPERTY. If you look at a multi-day passport it works out to very little PER day (at 6 days it's about $40 a day). Because Disney makes MORE money off their hotels and restaurants. They are TRYING to discourge single day users.
In California, Disney is making AT LEAST $200 million a year just off of annual passes (which is more than the 1st half of the year revenue of Cedar Fair, not Cedar Point, the WHOLE company). So again, why settle for $70-80 on 1 day passes, when you can "encourage" people to spend $200+ for an annual pass (which has a better perceived value). And then offer other discounts to multi-day Disney hotel guests to make up for the high ticket prices.
This is ALL simple economics people. Disney doesn't pay a bunch of MBAs millions of dollars a year because they make dumb decisions.

August 6, 2010 at 6:28 AM · People complain about the price increase but I look at it this way. I want the same kind of quality and service as I've always had. If that means I have to pay a few dollar more a visit then so be it.
I'm not willing to see paint peeling or rides closed because they had to cut back

August 6, 2010 at 6:56 AM · Ok back from my Day Trip to the Magic Kingdom..And as I said hers the break down...
Parking.........$14.00
Admission 4 adults $336.00
4 Bottle Waters $10.00
4 Lunchs $35.00
4 Bottle Waters $10.00
4 Sit Down Dinners $75.00
4 Ice Cream Cones $12.00
4 Bottle Waters $10.00
Out of Pocket mis. $27.00
Total_______________________
$529.00
Now thats four adults, And watching my wallet .
ANd the cost per 4 attraction breaks down to $132.00
each. Im not complaining ..just reporting the facts.
And for this writters 2 cents go to another park in WDW and wait for them to finish. Half of Main Streets canvased, Fantasy land looks like a construction zone. And most of it is closed for rehab. It was interesting that chatting with a few other guests tha was pretty much everyones thoughts. That the bang for the buck was not up to Disney standards. I will give the cast just rewards they tried hard to keep the Magic alive...But How much magic is there in a wooden fence? So Robert enjoy your day. If Id known you were there yesterday I would have gone to Epcot instead. And at least said howdy.