"We know how important making memories at Disney theme parks is to our guests and we will continue to evolve our pricing in a way that gives them a range of options to meet their budget and helps better spread attendance throughout the year so they can make the most of every visit," a Disneyland spokesperson said, explaining one of the company's main motivations for how it is structuring this particular price change.
Annual pass prices at California's Disneyland are going up by as much as nearly 18 percent, as Disney looks to better balance its crowd levels throughout the year. The prices for Signature and Deluxe annual passes are going up by more than 17 percent, as is the renewal price for a SoCal annual pass, which is no longer available for sale to new customers. Disneyland's lowest-priced (and most restricted) annual pass, the SoCal Select, is going up by nearly nine percent, while the unrestricted Signature Plus, which includes free parking and Disney's Maxpass online ride reservation system, is going up by nearly 10 percent, to $1,149 a year.
At the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, annual pass prices are going up by just under five to just over nine percent. One-day ticket prices at Disney World are going up between about two to four percent and multi-day tickets increased between one and 8.6 percent, with the biggest increase on a four-day, non-Park Hopper (aka the "rookie" ticket).
Disneyland is holding the value-season price for a one-day, one-park ticket steady at $97 and is actually dropping the price of a one-day Park Hopper on value-season days by $10, from $157 to $147. On regular and peak days, Disney is raising the price of Park Hoppers by less than it is one-day, one-park tickets, suggesting that Disney would really rather you hop over to California Adventure for part of your day at Disneyland than crowding just the one park all day. But it hasn't gone to the point of pricing Disneyland higher than California Adventure on a one-day ticket, the way that it does with the Magic Kingdom versus the other three Walt Disney World parks in Florida. Multi-day tickets at Disneyland are rising between 3.7 and 6.6 percent.
Parking is up 10 percent, from $20 top $22 a day at Disney World.
Here are the price changes, which are effective immediately:
Disneyland one-day tickets (Value/Regular/Peak):
$97/110/124 -> $97/117/135 (0/6.4%/8.9%)
Disneyland one-day Park Hoppers (Value/Regular/Peak):
$157/165/174 -> $147/167/185 (-6.4%/1.2%/6.3%)
Disney World Magic Kingdom one-day tickets (Value/Regular/Peak):
$107/115/124 -> $109/119/129 (1.9%/3.5%/4.0%)
Disney World (other parks) one-day tickets (Value/Regular/Peak):
$99/107/119 -> $102/114/122 (3.0%/6.5%/2.5%)
Disneyland SoCal Select AP
$339 -> $369 (8.9%)
Disneyland Deluxe AP
$619 -> $729 (17.8%)
Disneyland Signature AP
$849 -> $999 (17.7%)
Disneyland Signature Plus AP
$1,049 -> $1,149 (9.5%)
Disneyland/WDW Premier AP
$1,439 -> $1,579 (9.7%)
WDW Florida Silver AP
$419 -> $439 (4.8%)
WDW Florida Gold AP
$559 -> $589 (5.4%)
WDW Florida Platinum AP
$679 -> $729 (7.4%)
WDW Florida Platinum Plus AP
$769 -> $829 (7.8%)
WDW Platinum AP
$779 - $849 (9.0%)
WDW Platinum Plus AP
$869 -> $949 (9.2%)
Disney's theme parks adjust their one-day ticket prices based on expected crowd levels for the day. You pay more when the park expects bigger crowds because Disney is trying to steer you toward less-busy days to even its crowds through the year. But later this year, the Walt Disney World Resort will begin adjusting prices for multi-tickets based on expected crowd levels, as well.
That means that at some point in 2018, multi-day tickets to Walt Disney World's theme parks will become date-specific. Your Disney World theme park admission tickets will be tied to the dates you plan to use them, just like hotel reservations and airfares.
At Disneyland, the resort will change its annual pass structure yet again later this year, as it attempts to guard against human gridlock in Disneyland when the new Star Wars land opens in 2019.
"We will be reshaping our Annual Pass program to better manage the guest experience throughout the year, which will help all Disneyland Resort guests have a great visit, particularly as we look forward to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019," a Disneyland spokesperson said.
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It really all depends on whether they install a way to limit access to Star Wars land based on what ticket you are holding. If they do, then there will be APs that include Star Wars access and those that do not. I also think it is possible that all new APs sold after some date in 2018 will be blocked out for the first month or so that Galaxy's Edge is open. Disney probably would have to give us the Star Wars land opening date before then, because the blockout dates will reveal it.
I think Disney might stop selling new SoCal Select APs, too.
For WDW Both 7 and 14 day "Ultimate" tickets are currently priced at £369 (the 14 days for 7 has been running for at least the last 6 months, so I don't think its a time limited promotion), whilst 21 days is £409. Google puts those at abut $US510 and $US565...
Bear in mind that the UK includes tax in the price (VAT is 20%), but you Americans don't seem to do that.
As for the upcoming pass changes, my guess is that they'll probably come sooner rather than later. I have no idea what they may be, but my hunch is something along the lines of the following:
-Both So Cal passes end and are replaced by a new value pass for around $400. This pass would be valid at both parks, but would not include park hopping.
-Introduction of park-specific blockout calendars for all passes. This would help prevent one park from becoming packed during a special event while the other remains relatively less crowded.
-All passes are blocked from Disneyland beginning in May 2019 until a specified end date (higher-tier passes have a shorter blockout period). To allow guests to experience Star Wars Land, every passholder receives one blockout day ticket that can be used during that period, but the day must be selected in advance and only so many passholders will be permitted each day.
-Removal of the option to keep free parking on your pass. Only the top tier pass includes it as an option, and all others must pay per visit.
If I'm staying at a WDW resort, in particular, I may want to have a few "wild card" days that allow me to shift my schedule based on weather and/or how my family feels on a given morning. I may purchase 4 or 5 day passes, but plan to spend 6 or 7 days at WDW, allowing for some flexibility. I'm already being inconvenienced by not picking days for my theme parks because I cannot select FP+ reservations ahead of time, so why does Disney need to "punish" me further by jacking the price up just because I don't know if I want to go to the park on a Saturday or a Tuesday?
Sorry, this is really getting out of control. "Magic Your Way" is a complete farce. Disney is trying to suck blood from a rock here by trying to maximize revenue at the cost of guest flexibility and satisfaction.
Exactly! How about revenue to fix the sorry state of Tomorrowland?
Exactly! How about revenue to fix the sorry state of Tomorrowland? Maybe they'll use all that cash to build a 3rd Disneyland in China lol.
Yeah, I know, "Where?" That's the billion-dollar question. There are a limited number of places they could build a year-round resort. Would Disney even consider a seasonal resort in (for example) the Northeast or Chicago area? Or do they continue to build/expand resorts in parts of the world from where Orlando and Anaheim are drawing the most visitors?
@Russel Meyer. I think a "dated" multi day ticket would not be specific to each Park day but instead for say a 14 day period of time. (Like time limit of first use now, but ticket only works between X and Y dates for ALL parks not specific. This would not lock you in to a specific day for each park. (FastPass+ does that but can be changed or cancelled.)
Seems to me that this could be a logistical programming issue for Disney and presents possible issues as follows.
> What if I buy a "dated" ticket in advance and travel plans/dates change? Will Disney change dates? And do I have to do this PRIOR to coming to Guest Services in person?
> If WDW makes tickets Date specific, they could also control how far in advance you can buy tickets. (What if I went to buy in 2017 for end of 2018 anticipating the price hike?)
> Could also mean 3rd party "authorized" ticket distributors
(AAA,etc.) are limited in their ticket dates.
> Similar to issue at Disneyland One day tickets, what happens if I come to front gate with ticket with wrong dates? Be sent to Guest Services probably.
Seems like a programmer's nightmare. And one more step for the Guest in Planning stage to arrange buying tickets with correct dates.Which do I do first, ADR or tickets?
They complain about the price of gas, movie tickets, theatre tickets, food, clothing, utilities, hotel rooms, etc.
Ask them if they want to roll back the costs of living by 20 years and they say, yes. Just don’t roll back my salary, benefits or lifestyle. And, leave my 401(k) returns alone!
YOU GOTTA LAUGH!
A few weeks ago talking about careful planning and not having any problems.
Glad to see the colour is beginning to fade from those rose tinted glasses you had.
Is the Disney app broke.
I'm a strong proponent of "early bird get the worm", and the FP+ system rewards that philosophy. However, by now charging variable pricing for what appears to be simply a "cash grab", it minimizes the power of using FP+ to control crowds (Disney touted that the change from Fastpass to FP+ would give them that ability, yet they're now arguing that they need pricing to do that). The variable pricing scheme would also prohibit guests from seeing what FP+ reservations are available before locking in their park dates. Before you can access the FP+ reservation system, you have to have a ticket. If this variable pricing rumor for multi-day tickets goes into effect, guests will have to select their days BEFORE they can even access the FP+ system, so they would be completely blind as to what may be available on a given day.
As it currently works, guests with valid admissions can look at FP+ reservations 60 days in advance of their check-in date (if staying on-site) or 30 days ahead of their visit (for non-resort guests), so if you really have your mind set on riding Flight of Passage, you could look at availability on multiple days before locking in which day you're going to visit DAK. By introducing variable pricing on multi-day tickets, guests will be forced into locking in their park days BEFORE being able to see FP+ availability. This would be a HUGE degradation in the advantages of FP+, and one that would significantly change my opinion on the system.
OK, so what's inconsistent? I clearly state that the rumored plan to have variable pricing on multi-day tickets "is a real problem." I also note that by doing this, "Disney is being incredibly hypocritical." The FP+ system already exists to force/encourage guests to lock in their park days as much as 60 days in advance (but at least with some knowledge of what rides they can get reservations for prior to picking specific parks for each day of their vacation), yet now they reportedly want guests to pick their days blindly through their ticket purchases (tickets are required to be purchased before guests can access the FP+ system) without knowing what FP+ reservations may be available for specific parks and attractions on the pre-selected days.
I'm not sure how much more clear I can be. Perhaps you've not visited WDW in the past few years, but the FP+ system is a blessing and a curse. If you know how to use it and to leverage it to your advantage, it can make visiting the parks a breeze. However, if you're not willing to do some advanced planning or simply don't understand how the system works, it can be the bane of your existence. The indication that Disney is going to force guests into multi-day variable pricing, will take away one of the significant advantages of the FP+ system, which is to evaluate how crowded a park is going to be weeks in advance of your arrival and to secure reservations for the most popular attractions.
Let's say you're staying on-site for 10 days exactly 60 days from now, and purchased 7-day passes (planning to spend a few days at the resort, water parks, Disney Springs, or doing activities other than the theme parks). Most guests are looking for that coveted morning Flight of Passage FP+ reservation, and will typically be willing to shift which day they visit DAK to make sure they get it. With FP+, guests can look at FP+ times for the 10 days beyond their check-in date once they get within 60 days of that check in. So, If I originally planned to visit DAK on the first day of my trip, but a FOP FP+ is not available on that day, I can look at days beyond to see if there's another day when that FP+ is available. If Disney starts forcing guests to pay variable pricing for their admissions (that must be purchased before accessing the FP+ system), guests will essentially have to lock in the specific days they are visiting before seeing that all of the FOP reservations are gone for that first day of their trip, and now they're stuck.
As far as FP+ beyond this specific point, I think it's all in how you use the system, and how diligent you are in checking what's available. My in-laws just spent 2 days at WDW this week. They didn't bother telling my wife and I that they were going until last week, and knowing that we had just visited last fall and knew the ins and outs of the park, they called to see if they needed to do anything before showing up. Our jaws dropped when we heard this, because we knew their experience would be significantly diminished by just "showing up" without any pre-planning (yes, this is a significant negative with FP+, which I have not denied). My wife immediately went onto MDE and was able to secure them some FP+ reservations for the parks they were planning to visit (DAK and EPCOT). We were even able to find them an early morning FP+ reservation for Frozen (9:30) a few days before their visit, and ultimately picked them up a same-day FP+ for FOP (we got two on the day we visited last fall), so they got 2 rides on the hottest attraction including their walk-on rope drop ride. So even with just a week of advanced planning, we were able to get FP+ reservations for two tier 1 attractions, including one that has been averaging 2-3 hour waits for the past 9 months. You could have never done that with the old system, and would have been lucky to get just 1 FP+ for the best ride in a park on a given day because you had to sprint to the FP machines at rope drop and then constantly doubling-back as you picked up FPs, returning to the same spot an hour or 2 later.
Is FP+ great? Absolutely not, and the pre-planning aspect required to make the most of the system is frustrating. However, I appreciate the aspect of rewarding those that are willing to put in a little work ahead of time or to be persistent if what they absolutely want is not available at first glance. However, the rumored variable pricing coming to multi-day tickets will be a huge determent to one of the nice advantages of the FP+ system, which is to see what big rides you'll be able to get FP+ reservations for BEFORE locking in your specific park days.
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