Ticket prices are going up again at Walt Disney World

Here's a thought...If Disney is trying to push guests to visit during slower times of the year, limit the total number of date-constrained tickets they sell. They're already charging up the nose for undated tickets, so just leave the prices for dated tickets where they are, and cap the number they sell based on the capacity of the parks. If people can't physically buy a ticket (aside from the ridiculously priced undated tickets), then they'll pick a different day/time of year. Inching prices up 10% every 6 months will not change habits, but being locked out from buying tickets altogether will. But we all know Disney would NEVER stop selling something that people can't stop buying. Even on days when the parks reach capacity, guests stand outside the gates for hours waiting for people to trickle out so they can pay their $100+ to enter an overcrowded park.

Which brings us to the real reason why Disney is raising prices. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with trying to encourage guests to visit during less crowded times of year. If that were the case, Disney would be LOWERING prices for guests wanting to visit during those days. This is all about maximizing revenue, and generating additional profit during the times of year when Disney knows the parks will be shoulder to shoulder.

I'm completely shocked about this! What an outrage!

Yeah, not really. Although it is amusing to looking at the former prices next to the new prices and think, "eh, I guess the old price wasn't too bad." I remember a time when you were able to walk up to Epcot and buy a single day ticket for $50. This was the early aughts too.

It's all about the shareholders. I really wonder what the tipping point will be or if some event might occur to cause attendance to plunge. If it did, the mouse would be in a world of hurt.

Random dads from all over say "I'll pay whatever I need to so my family can be at Disney World on Christmas."

Disney World says "Well in that case... "

I have no problem with this change. Make the expensive days expensive... let the market sort it out.

Used to be a website called Florida Project (sadly seems gone now) where they'd share old brochures/maps, etc of Orlando parks from decades past. Just amazing to look back at 20 years ago when a five-day pass was only about $150.

I still have my leftover 1971 Tickets among others:) as well as the preopening WDW resort map sponsored by Eastern Airlines- which was free in hotel lobbies everywhere when I was a kindergarde kid. Scrooge McDuck, the patron duck of revenue and profit, must continue to fund the work of Ludwig Von Drake, the patron duck of Imagineering as Darth Iger commandsbin the name of The Mouse.

Will Universal follow suit? Or is this UO's opportunity to compete as the lower priced alternative?

They've traditionally matched every increase so far so odds are Gringotts deposits will rise soon as well. Note Disney's formal acquisition of most of the entertainment assets of 20the Century Fox is now officially set for March 20 at midnight...

This is the reason I am still surprised at how many people plan trips to Walt Disney World, in particular how many plan trips less than two years apart. Personally, I don't find any of the parks to be worth $100 per day unless they've added a couple major new attractions, so I could never see myself visiting more than a couple times per decade, but I guess enough families enjoy the Disney experience year after year to dump $5,000+ on an annual family vacation. I am very curious what the tipping point is...I keep thinking it isn't far off, but so far I've been consistently proven wrong.

People vote with their wallets. It seems like the people are voting to accept the price increases, so what's Disney to do? Not listen to the people?

The people have spoken! We demand higher prices, please! Higher!!!

Disney is a lot less elastic than people give it credit for and that's why the prices have been sky rocketing with virtually no negative impact on attendance. The fact of the matter is your either going to pay the money or your not going to see Star Wars Land or ever see the castle, so people will pay the money.

I am going to Barcelona next month and I bought tickets for my wife and I to go inside the Sagrada Familia for $30 each...yes $30 and have to make a reservation to walk into a church...but the only other option was to not go (or go late in the day when its a little bit cheaper with a 2+ hour line). So I bought the tickets. Even with the price there is still a reservation system and a huge line every day, simple elasticity of demand. So there you go.

And much like Gaudi's masterpiece in Barcelona, Walt Disney World Resort will also never actually be finished being built either;) I like to think Gaudi would approve though imagine he would have a soft spot for Universal Orlando Resort as well since Seuss Landing feels way more his taste!

Credit cards still not maxed out? … no problem

" guess enough families enjoy the Disney experience year after year to dump $5,000+ on an annual family vacation."

See, that's the thing. With DVC, a lot of guests are already "pot committed" to visit every 2 years (or sometimes even more frequently depending upon their level of investment). People have already paid tens of thousands of dollars plus annual "maintenance" fees to take routine vacations on Disney property. A 20% increase in admission won't change the fact that these people have essentially already paid (and are forced to continue paying) for the largest financial obligation of their vacation, lodging. DVC owners that have already spent $25k and another >$500 per year since they purchased their membership won't simply throw that investment away. Disney knows this, and while some DVC owners may spend fewer days in the parks over their annual vacation at WDW or maybe curb some in-park spending, most will simply accept the admission increases as a fact of life, and continue with their routine. The Drones will never stop, because they are so invested in Disney that it would be foolish for them to curb the frequency of their visits.

I think these prices go up because Disney isn't earning enough money. Look at this from The Dis, they sell a ton of Disney vacations and are in constant contact with Disney regarding sales and they know availability.
https://youtu.be/E4HBUA42o-I?t=1757

What strikes me as a crime is that none of the Florida parks offer discounts to seniors - at least not to my knowledge. As a senior I'm appalled by how few parks offer this. Cedar Fair offers a senior discount on a platinum pass but many of the individual parks in the chain do not. Knott's does offer a $10 senior discount - kudos to them! - whereas it would appear that Dorney has discontinued it. (I used to pay $31 at the gate.) Hersheypark recently raised the age for senior discounts from 55 to 70 so I won't be able to take advantage of that until 2021 if I'm still alive then.

@ AJ Hummel
March 12, 2019 at 5:15 PM
...your question could be sound enough for an academic study on "the sociology of feasibility" :-)

To compare.
(1) The Tokyo Disney One day ticket (either park) is still a fixed $ 67 << ¥7,400
Senior (65+) ¥6,700
Without yield marketing price differences either.
(2) The overall visitors experience quality is much higher. (The reknowed Japanese politeness with customers.)
Reason for both ? The owner/operator company is not Disney, it's Japanese :-)

Wait for the next announcement on parking increases. It went up $3 in October so now long overdue.

If Disney wants to entice guests to stay on-site, raising parking prices is probably a good idea! It could reach the point that it's cheaper to Uber to your on-site hotel and then use the bus, monorail, boat, or gondola to get around, than to pay for parking - in the hot Florida sun, no less. I don't know what that price point would be.

It could even convince locals to stay on property, such as at Art of Animation or something on the cheaper end.

The only exception could be adults who just like to go to EPCOT after 4pm to get their food and drink on.

"If Disney wants to entice guests to stay on-site, raising parking prices is probably a good idea!"

Except Disney is charging guests to park at the resorts now too. If you fly in and rent a car, or drive to Orlando, staying at an on-site WDW resort does not liberate you from the parking charge.

/\ Or "encourages" them to only use Disney Magical Express/Disney Transportation, which makes it more expensive for them to leave property because they don't have a car.