Disneyland typically does not discount its theme park tickets during the summer. But consider this the latest sign that seasonal distinctions don't really mean anything at the resort anymore, because Disneyland just announced one of its most aggressive price cuts in years.
Between now and August 30, Disneyland Resort annual passholders can buy up to three one-day Park Hopper tickets for family or friends for $99 each. That's $100 off the regular $199 "Peak" days price for that ticket. (All dates between now and September 8 are categorized as "Peak" days on Disneyland's one-day ticket pricing calendar.)
Disneyland offered a similar deal to its passholders last summer. This time, however, passholders are not limited in buying these tickets by their blockout calendar. Even those passholders who are blocked out on a particular date can buy these companion tickets, though they must also buy one for themselves as the passholder must accompany their companions throughout the gate on first admission.
That effectively makes this a $99 blockout day ticket — a feature that Disney has not offered its annual passholders in several years. Purchases are limited to three tickets, so if you are a passholder buying one for yourself, that leaves you two more for others. Tickets must be bought in person at Disneyland and are valid only on their day of purchase.
The big new attraction at the resort this summer is the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land in Disneyland, though Disney is offering several special attractions over at California Adventure as well, including the return of Soarin' Over California and the new Tale of the Lion King musical, plus the debut of Mickey's Philharmagic and the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind spinner ride on Pixar Pier.
Disneyland also announced that its new Pixar Pier parking garage will open to cars on June 30. Maybe this new discount will help keep it filled, if all those new attractions alone weren't enough.
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There has been a lot of chatter regarding the affect Galaxy's Edge is having on crowds. It seems that Disney is having some of the same issues that USH had when WWoHP first opened. While Disneyland didn't raise ticket prices as aggressively as USH did in advance of their anticipated IP land opening, they did make decisive moves to try to limit the number of APs bombarding the park through the busy summer season. Also, the Reservation Period/soft opening meant that the most serious Star Wars fans living in SoCal (and those planning trips explicitly to be one of the first to see the new land) were able to ensure access to the anticipated new area without having to go through the typical trial and error of past major Disney openings. The somewhat tepid reviews of the ONLY ride and sky-high food and souvenir prices are also likely keeping peripheral Star Wars fans on the sideline, at least until the land is deemed fully open after RotR comes online.
Finally, there's also the fact that a duplicate land is opening in 2 months at DHS, and visiting Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland doesn't feel quite as exclusive. While I feel that going to Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland is liable to be a superior experience to DHS due to better crowd management and a park with far more things to do, even hard core east coast Star Wars fans are perfectly happy to wait until WDW's version opens. With RotR not open in Disneyland, it makes the decision to hold off and visit at DHS even easier.
So, what was expected to be a complete mob scene for much of the summer has been a pretty average early summer so far at Disneyland. The expected crowds that wanted to see Galaxy's Edge either already experienced it or are waiting until RotR opens (or visiting at DHS instead). Therefore, what Disney was expecting to be a record shattering summer season is not quite as expected, leading them to try to encourage those staying away (either by force through revised AP policies or fear of intense crowds) to come for a day or 2. Disney does need to be careful though, because they don't want to upset loyal guests and APs that did pay extra for exclusive perks and access explicitly for Galaxy's Edge. The single day ticket deal seams like a good compromise that won't fling the gates open while not upsetting the AP hierarchy. The crowds will definitely come next week during the July 4th holiday, and even if they aren't as big as Disney wants or needs, they will wait at least a couple of more weeks after the holiday before they make any other changes to their strategy. While it appears that Disney did learn a bit from USH's opening of WWoHP, they still slightly overestimated the demand for a half-opened Galaxy's Edge.
I am just wondering how many Disney fans love Star Wars and how many Star Wars fans dislike Disney (looking at the decline of the latest Star Wars movies).
Looking at the numbers I guess I know the answer.
I still have hope for the area if the other ride opens.
The small crowds at Disneyland are surprising. The land itself looks amazing, but I'm wondering if people are thinking "This isn't the Star Wars we were looking for". I would say it was a gamble making the land about a planet that no one heard of before, and basing it on the new characters who haven't yet endeared themselves to fans the way the original characters have done for 40 years.
Yes, the buildings evoke Star Wars, but it's still different than seeing something you dearly know and love. I've heard that the thing that feels most like Star Wars is the lightsaber experience. And of course the Cantina would be popular, because, hey, it's alcohol in Disneyland!
I think people would be stoked to see Luke's homestead or Jabba's palace. Yes, it would be hard to make because Tatooine is a desert planet, but I'm sure the Imagineers would have found a way. I think the problem is that they wanted to make a single 'real' place, like Diagon Alley, not an amalgam of places, because they wanted to make it total immersion.
The other reasons for low attendance may be that people were scared off by anticipated crowds, or they're waiting for the second (and better) ride to open. The third reason may be the AP blockouts. The Deluxe AP is blocked out for most of the summer, which wasn't the case before, and the So Cal APs were also further restricted this year. People blame crowding on the APs, but this is proof that Disney needs the APs to 'fill in the gaps'.
Disney is trying to get more people in by offering this $99 AP ticket, but the APs have probably already decided to wait until they're unblocked at the end of summer. Why spend an extra $99 now to see something that's not the Star Wars you remember, when you can wait a little longer to get in with your AP?
I am an AP passholder, and when I looked at the blockout calendar at the beginning of summer, I resigned myself to waiting til the end of summer to see SWGE. Would I pay an extra $99 to see it a couple months early? Probably not, partially because I've followed all the reviews and videos and reports, and I already have a pretty good idea of what's there.
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Wow odd to be offering a discount during the summer of Disneyland largest expansion ever. Is Galaxys Edge not bringing in the expected crowds?