Are Disney Tickets Too Expensive?
Like clockwork, Disney quietly made its annual ticket price increase overnight for Walt Disney World and Disneyland following another year of growing attendance in the parks. Also like clockwork, the fan community responded, with some fans defending the increases in light of the value offered and the parks’ popularity, but the majority deriding Disney’s greed and arrogance in light of the massive construction projects currently impacting the guest experience at many of its parks.
I don’t think anybody is a fan of paying more money for things, but this post attempts to set aside that natural inclination against price increases to evaluate the arguments for and against increasing Walt Disney World and Disneyland ticket prices. In so doing, we offer alternatives to address problems with the current pricing structure.
The crux of the two polarized sides of the debate consist of core arguments that “Disney is a business with a sole objective of maximizing shareholder wealth” and “Walt Disney created the parks as a place all families could go to spend time together, not with the goal of making money.” Both of these statements are at odds with one another, and both are ostensibly true at least to a degree. The difficulty thus becomes in reconciling these arguments and finding some sort of nuanced middle ground.
Let’s start with the position that Disney is a business operating to earn a profit. True enough. There’s really no debating this, but it also certainly doesn’t justify any decision The Walt Disney Company makes from the perspective of pricing. Where this argument falls flat is when it’s extended to assert that the sole responsibility of a company is to maximize shareholder wealth, a claim that I’ve frequently seen made by those defending the price increases in the past. That was more or less the standard of law espoused by the case of Dodge v. Ford. In 1919. The “business judgment rule” has since been ameliorated by a line of subsequent decisions (even in 1919, that was a reductionist view of the law, but I digress…), almost all of which give a corporation’s officers and directors considerable discretion in determining how to manage a company and its corporate funds. This has even included upholding decisions made by officers to donate such funds to charity.
It’s this same business judgment rule that allows other publicly-traded companies to pay higher wages than their competitors, offer superior benefits to employees, cut customer prices in the face of rising costs, and even raise the wages of executives to levels millions of dollars higher than their competitors (e.g., Disney’s Bob Iger). There are a variety of reasons for companies to make decisions that ostensibly seem at odds with the objective of maximizing shareholder wealth, which is why the business judgment rule protects most decisions companies make. These reasons can range from strategical (paying an employee higher wages than competitors can reduce turnover, increase employee satisfaction, etc.) to attempting to increase business goodwill to undercutting competition, and beyond.
In other words, anyone who thinks The Walt Disney Company must raise ticket prices if attendance is up is flat out wrong.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who argue Walt Disney built Disneyland (and intended to build Walt Disney World) as a sort of egalitarian place where all families could spend time together. We can quibble over some of the details, but there are Walt Disney quotes out there establishing this, so this argument can’t be completely rebuffed. Rather, in this situation, I think it’s important to think of Walt Disney, the actual human being. Time has painted a very rosy picture of Walt Disney that doesn’t exactly mesh with reality.
Walt Disney is the polar opposite of a lot of corporate leaders these days, and I think many of us want to view him with a certain reverence that glosses over the fact that he was leading a business and often doing very savvy things in marketing and operating that business. Thanks to a lot of his decades-old quotes and clips of his television appearances, coupled with the spectacular, family-friendly products he was able to create, Walt Disney has been elevated to a pedestal of infallibility and beneficence.
I am a huge fan of Walt Disney and greatly admire what he accomplished and inspired others to accomplish. I also believe that he was a master marketer and promoter. I believe that Walt Disney went into Disneyland wanting to create a place where families could spend time together. I believe that profit wasn’t the only motivation. I also believe that profit was one motivation, and regardless of Disneyland being a labor of love for Walt, it would have never been built if he didn’t think it would be profitable. Always the master marketer with an unimpeachable reputation, of course Walt Disney was going to pitch his park as being built out of passion while differentiating it from his competitors.
We don’t take any contemporary CEO’s talking points about their product at face value, yet we give complete deference to Walt quotes about his products. I think part of this is because Walt Disney actually was genuine, and at least part of his pitch was how he actually felt about Disneyland and what he wanted it to be.
However, the simple fact is that even in Walt Disney’s era when Disneyland cost much less to visit, it was never a place all families could visit. Even then, some people could not afford to go. That’s the inherent nature of any product. No matter what park tickets cost, so long as they had some cost, there would always be someone who wouldn’t be able to afford going. That, plus the cost of travel would be an insurmountable barrier for a large portion of the population.
In other words, I think there’s more than meets the eye with this whole debate, in academic terms, and neither “side” is entirely right. There’s far more nuance to the issue of Disney and pricing than is evident from these two positions, and the underlying issues giving rise to the controversy, are worth discussing.
Disney seems uniquely situated when it raises its ticket prices in the amount of attention garnered not just from fans, but also from the media and society as a whole. I think there’s a reason for this, and it’s not just that price increases by Disney are a harbinger of things to come elsewhere in the market. Disney theme parks occupy an interesting place in our society as privately-owned and operated locations that have become so engrained in our culture that visiting them is almost an indelible part of the American experience. Many adults visit each year not because they are enamored with Disney–for some, quite the contrary is true–but because they view a visit to the Disney theme parks as a rite of passage for their kids.
You may think, ‘so what?’ as the fact that Disneyland and Walt Disney World have been woven into our cultural fabric doesn’t change the fact that they are a business. Unlike the National Parks, which are more appropriately viewed as our birthright as Americans, Disney theme parks are not managed by the government, and we don’t have any “public right” to them. I am not arguing that we as a people do just because they are culturally significant–I think that would set a dangerous precedent.
However, Disney has marketed its theme parks very aggressively as a place where families make memories, and that “rite of passage” status so many people recognize Walt Disney World and Disneyland as having is a direct result of Disney’s excellent marketing efforts. Arguably, Disney has positioned itself as accountable to the public through these marketing efforts, and the status it has attained for itself as a rite of passage through said marketing (in a way, Disney has somewhat of a monopoly on “rite of passage” theme parks that allows it to dictate pricing). This is something of which its leaders should be aware and respectful. This is not just because those leaders have become enriched by the marketing efforts that established Disney’s position as a “rite of passage” location, but because the founder of the company (whose efforts have also enriched his successors) explicitly said he wanted it that way and more or less behaved consistently with his statements.
Still, Disney is a business, and expecting its leaders to develop a sudden sense of altruism is…well, let’s just say not pragmatic. This current leadership, on the rare occasions when it has announced or addressed price increases, has commonly touted the exceptional guest experience and improvements thereto. Had such a statement been made this year, they would probably give Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the upcoming Disneyland 60th Anniversary as examples. Nevermind all of those closed attractions in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the stagnation of Epcot, the sea of construction walls in Animal Kingdom, and the current closed status of numerous headliners throughout Disneyland Resort.
I think we all know this statement is merely marketing-speak and no one on either side of the argument really gives it much credence. However, it does speak to the notion that price increases would be justified by an improved slate of attractions or a better guest experience. Many would still have issues with people being priced out of visiting Disney theme parks, but overall, the increases would be more palatable because at least then added cost would be commensurate with added value.
An increased attraction roster is frequently cited as a way to address the crowds that the parks draw. Despite the rising prices, theme park attendance is also on the rise, and without increasing supply, raising prices is one way to reduce demand until arriving at an equilibrium price. If Disney truly is a quasi-monopolistic supplier as I’ve posited, what this equilibrium price would be is anyone’s guess. Instead of finding out, many Disney fans have argued that Disney should add new, high-capacity attractions to relieve the crowding problems.
Theoretically, this would work. If park capacity increased from (hypothetically) 75,000 guests in a park at any given time to 100,000 guests, that is an alternative way to address demand. Setting aside the argument that it’s easier and more efficient to simply raise prices (a really cold and calculated way to view theme parks no matter who you are), I’m not entirely convinced this would work.
If anything, I think the recent large additions at the Magic Kingdom (New Fantasyland) and Disney California Adventure (Cars Land) have created new demand close to or in excess of the capacity they added. If you’re Disney, this is a good problem to have, but it doesn’t solve the crowds problem. There are definitely ways to increase capacity without creating new demand, but I think most would require adding high capacity attractions that aren’t going to be highly publicized or buzzworthy. This would upset fans in a different way, and I can’t really see Disney opting for this route. Alternatively, the parks could add so many really, really awesome things simultaneously that would collectively create so much new capacity that new demand couldn’t possibly be as great. Had Disney added 1-2 high capacity attractions consistently each year over the last decade, this would be the end result today, and we probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Don’t hold your breath on that one happening right now, all at once.
As someone who believes ticket prices are too high and that the spirit of what the founder of the company intended should be honored as best as possible in light of a changing world, I don’t think the conversation ends here with Disney having its hands tied and being “forced” to increase prices since attendance is on the rise. Disney still has a few options of which it could avail itself.
The first would be to not raise prices and simply sell out of tickets on more popular days. So many other entertainment options do this, and although it would require re-educating the public so that vacationers didn’t arrive in Orlando or Anaheim only to be heartbroken that they couldn’t enter the parks, it could definitely work. Tokyo Disneyland already employs this strategy, and those parks sell out of tickets numerous days per year. That’s proof-enough that this strategy is possible, but it’s not my preferred way of dealing with demand.
Instead, I’d take another page out of the Tokyo Disney Resort playbook. Currently, a 1-day Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea ticket is around $53 (US), or about half the price of a 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket. This is not because they are inferior parks (to the contrary, I ranked the Tokyo parks #1 and #2 in the world). By contrast, a 2-park Tokyo Disney Resort Annual Pass works out to be around $690 (US), versus $654 for a 4-park Walt Disney World Annual Pass. Due to the way the Tokyo Annual Pass system works, many Annual Passholders there have separate Annual Passes for each of the parks, for a total cost of $908.
I’m sure a lot of you are not going to like this proposal because of the way it would impact you personally–and it would impact me, too–but I think imposing restrictions on Annual Passes is the best way to address crowds in the immediate future. I’m not suggesting pricing all but the rich out of Annual Passes, but restricting the number of times an Annual Pass can be used each year, adding parking fees, and getting more aggressive with blockout dates would be among the things I’d like to see considered for Annual Passes.
This is my proposal rather than the simpler plan of selling out tickets because I would then use all the increased revenue and decreased demand to offset a decrease in the price of single day tickets. I’d like to see a 1-day ticket in the $75 range, as I feel this is an amount that is realistic for many families (even if it requires a lot of saving), in line with the value of the entertainment offered, and in keeping with the spirit of what Walt Disney expressed as his vision for Disneyland.
Obviously, value is in the eye of the beholder, and some people are going to think $75 is still ludicrously expensive while others will think it is an incredible bargain. That’s my personal “gut” number, based on what I think is a good value, plus the other variables identified. Annual Passholders definitely wouldn’t like this, but anyone who legitimately believes that Walt argument they’ve been advocating should. I think this would have the unintended consequence of also causing many Annual Passholders to appreciate their visits to the parks much more, rather than treating them as a place to hang out. (I’m not casting any stones here–I’m guilty of this, myself.)
I know it couldn’t get to $75 and still keep revenue for The Walt Disney Company where it is simply by Annual Passholder revenue increases, so this price shift would be accompanied by a revenue decrease in park ticket sales for Disney. Before you decry that “Disney is a business!” think of the goodwill Disney would receive. It would be all over the news, with the same kind of “are pigs flying?” reaction as was seen to the recent wage increases announced by Wal-Mart. (Wait…wage increases at Wal-Mart…isn’t it a business?!) The comments section of virtually every story anywhere posted about Disney would no longer revolve around how it’s ‘too expensive’ or ‘crassly commercial’. The ancillary benefits like this would be innumerable and immeasurable, and guest spending on high-margin items once people were in the parks would probably increase since people wouldn’t have to overextend themselves so much just to get into the parks.
At least, that’s what I theorize, and the best way I can balance all of the competing interests in a practical way to deal with this “issue.
I am well aware that all of this is entirely academic. Disney employs analysts and economists far more intelligent (and with better information) than me–I’m just some dude who rants on the internet. Disney is going to raise prices as it sees fit, only stopping if attendance decreases or there is such a negative backlash about pricing that the brand is being tarnished. I don’t think any of the words I’ve written here really have any chance of impacting change. I just find it to be an interesting topic, and rather than grousing about it on Twitter without a fully-formed argument, I thought I’d share some of my “deep thoughts” regarding pricing. Hopefully it’s an interesting conversation piece, and you’ll share some of your thoughts in the comments…
I suppose the silver lining in all of this, if there is such a thing, is that some Disney ticket sellers still have limited quantities of Walt Disney World tickets available at the “old” prices…so if you missed the boat and didn’t buy before the increase, check out our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets for info on how to buy at the old prices (actually, at a discount on them) for the next few days.
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Your Thoughts…
Everyone has an opinion about Disney price increases, so what’s yours? Even in light of the increase, do you think Disney them parks are still a good value for the money? Have you been priced out of visiting? What’s your tipping point? Will you renew your Annual Pass? I’d love to hear some of your thoughts, but let’s keep try for critical thinking and reasoned analysis, rather than just ALL CAPS ranting. 😉
this is an interesting discussion, but the question is actually a very simple one that will be answered a year from now when we can look back and ask “Did the parks become significantly less crowded because of the price increase?” If the answer no, then Disney made the right decision.
You approached the question from two angles: profitability vs. family-friendliness. My “wait a year to find out” solution will provide the answers from both perspectives: From a profitability perspective, it will tell us whether Disney left money on the table by pricing themselves out of the market for too many people. From a family-friendliness perspective, it will tell us whether Disney maintained the parks as a place I actually want to go (and not places crowded with unhappy guests–and that’s just on the days when they didn’t have to put a fire-marshall’s moratorium on admission).
The problem with this, I think, is that once in a lifetime visitors are the largest demographic of Walt Disney World guests. So, there is a constant stream of new visitors who do all they can to go because it’s a rite of passage not because of value or family friendless. (Hence the quasi-monopolistic comments.) These people also won’t ever return given their status as ‘one-time’ guests, so you can’t really determine whether they found the experience to offer good value for the money.
I have always been frustrated with the cost of parks . . . . Wouldn’t it be great if the cost were ten dollars . . . then I realized that the cost of a ticket accomplished 2 things: 1. And the most obvious is it creates revenue for the company 2. More importantly, it regulates the crowd size, within the park. A cheaper rate would make it easier to pay the gate, but that would make it a choice for more people, which would mean all of the attractions within the park would be more crowded. The result . . . the cheaper price might be the more expensive option in that you would not have access to as many attractions due to the inflated crowd size . . . who likes paying money to stand in longer lines.
I don’t see Disney reducing prices as a viable option, since Florida is a major tourist center, with Universal Studios parks, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, LegoLand within driving distance, WDW is NEVER going to be priced as the lowest 1-day theme park. We saw that scenario unfold a couple years ago, if I remember correctly Busch Gardens raised their 1-day price over WDW and WDW had to increase theirs. WDW will always remain at the top, the pinnacle. Even though Busch Gardens is practically giving away admission for a whole year – i.e. the Busch Gardens Fun Card (admission from purchase date through 12/31/15), WDW would never let their 1-day ticket price be less than BG which is now at $95.
If they do anything to reward customers, it would probably appear in the form of a promotion. If you recall, I think it was back in 2009, there was the ‘year of celebrating’ where they gave you free admission on your birthday. I think that was due to economic reasons rather than benevolent ones. The credit crisis of August 2008 and subsequent recession was starting to get bad at the end of 2008. Theme park attendance was either stagnant or in a decline. They needed to do something to get visitors. Right now, in this economy, they are at 90% hotel capacity and making a lot of money, they aren’t going to go easy on us any time soon, IMO.
Perhaps you are looking at this 1-day ticket issue under a microscope rather than the big picture. Let me play devil’s advocate here: Who takes a 1-day vacation? That isn’t really the majority of visitors in my opinion, and any Florida resident that chooses to purchase a 1-day
ticket must have a good reason not to buy one of the many alternative options available to them. Most tourists plan at least a multi-day visit – after all, if you are going to travel all the way from wherever you are from to get there, you probably aren’t going to just pop in for a day. So, with that in mind, when looking at multi-day ticket options, the per day price is reduced to $76.25/day (4 day), and $63/day (5 day), this is entirely fair based on your “$75” mark.
I don’t agree that limiting full Annual and Premium Annual Passholders is the answer to the problem. The incentives are already built in to the current system. There are also restrictions in place as well (in the form of block out dates and no free parking), as you
can see with the FL Weekday Select, FL Seasonal, and FL Epcot after 4pm pass. For all visitors, there are clear monetary incentives to purchase a multi-day ticket or pass of some sort.
If anything, the most prohibitive costs are travel, lodging, and food; the price of airfare alone per person is $200-300+, lodging can be expensive, but there is probably also more wiggle room there – house rentals, timeshare rentals, using RCI or DVC points, cheaper
hotels, and even Disney value resorts available. Last but not least, the food costs can also be a huge expense, some of it can be mitigated depending on your level of frugality.
I am guessing the price increases will be used towards new projects, like the Avatar land, the new Frozen thing at Epcot, and the Star Wars Land expansions. Plus the ‘Frozen’ Summer entertainment and fireworks that they added in 2014, I expect they will continue that this year, it’s so popular. (I’m leaving out any of the DVC expansion because it’s funded differently, but we’re seeing rising per point costs there too as they add Poly to their inventory) Most people are aware of this bit of trivia…WDW is the largest on-site employer in the US. I’m sure that comes with immense costs alone just the labor aspect must be unbelievable, with new additions they will need more employees.
I don’t think anyone takes a 1-day vacation, but I do think that many people only devote one day of a Florida vacation to Walt Disney World. In fact, 1-day tickets are *the* most popular tickets sold at Walt Disney World, hence them being the benchmark by which most price analyses are done.
As the market leader here, Disney sets the market. If they lowered prices to $75/day, every single theme park in Central Florida would be at or below that number.
I think WDW needs a different option for people travelling from overseas. We love WDW and travel from Australia which is a long and expensive trip. To make it worth while we need to stay 3-4 weeks. I would like to see a ticket that caters for that, instead of the jump from a 10 day ticket to an annual pass.
Thanks for your website, you have given us some great help in planning our holidays 🙂
Bought my ticket Thursday just before this year’s increase! I, like many, love the parks & always have. The price increase is not going to keep me from going to the parks at all. However, even this year, my husband & I are cutting back on “Disney” days. We are staying on property, but at the Dolphin, a non “Disney” hotel. We have been spending 10 days in Walt Disney World, but this year we are only spending 5 days there & then heading to a beach in Florida. We usually visit at least once a year for 10 days & then sometimes we have been able to include a smaller trip in the same year.
When my husband & I decided to change our plans this year, I was disappointed at first. After scheduling my fast pass + at 1:00 AM this morning & looking at the price for the Memory Maker, I am becoming more dissatisfied with the things I used to love about the parks! It isn’t the price that is making me change my mind so much about my trips, but the change in the experience I have in the parks. We may be going to bi-annual trips instead now too.
I am sure there are many others who will take my place, so I won’t be hurting Disney’s purse strings any. Just wish the parks were a little bit better run at this point with new attractions & better processes! I won’t mind the increases if the parks were better. Meanwhile, I might be planning a trip to “that other park.”
Interesting suggestion, but I wonder if it would work more with DLR than WDW? Both DLR and TDLR are in major population areas, which is why APs seem to be a touchy subject whenever the subject of DLR overcrowding comes up. Are APs as much of a problem at WDW?
Also, how many 1-day tickets do they sell? I can’t believe anybody would travel to WDW just for a 1-day ticket, aside from convention goers who have scheduled a day off.
Probably would work better at DLR than WDW, you’re right.
1-day, 1-park tickets are the most popular tickets, by far.
Wow, I find that shocking.
My family takes a Florida trip every spring break, and even though I know I could spend 5 days at WDW, I know my other family members wouldn’t be able to handle it (too many crowds, high energy on a relaxing beach trip, etc). During the years that I can convince my family to visit WDW, the 1-day tickets are a great option for us because we can take a detour through Orlando on our way to Siesta Key without compromising too much of our beach time. There’s a lot of cool stuff in Florida, and theme parks are fun for us, but not a big priority. The ticket increases these past few years have really prevented us from going to WDW in a while, and it’s quite sad. While the multi-day trips are a great value, my family totally couldn’t handle (once again, my family, not me :D) that much Disney.
I would expect and understand that Disney would raise ticket prices but would have liked to have seen them wait to do this until more of the current construction projects were complete. I’m thinking about the hub in MK and all of the construction taking place at HS. We are fortunate enough to go to WDW at least once a year so we know we will get to see the parks when the construction is complete but if I were taking my family for a once in a lifetime Disney vacation I would be dissapointed in the current amount of construction projects (and walls) in the parks. In the last year (2014) we were at WDW in March, August and October so we saw had a chance to see the construction projects begin and progress over time. For me, the issue is not that Disney is updating/creating new attractions and areas for guest enjoyment but that there is so much of this type of construction going on at once.
Ditto. This is one of those things that sounds good on paper to executives: “oh, we’re adding X, Y, and Z over the next couple of years, so let’s offset our CapEx costs now with this price increase.”
The problem with that thinking is the guests footing the bill are largely once in a lifetime visitors who see the construction walls.
Thanks for the heads up! I just grabbed 7 tickets (5 day Park Hopper) from Orbitz and saved $179 for 7 people.
i live in eastern PA. Hershey Park is $61.95/day. It’s often really dirty. Their “cast members” are far from happy. There is no dress code and the lack if clothing is eye opening. Foul language flies…I’m not saying WDW is perfect, but a day there is worth double the price of Hershey. We love going to the beach too. The rides there run $10-12 each and you can risk your safety on them.
Yes Disney is high dollar. But it’ll be worth it to me every time we go. I try not to analyze ” what would Walt do?” We just go and make memories”
I have really mixed feelings on this issue. On one hand, Disney is so popular despite price increases with tickets, food, merchandise, parking, and hotel rates. You can make the case that the prices are justified since it fits with the demand in the market. That said, I believe a key point that you raise is the goodwill that lower prices might generate. For a long time, Disney World was the type of place you could rave about to others because it was such a value. It isn’t that way anymore, and it’s less relaxing because of crowds, FP+, and other changes even in the slower season.
What’s bugged me over the past 10 years is just how much the prices have gone up in a short time. The Magic Your Way System also has you pay for things that used to be included like park hopping. When you add in FP+ and the lack of many new attractions, it feels like you’re getting less now than even five years ago without considering the price. What’s also troubling is how price increases have become an annual (or twice-annual) tradition in the Iger era. While someone like me will probably go regardless, I don’t have the same feelings about the Disney company because they’re so profit-driven.
If Disney announced tomorrow that they were putting in a huge expansion at DHS and upgrading a bunch of attractions at Future World, I might feel better about the price increases. Right now, it seems like current management wants to have it both ways. They’re cutting back on attractions and services and raising prices. I really hope this trend changes, but with Staggs likely to take over next and profits high, I think it will be this way for a long time.
I think of ticket prices were dramatically higher in 1995 and you saw a much slower increase in the 20 years since, this wouldn’t be so much of an issue. I don’t think it’s really the overall price that upsets so many fans, but the dramatic increase in price despite not a whole lot of additions to the parks in the last decade or so.
Right. Disney World tickets were probably priced too low for their market value for a while, so that’s created a situation where management is just constantly raising them. This started with Eisner but has really taken off under Iger.
I’d agree that it’s the rate of increase that’s disconcerting. We’ve visited several times since my daughter was born and I’ve kept a spreadsheet of itineraries and pricing for each trip (yes, I’m a geek), and the price of a trip now vs a trip in just 2011 is quite a bit different.
I think this is a really fair, on-point assessment of a sometimes ridiculous argument. I also like your “fair price point” of $75 per day. Coincidentally, it’s the same cost per day price point if you buy a 10 day no-expiration park hopper ticket. I started buying those tickets back when they were around $500 per day. I wish I had “stocked up” then, but even at the current price they are a good deal for people who don’t visit the parks for more than 5 days a
Whoops. Sent before was finished. I meant, back when the tickets were $500 apiece, not per day. And again, they are a great deal if you only go to the parks for 2, 3, or even 4 days at a time. Although I’m disappointed that Disney has discontinued this option, I was able to buy two from an authorized ticket seller before they sold out. I’ll be putting them in a safe place for the next five years or so. I guess the only drawback is I won’t be able to visit that elusive 5th gate *when* it opens! I think I’ll survive 🙂 The National Parks are an amazingly great deal, and I felt like a super American the two summers I had annual passes.
Where was the golden Scrooge McDuck picture at the beginning of the article taken?
McDuck’s Department Store at Tokyo DisneySea–thought it was fitting!
As a 60 year old AP-who loves Disney!- I have a few comments….Disney has added so much for added income to its line-up- not against run -Disney, but at ALL the marathons that there introducing, the parks are FULL during these times,fast passes are hard to come by- lines are long- and they are lining pockets in sale of merchandise,no reservations at restaurants…then I see reg. families trying to get to the parks?????roads closed ect. I also think they should have a discount for seniors- we don’t do RD or stay late at nite!! Nor do we Hang Out…Were in Florida for 2 months- if AP goes up- were out- it’s a nice place to have coffee ,go on a few rides,eat and leave,bring our family down,and sometimes treat them, we are not going to have this opportunity much longer.They also make more$$$$ by closing parks early to have a park rented out for special events-with all that’s happening,I’m sorry Tom I have to disagree with your idea of out pricing AP
I was amazed at Tokyo Disney Resort’s ticketing prices when we spent 5 days there a few years ago. I thought it was an amazing bargain in comparison to the U.S. parks, especially given the quality of Tokyo DisneySea–& the overall cleanliness & care of both parks as well as the amazing cast member attention you receive.
I also loved the 1/2 day option at Tokyo Disney Resort, as we arrived the first day to the parks in the afternoon (I know that WDW convention attendees have this 1/2 day ticketing option if they purchase tickets through their convention booking/WDW travel booking–at least they did when I attended a convention a few years ago).
It would be nice if the US parks offered the 1/2 day options for families. The price increases just make it that much harder for many families to go to the parks–but why not try to give a little more options for families to try to experience at least a little magic?!?
I think the “After 6” ticket is an option there because people tend to leave the parks early there so they can catch trains home. Walt Disney World doesn’t have that same issue.
With that said, a half day ticket would be great for allowing families to visit who otherwise couldn’t afford full day tickets. How they could do such a ticket logistically (maybe just offer it certain nights?) might be a challenge, but something to consider.
I always enjoy reading your blog, and this is a very interesting topic to take on! For me, personally, Disney is where so many of my favorite memories are growing up, from family vacations, to national competitions on property, to becoming a CP during my junior year of college, I have so many amazing memories, and for me that’s why I don’t really think I could ever be “priced out” of going. It’s just to amazing. My fiance proposed to me in front of Cinderella’s Castle just two weeks ago, so for us it has that extra magic now. We’re also looking into buying into the DVC because we see ourselves returning so often in the future.
For our most recent trip we did actually get our tickets through my company’s tickets at work account. I know a lot of businesses participate in this, and we were able to get a 7 day park hopper for the price of a four day ticket.
For me, Disney is still a good value. I have friends who pay $150 for a ticket to a two or three hour concert. I’d rather pay less than that for 12 hours, or more, running around Magic Kingdom 🙂
Congratulations!
I live in a resort area with multiple ski resorts within a 20 minute drive. Downhill ski tickets in most big areas (Colorado, California, Utah) are close to 100/day. In that calculation, Disney is a great deal, as you can usually ski no more than 6 hours a day, maybe 8 and you have the cost of all the equipment that goes with it. With a single day Disney ticket you could potentially have 18 hours of entertainment. You could argue that downhill skiing is a bad analogy because there are so many barriers to participating; but I think it’s a decent one because it gives an example of what another industry charges to provide an experience that requires a lot of staff and upkeep.
I like your idea about annual passes. Additionally, you could tier the annual passes, so that a cheaper pass may have blackout days, or not include parking, or whatever, to reduce the cost but also to control crowds. Our “locals” ski pass blacks out the 10 busiest day of the year. There are also passes that black you out on Saturdays all season. All could be done at Disney.
In our week at WDW, the ticket price was actually the “cheapest” part of the budget, and the only one that was inelastic. Flying versus driving, on site versus off, value versus deluxe. All of these decisions add up to a much greater savings than the small increase in ticket prices. I guess this doesn’t address whether the ticket price “should” be increased. Rather that for most people planning trips to WDW, this increase is a very small percentage change in their overall budget.
Very fair point. I don’t think it’s a bad analogy at all–the ‘per hour’ cost of other forms of entertainment are, at minimum, instructive as to what kind of value Disney offers. You could make the same analogy with a $15 movie ticket, which offers 2 hours of entertainment. I do think you’re a little overzealous with the 18 hours of entertainment. Certainly, I’ve done that many hours in the park in a day as have other diehards, but that’s a bit unrealistic for the average guest. I’m thinking 10 hours is a much more fair number, which still puts it as a better value than skiing, and right in line with a movie ticket.
Then you have something like my other hobby: visiting National Parks. An $80 Annual Pass gets me (and everyone in my car) into 2,000+ sites for a year. The per hour cost I derived from my entertainment there was about $.25 last year (and that’s not counting others who entered with me). Of course, that doesn’t account for the taxes I paid that help subsidize the National Park Service…so *that* is probably a bad analogy. 😉
I’d be interested to hear other comparative analogies to costs of entertainment that other readers enjoy…
This is a great point Ellen (and Tom as well with movie tickets). I am big into golf and play twice a week for 8 or 9 months of the year. And average round of golf costs me around $60 and lasts about 4 hours. At $15 dollars and hour that is far less value than I receive with a 10 hour day at a Disney park.
Another example of this that comes to my mind is sporting events or concerts. A half way decent ticket for a New York area sports team can range anywhere from $75 to $200 and most concerts in the area can run well over $100 for a decent seat. These events only run for say 2 – 4 hours which results in easily an hourly rate of at least $25 an hour. I do realize that these prices may be elevated for myself personally because its the NYC area, but I still feel in general these types of events are a far less “hourly value” than any of the Disney Parks.
I would shy away from concerts and sporting events as a baseline because I think they, too, have become outrageously priced, and are now almost exclusively attended by the rich or super-fans who are willing to make huge financial sacrifices to attend.
Disney has, historically, presented the parks as a place for everyone, where all families should take their kids, with strong middle class origins.
Maybe I’m trying to make a distinction here where one doesn’t exist…
I did some quick number crunching with a budget of about 3 billion and around 250 million visitors a year a ticket price to a national park site per person per day per site would we around 12$. Also about 90% of the park services employees are volunteers which I don’t think Disney has figured out a way to do yet.
Disney has figured out a way to do it! Just look at runDisney. Hmmm…maybe they need to figure out a way to extend the idea.
They do Tiered Annual Pass pricing for Disneyland. There are 3 levels offered with the lowest one (Southern California Select) being only Monday – Friday and all holidays and summer blocked (170 days available) and only offered to Southern California residents. I have the Deluxe pass for 315 days a year and they have the Premium pass which has no block out dates. There is a 4th pass between the Deluxe and the Southern California Select that can only be renewed at this time. They did this because of increased crowds. You may also pay for a annual parking pass or have to pay like $17 each time you visit for parking. There is no such thing as free parking at Disneyland. So this would totally work for Walt Disney World if this is not the case already.
Interesting analogy, Ellen. We ended up going to WDW for a few days after Christmas in part because it was cheaper than skiing! We had bought an annual pass (feeding into Tom’s AP problem) so visiting the parks was the cost of hotel per day vs. hotel +lift ticket*3. (The variability of December ski weather was another factor.)
I’m intrigued with your statement with regards to AP holders. It is a wonderful value for those that have it.
I do not but I do visit several times a year perhaps we should all become AP holders?
The cost of park tickets increasing is to be expected, I’ve often said to my family you’d never know there was an economic downturn in the US based on families at WDW.
Always enjoy reading your blog Tom:)
While I would love for WDW tickets to be cheaper, I would not like the possible outcomes in regard to less quality in the parks. For example, I recently visited a local Six Flags, and several thoughts came to mind that day as I compared it to my more preferred Disney themepark entertainment. I paid $60 a person to enter. Yes this is forty cheaper than Disney, but my next points, at least in my opinion, makes the Disney ticket a *better* value. First, the facilities at Six Flags were crumbling. Everything needed a new coat of paint, metal was rusting, and it smelled bad. Second, the theming was very subpar. The only thing Batman at the Batman ride was the Bat symbol on the sign. Third, food prices were twice the price of Disney, and you had no option to bring food into the park from an outside source. Bottled water was $4.50. Fourth, you had to pay extra to use their version of Fastpass. Finally, if you want to attend the Six Flags for more than one day (I’m not really sure why you would, but for arguments sake), there is no reduction in price. I can attend a week at Disney, and it costs me about $50 a day per person with park hopper added. As long as other competitors are charging this price, I think Disney is in line with its competition. When compared to other entertainment, I still think Disney is a good value. The price of the circus, concert, movie theater, etc is way more expensive when you consider the fact that none of those last more than a couple of hours. So, while I would love to pay less, but I don’t think Disney is totally ridiculous in its pricing. I think we get what we pay for. Good article, by the way! I love your articles.
Fair points all around. I do wonder if the difference with Six Flags isn’t due to the price of the ticket, but due to overall attendance numbers. For example, Six Flags might realize that it will draw 100 guests with a $60 ticket, but only 50 guests with a $100 dollar ticket, and still 100 guests with a $40 ticket. Thus, its equilibrium price is $60…and even then, demand is insufficient for strong profits AND upkeep.
I say that because Tokyo DisneySea manages to price tickets at ~$53/day, and their upkeep, service, and quality are all dramatically BETTER than any of the US Disney parks. However, their attendance numbers are also very strong, as are merchandise sales.
Just some food for thought! 🙂
Excellent points, and one thing Disney has going for it is the capital to invest in quality to then bring in the numbers and money for profits.
In your opinion and observation, how does Tokyo Disney handle guest satisfaction with the higher attendance numbers? I would think the strategy to have low prices with more people attending would cause an overall level of discontent with line wait times.
If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that guest satisfaction in Tokyo is through the roof, even on days that sell out. We’ve been there on a few sell out days where the park is at capacity, and it’s not as bad as you might think. Yes, lines are *insane* (far worse than anything you’d EVER see in the US), but there are tons of Cast Members around for crowd control, and guests in general are incredibly respectful. I think it also helps that Japanese guests don’t have as much of a problem with long lines.
It’s really hard to describe: on the one hand you might have to wait 30 minutes for some popcorn, which is ludicrous no matter how you slice it, but on the other hand, you can navigate walkways, there are lots of Cast Members around to help, and the parks generally have less of a chaotic feel.
Disney is crazy expensive! In spite of that, if I’m being honest, I could probably never be “priced out” of going, I’d just have to save a little longer to afford our trips. I imagine some will turn away, but most Disney lovers will feel the same way I do.
Same here. As much as I might grumble about this or that, the likelihood me ever *stopping* my visits is extremely low.
I have always felt that the cost of Disney is in direct proportion to it’s quality. And if crowds keep getting bigger, there really is a need for more money to keep that level of quality, cleanliness and personal service.
Fair enough regarding your first sentence. As to the rest, if crowds are getting larger, Disney sells more tickets and brings in more revenue to keep up quality, cleanliness, and service.
I don’t disagree with you…the quality at Disney is amazing. I also don’t feel the price increases are all that notable, over a single year. Who buys a single-day pass? We tend to buy a 10 day pass once every 2-3 years. And a 10-day pass really didn’t go up much per day at all.
*HOWEVER* – raising ticket prices while having three of the four parks torn completely apart for construction, while the fourth badly NEEDS to be torn apart for construction… that is just arrogant. Get your construction done, fix what needs fixing, and THEN raise your prices.