You can act as surprised, hurt, ambushed, and dismayed as you want; but you always knew it was inevitably coming, and here it is: Disney’s next price hike. At both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, the next rise in daily tickets and annual passes has landed and the cries of fans will do little to slow the gradual price increase that’s been a staple of Disney Parks for 60 years.
First, we’ll explore the truth behind Disney admission prices: where it started, and what it really meant. Then, on page two, we’ll talk about why Disney’s ticket price is now – in some cases – more than $100 for a single day. Is it right? Wrong? True? Read on…
1955
Price For A Day: $1.00 + $2.25 = $3.25
With Inflation: $29.00
If you can imagine, Disneyland was one of the first amusement parks ever to even charge an entry fee. Prior, most were boardwalk-style amusement piers or grown-up trolley parks with no single main entrance that were free to enter with visitors purchasing tickets for each ride. Disneyland changed all that: one entrance with admission gates blocking it. As much as it might not match our kind, grandfather-like image of the man, Walt knew that an entry fee was necessary to keep out troublemakers and keep Disneyland from becoming free babysitting like many local parks were (and some still are…).
Disneyland combined both systems, charging $1.00 for entry then selling ticket booklets for $2.25. Those ticket booklets contained eight ride tickets (A-, B- and C-tickets, with C-tickets necessary for the most impressive attractions, like Jungle Cruise). Additional tickets could be purchased a la carte for 10 – 35 cents each based on their letter (that’s about $1 – $3 today).
With inflation, the price of admission and eight ride tickets would be about $29.00. Remember that this was before the introduction of the “E-ticket” headlining ride, and even before the D-ticket. So admission and eight paid attractions. So if you wanted to ride Jungle Cruise again, you’d pay the modern equivalent of $3 for another C-ticket.
1958
Price For A Day: $1.25 + $3.35 = $4.60
With Inflation: $38.00
Just three years later, general admission rose for the first time. However, the price of a ticket book (now with 10 tickets instead of 8, and including the new D-tickets) rose as well, and in today’s terms, it cost $38.00 to get into Disneyland for one day to ride 10 attractions. Remember, too, that those attractions were limited by ticket type (only one or two D-tickets in each booklet) and that additional tickets could cost $3.50 per ride.
By the way, attractions added just in 1958 included Alice in Wonderland, the Grand Canyon Diorama on the Disneyland Railroad, Midget Autopia, and the Sailing Ship Columbia. The previous year had seen the Frontierland Shooting Gallery, House of the Future, Motor Boat Cruise, and Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. So the price rose, but probably deservedly so.
1959
Price For A Day: $1.25 + $3.55 = $4.75
With Inflation: $39.00
1959 saw the introduction of the “E-ticket” with the opening of Submarine Voyage, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and the Monorail. The new E-ticket designation signified a headlining attraction. The term is still used today to advertise a ride that’s the best of the best.
The price to spend a day at Disneyland in today’s terms was up one dollar to $39.00, but recall that the ticket book contained 10 tickets, with only one or two E-tickets. As in the past, an extra ticket would cost more money. If you wanted to experience the three new E-ticket attractions, you’d pay more than advertised.
1982
Price For A Day: $15.00
With Inflation: $37.00
In 1982 – 23 years later – Disney dropped the ticket book system and replaced it with a pay-one-price admission that included almost all attractions. The cost was $15.00 at the time – $37.00 in today’s money.
If it appears that the price of admission didn’t jump much in 20 years, you’d be right! A day at a Disney Park in 1982 cost about the same as a day in 1959 when inflation is considered. So while the people of 1982 would no doubt balk at $5 admission from 20 years earlier compared to their $15, they really weren’t paying any more in terms of spending power thanks to inflation.
1989
Price For A Day: $23.50
With Inflation: $45.00
Now we’re getting somewhere. In 1989, Disneyland opened Splash Mountain, and a day at the park would cost $45.00 in terms of today’s buying power. Here, ticket price rose pretty directly with inflation. $8 more in terms of the 1980s value and their 2015 equivalents.
1995
Price For A Day: $33.00
With Inflation: $52.00
Disneyland opened the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye in 1995. The wild attraction is appropriately billed as the biggest, loudest, most intense E-ticket Disneyland has ever built. To experience it, a day at the park would cost the equivalent of $52.00 today.
The difference between $1.00 and $33 may sound like a lot. But factoring 2015 inflation into the 1955 price and the 1995 price, 40 years saw only a $23 increase in spending a day at Disneyland (from $29 to $52). And between 1955 and 1995, the park had certainly grown by leaps and bounds. Plus, 1995’s cost included all rides and attractions rather than the much more limiting ticket books of 1955.
But wait…
2005
Price For A Day: $53.00
With Inflation: $64.00
Just in time for the park’s 50th anniversary and the international celebration it ignited, the price of a single day at Disneyland or Disney’s California Adventure cost $53, or $64 in today’s money. Here’s another important place where inflation matters… Comparing 2005 to 1995, the admission price seems to have jumped $20. But in terms of today’s money and spending power, it really only cost about $10 more to get into either park for a single day.
And for what it’s worth, this (relatively) low price might’ve gotten you into Disney’s California Adventure, but this was the version of the park that did not yet have Buena Vista Street, Cars Land, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, World of Color, Toy Story Midway Mania, or even Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue. Certainly not the park we know today, which is probably worth a higher admission price…
2006
Price For A Day: $63.00
With Inflation: $73.00
Just one year later, the price jumped significantly. The $10 jump in price brought a day at Disneyland to $73 in today’s money. $10 more for a single day is probably the largest jump at one time that we’ve seen, and neither park introduced a new attraction. It’s not even as though they were recouping from a significant prior expense – the most recent notable addition was 2004’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s California Adventure. Still, the price jump signaled the start of a rapid incline. The price for a day at Disneyland stayed mostly level through the 1980s, boosted a bit in the 90s, and now would climb steeply through the present.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about today:
2015
Price For A Day: $99.00
A single day at Disneyland Park today will cost you $99.00. Now hold on tight, because this is where we crunch the numbers.
During Disneyland’s first 40 years – from 1955 to 1995 – the price, in terms of today’s spending power, almost doubled. From $29 (1955) to $52 (1995). While that jump is significant, those first 40 years also saw the introduction of… well… every single Disneyland attraction save for the few rare opening day originals, like Jungle Cruise and the Fantasyland dark rides.
During the next 20 years – from 1995 to 2015 – the price almost doubled again. From $52 (1995) to almost $100 (2015). And in those 20 years, you can’t count on one hand the number of E-tickets added to Disneyland Park… because zero were added. The last E-ticket constructed at Disneyland was 1995’s Indiana Jones Adventure. Fans are quick to point out that Disneyland has remained untouched as its admission price has literally doubled with inflation.
And don’t misunderstand: certainly Disneyland has been refreshed and refurbished and cared for in the last twenty years with new attractions, restaurants, shows, details, and characters. But still. Has the value of a day at Disneyland doubled in the last twenty years with the addition of no E-ticket attractions?
Why? How has this happened? How did ticket prices get so out of hand? Keep reading…
1. Annual Passes
In 1984, annual passes were introduced. The idea was that guests could pay a large amount of money up-front and then get access to Disneyland for a full year. The program was a hit. Too much of a hit. Over time, Disney began to add blockout dates wherein passes became invalid on certain high traffic days, and consequently introduced higher tier passes that avoided those blockout dates – for more money upfront, of course.
Just last year, Disney finally recoiled. The California resort systematically redesigned its annual pass program, hoisting prices even higher and designing new tiers with still more restrictions. But crowds didn’t thin or calm at all.
Image: Martin Lewinson, Flickr (license)
The culprit? Disney’s monthly payment. Southern California residents purchasing annual passes can do so for a meager down payment of $99 followed by monthly installment payments of less than $20… FAR, FAR less than the average phone bill! Even the highest available tier – Disney Signature Plus, which carries literally no blockout dates, costs half of a cable bill.
Annual passes are a funny thing. The whole point of them is that they’re inaccessible to most with their high initial cost being a deterrant to their sale. They’re a premium product, available only to those who can afford to drop an extra rent check to Disney. And that’s not many of us. But with Disney’s monthly payment plan, that initial huge investment of an annual pass doesn’t slow or stun locals at all. The sticker shock – which is the whole point – has no effect. Instead, Southern California locals simply see that for $19 more than a five-day ticket, they can get the whole year… PLUS, they can spread the cost over 12 months instead of paying all at once!
And Disney’s plan to gradually and slowly increase pass prices every year has had absolutely no effect, either! Why? A $50 pass price increase equates to only a few dollars more in down payment, and a few dollars more a month or less. The gradual rise is too gradual to equate to a real difference. Until the monthly payment plan for locals disappears, annual passes will continue selling TOO well.
The light at the end of the tunnel is Star Wars land. In our recent feature, we discussed just how much Star Wars is going to change Disney Parks forever, and put simply, Disneyland cannot support the crowds Star Wars will bring. Something needs to change, and with almost 100% certainty, we can predict that all but the most expensive annual pass will disappear, and monthly payment plans will go away… and even more local vengeance and rage will descend upon the company.
2. Crowds
Image: Ming-yen Hsu, Flickr (license)
If you’re a Disney Parks fan, you’ve probably noticed that the parks are crowded. And yes, they always have been. But what we’ve seen in the last decade or so is that the number of people visiting Disney Parks in both California and Florida is outpacing the parks’ growth rate. At Disneyland Resort, 60-acre park footprints, tight paths dating to Walt’s time, and a shortage of parking means that those two parks can feel packed even on moderately busy days, with employees forced to park at a nearby baseball stadium to be bussed into work. The parks are packed. Uncomfortably so.
Walt Disney World has its limiting factor, too: rides. You might be surprised to find which Disney Parks have the fewest actual rides. Epcot may be huge, but when a moderate sized crowd is dumped into the park, Epcot’s three major rides are instantly swamped and overrun; same with Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. You might be able to spread out in the massive Animal Kingdom, but if Dinosaur, Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris are each a 2-hour wait, then the park is going to feel crowded. A different kind of crowded, but still.
As much as it doesn’t match Disney’s “magical” image, the truth is that raising prices thins crowds to a much more enjoyable level for those who can still afford it. It makes Disney a premium product: fewer people, so everyone has a better experience overall. Is it fair? Really, yes. Supply and demand, right? Everyone wants in, but to ensure the best experience, Disney has to limit admission. Raising prices does the trick. In other words, you can’t complain that the parks are too crowded while simultaneously complaining about price hikes. The latter is – in part – meant to help solve the former. And we all agree that Disney should cut down on crowds… until their method for doing so positions us to be within that cut group!
Blame this one on the odd cultural notion we’ve developed in the last few decades that any “normal” American parents that love their children will take them to Disney World, even if they have to sell plasma to do it, and that children deserve to go to Disney. It’s an odd sensation where folks who can barely afford a Disney vacation take one anyway, because that’s what they’re “supposed” to do if they want to live the American dream. Then factor in overseas tour groups that descend on the parks during what used to be the “off season,” three month holiday windows around Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, Grad Nites all spring, and you arrive at a very new phenomenon where every day is packed. If it’s not annual passholders, it’s families or tour groups. Always.
3. Fans
By the way, the reasons that Disney ticket prices increase every year at this point is because they can. Sure, Annual Passes and huge crowd levels have necessitated price increases from a logistical point of view, but another reason they rise is because of you; me; our friends.
Every single year the price rises.
And cue the discussion board threads, the angry comments, the Facebook rage about how Disney is an evil corporation that priced itself out of the American dream. Write emails and comment on this article about how Disney will never get another dollar of yours. Tell all your friends that it’s finally happened, and that you’ve decided not to renew your annual pass and that – unfortunately – you just will never go to Disneyland again. Check the comments on this article on Facebook and you’ll find dozens of promises claiming “My family is never going to Disney again.” It’s all righteous anger. It’s the same anger and promises and rage everyone displayed nine months ago. And then…
It passes.
And you’ll renew your pass.
And I’ll take my best friend to Disneyland with me, because she hasn’t seen Cars Land yet, and what am I, an evil villain? Of course I’m going to show her Cars Land.
And I wish I could say that the way to stop the ticket price from rising is to stand by what you say and actually stop going to Disney Parks. But 1) I know you can’t stop (because I can’t) and 2) even if you did, three more people would take your place.
As with any business, Disney will inch up the price every year until it finds a happy medium where it’s maximizing profits and keeping guests happy. Just as Prince Ali turned out to be merely Aladdin, the glowing, magical, fairytale place you remember so adoringly from childhood turns out to be a business where money matters. And that shouldn’t be as shocking as it is.
But rest assured that Disney will hit a pricing plateau. Eventually they’ll edge over what people are willing to pay, notice that they have lost too many visitors, and they’ll stabilize and rest for a while.
And until then, we’ll go back. We always do.
It’s Not As Bad As It Seems!
Here are a few realistic figures to keep in mind before letting your price-increase-indused anger get the better of you.
1. Inflation
While media outlets like to flaunt the astounding price increase for a day at Disneyland ($1.00 in 1955 and $100 in 2015), I hope you pay careful attention to the very simple inflation figures I’ve listed here. The truth is, a day at Disneyland hasn’t increased 100-fold. Rather, it’s tripled. And Disneyland in 2015 probably has ten times as much to do as Disneyland in 1955. Instead of rising gradually, the price stayed fairly constant until the late 1980s, then took off. And it’s probably that sticker shock and that quick increase that catches people off-guard. But recognize that it’s not as bad as the numbers would have you believe.
2. Multi-Day Tickets
As well, remember that, despite the sticker price, very few folks pay for one day at Disneyland and then go home. Media outlets can’t get enough of headlines that point out that it’s $99 to visit Disneyland. That’s only half true, though… By far, MOST visitors to Disney Parks use Multi-Day tickets. It would be reasonable to get a four-day ticket to Disneyland, which carries a price of about $64 per day. Certainly an increase over the past, but not blindingly so. $64 a day, in terms of spending power, is twice as much as people were paying in the 1960s, and the parks today have exponentially more attractions.
3. Class Warfare?
Folks in the comments here and on Facebook will no doubt decry that Disney has officially priced them out of a vacation and that Disney no longer caters to the middle class. It’s true that Walt and Roy Disney recognized that the rise of a middle class post World War II had perfectly positioned Southern California as a tourist destination. But 60 years later, recognize that Disney Parks are not necessarily supposed to be accessible to anyone working 40 hours a week.
Look at any photograph of the park in Walt’s time and you’ll see folks dressed to the nines in suits and heels. While that doesn’t necessarily suggest wealth (people wore their Sunday best to such events back then, regardless of their social status), the fact remains: People who were struggling to pay their bills did not go to Disneyland back then, either. Even if the price was less, disposable income was even harder to come by back then. Only in modern times has this new notion emerged that any loving parent WILL take their children to Disney World, even if you have to take out a second mortgage to do so, and that is the real problem.
As much as the media today tells us that Disney is someplace that all “normal” families go to, the truth is that the park was always a premium experience… The fact that it had an admission fee alone was staggering in the 1950s, and eliminated many potential guests from having the disposable income needed to even see it.
Don’t misunderstand: you have every right to take your family to a Disney Park, even if you’re financially struggling. But Disney, in turn, will continue to raise prices to limit crowds. And unfortunately, that might mean you.
So no, Disney is not trying to destroy the American dream and ruin middle class childhoods. It’s doing just what any reasonable company with a responsibility to its shareholders would: maximizing its profits. If, along the way, some families become unable to afford an annual trip, then so be it. Then they’ll have solved the crowding issue at the same time. It’s not a rosy fairytale, but it is a smart business decision and a way to increase guest satisfaction at the same time.
