Disneyland tickets up, WDW next?

[DVCNews]

On Sunday May 20, 2012 Disneyland increased prices on its theme park tickets and Annual Passes. *Walt Disney World is almost certain to follow in the coming days. *

Click here to read this article!

[denlo]

I have to admit that when I read about the increase at DL, I was thinking that WDW will follow. That's a gigantic increase in prices for the locals. I was looking at the chart on MousePlanet's website and those are big increases even all the APs. http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/show...Price-Increase

Anyone remember last year's increase for WDW?

I found this historical chart on Allears for the June 2011 increase. My brain isn't up to the math, but it sure doesn't look like a 30% increase last year.

[Presley]

The increases are huge and will influence what type of tickets/passes that I will buy, which will reduce my overall days at the park. I wish that they would have sent me something letting me know that the AP prices were going up so much.

[TimK]

I sort of danced around this in the article but will be a bit more blunt here. If you follow Al Lutz' comments over the years and believe his voice is somewhat representative of Disney, I think the pricing is clearly designed to think the pass holder ranks. When they raise prices 30-35% on many passes, reality is they could easily lose 25% of those pass holders and still come out ahead.

Many pass holders are locals who flock to the parks, spend the better part of a day occupying space in the queues, attractions and elsewhere, and probably spend very little (if anything) on ancillary purchases like food and souvenirs.

As popular as Cars Land appears destined to be, I suspect Disney execs have some very real concerns about the impact on higher-spending day guests (like I will be in August! ) Seems like they are well aware some pass holders will not renew, but the higher margins will more than compensate.

It truly stinks for folks who are facing a ONE THIRD increase in their pass price. And it undeniably smacks of greed. But I do think over time it will help with crowd control to some degree.

Curious to hear how other DL pass holders will respond to the increases.

As for WDW, I think we'll see the typical 5-7% increases in all ticket media. WDW doesn't have nearly as many pass holders (according to what I've read) and I don't think Fantasyland is expected to bring in new business on any level approaching Cars Land.

[sssteph]

Hi there,

I think the increases are outrageous. I know they put in a lot of content and improvements, however, rate will literally price families out of the parks. Maybe this is intended? I read on another board folks were speculating it was a way to cut down on passholders that don't spend enough $$ in the parks, and decrease the crowds.

However, even looking at one day hopper makes me cringe = $125?? Ouch.

[beepy]

Before the increase, the pricing for annual passes at Disneyland have been narrowing compared to an annual pass at WDW. Without knowing what the price will be for WDW passes, a Premium pass at DLR and WDW are basically the same. Let's see. Two parks with no water parks at DLR vs. 4 parks, two water parks, better Downtown Disney, Wide World of Sports, Oak Trail Golf at WDW. Which do you think is the better value? It is hard to reconcile. It must have everything to do with weeding out the locals and those who don't spend the money as stated in the other posts.

Carsland and that $1.2 billion upgrade better be as good as advertised. If it is as good as staying DVC at the VGC, with that upgrade, it will be all good.

But why couldn't they wait two weeks so i could buy my passes at Disneyland on May 31 before the increase? They are making a killing on the Premier pass too.

[DiZ NeE 08]

ouch! that does make a lot of sense! wow that is expensive...

[TimK]

Park hopper tickets are still better priced at DL than WDW.

An adult 5-day expiring PH pass for Disneyland is currently $290. The same pass for WDW is $325 and that's before the next price increase we all know is coming.

Granted you can't do a 1-to-1 comparison of WDW and DL. Four theme parks vs. two speaks for itself...although there are as many attractions in DL + DCA as any three Florida parks.

DL doesn't have anything to compare to the likes of Epcot's World Showcase or DAK's Savanna. Of course, WDW doesn't have anything to compare to Toontown, Cars Land, World of Color, etc. 5 days of entertainment will cost you less at Disneyland than at Walt Disney World, but they are definitely different flavors.

And those DL Annual Pass prices are still:

[suzy021372]

Has there been any discussion of an increase of the DVC discount? 4 years ago when I bought my AP for $250, a $20 discount seemed reasonable, but now that the same ticket is $479, it seems that a better discount is warranted. Especially considering WDW give $100 off of their APs.

I spoke with member services after last year's price increases and they told me that they were working on it...

A discount for the Premier aslo seems in order.

[worldfanatic]

I think the pricing is clearly designed to think the pass holder ranks. When they raise prices 30-35% on many passes, reality is they could easily lose 25% of those pass holders and still come out ahead.

Many pass holders are locals who flock to the parks, spend the better part of a day occupying space in the queues, attractions and elsewhere, and probably spend very little (if anything) on ancillary purchases like food and souvenirs.

As popular as Cars Land appears destined to be, I suspect Disney execs have some very real concerns about the impact on higher-spending day guests (like I will be in August! ) Seems like they are well aware some pass holders will not renew, but the higher margins will more than compensate.

You hit it on the head.
The overabundance of passholders has been a growing problem for years now.
I'm thrilled they're finally making a strong move to address it.
For me, it actually increases the possibility that we'll buy AP's again this year.
We may actually feel special again.............not one thousands upon thousands flooding into the parks for a few hours at a time.