Why Disney Raising Ticket Prices Might Not Be a Bad Thing
Typically Disney raises ticket prices a little bit each year and recently it’s been in February. Not only have tickets gone up, so has parking and Minnie Van service prices. Annual passes, one day, and multi-day tickets have seen an increase as well.
I’ve had some people ask why the prices went up. An interesting article came out today (the 12th) at Forbes: “Disney Raises Theme Park Prices in an Effort to Reduce Park Crowding“. The latest numbers for 2017 4th quarter just came out and attendance at the US parks rose 6%, hitting a record high in 2017. Crowding is starting to impact the overall guest experience. And the fact is, raising the price of admission, particularly the one day ticket buyers, will reduce the amount of guests and could raise overall guest satisfaction while not lowering profits.
As someone who goes so regularly I can testify to the increase in numbers over the last few years, It’s a tangible thing you can feel and frankly, if this will help then I’m all for it. It seems like they’re hoping to weed out the more casual visitor without turning away their steady fans. There’s already barely anything left of “slow season” in the parks, and the crowds can really detract from the overall Disney experience even for the most die-hard fans.
It makes sense from a business standpoint and as long as attendance keeps going up they will more than likely continue to raise prices until they find that sweet spot between losing guests who can’t afford it, and keeping a more reasonable crowd level.
Here’s some sample pricing to show you an idea of the increases.
Theme park parking has increased from $20 to $22, and preferred parking increased from $40 to $45.
Minnie Vans have increased from $20 to $25.
Florida Residents
3-Day Florida Resident tickets went from $199 to $209
4-day Florida Resident ticket went from $219 to 229
General Public
2-day Base Tickets (one park per day) went from $199 to $209
3-day Base Tickets(one park per day) went from $289 to $325
4-day Base Tickets (one park per day) went from $350 to $400
5-day Base Tickets (one park per day) went from $370 to $415
Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of planning a visit more than a year in advance- it’s a good idea to get your tickets early to lock in this year’s rates for next year.