Disney Parks Consider Off-Peak Prices: http://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-parks-consider-higher-prices-during-busy-times-1443960001
Here's a portion of the article:
Article in today's Wall Street Journal. You need a subscription to read the entire article. Fairly clear evidence that another round of ticket price increases are coming soon!
For the first time in the 60 years since
Disneyland opened, Walt Disney Co. is considering switching to demand-based pricing at its domestic parks, where tickets would cost less or provide added benefits on slower days and cost extra or come with more restrictions on dates when there tend to be too many people.
“We have to look at ways to spread out our attendance throughout the year so we can accommodate demand and avoid bursting at the seams,” said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek.
Continuing to raise overall prices, as Disney has done well above the inflation rate for several years, wouldn’t fully solve the problem, said Mr. Chapek, as he is also seeking to raise attendance during slower times of the year. In addition, for Disney’s brand, keeping park vacations within the reach of middle-class families is important.
Maintaining the magic at its theme parks is becoming increasingly challenging for Disney amid crowds drawn by new attractions, an improving economy and the popularity of franchises like “Frozen” and “Star Wars.” Both Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., have posted record attendance for each of the last three fiscal years, as well as for the spring quarter that ended in June.
Gruelingly long lines and gate closures, which Disney parks sometimes have to implement on the busiest days, lead to unhappy visitors, exactly what the operators of the “Happiest Place on Earth” want to avoid.
Nikole Zivalich uses her annual pass to go to Disneyland more than 15 times a year, but has long stayed away on Saturdays, which are almost always jam-packed with visitors. Now, however, she also doesn’t go within a week of any major holiday and is wary of Sundays, Fridays and Mondays. On one recent visit Main Street was so clogged that she was funneled by security behind the scenes, where she walked by dumpsters and the plywood backs of facades.
“I remember being bummed I had to see a nonmagical part of Disneyland,” said the 28-year-old television producer.
If the company can instead keep Disneyland and Walt Disney World full but not mobbed for more of the year, that would likely benefit the bottom line, with spending on food and hotels more than making up for any ticket price reductions. In the first nine months of the fiscal year ended in September, Disney’s parks and resorts revenue grew 6% to $11.8 billion and operating income was up 16% to $2.3 billion.