Luv2Roam
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From the April 25, 2003 print edition
Tourism World
Mickeying around with a park price hike? Maybe not
Bob Mervine
The Mouse is mum, but there's industry speculation that one byproduct of Disney's cascade of new projects and park additions may be a ticket price hike.
At $50 plus tax, Disney's one-day, one-park adult admission to any of its four theme parks is the cheapest ticket in town.
OK, not by much: $1.95, just about enough for half of a large soda.
Consider that Disney last raised ticket prices September of last year.
Now, consider that summer will be jam-packed with special events and upgrades, most of them with no additional charge:
* A new luau -- oops, Spirit of Aloha -- show at Disney's Polynesian Resort.
* A beastly parade of warm and fuzzy Disney 'toon critters at Animal Kingdom creating, "more opportunity for guests to interact with our characters than ever before," says a spokeswoman.
* Epcot's 10th annual month-long Flower and Garden Show, complete with displays, guest speakers, flower power music from the '60s, '70s and '80s, and a decade of topiary from previous events.
* A new, summerlong world music concert series. Artists from Africa, Brazil and Russia are among the lineup.
* A five-weekend-long Star Wars character event at Disney-MGM Studios in May and June.
Add to that the lure of a major new thrill ride, Mission Space, and the premier of Mickey's PhilharMagic in October, and a price hike almost feels like a foregone conclusion.
After all, Disney usually cites "added value for guests" as one reason for raising prices.
Disney President Al Weiss would not comment on, much less publicly commit to, a raise in admission prices. But Weiss, an executive with a strong finance department background, says, "It's a competitive marketplace out there and ticket prices are somewhat driven by that -- not entirely, but somewhat. Some of our competitors do more discounting than we do. We'd rather not raise the price and then discount it back down."
Tourism World
Mickeying around with a park price hike? Maybe not
Bob Mervine
The Mouse is mum, but there's industry speculation that one byproduct of Disney's cascade of new projects and park additions may be a ticket price hike.
At $50 plus tax, Disney's one-day, one-park adult admission to any of its four theme parks is the cheapest ticket in town.
OK, not by much: $1.95, just about enough for half of a large soda.
Consider that Disney last raised ticket prices September of last year.
Now, consider that summer will be jam-packed with special events and upgrades, most of them with no additional charge:
* A new luau -- oops, Spirit of Aloha -- show at Disney's Polynesian Resort.
* A beastly parade of warm and fuzzy Disney 'toon critters at Animal Kingdom creating, "more opportunity for guests to interact with our characters than ever before," says a spokeswoman.
* Epcot's 10th annual month-long Flower and Garden Show, complete with displays, guest speakers, flower power music from the '60s, '70s and '80s, and a decade of topiary from previous events.
* A new, summerlong world music concert series. Artists from Africa, Brazil and Russia are among the lineup.
* A five-weekend-long Star Wars character event at Disney-MGM Studios in May and June.
Add to that the lure of a major new thrill ride, Mission Space, and the premier of Mickey's PhilharMagic in October, and a price hike almost feels like a foregone conclusion.
After all, Disney usually cites "added value for guests" as one reason for raising prices.
Disney President Al Weiss would not comment on, much less publicly commit to, a raise in admission prices. But Weiss, an executive with a strong finance department background, says, "It's a competitive marketplace out there and ticket prices are somewhat driven by that -- not entirely, but somewhat. Some of our competitors do more discounting than we do. We'd rather not raise the price and then discount it back down."
