Confirmed: Prices for Tickets and Passes going up on 2/11/2018

[azdisneylover]

My once a year, every other year trip will not be affected, yet. I am willing to probably pay 100 a day for my hoppers. But, I want to be GUARANTEED that I will be able to do everything at that price. I am hopeful for WDW to implement the reservation system with their hoppers, then what's next, APs? How will they ever be able to tell when AP holders will come to the park. Surely they have the tech to also have AP's log in to MDE and let them know hey, I am coming later today. It sucks, but worth it if this will actually help crowd control. The parks were NEVER meant to be a daily thing. I had an annual pass at Great America one summer as a kid, I lived 45 mins away. I went 3 times that summer. We can't have it both ways, it's either going to be crowded every day, or cost an actual first born child to get in. I'm just waiting to see what happens when we have an economic downturn again. Considering how much it costs to vacation I am stunned at the amount of people that were there during "slow" season. What is everyone doing that I am not privy to?

What kept Disneyland going during the slow season was the loyal fan base, mostly in CA, AZ, NV. AP holders propped Disney up and spent their income there, not other places. Now, Disney isn't even giving them a peck on the cheek while Disney gives it to them in the wazoo, so to speak. It's insulting what they are doing with the APs. Just take away the payment plan. Don't jack up the prices. You don't have to jack up the prices, but, we all know if they keep the payment plan, that is a steady stream of $$$ coming in that they will rely on even if others who cannot do the payment plan, let their passes expire.

 

[WillowRain]

I just looked at booking 2 nights at the DL hotel and when I got to the ticket page I can decline tickets.

Try good neighbor!!! It's 2 day min. I tried with multiple hotels, and then PP had no ticket option. That's weird, right? I would like to know the logic behind this?

 

[dina444444]

Try good neighbor!!! It's 2 day min. I tried with multiple hotels, and then PP had no ticket option. That's weird, right? I would like to know the logic behind this?

Good neighbors booked through Disney are packages (room+tickets) only from my understanding. If you need just room only I would book directly with the hotel.

 

[WillowRain]

I swear Saturday there was the no ticket option for good neighbor, but I could be totally wrong. But yes good point, cheaper to book direct. I just booked on Disney so I could lock ticket prices and be able to make payments. However room packages appear to be the same price today as they were Saturday, so that's interesting.

 

[Kender]

What kept Disneyland going during the slow season was the loyal fan base, mostly in CA, AZ, NV. AP holders propped Disney up and spent their income there, not other places. Now, Disney isn't even giving them a peck on the cheek while Disney gives it to them in the wazoo, so to speak. It's insulting what they are doing with the APs. Just take away the payment plan. Don't jack up the prices. You don't have to jack up the prices, but, we all know if they keep the payment plan, that is a steady stream of $$$ coming in that they will rely on even if others who cannot do the payment plan, let their passes expire.

Agreed on payment plan. And I'm on the payment plan (not because I have to be; could have paid full up front, but why not use the payment plan since it was an option?). I would rather have seen it gone than see my pass go up $160. However:

The fact the payment plan still exists is why I in no way believe the increases are intended in any shape or form to cull the AP herd. If anything, they're to encourage us to go more to feel like we're getting more value. I would also believe it's yet another attempt to see how far they can raise the cost before it reaches a breaking point. Kill the payment plan and then I'll believe they want to reduce AP numbers.

All those discounts they give us are not out of kindness or reward for loyalty. They're to monitor our spending habits. Heck, I wish they'd offer the discounts at the popcorn carts not for the discount, but so they can actually see numbers on purchases outside of popcorn bucket refill periods.

I find it interesting that it seems what I've read is about "managing the crowd". Not "reducing the crowd". Many of us infer reduction, but I really don't believe that's true. They want those parks as full as possible without a capacity closure and to make sure they're getting every last penny they can. Something I'm sure we can all agree Disney is very good at

 

[smartlabelprint]

Try good neighbor!!! It's 2 day min. I tried with multiple hotels, and then PP had no ticket option. That's weird, right? I would like to know the logic behind this?

Book direct with hotel.
Get your ticket from last minute travel.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Does anyone know if the LMT tickets can be appied toward AP renewals (as opposed to buying a brand new pass)? This used to be possible with other discount vouchers, e.g. AAA, but then was supposed to be disallowed. But I recently read a blog discussing the price increase that said that vouchers could be still be applied toward AP renewals. Has anyone tried this recently? How did it go? TIA for any info.

 

[cmarsh31]

I swear Saturday there was the no ticket option for good neighbor, but I could be totally wrong. But yes good point, cheaper to book direct. I just booked on Disney so I could lock ticket prices and be able to make payments. However room packages appear to be the same price today as they were Saturday, so that's interesting.

Package tickets don't change til 2/21 per Disney.

 

[Whistlebee]

Does anyone know if the LMT tickets can be appied toward AP renewals (as opposed to buying a brand new pass)? This used to be possible with other discount vouchers, e.g. AAA, but then was supposed to be disallowed. But I recently read a blog discussing the price increase that said that vouchers could be still be applied toward AP renewals. Has anyone tried this recently? How did it go? TIA for any info.

We have done this twice before. Once with LMT tickets and once buying tickets with points with my credit card. Both times Disney “bridged” the tickets and we were given full face value toward the AP (not the discounted price we paid). However it’s been 2 years since I bought my last pass. I’ve heard their official policy is that they don’t do this but my experience and the reports of many others show it does happen. Disney could stop doing this at any point so I wouldn’t count on it happening, but it is a nice way to save on an AP. I’m just waiting until Disney no longer sells tickets through 3rd parties at all

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We have done this twice before. Once with LMT tickets and once buying tickets with points with my credit card. Both times Disney “bridged” the tickets and we were given full face value toward the AP (not the discounted price we paid). However it’s been 2 years since I bought my last pass. I’ve heard their official policy is that they don’t do this but my experience and the reports of many others show it does happen. Disney could stop doing this at any point so I wouldn’t count on it happening, but it is a nice way to save on an AP. I’m just waiting until Disney no longer sells tickets through 3rd parties at all

Thanks for your reply. It's also been a few years since we've applied discount vouchers for a renewal. I don't know anyone who's done this recently with success. I hate to purchase a 5 day hopper without knowing whether it can be applied. Otherwise, I'll just be stuck with a hopper when I could have put the money on a gift card or toward the pass itself.

 

[Whistlebee]

Thanks for your reply. It's also been a few years since we've applied discount vouchers for a renewal. I don't know anyone who's done this recently with success. I hate to purchase a 5 day hopper without knowing whether it can be applied. Otherwise, I'll just be stuck with a hopper when I could have put the money on a gift card or toward the pass itself.

Oh, I think you can apply the 5 day ticket to an annual pass no problem (you can call Disney ticketing to verify). I haven’t heard of anyone saying you can no longer upgrade tickets. I just don’t know if you will get the discounted ticket price or the face value of the ticket applied to the AP.

 

[Whistlebee]

Oh, I think you can apply the 5 day ticket to an annual pass no problem (you can call Disney ticketing to verify). I haven’t heard of anyone saying you can no longer upgrade tickets. I just don’t know if you will get the discounted ticket price or the face value of the ticket applied to the AP.

Hmm...now you have me wondering if upgrading is no longer possible?!?!

 

[VandVsmama]

Having watched the wording on the passes change over the last few years, here is what I would expect to see happen:

1. There will be separate blackout calendars for each park
2. There will be a simplification of passes offered, essentially two types of passes: One park per day and a Park Hopper (But there will be special passes offered for certain groups, such as DVC Members, So. Cal Residents, etc. These passes will not be listed on posted signs and to see them online, you will have to login with an account that qualifies for said passes and they will have massive restrictions, some might even say they are not valid for Galaxy Edge) and expect prices to be near the same as Signature+ or an alternative is they will sell a DCA only pass and a pass that is valid for both parks.
3. As you can see above, there will be park hopping passes and non park hopping passes
4. I think everyone will be allowed to renew for one or two years at their current level (maybe even allowed to upgrade/downgrade to levels as they exist now), but after that they will be pushed into the new pass structure.
5. You will be able to associate a credit card with your pass so that you only have to present your pass to get your discount and pay. Additionally, the cash registers will show your picture so you won't even need to present additional I.D. (Ok, one can dream on this one)
6. MaxPass will be included only on the more expensive Park Hopper pass and won't even be an option on the other.
7. Monthly payments will change to 6 equal payments to match other theme parks in the area and further reduce the number of passes sold. Alternative monthly payments will be phased out with the renewal policy above.
8. Parking will no longer be included on any pass level, except the Premier pass, which will continue to be offered with no payment plan.

If you think I might be off base with point number 2, consider that a Signature pass with MaxPass add on is just $75 cheaper than the Signature+ pass.

Personally, I hope many of my predictions are wrong, I am not sure that they will be, but I hope they are.

I think that the above are definitely some possibilities that Disney would be considering. My general thoughts about the price increase & recent announcement re: AP 'restructuring:'

• Disney has increased ticket prices pretty much every year since the park opened. The cost of doing business doesn't remain stagnant.
• With Star Wars Land opening approaching, they have to do SOMETHING in preparation of the massive crowds.
• I predict that the So Cal APs will be completely blocked out for the first 3-4 months after SWL opens.
• THEN once So Cal APs CAN get into SWL, expect those attractions' wait times to be several hours long since a lot of locals will take the whole day off just to stand in line to go on 1 attraction. It happens every time there's a brand new overlay for something. Or for a new attraction. The fandom with Star Wars is so much bigger than anything else, though, that the local fan base will drive those ride wait times through the roof for ages. It'll be like RSR on steroids for a couple of years.
• As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney considers ONLY having FP for the SWL rides available on Max Pass.
• AND/OR Disney will offer FPs to the SWL rides for all on site hotel guests.
• If Disney was smart, they could offer a hotel discount for So Cal locals about 6 months after SWL opens and throw in 2 SWL FPs per hotel guest for just 1 day of your stay. This gets the locals to: (a) stay at the parks longer; and (b) spend more money at the resort, thus driving up revenue.
• I wouldn't be surprised to even see some AP restrictions on Deluxe APs.
• I'm kind of glad that they're blocking out Sundays in October to So Cal AP holders. We went to Disneyland a couple of years ago in October and it was SO much more crowded compared to when we've gone in late May/early June. No comparison. I'd love to go to a Halloween party, see HM Holiday and stuff, but I don't want to go in October and fight every evening through the throngs of people that start to show up at 5 pm after they get off of work...even on non-Halloween party nights. Going to DL in the summer is far preferable to being at DL during Fall Break in October!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Oh, I think you can apply the 5 day ticket to an annual pass no problem (you can call Disney ticketing to verify). I haven’t heard of anyone saying you can no longer upgrade tickets...

My question isn't about buying a new AP. I know that is possible by upgrading a ticket. My question is specifically about using a discount ticket to renew an AP. Disney supposedly stopped allowing this practice 2 or so years ago. Before that, it was possible to apply unused tickets and/or vouchers toward the price of an AP renewal. I know people did this with premium AP vouchers when renewing at the Signature + level, but that was the last time I heard of Disney allowing this practice at the booths.
If anyone has done this with a renewal recently, please post your experience. TIA!

 

[sherilaine]

My question isn't about buying a new AP. I know that is possible by upgrading a ticket. My question is specifically about using a discount ticket to renew an AP. Disney supposedly stopped allowing this practice 2 or so years ago. Before that, it was possible to apply unused tickets and/or vouchers toward the price of an AP renewal. I know people did this with premium AP vouchers when renewing at the Signature + level, but that was the last time I heard of Disney allowing this practice at the booths.
If anyone has done this with a renewal recently, please post your experience. TIA!

I would ask though, if there is no longer a renewal discount - what is the difference between a renewal and letting your pass expire and buying a brand new AP with your park tickets as an upgrade?

 

[Malcon10t]

I would ask though, if there is no longer a renewal discount - what is the difference between a renewal and letting your pass expire and buying a brand new AP with your park tickets as an upgrade?

Only thing some need to watch are those grandfathered in with parking or photopass. If they don't renew, they lose the perk.

 

[sherilaine]

Only thing some need to watch are those grandfathered in with parking or photopass. If they don't renew, they lose the perk.

Thanks - was just curious - we've only had one AP - so no clue about renewing.

 

[agamble]

I find it interesting that it seems what I've read is about "managing the crowd". Not "reducing the crowd". Many of us infer reduction, but I really don't believe that's true. They want those parks as full as possible without a capacity closure and to make sure they're getting every last penny they can. Something I'm sure we can all agree Disney is very good at

Agree that Disney wants full parks. They want the hour plus wait for Space Mountain and other headliners. They want guests waiting in long lines for food. That means they are making money. They don't want it so packed they have to turn guests away though as that is bad for business. This is why they need to restructure the AP system and it is why they didn't raise the cost of a value day and even slightly lowered the value day hopper. Honestly I think Disney would be smart to make the one day hopper even cheaper to encourage one day guests to spend at least part of their day at DCA.

Fresh Baked posted a video suggesting that the last big increase in APs years back was to get the money to build SWGE and this new increase is money for the next big project. He suggested that Disney knows people will continue to buy the passes and it's guaranteed income to add to project funds. I see a lot of truth to that.

I will say Disney needs to get their staffing together though. If it is going to be busy every day then they need to operate with full staff every day. It's bad for their image when guests are angry because operations are not in top shape. Honestly I mind waiting in a long food line more than I mind long ride queues. I dislike long security lines and am grateful when they have every tent open and annoyed when they don't and it's backing up.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Agree that Disney wants full parks. They want the hour plus wait for Space Mountain and other headliners. They want guests waiting in long lines for food. That means they are making money. They don't want it so packed they have to turn guests away though as that is bad for business. This is why they need to restructure the AP system and it is why they didn't raise the cost of a value day and even slightly lowered the value day hopper. Honestly I think Disney would be smart to make the one day hopper even cheaper to encourage one day guests to spend at least part of their day at DCA.

Fresh Baked posted a video suggesting that the last big increase in APs years back was to get the money to build SWGE and this new increase is money for the next big project. He suggested that Disney knows people will continue to buy the passes and it's guaranteed income to add to project funds. I see a lot of truth to that.

I will say Disney needs to get their staffing together though. If it is going to be busy every day then they need to operate with full staff every day. It's bad for their image when guests are angry because operations are not in top shape. Honestly I mind waiting in a long food line more than I mind long ride queues. I dislike long security lines and am grateful when they have every tent open and annoyed when they don't and it's backing up.

I agree; I think people are much more willing to deal with the crowds when everything is running and it's just "there are really just that many people." So much of the frustration comes from closed booths (whether that's at security, tickets, restaurants, etc.), understaffed rides, less capacity running on ride vehicles, etc...

Also, inefficient systems are frustrating. I don't mind waiting 20 minutes for security. It's annoying to wait 20 minutes if every lane around you goes twice as fast, though, and you realize they all had two people working and you only had one (no way to see that when you get in line). Or stuff like when I was at Hungry Bear last week and got in the shortest-looking line, but it turns out that every person in front of me was ordering solo, so with that "switch back and forth" ordering thing they do, two groups in the line next to me actually got their orders taken before me. That's annoying. Why isn't there one line per booth so you can actually serve people in the order they arrive? Why do you have to gamble on which side you stand on? Weird, and needlessly frustration-inducing. Stuff like this causes frustration that doesn't need to be there.

 

[Kender]

Agree that Disney wants full parks. They want the hour plus wait for Space Mountain and other headliners. They want guests waiting in long lines for food. That means they are making money. They don't want it so packed they have to turn guests away though as that is bad for business. This is why they need to restructure the AP system and it is why they didn't raise the cost of a value day and even slightly lowered the value day hopper. Honestly I think Disney would be smart to make the one day hopper even cheaper to encourage one day guests to spend at least part of their day at DCA.

Fresh Baked posted a video suggesting that the last big increase in APs years back was to get the money to build SWGE and this new increase is money for the next big project. He suggested that Disney knows people will continue to buy the passes and it's guaranteed income to add to project funds. I see a lot of truth to that.

I will say Disney needs to get their staffing together though. If it is going to be busy every day then they need to operate with full staff every day. It's bad for their image when guests are angry because operations are not in top shape. Honestly I mind waiting in a long food line more than I mind long ride queues. I dislike long security lines and am grateful when they have every tent open and annoyed when they don't and it's backing up.

As I already said: they want "those parks as full as possible without a capacity closure". This is one reason I believe they are not trying to reduce anything. And they are treading a fine line with all their increases that I'm sure they have run the numbers on.

I do always find it very fascinating what level of crowds people consider overcrowded. Take for example security lines. In the same day I've had a friend message me and say "don't bother, the lines are too long just at security!", I've breezed right through. Usually just an hour or two later. This was often on the day we were leaving and tend to stop in for a few hours before getting on the road.

It's like with a retail or grocery store: daily staffing isn't based on a couple hour window of anticipated congestion, but rather what they expect for larger chunks of time. Not disagreeing there haven't been days the demand was sorely underestimated (these definitely exist), but I am saying I have seen drastic differences in crowds based on just coming a little later or earlier. And I've been caught in those long lines too. A sudden uptick at say 9:30am for a 9am opening because everyone decided they'd wait out those rope drop people that lasts only until say 10:45am is not always able to be anticipated nor immediately covered.

I still hold to my belief that restructuring is not about reducing. There is a breaking point for the AP program and it's almost like reverse raptor fence testing that's being done (looking for how much it can take without trying to break it). Not saying they've reached it, but saying it does exist. And despite the feelings some have about the program and various tiers within it, the truth is Disney does not want to lose it. It looks too good on paper and I'm not the only one who spends an obscene amount more than I would have if I wasn't an AP.

There's so many possible scenarios of what could happen that I couldn't even begin to describe them. And I'm sure there's more I haven't even thought of.

I will change my mind for sure if payment plan disappears, though. That's a whole other ball game. I'm definitely eagerly awaiting what is truly meant from restructuring. It can be interpreted so many ways.