Disneyland Hours and Tier Pricing

[MissMindy1984]

Someone in the FreshBaked comment section pointed out that DLR/DCA's new closing hours are now associated with Tier pricing. I confirmed it was true by going through the entire month of November and cross checking the Tier versus the closing hours for each day. Here is what I found:

Tier 0 days all close at 9 p.m. (DCA)/10 p.m. (DLR)
Tier 1-4 days all close at 9 p.m. (DCA)/11 p.m. (DLR)
Tier 5-6 days all close at 10 p.m. (DCA)/12 a.m. (DLR)

 

[MissMindy1984]

December's hours aren't out yet to cross check the entire month but I suspect it will be the same. I am going on Sunday, December 7th and was surprised to see the closing hours listed as 9 p.m. (DCA)/11 p.m. (DLR) during a weekend in the holiday season. Now that I know the hours for each day are related to Tier pricing, it makes more sense.

 

[blabbermouth]

Interesting! I mean, the park hours are also tied to how busy they expect it to be (I think, right?), so it makes sense.

 

[MissMindy1984]

Interesting! I mean, the park hours are also tied to how busy they expect it to be (I think, right?), so it makes sense.

Yes, I believe Tier pricing is meant to manage demand and balance crowds, giving people incentive to visit on less desirable days with a cost savings. I think that's why Mondays (typically lower Tier) blew up and became super busy. Now that the closing hours are related to the Tier, I wonder if things will change because people will inevitably want to go on days with longer hours?! We shall see.

 

[OlliePop27]

Yes, I believe Tier pricing is meant to manage demand and balance crowds, giving people incentive to visit on less desirable days with a cost savings. I think that's why Mondays (typically lower Tier) blew up and became super busy. Now that the closing hours are related to the Tier, I wonder if things will change because people will inevitably want to go on days with longer hours?! We shall see.

It will be interesting to see if this sticks during the summer, which traditionally has 8-midnight (DL) and 8-10 (DCA) hours daily from Memorial Day through early-August. The tiers are all over the place during the summer. They just started the new earlier closes after this summer ended.

 

[disneychrista]

I have my own philosophy on Disney tiers, Key blocked out dates and crowd manipulation. Weekends, holidays, etc all tend to be higher tiers and when the lower tiers are more likely to be blocked. These times are also typically are when more out of town guests visit. I wonder if by keeping local out by AP blocked out dates and pricing single day tickets higher, if it is in some way Disney's attempt to give out of town guest a less hectic, crowded park which in turn gives them a better experience, which in turn might motivate them to make another trip.

 

[MissMindy1984]

It will be interesting to see if this sticks during the summer, which traditionally has 8-midnight (DL) and 8-10 (DCA) hours daily from Memorial Day through early-August. The tiers are all over the place during the summer. They just started the new earlier closes after this summer ended.

That's what I am curious about too! I really hope it changes back to the traditional summer extended hours no matter the Tier. I think a lot of people will be surprised to see when the December operational hours come out and the closing hours are all over the map. I've attached the Tier pricing calendar for reference.

 

[OlliePop27]

I have my own philosophy on Disney tiers, Key blocked out dates and crowd manipulation. Weekends, holidays, etc all tend to be higher tiers and when the lower tiers are more likely to be blocked. These times are also typically are when more out of town guests visit. I wonder if by keeping local out by AP blocked out dates and pricing single day tickets higher, if it is in some way Disney's attempt to give out of town guest a less hectic, crowded park which in turn gives them a better experience, which in turn might motivate them to make another trip.

I don't think that's just you, Disney stated this is their desired goal in numerous public announcements during the Chapek era. They intentionally manipulate crowds so on the higher tier days with more out of town guests the crowds are likely to be less intense. It is by design.