Disneyland Park Hopper Now $150 A DAY!

[HeatherC]

Just saw this on USA Today and was shocked. For our family of five that would be $750 for one days entertainment!

Yes...Being a big Disney fan and going every year to Orlando, I know all about how it is cheaperwith multiday passes, etc.

But for the average family whodoes not know the ins and outs and decides to just visit for a day, that is truly prohibitively expensive. I wonder if overtime, attendance will drop at the parks as it just becomes too expensive for many families?

Luckily,we still have non expiring tickets for another trip at some point. But afterthat,I justdon't see uswanting to spend that kind of money to justwalk through the gate.

Thoughts on how it may affect your family?

 

[Marionnette]

Just saw this on USA Today and was shocked. For our family of five that would be $750 for one days entertainment!

Yes...Being a big Disney fan and going every year to Orlando, I know all about how it is cheaperwith multiday passes, etc.

But for the average family whodoes not know the ins and outs and decides to just visit for a day, that is truly prohibitively expensive. I wonder if overtime, attendance will drop at the parks as it just becomes too expensive for many families?

Luckily,we still have non expiring tickets for another trip at some point. But afterthat,I justdon't see uswanting to spend that kind of money to justwalk through the gate.

Thoughts on how it may affect your family?

It's surprising that it took Disneyland this long to raise their prices. Disney World raised their prices to that level back in February. A 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket with hopping is close to that price. IMO, people will choose to not add hopping if they are there for just one day.

I've said it many times that Disney is an expensive vacation and getting more expensive every year. The increases for 3 of the 4 biggest costs for a Disney vacation (resort rates, tickets and food) have outpaced inflation over the last decade. For some people, those three factors have reached a tipping point where they have decided they can no longer afford a Disney vacation. Others have chosen to find ways to keep the overall cost down by staying offsite and bringing their own food in. But those ticket costs are pretty much fixed. You can get a slight discount at the ticket resellers but not a ton.

We have not reached our personal tipping point yet. There are other factors which will probably drive us away over time - FP+ limitations, longer SB lines, generic food selections in the restaurants, decreased attention to maintenance, IT issues with MDE and poor CM attitudes. We once felt that although Disney was a pricier vacation, they provided an experience that made the cost worthwhile. It is becoming more like every American theme park and that makes it less appealing. The increased admission costs will just ice it for us someday.

 

[msmama]

But Disney doesn't want people to visit for just one day. They want people to stay longer - then they spend even more money (on food, hotels, etc).

I'm sure Disney wouldn't raise prices if hey didn't think they'd continue to make money. I think it's easy to forget that Disney is a business first and foremost - and what they are ABSOLUTELY BEST at is making people forget that!!

I see our yearly Disney visits diminishing as my son gets older - now that he's in elementary school there are other things we can do more easily (road trips, vacations to national parks, historical sites, things like that). However, every time I sit down to plan and price out a vacation like that, in terms of easy (and usually bang for your buck) Disney comes out ahead. I think it'll be a long time before we're actually priced out of Disney (and I'm hardly rolling in the dough). Like a pp said, there are other factors that will drive us away before price.

 

[JaimeK]

I was in San Diego in Feb and priced out tickets to go to DL. Of course the Cars World is in the CA park so we'd want the hopper option. I couldn't stomach spending that much on one day's activities. So we didn't go at all.

 

[iheartdisney]

Since DLR has become a two-park resort, they are trying to get away from a locals destination and become a vacation destination. They also suspended sale of the SoCal APs.

 

[luv2sleep]

Since DLR has become a two-park resort, they are trying to get away from a locals destination and become a vacation destination. They also suspended sale of the SoCal APs.

But kept the So Cal Select I read....

 

[tvguy]

LA Times had an interesting perspective on this. They want the higher prices to keep people away. The parks are too crowded.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opin...e-increase-crowds-letters-20140522-story.html

 

[luv2sleep]

LA Times had an interesting perspective on this. They want the higher prices to keep people away. The parks are too crowded. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-disneyland-price-increase-crowds-letters-20140522-story.html

WDW can be pretty crowded too though, right?

 

[iheartdisney]

But kept the So Cal Select I read....

But it is rumored that the SoCal select will be phased out later this year. They only have two more weeks until they are blacked out for the summer anyway.

 

[luv2sleep]

But it is rumored that the SoCal select will be phased out later this year. They only have two more weeks until they are blacked out for the summer anyway.

Oh ok. Oh well. Bummer.

 

[luv2sleep]

And glad I didn't by grand Californian DVC points. We have been able to go during least popular times so I had considered it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Luckily,we still have non expiring tickets for another trip at some point. But afterthat,I justdon't see uswanting to spend that kind of money to justwalk through the gate.

Just in case you have WDW no-expire tickets that you're planning on using at Disneyland, they stopped allowing that, too.

 

[dpswift]

LA Times had an interesting perspective on this. They want the higher prices to keep people away. The parks are too crowded.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opin...e-increase-crowds-letters-20140522-story.html

This is what we heard as well. We took our son for a once in a lifetime trip and on our last day they had a Passholder event. It was very busy. It started at park closing and we were not even allowed to walk by Carsland with our son one last time. It was very unDisney like. As we walked out there was an extremely long line to get in. From what I saw they do not need as many visitors as they are getting.

 

[NancyIL]

I returned home from my solo trip to CA 3 weeks ago, and I spent 5 days at Disneyland. My 5-day park hopper was $279 from Ares Travel, and it was a "pay the child's rate" promotion. Those one-day tickets really do cost a lot compared to multi-day tickets! I usually go to Disneyland every few years, and now that I have seen Cars Land - I am in no hurry to return.

I have gone to WDW several times a year for the past decade or so. I'll be there for a week in December, and I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade my 5-day MYW ticket to an AP, since I'll also be there a few days in May and Nov. 2015, and could go one week earlier in Dec. 2015 for my final AP hurrah! Or, will I use the 5-day ticket as is this December, then use my non-expiring hopper that I bought several years ago for short visits? I may wait a day or two to see how I like WDW with FP+ fully in place before deciding!

 

[MomToOne]

WDW can be pretty crowded too though, right?

Even though more people may visit WDW on any given day, DLR often feels more "crowded" due to MUCH less square footage. It can be hard just to walk down Main St on some days at DLR.

We go regularly to both. I am fine doing any park at WDW on a weekend, but I avoid both MK and CA at DLR on a weekend. Way too many people for my sanity. I plan trips there for mid-week only. Our next trip in August I have a Friday planned, and I'm even stressing a bit over that one....

 

[ronandannette]

Just saw this on USA Today and was shocked. For our family of five that would be $750 for one days entertainment!

Yes...Being a big Disney fan and going every year to Orlando, I know all about how it is cheaperwith multiday passes, etc.

But for the average family whodoes not know the ins and outs and decides to just visit for a day, that is truly prohibitively expensive. I wonder if overtime, attendance will drop at the parks as it just becomes too expensive for many families?

Luckily,we still have non expiring tickets for another trip at some point. But afterthat,I justdon't see uswanting to spend that kind of money to justwalk through the gate.

Thoughts on how it may affect your family?

It basically "finished" me on Disney, for the foreseeable future, anyway. DH and I were in SoCal for a getaway last weekend and although unintentionally, ended up staying on Harbor right across from the gates. Even though our planned activities were not Disney-related, we just couldn't be that close and not go. We bought 1-day hoppers; $300 for 2, on the Monday. Between the absurd cost and the unbelievable crowds , it really was overall, kinda unpleasant. I truly wished we had skipped it - I'm not sure I'll ever be interested in going back.

FWIW, yes, I knew in advance what the price was; for the kind of experiences we used to have when everything was new to us and more exciting I would have said no price was too great. But I was really unprepared for how the ride closures and prohibitive stand-by lines would make me feel so badly ripped-off this time.

 

[Betsy82]

Just in case you have WDW no-expire tickets that you're planning on using at Disneyland, they stopped allowing that, too.

When? I did this in November.

 

[bumbershoot]

When? I did this in November.

Right after your trip, basically.

From mousesavers: http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyla...d-deals/disneyland-ticket-pass-discounts/#wdw

In the past you could use any unexpired, leftover days on a Walt Disney World ticket at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure! This was an unpublished benefit that was in effect at least since this site first started (2001). However, as of mid-December 2013, we are receiving reports that Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will no longer honor Walt Disney World tickets.

And those reports continued. (there had been some previous "we aren't taking these anymore" scares in earlier 2013 that kept lifting, but then it settled in as final)

It's b/c of the RFID tickets at WDW now. They aren't compatible with DLR's systems. (even if you don't have an RFID WDW ticket) It's a HUGE bummer.

 

[DawnM]

Yikes.

When I left SoCal in 2005, we were still able to get SoCal Select APs for $99 each plus a $40 parking pass.

I thought we might go out to CA for a visit and leave enough time for DL......maybe not.


Dawn