Disneyland: Priciest Place on Earth

[greeneyedchick]

When I saw Disney's prices put in graph form among lots of other costs, it's staggering to me that the parks are still so full. I know Disney is greedy, but it's rather sickening.

Disneyland the priciest place on earth?

 

[Aurora0427]

When I saw Disney's prices put in graph form among lots of other costs, it's staggering to me that the parks are still so full. I know Disney is greedy, but it's rather sickening.

Disneyland the priciest place on earth?

Yeah we can’t figure out where all the money is coming from… parks are packed. Everyone is spending money like they’re Kim Kardashian.

 

[kikismom]

It's crazy...but I keep going. I remember in 2004, I was 25 and three friends and I took a trip to DL together. For the 4 of us to go to Disneyland from Portland, OR it was $505 each. I booked and paid for everything and it was a total of $2,020. This included:

Roundtrip airfare
Five day park hoppers to DLR
One day with a shuttle to SeaWorld
Overnight the night before our flight and parking 7 nights at either Desert Inn or Carousel, I can't remember which.
A day at the beach and shopping at some mall.

We still talk about that trip. We had such a blast and it was relatively inexpensive when split four ways.

 

[dieumeye]

When I saw Disney's prices put in graph form among lots of other costs, it's staggering to me that the parks are still so full. I know Disney is greedy, but it's rather sickening.

Yeah we can’t figure out where all the money is coming from… parks are packed.

Supply is limited, demand is high, prices go up. At some theoretical price point demand would go down, but they don’t seem to even be close to that yet.

What makes me more curious is why weren’t the parks packed to capacity every day back in the days when tickets were a few bucks? It wasn’t all that long ago when tickets were only $25.

 

[Shiverz]

Try coming from Canada! I was there with my family in 2013 for a week (5 day park hopper for 4) in the summer. I'm going for 4 days with 2 teens for my 50th birthday and it will cost more for the 3 of us for 3 days than for a week. Last time I stayed at a resort property but looking at the prices that was out immediately. I have to calculate in exchange which isn't overly favourable. Still, I've always wanted my kids to see DL at Halloween. This will be my 5th trip in my life and with the prices, likely my last so here it goes. I do hear you. Prices are crazy!

 

[Beatitude]

Try coming from Canada! I was there with my family in 2013 for a week (5 day park hopper for 4) in the summer. I'm going for 4 days with 2 teens for my 50th birthday and it will cost more for the 3 of us for 3 days than for a week. Last time I stayed at a resort property but looking at the prices that was out immediately. I have to calculate in exchange which isn't overly favourable. Still, I've always wanted my kids to see DL at Halloween. This will be my 5th trip in my life and with the prices, likely my last so here it goes. I do hear you. Prices are crazy!

 

[DodgerGirl]

When you get the general picture it seems to be out of all the big major amusement parks in America Disneyland has always been known as the pricey theme park and for many years they have tried many different ways to get people to visit and if you look at Disneyland travel brochures from the 80's and 90's they used to have cheap travel packages where you could have a three-day Disneyland vacation then they would also pair it with a Hollywood VIP tour a San Diego Zoo trip or a shopping day at South Coast Plaza and you could also add a San Francisco package and a day at Napa. And that was the simple way to go to Disneyland in the 80's and 90's by simply going through a travel agent and if you wanted to do just Disneyland without the earlier mentioned packages it was pretty simple to easily find a cheap Disneyland deal. But if you look at the vision of Disneyland today you will see the main reason why Disneyland has become pricier and more pricier is because they always have been trying to experiment with ticket prices to try to satisfy their customers more. Especially with holidays and special events and sometimes when tragic events occur. For example when Disneyland closed when 9/11 happened and when they opened after 9/11 the prices for Disneyland skyrocketed and people were shocked at this image of what Disneyland did. But for holidays and special events Disneyland always has deals and some of the deals are surprising like every October you see Disneyland promote Halloween events such as the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party and the Boo Bash they promote it like crazy and raise the prices until Halloween. And the same ticket pricing strategy is repeated at Christmas when they promote special holiday deals. But what Disneyland should do is have special deals on weekends where Disneyland could team up with a supermarket such as Vons or Ralph's and have weekend discounts just for Vons or Ralph's shoppers and believe me this idea would instantly work for Anaheim residents who shop at Vons or Ralph's. A second thing would be offering Disneyland tickets at a discount through Rakuten and they would have special days on the second week of each month called Rakuten Day and if you planned your Disneyland trip and the week you choose Rakuten Day happens to fall on the certain day you can get special Disneyland discounts on tickets bought through Rakuten at a special price just for Rakuten members along with special perks such as discounts on character dining and merchandise purchases and it would work gracefully. But I can bet with Labor Day coming next month Disneyland will lower it's ticket prices for fall

 

[Version 6]

Try coming from Canada! I was there with my family in 2013 for a week (5 day park hopper for 4) in the summer. I'm going for 4 days with 2 teens for my 50th birthday and it will cost more for the 3 of us for 3 days than for a week. Last time I stayed at a resort property but looking at the prices that was out immediately. I have to calculate in exchange which isn't overly favourable. Still, I've always wanted my kids to see DL at Halloween. This will be my 5th trip in my life and with the prices, likely my last so here it goes. I do hear you. Prices are crazy!

I see your Canada, and raise you Australia.

 

[Shiverz]

I see your Canada, and raise you Australia.

Touche Australia, touche! Ahhh. I've never been but a friend of mine moved there a few years ago with her fiancé. My father always wanted to visit but my mother wouldn't. I told him I'd go with him when my son was 5 but I got pregnant with my second. Within the year he passed away from a brain tumour. We didn't see it coming. My father and I drove down to LA after I graduated highschool. My best memory of my life. I had never been to DL before (this was 1990) so this was a big deal. He loved it!!!! He absolutely loved DL. Id never seen him so happy. So maybe that's why this is such a big deal. He had just turned 50 when he took me there (well, we both drove) and now I'm turning 50. And Australia, they should have one there - seems logical.

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

Supply is limited, demand is high, prices go up. At some theoretical price point demand would go down, but they don’t seem to even be close to that yet.

What makes me more curious is why weren’t the parks packed to capacity every day back in the days when tickets were a few bucks? It wasn’t all that long ago when tickets were only $25.

YouTube videos now help people to understand what is at Disney and all the different options.

 

[DizMe]

What makes me more curious is why weren’t the parks packed to capacity every day back in the days when tickets were a few bucks? It wasn’t all that long ago when tickets were only $25.

I think it may have to do with where we are as a society/world now. I think a lot of people are much more hesitant to venture far from home. There is unrest, upheaval, and safety fears in a lot of people's minds, including illness. Disneyland is often a place people pick in order to escape the real world for a bit and be kid-like again. It's also harder and more expensive to travel very far afield these days. Back in the day when tickets were relatively cheap, I think people maybe felt they had more options that were perceived as safe and affordable.

 

[nursejackie]

I've been to a Disney park every year (bar 2020/2021 for obvious reasons) since 2010 travelling from the UK. Not only has Disney prices increased e.g. hotels, food, park tickets, but the flights have increased to a ridiculous price, even before the fuel price hikes. And yet here I am 5 days out from my next trip. I moan but yet still pay it.

 

[Malcon10t]

For example when Disneyland closed when 9/11 happened and when they opened after 9/11 the prices for Disneyland skyrocketed and people were shocked at this image of what Disneyland did.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but after 9/11, prices increased the following Feb $2. ($41 to $43.)

But for holidays and special events Disneyland always has deals and some of the deals are surprising like every October you see Disneyland promote Halloween events such as the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party and the Boo Bash they promote it like crazy and raise the prices until Halloween. And the same ticket pricing strategy is repeated at Christmas when they promote special holiday deals.

Again, not sure where you are getting your information. The Halloween party sold out within days of tickets going on sale so they can't just keep raising price til Halloween, because there are no more tickets. They market the price the day they start selling the tix.

But what Disneyland should do is have special deals on weekends where Disneyland could team up with a supermarket such as Vons or Ralph's and have weekend discounts just for Vons or Ralph's shoppers and believe me this idea would instantly work for Anaheim residents who shop at Vons or Ralph's. A second thing would be offering Disneyland tickets at a discount through Rakuten and they would have special days on the second week of each month called Rakuten Day and if you planned your Disneyland trip and the week you choose Rakuten Day happens to fall on the certain day you can get special Disneyland discounts on tickets bought through Rakuten at a special price just for Rakuten members along with special perks such as discounts on character dining and merchandise purchases and it would work gracefully.

Why? Why would they want to offer discounted tickets, when they are selling out on a daily basis? If I can manufacture 100 incredibly fun beachballs every day, and they promptly sell out as soon as they hit the shelves, what is my incentive to discount my price. If the 100 sell out every day at $5 each giving me $500 (x 7 days is $3500), what is my incentive to lower the price to $4 for 1 day a week, costing me $100?

But I can bet with Labor Day coming next month Disneyland will lower it's ticket prices for fall

What is their incentive to lower it?

We were there this weekend. It was very crowded. People complain about the price, but they keep coming. People complain about the price at the various hotels, yet they are sold out. There are A LOT of people willing to pay the price. If Disney lowered the price, there would be just as many if not more unhappy people because it would be even harder to make reservations/get into the park.

 

[Malcon10t]

Supply is limited, demand is high, prices go up. At some theoretical price point demand would go down, but they don’t seem to even be close to that yet.

What makes me more curious is why weren’t the parks packed to capacity every day back in the days when tickets were a few bucks? It wasn’t all that long ago when tickets were only $25.

In 1986, an "All Inclusive Day Ticket" (when ticket books went away) was $19. The average daily park attendance was 33K. Fast forward to 2019 (latest I have info for) a one day hopper ticket (peak) was $199, and average daily daily attendance was 52K.

 

[dieumeye]

In 1986, an "All Inclusive Day Ticket" (when ticket books went away) was $19. The average daily park attendance was 33K. Fast forward to 2019 (latest I have info for) a one day hopper ticket (peak) was $199, and average daily daily attendance was 52K.

Exactly. Why wasn’t attendance 52K (or more) back when tickets were cheaper?

There are always people that say they used to go to Disneyland but can no longer go anymore because of the price. Yet attendance is higher now. So the math would seem to indicate that there are an even greater number of people who used to not go to the park but who do go now.

I’m actually in the second category because I used to not live in California, so aside from a couple family vacations I did not visit Disneyland regularly. Now that I live here go all the time.

Obviously Disney is always adding stuff to attract people, and that was also true decades ago. Of course, I guess people also complained about crowds and lines back then too which is what prompted the creation of the FastPass system. So maybe the simple answer is that no matter what they do people will complain about the cost and the crowds. Still, I think it’s interesting that ticket prices keep going up but so does attendance.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Yeah we can’t figure out where all the money is coming from… parks are packed. Everyone is spending money like they’re Kim Kardashian.

Well, with the pandemic shutdowns, people had a lot of money saved up and are now doing revenge travel. Plus, international travel is still difficult so instead of doing one big trip to Asia, people on the West Coast may instead do multiple trips to Disneyland.

Flight and hotel prices have gone way down, especially adjusting for inflation. So even if the cost of the Disneyland portion of the vacation is cheaper, the actual cost of the vacation may actually be lower. It's even crazier if you account for the massive sign up bonuses on credit cards. It's now possible for a newly married couple to eternally fly domestic within the US for free by churning the southwest airlines credit cards. Hotel quality near Disneyland has also improved so people who would have wanted nicer non-Disney accommodations are now going to the parks. I see people specifically going to Disneyland because of the Westin.

 

[MICKEYFIL]

Recently I was driving down the road and I asked my wife to look how much tickets were for a concert we heard being discussed. It was for Pet Shop Boys and New Order, two bands before my time when it came to music but still a decent set of bands from that era. The cheapest ticket was $105 per seat with floor level seats at the stadium at $345. Front row was over $600 per person. I came home and was talking with a friend and the subject came up. He told me that he was looking to go see a comedian and heard that Bill Burr was coming to town. Tickets were $450 per person for a middle of the row seat. In our local area the closest NFL team runs around $400 to $800 per seat for a game and our NHL team is around $75-$125 for the nose bleeds and $250 to $450 per seat for the lower level.

The money that is being spent on entertainment is shocking. I will be heading back to the parks next week for the first time in 3 years and can honestly say that the cost will be nearly double what it was 9 years ago when I started taking the kids. Of course, so has my pay, house values, price of gas and just about everything else.

 

[Bossy22]

I can afford to keep going but have decided not to based on their money grabs and feel more people will follow suit. The value for money just isn't there anymore.

 

[MonocularVision]

Exactly. Why wasn’t attendance 52K (or more) back when tickets were cheaper?

There are always people that say they used to go to Disneyland but can no longer go anymore because of the price. Yet attendance is higher now. So the math would seem to indicate that there are an even greater number of people who used to not go to the park but who do go now.

There are many factors that explain why attendance is higher even though the price is higher:

• Capacity is higher because the park has been greatly expanded. Compared to 1986, we now have Star Wars land and California Adventure. The park literally has more attractions and space for folks.
• Demand has gone way up comparatively. I think the late 80’s-90’s Disney renaissance created an entire generation of kids in love with Disney (think Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King). They have also acquired new franchises like Star Wars and Marvel. The addition of Carsland also greatly boosted demand.
• Population growth! There are a lot more people now than back then.

Other folks mention other factors like decreases in real dollars of some other things associated with travel like plane tickets.

I realize that it looks like price doesn’t seem to be impacting demand but if Disney hadn’t raised prices, things would only be worse. There really isn’t a more agreed upon economic theory than Supply and Demand.

 

[jcatron243]

I have taken my kids every year for 17 years minus Covid shutdown. I was there in April and I was astounded by how much more everything cost. So this year will be my bucket list year and it will be my last time taking my family.