Ticket Price Increase over the last 4 years for family of 5!!!

[mom2my3kids]

Just thought I would post how much ticket price increase has affected my budget over the last four years. I will show dates the tickets were purchased (Undercover Tourist) and how much I spent for a family of five Adults..

Purchased tickets April 2015
5- tickets ( 5 day base tickets)
1,608.75

Purchased March 2017
5-(5 day base tickets)
1,832.25

Purchased Feb,2019
5-(6 day base tickets)
2,191.05

Now these tickets were all purchased from Undercover Tourist, I think it is quite a bit of a price increase over the past four years..The tickets were all promotional like 4+1 free day and 4+2 free day...not complaining just comparing...

 

[siren0119]

Disney definitely isn't cheap!

The increase from 2015-2017 wasn't too bad - it looks like it worked out to $26 per ticket increase. an 8% increase over 2 years isn't horrible.

2017-2019 works out to about a $72 increase per ticket - almost a 20% increase over 2 years. But I wonder how much of that is because you go in June (prime time) and the new ticket structure means that you're paying more for the tickets through a combo of price increase AND premium time.

Either way, it's no small chunk of change.

 

[mar7967]

Disney definitely isn't cheap!

The increase from 2015-2017 wasn't too bad - it looks like it worked out to $26 per ticket increase. an 8% increase over 2 years isn't horrible.

2017-2019 works out to about a $72 increase per ticket - almost a 20% increase over 2 years. But I wonder how much of that is because you go in June (prime time) and the new ticket structure means that you're paying more for the tickets through a combo of price increase AND premium time.

Either way, it's no small chunk of change.

I think your math is off a bit.

2015 to 2017 was a $223.50 difference, so $44.70 per ticket.

2015: $321.75 each
2017: $366.45 each (increase of $44.70, or 13.9%)
2019: $438.21 each. Can't really make a comparison here though, because it's a 6 day ticket instead of 5 day tickets (unless that is a typo).

Edit: Just re-read the first post that said they were all 4 day + 1 free, or 4 day + 2 free day tickets. So, if we *CAN* assume that you are only truly paying for 4 days (and it's not some strange math or marketing by UT, the 2019 increase over 2017 is $71.76, or 19.6%.

 

[Keacc]

Wanna really feel the price increases? Here are the 1 day prices every year since WDW opened:
Year Cost New park openings
1971 $3.50
1972 $3.75
1973 $4.50
1974 $5.25
1975 $6.00
1976 $6.00
1977 $6.00
1978 $6.50
1979 $7.00
1980 $8.00
1981 $9.50
1982 $15.00 EPCOT
1983 $17.00
1984 $18.00
1985 $21.50
1986 $26.00
1987 $28.00
1988 $28.00
1989 $29.00 Hollywood Studios
1990 $31.00
1991 $33.00
1992 $34.00
1993 $35.00
1994 $36.00
1995 $37.00
1996 $38.50
1997 $39.75
1998 $42.00 Animal Kingdom
1999 $44.00
2000 $46.00
2001 $48.00
2002 $50.00
2003 $52.00
2004 $54.75
2005 $59.75
2006 $67.00
2007 $71.00
2008 $75.00
2009 $79.00
2010 $82.00
2011 $85.00
2012 $89.00
2013 $95.00
2014 $99.00
2015 $105.00
2016 $110.00
2017 $110.00

 

[DisneyHardin]

I remember when I was a kid and we went (probably about 1986), for 2 adults and 2 kids, the tickets per day were exactly $100.

 

[marthachick]

The first time we went was in 1984 for 1 day to Magic Kingdom. My in-laws paid because we were broke newlyweds. They thought the price was outrageous then. They would never believe the prices now.

 

[Nsaudra]

Wanna really feel the price increases? Here are the 1 day prices every year since WDW opened:
Year Cost New park openings
1971 $3.50
1972 $3.75
1973 $4.50
1974 $5.25
1975 $6.00
1976 $6.00
1977 $6.00
1978 $6.50
1979 $7.00
1980 $8.00
1981 $9.50
1982 $15.00 EPCOT
1983 $17.00
1984 $18.00
1985 $21.50
1986 $26.00
1987 $28.00
1988 $28.00
1989 $29.00 Hollywood Studios
1990 $31.00
1991 $33.00
1992 $34.00
1993 $35.00
1994 $36.00
1995 $37.00
1996 $38.50
1997 $39.75
1998 $42.00 Animal Kingdom
1999 $44.00
2000 $46.00
2001 $48.00
2002 $50.00
2003 $52.00
2004 $54.75
2005 $59.75
2006 $67.00
2007 $71.00
2008 $75.00
2009 $79.00
2010 $82.00
2011 $85.00
2012 $89.00
2013 $95.00
2014 $99.00
2015 $105.00
2016 $110.00
2017 $110.00

I love that you posted this, it's crazy to look at the prices when I was born (76), or when my oldest was born(95). I am guessing when my youngest is 20 the tickets will be 200 a day at this rate

 

[MillauFr]

I love that you posted this, it's crazy to look at the prices when I was born (76), or when my oldest was born(95). I am guessing when my youngest is 20 the tickets will be 200 a day at this rate

Based on the crowd levels my only surprise is they haven't raised prices more. I can only imagine in 10 years what the ticket prices will be. People will be saying back in 2019 Disney was cheap for a family to visit.

 

[hsmamato2]

ticket prices are nuts IMHO. Yes,I'm gonna say it right here on the disboards IDK why it's still so crowded but whatever. It pushes the price of a family vacation so high it doesn't make sense to go often anymore to me. It's a great place to visit, but it ain't cheap. And all the good ways to bring the ticket costs down are pretty much gone at this point, so we go WAY less than we used to back in the day.(RIP NE tickets) I'll still go again at some point, but not often.

 

[dreiwhit]

ticket prices are nuts IMHO. Yes,I'm gonna say it right here on the disboards IDK why it's still so crowded but whatever. It pushes the price of a family vacation so high it doesn't make sense to go often anymore to me. It's a great place to visit, but it ain't cheap. And all the good ways to bring the ticket costs down are pretty much gone at this point, so we go WAY less than we used to back in the day.(RIP NE tickets) I'll still go again at some point, but not often.

I agree. Ticket price increases have pushed going to WDW into Unaffordability Land for my family and I.

Some folks may think the price increases weren't bad. I disagree. The increases were much more than the rate of inflation. And much more than what most folks got for a raise (including me!) during that time period. And don't forget about the increases in food prices and parking during that time.

As a comparison, when I was little, we lived in California. My Grandmother lived in San Bernardino, so my parents used to take my sister and I to DL frequently, several times a year in the early and mid 1970s. We stayed with my Grandmother, so they didn't have to worry about lodging, but had to pay for food, gas, tickets, etc. And that was at the time my mom didn't work and my dad was a produce and meat counter manager at a grocery store. They didn't have a lot of money back then, but Disney was affordable.

 

[firefly_ris]

Yeah it's the one thing I can only reduce cost on so much... definitely the largest cost of the whole trip for us. I can usually save up Southwest rewards and fly 5 of us free. I can chase deals and reduce hotel cost, I can cut out a rental vehicle if staying on-site, we eat pretty cheaply by eating all breakfasts in room from Amazon Prime Now orders, my kids are still little so they can split a lot of meals (and still manage not to finish), I'm not a huge drinker so 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks for the whole week is enough for me to splurge on, I can get 5% off on Dis gift cards at Target.... but with the tickets only can do so much. I paid $1942 for 6 day base tickets (it was the 4+2 deal) for 5 of us, 2 being adults and 3 kids (although next time, my oldest would be a Disney 'adult') -- I bought them right before the ticket structure change last fall and just used them last week. I saved about $300 which isn't chump change, but that's about as good as I'll get. And if we don't go during value season next time it will just be up from there. My rates (freelancer) have been stagnant for the last couple of years while all else goes up.

 

[LBHouse]

using the numbers in the first post:

2015 = $64.35 per person/per day
2019 = $73.04 per person/per day

13%???

That seems pretty much on par with everything if you ask me. Inflation alone over 5 years is 7%.

 

[mentos]

This might be an unpopular opinion on the Budget Board, but prices at DL aren’t high enough. The parks are rediculously crowded...tickets need to be like $250/day and payment plan for AP eliminated for there to be a dent in traffic.

I would personally pay $300 for a day ticket if you could guarantee the park is at recession-era attendance.

 

[dreiwhit]

This might be an unpopular opinion on the Budget Board, but prices at DL aren’t high enough. The parks are rediculously crowded...tickets need to be like $250/day and payment plan for AP eliminated for there to be a dent in traffic.

I would personally pay $300 for a day ticket if you could guarantee the park is at recession-era attendance.

They're crowded not so much because of "cheap" tickets, but they are crowded because Disney is doing everything they can to maximize attendance during what used to be the slow times. Free dining, festivals, special events, get a day free, lower priced tickets, etc, etc. I've heard some folks outside of the USA mention they have received specific targeted promotions for WDW during what used to be a slow period, so it would not surprise me if Disney is doing this in many foreign countries as well.

 

[Hikergirl]

ticket prices are nuts IMHO. Yes,I'm gonna say it right here on the disboards IDK why it's still so crowded but whatever. It pushes the price of a family vacation so high it doesn't make sense to go often anymore to me. It's a great place to visit, but it ain't cheap. And all the good ways to bring the ticket costs down are pretty much gone at this point, so we go WAY less than we used to back in the day.(RIP NE tickets) I'll still go again at some point, but not often.

It's crowded because Disney is a master at marketing and making families feel like they have to go at least once in their lifetime.
For all of us who look back at what tickets used to cost and decide not to go because it's too much, its really too much because we don't feel the value anymore. Families and first timers who have never been have nothing to compare it too so they will spend an obscene amount on that first trip, that once in a lifetime trip and think its the most magical thing ever for the price they paid. The parks are filled with those people and always will be thanks to Disney marketing.
The rest of us, who have been multiple times through the years know better

OP, we are a family of 5 and haven't been there all together since 2013. From that point on, it's become trips for 2. It's just too expensive for what we get out of it now.

 

[firefly_ris]

OP, we are a family of 5 and haven't been there all together since 2013. From that point on, it's become trips for 2. It's just too expensive for what we get out of it now.

This may be us going forward (we just got back last week so won't be back for 2 or 3 years) -- like me and a kid per trip to do something special, or to commemorate some kind of big thing in their lives. My oldest is really into Harry Potter so I'd love to have 1 day to go over to Universal to see that during a trip, but for 5 people it all gets real crazy real fast. Our saving grace this trip was free flights for all of us.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Supply & Demand 101

 

[Darcy03231]

ticket prices are nuts IMHO. Yes,I'm gonna say it right here on the disboards IDK why it's still so crowded but whatever. It pushes the price of a family vacation so high it doesn't make sense to go often anymore to me. It's a great place to visit, but it ain't cheap. And all the good ways to bring the ticket costs down are pretty much gone at this point, so we go WAY less than we used to back in the day.(RIP NE tickets) I'll still go again at some point, but not often.

I agree. We used to go at least once a year and sometimes twice (and one year 3x). Now, it's not the affordable option that it once was. Last time I went for a full week was in 2014. DH and I tacked on two days after a cruise in 2017, which is probably the way we'll visit from now on - - as an add on to another trip. That will probably change once we start to have grandchildren, but WDW isn't the vacation of choice anymore. We've found we can travel to a lot of other places much less expensively than at WDW trip.

 

[kymom99]

It's crowded because Disney is a master at marketing and making families feel like they have to go at least once in their lifetime.
For all of us who look back at what tickets used to cost and decide not to go because it's too much, its really too much because we don't feel the value anymore. Families and first timers who have never been have nothing to compare it too so they will spend an obscene amount on that first trip, that once in a lifetime trip and think its the most magical thing ever for the price they paid. The parks are filled with those people and always will be thanks to Disney marketing.
The rest of us, who have been multiple times through the years know better

OP, we are a family of 5 and haven't been there all together since 2013. From that point on, it's become trips for 2. It's just too expensive for what we get out of it now.

This is exactly right. And think about it this way. They would rather fill the parks and resorts with first timers who spent a fortune on souvenirs, food, and experiences. It took me a couple trips to learn the little tricks for saving and to decide we didn’t need any more souvenirs. Heck I think I paid rack rate for our room our first trip. First timers probably don’t even know you can have food delivered to your room. Things like that.

 

[mentos]

Yeah Disney is master at pricing, which is why I'm also a shareholder. But our family has held DL AP's, for the most part, since 2003...even though we moved to northern california. Once this renewal period is over, we might actually just revert to 3-day passports twice a year (fall trip, spring trip)... but $420/pp (2 x $210 for 3 day single park tickets) vs. $799/pp for a mid-level AP isn't much individually, but that's an extra $1k/yr in passes + the expectation would be to go quarterly (or more), so throw in airfare/hotel for those extra visits.

We own at VGC about a week per year, so semi-annual visits are supported that way.

Ugh, Disney math. Not looking forward to these decisions, I miss when premium AP's were $329 and parking free