Your family vacation to Disneyland just became a lot more expensive. The Disney Company has a new pricing model for theme park tickets that will raise prices during peak times.
How does Disneyland demand pricing work?
Disney will label each day of the month as value, regular and peak days. Pricing will vary by the type of day that you visit, with peak days being the most expensive. That means if you visit on a “value” day, your ticket will cost around $95. If you visit during peak times, your ticket will cost about $120 per day.
As an example, my family has a trip to Disneyland planned next week. If we visit Monday through Thursday, we would pay $95. If we visit Friday – Sunday it would be $105 per day. If we postpone our trip to March 18, it would cost $119 per day. Disneyland plans to publish prices about 8-10 months out on their ticketing page and reserves the right to change prices without notice.
Disney says that this is an effort to curb overcrowding during peak times, which is somewhat misleading. While overcrowding is an ongoing issue, Disney could simply limit the number of tickets sold to curb attendance. Concerts and outdoor events (like Coachella) have a set limit on the number of tickets available. Disney just needs to set a reasonable limit on the tickets sold each day and the overcrowding issue will disappear overnight.
When Disneyland raises prices, their usual press statement will mention new attractions as a way to justify the increased cost. In this case, Disney doesn’t have anything new to justify the price hike. Much of the park is closed for the construction of Star Wars land and that won’t open for a few years. When my family visits the Disneyland Resort next week, nine attractions will be closed for refurbishment. It is hard to rationalize a price increase when so much of the park is either closed or under construction.
To Disney’s credit, the concept of demand pricing isn’t new. Airlines and hotels use demand pricing for their inventory and no one seems to complain. Maybe in a few years we will just accept demand pricing as the standard for theme parks. Many of Disney’s competitors already started using demand pricing after rumors spread that Disney was considering the idea.
What if I already bought my tickets?
If you already bought your tickets for a vacation prior to February 28, 2016, this new pricing won’t impact you. You can use the tickets you have without having to worry about paying more. In the short term, this just impacts people who were planning to buy their tickets at the gate. There is a good chance that someone is looking at the prices tonight and will see something different tomorrow when they visit the ticket booth.
If you buy Value and Regular tickets after February 28, they will be valid through December 31, 2017. After that, you can take what you paid for the unused ticket and apply it to the cost of a new ticket at the current prices. If you buy a Peak ticket and visit on a lower cost Value or Regular day, Disney will not refund you the difference in price.
How can I get the old prices?
Many grocery stores and Disney Stores (in the mall) have a supply of tickets that you can still purchase at the old prices. If you are planning a multi-day trip, it is worth it to find these remaining tickets before they sell out so you can take advantage of the old pricing.
Benjamin Franklin said there were two things certain in life: death and taxes. We can add Disneyland raising ticket prices to that list. Ticket prices usually change at least once a year. Now ticket prices can potentially change every day.
