Disney Parks Adopt Seasonal Pricing on 1-Day Ticket

waymickey;2479684 wrote: Those comparisons are not quite the same. This is for a day not time of day.

True, but my point was that we are all used to prices for entertainment and lodging to be higher when demand is higher (whether its the time of day or the time of year). I'm not happy about it either; as a consumer, I wish movie tickets and hotel prices were the same all the time. But it is not realistic to expect that. I like college football, and on home game weekends, All the hotels in my college town charge three times their normal rates with a three-night minimum and every room in town is booked a year in advance. I don't like it, so I don't stay overnight, but they sell out every room available for miles around. So a lot of other people obviously think it's worth the money.

Disney is in the same position. They have found themselves (or gotten there in purpose, i should say) in the enviable position of being able to sell as much as they have of something (entertainment) at prices that many find too much to bear. Yet others willingly take those disappointed buyers' places. Until that changes, expect more price increases. Disney didn't invent this concept. It's basic economics. And they are taking advantage of it. As a result, we'll be voting with our wallets, and going to WDW less often. I'm sure some other family will take our place.

joonyer;2479700 wrote: True, but my point was that we are all used to prices for entertainment and lodging to be higher when demand is higher (whether its the time of day or the time of year). I'm not happy about it either; as a consumer, I wish movie tickets and hotel prices were the same all the time. But it is not realistic to expect that. I like college football, and on home game weekends, All the hotels in my college town charge three times their normal rates with a three-night minimum and every room in town is booked a year in advance. I don't like it, so I don't stay overnight, but they sell out every room available for miles around. So a lot of other people obviously think it's worth the money.

Disney is in the same position. They have found themselves (or gotten there in purpose, i should say) in the enviable position of being able to sell as much as they have of something (entertainment) at prices that many find too much to bear. Yet others willingly take those disappointed buyers' places. Until that changes, expect more price increases. Disney didn't invent this concept. It's basic economics. And they are taking advantage of it. As a result, we'll be voting with our wallets, and going to WDW less often. I'm sure some other family will take our place.

Exactly. I guess I understand some frustration and knee jerk reactions, but quite frankly Disney should raise prices more. It's supply and demand. Yes, they have raised prices at a MUCH higher rate than inflation. They also continue to have MUCH higher attendance than in the past. The prices are well in line with what the market will bear.

New York Post lead story...
"Disney is screwing American Families."

So far it doesn't affect my wife and I, and I doubt this affects many at Disney World. I would love to see how many single day tickets they sell at DW. My guess is not many. Now Disneyland is completely different. I bet they sell a ton of single dayers out there. Different crowd.

I know the day of seasonal pricing is coming for multi day tickets. That's when I'll feel it.

Disney is clearly going after the wealthy and won't lose sleep over losing the middle class. Sad, but true :-/

Try AAA if you had terrible timing like I did and needed to get tickets yesterday or today. When I went to get tickets at the local Disney store yesterday and today, their system is still not up and running. But when I went to AAA, they didn't know anything about the prices changing. Saved a ton over what the Disney parks website was quoting me under the new system. I'm sure this is very short lived until Disney can get their system updated, but it worked today.

I'm going to have to buy a 1 day ticket for the first time this year. For some reason (I'm in the UK) every time I try to go to the US ticket site I get redirected to the UK where I can only buy 7 day tickets. Can someone tell me what season May 10th will be for Epcot so I can have an idea of what it will cost if I can't buy it in advance? Thanks!

dlpmikki;2479817 wrote: I'm going to have to buy a 1 day ticket for the first time this year. For some reason (I'm in the UK) every time I try to go to the US ticket site I get redirected to the UK where I can only buy 7 day tickets. Can someone tell me what season May 10th will be for Epcot so I can have an idea of what it will cost if I can't buy it in advance? Thanks!

Mikki,

On the WDW website, the price for a 1-day ticket on May 10, 2016 will be: MK ==> $110.00 + tax; EP | AK | DHS ==> $102.00 + tax.

Hope this helps you.

PopPhan;2479820 wrote: Mikki,

On the WDW website, the price for a 1-day ticket on May 10, 2016 will be: MK ==> $110.00 + tax; EP | AK | DHS ==> $102.00 + tax.

Hope this helps you.

Thanks!

Someone asked who buys one-day tickets. A few years ago I had a work trip at one of the DS-area non-Disney hotels. My wife and son and I went for one day and it really galled me to pay those one-day prices, which I'd never done before. Time was you could at least buy a longer ticket and add the no expiration and at the end of the day you make out, but that's no longer (from what I recall).

I posted elsewhere about a short trip to Tampa we took recently. It was just cost-prohibitive to go to WDW for one day, given the cost of one-day tickets.

We know a handful of other families who regularly go to FL to visit family and will buy one day tickets to MK. I imagine that some of them won't be doing that anymore.

We've never bought a single day ticket. We've looked at single day tickets for other attractions in the area and have always passed because of the prices. Our typical trip to WDW is 10 days, so we've always bought the multi day tickets.

Lets see here.......... WDW...... one of the "premier" theme parks in America, if not the world. Magic Kingdom $110.00 per day. Others... $102.

Oh... looking at last year's 1 day prices for skiing for a single day at some of the better resorts in America Vail - $160 Aspen $129 Breckenridge $145 Deer Valley $120 Park City $ 115.

Play golf? .... Pebble Beach $495 Spanish Bay $270

Disney is not so "out of line" for a one day, same day, kind of purchase. And like the ski areas and golf resorts, buy multi-day passes ...and lodging packages... the price goes down. For the same reasons... incentives to stay longer and spend more (overall).

Not saying it is not expensive entertainment. Just saying..... they are a for profit business in the entertainment field. The whole "pixie dust in one's eyes" argument that pops up sometimes when people say that they like Disney, well.... that stuff works both ways; believing that Disney should have low-ish prices because they are ... well... DISNEY for crying out loud...... this also is a "pixie dust" viewpoint.

It is a for profit business... in pricing line with other venues. Not off in la-la land.

YES... the pricing will be pricing some folks out of the market. That is a function of other forces in the US/world as paychecks are impacted relative to the costs of things. Political stuff that we can't get into here. Sad.... yeah.

best,

...............john

I wonder how many people considering WDW are also comparing it to Aspen. I don't know any of those people.

Stu29573;2479762 wrote: New York Post lead story...
"Disney is screwing American Families."

....read that article ...and then took a 'trip' over here to see the reaction, or lack thereof.

....is it their 'right' to raise prices knowing there will be higher attendance at those times ....sure.

....is it their 'right' to raise prices at a rate that outpaces the rate of inflation ...sure.

....is it some people's 'right' to think "well, I never do single day trips ...so I'm not impacted" ....sure

....it's my 'right' to also notice that Disney suspended all their "deals" when 'Jersey Week' occurred, just in time for our customary get away to WDW (because time allowed for it ...when we had kids in school here in NJ) ......you bet I noticed.

....and ....it's also the 'right' of people to be genuinely upset ....not only because they feel that they are being raked over the proverbial coals ....or that their window of opportunity to go to WDW (when affordable) ...is quickly being closed ....but ...in my case ...it seems that the "bang for the buck" is quickly diminishing, given all the changes at WDW ...that are not completely for the better (at the moment).

Well, this is just us, but going to Disney (Land and World) are trips we can mostly guarantee a good time overall. Our kids have autism and going to "new" places is always a gamble, and often very stressful for everyone. Disney is our vacation comfort zone. We might not go every year, but it will always be there when we need a fun vacation. As such, we will find a way to make it happen. As prices go up, we adjust other things in our life so that it isn't out of reach.

We feel the same way about the DCL cruises. They are at a point where I WISH we could do one yearly, but we just can't, so we're doing without until we can save up the money for another one. We could do a "cheaper" cruise on another line, but we KNOW our kids like DCL and know it will work for them. I can't say the same for another line right now and I'm not willing to gamble to the tune of a few thousand dollars.

The bottom line is, vacations are a luxury expense. If it is really important to you, you find a way to fit it in the budget. I expect Disney to raise prices every year. Just means a few less dinners out over the course of a year for us to make up the difference.

WiltonJohn;2479899 wrote: Lets see here.......... WDW...... one of the "premier" theme parks in America, if not the world. Magic Kingdom $110.00 per day. Others... $102.

Oh... looking at last year's 1 day prices for skiing for a single day at some of the better resorts in America Vail - $160 Aspen $129 Breckenridge $145 Deer Valley $120 Park City $ 115.

Play golf? .... Pebble Beach $495 Spanish Bay $270

Disney is not so "out of line" for a one day, same day, kind of purchase. And like the ski areas and golf resorts, buy multi-day passes ...and lodging packages... the price goes down. For the same reasons... incentives to stay longer and spend more (overall).

Not saying it is not expensive entertainment. Just saying..... they are a for profit business in the entertainment field. The whole "pixie dust in one's eyes" argument that pops up sometimes when people say that they like Disney, well.... that stuff works both ways; believing that Disney should have low-ish prices because they are ... well... DISNEY for crying out loud...... this also is a "pixie dust" viewpoint.

It is a for profit business... in pricing line with other venues. Not off in la-la land.

YES... the pricing will be pricing some folks out of the market. That is a function of other forces in the US/world as paychecks are impacted relative to the costs of things. Political stuff that we can't get into here. Sad.... yeah.

best,

...............john

BrerGnat;2479925 wrote:
The bottom line is, vacations are a luxury expense. If it is really important to you, you find a way to fit it in the budget. I expect Disney to raise prices every year. Just means a few less dinners out over the course of a year for us to make up the difference.

Natalie is right, being able to go away on vacation is a luxury, not a right. No vacation destination, including Disney, has any sort of obligation to keep prices at the same level. When I was young, my parents were just starting in their careers or finishing their degree (in the case of my Dad), so money was tight and being able to go to WDW for the day was a treat and we lived 90 minutes away! There were things that were of a higher priority to them, like sending me to Catholic school and investing for my college education. A few years after my sister was born (we are 9 years apart) we moved to Philadelphia with both my parents obtaining much better paying jobs, so there was extra disposable income for week long vacations, but I try to always remember that earlier time so I don't forget that vacations aren't an automatic thing.