Anyone else staggered by ticket prices?

[Chili327]

I was just searching through an old computer for a recipe, and I came across an invoice for a DL trip from 2008. Six nights in the Disneyland hotel with three, six day parkhoppers (Canadian) was......$1609. Including tax

You made me curious so I had to look. Our very first Disneyland family trip was spring 2005. 4 nights in a 2-room, 2-bathroom suite at an off-site non-walking distance hotel, two 3-day adult parkhoppers, and two 3-day child parkhoppers, for a grand total of $614, tax included.

Yeah, it's mind boggling for sure. But don't forget to check what you paid for a car, a house or rent, gas, groceries, etc. and what your income was.

Made me curious as well. We took a trip in 2004 when we were a family of 4.
Included all of the following:
Round trip air from Sea
Ground transportation
(5) nights at the DL Hotel
(4) day park hoppers
(1) character breakfast
Travel insurance (had that for the littles who could possibly wake up the morning of with a fever/blowing chuncks)
Total price $2,436.58 tax included.

Now compare all of that to the rise in min wage, the price of gas and the cost of a home. Did everything go up about the same percentage or is one way off from the others.?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Yeah, it's mind boggling for sure. But don't forget to check what you paid for a car, a house or rent, gas, groceries, etc. and what your income was.

Well, yeah it's all relative. But the same tickets types and quantities and the same hotel location and room type today from the same source I booked with is $2617 for an off-peak time compared with the spring break we went in 2005. Sadly our income hasn't more than quadrupled in the same time even though these prices have. But that wasn't really a point I was trying to make. I was just playing with the numbers.

Maybe I should come back to the point of the original post though and mention that, no, despite these numbers, I am not staggered by ticket prices. I'm not living today in the world that I was in 2005. These prices are a product of demand. Disneyland park tickets are finite. Population sizes, travel patterns, and an endless list of other variables are not what they were when the park was built or ten years after that or in 2005 or 2015 or now. I still choose to go to Disneyland because I have the good fortune to be able to afford it even though prices have risen and because it still gives me more joy than grief. To the OP of this thread...I have read many of your posts over the years. Knowing you only from those posts, I would say that the joy to grief ratio isn't right for you, and you would probably be happier taking your money elsewhere to find an experience which is going to give you the value you seek.

 

[tellingson]

Generally speaking, I’d be fine with the price increases if the quality was the same. I’m fine paying a premium for a premium experience but that isn’t what you get anymore. Cast members are less friendly, the food quality has gone down, the rides break down frequently and the list goes on.

Occasionally you see some fantastic cast members, or fantastic food. But it has become the exception rather than the rule. I think that the lower quality experience hits my wallet harder than the price increases.

 

[SpaceMan5]

Now compare all of that to the rise in min wage, the price of gas and the cost of a home. Did everything go up about the same percentage or is one way off from the others.?

For me, I was just having some fun with looking back at the prices of a DL trip and didn't put a % on it and them compare it to other things. It definitely could be in line with everything you mentioned. Just some crazy times we live in.

 

[DodgerGirl]

What I think Disneyland should do and this is an ingenious idea to attract more visitors is offer a ticket wristband that people get when they enter the park and what this ticket wristband would do for guests is get first chances to ride certain rides food discounts be first in line for character meet and greets and special seating during parades and when people exit the parks any unused tickets can be used on future visits or taken to City Hall to be redeemed for ShopDisney gift cards and it would be a smart idea. Disneyland also has deals where people can get lower ticket prices if they are Anaheim residents such as Senior Fun Days for seniors 55 and older and as far as I remember infants and children under 3 have always been free. But I also think when Disneyland decided to let kids 10 and up be adults for ticket pricing purposes that's when the park started raising ticket prices. And what Disneyland should've done is make kids 10 and under have their own Kids Ticket and for teenagers 13 to 18 a Teen Ticket and kids and teens would get in to Disneyland at special prices and that idea would work marvelously

 

[MillauFr]

What I think Disneyland should do and this is an ingenious idea to attract more visitors is offer a ticket wristband that people get when they enter the park and what this ticket wristband would do for guests is get first chances to ride certain rides food discounts be first in line for character meet and greets and special seating during parades and when people exit the parks any unused tickets can be used on future visits or taken to City Hall to be redeemed for ShopDisney gift cards and it would be a smart idea. Disneyland also has deals where people can get lower ticket prices if they are Anaheim residents such as Senior Fun Days for seniors 55 and older and as far as I remember infants and children under 3 have always been free. But I also think when Disneyland decided to let kids 10 and up be adults for ticket pricing purposes that's when the park started raising ticket prices. And what Disneyland should've done is make kids 10 and under have their own Kids Ticket and for teenagers 13 to 18 a Teen Ticket and kids and teens would get in to Disneyland at special prices and that idea would work marvelously

Disneyland needs less visitors not more.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Disneyland needs less visitors not more.

Raising prices will do that

 

[DizMe]

Generally speaking, I’d be fine with the price increases if the quality was the same. I’m fine paying a premium for a premium experience but that isn’t what you get anymore. Cast members are less friendly, the food quality has gone down, the rides break down frequently and the list goes on.

Occasionally you see some fantastic cast members, or fantastic food. But it has become the exception rather than the rule. I think that the lower quality experience hits my wallet harder than the price increases.

I agree with you on some things. There has been a decline in what I'd term as concern for the quality of the park-goer's experience. However, I think there are factors at play that are somewhat beyond the control of Disney. It was extraordinarily difficult to come back from the effects of the Covid shutdown. I don't think many companies were able to bounce right back to the way things were and many never will, because those times are gone. Workers in general (not just at Disney) often have a different attitude. Guest attitudes were also affected and I see a rise in what I'd term as entitlement thinking.

I think that the quality of the product remains high. Could it be better? Sure, but that was always true.

 

[Chili327]

For me, I was just having some fun with looking back at the prices of a DL trip and didn't put a % on it and them compare it to other things. It definitely could be in line with everything you mentioned. Just some crazy times we live in.

I was just hoping someone would do the math.

 

[SpaceMan5]

I agree with you on some things. There has been a decline in what I'd term as concern for the quality of the park-goer's experience. However, I think there are factors at play that are somewhat beyond the control of Disney. It was extraordinarily difficult to come back from the effects of the Covid shutdown. I don't think many companies were able to bounce right back to the way things were and many never will, because those times are gone. Workers in general (not just at Disney) often have a different attitude. Guest attitudes were also affected and I see a rise in what I'd term as entitlement thinking.

I think that the quality of the product remains high. Could it be better? Sure, but that was always true.

Well said, DizMe. You summed it up quite well in a paragraph.

 

[SpaceMan5]

I was just hoping someone would do the math.

Me too!

 

[3monkeys4me]

We used to go to Disney 2-3 times a year. But with the way prices have gone up the last few years, we branched out and started traveling other places. Prices are still going up and I think it is more likely we will be stepping back a bit more and maybe going once every 2-3 years. To be honest, I love Disney (Disneyland in particular) and have many wonderful memories there, especially from my childhood and in toddler/elementary school years with my own kids. But now that I have one in college and one leaving for college soon, it is time for us to explore other places. And We had a blast as a family at Tokyo Disney and Hong Kong Disney so we are likely to explore other parks for a day or two while visiting other places. In Hong Kong, we were there for 8 days, spent one day at Disneyland, 1 day at Ocean Park and the rest of the time exploring the city. And it ended up not costing a whole lot more than a Disney World trip would have cost us. We also did 10 days in Thailand for less than than a Disney World trip was going to cost.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Universal doesn’t have an onsite hotel (yet). The Hilton and Sheraton are the two closest and you get zero perks from staying there, other than ~3 minute drive to the parks.

That said, I’ve always found express, or even better, the VIP pass to be WILDLY quick, like almost walk on fast. If you get unlucky with Disney and get a $200+ single day plus Genie plus, I actually think you’re very close or roughly the same price as Universal Express and honestly the VIP isn’t much more (~$400/person) and includes a fantastic lunch and parking.

When I posted, I must have been kind of out of it, because I thinking about Universal Orlando, and totally forgot that Universal Hollywood existed.

 

[nalabear]

IMHO, outside the hiring lag and ramp up of CMs, the postCovid experience has largely been better with the lower crowds and less local teens running around in the evenings and ruining rides like HM for those wanting to experience the ride itself.

-- most regulars can recite the pre-show, yes. Doesn't mean we want to hear your version or off-timed screams.

Many old guard CMs moved on; more will replace them and cut their teeth with Disney magic and pixie dust.

What ruins the experience now more so than anything are the ones that believe they DESERVE special attention more than the same people paying their expensive tickets.

If you don't like the product, vote with your feet and survey responses. I guarantee that Disney cares more about those surveys than the other theme parks.

 

[Foxhound3857]

The same people that complain about ticket prices also complain about crowds, in my experience. I don't like big crowds, but I'm still willing to pay ticket prices even as they continue to rise because I genuinely enjoy my time at Disneyland. If higher ticket prices means less demand and smaller crowds, I'm fine with it.

 

[Kerry1957]

I simply have no desire to visit Disneyland after hearing and reading stories about Disneyland ticket prices going up and raised but I used to go to Disneyland since my first visit in 1991 when I was six and my recent trip was back in 2004. And it seems "as I have mentioned many times before" every year we see and hear complaints from people about why Disneyland keeps raising ticket prices is a question that we'll never know the answer to. Because it used to be that in the 80's and 90's Disneyland ticket prices were lower because ever since Disneyland did away with the entrance fees and ride charges in 1982 with the introduction of making the rides free in 1983 Disneyland thought it would help lower ticket prices and get more visitors in the park easily. But if you look at a Disneyland ticket price in 1991 and compare to the ticket price for Disneyland you can see why Disneyland prices were lower in 1991. But I think once Disneyland recieved it's first ticket price jump in Spring 2004 you could tell that this was the start of Disneyland's expensive ticket prices that has continued through today and when people heard this shocking news people simply cancelled their Disney vacations and focused on less expensive trips. Like if you want to take a family to Texas you can easily find family oriented attractions such as The Alamo and The Riverwalk in San Antonio and if you have a family that loves to ski you could go to Lake Tahoe get a cabin and that's a great winter vacation that doesn't cost so much as Disneyland. But what I think has ruined Disneyland and has kept people from going are things like Genie+ Lightning Lanes park reservations and Magic and Enchantment Keys because I think why Disneyland added park reservations was mainly to attract more visitors and I think park reservations are unappealing because you are there to visit a theme park not going to shop at Sam's Club or eating at a fancy restaurant and Disneyland should stop with this park reservation system and make the park free to walk into with no reservations like it was before. And if the reservation system does disappear in time this will likely make Disneyland lower it's ticket prices and people will return to Disneyland again. I think Disneyland needs "as Jeremy Renner says" a little Rennervation on it's ticket prices

Paragraphs please @DodgerGirl

Thanks

 

[AndrewC]

The same people that complain about ticket prices also complain about crowds, in my experience. I don't like big crowds, but I'm still willing to pay ticket prices even as they continue to rise because I genuinely enjoy my time at Disneyland. If higher ticket prices means less demand and smaller crowds, I'm fine with it.

Yep. I hate to pay, but if they bumped it $100/day and we saw like a 30% crowd decrease, I would love that.

 

[PirateBrigade]

Definitely expensive, but my neighbor’s house went from $209,000 with a broken window, graffiti, and cement poured into the drains/appliances stripped in 2013 to $750k now.

So I guess the Disney prices make sense. I miss my $99 SoCal Select AP, though.

 

[DizMe]

Definitely expensive, but my neighbor’s house went from $209,000 with a broken window, graffiti, and cement poured into the drains/appliances stripped in 2013 to $750k now.

So I guess the Disney prices make sense. I miss my $99 SoCal Select AP, though.

I miss being able to buy my AP at Costco! In 2009, I got my first premium AP for $269 from Costco and it came with a $50 Disney gift card. Ah, those were the days...

 

[greeneyedchick]

It is more expensive, but it is included with the onsite/top-tier hotels. Depending on how many people are traveling in your group/staying in your room, it often makes more sense to book the hotel room for the free ExpressPass. It sometimes costs less to book the hotel room with the included ExpressPass than if you had to paid for the hotel room and the ExpressPass.

And Universal's room can accomodate 5 people.