In the latest round of price hikes, The Walt Disney Co. increased admission prices to their theme parks, bring some tickets to over $100, according to the Chicago Tribune . Disney has raised the cost of a one-day ticket to both Disneyland and California Adventure, their theme parks located in Anaheim, California, to $99, up from $96. Visitors to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, can now expect to pay $105, up from $99, for a single-day visit as well.
To put these ticket costs into perspective, in 2005, the same Disney tickets cost visitors $59.75.
The price hikes come as the Disney theme parks gain popularity with higher-income families, a trend which The Walt Disney Co. hopes to capitalize upon, reports the Orlando Sentinel . In spite of last year’s two percent price increases, Disney has continued to see growing numbers in attendance at their many resorts and theme parks.
“I do think that Disney’s perspective is they’re a premium-priced, premium product,” said Scott Sanders, a former vice president of pricing with the company.
“They believe that … there are some people who can’t afford it, but there are a lot of people who are willing to pay for the experience.”
In fact, Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort each set quarterly records for attendance, which rose by seven percent. Overall revenue rose to $3.9 billion in spite of a recent measles outbreak at Disney’s southern California theme park.
“We continually add new experiences, and many of our guests select multi-day tickets or annual passes, which provide a great value and additional savings,” said Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown.
The children aren’t escaping these price hikes unscathed either, reports Fox News . Tickets for children aged 3-9, which had been $90 per child, have been raised to $93 at Disneyland. Ticket prices for children at Disney’s Magic Kingdom have been raised to $99, up from $93 per child for a single-day visit. Other Disney-owned theme parks raised their admission costs, which had been priced at $88 per ticket, so that single-day tickets will now cost customers $91 per person.
“[Disney] became out of reach for people at the lower end of the income scale a long time ago,” said Robert Niles, who is the editor for Theme Park Insider.
“That’s one thing that I think has been keeping a lot of regional parks around the country in business.”
As prices continue to rise, the value of those tickets really becomes the central issue, and it seems Disney does give premium value for their tickets. Concerts and theater tickets, which are much shorter in duration, can also cost $100 or more per ticket, whereas the Disney tickets will provide a full day of entertainment.
Striving to deliver more entertainment for the price extends into Disney’s film production company, as well. They recently added a Frozen Fever short, set to air in front of their upcoming live-action Cinderella film.
