Why Disney superfans say higher park prices are good

• Disney just increased prices at its parks for the fourth straight year.
• While some fans may grumble, other Disney supporters aren’t bothered.
• Superfans said they view Disney as a strong value, and travel agents report robust demand.

Disney is on a price-hiking spree, but some of its most passionate fans don’t mind.

The “Happiest Place on Earth” is getting more expensive again, Disney said on Wednesday. Prices for single-day tickets to Disneyland are rising as much as 8.7% during the peak season, which includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Prices at Walt Disney World are going up next fall, the company said.

This is the fourth straight year that Disney has hiked prices for single-day or annual passes across its parks in Anaheim and Orlando.

What might surprise you: Some Disney die-hards reacted positively.

“The parks are too packed. It was bound to happen,” said Disney fan Lucas Lozano, a 32-year-old investment analyst based in San Antonio.

“If you charge just enough to have some people second-guess going during the best time of the year, people who are at the parks then are probably going to enjoy it a bit more,” said Lozano, who’s taking his family to Disney World in December.

Disney-focused travel planner Rob Stuart said his third-quarter trip bookings hit another record. Clients haven’t complained about the latest hike, he said.

“It won’t affect demand at all except in the positive,” said Stuart, who also cohosts the “Disney Travel Secrets” podcast. “People will think it will be less crowded because people won’t go.”

A Disney Parks spokesperson said the parks have “options designed to suit a wide range of needs and budgets for all who visit.”

“Our commitment to creating magical experiences for everyone remains at the heart of what we do — and that will never change,” they added.

Disney is raising prices because it can

There were some complaints among Disney fans about higher park prices.

“Why does Disney World hate out of state guests so much,” one Redditor vented, citing the cost of the highest-tier annual pass. That so-called “Incredi-Pass” rose by $80 to $1,629 per person, or $1,734 after tax.

Disney is aware of the controversy price increases can cause and is wary of pushing too far. CEO Bob Iger had said in 2023 that the company had raised parks prices too much following the pandemic.

Even so, Disney fans have come to expect them.

Max Traughber-Crismon, a 43-year-old Disney aficionado in Washington state, wasn’t surprised by the hikes and said he understood them. His reasoning is that lots of companies pass on higher costs to consumers amid years of above-trend inflation.

“It doesn’t affect me going,” Traughber-Crismon said, though he added that he’s planning to limit how much money his family spends on souvenirs and extra meals inside the park.

Disney travel agent Donna DeGiacomo said that “most consumers will read news of price increases for any vendor, and chalk it up to inflation.”

Her colleague, Jenn Novotny of Upon A Star Travel, said “people just tend to shrug their shoulders and say, ‘Well, everything’s going up in price these days.'”

Media analyst Steven Cahall of Wells Fargo wrote that Disney had room to raise prices in its parks in an October 6 note, days before the Mouse House announced its price increases.

Disney’s multi-pronged pricing strategy, with different costs per day and upcharges for its fast-pass Lightning Lanes, “has resulted in better ‘yields’ — revenue per guest — similar to the premiumization of airline ticketing,” Cahall wrote.

Cahall added that for value-conscious customers, going to Disney parks is “about the same cost as it was a couple of decades ago (especially after adjusting for inflation).”

For disgruntled Disney fans, hikes could be a tipping point

The price hike comes shortly after Disney drew backlash for temporarily suspending Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC show. There were Disney boycotts after critics said the company folded when facing government pressure.

Shae Noble, a 38-year-old Disney fan in the Pacific Northwest, said she’s “been on the fence” about renewing her annual Disney World pass, weighing her immense fandom with her political convictions.

With Disney’s new price hikes, she said she’s now leaning against it.

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