This means it costs the average four-person family over $400 after taxes for a single day at the “Happiest Place on Earth”. At least, Disneyland hopes they will. The prices are $829 and $749 but DVC Members and Florida Residents can buy the passes for $729 and $649.
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“We have to look at ways to spread out our attendance throughout the year so we can accommodate demand and avoid bursting at the seams”, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek told The Wall Street Journal.
So far, people are not not deterred by the new prices of Disneyland admission.
Visitors don’t like being shut out of the parks.
Excluded days for the Signature pass are the two weeks around Christmas and New Year, often the theme park’s busiest time of the year.
The new Signature Plus pass, costing $1,049, includes all the benefits of the Premium pass, as well as parking and unlimited downloads of keepsake pictures taken through the PhotoPass program.
If Disneyland can entice a significant percentage of its Premium pass holders to switch to the Signature and not the Signature Plus when renewal decisions are made, the company can reduce a few of the attendance pressure on the parks during the holiday.
Additionally, the price of parking at the Anaheim parks rose to $18 from $17.
This is the second time this year Disneyland raised prices for annual passes. Instead there are gold and silver passes.
The company has offered tiered pricing at Disneyland Paris since last year, now ranging from $64 for an adult ticket good only during “low season” to $94 for one that works year-round.
The most expensive “platinum plus” pass costs $729. A one day ticket to Disneyland or California Adventure remains the same at $99, so if you break the Signature Plus Pass down and plan on hanging out with Mickey and riding the Matterhorn on a daily basis, it’s actually a steal.
A dynamic pricing structure would give Disney another tool with which to fight overcrowding during the holidays and summer. Finding a solution likely means finding a few balance.
But if you have a few flexibility and can visit when the parks aren’t so crowded, Disney won’t hit you as hard in the pocketbook, allowing you to get what might be a better deal.
Annual passholders are the specific target for this latest price increase, the Register pointed out.
Why now, especially when Disneyland is reducing the number of attractions open to visitors next year?
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In order to allow for construction of the 14-acre attraction, Disneyland would temporarily close the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Disneyland Railroad, the Los Angeles Times reported. But they can not be renewed. During a 24-hour party in May to launch the Anaheim park’s 60th anniversary celebration, the entrance gates were temporarily closed twice when the park reached capacity – an estimated 80,000 guests, according to insiders.
