by The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida has raised prices again, but this year they’re adding a new fold to keep families and visitors consuming.
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Walt Disney World Resort has released new admission prices for the park
Disney World ticket prices have seen multiple updates over the past few years, each increasing more than the last. However, for the first time, the variable prices for single-day tickets will not only be adjusted on days and weeks with high demand (such as public holidays), but for the first time also per park.
Let’s take a look at the ticket price ranges announced for 2023:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $109-$159.
- EPCOT: $114-179.
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $124-$179.
- Magic Kingdom: $124-$189.
A two-day trip for a family of four to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios or EPCOT during next year’s vacation would cost as much as $1,472 for park tickets alone. This amazing amount is equivalent to less than $1,200 before the pandemic. Combine that with increased food, drink, and souvenir prices, as well as increased lodging costs, and it’s hard to imagine the average family spending a week at the parks.
In defense of Disney World, they continued to focus on improving attractions and offerings during the pandemic. Remy’s Ratatouille adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad, and soon… sometime… Tron. Management has mentioned that by “growing our theme parks,” creating an “unforgettable Disney experience,” and enhancing “theme parks with incredible attractions,” they believe they are making positive guest changes in a competitive market.
To its credit, management has found near-inexhaustible demand despite the mid-range being almost completely priced out. The latest nosebleed-level pricing added features in Genie that were previously included, and stinging hotel rates haven’t stopped consumers from filling parks, leaving Disney shareholders welcoming changes while families struggle to keep up.
Prior to this year, these price levels had never existed before, but in addition no price range per park was used. Disney will continue to require reservations for theme parks, but will allow park hopper tickets, only stating that the popular multi-park ticket will cost more, but noting that it will be variable based on the same occupancy areas and possibly parks selected as well .
How does this affect the prices of the annual tickets?
Walt Disney World annual passes have not been available since the pandemic outside of the Pixie Pass, a weekday pass ideal for flexible or retired Florida residents. We canceled our annual passes to Disney World but have been monitoring closely ever since. But Disney World’s price increases left us wondering how much more could be absorbed. We switched to Universal and were very happy with our choice.
Theme Park Tourist has said that Disney doesn’t expect to put annual passes back on sale until 2023 at the earliest (although they may not put them on sale at all) at the following tiers:
- Incredi Pass $1399 (was $1299)
- Wizard $969 (was $899) and;
- Pirate Pass $749 (was $699)
- The Pixie Pass is the same at $399 but remains Florida-only and is the only pass currently available.
Those looking to buy annual passes can hope that annual passes will be offered again just because if Disney never intended to release them again, why raise the prices? They did the same thing in 2022 and only offered them on sale for a few days and then closed them again.
Conclusion
Disney has taken so much from both annual passholders and visitors in terms of benefits, flexibility and services that they are giving back at a higher cost, yet the public has responded with sustained demand. With the launch of TRON, Cosmic Rewind, and Remy, there’s no question the parks will be home to incredible new attractions, and perhaps a price hike is warranted, but I’m afraid the average family – even with years of savings – won’t be able to visit anymore the happiest place on earth, and that’s disheartening.
What do you think? Is Disney pricing out middle-class families? Shouldn’t they raise prices based on demand?
