Ticket prices going up Thursday, August 5th.

[Tekneek]

The price of a one-day Magic Your Way base ticket for adults will increase from $79 to $82.

I have not yet broken the rest down, but the information is posted at the Disney Parks blog.

More breakdowns now...

Adult 1 day up from $79 to $82.
Kid 1 day up from $68 to $74.
Base 10-day MYW Adult is going up from $24.30/day to $26.20/day.
Base 10-day MYW Kid is going up from $21/day to $23.90/day.

Park hopper option goes up from $52 to $54.

Adult AP goes up from $488 to $499.
Kid AP goes up from $432 to $450.
Adult Premium AP goes up from $619 to $629.
Kid Premium AP goes up from $546 to $567.

[Ian]

Interesting choice ... a 2.5% - 5% cost increase in one of the worst economies in history ....

[DizneyRox]

Interesting choice ... a 2.5% - 5% cost increase in one of the worst economies in history ....

I noticed you didn't say you were surprised though... Interesting...

[Ian]

I would have been surprised if they didn't raise prices.

In fact, I'm somewhat surprised they didn't raise prices more.

[DizneyRox]

All that's left is the official word on the DDP changes for 2011...

[PopPhan]

All that's left is the official word on the DDP changes for 2011...

I don't know about that...What about Room Price Increases?

[Ed]

Here's the full article ~~

Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices once again, despite a still-weak economy that has the resort continuing to use discounts to lure travelers.

Disney announced Tuesday that it will raise the price of a one-day, one-park adult ticket to $82 — the first time any of Orlando’s theme-park resorts has charged more than $80 for a base ticket. It amounts to a 3.8 percent increase from the current $79 charge.

The resort will also hike prices for multiday-ticket packages, which it sells in far greater volume than single-day tickets. It will tack another $2 — from $52 to $54 — to price of adding a “park hopper” feature to base tickets allowing visits to multiple Disney theme parks in one day. And it will increase annual pass prices, too.

The new prices go into effect Thursday.

“We continuously monitor the marketplace to ensure pricing that reflects a strong entertainment value,” Disney World spokesman Bryan Malenius said. “Our guests continue to agree that a day at a Disney theme park is a great entertainment value.”

Malenius said Disney’s guest surveys have continued to show that nearly 90 percent of resort guests rate the value of Disney parks as “good, very good or excellent.”

Disney typically raises ticket price each year near the beginning of August. And while this year’s round of increases are smaller than last year’s for some shorter ticket packages, they are steeper than a year ago for the more-frequently sold packages of four days or longer.

For instance, the price of a five-day park hopper — one of Disney’s most popular ticket options — will rise from $280 to $291, an increase of 3.9 percent. The same ticket rose just 2.9 percent last year.

Disney’s move could trigger a round of similar increases at Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando. The theme-park rivals have traditionally raised prices in lockstep together, though neither announced increases Tuesday.

“We’re not going to talk about our pricing strategies,” Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said.

“At this time, we have no plans to increase prices at SeaWorld,” added SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck. “We run our business plan independently from the other theme parks.”

Below are the increases Disney is making to base ticket prices:

1-day: $79 to $82 (+3.8%)
2-day: $156 to $162 (+3.8%)
3-day: $219 to $224 (+2.3%)
4-day: $225 to $232 (+3.1%)
5-day: $228 to $237 (+3.9%)
6-day: $231 to $242 (+4.8%)
7-day: $234 to $247 (+5.6%)

To add “park hopper” or water-park admission to base ticket: $52 to $54 (+3.8%)

Annual pass increases:

Premium (incl. water parks, etc.), non-resident: $619 to $629 (+1.6%)
Regular, non-resident: $489 to $499 (+2%)
Premium, Florida resident: $489 to $499 (+2%)
Regular, Florida resident: $369 to $379 (+2.7%)
Seasonal, Florida resident: $249 to $259 (+4%)

[DizneyRox]

I don't know about that...What about Room Price Increases?

I swear I thought I saw a post about those... I don't pay for room, so I don't pay attention. Hmmmm

[mickeyman42]

Here's the full article ~~
“We continuously monitor the marketplace to ensure pricing that reflects a strong entertainment value,” Disney World spokesman Bryan Malenius said. “Our guests continue to agree that a day at a Disney theme park is a great entertainment value.”

Malenius said Disney’s guest surveys have continued to show that nearly 90 percent of resort guests rate the value of Disney parks as “good, very good or excellent.”

so I guess we all need to start saying that disney is over-priced and of poor value in order to keep ticket prices from skyrocketing.

[DizneyRox]

HOLD THE TRAINS!

I saw this on msnbc.com near the middle of the article...

Tickets bought through Wednesday at the old price will be honored through Jan. 3.

Huh? Really, they are going to start requiring upgrades on tickets bought before the price increases?

Did I miss something?!

Here's the entire text, again from msnbc dot com

Disney theme parks to raise prices Thursday
Fla., Calif. resorts will honor admission tickets sold at old price until Jan. 3

Getting into a Disney theme park will take a little more magic beginning Thursday.

Ticket prices are going up at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.

The company announced the changes Tuesday on its blog.

The cost of a one-day adult ticket price at Walt Disney World will raise to $82, up $3 from $79. The new six-day pass will be $242, or $40.33 a day, up from $38.50 a day. Park Hopper add-ons will be $54, up from $52.

At Disneyland, the base price is going up to $76 from $72. Savings and discounts are available in a variety of packages. A one-day Park Hopper pass will be $101, up from $97. A six-day Park Hopper ticket, for example, will be $256, bringing the average one-day visit down to $42.67. A six-day Park Hopper pass through Wednesday is $254, but online and other discounts are available.

Parking at Disneyland Resort is also going up a dollar and will be $15 a day.

Tickets bought through Wednesday at the old price will be honored through Jan. 3.

'Strong entertainment value'
The Orange County Register said that Disneyland increased its price last August by $3. The California resort has increased its prices annually between $2 and $7 over the past decade.

“We continuously monitor the marketplace to ensure pricing that reflects a strong entertainment value,” said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman. “When you compare a Disney park to a concert or professional sporting event, we offer a great value and a full day of world-class entertainment.”

Theme parks and resorts represented $10.7 billion, or 29 percent, of Disney's $36.1 billion of revenue in fiscal 2009, according to the company's annual report.

Theme park revenue in 2009 was down about $837 million, or nearly 7 percent, from 2008 after growing the previous three years.

[laprana]

HOLD THE TRAINS!

I saw this on msnbc.com near the middle of the article...




Huh? Really, they are going to start requiring upgrades on tickets bought before the price increases?

Did I miss something?!

That would be a really big change and would have a huge impact on people who buy multiple tickets at a time to stock up for future trips! I hope that isn't accurate, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Has there been any word on the renewal prices for APs and PAPs? Or anything about the DVC discount for APs?

[brownie]

Will this affect existing packages that aren't paid in full yet?

[PopPhan]

Will this affect existing packages that aren't paid in full yet?

From the sound of the article, if your trip occurs ON OR AFTER January 3rd., 2011, you will need to pay the difference in price - probably as an adjustment to your outstanding balance.

Guess they got tired of those people who would stock up on tickets before the increases took effect.....

[diz_girl]

Interesting choice ... a 2.5% - 5% cost increase in one of the worst economies in history ....

Actually, the child's 1-day ticket price increased by 8.8% (from 68 to 74). So that's an almost 10% increase. Actually, all of the child prices had a greater percentage (and dollar) increase than the adult prices. It makes me wonder if they're trying to close the gap between adult and child prices and charge everyone the same price in a few years.

I'm just happy that I bought my 10-day non-expiring hoppers two years ago and still have 5 days left on them for my November trip. I just need to shell out a little more for passes for DS3.

[Tekneek]

Definitely not going back before 2013 as of right now, but it will be interesting to see where this gets them.

[mickeyman42]

you have to love the strategy of "lets increase the prices because our customers are too happy with what they are getting for their dollar."

[Donald Duck]

Right now I have room only reservations for December.

I was planning on getting length of stay passes for us. So now I would either have to but my passes now or convert my reservation to a package with passes in order to get the current prices correct ?

I don't want to buy the passes now, just in case we don't go in december for whatever reason.

If I convert to a package, I have to pay in full before going.

Any recommendations ?

[MidnTPK]

HOLD THE TRAINS!

I saw this on msnbc.com near the middle of the article...

Huh? Really, they are going to start requiring upgrades on tickets bought before the price increases?

Did I miss something?!

From the sound of the article, if your trip occurs ON OR AFTER January 3rd., 2011, you will need to pay the difference in price - probably as an adjustment to your outstanding balance.

Guess they got tired of those people who would stock up on tickets before the increases took effect.....

Disney has not yet announced/made available anything but room-only reservations for 2011. So anybody that has a 2011 reservation doesn't have tickets included anyway.

I also think the reporter misinterpreted the January 3 date.....Disney will probably be honoring the old prices for booked, but not fully-paid, packages. Since nobody has 2011 ticket-inclusive packages anyway, this is a moot point.

Also, for people who have tickets they bought on old trips: Disney can't unilaterally change the terms of a purchase after the purchase has been made. So if you have a non-expiring or completely unused ticket (that does not have a ticking clock until it's first use), they can't require you to upgrade....they have to honor the terms/entitlements in effect when you bought the ticket.

Now if this was a significant but poorly communicated change to the way people buy tickets (meaning a clock will start ticking the day you buy a ticket), it was not made clear in the article.

[MidnTPK]

Okay, I just looked closely at the announcement on the Disney parks blog. there's no mention of a change in the expiration policy. It still says:

No expiration means unused admissions on a ticket have no expiration date. All tickets expire 14 days after first use unless No Expiration is purchased.

The important part being the 'first use' - you can still buy tickets today and use them any time you want in the future. They won't expire until 14 days after the ticket is used for something.

Putting this all together, that article still implies there's a question of whether the tickets that were purchased before the price increase was implemented, but after they were announced, have an additional condition on them that requires that they be used by January 3rd. My money is on the reporter confusing when most 2010 ticket inclusive pages are being honored through. So people who check in after Christmas and have a package booked a few days into 2011 will still get the old 2010 price.

[Bethis26fan]

Does that mean we can book our 2011 packages tomorrow?