While I understand inflation and that Disneyland was never for the poor - I used to use babysitting money to buy an annual pass and that was in the 70's - it was a Magic Kingdom pass back then (but if a high school person could afford it, and it was where fun dates were - then I don't agree with the idea that it was only a place for those that did not have problems with their bills).

First of all disneys vision was for all to enjoy. People got deessed up for everything back then. In addition they can limit the amount of guests without raising prices. You clearly are an apologist for disney who rakes in billions. Garbage. Sorry so many people are buying into your flawed logic.

Disney should go back to ride tickets.Not like the physical ones,used in the past.They could just give you some kind of wrist band that would be scanned for each ride.This would cause people to not do the same ride several times,which would reduce lines.Would also cause customers to try different rides,so they wouldn't get burned out on any given ride.Would allow Disney to lower the price for patrons having a fixed number of rides and could price for those not using rides at all.Also,would make people appreciate each ride,more than they do now,when there is no cost for a ride.

my family has been going to disney for 29 years and i know it is expensive but if you stay at a disney resort (and there are reasonable priced ones) you get free transportation to and from the airport plus they even pick up your luggage. or you could go to a broadway show and spend 150 to 200 dollars each for tickets or go to a sport game and spend 100 to 200 dollars including food so it boils down to do you want a 8 to 10 hour day of enjoyment or about 2 hours sitting in one place. disney is a company that has to make money to fund all these new projects that's my opinion

Correct solution to the problem would be simply dropping the annual pass completely If keeping the park busy during the off season becomes a issue. Then create a flex system such as lower prices for off season days to balance out yearly attendance averages.

Of course it really just boils some really bad design decisions over the years (Such as DCA). Not to mention underutilization of what little space they do have. Really rides or area's with a poor traffic to footprint ratio should be demolished and replaced (You have to let go of the nostalgia, in order for the park to grow). That means things such as Tom sawyer's island, Innovations, Submarine Voyage, Autopia, Toontown, Small world (The largest show building in the park), Faire grounds, festival area. Should all be demolished to make way for new attractions. As they all take up a massive amount of real estate with vary low traffic. These area's Combined take up more then half the park in landspace.

I too agree about the strollers. Today they are triple the size that they used to be and it seems that families just bring their SUV trollers just to cary all of their stuff around. It is so annoying to have to go around them or have them bump into you. Leave your babies at home people it makes it more enjoyable for EVERYONE!

I don't mind price increase. If they just limited strollers the place would feel less crowded without lowering the number of people. I would pay double the price if they cut strollers in half!

Great article. The dress during the 50's and 60's though was much more respectable even to those with limited funds. It doesn't reflect upper class at Disneyland because middle class and most lower wore their "Sunday" best to most public establishments even though they only had one nice dress or trousers.

What I have yet to see someone take into account is the billions spent on the California Adventures park. I looked it up the other day, 600 million initially, park was a failure. another 1.1 billion on a remodel, and its estimated that Cars Land cost another 1 billion. When a company spends that much money, they are looking to make it back up in the next couple years. I know its 2 separate parks... but the money all goes to the same pool. Essentially part of price raises have to be going to finish paying off California Adventures. Also... Minimum wage in California went up this year (and if I recall, its going up next year too), so that has to be factored in as well.

I'm laughing at those people who complain that they can't afford Disneyland anymore. Neither can I, but DISNEY DOES NOT CARE, it is a corporation and like all corporations its only purpose/goal/reason to exist is to make the best return on investment for its shareholders. That's what corporations are all about. You aren't entitled to go see Disney characters or to introduce your kids to Disneyland. Your "suggestions" about how to price the park are irrelevant. Disney employs a ridiculous number of MBAs and accountants and computer experts to predict and calculate what admission prices will result in the largest revenue stream. That's it. That's all that matters. Stop thinking that Disney is some friendly neighbor who feels bad that you can't afford to enjoy the parks.

Something that you missed is the payment plan. Had it not been for the payment plan a lot of locals likely would have opted for the lower tier pass because it would have been "money up front". The AP Blackout system is based entirely on sticker shock. You want more access you pay more. The problem is Disney removed that sticker price. Instead of being $500 "up front" it's "a down payment and $30 a month". You'd have to be an idiot to go for a lower pass when the higher tier was only $20 or $30 more... people pay more for a cell phone bill.

Disney ran the 50th promo which brought people in. Then they ran the "free on your birthday" which brought more people in. Then they allowed those birthday peeps to use the free ticket as a down payment for an AP. If you had an AP they gave you a gift card which a lot of people used to renew for another year... Around the same time the get in free bonanza was going strong they introduced the payment plan. It's heavily advertised, heavily utilized. $60 a month and you have unlimited access to the park. It's not the AP system itself that caused the crowds, it's the fact that the local community can pay it off like a cell bill, utility bill, gym membership etc. This isn't offered to out-of-state AP's, only to the locals who would be using it most.

Here is a crazy solution. Why not limit the number of tickets sold to an amount that the park can handle reasonably. You can make reservations a year or two in advance Just like camping in Yellowstone or Yosemite. Go back to a system where there are two price structures admission with out the E and D rides and limit the admission for the Big rides to keep lines no more than one hour

I can remember as a little kid going with my brothers and my mom and dad to this happy place in the 1960's. Times were so innocent then, and they have changed in a way that takes the Magic out of Disneyland.
It makes me sad........
Lisa G

I thank you for the info on the ticket price increaeses. But, unfortunately, inflation hasn't been adjusted for horly wage for years. Disney has kept with inflation but wages in the US have not. And there lies the problem. Many of us who struggle with paying bills can no longer afford a day at the park. Until hourly wages rise to meet inflation, the problem of Disney park admission will continue to be controversial.

I think a major revamp to the AP plans is in order, adopting a points model similar to timeshares. I’d offer a costly premium AP, good for any and everyday of operations for a full-year at all U.S. Disney parks pass at $1,000 to $1,200 per person, then there will be AP levels based on points ... How would this work?

Well, say you buy an AP with 55 points. Points are deducted based on the season, the day of the week and whether the guest stays in one park for the day or park hops. Admission could be as little as one point for a one-park visit on a Tiuesday, Wednesday or Thursday in mid-September up to five or six points for a Saturday or Sunday visit to two (or more) parks during the Christmas break or July. There would be no blackout dates, but AP purchasers would have to monitor their available points and would not be allowed to re-up until a week before the annual renewal date.

I’d sell a 23-point AP ticket to D23 members at a really good price (about the price of a four- or five-day park-hopper) and maybe offer two other point levels to the general public, maybe 55 and 110.

I’d still offer single and multi-day tickets for tourists and locals alike and the parks could still run various promotional deals if needed to draw more guests during the slower, off-season calendar days.

I agree with the article. However, our annual Disneyland trip has turned into our annual Magic Mountain trip. More thrills,less money, besides my kids are getting older. I'll still be taking my first trip in 3 years to the park, without the kids.

The price hikes have changed the way I use the park. A minimum of 5 days a year has now turned into once every 3 years. But part of that is the insane crowds. There are no off-peak days anymore. In the 90's I went to the park on empty, desolate days and had he time of my life. Those days simply don't exist anymore. I've made special arrangements to go on the slowest days of the year and still big crowds!!

I don't care if the prices change. The hikes keep the parks in check. As far as the crowds are concerned--security, "riff-raff", Disney is well-worth the extra money.

Thanks for crunching the numbers and figuring prices with inflation. Hopefully, this will calm some of that "Walt would never do that!" talk, as it's clear he raised ticket prices $10 in just a few years.

The "free babysitting" and rougher crowds you mention as reasons why he charged admission and installed one gated entrance in 1955 still applies today. If a Disney visit was too cheap and affordable, they would have the very same problem. When you invest more in a product (or vacation) you tend to treat it with greater care and attention, enjoying it more. Lower prices would - psychologically - make Disney seem like less valued in some minds, leading to abuse and the loss of the magic feeling.

As for crowd behavior, that's more of a societal thing. Attention spans in general have grown shorter, so there's little patience or appreciation for slower paced shows like The Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress. The zippy, flashy, quicker attractions and rides are more appealing to generations born after 1971, hence the long lines.

If I may suggest there is actually another alternative to raising prices to keep the crowds down. In fact, this already occurs on the busiest of days and the park hits its "safe limit", admission is halted and no more new admissions are allowed into the park. If they did want to limit the number of people for an enjoyable experience, they could decrease the maximum number of people in the park, but folks would complain about that when they tried to get in on a Friday night. There really is no good option that people aren't going to complain about.

Disneyland is an incredible place that is bound by the laws of physics, economics, and geography just like anything else.

I am a passholder of the higher-tiered Southern California annual pass and I have noticed the increasing crowds in the past couple of years. I never go on rides that have a 1+ hour long wait and I prefer to go on weekdays when there are less crowds. I don't personally feel like I detract from tourists' experiences because even when I go, I just go there to relax. Some days I don't even go on rides because I've been on them and they're not worth the wait for me when I can come back another day.

That being said, I went on a Friday a few months ago around Christmas-time and it was so ridiculously packed that you had to shuffle through the crowds to get ANYWHERE. It was terrible, and I stayed for 30min total before I left because it was too packed and my friend and I were getting agitated. I feel sorry for those who only had that one day to experience Disneyland because it was way to crowded and hectic for enjoyment. Especially if you're new to the park and don't know your way around as well. I'm sure Friday-Sunday is always like this, that's just how Disneyland is. But even on weekday evenings, my usual visit time, I saw that it was more crowded than usual. It definitely devalued my pass because I visited Disneyland half as many times as the year before. It wasn't as worth it anymore.

So now I am considering not renewing my pass because of the crowds, but then again I have the suspended Socal pass so I might just renew it just to keep my favorite pass tier.

I believe all the reasons you listed for the price inflation, and seeing as I can afford it, I can't complain. Even if prices do go up and people can no longer afford it, you wouldn't want to go anyway when the park is overpacked. It turns into a more stressful experience than a fun one and you don't get the most out of your money because even if you arrive when the park opens and leave when it closes, you'll probably only be able to ride maybe 3 rides all day, including time waiting in lines, taking breaks, parades, eating, etc. Not worth it.

Anyway, this was a good read. I enjoyed learning a little about the ticket history of Disneyland.

Congratulations Disney! You have finally priced yourself into having only affluent customers. I have a good job, my husband has a good job and I can't see using my hard earned money to pay $600 for my family to walk through the door. Goodbye Walt Disney World!

And we can charge anything we want, 2,000 a day, 10,000 a day, and people will pay it. And then there's the merchandise...

What's killed it for me are the crowds, you're right. But they bring cell phones and selfie sticks; they plow through scenic areas elbowing to be the first to take pics and then move on like locusts to eventually wind up in a 4 hour line where they hog the "cool" rides like bullies in an 80's arcade.

Yea, there's still magic there that nobody cares about anymore. Seen the line for carousel of progress or the hall of presidents lately? Nobody will stand around watching circle vision anymore either. That's another reason the "big" rides are crowded.

There was a day and age where people took their time and enjoyed themselves and they're long gone.

How could you miss one of the most important factors of the last 20 years? You completely skipped over it! The 50th anniversary was the single most significant change in pricing structure in the last 20 years. In 2005, the pass pricing structure dramatically changed- no renewal incentives were offered to existent passholders and the price for tickets and passes unapologetically increased about 30%. Thanks for all the info about the 50s, but don't fail to acknowledge the more relatable present.

Well said! Very good history and reasoning. Great read. Thanks.

I was shocked at the new prices. I'm glad you went ahead and did the math and research to make the news less upsetting. Thank you! :-)