A day at a Disney park gets a little dearer - now costs $92

[The Straight Story]

Just in time for summer, the prices for some major amusement parks have become less amusing. As of Sunday, Walt Disney (DIS +1.14%) upped entry fees to its theme parks in Florida and California.


The Los Angeles Times reports a single-day ticket to Disneyland Park or the Disney California Adventure Park for customers age 10 or older rose nearly 6% and now costs $92. Admission for kids ages 3 to 9 is also steeper, up to $86 from $81.


And in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel says, visitors age 10 and up will pay $95 to enter the Magic Kingdom, making it the most expensive of Disney's parks.


"Like any business, we evaluate and adjust our pricing based on a variety of factors," Disney spokesman Bryan Malenius told the Sentinel. "A ticket to our theme parks represents a great value, particularly when you look at the breadth and quality of attractions and entertainment we offer and the special moments guests experience with our cast."

http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=578c3709-cf01-4e9c-942e-52b7f1a6c2ef

[HiPointDem]

1. just say no.

[Gravitycollapse]

2. What's the profit margin of these parks?

[Recursion]

17. You can't really compute margin on a theme park

Admissions are as a rule always sold at a loss but they account all the overhead including COGS for retail against them.

[Gravitycollapse]

18. So you're saying it costs over 90 dollars per adult visitor per day to operate Disney Land?

[Recursion]

19. What something costs is a mystical question

Like I said, theme parks generally account all overhead, including for food and retail, against them

[Gravitycollapse]

20. What I'm trying to determine is whether 92 dollar tickets are being sold for a loss.

In other words, do the daily sales of admission tickets to Disneyland equal less than the daily cost of operating the park. That should be a fairly simple answer. I simply don't have the numbers.

[Recursion]

22. I haven't seen their numbers but I would bet yes

Thème parks make their money on food and retail

[Gravitycollapse]

23. So then the next question would be how much could they reduce the ticket costs...

without cutting so far into their profits from food and retail that they make no money.

I have a feeling that the parks themselves don't make much money for Disney. They're simply great ways to advertise their movie dynasty.

In any case, people probably shouldn't be complaining about paying 92 dollars considering they gain access to a small city's worth of amenities and attractions.

[Recursion]

24. Theme parks are famous as money sinks

I think I agree with you; they're essentially huge advertisements for Disney media that parkgoers pick up some of the tab for

[NYC_SKP]

59. This is what I think, too. It's one giant all-day ad. Admission may be a loss leader.

They may make up for the losses for all the made in China crap that they sell to the sheeple who go there.

[KurtNYC]

43. I used to work for a major ski resort

On a good day we sold 40,000 lift tickets at $65 each. If it was windy we sold about 5,000 neoprene face masks. They could calculate every dime. It was like holding a rock concert every weekend -- $5.2 mil just on the lift tickets. They knew on average how much each visitor spent on everything else -- food, parking, clothes, rentals, beer, gear, lodging. I have to think Disney has similar numbers.

Disney is publicly traded so there is no need to guess:

Disney's theme parks and resorts unit reported the biggest profit growth. With tourists staying more nights at its Disney resorts and the addition of the Disney Fantasy cruise ship, which launched in March 2012, the unit's profit rose 73% to $383 million. A jump in prices for food and drinks and entrance tickets also pushed average guest spending higher, resulting in a 14% increase in the unit's revenue to $3.3 billion.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/07/walt-disney-second-quarter-2013-profit/2142579/

My guess is the price of admission to Disney parks is based on some demand curve and is as high as possible and factors in the parks hitting capacity on peak days.

[Fumesucker]

66. Ever been in business?

There's so many ways to account for things, a decent manager with a good bookkeeper can make the numbers come out nearly any way they want.

I've heard people I think were fairly credible say that much of the cash income from Disney's theme park booths, trinkets, refreshments and so on goes unreported for tax purposes. Note other people on the thread saying that all supplies are charged against the admission ticket income, makes it easy to hide what the actual cash income is because you don't have to match say the number of cups purchased versus the number of drinks sold and so on.

They don't call it Mousewitz and Duckau for nothing.

[Egalitarian Thug]

29. Have you ever heard of Hollywood accounting? It is a time honored tradition of basically allowing

any company with the means to buy an elected official or two to declare earnings through what is essentially an honor system. Of course, none of these parasites has ever had any honor, so as a result they all become fabulously wealthy by never earning any profit at all. Ever.

[Recursion]

31. What's the old joke?

"That movie was so successful the producer can't figure out a way to claim he lost money?" Pretty much.

I mentioned the mystical accounting practices of theme parks upthread; I actually know something about this because I've done IT consulting for a few (none as big as Disney, but big enough that our vendors worked for Disney also).

[Egalitarian Thug]

32. 3 years at WEA and over a decade around the biz. You probably know the James Garner saga.

I like to believe that if people had any idea of the reality of the entertainment industry that they all worship, they would turn their backs on it and get on with their lives. But that's probably simply self-delusion.

[Recursion]

34. Ah, then you know too.

Yeah. From working at a few, my understanding of theme parks are that they are movies where principal photography just keeps going on forever, like a Gilliam film...

[abelenkpe]

61. Magical book keeping

A movie can bring in millions yet never be deemed profitable. Great way to avoid profit sharing. All media accounting is pure fantasy designed to benefit the connected and screw everyone else.

[zipplewrath]

51. The profits are good

The profit isn't due so much to the cost of the ticket, as it is the sales in and surrounding them. That's predominately the hotels, the restauarants (inside and out) the gift shops, etc. The theme parks themselves also lend themselves to various marketing strategies and tie ins.

The single ticket price is especially problematic because basically Disney doesn't want you to buy them. They have alot of "packages" and "multi-day" passes which are the core of their business model. The single day passes can be seen in two lights. 1) A bit of advertising/loss leader for their parks. Try it out, and if you like it, come back for a multi-day experience. 2) Crowd control. You manipulate the price to discourage single day attendance on your busiest days, leaving the parks for the multi-day/hotel staying guests, and ENcouraging attendance on days when the parks will be a tad thin. (There are special prices for locals and Florida residents during the slowest months).

So the parks are very profitable. The single day ticket prices have very little to do with that.

[Journeyman]

3. I remember, decades ago, we talked of how we wouldn't mind them raising prices if . . .

they restricted the number of visitors. This was when admission to the Park was $7.50.

"Hell," we said, "they could triple the price and it would be alright -- provided they cut the crowd in half."

And here we are. The price is now 12 times greater and the crowds are at least three times larger.

I'd like to go to the Park with my granddaughters. But damn . . .

Maybe I'll take them to Knott's Berry Farm instead. $36.00. $27.00 for the children. I could take both for less than my single ticket would cost at D-Land.

[Live and Learn]

5. And the food is better too. nt

[Codeine]

38. Knott's is more fun anyway.

I can't stand Disneyland.

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. Life was so much easier when it could be equated to "A" vs. "E" tickets. nt

[SheilaT]

6. Wow. The only time I went to Disneyland was sometime in the late '70s. Whatever I paid, it seemed

reasonable. Among the reasons I never got around to taking my kids to Disneyland or Disney World was the cost. Probably won't take any grandchildren there either.

[RobinA]

44. Disney World

Can't speak for California, but my first trip to DW was in 1978, which was before Epcot was finished. An E ticket was $30. Spent most of our day standing in line, even then, but a good time was had by all. Went again in 2000 to take my 85-year-old grandmother and had a good time, but she was in a wheelchair, thus, no lines for us. Oddly, I would not take children there until they were at least 10. Battlefield conditions prevail and you have to have patience and stamina. Not a fan, but two trips in 30-some years has been about right. It ain't cheap and there's plenty of real stuff to see in this country.

[olddots]

7. who the hell has this kind of money ?

really who ????????????

[cali]

25. lots of people but there are all kinds of packages.

My guess is that many people going buy some sort of package deal.

[Codeine]

39. Plenty of people.

It's a chunk of change, but not outside the ability of most families to handle occasionally. Almost everyone who lives in Southern California ends up at Disneyland at least once in a while.

[rl6214]

8. I got an email today offering Disney passes for $69

For up to five in your family.

[MADem]

9. That is just Too Frigging Much. It's not worth it. nt

[Saboburns]

10. I like Disney World

No other place like it. Wonderful memories of me going as a seven year old in 1975. I went with my 70 year old father to the Wold Animal Park this winter. Just me, a middle age dude and dad. We loved it.

I understand the anti Disney angst. But I find it a very special place.

[Ron Green]

11. I've never visited a Disney property (and I remember when the one in Anaheim opened in 1955,

or whenever.)

Have I really missed anything?

[RobinA]

47. Yes

The best crowd-handling organization in the world. It's truly amazing from that point of view. Anybody in urban planning, transportation, logistics or any related field should go there and pay close attention.

[littlewolf]

12. I also have never been to the land of the mouse.

and have no plans to do so.

[Demo_Chris]

13. It sounds like a lot, but it's a special day. nt

[SwissTony]

15. But don't you have to stand for hours to get on an attraction?

When my kids were kids, we'd avoid the high season at attraction parks in Holland. We'd go in late season, preferably when the weather was overcast. Very little waiting, sometimes none.

[Gravitycollapse]

21. You can get fast passes. And if you time it correctly the waits are minimal or non-existent.

The key is planning ahead.

[RobinA]

49. Yep, Planning

the Disney trip is the E-ticket to non-disaster. Anything less than planning worthy of an invasion of Europe will result in kids screaming in the sun and humidity and parents filing or divorce. Plan to what seems an obsessive degree and then plan a little more. You won't regret it. And this includes planning down time.

[exboyfil]

14. In 1981 a general admission

including unlimited rides was $13.25. Assuming inflation rate (90.90 in 1981 vs 230 in 2012) then price would have been $33.53 today. Federal minimum wage in 1981 was $3.35/hr. Florida minimum wage in 2013 is $7.79 (so if only labor content is considered then increase would be to $30.81).

In 1986 the combined annual attendance to Magic Kingdom and Epcot was 24 million. Last year it was about 28 million for the two parks. Except for Maelstrom, Mission: Space and Test Track no real major attractions introduced since 1986 to Epcot. They had to pull out a very fun ride (Horizons) for Mission: Space. They pulled out World of Motion for Test Track - not as big a loss.

Magic Kingdom added Splash Mountain, added Pooh but pulled out Mr. Toad (a real loss), Little Mermaid (blasted the Toontown for it), Buzz, Monsters, and Stitch in Tomorrowland.

Granted the two parks are a better show than in 1981 (or 1986) but three times better? Someone is getting very rich, and it is not the workers (many by the way brought in from UK and other locations primarily to avoid paying Social Security or at least it was that way a few years ago).

[ProdigalJunkMail]

16. why would anyone pay $500 for a

day of STANDING IN LINE??? good LORD, what the hell are people thinking? even if you CAN afford it, it is a HUGE waste of time.

sP

[cali]

26. happens every day in the winter at ski resorts

and there you're standing in the cold, waiting for a ride up a big hill so you can slide down.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

42. another one i don't get...

hours of standing around... seconds of whatever you were ACTUALLY there to DO!

insanity... and we buy into it every friggin' day.

sP

[bunnies]

56. I was thinking that same thing when I read this.

Lift prices up here are astronomical. The ski resorts lost me about $40 ago.

[KurtNYC]

45. In Orlando someone was renting handicapped people

so that you could skip the lines by claiming they were in your party:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/skipping-lines-at-disney_n_3275836.html

[ProdigalJunkMail]

48. yeah... i saw that...

unfortunately, i see Disney taking that idea and running with it and making it an optional purchase when you come to the park.

"Hi! Thanks for coming to Disney today. The average wait time for a major attraction in the park today is... 2.2hours! Would you like to bypass the line? Just pay us an extra $49.95 and we'll 'rent' you this handicapable person to be your guide... and ticket to quicker access to the attractions!"

sP

[graham4anything]

27. People pay $1000 (not me) to see Roger Waters from the first row while singing Money (LOL,the irony)

As there is always a line everywhere, it means that in reality, the price vs. what one gets is well worth it.

Because, if it wasn't, people wouldn't go, and therefore the price would be reduced.

As ticket prices for concerts skyrocket, and as there is no lack of people paying to see concerts, and paying scalpers big money,
there indeed is a market for it.

One can listen to a song for free on youtube.
One pays hundreds a month in a family for phones.

And one can lower their blood pressure and have much enjoyment going to Disney.
Thereby saving thousands on doctors bills.

Just leave your cell phone in the hotel.
There is really no need to be conversing on the phone, it sort of ruins the point.

As such, I will go to Disney, and I will drive there (either cross country to California, or south to Florida,
or maybe take the AutoTrain to get there.

And the one day price, well, most get packages, so it is not the one day price.

And it is the single biggest worldwide tourist attraction.

Note-I myself think EuroDisney in France is a great place.
Smaller, less lines.
But you gotta get to France to go there of course.
And while there, may as well take the train and go see Paris and London and Austria and Flims too.
One will be spending of course in total, a lot more than $90 bucks a day.

So, if the choice is a week at Disney or one night in the first row at a Roger Waters concert, I choose Disney.
100% of the time. (or anyone in concert Waters just comes to mind everytime I think of the irony of his singing
Money while reaping millions in sales.)

But why did they have to close Mr. Toad in Florida?
Makes going to California worthwhile just for another go round on Toad.

[woodsprite]

36. I'm with you, G4A! There is so much entertainment bang for your bucks

IF that's the kind of entertainment you like. I know people who would be totally miserable there (and make others miserable as well). This is going to sound like a freakin' advert for Disney, but we have 2 regular places we love to go for vacation -- the beach (OBX or one of the Gulf Beaches to visit gmom/gdad, and Disney World)

Disney World is a regular (every 5 yr) trip for us. Five years gives Disney enough time to make some changes (so we're not seeing exactly the same thing every trip) and gives us enough time to save up vacation time and money. About 2 yrs out from our travel date, we'll make reservations and begin paying on a monthly basis. One year out, we'll start to make dinner reservations and buy/pay off our tickets. The goal is that when we drive through the gate, we don't owe a dime.

Just checked and the new price for our tickets if we went this year would be $45/day since we get the 10-day ticket and add the park hopper and water and fun options. It gets you 10 days in the park and 3 'extras'. The extras can be trips to the water parks, mini-golf, character event or picture session, etc. We usually camp for 12 to 15 days at their Fort Wilderness Campground (Last time $82/night full hookup). We don't take our truck out unless we have to grocery shop and can't buy it in the campground. Transportation to/from everything is by Disney bus. We do 10 days jumping between parks seeing everything (including the shows), down time at the campground (24-hr pool time, rent a canoe, nightly movies and songs around the campfire w/ Chip and Dale, horseback riding and more), 2 days at the water parks and one day doing one of the other extras plus a day at Downtown Disney (Lego store and souvenirs). We also get the meal plan (daily lunch, dinner and snacks -- well worth the cost of the plan). Staying on site allows you an extra hour or so in a selected park daily.

When we drive through the gate, the entire vacation is paid for with the exception of dining tips, alcoholic beverages, breakfasts (we eat in our trailer), and souvenirs. Last time we went, we took our babysitter as a college graduation present. Three years ago, a 13-day visit for 5 w/ all meals except breakfast was around $4,500.

Years when we do Disney, that's our whole vacation, but it does have something for everyone in our party -- we've gone alone, with the babysitter, with a group of friends (probably the most difficult trip to coordinate), and with an energetic 74-yr old friend whom we had to hustle to keep up with. We've been there off season, peak season and a holiday (4th of July). We get to the park around 10am then stay until the park closes (around 12am for some). Crowds? Nobody accommodates crowds or moves people like Disney does.

Love it!!! We're going again in two years for our 30th anniversary, but the trip will be slightly different -- still paid for beforehand, but not as long since we'll be going between Christmas and New Years. Would love to go on their short cruise to the Keys and back with a few days in the park to see the displays, but I grew up when The Poseidon Adventure came out. Don't want to necessarily celebrate New Years on a cruise ship -- no matter how happy it's supposed to be

[graham4anything]

50. I love the Osborne lights at Disney during the holidays.

While during the day it is packed, at night time (especially when they open later), it is somewhat emptier, and of course, the lights look great in the dark.

Another thing people seem to forget is how great Disney is to Florida itself.
That are thrives due to WDW, and how many thousands, and thousands of people do Disney hire?
(especially kids from around the world).

And I am a big mini-golf, and Typhoon Lagoon fan myself.
Love the fact that the lazy river doesn't stop as it does in some places, where they make you get out then stand on line to get back in. At Typhoon Lagoon, you can go for hours.
And their wave pool is one of the best.

[WhollyHeretic]

54. They've changed the way they do the Water Park Fun and More option. You get as many visits as days

on your ticket. So if you buy 10 Day passes you each get 10 visits to the water parks or Disney Quest.

[woodsprite]

58. We paid for Disney Quest as a single item when we went down to my in-laws last year

as a side trip for the kids. Don't think I'd ever do that again since it's mainly a Disney-fied arcade. It did allow us to play some of the retro games that hubby and I played when we dated. It's fun, but not awesome, single-item vacation fun -- meaning if it was in a package like the the More option and I found myself with extra time, I'd do it again, but otherwise not.

The water parks are neat, though I really miss River Country. It's almost like they're giving you a bit too much for your money and you can't possibly use it all. It does give you choices though. There is no way we could do a regular park AND a water park in the same day. Maybe it's just my 50yo self, but I'd be to exhausted to move after that and we'd probably be just hanging around the campground the day afterward recuperating.

When the kids were little (many moons ago -- they're 20 and 13 now), we would do a morning at the park, go back to the campground to take a nap, then to a different park in the evening, then if everyone was still going strong, close out the day with a midnight swim in the campground pool.

I miss Disney, I miss the beach, but not much chance we're getting any place for vaca this summer. Contractors are finally going to come fix our house from Sandy/tree damage so all of our earmarked vacation savings and tax refunds are going into upgrades not covered by our insurance.

[B Calm]

28. Wondering what Cedar Point is charging this year. . .

[Recursion]

30. "As low as $44.99." That floored me

I remember paying $10 back in the 90s...

[HughBeaumont]

35. If you live near there, get a season's pass -

As always, it pays for itself in 2.5 visits. I practically robbed Cedar Point on admission costs in the early 1990s (college years).

For Cedar Point, the more expensive prices are usually if you also go to Soak City. If it's just for the park, then it's under $45, I believe. THAT'S understandable; CP has 18 great coasters and lots of other rides and attractions (including some retro games/pinball machines in their main arcade), whereas Disney doesn't really have much for that $100 price except nostalgia value kiddie rides and Space Mountain.

[MrSlayer]

33. That's why you don't go for one day.

A multiday pass is significantly cheaper. Significantly. No one does Disney for one day. This is kind of meaningless.

[LisaLynne]

37. Yeah, and they're always running deals.

Plus, there are so many parks and the parks have gotten so big, it's hard to do them in one day.

[woodsprite]

40. A single-day ticket at Six Flags ($62), Kings Dominion ($62), Busch Gardens ($70-$75/va-fl)

Then there is Knoebels Grove (in Elysberg, PA) -- great park, just don't like their 'book of tickets' sales. On the other hand, if you don't ride the rides, the park is FREE!

http://www.knoebels.com/index.php/rates

It really is a great park! Very clean, great food, really nice pool (extra charge) but they do police what you wear and will have you change your shirt if it has any offensive sayings, kick you out of the park if you act up, or you're dressed too skimpily.

[Orrex]

41. Even as a child I couldn't imagine wanting to go there

It seemed like there were plenty of amusement parks closer to home, and I had no desire to immerse myself in the Disney experience.

Kudos to those who want to go, but I'm honestly surprised to learn that it costs only $92. I figured that it was about twice that much.

[n2doc]

46. Have you looked at concert ticket prices?

Similar trend. One either has to save up or be more choosy about finding free/cheap alternatives. Fortunately, there seems to be more free/cheap entertainment of good quality nowadays than ever before.

[Buzz Clik]

52. Plus parking, food, face painting, souveniers... all at airport/ballpark prices.

Bring lots and lots of money.

[OnionPatch]

53. Ridiculous

Just to go see a bunch of commercialized, plastic crap dancing around.

I'll save my money and take my kids to the nearest national forest.

[bunnies]

55. If one can afford $86, they can probably afford $91.

As long as people keep paying, which they will, they'll be no need to lower prices.

[wercal]

57. I made the mistake of booking a 4 day stay for the Y2K New Year in Orlando

On the big day, we couldn't get into the park since it was at full capacity (we were staying at the campground, and you have to exit the park and re-enter at the front gate). So, one day of park fee was completely wasted.

And the hustle was on to get our money - everywhere! Each time you exited a ride, you had to weave your way through a gift shop.

We went to a place to eat lunch once...it was really just a large square building, but it had been 'themed' for Toy Story. I took note at how easily they could re-theme it. I watched in amazement, as my kids played $2 a try video games, and at least 500 people waited in line for at least 30 minutes, to pay $22 for a really small pizza.

I doubt I'll ever go back.

[AndyA]

60. No way would I ever pay that to go to a Disney park

Disney contributes mostly to Republicans. Not going to give them money so they can spend it electing people who don't represent my interests.

Add to that the crowds, the waiting in line, overcharging for everything else as well as for admission...no way. Ever.

[Atman]

63. What a bunch of whiny DUers!

If you can afford to pay $86 for a ticket, paying $92 won't phase you. This isn't a community park for free, it is a vacation destination.

I grew up in Cocoa Beach, and I still have my official DisneyWorld "Alumni" badge, as being one of the first visitors. Over the years I wound up going to DisneyWorld over 40 times. Being locals, we knew the secrets...we'd drive into the hotel entrance, park in the garage, then use the game room and hotel services. It cost $14 to get on the monorail to the park, at which point we'd buy a la carte ticket packages.

Every family in Central Florida back then had stacks of leftover A, B, C ride coupons, because people only wanted the E coupons! But we all knew how to get around it.

Quitcherbitchen...DisneyWorld isn't a public park...it's a private enterprise, and they can charge a million dollars a ticket if they think that will fly. If you can't afford to go, that's too bad. Really. It sucks that the park is too pricey for the average family. But so is dinner at the Four Seasons. There are lots of other wonderful, cheap vacations which any family can afford. They may not have million-dollar rides, but they'll provide million-dollar memories.

We were broke when our kids were little...we bought a state park pass for $15 dollars and drove our beater Taurus wagon to a different state campground every weekend, from the Berkshires to Cape Cod. Great memories that I don't regret for a minute. When we finally got back on our feet, the kids appreciated the trips to Disney that much more.

[William769]

64. A one day admission to Universal Studios Florida is $128.00

Just thought I would give a little perspective here.

[liberal_at_heart]

65. I guess it will take me a little longer to save up for it, but I do plan on taking my family to

Disney. Maybe by the time I have enough money saved up there will be a Harry Potter theme park at California Univerasal Studios. That would save me airfare to Florida. My daughter commented she would like to see the Harry Potter theme park. I was hoping to take her for graduation, but I can't afford to fly us out to Florida. I still plan on going when I have enough saved up though.