The need to plan your Disney trip has just gotten more crucial. Beginning February 28th, Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida will both go to seasonal or “tiered” pricing. The move comes after Universal Studios Hollywood did the same thing last month, charging more for busier days, and less for slower days. The idea is to offer incentive to those planning vacations to come when the park isn’t scheduled to be so busy.
The park announced Saturday that it will begin seasonal pricing at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World resort. The prices will go up during days that are projected to be busier, and will go down on days that are projected to be slower. Busy or Peak days will be $124, and the other three parks $114. Regular dates for Magic Kingdom will be $110 and the other three $102. Value date prices will remain the same as the current one-day prices, $105 at Magic Kingdom and $97 at the other three parks.
Disneyland in California will have Value Days at $95 with Peak days going up to $119 per park per day.
This comes after Disney completely revamped their annual passes, doing away with many lower priced passes, and adding many more block out dates for passholders. The cost of Multi-day tickets will also go up, but the cost to stay multi days will still be much cheaper than staying one day. Those who currently have single day tickets will have to use them before 2017, as they will expire.
Disney is undergoing a massive expansion on both coasts, with Star Wars being the focus of both. At Walt Disney World, EPCOT will unveil Frozen and a new version of Soarin, while Animal Kingdom will enjoy the nightlife with Rivers of Life, and nighttime safaris on Kilamanjaro Safaris. Disney’s Hollywood Studios will roll out new Star Wars offerings in the form of a show and fireworks, while Disney Springs continues it’s huge reconstruction.
With the new pricing structure, it’s possible that Disney will see an uptick in Annual Passes, as that is currently the best value for a multi-day ticket. Universal Orlando hasn’t made a move towards the seasonal pricing yet, but with their sister park in Hollywood breaking the ice, and Disney following, Universal could be right behind them. Still, Universal could also play this to their advantage, and keep the same pricing structure they’ve maintained.
It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on attendance.
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