Walt Disney World Introduces Park-Specific Tickets
by Daniel McCarthy
Disney is changing its park ticket pricing. Photo: Daniel McCarthy
Walt Disney World on Tuesday announced a major change to its ticket sales.
Starting soon, Disney will start using 1-day, park-specific pricing that will see guests’ purchase price change depending on the time of year and theme park of their choice.
Disney will offer the tickets starting on Dec. 8, allowing guests to select a date and theme park before purchasing a ticket.
Each ticket will be priced differently depending on demand—tickets to the Magic Kingdom Park will be priced at or above other theme parks “due to incredible demand,” Disney said in a message to its travel agent partners. That park remains the most-visited theme park in the world.
Costs to get into the Magic Kingdom could be as high as $189 during the week of Christmas to New Year and as low as $124 for other, less crowded times. That will be followed by Disney Hollywood Studios, which will range from $124 to $179; Epcot, which will range from $114 to $179; and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which will range from $109 to $159.
One benefit is that when a guest purchases the ticket, a theme park reservation is automatically made for them.
Guests will still be able to park hop with the addition of Disney’s Park Hopper Add-on.
At the same time, Disney also said it would increase the prices for the Incredi-, Sorcerer, and Pirate Annual Passes somewhere between $43 and $100, with the Disney Pixie Dust Pass remaining the same price.
Demand-based pricing is nothing new for Disney—its Orlando theme parks had previously changed ticket prices depending on seasonal demand.
This week’s announcement is one of a number of changes that Disney has made post-COVID, a list that includes the park reservation system that was put in place in order to control crowds. Most recently, Disney updated its park reservation system to allow groups to book park passes together even if they have different ticket types. It also altered the system to allow guests to modify reservations instead of having to cancel and rebook at a different park.
