How expensive is too expensive for tickets to Disneyland?
To spend a day at just one park at Disneyland (and assuming you are an adult), your ticket will cost $99. If you want to visit Disneyland in addition to California Adventure, your ticket jumps up to $155. Disneyland is certainly a fun atmosphere for youngsters and adults, but is it too expensive?
I gathered 45 people from all age groups* to participate in an anonymous questionnaire, and 93.3% of my voters decided that Disneyland tickets were too expensive.
Now let’s consider kids. A one day park hopper ticket for ages 10+ is $155, so how much is it to bring your six year old sister? Many people I interviewed assumed that child tickets would be much lower, with at least a $50 difference. I believe the same. Unless you think $6 is a dramatic price reduction, you are mistaken. While kids under the age of three can enter Disneyland for free, a one-day hopper park ticket for youths from ages 3-9 costs $149. If you are 60 years old, your price is $155. If you are 5 years old, your price is $149. Huge age difference, but not so big price difference. One person justified the adult price, but stated, “I think the price for kids should be WAY CHEAPER.”
Additionally, an interviewee pointed out, “Ticket prices keep some families from buying souvenirs or food. Disney makes so much money on the stuff, you’d think they could make the tickets a little cheaper.
So let’s consider lodging, parking, food, and merchandise. If you stay at a Disney Resort, such as Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which is sandwiched between California Adventure and Downtown Disney, you will pay a minimum of $379 (excluding taxes and costs) per night. When checking prices for dates two weeks in advance, the lowest I found was $700 per night. Even trying to book a year in advance cost over $450 a night.
However, driving the two miles from Disneyland to stay at a place like the Embassy Suites on College Blvd., still costs upwards of $150 per night when booked six months in advance. You might get a better deal at a hotel farther from Disneyland, but then you will must pay for gas to drive to the park, followed by another $18 just to park your car a block away. Or you can choose to take the Disney shuttle (or taxi) which regularly stops in front of nearby hotels, but that will still be charged.
Food, let’s discuss food. Disneyland does not let you bring food or drink into the parks, so when you get thirsty (which WILL occur), you will end up spending about $3 on a bottle of water. And how can you pass up Disney churros, cotton candy, or ice cream sandwiches? Food carts selling your favourite snacks usually charge a minimum of $4. That does not sound like a lot, but if you buy two churros, an ice cream sandwich, and all day cotton candy, it is about $16 on your own. And if you want to go to a sit-down restaurant, you are looking at the hefty prices, particularly at restaurants like the famous Blue Bayou.
At the end of the day when you are strolling through the shops on Main Street, it can be hard to miss all the Disney-themed T-shirts, stuffed animals, accessories, and cute gadgets and knick-knacks. But after counting the price of the clothes you MUST have, together with those Mickey ears you will only wear once, and those Minnie Mouse cooking spatulas, your wallet is possibly running dry.
With the exception of Anaheim residents, if you want to visit Disneyland, you will probably must travel several miles. Airfare is not cheap, and neither is the amount of fuel you need to drive. To get to Disneyland from my city, I must travel about 500 miles. That’s quite a lot of gas money, but so much more if dad lived in town than I did. Depending on where you live, your road trip (or flight) may be the most costly part of your entire trip.
So, 93.3% of individuals find Disneyland tickets too expensive, particularly after taking into consideration the miscellaneous expenses necessary for an ideal trip. However, when asked if they would still visit the theme park, irrespective of the price and considering they’ve the money to go, 90.9% of my respondents said that Disneyland is still worth a visit. But why?
One voter of mine described the Disneyland experience as “magical”, but also added that food and drink were quite expensive. “Prices are getting more and more expensive because Disney knows people will pay whatever it takes to visit the parks,” they said. Others add that the experience is particularly worth it if it is your first time, you can go on all the rides (with some pointing out that exploring Disneyland takes more than one day), or if you are bringing the children. Others say, “Christmas time must be precious!” But I believe the reason is as easy as my first voter told me – the experience is magical.
So, how much does a one-day park hopper pass make people happy? Forty-one people gave me their ideal price points, and when calculating the average, people appeared to be proud of $83. After gathering desired price points, four people felt anything above $125 was a fair price, but fifteen people chose $100, and seven people chose $50. Other prices range from $60-$80.
I love Disneyland, but it seems most of us agree that tickets are too expensive. People want to have a lovely day in the Happiest Place on Earth without having to worry about breaking the bank for a bottle of water. Lowering ticket prices at the Disneyland parks might just be the simplest solution to put the minds of loyal visitors relaxed.
As one interviewee pointed out, “Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth, so I’d love it if it were free.” Of course, this is highly unlikely, but absolutely something we all dream of.
*Teenagers, adults, people with young kids, people without small kids, people from different cities and states, people who go to Disneyland once a year, people who have been to Disneyland only once, people who have never been to Disneyland, etc .
