Disneyland quietly raises its prices on tickets and line-skipping feature

The Disneyland Resort quietly raised its prices Tuesday, Oct. 11 meaning day customers will pay more to get into the parks and enjoy certain experiences.

Starting Tuesday, daily ticket prices to visit one park — either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure — will range from $104 to $179, depending on the expected crowds. For example, expect to pay the top price for weekends and holiday times (and face big crowds).

People who have already purchased tickets will not pay the increase.

A perusal of Disneyland’s website on Oct. 11 found no $104 tickets available until the second week of January.

People who want to “park hop” between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will pay an extra $65 for the privilege — which is a $5 increase. Multi-day ticket prices have also increased.

The highest-priced one-park tickets, good on most weekends and holiday periods, increased $15, from $164 to $179. The top one-day park hopper ticket jumped $20 from $224 to $244.

Other prices will also increase. Preferred parking will go up $5, to $50, while regular parking will remain $30. The Genie+ service that allows people to cut lines on some attractions will also now be so-called demand pricing, which means the greater the number of people, the more it will cost.

Until 2020, the general public paid one price to get into the park, based only on whether the purchaser was an adult or child.

Then, in an attempt to control rampant crowding, the resort put a new policy into effect that raised daily ticket prices on the most popular days and offered lower prices on days expected to have less demand.

When it reopened from a 412-day closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the park also put a new reservation system into effect, requiring people to reserve in advance and capping the daily numbers.

However, nothing much seems to have worked to reduce the crowds eager to experience the parks.

“In just 10 years, the cost of a ticket to Disneyland has essentially doubled,” MiceChat blogger Todd Regan, who writes under the name Dusty Sage, said. “What was $87 in 2012 can now cost as much as $179 in 2022. But through some sort of magic, the parks only get busier as the price goes up.”