Disney may launch a new ticket pricing model at their theme parks in the United States after a successful test at Disneyland Paris. Today, a top Disney executive shared more information about how Disney is thinking about pricing at the theme parks. He touched on everything from tickets to additional charge add-ons.
He specifically addressed a rumor that we reported on earlier this year about the potential for dynamic pricing at the domestic Disney theme parks. At Mickey Visit, we cover the latest Disney news, including a recent restaurant change and the newest rides coming soon. Disney also just released a new Costco special and we covered changes at Disney World in December.
Top Disney Executive Addresses Dynamic Pricing Shift
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston appeared at the Wells Fargo Media and Telecom Summit earlier today and addressed all aspects of Disney’s business. Within the theme parks segment, he discussed Disney’s pricing power and the different ways that Disney thinks about pricing for hotels, tickets, dining, merchandise, and additional ancillary offerings. During this segment, he spoke about the potential for new dynamic ticket pricing at all Disney theme parks.
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Johnston said that there is a focus on getting yield up, particularly in years where they are not adding capacity in a particular park. In other words, when there is no new Disney attraction or addition to drive increased attendance, they are focused on increasing how much the visiting guests are spending. You can see this focus on driving additional revenue represented in price increases for tickets, hotels, food, and more, and the add-ons that include Lightning Lane, Lightning Lane Premier Pass, and VIP Tours.
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While speaking at the summit, he brought up the concept of dynamic pricing for theme park tickets. He pointed to Disneyland Paris as the test case for this system. They have been using the dynamic ticket system for about a year. They are pleased with the early results, but want to optimize the system further before introducing it in the United States theme parks.
Johnston said, “We are actually investing in creating dynamic pricing. We are doing it in Paris right now. We’ve been doing it for about a year. It’s off to a very good start”.
For context, this change at Disneyland Paris removed the set flat prices for specific dates. Instead, the cost of a visit can vary for specific dates based on factors such as expected attendance, time before the date, and even current weather conditions. This is comparable to how there is no set rate for hotel nights. Guests at Disneyland Paris are able to change their visit date or cancel for a full refund up to three days prior to their visit. There are also undated tickets that you can purchase if you don’t know what date you want to visit with limited blackout dates.
Disneyland Paris currently uses a six tier system
- Tier 1 – $57 to $63
- Tier 2 – $64 to $72
- Tier 3 – $73 to $82
- Tier 4 – $83 to $95
- Tier 5 – $96 to $101
- Tier 6 – $102 to $152
We know that there could be differences in the United States rollout if they move forward with dynamic prices.
He then addressed the idea of bringing the concept to the United States theme parks at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
“We are really going to make sure we optimize it before bringing it into the domestic parks.”
He then shared the potential timeline for bringing the offering to the domestic theme parks. This is still up in the air as to whether it will happening, but he sounds optimistic about the system.
“That’s probably not something that you will see this year, but you may see in the subsequent years.”
The analyst on stage asked if Johnston thought about this model like the airline pricing model.
Hugh responded, “I’d like to not think about it that way, to be honest with you. But yes, similar.”
He then addressed the reality that this dynamic pricing is already present at Disney hotels in the United States and that in Paris they have not received any negative feedback.
“We already do it at the hotels to some degree, this is basically just bringing it into the parks, but done in a way that obviously doesn’t create guest experience issues or consumer negative feedback. Frankly, so far in Paris we haven’t seen any.”
What do you think about adding this offering here in the United States?
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Did you consider lowering ticket prices with the idea that families may spend more on merchandise ??
An explanation of the tier system would have been helpful here, otherwise there is no point in mentioning it. Who cares if they use it; we dont even know what it is.
The prices are crazy already I’d hope some are lower then they are now… And I’d never be able to afford 1 night at a Disneyland property as it’s upwards of $700 per night to sleep……..
Considering that Paris Disneyland has a generous return policy and that, according to the chart in this story, they have much cheaper admission prices, perhaps that’s why they haven’t had tons of negative feedback. Their top tier starts at the lowest price Disneyland has. I’m not surprised that their CFO doesn’t want people to associate their pricing with airlines, despite how appropriate that seems—offering less and pushing to charge guests a lot more.
In June of 2024, I went to Disneyland in California, alone. It cost me about 110 dollars to just attend the park. It cost me 80 dollars to rent a scooter. Im deaf, and it cost me 25 dollars to have one of those handheld devices which showed me, in text, what the pirates ride was saying over its PA system. So…it cost me 35 dollars for lightning lane charges, due to my problems with standing in lines. 35 dollars for parking!! So.. for 1 day in Disneyland it cost me 285 dollars for that!! I am disabled, are you going to do something about your extremely high prices? If you wanna forward this to the head of Disney, you go right ahead.
I’m curious if there will be changes to Park Hoppers also. Disney, if you want people to spend more money on merchandise and food then get rid of lightning lane. Lightning Lane creates a class system of haves and have nots. If you want people to feel better about the already high price of admission then you need to create a level playing field for all. That’s why people seem to prefer the old Fastpass system. With a little legwork you could get a better place in line at no extra cost. And bring back some live entertainment (like Golden Horseshoe) and parades.