4,000% is the approximate increase in Disney ticket prices since the theme park was founded in the 1970s. No wonder today’s middle-class families are being priced out of the Magic Kingdom experience that has become part of every kid’s dreams in the past five decades. Entrance costs, food, beverage, and service prices are shooting up right now as the company silently conducts hundreds of price increases across the system. Lower park attendance and declining sales numbers aren’t stopping CEO Bob Iger from adding extra charges on almost everything Disney sells, and avid fans are definitely hurting. Some of the changes will be devastating for consumers who are planning to visit Disney World in the coming months and in the next year, a new report shows. Continued below the video
So if you want to find out how much more it’s going to cost to visit and purchase your favorite Disney items, keep tuned until the end of this video! This fall might be your last chance to buy Disney tickets for less, according to a new CNN report. The entertainment giant is readjusting prices for the fifth time in three years. Amid a cost-cutting effort and attempts to boost the company’s falling profits, CEO Bob Iger has just approved a series of price hikes that will affect parks, general merchandise, and streaming services costs in just a few short months. Many restaurants have already been quietly introducing menu price changes in the past few months, especially during the summer.
On the company’s official website, the exact increases are not being disclosed to the public. However, data compiled by Disney Food Blog exposed price jumps of up to 40% in the past couple of months. Even though customers already seem alarmed by spiking prices at Disney theme parks, CEO Bob Iger says it will help “boost revenue and limit overcrowding.” In fact, amid falling sales and subscriber losses, the company’s streaming service Disney+ will get almost 30% more expensive starting on October 12. Commercial-free Disney+ will cost $13.99 per month, a 27% increase, while Hulu without ads will cost $17.99 per month, a 20% price hike. There’s one alarming trend for executives to watch out for — Demand for parks is going down. In Florida, park attendance this summer was 12 percentage points lower than during the summer of 2022.
The tab for admission tickets to the Disney World and Disneyland theme parks has jumped more than 3,871% in the past 50 years — dwarfing increases in visitors’ wages, as well as the cost of rent and gas, figures compiled by data-tracking firm SJ Data Visualizations showed. By comparison, wages as well as the cost of rent and gasoline have all risen by percentages well below 500% during the same timeframe, “If Walt [Disney] were alive today, he would probably be uncomfortable with the prices they’re charging right now,” Scott Smith, an assistant professor of hospitality at the University of South Carolina, who worked as a cast member in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, told the Washington Post. “They’ve priced middle-class families out.”Sadly, the Happiest Place on Earth is now becoming the priciest place on Earth, and only a very selected group of Guess will be able to afford it.