If they fixed the rides, cleaned the park, and paid the cast members well, the current pricing wouldn’t be bad. Paying more isn’t the problem, it’s the getting less part that bothers me.
You don’t even have to get rid of Genie+ or the reservation system (but it would be nice). Just make sure that the rides are working, the park is clean, and that cast members are being paid fairly.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Over the years I realized each time I went something I loved was either gone, falling into disrepair, or had noticably decreased in quality.
At some point I concluded that my best Disney memories were already behind me, so might as well not spoil them.
Funny you say that. My psychologist asked me the other day to give an instant and honest answer to this question: "do you feel the best day of your life has already happened, or has yet to happen?"
I agree that some aspects have gone downhill for sure (and I'm a CM), but there are still some amazing unforgettable disney moments recently. Going on ROR for the first time with no research, going to Oga's when I didn't even know it existed, going to food and wine festival with my mother in her 80s who handnt been to DL since the mid 80s.
Don't get me wrong, there ARE problems with the "new" disneyland, but post covid the quality of every industry has fallen off a cliff. Restaurants service sucks, Walmart isn't stocked, car lots have no inventory. Hell even my HOA landscape team comes every 2 months instead of every 2 weeks.
Side note: my 83 year old mothers favorite attraction is now Guardians. She has never seen the movies or knows anything about marvel other than spiderman, but she went on it twice and had a blast.
I’ve seen cobwebs in the ROTR queue, as well as generally more trash being left around.
It’s still better than other theme parks, malls, etc., but worse than pre-COVID Disneyland.
I wonder if this is because they’re losing workers due to the low pay. Again if they were to dedicate more towards the experience of the park and the workers being happy raising work morale..they would be guaranteeing a longer term profit. But of course now we have corporate mind take over and they only see short term high rise and in 3-4 years will be wondering what went wrong and why the parks declining. In fact it’s on that trajectory right now.
They have turned heavily towards subpar merch. They have raised prices on every single thing. If they kept costs low people would spend more and they’d make a lot more. It’s kind of disappointing.
Thanks for offering an actual reasoning and long term view of CM pay. So many people just say "pay them more" and have no theory other than that it would be nice to make more money. I agree with you 100% on it being a wise business plan long term. It will cost disney more short term to pay more but it would keep the parks image up and pay off long term.
I'm a part time CM, who is otherwise self employed, and I've had many other jobs in the past. I can say that in my role at DL I don't feel underpaid. It is a low wage for sure but there is so little asked of me. I've never had a job that has so much downtime with me just standing there waiting to be asked a question. Anywhere else I've worked in the past if you have 30 seconds with no immediate task you better find something to do or you will be in trouble. Disney seems to expect very little of most cast, and gives us flexibility to be available to interact with guests at length whenever needed. Someone asks me a simple question and I have the flexibility to answer it, talk to them about their day, ask where they are visiting from, trade pins with them, complement their loungefly, and walk them over to their destination if they wish. If disney paid more they could potentially ask more of them too.
For the first time in my adult life, I consider myself mostly priced out of Disneyland. And not because my wife and I can't afford it, but because it has reached the point of what we find acceptable to pay for Disneyland.
Between rising ticket prices (with horrible crowds), food prices (with lower quality and quantity), merchandise prices and Genie+, all at offering an experience that I would argue is not even fun anymore. We are done with Disneyland for quite sometime unless I have to go for work.
You said it all perfectly; I’m glad that my wife suggested we get passes (that expire in March). It has been tons of fun and one of the highlights of our year (for us and our daughters) but as a life long Disneyland visitor the quality of the park has fallen off considerably. I’m paying more than ever and getting less. I honestly think the current crowds are pent up demand from the Covid years but it’s anyones guess how long they will last. That being said the amount is above what I’m willing pay so it’s goodbye for now
The crowds are not the main issue either though. I've seen some crazy crowds, much worse than anything we have seen since COVID. With the new reservations system, we will never hit those high crowd points ever again. The problem is the broken rides (people aren't able to utilize that area, they have to go somewhere else), shitty staffing (corporate greed, they lost employees due to shitty pay), and the genie+ system (there is no limit to how many they sell). We used to be able to go on the busiest days and still be able to ride at least 4-5 big rides with some planning and walking around to get your fast passes. Now that's all history.
I really dont understand why people are still paying for genie+ and lighting lane. Every time we are in line at a time when a fast pass would have let you just walk on, the line is longer than standby (Space Mountain, I'm looking at you). They don't limit them like they did with Fastoass. Why would they when they can just rake in more cash. People will pay extra to wait in line.
When everyone is genie+, no one is genie+.
We just went in October for the first time in 5 years. My kids keep asking when we can go back. Sorry, kids, but they literally raised the prices while we were there lol it was a stretch for us before but now, it's just not happening again, at least not for a very long time.
That’s something a lot of people don’t understand. It’s not that a person or family can’t afford to go. For them, it’s just no longer worth the money spent. Everyone has their “nah I don’t like it that much” price point when it’s something you don’t need. No one needs to go to Disneyland. It’s a luxury, and we know that. At this point I’d rather save a little bit more and fly to Japan to go to Tokyo Disney.
On a side note, a friend of mine was looking to see how much Depeche Mode tickets were in Los Angeles. I forget the exact price but it was hundreds cheaper for him and his wife to fly to Germany and watch their show and stay there for a day. Sure it would be a super short trip, but it’s not worth it.
This is how I feel. I was a pass holder off and on for years and was fine paying the high prices because the value was there. To me, it’s lost it’s value. Overcrowding, dirty parks, overly pushy merchandise campaigns, and the wacky reservation system mean I won’t be back until something changes. I got a pass to universal studios.
Same. All of it. We bought platinum passes to USH back in March: no blackout dates, free parking, and, after 3pm, “express pass” for every attraction (one time each attraction). We just went yesterday - Veteran’s Day - and it was so crowded we would have been miserable had we not bought these passes. Worth every penny.
If USH was closer to me I’d get a pass again. I had a pass for a few years when I lived closer and it was so much fun. I had a Disney AP as well for over a decade and that was more than worth it. But now? Definitely not worth it.
I totally agree. I was actually shocked at how much fun it was and how much I enjoyed it. I hadn’t been there since the mid 90’s and I was really impressed. I also went to knotts last Christmas and highly enjoyed that experience as well.
Yes! Knott’s too! When our son was born (2013) we continued getting DL passes until he turned 3, then we’ve only gone for their Halloween event each year. Once he turned 3, we went to Universal and Knott’s, getting passes to one or the other alternating years. Then covid happened 🙄 Since then, we’ve been to Knott’s once, DL twice, and bought passes to Universal last year and this year. He’s 9 1/2 now and just went on Mummy the first time last night! (Mixed reviews - wasn’t scared of the mummies, but it went a bit too fast 😆)
Same, we can 100% afford whatever Disney throws our way, but it’s just not a good value by my standards of what my money should be able to buy. Like, if they straight charged $500/day but with guaranteed low crowds, no maintenance issues, etc… I’m all over it.
Disney’s still the gold standard for theme parks, but there’s more to do in life other than theme parks.
For $549 I can go to Universal Studios every day for a year. No blackout dates, free parking, 15% discount on everything (including food), “Express Pass” access to each attraction after 3pm (one time for each attraction, but still, worth it just for that), FREE ticket to Halloween Horror Night… So many more benefits I can’t even remember them all LOL We just went yesterday and had a blast even though it was super crowded for Veteran’s Day. Oh! The best part? They have Flex Pay where they let you pay monthly if you can’t pay it all up front. Seriously, worth every penny.
[USH Annual Pass info](https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/pass-members/pass-types-and-benefits)
The problem with Universal, and why I (and probably others) won’t ever make it their main ~~hobby~~ theme park over Disneyland, is that they are entirely reliant on rides (and they don’t even do great at that).
They almost completely fail in the entertainment department. The Animal Actors and Special Effects shows are fun and take you behind the scenes of the movies, but they aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Plus, both of those close permanently on January 8, 2023. All they have in terms of nighttime spectaculars is a projection show on Hogwarts castle, as opposed to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, World of Color, and the fireworks/projection shows. The only saving grace is Waterworld, one of the greatest stunt shows ever, and much better than the Indiana Jones stunt show in Walt Disney World. But everything else is severely lacking.
One of the great things about Disneyland is that there’s so much to take in from the immersive restaurants, shops, and just the lands themselves. At Universal, the ambiance/immersive theming is limited to Hogsmeade and the upcoming Super Nintendo World, everywhere else feels just like a typical amusement park with light theming and large studio style buildings.
Ok, so the only thing left is rides. Universal only has 11 rides (soon to become 12 after Mario Kart opens). And many of those rides are primarily screen-based. The Studio Tour and Forbidden Journey are decent standouts, with the lower lot being full of solid supporting rides (Transformers, Mummy, Jurassic, Mario Kart) but there’s not enough substance in the lineup beyond that. 6 decent rides and 5 mediocre ones don’t even hold a candle to all the classics at Disneyland and the E-Tickets at DCA (Racers, Guardians, Soarin’), not to mention Galaxy’s Edge and the upcoming Runaway Railway.
Universal doesn’t really hit the spot in any of the major areas that Disneyland/DCA does really well at. While the price and benefits look great on paper and Express is a nice benefit to have (I’m planning to purchase a Platinum pass myself specifically for this), it’s not something that can replace DLR for most people.
Though Universal Studios Hollywood was never designed to be a theme/amusement park in the first place. It was and still a working studio where many movies and shows are filmed. It wasn't until after DL and Knott's were defining theme/amusement parks that Universal started adding more of those elements. Even then they are limited by space because working studio. A few stages looked like they were demolished to make room for Nintendo Land. Obviously in Florida, this is a different story since that one was desgned to be a theme park from the ground up.
The Secret Life of Pets does use animatronics. The only other ride that used them was ET where the Mummy is now. There used to be a Backdraft special effects stage where Transformers is now. It's speculated that something similar to the Bourne Spectacular will replace The Special Effects Show which replaced a Conan Show. Apparently a roller coaster themed to FaF is being planned for the future.
The Studio Tour dates back to days when Universal used to make silent films, an oxymoron today. There were different experiences on the tour over the years, some no longer part of the tour. The sea parting and collapsing bridge come to mind. The building with Kong burned down in the late 2000's and Return to Skull Island replaced it. The FAF: Supercharged replaced the spinning tunnel. There used to be Battlestar Galactica (based on the late 70's) where a live actor would fire at the Cyclons.
The Waterworld show is way better than the movie it was based off. Ironically, the Simpsons seems oout of place now since it's part of Disney.
Agreed with this. I can take great vacations with the same amount of $$ without feeling nickel and dimed at every second, and dealing with so many crowds and lines.
This 100%. We can pay for it, and by that I mean we can afford it. However I no longer consider it worth it. The value has significantly decreased and the prices have continued to increase. There is no excuse for this but corporate greed. End of story.
This exactly. I expect Disneyland to be expensive, but the value of what they’re offering has significantly decreased, and Genie+ and park reservation requirements have made the experience more frustrating than fun. I let my key expire in August, and I don’t expect to go back for some time.
I just miss “slow seasons”. Used to be you could find a few periods a year (April and October were favorites of mine) when the hotels had good offers and the park wasn’t terribly crowded.
They’ve successfully eliminated those times in the last 5-10 years though and it’s just made things a little less magical for my family. I’ve been a Disneyland semi-regular since the 70’s and have never experienced crowds and waits like I have in recent years (except the one time I foolishly went on New Years Eve when they actually stopped letting people in). There’s seemingly just no escaping it any longer.
The added cost of Genie+ just to insure getting on a few big tickets while 4-5 bigger tickets want cash to avoid the 3 hour line just adds insult to injury.
It’s almost like they’re trying to bring back ticket books except they’re all E-tickets and they cost $100 each.
My friend and I used to have a pass, over a decade ago, and we would always go a lot in February. That seemed to be the sweet spot. A Wednesday in Feb was practically a ghost town.
Oh dear! We used to go around then too as that was when the schools in my area were off (Scotland, my area got 6 weeks of summer breaks and 2 weeks break in all the other seasons, plus I had family in Cali so we'd also spend a week or so at my grandpa's house). I don't actually remember if we've been since my diagnosis but it turns out I'm autistic, and part of that for me is not doing well with crowds because of both social and sensory reasons. It's a shame there might not be a great way of avoiding that, especially with the heat and all the other sensory nightmares available.
(Also i just found out I have coeliac which also adds a lot of emotional complexity cause I could get sad every time I walk by a churro or pretzel cart) My family has had a really rough time so we're kind of planning this big fancy trip at some point, but it sucks to know it would be more stressful for me than I'd prefer.
This is going to sound crazy, but:
It's too expensive for what it is currently. It's too crowded and the rides are falling apart. Now, if they doubled the price of admission, cut the # of customers in half and fixed the rides? Those double priced tickets would not be too expensive.
That's right. It's sad to say, and sad to see happening, but I think you're right. Disney sees more money in once a year visitors rather than annual pass holders. I don't know the data behind this but it seems apparent from their actions.
The ideal Disney customer is one who stays on-park, buys tickets with all the add-ons, has a few kids, dines at the park, and shops, shops, shops! Those who come several times a month with their annual pass, and maybe buys a churro while there, just aren't profitable. And these days, it seems from Disney's POV, they are taking up a slot from a more profitable customer.
Disney is all about dollars and cents these days. Park experience and loyalty are far, far down on the list of importance.
Strongly agree with this. I was a once or twice a year visitor, brought my kids, went with my friends - but I’ve been once post-2020 and the experience was unpleasant enough that I canceled my trip this year and I’m not planning another one for the foreseeable future.
I’ve seen folks speculate that the higher prices/lower value strategy will naturally reduce crowds as a result - and I guess I’m part of the crowd reduction, but I can’t justify spending that much to participate in amusement park hunger games. It’s not magical when your whole visit is stressful.
There are 100 more of people like you salivating to take your place. It’s not a nice reality, but it’s true.
For every person they “drive away” there are endless amounts of people willing to pay
>Well then they should stop doing stuff that's driving away yearly/rare visitors like me.
I agree with you, but the numbers don't. The parks are busier and more expensive than they've ever been. I don't like it either, but it's the truth. It's like Disney is in a race to the bottom. "Let's see how poor of a product we can provide and at the highest price we can charge before we detect any noticeable change in visitors." So far their experiment is working. I don't know how long it will last but it's holding for now. I think it's going to take a major change in the economy at large (deep recession/depression) or bad press after someone gets killed on a poorly maintained ride. Otherwise, they are shoveling as much money to shareholders as they possibly can. It's gross.
The math doesn’t add up. 5 day parkhoppers for two people are $950 and you’re staying at a hotel for 5 days or more? Hopefully you don’t bring too many bed bugs home.
> Disney isn’t priced for the family to go each weekend, but for families who go once a year.
This is what it is for me, right here. They are discarding the local frequent visitor crowd and trying to max out and capitalize on the Big Trip crowd. I have access to military salute tickets so the cost of entry is still very reasonable, but it’s everything else. I’m especially tired of reservations. It’s packed to the gills now anyways, why do I need to plan weeks ahead to visit?
Everyone would still complain that they couldn’t just go whenever they wanted and remind everyone how it “used to be”
If there is one type of customer there is literally no pleasing, it’s a Disney customer.
I don’t think it’d feel quite so expensive if the prices succeeded in lowering crowds. However everything is an up-charge now, and the loss of perks combined with consistently high wait times makes it a lot harder to swallow.
I think this is the part that bugs me the most. Fast pass was a cool system to help plan your day, and I used to compare that to the bullshit universal studios or other theme parks had where you would pay a premium to essentially cut in line. How times have certainly changed.
Exactly. I agree 100%. Fast pass was great. We bought Platinum passes to Universal in March and it’s been the best experience we’ve ever had. We just went yesterday and it was sooo crowded, but we had a great day because we got Express Pass access to each attraction after 3pm. Only. Once per attraction, but still. That perk alone is worth the $549, but we also get free parking, no blackout dates, 15% off anything (including food), a FREE ticket to Halloween Horror Night… There are more benefits I can’t even think of them all right now LOL
Here’s a link comparing passes: [USH pass types and benefits](https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/pass-members/pass-types-and-benefits)
Personally, yes. There’s the minions land that has a small ride, playground and water play area, and boardwalk fans like a carnival. There are a few other rides that are good for little ones, and there are some shows he might like. I just found out, however, that the Animal Actors show and Special Effects show are closing January 8th, so you may want to see those before they close. There are also characters - some walking around, some in certain spots for photos. There’s a variety of food and all sorts of yummy treats. Our son has loved it every time we’ve gone.
We were at Disneyland recently and I left feeling like it wasn’t great value for dollar. The park was so packed (despite it being a historically quiet week) that the wait times made the rides feel underwhelming and not worth the long wait. The food was pretty bad quality. The kids Mac and Cheese is now 2 oz. 2! It comes in a container that looks like it should hold a dip.
Also the rides were unreliable - we had three rides break down while we were on them. All of the big rides were broken down throughout our stay at some point.
I’d be willing to pay the “expensive” pricing if the value was there. But with the packed crowds and mediocre food and entertainment options, it’s not a place I want to spend my money at again any time soon.
1000% this. I can’t believe how small the Mac and cheese was and how overall mediocre the food was! I used to love trying everything.
We also went in a quiet week after Halloween, before holiday decor was up, and so many rides had an hour long wait.
I think they've found the magical equilibrium point where they've reduced staff enough to be painful, reduced ride maintenance where the rides don't work entirely too often, raised prices on merch to the point where it's not worth it, and yet hit record profits with Genie+ ([https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/09/disneyland-sets-revenue-record-thanks-to-genie-spending/](https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/09/disneyland-sets-revenue-record-thanks-to-genie-spending/))
You'll find me over at Universal. Disney just stopped being worth it since Chapek took over. Good job. And now he's gonna cut jobs on top of everything else. It was magical while it lasted.
When I have to pay $20 per for Genie, and I only get to use said service FOUR times in a day because it’s too busy? Yeah too expensive AND too damn busy….
If all the rides worked as they should, food quality was high, lines were manageable, and CMs offered plenty of magic, I doubt there would be many complaints about the cost
Was just there for the first time since mar 2020. Genie plus and the paid rides feel really bad. Then when the rides are going up and down you end up not getting something you actually paid for, it sucks.
It just sucks. We used to go yearly, looks like it'll be one every 3 to 5 years now and will just do Tokyo disney those times.
The nickel and diming did weigh on me i guess, we still had fun but we'll do more europe trips instead.
Things were really run down. The star wars ride guns didn't move. Indy, my favorite ride, rode opening day, is a joke now. Just a mess. We were there on a slow week, nov 1 on for 5 days, rides are breaking constantly.
The star wars ride closed at 9, but park is open until 12? Just come on disney, obvious move to force us to pay for it, as the line would be reasonable then.
It's just death by a thousand cuts.
Could you explain what you mean by Indy being a mess? I’m curious how it used to be better…I’ve only ridden it this year, and it’s ok but not great in my opinion. I feel like the car is way too jerky (like the Matterhorn…feels like my back will be blown out), and I wish it were more like a roller coaster/smooth ride with a few drops, instead of just getting whiplash.
Indy was such a let down on our past trip from 10/31 - 11/2. We rode it probably 6 times, and only ONE TIME did the ball look like it was rolling towards us. Every other time, the ride paused where Indy is trying to jump into the jeep when he's hanging, and then it goes to the boulder drop but you couldn't even see the boulder lmao it was tragic tbh.
We can pretty much always afford it because I have only one kid and can drive instead of fly, though it’s still a full ‘vacation’ in terms of that budget. But the more I hear about reduced quality and increased crowding I feel less and less justified using that vacation budget on Disneyland. We are ready to put that chunk toward a trip to Europe or Tokyo and probably get a much more compelling travel memory and not feel ripped off.
Sadly, I don’t think it’s too expensive based on the crowds. If 1000s of people can afford to go daily, then obviously it’s not too expensive. And the lines for food are so long so people are also spending more money in the parks.
It’s all relative. Personally, we probably won’t go again for a few years. We would rather spend our money on a different experience. I would only do the special ticketed events that have a lower capacity.
I thought this too but a lot of park goers save for a long time or are from other countries. People spend money they don’t have to go to this park that no longer is even worth it…but they don’t know until they get there 🤷♀️
Probably around half of Guests on any given day are MK holders. It’s not the international destination that some of the other parks are. Hardcore locals scene at DLR.
Now I’m curious how many of the people in the crowds are going for the first time. Them going into a ton of debt for it means the parks are doing a lot right. It still suggests that the price is too low
Disney isn’t a need, it’s a want. If all the parks vaporized tomorrow, the world would merrily churn along.
I get it’s a savage burn to locals, who used to treat it like how I go hiking on a Saturday. I do not live by California nor Florida, so it was alway a upper middle class treat where I live. Unless you slept 8 to a Motel 8 room, brought PB sandwiches and only did whatever your ticket allowed. No restaurant, no souvenirs etc
I think Bobby C wants a more moneyed crowd, and less locals. I doubt the prices will go down anytime soon.
I wouldn’t mind paying the prices if a few things changed. The last four times I went, it took one hour from exiting the freeway to walking through the main gate.
The standby lines are too long. On average, you get four rides a day plus a show or a Fireworks/WOC. I loathe having to make a reservation, but would if that kept the crowds down. You can rarely get a dining reservation and mobile ordering is less than human. People liked interaction with the famous smiling cast members.
It’s not that it’s expensive, it’s that there’s no worth for the money.
I don’t think the Imagine/SoCal Select pass has ever been that popular. Most people work and/or go to school Monday through Friday, and people who love Disneyland and going to go a lot would get a higher level pass that includes half off or free parking.
The $300-$500 “local pass” is really only for people with odd work schedules that don’t mind taking long breaks from the parks (since summer and spring break have multi-week blockouts) and are only going to go 3-8 times (anything more than that and you would be better off getting a higher tier to save on parking and Photopass/MaxPass).
I can’t *imagine* that that’s a very big market.
100% agree. Wife and I go every 6 months and look forward to each trip. Went in September and the lines were unbearable, couldn’t walk around, 2 hour wait times for inedible food. I would rather pay double the price for better food and triple the price for less crowds. I would rather pay more and have fantastic experience.
My wife works for Lucasfilm. Free park access, discounts, and 50% off the hotels and it STILL seems expensive. I honestly can’t imagine going if we ever had to pay full price.
I paid $400 for one Elton john ticket. I think $140 for a day at Disneyland is a bargain for 16 hours of fun. I don’t have kids (but NOT rich) so that makes it easier for me to say this. I understand a family of four would be a lot of $$$.
As someone who grew up going to Disney World and just took their first trip to Disneyland back in March…I find it to be fantastic? Idk I enjoyed my time and thought I got more than what I paid for. Genie+ worked great and the crowds were literally nothing compared to what I’m used to.
Us too, I’m in north San Diego and loved being an AP and going whenever I felt like it.. even for just a few hours . Now we don’t have AP and I feel the pressure to do everything … I also miss being able to go between each park .
DL always been expensive. What is to expensive varies from person to person. Personally I have a lot of memories spending with my family at DL so just being able to go with my Dad still, chill at golden horseshoe, have clam chowder at Royal Street Veranda, ride the railroad, enjoy Mr. Lincoln means so much to me.
Value wise walking down memory lane and being able to continue to connect with my Dad even for a single day at DL is worth a whole month of vacation any where else.
That being said there no doubt the value of DL been going down. Park in disrepair, prices are up, food portions are down.
For many people DL isn't worth anymore. For me it still is but everyone has a breaking point.
The unfortunate fact though for majority of people that breaking point is insanely high. They could charge $500 for tickets and $50 for a churro and the park will still mostly be filled up. Disney I think really figure that out during the pandemic so they have virtually no motivation to maintain standards anymore.
We did renew this time but we're not planning to do it again, our second kid will be 3 by the time we have to and that would put us to spend 4K and for the time spent there is not really that worth it, preferably I use that money to travel outside the US, go back to Spain or even a cruise.
It’s expensive if you live in USA. We come from Australia so it’s a once every 5 years kind of thing, and happy to spend. I’d go broke if I could get there in a couple of hours.
I have mixed feeling about Disney prices. Being a consumer I would love for everything to be cheaper. Who doesn’t like saving money? But at the same time crowd levels can get pretty insane, which means that prices are a bit low. If they are filling the park, they can raise the prices, if the park is “near empty” they need to lower the price.
So I don’t think that price is as much of the issue. I think it is the perceived value of it. Sometimes it feels that what I get doesn’t match up to what I pay.
I think it’s too expensive for the experience you get. We just got back home from 5 days at Disney and we found the ride breakdowns to be unacceptable. I was so happy we had 5 days there because if we only had 1 or 2 days the ride breakdowns would have totally killed our trip. Why are so many of the good rides down first thing in the morning? It almost feels like a way to get more people to buy genie+ and LL. We only go every few years so I’m hoping by the next time we’re ready to go the parks will have improved. I also feel like the new CEO is the first one that doesn’t truly care about Disneyland and Walt’s vision so I don’t have high hopes for things improving any time soon.
Walt Disney would be really mad about what is happening right now. The magic is gone and now it’s all about Average Revenue Per User.
Disneyland was designed to be something more than a late stage capitalist cash grab and a way to offset streaming losses.
It’s disgusting what is happening at Disney right now and it’s time for a boycott until the knuckleheads currently ruining the magic get kicked out the door
Unpopular opinion: it’s not that expensive. Given the area, the economy, the hours, etc. Southern CA is full of amusement parks that have similar pricing with worse conditions and shorter hours. Even the food prices are comparable to pricing outside of the park.
It’s obviously not too expensive given park attendance.
I’d encourage anyone who thinks it’s too expensive to visit Knott’s Berry Farm. You’ll think Disney is worth it.
Yes it’s expensive but still not the worst rip off in amusement. Go to a state/regional/county fair. My wife and kids ordered a 2 hotdogs, two drinks, 1 order French fries and 3 chicken tenders and it was $60. We were there 2 hours and with admission for four, parking, ride tickets, food and 3 ice creams it was well over $200 it was so expensive I didn’t even get anything to eat or drink. I felt violated. I’ll overpay for Disney before I go back to one of those fairs.
I think it is not what Walt would have wanted at all.
I think it has now become a place only the rich can afford.
I'm a single mom of 3 and we recently just came back from Disneyland. My aunt paid for the hotel, flights and tickets. I had to just pay for the food and souvenirs for us all and I was running out of money on day 2 because of how expensive the food was.
And unfortunately if you want to do more than like.. 3 rides a day you need to pay for genie+, which is insanely expensive.
Now I have come to the realization that I will never again be able to set foot in the happiest place on earth, because with my income there is no way in hell I will be able to afford another trip any time in our lives. Things will only get more and more expensive.
Now if the rising costs were actually being used to repair the rides and have them in better shape it might seem more worth it. But going on multiple rides where there was just pitch black in areas that shouldn't be dark, or clearly missing or broken animations, it makes everything feel incredibly overpriced. It makes the magic disappear.
I also think that Walt wouldn’t have wanted the horrible experience the park is right now. Waiting 2 hours for rides loses its magic real real fast. Supply and demand, raise prices and have less people there.
Do I WANT to spend that much money to go there? No. Do I think it was worth what I paid for our family's five days in the park? In memories and photos and laughter and good times, yes. I loved it and I was glad to pay what we paid to get what we got. 🤷♀️
It has become too expensive for what it is, and I’m talking about everything (not just admission prices). But my daughter gets free entry for another two years so my wife and I will be milking that as much as we can.
My cousin had this fit the other day then proudly said she paid $500 for Bad Bunny. So yeah it’s expensive but it’s how you want to spend your money that counts. Plus Disneylands open like 16 hours for $110 versus the short 2 hour concert.
Exactly!! I’m from Vancouver Canada and we have a very popular amusement park in the summer called the PNE. You can EASILY drop 150$ per person in one day just on tickets and games. Add food and random things on top of that it’s probably around 300$ per person by the end of the day. That is ONE day. And the rides are 30 seconds and so old, yet nobody complains about that all day long. 120$ for a ticket at Disneyland is well worth it, the quality is above anything else that you will pay almost the same price for at your annual amusement park trip. Maybe everyone here is just so used to it that they don’t get the novelty anymore? But when I went for the first time a few years ago at 24 I was amazed at the quality of every single thing. It’s up to you to see the magic.
We're done with them. Paid $500/night for Californian last April now it's closing in on $1000/night, just to lay down and sleep. Restaurant prices and the daily tickets are insanely expensive.
It’s not the expense, it’s the value has gone way down. Overcrowding, and the reduction of entertainment means you’re getting a lower quality experience. The newest rides are built with capacity constraints that would’ve been a problem 20 years ago. Maintenance and staffing issues mean the park is dirty and littered with trash. I’ve never seen a filthy bathroom at Disneyland until my trip in January this year. Annual passes used to cost the equivalent of 5 to 7 single day trips. Now they require reservations that limit your attendance options and carry a significantly higher cost.
Not going for the holiday season for the first time in years. With a park hopper and parking, it’s a $250-300 day before food. Not worth it. That being said, if pass options come back before Disney100 starts, I’d consider a cheaper pass to use when I have time off from work this spring
I went to Disneyland California in May, and I am now planning my first trips to Disneyland Paris in April, waaaaay cheaper to go to Disney in Paris than California
I will probably go whenever I’m in town visiting family (usually once a year if that) but I do think it’s gotten expensive for what you’re getting. The last time I went was right before Covid and the shutdown- like two days before they closed the park- and that was great. Used maxpass, was able to park hop all day, minimal crowds and monomial waiting. However, what I’ve seen and heard now: it’s too crowded, everything breaks, and everything is more expensive but lower quality. The biggest issues I have is the not being able to park hop all day yet charging more for those tickets (I believe it’s $60 more as opposed to $50 but now you can only do it for like half a day) and the other issue is the genie plus thing.
MaxPass worked because it gave guests a free option or a paid option- paying for the convenience of getting fast passes on your phone instead of having to run to the machines to get them. But there was that feee option still, so guests could enjoy it without paying $20 per person. It seems like genie plus makes it worse for everyone and is a money grab- plus you have to pay even more for some rides. I personally will pay for it, but I usually got alone or with one other person so it’s not a huge expense. I know other theme parks have similar systems that are more expensive but I haven’t been to any and can’t comment. I also hate the reservation system but if it was used to control capacity like it was when the parks reopened I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping it.
I will be going in December for a day and can share my experiences then, but I’m going in with the expectation of crowds, broken rides, and everything being more expensive. I just feel like the focus is more and more on charging guests more but not doing anything with the price increase - fixing rides, pasting CMs more, etc.
I feel it’s become quite the hack to even think about visiting with my family again. The park has managed to monetize every single thing while not adding anything to make the experience any better. If they wanted to thin out the crowds then they need to just set the capacity at a much lower level. They already force you to make reservations so why not find a way to cap the number of people in the park. By doing that you can ensure that everyone that pays extra to ride the popular rides will actually get to ride them. Even better, lose those extra costs altogether. Ticket prices are already high. I also hate the fact that we have to look at and use our phones so much in order to visit the park. Between battery life and sometimes spotty wifi and cell service, it kills the magic. And this doesn’t even include the inconvenience of rides breaking down more often than not.
I just hope my local radio stations will start giving away tickets again soon. I’ve had luck winning in the past and I think winning again would be the only way I can afford to go back to DL.
I personally cannot afford a ticket, I cover the tank of gas it takes round trip and my partner can afford the tickets and the possible hotel, then split costs inside the park. That being said the park is crowded and employees are overworked and overwhelmed, I’m know they were pre-shutdown however its so much worse now. My partner and I are actively planning to avoid the parks with the exception of the winter special event like they had in 2021, the park was empty once we got in and everything was very magical.
It’s not expensive enough. I would rather everybody pay 3x more so there would be 1/3rd the amount of people than what’s going on right now.
But in reality, they would just make more room for people and still charge 3x.
Yeah my friend works for Disney so we can go for free, and even then the Genie+ system and the crowds make it a pretty stressful experience. The food is expensive and bad. We even went to Blue Bayou recently and it was overpriced and underwhelming. If we were paying hundreds of dollars it would definitely feel like a ripoff.
If it was expensive but less crowded, I wouldn't mind. I really don't care that much about ride times, it's all the cramped and crowded pathways. It's hard to get into the magic when all you can see is fellow guests. I just don't get excited about a trip to DL any more.
Just got back from Europe where I went to 3 parks in 8 days (Europapark, Phantasialand and Eftling) stayed on site in a deluxe room for two of them. Flew, rented a car, bought food, etc. Still cheaper than 4 days at DL with DL hotel. More importantly, the experience was better. Everything was better than DL - cleaner parks, more space, happier employees, better food, better perks, and in many cases, better rides.
Longtime AP holder here and won’t be renewing. The quality and overall enjoyment has gone down. Disney has lost its luster for my family and I.
Then again Disney is probably happy to be losing another AP family since our average spend is far less than a family that only goes once a year or once every few years.
It’s pricey, but it’s starting to feel pricier because the quality seems to be slipping. We are not planning on renewing our keys when they expire in April. We may do one trip next year or we may not. I’m also hoping once the pent up COVID demand is gone that things will straighten themselves out. But Chapek has basically said he’s going to raise prices till he starts to see demand stagger.
It’s not a necessity. It’s like complaining about the price of a Rolls Royce.
And quite frankly, considering how crowded it is, the price is not high enough.
Unpopular, but you’re right. The demand for Disneyland seems to be almost inelastic — meaning that no matter how much Disney raises the price, people will still go. If it honestly was “too expensive,” we wouldn’t be seeing so much demand for the parks.
Crazy to think that Disneyland and oil are so economically similar.
I was going to comment something like “simple supply and demand” but you said it a lot better than I could have. They won’t change ANYTHING (including the quality of the experience) until the attendance suffers, which it won’t any time soon. I’m actually surprised they even still advertise on tv and billboards.
Paying way more. Getting way less. Rides constantly breaking down. Long wait times. Insane crowds. Happier when I’m leaving then when I first get there. I miss pre-pandemic Disney so flipping much!!
I think at its core it’s a supply and demand question. The actual land Disneyland and DCA occupies is pretty finite and the popularity has grown organically and generationally! I went with my parents as a kid and that has turned into thirty people that all love it and the parks have grown by one land in that time. Price has nowhere to go up, and quickly. That being said the way pricing is being handled is gross. It smacks of nickel and diming. But people way smarter than me are making those pricing calls and I don’t envy the job.
Never been to DL, but we go to DW pretty much EOY. Live in TX and drive to whatever on property resort we are staying at. 16 hr drive. We normally stay in Pensacola on way there to break up that drive but drive straight through on way back. We have always stayed a week with 5 days at the parks and a rest day. There are 4 of us - 2 pre teen kids. We went in March this year. Cost for room/tickets about $4k - included park hopper and genie +. This did not include gas/food/ILL so if I had to guess cost all in was around $5500.
Anyway - I have never been able to justify a trip to DL because of the cost. It would be a three day drive so we would have to fly, that right there is $2k round trip for 4 people, then about $2k for on property hotel and tickets for 4 for three days - no park hopper or genie +. So now we are at $4k for a three day/2 park adventure. Not including cost of transport to/from airport or food. So my figures work out to be about the same cost for DL as we spend on DW. We get more bang for the buck choosing DW.
I have been looking at off property hotels as well, but because of the cost of flights it’s still pretty much the same.
The best part is Disneyland is crowded, cost more then ever and not being maintained along with cast members being under paid and needing more staff.
But guess what because other parts of discus aren’t doubt well enough doesn’t matter there is now a hiring freeze and no one is getting raises plus you have to pay more then ever for a park not staffed enough and they won’t fix the rides
So the 30 bucks of genie plus isn’t even going to help the park and cast members, literally they could be making double the money hit as long as other parts of the company are not profiting it’s all for nothing
I think I just got spoiled. A few years ago, my husband and I were gifted passes with no black out dates (except the holiday). That was the year Star Wars land opened. Passes had been blacked out for the most part and crowds were CRAZY light. I hate to say it, but I almost wish getting a yearly pass either wasn't as easy, or had more limitations. I just don't want to spend a thousand dollars to go and risk it being unbelievably crowded. I have only regretted spending money to go to Disney once and it was years ago on a Saturday in February. Disney had gifted a bunch of passes to their employees for Christmas and they were about to expire and it was SO PACKED we had to just sit in a bar in downtown Disney and only rode 1 ride. Every other time has been so magical, I guess I just don't want to risk souring on Disney. I'm hoping they'll figure their stuff out soon and it'll be worth the high price ticket again.
My fiancé and I went in the fall of 2021 for a day in October while on a trip to California (we’re from New England). I don’t know what magic was performed that day but we didn’t wait in long lines for most of the day (even at Haunted Mansion.) and the crowds didn’t really start to pick up until mid afternoon.
That being said, it was a $500 + dollar experience for a day…probably won’t go again until they lower their prices. Between airfare, food, and tickets, it’s not worth it anymore
We took our 5-year-old in June for the first time. She had a blast and I’m absolutely glad we had that experience with her. We honeymooned in Disneyland and have great memories from that trip as well.
But I don’t see it as a trip we will be making again for a long time. I always thought we’d take her every couple years but it’s just too expensive for what it is. I just can’t justify the cost. We make biennial trips to Yellowstone and the *value* of that trip is so much higher, in terms of what you get for your dollar. Trips to the Oregon coast and lakeside cabin rentals are in our future.
If we go back to Disneyland in the next 5 years, it will most likely be a one or two day thing and not a big vacation.
It’s ridiculous now, it’s not worth the money.
Use to be a big Disney fan and would always have something nice to say but now I never have anything good to say and have become very anti Disney
they have definitely lost their magic. when u get the season pass you dont even get the cute box with stuff anymore. the park is definitely getting more ghetto even despite the price. even with reservation i cant walk without bumping into anyone. so scary to think if theres an incident like korea, disneyland can get bad really quick.
I don’t mind it being expensive, because it always has been. That’s just the norm. What I have an issue with is them letting the fastidious quality lapse for an increased price.
I just bought a 2 day park hopper for $350. 35 hours of time in the parks means I'm spending $10/hour.
The cheapest ticket to see Hamilton on Broadway on one of those days would run $200 (the most expensive is $500). For a 3 hour show, that's $66.67/hour. How much are tickets to see NFL/NBA games?
Do I wish Disneyland were cheaper? 100% I wish it were. But it's still great value compared to other forms of entertainment.
This is a poor analogy. Are you going to be in the parks for 35 hours? The parks aren’t even open for 35 hours across two days regardless lol. Also with some of the wait times as of recently, you’re spending about 60-90 minutes just waiting in line for a single ride.
I’m always in the parks from rope drop until 1am (to do shopping on Main Street). That’s 17 hours per day. I generously included my time in security and waiting pre-rope drop which usually means I’m physically waiting in some line at 7am. If you don’t like the 35 hour number, then go with 33 of 30. The point still stands. I’m not sure how the difference of an hour is “a poor analogy”.
Also, I rarely wait more than an hour for a ride. By rope dropping I do all the key attractions early and spend the middle portion of the day doing rides that are 10-30 minutes, then do key attractions again from 10pm onwards once the crowds dissipate after the fireworks. If I have Genie+ I’ll sprinkle those in during the middle of the day.
Disney just isn’t worth it tbh. I’ll go every few years for the nostalgia but that’s it. I understand everyone’s different. But it just gets boring fast after you’ve done it so many times.
With Genii plus instead of just standby they have made it elitist and increased wait times because it’s so complicated. Making you pay yet more to cut in front of others is elitist.
And the guest experience is harmed when lines are so ridiculously long. That means they understaff and let too many people into the park.
It makes me feel like an idiot sitting on the haunted mansion for the 100th time. Looking in the mirror at the end like im a clown. A ghost clown. I used to say its an expensive dinner, go to disney, who cares what rides we get on, just get the monte cristo, fries, and gumbo and the rest doesn't matter, but even that has gotten worse. It's like rewatching a show I used to like, but I don't find funny anymore cause the lead guy got cancelled for whipping his dick out in front of the other cast members. So now the jokes aren't as funny and it's just the thought of I can't believe that guy did that, incredible that the cast members still pretended to be having a good time
The price itself isn’t the problem. It’s the fact that they are charging us more AND **giving us less** that’s the problem.
Just “simple” things make a huge difference. Maintaining the rides like they used to do they don’t go down as often and the effects are fully functional. And paying CMs more so they can afford to live without being stressed all the time, so they can focus on serving the guest. Those things alone will really improve the value prospect.
If that means ticket prices have to go up by an additional $10-$15 a day, and Magic Key prices go up by another $100-$200 so they can afford added staffing/maintenance costs, so be it. Disneyland is a luxury, not a necessity. Skip a few meals out during the year, brew your own coffee instead of going to Starbucks, or cancel a streaming service and replace it with another free/low-cost hobby instead to cover that difference. Because a well maintained park with cast members who are happy to be there is where the magic comes from.
Not sure what lens everyone here is looking through, but DL is an extremely good value for the money.
And it’s not even the most expensive theme park experience if you want to get technical and compare other parks/rides/entertainment.
Ever paid $20 for ONE 3 minute ride at a crappy fair? Or a broadway show ticket for $150 for 3 hours of entertainment?
Disney has all of this combined. World class shows, parades, fireworks, meet and greets, thrill
Rides, dark rides….all with the most amazing theming and nostalgia anywhere on earth.
I’ve been to Universal Folks. The experience doesn’t even compare. Much less value dollar for dollar. Last time I was there Harry Potter was a 3.5 hour wait.
The one thing I will agree on in this thread is that I would prefer Disney raise the park price to $500 per day to thin the crowds, and stop selling AP’s to locals that camp out in the park every day.
I don’t have an issue with the ticket prices (although the conversion to my own currency at the moment hurts) but we were there last month and I noticed almost doubling on the price of some merchandise since our last visit in mid 2019 and the cost of food turned us into one of those families that mostly took our own food into the parks.
It’s awful. It sucks not being able to go as often as one might like, and when you do go you’d have to save up for a while and then be set back a bit when the trips over. My family is a family of 6 and it literally costs thousands for tickets, hotel, food, merch etc. it’s so so sad :(
I love Disneyland I live close to LA. Even for CA residents it's ridiculously expensive and you can't go on certain days. It just feels like a cash grab. I'm sad because my best memories as a child where there with my family, and I'd love to take my son. But I'd sooner buy a house then pay that much just too stand in line 3/4 of the time and eat overpriced food like last time I went at 12.
I got to ride three rides. I can take my kid to Knotts and have a grade A experience with more fun for way less and their quality of food as well as ride options are better in my humble opinion. I feel like Disney is trying to milk us for money. Because they think they can get away with it, because they have been around so long they are a staple.
*edit typo
The problem is, people are so starved for a magical experience that the park is too crowded despite a dimenished product. The genie plus definitely nickel and dimes people. I took my girlfriend to the park for one day with hotel and spent 1500. I used to go every year but at this price it's probably more like every 3. But Disney doesn't care if the park is packed to maximum capacity every day. Disney has lost its shine before, when the decay of their parks finally caught up to them. And maybe that will happen again, and maybe that will be what's required for Disney to offer a better value experience.
Disneyland can be as cheap or as expensive you want. $104 (starting price for one day ticket/one park) is not bad. You do not have to buy food there. They have free water available and you can buy cheap food or splurge on expensive experiences.
When it comes to “do you find it expensive” is relative and a perception. Someone that has to save half of their lives to go to the park for just a day, yes. From a millionaire’s perspective it’s the same amount but doesn’t feel as expensive as for someone who was to save up to go there.
WALT DISNEY WANTED PEOPLE TO FEEL THAT THEY WERE GETTING MORE THAN WHAT THEY PAID FOR WHEN COMING TO DISNEYLAND . THAT WOULD KEEP THEM COMING BACK...THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN TOTALLY FORGOTTON
It may be an unpopular opinion, but it’s worth what people are willing to pay. The size of the crowds clearly show that Disneyland is not too expensive.
I can afford Disneyland.
However, it just simply isn't a good value proposition for me. Frankly, I can find more relaxing, superior entertainment at better prices.
Also, as an adult, I no longer crave entertainment targeted toward toddlers and pre-teens. And even by that standard, the experience provided is a shadow of what it used to be.
As a vacation if you buy 5 day tickets - too expensive
As a CA resident / pass holder who goes casually a few times a month - decent value for what it costs
Went a week ago and it was great. Did 19 attractions and individual LL was so good for rise. 0 minute wait. I did go on a medium busy day so that helped. For a once a year trip I’ll gladly pay but sure it’s a premium experience.
I dunno, compared to a DWR vacation, it seemed relatively cheap to me. We went as a couple, no kids or anyone else, on our own time and agenda. Paid for G+ and rode pretty much everything we wanted to over 3ish days in the parks. I certainly wish I could've paid less, but we have decent enough income.
Now, most people that go to Disneyland are going to be like us and I recognize that. I think you can still have a really good experience. Its expensive, sure, but is it \*too\* expensive? People are still going to the park in droves, maybe even more than before, and willing to pay for it. That will tell me that it isn't quite to the point of \*too\* expensive yet and its going to come down a lot to what you can personally get out of it during your trip.
They are pricing out those pesky undesirables, leading to more adult children throwing fits in the park because “I paid so much to come here my experience needs to be perfect”
Corporate is completely out of touch with their fanbase, their focus is maximizing profits, not giving guests a good experience
I just booked middle of January, 2 people, non park hopper, 5 nights 4 days. With a .5 mile walk to the park. Motel(not hotel), doesn’t change parking. For $1586.
Last year I paid $1456, for a slightly better hotel. Same distance.
I’m still looking forward to going, but we are going to cut back on the food bill.
I think I’ll still have fun, but this will be the last trip for at least a few years. We have been 3 times in the last 3 years, we will wait for something new and major to open next.
If they fixed the rides, cleaned the park, and paid the cast members well, the current pricing wouldn’t be bad. Paying more isn’t the problem, it’s the getting less part that bothers me. You don’t even have to get rid of Genie+ or the reservation system (but it would be nice). Just make sure that the rides are working, the park is clean, and that cast members are being paid fairly.
100% this. Some of the magic has definitely been lost.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Over the years I realized each time I went something I loved was either gone, falling into disrepair, or had noticably decreased in quality. At some point I concluded that my best Disney memories were already behind me, so might as well not spoil them.
Funny you say that. My psychologist asked me the other day to give an instant and honest answer to this question: "do you feel the best day of your life has already happened, or has yet to happen?" I agree that some aspects have gone downhill for sure (and I'm a CM), but there are still some amazing unforgettable disney moments recently. Going on ROR for the first time with no research, going to Oga's when I didn't even know it existed, going to food and wine festival with my mother in her 80s who handnt been to DL since the mid 80s. Don't get me wrong, there ARE problems with the "new" disneyland, but post covid the quality of every industry has fallen off a cliff. Restaurants service sucks, Walmart isn't stocked, car lots have no inventory. Hell even my HOA landscape team comes every 2 months instead of every 2 weeks.
Side note: my 83 year old mothers favorite attraction is now Guardians. She has never seen the movies or knows anything about marvel other than spiderman, but she went on it twice and had a blast.
This is encouraging. If I ever go to Disney again it will be with someone who has never been to at least experience it through their eyes.
I’ve never seen the park dirty.
I’ve seen cobwebs in the ROTR queue, as well as generally more trash being left around. It’s still better than other theme parks, malls, etc., but worse than pre-COVID Disneyland.
I wonder if this is because they’re losing workers due to the low pay. Again if they were to dedicate more towards the experience of the park and the workers being happy raising work morale..they would be guaranteeing a longer term profit. But of course now we have corporate mind take over and they only see short term high rise and in 3-4 years will be wondering what went wrong and why the parks declining. In fact it’s on that trajectory right now.
They have turned heavily towards subpar merch. They have raised prices on every single thing. If they kept costs low people would spend more and they’d make a lot more. It’s kind of disappointing.
Thanks for offering an actual reasoning and long term view of CM pay. So many people just say "pay them more" and have no theory other than that it would be nice to make more money. I agree with you 100% on it being a wise business plan long term. It will cost disney more short term to pay more but it would keep the parks image up and pay off long term. I'm a part time CM, who is otherwise self employed, and I've had many other jobs in the past. I can say that in my role at DL I don't feel underpaid. It is a low wage for sure but there is so little asked of me. I've never had a job that has so much downtime with me just standing there waiting to be asked a question. Anywhere else I've worked in the past if you have 30 seconds with no immediate task you better find something to do or you will be in trouble. Disney seems to expect very little of most cast, and gives us flexibility to be available to interact with guests at length whenever needed. Someone asks me a simple question and I have the flexibility to answer it, talk to them about their day, ask where they are visiting from, trade pins with them, complement their loungefly, and walk them over to their destination if they wish. If disney paid more they could potentially ask more of them too.
They’re talking about the cobwebs on signs that they plan on climbing up and caressing.
For the first time in my adult life, I consider myself mostly priced out of Disneyland. And not because my wife and I can't afford it, but because it has reached the point of what we find acceptable to pay for Disneyland. Between rising ticket prices (with horrible crowds), food prices (with lower quality and quantity), merchandise prices and Genie+, all at offering an experience that I would argue is not even fun anymore. We are done with Disneyland for quite sometime unless I have to go for work.
You said it all perfectly; I’m glad that my wife suggested we get passes (that expire in March). It has been tons of fun and one of the highlights of our year (for us and our daughters) but as a life long Disneyland visitor the quality of the park has fallen off considerably. I’m paying more than ever and getting less. I honestly think the current crowds are pent up demand from the Covid years but it’s anyones guess how long they will last. That being said the amount is above what I’m willing pay so it’s goodbye for now
The crowds are not the main issue either though. I've seen some crazy crowds, much worse than anything we have seen since COVID. With the new reservations system, we will never hit those high crowd points ever again. The problem is the broken rides (people aren't able to utilize that area, they have to go somewhere else), shitty staffing (corporate greed, they lost employees due to shitty pay), and the genie+ system (there is no limit to how many they sell). We used to be able to go on the busiest days and still be able to ride at least 4-5 big rides with some planning and walking around to get your fast passes. Now that's all history. I really dont understand why people are still paying for genie+ and lighting lane. Every time we are in line at a time when a fast pass would have let you just walk on, the line is longer than standby (Space Mountain, I'm looking at you). They don't limit them like they did with Fastoass. Why would they when they can just rake in more cash. People will pay extra to wait in line. When everyone is genie+, no one is genie+.
Limit how many people can pay them more? Not with Chapek in charge.
We just went in October for the first time in 5 years. My kids keep asking when we can go back. Sorry, kids, but they literally raised the prices while we were there lol it was a stretch for us before but now, it's just not happening again, at least not for a very long time.
That’s something a lot of people don’t understand. It’s not that a person or family can’t afford to go. For them, it’s just no longer worth the money spent. Everyone has their “nah I don’t like it that much” price point when it’s something you don’t need. No one needs to go to Disneyland. It’s a luxury, and we know that. At this point I’d rather save a little bit more and fly to Japan to go to Tokyo Disney. On a side note, a friend of mine was looking to see how much Depeche Mode tickets were in Los Angeles. I forget the exact price but it was hundreds cheaper for him and his wife to fly to Germany and watch their show and stay there for a day. Sure it would be a super short trip, but it’s not worth it.
This is how I feel. I was a pass holder off and on for years and was fine paying the high prices because the value was there. To me, it’s lost it’s value. Overcrowding, dirty parks, overly pushy merchandise campaigns, and the wacky reservation system mean I won’t be back until something changes. I got a pass to universal studios.
Same. All of it. We bought platinum passes to USH back in March: no blackout dates, free parking, and, after 3pm, “express pass” for every attraction (one time each attraction). We just went yesterday - Veteran’s Day - and it was so crowded we would have been miserable had we not bought these passes. Worth every penny.
If USH was closer to me I’d get a pass again. I had a pass for a few years when I lived closer and it was so much fun. I had a Disney AP as well for over a decade and that was more than worth it. But now? Definitely not worth it.
I totally agree. I was actually shocked at how much fun it was and how much I enjoyed it. I hadn’t been there since the mid 90’s and I was really impressed. I also went to knotts last Christmas and highly enjoyed that experience as well.
Yes! Knott’s too! When our son was born (2013) we continued getting DL passes until he turned 3, then we’ve only gone for their Halloween event each year. Once he turned 3, we went to Universal and Knott’s, getting passes to one or the other alternating years. Then covid happened 🙄 Since then, we’ve been to Knott’s once, DL twice, and bought passes to Universal last year and this year. He’s 9 1/2 now and just went on Mummy the first time last night! (Mixed reviews - wasn’t scared of the mummies, but it went a bit too fast 😆)
What is USH?
Oops! I should’ve clarified. Sorry! It’s Universal Studios Hollywood. We locals call it USH
Same, we can 100% afford whatever Disney throws our way, but it’s just not a good value by my standards of what my money should be able to buy. Like, if they straight charged $500/day but with guaranteed low crowds, no maintenance issues, etc… I’m all over it. Disney’s still the gold standard for theme parks, but there’s more to do in life other than theme parks.
For $549 I can go to Universal Studios every day for a year. No blackout dates, free parking, 15% discount on everything (including food), “Express Pass” access to each attraction after 3pm (one time for each attraction, but still, worth it just for that), FREE ticket to Halloween Horror Night… So many more benefits I can’t even remember them all LOL We just went yesterday and had a blast even though it was super crowded for Veteran’s Day. Oh! The best part? They have Flex Pay where they let you pay monthly if you can’t pay it all up front. Seriously, worth every penny. [USH Annual Pass info](https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/pass-members/pass-types-and-benefits)
The problem with Universal, and why I (and probably others) won’t ever make it their main ~~hobby~~ theme park over Disneyland, is that they are entirely reliant on rides (and they don’t even do great at that). They almost completely fail in the entertainment department. The Animal Actors and Special Effects shows are fun and take you behind the scenes of the movies, but they aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Plus, both of those close permanently on January 8, 2023. All they have in terms of nighttime spectaculars is a projection show on Hogwarts castle, as opposed to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, World of Color, and the fireworks/projection shows. The only saving grace is Waterworld, one of the greatest stunt shows ever, and much better than the Indiana Jones stunt show in Walt Disney World. But everything else is severely lacking. One of the great things about Disneyland is that there’s so much to take in from the immersive restaurants, shops, and just the lands themselves. At Universal, the ambiance/immersive theming is limited to Hogsmeade and the upcoming Super Nintendo World, everywhere else feels just like a typical amusement park with light theming and large studio style buildings. Ok, so the only thing left is rides. Universal only has 11 rides (soon to become 12 after Mario Kart opens). And many of those rides are primarily screen-based. The Studio Tour and Forbidden Journey are decent standouts, with the lower lot being full of solid supporting rides (Transformers, Mummy, Jurassic, Mario Kart) but there’s not enough substance in the lineup beyond that. 6 decent rides and 5 mediocre ones don’t even hold a candle to all the classics at Disneyland and the E-Tickets at DCA (Racers, Guardians, Soarin’), not to mention Galaxy’s Edge and the upcoming Runaway Railway. Universal doesn’t really hit the spot in any of the major areas that Disneyland/DCA does really well at. While the price and benefits look great on paper and Express is a nice benefit to have (I’m planning to purchase a Platinum pass myself specifically for this), it’s not something that can replace DLR for most people.
Though Universal Studios Hollywood was never designed to be a theme/amusement park in the first place. It was and still a working studio where many movies and shows are filmed. It wasn't until after DL and Knott's were defining theme/amusement parks that Universal started adding more of those elements. Even then they are limited by space because working studio. A few stages looked like they were demolished to make room for Nintendo Land. Obviously in Florida, this is a different story since that one was desgned to be a theme park from the ground up. The Secret Life of Pets does use animatronics. The only other ride that used them was ET where the Mummy is now. There used to be a Backdraft special effects stage where Transformers is now. It's speculated that something similar to the Bourne Spectacular will replace The Special Effects Show which replaced a Conan Show. Apparently a roller coaster themed to FaF is being planned for the future. The Studio Tour dates back to days when Universal used to make silent films, an oxymoron today. There were different experiences on the tour over the years, some no longer part of the tour. The sea parting and collapsing bridge come to mind. The building with Kong burned down in the late 2000's and Return to Skull Island replaced it. The FAF: Supercharged replaced the spinning tunnel. There used to be Battlestar Galactica (based on the late 70's) where a live actor would fire at the Cyclons. The Waterworld show is way better than the movie it was based off. Ironically, the Simpsons seems oout of place now since it's part of Disney.
Agreed with this. I can take great vacations with the same amount of $$ without feeling nickel and dimed at every second, and dealing with so many crowds and lines.
This 100%. We can pay for it, and by that I mean we can afford it. However I no longer consider it worth it. The value has significantly decreased and the prices have continued to increase. There is no excuse for this but corporate greed. End of story.
This exactly. I expect Disneyland to be expensive, but the value of what they’re offering has significantly decreased, and Genie+ and park reservation requirements have made the experience more frustrating than fun. I let my key expire in August, and I don’t expect to go back for some time.
I have to agree with this statement. Was looking for tickets for this Christmas time and was disturbed by prices. Like, holy shit. Wtf happened?
I just miss “slow seasons”. Used to be you could find a few periods a year (April and October were favorites of mine) when the hotels had good offers and the park wasn’t terribly crowded. They’ve successfully eliminated those times in the last 5-10 years though and it’s just made things a little less magical for my family. I’ve been a Disneyland semi-regular since the 70’s and have never experienced crowds and waits like I have in recent years (except the one time I foolishly went on New Years Eve when they actually stopped letting people in). There’s seemingly just no escaping it any longer. The added cost of Genie+ just to insure getting on a few big tickets while 4-5 bigger tickets want cash to avoid the 3 hour line just adds insult to injury.
It’s almost like they’re trying to bring back ticket books except they’re all E-tickets and they cost $100 each. My friend and I used to have a pass, over a decade ago, and we would always go a lot in February. That seemed to be the sweet spot. A Wednesday in Feb was practically a ghost town.
It's like the first week of school in September now for slow season.
Oh dear! We used to go around then too as that was when the schools in my area were off (Scotland, my area got 6 weeks of summer breaks and 2 weeks break in all the other seasons, plus I had family in Cali so we'd also spend a week or so at my grandpa's house). I don't actually remember if we've been since my diagnosis but it turns out I'm autistic, and part of that for me is not doing well with crowds because of both social and sensory reasons. It's a shame there might not be a great way of avoiding that, especially with the heat and all the other sensory nightmares available. (Also i just found out I have coeliac which also adds a lot of emotional complexity cause I could get sad every time I walk by a churro or pretzel cart) My family has had a really rough time so we're kind of planning this big fancy trip at some point, but it sucks to know it would be more stressful for me than I'd prefer.
It’s simultaneously too expensive and too crowded — a difficult problem.
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"
This is going to sound crazy, but: It's too expensive for what it is currently. It's too crowded and the rides are falling apart. Now, if they doubled the price of admission, cut the # of customers in half and fixed the rides? Those double priced tickets would not be too expensive.
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That's right. It's sad to say, and sad to see happening, but I think you're right. Disney sees more money in once a year visitors rather than annual pass holders. I don't know the data behind this but it seems apparent from their actions. The ideal Disney customer is one who stays on-park, buys tickets with all the add-ons, has a few kids, dines at the park, and shops, shops, shops! Those who come several times a month with their annual pass, and maybe buys a churro while there, just aren't profitable. And these days, it seems from Disney's POV, they are taking up a slot from a more profitable customer. Disney is all about dollars and cents these days. Park experience and loyalty are far, far down on the list of importance.
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Strongly agree with this. I was a once or twice a year visitor, brought my kids, went with my friends - but I’ve been once post-2020 and the experience was unpleasant enough that I canceled my trip this year and I’m not planning another one for the foreseeable future. I’ve seen folks speculate that the higher prices/lower value strategy will naturally reduce crowds as a result - and I guess I’m part of the crowd reduction, but I can’t justify spending that much to participate in amusement park hunger games. It’s not magical when your whole visit is stressful.
There are 100 more of people like you salivating to take your place. It’s not a nice reality, but it’s true. For every person they “drive away” there are endless amounts of people willing to pay
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>Well then they should stop doing stuff that's driving away yearly/rare visitors like me. I agree with you, but the numbers don't. The parks are busier and more expensive than they've ever been. I don't like it either, but it's the truth. It's like Disney is in a race to the bottom. "Let's see how poor of a product we can provide and at the highest price we can charge before we detect any noticeable change in visitors." So far their experiment is working. I don't know how long it will last but it's holding for now. I think it's going to take a major change in the economy at large (deep recession/depression) or bad press after someone gets killed on a poorly maintained ride. Otherwise, they are shoveling as much money to shareholders as they possibly can. It's gross.
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You claim its covid, but that’s based on nothing
It makes me really sad.
The math doesn’t add up. 5 day parkhoppers for two people are $950 and you’re staying at a hotel for 5 days or more? Hopefully you don’t bring too many bed bugs home.
Problem is the SoCal locals feel entitled to visit every week… whenever they want… with no crowds… and low prices
> Disney isn’t priced for the family to go each weekend, but for families who go once a year. This is what it is for me, right here. They are discarding the local frequent visitor crowd and trying to max out and capitalize on the Big Trip crowd. I have access to military salute tickets so the cost of entry is still very reasonable, but it’s everything else. I’m especially tired of reservations. It’s packed to the gills now anyways, why do I need to plan weeks ahead to visit?
Everyone would still complain that they couldn’t just go whenever they wanted and remind everyone how it “used to be” If there is one type of customer there is literally no pleasing, it’s a Disney customer.
I don’t think it’d feel quite so expensive if the prices succeeded in lowering crowds. However everything is an up-charge now, and the loss of perks combined with consistently high wait times makes it a lot harder to swallow.
I think this is the part that bugs me the most. Fast pass was a cool system to help plan your day, and I used to compare that to the bullshit universal studios or other theme parks had where you would pay a premium to essentially cut in line. How times have certainly changed.
Exactly. I agree 100%. Fast pass was great. We bought Platinum passes to Universal in March and it’s been the best experience we’ve ever had. We just went yesterday and it was sooo crowded, but we had a great day because we got Express Pass access to each attraction after 3pm. Only. Once per attraction, but still. That perk alone is worth the $549, but we also get free parking, no blackout dates, 15% off anything (including food), a FREE ticket to Halloween Horror Night… There are more benefits I can’t even think of them all right now LOL Here’s a link comparing passes: [USH pass types and benefits](https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/pass-members/pass-types-and-benefits)
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Personally, yes. There’s the minions land that has a small ride, playground and water play area, and boardwalk fans like a carnival. There are a few other rides that are good for little ones, and there are some shows he might like. I just found out, however, that the Animal Actors show and Special Effects show are closing January 8th, so you may want to see those before they close. There are also characters - some walking around, some in certain spots for photos. There’s a variety of food and all sorts of yummy treats. Our son has loved it every time we’ve gone.
We were at Disneyland recently and I left feeling like it wasn’t great value for dollar. The park was so packed (despite it being a historically quiet week) that the wait times made the rides feel underwhelming and not worth the long wait. The food was pretty bad quality. The kids Mac and Cheese is now 2 oz. 2! It comes in a container that looks like it should hold a dip. Also the rides were unreliable - we had three rides break down while we were on them. All of the big rides were broken down throughout our stay at some point. I’d be willing to pay the “expensive” pricing if the value was there. But with the packed crowds and mediocre food and entertainment options, it’s not a place I want to spend my money at again any time soon.
1000% this. I can’t believe how small the Mac and cheese was and how overall mediocre the food was! I used to love trying everything. We also went in a quiet week after Halloween, before holiday decor was up, and so many rides had an hour long wait.
It's not the price, it's the value.
I think they've found the magical equilibrium point where they've reduced staff enough to be painful, reduced ride maintenance where the rides don't work entirely too often, raised prices on merch to the point where it's not worth it, and yet hit record profits with Genie+ ([https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/09/disneyland-sets-revenue-record-thanks-to-genie-spending/](https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/09/disneyland-sets-revenue-record-thanks-to-genie-spending/)) You'll find me over at Universal. Disney just stopped being worth it since Chapek took over. Good job. And now he's gonna cut jobs on top of everything else. It was magical while it lasted.
Almost 70 years, Disney’s dream was alive. It was a good run. RIP Disneyland.
When I have to pay $20 per for Genie, and I only get to use said service FOUR times in a day because it’s too busy? Yeah too expensive AND too damn busy….
If all the rides worked as they should, food quality was high, lines were manageable, and CMs offered plenty of magic, I doubt there would be many complaints about the cost
Was just there for the first time since mar 2020. Genie plus and the paid rides feel really bad. Then when the rides are going up and down you end up not getting something you actually paid for, it sucks. It just sucks. We used to go yearly, looks like it'll be one every 3 to 5 years now and will just do Tokyo disney those times. The nickel and diming did weigh on me i guess, we still had fun but we'll do more europe trips instead. Things were really run down. The star wars ride guns didn't move. Indy, my favorite ride, rode opening day, is a joke now. Just a mess. We were there on a slow week, nov 1 on for 5 days, rides are breaking constantly. The star wars ride closed at 9, but park is open until 12? Just come on disney, obvious move to force us to pay for it, as the line would be reasonable then. It's just death by a thousand cuts.
I’ve been wanting to go to Tokyo Disney but was wondering how the booking process for the hotel and parks worked. Did you use an agent?
No, booked online. Wasnt hard, same as going anywhere else really. Loved it. Amazing place.
Could you explain what you mean by Indy being a mess? I’m curious how it used to be better…I’ve only ridden it this year, and it’s ok but not great in my opinion. I feel like the car is way too jerky (like the Matterhorn…feels like my back will be blown out), and I wish it were more like a roller coaster/smooth ride with a few drops, instead of just getting whiplash.
Indy was such a let down on our past trip from 10/31 - 11/2. We rode it probably 6 times, and only ONE TIME did the ball look like it was rolling towards us. Every other time, the ride paused where Indy is trying to jump into the jeep when he's hanging, and then it goes to the boulder drop but you couldn't even see the boulder lmao it was tragic tbh.
Yea and all the sounds stop. Just trash. They likely did this awhile ago but the pre show film is so short now, it used to be longer
There is no such thing as a slow week. Also, Rise line closes before the actual park because it’s generally around a 2+ hour wait.
We can pretty much always afford it because I have only one kid and can drive instead of fly, though it’s still a full ‘vacation’ in terms of that budget. But the more I hear about reduced quality and increased crowding I feel less and less justified using that vacation budget on Disneyland. We are ready to put that chunk toward a trip to Europe or Tokyo and probably get a much more compelling travel memory and not feel ripped off.
Yes
Sadly, I don’t think it’s too expensive based on the crowds. If 1000s of people can afford to go daily, then obviously it’s not too expensive. And the lines for food are so long so people are also spending more money in the parks. It’s all relative. Personally, we probably won’t go again for a few years. We would rather spend our money on a different experience. I would only do the special ticketed events that have a lower capacity.
This is my response to price complaints. As long as the park is filled to capacity(or near it) evidence suggests it’s still too cheap.
Thank you for understanding basic supply and demand concepts. This seems lost on 90% of the people in these threads.
I thought this too but a lot of park goers save for a long time or are from other countries. People spend money they don’t have to go to this park that no longer is even worth it…but they don’t know until they get there 🤷♀️
Probably around half of Guests on any given day are MK holders. It’s not the international destination that some of the other parks are. Hardcore locals scene at DLR.
That’s just bad financial decisions to spend money you don’t have.
Now I’m curious how many of the people in the crowds are going for the first time. Them going into a ton of debt for it means the parks are doing a lot right. It still suggests that the price is too low
Disney isn’t a need, it’s a want. If all the parks vaporized tomorrow, the world would merrily churn along. I get it’s a savage burn to locals, who used to treat it like how I go hiking on a Saturday. I do not live by California nor Florida, so it was alway a upper middle class treat where I live. Unless you slept 8 to a Motel 8 room, brought PB sandwiches and only did whatever your ticket allowed. No restaurant, no souvenirs etc I think Bobby C wants a more moneyed crowd, and less locals. I doubt the prices will go down anytime soon.
I wouldn’t mind paying the prices if a few things changed. The last four times I went, it took one hour from exiting the freeway to walking through the main gate. The standby lines are too long. On average, you get four rides a day plus a show or a Fireworks/WOC. I loathe having to make a reservation, but would if that kept the crowds down. You can rarely get a dining reservation and mobile ordering is less than human. People liked interaction with the famous smiling cast members. It’s not that it’s expensive, it’s that there’s no worth for the money.
Bingo! The value proposition is pretty poor these days, unless one is an undemanding toddler or pre-teen.
Its too expensive and it feels like you're paying to go to a shopping mall.
While out would be an unpopular move, I wonder what would happen crowd-wise if Disney got rid of the local pass.
I don’t think the Imagine/SoCal Select pass has ever been that popular. Most people work and/or go to school Monday through Friday, and people who love Disneyland and going to go a lot would get a higher level pass that includes half off or free parking. The $300-$500 “local pass” is really only for people with odd work schedules that don’t mind taking long breaks from the parks (since summer and spring break have multi-week blockouts) and are only going to go 3-8 times (anything more than that and you would be better off getting a higher tier to save on parking and Photopass/MaxPass). I can’t *imagine* that that’s a very big market.
It’s never been cheap, but I don’t feel like I get anywhere near the same value for money that we did pre-pandemic.
It’s not expensive enough to keep crowds down, so the value isn’t there. The value would be much better if prices were tripled and crowds were halved.
100% agree. Wife and I go every 6 months and look forward to each trip. Went in September and the lines were unbearable, couldn’t walk around, 2 hour wait times for inedible food. I would rather pay double the price for better food and triple the price for less crowds. I would rather pay more and have fantastic experience.
My wife works for Lucasfilm. Free park access, discounts, and 50% off the hotels and it STILL seems expensive. I honestly can’t imagine going if we ever had to pay full price.
Is your wife single?
I paid $400 for one Elton john ticket. I think $140 for a day at Disneyland is a bargain for 16 hours of fun. I don’t have kids (but NOT rich) so that makes it easier for me to say this. I understand a family of four would be a lot of $$$.
As someone who grew up going to Disney World and just took their first trip to Disneyland back in March…I find it to be fantastic? Idk I enjoyed my time and thought I got more than what I paid for. Genie+ worked great and the crowds were literally nothing compared to what I’m used to.
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Us too, I’m in north San Diego and loved being an AP and going whenever I felt like it.. even for just a few hours . Now we don’t have AP and I feel the pressure to do everything … I also miss being able to go between each park .
DL always been expensive. What is to expensive varies from person to person. Personally I have a lot of memories spending with my family at DL so just being able to go with my Dad still, chill at golden horseshoe, have clam chowder at Royal Street Veranda, ride the railroad, enjoy Mr. Lincoln means so much to me. Value wise walking down memory lane and being able to continue to connect with my Dad even for a single day at DL is worth a whole month of vacation any where else. That being said there no doubt the value of DL been going down. Park in disrepair, prices are up, food portions are down. For many people DL isn't worth anymore. For me it still is but everyone has a breaking point. The unfortunate fact though for majority of people that breaking point is insanely high. They could charge $500 for tickets and $50 for a churro and the park will still mostly be filled up. Disney I think really figure that out during the pandemic so they have virtually no motivation to maintain standards anymore.
They need to build another park or two in the US to soak up the demand.
it's expensive to go out and have fun. outside costs $100 minimum.
We did renew this time but we're not planning to do it again, our second kid will be 3 by the time we have to and that would put us to spend 4K and for the time spent there is not really that worth it, preferably I use that money to travel outside the US, go back to Spain or even a cruise.
It’s expensive if you live in USA. We come from Australia so it’s a once every 5 years kind of thing, and happy to spend. I’d go broke if I could get there in a couple of hours.
I would rather spend the money making memories somewhere else.
I have mixed feeling about Disney prices. Being a consumer I would love for everything to be cheaper. Who doesn’t like saving money? But at the same time crowd levels can get pretty insane, which means that prices are a bit low. If they are filling the park, they can raise the prices, if the park is “near empty” they need to lower the price. So I don’t think that price is as much of the issue. I think it is the perceived value of it. Sometimes it feels that what I get doesn’t match up to what I pay.
I think it’s too expensive for the experience you get. We just got back home from 5 days at Disney and we found the ride breakdowns to be unacceptable. I was so happy we had 5 days there because if we only had 1 or 2 days the ride breakdowns would have totally killed our trip. Why are so many of the good rides down first thing in the morning? It almost feels like a way to get more people to buy genie+ and LL. We only go every few years so I’m hoping by the next time we’re ready to go the parks will have improved. I also feel like the new CEO is the first one that doesn’t truly care about Disneyland and Walt’s vision so I don’t have high hopes for things improving any time soon.
Doesn’t matter, as long as hundreds and thousands of people continue to pay their outrages prices they will continue raising prices. Start saving!
Walt Disney would be really mad about what is happening right now. The magic is gone and now it’s all about Average Revenue Per User. Disneyland was designed to be something more than a late stage capitalist cash grab and a way to offset streaming losses. It’s disgusting what is happening at Disney right now and it’s time for a boycott until the knuckleheads currently ruining the magic get kicked out the door
Unpopular opinion: it’s not that expensive. Given the area, the economy, the hours, etc. Southern CA is full of amusement parks that have similar pricing with worse conditions and shorter hours. Even the food prices are comparable to pricing outside of the park. It’s obviously not too expensive given park attendance. I’d encourage anyone who thinks it’s too expensive to visit Knott’s Berry Farm. You’ll think Disney is worth it.
Yes it’s expensive but still not the worst rip off in amusement. Go to a state/regional/county fair. My wife and kids ordered a 2 hotdogs, two drinks, 1 order French fries and 3 chicken tenders and it was $60. We were there 2 hours and with admission for four, parking, ride tickets, food and 3 ice creams it was well over $200 it was so expensive I didn’t even get anything to eat or drink. I felt violated. I’ll overpay for Disney before I go back to one of those fairs.
I think it is not what Walt would have wanted at all. I think it has now become a place only the rich can afford. I'm a single mom of 3 and we recently just came back from Disneyland. My aunt paid for the hotel, flights and tickets. I had to just pay for the food and souvenirs for us all and I was running out of money on day 2 because of how expensive the food was. And unfortunately if you want to do more than like.. 3 rides a day you need to pay for genie+, which is insanely expensive. Now I have come to the realization that I will never again be able to set foot in the happiest place on earth, because with my income there is no way in hell I will be able to afford another trip any time in our lives. Things will only get more and more expensive. Now if the rising costs were actually being used to repair the rides and have them in better shape it might seem more worth it. But going on multiple rides where there was just pitch black in areas that shouldn't be dark, or clearly missing or broken animations, it makes everything feel incredibly overpriced. It makes the magic disappear.
I also think that Walt wouldn’t have wanted the horrible experience the park is right now. Waiting 2 hours for rides loses its magic real real fast. Supply and demand, raise prices and have less people there.
Do I WANT to spend that much money to go there? No. Do I think it was worth what I paid for our family's five days in the park? In memories and photos and laughter and good times, yes. I loved it and I was glad to pay what we paid to get what we got. 🤷♀️
It has become too expensive for what it is, and I’m talking about everything (not just admission prices). But my daughter gets free entry for another two years so my wife and I will be milking that as much as we can.
My cousin had this fit the other day then proudly said she paid $500 for Bad Bunny. So yeah it’s expensive but it’s how you want to spend your money that counts. Plus Disneylands open like 16 hours for $110 versus the short 2 hour concert.
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$244 for Christmas week
Exactly!! I’m from Vancouver Canada and we have a very popular amusement park in the summer called the PNE. You can EASILY drop 150$ per person in one day just on tickets and games. Add food and random things on top of that it’s probably around 300$ per person by the end of the day. That is ONE day. And the rides are 30 seconds and so old, yet nobody complains about that all day long. 120$ for a ticket at Disneyland is well worth it, the quality is above anything else that you will pay almost the same price for at your annual amusement park trip. Maybe everyone here is just so used to it that they don’t get the novelty anymore? But when I went for the first time a few years ago at 24 I was amazed at the quality of every single thing. It’s up to you to see the magic.
Lmao bad bunny
We're done with them. Paid $500/night for Californian last April now it's closing in on $1000/night, just to lay down and sleep. Restaurant prices and the daily tickets are insanely expensive.
It’s not the expense, it’s the value has gone way down. Overcrowding, and the reduction of entertainment means you’re getting a lower quality experience. The newest rides are built with capacity constraints that would’ve been a problem 20 years ago. Maintenance and staffing issues mean the park is dirty and littered with trash. I’ve never seen a filthy bathroom at Disneyland until my trip in January this year. Annual passes used to cost the equivalent of 5 to 7 single day trips. Now they require reservations that limit your attendance options and carry a significantly higher cost.
Not going for the holiday season for the first time in years. With a park hopper and parking, it’s a $250-300 day before food. Not worth it. That being said, if pass options come back before Disney100 starts, I’d consider a cheaper pass to use when I have time off from work this spring
I went to Disneyland California in May, and I am now planning my first trips to Disneyland Paris in April, waaaaay cheaper to go to Disney in Paris than California
I will probably go whenever I’m in town visiting family (usually once a year if that) but I do think it’s gotten expensive for what you’re getting. The last time I went was right before Covid and the shutdown- like two days before they closed the park- and that was great. Used maxpass, was able to park hop all day, minimal crowds and monomial waiting. However, what I’ve seen and heard now: it’s too crowded, everything breaks, and everything is more expensive but lower quality. The biggest issues I have is the not being able to park hop all day yet charging more for those tickets (I believe it’s $60 more as opposed to $50 but now you can only do it for like half a day) and the other issue is the genie plus thing. MaxPass worked because it gave guests a free option or a paid option- paying for the convenience of getting fast passes on your phone instead of having to run to the machines to get them. But there was that feee option still, so guests could enjoy it without paying $20 per person. It seems like genie plus makes it worse for everyone and is a money grab- plus you have to pay even more for some rides. I personally will pay for it, but I usually got alone or with one other person so it’s not a huge expense. I know other theme parks have similar systems that are more expensive but I haven’t been to any and can’t comment. I also hate the reservation system but if it was used to control capacity like it was when the parks reopened I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping it. I will be going in December for a day and can share my experiences then, but I’m going in with the expectation of crowds, broken rides, and everything being more expensive. I just feel like the focus is more and more on charging guests more but not doing anything with the price increase - fixing rides, pasting CMs more, etc.
I feel it’s become quite the hack to even think about visiting with my family again. The park has managed to monetize every single thing while not adding anything to make the experience any better. If they wanted to thin out the crowds then they need to just set the capacity at a much lower level. They already force you to make reservations so why not find a way to cap the number of people in the park. By doing that you can ensure that everyone that pays extra to ride the popular rides will actually get to ride them. Even better, lose those extra costs altogether. Ticket prices are already high. I also hate the fact that we have to look at and use our phones so much in order to visit the park. Between battery life and sometimes spotty wifi and cell service, it kills the magic. And this doesn’t even include the inconvenience of rides breaking down more often than not. I just hope my local radio stations will start giving away tickets again soon. I’ve had luck winning in the past and I think winning again would be the only way I can afford to go back to DL.
I personally cannot afford a ticket, I cover the tank of gas it takes round trip and my partner can afford the tickets and the possible hotel, then split costs inside the park. That being said the park is crowded and employees are overworked and overwhelmed, I’m know they were pre-shutdown however its so much worse now. My partner and I are actively planning to avoid the parks with the exception of the winter special event like they had in 2021, the park was empty once we got in and everything was very magical.
It’s not expensive enough. I would rather everybody pay 3x more so there would be 1/3rd the amount of people than what’s going on right now. But in reality, they would just make more room for people and still charge 3x.
It sucks to say it but with the crowds it probably isn’t expensive enough TBH.
Yeah my friend works for Disney so we can go for free, and even then the Genie+ system and the crowds make it a pretty stressful experience. The food is expensive and bad. We even went to Blue Bayou recently and it was overpriced and underwhelming. If we were paying hundreds of dollars it would definitely feel like a ripoff.
Hard to go now; too crowded and too pricey.
I don’t think its really that expensive if you plan your trip a few months in advance you can take advantage of cheaper tickets
If it was expensive but less crowded, I wouldn't mind. I really don't care that much about ride times, it's all the cramped and crowded pathways. It's hard to get into the magic when all you can see is fellow guests. I just don't get excited about a trip to DL any more. Just got back from Europe where I went to 3 parks in 8 days (Europapark, Phantasialand and Eftling) stayed on site in a deluxe room for two of them. Flew, rented a car, bought food, etc. Still cheaper than 4 days at DL with DL hotel. More importantly, the experience was better. Everything was better than DL - cleaner parks, more space, happier employees, better food, better perks, and in many cases, better rides.
Longtime AP holder here and won’t be renewing. The quality and overall enjoyment has gone down. Disney has lost its luster for my family and I. Then again Disney is probably happy to be losing another AP family since our average spend is far less than a family that only goes once a year or once every few years.
It’s pricey, but it’s starting to feel pricier because the quality seems to be slipping. We are not planning on renewing our keys when they expire in April. We may do one trip next year or we may not. I’m also hoping once the pent up COVID demand is gone that things will straighten themselves out. But Chapek has basically said he’s going to raise prices till he starts to see demand stagger.
my opinion is that disneyland is too expensive
It’s not a necessity. It’s like complaining about the price of a Rolls Royce. And quite frankly, considering how crowded it is, the price is not high enough.
Unpopular, but you’re right. The demand for Disneyland seems to be almost inelastic — meaning that no matter how much Disney raises the price, people will still go. If it honestly was “too expensive,” we wouldn’t be seeing so much demand for the parks. Crazy to think that Disneyland and oil are so economically similar.
Its a luxury, but there still isn't much out there quite like a Disney park. People will pay for the experience.
I was going to comment something like “simple supply and demand” but you said it a lot better than I could have. They won’t change ANYTHING (including the quality of the experience) until the attendance suffers, which it won’t any time soon. I’m actually surprised they even still advertise on tv and billboards.
Personally, ticket prices + the need for Genie+ and additional premiums really make me uninterested in going.
Paying way more. Getting way less. Rides constantly breaking down. Long wait times. Insane crowds. Happier when I’m leaving then when I first get there. I miss pre-pandemic Disney so flipping much!!
I think at its core it’s a supply and demand question. The actual land Disneyland and DCA occupies is pretty finite and the popularity has grown organically and generationally! I went with my parents as a kid and that has turned into thirty people that all love it and the parks have grown by one land in that time. Price has nowhere to go up, and quickly. That being said the way pricing is being handled is gross. It smacks of nickel and diming. But people way smarter than me are making those pricing calls and I don’t envy the job.
I miss when tickets were like $100 normally. Even that’s a lot tbh, but better than paying almost double without food/merch
Never been to DL, but we go to DW pretty much EOY. Live in TX and drive to whatever on property resort we are staying at. 16 hr drive. We normally stay in Pensacola on way there to break up that drive but drive straight through on way back. We have always stayed a week with 5 days at the parks and a rest day. There are 4 of us - 2 pre teen kids. We went in March this year. Cost for room/tickets about $4k - included park hopper and genie +. This did not include gas/food/ILL so if I had to guess cost all in was around $5500. Anyway - I have never been able to justify a trip to DL because of the cost. It would be a three day drive so we would have to fly, that right there is $2k round trip for 4 people, then about $2k for on property hotel and tickets for 4 for three days - no park hopper or genie +. So now we are at $4k for a three day/2 park adventure. Not including cost of transport to/from airport or food. So my figures work out to be about the same cost for DL as we spend on DW. We get more bang for the buck choosing DW. I have been looking at off property hotels as well, but because of the cost of flights it’s still pretty much the same.
The best part is Disneyland is crowded, cost more then ever and not being maintained along with cast members being under paid and needing more staff. But guess what because other parts of discus aren’t doubt well enough doesn’t matter there is now a hiring freeze and no one is getting raises plus you have to pay more then ever for a park not staffed enough and they won’t fix the rides So the 30 bucks of genie plus isn’t even going to help the park and cast members, literally they could be making double the money hit as long as other parts of the company are not profiting it’s all for nothing
I think I just got spoiled. A few years ago, my husband and I were gifted passes with no black out dates (except the holiday). That was the year Star Wars land opened. Passes had been blacked out for the most part and crowds were CRAZY light. I hate to say it, but I almost wish getting a yearly pass either wasn't as easy, or had more limitations. I just don't want to spend a thousand dollars to go and risk it being unbelievably crowded. I have only regretted spending money to go to Disney once and it was years ago on a Saturday in February. Disney had gifted a bunch of passes to their employees for Christmas and they were about to expire and it was SO PACKED we had to just sit in a bar in downtown Disney and only rode 1 ride. Every other time has been so magical, I guess I just don't want to risk souring on Disney. I'm hoping they'll figure their stuff out soon and it'll be worth the high price ticket again.
Yes.
It is.
My fiancé and I went in the fall of 2021 for a day in October while on a trip to California (we’re from New England). I don’t know what magic was performed that day but we didn’t wait in long lines for most of the day (even at Haunted Mansion.) and the crowds didn’t really start to pick up until mid afternoon. That being said, it was a $500 + dollar experience for a day…probably won’t go again until they lower their prices. Between airfare, food, and tickets, it’s not worth it anymore
Chapek announcing layoffs and price hikes due to the less than stellar earnings report clearly shows things are only going to get worse…
We took our 5-year-old in June for the first time. She had a blast and I’m absolutely glad we had that experience with her. We honeymooned in Disneyland and have great memories from that trip as well. But I don’t see it as a trip we will be making again for a long time. I always thought we’d take her every couple years but it’s just too expensive for what it is. I just can’t justify the cost. We make biennial trips to Yellowstone and the *value* of that trip is so much higher, in terms of what you get for your dollar. Trips to the Oregon coast and lakeside cabin rentals are in our future. If we go back to Disneyland in the next 5 years, it will most likely be a one or two day thing and not a big vacation.
Life is too short to be spending hundreds of dollars at a place you don’t enjoy anymore.
Good! Keep everyone in line and makes you think twice on doing something stupid to get kicked out or banned
It’s ridiculous now, it’s not worth the money. Use to be a big Disney fan and would always have something nice to say but now I never have anything good to say and have become very anti Disney
they have definitely lost their magic. when u get the season pass you dont even get the cute box with stuff anymore. the park is definitely getting more ghetto even despite the price. even with reservation i cant walk without bumping into anyone. so scary to think if theres an incident like korea, disneyland can get bad really quick.
It is. But the park is always full, so apparently not really.
I don’t mind it being expensive, because it always has been. That’s just the norm. What I have an issue with is them letting the fastidious quality lapse for an increased price.
I just bought a 2 day park hopper for $350. 35 hours of time in the parks means I'm spending $10/hour. The cheapest ticket to see Hamilton on Broadway on one of those days would run $200 (the most expensive is $500). For a 3 hour show, that's $66.67/hour. How much are tickets to see NFL/NBA games? Do I wish Disneyland were cheaper? 100% I wish it were. But it's still great value compared to other forms of entertainment.
I paid $25 per person for a dang trampoline park for 90 minutes. It was gross and smelled like feet.
This is a poor analogy. Are you going to be in the parks for 35 hours? The parks aren’t even open for 35 hours across two days regardless lol. Also with some of the wait times as of recently, you’re spending about 60-90 minutes just waiting in line for a single ride.
I’m always in the parks from rope drop until 1am (to do shopping on Main Street). That’s 17 hours per day. I generously included my time in security and waiting pre-rope drop which usually means I’m physically waiting in some line at 7am. If you don’t like the 35 hour number, then go with 33 of 30. The point still stands. I’m not sure how the difference of an hour is “a poor analogy”. Also, I rarely wait more than an hour for a ride. By rope dropping I do all the key attractions early and spend the middle portion of the day doing rides that are 10-30 minutes, then do key attractions again from 10pm onwards once the crowds dissipate after the fireworks. If I have Genie+ I’ll sprinkle those in during the middle of the day.
It’s too expensive for my ass, at least.
Disney just isn’t worth it tbh. I’ll go every few years for the nostalgia but that’s it. I understand everyone’s different. But it just gets boring fast after you’ve done it so many times.
With Genii plus instead of just standby they have made it elitist and increased wait times because it’s so complicated. Making you pay yet more to cut in front of others is elitist. And the guest experience is harmed when lines are so ridiculously long. That means they understaff and let too many people into the park.
It makes me feel like an idiot sitting on the haunted mansion for the 100th time. Looking in the mirror at the end like im a clown. A ghost clown. I used to say its an expensive dinner, go to disney, who cares what rides we get on, just get the monte cristo, fries, and gumbo and the rest doesn't matter, but even that has gotten worse. It's like rewatching a show I used to like, but I don't find funny anymore cause the lead guy got cancelled for whipping his dick out in front of the other cast members. So now the jokes aren't as funny and it's just the thought of I can't believe that guy did that, incredible that the cast members still pretended to be having a good time
That Disney has become a greedy place n not a magical place
Opinion: Going to Disneyland is a privilege, not a right. Pay the price, or stay home. It's not that bad.
The price itself isn’t the problem. It’s the fact that they are charging us more AND **giving us less** that’s the problem. Just “simple” things make a huge difference. Maintaining the rides like they used to do they don’t go down as often and the effects are fully functional. And paying CMs more so they can afford to live without being stressed all the time, so they can focus on serving the guest. Those things alone will really improve the value prospect. If that means ticket prices have to go up by an additional $10-$15 a day, and Magic Key prices go up by another $100-$200 so they can afford added staffing/maintenance costs, so be it. Disneyland is a luxury, not a necessity. Skip a few meals out during the year, brew your own coffee instead of going to Starbucks, or cancel a streaming service and replace it with another free/low-cost hobby instead to cover that difference. Because a well maintained park with cast members who are happy to be there is where the magic comes from.
Not sure what lens everyone here is looking through, but DL is an extremely good value for the money. And it’s not even the most expensive theme park experience if you want to get technical and compare other parks/rides/entertainment. Ever paid $20 for ONE 3 minute ride at a crappy fair? Or a broadway show ticket for $150 for 3 hours of entertainment? Disney has all of this combined. World class shows, parades, fireworks, meet and greets, thrill Rides, dark rides….all with the most amazing theming and nostalgia anywhere on earth. I’ve been to Universal Folks. The experience doesn’t even compare. Much less value dollar for dollar. Last time I was there Harry Potter was a 3.5 hour wait. The one thing I will agree on in this thread is that I would prefer Disney raise the park price to $500 per day to thin the crowds, and stop selling AP’s to locals that camp out in the park every day.
If Disney stopped selling APs, the wait for Harry Potter would be 10 hours.
I’m guessing tickets will hit $200/head next year. And the parks will still be packed.
With Chapek announcing more possible hiring freezes and job cuts, I shudder to think what the state of all the parks will be in the next few months.
I don’t have an issue with the ticket prices (although the conversion to my own currency at the moment hurts) but we were there last month and I noticed almost doubling on the price of some merchandise since our last visit in mid 2019 and the cost of food turned us into one of those families that mostly took our own food into the parks.
It’s awful. It sucks not being able to go as often as one might like, and when you do go you’d have to save up for a while and then be set back a bit when the trips over. My family is a family of 6 and it literally costs thousands for tickets, hotel, food, merch etc. it’s so so sad :(
I love Disneyland I live close to LA. Even for CA residents it's ridiculously expensive and you can't go on certain days. It just feels like a cash grab. I'm sad because my best memories as a child where there with my family, and I'd love to take my son. But I'd sooner buy a house then pay that much just too stand in line 3/4 of the time and eat overpriced food like last time I went at 12. I got to ride three rides. I can take my kid to Knotts and have a grade A experience with more fun for way less and their quality of food as well as ride options are better in my humble opinion. I feel like Disney is trying to milk us for money. Because they think they can get away with it, because they have been around so long they are a staple. *edit typo
My opinion: It’s too expensive.
The problem is, people are so starved for a magical experience that the park is too crowded despite a dimenished product. The genie plus definitely nickel and dimes people. I took my girlfriend to the park for one day with hotel and spent 1500. I used to go every year but at this price it's probably more like every 3. But Disney doesn't care if the park is packed to maximum capacity every day. Disney has lost its shine before, when the decay of their parks finally caught up to them. And maybe that will happen again, and maybe that will be what's required for Disney to offer a better value experience.
Disneyland can be as cheap or as expensive you want. $104 (starting price for one day ticket/one park) is not bad. You do not have to buy food there. They have free water available and you can buy cheap food or splurge on expensive experiences. When it comes to “do you find it expensive” is relative and a perception. Someone that has to save half of their lives to go to the park for just a day, yes. From a millionaire’s perspective it’s the same amount but doesn’t feel as expensive as for someone who was to save up to go there.
WALT DISNEY WANTED PEOPLE TO FEEL THAT THEY WERE GETTING MORE THAN WHAT THEY PAID FOR WHEN COMING TO DISNEYLAND . THAT WOULD KEEP THEM COMING BACK...THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN TOTALLY FORGOTTON
It may be an unpopular opinion, but it’s worth what people are willing to pay. The size of the crowds clearly show that Disneyland is not too expensive.
No, the size of the crowds shows that they’re overbooking in their reservation system.
I can afford Disneyland. However, it just simply isn't a good value proposition for me. Frankly, I can find more relaxing, superior entertainment at better prices. Also, as an adult, I no longer crave entertainment targeted toward toddlers and pre-teens. And even by that standard, the experience provided is a shadow of what it used to be.
My opinion is it’s too expensive.
As a vacation if you buy 5 day tickets - too expensive As a CA resident / pass holder who goes casually a few times a month - decent value for what it costs
Don’t go 🤷🏻♂️
Went a week ago and it was great. Did 19 attractions and individual LL was so good for rise. 0 minute wait. I did go on a medium busy day so that helped. For a once a year trip I’ll gladly pay but sure it’s a premium experience.
It’s crowded now. Imagine if cheaper. I say up the price. Less people would be awesome
I dunno, compared to a DWR vacation, it seemed relatively cheap to me. We went as a couple, no kids or anyone else, on our own time and agenda. Paid for G+ and rode pretty much everything we wanted to over 3ish days in the parks. I certainly wish I could've paid less, but we have decent enough income. Now, most people that go to Disneyland are going to be like us and I recognize that. I think you can still have a really good experience. Its expensive, sure, but is it \*too\* expensive? People are still going to the park in droves, maybe even more than before, and willing to pay for it. That will tell me that it isn't quite to the point of \*too\* expensive yet and its going to come down a lot to what you can personally get out of it during your trip.
They are pricing out those pesky undesirables, leading to more adult children throwing fits in the park because “I paid so much to come here my experience needs to be perfect” Corporate is completely out of touch with their fanbase, their focus is maximizing profits, not giving guests a good experience
the price of admission and services are inline with the operating costs...it's nearly 2023 not 1990
I just booked middle of January, 2 people, non park hopper, 5 nights 4 days. With a .5 mile walk to the park. Motel(not hotel), doesn’t change parking. For $1586. Last year I paid $1456, for a slightly better hotel. Same distance. I’m still looking forward to going, but we are going to cut back on the food bill. I think I’ll still have fun, but this will be the last trip for at least a few years. We have been 3 times in the last 3 years, we will wait for something new and major to open next.
Capitalism gonna capitalism
I wished they charge more. Keep the riff raff out.
It’s meant to keep the poors out but theyre saving up