Disney World changes price list to control crowd

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Disney  World announced a new model that will tie all tickets at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida  — for a single day or multiple days – to a specific date.

The prices will be set in advance according to historic demand, and the booking site will give guests the option of searching for the cheapest time to visit.

Martin Lewison, an assistant professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York  said that he thinks anyone paying attention saw this coming a mile away.

The Feb. 2016 switch to tiered pricing for one-day one-park tickets made [Monday’s] announced changes a foregone conclusion, and we just had to wait to see how it would be implemented.

Unlike airline or hotel models, the ticket prices will not fluctuate once they are set, a spokesperson said. The new model applies to all purchases starting October 16.

Disney World is not characterising the change as a straightforward price hike — that happened in February — but as a change in how tickets are sold.

The range of prices for single-day tickets now is $102-$129 depending on the park and time of year; under the new system, the range will be $109-$129. In other words, the highest price for a single-day ticket won’t increase, although the lowest price will.

A spokeswoman pointed out that, depending on the date and length of a visit, prices could end up lower, the same, or higher than they would have been before the change.

The attendance at three of Disney’s four Florida parks increased last year, according to an industry estimate, and new attractions coming up are expected to draw huge crowds.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has consistently said he would be willing to sacrifice some crowds if it improved the guest experience in parks.

Lewison said it would be “insanity” not to raise multi-day ticket prices during the highest demand periods.

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