Things are changing in a BIG way when it comes to Disney World park tickets.
Over the years, Disney has increased park ticket prices, changed how tickets are priced, made changes to Annual Passes, introduced the Park Pass reservation system, and more. Now, Disney is changing its ticket pricing system again in some critical ways. Here’s what you need to know.
How Disney World tickets are priced has changed quite a bit over the years, from booklets with A through E tickets, to more standard tickets (like the ones we know today) that include access to all rides. Right now, ticket prices are the same for all parks — meaning, a ticket to Magic Kingdom is not more expensive than a ticket to EPCOT on the same day. But soon that’ll be changing.
Starting December 8th, 2022, Disney will be implementing “park-specific pricing” only for 1-day, 1-park tickets. What does this mean? Well, essentially it’s surge pricing depending on the park. It means that your 1-day, 1-park ticket to Magic Kingdom on a particular date may cost you MORE than a ticket to, say, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, on that same date.
In terms of pricing, tickets for Magic Kingdom will reach the highest levels out of all 4 parks.
Here’s a breakdown of what a 1-day, 1-park ticket will cost under this new system (which, again, begins on December 8th):
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom — $109-$159 (prices are staying the same as current costs)
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios — $124-$179
- EPCOT — $114-$179
- Magic Kingdom — $124-$189
The $189 peak pricing at Magic Kingdom will reportedly only be used for a limited number of days around Christmastime and New Year’s. Most days, however, will fall below that $189 level.
As part of this park-specific pricing, you’ll have to pay that 1-day, 1-park ticket for a specific date and theme park, and a theme park reservation will automatically be made at the time of purchase.
A Disney spokesperson indicated, “We continue to focus on providing guests with the best, most memorable Disney experience, and we’re doing that by growing our theme parks with incredible new attractions and offerings. We are also making planning easier with new 1-day tickets that automatically include a guest’s theme park reservation and continue to provide a wide range of options to visit throughout the year, including our lowest priced ticket of $109 which has not changed in more than four years.”
Disney World tickets used to be priced differently depending on the park you visited — with Magic Kingdom costing more than the other parks typically, so this is, in a sense, a return to that.
We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we find.
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What do you think about this ticket change? Tell us in the comments.
I’m assuming anyone with tickets already purchased will not be affected come December 8th?
This is ridiculous, my family will not return until prices are lower and pricing that does not cater to the rich, who don’t mind paying for lightening lanes to jump ahead of lower income families who scrimped and saved to bring their kids some Disney magic…
Disney Company is failing families and Walt Disney himself. The concept was a place to take families to spend quality time with each other. Now, what typical family can afford to go to Disneyworld unless you are rich and privileged? It’s a shame. I’m going in December but I had to work 70 hours a week all last year and going by myself just to be able to afford this once in a lifetime trip. This shouldn’t be the case to visit what is suppose to be “The most happiest place on Earth”
It stinks- we have 7 day tickets and have park reservations but we thought that as long as there was capacity we could switch a day in case we decided we wanted two days in a different park from what we originally picked. I’m done – this is last trip to Disney for us.
Yet another way to Nickel and Dime the park guest because enough is never enough. Thanks Bob.
GOUGE, GOUGE, GOUGE! In what universe are these price bumps realistic.
TO ALL WHO READ THIS……….Please flood this site with your comments, unless your last name is Musk or Bezos
If Disney would just build a 5th park they will alleviate a good bit of this over crowding issue they are desperately trying to solve. As it stands now, I feel that whatever advances they may be making in the name of crowd control is being undermined by a negative shift in people’s perception of the brand. If you lose the brand you lose the crowds… and don’t forget about new competitive forces, not just locally but globally. Younger generations cannot be counted on to faithfully visit the parks as their parents or grandparents did. They have many more choices on where to spend their Instagram dollars.
Good reason to NEVER go to Disney again! $189 for ONE DAY for ONE PERSON?
I just can‘t anymore. I won‘t be going back to the parks until Chapek is gone. It breaks my heart.
Walk Disney would be horrified to see the money grabbing changes made to the Happiest Place no more. I was always a Disney lover now after a 10 day trip that caused more stress than any vacation should, I won’t be doing again. These constant changes and money grabs are just to much. This CEO only cares about profits. Not the Disney legacy. How sad.
Another obscene money grab, making park ticket more complicated and less affordable. Shame on them.
Coming soon surge pricing for dining! In all honesty Disney will do this UNTIL the customers stop showing up and the parks start to cost more money to keep open. That other place just up the street that is opening a third gate should be a true day of reckoning for Disney Management.
Hmm, o.k. then! So I have the same question as Skye does. If you’ve already bought you’re ticket and have your reservation, I would hope then can’t hit you with a surcharge after Dec. 8th?
Well, gee!
I guess the price increases don’t matter as long as there’s a new type of DOLE WHIP!
AJ doesn’t have an easy job with Disney nowadays, but this whole thing is getting ridiculous.
Not surprised! We just had a visit to WDW back in September, and it was disappointing! Not to mention the handling of the hurricane for guests was poorly executed!
We are planning our next family vacation to Universal Studios!
So sad. I have been there several times and loved it but never again. All they care about is lining their pockets. No more.
This truly is sad — My love for Disney started in 4th grade – when my teacher said if we behaved all week she’d show us her slides of Disneyland — that’s all it took – I was in love!!! Took me many years to be able to have a family and take my children for the first time to Disney World in 1977 – it WAS magical!! From then on we tried to make it back every 3-5 years as we could….Now a grammie and my last trip was in 2019 – b/f the pandemic happened. And from what I”m reading it was my last trip….I, too, believe it’s Bob Chapek – I understand businesses are in the market to MAKE money but there HAS to be a limit or some concessions somewhere on THEIR part — Sorry Disney you’ve outpriced yourself for most of us average (and retired) folks!!
This company never ceases to disappoint. All of these price changes, while ensuring the problem still exists, by cutting staff. $189 ticket, $25 Genie+, $15 lightning lane. $229 for 1 day without food or souvenirs.
MEANWHILE: Disney Parks Bring in $28 Billion In Revenue During 2022 Fiscal Year. Proving that the stock market is NOT the economy, once again.
Even after buying a $189 ticket you can’t ride anything without paying an extra $29 for Genie plus and then pay $20 for the rides not included in Genie. It’s crazy.
What a bunch of complainers on here. I hope, though I doubt, all of your threats to stay away are true. We don’t need your negativity ruining our great family holidays. Even at $189 per day, there’s value in a visit. Compare it to other entertainment out there, it’s much more value then a concert, sporting event or theater visit.
Tickets are now to be priced by a Disney Formula that can not be verified? No Thanks Disney if you want to price gauge do it to my Face.
Chapek and McCarthy need something to pay for the losses at the moment with Disney + so they will continue to increase the prices in the parks. Chapek’s package was $32 million last year but the people that help pay his salary get screwed, sorry for the wording. I wonder if the Board of Directors will ever wake up. The average family can no longer afford Disney. $189 dollars to get into Disney Magic Kingdom during Christmas season so you can spend hours online for a ride unless you spend even more on Genie + if available to them which I think would cost another $22. per person is ridiculous and not worth the money. 23 years as a DVC member and I have never seen anything like this. No longer a fun place to go.
I am disheartened to hear about the different prices for each individual park, plus higher prices, the fact that people with more money to spend can just go to the beginning of a line and get in quickly, while other people who saved all year for the trip and have a tight budget have to stand there waiting hours, making it impossible to see/ride other attractions they want to go on that same day. We have been fortunate to go to disneyworld 4 times over the years and we just bought the tickets through AAA and except for handicapped people in wheelchairs I think we all had to wait in line, just like with most places. Never minded letting a handicapped person go ahead for anything. But this situation disney has created for people to be able to go ahead of everyone else waiting in the line because they spent a lot of money for a special pass does not sit well. We are thinking of going next year, but I don’t know, we may not, I don’t like what I’ve been hearing. I don’t want to spend most of my time there waiting in a line, seeing others come right up with a pass and go in ahead of me, and I will not pay extra for such a pass. Even if I was rich I would not because it’s not fair to other people in line. We have learned from kindergarten on to wait your turn in line, have the disney executives forgotten what they learned in kindergarten?
When Chapek says we aren’t guests, but consumers, what did we honestly think was gonna happen? The food prices are out of control and surge pricing is just another name for ‘we’re gonna take all your money and give you less’. Walt Disney would be disgusted to see what’s become of his company.
This may be too early, but has it been mentioned on how this will affect being able to change park reservations? I just bought a package for late November next year and made park reservations; however, those reservations may get changed around based on getting party tickets, etc. I know this won’t pertain to my situation this time, but for others and the future, if the prices are based on park and day, how will you be able to switch parks/days when there is a price difference?
I love Disney, but they’re continuing to price people out. I want to go back, but I refuse to pay these prices. Chapek needs to go. He just cares about his lined pockets.
Wow ! SURGE PRICING to enter a park, USE THE BATHROOM, and wait on line for 1-4 hours to go on a ride. That’s all you will be able to do in the park unless you want to pay an additional $15-22 a day for the Genie Plus or pay $11-22 more to use The Individual Attraction. Just when I thought that Disney has come up with all the ways to separate us from our money Disney comes up with the ULTIMATE INSULT. Raise the price to just enter the park.GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY.
I just got back from MK with the kiddos yesterday. I know this sounds weird, but there were very few families. Mostly adults. We were standing in line to meet the princesses, and it was us and 1 other family several people ahead of us and a ton of adults there.
Getting on the monorail to leave, tons of adults and a sprinkling of children. It used to be a place that was overflowing with strollers and kids everywhere. It’s just getting too expensive for families.
Funny, all our bickering will fall into deaf ears. Disney doesn’t give a hoot about our say. Why? Because people are still flocking to visit. Unless the number of visitors fall, they’ll keep jacking up the price. Plain and simple.
I agree with everyone, this is outrageous! The only thing this will do to make a trip more memorable is to look back on the day you last visited Disney. Or when you lost your house cause your sacrificed your mortgage payment! Why?! Is he really so it is rich with the vast majority of Disney fans that he thinks this is the answer?! We have a trip planned for February 2023, all paid for. This will be our last trip as well, cause I want to keep my house, and not feather Paychecks!
I paid those highest prices on all the parks just last month!!!! I stayed from Oct. 29-Nov. 4th. Yes! Even Nov. 4th I paid $189 per day per ticket and paid Genie + $22 on Friday, Nov. 4th. Everything is way over priced there. Soda pop $5 a bottle and my least expensive meal was $16.20 for just me. I get why people are getting Disneycouraged! (Disney Dis Couraged)
Same! During the hurricane we were stuck in our resort for two days. They charged $7.00 for box lunches ! There we lines out the doors for food! Disney made a huge profit, since they didn’t want to refund for those lost days! We had to stay two extra days( at a discount) but it cost me in extra food, etc. Plus I had to pay two extra days to board our dogs, back home. Just long lines, and confusion and front desk staff screwing up our park reservations. We were happy to be leaving, this visit!
Yikes – i guess I am looking elsewhere for family vacation. This would basically bankrupt my family of 6…
Hi Lois! If you already purchased your ticket it shouldn’t affect you.
This is DISGUSTING! Disney you no longer care about the guests, it’s only important to make the share holders richer. You have hit an even lower low.
Yes, there are a lot of complainers on this page. However, a lot of complainers might give a person a clue that something might be wrong with the company. If all of the items complained about here are things that make up a “great family holiday”, then spend the money and have a “great” time.
Great advice if you have buckets of money.
That’s the problem. Many families DO NOT have the money to spend in order to have a great time in Disney any more.
weve been coming since the parks opened, 1971 for our honeymoon. we have sold our disney points and when this years tickets run out we are done with disney. removal of the fast pass was the worst. what a shame.
Incredibly greedy!!! Parks aren’t any fun anymore with the need to be constantly on your phone.
Hate it.
Greedy Greedy
If Disney + is losing money then get ride of it/stop it.
Don’t make the park goers suffer for the higher ups bad decision making.
Improve customer service – tired of being ignored while cast members reading messages on phones.
Improve the park experience so you do not have to use your phone all the time.
A tragedy for sure, but the public has to understand, Disney is having real difficulty in matching manpower, supply chain and guest expectations along with yes, over crowding. The only way Disney can control the crowds wanting to get in is to raise the price. It is as simple as the law of supply and demand. Disney has truely built a better mouse trap, and now the crowds are coming, only you do not have the infrastructure within your means to accommodate them.. so you raise the price and weed some guests out to accommodate.
I wish Disney would issue a Park Day Pass to allow guests to come 9n, shop, dine, etc., but does not include any rides or attractions. I wonder what this would do if it were a weekday annual pass. I went to Disney with my Grand son, 2, for the first time. For my wife and I to go into the park and walk around with him cost me almost $350.00. My wife and I did not visit one ride or attraction for the 5 hours we were there. Tragic
This is the last straw for me. I’m done. I will not be going to Disney ever again. It has become a money making machine at the expense of it’s patrons.Maybe they should stop buying up all these TV stations and other companies and go back to treating us like Walt meant us to be treated. Magic is gone forever. DONE, DONE, AND DONE!!!
Does this only apply to a one day ticket? Do Multiple day tickets still allow you to switch parks if available?
Thank you!
Hi Dottyanna! Yes, this pricing structure is only applicable to one-day – one-park tickets so multi-day tickets will still allow you to switch parks at will.
I can live with that! Thank you Gigi!