Disney is raising the prices of their annual park pass renewals starting Aug. 18, along with a slew of other services offered by the conglomerate.
The price increases are going up as much as 16% for die-hard Disneyland fans, the Los Angeles Times reported. The top-tier passes for annual entry are increasing from $1,399 to $1,599, and will no longer get you into the park for Christmas, according to the outlet.
Annual pass programs were scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic amidst California’s lockdowns, but were brought back in August 2021 with a new program called the “Magic Key,” the LA Times continued. The prices started at $399 per annum for residents of Southern California, and went up to $1,399 for everyone else with the option of no block-out days and total flexibility with reservations, the outlet continued.
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Disney paused the “Magic Key” program sales in May in order to manage crowding during the summer months, the LA Times noted. On Aug. 18, only current annual pass holders will be given the option to renew their passes for a higher cost, the outlet reported.
The price hikes come just days after Disney raised the cost of Disney+ and Hulu streaming subscriptions, CNBC reported. Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinted that the price increases would be extended to the parks earlier in August in an exclusive interview with the outlet.
Inflation is not being blamed for the price hikes, CNBC noted. Disney rationalized increasing the cost of its services based on the popularity of its products, the outlet argued. Disney+ added 15 million additional subscribers in the last quarter, which apparently justifies increasing Hulu and Hulu without ads by $1 and $2 monthly respectively, for example, CNBC reported in another article.
“We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek told CNBC. “It’s all up to the consumer. If consumer demand keeps up, we’ll act accordingly. If we see a softening, which we don’t think we’re going to see, then we can act accordingly as well.” (RELATED: ‘You Fight Back’: DeSantis Takes On Disney, Woke Corporations)
Disney apparently had a 70% revenue increase in their parks during the last quarter, bringing in close to $7.4 billion, CNBC continued. Per capita spending also increased at the parks from 10% to more than 40% when compared to 2019, the outlet noted.