Why the newest Disney price Hike probably won’t Make you Cancel Your Trip

At the start of the new year, everything seems to go up. Gas, groceries, the fries at Mcdonalds (really?! 30 cents more now for the large? Sheesh!) but those little increase don’t usually make the news the way an increase at Disney World does.


Before you let that worry you, or even stop you Disney vacation plans, we are here to tell you that it’s NOT a big deal. Really. Yes, we are all about saving money so we can get to Disney, but few dollar more in theme park admission shouldn’t scare you, because that hike isn’t aimed at YOU specifically.


Let me explain.


A few years back, Disney put their tickets into three tiers. Value, Regular and Peak days. Value would be the off peak times, for example, January, once the Christmas rush is over, or August and early September, when kids are back in school. Regular times are typically the early spring and fall, while Peak times start around spring Break, and go through Summer, and then the fall holidays. Dividing the year into tiers allowed Disney to charge different prices for each time. If you want to go at a slower time of year, you get to pay less. If you want to go (or can only go) during a more crowded time of year, you’ll pay more.


While this may not really sound fair, when you think that in an off peak time, fewer people are needed to, for example, clean the restrooms, or clean hotel rooms and less paper goods are used, of course, Disney’s costs will be lower. When it’s Peak time, and everyone’s sipping a drink, using a little TP in the restroom or requesting using tons of towels at the pool, expenses go up. (Think about it practically and it takes a little of the sting off. That’s what I tell myself anyway!!)


But when Disney does a price increase, people start cringing. They complain about how expensive it already is. Every year I see the people that say “That’s it! It’s too expensive, we have had our last trip!” If you are a Disney lover and have been before, you’ll already know how much value you get for those tickets, but if you don’t go often, or you’ve never been before, let me point out again. This is not really going to effect you much, if any.


This is why.


The price increase is greatest on one day tickets. Those prices are for the, “Hey, while we are in town, let’s stop off,” people. The, “You know, let’s go make a day of it,” gang. The, “Alright, fine. We will go one time,” folks. Not the “Woooo we have been saving now we are going to go live it up!! Lets book our vacations!” people, like you and me! We still get a price increase, but it’s not really going to be $100 plus a day for a ticket.


Look at this!


I’m going to just use regular day prices. It will be a few dollars less during value season, a few dollars more during peak, but day three, my friends, is where the magic starts to happen, and just look at day 5 and 6! It’s worth it to get the longer tickets, even if you just plan to go in, use your fast passes and leave for a pool day.


Day 1 $ 114 / $119 per day (Magic Kingdom single day tickets are $115)
Day 2 $209 ( $104.50 per day)
Day 3 $305 ($101.66 per day)
Day 4 $380 ($95 per day)
Day 5 $395 ($79 per day)
Day 6 $405 ($67.50 per day)
Day 7 $415 ($59.28 per day)
Day 8 $425 ($53.12 per day)
Day 9 $435 ($48.33 per day)
Day 10 $445 ($44.50 per day)




So how does this compare to last years prices? A typical 5 day pass in 2017 cost $370. In 2018 it now costs $395. An increase of $25, or, $5 a day. That’s not really too bad. Use a few of our great tips on the blog, and save that easily! I know I'll either be using my McDonalds app for the BOGO Large fries, or maybe start to cut them out so save a little more on my end!

If you have a few saving money tips we don’t, please share below!