Hi everyone! Today I want to discuss some big updates about Disney in general and what you need to know and be aware of. So, let’s get started, shall we?! So, Walt Disney World has announced that they are increasing the ticket prices to make it more expensive than ever. Walt Disney World’s annual ticket price increase has occurred like clockwork, with multi-day prices going up for base and Park Hopper options through December 31, 2022. This comes after increases on hundreds of food items in early 2022 and a few months after the debut of Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. This post has details on the increases along with commentary offering our thoughts. None of this is all that surprising. Price increases have been commonplace in recent years, predictably happening around the same date in mid-February every year. That’s why we’ve been advising readers to purchase tickets ASAP to lock-in current prices in our 2022 Discount Walt Disney World Ticket Buying Guide, as we’ve been expecting an imminent price increase. The bigger “surprise” is that Walt Disney World didn’t raise ticket prices last September to coincide with the start of the 50th Anniversary festivities. The good news here is that Undercover Tourist, one of our recommended third-party ticket sellers, still has tickets at the “old” prices for a limited time. By buying through them before they sell out of the old tickets, you can save up to $131 per ticket! You’ll need to act fast, as once those are gone–they’re gone. As a general matter, Walt Disney World’s date-based ticket pricing system makes price increases very difficult to assess. This variable pricing obfuscates increases (which is probably by design), and it’s thus impossible for us to say which dates did or did not increase. What we do know is that the lower and upper limits on pricing remained changed, but beyond that, we’re unsure of what has changed. It’s also presently unclear how–or if–these increases impact total vacation package pricing. With that said, let’s take a look at what has–and has not–changed as of February 2022… The price range for single day tickets has not changed. The single day price still starts at $109, which has been the base price since the introduction of the date-based system back in October 2018. Likewise, the maximum 1-day ticket price is still $159. That’s up by $30 from October 2018, but unchanged since March 2019. With that said, we have no clue how the distribution of price points has changed during that time. We don’t track the price calendar that closely. It’s entirely possible there’s a shrinking number of cheaper dates and growing number of more expensive dates. Based on what I’m seeing, there actually has not been a significant reduction of $109 dates. Most weekdays in late August through September 2022 are still priced at $109, which has been the case for a few years. This probably reflects the reality of this being off-season, and Disney’s inability to redistribute attendance to these slower months (thankfully). Conversely, it appears that there are more tickets at the $149 and $154 price points. There was a time when very few dates eclipsed $139, but that’s no longer true. We’re seeing lots of weekends at $149 or $154 that previously had mid-tier costs. Additionally, March and April 2022, plus weekends in May 2022, also seem to be more expensive. Base tickets offer admission to one theme park at Walt Disney World per day for each day of the ticket. All days in multi-day tickets must be used during the valid ticket dates shown via Disney’s booking calendar. Along with valid theme park admission, a park reservation at the same park on the same date is required. Reservations can be made using the Disney Park Pass system. (Disney’s booking calendar won’t let you buy on dates that reservations are totally unavailable.)
Here are the before and after prices:
1–3-day base tickets: No price increases (to the ranges)
4 -day base tickets: now $447.70 to $596.74 (before $434.83 to $596.74)
5-day base tickets: now $484.52 to $646.87 (before $463.56 to $630.85)
6-day base tickets: now $496.43 to $672.25 (before $477.79 to $645.91)
7-day base tickets: now $511.10 to $694.46 (before $492.06 to $661.56)
8 -day base tickets: now $545.19 to $716.20 (before $518.17 to $678.83)
9- day base tickets: now $563.46 to $738.66 (before $536 to $691.93)
10-day base tickets: now $582.09 to $752.40 (before $553.59 to $703.65)
Park Hopper Ticket Prices:
The Park Hopper option allows guests to visit more than one park per day at Walt Disney World. Guests must make a theme park reservation via the Disney Park Pass reservation system for the first park they plan to visit. After entering that first park (which is required), guests are able to visit the next park starting at 2 pm until each park’s regularly scheduled closure. The ability to visit a park is subject to the park’s capacity limitations, which have only been hit once: briefly at Magic Kingdom on October 1 last year, for the kickoff of the 50th Anniversary. (In other words, don’t expect that to be an issue.)
Here are the before and after Park Hopper prices:
1-2-day Park Hopper tickets: No price increases (to the ranges)
3- day Park Hopper tickets: now $416.37 to $555.88 (before $415.77 to $555.88)
4-day Park Hopper tickets: now $540.89 to $687.27 (before $525.35 to $687.27)
5-day Park Hopper tickets: now $572.47 to $739.92 (before $554.09 to $721.38)
6-day Park Hopper tickets: now $586.96 to $762.77 (before $568.32 to $736.44)
7-day Park Hopper tickets: now $601.63 to $785.48 (before $582.59 to $752.08)
8-day Park Hopper tickets: now $628.04 to $810.55 (before $608.69 to $769.36)
9-day Park Hopper tickets: now $649.96 to $827 (before $626.53 to $782.46)
10-day Park Hopper tickets: now $671.15 to $841.86 (before $644.22 to $794.17)
Finally, the before and after on Park Hopper Plus prices (as a reminder, this includes water park and other “sports-related fun”):
1-2-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: No price increases (to the ranges)
3-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $437.67 to $577.18 (before $437.07 to $577.18)
4-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $559.53 to $708.57 (before $546.65 to $708.57)
5-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $593.53 to $761.22 (before $575.39 to $742.68)
6-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $612.02 to $784.07 (before $589.62 to $757.74)
7-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $622.98 to $806.78 (before $603.89 to $773.39)
8-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $653.57 to $828.03 (before $629.99 to $790.66)
9-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $678.94 to $844.66 (before $647.83 to $803.76)
10-day Park Hopper Plus tickets: now $698.43 to $863.16 (before $665.52 to $815.47)
Again, you can still purchase Walt Disney World tickets at the “old” pricing via Undercover Tourist, but only for a limited time. As always, we recommend locking in current pricing as soon as you know you’re going to be visiting Walt Disney World. Buying tickets today is a safeguard against future increases. For the best deals, see our Money-Saving Tips for Walt Disney World Tickets post. Although tangential to the main point of this post, we highly recommend almost everyone purchase the Park Hopper add-on, even after this price increase. Park Hopper tickets give you more flexibility and the ability to more dynamically plan your day. This is especially key right now, with limited operating hours, missing entertainment, and Genie+ and Lightning Lanes offering better bang for buck if split across multiple parks. In particular, being able to move between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot is incredibly valuable–especially until Fantasmic returns (hopefully soon!)
So, if you want to go to Disney World, you would have to find a way and be careful of what you are doing and you want to save a lot more money than usual or you can call Disney World to find out what tickets you can buy. Yes, a lot of people are upset about the increases, but it is not a surprise.
Now, moving over to the Disneyland Resort. Disneyland has announced that vaccinated guests planning to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are no longer required to wear masks in most indoor areas. The new mask policy took effect Thursday, according to revised visitor guidelines. Visitors over the age of 2 who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are still required to wear masks indoors at the Anaheim theme parks. All guests must wear a mask while in Disney shuttles and in “health settings,” including First Aid areas, regardless of vaccination status. Park officials noted that for unvaccinated people still required to wear masks, “neck gaiters, open-chin, triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.” This comes after California’s indoor mask mandate expired on Wednesday amid declining cases of the coronavirus omicron variant. The unvaccinated guests must still wear a mask in indoor areas and even outdoor areas. People still need to be careful even though they are going to Disneyland mask less especially on restaurants, attractions, stores, shows, hotels, and parades because you never know when the cases will start to go back up. It is pretty good when the Summer comes because cases start to fall down, but the winter is different because the cases will rise again. So, if you want to go to Disneyland safely, then go in the Summer not Winter nor Fall. Its just me. So, just keep staying safe. Wash hands before eating, after eating, don’t come to the parks sick and if you test positive for Covid-19.
I learned all of this information from the Disney news I looked at today!
So, what do you guys think about the Disney information?! I would love to hear lots of comments, thoughts, opinions, questions, or concerns down below!
Stay tuned for Disney updates.
