A friend of mine got back recently from a trip to Disneyland in CA. He’s married with 3 kids, and had been planning this trip for quite some time. I believe they were able to take advantage of some special offer that was running, but his first comment to me when he got back was that it was still “really expensive”. When I quizzed him on what part was more expensive than he had expected he specifically mentioned the food and the park admission.
He said that everyone had had a good time, but he felt the cost, especially given the current economic situation, was disproportionally high compared to other parks he had been to in the recent past. I told him that I thought that the Disney parks were always pricey, but he said that back in the day they were comparably priced to other forms of entertainment… or at least to other amusement parks he had visited. My parents took my brother and me to Disneyland in 1955 soon after it first opened, but since I was only a year old I don’t really remember how expensive it was (and my parents can’t remember). However I do remember going in the late 60’s and buying those ticket books and we always ending up with lots of “A” and “B” tickets that we never used.
So my question is… during the early years, say throughout the 1960’s, was Disneyland as expensive relatively as it is today? Or has the relative price, including food etc. gone up dramatically over the past 10 years as my friend claims?
So if $10.75 in 1981 is equivalent to $25.05 in 2009, does that mean that the actual 2009 cost of $72.00 is almost 3 times higher (relatively) than the cost in 1981?
I suppose someone could argue that Disneyland was 3 times better in 2009 than it was in 1981… but I think that would be a stretch. Since Disney park attendees don’t appear to be price sensitive it looks like they were able to sucessfully ratchet up the price every year.
BTW, when I worked at a marine park in the 1970’s we were told that the admission price covered the employees, electricity and food for the animals. The profits came from all of the concessions…
They also have deals for families or multi-day multi-park passes from time to time as do many other parks.
Six Flags, as an example, had half-off offers on a can of cola available from vending machines by the park entrance once. IIRC, in about 2000 we had a coupon from somewhere for about $20 off Busch Gardens admission. Canadians especially (when our dollar was 63 US cents) could buy Disney passes from the local Disney store for a substantial discount.
Unfortunately, this makes it a game of “find the discount” which screws some customers at the expense of others.
Considering $72 each is in the same ballpark (sorry) as a major league sports game tickets, Broadway shows, etc. perhaps the issue is that all entertainment is very expensive today? At least they don’t charge by the ride for most things once you are in.
I’m more interested in the food. You could easily argue that Disneyland’s attractions have improved over the years, but has there been a quantum leap in frozen banana technology in the interim?
I was at Dland on Sunday, and the value of the food was a topic of conversation. The consensus was that yes, the food at the park is much, MUCH better than it was when we were kids/teens - back then, it was absolutely horrible.
It’s still very expensive, mind - but it’s improved greatly. Although part of it is knowing where to go (Cafe Orleans, Bengal Barbecue, Pizza Port) and where not to go (the hamburger haus in Fantasyland is still YUCK).
The single-day admission price is insane, and shouldn’t be purchased by anyone. It’s a little “unfair” to use that as an inflation measurement. For example, right now you can purchase a 5-Day pass* for $184 for adults (or $154 for kids 9 and under). That brings it down to $36.80 per day. There’s always some kind of special, often kids-are-free-with-adult stuff.
If you really only want to go for one day, search online for people unloading partially-used multi-day passes for cheap.
And, as for food, there are many places to get some really good food, both inside the park and nearby in Downtown Disney.
*: good for both parks, the $72 single-day pass are not
There was a Doper who worked at Disneyland, who said that it is a little known fact (and something that I had never heard before) that guests are allowed to bring all the food and drink (no alcohol) that they want into the park with them.
Now this would not be ideal for everyone, but for families on a budget, bringing a few 2 liter bottles of of coke and a bucket of KFC (or some sub sandwiches) in a cooler could potentially save a HUGE amount of $$$, especially if you were there for several days.
Anyone know if this is still the policy? Obviously Disneyland does not go out of it’s way to tell the public about this…
I was at Magic Kingdom Orlando this pass winter and I didn’t think the food prices were that outrageous. Kid’s meals were still something like $5. What are happy meals going for these days? $4?
Adult sandwich/fries/pop were around $10 but you pay that just about anywhere nowdays that isn’t your cheapest fast food fare.
Not sure about Disneyland, but you can bring food and drink into Walt Disney World (WDW) in Florida. You can even bring a small cooler. You can’t bring in glass bottles or alcoholic beverages, though.
Just for the record, the local big amusement parks here in New England charge from $26 (Storyland NH) to $30 (Canobie Lake) to $42.50 (Six Flags New England). Disney, as a premium park, isn;t completely out of line at $72, although it’s still steep.
One day at Universal Orlando is $79, for comparison.