WDW Increases Annual Pass Prices Overnight
After a flurry of annual pass related news yesterday, Walt Disney World quietly increased the price of most annual pass categories overnight, some by more than $200.
The Disney Parks Blog announced on June 17 that some WDW annual pass holders would have the opportunity to enter the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ahead of the official opening date of August 29, 2019. Immediate speculation began about whether this announcement would result in a flurry of annual pass purchases for guests attempting to gain early access to the new land.
This makes it somewhat less than surprising that Disney quietly increased WDW annual pass prices overnight.
The price structure as of today, June 18, 2019 is:
- Disney Platinum Plus Pass (includes 4-Park Hopping, water parks, and more, with no blackout dates): $1,219
- Disney Platinum Pass (includes 4-Park Hopping, with no blackout dates): $1,119
- Gold Annual Pass (for DVC members and FL residents only): $699.00
- Silver Annual Pass (FL residents only): $529.00
The most recent previous price (for non-Florida residents) for the Platinum Plus Pass was $994.00, with the new rate representing an increase of $225.00. The Florida Resident price increased to $999, up $150 from the previous $849.
For the Platinum Pass, the most recent previous price (for non-Florida residents) was $894.00. The new rate for this category is also up $225. The Florida Resident price increased $150 from $749.00 to $899.00.
For the Gold Pass, the most recent previous price was $609.00. The new rate is a $90 bump over this.
For the Silver Pass, the most recent previous price was $479.00. The new rate is $50 increase.
Lower benefit categories of passes saw modest increases of $10-30 per year.
Pass renewal rates also increased. Stay tuned for a full recap of all the ticket adjustments.
Other annual pass news yesterday was better, with the announcement of some minor good news, the return of the Bring-a-Friend offer, allowing select Passholders to purchase, for a companion, a 1-day ticket with Park Hopper Option for the special price of $89 plus tax.
We have updated the prices in our Ticket Calculator.
What do you think of this price increase (as if we had to ask)? Will you be buying a pass? Will this impact your decision to visit Galaxy’s Edge? Let us know in the comments.
You May Also Like...
-
Along with today's increase in Walt Disney World ticket prices came increases in prices for Walt Disney World Annual Passes. The…
-
Wow! In a move that certainly took me by surprise today, Disney took to social media today to share that the…
-
We all knew that the reopening of the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks would see some unique challenges. One such…
-
I recently re-discovered a stash of photos I took in the Walt Disney World parks during the summer of 2009 -…
It’s funny, I remember thinking the competition between Universal and Disney was going to help the pricing at each park, boy was I wrong so far.
I’m sure Disney’s got lots of revenue that could pay for those wage increases fast enough. If only the blue /green milk could sell like butter beer
Actually, they are in kind of a “reverse competition” because Universal (and other central FL places) had to up their pay scale to “compete” with Disney in the workforce….. which will necessarily result in higher prices at Universal too.
Also, both entities have (and are) putting a lot of work into the parks in terms of new parks (i.e. Universal’s water park), lands, attractions, and hotels.
It’s an expensive place, to be sure. And I admittedly take advantage of many CM discounts because of my kid.
But I had plans to retire to FL in a couple of years and get an AP every year. If the prices continue to rise at this pace, I’ll probably do the AP thing every other year, or take long breaks between APs.
The Disney union employees got a huge raise ($10 to $15 an hour), a 50% increase phased in over the next few years. My child is a CM, so I understand that side of things, but ultimately, someone has to pay for it, and that someone will be the customers. It’s either that or layoffs / decreased staffing, and none of us wants that.
“That is the way of things. The way of the force!” -Master Yoda
I totally and completely appreciate your pov, and yes, it does make sense. At some point in time though, the average populous cannot grow their income. Unless you have a Union or a company like Disney with a vast wealth to tap from, most people will not get the cost of living raises they need to keep up with the costs. And in the end, the consumer will decrease their visits and the inevitable lay-off will ensue. Lay-offs have been a part of our country now since the 80’s and NO company is without lay-offs. They are never fun and always painful. But invoking huge wage increases where it taps into the consumer will eventually backfire…
I’ve given up on Disney. Prices to high for EVERYTHING. Food is out of site. Ticket prices go up and up. DVC points are not nearly what they were worth 10 years ago. Crowds are out of control. Not worth my time nor my effort. My family will be spending our vacation dollars somewhere else. Walt must be rolling over in his grave. Sorry Walt.
Disney is quickly becoming a vacation just for the “well-heeled”. Is that what is going on here, a two-tiered society haves and have nots? A feudal society the lords of the manor and the serfs…thanks Iger for ruining everything. Greedy b*st*rd!
This is ridiculous! I know that they have to pay for all the upgrades and all, but to hit the families who are the “bread and butter” of the whole company is wrong. I am a Florida resident and just this year bought the Platinum Pass. I have been here for 12 years without it, so maybe I will have to go without it again. Disney does not lose money on me when I go because of all the extras I purchase from a bottle of water to snacks, merchandise, and meals. I finally started staying onsite and then got hit with parking fees! Disney has gone from covering costs to being greedy. This might just come back and bite them! If the economy turns sour, this is going to be one extravagant spend that people will be willing to give up.
Maybe not willing to give up, but necessary to. 🙁
Bob Iger is out of touch financially. It is a labor of love buying tickets to WDW. I am not a fortunate person that can get to Florida but just once a year and it is expensive just for once a year. This guy is nothing more than a money grubbing hog. He is diluting the Walt Disney brand and because he spent (over spent) for Marvel he is shoving it down our throats with a Marvel ride in EPCOT no less! Why not just build a Marvel park and leave Disney alone!!! I am getting concerned that my families favorite vacation that we go on every year is becoming prohibitive and also too crowded. Iger can’t retire soon enough…he may have been good for the company at first but these past four years he’s been a nightmare.
The premiere pass went up again too — that’s two increases in under a year, for a 33% increase. For my family, this makes trips to Disneyland far less exciting than many other getaway options in the southwest US — we’ll end up only doing WDW moving forward.
Disney continues to court the upper-class consumer, one who will spend more money in parks on food, souvenirs, and special experiences like dessert parties and private tours. But they are a business, and despite higher ticket prices attendance rises year after year. The economy is doing well right now, and they have a product that many people want and are willing to pay high prices to get.
Stuart that is the case until they turn away enough loyal fans and/or the next recession hits. They are riding high now but their greed is angering many loyal fans. Long term thinking isn’t the way businesses are run but it needs to be. They absolutely have to respect their guests or they will lose them. There’s a whole world to explore with all of our vacation money besides Disney.
As an AP holder, it’s simple math, how many times am I going per year and for how many days? Figure out the price of those tickets and if it’s more than the cost of an AP, buy the AP. If the tickets cost less than the cost of an AP, don’t buy the AP. For the number of people who say they are never returning, Disney has 5 people waiting to take their place. Disney has a fortunate problem of having more demand than supply. If they can charge 10 people $100 and make $1,000 or charge 9 people $120 and make $1,080 then, why wouldn’t they? They are a corporation and therefore loyalty is to their stockholders, not their park goers. Walt might not like that fact, but I’m sure Roy the businessman would. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are more Roy’s than Walt’s currently employed…or the Roy’s have all the power. But at the end of the day they are a business, and until they start making less money by charging more, they will keep increasing the prices.
I feel like this might be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back for my family. APs already went up 10% last year, and now another 15% this year puts us at $5,000/year for park tickets for my family of five. But I guess that’ll just make lines for Galaxy’s Edge a bit shorter for higher paying guests, which is what Disney wants anyways…
This makes me very sad.
Our family of 6 purchased annual passes in late 2012, as we were planning two trips within a calendar year. The total cost (including tax) was $4,200. It was a stretch then, but we were able to pull it off. The same thing seven years later would cost $7,150 (with tax), for an increase of $2,950 or 70% in 6 1/2 years. While I understand some of the price increase over the years, that’s an insane increase in a relatively short amount of time. Count me out for that kind of purchase again.