Dynamic Pricing Headed for Disney World? A Look at Which Experiences May Be Impacted
On November 19, 2025, Disney Senior Executive Vice President & CFO, Hugh Johnston, spoke at the Wells Fargo Media, Technology, Media, and Telecom Summit. Mr. Johnston announced that Disney is focused on optimizing their current dynamic pricing structure in Disneyland Paris before bringing the same system to Disney World and Disneyland. No timeline for this change was mentioned other than saying this may happen in 2026 or later.
Both parks have had date-based pricing for years on resort stays, park, and special event tickets like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Date-based pricing is why you pay more when the demand and crowds are higher. While you might not pay the same price any night of a 4-night stay at a Disney Resort, you’re currently able to see the fixed prices by date so that you can budget and plan for your trip. Dynamic pricing could be a huge barrier for folks planning their vacation with a tight budget since prices on everything from food to Mickey ears could change several times per day. For example, the Gaston’s cinnamon roll that costs $7.99 at 11:00am (a 60% increase in price since 2018) may be $10.99 at 9:00am. Or, let’s suppose that an After Hours event is selling at a rate that the Disney algorithm knows will result in that date selling out faster than expected, they may decide to increase the price to match demand.
The mention of “ancillary services that we offer like Lightning Lane and VIP tour guides and those types of things” as a future revenue growth driver leaves us with some questions. Could this mean the 74 Enchanting Extras currently offered by Disney World might see pricing changes? The Enchanting Extras collection includes things like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Magic Kingdom Dessert Parties, the Wild Africa Trek, water park cabana rentals, lightsaber experiences at Savi’s workshop, and so much more.
You may remember that we wrote about possible changes coming to the Disney Dining Plan – you can read that post here. The survey questions we wrote about indicated the possibility of a 3rd tier of dining plan options that would presumably cost more than the current plans. Increasing the prices on dining experiences, like Character Dining, would be an example of the incremental revenue addressed during this summit. The structure already exists and could easily be enhanced with more expensive tiers. The current Disney Dining Plan math nearly always favors Disney’s earnings over value for the average guest.
Until changes are announced by Disney, we are left to ponder and guess. What do you think about this idea? Does the prospect of not being able to budget for your trip change your Disney vacation plans? Let us know in the comments.
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I genuinely wonder if perhaps we are past “peak Disney.” The costs are getting ridiculous, the experiences aren’t getting better, and it’s getting darn near difficult to enjoy.
We’ve all heard the saying “you only hurt the ones you love.” I have to wonder if we’ve all loved Disney so much that *we* were the problem, the reason that it’s now a shadow of itself, nothing but some shameless money grab that no longer offers the same return as before.
Has a Disney exec ever mentioned a way to increase prices that did not get implemented?
Besides, that Tron sequel was a flop and they need to make up the millions they lost on it.
Well, Dean. You make a good point. We won’t be shocked by an announcement early next year.
I mean the price will be the price- no matter if it is static or not. But at some point people just won’t pay it. Imagine getting inline for a bottle of water at a food cart – it takes 10 minutes to get to the front of the line. Disney has raised prices since you were inline because it’s now 2PM and warmer out.
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$20 for a box of popcorn because it is 830PM and Fantasmic is going to start?
Get bent Disney. Those boxes of popcorn sold by the vendors at Fantasmic were made at 730 AM in the popcorn room at Backlot Express.
Exactly, Mike. That popcorn scenario x merch x tours x festival food is a worry for us too. Do people plan / budget for the max amount and hope for the best? Does Disney go the way of many retail chains and stop putting prices on physical items and menu boards? Obviously this is a worst case scenario, and we for sure don’t want to add to the stress, but it’s happening now in places like Michael’s and Walmart, so?
Disney hasn’t put prices on a lot of merchandise. Instead there is a single placard that has colors (Red, Teal, Brown, etc). And that color board has a price associated with it. I’ve seen it implemented mostly on Pins and Hats, where they have a lot of stock. But they could easily change those prices listed with each color. By doing so, they don’t have to change the stickers on the hundreds of pins on display. Not exactly dynamic pricing as mentioned, but certainly a way to change prices quickly.
Years ago, when people asked me about going to Disney parks vs Universal or Six Flags, I’d say Disney is expensive, but you don’t feel like you’re getting nickel-and-dimed all the time. If you followed tips from places like TP, you could get a lot of value despite the high price.
Now that they’ve decided to monetize everything, I sadly can’t say that anymore.