Park Journey
  • Home
  • Six Flags
  • Universal Studios
  • Disney Parks
  • SeaWorld Parks
  • Other Parks
  • Beyond The Parks
  • Industry News
  • Cruise Journey
  • Cedar Fair (Legacy)
  • Theme Park Art
  • The Other Side of the Tracks
  • Past Updates
    • 2021 Updates
    • 2020 Updates
    • 2019 Updates
    • 2018 Updates
    • 2017 Updates
    • 2016 Updates
    • 2015 Updates
    • 2013 and 2014 Updates
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Six Flags
  • Universal Studios
  • Disney Parks
  • SeaWorld Parks
  • Other Parks
  • Beyond The Parks
  • Industry News
  • Cruise Journey
  • Cedar Fair (Legacy)
  • Theme Park Art
  • The Other Side of the Tracks
  • Past Updates
    • 2021 Updates
    • 2020 Updates
    • 2019 Updates
    • 2018 Updates
    • 2017 Updates
    • 2016 Updates
    • 2015 Updates
    • 2013 and 2014 Updates
  • Contact Us
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Disney Parks

2/24/2015

Annual Disney Price increases coming on February 22

Picture
It's that time of year again, time to look at the annual price increases for your favorite Disney parks. We took a look at last years article about the price increases, and wouldn't you know, it happened the same weekend last year. 

This year however, there seems to be a few changes to the Disneyland Annual Pass program that may or may not help the parking situation (we think it's going to actually help). 

As always, it's important to remember, the biggest change is going to be to your 1-day 1-park prices, because that is what everybody is going to focus on. Us, we're happy to give you the whole story and show you a few ways that you can save a few bucks (especially when it comes to WDW). Because while the 1-day price is a lot (and it is) the fact is, WDW is a "Resort". 

Where these price increases really hurt is the family that makes a 1-day trip to either resort once a year. Gone are the days of a family being able to wake up and say "Hey, let's go to Disney(land/world) for the day" and have it be spontaneous. 

It seems that Disneyland is quite happy to keep their AP numbers high and WDW just wants vacationers. 
Picture
Disneyland Ticket Prices:

So let's take a closer look at those numbers, we'll start off with Disneyland 
Individual Park Tickets
  • 1-day, 1-park = $99 (was $96)
  • Kid’s 1-day, 1-park = $93 (was $90)

  • 2-day, 1-park each day = $185
  • Kids 2-day, 1 park each day = $172

  • 3-day, 1-park each day = $235
  • Kids 2-day, 1 park each day = $224

  • 4-day, 1 park each day = $260
  • Kids 4-day, 1 park each day = $245
Park-Hopper Upgrade = $40 per ticket
Picture
Annual Passes  
  • Premier = $1099 (was $1029)
  • Premium  = $779 (was $699)
  • Deluxe = $549 (was $519)
  • SoCal = $389 (available for renewal only)
  • SoCal Select = $299 (was $289)

If you have the Payment Plan for your Disneyland AP, the difference in cost per month when you renew: 
  • Premium: $6.66 per month 
  • Deluxe: $2.50 per month 
  • Socal Select: $0.83 per month

And that's how they are going to keep the AP numbers high. 
Annual Passholder Parking: 
One other tidbit, and this is actually the biggest news coming out of these announcements, Parking will ONLY be included with the Premier/Premium pass from now on. If you have the Deluxe, SoCal or SoCal Select, you will no longer be able to add parking to your pass. 

What does this mean? Everybody pays $17. What this ACTUALLY means? People are  going to park at DtD and spend their 3 hours in the park and leave. 

If Disney REALLY wants to fix the parking situation, they need to drop the free DtD parking from 3 to 2 hours and require a purchase of more than $15 to get free parking for 3 hours. And the purchase MUST be in DtD. 
Other Southern California Annual Pass options: 

While we know that not everybody ventures outside of Disneyland (yes, there are people who won't go to any other parks) for those of you looking for some other theme park options in Southern California, we've got you covered. And you may actually be surprised at the results below. 

Just a reminder when looking at these numbers, a Premium Disneyland Pass is $779. So we'll be comparing similar passes at other parks (that have no blackout days, etc). Click the links below to compare the prices we've laid out and the lower-tier ones as well. 

  • Universal Studios Hollywood 12 Month Premium Star Pass = $179 (Pass includes Free Parking, No Blackout Days and Priority Boarding to Studio Tour)
  • Knott's Berry Farm Season Pass= $84 (No Blackout Days ... Pass is $139 if you'd like to add parking)
  • Six Flags Season Pass (Good at ALL Six Flags Parks) = $74.99 (Buy 4 passes and get upgraded to the Gold Pass which includes Free Parking, Hurricane Harbor)
  • Legoland California Membership Merlin Annual Pass Premium = $269 (Includes Free parking, Admission to Sea Life Aquarium, Admission to Legoland Waterpark and a FREE Legoland Admission Ticket)                                                                                                                      *Note: There is also the Merlin Annual Pass for $169 which does include Blackout Days for the Waterpark, so in the interest of fairness, we've included the top-tier pass.  
  • Sea World San Diego Membership = $155 (includes Free Parking, 3 guest tickets and is good for 2 years)

So for $761.99 you get access to 5 theme parks, at least 1 waterpark, Sea Life Aquarium, free parking at all but Six Flags and Knott's. While again, yes, some will argue the "quality vs quantity" thing, for most people this would be a great alternative for your family. It includes thrill parks (Six Flags), family parks, great rides for the kids, animal encounters and much more. And obviously if you look at other lower tier passes the the price will be even lower. 

Also, of note, all passes above with the exception of Universal Studios Hollywood offer payment options. 

We certainly aren't endorsing one or the other, just giving you options. =)

Walt Disney World Ticket Prices: 
1-day Magic Kingdom ticket
  • $105 (ages 10 and up)
  • $99 (ages 3 to 9)

1-day EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios or Disney's Animal Kingdom ticket
  • $97 (ages 10 and up)
  • $91 (ages 3 to 9)
Park Hopper: 
  • $155 (ages 10 and up)
  • $149 (ages 3 to 9)

Water parks and more option
  • $169 (ages 10 and up)
  • $163 (ages 3 to 9)

Park Hopper with Water Parks and More option
  • $195 (ages 10 and up)
  • $195 (ages 3 to 9)
Ok, so lets take a closer look at these numbers. Disney knows that if a family has only 1 day to spend at WDW and they have small children, chances are they are spending it at the Magic Kingdom. Which is why that park costs more than the rest. It makes sense. 

And yes, while there's the option for Park Hopping, Waterparks and Waterparks with Park Hopping how many people are REALLY going to try and do all that in 1 day? Even park hopping for most people if they only have 1 day is likely out of the question. Only us crazy people try to hit all 4 parks in one day. 

Let's look at multiple day tickets below the awesome castle picture. =)
Picture
Days on Ticket

10 days
9 days
8 days
7 days
6 days
5 days
4 days
3 days
2 days

Base Ticket
Ages 10 and up   

$365 ($36.50 per day)
$355 ($39.44 per day)
$345 ($43.13 per day)
$335 ($47.86 per day)
$325 ($54.17 per day)
$315 ($63.00 per day)
$305 ($76.25 per day)
$275 ($91.63 per day)
$192 ($96.00 per day)
Ages 3 to 9

$345 ($34.50 per day)
$335 ($37.22 per day)
$325 ($40.63 per day)
$315 ($45.00 per day)
$305 ($50.83 per day)
$295 ($59.00 per day)
$285 ($71.25 per day)
$256 ($85.33 per day)
$179 ($89.50 per day)
Add Park Hopper option

$64 
$64 
$64
$64
$64
$64
$64
$50
$50
  • Water Park Fun and More Option = $64 per day
  • Park Hopper and Water Park Fun and More Option = $90
  • No Expiration ticket option has been discontinued. All tickets will expire 14 days from first use. 
Walt Disney World Annual Passes

  • Annual Pass = $654 (includes access to all 4 theme parks, no blockout days and FREE parking)
  • Premium Annual Pass = $779 (includes access to all 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Oak Trail Golf Course, DisneyQuest, no blockout days and FREE parking)
Walt Disney World Vacation 

So last year we also took a look at the way most people book their WDW vacation, including hotel and park tickets. Because really, that's the way WDW wants you to book it and it really minimizes the "1-day theme park price" that everybody is talking about. 

The Reservation system at WDW has been down for the last 3 days, we're guessing they are still updating with the pricing structure. We will update with this information and different hotel options when they are available. 


If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. 

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

2/12/2015

Luigi's Flying (re)Tires

Picture
Just 2 1/2 years after CarsLand opened, the area is seeing it's first ride close. The re-make of the classic Flying Saucers, Luigi's Flying Tires is set to close this Sunday (February 16) and a new attraction will be built in it's place. 
While I personally enjoyed the ride you can see why it would be closing. Very low capacity, low ridership and a steep learning curve for general park visitors all contributed to it's ultimate demise. 

Unfortunately this means that an attraction that cost close to $100 million is now going to cost additional millions to replace. While it was the hope of the Imagineers and namely, John Lasseter to bring the Flying Saucers back, in hindsight one has to wonder if they'd make the same decision. 

Below we'll take a look at the ride and what is coming next. 

Click on any of the pictures below to see a larger version. 
Picture
The rides entrance, not anticipating this will look too different when the new ride opens.
Picture
Other than the flags saying "Luigi's Flying Tires" the building fits CarsLand well.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Even though the ride has very low capacity, after the initial rush of CarsLand opening, the line rarely had a line.
Picture
The queue is nice and has some great touches
Picture
Picture
And of course, Luigi loves his Ferrari's.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Oversized tires
Picture
As soon as you enter the outside area of the queue, you start to see instructions on how to ride. Not a good sign.
Picture
Picture
Ferrari Topiary
When you have to have detailed directions for riding in your queue line you have a problem. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Big step over the tire
Picture
Picture
The ride in action
Picture
Picture
Night shot

So what's next? 

The artwork below is what is going to be replacing the ride. According to what we've heard, this is going to be similar to Aquatopia at Tokyo Disney Sea but obviously cars instead of boats. 

Hopefully along with the trackless ride system coming to the US we'll get some great nighttime light packages like Aquatopia has. 
Picture
So what do you think? Are you excited for something new in this spot? Did you enjoy Luigi's at all? 

Let us know in the comments below. 


If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. 

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

    Categories

    All 2016 Attractions 2017 Attractions 2018 Attractions 2019 Attractions 2020 Attractions 2021 Attractions 2023 Attractions 2024 Attractions Avatar Avengers Avengers Campus Avengers Half Marathon Candlelight Processional Disney100 Disney California Adventure Disney Hollywood Studios Disney Interactive Disneyland Disneyland 60th Disneyland Half Marathon Disneyland Paris Disney Parks Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Blizzard Beach Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney Springs Dopey Challenge Downtown Disney DVC EPCOT Fantasmic! Festival Of Holidays Festival Of The Lion King Flower And Garden Festival Food And Wine Festival Frozen Frozen Ever After Frozen Village Future World Galaxy's Edge Guardians Of The Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Guardians Of The Galaxy Mission Breakout Guardians Of The Galaxy - Mission Breakout HalloweenTime Haunted Mansion Holiday Holidays Around The World Hong Kong Disneyland International Festival Of The Arts Iron Man Experience Jungle Cruise Lunar New Year Magic Kingdom Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Moana Journey Of Water Monsters After Dark New Fantasyland Pandora Phantom Manor Pixar Pier Pixar Place Princess Half Marathon Rise Of The Resistance Rivers Of America Rivers Of Light RunDisney Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Shanghai Disneyland Star Wars Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Star Wars Half Marathon Star Wars Land Star Wars Launch Bay Star Wars Weekends Tiana's Bayou Adventure Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo DisneySea Toy Story Land Walt Disney Studios Paris Walt Disney World WDW 50th World Of Pandora World Showcase

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    March 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    RSS Feed