Disney Parks

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As you may have seen, this morning Disneyland (and WDW) raised ticket and AP prices, which caused the typical outcry from fans as we've seen every other time they've raised prices. Since most sites are concentrating more on the WDW side of things, we're going to look at the Disneyland side. 

The typical arguments are flying around, Disney is greedy being chief among them. As we always try to do, we're going to try and give these things a bit of reasoning. 

Here we are, less than a year after the grand opening of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and barely a month after the opening of Rise of the Resistance opening at Disneyland, there are over a million Annual Passholders.

​But unlike years past, the parks aren't slammed each and every day. In fact, on our 3 visits over the last 2 months, it's never really been overwhelming. And this is exactly what Disney has wanted with the increases in APs over the past few years. 

Don't let the light crowds for the opening of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge fool you though. There was legit panic going on. But now that panic has subsided and they're ready to debut their new pricing structure. 
With all of that said, let's let's look at the new AP prices: ​
​
Disneyland Resort

Disney Premiere Annual Pass (admission to DL and WDW) = $2119 (increase of $70)
Disney Signature Plus = $1449 (increase of $50)
​Disney Signature = $1199 (increase of $50)
Disney Deluxe = $829 (increase of $30)
Disney Flex Pass = $649 (increase of $50)
Disney Southern California Select = $419 (increase of $20)

In addition, the MaxPass is now $20 a day (increase of $5 per day) or $125 to add to an Annual Pass (increase of $25)

As of this time we do not know if parking has gone up. 
As for Day Tickets, they've gone up but it depends on the day you go. For example, a 1-day park-hopper will cost you $209 most days. But you really need to determine when you're going in order to get an accurate cost. 
As we've done in the past, we're also going to look at the Annual Pass prices for Disneyland and compare them to the other theme parks in Southern California. ​

​(click any of the links to be taken to the AP pages for each park) ​
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood- Platinum = $449
Universal Studios Hollywood- Gold = $249
Universal Studios Hollywood- Silver = $174
California Neighbor Pass = $144
Six Flags Magic Mountain  
Gold Plus Membership = $7.85 per month
Platinum Membership = $9.99 per month
Diamond Membership = $12.85 per month
Diamond Elite Membership = $18.85 per month
​​​Knott's Berry Farm
Regular Season Pass = $101
Knott's Gold Pass = $125
Cedar Fair Platinum Pass = $220
Sea World San Diego 
SeaWorld Silver Annual Pass = $10 per month
SeaWorld Gold Annual Pass = $12.50 per month
SeaWorld Platinum Pass = $17.75 per month
​Legoland California: 
Silver Pass = $149.99
Gold Pass = $199.99
Platinum Pass = $239.99
Elite Pass = 299.99
So let's break this down a bit. 

You can get a Universal Studios Hollywood Gold Pass, Magic Mountain Gold Plus Membership, Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, Legoland Silver Pass and SeaWorld San Diego Silver Pass for a grand total of $833.19.

Believe it or not, that's a collective reduction in price of about $80 from the prices in 2018 due to some of the parks restructuring their AP Programs. 

If you won't be visiting any other Cedar Fair Parks other than Knott's, that drops your price. If you don't have small kids and don't need Legoland that drops your price. If you don't like roller coasters and don't want Magic Mountain, that drops your price. ​

The point is, this gives you some freedom, and maybe you'll find something you love outside of Disneyland. 
There is a difference this year, at least for us, and that is that we're Disneyland Annual Passholders again, for the first time since 2012. 

We had our visits to the parks about every 18 months between January 2012 and December 2019. In fact, up until our visit in December it had been almost 2 years since we'd visited. 

You know the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder", well, it's totally true in this case. We've kind of fallen in love with Disneyland again. We've gone 3 times on our new Flex Pass and are planning on going again on Saturday. We're just enjoying taking everything in again, enjoying the time we're spending there. 

Are we going to renew every year? Probably not. We've talked about maybe every other year, or every 3 years at this point. 

​This might not work for you, but it works for us. Sometimes it's good to take a break from things. 
There are also a ton of other non Theme Park Options, a few of them are below:​
The point is, there are other options out there. There are things to do other than Disneyland. 

If you enjoy going to Disneyland, if the price makes sense to you, by all means, keep your AP. Do what makes you happy. 

If you find yourself increasingly bitter about the rise in APs, then maybe it's time to look elsewhere to spend your entertainment dollars. ​

So what are your thoughts on the new prices for Disneyland? Are they going to prevent you from renewing or making your yearly visit? 
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