You’re going to have to pay quite a bit more to be an Annual Passholder at Walt Disney World. Disney has jacked up the prices on most of their Annual Pass offerings ahead of the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World later this summer.
The price increases exceed $200 in some cases and follow a marketing push highlighting benefits available only to Annual Passholders, such as advanced previews of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Here are the new rates compared to their previous rates:
Platinum Plus
Florida rate: $999 (was $849)
Non-Florida resident: $1,219 (was $994)
Platinum
Florida resident: $899 (was $749)
Non-Florida resident: $1,119 (was $894)
Gold
$699 (was $609)
Silver
$519 (was $479)
Theme Park Select
$439 (no change)
Weekday Select
$349 (was $319)
Epcot After 4pm
$309 (was $289)
Water Parks
$139 (was $130)
Water Parks After 2pm
$89 (was $79)
Summarized, just about every Annual Passholder tier has seen a massive increase. Non-Florida residents were hit particularly hard with increases exceeding 20%.
This unfortunate news comes just eight months after the last wave of sweeping price increases hit Annual Passholders. Those increases weren’t quite as steep as the ones announced today, but they collectively represent what has become Disney’s main tactic to curb attendance.
Walt Disney World has seen its variety of overcrowding issues and has routinely raised prices as a means to both solve and capitalize on the problem. Meanwhile, guest satisfaction remains at risk as guests are paying more to potentially experience less as the current theme parks aren’t equipped to handle the waves of people. One has to wonder how long it will be before this bubble pops as potential guests look to more affordable, more convenient options as Walt Disney World prices more and more guests out. Looking to the economy (briefly – don’t go to sleep on us!), one also has to wonder if Disney is setting themselves up for some unpleasant times when things inevitably swing in the other direction.
The other topic that’s worth highlighting here is that Disney has invested quite a bit of money into Walt Disney World over the past few years. They will likely justify any price increase to guests with the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, TRON coaster and other new attractions. However, their major flaw has been to routinely demolish and replace rather than building brand new attractions and expanding their theme parks. Such examples can be seen with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land and the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster. That leaves capacity about where it was (if not worse) as more and more guests come to see what’s new. That’s an operational and logistics nightmare.
Will these price increases keep you away or make you rethink your travel plans?
