Here is a table I compiled with all pricing data I could find going back to 1982 when Disney first changed the ticketing to an all inclusive admission as opposed to the old Ticket Book admission.
Year
|
1-Day
|
Park Hopper
|
SoCal Select
|
SoCal
|
Deluxe
|
Premium
|
Signature
|
Signature Plus
|
Premier
|
2018
|
$117
|
$167
|
$369
|
$549
|
$729
|
-
|
$999
|
$1149
|
$1579
|
2017
|
$110
|
$165
|
$339
|
$469
|
$619
|
-
|
$849
|
$1049
|
$1439
|
2015
|
$99
|
$155
|
$299
|
$409
|
$549
|
$779
|
$849
|
$1049
|
$1099
|
2014
|
$96
|
$150
|
$289
|
$379
|
$519
|
$699
|
-
|
-
|
$1029
|
2013
|
$92
|
$137
|
$279
|
$359
|
$499
|
$669
|
-
|
-
|
$979
|
2012
|
$87
|
$125
|
$269
|
$329
|
$469
|
$649
|
-
|
-
|
$849
|
2011
|
$80
|
$105
|
$199
|
$269
|
$379
|
$499
|
-
|
-
|
$700
|
2010
|
$76
|
$101
|
$169
|
$219
|
$299
|
$439
|
-
|
-
|
$700
|
2009
|
$72
|
$97
|
$144
|
$194
|
$289
|
$429
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2008
|
$68
|
$94
|
$134
|
$174
|
$269
|
$389
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2007
|
$66
|
$91
|
$129
|
$169
|
$259
|
$379
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2006
|
$59
|
$79
|
$124
|
$154
|
$239
|
$359
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2005
|
$56
|
$119
|
$149
|
$229
|
$349
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
2004
|
$49.75
|
$99
|
$129
|
$179
|
$279
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
2002
|
-
|
$105
|
$165
|
$225
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||
2000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$199
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1992
|
$28.50
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$140
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1987
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$140
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1986
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$99
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1985
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$85
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1984
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$65
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
1982
|
$12
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
As you can see it wasn't until after the 50th anniversary in 2005 that the price increases started being regular (based on the data I was able to collect). And the first intense price increase for a 1 Day 1 Park ticket wasn't until last year (2017). Prior to that increase it was at a steady $2-$4 per year, but the 2017 increase was $11 and this year was $7. As for Park Hopper passes, those prices were relatively low compared to a basic ticket ($25 more) until 2012 when Cars Land opened making the draw for park hopping grow exponentially, at that point the difference started going up by an extra few dollars each year until now the difference is doubled at $50.
As to the AP price increases those are a little more fascinating to look at. It wasn't until 2002 when DCA had been open for a year that we saw more than 1 tier for the AP program. Now the AP prices have gone up regularly just like regular admission however the big difference is that they go up by more per year. As you can see in the table, the first significant increase in price wasn't until 2005 for the 50th anniversary when the SoCal and SoCal Select prices went up by $20, Deluxe went up by $50, and Premium went up by $70. From 2006-2010 the Deluxe and AP went up by $10 per year, while the Premium went up by an average of $18 per year. In 2011 however SoCal Select went up by $30, SoCal by $50, Deluxe by $80, and premium by $60. The following year, as Cars Land opened the Deluxe jumped up by another $90 and Premium jumped by $150. For the next few years prices would still go up but at more reasonable rates (just still not as low as in the past).
2015 was the next intense price increases and drastic restructuring of the AP program when they got rid of the Premium level and replaced it by 2 sub tiers the main difference between them being that the Signature Select got you the same benefits as the Premium had, while to Signature only got you a little less. When they made this change it made it so that in order to keep all of your perks you used to have with a Premium, you would now be paying $350 more for you AP, though if you were ok with missing out on the last 2 weeks of the year, you could go with the basic Signature level which would only be a $150 increase.
The 2017 increase was very painful when the Deluxe AP went up by $70 while Signature and Signature Plus stay the same. But this year is the most intense increase since 2012 because Deluxe went up by $110, Signature went up by $150, and Signature Plus went up by another $100. Most likely the excuse this year is to prep for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening next year, but based on recent historical trends in pricing we can only expect that next year the prices will only go up again.
Lets now take a look at what the benefits offered for each AP level are as of 2018:
SoCal Select $369:
- Southern California Residents Only
- No Weekends & Many Block-out Days
- 10% Dining Discount
- 10% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Southern California Residents Only
- No Saturdays and Many Block-out Days
- 10% Dining Discount
- 10% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Blocks most Holidays and many weekend days during peak seasons
- 10% Diing Discount
- 10% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Only Blocks the last 2 weeks of the year for Christmas and New Years
- 15% Dining Discount
- 20% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Free Parking
- No Block-out Days
- 15% Dining Discount
- 20% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Free Parking
- Free MaxPass w/Digital PhotoPass Downloads
- Disneyland and Walt Disney World Admission (All Parks)
- Oak Tree Golf (WDW)
- No Block-out Days
- 15% Dining Discount
- 20% Merchandise Discount
- 15% Tours Discount
- Free Parking
- Free MaxPass w/Digital PhotoPass Downloads
**All APs have discount options for Mickey's Halloween Party tickets and special offers for Discounts at the Disneyland Resort Hotels
Monthly Payments were first introduced as a payment option for Annual Pass Holders living in California in December 2008 and many would count this as what has caused both the overcrowding at the parks seen today, as well as the intense price hikes. Let me break it down for you to show you exactly why the monthly payments are such a huge problem for Disneyland, but one that the executives aren't quite willing to give up on yet.
At first when the monthly payments were introduced the price increases each year were still within the realm of reasonable, however once more and more California residents started seeing the benefits of the program and as DCA was about to finish its massive undertaking and become popular Disney started raising the prices by higher amounts. Both the price increases in 2011 and 2012 would work out to a total monthly increase of about $14/month for a Deluxe AP and $17.50/month for the Premium AP. And when you look at it that way it really isn't that drastic of an increase considering how much Disneyland had just added to its offerings in recent years: World of Color, Cars Land, extended Buena Vista Street out further tan original entrance turnstiles, Red Car Trolley, completely re-skinned Paradise Pier, Star Tours 2.0, Soundsational Parade, and more.
In 2015, even with the drastic changes to the upper tiers of the AP program, it still isn't as bad when you look at the monthly amounts because the Deluxe went up by $2.5/month, for a Premium converting to Signature you would be looking at an increase of 12.50/month and to convert to Signature Plus would be an increase of $30/month. Which brings us to the latest increases for 2018 where the monthly increase for Deluxe is only $9/month, Signature is $12.50/month, and Signature Plus is $8.33/month.
Looking at it by the monthly increases, while they are a decent amount more to have to pay, the increase itself really isn't that bad for the quality of entertainment you get at Disneyland. But here lies the problem, the monthly payments make the prices affordable for California residents, but they make the prices more and more out of reach for anyone that lives out of state and would like an AP to visit multiple times per year.
For example, I live in the Seattle area, and when I first got an AP in 2014 I had gotten the Premium because I went on an 8 day trip to Disneyland for my birthday, and intended to make my first Disneyland Anniversary trip that summer. I got the 2013 price because of when I bought my AP so it was only $669, but I had to save up for the entire holiday season in order to afford it because I didn't have the option to pay monthly. Due to a combination of the price increase and my job situation going into 2015 I wasn't able to renew my pass and when they announced what the construction of Galaxy's Edge would entail I decided to go 1 last time for the 60th before taking a break to not be there and have to miss out on Fantasmic, the Disneyland Railroad, or the Rivers of America attractions.
It wasn't until September of 2017 that I got an AP again because things had been going well at work all summer and I was able to save up enough to make it happen. This time however I downgraded to the Deluxe level for $619 but to soften the blow I chose to purchase a 3-Day park hopper from a local Disney Store and upgrade it to AP when I got to Disneyland, that way I basically paid half the cost each time.
The huge problem Disney now faces regarding the AP program is that because they have increased the prices so much, if they were to cut the monthly payment option entirely it would actually do more harm than good if they don't think outside the box when it comes to the benefits that each AP tier receives. Even if Disney were to cancel the monthly payment option, they won't drop the base price which means not only will they lose a huge chunk of APs, but it would also look bad to have to pay all that at once for everyone used to the monthly/affordable option. I think that Disney ending the monthly payment is inevitable because they know they have an over crowding problem and they know that Star Wars Galaxy's Edge will be enough of a draw for average visitors and even lots of people who maybe go to Disney once every 5-10 years, as well as those who have never been.
Assuming that most current APs are using the monthly payment option, would you actually keep your AP if they got rid of that option and didn't add any extra benefits? I could see people sticking with the current benefits if the total increases were only $15-20 per year, but when your monthly increase is typically in the $10-15 range I don't think a lot of people will be able to pay the current prices up front. What would Disney have to add to your AP benefits to keep you interested if they cut the monthly payment option?
Here are a few ideas that were going through my head the last few days:
For all levels:
- Way more AP exclusive merchandise, minimally 1 shirt and pin per seasonal product line (Lunar New Year, Halloween, Christmas, yearly design, and new movie promotional merchandise)
- AP exclusive character meet & greet opportunities, similar to the Visa opportunities where the signs aren't huge so average tourists don't know they are missing out, offer characters that are rare and have them change each month/season for instance in DCA rotate different Marvel heroes, and in Disneyland rotate between Star Wars characters (when a new movie is released), a rare villain for Halloween, either Mickey or Goofy as Santa for Christmas, and the rest of the year have various rare characters like Hercules, Esmeralda, Roger Rabbit, Uncle Scrooge, etc
- AP exclusive travel mug, similar to the popcorn bucket you pay once to get the cup, and then refills are free. New cup available every other month
- Keep all current Block-out days
- Keep 10% Dining and Merchandise Discount
- Keep 15% Tours Discount
- New set $15 Discount on special event tickets (Halloween Party, or other after ours event)
- New $5 off Parking
- Option to add MaxPass for $75
- Keep all current Block-out days
- Keep 15% Tours Discount
- Keep 10% Dining Discount
- Increase Merchandise Discount to 15%
- New MaxPass Included
- New allowed 1 early entry per month, guest choice on which day park to use it, unused early entries don't rollover, Disney can choose to not allow for certain parks at certain times of year
- New set $50 Discount for 1 special event ticket per year, additional tickets would be $20 off
- New 50% off parking
- New 10% Discounts available for Downtown Disney entertainment venues (Splitsville, The Void, AMC theaters)
- New 20% Disneyland Resort Hotels Discount
- Keep all current Block-out days
- Keep 15% Dining Discount
- Keep 20% Merchandise Discount
- Keep Free Parking
- Increase Tours Discount to 20%
- New MaxPass Included
- New allowed 1 early entry per month and 1 additional, guest choice on which day park to use it, unused early entries don't rollover, Disney can choose to not allow for certain parks at certain times of year
- New set $50 Discount for 1 special event ticket per year, additional tickets would be $25 off
- New 15% Discounts available for Downtown Disney entertainment venues (Splitsville, The Void, AMC theaters)
- New 25% Disneyland Resort Hotels Discount
- No Block-out days
- Keep Free Parking
- Keep MaxPass
- Increase Tours Discount to 25%
- Increase Dining Discount to 20%
- Increase Merchandise Discount to $25%
- New allowed 1 early entry per month and 2 additional, guest choice on which day park to use it, unused early entries can rollover however no more than 3 uses allowed per month, Disney can choose to not allow for certain parks at certain times of year
- New 1 free special event ticket per year, additional tickets would be $30 off
- New 20% Discounts available for Downtown Disney entertainment venues (Splitsville, The Void, AMC theaters)
- New 30% Disneyland Resort Hotels Discount
