The Walt Disney Company had a decision to make. After seeing some of its lowest crowds in decades, how would the company react to returning to the Walt Disney World Resort crowd level?
The first way was simple: add more stuff for guests at Disney World. Disney needed to create a buzz like Univeral Orlando did with Epic Universe by adding more than piecemeal rides here and there.
The results of Disney’s head of Parks and Experiences, Josh D’Amaro’s announcement that the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom would see massive overhauls in the next five years. However, the additions of Cars Land, Monsters, Inc. Land, Enccanto-theme Land, and Villains Land would take time.
With those Blue Sky projects closer to reality, Disney needed something more immediate to attract the crowds. With Epic Universe opening in 2025, they needed something to announce now.
So, what could Disney do? They could lower prices across the Walt Disney World Resort to help bring more people into the parks and make them feel like they were getting a bargain when they returned.
Well, Disney made a decision, and it wasn’t the one guests were hoping for. Instead of lowering prices, Disney World raised prices on everything: tickets, season passes, merchandise, Lightning Lane, and finally, food.
It now appears that Disney broke its fanbase with this final blow to its wallet, but that seems to be the point. Despite its attendance problem, Disney’s park division still made money last quarter by charging fewer guests more money.
So, let’s examine the price changes at Disney World and how this has become The Walt Disney Company’s new strategy.
Price Increases
For some reason, when Disney World released its 2025 booking calendar, it did not include November or December, two of the park’s busiest months. Instead, Disney waited until a few weeks after the initial calendar’s release to include the year’s final two months.
What did these two new months show us? Disney World increased its prices by more than 10 percent on most rooms and ticket packages for the final two months 2025. This comes after a massive increase for the rest of the year was announced.
To put this into practical terms, a five-day, four-night stay at a deluxe Disney World Resort hotel, including a four-day ticket with the Park Hopper pass in December 2024, was $5,200. That same hotel for the same exact stay increased to $7,100 in December 2025.
That cost does not include food, Lightning Lane passes, or merchandise, nor does it include the cost of either of Disney World’s After-Hours Holiday events, Jollywood Nights, or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Disney World also rolled out price increases for Annual Pass Holders, increasing the price of the Disney Increda-Pass by $100 a year, representing a seven percent increase.
Walt Disney World also increased prices on things guests don’t necessarily consider. For example, the valet parking cost at Disney World Resort has just increased. While self-parking at the resorts is free, guests expect that to go away soon.
However, the final straw for guests was the increase in food prices. Disney raised prices on most food items in the parks overnight without warning. So, guests already in the park had expected to pay one amount for food and were hit with a surprising surcharge overnight.
This final charge was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Disney fans. By increasing prices overnight, they felt Disney snuck something past them and pulled a fast one on unsuspecting guests.
Typically price increases at Disney World never bothered me because I saw it as a natural thing with parks improving and more attractions being opened. As time progressed they started to get annoying because the overall value and upkeep of the parks was declining. This new round…
— Theme Park Express (@ThemeParkExpres) October 23, 2024
One guest wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
Typically price increases at Disney World never bothered me because I saw it as a natural thing with parks improving and more attractions being opened. As time progressed they started to get annoying because the overall value and upkeep of the parks was declining. This new round today just has me straight up angry for the first time.
Nothing worthy of this price increase is coming in the next few years and we can’t even fix the floor lights in Epcot. The parks are falling apart and they have the audacity to think this round of price increases is okay? Yeah I’m mad now.
This is why I’ve been loving DCL so much. It’s literally the only place where I feel the old Disney magic and quality I grew up feeling. The domestic parks just aren’t it anymore. Maybe it’s time to explore more international and regional parks. If I wasn’t a content creator then I’d have cancelled my pass a while ago tbh….
The sentiment was the same from the hundreds of other Disney World guests who commented on this original post. Disney World had successfully made itself too expensive for most people.
No restaurant better represented this than the new Cake Bake Shop at Disney’s Boardwalk Hotel. When the restaurant released its menu, guests were outraged by the massive ham and cheese sandwich prices.
While the Cake Bake Shop did lower its prices after outrage online, it was only a minimal decrease. Without the slightest sense of irony, the Cake Bake Shop still offers a slice of cake called the “Millionaire Cake” for $23 plus tax.
I can’t believe in the same week, Disney announces a $150-$450 daily upcharge for FastPass whatever…whereas universal announces a brand new hotel attached to a brand new park will have a starting cost of ~$300 a night…what a bizzaro world pic.twitter.com/7rPpYnKXkl
— TheMouseAndMore-Adam (@TheMouseAndMore) October 17, 2024
This is the Plan
While fans might be outraged by the price increases across the board, this appears to be Disney’s new plan. If fewer guests are coming through the turnstiles, make them pay as much as possible for the privilege of coming to the Walt Disney World Resort.
We got a glimpse into this strategy at Tokyo Disneyland. The Oriental Land Company owns the Resort and must complete a detailed earnings report under Japanese law.
The report shows that while fewer guests are coming to the theme park, the park is still profitable despite the new Fantasy Springs. However, the OLC’s stock has tanked as a result.
The Japanese market realizes something that Disney does not: there are only so many people who can afford to keep coming back to a theme park, and those people are more likely to spend their money on other, more prestigious, vacations.
So, while Disney World may be empty for a few people, it’s not sustainable for all. Hopefully, these price increases will level out for the average guest once Disney World opens its new additions, but that seems unlikely.
Otherwise, everyone is going to have to save up. It takes a lot of pennies to pay for a Lighting Lane Premiere Pass.