According to a report from Business Insider, the current prices of annual passes to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida are so high, middle-class patrons can no longer afford to get in. Disney raised the prices of its passes twice in 2018, first from $779 to $849 in February, then from $849 to $894 in October, a total increase of 15 percent.
Despite what the repeated price increases may imply, Disney Parks and Resorts is actually doing just fine for itself. The subdivision pulled in a $4.5 billion cumulative operating profit in 2018. So why, then, do the prices keep increasing? According to Theme Park Insider editor Robert Niles, it’s a product of Disney’s blood feud with Universal. Attractions at Universal such as Pandora and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are some of the first to give Disney a genuine run for its money. In order to compete, Disney keeps pouring money into bigger and better attractions, and needed to raise prices to compensate. It also began offering special VIP attractions like meals with characters and private park tours, all of which are targeted toward wealthier patrons, to squeeze as much money as possible.
Disney’s aggressive increases in its parks has become a self-perpetuating engine. The parks have become so big that they need all of the income they generate just to keep expanding. Early adopters of the Disney brand who could get into the park for a double-digit price twenty years ago are being left in the dust in favor of wealthier futures.
