Disneyland's All-Access Ticket Tops $1,000 Annually

As Disneyland experiences record attendance and moves toward a Star Wars-themed land on its Anaheim site, the Happiest Place on Earth has hit top-level pass holders with an otherworldly ticket price.

Those pass holders—ages 3 and up—will now have to pay more than $1,000 apiece to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure anytime of the year.

The Signature Plus plan will now cost $1,049. It is the second Disney pass to top the four-figure threshold: Premier passes for unlimited bi-coastal access, to the Anaheim sites and Walt Disney World in Florida, increased by $300, to $1,439.

The pricing, which went into effect Sunday, creates two marquee passes for its Southern California theme parks—one with unlimited access, the other with access for all but the Christmas/New Year’s holiday season when the park can be at its busiest.

“Our new selection of annual passes will help us manage strong demand and continue to deliver a world-class experience, while providing more choices for guests to select the pass that best meets their needs,” said Suzi Brown, a Disney spokesperson. “We continue to evolve the way we think about managing demand—particularly during our busiest seasons—in order to deliver a world-class experience for our guests. In addition to continuing to expand, we are also exploring pricing options that could help spread out visitation throughout the year.”

According to a Wall Street Journal article over the weekend, the company is considering demand-based ticket prices that will encourage visiting Disneyland on its slower days—perhaps with free parking or lower prices—and increased prices for days that are its busiest.

As for current passport ticket prices, lower-tier annual passes at Disneyland had modest increases of about 10 percent.

The company eliminated an existing no-blackout Premium pass that had cost $779. Current Premium pass holders can use those passes until they expire but won’t have an option to renew and will have to choose a new ticket.

This is the second price increase of the year, in which Disneyland is celebrating its 60th anniversary and its third consecutive year of record attendance. Industry experts say more than 16.7 million people went through Disneyland turnstiles in 2014, and 8.7 million through those of California Adventure.

The two new top-tier passports for the Anaheim theme parks are:

• Signature Plus ($1,049 with no blackout dates)
• Signature ($849 excluding winter holiday; available 350 days per year)

Other passes are:

• Deluxe ($599 with some Saturday and peak period blackouts: available 315 days); it was previously $549
• Southern California ($459, available for renewals only; available 215 days); it was previously $409
• Southern California Select ($329; available 170 days); it was previously $299

However, pass holders whose plan doesn’t already include parking—all but the Signature and Signature Plus packages—will have to pay $199 to renew.

For more details about what you get for your money, click here.

Downtown Disney parking is now free for only two hours with two more available with validation from a movie or restaurant; the hourly rate increased from $12 to $16.

-Martin Henderson; Sleeping Beauty’s Castle via Wikimedia Commons