Just thought I would see what other people think about this. I'm the kind of guy who likes to dig into numbers to help form my opinions, and I have some numbers to share.
1983 was the year the WDW completely did away with "ticket books" and let guests ride all the rides they wanted. Before that it's too tough to compare ticket prices, because it would depend on how many rides people rode.
Conveniently, inflation from 1983 to 2006 (latest year I can get a number on) is almost exactly 100%. In other words, the typical consumer item that sold for $10 in 1983 sells for just over $20 now.
Now let's look at ticket prices. Suppose you were buying an adult one-day ticket to the MK in late 1983. Barring discounts you paid $17 (not including tax on any of this). That would be the equivalent of $34 today. But if you bought a ticket today, you would pay $71, which is over twice as much. So in real dollar terms, WDW has doubled the price of this ticket since 1983.
With multi-day passports it's even worse. Suppose you wanted a 4 day ticket in 1983. That would be $45. In 2006 dollars, that's $90. The cheapest you could get a 4-day ticket now would be $212, which again is more than twice as much. But wait, it's actually worse than that. In 1983, all multi-day tickets allow park hopping, and the extra days never expired. If you got a 4-day ticket today that worked the same way, it would be $302! That's more than triple the price in real dollar terms.
Finally, suppose you went to WDW in 1983 with your ten-year-old child. In 1983, there were three age levels for tickets. Child was 3 - 11. Junior, which was a small discount from Adult, was 12 - 17, and full Adult price wasn't until 18. Today Child is 3 - 9, and 10+ is considered Adult.
Okay. So in 1983, that ten-year-old 4-day park hopper would have been $36, or $72 today. In 2007, the child would pay full adult price, that same $302 listed above, which is more that four times the price, in constant dollars.
I didn't look at longer stays, because I think you could argue that a 7-day ticket is a lot more valuable now than in 1983, because in 1983 it would be a lot tougher to fill out all that time doing park stuff.
So what does everyone think? Are the increases justified?
UPDATE: I want to make clear that I am not offering this as a complaint, nor as a reaction to the latest price increase or any other. You won't find a complaint from me in this post or any other on Disney's ticket prices. I just think it's interesting how much more we are willing to pay, in inflation-adjusted dollars, for a WDW vacation, and was curious what other Disney fans thought.
1983 was the year the WDW completely did away with "ticket books" and let guests ride all the rides they wanted. Before that it's too tough to compare ticket prices, because it would depend on how many rides people rode.
Conveniently, inflation from 1983 to 2006 (latest year I can get a number on) is almost exactly 100%. In other words, the typical consumer item that sold for $10 in 1983 sells for just over $20 now.
Now let's look at ticket prices. Suppose you were buying an adult one-day ticket to the MK in late 1983. Barring discounts you paid $17 (not including tax on any of this). That would be the equivalent of $34 today. But if you bought a ticket today, you would pay $71, which is over twice as much. So in real dollar terms, WDW has doubled the price of this ticket since 1983.
With multi-day passports it's even worse. Suppose you wanted a 4 day ticket in 1983. That would be $45. In 2006 dollars, that's $90. The cheapest you could get a 4-day ticket now would be $212, which again is more than twice as much. But wait, it's actually worse than that. In 1983, all multi-day tickets allow park hopping, and the extra days never expired. If you got a 4-day ticket today that worked the same way, it would be $302! That's more than triple the price in real dollar terms.
Finally, suppose you went to WDW in 1983 with your ten-year-old child. In 1983, there were three age levels for tickets. Child was 3 - 11. Junior, which was a small discount from Adult, was 12 - 17, and full Adult price wasn't until 18. Today Child is 3 - 9, and 10+ is considered Adult.
Okay. So in 1983, that ten-year-old 4-day park hopper would have been $36, or $72 today. In 2007, the child would pay full adult price, that same $302 listed above, which is more that four times the price, in constant dollars.
I didn't look at longer stays, because I think you could argue that a 7-day ticket is a lot more valuable now than in 1983, because in 1983 it would be a lot tougher to fill out all that time doing park stuff.
So what does everyone think? Are the increases justified?
UPDATE: I want to make clear that I am not offering this as a complaint, nor as a reaction to the latest price increase or any other. You won't find a complaint from me in this post or any other on Disney's ticket prices. I just think it's interesting how much more we are willing to pay, in inflation-adjusted dollars, for a WDW vacation, and was curious what other Disney fans thought.
