Disney Is Raising the Price of Its Theme Parks in California by 9%

• Walt Disney has raised the price of its California theme parks.
• The most expensive day ticket for the park has gone up $15, or around 9%.
• Disney, like the rest of the US, is battling surging inflation amid the Russian war in Ukraine.

Walt Disney has raised the price of its California theme parks as people across the US face down the inflated cost of living.

Disney last hiked its theme park prices in October 2021.

Single-park tickets for Disney’s Anaheim parks now range from $104 to $179, up from $104 to $164, Deadline first reported. Tier one passes rose from $104 to $115 while tier two tickets saw a 10-dollar increase from $119 to $129. The most expensive tier rose to $179 from $164, per the news outlet.

The hikes range from around a 10.5% increase for the tier one pass, to around 9% for the most expensive tickets, just above the US core inflation rate, which was 8.3% year-on-year in August.

The company has also introduced a cheaper Tier 0 that offers $104 daily tickets on the quietest days of the year.

Park-Hopper passes, which allow guests same-day entry into Disneyland and California Adventure, now range between $169 and $244, up from $164 and $224.

Genie+, which allows visitors to skip long lines at some attractions, also increased from $20 per day to $25 per day.

The new ticket prices came into force on October 11. 

Disney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment made outside normal working hours.

Disney has also raised the price of some of the food and drink at its parks. Disney World’s Victoria & Albert’s fine dining restaurant has significantly hiked prices since reopening in July, with the price of a taster menu increasing from $350 to $425.

Some Disney fans aren’t happy about the new park prices, with some taking to Twitter to complain about the changes.

One Twitter user, ThemeParkCasual, wrote: “Can’t wait for a nice uncrowded Disneyland thanks to the price increases. Disney fans simply won’t pay these insane prices.”

Another Twitter user complained: “Disney raising prices while my measly paycheck stays the same.”

Disney’s price hikes come at a time when the US and much of the world is battling surging inflation as the war in Ukraine’s knock on impacts push up the cost of food and energy, while central banks increase interest rates to fight that inflation.

Workers’ pay has been struggling to keep up, triggering a cost of living crisis across the US.