Disney CEO Gets Trashed For Making Yet Another Move Against His Own Customers
Disney is raising prices at Disneyland, leaving CEO Bob Chapek to be chastised online again.
This article is more than 2 years old
As Disney moves closer to its 100th-anniversary celebration next year, the company raised the price of tickets to its Anaheim parks in almost every category by an average of 8%. This includes the add-on Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane services at both U.S resorts. The price hikes, which go into immediate effect, caused fans to question their loyalty to the brand and CEO Bob Chapek.
Taking to social media to voice their displeasure, Disney fans didn’t shy away from letting the company know exactly how they feel. “I just have a lot of emotions right now. I’m just really sad and anxious and stressed over the raised Disney ticket prices. I just want to be able to go, to escape from the real world. How much money do you want to make from us?” one person wrote.
While some folks aimed their complaints at Disney in general, other comments called out Bob Chapek directly. “So when will Bob Chapek start charging guests for breathing in Disney Parks? Do you want to breathe in that sweet smell of Pirates of the Caribbean? That’s $50 for each breath, ma’am,” a very unhappy theme park fan said.
Despite the unhappy customers, Disney’s theme park price hikes shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Bob Chapek previously hinted at an increase during an August earnings call. Speaking to CNBC, he said price increases will l likely hit the Mouse House’s popular theme parks after the company raises prices across Disney’s streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
“We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do,” the Disney CEO told the publication at the time. “But we operate with a surgical knife here and it’s all up to the consumer.” He added that if the demand keeps up, the company will act accordingly. And if they noticed a drop, which seemed unlikely, they would also act in kind.
According to Deadline, Disneyland ticket price increases have become synonymous with October. The top one-day, one-park ticket (Tier 5) was $124 in 2017. It was then raised to $134 in 2018, $149 in 2019, $154 in 2020, and $159 in 2021. Now, the price for that same-tier ticket is $169. That’s a 36% rise in five years. A sixth tier was added at $164 last year. It has now risen to $179.
Disney’s Anaheim parks also introduced a new Tier 0 price point with heavily restricted dates for $104. Park-Hopper tickets, which lets guests visit Disneyland and California Adventure on the same day, also cost more, with the following prices now in effect via Deadline. Tier 1 is $179. Tier 2 will cost $194. Tier 3 costs $209. Tier 4 is now $224. The price of Tier 5 is $234, and Tier 6 will now be $244.
The least expensive Disney park-hopper ticket will cost $169 and appear in a brand-new tier. The cost of multi-day tickets also rose by between 9.21% and 11.76%. After the pandemic destroyed business in 2021, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products have been instrumental in the company’s success this year. Revenue in the division soared by 70% as of August 2022, with operating income up from $356 million to $2.1 billion.
Disney bosses said domestic parks drove the numbers higher. Spurred by the price increases and add-ons championed by Bob Chapek, guests were spending more per capita on tickets, food, and hotels. Revenue was also boosted by new services like Genie+ and Lightning Lane. The new increases probably mean there will be more of that to come.
