Would you pay $299 for 6 hours at a new Disney attraction?

Written by |
Advertisement

Disney seems to know no boundaries when it comes to jacking up prices at its theme parks. Well, now the House of Mouse has hit on a new idea: Sky-high prices for sneak peeks at new attractions before they open to the general public.

RELATED: Two legitimate ways to get free Disney World tickets

Paying $50 an hour for a sneak peek

By now you might be sick to death of Disney’s seemingly endless price hikes at its parks. But there’s another one coming this weekend at Disneyland in California.

The Wall Street Journal reports Disney Parks is charging $299 for a six-hour preview of Disneyland’s newest attraction, Pixar Pier, on June 22 — one day before it opens to the public at Disney California Adventure Park.

That’s $50 an hour for the privilege of seeing what everybody else will get to see the following day!

And even more dynamic demand pricing is in the works!

Also under consideration is a plan to let the date of ticket purchase drive the price at Disney Parks, the newspaper reports.

Think of it like this: You’d expect to pay top dollar if you needed to book a flight on short notice, right? So using that logic, Disney is now toying around with the idea of surcharging tickets for peak times if you wait too long to buy them.

For example, let’s say you want to go to a Disney Park on Christmas Day. The Wall Street Journal says Disney is weighing the merits of charging you more if you purchase that ticket on Decemeber 24 instead of, say, on July 1.

The goal is to hopefully force more people to plan in advance than do currently for a visit. By hitting you over the head with the price stick, Disney anticipates being able to get a better sense of headcount in order to plan better for guest accommodations.

While this new wrinkle on variable pricing is only under consideration for now, this much is certain: With more people visiting Disney Parks than ever, the theme park business is a highly profitable segment of Disney’s overall business, which also includes media outlets like ABC and ESPN and powerhouse movies studios like Pixar.

Advertisement

Moreover, Disney’s insatiable thirst for more park profit is creating a trickle-down effect on non-Disney theme park businesses. Speculation on investor-focused websites now holds that publicly traded companies like Six Flags Entertainment and Cedar Fair will have additional leeway to raise prices at their parks, as well.

If you ever get tired of the nonstop treadmill of price hikes that’s become the norm at U.S. theme parks, we’d like to suggest an alternative.

Did you know kids go free to LEGOLAND in Florida or California?

lego resort2

LEGOLAND Florida Resort is located in Winter Haven, Florida, just 45 minutes from the Orlando theme parks and from downtown Tampa. Meanwhile, LEGOLAND California Resort and Hotels is located in Carlsbad, California, some 30 minutes north of San Diego and one hour south of Anaheim.

You can read more about the free LEGOLAND offer here.

More summer vacation stories on Clark.com:

Advertisement

best travel rewards credit card Best Travel Credit Cards: Top Rewards Picks for 2024 - The best travel rewards credit cards! Compare the latest sign-up bonus offers to start earning free flights, hotel stays and more.