Returning Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that recent ticket price hikes have alienated some theme park customers, but said during an earnings call with investors that admission to Disneyland has “not really increased that much” in the last few years.
Iger discussed theme park ticket price increases made under former Disney CEO Bob Chapek during a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
“It’s clear that some of our pricing initiatives were alienating to consumers,” Iger said on the call. “I’ve always believed, by the way, that accessibility is a core value of the Disney brand. We were not perceived to be as accessible or as affordable to as many segments as we probably should have been.”
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Disneyland’s highest-priced ticket rose 16% from $154 in February 2020 when Chapek was hired to $179 when he was fired as Disney CEO in November 2022. Since 2019, the lowest-priced one-day single park ticket to Disneyland or Disney California Adventure has remained unchanged at $104.
“If you look at the increase of the core ticket at say Disneyland, it has not really increased that much, maybe slightly ahead of inflation over the last few years,” Iger said during his first earnings call since returning as CEO.
U.S. inflation averaged 1.88% from 2012 through 2021, according to Forbes.
Paying heed to complaints, Disneyland announced in January that it would boost the number of low-priced dates in 2023 by approximately 50%.
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“Demand on the parks is extraordinary right now,” Iger said on the call. “We could lean into that demand easily by letting more people in and by more aggressively pricing. We don’t think either would be smart because if we let more people in it is going to reduce guest experience. That’s certainly not what we want.”
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