All you need to get to Disney World is faith, trust, a little bit of pixie dust, and $30-$100 extra per year. If you were a regular Disney park-goer looking forward to upcoming expansions like the proposed Monsters Inc. door coaster or Magic Kingdom’s Villain Land, we have some not-so-magical news: it’s gonna cost ya. Disney can’t just wish upon a star to conjure new rides into the world and they already promised a bunch of money to Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers, anyway. Where else would Scrooge McDuck (or Bob Iger or whoever succeeds him) turn, other than the park’s most loyal devotees?
According to USA Today, annual pass fares for Orlanda’s Disney World park were raised by 3%-7% last night. A breakdown of the new pricing structure is as follows:
- Incredi-Pass: $1,549 (was $1,449)
- Sorcerer: $1,079 (was $999)
- Pirate: $829 (was $799)
- Pixie Dust: $469 (was $439)
In addition, single-day tickets for busy holiday dates in November and December also hit a record high. Newly released passes top out at $199 on select dates, a $10 increase from last year’s most expensive tickets. You can still be Mickey’s guest and put his service (which should be excellent for how much you’re forking over) to the test, but you’ll also need to have your pocketbook on hand for all those add-ons and individual Lightning Lane passes (previously FastPass) which will definitely start to stack up once you’ve entered the pearly gates. What are you going to do, say no to your Frozen-obsessed kid who wants to ride the Elsa boat for a second time?
Never fear, Florida people; Anaheim wasn’t immune to these increases either. Earlier this month, annual pass holders on the other side of the country saw a similar uptick in price for their version of the all-access entry card, called “Magic Keys” over at Disneyland. Those increases are as follows, via USA Today:
- Inspire Key: $1,749 (was $1,649)
- Believe Key: $1,374 (was $1,249)
- Enchant Key: $974 (was $849)
- Imagine Key: $599 (was $499)
Imagine if even a fraction of all that extra money could go towards rehiring some of the 300 people the company just laid off, but alas: some dreams don’t come true.