Amid growing customer dissatisfaction and a drop in park attendance, Walt Disney World has been discreetly reducing the prices of admission and hotel stays over recent months.
In May, Disney began offering discounted three-day ticket packages that allow visitors to experience Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom for $89 per day, while tickets for Magic Kingdom are available separately. This price adjustment is significant, considering a daily Park Hopper pass was previously priced at $254.
Additionally, Disney is working to lower overall trip costs by providing discounts on its budget hotel options. A night at Disney’s All-Star Movies, Music, and Sports Resort can be as low as $100, depending on the booking date, reflecting discounts of up to 27% off regular rates, as noted in a Bloomberg analysis.
This summer, the parks have also rolled out new dining packages that lower the cost of dining by 20% to 30%. The dining plan allows families to purchase all-day meal passes for $30 per child and $95 per adult, usable at various meal and snack locations within the parks. Disney World is also expanding quick meal options, offering less expensive food for children, and implementing more flexible dining policies.
Experts attribute rising food costs within the parks as a key contributor to declining customer satisfaction. Len Testa, president of TouringPlans.com, which surveys thousands of Disney visitors each year, indicated that customer satisfaction ratings plummeted from 90% to 60% as Disney transitioned from a la carte dining to fixed-price meals at several of its most sought-after restaurants.
While Testa commended Disney’s cost-cutting measures, he cautioned that these changes may not signify a genuine dedication to affordability or improving guest satisfaction. He noted that Disney has historically balanced customer ratings against revenue objectives.