‘It’s Dynamic Ratcheting:’ Disney’s Plan for Dynamic Pricing Will Dramatically Impact Every Aspect of Your Next Disney Vacation
Earlier this year, a report emerged indicating that Disney was considering implementing its dynamic pricing system, currently used at Disneyland Paris, at its two domestic parks. However, Disney quickly denied the report, stating that it had no plans to implement dynamic pricing at Disney World and Disneyland. But that was earlier this year.
Credit: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr
In November, Disney Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Hugh Johnston stated that the company was in the process of implementing dynamic pricing at its domestic parks, directly contradicting its earlier denials. Most Disney insiders knew that this was coming, but to a certain extent, Disney’s domestic parks have had a sort of dynamic pricing since the pandemic.
Disney World and Disneyland charge guests more on higher-demand days. So, ticket prices are higher during Christmas week than they are in a random week in August. Both parks also raise prices on things like Lightning Lane passes for those higher-demand days.
Credit: Video Screenshot, TikTok, @pinoystarbbq
Most fans assumed that the dynamic pricing system coming to Disney World and Disneyland would be similar to that at Disneyland Paris, featuring a color-coded, tiered system. The tiers offer guests a range of prices, with the price shifting within that range depending on demand. The system encourages guests to book their tickets earlier rather than waiting until the last minute.
Credit: Screenshot via Disneyland Paris Resort’s website
However, The Wrap spoke with people familiar with the new system Disney is considering for its domestic parks, and it will be significantly worse than what Disneyland Paris has. According to the report, park ticket prices could change throughout the day based on demand. So, if the parks are crowded and more people are trying to get in, the parks would increase the prices to meet that demand.
“It’s not dynamic pricing as much as it is dynamic ratcheting,” one person with knowledge of Disney’s plans told The Wrap.
Credit: Disney
According to the report, Disney has partnered with Redeam, a company that specializes in “real-time pricing,” and lists Disney World and Disneyland as two of its clients. Disney has been studying the impact of lines on customers’ behavior in the parks and how to increase pricing to compensate for the wait in extended queues.
Disney has realized that if a guest has to wait in a line of 30 minutes or more, they are more likely to leave the parks at least 10 minutes earlier for every line they have to stay in. So, if a guest has to wait in six lines that are 30 minutes or more for an attraction, they are likely to leave the park an hour earlier. That means those guests are less likely to spend more money in the parks if they leave earlier.
Credit: Disney / Canva
To compensate for the lost revenue, Disney makes Lightning Lane passes more expensive for that day and can now increase their cost throughout the day for those who waited to purchase them. Therefore, if guests become frustrated with the lines and decide to pay for Lightning Lane access, Disney will adjust those prices in real-time.
When Johnston made his comments about bringing dynamic pricing to America, he noted that there hasn’t been a significant pushback to it at Disneyland Paris, but this isn’t France.
Credit: Inside the Magic
“One of the interesting things is that they haven’t seen significant pushback from the French. But I would put that in context. If you’re visiting your Disneyland Park in Paris for a day or so, the tickets are already cheaper than Disney World, so the stakes are lower. What Disney World needs to look out for is the pushback they could get from domestic guests when instead of talking about a $600 one-day visit to Disneyland Paris, we’re talking about $6,000 for a five-day Walt Disney World vacation,” Disney Insider Len Testa told The Wrap.
Credit: Inside the Magic
Dynamic pricing encourages guests to book their Disney Trips early to lock in those prices, but it also gives Disney the advantage of knowing just how many people will be in the parks on a particular day. That also allows them to increase their Lightning Lane and Lightning Lane Premier passes for the most crowded days.
This, like all of Disney’s recent price hikes, prevents many families from taking a Disney World or Disneyland vacation. Given that families generally only take vacations during school holidays, those are also generally Disney’s domestic parks’ busiest seasons, which means the prices will increase for those families.
Credit: Disney
This becomes yet another way for Disney vacations to become further out of reach for the average family.
What do you think of the details of Disney’s new dynamic pricing for its domestic parks? Let us know in the comments.
