Disneyland Admission Costs: It’s a Big Price, After All

(http://v2 NULL.singlemindedwomen NULL.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mickey-and-minnie NULL.jpg)Holy Cow!

And that’s the cleanest thing I can think to say. I guess Mickey and Minnie (http://disney NULL.go NULL.com/mickey/index NULL.html)‘s house is another one the average American can’t afford: Disneyland (http://www NULL.disneyland NULL.com) just raised their admission prices—again. One-day tickets for those 10 and older to Disneyland (http://disneyland NULL.disney NULL.go NULL.com/disneyland/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage&bhcp=1) in Anaheim, California (http://www NULL.anaheimoc NULL.org/), will rise 4.5% to $69 from $66. Children ages 3 to 9 will pay $59, up 5.3% from $56. At Walt Disney World (http://disneyworld NULL.disney NULL.go NULL.com/wdw/index) in Orlando, Florida, one-day prices will rise 5.6% to $75 from $71, while tickets for children ages 3 to 9 will see a 5% hike to $63 from $60.

Four guests (assuming two adults, and two kids under the age of ten) will pay $276 for a day with Mickey and Minnie in Orlando (http://www NULL.orlandoinfo NULL.com/), and $256 to visit the somewhat more modest, and older park in Southern California.

In a year when Six Flags (http://www NULL.sixflags NULL.com/discoverykingdom/tickets/index NULL.aspx) amusement parks around the country lowered their prices in the hope of increasing attendance, I suppose that Disney has such a strong pull among international visitors that they are not overly concerned about continued high attendance levels. Nor does it seem that they are too concerned about their affordability for the average American. After all, to Europeans carrying the mighty Euro (http://www NULL.singlemindedwomen NULL.com/fullArticle NULL.aspx?Id=497), the anemic US Dollar (http://www NULL.singlemindedwomen NULL.com/fullArticle NULL.aspx?id=479) is just slightly more expensive than Monopoly money.

Still, my heart breaks for single moms wanting to treat their kid(s) to a day at Disneyland. Every year America moves further along in the process of becoming a nation of haves and have-nots. Professional baseball (http://mlb NULL.mlb NULL.com/index NULL.jsp), hockey, football, and basketball games have ticket prices that are out of sight. God forbid your kids should say, “Can we go to a baseball game?” And if you live in an area like New York, you better take out a second mortgage on your home to go see the Yankees. Wait a minute, cancel that, banks aren’t giving out equity home loans anymore.

Anyway, back in Disney World, now that you’ve gone through the front gate, nearly $300 lighter in net worth than you were a few minutes earlier, it’s time to buy the kids some souvenirs, t-shirts, Mickey Mouse ears, etc. After all you don’t want to be called a cheapskate on your way to the poorhouse.

Martin Brown

SMW Money Editor

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