The Happiest Place on Earth gets more expensive: The commodities of your favorite rides
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The Happiest Place on Earth gets more expensive: The commodities of your favorite rides
Update: Ticket prices at Disney World were raised by $4, from $95 to $99. Here’s our look back from 2013 on the commodities market behind Disney theme parks.
On Sunday, Disney raised ticket prices to their theme parks for the fourth time in the last three years. A single-day ticket for an adult now costs $92, a 6 percent increase from the former price of $87. Children and all annual passes saw similar increases.
Disneyland might be the ‘Happiest Place on Earth,’ but happiness apparently doesn’t come cheap. According to Disneyland Scoop, the price of admission has doubled in the last 10 years. A look at how prices have changed for things you’ll find at Disneyland could provide a clue on where the money is going.
(Yes, we know we stretched it with some of these. Play along.)
Gas prices mean not quite utopia
Autopia’s curated roadtrip in a convertible is a must for any visitor to SoCal. 10 years ago, a gallon of regular gas would set you back about $1.73 in California, and the average price of renting a car for a single day on the weekend was $36, according to automotive travel company AAA. That same gallon of gas is now $4.02, and the price of renting a car increased to $43. The total cost jumped from $37.73 to $47.02, or nearly 25 percent.
Jack Sparrow’s thirst might cost him
The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland follows Jack Sparrow going into battle, but keeping his army of pirates happy requires a lot of rum.
Rum is traditionally made from sugarcane, which meant spending 7.26 cents per pound on the commodities market in 2003, and 17.66 cents per pound in 2013, more than an 143 percent increase. The hangover still costs the same, though.
Splash Mountain or Spla$h Mountain?
Summer at Disneyland mandates a plunge at Splash Mountain to provide refuge from the mid-80 degree weather, but the ride uses about 950,000 gallons of water.
If you wanted to build your own Splash Mountain in New York City, the water alone meant spending more than $182,880 in 2003 or $430,530 in 2013, an increase of 135 percent. And you’ll have to B-Y-O-Log Canoe.
The price of tea will make you dizzy if the ride doesn’t
The spinning tea cups at the Mad Tea Party are empty, but a kilogram of tea on the commodities market would have meant spending $1.89 in 2003, compared to $2.66 in 2013, an increase of about 46 percent.
Yes, Disneyland’s price increases are still tough for a family to handle, but it’s nice to know that an investment in happiness would have kept up with inflation.
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