There is an old price guide for Disneyland floating around on social media so I thought it would be interesting to compare the prices then to what they would be now (adjusted for inflation at an inflation rate of 724.7%)
Now Disneyland opened in 1955, but for the sake of this “experiment” I’m using the price sheet that is being shared around. It’s from 9 years after the park originally opened, 1964.
Let’s see how it stacks up:
Guided Tour:
Adult & Jr. in 1964 – $5.00 Now that would be about $41.24 today
Child (3-11) – $3.00 Now that would be 24.74. (Also note that Child was 3-11, not 3-9 like it is now.)
Now guided tours start at over $2,000.
Now it’s going to be a bit different to compare the price at the gate to the ticket books. But what I will do is do them individually and then compare the combined prices (based on one ticket book per person and entry fees)
10 Adventure Book “Big 10”
Adult – $3.95 That is $32.58 today.
Junior (12-17) – $3.45. It would be $28.45 today.
Child (3-11) – $2.95. That would be $24.33 today.
15 Adventure Book “Jumbo 15”
Adult – $4.95. In today’s market this would be $40.82.
Junior (12-17) – $4.45. This would be $36.70 today
Child (3-11) – $3.95. This would be $32.58 today.
Now the ticket books did included the A, B, C, D, and E type coupons and the main gate admission. (E-ticket attractions being the “big” ones.)
General Admission
Adult – $1.60. That would be $13.20 today.
Junior – $1.20. This would be $9.90 today.
Child – $.60. This would be $4.95 today.
Like now children under 3 were admitted for free. All rides were also free for them except for The Carousel, Pack Mules, and Midget Autopia.
So let’s figure this out for today’s market. First of all if you enter the park, even if you ride nothing, it’s the same price as those that ride. So the General Admission prices listed above automatically become the 1-Day ticket prices that run between $104-$149 for adults and $98-$141 for children (ages 3-9.)
That is the same price even if you ride so say you bought even 2 adventure books the cost difference is still greater.
For argument sake let’s say you bought both big books per age group.
2 books Adult = $74.40. but day tickets are now $104-$149 (depending on time of year)
2 books Junior = $65.15. There is no “Junior” category now so all would be adult at $104-$149 (depending on time of the year.)
2 books Child = $37.53. Then it went up to 11 and now it’s 9, So 3-9 today would be $98-$141 for children. Kids aged 10-11 would be the adult rate of $104 – $149.
Parking – $.25 per day. Now that would be $2.06. Wait..what? $2.06! It’s $17-$27 today!
So when people or Disney argue the the prices “are just inflation.” Yes, but not to the extent they are today! Then add MaxPass at $15 per person per day and it’s even more.
I think most of you reading this aren’t surprised that the prices are higher than just inflation increases. Park improvements, new rides, Disney+ they aren’t free and those costs are often passed on to their profitable parks division.
No matter what you think, it was fun little “experiment” to do.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Sources: History Daily on Facebook, usinflationcalculator.com
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.
