Disney recently saw increased demand at its theme parks after rolling out several deals and discounts, such as free dining plans for kids and 30% off for select Disney Resort hotel rooms. The deals were offered earlier this year to lure conscious visitors.
During the second quarter of this year, Disney’s U.S. theme park revenue increased by 10% year-over-year due to higher attendance and “an increase in guest spending,” according to its latest earnings report.
Disney has also been busy expanding its theme parks with new rides and attractions to draw in more visitors. For example, Disney World launched Test Track 3.0, its reimagined version of the Test Track ride at EPCOT, in July. It also debuted its Pirates of the Caribbean Tavern at Magic Kingdom the following month.
“We’re building on our best-in-class parks and experiences businesses with more expansions underway around the world than at any other time in our history,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger during an earnings call in August.
Image source: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Disney World has offered many special deals this year, hoping to attract more visitors.
Disney makes bold clarification to major theme park policy
As Disney attracts more theme park visitors, it is continuing to crack down on a growing problem at Disney World and Disneyland that has been the source of controversy over the past year.
Disney’s Disability Access Service (DAS), a program that allows visitors with disabilities who are unable to wait in long lines to request a return time for an attraction, has previously suffered from misuse by visitors who have lied about their eligibility for the program.
In response, Disney last year began limiting DAS passes (at both Disneyland and Disney World) to only guests with developmental disabilities, sparking outrage from members of the disabled community who accused the theme parks of excluding them.
Related: Disney announces drastic theme park changes no visitor wants
Now, Disney has quietly added new rules and guidelines on its Disneyland and Disney World websites for DAS registration. As part of the process, it has always been required for visitors to speak to a Disney theme park cast member via video call to determine DAS eligibility.
However, on Disney World’s website, for example, visitors can now find an expanded section highlighting important guidelines on how the video call process works.
“Important things to note:
- Live video chat is available from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
- The recording of this video chat is strictly prohibited.
- The Guest requesting DAS either for themself or for someone else (e.g. a minor child) must be 18 years of age or older to register.
- The Guest for whom DAS is being requested must be present during the video chat.
- If you’re not logged in to the Walt Disney World website, you’ll be prompted to log in.
- If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create one before continuing.
- If you don’t have valid theme park admission, you’ll need to link valid theme park admission for each member of your party.
- Guests using a mobile device or tablet will need to download the Zoom application to connect to the video chat.
- Video chat is screen reader-friendly for Guests with visual disabilities and available with text chat for Guests with hearing disabilities.
- At this time, live chat is offered in English only.”
The move from Disney comes after it slightly revised its DAS policy language to broaden qualifying guests earlier this year. It also later extended the DAS registration window from 30 to 60 days, and stretched the DAS validity period from 240 days to 365 days.
Disney’s theme parks recently became more expensive
Disney’s new tweaks to its DAS policy also follows its announcement of higher ticket prices for Disney World and Disneyland, which went into effect earlier this month.
Disney also hiked prices for several annual passes, parking, in-park food and beverages, and merchandise.
More media and entertainment:
- Disney announces unexpected move as TV customers flee
- Pluto TV sends stern warning to viewers about free content access
- DirecTV tests convenient new feature for streaming customers
Disney’s theme park ticket prices have now increased by up to 126% over the past decade, according to a new study from MickeyVisit.com.
Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com, told TheStreet in a statement that Disney is raising its prices due to inflation and the higher cost of entertainment events.
“All of these increases come at a time when in-person entertainment is more popular than ever, and demand (and Disneyland crowds) remains strong,” said Doyle. “It’s also at a time when cast member wages are going up, Disney is investing in expanding their attractions with new rides for Disneyland and new rides for Disney World, and the theme parks business is being relied on by The Walt Disney Company as a whole to drive higher profits for the entire company.”
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a trip.)
Please make a free appointment with TheStreet’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
