Walt Disney World said Friday that ticket prices for its four parks in Orlando are going up on Sunday, the second of Central Florida’s big three theme parks to announce a price increase in recent weeks.
Disney spokesman Craig Dezern said prices are rising 0.8 percent to 5.8 percent depending on the length of stay per ticket.
The basic one-day, one-park ticket will cost $63 plus tax, up from $59.75, or a 5.4 percent increase.
SeaWorld announced on Dec. 14 that it would raise its one-day adult ticket to $61.95 plus tax effective Monday, up 3.7 percent from the previous year.
Universal Orlando still charges $59.75 plus tax for its one-day adult ticket to Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios, unchanged since December 2004.
Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said Friday that the company would have no comment on Disney’s latest price increase and would not speculate on when Universal might boost its own prices.
“Our ticket strategy is just not something we would talk about,” Schroder said. In most years, however, the three parks raise prices roughly at the same time and generally to the same basic level.
Disney’s ticket prices now differ more than ever from those of its competitors, however, as it launched a menu-based ticket pricing plan called Magic Your Way in January 2005, offering a range of ticket options.
A key feature is that longer stays are less expensive on a per-day basis, a strategy that Disney representatives, and industry analysts, say is designed to entice people to extend their visit.
Disney’s seven-day Magic Your Way ticket, for example, will cost $204 effective Sunday, up from $199, or a 2.5 percent increase. But the per-day cost averages $29.14, if the ticket-holder visits for all of the seven consecutive days allowed.
A two-day Magic Your Way ticket, by contrast, is rising to $125 from $119, or 5 percent, and that works out to be $62.50 per day.
Florida residents once again are getting a price break, for one-day and three-day tickets.
The one-day Florida-resident ticket is rising to $56.70, from $53.75, up 5.5 percent. The three-day pass will be $120, up 0.8 percent from $119.
Disney’s tickets are for ages 10 and older. Various price ranges are available for youngsters 3 to 9. Prices for those various children’s tickets as well as various annual passes also will go up effective Jan. 1.
The Magic Your Way pricing menu also allows buyers to add various extra perks for varying amounts of extra cost.
The options include features such as “park hopping” to visit two or more parks on one ticket — the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM-Studios and Animal Kingdom — a “nonexpiration” feature, various water park visits, dining and resort stays.
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721.
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