Up-charging Getting Ridiculous: $70 Blackout Day Pass

[QuiGonJ]

Then again, why are kids from 3 and up charged the adult rate for entering the park? That would be why the OP is upset, not their pass, but their child's.

[the mermaid]

Then again, why are kids from 3 and up charged the adult rate for entering the park? That would be why the OP is upset, not their pass, but their child's.

I don't see where the OP says anything about kids.

[jsanch2]

My question is...did it jump straight from $40 to $70? Was there any price in between because that is a HUGE hike.

I don't follow it super close as I have a premium since lots of my trips include Saturdays.

I think it went from $59 to $70 when ticket prices went up last June.

Yeah it didn't jump from $40 to $70, had to buy a block out pass for the Gum Ball Rally this year, it was $60 and that was the weekend that the price hikes were announced.

[clara]

I don't see where the OP says anything about kids.

That's what I thought to...I thought I was seeing something invisible in the OP's post.. :P

[swampymarsh]

Then again, why are kids from 3 and up charged the adult rate for entering the park? That would be why the OP is upset, not their pass, but their child's.

There is no child rate for APs so no child rate for the blockout tickets.

[biggsworth]

I always felt blackout passes should be the same price as a regular ticket. Basically when you buy a AP you are selecting the days you want to go. This is why I have always gotten the PaP because I like to go on holidays and Saturdays. I always wondered why people get the lower tiers and then go multiple blackout days seems like they could have gotten a higher tiered AP with the money being used to buy a blackout pass anyways.

[oddball]

Here's my question on this. Why should a blackout day be cheap or even affordable? There's a reason you're blocked out, because you can't or chose not to get a pass that didn't block you out from that day. Why then, when you decide to go on a whim and you can't get in, should you get in at half or lower price the regular park visitor's price? That's the benefit of a Premium Pass, go when ever you want, but you pay for it.

[Ryan120420]

Something you have to remember is a blockout day ticket is also a parkhopper ticket. So you are getting $55 discount.

I'd really like to give the people that make these types of decisions a piece of my mind. They've always been greedy, and we recently found out that they are essentially Scrooges as well with their plans for next year's holiday season, but I have to ask - what's the breaking point? When will it stop?

That's an easy answer, when revenue starts to decline.

[swampymarsh]

I always felt blackout passes should be the same price as a regular ticket. Basically when you buy a AP you are selecting the days you want to go. This is why I have always gotten the PaP because I like to go on holidays and Saturdays. I always wondered why people get the lower tiers and then go multiple blackout days seems like they could have gotten a higher tiered AP with the money being used to buy a blackout pass anyways.

Here's my question on this. Why should a blackout day be cheap or even affordable? There's a reason you're blocked out, because you can't or chose not to get a pass that didn't block you out from that day. Why then, when you decide to go on a whim and you can't get in, should you get in at half or lower price the regular park visitor's price? That's the benefit of a Premium Pass, go when ever you want, but you pay for it.

The discounted blockout tickets are basically a Passholder Benefit. It's not advertised as such but many businesses that sell seasonal passes do mention that you can get discounted tickets on blackout days. I think the reason Disney doesn't claim this as a big perk is that it brings up a negative of the Premium/Premier passes.

[indianajack]

I always felt blackout passes should be the same price as a regular ticket. Basically when you buy a AP you are selecting the days you want to go. This is why I have always gotten the PaP because I like to go on holidays and Saturdays. I always wondered why people get the lower tiers and then go multiple blackout days seems like they could have gotten a higher tiered AP with the money being used to buy a blackout pass anyways.

I agree with this. It should be your pass gets you in on the days listed, and on other days you pay full price like everyone else. I met some passholders who didn't even know about the blackout dates benefit until I told them about it.

[TONY THE BEAT]

I was at the park last Saturday and had to buy a blackout ticket. This does not lighten the crowd like someone else mentioned on here. The crowd was out of control and frankly it was poor crowd control by Disney. It was so bad that they had use use the walk way behind the Emporium. I was a little mad at the upcharge and emailed Disney about this. I explained how I felt that if they are too upcharge again with these tickets at least have some sort of good crowd control. To me it was not worth the $70 to spend the day there.

This was their response to me.
"

It is never an easy decision to raise our prices; however, we believe
that the prices at the DISNEYLAND® Resort realistically reflect the
costs involved in presenting a quality "show" to our Guests. We also
believe that the entertainment, food, merchandise, and attractions
offered are the best available for the prices charged. Any change in the
DISNEYLAND® Resort prices is made after thorough research of the quality
and price of our product versus that of the local market."

[Disney Vault]

I see nothing wrong with their response to your email. Disneyland is a premium product and they can charge a premium price.

[KellyMcG86]

Although I can't say I enjoy spending money, I have to agree with those who have pointed out that you chose an AP with blackout dates, and it makes sense that they would charge full price admission on those days because, really, your AP is not valid. I would be grateful they offer a discount, and you maintain your food/merchandise discounts on those days. :-\

[JediPrincess]

I think it is annoying. This summer my boyfriend and I ran the Disneyland 5k. After the race we wanted to celebrate by going to Disneyland. My boyfriend, a deluxe passholder, was blocked out so we couldn't even go in. It seemed really rude considering we had spent the money to run the 5k and were wearing our medals to prove it. He couldn't justify spending $70 to get in, so no post race Disneyland celebration for us, which was a disappointment.

[Westsider]

But, really, the days we are blacked out are days I wouldn't want to go anyway due to crowding.

That thinking is very 20th century. The days that have AP blackouts are now some of the least busy days of the week during the peak vacation periods of Christmas, Spring Break, and summer. The smart folks plan their visits for the days when the most amount of AP's are blocked out, and then they enjoy lower attendance than when all the AP's can come in at random.