October 2017
Many people believe that #Disneyland is very expensive. Yes, it is expensive, but is it because it’s a form of #entertainment and entertainment is expensive, or is it just overpriced? Recently Disneyland raised their prices for annual passes and for single and multi-day #tickets. The most expensive way to go to Disneyland, by far, is with a one day hopper pass. Multi-day tickets end up costing less per day because each additional day is progressively cheaper, so the most expensive way is to go for only one day and get the hopper option, that allows you to go to both Disneyland and Disney's #California #Adventure on the same day. The cost for one of these tickets varies by time of year. Disneyland has Value, Regular, and Peak pricing. We’ll use regular pricing for this example. Currently that cost is $167 for a one-day regular season hopper pass to Disneyland Resort. For this pricing, the park hours will usually start at 8 a.m. and go until midnight, giving you 16 hours of entertainment for your $167 entrance fee. This translates to roughly $10.40 per hour.
How does the cost of Disneyland compare to other forms of entertainment? One of the cheapest form of entertainment is probably going to the #movies. Depending on where you live this can cost anywhere between $8 and $16 for a movie giving you entertainment for generally 2 hours. Let's take the middle of the road and assume $12 for a 2 hour movie which comes out to $6 per hour. Cheap for entertainment, but this is the low end. Let's look at some more expensive alternatives. Going to see a #Broadway show or seeing a concert can be one of the most expensive. A friend of mine recently got tickets to go see #Hamilton in Los Angeles. Her tickets cost $225 each for what would essentially be 3 hours of entertainment. Eleven years ago, when #Wicked was the hot ticket, our tickets cost $120 each. This translates to $40-75 per hour. I have many family members who love to #golf. The average green fees are $40 for 18 holes, that generally takes you 4 hours to complete, or $10/hour. I grew up #snow #skiing regularly. When I took my children's #skiing several years ago we got a day pass and the equipment for $85. Now it would be closer to $100. so let's take this price, $100 for one day skiing starting at 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. In essence, 7.5 hours of entertainment. This translates into a little over $13 an hour. Last summer we rented a #Waverunner, while at Lake Havasu in Arizona. That 4 hour rental cost $201 for rental and gas. It held 2 people, so that was $25 per person per hour of entertainment.
A few summers ago, my sister-in-law came to visit and commented on the high price of Disneyland. Her family owns a #boat, so I asked her how much her boat costs them each year. After figuring the initial cost of purchase spread out over the usable years, adding the insurance, and maintenance (she didn't have a cost to store it because they have room on their property), she figured it cost them $5000 per year to own and use their ski boat. I then asked her how many days they usually use it. They spend a week at a lake each summer and then take it out a few more times (they live in a place where a boat can only be used during the 3-4 months of #summer), so she estimated about 10 times a year, which translates to $500/day, not including gas. I told her then, "I could get a premium annual pass to Disneyland for each member of my #family for that price that could be used all year long, 12 months of the year." She had never thought of it that way. Now Disneyland didn't seem so expensive to her.
Now they're certainly cheaper forms of entertainment, many of which require a high level of fitness and/or good knees, like #surfing, #hiking, #biking. However, even surfing isn't free. Assuming you came to Southern California on a vacation and want to surf. We’ll assume you already know how and just need to rent a board and wetsuit for the day, and don't need to pay for lessons. The going cost is about $40 to rent the equipment for a day. How much entertainment will that give you? How long can you really surf. I have a lot of friends and associates who surf. It's very rare that they go out for more than 3 hours maybe 4 but they're certainly not going to go out there for 10, 12, 16 hours a day so let's say that you were able to rent equipment for $40 and you went out for 4 hours on your surfboard. That's $10 an hour for entertainment. Another cheap option is going to the #beach for the day, which only costs for parking. Even #museums can be inexpensive. The #Getty is free, you only pay for parking. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is $25. There will always be cheaper and more expensive options, but Disneyland, as a form of entertainment, is quite reasonable on a per hour basis.
What forms of entertainment are there that will entertain a wide range of ages and fitness levels and allow you to bond with each other? A museum might engage a child for an hour, but not the whole day. A senior may be able to go see Hamilton, but skiing or surfing may not be an option. Seeing a movie or a Broadway show may engage the whole family, but there is no interaction or bonding with each other. Disneyland is popular because it allows entertainment for a wide range of ages. Children, of course love Disneyland, but teenagers, young adults, middle-aged adults, seniors, and all in between enjoy it too. There’s something for everyone. It doesn’t require you to have the stamina or knees of an 18 year old, and it allows your family/group to interact with and bond with each other. All this for not much more than $10/hour. While there are certainly cheaper entertainment options, I suggest that Disneyland is not that expensive, when compared to other forms of entertainment. The fact is entertainment is usually expensive, and Disneyland is entertainment, so next time you buy tickets to see a concert for $120 for a few hours or lay down $100 for a day (7 hours) of skiing, remember that that full 16 hour day at Disneyland is cheaper per hour.
If you want to make sure you get the most out of your investment in a Disneyland day or #vacation, then the best way is booking an escorted tour from Magical Mouse Tours.
