Disneyland Considers Surge Pricing

Disneyland is toying with the idea of surge pricing, a payment system in which prices move up or down according to demand. For example, when patrons visit the park on busier days, like in summer or over Christmas, they would have to pay more for their ticket.

"I support it," said Darcy Forsell, a San Mateo urban planner and Disneyland mega-fan. "It equates supply and demand."

Forsell takes her two daughters at least five times a year. But there are moments for her when the happiest place on earth turns into one of the most miserable.

“When it gets super crowded, I just want to leave," she says. “The lines just get to be so long.”

Forsell says she’d be willing to pay more if it meant there were fewer people she’d have to compete with to get onto Space Mountain.

"If pricing it a little bit higher means the demand drops, I think that's appropriate," she says.

That's exactly the idea behind a congestion pricing system Disneyland is considering now. The company sent a survey to parkgoers, and says it will review responses before making a final decision on whether to implement a new pricing plan.

Mark Dvorchak, managing partner at Pro Forma Advisors, a theme park economics consultancy, says the concept of surge pricing is relatively new to amusement parks, but is ubiquitous in other industries.

"It's like getting a discount at the movie theater when you go to a matinee," he says. "Or a plane flight. Friday night the ticket’s more expensive and on a Tuesday afternoon, it’s not.”

So people who’d go to Disneyland on weekdays in February or September would pay less, about $99. While people who go on holidays or during the summer would pay up to $115.

"It's not worth it," says Becky Walley. She's lived in Pasadena all her life and takes her kids to Disneyland a few times a year. She says you could hardly pay her to go in the summer.

"It's just too hot," she says. “It is literally so packed you can hardly move."

But Christmas? That brings back precious childhood memories.

“I loved all the decorations. We used to go there over Christmas and just stand there on Main Street when it started to snow. And that was foreign to us in Southern California, so it was so cool to watch that," she remembers. "I think I probably would pay extra for December."