Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted Thursday that the company has charged consumers exorbitant prices at the entertainment giant’s theme parks.
Iger, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, said the Disney brand must be “accessible,” according to The Daily Mail. The CEO, who came out of retirement last November to retake the company’s reins, indicated lower prices were necessary to expanding the company’s consumer base.
“In our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing,” Iger said. “I think there’s a way to continue to grow that business, but be smarter about how we price so that we maintain that brand value of accessibility.”
Iger suggested that the high prices had helped make the theme park experience more enjoyable for those who could afford them.
“One of the things that we had to do was we had to improve the guest experience by reducing crowding,” Iger added. “It’s tempting to let more and more people in, but if the guest satisfaction levels are going down because of crowding then that doesn’t work. We have to figure out how we reduce crowding but maintain our profitability. And we did that well.”
Disney has recently moved to lower some prices at the theme parks, reinstating overnight free parking at Disney World and offering more days at Anaheim’s Disneyland in Anaheim when adults can buy tickets at the lowest price option.
Prices at Disneyland have soared to as high as $244 for a single day’s pass. Preferred parking at the theme park costs $50 per vehicle, self-parking $30 per vehicle. Disney Genie Plus, which permits booking specific time windows for certain rides, costs an additional $25.
At Disney World, Disney opened a Star Wars-themed hotel titled “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser” in March 2022. It has charged guests between $5,000 and $20,000 for two nights. The hotel has charged $13.50 for a single beer and $23 for cocktails.
During the global pandemic, when Disneyland was closed, Disney’s Annual Passport system was canceled. After the park reopened, Annual Passports were replaced by Magic Keys, which included the Dream Key, the Believe Key and the Enchant Key, then became temporarily unavailable.
One disgruntled Disneyland fan wrote, “i am HEARTBROKEN about disneyland canceling annual passes. (i mean who knows when they’ll reopen & i wasn’t planning on going to disneyland during the pandemic) i can’t afford to go to disneyland 1-3x a month without my pass, so this totally sucks.”
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids’ entertainment content.