Dynamic Pricing Coming to Disney Parks: Insights from CFO Hugh Johnston

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston has confirmed that dynamic pricing (a system that sets ticket costs based on real-time factors like demand and weather) may be coming to US theme parks in upcoming years.

What’s Happening:

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston recently spoke of a possible rollout of dynamic pricing for the domestic theme parks, meaning prices can adjust based on real-time factors like demand and weather.
Disneyland Paris has previously unveiled a new dynamic dated ticket price system, designed to allow prices within each range to fluctuate based on a variety of variable factors.
This change removes preset flat prices for specific dates, instead offering a pricing range, where the cost of a visit will depend on factors like current weather conditions and expected attendance levels.
For instance at Disneyland Paris, a 1-Day, 2-Park ticket within a specific color band for the November through January period could potentially cost as much as €102 or as little as €89, with the full range subject to change at any time.
The current maximum price for a 1-Day, 1-Park ticket is €119, while the cheapest ticket price is now lower than the previous minimum of €56.

What They’re Saying:

Hugh Johnston, Disney's Chief Financial Officer: “We’re actually investing in creating dynamic pricing. We’re doing it in Paris right now, we’ve been doing it for about a year. It’s off to a very good start. But we’re really going to make sure we optimize it before we bring it into the domestic parks. So that’s probably something you won’t see this year but you may see in the subsequent years.”
Moderator: “Is the kind of airline pricing model the best way to think about it?”
Hugh Johnston, Disney's Chief Financial Officer: “I like to not think about it that way to be honest with you. But, yeah, similar. We already do it in the hotels to some degree so this is basically just bringing it in the Parks. But done in a way that obviously doesn’t create guest experience issues or consumer negative feedback. So far in Paris, we haven’t seen any.”

Pricing Details and Flexibility:

We have an idea of how this might be implemented based on the current system found at Disneyland Paris, although as indicated by Hugh's comments we would expect some changes for optimization.
While pricing can change at any time, once a guest begins a booking session, the price is guaranteed to remain the same until the end of that session, which can last up to 60 minutes.
The new system also offers enhanced planning flexibility. Guests can now purchase dated tickets up to 18 months in advance, an increase from the previous 12-month booking window.
Flexibility remains a priority, allowing guests to change their visit date or cancel their booking and receive a full refund up to three days prior to their scheduled visit.
For those who prefer not to commit to a date, undated tickets are available for a higher price, with only three blackout dates: July 14th (Bastille Day), October 31st (Halloween), and December 31st (New Year's Eve). While this new ticketing scheme is currently only slated for Disneyland Paris, the resort has historically been the test market for initiatives that eventually arrive stateside.

Paris Leads the Way: A Look at Past Initiatives That Came Stateside

The French resort has a history of pioneering guest experiences and operational changes that are later rolled out to the domestic parks in California and Florida.
A prime example is the introduction of paid premier access for attractions before eventually making its way to the US parks in the form of Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane selections.

More Disney Park News

What We're Covering

Fun & Games

Disney CFO Confirms Dynamic Pricing is Potentially Coming to Domestic Parks

Thank You!