Mouse Extra

Well here we are again.  We have arrived at that annual event when Disney blogs and message boards light up with complaints over a recent rise in ticket prices.  Yes, as reported over the weekend by the Orlando Sentinel and others, you will be paying more for your ticket starting this week.

Disney announced increased ticket prices Friday afternoon that push the cost up 5.6 percent to $75 for the basic one-park, one-day ticket for adults and children 10 or older. The old price, $71, is still in effect today. The price of a basic ticket for children ages 3 to 9 will rise Sunday to $63, up 5 percent from $60.

Disney also raised the price of its “Magic Your Way” multiday-ticket packages, by 3 percent to 8 percent. The top deal, a 10-day adult Magic Your Way ticket, now costs $237, or $23.70 a day, up 5.3 percent. The Park Hopper add-on, which allows ticket holders to move among any of Disney’s parks, will cost $50 for up to 10 days, a $5 increase. The Water Park Fun & More add-on option remains $50.

We all know the economy is suffering right now.  Many things, not just fuel, cost more than they did last year and Disney is going to pass that cost along to its customers.  Until people stop going to Walt Disney World, the prices will keep going up.  This now appears to be as inevitable as death and taxes

We have also seen many other cost-cutting measures recently, most notably the fact that Fantasmic will only be shown twice per week starting in January.  This is where things get upsetting.  I don’t mind paying a bit more, but it does bug me when I get less in return.  And I will be willing to bet you that when the economy turns around, Fantasmic won’t go back to a daily schedule.  Remember when we heard that cuts in operating hours were a response to post-9/11 drop in attendance?  I am still waiting for those hours to increase back to what they were…

I would also like to thank all of you for your patience these last couple of weeks with the lack of postings on Mouse Extra.  We all took some much needed “r and r”.  Keep checking back this week as we get caught up.