{"id":165205,"date":"2026-02-05T14:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/165205\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:37:43","slug":"fans-to-new-disney-ceo-cut-disneylands-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/165205\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans to new Disney CEO: Cut Disneyland’s prices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The man who ran Disney\u2019s parks and cruise lines ascended to be named chief executive of the storied Burbank-based company this week, a move celebrated by many and greeted sourly by fans who feel they\u2019ve been priced out of Disneyland and other theme parks.<\/p>\n

The Happiest Place on Earth still makes plenty of people glow. Witness enormous crowds and ride-wait lines so long they make a TSA checkpoint seem like a trifle. Also note corporate balance sheets that boast theme park and cruise fleet revenue growing in recent years. Much of that expansion came under the direction of Josh D\u2019Amaro, who\u2019s now set to take over from outgoing CEO Robert Iger.<\/p>\n

You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n

I called Alannah Hall-Smith, a Disney spokesperson, on Wednesday and told her I had read a boatload of complaining online about how ghastly expensive the parks feel to many.<\/p>\n

\"Mickey <\/p>\n

The Disneyland Resort, currently in the midst of its 70th celebration, has increased prices on most single day, single park tickets. The park has also introduced a new offer for Southern California residents. <\/p>\n

(Matt Stroshane \/ Disneyland Resort)<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Josh\u2019s leadership there has been a huge focus on value and options for guests,\u201d Hall-Smith assured me. I noted that parking at Disneyland costs $40. She told me that she recently went to a soccer match and had to pay $50 to park in someone\u2019s yard. And, by comparison, that $50 covered a three-hour game, while a family\u2019s Disney adventure (and parking) might go on for 12 hours, she said.<\/p>\n

I suspect that sort of logic might not be winning to \u201cFreudian Mom,\u201d one of the people who left a comment on The Times\u2019 story about D\u2019Amaro <\/a>being named CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in charge of the parks for the last six years,\u201d Ms. Mom wrote. \u201cIf that\u2019s the example of what he brings Disneyland, nobody except the wealthy will be able to afford. Prices are up, everything is nickel and dimed, trying to get food without having access to the app is impossible and the WiFi to use said app is spotty, ridiculous waits on rides…\u201d<\/p>\n

When I went to the calendar on Disneyland\u2019s website<\/a>, it appeared that the cheapest adult weekend entry for the next two months goes for $169. To shortcut those long lines for rides, you can tack on $34 for a \u201clightning lane multi-pass.\u201d Then there\u2019s the parking. Bottom line: You can spend $243 before food \u2026and the extra $64.99 for the Haunted Mansion Woven Shirt for men you\u2019ve got to have!<\/p>\n

Hall-Smith said California residents get admission to Disneyland or neighboring California Adventure for as little as $50 a day, though those discounted passes are limited. The website also advertises a three-day \u201cpark hopper\u201d to both resorts for $249, or $83 a day. A website for Disney fanatics <\/a>describes other deals.<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

A fireworks show celebrates Disneyland\u2019s 60th anniversary on May 21, 2015.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year we took our grandsons. It cost well over a thousand dollars for one day,\u201d one California woman said in a New York Times comment section.<\/a> \u201cReservations had to be made \u2014 not to control crowds, but to get the customers\u2019 money early. Lines were as long as 90 minutes \u2014 and this with the extra cost \u201clightning pass\u201d \u2014 which did not include the 4-minute ride our boys especially wanted to go on. We will not be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

I talked to a former high-ranking Disney exec who agreed that \u201cyou can\u2019t achieve growth just by increasing the price all the time. I feel like they got far too aggressive. And they have to deal with that.\u201d The exec asked not to be named to preserve relationships with people still at the company.<\/p>\n

Disney fans came to its defense. \u201cDisney is still able to (mostly) deliver on the fun and magic that people seek,\u201d one sympathizer wrote online. \u201cIs it the Disney of old? Of course not, but it still captures the wonder that makes Disney so special to so many.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Los <\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Mayor Bass and the firesBass wanted key findings in a report about the Los Angeles Fire Department\u2019s shortcomings removed or softened<\/a>, sources told The Times.Mayor Karen Bass was concerned about legal liabilities for failures in combating the Palisades fire, the sources said.The most significant changes to the report involved a failure not to fully staff up and pre-deploy all available engines ahead of dangerously high winds.More on L.A. politics\u2018A mass for peace\u2019What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must readsOther must readsFor your downtime \"Dim <\/a> <\/p>\n

(Ron De Angelis \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Going outRestaurants: The chefs of the controversial restaurant Horses have returned<\/a> with a new pop-up residency tonightMore restaurants: What happened to all the good dim sum in L.A.? Here\u2019s our guide.<\/a> Staying inA question for you: Where do you find the best sunset in California?<\/p>\n

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Include a picture, please! <\/p>\n

And finally … from the archives<\/p>\n

On the front page of the Feb. 6, 1887, edition of the Los Angeles Daily Times, we found this reference to an unprecedented snow storm in the San Francisco Bay Area. <\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Feb. 6 1887 front page of the Los Angeles Daily Times references an unprecedented snow that hit the San Francisco Bay Area. <\/p>\n

(Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The man who ran Disney\u2019s parks and cruise lines ascended to be named chief executive of the storied…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-165205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}