Disneyland Raises One-Day Ticket Price to $25.50

It isn’t a cheap thrill. In fact, Disneyland gets more expensive all the time.

Disneyland has again raised its ticket prices by $2, bringing the cost of adult admission to $25.50 for a one-day pass. Children’s admission is $20.50 for a one-day ticket, up from $18.50. And parking is $4, up from $3.

The new prices, effective last month, mark the 10th time that Disneyland has increased the cost of admission since 1982, when the theme park introduced single-ticket admission. Back then, adult admission was $12--or less than half what it costs to enter the Magic Kingdom today.

The cost of Disneyland’s three-day passes also has climbed. Adults are charged $10 more--or $66.50--for the three-day tickets, while the cost of children’s three-day passes has been upped $8.75, to $53.25.

Among the Southland’s major theme parks--Knott’s Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, Sea World and Universal Studios--Disneyland has the highest gate admission.

Even so, the price of Disneyland is still at a bargain-basement rate compared to Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., where one day’s admission to one of the three theme parks is $30.65 for adults and $24.30 for children. Four-day passes for the resort area--which are the only other option--cost $102.45 for adults and $81.30 for children.

Park spokesman Bob Roth said Disneyland’s price increase was needed to help cover the costs of improvements, the latest of which was the addition of Splash Mountain in July.

The 8.5% price increase should come as no surprise in an industry where Southland theme parks routinely increase admission costs 6% to 7% each year. In fact, through most of the ‘80s, Disneyland has increased ticket prices every six to nine months since it introduced single-ticket admission. Previously, it charged for each ride.

Disneyland’s attendance in 1988 was about 13 million--the same as the year before.