Disneyland Boosts Admission by $1; Knott’s Stands Pat

Despite two straight years of declining attendance, Disneyland has added a dollar to the price of a one-day admission.

In what has become an annual rite, the theme park raised its adult admission price to $39 this month. Children’s admissions are $29 and senior citizens $37, also up $1 each.

The prices were boosted to compensate for higher operating costs and new entertainment, said Lynn Holt, a Walt Disney Co. spokesman in Anaheim.

“We feel the park continues to remain a strong value in the market,” he said.

Disneyland prices are now up 18% from 1995, when a regular adult admission was $33, and 225% from 1982, when it cost an adult $12 for a single-day admission. Not since 1991 has the park gone a year without a price increase.

At archrival Universal Studios Hollywood, spokesman Eliot Sekuler said prices for now remain the same as last year: $38 for adults, $28 for children and $33 for seniors. Sekuler said price hikes will be considered later this year.

Not so at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, which plans to hold the line on prices after some sharp increases in recent years. The park charges adults $36, and children and seniors $26.

“I don’t plan to raise our regular gate price a penny this year,” said general manager Jack Falfas.

All the parks have cut-rate promotions that send many people through the turnstiles for substantially less than the regular price. Disney, for example, plans several options this year on its popular flex passes, which are promoted through its hotels to encourage guests to stay longer.

The passes typically have given users five admissions for the price of two. One variant offers early admission on all five days, plus a “special event” such as a tour of the park, for $99, employees said.

Disney also announced a promotion Monday with McDonald’s Corp., a game that will reward buyers of McDonald’s French fries with prizes, including a $12 discount on a regular admission to Disneyland.

At Knott’s, special deals will continue with corporate partners such as Pepsi Co. and Ralphs supermarkets, Falfas said.

“When you’ve got a big dog down the street like Disney, you’ve got to do some promotions,” he said. Attendance at Knott’s held steady last year at about 3.4 million.

In a report last month, the trade publication Amusement Business estimated that Disneyland attendance, at 13.7 million last year, was down 4% from 1997 and about 9% below 1996 levels.

El Nino rains early in the year, heavy construction in the Disneyland area and foreign economic woes shared the blame for the 1998 decline.