10 Years Old? At Disneyland You’re a $41 Adult

Kids sure grow up fast these days, especially at the Magic Kingdom.

Starting this week at Disneyland, adulthood begins at 10--at least as far as ticket prices go.

The Anaheim theme park, which has long offered children’s rates to those up to 12 years old, is now charging adult prices of $41 each for 10-and 11-year-olds.

The change in policy--meaning a hike of $10 over the children’s entry fee and probably millions of dollars of additional revenue for the park--had some patrons shaking their heads in disbelief.

“It’s too much,” said Mike Martin of Lake Arrowhead, as he relaxed on a bench Wednesday in the park’s Central Plaza with his wife and two children, 6 and 8 years old. “It amazes me how many are in here. How can they afford it?”

Disneyland’s latest change comes on top of its price hikes in January. The park added $2 to the price of a daily passport, marking the eighth annual increase.

Attendance has been declining for three years. Daily visits, which peaked at 15 million in 1996, fell to 13.4 million last year, according to the trade publication Amusement Business.

Rhys Andrews, a tourist from British Columbia whose family of four brought a picnic lunch to save on expenses, said Wednesday: “It’s not for everyone anymore. It’s definitely for the middle class.”

Disneyland’s decision was based on the age when customers can enjoy the majority of attractions, said park spokesman Ray Gomez. The tallest minimum height for any ride is 46 inches, he said, and park research shows that even the average 7-year-old is that tall.

The change breaks ground in Southern California but puts Disneyland in line with other Disney parks.

Walt Disney Co. has classified 10- and 11-year-olds as adults for several years in Florida, where it operates four parks at Walt Disney World near Orlando.

“It’s consistent with theme park pricing up and down the East Coast,” said Disney World spokeswoman Diane Ledder.

At SeaWorld’s Orlando park, children’s prices have been limited to those 3 through 9 since the mid-1980s, said SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck.

Disney doesn’t publicly specify attendance at its parks, but 10- and 11-year-olds are an important part of its customer base. They are young enough to nag parents to take them to Disneyland but not yet old enough to defect in large numbers to the more challenging thrill rides at rivals like Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.

By changing its policy now, Disneyland stands to benefit from the big population of preteens. U.S. Census Bureau figures show that there are more 9-, 10- and 11-year-olds than any other age group among those 18 and younger.

Jeffrey B. Logsdon, managing director of the Seidler Cos. securities firm in Los Angeles, said a reasonable guess of annual Disneyland attendance in the 10-11 age bracket would be 450,000.

“So at $10 more apiece, you’d get a $4 million or $5 million extra pop for the year,” he said. “Not bad on top of a base of maybe $250 million in annual operating profits.”

Aside from the negative public relations aspect, Disney’s costs to change the age policy are relatively few, Logsdon noted.

Competitors weren’t following Disneyland’s lead, not immediately anyway.

“We have no plans to change our pricing,” said Jim Yeager, a spokesman for Universal Studios Hollywood, where adults pay $41 and kids--meaning 3 through 11--are charged $31 each.

At Knott’s Berry Farm, tickets remain $38 for adults and $28 for children 3 through 11. At Legoland in Carlsbad, adults pay $34 and children 3 through 16 pay $27 for admission. SeaWorld in San Diego charges $40 for adults and $30 for youngsters 3 through 11. And Magic Mountain remains $39.99 for a full-price ticket and $19.99 for those less than 48 inches tall, the minimum height to ride the major attractions.

Some faint hope remains for the budget-minded, since discount promotions are common at the parks this spring.

Disneyland is admitting adult Southern Californians for the kid’s price of $31 through May 17. And Ralph’s shoppers can purchase one adult and one child’s pass to Magic Mountain for a total of $29.99 through May.