Disney World just changed the way they price their theme park tickets.
After the Orlando resort announced a change was coming last month, the new ticketing system has now gone into effect as of October 16, and it will change what you pay for your next Disney vacation.
The biggest change is that ticketing is now date-based, meaning prices vary based on the exact date a customer wants to visit the park rather than which park they want to travel to, as has been the case in the past.
One-day tickets will see an increase in between $5 and $7 per ticket no matter the park you want to visit, and will range from 109-$129 pre-tax. They are currently $102-$129 per day. One ticket price that will not increase is that of peak tickets to Magic Kingdom on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, which will continue to be the most expensive available at $129, according to Travel and Leisure.
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According to T+L, parking prices have also increased in the parks, with cars costing $25. The publication also reports that MagicBand prices slightly increased to $14.99, but if you stay on property at a Disney Resort, the bands are typically included with your reservations.
Annual Passes are also subject to price increase, the publication reports, costing up to $45 more in each tier.
The new pricing strategy is not surge pricing, according to a representative for the company. Instead, it’s meant to be an extension of their current seasonal pricing strategy, as the ticket prices will be preset based on park demand and will not fluctuate based on how many people book tickets for a certain period of time.
Perhaps the biggest change in pricing comes with multi-day tickets. With the current system, customers are allotted a 14-day window to use their tickets during consecutive days. However, under the new system, customers must agree upon a start-date for their tickets, and visitors who purchase a three-day pass will have a five-day window within which to use it. For a four-day ticket, they have six days to sue it, and so on.
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The start date can be changed up until the night before travel, but Disney will begin charging a Flexible Ticket premium fee to extend the amount of time you can use your ticket.
Disney also now offers customers the use of an interactive online calendar that shows them which dates each month are priced the lowest, and tips will pop up at the bottom of the screen during booking to show guests which months and dates have the cheapest pricing.
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“Our new online vacation-planning destination offers several new tools designed to simplify the booking experience for guests and help them easily customize their visit based on their unique needs and interests,” Jacquee Wahler, a spokesperson for Walt Disney World Resort told PEOPLE in a statement in September. “As we continue to expand by adding world-class attractions and amazing entertainment, we also are introducing date-based tickets and pricing, which gives guests tailored choices and better allows us to spread attendance throughout the year to improve the guest experience.”
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