Subsonic Radio

I was thinking about ticket books today and was glad that now there's just one encompassing admission and we don't have to get individual tickets. But I was wondering how much would it cost to go to Disneyland and go on all the rides if they still had ticket books? Has anyone done the math, as you'd have to think about inflation and estimated maintenance costs of new rides, etc.? I'm wondering if it would be comparable to admission now.

See, I don't know if I completely like the lack of ticket books. The all-day flat rate I think takes away from what Disneyland used to be - a place you went for the afternoon, and maybe went on a few rides. It also spaced the lines out much better - you went on the "baby" rides, because to not use the A & B tickets would be wasteful. For Southern Californians, some of that pressure is relieved by having an annual pass - but unless you have one, you're likely to enter the park with a "go-go-go" attitude that discourages strolling around and enjoying the little things, like the visual details and the atmospheric music and talent.

I actually think that Tokyo Disneyland had the best system - a hybrid. When I went there in 1998, they offered both options - they still rated the rides and sold ticket books, but they also sold dated all-day admission tickets. You just had to show your all-day ticket to the ticket-taker at each ride (they sold holders for your tickets, kinda like they do now at DL since the introduction of Fastpass). Since Tokyo Disneyland often overcrowds, they did have a rule that people with dated tickets had priority in admission, but other than that, you could still enter and use the A-E tickets on attractions. I liked this idea because it provided options - if you brought grandma along, and she didn't want to go on any "E-ticket" attractions, you didn't still have to pay full price for her admission.

Just something to think about.

they offered both options - they still rated the rides and sold ticket books, but they also sold dated all-day admission tickets.

I think Disneyland also did that for awhile, but I could be wrong. I remember when I was a kid my mom bought us a mickey mouse safety pin so that we could pin our "unlimited attraction" ticket on our shirts. That way, when we entered an attraction, we did not have to use a ticket from the ticket books.

cap396 wrote:

they offered both options - they still rated the rides and sold ticket books, but they also sold dated all-day admission tickets.

I think Disneyland also did that for awhile, but I could be wrong. I remember when I was a kid my mom bought us a mickey mouse safety pin so that we could pin our "unlimited attraction" ticket on our shirts. That way, when we entered an attraction, we did not have to use a ticket from the ticket books.

No, you are correct. I recall it being called the Passport. You wore it like a lift ticket at a ski resort. You could do tickets, or pay a premium, and get the Passport.

Somewhere in the house, I still have a box with leftover A and B (maybe some C)
tickets

I think it would be interesting to go back to the time when Disneyland did this. On an episode some time ago, Paul Barrie told about what Disney was like in his father's time. It was a really interesting look back at what once was. Would have been neat to see.

i think i'd go nuts if ticket books were still around...when you're immersed in such a beautiful, happy place the last thing i'd want to do is to calculate what tickets i'd need for what and the costs...

i bet walt would be really happy with the new ways of admission...since he hated for the whole "show" that is DL to be interrupted by "real life" kind of stuff...

i think my father-in-law said he still has some ticketbooks from years ago...don't know how old they are....

TheCheshireStitch wrote: i bet walt would be really happy with the new ways of admission...since he hated for the whole "show" that is DL to be interrupted by "real life" kind of stuff...

I think this is true to a large extent, but David Koenig makes a good point on this topic in "Mice Tales" - the Ticket Booth CMs were often the first line of guest contact in the park. They were the most visible and the most reliable - there to answer questions from the outside of the queue. While the attractions that have Fastpass now have CMs that stand out at the front to collect/examine FP tickets, this is no longer true of every ride. Once upon a time, there was a CM at the entrance of each ride. They took tickets, but the also answered questions and were accessible to deal with lost children, emergencies, etc. That point of guest contact, I think, Walt would not have liked to lose.

Let us not forget that Walt envisioned DL to be a place for not only the children to enjoy, but also the parents. The parents could do the E-tickets and the kids could do the lesser ones with there parents.

Also, Disneyland had many attractions that were "free", or covered by a minimal park admission. I know WDW had "If You Had Wings" as a free ride during the A-E ticket days. The Monsato House of the Future was a "free" attraction, I believe.

The ticket books allowed for more of the park to be enjoyed and not just the "rides".

I've read that the abandonment of the ticket books was the beginning of the end for the parks. In the sense that, without channeling a lot of people into the A-D attractions, the parks became more about creating the next attention-grabbing splashy E ticket, as opposed to working on creating a larger experience.

I don't know if I totally agree, but it's a plausible theory, and the timing seems about right.

That said, the current system is far more convenient to guests...on the surface anyway. If all the lines were much shorter, would you mind the ticket system that much?

I haven't been able to find the admission price and price of the ticket books from 1981, the last year Dinseyland offered tickets. But I have found the price of 1982 tickets. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, the ticket price for admission in 2008 is 254% higher than it was in 1982. I have a feeling it was more cost effective to have to ticket books (well, at least for the guests).

I think it would have been interesting because like what rknrlrcstr said, the ticket books were able to let people actually enjoy the park rather than go for the rides. Yes, the rides are there for a reason but it's much more fun to view other things, take pictures, etc.