Disneyland California putting prices up by 25% in time for new Star Wars attraction

The theme park’s cheapest tickets are now over $100

Disney fans are set to pay a premium to visit the happiest place on earth after the Disneyland park in California raised prices by up to 25 per cent for 2019.

The theme park’s price hike sees even the cheapest tickets cost more than $100 (£78).

The move comes just before the opening of the attraction’s much-anticipated Star Wars themed area later this year.

The average admission price rise is 8 per cent, though it varies between ticket types.

A one-day adult peak ticket rose from $135 to $149 (10 per cent more), a one-day regular ticket, which can’t be used on certain dates, rose from $117 to $129 (10 per cent more), and a one-day value ticket, which has even more restrictions, rose from $97 to $104 (7 per cent more).

The biggest jump is on the annual premier pass, which combines Disneyland and Walt Disney World admission – it increased 23 per cent, from $1,579 to $1,949.

The limited use annual select pass went up 8 per cent, from $369 to $399.

Parking sees the biggest price hike, going from $20 to $25, a growth of 25 per cent.

“We continue to provide our guests with a variety of ticket offerings to meet their needs, while helping us to spread visitation, better manage demand and deliver a great experience,” said Liz Jaeger, a Disneyland Resort spokesperson.

Disneyland last raised its prices in February 2018.

Despite the higher costs of a visit, Disneyland is soon to get a boost in visitor numbers when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in summer 2019.

Billed as the biggest and most immersive Disney Parks attraction ever, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance puts visitors in the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the First Order, while Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run lets participants fly the “fastest ship in the galaxy”.

Both experiences will take place on the fictional planet of Batuu, “a remote outpost on the galaxy’s edge that was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes”.