Disneyland Tickets: History, Even More Changes, and New Event!

This article was adapted from the eighth meeting presentation of the Disney Club at UCLA.

After many years of success, Disney recently ended the popular Annual Passport program to the disappointment of fans, families, and Instagram influencers, reshaping the long history of different methods of entry to Disney Parks around the world. With the new 'Legacy Passholder' status, Disneyland adds one more notch in the long history of ticketing systems adapted to fit the current need. Read on for a trip down Disneyland Drive from the first ticket books to the new ticketed event experience at California Adventure coming this March!

A green rectangle with red and black text reading Invitational Press Preview and Dedication of Disneyland Anaheim California Sunday july 17th 1955 5:30 PM admit one — source: justdisney.com

Opening Day: A Counterfeit Fiasco

Many diehard Disney fans and theme park buffs are familiar with the disastrous first day at Walt's Disneyland park, since dubbed "Black Sunday." In addition to plumbing problems, melting asphalt, and a sinking Mark Twain on July 17th, 1955, thousands more guests than expected swarmed the brand new debut thanks to shady methods employed by some intrigued Californians. Despite Disney carefully vetting the guest list within 15,000 expected park-goers, almost twice as many people entered using false copies of these tickets, or more creatively, paying $5 to climb a ladder over one of the main fences. Not a great start to our tale, but methods of entry improved as the park progressed throughout its opening year.

a stack of 1960s vintage ticket books in various states of completion with A, B, C, and many yellow D tickets arranged in a circle, topped by a pink and white Disneyland envelope with a blue stamped image of Tinkerbell pointing her want and the castle — source: Bridge City Auctions

All Booked

Don Hahn's Yesterday's Tomorrow chronicles the adventure undertaken by WED Enterprises in bringing Walt's evolving dream for a Mickey Mouse Park to life. Employees travelled to various amusement parks, like Playland at the Beach and Pacific Park, to perform reconnaissance on how these entertainment moguls marketed and operated their attractions. A popular method was selling ticket bundles based on the valuation for a specific ride, with more popular rides requiring patrons to spend more of their coveted tickets. Disneyland PR manager Ed Ettinger adapted this model into a booklet comprised of the general admission fee and differently priced tickets for each type of ride or attraction.

a 50s image of a fantasyland ticket booth with signs in red and blue shaped like shields advertising costs of disney ticket books. the small wooden booth is red and yellow, shaped like a castle turret and themed to the area. behind it a small crowd stands by a stone wall. — source: Matterhorn1959

According to D23, Disney introduced the first ticket books on October 11th, 1955, with General Admission costing $1 and the included 8 attraction coupons priced at $2.50 for adults, $2 for juniors, and $1.50 for kids. That's about $9.62 today to find yourself inside the Anaheim park, a real steal when compared with the $209 cost for a 1 day Park Hopper as of 2020! However, the first ticket books only included A, B, and C type coupons, as the D ticket for small "adventure" attractions would not be introduced until 1956, followed by the famous E ticket years later in 1959. The ideology was smart in that it guaranteed someone was always on each ride at a given time, ensuring that there would not be too high demand for one attraction and not enough for the other. It also required that guests sometimes wait to board an anticipated entertainment, drawing more crowds in the process and enabling greater purchases for the best, most exciting, and newest attractions as the system expanded. Sadly, Tokyo Disneyland sold the last ever ticket books in 2001 before they were phased out by Disney parks worldwide in favor of a much higher, all inclusive general admissions model and the arrival of the first annual passports.

The Rise of AP Culture

A blue and purple sky of pink stars conjured by a sorcer mickey mouse with wand in a red robe and blue wizards pointed cap with white stars. he smiles at text which reads Disneyland (in red) annual passport gift certificate (in yellow script). a box of white text beneath reads "this certificate entitles (blank) to experience a year of magic including admission and use of attractions except arcades at disneyland park. just present this certificate at the disneyland main entrance and proceed to the bank of main street to receive your annual passport* — source: vintagedisneylandtickets

Although Disneyland truly has something for everyone, it'd be hard for even a casual fan not to know about the perks enjoyed by Annual Passholders. With special entry cards, signs advertising exclusive discounts, merchandise, photo-ops, and even a theme song, sometimes it can feel like "AP Culture" has overtaken the resort. While I let my own pass expire well before the company discontinued the program, with the rise in AP Disney Insta-fluencers, many staples of the AP experience have become conflated with the Parks themselves in my mind. But, within the history of Disneyland itself, the Annual Pass itself is fairly modern, a product of the post-mid century era. On June 20, 1981 (around the same time they began phasing out ticket books), the Disneyland Resort premiered the first All Inclusive Passport.

three slips of paper side by side featuring a cartoon castle in front of clouds and trees in red, purple, or blue. Text reads DISNEYLAND PASSPORT. a box in brown and red, yellow and black, or green and blue, respectively, reads "valid thru (blank) good only on day stamped, good for one admission to disneyland and unlimited use of attractions except arcades. each pass has VOID handwritten in black ink on the line. a stamp at the bottom in red reads "No. 000012" — source: vintagedisneylandtickets

At this point, most attractions were so familiar and popular that convincing guests to pay to ride was no longer necessary. This General Admission ticket included unlimited one-day entry to all attractions and entertainment for one price. In 1983, Disney offered the Annual Pass, somewhat as we know it, as an exclusive for Magic Kingdom Club Members and forever changed the ticketing game! These cost $55, which in 2020 money would be closer to $144.88, not enough for a one day-one park ticket! I remember getting my first SoCal Residents' AP when I was three years old, the age at which Disneyland requires purchased children's entry to the parks, and remained a Passholder until age 11. Since we went so often, especially in the summer, it really was the more economical way to get our Disney fix, but as of last year, the Signature Plus Passport could set you back as much as $1,449 just to enjoy park-hopping without any blackout dates! As Judy Garland said, “I’ve seen the ticket, and I still don’t believe it. When I see that money, I hope I don’t hit the floor.”

Disney Love in the Time of Covid-19?

An image depicting two logos, one in red and yellow reading disneyland resort passholder with mickey mouse and one in white and purple reading disneyland resort legacy passholder. the designs are the same. — source: insidethemagic.net

Though my schedule no longer allows me to enjoy the Anaheim Resort nearly as often, every visit is truly just as magical and enchanting as when I was young. It's now been over a year since I last stopped by the original Magic Kingdom and my beloved golden state second gate, as the theme park closed last March due to quarantine restrictions, forcing them to eventually lay off nearly 30,000 Cast Members. These same reasons also forced the end of the Annual Pass era for hundreds of thousands of guests. As mentioned earlier, one small consolation was the Legacy Passholder perks reintroduced for the benefit of those losing out on their purchase, but even these only last until the end of the month, when Disney California Adventure is set to host a new ticketed shopping and dining experience! Understandably, Disney has promoted the event as an equal opportunity attendance with everyone unable to visit what for many is a second, more magical, home, something that would have been impossible if priority were given to Passholders with guaranteed entry and discounts. However, in the coming years following the pandemic, it will be interesting to see how the ticketing procedure further develops. While many hypothesize a future comeback of an Annual or Seasonal pass, maybe things will become even more inventive. Or maybe, just maybe, even the beloved ticket books might see their own return.