Walt Disney World raises ticket prices

Walt Disney Co. has raised admission prices between 2.5 and 5.3 percent at its largest theme park in Orlando.

The uptick in admissions prices at Walt Disney World was smaller than similar increases the company has made in recent years. Disney last raised its admission prices in August 2008.

Walt Disney World is raising the base price of a one-day, one-park adult ticket to $79, up from $75. The same ticket for a child between the ages of 3 and 9 goes from $63 to $68. Prices for the resort’s multiday ticket packages also are higher.

Last week, the company reported a 26 percent drop in net income and a seven percent slide in revenue.

Revenue from its parks division was down nine percent in its fiscal third quarter ended in late June, while operating profits dropped 19 percent. Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger acknowledged that the economy was taking a toll on the business, even as various price promotions the company began rolling out last year boosted domestic attendance by three percent. 

More worrisome was the seven percent decline in hotel bookings it reported so far in its September quarter compared with the same period last year.