Money can't buy you happiness and Disney is out to prove that wrong . . .

Because the cost just got real at the Happiest Place on Earth.

On Friday, Disneyland Resort officials announced they would increase prices for single-day tickets and season passes for the second time in less than a year. The new prices affect both the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks.

The one-day, one-park pass goes from $80 to $87.

I used to be a annual passholder for Disneyland, buying a Deluxe pass for me and both of my kids (the DigiHusband deplored Disneyland and would never go, except for my 50th birthday in 2011).  We were fortunate, living ten minutes from the park, which allowed us easy access.  Frequent access.  Which was needed because given the crowds on any particular day, one would be lucky to get on 4 to 6 rides.  Those passes with this price increase would be $469 each, plus an additional $129 tacked onto mine for parking.  That is over $1500.

Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.

                                                                     -- Walt Disney

So let's take an average family of four, looking to celebrate little Octavius' birthday at Disneyland:

Tickets:  $87 x 4 = $348

Parking:  $15

Lunch:    $40 

Base Cost:  $403

Assumptions:  Meals are strictly budgeted to $10/person, which means no snacks or sodas other than at lunch - sure, you could pack your own and pay for a locker to store it outside the park, since no food is allowed in the park other than what you purchase within.  No merchandise or souvenirs, either.  No photo of the family barreling down Splash Mountain (which will get them wet since the budget does not allow them to pop for the souvenir poncho to keep them dry).

But you may want to sneak some food in - after all, the park opens at 10:00 am and closes at midnight, and for that money, you will feel obliged to get as much as you can out of the day.  I have been at Disneyland on days where they did not close the gates having reached maximum attendance (and yes, they do that) and the crowds inside have been outrageous, especially since "one" person can be your average 12-year-old . . . or a 3-month-old in a stroller to a 50-year-old on a mobility scooter.  And there are usually lots of them.  The strollers and scooters, I mean.  So in addition to long lines on popular attractions (my maximum was once a 75 minute wait to get on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), moving quickly about the park is not always an option, unless you are adept at dodging in and out of crowds.  Expect the usual pace to be a slow stroll.

Oh, and this is just for Disneyland and does not include Disney's California Adventure.  Add another $152 for that, with the purchase of "park hopper" tickets for the family. 

A man should never neglect his family for business.

                                                                 -- Walt Disney

I notice from the comments to the story that many people are jumping ship and heading to Knott's Berry Farm.  Disney should take note of that.  It was a long-time Southern California tradition to be loyal to Disneyland.  I believe for many people the inability to afford "the Park" will be a heartache.  But, as my mother would say, business is business and love is bullshit.  

I do not think this what Walt envisioned.