Photo/Illutration Tokyo Disneyland (Provided by Oriental Land Co.)

Cheaper tickets on weekdays are among steps being considered by Tokyo Disney Resort to reduce visitor numbers during holidays and weekends and make the theme park experience more enjoyable.

Operator Oriental Land Co. said it is considering further widening the price range in its varaible admission system by lowering admission fees during off-peak periods and raising prices at weekends and busy periods such as the summer break.

The company said a priority is to ease congestion not only by offering a more variable price framework but also by limiting daily visitor numbers to keep them below pre-pandemic levels.

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea introduced an unfixed admission system in March 2021, which was expanded the following October. A one-day passport for adults is now priced at between 7,900 yen ($56) and 9,400 yen, including tax.

Fees are set at four levels, at intervals of 500 yen. Admission becomes higher during peak periods but falls off-season. The idea is to level off visitor numbers.

Kenji Yoshida, president of Oriental Land, said further revisions to the variable price mechanism are on the agenda.

However, he acknowledged it “will take time to assess whether even more complex price patterns should be put in place.”

Yoshida said simply raising the price of admission during busy periods and lowering it during off-peak times will not be enough to reduce congestion during busy periods.

“Our own efforts will have only a limited effect in getting visitors to come on weekdays,” he said. “Adjustable prices alone will not lead to visitor equalization in our opinion.”

Tokyo Disney Resort converted all types of tickets into date-specific ones in response to the pandemic. Yoshida is in no doubt that entry restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis helped to create an improved experience for visitors.

“For one thing, the wait for rides got shorter, which is great for attractions people particularly like,” Yoshida said, noting that visitors could now take their time shopping at stores or dining at restaurants.

“I saw firsthand how things changed,” he said.

With regard to the ceiling on daily visitor numbers, Yoshida stressed “lowering the figure is important for our long-term growth.”

Daily visitor numbers to Tokyo Disney Resort are currently restricted to around 50 percent of pre-pandemic times. The limit will gradually be relaxed, but by how far has yet to be decided.

Oriental Land projects that 26 million people will go to Tokyo Disney Resort in fiscal 2024, 80 percent of the fiscal 2018 figure, when a record 32.56 million visitors went.

“We will be deciding how to set the daily visitor ceiling after taking account of changes in values of experiences we provide and the degree of customer satisfaction with them,” Yoshida said.

Despite the popularity of Tokyo Disney Resort’s annual passports, sales have been suspended due to the pandemic.

Even if sales are resumed, annual passport holders may not be able to enter Tokyo Disney Resort during peak periods, although Yoshida declined to be clear on that point.

“At present, we have no intention of abandoning them (annual passports) for good or denying the possibility of the program being reintroduced,” he said.

A new type of ticket that went on limited sale in March permits a total of six visits to Tokyo Disney Resort, but only on weekdays.

“There is a more-than-zero possibility that weekday-only tickets will be released from now on,” Yoshida said, indicating new passports covering workdays exclusively may be made accessible at some point.

(This article was written by Yoko Masuda and Kazumi Tako.)

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