Beginning October 16, Disney will be switching to ticket pricing based on the date of your vacation. You will be able to access a new online vacation-planning website starting October 16 and have access to an interactive calendar to purchase tickets priced by the date. The prices will be based on the demand for that time of year, for example, prices may be lower during off-peak travel periods.
Important Details:
The price per day will decrease as you add more days to your ticket.
Tickets will need to be used during a specific time frame
There will be an option to upgrade your ticket with a flexible start date for an additional cost
Tickets purchased before October 16 will not be affected by the new date-based pricing
Along with the new date-based ticket pricing, Disney will also be debuting a new online vacation-planning website which features park offerings, travel tips from Disney Parks Moms Panelists and personalized suggestions based on each guest’s preferences. Check out the video below for a first look at the new vacation planning tool.
So why is Disney making these changes? Disney describes the reason for the changes, "As our parks have increased in popularity, there are more and more guests who wish to experience our world-class attractions. Introducing date-based tickets and pricing will allow us to better distribute attendance throughout the year so that we can continue to improve and deliver a great experience. These changes are designed to simplify the booking experience, give guests an enhanced way to purchase theme park tickets and help them more easily plan the Disney vacation of their dreams."
In other words, the parks are too crowded and in order to control the crowds they will make the historically crowded days more expensive going forward hopefully distributing some of the crowds to other dates.
News & Media Source: Disney Parks Blog