How Disney turned Halloween into a money-making machine

abcnews.go.com:

For Disney fans, Halloween is among the most desirable (and expensive) times to visit its theme parks

For devoted Disney fans, there’s often no better treat than spending Halloween at its theme parks — and more specifically, at its after-hours parties, where visitors can trick-or-treat through Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and watch a Halloween-exclusive parade, among other experiences.

But tickets are neither cheap nor easy to acquire. The parties are held on multiple nights throughout the season, and the version at Disney’s California resort, the “Oogie Boogie Bash,” is so popular that the 2023 event sold out the first day tickets went on sale. Fans reported trouble with virtual queues and website crashes.

Florida’s version is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and it’s so in demand that the first night of the 38-night 2023 party was held on Aug. 11. That date is closer to July Fourth than to Halloween.

Tickets to Disneyland’s California party went for as much as $189, while tickets to the Florida version at Walt Disney World can cost about $210 on some nights.

Holding a party ticket doesn’t even gain access to the parks in the morning. Since party tickets only allow entry as early as mid-afternoon, a separate theme park ticket (which typically costs over $100) is necessary for those who want to spend the whole day inside the parks.

For cost-conscious Disney visitors, the real fright is how prices have crept up every year since these parties began.

DISNEY’S HALLOWEEN PARTY HISTORY

Disney started with small-scale Halloween festivities. In 1959, Disneyland had a pumpkin-carving contest. In 1979, Walt Disney World hosted a party featuring musical performances by popular artists, which was ticketed separately from