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You’re Running Out of Time to BYPASS Disney’s Latest Price Hike. Here’s What to Do.

The Walt Disney Company has been raising prices on everything from bottled water at the parks to single-day tickets, annual passes, and hotel stays. And while there’s not much fans can do in the face of most of the increases, a simple hack will allow you to beat Disney at its own game–but you’ll have to act fast!

Disney brand characters

Credit: Disney Dining

Disney has just finished its 2022 fiscal year–one that saw record revenue of a whopping $28.7 billion. But listen closely to Disney and to most news outlets, and the story you’ll hear is one of fiscal fourth quarter that showed “poor performance,” “lower-than-expected” revenue, and “dismal” numbers.

Um, remind me again exactly how dismal $30 billion is, please.

Disney was far more impressed by its own third quarter numbers. Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek reported on the third quarter’s earnings, calling it an “excellent” period for the company. He further touted Disney’s “world-class creative and business teams,” who he credited with “powering outstanding performance” at the company’s theme parks.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Growth Fact Sheet | Disney Parks Blog

Credit: Disney Parks

By the end of the third quarter, Disney+ could boast some 44,500,000 paid subscribers. During the same quarter in the fiscal year 2021, that number was only 37,900,000, signaling a 17% increase in paid subscriptions year-over-year. The average monthly revenue per domestic Disney+ subscriber decreased from $6.62 during Q3 of the fiscal year 2021 to $6.27 during Q3 of the fiscal year 2022. Disney execs attribute the 5% decrease to “a higher mix of subscribers to multi-product offerings, partially offset by an increase in retail pricing.”

And as any multi-billion dollar company would do, Disney immediately saw this growth as the prime time to jack up the price for Disney+. No, you won’t be getting anything more for the added cost. In fact, if you stay at your current tier, refusing the increase, you’ll be rewarded with copious ads.

RELATED: Retail Giant Walmart Looks to Strike a Deal with Disney+

Disney announced that beginning December 8, Disney+ streaming subscriptions in the United States will be priced differently. The ad-supported Disney+ tier will be $7.99 per month, which is the same as the current monthly subscription with no ads. Ad-free Disney+ subscriptions will increase in price from the current $7.99 per month to $10.99 per month, a 38% rise in the monthly rate.

Disney Plus

Credit: Disney+

But if you’re like many fans who don’t feel an obligation to instantly begin paying Disney nearly 40% more for the same exact service, here’s how to bypass the new price increase–at least for now.

Fans who want to skip the price hike, as well as the ads, can do exactly that–so long as they act before the new pricing rolls out, and it’s such a simple fix, we feel dishonest calling it a “hack.”

Simply login to your Disney+ account and switch to annual billing before December 8. This will lock in the current monthly price of $7.99 for 12 months. Fans who wait until November (or even up until December 7) to make the switch to annual billing will get to lock in the lower monthly price for longer than 12 months (September, October, and November at the current rate plus 12 months at the current rate once annual billing is selected).

Users who want to lock in the current monthly subscription rate must do so before the rate change takes place to skip the upcoming price hike for another year.

About Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!