Disneyland at a Crossroads: A New Park in California?

Disneyland officials, dealing with surging crowds at California's Magic Kingdom and California Adventure parks in Ahaheim, just raised the price of a day's visit: it's now $96, up four more dollars.

The price increase is partly about crowd-control — while Disney doesn't release attendance numbers, an independent consulting firm says park attendance has risen every year in the past decade and was nearly 16 million in 2012. Ticket prices have nearly doubled since then.

While Disney raises day passes, they are also freezing a new popular annual pass for southern Californians, all in an effort to reduce crowds, which has led to hour-long waits for rides and parking shortages.

Many are speculating that Disney will open a third park in Anaheim as an effort to disperse the crowds, but the company continues to deny that. A new park could benefit from Disney's recent purchases of Marvel Entertainment (the X-Men franchise) and Lucasfilm (the Star Wars movies). Disney does own a nearby plot of land near Magic Kingdom and California Adventure, so we'll hold our breath for a superhero-themed amusement park. Read more here.