I love Disney's parks to death, but let me say that $80 a ticket is an insult. I always stood up for places like SDC because they haven't been overrun by greed as Disney has been. That seems to be changing as SDC has been raising their prices at about the same rate as Disney except with few and less expensive additions (Disney spends about 100K on their rides).
Also, Disney's operating costs are much higher than SDC's, albiet they have a much higher capacity and sell more tickets. My point is the value would prove it: If Disney were to sell, let's say Epcot today, it would be much higher valued (in dollars) than SDC. That's the truth. SDC has no reason to charge $80 to get in the gates and that's why they don't. SDC is not equal to Disney in cash value, however, memories are priceless and for some people, I'm sure SDC's memories rank higher than Disney's. So while Disney's experience might be more expensive, SDC can be more enjoyable. For me, that's not the case, but I can understand how people can enjoy SDC more than Disney. I do enjoy SDC and am a "fan", but I'm a bigger Disney fan if that makes sense.
A lot of other Disney fans have told me, "If you don't like the prices, don't go." Well, I went to Orlando this summer and guess what, I didn't go to Disney (a hard, but affordable decision). For a one day ticket to SDC, they crossed the line at $50. I was living in Florida for the last couple of years so I missed being at SDC. I moved back in January and went to SDC in April. I just bought the season pass since I knew I would be going back again for Christmas. For over $50 a ticket, I'm more likely to just enjoy being at the hotel relaxing. That's what I did instead of going to Disney and I don't regret it. It was the most refreshing vacation ever for me. I did, however, miss my favorite attractions. The way I see it, I'll go to Disney again, but instead of going yearly, it'll be every few years. Theme parks are just too expensive anymore.
That is my opinion though. SDC's still a good value if you get the season pass and actually use it. I've used mine three times this year, so yeah, it's worth it compared to the one day pass. What I don't like though is that they say that they are raising prices because of expansion when the truth is they are just replacing something most of the time and the attraction count is the same as it was before. What was supposed to be a way to get you to return turn to the park turned into a price gouge. The only years that I really believe SDC should have raise ticket prices was for the Grand Exposition and the swing, because those two things were actual park expansions. PK replaced Buzz Saw Falls and River Blast replaced Tom Sawyer Landing (and at the expense of Splash Harbor and WB).
