Disney Is the Happiest Place on Earth, if You Can Afford It

[LAX]

The title might be true for some, but there are plenty of places that make people "happier" and not cost much. Or, if people are willing to empty their flush bank accounts, there are plenty of places that would make them "happier" than Disney.

LAX

 

[Brian Noble]

I think there is a lot of truth to that statement

Maybe. I'm not sure the math maths. What do you suppose one's net worth has to be to get to the point that income does not matter? And how many households have that net worth?

For example: My employer's endowment spend policy is: 4.5% of the average balance over the past 28 quarters. Given the ordinary rate of return in the market, that's pretty close to (and a little less than) the "4% rule". So, for assets to replace an income stream of $X in a way that tracks inflation, you need assets of ~25 times $X.

In other words, if you want to generate $100,000/year---and that's pretty solidly middle class, not wealthy---you need an asset base of $2.5M. That puts you in the upper less-than-10%, and I suspect Disney's addressible market is larger than 10% of the US.

Where I believe the "asset class" does show up is in some of the upper-tier offerings: Club 33, the various park tours, hotel suites, etc.

 

[DCLMP]

Maybe. I'm not sure the math maths. What do you suppose one's net worth has to be to get to the point that income does not matter? And how many households have that net worth?

For example: My employer's endowment spend policy is: 4.5% of the average balance over the past 28 quarters. Given the ordinary rate of return in the market, that's pretty close to (and a little less than) the "4% rule". So, for assets to replace an income stream of $X in a way that tracks inflation, you need assets of ~25 times $X.

In other words, if you want to generate $100,000/year---and that's pretty solidly middle class, not wealthy---you need an asset base of $2.5M. That puts you in the upper less-than-10%, and I suspect Disney's addressible market is larger than 10% of the US.

Where I believe the "asset class" does show up is in some of the upper-tier offerings: Club 33, the various park tours, hotel suites, etc.

I never said anything about people not depending on income. I said people making the same income have different levels of assets and that matters.

If you are 55 years old and kids are grown. You got a ton of equity in your home and a big fat 401k, and very little debt you are feeling good. Even if your household income is 150k you are going to feel a lot more comfortable spending 10k on a Disney trip than a young family early 30's making the same amount or more, just bought home, student debt, car payment, not a lot of saving etc.

Boomers hold most of the wealth in this country, They are also starting to die off and leave their wealth to their kids.

It's also a known factor that when peoples assets go up they feel confident spending money. A lot of times more money than they should. We see this over and over again.

 

[reylas]

I never said anything about people not depending on income. I said people making the same income have different levels of assets and that matters.

If you are 55 years old and kids are grown. You got a ton of equity in your home and a big fat 401k, and very little debt you are feeling good. Even if your household income is 150k you are going to feel a lot more comfortable spending 10k on a Disney trip than a young family early 30's making the same amount or more, just bought home, student debt, car payment, not a lot of saving etc.

Boomers hold most of the wealth in this country, They are also starting to die off and leave their wealth to their kids.

It's also a known factor that when peoples assets go up they feel confident spending money. A lot of times more money than they should. We see this over and over again.

I am about this age group and I can tell you there is a difference. When I was growing up, it did not take my current level of income to afford a Disney trip. Millennial's and Gen Z cannot afford now like I could at their age. They are having trouble finding jobs and housing that I never did. Home ownership is at (I believe) an all time low. The lowest amount of people under 30 are married and own a house than at any other time in our history.

My kids will not be able to go as many times as I took them growing up. It is not unique to Disney, Vegas is a bloodbath right now because people just can't/won't afford it. Yes there are some, but Disney is not chasing Walt's dreams anymore, they are chasing the shareholder's dreams.

 

[DCLMP]

I am about this age group and I can tell you there is a difference. When I was growing up, it did not take my current level of income to afford a Disney trip. Millennial's and Gen Z cannot afford now like I could at their age. They are having trouble finding jobs and housing that I never did. Home ownership is at (I believe) an all time low. The lowest amount of people under 30 are married and own a house than at any other time in our history.

My kids will not be able to go as many times as I took them growing up. It is not unique to Disney, Vegas is a bloodbath right now because people just can't/won't afford it. Yes there are some, but Disney is not chasing Walt's dreams anymore, they are chasing the shareholder's dreams.

Yes like I've said the average age of first time homebuyers is now 38. I bought my first home at age 26. The average of home buyers in general is 56. Boomers own the highest percentage of homes. We bought our home in 1996 and I could not afford to buy our home today even though my salary has tripled.

It's funny you mention Vegas because I was going to plan a trip there this Fall. I haven't been in 25 years. The hotel prices on the weekend are crazy high. I've watched some videos on the cost of food and entertainment and that is nuts too. I've also read it was done by design to weed out the "Riffraff" and make it more of a high end vacation spot. It looks like they are on their way to weeding out everybody. They succeeded in weeding out me because I'm not willing to spend that much on a Vegas trip.

 

[Minnie1222]

Has anyone been to Vegas this year?The "slump" doesn't appear to affect the high-end resorts. It's the lower-tiered places that feel the hit.

Same with Disney and Universal, they continue to do well while the rest of the domestic theme park industry declines.