Disney Parks Price Increases-What is your breaking point?

[sam_gordon]

How do you get $350 for food? She said $400 minus ticket for $150, equals $250, not $350. Also, don't forget parking for $30+.

Brain fart? You're right of course. $250, not $350.

And she had said the $400 did not include parking. Just ticket and meals/drinks.

 

[tony67]

the last time we were in Orlando (late 2019) we did universal but decided to do one afternoon, midweek, traditionally LOW attendance day at Disney. it was a madhouse-way too many people. even as a kid I liked to spend part of every day in the parks just sitting back and people watching-could'nt even do that b/c you could'nt find any place to sit.

I would agree this is an issue with US and IOA to a lesser extent. At least with IOA there are a few good spots but no doubt something they did not plan for. This is something they could have done a lot better - same in Citiwalk.

Epic is really great for this. For example you can sit outside the Cafe in the France area and people watch. There are a lot of places for this in Epic.

 

[disneyfan123]

While the lack of attractions at AK right now makes that a difficult park to justify the cost, overall I still think Disney is a phenomenal value. That doesn't make it cheap, but for my entertainment dollar, there are few other options that get value like WDW.

I'm a big music lover, so I try to attend concerts as often as I can; major headlining acts are extremely expensive now. I wanted to get tickets for Paul McCartney in Montreal but I was priced out; decent tickets were well over $600 each. I'm seeing Bryan Adams this weekend, and paid about $150 for my ticket. Even mid-level acts are usually $75-100 nowadays. These are for shows that last a couple of hours, and I'm paying almost as much, if not more, than I do for one Disney park day. Sporting events are in the same ballpark, too.

I find the best value ticket is the UK 14 day one; as we usually take longer trips, these tickets make the most economic sense even though we never use all the days. Nevertheless, it ends up costing about $100/day Canadian, per person for admission.

Foodwise, I don't find the restaurants that overpriced, however, the character meals/buffets we generally skip. Perhaps (likely) restaurant costs in Canada are higher than the US, but I find that generally speaking, I don't pay that much more for meal at Disney than I would at home (although exchange rates can hurt).

 

[Simba's Mom]

Even assuming a ticket is $150, I don't think $400 for a person in a day is "normal" (not saying it can't be done, but I wouldn't budget that much).

I mean, $350 in meals for one person seems extreme to me. Maybe the $400 counts souvenirs, but that's also subjective.

Where do you get $350? $400 less $150 for the ticket is $250. They mentioned parking, then there's food and souvenirs. We recently went during then F&W festival and although we didn't pay for parking, a $400 total sounds pretty reasonable. As far as souvenirs, we DO have grandchildren to buy for!

 

[sam_gordon]

Where do you get $350? $400 less $150 for the ticket is $250. They mentioned parking, then there's food and souvenirs. We recently went during then F&W festival and although we didn't pay for parking, a $400 total sounds pretty reasonable. As far as souvenirs, we DO have grandchildren to buy for!

Yea, keep reading. It was already pointed out and I acknowledged my mistake.

But, parking does NOT factor into the $400. That's expressed in the post.

 

[RuntheMouse]

We’re AP holders so it doesn’t quite sting as much. We view the AP as a discounted ticket as we would pay many times over with as often as we are able to go. We own DVC so that was intended as a hotel prepayment and we utilize the discounts offered as perks. We’re still going and don’t see that changing.

Everything is getting more expensive. Sporting events, $200+ for tickets….for a couple of hours! DH and I went to the zoo recently $100+ for a few hours. It’s not a Disney thing, it’s life. You have to prioritize what you value and spend your money there. Too many people think they ought to be able to have everything and that’s not reality nor has it ever been. Thank you social media.

 

[Keetchino]

Adding in more Tokyo Disney is going to be my happy medium. Even factoring in the cost of international airfare, everything over there is so much cheaper and affordable that the price about evens out. I feel I get more bang for my buck, the quality of food and maintenance of the parks is top notch, and even the people in general are much more pleasant to be around. No attitudes from anyone whatsoever.

 

[BrianL]

While the lack of attractions at AK right now makes that a difficult park to justify the cost, overall I still think Disney is a phenomenal value. That doesn't make it cheap, but for my entertainment dollar, there are few other options that get value like WDW.

I'm a big music lover, so I try to attend concerts as often as I can; major headlining acts are extremely expensive now. I wanted to get tickets for Paul McCartney in Montreal but I was priced out; decent tickets were well over $600 each. I'm seeing Bryan Adams this weekend, and paid about $150 for my ticket. Even mid-level acts are usually $75-100 nowadays. These are for shows that last a couple of hours, and I'm paying almost as much, if not more, than I do for one Disney park day. Sporting events are in the same ballpark, too.

I find the best value ticket is the UK 14 day one; as we usually take longer trips, these tickets make the most economic sense even though we never use all the days. Nevertheless, it ends up costing about $100/day Canadian, per person for admission.

Foodwise, I don't find the restaurants that overpriced, however, the character meals/buffets we generally skip. Perhaps (likely) restaurant costs in Canada are higher than the US, but I find that generally speaking, I don't pay that much more for meal at Disney than I would at home (although exchange rates can hurt).

I mean, right - it's not just Disney, but it's everything! This is especially true for entertianment activities (concerts, sports). I was just in Gatlinburg and they have all of these little coasters and interactive movie experiences, and they're all like 15 to 20 bucks a go, and all seperate. How many can you do before it adds up to a day at Disney, you know?

I have always been less bothered by the price going up as I have by the quality going down. Disney charges a premium for what should be a premium experience - and generally it is, but they need to step it up in a few areas, like maintenance. If they're going to charge that much, things should be working as much as possible! Food prices are going up too, and I don't mind as long as the food is high quality. Plenty of it is, but a lot of it is not too (I'm looking at you Magic Kingdom). The value can be there, but they have to deliver.

 

[gmi3804]

I broke quite a while ago. I just can't muster up enough excitement to visit and pay those prices anymore, especially with the increasingly dismal "updates" made in the form of homogeneous resort refurbishments, boring park IP additions, and FOMO-fueled special offerings. Especially at the expense of letting the classic degrade. The dining has become by-the-numbers and the cast members are exhibiting their minimum wage boredom with their jobs. There's absolutely nothing now that's better than it was before.

I divested myself of almost 70% of my DVC contracts. I still have one left, which I can't bring myself to use, so I rent my points out.

Tokyo Disney Resort has much of the "magic" that used to be present at WDW, so we'll go there now for our parks fix.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Yes Disney prices are crazy (and constantly getting crazier). But we love it and get lots of joy and memories out of our trips there, so we willingly pay those crazy prices and will continue to pay whatever they ask because we love it so much. Disney knows this is the case with lots of people so they’re not scared to raise prices to astronomical levels.

 

[lisset005]

https://wdwnt.com/

At what point will you stop going to the parks?

My children are grown, so it is just the two of us we have to pay for now. It is still doable. But I don't think I could afford to go if we had to pay for an entire family to go Disney World.

we are a family of seven so each increase HURTS! Oof! We were looking at possibly getting APs, but now thats an additional $700 (we are out of state) so that idea is probably out the window. We enjoy DCL, so will likely do more of that on top of our once a summer WDW vacay (luckily can get Magic Your Way Tickets at a discount for that)

 

[Smugpugmug]

If I'm being completely honest, if I had kids of my own I would probably stop going but it's doable for me for now as a childfree adult. I don't think I could stomach the prices if I had to include multiple children tbh

I do feel like if Disney is going to up prices, they need to increase the quality of the experience. The current state of Tiana's Bayou Adventure in MK for example is genuinely embarrassing. It needs to close for a refurb and that's very sad given how new it is.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I mean, right - it's not just Disney, but it's everything! This is especially true for entertianment activities (concerts, sports). I was just in Gatlinburg and they have all of these little coasters and interactive movie experiences, and they're all like 15 to 20 bucks a go, and all seperate. How many can you do before it adds up to a day at Disney, you know?

I have always been less bothered by the price going up as I have by the quality going down. Disney charges a premium for what should be a premium experience - and generally it is, but they need to step it up in a few areas, like maintenance. If they're going to charge that much, things should be working as much as possible! Food prices are going up too, and I don't mind as long as the food is high quality. Plenty of it is, but a lot of it is not too (I'm looking at you Magic Kingdom). The value can be there, but they have to deliver.

The Smoky Mountain trip is made to really gouge the non-planners who say "what the heck" to their kids...to really do this well, you want to plan 2-3 activities per day (or a full day at Dollywood). Even better if some of those activities involve the free national park. And use discount sites to pre-buy the planned activities.

But yes, if you walk up the Gatlinburg strip and say "yes" to the 4d movie, the mountain coaster, the mini golf, the go karts, the museum of X, etc, paying full day price for everything...well, pretty soon, you're at a huge number. And then, you might as well be in Disney...

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

The list price at Disney is always going up. But only people that don't do their homework or just can't be flexible with their dates end up having to pay list price. The reality is there are still discounts to be had. Adjusting for inflation, I'd estimate that if I went this year, I'd be spending less than 400 per day for my family.
But even if it was $400 per day just for one, I'd rather pay that than pay $750 per day for one at the Ryder Cup for admission, food and drinks. That didn't include lodging which probably was a mint.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

The Smoky Mountain trip is made to really gouge the non-planners who say "what the heck" to their kids...to really do this well, you want to plan 2-3 activities per day (or a full day at Dollywood). Even better if some of those activities involve the free national park. And use discount sites to pre-buy the planned activities.

But yes, if you walk up the Gatlinburg strip and say "yes" to the 4d movie, the mountain coaster, the mini golf, the go karts, the museum of X, etc, paying full day price for everything...well, pretty soon, you're at a huge number. And then, you might as well be in Disney...

The rules are different in different places but the game is the same. He who plans saves and has a better time.

I do like the Ripley's combo tickets. Still expensive but they save a bit of coin.

 

[georgina]

I'm still using up my last 10 day non-expiring hopper. Prior to 2020, I had an AP for several years, but I don't go enough to do that anymore. Sometimes I go for the special events and don't use a day ticket. Last December I had a Jollywood, MVMCP, and a one day Epcot ticket which was fairly reasonable considering Disney prices ($119 + tax maybe? or maybe that was Sept and December was more). I mostly stay offsite to save $. I also stock up on gift cards at a minimum of 10% discount, sometimes higher. I've got 8 days left, I will use 2 in Feb and 2 in October, then we'll see.

I do still have a low-level Universal AP because the discounts are worth it, and I don't go during the blockout days.

 

[BrianL]

The Smoky Mountain trip is made to really gouge the non-planners who say "what the heck" to their kids...to really do this well, you want to plan 2-3 activities per day (or a full day at Dollywood). Even better if some of those activities involve the free national park. And use discount sites to pre-buy the planned activities.

But yes, if you walk up the Gatlinburg strip and say "yes" to the 4d movie, the mountain coaster, the mini golf, the go karts, the museum of X, etc, paying full day price for everything...well, pretty soon, you're at a huge number. And then, you might as well be in Disney...

Oh, we didn't do any of it, except the national park, but I'm just saying that prices for these sorts of things have skyrocketed, and not just at Disney. We considered doing the SkyPark, and it is almost 40 bucks to ride the lift!

 

[barkley]

I would agree this is an issue with US and IOA to a lesser extent. At least with IOA there are a few good spots but no doubt something they did not plan for. This is something they could have done a lot better - same in Citiwalk.

Epic is really great for this. For example you can sit outside the Cafe in the France area and people watch. There are a lot of places for this in Epic.

universal is GREAT for people watching and just hanging around low-key on the entire property for that matter. we enjoyed liesurly days at their parks, sitting/walking around city walk, riding the boats from the hotel to other hotels/city walk...reminds me of old times at disney-esp. with the ability to go pool hop at the other resorts.

 

[Travel60]

Rather than a breaking point, it's more of a downward curve for us.

We are DVC. In retirement we often spend 3+ weeks at WDW. We used to plan a day or two (or three) in parks - seldom rode rides, just like to walk around, eat, maybe buy a few souvenirs, see what's new.

In the last 10 years we have done MK twice with kids and grands. Cost a fortune and the planning required was very off-putting. And the app we paid extra for didn't work because their system went down. I would love to walk around EPCOT again but totally not worth it. Sigh.

But. I hear parks are full to overflowing so why not keep raising prices?