Even Disney Is Worried About the High Cost of a Disney Vacation

[DaviVascaino]

If you don't mind me asking, what percentage hike is that across your whole cost

9-10%

 

[DaviVascaino]

Oh wow. What percentage raise is that? The major issue is Disney doesn’t have trouble selling theme park tickets, at least for now. They are clearly having trouble selling hotel rooms so all the discounts are on those, or packages with rooms.

I claried my post. I meant tickets, not packages.

the total increase was around 9-10% for 4 tickets compared to same week in 2025. That is crazy to me

 

[lowlight]

I claried my post. I meant tickets, not packages.

the total increase was around 9-10% for 4 tickets compared to same week in 2025. That is crazy to me

I agree, it is crazy.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

But value is in the eye of the beholder. Some people have a lot of fun at Disney - for them it is their preferred form of entertainment and they see value in spending the admittedly high prices to go. For me, I wouldn't pay the average ticket price to go to a major sporting event, nor would I spend however much a beer costs on beer because I don't care for it. I don't see the value in that, yet people pay it. The fact is that there is a market out there for both things - and that's all that is needed to create value.

Great response and brings up a conversation I had this weekend…

I was in Las Vegas for WrestleMania. I was sitting at a blackjack table and we were talking about how much the tickets cost. I had mentioned how much I had paid and one of the other players says “And 60,000 people are going to pay that to go? What a bunch of morons.”

He said that as he was getting a marker from the casino for twice what I paid and had an escort sitting at his side.

We all have our likes and priorities.

 

[BrianL]

Great response and brings up a conversation I had this weekend…

I was in Las Vegas for WrestleMania. I was sitting at a blackjack table and we were talking about how much the tickets cost. I had mentioned how much I had paid and one of the other players says “And 60,000 people are going to pay that to go? What a bunch of morons.”

He said that as he was getting a marker from the casino for twice what I paid and had an escort sitting at his side.

We all have our likes and priorities.

Hey, hope you had fun at WrestleMania! I have some friends who are big into it and one of them always has everyone over for the big events. I have fun, though I am a fairly casual fan - it's more an excuse to hang out and eat a ton, etc. Tickets to those events are indded really expensive, but if it's what you are into, then, hey, more power to you. Obviously a TON of people feel it's worth it - that was a huge crowd in a very large stadium. And, man, The Rock didn't even show his face....

 

[wabbott]

Indeed. All my Old F@rt coffee buddies have something to say about how much we spend on travel. Yet they all have late-model pickups that they paid $30K to $40k (or more) for, with their primary use is to go to coffee and the grocery store.

Me, I drive an '02 PU with over 400 thousand miles, and Mrs. wabbott has an '11 model car with over 200 thousand miles.

I've never bought a new car in my life, and never will.

 

[mom2rtk]

Word of ticket prices increasing (through less low cost days) and dining prices increasing.

Doesn't seem like Disney is really all that concerned about the high cost of a Disney vacation.

 

[lowlight]

Me, I drive an '02 PU with over 400 thousand

Tundra or Tacoma? Maybe a Ranger, I’d be impressed with that mileage.

 

[wabbott]

Tundra or Tacoma? Maybe a Ranger, I’d be impressed with that mileage.

Dodge 1500 Ram. Original engine, but I do have to use a pint of STP every so often. It gets me to and from the coffee shop and will haul a load of firewood come winter.

That's all I need it for. It would be a criminal waste of money to spend $40K on a new PU that can do nothing more than this one.

I'd rather spend it on WDW, DL/DCA, or another European river cruise.

 

[lowlight]

Dodge 1500 Ram. Original engine, but I do have to use a pint of STP every so often. It gets me to and from the coffee shop and will haul a load of firewood come winter.

That's all I need it for. It would be a criminal waste of money to spend $40K on a new PU that can do nothing more than this one.

I'd rather spend it on WDW, DL/DCA, or another European river cruise.

That’s some impressive mileage for that engine. Keep it as long as you can, full sizes these days are 50k+ unless you want a work trim. That’s a lot of Disney trips.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Most Americans have less than $500 in savings so you can likely replace "funded their Disney vacations" with "funded their life". Seems a bit of a stretch to act as if _just_ Disney vacationers spend and save illogically.

That wasn’t my point. My point was that Disney has a very large fan base that is so addicted there is no value proposition - they’ll pay whatever Disney wants, since they can’t control themselves.

That gives Disney a huge advantage in raising prices. The basis of this thread was that Disney is getting so expensive only rich people can afford it, using BLS averages. I call nonsense in that and point out that many of Disney’s biggest fans will make huge sacrifices to get their fix, even if the whole family donates plasma monthly.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

That wasn’t my point. My point was that Disney has a very large fan base that is so addicted there is no value proposition - they’ll pay whatever Disney wants, since they can’t control themselves.

That gives Disney a huge advantage in raising prices. The basis of this thread was that Disney is getting so expensive only rich people can afford it, using BLS averages. I call nonsense in that and point out that many of Disney’s biggest fans will make huge sacrifices to get their fix, even if the whole family donates plasma monthly.

I’m having a hard time with your point, you seem to be broad brushing this to make it as simplistic as possible. Even if you are correct it doesn’t detract from the overall point being that Disney can charge more because their market is willing to bear it, whether or not you believe it’s because of crazed fanatics or not really doesn’t matter.

To your point if Disney is able to create that type of fanatic, then clearly there is a group that sees a lot of value being offered. Whether you agree with that group or not makes no material difference, at that point it’s just a difference in opinion with what value Disney offers

 

[Cfabar1]

Prices are what they are....

Disney has also announced for 2026:
- Kids free dining plans
- Free waterparks continue in 2026

Prices are what they are for now, but they can run incentives, discount programs, etc.

I actually think that Disney is very worried about next year...

 

[LAS2AMS]

I’m having a hard time with your point, you seem to be broad brushing this to make it as simplistic as possible. Even if you are correct it doesn’t detract from the overall point being that Disney can charge more because their market is willing to bear it, whether or not you believe it’s because of crazed fanatics or not really doesn’t matter.

To your point if Disney is able to create that type of fanatic, then clearly there is a group that sees a lot of value being offered. Whether you agree with that group or not makes no material difference, at that point it’s just a difference in opinion with what value Disney offers

While your response seems more of an attempt to mock me, it’s foolhardy to suggest against that a large portion of Disney’s fan base is so addicted that they’l gripe and moan about the price increases but ultimately they want it so badly they’ll pay it anyway.

I’ve been on these forums for two decades. I remember when it was a more lively community, and people would start one thread wondering about how to pay for their kids’ braces (“I can’t afford them - times are tough”) and another announcing their two week trip to a CL room at the Polly (and yes that actually happened).

Disney needs to market to small portion of the market. With all the Disney fanatics and Gen Z’s discretionary spending on travel growing by the day, it gives them plenty of leverage in raising prices.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Prices are what they are....

Disney has also announced for 2026:
- Kids free dining plans
- Free waterparks continue in 2026

Prices are what they are for now, but they can run incentives, discount programs, etc.

I actually think that Disney is very worried about next year...

I don't think they are very worried if they jacked up the prices for 2026 tickets. those "free" things are not really free, the ticket price was increased. It is a marketing strategy as old as the time.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Prices are what they are....

Disney has also announced for 2026:
- Kids free dining plans
- Free waterparks continue in 2026

Prices are what they are for now, but they can run incentives, discount programs, etc.

I actually think that Disney is very worried about next year...

The kids dining plan is just a promotion tool to try and lure more younger families.

Their thought is likely that Epic Universe won’t have enough for those families so provide a promotion for them and get them to enjoy the Disney Parks earlier and release it while news and information surrounding the Orlando Parks is increased

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Listen, no matter how many times we say to ourselves that we aren't going to stay as long, or pay as much due to increases, the reality is..

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Side bar, if anyone has been watching earnings it has not been great. Typically the bellwether for travel is airlines and it aint looking great for the rest of the year (at least for american airlines). That said i would not be surprised to see Disney hammering promos for the fall as my guess is there has probably been a decent pull back/ cancellations on vacations with all the uncertainty. My initial thought was that this was going to primarily hurt the foreign marketplace, but it seems to quickly be turning to the US

 

[HokieRaven5]

Side bar, if anyone has been watching earnings it has not been great. Typically the bellwether for travel is airlines and it aint looking great for the rest of the year (at least for american airlines). That said i would not be surprised to see Disney hammering promos for the fall as my guess is there has probably been a decent pull back/ cancellations on vacations with all the uncertainty. My initial thought was that this was going to primarily hurt the foreign marketplace, but it seems to quickly be turning to the US

The airlines pulling 2025 guidance is not a good outlook.

Comcast had a pretty abysmal parks report with costs associated with Epic operations starting to hit the books.

We’ll see what Disney has to share in 2 weeks

 

[wabbott]

This is strictly anecdotal, but we spent last week in Destin, and are in PC Beach this week. Both places are as slow as I've ever seen them for this time of the year. Many, many mostly empty parking lots in the condos and motels.

We dined Tuesday night at Captain Anderson's, a local institution. There were quite a few empty tables, something I can't recall seeing in the 45 years we've been going there.

The lady we rent from says the rough Spring Breaks they've had the last few years is the cause (a couple of shootings, fights, etc), but I don't think that's main reason.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, PC Beach was the center of of the Spring Break universe (MTV coverage, etc) and it never seemed to hurt the crowds.

Revenge travel is completely over, I think, and many folks have spent all their money.