How WDW dumped the Middle Class

[DCLMP]

How much was your vacation in Japan?

Flights were free used miles business class on JAL. Spent 5 nights at Kyoto for free Hyatt place. 2 nights at the Hilton in Hiroshima 78 dollars a night with executive lounge access. Two nights at the W in Osaka with Marriott points. Tokyo was expensive. We stayed at the Hyatt house. It was 1200 for three nights. We also went to Disney I bought a package for 2k which I will never do again. It was good to see once, but I wasn't that impressed with it. Train pass was around 250 for both of us.

Food is a lot cheaper than in the US. I highly recommend it as a vacation destination. I can't wait to go back. I'm working on building up those miles again. I'm so used to cruising in Europe because it's easy, but after that trip I think I could do Europe for a lot less taking a land trip. I kind of got the hang of public transportation now.

 

[RivShore]

And don't forget airfare has actually dropped tremendously since the '80's. Found this chart that shows the median earner has to work less than half as long, than in the early '80's, to pay for a ticket.

 

[ExcitedForWDW]

Sure the cost of a wdw vacation isn't cheap but nether is any sort of quality vacation these days. Try renting a cottage or house boat up in canada for a week during the summer and it is just as much, if not more, and a fraction of the awesomeness. Several ways to cut costs at wdw, and in our travel experience, while it is a bit more than a typical winter getaway vacation, no place can compare to the excitement, fun and the incredible atmosphere at disney. That is worth a bit of a premium imo.

 

[DCLMP]

Sure the cost of a wdw vacation isn't cheap but nether is any sort of quality vacation these days. Try renting a cottage or house boat up in canada for a week during the summer and it is just as much, if not more, and a fraction of the awesomeness. Several ways to cut costs at wdw, and in our travel experience, while it is a bit more than a typical winter getaway vacation, no place can compare to the excitement, fun and the incredible atmosphere at disney. That is worth a bit of a premium imo.

The awesomeness of WDW is very subjective. I think a lot of non-Disney adults would not find standing in lines all day appealing.

 

[Cfabar1]

I love Disney but if it wasn't just a 3 hour drive and I had to pay for travel I may have been to the parks 1 or 2 times in my life.

Our experience is very similar. Not identical, but similar.

It also is phase of life. Our family includes young kids and a spouse who hates flying. Luckily we leave close enough to a vacation kingdom and a few ports. That helps feed the desire for travel.

In a future phase of life, Disney will get a lot less of our discretionary spend I'm sure... Because we might not be so close to the parks, or the kids might have outgrown it, or Disney+ doesn't make much sense, or the kids clubs won't matter as much on the cruise ships.... or... or... or....

The awesomeness of WDW is very subjective. I think a lot of non-Disney adults would not find standing in lines all day appealing.

Yeah... we are not huge rides people ourselves. We like Disney because the rides are primarily amusing rather than intense. We love the restaurants and the theming, the Disney bubble and not having to drive a car, and while we are hanging out at these resorts that you can go to a park and walk around. We almost never wait more than 25 minutes for a ride... before and after kids....

 

[OhDannyBoy]

Our experience is very similar. Not identical, but similar.

It also is phase of life. Our family includes young kids and a spouse who hates flying. Luckily we leave close enough to a vacation kingdom and a few ports. That helps feed the desire for travel.

In a future phase of life, Disney will get a lot less of our discretionary spend I'm sure... Because we might not be so close to the parks, or the kids might have outgrown it, or Disney+ doesn't make much sense, or the kids clubs won't matter as much on the cruise ships.... or... or... or....

For sure. I have a 6 and an 8 year old daughter, so Disney is going to happen at least once a year. But as they get older, maybe not as much.

 

[DCLMP]

Our experience is very similar. Not identical, but similar.

It also is phase of life. Our family includes young kids and a spouse who hates flying. Luckily we leave close enough to a vacation kingdom and a few ports. That helps feed the desire for travel.

In a future phase of life, Disney will get a lot less of our discretionary spend I'm sure... Because we might not be so close to the parks, or the kids might have outgrown it, or Disney+ doesn't make much sense, or the kids clubs won't matter as much on the cruise ships.... or... or... or....

Yeah... we are not huge rides people ourselves. We like Disney because the rides are primarily amusing rather than intense. We love the restaurants and the theming, the Disney bubble and not having to drive a car, and while we are hanging out at these resorts that you can go to a park and walk around. We almost never wait more than 25 minutes for a ride... before and after kids....

I think the Disney bubble was always the most alluring part of the trip. You get off the plane and get on the magical express and not see civilization for a week. We would rope drop, beat the lines and were done with parks by 1-2p. We would spend the afternoon at the pool relaxing. Then we would go out to eat at one of the signature restaurants with our deluxe dining plan. It was a nice vacation.

It was a whole different vacation experience in 2022 than it was 10 years ago. I don't know how much money we spent on lightening lanes, I know there wasn't much relaxing as we spent most of day running from LL to LL glued to our phones. Nor was there any money for a nice upscale meal. I have no desire to repeat that experience.

As far as they kids clubs on cruise lines go they become more important as the kids age not less. All the family cruise lines have preteen and teen clubs. It's not exclusive to DCL. You don't want to be stuck on cruise ship with a bored teenager.

I will give DCL credit for having the best teen clubs and even the best 18-20 year old meet ups. Many people think their kids will out grow DCL, but unfortunately for your wallet that may not be the case. My kids loved the Edge and the Vibe. If it's not a port intensive cruise I get very bored on DCL. It was better for me to be bored then them. I can always read a book.

 

[comicguy]

I just got back from WDW and our trip cost not counting airfare (2 adults, value resort 8 nights, 7 day park passes with hoppers) plus food (2 sit downs) counter service and whatever snacks we wanted plus souvies (3 polo's for me as I live in polo's and a few smaller items that we picked up) plus LL's for 4 park days and 1 ILL for guardians, plus Mears RT transportation total was just under 4400.

I also booked a "bounceback" offer (2 adults value resort, 8 nights 7 day park passes w/ parkhopper)for next year at less then we paid for the package this year! So count me as happy!

 

[Cfabar1]

I also booked a "bounceback" offer (2 adults value resort, 8 nights 7 day park passes w/ parkhopper)for next year at less then we paid for the package this year! So count me as happy!

This is something that is missing from the conversation in any of these articles... They never discuss net price, only sticker...

 

[DCLMP]

I just got back from WDW and our trip cost not counting airfare (2 adults, value resort 8 nights, 7 day park passes with hoppers) plus food (2 sit downs) counter service and whatever snacks we wanted plus souvies (3 polo's for me as I live in polo's and a few smaller items that we picked up) plus LL's for 4 park days and 1 ILL for guardians, plus Mears RT transportation total was just under 4400.

I also booked a "bounceback" offer (2 adults value resort, 8 nights 7 day park passes w/ parkhopper)for next year at less then we paid for the package this year! So count me as happy!

That is still pretty pricey for a value resort and only two people.

 

[comicguy]

That is still pretty pricey for a value resort and only two people.

Pricey is all realative, that looks like a bargin compared to our Alaskan Cruise last year at 15K (yes, we could have done it cheaper, but we loved the add on's that we did before, during, and after the cruise, gone total 12 days). We actually had a good laugh after we got home and I said to my wife "when did Disney become our 'cheap' vacation?"

That 4400 for WDW looks expensive but take out the $200 in polo's that I bought (I have not bought any disney polos in a few years because there has been so little selection of them) and the $329 in LL's (both expenses are completly optional add on's) and that now drops it down to about $3900. Could I save more on the vacation, yes! but I choose to try different snacks and foods while at WDW (sometimes they are really good and sometimes I want to throw up, looks and desciption can be deceiving lol), for us the food is part of the experiance, so we tend to spend more on that portion. Mears is probably the cheapest transportation option at MCO at $64 RT for the 2 of us.

I think vacation costs come down to what is important to the individule and trying to make blanket statements on a income class of people is not helpful. It is what people prioritize that IMO matters more, for us we worked hard to pay off student loans early, pay down mortgage to a reasonable amount, buy "reasonable cars" and generally keep other expenses lower, we generally do not buy a lot of "unneeded" things, although books and stuff for our beagles is a whole other story!

Being in the "Disney Bubble" has a cost that can't be calculated easily, at least IMO

All of the above are just the ramblings of a WDW addict.

 

[DCLMP]

Pricey is all realative, that looks like a bargin compared to our Alaskan Cruise last year at 15K (yes, we could have done it cheaper, but we loved the add on's that we did before, during, and after the cruise, gone total 12 days). We actually had a good laugh after we got home and I said to my wife "when did Disney become our 'cheap' vacation?"

That 4400 for WDW looks expensive but take out the $200 in polo's that I bought (I have not bought any disney polos in a few years because there has been so little selection of them) and the $329 in LL's (both expenses are completly optional add on's) and that now drops it down to about $3900. Could I save more on the vacation, yes! but I choose to try different snacks and foods while at WDW (sometimes they are really good and sometimes I want to throw up, looks and desciption can be deceiving lol), for us the food is part of the experiance, so we tend to spend more on that portion. Mears is probably the cheapest transportation option at MCO at $64 RT for the 2 of us.

I think vacation costs come down to what is important to the individule and trying to make blanket statements on a income class of people is not helpful. It is what people prioritize that IMO matters more, for us we worked hard to pay off student loans early, pay down mortgage to a reasonable amount, buy "reasonable cars" and generally keep other expenses lower, we generally do not buy a lot of "unneeded" things, although books and stuff for our beagles is a whole other story!

Being in the "Disney Bubble" has a cost that can't be calculated easily, at least IMO

All of the above are just the ramblings of a WDW addict.

If you are taking 15k vacations then your are not in the demographics that has been priced out of WDW. Right?

It seems like everyone on here evaluates the economy based on their own personal circumstances. That is not how economist look at things.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

If you are taking 15k vacations then your are not in the demographics that has been priced out of WDW. Right?

It seems like everyone on here evaluates the economy based on their own personal circumstances. That is not how economist look at things.

I have to agree.

We are not poor by any stretch but the idea of dropping 15k on ANY vacation is insane to us. Heck dropping 3-4k is crazy. I don't know how anyone in our economic demographic could do it without going into debt.

 

[DCLMP]

I have to agree.

We are not poor by any stretch but the idea of dropping 15k on ANY vacation is insane to us. Heck dropping 3-4k is crazy. I don't know how anyone in our economic demographic could do it without going into debt.

The problem I have with this forum is that people act like dropping 15k on a vacation is a normal middle class thing to do. It's not.

Equities, real estate, and commodities are at all time high. I think people feel more comfortable spending money or taking on debt when they see their assets going up. As we've seen in the past though those things can reverse quickly.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

The problem I have with this forum is that people act like dropping 15k on a vacation is a normal middle class thing to do. It's not.

I mean there is lower, middle and upper middle class. There is a big band for what is ‘middle class.’ If you are on the high end of upper middle, then it may feel normal.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It is what people prioritize that IMO matters more, for us we worked hard to pay off student loans early, pay down mortgage to a reasonable amount, buy "reasonable cars" and generally keep other expenses lower, we generally do not buy a lot of "unneeded" things, although books and stuff for our beagles is a whole other story!

It's an entirely different mindset if you're doing these things JUST to afford or more reasonably afford to go to Disney as opposed to doing them to get yourself in a better position. People prioritize all sorts of spending for sure because it's what they value but it's just not the same mindset as someone who is doing it in order to funnel the costs towards vacation let alone Disney and someone who is doing it for the overall health of their financial situation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I mean there is lower, middle and upper middle class. There is a big band for what is ‘middle class.’ If you are on the high end of upper middle, then it may feel normal.

That's true about there being different levels to the middle class but I think it still is an overgeneralization of what income level someone is and what they opt to spend their money on.

I would say a more accurate statement is using someone's COL and specific area they live in and what they are considered there it may not be as much of a burden to their overall finances to spend that amount of money on a trip; it shouldn't mean they actually do take those kinds of trip never mind it actually being normal to them. And the inverse being the case that someone who would have a higher burden to their finances it doesn't mean they don't take those types of vacations normally just because they fall into a specific income bracket. When it goes into what people spend their money on it can get very tricky.

 

[Boopuff]

I always find it odd that people get up in arms about the cost of a Disney vacation. There are zillions of places to vaction and some are very pricey. Heck, here in Colorado a simple ski weekend, with pricey Airbnb, lift tickets, dining can run thousands. I truly believe the value in a vacation is who you're with and where you are. I can wax nostalgic about the "good old Disney days" but other parks have been charging for "fast passes" just as long as Disney. Even cruise vacations have become pricey. It's all in the intrinsic value

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I can wax nostalgic about the "good old Disney days" but other parks have been charging for "fast passes" just as long as Disney.

That's true but to be fair you can get other parks for their park tickets much more reasonably. No I'm not talking about caliber of park here just the point about charging for a get ahead of the line system. A season pass at my regional park for next year is on a Labor Day sale for $89+tax, that's less than just 1 day by far of Disney and that includes entry to all parks under the Six Flags name (my regional park is not a Six Flags park though). A day ticket right now for this season is $37+tax. Is my regional park the same at all as Disney? Nope but would I be more inclined to not complain about spending money for a get ahead of the line pass there? Absolutely, I certainly wouldn't have spent much to get in. Same story when we went to Silver Dollar City in 2022 because the cost to get in was quite reasonable.

When it comes to the average person the complaints will stem from how much they spent to get into the park and how much after that they have to spend. With Disney it's costs all over the place even after spending such a high amount to get into the parks, that's a huge reason why people complained when FP+ was no longer included not to mention all the marketing Disney had done to state they included FP in their park tickets.

 

[DCLMP]

I always find it odd that people get up in arms about the cost of a Disney vacation. There are zillions of places to vaction and some are very pricey. Heck, here in Colorado a simple ski weekend, with pricey Airbnb, lift tickets, dining can run thousands. I truly believe the value in a vacation is who you're with and where you are. I can wax nostalgic about the "good old Disney days" but other parks have been charging for "fast passes" just as long as Disney. Even cruise vacations have become pricey. It's all in the intrinsic value

Nobody is getting up in arms about the cost of a Disney vacation. The original point of the thread was is the middle class getting squeezed out or getting a subpar experience. Then the discussion went to the wealthy don't go to Disney it's just middle class which is untrue.

Then you have some posters who think a middle class family spending 20k for that premium experience is not out of reach for the middle class just because they can do it...another false premise.

The real problem is the Disney hive mind can't get past being offended. No one really cares what you spent on your Disney vacation that wasn't even the point of the article.