If Disney were alive today, would he like or dislike want his going on in his company?

Well for $360 you can get an annual pass from Sea World that includes 11 parks. Includes discount on food, a couple of free guest passes and then 50% off up to 6 guest passes.


Universal’s for three parks is 504.00. But includes express pass.

May be better deals but a quick google search has Disney annual pass for the 4 parks at 900. Which does include some other things too. I think the Memory maker and discounts on food maybe?

Ok, but none of that really changes anything about what I said, which isn't that WDW is the least expensive vacation option.
Those 11 parks that are included in a SW annual pass would require traveling, for some as far as across the country, which will cost additional dollars.
So while you get more park options, it will cost you more to get to those parks than it would to get to the 4 parks included in WDW's AP. It is all relative.
Disney gives families many options to enjoy a WDW vacation that they can afford. I understand that some feel they are pricing people out, but the only thing that people have to purchase from Disney in order to go to WDW are the tickets. Everything else is under your control (as in you can find options you can afford).
 
Ok, but none of that really changes anything about what I said, which isn't that WDW is the least expensive vacation option.
Those 11 parks that are included in a SW annual pass would require traveling, for some as far as across the country, which will cost additional dollars.
So while you get more park options, it will cost you more to get to those parks than it would to get to the 4 parks included in WDW's AP. It is all relative.
Disney gives families many options to enjoy a WDW vacation that they can afford. I understand that some feel they are pricing people out, but the only thing that people have to purchase from Disney in order to go to WDW are the tickets. Everything else is under your control (as in you can find options you can afford).

There's one guy with a lifetime unlimited pass to several Disney parks, although several are specifically excluded. I heard there are also two people (cousins in fact) with the same privilege.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/600149163/Utahns-is-Disneys-No-1-fan.html
Some time later, the Monticello resident learned he had won a lifetime pass to Disneyland for himself and three guests. He has received that annual card each year since 1955. Its use has expanded to Disney parks in Florida and France.

MacPherson has used the pass often. His favorite ride is the Enchanted Tiki Room, an attraction he says is “for the birds.” He also likes the Haunted Mansion. But he misses the 360-degree movie.​

And here's a picture of his 2005 pass:

MacPhersonPassFront.jpg


MacPhersonPassBack.jpg


I'd say a pretty good value for the $1 he spend on that first ticket.
 
I have no idea how much an AP for WDW is but still, that means 365 days of "value" for it so I assume if you broke it up by day it isn't that expensive at all.
Also does an AP for WDW include all 4 parks? If yes then that is 2 more destinations for the added cost.

It's really all relative to how you look at it. I am not saying WDW is cheap, it isn't but when comparing it to other destinations, or entertainment or sporting events it isn't outrageous.
I just checked out annual passes for non-residents. The Platinum Plus Pass includes the water parks and you can PH $ 994 pre tax. Platinum does not include water parks but does include PH, also on both you can get 20% off at select dining and stores. $ 894 for Platinum. This is just for WDW.
 
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I'm sure the tents didn't come from nowhere. Just walk around the parks around 2-3 PM and look at how burned out and tired some people are. The problems with those tents are simple to see, though. 1. They scream "I'm entitled and elite!" a little too loudly. 2. For only being for entitled, elite people, they were ugly. 3. They were out in the open too much, reminding everybody how much Disney was charging for them.

Cabanas on Castaway Cay are essentially the same thing, for the same cost, but they are not in the middle of a theme park so they took a little easier.

Oh yeah, I mean I can see where the idea came from. How many times do we hear the question, “where is a good place for a little one to nap?” They sounded like a good idea. But cabanas on an island or at a waterpark or by a pool make sense and people are used to that. Cabanas in the middle of a theme park are just strange imo lol.

Our local zoo has them. No one is ever in them. No one is truly there long enough to need one. I mean it is a wonderful zoo and has lots to do but just do t need to pay $$$ for a shaded place to relax in a zoo full of trees and shady spots.
 
Oh yeah, I mean I can see where the idea came from. How many times do we hear the question, “where is a good place for a little one to nap?” They sounded like a good idea. But cabanas on an island or at a waterpark or by a pool make sense and people are used to that. Cabanas in the middle of a theme park are just strange imo lol.

Our local zoo has them. No one is ever in them. No one is truly there long enough to need one. I mean it is a wonderful zoo and has lots to do but just do t need to pay $$$ for a shaded place to relax in a zoo full of trees and shady spots.

I think the initial asking price is what killed them. For $80? Sure. Literally more than the cost of a night at the Contemporary, which is only one monorail stop away? Only either very lazy people or those who are bad at math would book that in that case.
 
I think the initial asking price is what killed them. For $80? Sure. Literally more than the cost of a night at the Contemporary, which is only one monorail stop away? Only either very lazy people or those who are bad at math would book that in that case.

Exactly! It wouldn’t make sense honestly. I guess maybe if they had them in every park and for one price you could use one in each park—maybe.
 


I always love the argument that because some guests enjoy having a beer, cocktail or glass of wine at the parks means that they can't go without said beverage. Why sell unhealthy junk food then? It's sad that someone can't eat healthy for a few days without consuming sugar, fat and carbs. Especially at EPCOT where there are all those festivals with food booths. That's just inviting unhealthy eating habits that children will see.
 
I always love the argument that because some guests enjoy having a beer, cocktail or glass of wine at the parks means that they can't go without said beverage. Why sell unhealthy junk food then? It's sad that someone can't eat healthy for a few days without consuming sugar, fat and carbs. Especially at EPCOT where there are all those festivals with food booths. That's just inviting unhealthy eating habits that children will see.

Plus, if people really can't go without drinking, they will do it in their hotel rooms beforehand, loading up on all they can before they get to a park that doesn't sell beer.
I enjoy a drink or two when I am at the Disney Parks, but at their prices, I would go broke before I got in any way drunk.
 
Disneyland admission was $1 in 1955. Rides cost 10-30 cents. Maybe 9x that to account for inflation. I remember even as far back as the 1980s we always thought of visiting as relatively affordable.

Even at those prices, spending $10 for a day of fun and some food was out of reach of many low income families back in 1955.
 
I always love the argument that because some guests enjoy having a beer, cocktail or glass of wine at the parks means that they can't go without said beverage. Why sell unhealthy junk food then? It's sad that someone can't eat healthy for a few days without consuming sugar, fat and carbs. Especially at EPCOT where there are all those festivals with food booths. That's just inviting unhealthy eating habits that children will see.

Sorry, but I am just not seeing this one.
There is no analogy or coorelation between something being healthy and alcoholic drinking.
I would never have thought that a theme-park should have to be 'healthy'. Quite the opposite.

BUT, as far as enjoying alcohol... I do believe that there is a time and a place for everything... Just don't think that Disney has to be 'alcohol free'.
While I have no problem with some availability.... I do see a problem of those who are vacationing with children seeing an afternoon at a park as an opportunity to imbibe, or over-inbibe.

Having said that, not everyone is at Disney with younger children.
When our son was younger we were involved in a large family group/organization. And, for example, we had an annual summer 'family reunion'. I thought it did look questionable when in more recent years there were a couple of of the fathers who were there with that drink in their hand, during a family oriented function. Turns out, yes, I would make a guess that a couple of these did have issues with alcohol. One of these actually made a comment, when asked about their vacation, and how was the nice resort... they didn't really know, or see most of it... Said they spent most all of their time at the bar... obviously while the kids were being occupied and/or running free.
 
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I did not read through most of the thread but overall I think he would be very happy with how things are going. Disney is making money hand over fist, and Walt really never paid attention to the business or financial side of things at all, leaving it to his brother Roy. That might be slightly extreme, but the 'business' was not something he really bothered with.

I also think he would be thrilled with the infusion of new technology in attractions, and a constant innovation in characters and technology in the movies.

I think the cost would absolutely appall him. The American Middle Class is totally different from what Walt knew, so he might have some understanding, but I do know he purposely kept the cost of souvenirs and parking low at DLR low so it would be accessible. He did make plans for luxury accommodations, but also for a RV park/campground. Also, WDW plans involved building few resorts so local business and motels (especially budget motels) would thrive. Michael Eisner put an end to that!

Of course, no one knows what he would have thought, thats just my opinion.
 
Sorry, but I am just not seeing this one.
There is no analogy or coorelation between something being healthy and alcoholic drinking.
I would never have thought that a theme-park should have to be 'healthy'. Quite the opposite.

BUT, as far as enjoying alcohol... I do believe that there is a time and a place for everything... Just don't think that Disney has to be 'alcohol free'.
While I have no problem with some availability.... I do see a problem of those who are vacationing with children seeing an afternoon at a park as an opportunity to imbibe, or over-inbibe.

Having said that, not everyone is at Disney with younger children.
When our son was younger we were involved in a large family group/organization. And, for example, we had an annual summer 'family reunion'. I thought it did look questionable when in more recent years there were a couple of of the fathers who were there with that drink in their hand, during a family oriented function. Turns out, yes, I would make a guess that a couple of these did have issues with alcohol. One of these actually made a comment, when asked about their vacation, and how was the nice resort... they didn't really know, or see most of it... Said they spent most all of their time at the bar... obviously while the kids were being occupied and/or running free.
There's a huge difference between a parent getting drunk on a family outing and dad or mom enjoying a glass of wine in the France pavilion or a margarita at the Mexico kiosk. When I was a child, my parents took me to an amusement park that included a Germany-themed area with a biergarten restaurant. They'd sometimes have a beer with their brats. It didn't damage me or turn me into an alcoholic when I grew up. Nor did it mean that they had to have a drink; they just enjoyed it sometimes during a hot.summer day. Now, if one of them had gotten drunk, that would have been a different story. I don't see why people are judged for enjoying an alcoholic beverage responsibly. But then, there are a lot of things people judge others on that I don't understand either. Shrug.
 
I think the cost would absolutely appall him. The American Middle Class is totally different from what Walt knew, so he might have some understanding, but I do know he purposely kept the cost of souvenirs and parking low at DLR low so it would be accessible. He did make plans for luxury accommodations, but also for a RV park/campground. Also, WDW plans involved building few resorts so local business and motels (especially budget motels) would thrive. Michael Eisner put an end to that!

Of course, no one knows what he would have thought, thats just my opinion.

There are enough interviews where I get the impression that he wouldn't have approved of "all you can eat" rides. He liked the system where one could simply pay to get in, sit around, and just soak in the scenery or visit certain attractions that didn't require an additional fee or ride tickets. The ride ticket/fee system was purposely designed to control how long people waited in line.

His big concern at the time he built Disneyland was the unsavory element that sprang up around his properties. He regretted not having enough money to purchase more land in Anaheim to fulfill his vision. Disneyland was supposed to be all the things that previous amusement parks in the US were not.

However, Walt was a product of his day and an extremely complex figure. He was a chain smoker but did what he could to keep from being photographed with a cigarette in his mouth because of the poor example it would set. He drank alcohol himself, but didn't feel that it would be appropriate for Disneyland. There was that famous series of articles in the Saturday Evening Post where he expressed his vision.

Chewing gum sticks up things so we don't sell it. And peanut shells. We sell the unshelled. But shelled peanuts, they just crumble them and throw them all over the place. And nothing with round sticks. People trip on them. The ice cream bars got flat sticks and I won't sell any of this spun candy because the kids get it and get it all over everything and people get it on their hands.

No liquor, no beer, nothing. Because that brings in a rowdy element. That brings people that we don't want and I feel they don't need it. I feel when I go down to the park I don't need a drink. I work around that place all day and I don't have one. After I come out of a heavy day at the studio sometimes I want a drink to relax.

When it comes to Disneyland, I feel I've given the public everything I can give them. My daughter, Diane, says that I spend too much time around the house talking about how I can give them more for their money when they come to the park. You've got to build. You've got to keep it clean. You don't want to walk in a dirty toilet. I won't have 'em. My toilets are **** and span. And you know another thing, I have to have police so there's no child molesters there. I've got plainclothesmen. They can leave their kids to run around and I have safety inspectors. It's run in a high class manner and I have a high class clientele. The people who go to the park are from all walks of life but they look like solid Americans. That's pretty high class.
** **
Interviewer: One of the things we should cover is to knock off that rumor that Disneyland's expensive to come to.

Oh, no. Not at all. That's an old hat thing. You hear it from some people because they don't know what else to say.

By the time this article comes out, I'm raising it to two dollars because I'm adding all these new rides. And to extend my ticket book to take care of the rides, I'm putting this to ten rides for two dollars. Figure it out. It averages twenty cents a ride, doesn't it? It would cost an adult three dollars and a junior two dollars and fifty cents to get in and get ten rides. If they don't want that, they can pay their buck and pay their fifty cents for their kid and they can come in. They can sit on the park benches, take up the space, dirty up my toilets, litter up the street. They can do all of that if they pay their dollar-fifty. They can ride as they want to. They can sit around and hear my band; they can visit my free shows. They can do all that and more for their dollar-fifty.

You can't go in a state park without paying that. See, you've got to pay something. You pay so much a head or so much a car to go in a state park. We even have to pay government tax on admission. So it's really ninety-one cents to get in. Now that's what it amounts to. You can't go to the circus for that. I tell you the complaint about the prices are malicious. Los Angeles is made up of a lot of different characters. How do I know they might not be more interested in some other thing like Marineland? Or some other type of amusement that is competitive. We are competitive, too. Who knows? But there's no foundation for some of these complaints about price. When people make that remark to me, it just sounds to me like they heard it somewhere and they don't know what else to say. How can they compare Disneyland prices with anything else because there is nothing else like it.​
 
It's hard to judge how affordable WDW actually is. People like to mention the cost of a game or concert but that is a one time cost versus several days of different high costs. I don't see how they compare when it comes to people's budgets.

Plus consumer debt is once again skyrocketing. How many travelers just say charge it and worry about repayment later?
 
There are enough interviews where I get the impression that he wouldn't have approved of "all you can eat" rides. He liked the system where one could simply pay to get in, sit around, and just soak in the scenery or visit certain attractions that didn't require an additional fee or ride tickets. The ride ticket/fee system was purposely designed to control how long people waited in line.

His big concern at the time he built Disneyland was the unsavory element that sprang up around his properties. He regretted not having enough money to purchase more land in Anaheim to fulfill his vision. Disneyland was supposed to be all the things that previous amusement parks in the US were not.

However, Walt was a product of his day and an extremely complex figure. He was a chain smoker but did what he could to keep from being photographed with a cigarette in his mouth because of the poor example it would set. He drank alcohol himself, but didn't feel that it would be appropriate for Disneyland. There was that famous series of articles in the Saturday Evening Post where he expressed his vision.

Chewing gum sticks up things so we don't sell it. And peanut shells. We sell the unshelled. But shelled peanuts, they just crumble them and throw them all over the place. And nothing with round sticks. People trip on them. The ice cream bars got flat sticks and I won't sell any of this spun candy because the kids get it and get it all over everything and people get it on their hands.

No liquor, no beer, nothing. Because that brings in a rowdy element. That brings people that we don't want and I feel they don't need it. I feel when I go down to the park I don't need a drink. I work around that place all day and I don't have one. After I come out of a heavy day at the studio sometimes I want a drink to relax.

When it comes to Disneyland, I feel I've given the public everything I can give them. My daughter, Diane, says that I spend too much time around the house talking about how I can give them more for their money when they come to the park. You've got to build. You've got to keep it clean. You don't want to walk in a dirty toilet. I won't have 'em. My toilets are **** and span. And you know another thing, I have to have police so there's no child molesters there. I've got plainclothesmen. They can leave their kids to run around and I have safety inspectors. It's run in a high class manner and I have a high class clientele. The people who go to the park are from all walks of life but they look like solid Americans. That's pretty high class.
** **
Interviewer: One of the things we should cover is to knock off that rumor that Disneyland's expensive to come to.

Oh, no. Not at all. That's an old hat thing. You hear it from some people because they don't know what else to say.

By the time this article comes out, I'm raising it to two dollars because I'm adding all these new rides. And to extend my ticket book to take care of the rides, I'm putting this to ten rides for two dollars. Figure it out. It averages twenty cents a ride, doesn't it? It would cost an adult three dollars and a junior two dollars and fifty cents to get in and get ten rides. If they don't want that, they can pay their buck and pay their fifty cents for their kid and they can come in. They can sit on the park benches, take up the space, dirty up my toilets, litter up the street. They can do all of that if they pay their dollar-fifty. They can ride as they want to. They can sit around and hear my band; they can visit my free shows. They can do all that and more for their dollar-fifty.

You can't go in a state park without paying that. See, you've got to pay something. You pay so much a head or so much a car to go in a state park. We even have to pay government tax on admission. So it's really ninety-one cents to get in. Now that's what it amounts to. You can't go to the circus for that. I tell you the complaint about the prices are malicious. Los Angeles is made up of a lot of different characters. How do I know they might not be more interested in some other thing like Marineland? Or some other type of amusement that is competitive. We are competitive, too. Who knows? But there's no foundation for some of these complaints about price. When people make that remark to me, it just sounds to me like they heard it somewhere and they don't know what else to say. How can they compare Disneyland prices with anything else because there is nothing else like it.​
Can you send this Bob Iger??
 
Can you send this Bob Iger??

I'd be surprised if he didn't already know that. He's got a fiduciary duty to his shareholders. He can try to live up to Walt's legacy, but in the end he's legally required to treat the Walt Disney Company as a business.

Strangely enough, I don't believe the the Walt Disney Company really became a heavily traded public company until after this interview. My reading is that they didn't get listed on the New York Stock Exchange until 1957 where they had their initial public offering. I think it was possible to own shares before that, but it was only OTC.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/120115/if-you-had-invested-right-after-disneys-ipo.asp
 
It's hard to judge how affordable WDW actually is. People like to mention the cost of a game or concert but that is a one time cost versus several days of different high costs. I don't see how they compare when it comes to people's budgets.

Plus consumer debt is once again skyrocketing. How many travelers just say charge it and worry about repayment later?

There is no rule that you have to spend several days at WDW. You may want too and that just means you pay more for it just like you would pay more if you wanted to go to 2 concerts, or 3 NBA games.
One day admission to WDW is comparable to (some) concert tickets and sporting events.
All the other costs associated with going to WDW can also be associated with any travel to any event or destination. The longer you choose to stay and the more you choose to do the more it is going to cost you.
If someone can't afford a vacation at WDW then chances are they can't afford vacations at many other places either.
A WDW vacation when compared to other choices for entertainment or vacations is not outrageous.
 

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