Middle Class Priced Out???

[Jen and Ashwin]

Yep. Which is why Disney likes those "once in a lifetime" guests. They will only go once, and they have to fit it all in. And they are doing it to give their kids a dream - so they'll spend on souvenirs and photos and character meals.

Lots of families spend on those things every time they visit, even if they have been there many, many times. We always get the photo pass, have a souvenir budget for each person and we even book character meals and signature dining on each trip. These are some of the things that we enjoy, so we budget for that as part of our trip.

 

[crisi]

Yes, lots of families do. But when you market you market to the average guest. Which profile has the most margin in it - those are the people you want. And I'm betting it isn't middle class repeat visitors. Its upper middle class repeat visitors and middle class once in a lifetimers. For the middle class repeat visitors that do all the spending every year, they apparently aren't being priced out, because they are continuing to spend .

 

[manning]

It won't slow the crowds because for many people, the Disney vacation has become a rite of passage for the American childhood experience. They will go into debt for it because otherwise they feel like they aren't giving their kids part of the American dream. It isn't rational obviously, but they could raise the prices more and still be just fine. The only thing that will stop it would be some sort of negative scandal or press about WDW business practices or members of the company. Or a major war or terrorist event.

Boy, that American dream has changed since I was a kid.

 

[manning]

I'm solidly lower middle class and can only afford to visit WDW as often as I do because:
1. I live a 90-minute car ride away, so no real travel expense
2. I only have myself and one child for whom to buy ticket media
3. FL resident pricing on APs
4. WDW is where we've chosen to spend our entertainment/recreation funds and my child isn't involved in sports/clubs/etc.

Even at that, I've been priced out of onsite overnight stays at this point. Which has turned out to be a good thing, since I can get way better accommodations offsite for far less cost, but disappointing that onsite vs. offsite is no longer optional.

If I lived out of state and/or had a bigger family, no way could I afford WDW trips.

Yep

 

[Elliesmommy]

I know this topic comes up in discussions a lot. But I'd really love to know if everyone believes that WDW is pricing out the middle class? Or...any other classes for that matter! If you feel like you're being or have been priced out, why specifically do you feel that way? Do you still go on trips to WDW? How have you compensated for their price increases? On the other hand, if you don't feel as though WDW is pricing people out, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that as well!

I don't feel that I have been priced out. Disney is expensive and it always has been to me. There is no where else like Disney to me. It is just magical! Now because of a spinal cord injury, I had not traveled to Disney in a few years. Instead I stayed in my home state and spent a week every year at an indoor waterpark. It is actually just as expensive!!

I was a nurse and because of my injury, I am now considered low income because of the work restrictions forced upon me. Still, I budget for an annual vacation. I can afford it simply because I am a massive bargain hunter and it is a priority of mine. Making memories is important ...and expensive!

 

[bearzabout]

Feeling priced out of Disney turned out to be a terrific thing for us. We have traveled to so many other places instead of constantly going to Disney. We don't miss it yet and have really enjoyed discovering so many other great destinations. We still love Orlando and do other things when we are in the area. We enjoy the resorts more since we never had time to spend at them when we were maxing out time in the parks.

For anyone else feeling priced out, don't despair. Look at it as a blessing and go experience new places. Life is such a great adventure and there are so many beautiful, fun destinations to visit both in and out of this country. That said, I am excited about returning to Disney after the major construction projects are completed.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I posted a couple times already in this thread, but I was reminded of something I posted a few years ago on a thread about Disney Deluxe hotels. We all have different budgets and different spending priorities. While I LOVE WDW and DLR, I also love to travel to other places with my family during the year. I have a vacation budget and I like to streeeetch it to get the most bang for my buck. When I look at the cost of a Deluxe Disney vacation I have to look at which other vacation I'd have to give up to afford it. I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian...it's on my bucket list, but so far, taking my other vacations has always won out.

Some of the WDW trip budgets I've seen on the boards cost more than all of my yearly vacations combined. Usually we vacation over Easter Break and for a week every summer. Some years we travel more than others. Back in 2013 we had a big vacation year. We went to:

- WDW (8 days at Wyndham Bonnet Creek),
- DL (4 days at my sister's house) and
- Hawaii (7days at Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on Kauai and 4 days at Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk on Oahu)

All three trips together came to about $7500! Thank God for timeshares!!!! (Timeshare costs, food, activities, tickets, rental car & flights are included in that vacation budget). Also....this was not a typical travel year for us. It took 2 years of saving for a couple of these special events (daughter's WDW graduation trip & Hawaii family reunion). We also rented a cottage in the Outer Banks, NC for 5 days over Easter Break (got a friends & family rate from the owner) and joined DH's family for a weekend at the Jersey Shore (not included in the $7500 above but cost less than $700 for both).

2015 was also a huge travel year for us (partly because I got a better paying job). Over Easter Break, DH and DS went to Ireland on a school golf trip. DD and I went to WDW for 4 days for a school softball trip. We went on a week long Caribbean cruise with Carnival for DS's HS graduation. My college girl friends and I spent a week at a gorgeous timeshare resort in August in Riviera Maya, Mexico. DH and I went to an all inclusive in Punta Cana, DR for 5 days to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Again, we saved for a couple years so we could take these trips, but they totaled around $10,500 for flights, transportation, lodging, food, activities, tickets, ect.

Now with 1 kid in college and 1 starting in a few months, my travel budget has shrunk considerably. Big budget or small budget, I will never blow all my vacation money on WDW, no matter how much I love it!

 

[WDWNY]

I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian...it's on my bucket list, but so far, taking my other vacations has always won out.

I'm with you on that one. We could stay at the GF and MAYBE once a year or every other year or we could save money on our hotel and stay at a value/moderate or use DVC and go multiple times a year.

 

[disneysmyhappyplace]

The cost to go to disney for a family of 4 has become ridiculous. Our last trip was around 7,000 for a week. Some of that was paid by the ebay/target/ebucks loophole so the actual cost was more like $4,000. I realize there are ways to do disney cheaper but staying at all star hotels and eating fast food every meal isn't my cup of tea. (No offense to anyone who chooses these options it's just now how I like to travel) we did try to cut costs by doing a amazon prime delivery with soda, water & snacks. That probably saved us at least $200.

We truly enjoy disney and will absolutely go back again in a couple of years but there are some really awesome places we could visit for a $7,000 price tag.

We talked about getting annual passes for our next trip and doing disney twice in 12 months (first trip in December then the second trip the following November) it would be roughly $400 per person per week. It's not a huge savings but not horrible either.

Okay this really has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I was wondering how you used prime to do your water and snacks order? Will they deliver to the resort? Do I just put my name and the disney resort address? Thank you would love to utilize prime for our upcoming trip

 

[ThistleMae]

We finally stayed at a Deluxe Resort, the Polynesian in 2015. To be perfectly honest, we didn't love it anymore than POP. The one advantage was taking the boat to MK and the Monorail system. But as far as the facilities, they were nothing spectacular, nice but not outstanding. It really came down to deciding the worth of convenience versus cost, and we decided we will put up with the buses on our next vacation. We are staying offsite in July, which is much cheaper but are looking to book in 2018 and hoping for the FD. The bottom line for us is....just figure out how to afford Disney. We all make sacrifices to be able to vacation. We budget out money, we try for FD and we try to go off season. In the end, we have been able to figure out how to afford the vacation we prefer to go on. Prices of everything go up every year. Why would Disney be any different.

 

[erc]

Interesting subject and one that has been going on here since I first perused these forums 13 years ago. And yet the attendance and revenue keeps trucking along even with the financial collapse of 2008. I make a 6-figure income and feel I barely make enough to afford a Disney Vacation, or really any vacation outside of a family trip to DQ for an ice cream.

Anyone, including me, who has put a Disney Vacation on a credit card for which they are paying off with interest charges, is priced out of Disney.

But then I look at my DD17 upcoming college costs for her first choice school, it will be $25,000 that Mom and Dad need to come up with every year. Yep, priced out of private college, but I will sign the loan papers and dream about when a $4,000 Disney vacation seemed expensive...

 

[dreiwhit]

Something I just realized, FWIW.....

I was born and raised in California. When I was little guy in the 1970s, Dad worked as a Federal civil servant and my mom stayed home to raise my sister and I. I can remember going to Disneyland very often, several times a year. So often that I got sick of it as a little kid! Granted, my Grandmother lived outside of San Bernardino, so lodging was free, but that didn't keep us from going. Thinking of the costs to go to WDW without lodging now, I can't see my folks having that much money back then to pay for Disney. Something had had to have changed from then 'till now.

 

[kymom99]

Something I just realized, FWIW.....

I was born and raised in California. When I was little guy in the 1970s, Dad worked as a Federal civil servant and my mom stayed home to raise my sister and I. I can remember going to Disneyland very often, several times a year. So often that I got sick of it as a little kid! Granted, my Grandmother lived outside of San Bernardino, so lodging was free, but that didn't keep us from going. Comparing now to then, I can't see my folks having that much money back then to pay for Disney. Something had had to have changed from then 'till now.

If all you had to pay for was tickets, it wouldn't seem nearly as expensive I'm sure. We used to go to a local amusement park at least once every summer when I was a kid in the 70s. I can remember well going to the park and mom packing a picnic lunch. When the day came that they stopped allowing food to be brought in, we went out to the truck and tailgated. Yes we were the original tailgaters! Fried chicken on the tailgate of the pickup. Never bought food in the parks except on the rare occasion it was a company picnic and the ticket included a wristband for food. It was a different time with different expectations.

 

[dreiwhit]

If all you had to pay for was tickets, it wouldn't seem nearly as expensive I'm sure.

For us, lodging in Orlando is either free or a very low price in a condo, thanks to the company I work for. So, lodging isn't a huge expense for us to go to WDW. Similar to what I experienced as a kid when we went to DL by stayed with my grandmother.

But, when you think of the costs for tickets, parking, food, etc, that we pay on a WDW vacation, I just can't see how my folks had that much money back then to go to DL as often as we did.

 

[Elliesmommy]

We finally stayed at a Deluxe Resort, the Polynesian in 2015. To be perfectly honest, we didn't love it anymore than POP. The one advantage was taking the boat to MK and the Monorail system. But as far as the facilities, they were nothing spectacular, nice but not outstanding. It really came down to deciding the worth of convenience versus cost, and we decided we will put up with the buses on our next vacation. We are staying offsite in July, which is much cheaper but are looking to book in 2018 and hoping for the FD. The bottom line for us is....just figure out how to afford Disney. We all make sacrifices to be able to vacation. We budget out money, we try for FD and we try to go off season. In the end, we have been able to figure out how to afford the vacation we prefer to go on. Prices of everything go up every year. Why would Disney be any different.

This has been my thoughts. Now I never stayed at a deluxe resort. My fanciest at Disney was a moderate. It made no difference between a value and a moderate to me. I would assume the same for a deluxe. If I am spending $2500 to go across country, you had better believe that I am not spending it in a hotel room!

 

[PrincessV]

For anyone else feeling priced out, don't despair. Look at it as a blessing and go experience new places.

Well, that's kind of the flip side for folks like me... even with its ever-escalating costs, going to WDW is still cheaper than any other vacation I've priced out. Mostly, that's a matter of no transportation cost for me to get to WDW, beyond $10 worth of gas in the car. But I've priced trips to other locations in FL and any other place we might like to visit costs just as much, if not more. So in some ways it's doubly frustrating that our go-to affordable vacation is getting more expensive!

 

[ThistleMae]

I look at it this way...is the glass half full or half empty? We make choices. Sometimes those choices are depend on affordability. Either we figure out a way to do it, or we choose a different vacation. Hopefully, no matter what we plan, it will be fun!

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Here I'm in the lower middle class category (while holding 2 jobs - I worked 70hrs last week), and I'm firmly priced out at this point. I hold a no expiration ticket that I've had since 2009, but am unable to use it because I can't afford to get there or stay anywhere. I haven't had any sort of vacation in 4 years though, since the cost of everything has gone up... not just Disney.

 

[wendow]

Lots of families spend on those things every time they visit, even if they have been there many, many times. We always get the photo pass, have a souvenir budget for each person and we even book character meals and signature dining on each trip. These are some of the things that we enjoy, so we budget for that as part of our trip.

Same here. We have been going annually for years and always do photopass, character dining (that we pay OOP for) and many souvenirs...with 4 kids and mom who loves Disney stuff around the house, we spend a lot on souvenirs. Not sure why Disney thinks that is first-time guests only.

 

[mrsheppo]

We haven't been to WDW in 2 years and at this point looking at prices, we might not go back. First of all, the price of airfare from the west coast is out of sight. We have a cruise to Alaska planned for this summer and with our airfare, cruise cost, hotel for night before and our excursions it is still $1,100 cheaper than WDW. The WDW trip would include moderate resort, dining plan, park hoppers and airfare and both would have been the same time frame. Even the DCL Alaska cruise is $2,200 more than the one we are taking. Our DD is getting older and we are looking for new adventures for our family. Maybe in a few years we might take another look but for now we are looking at different types of travel and fun