News Story: Has the cost of Disney World become unaffordable for the average American family?

[Lumpy1106]

It is so tempting to take the author's words, comb through the numbers given and provide a critique. Quick back-of-the-envelope; I found the trip I usually plan was AT LEAST $1300 cheaper than the trip listed, and that's before I use my JetBlue points to fly for "free".

but...

That's not the point, and I think his point is valid. You shouldn't need to jump through a bunch of hoops to put the price of a WDW trip within reach. I think we can all agree, a $8k-$10K week-long trip for a family of 4 is NOT within reach for most people.

 

[yensid's offspring]

My trip booked for September will be $11,000 before I hit the ground in Florida. Family of 6. with airfare, Hotel (Boulder Ridge, 9 days), 2 days in each park w/ hopper, Mickey's not so scary Halloween Party. Then I am figuring $5,000 once there for sit down meals, snacks, groceries & souvenirs. Prices have def. increased but I agree with an earlier comment that it seems more people go now than when I was little. I knew maybe one person that went to Disney, now as my kids grew up and I work the same occupation as my father and consider my childhood, as well as my kids, to have been middle class, all of their friends have been to Disney. Some every year. No matter the price people find a way to save and go. I have spent way too much money there over the years but Childhood and family memories are priceless. I gladly spend the money to make my kids happy ( I enjoy it too ). I would not spend the money any place else.

 

[RamblingMad]

It has definitely gotten more expensive but the main issue for me now isn’t the cost. It’s the planning. This always used to require planning but it’s just gotten stupid now. Park reservations, dinner reservations, genie+ (Now only day of… more to enjoy while in vacation!), lightning lane, etc. etc. It was already kind of a working vacation but it just doesn’t feel like a vacation at all anymore.

I hate planning, so I did a switch to DL. I'm waiting for the bugs to be worked out of Genie+. Maybe I go back during the next recession.

 

[RamblingMad]

It is so tempting to take the author's words, comb through the numbers given and provide a critique. Quick back-of-the-envelope; I found the trip I usually plan was AT LEAST $1300 cheaper than the trip listed, and that's before I use my JetBlue points to fly for "free".

but...

That's not the point, and I think his point is valid. You shouldn't need to jump through a bunch of hoops to put the price of a WDW trip within reach. I think we can all agree, a $8k-$10K week-long trip for a family of 4 is NOT within reach for most people.

Given that the cost of a Disney vacation has grown faster than salaries, the piece of the pie that can afford it shrinks every time the increases exceed wage growth.

 

[Dcgc28]

It was so much easier when my kids were younger and we could all fit in one hotel room. Now they are adults (real adults not just Disney adults lol) so this past trip was the first where we got 2 rooms. When first booking I was looking at BC but then found rooms at the Swan, 2 rooms (less than $500 total) for about the same as 1 there. We also were there for F&W so we got hoppers (which we normally don't bother with) to be able to be at Epcot every night for dinner and drinks. This was by far the most expensive trip we've ever taken there but we missed out on our Europe trip (which was cheaper) because of COVID and all 3 of my kids graduated (HS and college) so it was a celebration trip and we knew it was going to be a splurge. I have no problem spending that much on a vacation if I feel it's worth it. This trip just wasn't.
I could have done it cheaper but even if I did I'd come away with the same feeling about WDW as I did. It is sad, I have great memories of our trips but we have always made it a point to vacation in different places with our kids. We've had great vacations elsewhere and will continue too.

I am happy that families like yours can afford it and continue to love going. I don't think there will really ever be a shortage of people like you. Having said that, I do know several hard core Disney fans, some even DVC owners, who no longer feel the love and have decided to either go less frequently or not at all anymore. I don't think it's an issue of not being able to afford it, it's about being willing to shell out all that money and come away with just a run of the mill vacation feeling compared to how it used to feel in the not so distant past.

I really hope Disney tries to win some of its loyalists back, I sincerely mean that. I know the price vs the value isn't there for a lot of people and I get it 100%. We're actually looking at joining DVC, but like you said it's easy because we're all one room. My kids aren't at the age yet where they want independence and freedom, at that point I maybe right there with you that it's not worth it.

 

[BrianL]

Given that the cost of a Disney vacation has grown faster than salaries, the piece of the pie that can afford it shrinks every time the increases exceed wage growth.

Yes, it's not that it is out of reach of the middle class, it's just that the middle class is shrinking (or being redefined), and fewer people are going to be above the line where it is attainable.

 

[RamblingMad]

Yes, it's not that it is out of reach of the middle class, it's just that the middle class is shrinking (or being redefined), and fewer people are going to be above the line where it is attainable.

And the parks are still packed. So they need either more gates or higher prices to shrink them. Folks seem more than willing to go into debt to visit, so raising prices has a limited amount of impact. Thus, they need to add more layers of pricing for a daily visitor to max the per guest spend.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Yes, it's not that it is out of reach of the middle class, it's just that the middle class is shrinking (or being redefined), and fewer people are going to be above the line where it is attainable.

that and the fact that disney price increases have out paced inflation for years now.

 

[BrianL]

And the parks are still packed. So they need either more gates or higher prices to shrink them. Folks seem more than willing to go into debt to visit, so raising prices has a limited amount of impact. Thus, they need to add more layers of pricing for a daily visitor to max the per guest spend.

They definitely are right now! Demand will drive price increases. We have not quite reached the point where people are not going due to price, but it is headed that way. Things can change though, and they might. They are reaching a critical mass right now - if demand doesn't fall, they will need that fifth gate, but the guests are the ones who will be paying for it. I actually figure it will settle into a reasonable place once again, though "reasonable" may look a little different than it has in the past.

 

[shafke]

I ran a spreadsheet once on historical prices for park tickets from when they started to breakout the price of parkhoppers using single day prices as a guide. On average, Disney raises their prices at about twice the rate of inflation. So if inflation runs 2%-2.5%, ticket prices go up at about 4%-5% per year. I also took 1 year with the variable pricing (23 or so different 1 day/1 park rates). If you average those prices for the year... ie: add up all the different prices/365 you still end up with a 5% increase on the average daily ticket price... I think the total I came up with was around 138-140 for the daily average which was pretty close to what you would have had at 5% over the time period (20 years or so).

 

[yensid's offspring]

My trip booked for September will be $11,000 before I hit the ground in Florida. Family of 6. with airfare, Hotel (Boulder Ridge, 9 days), 2 days in each park w/ hopper, Mickey's not so scary Halloween Party. Then I am figuring $5,000 once there for sit down meals, snacks, groceries & souvenirs. Prices have def. increased but I agree with an earlier comment that it seems more people go now than when I was little. I knew maybe one person that went to Disney, now as my kids grew up and I work the same occupation as my father and consider my childhood, as well as my kids, to have been middle class, all of their friends have been to Disney. Some every year. No matter the price people find a way to save and go. I have spent way too much money there over the years but Childhood and family memories are priceless. I gladly spend the money to make my kids happy ( I enjoy it too ). I would not spend the money any place else.

I follow up to an earlier poster. I feel that the magic is still there if you want to see it. Its still clean, family friendly, customer service oriented, one of a kind experience. The cast members make things special if you want to immerse yourself into the magic. Obviously at the prices they charge its not for everyone and the more you spend the more magical your trip can be. But those saying that the magic is gone or Disney is less special, are just not being realistic. Times change and so do experiences and the preferences and attitudes of people, so the experience of today is far different from say an experience in the 80's but that is just the world we live in. Things will continue to change. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages" GONE, calling kids prince and princess ALMOST GONE. These are all just signs of the times. Not Disney's fault. You can still choose to make things magical for your children and the cast members still provide top notch service geared toward making the experience superior to that of just a theme park. IMO

 

[Sinder]

I follow up to an earlier poster. I feel that the magic is still there if you want to see it. Its still clean, family friendly, customer service oriented, one of a kind experience. The cast members make things special if you want to immerse yourself into the magic. Obviously at the prices they charge its not for everyone and the more you spend the more magical your trip can be. But those saying that the magic is gone or Disney is less special, are just not being realistic. Times change and so do experiences and the preferences and attitudes of people, so the experience of today is far different from say an experience in the 80's but that is just the world we live in. Things will continue to change. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages" GONE, calling kids prince and princess ALMOST GONE. These are all just signs of the times. Not Disney's fault. You can still choose to make things magical for your children and the cast members still provide top notch service geared toward making the experience superior to that of just a theme park. IMO

If you think that losing the magic boils down to these reasons then it is you who is not being realistic.
And while we are on the subject of being realistic, who are you to say what anyone else feels about their own personal WDW vacation is wrong?
FWIW I went once in the 80s, don't even remember it. My experiences are based on what has happened recent years, and yes it is most certainly Disney's fault, they are the ones making the decisions about how their parks and resorts are run.
It's great that you are still able to find magic there, but when it comes to speaking for other people's experience it's probably best if you didn't because it's obvious you really have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to their reasons.

 

[ArielRae]

This was posted years ago but still some good info.

 

[Dis Dragon]

To put it succinctly - the magic is still there, you just have to be willing to pay inflated prices to find it. (and still be faced with disapointment, unless you're VIP tour level spending)

 

[Jrb1979]

I see articles on this topic and people making comments about the price of a Disney vacation really frequently. And yes, Disney World is for sure a pricey proposition.

Buuutttt..........unless you're talking about going to your local KOA for a weekend, vacations in general are expensive. We have looked into going to places like Gatlingburg, Chicago, and Washignton, DC and it never seemed like the price of going to those places was much different after you add up hotel costs, food, and entertainment.

And forget about skiing. That is every bit as expensive as Disney World.

I marvel at the people who say they can go to Europe or Asia for the same price as a Disney vacation. For our trip to Europe this fall airfare is $1400 each. That's a lot of park tickets.

While yes they are expensive there are many vacations that cost a lot less. My family just did a trip to Sandusky Ohio for the week and it cost about $1000 for everything.

 

[john7994]

While yes they are expensive there are many vacations that cost a lot less. My family just did a trip to Sandusky Ohio for the week and it cost about $1000 for everything.

Sandusky, OH doesn't get enough love!

 

[Jrb1979]

Sandusky, OH doesn't get enough love!

It doesn't. It has the greatest amusement park in the US.

 

[jerry557]

It has definitely gotten more expensive but the main issue for me now isn’t the cost. It’s the planning. This always used to require planning but it’s just gotten stupid now. Park reservations, dinner reservations, genie+ (Now only day of… more to enjoy while in vacation!), lightning lane, etc. etc. It was already kind of a working vacation but it just doesn’t feel like a vacation at all anymore.

Can't even sleep anymore. Now you have to get up before 7am and fight everyone else on the wonky app and hope the Genie gives you what you want.
At least with the fast pass system, you got to do this at home 60 days before the vacation. And you can plan it all out well in advance.

Remember right before COVID when Rise of Resistance opened. Crowds of crazy people standing outside Hollywood Studios at 4am so they can be the first ones in the park when it opens in order to get in the virtual queue. And there was no guarantee you'd get it. Now THAT's a vacation!

 

[buzlite]

Unpopular opinion
Disney has never been affordable for most middle class families. However Disney’s largest demographic has been white people who are historically on the higher end of incomes compared to the general u.s population. Recently middle class white Americans are falling behind and no longer have the same economic power they previously held. Subsequently they believe Disney is becoming too expensive.

In reality Disney has always catered to wealthier groups. Most regular families can’t afford things like hotels, flights for 4 people or eating out each day. The difference is that incomes for certain groups have grown quickly while others have stagnated. While Disney continues to price to the upper middle class, many people have fallen into the middle class.
The problem is not Disney increasing their prices. The problem is that theres a large group of people the feel they “deserve” to go to Disney because they previously could.
However as most Americans support a capitalist society they should instead focus on becoming better players of the game rather then getting mad at Disney.
On the other hand if you are a communist then you have the right to complain. (Although Disney probably couldn’t exist in a communist regime anyways).

 

[DodgerGirl]

The main problem Walt Disney World has always had and still has is they always wanted to attract the families and gain lots of different types of audiences to their parks and what's the trick to keep the juices flowing to keep families going? Raising ticket prices and creating expensive trip packages full of great activities to keep kids entertained while visiting. Take for example I can't figure out why a child's makeover at Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique is expensive and seems to be in high demand? Because from the Yelp reviews I read about it it is not worth the money or expense and the same thing with character dining because I can never figure out what makes character dining worth it and Walt Disney World has a habit of having expensive character dining packages to go with your hotel and park tickets. But back in the 80's to the 90's Walt Disney World was the number one vacation destination in the world because families loved to take their kids there but I think that changed when Disney's Animal Kingdom was built and the resorts like Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Animal Kingdom Lodge debuted and were considered the most expensive of Disney's resorts and then when Animal Kingdom opened in 1998 the ticket prices soared even higher. But a lot of families started to avoid the Disney resorts because some of the hotels were pricey and not worth the money and started going to hotels and motels like Days Inn Ramada Super 8 and Motel 6 because they offered better deals on rooms and most families used to stay at these types of motels because they used it mainly as a place to get some sleep but in a Disney resort you can take breaks with the kids more easily. Another thing that Walt Disney World has that attracts families are dinner shows and ever since they added dinner show packages the price of the dinner shows have gone up and I cannot figure out how Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue is worth the money but that is very popular with people. If Walt Disney World were to lower it's prices then it would improve itself better but there are other options for families such as Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia and Dollywood too