NYT opinion piece: Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class

[irlandaise]

"The system dispenses front-of-the-line spots and gives priority to travelers who book a guide, purchase expensive passes or stay at a Disney property. As a visitor on a budget, Ms. Cressel is near the bottom of a pecking order in which, on many days, thousands of spots for the park’s premier rides are reserved for the big spenders."

Full article gift link (good for two weeks):

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/...e_code=1.hk8.inRI.-a89p0Q6MJcb&smid=url-share

 

[gottalovepluto]

Wish I could have the couple mins that nonsense took to read back. I’ll summarize for others
-it’s expensive no matter what
-the more you pay, the better your experience

 

[BayTower2010]

NYT is quickly becoming not relevant. Pieces like this are not insiteful as it is a regurgitation of just about every Disney board on the internet. NYT used to stand for quality reporting, not those grocery store garbage papers.

 

[tigertides]

I posted this article a few hours earlier (Wish the mods would combine threads)

I think the NYT pointing out that:
- Not just Disney, this is a general trend in America (pay to play) that has now infected what should be more democratic areas of society (children's theme parks)

- It flies into the face of the Exalted One, the Founder Walt Disney ethos that everyone should be treated like a VIP. Was Walt wrong? or is the current CEO hellbent on maximizing profits wrong?

 

[irlandaise]

Wish I could have the couple mins that nonsense took to read back. I’ll summarize for others
-it’s expensive no matter what
-the more you pay, the better your experience

It's more than that. The author is talking not just about Disney, but about companies in general, and how they're responding to an increasing economic divide. That's the real problem; what Disney is doing is only a symptom of it.

 

[juxtapose]

Has this not been a thing forever though? 1st class flights, 1 class trains, suites in hotels, private tours, private jets, etc have been around forever. They're just now finally offering minor upgrades that middle class people can afford and now it is bad?

 

[irlandaise]

Has this not been a thing forever though? 1st class flights, 1 class trains, suites in hotels, private tours, private jets, etc have been around forever. They're just now finally offering minor upgrades that middle class people can afford and now it is bad?

Oh sure, it was ever thus. But the author argues that it's become more extreme since the 1990s and especially since the pandemic. Again, for companies in general; focusing on Disney just gets people's attention to the issue more than other companies that people don't feel so attached to.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Oh sure, it was ever thus. But the author argues that it's become more extreme since the 1990s and especially since the pandemic. Again, for companies in general; focusing on Disney just gets people's attention to the issue more than other companies that people don't feel so attached to.

Yes, since the early 90s the gap between the upper echelon of earners has grown and the distribution to the middle and lower classes has been less. That trend will only continue with recent extensions.

Companies (especially those in the travel industry) have almost become forced to cater to the higher earners because the middle and lower are for the most part barely making ends meet.

 

[tigertides]

I am not so sure companies are forced to do this. Everyone can learn from Costco. They have kept their $1.50 hotdog and soda special since the company was founded. In fact, the founder went to war with the board who wanted to raise prices.

Likewise, would it kill Disney to offer a $99 hotel special along with $99 entrance to Magic Kingdom, one week of every year? Cap Attendance, do whatever you have to. Sure, these people would not get to ride the marquee attractions, but they could at least take their families and be part of the magic without going bankruptKeep the price the same to enter the park.

 

[RivShore]

I am not so sure companies are forced to do this. Everyone can learn from Costco. They have kept their $1.50 hotdog and soda special since the company was founded. In fact, the founder went to war with the board who wanted to raise prices.

Likewise, would it kill Disney to offer a $99 hotel special along with $99 entrance to Magic Kingdom, one week of every year? Cap Attendance, do whatever you have to. Sure, these people would not get to ride the marquee attractions, but they could at least take their families and be part of the magic without going bankruptKeep the price the same to enter the park.

They are really not that far off from your targets, per Goggle below. Why does the times never write an article on how it is possible to do Disney on a budget in Aug/Sep?

The lowest Walt Disney World ticket price in 2024 was $109 for a one-day, one-park ticket to Disney's Animal Kingdom on select dates, particularly during the cheapest months of August and September.
The lowest reported price for a Walt Disney World hotel room in 2024 was approximately $117 per night, found at the All-Star Resorts during the off-peak winter and August/September months.

 

[fatmanatee]

They also have a $89 per day ticket offer for the other three parks right now (ending next month). MK not included but tag that onto the offer and you're at around 100 per day for four days.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I am not so sure companies are forced to do this. Everyone can learn from Costco. They have kept their $1.50 hotdog and soda special since the company was founded. In fact, the founder went to war with the board who wanted to raise prices.

Likewise, would it kill Disney to offer a $99 hotel special along with $99 entrance to Magic Kingdom, one week of every year? Cap Attendance, do whatever you have to. Sure, these people would not get to ride the marquee attractions, but they could at least take their families and be part of the magic without going bankruptKeep the price the same to enter the park.

Costco also sells necessities. Nothing Disney sells is a necessity. So they’re going to cater higher to those who have more disposable income beyond the basic needs.

 

[fatmanatee]

Costco also sells necessities. Nothing Disney sells is a necessity. So they’re going to cater higher to those who have more disposable income beyond the basic needs.

And the hot dog deal is a cheap incentive to get in and spend a lot of money on other things.

 

[irlandaise]

And the hot dog deal is a cheap incentive to get in and spend a lot of money on other things.

Yep, they've been very open about that.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I think one reason Disney is (fairly, in my opinion) being singled out is because its image used to be that it was a place for “everyone” and then the changes came on all at once. In 2019, we took a trip with free dining, the magical express and our magic bands were included, and we got 3 free FPs a day. Everyone who stayed on property even the least expensive All Star had access to that. When we would wait in a standby line and my kids would complain about people in the FP line sailing past, I could counter that we had gone on our FP ride moments before and now it’s their turn.

The other thing that the article isn’t discussing is what, to use a Dis-safe word, is the “enpoopification” of daily life. Experiences made worse to encourage you to buy your way out of it. As I child we never waited an hour in a TSA line, but after 9/11 came the endless lines and voila, TSA precheck to buy your way out. You’re made to feel like a VIP for an experience that should have been the baseline. Meanwhile, the real VIPs are making out like bandits and flying private, never having to deal with all the friction they’ve introduced for everyone else.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I am not so sure companies are forced to do this. Everyone can learn from Costco. They have kept their $1.50 hotdog and soda special since the company was founded. In fact, the founder went to war with the board who wanted to raise prices.

Likewise, would it kill Disney to offer a $99 hotel special along with $99 entrance to Magic Kingdom, one week of every year? Cap Attendance, do whatever you have to. Sure, these people would not get to ride the marquee attractions, but they could at least take their families and be part of the magic without going bankruptKeep the price the same to enter the park.

Sorry, but Costco lovers love this fable .

Grocery stores have long embraced the model of “loss leaders” - items that they sell at a loss to get shoppers in the doors. Everyday items like soda are sold at a loss, as most people shop at just one store and thus that store makes money of their entire basket. Hence why loss leaders are generally not available for pick-up/ delivery (although Kroger has started making them available, as it try’s to build up those services). In the 2000s, A&P said it would no longer participate in loss leaders…. And it was a catalyst in dooming the chain.

Hot dogs and rotisserie chickens are loss leaders at Costco, intended to drive traffic into the stores. Notice how grocery store sale prices on soda are significantly better than Costco’s price? Costco isn’t trying to keep shoppers happy.

 

[imbelle]

VIP experiences have always been around (think the original Club 33). But they didn't used to directly impact the average guest's experience the way they do now. Nobody cares if somebody else dines at Victoria & Albert's, rents a fireworks cruise, or pays for a backstage tour. But when Lightning Lane users are cutting in front of standby guests, viewing areas for fireworks/parades are monetized, and parks are closed early for paid events, it's at the cost of a diminished experience for the average guest.