Why the Middle class is not being out priced, the Washington Post article is one sided at best.

[sheetz]

Caution on the Brazil front

Probably at least half of those countries listed are ready to implode, but WDW is going to keep going back to the well until it's dry.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Here's another interesting chart showing which tourists spent the most money in the US in 2013.
http://skift.com/2014/04/09/the-10-tourists-that-spent-the-most-in-the-u-s-in-2013/

Country/Total spent/Millions of visitors/$ spent per visitor
Canada/$27.0 billion/23.39/$1,154
Japan/$18.0 billion/3.73/$4,826
United Kingdom/$13.7 billion/3.84/$3,568
Mexico/$10.5 billion/14.34/$732
Brazil/$10.5 billion/2.06/$5,097
People’s Republic of China/$9.8 billion/1.81/$5,414
Germany $7.5 billion/1.92/$3,906
Australia $6.1 billion/1.21/$5,041
France $5.9 billion/1.5/$3,933
India $5.6 billion/0.86/$6,512

Looking at the figures it's no wonder Disney wants as many Brazilian visitors as they can get. Their average spending was over $5000 per person. How many Americans do you think spend that much on a WDW vacation? Not many, I bet.

I think a lot of that is shopping....clothes, shoes, electronics to take back. Not sure how much of that WDW gets?

 

[sheetz]

I think a lot of that is shopping....clothes, shoes, electronics to take back. Not sure how much of that WDW gets?

True, but supposedly one of the reasons for Disney Springs is to capture more of that Brazilian tourist market.

 

[ArwenMarie]

True, but supposedly one of the reasons for Disney Springs is to capture more of that Brazilian tourist market.

I think they'll still be up at Best Buy and the malls

 

[Yellowstonetim]

The article is spot on correct. Entertainment of all types costs a lot today, and Disney gives me more bang for the buck than anything else. And when I wanted to be cheap there were lots of ways to save money. The food is generally good and actually reasonably priced compared to many other entertainment venues. It is ridiculous to compare Disney prices now to the 70's because Disney is so much more now. One park grown to an entire world. And comparing the beach to Disney!? Really!? I think Disney is still a good deal for what I get and so do, apparently, a few million other people. Oh, I know average Joes that are definitely lower middle class who save up, go cheap, and love it. Quit whining and go to the beach if you don't like it. Or Yellowstone. I love Yellowstone. But Disney is worth it to me. Some people can't stomach the thought!

 

[Planogirl]

Don't some foreign visitors get special deals too? I've heard about some in the past but don't know if Disney still does that.

 

[rteetz]

Don't some foreign visitors get special deals too? I've heard about some in the past but don't know if Disney still does that.

I believe the UK gets a different free dining offer than the U.S. Does.

 

[sheetz]

Don't some foreign visitors get special deals too? I've heard about some in the past but don't know if Disney still does that.

Expedia UK often offers lower rates for WDW resorts than the US site does, and UK visitors are also able to buy tickets for up to 21 days. Similarly Australian and NZ visitors to DLR are able to buy 10 day tickets when Americans are limited to 5 days.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

There been many reports of the last few years where UK and other European tourists have mentions rates much lower then what we get here. It seems if we from the states try to log into those reservation sites, we are blocked.

AKK

 

[Sparkly]

Don't some foreign visitors get special deals too? I've heard about some in the past but don't know if Disney still does that.

We get great offers because airfare costs so much. That and tickets are half of the cost of going to Florida!

 

[Planogirl]

We get great offers because airfare costs so much. That and tickets are half of the cost of going to Florida!

That's true for us too even though our flights probably cost less. I say that because I remember that at one time I could find great deals to Europe while our prices were out of hand. I think that all of them are too high now.

 

[theyoungs07]

My kids received some free tix to our local-ish Six Flags from a reading program (AWESOME!). When I priced out the extra tickets I'd have to buy I could get them for $55 with a discount, plus $8 convenience fee. Then if we want there version of fast pass it would cost between $35 and $75 per person! Discounted tickets to Six Flags for a day with what would be equivalent to Fastpass would cost $130 per person for a day! The only difference is that their pass is unlimited. The $35 per person pass was to have the same wait time, but not have to actually stand in the line...not sure how they do that.

Vacation is expensive, choose what memories you want to instill in your children and spend some money...doesn't matter where, just get out of your normal routine and recreate! There's a reason that recreate is basically the same as "re-create"

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

The dis article compares vacations that can be done on the cheap or expensive. Compared to other popular vacations disney is expensive. A beach vacation for example to let's say Destin, FL can be done much cheaper. It's all dependent on the family too. A family of five is going to have to spend usually a good amount more than a family of four at disney. Also airfare needs to be accounted for a lot of people fly to disney rather than drive, flying isn't cheap. Most middle class salaries aren't getting bigger while Disney vacations have, I think that's the biggest part of this.

I think the airfare is something that all of these articles are leaving out. If you can drive there, WDW is a regional destination for you. Totally different story than a family who has to fly in.
The park tickets are expensive, no doubt. Really expensive.
But everything else is adjustable based on your budget. Orlando is overloaded with great offsite rentals that are reasonable. Food costs are adjustable too.
The people I know who can't afford to go to WDW can't afford to take any vacation right now. Vacations are a luxury and the first thing to go when money is tight. And that's ok, you can live without vacations.

The majority of US vistors to WDW do drive. We've been able to go to WDW so musch because we cabn drive their in less than 10 hours. We really want to go to DL, but the cost of airfare makes it much more expensive.

and the tickets costing over $100? that is for a one day ticket to MK. says nothing about days 5 through 10 costing $10 each.

I son't think the majority of US vistors get those longer tickets though. The average length of their vacation is 4.5 days. Most of us on the DIS are outliers.

They have a finite amount of park space and ride capacity too. If anything, there would seem to be less park and ride capacity than there are hotel rooms since off-site hotels provide additional options.

Under the tiered price proposal people going during peak times would pay more and still face crowds and lines, but they would be smaller crowds and lines than they otherwise would be at the lower price point.

The number of days that MK closes for capacity is small compared to the number of Gold days that were included on the survey. And Disney isn't going to cap attendance at a lower number. If so, they wouldn't be worried about converting the Richard Petty speedway to additional parking space.

Also, you can agree that Disney is expensive and still think it's good value. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[JimmyBean42]

The only thing I think the author really messed up on is that he (conveniently) omitted the fact that WDW attendance is growing year after year. B/c if he put that simple fact in the story it would show that either a) the middle class really isn't priced out or b) they are finding ways to make it fit their budget.

If the attendance #s go down, then Disney wouldn't raise prices at the level they do. Bottom line is they know how to work the supply and demand figures correctly without tipping towards a downward slope.

 

[larandtra1990]

Jimmybean is on to something..Great post