people want Disneyland to stop increasing their prices, but people still continue to flock to Disneyland. They continue to still sell out and hotels are still booked. Prices will never decrease at this pace
Right. It’s all about supply and demand. As long as people continue to flock to Disneyworld or Disneyland, the prices will never decrease. It’s basic economics people!
There’s nothing magical about price gouging and standing in lines all day. I loved Disney World as a kid and went a million times as a young adult living in Florida. When I brought my kids years later it felt like a big letdown. So expensive, so crowded, gross food, dated facilities. The magic was long gone. Our next family trip was to Costa Rica. Much cheaper and a truly life changing experience.
Yup totally agree with you. I used to work at disney back in 2008 and i went back last year with a gf and i just couldnt believe how expensive it was. It was almost $200 CAD for one day ticket and the park was packed. waited 3 hours and a half to do the avatar ride. Overall, the whole experience was mediocre and we will not go back.
I’m not natively American, but I live in America. I will never understand families spending thousands to go to a cheap theme park filled with Chinese-made merch and terrible food instead of taking a trip anywhere in the world to see REAL sites and experience the beauty of the real world and cultures. It is beyond me why anyone would pay all that money to see something so artificial. I’m glad your trip to Costa Rica was good!! So many wonderful places to see with the family rather than the capitalism incarnate that is Disney land.
Anyone hear the scene from Jurassic Park between the lawyer and Hammond? Lawyer: “And we can charge anything we want: $2,000 a day, $10,000 a day. And people will pay it.” Hammond: “This park was not built to cater only for the super rich.” Lawyer: What, we’ll have, uh, a coupon day or something” People, we’re there!
As a European, I've flirted with the idea of going to Disney World but I just can't justify it when I can book a whole villa in the south of France for a few weeks versus what it would cost to spend less than a week at Disney eating crap food and waiting in queues.
Do not come to the USA for Disney World. Come for other reasons; but stay out of Disney. Cheers, from an American. I'm also Canadian. I recommend Muskoka in Ontario, Canada in the summer. Rent a cottage on one of the hundreds of lakes. Or, rent some gear and a canoe and disappear into Algonquin Provincial Park for a few days.
I've been saying this for years; you can have an amazing international trip for the same price, and your kids will have more interesting and unique memories from the experience. I like Disneyland but my time in other countries is much more fulfilling.
When in France, I will always prefer Parc Asterix over Disneyland Paris ... not to mention the other stunning european parks like Efteling in the Netherlands, Phantasialand, Tripsdrill and the 9-time best park golden ticket award winner EuropaPark in Germany ... just to mention a few
@@USBAMCISMCIntercontinental travel is the quintessential American vacation? Not even-it is wildly expensive to travel outside of the NA continent and I don’t think you know what quintessential means.
@amesville representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class....if you were willing/able to read between the lines in comment, you would see that I'm stating that there is no place worth visiting in the North American continent for an American. I would argue that an American vacationing in America is un-American....unless you're poor, that is. In that case, Disney Land would be the prime choice.
I love Disney for my daughter BUT I can't stand spending 6-7 hours on any given trip standing in lines for only 15 minutes worth of actual time on rides.
It's the experience of it all, even the waiting. It's the memories. Even in the 80s as child, I didn't like the long waits but still wanted to go. My parents took me and my brothers every year. They were some good happy memories.
Better question is “does a trip to Disney have the same value proposition as before?” For me, it’s a solid no. But everyone’s perception of value is different. Go visit Disney if that’s your thing.
The question of how this value went away. The same concept applies to many products we consume. In reality, sometimes prices have gone up simply because inflation over the past 30 years has driven up the cost of everything FASTER than the average real income of households has gone up. The bigger picture of why this has happened is key, not just looking at prices.
Its also very stressful. There was a time I never wanted to leave the park. My last few times I was ready to leave after a few hours. I'm done with that place because its no longer Disney. Really sad what they did.
Went to Downtown Disney like 3 months ago. A mouse ears hat is $30. A lightsaber can go over $70. And this is still outside the park. And of course, the classic $5 churro.
Not only are their prices expensive but they don’t even pay their employees for enough. I worked there for 2 years and only got an 11 cent raise. I vowed never to take my kids to that greedy ass company
True. I have a client who works at Disneyland escorting VIP people around (rich celebrities) and she gets paid about 18 dollars an hour. Disney is shameless.
@@truegrit7697 This is a terrible response. Disney has it, that's the problem. The person says they dislike the company AFTER working there and your response is "get a better job?". Lets hope they did "get a better job" and spent their resources elsewhere.
Totally agree. Took my kids to Disney when they were five. They liked it, but they Didn’t love it. They actually prefered the rest day at the hotel w the water slides and lazy river.
My wife and I gave our kids the choice of 2 days at Disney on property or a 7 night caribbian cruise on Royal Caribbean. They chose the cruise and im glad they did!
I hate cruises. I feel like I'm imprisoned on Alcatraz. Too much time stuck on a crowded floating prison. Which is ok if you're a drunk adult. You won't think it's boring. But for kids? God awful.
@Because-rt8qs Because being in a overcrowded park to stand in line for over an hour for a 1 minute ride doesn't feel like prison. You do you, my kids didn't choose the cruise blindly, it's their 3rd so far. They enjoy the food, endless ice cream, water slides, spash pad, shows, ice skating, flow rider, put put golf, the kid zone where they hang with kids there age and do fun stuff, they can't wait to go back to the kid zone after we pick them up. My son plays piano, i talked to the piano man one night, and he was invited up to play for everyone. All the "drunk adults" cheered afterward, something he'll never forget. If you're against feelings trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean i get that. People have their phobias, but don't act like the park aren't overcrowded! As for the drunk adult part, we don't get drunk. We may have a few drinks, but we don't get drunk. I think you've never been on a cruise and that's fine. Probably better for everyone.
@wesleynichols5676 that sounds like a blast. My oldest is 4 and I've been trying to decide how I want to do family vacations for my kids. I might save up for that!
@abigailloar956 We really enjoy it. We have enjoyed Disney before pandemic with my oldest. We just prefer cruising. I hope you get sail yourself one day! First of the year is a good time to look, Royale Caribbean usually does Kids sail free promotions then.
from the West Coast, i priced out a 5 day, 6 night Disney hotel vacation to Orlando and Disney Paris. It was cheaper to go to Paris. The Paris Disney vacation even included breakfast and dinner! It's absurd how much Disney charges Americans.
Yes! Loved going to Disneyland Anaheim, DisneyWorld, Epcot in Orlando years ago. It was like going to Hawaii, expensive to get there and being there. Glad to hear Disney Paris was a better deal. Was just at Tivoli Copenhagen and it was also much more expensive compared to past visits. People there continue to love it, but say it’s now way too pricey for families. 🙄
@@phoenix5054 dual-language with English being spoken by all staff. Close to half of visitors to Disney Paris are foreigners. Brits make up a large chunk of the foreigners.
@@wookieeMan06tickets have gone up past inflation for many years. It was probably more that there was a limited group of people who could access the parks before population growth and massive air travel expansion.
I highly doubt that a guy who rolled out the red carpet for a high-ranking Nazi propagandist in 1938 who got turned away from every other studio in Hollywood would be the least bit ashamed of a little price gouging.
The business as a whole is slowly failing, losing revenue and focusing more on other virtually non-existent markets than their core consumer base who is leaving them and going elsewhere. The only way they can keep up is charging excessively for each and every aspect inside all of their parks. They Jackson and Grant you at every turn with Genie+, Lightning Lane, food, drink, etc. Yet they keep losing money hand over fist. The current management has absolutely no clue how to run a company.
The Star Wars hotel itself was evidence that Disney cares more about money than guest experiences. It cost $6,000 for two adults to spend two nights there in a lackluster hotel room and only one trip to a park, Galaxy's Edge, which is actually only part of an entire park (Hollywood Studios), combined with what a lot of people felt were mediocre in-hotel attractions, character performances, and food. Disney is super out of touch with average guests, and it won't be a surprise if criticism and migration away from their brand continues and/or grows.
I LIVE IN LOS ANGELES - I used to go to Disneyland all the time in the 80's and 90's. My wife and I had purchased Premium Season Passes from 2000-2002. Believe it or not. The Premium Season passes were only $200 a person which included a parking pass and 15% merchandise discount. I gave up on Disneyland a long time ago.
I've average going to Disneyland about once a year since 1957. For my daughter's wedding, I paid for both daughters, both son-in-laws, myself, my best friend, my granddaughter, my ex-wife (mother of the bride) and her husband and all four of their children. But since Covid closures, the nickels and dimes (or fifties and hundred dollar bills) for breakfast for just one of my daughter's family and myself to go into Disneyland, the long long long lines that just don't move because the rides breakdown ALL the time, which is NEW. FEW rides routinely broke down (other than the flying saucers) back in the day. Rides were closed for maintenance, but very very very rare to stand in lines for hours only to be told to leave, the ride has broken down. For $4,700 I can take a two week coach tour in Europe and see and visit REAL castles.
@@dking1836 almost, cost of flight has gone up too, and the thing is it pains me, I used to love many things disney, the movies were top rate, they were visionarys at making things happen imagineering as it were, the parks used to have something for everyone, it was expensive but worth it every so many years, now soo much iconic things of its hay day of the 90's and early 2000's is gone, I couldn't afford it even if I won the lottery, people are grouchier, and they decided that playing politics was more importent then family fun, walt wanted a place for families to be able to spend the day, and while I am sure the actors and performers are still very top rate and there is still much to do its out of price of all but the highest upper middle class, and everything has some movie tie in directly not just indirectly, and much of the past was whitewashed over, truth can be inconvenient but it dont change the fact of what was true in the past as harsh as it is, I would love to go down and see a behind the scenes tour of the railroad, and maybe how the magic is done, but not till they stop raising prices soo much and to be honest for the price of a day I could problably spend a week traveling east though ohio and pennsylvana doing historical railroading tours maybe even offering a hand maybe, I got friends in importent places, or have met them, that head up restoration programs or been at it for decades, not trying to brag just the corse of the matter when working on them its a small community of people, and helping on nkp 765 has brought me in contact with them. it was supposed to be a magical place for families to safely spend the day walt would be turning in his grave which contrary to an old tale he is not frozen but was burned and his ashes are buried in a graveyard in california when he passed in about 1964 or 65
Our monthly payment installments on our Magic Key passes as SoCal residents is less than a one day ticket. We live close enough to do several times a month if we want to . Sometimes I go for a few hours, hop on a couple of rides, get a drink or popcorn and go home.
Don't forget, waking up at midnight 6 months before to scramble to get fast passes before they're all gone. Basically you need a PHD in Disney or you're going to waste your trip. Frankly, a trip to Disney sounds like a massive hassle. Even if I was willing to spend the money, I don't go on vacation to be hassled and nickeled and dimed.
This story does not take into account that a one day park pass at disney gets you nothing but a walk around the park. Can’t get a reservation at a restaurant. Tide length 2, 3, 4 hours. That’s 2-3 rides over 8 hours, doing nothing else but standing in line? I would never go back after my last horrible experience. It is grossly overpriced. At Universal you can just go and enjoy yourself.
Disney and Universal are both expensive, but I agree with Universal you can do all rides in one day, but with Disney, you cannot do them all in one day, but need a few days.
We got the Fast pass and skipped most of the lines. Felt really bad for the people melting down in those lines, that's not a good use of vacation time/money.
I’m done with Disney. When we go we only are able to ride like 4 rides tops. We aren’t the type to get there when gates open. I don’t see myself paying more just to stand in lines all day for rides, food , or snacks.
Getting rid of FastPass was the final straw, as far as I’m concerned. Making people pay for a perk that used to be part of the paid admission fee really turned me off. I have no plans to ever set foot into a Disney park again. I’d rather spend my money where everyone has the same access to attractions as everyone else.
Agree. They went from all guests are created equal to stealing time from families, and selling it to others. It's so wrong. Six Flags may do that, but that's why Disney was Disney. That was a huge competitive advantage for them to have that perk included. And it was perfect for everyone to have the same chance to have a great day. Now it's a tier based park environment.
@@tgguitarguy I went to Universal Studios Japan for the first time in 2019, and ended up springing for one of their “enhanced” ride packages. Afterwards, I felt like a sucker because the price was high and the time saved was negligible - with the speed lane being almost as crowded/slow as the regular lane. (It totally ruined the already lackluster experience of USJ. I will not return.) As I was gnashing my teeth at USJ, I kept having flashback to how good (and fair) the FastPass system was at Tokyo Disney Resort. Proper FastPass management was part of a successful day at the Disney parks, and I had gotten pretty good at maximizing the perk’s effectiveness. (When I visited DisneySea in 2020, FastPass was still a thing. And, in the COVID-limited experience of that day (no parades, no shows, no popcorn carts (nor any other food carts), and many stores & restaurants being closed), about the only thing to do was walk around and ride attractions. Having FastPass made that day bearable.) So, after Disney dumped FastPass and rolled out their new extra-charge system, I decided enough was enough. I hated my day at USJ, have no desire to have that feeling again. Disney can cram their new class system for guests.
You realize that is literally NO theme park. Disney was the last theme parks not charging for front-of-line access. Six Flags, Sea World, Universal etc. have always charged much more than Disney is charging now for line skipping.
@@kellin12 You realize that Disney has parks outside the United States, don’t you? There are PLENTY of other options out there. (Paying for line skipping is an American thing. It doesn’t translate well elsewhere.)
A generation of kids whose parents can't afford to take them to Disney will grow up to be a generation of parents who won't feel the need to give their children the Disney experience they didn't have in their childhood. This is how a death spiral starts.
I'm a "middle class or working middle class" millennial who grew up going to Cedar Point. I have no desire to go to Disney now because it's so expensive even though I can afford it. So if I ever have kids, I wouldn't feel the need to take them because I never had the fomo of going to Disney as a child. Same with my parents...working middle class and they never been.
Overdramatic much? You do realize that the majority of children in the rest of world will never step foot on any Disney property before they become an adults. Those "poor" children you seemed worried about...lives in a house with clean drinking water (AC/heat), eats three meals a day, and have clean clothes, electricity, wifi, video games etc. They will be perfectly fine if they never go to Disneyland or world and go to Six Flags instead. The rest of the world makes it to adulthood perfectly fine without going to Disneyland or World.
@@JF-vw9lvDisney can charge ridiculous amounts of money because of emotional attachment. I agree with the original post. Future generations will not have an attachment to the Disney parks. Disney is damaging their future to make a quick buck today.
I make a very healthy six figures and have zero kids and I think Disney is way too expensive. Why spend $500+/day or so to stand in line for hours waiting for rides?
We live comfortably. And going to Disney or a cruise is a big expense for us. What I don’t get is that there are thousands of other families. How’s everyone else, presumably middle class Americans, affording all of this?
It's disappointing that you didn't look at Disney park tickets in other countries. In Japan, a day ticket can be bought for the equivalent of $59 - $77 USD. Disneyland Paris tickets are $73 - $107 USD. These high prices are just at the US parks. They're charging more here because they know we're willing to pay the higher prices.
Labor cost in the US is far more than those you mentioned. People miss basic concept of earning and cost. American claim to be the top earners in the world yet you have the most debt
The video is about American families, as stated in the title. Most Americans aren’t flying out of the country to go to Disney, they want to go to Florida
Back in 1989 my friends and I had a friday off from high-school. We drove down to Disneyland we chipped in for parking and gas, paid $27 to get in, and had a great time going on all the rides, buying Mickey hats, and doing it all for less than $50 per person.
@ImGeoX that's still way under your average day at Disneyland today. I won't set foot in a Disney park now unless it's with my grandchildren. Not only does the price not equal my enjoyment but also with their constantly changing lightning lane and park reservations they've made having a good time complicated. I would rather spend my time and money traveling doing photography. We Gen Xers had it good Disneyland was at it's best in the 80s and 90s
@John-ce3qp I didn't go to Disneyland or Universal Studios all that often. Disneyland because we had to cross LA and all it's traffic. I lived 70 miles away but it took 2 or 3 hours to get there. I didn't go to Universal because in 89 90 there was only the tour and shows. That's not too much fun for a 17-18 year old. Although I went to the Universal Amphitheater quite a bit. Magic Mountain was my park back then. It was only a hour drive and we learned how to exploit their twicket policy to pay once and get in multiple times. We always went on a friday night it was cooler and we got on all the good rides. I would usually ride revolution at least 3 or 4 times. Ninja was the only ride with a super long line.
As long as there are “Disney Adults” they will continue charging these prices. But I think I’m about 20 years or so, when they start aging out, the house of rat will be in a very precarious situation when their cash cow simps stop going due to age. A friend of mine took his family to Disneyland and was shocked by how there were very few children in the park. It was mostly adults.
The real class divide in this country is - people who have never been to Disney - people who have been once or twice in their lives - and people who go every year
Those demos are also representative of a brain divide. Those who never go are smart. The ones who go every year are dumb as a bag of rocks. Even the multi-millionaires. Disney is overpriced, overhyped trash.
This has been coming for a long time. I grew up in southern california and made many trips to Disneyland, growing up. But I got to the point, I have nothing but contempt for what Disney has done with their parks. I'm not bringing my kids. I read years ago about how Disney parks/resorts were intentionally focusing on the ultra rich, and offering luxury experiences, or intentionally pricing their parks to be a luxury good, a "once in a lifetime splurge." I remember sitting at my computer in 2015 or so, listening to some Disney Resort VP in an interview explaining this mentality of raising prices and playing a 'luxury' experience, "if you're going to sell a car, it makes more sense to sell a Ferrari, than a used starter car. It takes just as much of your time, as the salesman, to sell a Ferrari as it does a used car. But your commission is a lot larger on the Ferrari than the used car. So if you can, you want to sell the Ferrari, instead." If Disneyland wants to serve Saudi Prince's and biotech executives instead of normal families, they're more than welcome to do that. I'm done, dude,. I'm just sick of this s***.
It's funny, I was just thinking about how car companies are focusing on making more expensive new trucks/SUVs rather than affordable smaller cars so that they can get more profit from building fewer vehicles. That's the same mentality as you're describing with your ferrari comparison.
Those with the cash will spend a lot more per person on rides, food, merchandise, hotels, etc. I would rather they go full steam with this and make it exclusive. I'd rather pay a lot more and have half the number of guests present instead of the outrageous prices I pay now and have to deal with all the crowds. Or pay less and still have the same experience with all the sweaty, obnoxious people all around.
@@wolfumz What’s interesting is that he had a complete lack of awareness of how this made him sound. The “greed is good” mentality has become so normalized that I fear it will be the downfall of the nation.
The jokes on Disney, the next generation is not attached on the Disney brand, so in the next five to ten years will be crucial to sell to the potential customers.
Disney made the evil choice to cater to only those who can pay the highest dollar. Given that they also pay their employees very poorly it's ironic that anyone making a similar wage would never be able to afford Disney, themselves. For most children in the world a trip to a Disney park will only happen in their dreams!
Welcome to capitalism... that's how it works for vast majority of companies in our country. Wait until you see how dirty construction business is... people building houses used to be paid less than $100 a day, breathing in dusty air, getting hurt on jobs, etc while developers made millions. Nowadays you see how expensive these contractors all are. They want anywhere from 150-500 an hour for jobs. People just target specific businesses out of emotion but don't realize it's the overall system
I did the same too, at the end of the presentation came the high pressure sales tactics. Worst 3 hours of my life but I didn't buy anything and got my voucher.
I go 3 times a month as an annual passholder. Hotdog cost like 10-12 bucks. I usually go after work in the evening and I avoid buying food there as much as possible. 8 months ago, the raspberry macaron used to cost me 6 dollars now its 8 dollars!!! A lot of the food prices has gone up! But hey, if it puts a smile on my nieces face, I'll continue taking her.
@nanananananananana00 Absolutely, Busch Gardens is the best park for value hands down. It's not "magical," but it is number one for the amount of thrill rides and wait times.
@@nanananananananana00 I just did a price comparison between the two because I’m considering doing Disney next year (been to Universal the last two). I picked the same dates (Jan or Feb) for both parks and Disney was over $4k more expensive than Universal. Keep in mind these prices are for vacation packages for four people, but $4k is a massive difference for only a five day vacation
Disney head Iger's total compensation for 2023 amounted to nearly $31.6 million, including his $865,385 salary, $16.1 million in stock and $10 million worth of options. And y’all be blaming labor costs for the increase in ticket prices
@@je5406 The fact that one man's compensation reduction, one man, would lead to a dollar twenty drop in ticket prices, says a great deal. You think you're making gutenmorgen look foolish, when in actuality you're assisting to reveal the insanity of those compensation packages. And they're only getting more ridiculous across every major sector. Hell, Elon Musk wanted a pay package that would equal 10% of the entire value of his company in a single pay period.
and 31m is nothing compared to what they make. Youre entitled to make some money as a CEO. it is 100% labor costs running this stuff up. park workers making 20+ an hour to wave at people with mickey hands on and operating rides is whats driving the costs up.
@@Tomb413 Yeah, how dare workers want to be properly paid so they have afford to pay bills. Never mind the fact a good portion of them live in their car due to high rent costs.
It's funny because I raised my kids (born in 01 and 03) partly in Orlando and we had season passes every year while we were there. They were both at Disney by the age of 2 weeks old at least to just roam around the park and get out of the house. My son had his first haircut on Main Street at the barber shop. There were multiple times where we would decide to go to Disney for the day and they would cry and say "We don't WANT to go to Disney World!!" and we would tell them how many kids would love to be them at that moment. It became "normal" for them and they got tired of the lines and the heat. After that, we moved to NC with a big back yard and trails and hiking and we camped and spent time doing other things. They still love the theme parks, but I feel like it's the PARENTS who are nostalgic about it and feel like they NEED to provide that experience for their kids. Disney is NOT "good debt" and it's not necessary to have a wonderful and memorable childhood. Is it a great experience? Of course. But life is full of great experiences that will not put families into financial debt/crisis.
your kids are ridiculous lol. I cant imagine having told my mom that I dont want to go to hershey park as a kid. Loved it, every single time, maybe even more than the last
I live near Disney and my kid never wants to go. His cousins and friends who came to visit also don’t want to go back to the parks. They rather play at the pool. It’s too hot, crowded, and kids these days aren’t that big of Disney fans. They couldn’t care less for the characters etc. The hassle of the parks isn’t worth the enjoyment and even little kids learn this after going.
@@YogabyNandawhat a shame!Yea i feel like a old millnial but when i was a kid the stories where not so sugar coated. It was still normal that the teacher would read from the bible. They call like the 70ties and till 88 the dark era. But i loved that movies just as much as the 90ties ones. I loved Robin Hood and the The Rescuers for example. So my point is, i feel after Frozen we are now in a Disney dark age. The stories and the caracter seems so boring and flat. Just pretty girls doining something 😅 The last enjoyable film was Lilo and Stich in my opinion.
I went to Disney as a adult and only thing I can say is what a waste of money. I am so glad my hard working parents did not waste their hard earned money by taking us there as children.
News flash, Disney has been unaffordable for working class families for much longer than just the 2010s. Even if a family of four on a lower salary could save up enough for the park tickets in the early 2000s, there was still the flight, hotel, and food.
Exactly. The first time that we visited Disney was because my brother-in-law was already working at Disney, and he had free park entry. And now we work at Disney and have merch discounts. If we didn't work at Disney, we would have ever been able to go to the parks because it has always been out of our budget.
My family got to go in 1999 and ONLY because my aunt and uncle gave us their family timeshare that year so they could go on a cruise. I remember that we cut costs by driving from WI to FL, and ate our own food outside of the parks. I am absolutely certain that even then, my mom and dad still had to scrimp and scrounge to save enough for the extra stuff that was not included in that timeshare. I am never going back there. I would rather travel the US and see historical sites and monuments.
@@94sHippie True. I can recall stories as far back as the 90s about people taking out loans on their homes to take their family to Disney. The rapid price escalations started when Eisner took over (in the 80s?) There were a lot of complaints from the Disney family members about average families being priced out of the parks.
I truly believe that if Walt were alive today, he'd be appalled by the cost of the parks. He built them for all families to be able to share the experience of a nice family day or vacation, while experiencing the "magic" of Disney movies / shows. This is NOT what he intended. SMH....................................
it is crazy , we went to the San Diego Zoo....100$ per head. Just me and the wife , imagine a family going there , you will spend $500 , plus snacks inside etc.
I think Walt Disney always intended to be successful through creativity. He would be thrilled at the profitability of his legacy. Where I think he'd be rolling in his grave is the lack of creativity being allowed in imagineering by the financial directors of the company for the last 25 years.
We went to Los Angeles as family of 4 in 2022. We had one free day and wanted to take everyone to one of the theme parks. We ended up picking Knott's Berry Farm, it was $660 for a family of 4, and that price included their pass for drinks and food package (obviously a few restrictions, but was amazing value). Only extra we spent was on a few gifts to take home and one boozy drink for each me and the wife. That same $660 would had only got us in the door at Disney (on an off-peak day)... and that's before food, drink, merch, etc. We made the right choice and had a great day and lots of memories for our entire family.
One day park pass with Florida resident discount was $47.50 back in 2003. I've made peace with the fact that I wouldn't be going to Disney ever again. Their pay for everything model is ridiculous. I'm not paying 30 extra bucks to ride a ride.
After hearing about Genie and no more Extra Magic Hours ... I'm making my peace with the same fact. Knowing that my son and I would be in Orlando for a few free days between his college terms, I looked at prices for WDW for a few minutes before deciding to go see the Harry Potter Lands at Universal instead. We had a great time. We had been to both places multiple times when he was 8 to 10 years old, the perfect age to really enjoy the experiences, but not since then. WDW has always been a magical happy place for me since they opened when I was 7 ... but like all things, sometimes it's best to just remember what was instead of trying to recreate what is no more.
Disney is now for the rich, the rest of us have to pay our admission just to watch people take cuts in line (lightning lane) and walk on into the rides. Dont blame the rich though blame the greedy disney execs
Except they have a monopoly on certain movie franchises and deals. So you’re paying $15 + $15 +$15/mo for Netflix, prime, Disney because you don’t want to just watch Disney app let’s be realistic. It’s ridiculou$$$!
But it’s just disney, a big corporation faking a magical experience that consists of overpriced everything and waiting in line. It’s definitely not as amazing and worth the same as travelling to a different continent, experiencing the remains/sights built hungdreds of years ago. Don’t you think visiting a real castle is more magical than the Disney one? Plus you get to experience new cultures, new places, learn history by experiencing historical places, get to eat great food, and so on
They aren't, but if you choose to stay 200 days, dining only at their restaurants, sleeping in their best hotel, paying for all the addons and extras and buying 10 tones of merchandise. Yes, it costs like a luxury vacation.
Exactly 😢 the brand of Mayo that I like (Mccormick lime mayo) used to be less than $3 not very long ago now it is $7... and that is just one small thing, let's not even talk about the prices of beef and chicken 😒
An odd thing about the American economy is that expensive things tend to sell really well. Disney tickets, flagship phones, huge trucks, etc. Perhaps the issue is not that Disney is setting their prices too high, but rather that people continue to buy them.
you are pointing out that many Americans are very rich. Even the poorest of us are still relatively prosperous, but the income gap is so large that many people make close to a hundred thousand per year or more, and can spend on expensive things and hike up prices, while another large swath gets priced out, and fewer people are in the middle ground as this gap keeps growing. The way many countries deal with this is by taxing the rich 50% or much more and putting that money into social services like healthcare, strong labor laws, public transportation, etc. that the lower class benefits from. This squashes the gap and provides a better GINI coefficient. America and many places like it, however, are not so socialist - they don't tax high earners as much and don't provide as many social services, so that money goes elsewhere... like on military budgets or expensive cars. I'm not calling it right or wrong, but just pointing out it's not too odd, it's all too American
@@peterharris8471 I think the people I hear complain the most are people with desk jobs and 401k's and nice salaries. The people working the shittiest jobs often make the least but you just don't hear them complain as much. Maybe I'm wrong and also everyone is entitled to complain, but sometimes it comes off wrong to me
Definitely. I feel bad for people struggling to pay rent or going without medical services, but a Disney trip? This is a luxury for the wealthy. If people go into debt to visit Disney World, that's their choice...and a foolish decision in my opinion.
In 1996 my HS senior class had a 5 day trip to Florida, we went to Disneyworld, Universal Studios and other smaller places, airline tickets (from Chicago to FL) hotel room and breakfast was included. I paid $250 dlls for the entire trip. It was amazing!! I’m so sorry families can’t enjoy the same fun we had growing up.
I paid $3 when I went recently and then just filled it up all day long for free. I could have just asked for free water cups all day long or brought my own bottle as well. You can make your trip expensive but you don’t have to
I've never wanted to go. I went as a kid & just remember standing in line all day in the heat. Does not sound worth half of what they charge. Add the crowds to it, it is a hard no from me.
Exactly lol, you pay all this money to go on maybe three rides in a day and eat mediocre food. Even the bathrooms have lines. It's not magical, it's not even fun. The only fun I've had at Disney was years ago when I had family who worked there and I could go for free, skip lines, and went during off seasons when I could actually ride many rides and see many attractions in a day, now even with free admission it's not worth the wait so idk who'd even pay for this experience.
No sane person does that. Even if you don’t buy lightning lane or whatever you can rope drop any normally long wait ride first thing and hardly wait at all. You have to plan how to do things.
@@414s4that is just dumb... You invest time on planing, and going repeatedly so you know how to "do the park", so by definitions, this obviously doesn't apply to everyone... There is no guide on how to do the park, we purchased the Disney Genie and we still wait for hours...
My complaint is Disney has been taking profits from the parks to prop up losses from other departments. They need to spend more money on maintenance to clean the parks and to maintain rides so they don't break down. It seems like people are no longer guests, they are just customers. Don't go into debt to go to any park. Save up.
You nailed it. My last trip in August, after 20 years visiting I just felt like a customer. No longer that special feelings Disney once pride it self on.
I always say to people l, imagine if you went to check into an expensive hotel and they said "sorry we have cut x amount of services and stopped refurbishing rooms including yours because our newer hotel on the other side of town had budget overruns". People would never accept this excuse from another brand so why Disney?
Actually, I’m a local who was an annual pass holder and this is my very serious recommendation. Dont go in the summer, spring break, or Xhristmas week. It’s mobbed. Don’t go anytime there is a three day weekend. ONLY go on normal weekdays when school is in session. If you can’t go then, DONT GO! It just isn’t worth the money and time.
From the mid-70s to the mid-90s, I lived 15 minutes from WDW. My daughter and I had year passes, and would go once a week. And it was AMAZING! Parking was included in the year passes, and the food was relatively inexpensive. And we knew what times of the year to go, and when to avoid. It was WONDERFUL!! We would even stay at the hotels from time to time, for an extra treat. After moving from Florida, we went back roughly 10 years later, and was SHOCKED at how much it had changed. We still had fun, but the added costs were jarring. We recently started planning on a trip to WDW and, after adding everything together, we decided that it just wasn’t worth it. Disney has grown so MONEY HUNGRY, that they’ve taken all the joy out of it. And unless they do something about the prices, I honestly have no desire to go back.
As I understand it theyve made it super complicated to use their pass systems too for the rides and so many people game their system to get ride time slots. Point being, you have to be a professional disney-obsessed no-lifer consumer these days to have fun at disney and everyone else is just sol.
I went to Disney World a few years ago. One thing I did notice was how frustrated and exhausted so many of the dads with families were. I started to feel bad for them.
It's the excessive need to plan and schedule everything with Genie+ (or previously Fastpass+) The crowds mean it's just not possible to be spontaneous or to have a hour of downtime to relax, and just doing a Disney vacation can involve hours of research beforehand.
my sister took her kids this summer. 3 days for 5k. While at the park she paid $60 for a sweater, $25 for a coffee mug. Food and even water 4x the price. She really spent and made big efforts to make it happen for her 3 kids but in the end it is not a fair deal, especially for lower-middle class families.
sorry, but WHY would she buy $60 sweater and $25 coffee mug in the park? Thats just poor spending decisions. People drink $9 Starbucks all year round and then complain about Disney ticket cost? Common!
I took my family there and regretted it. Everything is over priced and long lines for every ride. I told my kids the next time y'all go is when y'all taking your kids.
When did you go? And did you use the Fast pass to cut lines? When I went to Magic Mtn I used gold flash pass and it was only 30 min vs the 90-110 min lines. Last I went to Disney Anahiem was 2012 and I didn't want to go. I was forced cause I can't be home alone.
It amazes how most people can't connect the dots between these insane executive "compensations" and prices. People whine about the price of a Big Mac while defending McDonald's CEO making $14,000/hour.
So what? Nobody forces people to go there. It is as if people would cry about working minimum wage and not being able to book a month long trip to Seychelles. It's luxury, not a human right. There are way, way, way bigger issues than Disneyland's ticket prices...
@sesaarinen But on that logic- you're saying that some people deserve it more than others. What determines that? Who deserves to take vacations, or 'better' vacations, and who doesn't? I believe everyone should be able to- with time and saving. It should be achievable, but it simply isn't.
@Andreou4-u1l I'm not saying anyone deserves it more. I'm saying that everybody's known for decades that Disney World had become far overpriced. Heck, it was expensive(though less so) in the eighties when i was a kid. I didn't even dream of going to Disney World. This is not in any way news.
And dickhead families to duck for the best part of the ride when the ride drops I just want to raise my middle finger for the photo out of spite for them
Very good and neutral analysis. We were an out-of-state family of annual passholders for 25 years and finally let the passes go in September 2023. Disney had become more expensive, but we were equally motivated by a significant drop in the park and resort experience. We ultimately left because we were frustrated by the park reservation system, the park hopping restrictions, the elimination of late night hours, the takeaway of perks we previously enjoyed (e.g., early registration for Run Disney events), the manipulation of lightning lane/standby times, a significance drop in cleanliness and a complete absence of the “white glove” service (smiles and service) Disney previously prided itself on. When we couldn’t secure park reservations for 2 consecutive trips in 2021 and 2022, we went to Hawaii. We had ocean front rooms. We felt welcomed and people were happy to see our money. We spent the same amount for Hawaii as we would for Disney. We had more fun. We let our annual passes go. We don’t hate Disney and will surely go back sometime, but we are no longer a “Disney Family” and my kids and especially my grandkids will not have that same brand connection.
You said it all. I don’t mind the increased costs but ridiculous park hopper rules, lightning lane, etc….the rules are like a Tetris game. It’s too stressful
Definitely noticed a big drop in cleanliness and appearance the last time we went to WDW. Service seemed about the same. Agree that the constant changes to the ride reservations have done nothing but create a huge headache, cause anger and make an already expensive proposition even pricier. Add in the removal of a lot of previously free perks and the magic seems less bright. Glad that Hawaii went well for you; I have read a lot of reports that make me not want to go there because of the way locals act towards visitors.
@@ronica2623I love the Tetris reference. Just like the game, it now feels like you need to be face-down in your phone all day instead of looking around and enjoying the Park and your family. And, in the end, everyone loses the game.
@@cvn6555sorry to hear about the Hawaii concerns. I’ve never had a problem (20+ trips over 30+ years). I’ve heard stories and there were times I was careful about going into very local areas, but most of that was many years ago. My recent experience has been great almost everywhere, but I’m also pretty comfortable now walking around in flip-flops and eating at a food truck or gas station.
It blows my mind that there are actual childless adults who willingly decide to vacation to Disney World multiple times a year. You can go literally anywhere in the world for the same price as a week long Disney vacation.
It is going to cost my family of 5 9,000USD to go to Disney for 5 days. That includes the meal plan, photo plan, “skip the line” and staying on Disney property next to the magic kingdom. I don’t think it is worth it, but we don’t want to disappoint our children. Edit: if we had to into debt we wouldn’t go.
Yup basically you need a fast pass to actually try and get on all the rides which even with the fast pass will take you alllllll day, the fast pass is a almost double the price of the ticket itself
I highly recommend everyone to travel to Asia! Aside from the cost of the flight, everything is so much cheaper than in the U.S. Even Disneyland in Shanghai and Tokyo is more affordable than the ones in the US. Most Asian countries are incredibly welcoming to tourists, and the service in the hospitality industry is top-notch while still being reasonably priced. It’s definitely worth the experience!
I wouldn't recommend Disneyland in Shanghai. The lines was long and the people there are the worst. I have been to Disneyworld many times and have never experienced a crappy day like I did in Shanghai back in 2018. With that saying, I wouldn't go back to Disneyworld. It's too expensive and being a woke company do not help. Otherwise, your suggestion is great.
@@geoffoaklandDude, you realize Tokyo and Shanghai are the 1st and 3rd most populous cities on the planet right? If you’re hoping for shorter lines I’d steer clear of those parks. Plus, aren’t there more interesting things for a foreigner to do in China/Japan than to go give absurd amounts of money to the Mouse?
My single mother took me on three Disney trips as a kid and I do remember them fondly. Now as an adult pricing a Disney trip for a family of 4, I gave up. I have the means to make this trip, but I came to the realization that it's not worth it to me. My kids won't be Disney kids and I'm fine with that. We have many other options and fond memories elsewhere that didn't cost nearly this.
As I see it you're raised right since you live within your means. I grew up poor and it made me more productive and financially responsible as an adult.
I honestly believe that Walt Disney would be appalled to see what his company has become. The parks that were once the wonderful retreats for the middle class have now, instead, become the elite enclaves for the wealthy. The current Disney management looks upon the middle class with a barely concealed contempt in their efforts to squeeze every last dollar from them! At 70, I am old enough to remember when Disney management treated the park goers as welcome guests to be valued instead of as ignorant suckers to be ripped off. So sad to see a once respected and admired company turn into the poster child for corporate greed.
I've been taken twice in my life. First in the 80s by grandparents (my grandfather was the only income and just a machinist) , second time was in the 90s by my aunt an her future husband (business executive and high level nurse combined somewhere near $300k a year). So yes Disney has priced out the common man.
We recently went to Disney in Florida. The prices aren't the only problem... The wait for Space Mountain was almost 3 hours.... almost 2 hours in line for Seven Dwarfs...It was a disaster
It doesn’t seem to stop people from other countries from coming to Disney World. I feel like that’s the big reason they’re staying afloat. A lot of Americans stopped going to these parks years ago
As a Floridian, Disney and all the other theme parks used to focus on Florida Resident passes to help drive gate traffic all year round, but recently they’ve made it unaffordable for in state residents, and have taken away year long passes, or again, made them unaffordable. That being said, I’d rather take my kids to the various state parks and natural springs we have, and admire the nature that Florida has to offer. It’s much cheaper, and experiencing the beauty and wildlife is something my kids appreciate. Seeing manatees, herons, gators, pelicans, the various fish populations, as well as all the different eco systems nature has produced. A lot of that is going away. Each day it seems like preservations are being turned into housing and shopping developments. I’d rather show my kids the beauty of Florida before it’s gone than spend my money on greedy corporate theme parks. Real magic is in nature.
They are now focused on high-end families and adults that will pay more, a lot more, for premium experiences, food and merchandise. The profit margins are far higher.
You might enjoy Fanning Springs, they even have cabins there. Also, down the road about 15-20 min drive is Hart springs with its own campground for rv’s. Trails to walk, gorgeous park around the natural spring.
@@2xfrfr A few hundred bucks a day. Bright Sun Travels did the math and it was cheaper to go to the French Riviera for a week than to go to Disney World for a week, and he's a Disney fanboy.
I don't think it's worth the money. It is all artificial. I rather spend the time in nature which is more precious because you have to be physically capable to do so.
When I was a kid, it was $25 for California residents and I knew my parents would get $40 out of the bank on a normal trip to the bank. If we went to DisneyLand, they could use their debit card and there used to be free lockers you could use to lock up your belongings, near a picnic area where you could pack up a cooler and have a picnic with sandwiches and things you brought from home. The balloons, ice creams or cookies were the treats and they cost just about as much as what you would pay at the grocery store except they were in the shape of your favorite Disney character. From my perspective, if using your debit card or a credit card you already have and not being able to pay it in full, is an issue; it isn't affordable. I have no idea what these people are talking about. It used to be anyone from any budget could visit Disney, if they planned and saved. It hasn't been affordable in decades. I will never consider Disney knowing I could go into similar Debt; possibly even cheaper for a well planned European vacation. I can take that same money and put it in my 401-k. Disney can go walk off a bridge.
Haven't been to Disney in 20 years and have no desire to go. Large crowds, long lines, and having to make reservations to get on a ride? No thanks. For 35 dollars a day, I can go camping and see real bears, chipmunks, etc.
My mom and I enjoy going to Disney parks, but they have absolutely priced us out. When it’s cheaper to travel to a country and stay for a week, rather than flying across the US to visit the country’s pavilion in Epcot, you know something is askew.
And way too crowded. They need more parks honestly. $1k day is way too much given how crowded they are letting it get. I remember when you could spend $200 for a really fun day with all the bells and whistles and not be in line too long for any single ride.
Jake's videos on disney are incredible! They're very critical and fair. His judgement on what is fair value and comparing it to comparable priced places is spot on. His most recent video on the grand floridian, comparing the value of what you get at the four seasons and ritz carlton is incredibly detailed
My ex loves Disney World, I wasn't as impressed but we ended up taking the kids there several times. I will say, the kids did enjoy the park, and we did find ways to make it as affordable as possible, but it is crazy expensive none the less. And it has only gotten more expensive since then. After our divorce, I told the kids we are doing a "anything but Disney" trip to Florida. We had the best time! We did an air boat ride in the everglades, Discovery Cove and more. The kids loved it, and now that my kids are adults, they want to go back there and do the things we did on the non-Disney trip. I would tell families to look into all the other things to do in Florida, Space center, St Augustine, Bush Gardens and more. Nothing is free but you can get way better value if you do not feel the pressure to do Disney like every one else.
Busch Gardens is so much more fun (at least the Williamsburg park is). Even on its busiest day, the wait time for each ride is a fraction of what you’d expect at WDW. We live within a few hours of BGW, which we consider our “home park” since we’ve been bringing our children there since they were ages 3 and 5. We were absolutely shocked at how few rides we were able to go on in a 14 hour day spent at WDW. It was so disappointing, especially considering how much more expensive the tickets to Disney were. We love BGW!!
The worst is Security Guards treat you like criminals, making me roll my pants and sleeves even though I was with my 3 kids, embarassing me in front of everyone
@jessigirlrae1688 You missed the point. It's discrimination not safety. Safety is when this rule is applied to everybody. I was a security guard myself and am a lawyer now so I know what I'm talking about and you don't
We went to LEGO back in May and it was a nice trip. The crowds were low and the kids got on so many rides. There was hardly a wait. It was a beautiful park also! Disney is definitely special but it's not worth going into debt for it. My kids still talk about Legoland and how they met Emmet. I definitely want to go back and try the water park.
Putting a $8000 Disney vacation on credit is probably the dumbest thing you could ever do except jumping out of a moving vehicle. And yet, people do it all the time and never think to jump out of their car on the freeway ever! 😂
The real problem here is that the parks have been tasked with the burden of shoring up the rest of the company. If you look at the books, you’ll see that Disney has been just absolutely torching money on Disney+ content and failing movies for the last several years. Disney carries $50 billion in debt, much of it due to the acquisitions years back. And subscriptions/new content is just not paying for itself they hopped. Bur the parks and experiences (still a massive juggernaut of the business) are backfilled by excitement about the brand. And that, is where Disney is failing right now, you’ll always have die hard Disney fans, but the business side has been so busy chasing trends, betting “safe“ on endless spinoff and sequels, making bets on one side of the culture war, and average consumers are turned off by all these cynical crash grabs. Disney needs an overhaul and revitalization of their brand, and creative engine. There’s no way the parks can eat the sins of the rest of the business indefinitely.
It would probably help if they didn’t cancel their best and most marketable shows. Who the hell decided cancelling Wander Over Yonder and The Owl House was a good idea?
@@TheHomeDesigner123 What happens when corporate tries to control creativity. They need to let the creators be creators. I can’t remember the last time I was excited for anything disney. They should’ve left the show hosting to Netflix and focused on making more hits to franchise and capture the generation. Even Frozen, the show of a recent generation was just mid. Outside of Pixar(mostly movies with original story writing and beautiful animation) it seems like they ran out of good movies when they stopped stealing and respinning cultural tales. The Little Mermaid : Nordic Mulan: China Classics: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Pinnochio, Alice in Wonderland Pochahontas: Native American All brought to life with amazing music. Outside of these animated fairytales and Pixar movies, they do have some big names such as Lion King and Mickey’s crew, but they haven’t released anything amazing in awhile now that they’ve gone the route of creating originals while also handicapping their creative team by making bad decisions. Sorry for the really unorganized rant. TLDR: Disney is not letting creators do their bit, they don’t support what needs support and are focused on the wrong areas and they are failing to grab the market for future generations to come now that they’ve ran out of story ideas to “be inspired by”
@@luci0818 I like Zootopia a lot. Disney was stupid not to greenlight a sequel pretty much as soon as the first Zootopia proved to be a box office hit.
I don't blame Disney, I blame the people who go there. As long as there are people willing to spend their money going there then Disney will continue to raise their prices, if people stopped going to Disney then they might start reducing the prices
I'm someone who loved Disney growing up. It's now priced so high that I decided to check what it would cost to go to any of the four non US Disneyland parks. Including Flight, 'deluxe hotel', passes, and food the break even point is 4 days for one person. The flight expense is greatly offset by the much lower cost for a deluxe hotel and the daily ticket price overseas. That includes Tokyo. Once you're done with your disney vacation unlike in the US you have other destinations in the overseas locations. In Tokyo you could go to their universal, or Sanrio Puroland, or just explore Japan. In Euro Disneyland you're a quick train ride away from Paris.
I’ve only been to Disney Paris and it was so affordable. My entrance with transportation for the full day was $60. My only complaint is there was no place to sit, people were sitting in the grass and along the sidewalk.
Yup! I've never been to Disney in America but I have in Japan and Europe! Was much cheaper, food was delicious, and I got to explore the rest of the country the rest of the time.
I just went to Disney World with my husband and five year old last month. We went for three days and stayed at a moderate level Disney resort. Now, I am not "Disney adult" but I do have many happy memories of Disney in the 90's and 2000's. The company is becoming a shadow of its self. Everything is nickel and dimed and services that made vacations "magical" like the airport bus service "Magical Express" are gone. The food and room quality at Disney hotels has slipped. Charging 250.00 dollars a night whilst not offering daily room maintenance leaves a bad impression. We are expecting a second child and live abroad we aren't sure we will be able to afford another visit in the future or if we really want to come back.
Our family went to Magic kingdom in Orlando this year. It was my Husband’s first time at Disney. He didn’t like it much and he told me he’ll never go back 😥. My 5 year old son didn’t enjoy it much either… he doesn’t mention about Disney at all and told me the other day, that he prefers our city’s little theme park 😂
Our family of six was on the fence about going. That last bit about turning children into super fans really got me. I don't want my kids to feel like they have to go into debt to entertain their family.
Y'all keep paying it, they'll keep charging it.
💯🎯
Not me, i’d rather visit national parks or sight see in the city. Disney was my childhood but as an adult I don’t care to go anymore
🎯🎯🎯
Only bloggers keep it full, it is a bubble at this point.
Exactly
people want Disneyland to stop increasing their prices, but people still continue to flock to Disneyland. They continue to still sell out and hotels are still booked. Prices will never decrease at this pace
I don't mind the ticket cost if the food could be cheaper. Its cheap basic low quality snacks and they want like 4× outside price.
Correct all it is, is supply and demand, and if you are company that has high demand why got get as much as you can?
Right. It’s all about supply and demand. As long as people continue to flock to Disneyworld or Disneyland, the prices will never decrease. It’s basic economics people!
@@Lumber91because morals. As a society every single business is operating with that motive and look where the value of our dollar is now.
@@asadb1990yet you still go
There’s nothing magical about price gouging and standing in lines all day. I loved Disney World as a kid and went a million times as a young adult living in Florida. When I brought my kids years later it felt like a big letdown. So expensive, so crowded, gross food, dated facilities. The magic was long gone.
Our next family trip was to Costa Rica. Much cheaper and a truly life changing experience.
Yup totally agree with you. I used to work at disney back in 2008 and i went back last year with a gf and i just couldnt believe how expensive it was. It was almost $200 CAD for one day ticket and the park was packed. waited 3 hours and a half to do the avatar ride. Overall, the whole experience was mediocre and we will not go back.
I’m not natively American, but I live in America. I will never understand families spending thousands to go to a cheap theme park filled with Chinese-made merch and terrible food instead of taking a trip anywhere in the world to see REAL sites and experience the beauty of the real world and cultures. It is beyond me why anyone would pay all that money to see something so artificial. I’m glad your trip to Costa Rica was good!! So many wonderful places to see with the family rather than the capitalism incarnate that is Disney land.
Minus all the Costa Ricans
@dalton what? Hatred has entered the chat
So your parents made Disney World magical for you, but you ruined it for your children. Great job!
Whent to disney on a work trip. And I'm honestly good for the rest of my life. I'll go to the DMV the next time i want to wait in line for 2 hours
Anyone hear the scene from Jurassic Park between the lawyer and Hammond?
Lawyer: “And we can charge anything we want: $2,000 a day, $10,000 a day. And people will pay it.”
Hammond: “This park was not built to cater only for the super rich.”
Lawyer: What, we’ll have, uh, a coupon day or something”
People, we’re there!
@@gamezonereactions8388little girls are the biggest victim and it’s grown men being the perpetrator…
That's an epic answer
*Capitalism*
"The only one on Disney's side is the blood sucking lawyer!"
@@chuck9380 Ko.-.sher Capitalism
As a European, I've flirted with the idea of going to Disney World but I just can't justify it when I can book a whole villa in the south of France for a few weeks versus what it would cost to spend less than a week at Disney eating crap food and waiting in queues.
You could do that and visit euro Disney for a day or two-not quite the same as Disney world but some rides are the same.
Disney Japan is way cheaper too
Waiting hours for a 1 min ride sounds horrible
The villa in France sounds more economical.
Do not come to the USA for Disney World. Come for other reasons; but stay out of Disney. Cheers, from an American.
I'm also Canadian. I recommend Muskoka in Ontario, Canada in the summer. Rent a cottage on one of the hundreds of lakes. Or, rent some gear and a canoe and disappear into Algonquin Provincial Park for a few days.
4 of us went to Europe, cheaper than Disneyland.
Europe has many great alternatives (one park influenced the creation of Disneyland)
I've been saying this for years; you can have an amazing international trip for the same price, and your kids will have more interesting and unique memories from the experience. I like Disneyland but my time in other countries is much more fulfilling.
Getting to be that way with ski vacations as well.
That’s where we are at mentally. If Disney is going to be a major stretch yourself trip, I can go to some really wild places on the same budget.
When in France, I will always prefer Parc Asterix over Disneyland Paris ... not to mention the other stunning european parks like Efteling in the Netherlands, Phantasialand, Tripsdrill and the 9-time best park golden ticket award winner EuropaPark in Germany ... just to mention a few
I would argue that Disney is NOT the quintessential American vacation. I'm almost 40 and I've never been able to afford it.
What would you say IS the quintessential American vacation?
I'd say its a cruise to the Bahamas
Don’t know where you live but go to Hershey park. It’s fun. Disney is garbage
If you're not American, then Las Vegas. If you are an American, then anywhere outside of the American continent.
@@USBAMCISMCIntercontinental travel is the quintessential American vacation? Not even-it is wildly expensive to travel outside of the NA continent and I don’t think you know what quintessential means.
@amesville representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class....if you were willing/able to read between the lines in comment, you would see that I'm stating that there is no place worth visiting in the North American continent for an American. I would argue that an American vacationing in America is un-American....unless you're poor, that is. In that case, Disney Land would be the prime choice.
I love Disney for my daughter BUT I can't stand spending 6-7 hours on any given trip standing in lines for only 15 minutes worth of actual time on rides.
Given the price hikes Disneyland vaction means using disney plus for 1 month a year.
then you dont love Disney! you have to sell organs to go if you really love Disney. Disney loves your monies
Stop complaining.
It's the experience of it all, even the waiting. It's the memories. Even in the 80s as child, I didn't like the long waits but still wanted to go. My parents took me and my brothers every year. They were some good happy memories.
Start complaining
Better question is “does a trip to Disney have the same value proposition as before?” For me, it’s a solid no. But everyone’s perception of value is different. Go visit Disney if that’s your thing.
Facts...
The question of how this value went away. The same concept applies to many products we consume. In reality, sometimes prices have gone up simply because inflation over the past 30 years has driven up the cost of everything FASTER than the average real income of households has gone up. The bigger picture of why this has happened is key, not just looking at prices.
True my sister just took her kids and payed a fortune but ima take my kid to silver dollar city its local park in my state save lots money.
they have more rides than before so why do you feel the experience is worse?
@@caseypenkalmost everything is old.
Family time and vacations should be sacred and relaxing. Sadly, disney is not. It's honestly exhausting
Its also very stressful. There was a time I never wanted to leave the park. My last few times I was ready to leave after a few hours. I'm done with that place because its no longer Disney. Really sad what they did.
I mean I have fun
Disney could probably charge $1,000 per ticket and people would still pay it. Families should just travel overseas.
Not if you plan correctly
Especially now with putting everything on your phone. Everyone is staring at their phones now when before you never had to look at it while at Disney.
Went to Downtown Disney like 3 months ago. A mouse ears hat is $30. A lightsaber can go over $70. And this is still outside the park. And of course, the classic $5 churro.
Not only are their prices expensive but they don’t even pay their employees for enough. I worked there for 2 years and only got an 11 cent raise. I vowed never to take my kids to that greedy ass company
11 cents is an absolute insult
True. I have a client who works at Disneyland escorting VIP people around (rich celebrities) and she gets paid about 18 dollars an hour. Disney is shameless.
Most of the visible park-jobs at Disneyland require the skill set of a fast-food employee - not exactly a career choice.
@@truegrit7697 This is a terrible response. Disney has it, that's the problem. The person says they dislike the company AFTER working there and your response is "get a better job?". Lets hope they did "get a better job" and spent their resources elsewhere.
And yet the one person they interviewed pointed to rising labor costs as a factor in why they have to raise prices. Give me a break
Rite of passage? Magic?
That's just consumerism culture/marketing speaking.
Plenty worthwhile things one can do that are cheaper and enriching.
Totally agree. Took my kids to Disney when they were five. They liked it, but they Didn’t love it. They actually prefered the rest day at the hotel w the water slides and lazy river.
It’s an overpriced shopping mall selling crap from overseas, & where guests are nickeled and dimed to absolute infinity.
No kidding! We went to Florida many times as children growing up. We went to Disney zero times. We went to the beach every time.
A pilgrimage to the shrine of the mouse.
Beach sounds way more relaxing than waiting in endless lines@@fordisfurious
My wife and I gave our kids the choice of 2 days at Disney on property or a 7 night caribbian cruise on Royal Caribbean. They chose the cruise and im glad they did!
I hate cruises. I feel like I'm imprisoned on Alcatraz. Too much time stuck on a crowded floating prison. Which is ok if you're a drunk adult. You won't think it's boring. But for kids? God awful.
@Because-rt8qs Because being in a overcrowded park to stand in line for over an hour for a 1 minute ride doesn't feel like prison. You do you, my kids didn't choose the cruise blindly, it's their 3rd so far. They enjoy the food, endless ice cream, water slides, spash pad, shows, ice skating, flow rider, put put golf, the kid zone where they hang with kids there age and do fun stuff, they can't wait to go back to the kid zone after we pick them up. My son plays piano, i talked to the piano man one night, and he was invited up to play for everyone. All the "drunk adults" cheered afterward, something he'll never forget. If you're against feelings trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean i get that. People have their phobias, but don't act like the park aren't overcrowded! As for the drunk adult part, we don't get drunk. We may have a few drinks, but we don't get drunk. I think you've never been on a cruise and that's fine. Probably better for everyone.
@wesleynichols5676 that sounds like a blast. My oldest is 4 and I've been trying to decide how I want to do family vacations for my kids. I might save up for that!
@abigailloar956 We really enjoy it. We have enjoyed Disney before pandemic with my oldest. We just prefer cruising. I hope you get sail yourself one day! First of the year is a good time to look, Royale Caribbean usually does Kids sail free promotions then.
@@wesleynichols5676 good to know thank you!
i suggest going to Tokyo Disneyland/Disneysea. No questions asked! cheaper (when it comes to merch, food, fastpasses)
from the West Coast, i priced out a 5 day, 6 night Disney hotel vacation to Orlando and Disney Paris. It was cheaper to go to Paris. The Paris Disney vacation even included breakfast and dinner! It's absurd how much Disney charges Americans.
Yes! Loved going to Disneyland Anaheim, DisneyWorld, Epcot in Orlando years ago. It was like going to Hawaii, expensive to get there and being there. Glad to hear Disney Paris was a better deal. Was just at Tivoli Copenhagen and it was also much more expensive compared to past visits. People there continue to love it, but say it’s now way too pricey for families. 🙄
Yeah, but aren't Disney hosts speaking French there?
@@phoenix5054 dual-language with English being spoken by all staff. Close to half of visitors to Disney Paris are foreigners. Brits make up a large chunk of the foreigners.
Let's go!
It's always cheaper to travel to other countries than to Disney, it's just not as good.
Feels like Walt would be ashamed of his company today. The “magic” was never intended for only the upper-middle or upper classes
it was still expensive when walt open the parks
First class?
@@wookieeMan06tickets have gone up past inflation for many years. It was probably more that there was a limited group of people who could access the parks before population growth and massive air travel expansion.
Well, Walt said "who pays for the movie tickets, kids or their parents?" 😂 He would've done exactly the same
I highly doubt that a guy who rolled out the red carpet for a high-ranking Nazi propagandist in 1938 who got turned away from every other studio in Hollywood would be the least bit ashamed of a little price gouging.
It’s just too expensive now. They are greedy… ticket price, food prices… it’s all designed for the upper class only.
The food even isn't that great.
True, that’s why better off going to universal studios or seaworld or six flags
The business as a whole is slowly failing, losing revenue and focusing more on other virtually non-existent markets than their core consumer base who is leaving them and going elsewhere. The only way they can keep up is charging excessively for each and every aspect inside all of their parks. They Jackson and Grant you at every turn with Genie+, Lightning Lane, food, drink, etc. Yet they keep losing money hand over fist. The current management has absolutely no clue how to run a company.
@@BenMonares Sea World is a hidden Gem. Fun rides, good food all at a good price and of course, the cool animals. A great time.
if they are greedy cant imagine how you feel about sports games, concerts ect. which are way more expensive for an 2 hour event.
The Star Wars hotel itself was evidence that Disney cares more about money than guest experiences. It cost $6,000 for two adults to spend two nights there in a lackluster hotel room and only one trip to a park, Galaxy's Edge, which is actually only part of an entire park (Hollywood Studios), combined with what a lot of people felt were mediocre in-hotel attractions, character performances, and food. Disney is super out of touch with average guests, and it won't be a surprise if criticism and migration away from their brand continues and/or grows.
I LIVE IN LOS ANGELES - I used to go to Disneyland all the time in the 80's and 90's. My wife and I had purchased Premium Season Passes from 2000-2002. Believe it or not. The Premium Season passes were only $200 a person which included a parking pass and 15% merchandise discount. I gave up on Disneyland a long time ago.
I've average going to Disneyland about once a year since 1957. For my daughter's wedding, I paid for both daughters, both son-in-laws, myself, my best friend, my granddaughter, my ex-wife (mother of the bride) and her husband and all four of their children. But since Covid closures, the nickels and dimes (or fifties and hundred dollar bills) for breakfast for just one of my daughter's family and myself to go into Disneyland, the long long long lines that just don't move because the rides breakdown ALL the time, which is NEW. FEW rides routinely broke down (other than the flying saucers) back in the day. Rides were closed for maintenance, but very very very rare to stand in lines for hours only to be told to leave, the ride has broken down.
For $4,700 I can take a two week coach tour in Europe and see and visit REAL castles.
Putin price hike
@@dking1836 almost, cost of flight has gone up too, and the thing is it pains me, I used to love many things disney, the movies were top rate, they were visionarys at making things happen imagineering as it were, the parks used to have something for everyone, it was expensive but worth it every so many years, now soo much iconic things of its hay day of the 90's and early 2000's is gone, I couldn't afford it even if I won the lottery, people are grouchier, and they decided that playing politics was more importent then family fun, walt wanted a place for families to be able to spend the day, and while I am sure the actors and performers are still very top rate and there is still much to do its out of price of all but the highest upper middle class, and everything has some movie tie in directly not just indirectly, and much of the past was whitewashed over, truth can be inconvenient but it dont change the fact of what was true in the past as harsh as it is,
I would love to go down and see a behind the scenes tour of the railroad, and maybe how the magic is done, but not till they stop raising prices soo much and to be honest for the price of a day I could problably spend a week traveling east though ohio and pennsylvana doing historical railroading tours maybe even offering a hand maybe, I got friends in importent places, or have met them, that head up restoration programs or been at it for decades, not trying to brag just the corse of the matter when working on them its a small community of people, and helping on nkp 765 has brought me in contact with them.
it was supposed to be a magical place for families to safely spend the day walt would be turning in his grave which contrary to an old tale he is not frozen but was burned and his ashes are buried in a graveyard in california when he passed in about 1964 or 65
Our monthly payment installments on our Magic Key passes as SoCal residents is less than a one day ticket. We live close enough to do several times a month if we want to . Sometimes I go for a few hours, hop on a couple of rides, get a drink or popcorn and go home.
I'm sorry you live in Los Angeles. Nobody should have to do that.
Spending 5 grand for 5 days of standing in lines in the hot sun. Now that's awesome!
Every business needs to carve out a niche. 😂
id pay 5 grand to not do it 😂
Don't forget, waking up at midnight 6 months before to scramble to get fast passes before they're all gone. Basically you need a PHD in Disney or you're going to waste your trip.
Frankly, a trip to Disney sounds like a massive hassle. Even if I was willing to spend the money, I don't go on vacation to be hassled and nickeled and dimed.
@@null6634 Different strokes. I LOVE all the planning and gaming involved in planning a Disney vacation.
@@kellin12
It would be my own personal hell. Glad someone likes it though. If I were going to Disney ever, I would hire you to deal with it.
This story does not take into account that a one day park pass at disney gets you nothing but a walk around the park. Can’t get a reservation at a restaurant. Tide length 2, 3, 4 hours. That’s 2-3 rides over 8 hours, doing nothing else but standing in line?
I would never go back after my last horrible experience. It is grossly overpriced.
At Universal you can just go and enjoy yourself.
I feel like Universal is the same though. Very expensive and you are waiting in lines all day.
Disney and Universal are both expensive, but I agree with Universal you can do all rides in one day, but with Disney, you cannot do them all in one day, but need a few days.
In California or Florida?
We got the Fast pass and skipped most of the lines. Felt really bad for the people melting down in those lines, that's not a good use of vacation time/money.
@@K4R3Nthe fast pass used to be free and now you need to give them $30-50 extra to not wait in line
I’m done with Disney. When we go we only are able to ride like 4 rides tops. We aren’t the type to get there when gates open. I don’t see myself paying more just to stand in lines all day for rides, food , or snacks.
1 hour of waiting for every 5 minutes of fun. Never again. Thank you very much.
1 hour? more like 3 hours...
That's what your wife told me
That’s why you buy the genie pass.
Don’t forget the rain…
😂
Getting rid of FastPass was the final straw, as far as I’m concerned. Making people pay for a perk that used to be part of the paid admission fee really turned me off. I have no plans to ever set foot into a Disney park again. I’d rather spend my money where everyone has the same access to attractions as everyone else.
Totally agree. The Fast Pass was great.
Agree. They went from all guests are created equal to stealing time from families, and selling it to others. It's so wrong. Six Flags may do that, but that's why Disney was Disney. That was a huge competitive advantage for them to have that perk included. And it was perfect for everyone to have the same chance to have a great day. Now it's a tier based park environment.
@@tgguitarguy I went to Universal Studios Japan for the first time in 2019, and ended up springing for one of their “enhanced” ride packages. Afterwards, I felt like a sucker because the price was high and the time saved was negligible - with the speed lane being almost as crowded/slow as the regular lane. (It totally ruined the already lackluster experience of USJ. I will not return.)
As I was gnashing my teeth at USJ, I kept having flashback to how good (and fair) the FastPass system was at Tokyo Disney Resort. Proper FastPass management was part of a successful day at the Disney parks, and I had gotten pretty good at maximizing the perk’s effectiveness. (When I visited DisneySea in 2020, FastPass was still a thing. And, in the COVID-limited experience of that day (no parades, no shows, no popcorn carts (nor any other food carts), and many stores & restaurants being closed), about the only thing to do was walk around and ride attractions. Having FastPass made that day bearable.)
So, after Disney dumped FastPass and rolled out their new extra-charge system, I decided enough was enough. I hated my day at USJ, have no desire to have that feeling again.
Disney can cram their new class system for guests.
You realize that is literally NO theme park. Disney was the last theme parks not charging for front-of-line access. Six Flags, Sea World, Universal etc. have always charged much more than Disney is charging now for line skipping.
@@kellin12 You realize that Disney has parks outside the United States, don’t you? There are PLENTY of other options out there. (Paying for line skipping is an American thing. It doesn’t translate well elsewhere.)
A generation of kids whose parents can't afford to take them to Disney will grow up to be a generation of parents who won't feel the need to give their children the Disney experience they didn't have in their childhood. This is how a death spiral starts.
I'm a "middle class or working middle class" millennial who grew up going to Cedar Point. I have no desire to go to Disney now because it's so expensive even though I can afford it. So if I ever have kids, I wouldn't feel the need to take them because I never had the fomo of going to Disney as a child. Same with my parents...working middle class and they never been.
Overdramatic much? You do realize that the majority of children in the rest of world will never step foot on any Disney property before they become an adults. Those "poor" children you seemed worried about...lives in a house with clean drinking water (AC/heat), eats three meals a day, and have clean clothes, electricity, wifi, video games etc. They will be perfectly fine if they never go to Disneyland or world and go to Six Flags instead. The rest of the world makes it to adulthood perfectly fine without going to Disneyland or World.
@@JF-vw9lvDisney can charge ridiculous amounts of money because of emotional attachment. I agree with the original post. Future generations will not have an attachment to the Disney parks. Disney is damaging their future to make a quick buck today.
@@JF-vw9lv yes majority of the world eat rice too
Disney is just doing what other companies do I mean cmon now it’s called capitalism ……everyone loves capitalism till it hurts them in their pockets
Consider that back in 1984 the cost for a ticket was 14 dollars
I make a very healthy six figures and have zero kids and I think Disney is way too expensive. Why spend $500+/day or so to stand in line for hours waiting for rides?
We live comfortably. And going to Disney or a cruise is a big expense for us. What I don’t get is that there are thousands of other families. How’s everyone else, presumably middle class Americans, affording all of this?
@@Wasabi9111Loans and debt, they're probably not affording it.
@@Wasabi9111I think most run up their credit card, or make other scarifies elsewhere in their life?
@@Wasabi9111 lots of ppl do work in decent office jobs that can afford it and even better trips.
Low 6 figures is poverty wages these days. You need to make 400k+
It's disappointing that you didn't look at Disney park tickets in other countries. In Japan, a day ticket can be bought for the equivalent of $59 - $77 USD. Disneyland Paris tickets are $73 - $107 USD. These high prices are just at the US parks. They're charging more here because they know we're willing to pay the higher prices.
It's just more fun with Americans than with French or Japanese people lol
Labor cost in the US is far more than those you mentioned. People miss basic concept of earning and cost. American claim to be the top earners in the world yet you have the most debt
Just like with medication pricing.
The video is about American families, as stated in the title. Most Americans aren’t flying out of the country to go to Disney, they want to go to Florida
An eye opening for sure!
Back in 1989 my friends and I had a friday off from high-school. We drove down to Disneyland we chipped in for parking and gas, paid $27 to get in, and had a great time going on all the rides, buying Mickey hats, and doing it all for less than $50 per person.
🎯
$50 in 1989 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $126.83 today
@ImGeoX that's still way under your average day at Disneyland today. I won't set foot in a Disney park now unless it's with my grandchildren. Not only does the price not equal my enjoyment but also with their constantly changing lightning lane and park reservations they've made having a good time complicated. I would rather spend my time and money traveling doing photography. We Gen Xers had it good Disneyland was at it's best in the 80s and 90s
@John-ce3qp I didn't go to Disneyland or Universal Studios all that often. Disneyland because we had to cross LA and all it's traffic. I lived 70 miles away but it took 2 or 3 hours to get there. I didn't go to Universal because in 89 90 there was only the tour and shows. That's not too much fun for a 17-18 year old. Although I went to the Universal Amphitheater quite a bit. Magic Mountain was my park back then. It was only a hour drive and we learned how to exploit their twicket policy to pay once and get in multiple times. We always went on a friday night it was cooler and we got on all the good rides. I would usually ride revolution at least 3 or 4 times. Ninja was the only ride with a super long line.
@@ImGeoX I love how they never mention inflation lol. "Back in my day, it was a nickel!" yes, and you also got paid a dollar a month lmao.
As long as there are “Disney Adults” they will continue charging these prices. But I think I’m about 20 years or so, when they start aging out, the house of rat will be in a very precarious situation when their cash cow simps stop going due to age.
A friend of mine took his family to Disneyland and was shocked by how there were very few children in the park. It was mostly adults.
The real class divide in this country is
- people who have never been to Disney
- people who have been once or twice in their lives
- and people who go every year
America is so big so statistically you still have a high class group how can effort it.
uh
there's a 4th class - people who can afford it, but choose not to spend the money
@@vovalos 100% truth
Those demos are also representative of a brain divide. Those who never go are smart. The ones who go every year are dumb as a bag of rocks. Even the multi-millionaires. Disney is overpriced, overhyped trash.
It's crazy to see Bright Sun Films going from making short videos on abandoned attractions to being featured on CNBC
Jake and Emily are the best
Came here to say this!! I've been watching Jake for ages so I did I double take when I saw him here.
Our guy has grown so much!
yes i was so excited to see that clip!! love their channel
This has been coming for a long time. I grew up in southern california and made many trips to Disneyland, growing up. But I got to the point, I have nothing but contempt for what Disney has done with their parks. I'm not bringing my kids. I read years ago about how Disney parks/resorts were intentionally focusing on the ultra rich, and offering luxury experiences, or intentionally pricing their parks to be a luxury good, a "once in a lifetime splurge."
I remember sitting at my computer in 2015 or so, listening to some Disney Resort VP in an interview explaining this mentality of raising prices and playing a 'luxury' experience, "if you're going to sell a car, it makes more sense to sell a Ferrari, than a used starter car. It takes just as much of your time, as the salesman, to sell a Ferrari as it does a used car. But your commission is a lot larger on the Ferrari than the used car. So if you can, you want to sell the Ferrari, instead."
If Disneyland wants to serve Saudi Prince's and biotech executives instead of normal families, they're more than welcome to do that. I'm done, dude,. I'm just sick of this s***.
It's funny, I was just thinking about how car companies are focusing on making more expensive new trucks/SUVs rather than affordable smaller cars so that they can get more profit from building fewer vehicles. That's the same mentality as you're describing with your ferrari comparison.
Those with the cash will spend a lot more per person on rides, food, merchandise, hotels, etc. I would rather they go full steam with this and make it exclusive. I'd rather pay a lot more and have half the number of guests present instead of the outrageous prices I pay now and have to deal with all the crowds. Or pay less and still have the same experience with all the sweaty, obnoxious people all around.
@@wolfumz What’s interesting is that he had a complete lack of awareness of how this made him sound. The “greed is good” mentality has become so normalized that I fear it will be the downfall of the nation.
I live in Orlando, my family and I stopped going. It’s completely miserable and add the absurd cost. It’s the unhappiest place on earth
My wife, kids and I live 30 minutes from Disneyland. We can no longer afford to go at all and I’m making the most money in my career.
Sounds like you need more money. Wife is probably tired of telling her friends "hubby can't afford this and that"
You can probably afford it. You choose not to go. Nothing wrong with that
living in california is the problem
Yeah well, there is salary ceiling for flipping burgers, you know?
Just kidding man! 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆
Too many kids
The jokes on Disney, the next generation is not attached on the Disney brand, so in the next five to ten years will be crucial to sell to the potential customers.
Disney made the evil choice to cater to only those who can pay the highest dollar. Given that they also pay their employees very poorly it's ironic that anyone making a similar wage would never be able to afford Disney, themselves. For most children in the world a trip to a Disney park will only happen in their dreams!
Welcome to capitalism... that's how it works for vast majority of companies in our country.
Wait until you see how dirty construction business is... people building houses used to be paid less than $100 a day, breathing in dusty air, getting hurt on jobs, etc while developers made millions. Nowadays you see how expensive these contractors all are. They want anywhere from 150-500 an hour for jobs.
People just target specific businesses out of emotion but don't realize it's the overall system
And? Which business is putting their profits aside to make my dreams come true? Disney doesn't owe you anything.
@@peterharris8471found the mickey mouse bootlicker
@@peterharris8471how do mickey's shoes taste buddy
@@soogymoogi haven't had the shoes but try the gray stuff, it's delicious!
My parents would just sit through the timeshare presentations for free tickets
I did the same too, at the end of the presentation came the high pressure sales tactics. Worst 3 hours of my life but I didn't buy anything and got my voucher.
Going into debt for a Disney trip??? What's a sensible word for the opposite of smart?
There are two words actually: stupid and sucker
Moronic
"car loans"
Ignorant 💀🚫
Unwise
Industrywide problem. The problem is the industry is price gouging its customers and that’s basically every corporation over the past 4yrs.
Universal is still affordable and so is Six Flags…
And yet there are still long lines and overcrowding
Yeah those evil companies…price gouging…nothing to do with the never ending burrrrrr of the money printing machine?
Well the government keeps spending money, meaning they keep printing money, so the dollar’s worth goes down. Thanks big gov spending
@@curlyclouds9 thanks, Corporate greed
I lived 20 mins away from disneyland for 30+ years and i dont even go to this "happy place" I aint paying $18 for no hot dogs. Pure robbery
2:22 "happy place" (said in an assertive tone)
Disneyland can gtfo
And $17.50 for 1.25 ounce of whiskey. Rather take my family to the red woods or Big Sur
"I am not paying $18 for any hot dogs" is proper grammar.
I go 3 times a month as an annual passholder. Hotdog cost like 10-12 bucks. I usually go after work in the evening and I avoid buying food there as much as possible. 8 months ago, the raspberry macaron used to cost me 6 dollars now its 8 dollars!!! A lot of the food prices has gone up! But hey, if it puts a smile on my nieces face, I'll continue taking her.
Parks are full... so Disney increases prices willingly... The day people choose a different destination ... then... prices will be lower
We took our kids to Universal. It was less expensive and the kids had a great time.
Even universal is approaching Disney prices - $145 to go on a Saturday, parking is $35. Crazy
@@SLIPKNOTmaggot262Definitely! The major difference between the two I I don’t have to dodge as many strollers at Universal.
universal might be a teeny tiny bit cheaper but not by much…. busch gardens is more affordable by far
@nanananananananana00 Absolutely, Busch Gardens is the best park for value hands down. It's not "magical," but it is number one for the amount of thrill rides and wait times.
@@nanananananananana00 I just did a price comparison between the two because I’m considering doing Disney next year (been to Universal the last two). I picked the same dates (Jan or Feb) for both parks and Disney was over $4k more expensive than Universal. Keep in mind these prices are for vacation packages for four people, but $4k is a massive difference for only a five day vacation
Disney head Iger's total compensation for 2023 amounted to nearly $31.6 million, including his $865,385 salary, $16.1 million in stock and $10 million worth of options. And y’all be blaming labor costs for the increase in ticket prices
Disneyland alone had 26 million visitors. If Iger forgoed his entire salary then each guests ticket at Disneyland could be reduced by $1.20. Congrats.
@@je5406 The fact that one man's compensation reduction, one man, would lead to a dollar twenty drop in ticket prices, says a great deal. You think you're making gutenmorgen look foolish, when in actuality you're assisting to reveal the insanity of those compensation packages. And they're only getting more ridiculous across every major sector. Hell, Elon Musk wanted a pay package that would equal 10% of the entire value of his company in a single pay period.
they always do for every business. its corporate propaganda
and 31m is nothing compared to what they make. Youre entitled to make some money as a CEO. it is 100% labor costs running this stuff up. park workers making 20+ an hour to wave at people with mickey hands on and operating rides is whats driving the costs up.
@@Tomb413 Yeah, how dare workers want to be properly paid so they have afford to pay bills. Never mind the fact a good portion of them live in their car due to high rent costs.
It's funny because I raised my kids (born in 01 and 03) partly in Orlando and we had season passes every year while we were there. They were both at Disney by the age of 2 weeks old at least to just roam around the park and get out of the house. My son had his first haircut on Main Street at the barber shop. There were multiple times where we would decide to go to Disney for the day and they would cry and say "We don't WANT to go to Disney World!!" and we would tell them how many kids would love to be them at that moment. It became "normal" for them and they got tired of the lines and the heat. After that, we moved to NC with a big back yard and trails and hiking and we camped and spent time doing other things. They still love the theme parks, but I feel like it's the PARENTS who are nostalgic about it and feel like they NEED to provide that experience for their kids. Disney is NOT "good debt" and it's not necessary to have a wonderful and memorable childhood. Is it a great experience? Of course. But life is full of great experiences that will not put families into financial debt/crisis.
your kids are ridiculous lol. I cant imagine having told my mom that I dont want to go to hershey park as a kid. Loved it, every single time, maybe even more than the last
Agree with your kids.
Too hot, too crowded, not as magical.
I live near Disney and my kid never wants to go. His cousins and friends who came to visit also don’t want to go back to the parks. They rather play at the pool. It’s too hot, crowded, and kids these days aren’t that big of Disney fans. They couldn’t care less for the characters etc. The hassle of the parks isn’t worth the enjoyment and even little kids learn this after going.
@@YogabyNandawhat a shame!Yea i feel like a old millnial but when i was a kid the stories where not so sugar coated. It was still normal that the teacher would read from the bible.
They call like the 70ties and till 88 the dark era. But i loved that movies just as much as the 90ties ones. I loved Robin Hood and the The Rescuers for example.
So my point is, i feel after Frozen we are now in a Disney dark age. The stories and the caracter seems so boring and flat. Just pretty girls doining something 😅
The last enjoyable film was Lilo and Stich in my opinion.
you’re poor
I went to Disney as a adult and only thing I can say is what a waste of money. I am so glad my hard working parents did not waste their hard earned money by taking us there as children.
News flash, Disney has been unaffordable for working class families for much longer than just the 2010s. Even if a family of four on a lower salary could save up enough for the park tickets in the early 2000s, there was still the flight, hotel, and food.
Exactly. The first time that we visited Disney was because my brother-in-law was already working at Disney, and he had free park entry. And now we work at Disney and have merch discounts. If we didn't work at Disney, we would have ever been able to go to the parks because it has always been out of our budget.
What I find is by the time I can save you the money to go, they raise the prices and I no longer have the money to go
My family got to go in 1999 and ONLY because my aunt and uncle gave us their family timeshare that year so they could go on a cruise. I remember that we cut costs by driving from WI to FL, and ate our own food outside of the parks. I am absolutely certain that even then, my mom and dad still had to scrimp and scrounge to save enough for the extra stuff that was not included in that timeshare.
I am never going back there. I would rather travel the US and see historical sites and monuments.
@@94sHippie True. I can recall stories as far back as the 90s about people taking out loans on their homes to take their family to Disney. The rapid price escalations started when Eisner took over (in the 80s?) There were a lot of complaints from the Disney family members about average families being priced out of the parks.
I truly believe that if Walt were alive today, he'd be appalled by the cost of the parks. He built them for all families to be able to share the experience of a nice family day or vacation, while experiencing the "magic" of Disney movies / shows. This is NOT what he intended. SMH....................................
it is crazy , we went to the San Diego Zoo....100$ per head. Just me and the wife , imagine a family going there , you will spend $500 , plus snacks inside etc.
Disney is not about families anymore
That false , His goal was to make the best family experience possible.
I think Walt Disney always intended to be successful through creativity. He would be thrilled at the profitability of his legacy. Where I think he'd be rolling in his grave is the lack of creativity being allowed in imagineering by the financial directors of the company for the last 25 years.
He be upset alright for not jacking up the prices quickly enough. Because al he wanted was to monopolize his market.
We went to Los Angeles as family of 4 in 2022. We had one free day and wanted to take everyone to one of the theme parks. We ended up picking Knott's Berry Farm, it was $660 for a family of 4, and that price included their pass for drinks and food package (obviously a few restrictions, but was amazing value). Only extra we spent was on a few gifts to take home and one boozy drink for each me and the wife. That same $660 would had only got us in the door at Disney (on an off-peak day)... and that's before food, drink, merch, etc. We made the right choice and had a great day and lots of memories for our entire family.
One day park pass with Florida resident discount was $47.50 back in 2003.
I've made peace with the fact that I wouldn't be going to Disney ever again.
Their pay for everything model is ridiculous. I'm not paying 30 extra bucks to ride a ride.
After hearing about Genie and no more Extra Magic Hours ... I'm making my peace with the same fact.
Knowing that my son and I would be in Orlando for a few free days between his college terms, I looked at prices for WDW for a few minutes before deciding to go see the Harry Potter Lands at Universal instead. We had a great time. We had been to both places multiple times when he was 8 to 10 years old, the perfect age to really enjoy the experiences, but not since then. WDW has always been a magical happy place for me since they opened when I was 7 ... but like all things, sometimes it's best to just remember what was instead of trying to recreate what is no more.
I cancelled my Disney plus subscription it went up to $179 a year ! We have to start saying no to the price bumps
Thumbs up to that! If we all keep paying, they will keep charging. We all need to keep our wallets closed to send a message.
Disney is now for the rich, the rest of us have to pay our admission just to watch people take cuts in line (lightning lane) and walk on into the rides. Dont blame the rich though blame the greedy disney execs
FYI. Look out for streaming subscription deals during Black Friday Month.
That's $15 a month. That's about average for any other streaming service.
Except they have a monopoly on certain movie franchises and deals. So you’re paying $15 + $15 +$15/mo for Netflix, prime, Disney because you don’t want to just watch Disney app let’s be realistic. It’s ridiculou$$$!
Disney should not be priced as a luxury international vacation, its a theme park
It's not like other theme parks.. That's why people keep going Disney when their state already has a park
But it’s just disney, a big corporation faking a magical experience that consists of overpriced everything and waiting in line. It’s definitely not as amazing and worth the same as travelling to a different continent, experiencing the remains/sights built hungdreds of years ago. Don’t you think visiting a real castle is more magical than the Disney one? Plus you get to experience new cultures, new places, learn history by experiencing historical places, get to eat great food, and so on
Why? Disney’s owners, might even be in your 401K, don’t have an obligation to keep prices below market.
They aren't, but if you choose to stay 200 days, dining only at their restaurants, sleeping in their best hotel, paying for all the addons and extras and buying 10 tones of merchandise. Yes, it costs like a luxury vacation.
The money that would be saved to go on vacation is instead going to the grocery store and rent/mortgages.
Exactly 😢 the brand of Mayo that I like (Mccormick lime mayo) used to be less than $3 not very long ago now it is $7... and that is just one small thing, let's not even talk about the prices of beef and chicken 😒
Exactly separate your wants and needs.
Lies! Biden and Kamala said the economy is doing great
On top of cost of going on vacation increasing too
But current VP Kopmala and Un-runnable Joe said the economy is fine?
You guys did a great job covering this
An odd thing about the American economy is that expensive things tend to sell really well. Disney tickets, flagship phones, huge trucks, etc. Perhaps the issue is not that Disney is setting their prices too high, but rather that people continue to buy them.
It's that people have plenty of money and can't stop complaining about it.
you are pointing out that many Americans are very rich. Even the poorest of us are still relatively prosperous, but the income gap is so large that many people make close to a hundred thousand per year or more, and can spend on expensive things and hike up prices, while another large swath gets priced out, and fewer people are in the middle ground as this gap keeps growing. The way many countries deal with this is by taxing the rich 50% or much more and putting that money into social services like healthcare, strong labor laws, public transportation, etc. that the lower class benefits from. This squashes the gap and provides a better GINI coefficient. America and many places like it, however, are not so socialist - they don't tax high earners as much and don't provide as many social services, so that money goes elsewhere... like on military budgets or expensive cars. I'm not calling it right or wrong, but just pointing out it's not too odd, it's all too American
@@peterharris8471 I think the people I hear complain the most are people with desk jobs and 401k's and nice salaries. The people working the shittiest jobs often make the least but you just don't hear them complain as much. Maybe I'm wrong and also everyone is entitled to complain, but sometimes it comes off wrong to me
I definitely think as a whole we have a consumerism mentality and will go into debt for things we think we should have.
Definitely. I feel bad for people struggling to pay rent or going without medical services, but a Disney trip?
This is a luxury for the wealthy. If people go into debt to visit Disney World, that's their choice...and a foolish decision in my opinion.
In 1996 my HS senior class had a 5 day trip to Florida, we went to Disneyworld, Universal Studios and other smaller places, airline tickets (from Chicago to FL) hotel room and breakfast was included. I paid $250 dlls for the entire trip. It was amazing!! I’m so sorry families can’t enjoy the same fun we had growing up.
Oh wow would grads love to do that but it’s now a total impossibility. It would probably cost $2500 by now.
10 dollars for a cold bottle of water 😂 I will never step in that place
you are free to bring your own food and water into the park.
I paid $3 when I went recently and then just filled it up all day long for free. I could have just asked for free water cups all day long or brought my own bottle as well. You can make your trip expensive but you don’t have to
@@cisco00079- NO loss
All food vendors provide free ice water, but you have to ask for it.
I mean, in Europe that’s normal
I've never wanted to go. I went as a kid & just remember standing in line all day in the heat. Does not sound worth half of what they charge. Add the crowds to it, it is a hard no from me.
AND I lived 30 min away for years & still wasn't worth going.
Waiting 3 - 4 hours for a 10 minutes ride is not my exact definition of "magical"
Exactly lol, you pay all this money to go on maybe three rides in a day and eat mediocre food. Even the bathrooms have lines. It's not magical, it's not even fun. The only fun I've had at Disney was years ago when I had family who worked there and I could go for free, skip lines, and went during off seasons when I could actually ride many rides and see many attractions in a day, now even with free admission it's not worth the wait so idk who'd even pay for this experience.
Then you are doing the parks wrong. I can do every major ride in the magic kingdom in 4 hrs.
No sane person does that. Even if you don’t buy lightning lane or whatever you can rope drop any normally long wait ride first thing and hardly wait at all. You have to plan how to do things.
10 minutes? 1-3 minutes on average
@@414s4that is just dumb... You invest time on planing, and going repeatedly so you know how to "do the park", so by definitions, this obviously doesn't apply to everyone... There is no guide on how to do the park, we purchased the Disney Genie and we still wait for hours...
My complaint is Disney has been taking profits from the parks to prop up losses from other departments. They need to spend more money on maintenance to clean the parks and to maintain rides so they don't break down. It seems like people are no longer guests, they are just customers. Don't go into debt to go to any park. Save up.
You nailed it. My last trip in August, after 20 years visiting I just felt like a customer. No longer that special feelings Disney once pride it self on.
@@lele-vu1cr this is very true
Well it’s a business after all
I always say to people l, imagine if you went to check into an expensive hotel and they said "sorry we have cut x amount of services and stopped refurbishing rooms including yours because our newer hotel on the other side of town had budget overruns". People would never accept this excuse from another brand so why Disney?
Actually, I’m a local who was an annual pass holder and this is my very serious recommendation. Dont go in the summer, spring break, or Xhristmas week. It’s mobbed. Don’t go anytime there is a three day weekend. ONLY go on normal weekdays when school is in session. If you can’t go then, DONT GO! It just isn’t worth the money and time.
From the mid-70s to the mid-90s, I lived 15 minutes from WDW. My daughter and I had year passes, and would go once a week. And it was AMAZING! Parking was included in the year passes, and the food was relatively inexpensive. And we knew what times of the year to go, and when to avoid. It was WONDERFUL!! We would even stay at the hotels from time to time, for an extra treat.
After moving from Florida, we went back roughly 10 years later, and was SHOCKED at how much it had changed. We still had fun, but the added costs were jarring.
We recently started planning on a trip to WDW and, after adding everything together, we decided that it just wasn’t worth it. Disney has grown so MONEY HUNGRY, that they’ve taken all the joy out of it. And unless they do something about the prices, I honestly have no desire to go back.
As I understand it theyve made it super complicated to use their pass systems too for the rides and so many people game their system to get ride time slots. Point being, you have to be a professional disney-obsessed no-lifer consumer these days to have fun at disney and everyone else is just sol.
I live in Florida and have two young kids. Disney is just too expensive for us to take them.
I went to Disney World a few years ago. One thing I did notice was how frustrated and exhausted so many of the dads with families were. I started to feel bad for them.
Going there for one whole day will be exhausting but I can't imagine doing it for 4 to 5 days
@AV-sw7bj I agree. I went to Epcot only for a full day and was ready to leave by the end. Didn't even stay for the fireworks. Lol
Too much walking when you're tired from work
It's the excessive need to plan and schedule everything with Genie+ (or previously Fastpass+) The crowds mean it's just not possible to be spontaneous or to have a hour of downtime to relax, and just doing a Disney vacation can involve hours of research beforehand.
Why? They made a choice to be a “family man”.
my sister took her kids this summer. 3 days for 5k. While at the park she paid $60 for a sweater, $25 for a coffee mug. Food and even water 4x the price. She really spent and made big efforts to make it happen for her 3 kids but in the end it is not a fair deal, especially for lower-middle class families.
They could have gone on a week long international vacation for that and learned from another culture.
And she will paying for that trip for a decade old
sorry, but WHY would she buy $60 sweater and $25 coffee mug in the park? Thats just poor spending decisions. People drink $9 Starbucks all year round and then complain about Disney ticket cost? Common!
$5K? That's three months of my mortgage.
@@trinasan7559and people complain they're living paycheck to paycheck and blame the government, smh..
I took my family there and regretted it. Everything is over priced and long lines for every ride. I told my kids the next time y'all go is when y'all taking your kids.
And it's gonna cost them 10x what it cost them
When did you go? And did you use the Fast pass to cut lines?
When I went to Magic Mtn I used gold flash pass and it was only 30 min vs the 90-110 min lines.
Last I went to Disney Anahiem was 2012 and I didn't want to go. I was forced cause I can't be home alone.
@@760Miramar 2015 and I didn't use a fast pass. I didn't know about that into it was almost time to go.
Its y'all's fault... The parks are still overpacked, full of people, inhuman lones. Americans are still paying it
I never forget when they paid their CEO $500 million. None of my kids know anything about Disney.
It amazes how most people can't connect the dots between these insane executive "compensations" and prices. People whine about the price of a Big Mac while defending McDonald's CEO making $14,000/hour.
Not giving another dime to Orlando!
@@nathanbrady8529and then vote against their own interests. Idiots
Exactly!!!!!!
okay? congrats
Thank God you're raising awareness that disney World is too expensive. No one is talking about this.
People are coping with prices then complaining when they come home from vacation broke
So what? Nobody forces people to go there. It is as if people would cry about working minimum wage and not being able to book a month long trip to Seychelles. It's luxury, not a human right. There are way, way, way bigger issues than Disneyland's ticket prices...
@sesaarinen But on that logic- you're saying that some people deserve it more than others. What determines that? Who deserves to take vacations, or 'better' vacations, and who doesn't? I believe everyone should be able to- with time and saving. It should be achievable, but it simply isn't.
@Andreou4-u1l I'm not saying anyone deserves it more.
I'm saying that everybody's known for decades that Disney World had become far overpriced. Heck, it was expensive(though less so) in the eighties when i was a kid. I didn't even dream of going to Disney World.
This is not in any way news.
Raising awareness, but what’s going to be done about it? Probably nothing.
The LOOONG LINES make Disneyland a hard pass for my family. Absolutely not worth it.
And dickhead families to duck for the best part of the ride when the ride drops I just want to raise my middle finger for the photo out of spite for them
Yea it was already bad when I was a kid 15 years ago, can't imagine how bad it is now
@JayFehr-x7u My niece went..said she paid extra for a "fast pass". But so did EVERYONE ELSE!! Hours in line!
@@1ring2rule3pigsthat never made sense to me. Now your paying extra to wait in line, with other people who paid extra
going to disney was the worst vacation of my life, such a horrible experience
I would rather spend my money on a trip to Europe and see some historical castles. Disney does not even enter my thoughts.
Exactly, and you even get to experience new cultures, places, customs, eat new food, visit other historic buildings and sights, and so on
@@chgr4674EXACTLY!!!
And yet you watched the video and commented on it.
@@Maccabeus87 What's the problem with that?
The world is big enough to not worry about a handful of kids theme parks.
Very good and neutral analysis.
We were an out-of-state family of annual passholders for 25 years and finally let the passes go in September 2023.
Disney had become more expensive, but we were equally motivated by a significant drop in the park and resort experience.
We ultimately left because we were frustrated by the park reservation system, the park hopping restrictions, the elimination of late night hours, the takeaway of perks we previously enjoyed (e.g., early registration for Run Disney events), the manipulation of lightning lane/standby times, a significance drop in cleanliness and a complete absence of the “white glove” service (smiles and service) Disney previously prided itself on.
When we couldn’t secure park reservations for 2 consecutive trips in 2021 and 2022, we went to Hawaii. We had ocean front rooms. We felt welcomed and people were happy to see our money.
We spent the same amount for Hawaii as we would for Disney. We had more fun. We let our annual passes go.
We don’t hate Disney and will surely go back sometime, but we are no longer a “Disney Family” and my kids and especially my grandkids will not have that same brand connection.
So I still choose the one with better cost-performance. For the same amount of money, I’d rather spend a bit more time if needed
You said it all. I don’t mind the increased costs but ridiculous park hopper rules, lightning lane, etc….the rules are like a Tetris game. It’s too stressful
Definitely noticed a big drop in cleanliness and appearance the last time we went to WDW. Service seemed about the same. Agree that the constant changes to the ride reservations have done nothing but create a huge headache, cause anger and make an already expensive proposition even pricier. Add in the removal of a lot of previously free perks and the magic seems less bright. Glad that Hawaii went well for you; I have read a lot of reports that make me not want to go there because of the way locals act towards visitors.
@@ronica2623I love the Tetris reference. Just like the game, it now feels like you need to be face-down in your phone all day instead of looking around and enjoying the Park and your family. And, in the end, everyone loses the game.
@@cvn6555sorry to hear about the Hawaii concerns. I’ve never had a problem (20+ trips over 30+ years). I’ve heard stories and there were times I was careful about going into very local areas, but most of that was many years ago. My recent experience has been great almost everywhere, but I’m also pretty comfortable now walking around in flip-flops and eating at a food truck or gas station.
It blows my mind that there are actual childless adults who willingly decide to vacation to Disney World multiple times a year. You can go literally anywhere in the world for the same price as a week long Disney vacation.
I don't get it either. The whole real world is there and instead....
They're desperately trying to recapture their childhood again by doing things or consuming things specifically meant for children
It is going to cost my family of 5 9,000USD to go to Disney for 5 days. That includes the meal plan, photo plan, “skip the line” and staying on Disney property next to the magic kingdom. I don’t think it is worth it, but we don’t want to disappoint our children.
Edit: if we had to into debt we wouldn’t go.
Wait 1-2 hours to get onto a 5 minute ride, kids hungry after the ride ? Be ready to cough up $70 for 4 hotdogs
Yup basically you need a fast pass to actually try and get on all the rides which even with the fast pass will take you alllllll day, the fast pass is a almost double the price of the ticket itself
IGNORANT, IDIOTIC, and NOT true
😂
I highly recommend everyone to travel to Asia! Aside from the cost of the flight, everything is so much cheaper than in the U.S. Even Disneyland in Shanghai and Tokyo is more affordable than the ones in the US. Most Asian countries are incredibly welcoming to tourists, and the service in the hospitality industry is top-notch while still being reasonably priced. It’s definitely worth the experience!
Good to know. And the lines for the rides? Not as long hopefully.
I wouldn't recommend Disneyland in Shanghai. The lines was long and the people there are the worst. I have been to Disneyworld many times and have never experienced a crappy day like I did in Shanghai back in 2018. With that saying, I wouldn't go back to Disneyworld. It's too expensive and being a woke company do not help. Otherwise, your suggestion is great.
@@geoffoaklandDude, you realize Tokyo and Shanghai are the 1st and 3rd most populous cities on the planet right? If you’re hoping for shorter lines I’d steer clear of those parks. Plus, aren’t there more interesting things for a foreigner to do in China/Japan than to go give absurd amounts of money to the Mouse?
@@baore2422 There are Parks like Puroland in Japan and Lotte land in Korea. Make the trip about places you won't find in the US.
@@roxannetaitano1490 Exactly.
My single mother took me on three Disney trips as a kid and I do remember them fondly. Now as an adult pricing a Disney trip for a family of 4, I gave up. I have the means to make this trip, but I came to the realization that it's not worth it to me. My kids won't be Disney kids and I'm fine with that. We have many other options and fond memories elsewhere that didn't cost nearly this.
As I see it you're raised right since you live within your means. I grew up poor and it made me more productive and financially responsible as an adult.
I'm still trying to pay back what I spent going to Disney 2years ago.
I honestly believe that Walt Disney would be appalled to see what his company has become. The parks that were once the wonderful retreats for the middle class have now, instead, become the elite enclaves for the wealthy. The current Disney management looks upon the middle class with a barely concealed contempt in their efforts to squeeze every last dollar from them! At 70, I am old enough to remember when Disney management treated the park goers as welcome guests to be valued instead of as ignorant suckers to be ripped off. So sad to see a once respected and admired company turn into the poster child for corporate greed.
Ya'll should stop acting like Walt Disney was a saint. He wasn't. He was a businessman
I've been taken twice in my life. First in the 80s by grandparents (my grandfather was the only income and just a machinist) , second time was in the 90s by my aunt an her future husband (business executive and high level nurse combined somewhere near $300k a year).
So yes Disney has priced out the common man.
We recently went to Disney in Florida. The prices aren't the only problem... The wait for Space Mountain was almost 3 hours.... almost 2 hours in line for Seven Dwarfs...It was a disaster
@@enadegheeghaghe6369 He wasn't a businessman. His brother was. Disney will be asking "What would Walt do?" again after I take over.
@@stanfordite1 keep telling yourself that. You can romanticise the past all you want but Walt Disney was not the saint you folks make him out to be
Higher prices leads to less people, which Disney tries to compensate by raising prices further, leading to even lesser people.
It doesn’t seem to stop people from other countries from coming to Disney World. I feel like that’s the big reason they’re staying afloat. A lot of Americans stopped going to these parks years ago
They keep shooting themselves in the foot
The parks are packed. I live in Orlando.
As a Floridian, Disney and all the other theme parks used to focus on Florida Resident passes to help drive gate traffic all year round, but recently they’ve made it unaffordable for in state residents, and have taken away year long passes, or again, made them unaffordable.
That being said, I’d rather take my kids to the various state parks and natural springs we have, and admire the nature that Florida has to offer. It’s much cheaper, and experiencing the beauty and wildlife is something my kids appreciate. Seeing manatees, herons, gators, pelicans, the various fish populations, as well as all the different eco systems nature has produced. A lot of that is going away. Each day it seems like preservations are being turned into housing and shopping developments. I’d rather show my kids the beauty of Florida before it’s gone than spend my money on greedy corporate theme parks. Real magic is in nature.
They are now focused on high-end families and adults that will pay more, a lot more, for premium experiences, food and merchandise. The profit margins are far higher.
You might enjoy Fanning Springs, they even have cabins there. Also, down the road about 15-20 min drive is Hart springs with its own campground for rv’s. Trails to walk, gorgeous park around the natural spring.
A lot of people feel like debt is normal and the only way to live “there best life” and will rationalize it by saying it is good debt
I'm 30 and I've never been to any Disney parks
People frequently ask me "how did you manage to never go to disney?"
Well I don't come from money....
It’s a few hundred bucks man come on loL
@@2xfrfr A few hundred bucks a day. Bright Sun Travels did the math and it was cheaper to go to the French Riviera for a week than to go to Disney World for a week, and he's a Disney fanboy.
Me neither, nor do I care 😂
I don't think it's worth the money. It is all artificial. I rather spend the time in nature which is more precious because you have to be physically capable to do so.
@@hiromiB1971 same. Would rather spend money on giving the kids backyard chickens and long nature hikes than Disney.
When I was a kid, it was $25 for California residents and I knew my parents would get $40 out of the bank on a normal trip to the bank. If we went to DisneyLand, they could use their debit card and there used to be free lockers you could use to lock up your belongings, near a picnic area where you could pack up a cooler and have a picnic with sandwiches and things you brought from home. The balloons, ice creams or cookies were the treats and they cost just about as much as what you would pay at the grocery store except they were in the shape of your favorite Disney character. From my perspective, if using your debit card or a credit card you already have and not being able to pay it in full, is an issue; it isn't affordable. I have no idea what these people are talking about. It used to be anyone from any budget could visit Disney, if they planned and saved. It hasn't been affordable in decades. I will never consider Disney knowing I could go into similar Debt; possibly even cheaper for a well planned European vacation. I can take that same money and put it in my 401-k. Disney can go walk off a bridge.
good thing you're not a kid and they don't want people like you back :D Keeps You Out? #KeepThePrice Lmaao
You’re just saying boomer had it easy… no sht Sherlock.
Haven't been to Disney in 20 years and have no desire to go. Large crowds, long lines, and having to make reservations to get on a ride? No thanks.
For 35 dollars a day, I can go camping and see real bears, chipmunks, etc.
My mom and I enjoy going to Disney parks, but they have absolutely priced us out. When it’s cheaper to travel to a country and stay for a week, rather than flying across the US to visit the country’s pavilion in Epcot, you know something is askew.
And way too crowded. They need more parks honestly. $1k day is way too much given how crowded they are letting it get. I remember when you could spend $200 for a really fun day with all the bells and whistles and not be in line too long for any single ride.
I shake my head with people complain about the price AND the crowds. Laws of supply and demand for recreation laugh at you.
Hmmm, interesting. Where do you think a park would work? Perhaps New York? Somewhere in the middle of the country?
Jake's videos on disney are incredible! They're very critical and fair. His judgement on what is fair value and comparing it to comparable priced places is spot on. His most recent video on the grand floridian, comparing the value of what you get at the four seasons and ritz carlton is incredibly detailed
So true! He’s the best!
My ex loves Disney World, I wasn't as impressed but we ended up taking the kids there several times. I will say, the kids did enjoy the park, and we did find ways to make it as affordable as possible, but it is crazy expensive none the less. And it has only gotten more expensive since then. After our divorce, I told the kids we are doing a "anything but Disney" trip to Florida. We had the best time! We did an air boat ride in the everglades, Discovery Cove and more. The kids loved it, and now that my kids are adults, they want to go back there and do the things we did on the non-Disney trip. I would tell families to look into all the other things to do in Florida, Space center, St Augustine, Bush Gardens and more. Nothing is free but you can get way better value if you do not feel the pressure to do Disney like every one else.
Busch Gardens is so much more fun (at least the Williamsburg park is). Even on its busiest day, the wait time for each ride is a fraction of what you’d expect at WDW. We live within a few hours of BGW, which we consider our “home park” since we’ve been bringing our children there since they were ages 3 and 5. We were absolutely shocked at how few rides we were able to go on in a 14 hour day spent at WDW. It was so disappointing, especially considering how much more expensive the tickets to Disney were. We love BGW!!
The worst is Security Guards treat you like criminals, making me roll my pants and sleeves even though I was with my 3 kids, embarassing me in front of everyone
If this is your complaint out of all the others you have terrible priorities, SAFETY should be the top of your list. Not complaining about it.
@jessigirlrae1688 You missed the point. It's discrimination not safety. Safety is when this rule is applied to everybody. I was a security guard myself and am a lawyer now so I know what I'm talking about and you don't
Legoland became our default annual trip. Disneyland is just awful with the prices, crowds, lines.
We went to LEGO back in May and it was a nice trip. The crowds were low and the kids got on so many rides. There was hardly a wait. It was a beautiful park also!
Disney is definitely special but it's not worth going into debt for it.
My kids still talk about Legoland and how they met Emmet.
I definitely want to go back and try the water park.
And the fact that half the rides are down all the time, if you're lucky.
We saved money by going to Blocko Land.
my default trip is the beach after 5pm when the lifeguards go home and I don't have to pay
Dollywood is nice as well
Putting a $8000 Disney vacation on credit is probably the dumbest thing you could ever do except jumping out of a moving vehicle. And yet, people do it all the time and never think to jump out of their car on the freeway ever! 😂
This is what I was thinking. What is wrong with those people
8000 is insane, you can travel overseas for more then half that. American greed at its finest
They said the average debt is $2,000 per trip. So thy have most of the money to go already saved.
I have literally jumped out of a moving vehicle. But I won't go to Disney. That's just stupid.
Would have done better to put that 8,000 in the stock market.
The real problem here is that the parks have been tasked with the burden of shoring up the rest of the company. If you look at the books, you’ll see that Disney has been just absolutely torching money on Disney+ content and failing movies for the last several years. Disney carries $50 billion in debt, much of it due to the acquisitions years back. And subscriptions/new content is just not paying for itself they hopped. Bur the parks and experiences (still a massive juggernaut of the business) are backfilled by excitement about the brand. And that, is where Disney is failing right now, you’ll always have die hard Disney fans, but the business side has been so busy chasing trends, betting “safe“ on endless spinoff and sequels, making bets on one side of the culture war, and average consumers are turned off by all these cynical crash grabs. Disney needs an overhaul and revitalization of their brand, and creative engine. There’s no way the parks can eat the sins of the rest of the business indefinitely.
It would probably help if they didn’t cancel their best and most marketable shows. Who the hell decided cancelling Wander Over Yonder and The Owl House was a good idea?
Die hard Disney fans are getting older and the replacement generation of fans is not there. Eventually Disney parks will fail.
@@TheHomeDesigner123 What happens when corporate tries to control creativity. They need to let the creators be creators. I can’t remember the last time I was excited for anything disney. They should’ve left the show hosting to Netflix and focused on making more hits to franchise and capture the generation. Even Frozen, the show of a recent generation was just mid. Outside of Pixar(mostly movies with original story writing and beautiful animation) it seems like they ran out of good movies when they stopped stealing and respinning cultural tales.
The Little Mermaid : Nordic
Mulan: China
Classics: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Pinnochio, Alice in Wonderland
Pochahontas: Native American
All brought to life with amazing music. Outside of these animated fairytales and Pixar movies, they do have some big names such as Lion King and Mickey’s crew, but they haven’t released anything amazing in awhile now that they’ve gone the route of creating originals while also handicapping their creative team by making bad decisions. Sorry for the really unorganized rant.
TLDR: Disney is not letting creators do their bit, they don’t support what needs support and are focused on the wrong areas and they are failing to grab the market for future generations to come now that they’ve ran out of story ideas to “be inspired by”
@@luci0818 I like Zootopia a lot. Disney was stupid not to greenlight a sequel pretty much as soon as the first Zootopia proved to be a box office hit.
I don't blame Disney, I blame the people who go there. As long as there are people willing to spend their money going there then Disney will continue to raise their prices, if people stopped going to Disney then they might start reducing the prices
I'm someone who loved Disney growing up. It's now priced so high that I decided to check what it would cost to go to any of the four non US Disneyland parks. Including Flight, 'deluxe hotel', passes, and food the break even point is 4 days for one person. The flight expense is greatly offset by the much lower cost for a deluxe hotel and the daily ticket price overseas. That includes Tokyo. Once you're done with your disney vacation unlike in the US you have other destinations in the overseas locations. In Tokyo you could go to their universal, or Sanrio Puroland, or just explore Japan. In Euro Disneyland you're a quick train ride away from Paris.
Never been to WDW but been to both the other parks you mentioned
That's a really interesting experiment. Thanks for sharing
I’ve only been to Disney Paris and it was so affordable. My entrance with transportation for the full day was $60. My only complaint is there was no place to sit, people were sitting in the grass and along the sidewalk.
Also, Disney Paris has a singles line so I was able to ride every ride by myself!!
Yup! I've never been to Disney in America but I have in Japan and Europe! Was much cheaper, food was delicious, and I got to explore the rest of the country the rest of the time.
I just went to Disney World with my husband and five year old last month. We went for three days and stayed at a moderate level Disney resort. Now, I am not "Disney adult" but I do have many happy memories of Disney in the 90's and 2000's. The company is becoming a shadow of its self. Everything is nickel and dimed and services that made vacations "magical" like the airport bus service "Magical Express" are gone. The food and room quality at Disney hotels has slipped. Charging 250.00 dollars a night whilst not offering daily room maintenance leaves a bad impression. We are expecting a second child and live abroad we aren't sure we will be able to afford another visit in the future or if we really want to come back.
Our family went to Magic kingdom in Orlando this year. It was my Husband’s first time at Disney. He didn’t like it much and he told me he’ll never go back 😥. My 5 year old son didn’t enjoy it much either… he doesn’t mention about Disney at all and told me the other day, that he prefers our city’s little theme park 😂
Our family of six was on the fence about going. That last bit about turning children into super fans really got me. I don't want my kids to feel like they have to go into debt to entertain their family.