WashPost - Disney parks unreachable for middle class

waymickey;2460797 wrote: I may be one of the few but yes I believe it is pricing out the middle class. It is expensive to go, eat, stay and do anything extra. The price is way out of range for many families that can only dream of going. You could go to an island and stay in an all inclusive and do excursions for a fraction of the price. Is that the same ? No but it is a vacation and people have only so many vacation dollars. 100+ a day to get in, plus food for each family member is a lot. That is not adding in the cost to get there and return home and please do not even bring up souvenirs .

OK...I have said this before and I think it bears repeating: Very few people purchase a One-Day ticket to a Disney park, or Universal for that matter, so the quoted price in the article is just to make a point.

For most people, an Orlando vacation is 4 or more days. At that number of days, the price drops on a per day basis to $76.25. Still a hefty hunk of change, but keep going and make it a 10-Day trip and the price drops to $36.50 per day, which is quite reasonable. HersheyPark, here in south central PA, is a one-day park (for me at least) and costs more than $36.50 per day -- A One-Day ticket is $61.95, with a 2- and 3-Day ticket dropping to $79 ($39.50/day) & $110 ($36.67/day) respectively. I can easily do 10 days at WDW!!

Food is another thing that I just don't understand all the fuss over. Go to a ballpark and see what "counter service" food costs vs. "counter service" at WDW. I think you will find that the prices are right in line with each other. Yes, Table Service can be quite a bit higher than your typical "nice" restaurant at home, but I feel that the service and theme is well worth the difference.

I, honestly, would like to see a breakdown of a WDW vacation vs. an all-inclusive island vacation with excursions. I have priced some out for myself and have not found much, if any, difference in total costs. (Unless, of course, you are a big drinker and alcohol is included in the package.)

Just my 2 cents worth, but I believe that vacations, as a whole, are being priced right out of the middle class budget.

PopPhan;2460805 wrote: OK...I have said this before and I think it bears repeating: Very few people purchase a One-Day ticket to a Disney park, or Universal for that matter, so the quoted price in the article is just to make a point.

You know, I used to think that, and it's certainly true of those of us who frequent Disney vacation planning boards, but I have a feeling I'd be surprised at just how many one day tickets are actually sold.

Melanie;2460812 wrote: You know, I used to think that, and it's certainly true of those of us who frequent Disney vacation planning boards, but I have a feeling I'd be surprised at just how many one day tickets are actually sold.

Maybe for some folks only that one day is all they can afford? So they're there from park opening to park closing - to get their money's worth?

I just recently watched the two episodes of The Middle - where they went to WDW. Interesting how they portrayed that family of not being able to afford to go on vacation (the daughter won a free trip) - and how they acted about it.

As for the middle class? Its still there - someone needs to be in the middle - I just think there is less disposable income than what they used to have. And this can be tied back to how many people are working for minimum wage - which isn't a living wage..... Think of how much costs have risen for everything - food, clothing, childcare, medical, COLLEGE (that is just crazy), cars, houses - etc. Now add vacations to it........

I consider myself fortunate that I can go year after year..... It is luxury expense on my part - and will be one of the first to ever go - should I fall on hard times......

PopPhan;2460805 wrote:
I, honestly, would like to see a breakdown of a WDW vacation vs. an all-inclusive island vacation with excursions. I have priced some out for myself and have not found much, if any, difference in total costs. (Unless, of course, you are a big drinker and alcohol is included in the package.)

Just my 2 cents worth, but I believe that vacations, as a whole, are being priced right out of the middle class budget.

Yup.

Try going to a major ski resort for 10 days. If you want to be the equivalent of being at Disney.... just in a different industry....... go to VAIL for 10 days. Makes Disney look cheap.

best,

...............john

PopPhan wrote:
" Go to a ballpark and see what "counter service" food costs vs. "counter service" at WDW. I think you will find that the prices are right in line with each other"

I really never understood this analogy..Who spends the equivalent of dinner at a
ball park every day of their vacation for each person in the family for every meal, when camping or at the beach or on a road trip?
I know I don't pay Disney prices every time I get a cola or a bottle of water when on other vacations. I get it that is can cost $100 to see a show or a concert but I don't go to those 10 or even 7 days in a row.

WiltonJohn;2460843 wrote: Yup.

Try going to a major ski resort for 10 days. If you want to be the equivalent of being at Disney.... just in a different industry....... go to VAIL for 10 days. Makes Disney look cheap.

best,

...............john

Lucky for me I have friends in Vail and Steamboat Springs,
so I don't have to spend Disney prices to ski.

goofy for pluto;2460844 wrote: PopPhan wrote:
" Go to a ballpark and see what "counter service" food costs vs. "counter service" at WDW. I think you will find that the prices are right in line with each other"

I really never understood this analogy..Who spends the equivalent of dinner at a
ball park every day of their vacation for each person in the family for every meal, when camping or at the beach or on a road trip?
I know I don't pay Disney prices every time I get a cola or a bottle of water when on other vacations. I get it that is can cost $100 to see a show or a concert but I don't go to those 10 or even 7 days in a row.

The point is, Disney World is an ENTERTAINMENT venue and a RESORT. It is not camping, or the beach, or a road trip. Compared to other entertainment venues, the prices are not out of line. Compared to other resorts, it is also not out of line. Heck, I just stayed at a Courtyard Marriott. I had breakfast in their take out "cafe." A single serve container of cereal, a small milk carton, and a banana cost me $11.50. I nearly fell over. Even Disney resorts don't charge that much for that stuff.

I don't think the middle class is priced out of going to WDW. Expensive meals are not the only choice. Ticket prices are high but everything is going up in price. most people save for any vacation. For the price of counter service meals I think the quality of the food is very good. And the value resorts are especially fun for kids.

Going on a trip has gotten expensive anywhere you go. But it doesn't keep us from going.:thumbsup:

The comparisons often made in these threads are typically not things I would've been doing or considered to be competing with WDW for my vacation dollars. Sometimes I think it is like saying Tesla's cars are cheap because look how expensive a Bentley is!

Katzateer;2460867 wrote: Ticket prices are high but everything is going up in price.

I don't know much in this world that has gone up in price at a similar rate over the past 10 years. What else is comparable to that?

Since we are talking about the "prime" single day ticket price as a way of comparison (that many do not pay)....... and keeping the comparison also of a sort of a "world class venue leader" in both cases........

From GearJunkie (Sean McCoy):

"Nobody ever accused Vail of being a cheap mountain. But the latest price bump — $160 for a single-day adult holiday ticket — is getting powder lovers to sit up and take notice.

........................

Breckenridge, also owned by Vail Resorts, raised ticket prices from $140 to $145. Deer Valley, Utah, went from $114 to $120. Park City, Utah, raised prices to $115, and Whistler/Blackcomb, in British Columbia, upped its rate to $119 (Canadian).

According to the Aspen Daily News, single-day tickets at resorts owned by SkiCo (which manages Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk) have gone up 65% since 2005."

excerpted under "Fair Use".

Going skiing at a world class resort for a week or going to the world class resort of Disneyworld is going to cost someone some serious bucks. Lodging and food are also generally at least as expensive as Disney World. Both are sort of difficult for the "middle class" (whatever the heck that actually is) to afford.

Skiing prices have not gone up as much in the last 10 years as Disney's prices (they were higher in the past....Disney is 'catching up')...... but they are currently MORE expensive per day.

best,

...................john

PS: And goofy_for_pluto, as a former pro skier....... I haven't paid much for skiing in 40+ years :secret:.

We go to other destinations every other year, in between Disney trips. National parks, out west, the east coast, other Florida trips. We end up paying quite a bit for those trips too. Sometimes they're a little less, sometimes comparable, and sometimes they cost us more than if we'd gone to Disney. So, yes, I would say that a Disney trip is very comparable to other destinations (unless you're plus-ing it in some way). Most of our other vacations are great. But sometimes, we don't even come close to getting the value we feel we get at WDW. We have never priced out an all inclusive resort that was less than Disney either.

TheVBs;2460982 wrote: We go to other destinations every other year, in between Disney trips. National parks, out west, the east coast, other Florida trips. We end up paying quite a bit for those trips too. Sometimes they're a little less, sometimes comparable, and sometimes they cost us more than if we'd gone to Disney. So, yes, I would say that a Disney trip is very comparable to other destinations (unless you're plus-ing it in some way). Most of our other vacations are great. But sometimes, we don't even come close to getting the value we feel we get at WDW. We have never priced out an all inclusive resort that was less than Disney either.

Every time I think about how we went to Hershey Park over Memorial Day weekend a couple years ago, and paid $300/night for a Holiday Inn Express...I kind of want to :ack: a little bit. A 2 night weekend for our family of 4 ended up costing us $1000 all said and done.

It was not even close to being "worth it."

WiltonJohn;2460500 wrote: Right here is the crux of the matter in the whole article (and in the situation as it sits):

"But some see Disney’s magically ascending price tag as a reflection of the country’s economy, where stagnant wages and growing inequality have transformed even the way Americans take time off.

When Walt created Disneyland, this was a middle-class country. But Disney now . . . as far as pricing out the middle class, they think: What middle class?” said Robert Niles, the editor of Theme Park Insider, an industry blog. "

-excerpted under "Fair Use".

Not much different from stuff like skiing and snowboarding, golf, scuba diving, sailing, and other such recreational pursuits.

Anyone been to a MOVIE lately? Did you get a good mortgage rate?

best,

..................john

Why yes, I have a fantastic mortgage rate. I just saw Avengers where the tickets were $7 per person (not too far off from the $5 per person when my kids were little.) I don't ski or snowboard, but when I arrived for this contract, Sipapu was advertising days where a whole carload of people could get in for a single reduced price. I would say it is very different from other things.

Tekneek;2460869 wrote: The comparisons often made in these threads are typically not things I would've been doing or considered to be competing with WDW for my vacation dollars. Sometimes I think it is like saying Tesla's cars are cheap because look how expensive a Bentley is!

This is my thought also. I wouldn't consider an all inclusive island resort a "middle class" vacation. The doctors I work with do that, not the nurses.
I was looking at cruises. I love Royal Caribbean, but I thought I would check out DCL also. The cost for the Disney cruise was 4 times the cost of the equivalent Royal Caribbean cruise. Obviously people pay it. I think the brand will support the price increase, but I don't think people should just blow off the point of the article. Yes, if you buy a 10 day ticket, the price of the ticket becomes comparable with other things, but how many people can afford a 10 day vacation? Not everyone has paid time off. 10 days of lost wages. 10 days of hotel costs. 10 days of eating out. 10 days of a lot of little things that you pay for. It all adds up.