Was WDW always expensive?

CP_alum08

CP_alum08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
By the time I was old enough to understand the concept of money and what 'expensive' was, was close to the mid-90's. So I was wondering, to all the people who vacationed to the World in the 70's, 80's and early-90's, was it as expensive as it is now? Was it something you had to save up for months, even years, to be able to afford?

Obviously the prices are not the same as now, thats not what I mean. :ROFLOL: I guess I mean, adjusted for inflation how do the prices compare?
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
I would say yes. My family initially thought of it as a "once in a lifetime vacation." It worked out to be much more often than that. :lol:
 
M

Mammymouse

Well-Known Member
Our first visit was in 1984 or 5, I can't remember which, and my then sister-in-law made the arrangements. It was me, hubby and 9 year old son and 11 year old daughter, my parents, sister-in-law and 14 year old nephew. We stayed at the Hilton by Downtown Disney and they provided a shuttle to the Parks. We all were on tight budgets so we didn't do anything fancy and the food was mostly the Pecos Bill and that type of food, but we had a great time. I know it was a cheap package deal in March with air fare on Eastern Airlines from RI and was Monday through Friday, so no weekends. I believe at the time the only credit card Disney took was American Express and their Travelers Checks. So what ever we did was cash. I would say that the prices were probably comparable to today because we felt pretty lucky to be able to make the trip. But I remember there wasn't the variety of stuff to do, souveniers, different food selections and restaurants, and the option of so many hotels, as there is today.
 
Rozzie

Rozzie

Member
i would say it has, especially within the 6 years i have worked at mk. The food has gotten a bit pricey over those years. For example, at casey's, they used to serve a "all-american" hot dog (which was a smaller one compared to the "grand slam" they sell now) was like $2.50. and their chili they sell was like .99 cents when i started, now its almost $4.00.

I had a couple of guests come up to me and ask me a where they could find a cheap place to eat...i just smiled and laughed a little bit on the inside
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Relatively speaking yes. Ticket and food prices have risen a little faster than inflation but the parks have also expanded and the rate of inflation rarely accurately reflects the actual increase in the cost of doing business especially one as multifaceted at WDW.
 
Kamikaze

Kamikaze

Well-Known Member
Is it as expensive, relatively, as it is now? Yes, pretty much.

Is it 'expensive' - meaning moreso than a vacation destination elsewhere? No, quite the opposite when you include what you get for the price.
 
Oddysey

Oddysey

Well-Known Member
Ticket prices, parking, hotel rates and food have all risen faster than the rate of inflation. If a single day ticket price from the 70's, 80's or even the 90's was adjusted for inflation, it would reflect a much more expensive trip now. However, the park has grown and offerings have increased dramatically since the 70's and 80's so an argument can be made that the cost/benefit is proximately the same.
 
EvilQueen-T

EvilQueen-T

Well-Known Member
some things are actually better now if you think of unlimited rides vs ticket booklets (ok i'm dating myself but i was a kid then). we'd get to do a ride once and not every ride because you'd have to go buy more tickets. it was still something my parents would have to save for. i will say though that you had a lot more off season weeks back then. if you consider in the mid 80s minimum wage was still less than $4 an hour...the cost is all relative.
 
loveofamouse

loveofamouse

Well-Known Member
inflation probably keeps it close but I think the reason it seems like it's "expensive" now is because incomes aren't going up as fast so the trips seem more exp. I remember as a kid, it was about $45 for a 1day ticket. Now it's $74 (correct me if Im wrong cause I don't pay gate rate. We are military). Now, people are wanting to pinch pennies more because money is just so unsure now. You may have $500 one week but the next week, you find out that you've lost your job. Am I making sense? lol I shouldn't type and watch tv lol
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I would say yes. I remember going before Epcot was there and the only on-site resorts were the Poly & Contemporary. Before my mom & her 2nd husband moved to Orlando we stayed off-site. Once we lived down there it was day trips only. We rarely ever bought drinks or snacks or anything there because it was expensive. We ate a big meal before going, drank from the fountains, and left the property mid-day to go to a nearby budget buffet. I remember distinctly being on the monorail, seeing the people on the Contemporary, and thinking they were all rich. The time my grandparents splurged on a stay at the Poly we thought it was total confirmation that they were rolling in the moolah. Lol! Disney can be crazy expensive. It always has been that way. I think it probably was more-so before there were so many resort options. The value resorts were a major game-changer for sure.

Also, I seem to remember bringing food & snacks into the parks with you was once frowned upon. I remember thinking my grandmother was this total bad-ss because she'd pack so many candies & stuff into her giganto purse. Lol!
 
steve2wdw

steve2wdw

WDW Fan Since 1973
We recently found a receipt from our stay at the Contemporary in December of 1973. It was $45 per night. Adjusted for inflation (using an online tool) that is about $221 today. I also seem to remember an E ticket being .90 back then. Admission to the park was included in a ticket book which I think was about $4.50 (for 9 adventures I think). For a person that likes to wander the parks and only take in an attraction or two, it's definately much more expensive now. Other than that, I think that a trip to WDW was always expensive, but maybe moreso now.
 
S

Susan Savia

Well-Known Member
I think it has always been expensive. We would only stay about 4 days back in the 80s whereas now we tend to stay from 8 to 10 days per trip. I don't recall the crowds in the 80's like there are today either.
 
graphite1326

graphite1326

Well-Known Member
This is how I look at it. I think it is a great deal. Other amusment parks I've been to the food prices are much higher than at WDW and the food isn't as good. Buy a hot dog and a beer at a ball park (baseball or football) and you better get out a $20. You have to drive to any other park and pay for parking. Disney offers this option if you stay on site. If I fly in to another vacation destination, sometimes I have had to pay for my own transportation. Just go on line and look into going on another vacation package, compare what you get. Our family of 4 can go to WDW with everything included alot cheaper than most vacation destinations. (I know cruises are cheap right now but I don't do them and if you look at it you don't get near what you get at a WDW vacation)
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
steve2wdw said:
We recently found a receipt from our stay at the Contemporary in December of 1973. It was $45 per night. Adjusted for inflation (using an online tool) that is about $221 today. I also seem to remember an E ticket being .90 back then. Admission to the park was included in a ticket book which I think was about $4.50 (for 9 adventures I think). For a person that likes to wander the parks and only take in an attraction or two, it's definately much more expensive now. Other than that, I think that a trip to WDW was always expensive, but maybe moreso now.
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And to help put that into perspective the average household income in 1973 was $12,900
 
zurgandfriend

zurgandfriend

Well-Known Member
As stated, relatively speaking yes; Disney has always been expensive but no more so than other recreational activities.
I can remember visiting Southern California circa 1976 enroute to Schofield Barracks Hawaii and paying $8.00 USD for a one day ticket to Disneyland and $8.00 USD to see the LA Kings play the Toronto Maple leafs, the game ended in a tie, but I digress. That was a lot of money for an Army 1st Lt at the time.
 
K

Krack

Active Member
1982 ... EPCOT Center Opens. The cost of a three day WDW Park Hopper was $32. Compare that to the price of an average movie theater ticket = $3.

Let's look at 2010. From Oct 1982 to August 2010, inflation increased approximately 122%. The average cost of a movie ticket is $7.50 - that's a 115% increase in cost over 30 years. Now let's look at Disney - A three day WDW Park Hopper is $296. That's an 825% markup over the same period of time.

You tell me if the price of visiting WDW has become astronomically expensive over time.
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
Krack said:
1982 ... EPCOT Center Opens. The cost of a three day WDW Park Hopper was $32. Compare that to the price of an average movie theater ticket = $3.

Let's look at 2010. From Oct 1982 to August 2010, inflation increased approximately 122%. The average cost of a movie ticket is $7.50 - that's a 115% increase in cost over 30 years. Now let's look at Disney - A three day WDW Park Hopper is $296. That's an 825% markup over the same period of time.

You tell me if the price of visiting WDW has become astronomically expensive over time.
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Or the complete pricing structure has changed and you can cherry pick which days to support your argument?

For example, the price per day of your 3 day ticket you quoted is $10.33. If you stayed at Disney for 9 days the price per day is $34.56 for an increase of $24.23. If you adjust for inflation the true increase in cost per day is even less, $11.21.

Looking at it a different way (and hopefully more rational) let's average the cost of all the park hopper tickets to see what an average day at Disney may cost (assuming of course an equal distribution across all ticket type, unlikely, I know, but play along).

The average comes out to $47.96 a day. I added all the days available, plus all the ticket prices and divided.

So with the average of $47.96 day today compared to, adjusted for inflation, $24.23 of 1982 gives us a difference of $23.53. Interesting that the price has double, but they have also doubled their theme park offerings in that time as well.

So are the price increase astronomical? Or are they in line with the increased offerings that Disney has provided?
 
K

Krack

Active Member
jakeman said:
So are the price increase astronomical? Or are they in line with the increased offerings that Disney has provided?
Click to expand...

They are astronomical.

Applying your logic to movie theaters ... in 1982, you go to a movie theater that has just one screen and is showing one film. Your $3 buys you the right to enter the theater for two hours and watch the film. Now, if the same theater has four screens in 2010 and they tell you that for the price of $28 (825% increase) you can enter the theater for the next two hours and watch any of the four screens you feel like, would you take that deal? Of course not ... you'd (and everyone else) would much prefer just paying $7.50 and seeing the film you want. You can only be in front of one screen at a time anyway, so it's not like the extra screens provides you a real tangible benefit. The extra screens are only an enticement to get you to pay an additional two hours admission (so you could experience two films) - just as the additional parks are an enticement to get you to buy an additional day's admission ticket (and hotel room, and food, etc). Is it possible to park hop to more than two parks in a day? Yes, but the amount of guests that actually do it have to be one in a thousand, if that.

Put another way. Right now you pay $296 for a three day ticket to WDW (four parks). If they told you could, instead, pay $71 for a three day ticket (122% increase on 1982 prices) but you could only go to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, would the typical three-day guest take that deal? I know what my answer is - and I bet it the same as most people.
 
bgraham34

bgraham34

Well-Known Member
The only thing I know is that if i were a time traveler I certainly would go back in time and buy up cheap park tickets. Of course i would also go back and play the lottery.
 
zurgandfriend

zurgandfriend

Well-Known Member
bgraham34 said:
The only thing I know is that if i were a time traveler I certainly would go back in time and buy up cheap park tickets. Of course i would also go back and play the lottery.
Click to expand...

Off subject but; I have heard that was Microsoft $1.00 USD for the initial offering in 1986.
 

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