Good Story On Costs

[DW Aficionado]

It sucks that they have the Christmas Party so many nights, forcing everyone that doesn't go to jam into the parks on the non party nights. Let me tell you, Walt would be spinning in his grave (if he were buried), we were made to exit next to the Crystal Palace, walking past dumpsters, pickup trucks, etc, to re-enter by the flag post to watch fireworks. Not even an attempt to keep the 'illusion' that was so dear to Walt. Honestly, what is going on ???

 

[Quietmouse]

It’s not solely a Disney thing.

Life is expensive.

Greed is up after Covid.

A lot of families have to find a second job/ side gigs like door door dash/ Uber to make things sustainable.

Some people are lucky and fortunate to have bought a house at the right time with low interest rates and not need a new car during the past 5 years. Some people are fortunate to just have a high paying career where they never have to relate to the struggle that is currently happening.

But there are millions upon millions of Americans who are taking on same day cash advances and loans they have no business taking in order to just live and survive.

I know for my family the majority of our income goes to towards bills and utilities, and mortgage payment and car payment. Great that’s all covered but there is little to nothing left for groceries or leisure.

It’s brutal right now for middle class families right now.

So yeah Disney world is expensive. But also taking a vacation in general is expensive. Most families are concerned about how to make it next week and fantasize about their next vacation.

 

[Lilofan]

WOW, 45% of families will take on debt just to go is mind boggling.

If consumers did not continually take on debt and are not continually the slave to the lender , our country economy would collapse.

 

[Lilofan]

Depends how you look at it. The argument is you can always pay off debt, but your children are only young once. Kids grow fast, and it is often the cost of opportunity. I know several friends who always were waiting for the best time to go, between saving money, or being old enough to remember, only to never go because of divorce, or kids losing interest. I am not advocating reckless spending, but I understand the importance of a family vacation. Personally I make cuts elsewhere to fund trips, but it is often still not enough.

Change in spending is painful and takes a willing mindset . Many don't want to go through it and just continue to complain.

 

[jloucks]

Depends how you look at it. The argument is you can always pay off debt, but your children are only young once. Kids grow fast, and it is often the cost of opportunity. I know several friends who always were waiting for the best time to go, between saving money, or being old enough to remember, only to never go because of divorce, or kids losing interest. I am not advocating reckless spending, but I understand the importance of a family vacation. Personally I make cuts elsewhere to fund trips, but it is often still not enough.

I was a huge fan of WDW when my kids were little, we went to Oralndo around 5 times over those years. The first trip was under $3000 out the door everything. A decade later, almost triple that.

We used the same rationale, that the kids were only kids once. My mild regret is that WDW/Uni once or twice would have been sufficient. I wish we had taken them to some other places after that. Not a big regret, but I have those thoughts.

 

[DW Aficionado]

I was a huge fan of WDW when my kids were little, we went to Oralndo around 5 times over those years. The first trip was under $3000 out the door everything. A decade later, almost triple that.

We used the same rationale, that the kids were only kids once. My mild regret is that WDW/Uni once or twice would have been sufficient. I wish we had taken them to some other places after that. Not a big regret, but I have those thoughts.

Right, yet our salaries did not triple.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

It sucks that they have the Christmas Party so many nights, forcing everyone that doesn't go to jam into the parks on the non party nights. Let me tell you, Walt would be spinning in his grave (if he were buried), we were made to exit next to the Crystal Palace, walking past dumpsters, pickup trucks, etc, to re-enter by the flag post to watch fireworks. Not even an attempt to keep the 'illusion' that was so dear to Walt. Honestly, what is going on ???

Wait, Disney has found a product/event in the Christmas party that is so popular with people that is sells out basically every night it is offered, and somehow this is a bad thing?

Disney advertises the nights the Christmas parties are going to take place months in advance, and you chose to go to MK that night, instead of another park, and this is somehow WDW's fault?

 

[DW Aficionado]

Wait, Disney has found a product/event in the Christmas party that is so popular with people that is sells out basically every night it is offered, and somehow this is a bad thing?

Disney advertises the nights the Christmas parties are going to take place months in advance, and you chose to go to MK that night, instead of another park, and this is somehow WDW's fault?

That was not the point of my post. Please read it again.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

That was not the point of my post. Please read it again.

You started your post by saying "It sucks that they have the Christmas Party so many nights, forcing everyone that doesn't go to jam into the parks on the non party nights."

Your very first sentence was that if sucks that something is so popular that it sells out across multiple nights throughout the season.

 

[DW Aficionado]

You started your post by saying "It sucks that they have the Christmas Party so many nights, forcing everyone that doesn't go to jam into the parks on the non party nights."

Your very first sentence was that if sucks that something is so popular that it sells out across multiple nights throughout the season.

The thread was discussing additional costs on top of the cost of admission, and what it takes to enjoy a full day at the MK.

Please read the entire thread to familiarize yourself with my comment and the context it was posted.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Wait, Disney has found a product/event in the Christmas party that is so popular with people that is sells out basically every night it is offered, and somehow this is a bad thing?

Disney advertises the nights the Christmas parties are going to take place months in advance, and you chose to go to MK that night, instead of another park, and this is somehow WDW's fault?

This is November.

This is November. Let's say you get to the park November 21st. You plan to stay the week and get home for Thanksgiving. Out of 7 nights at Disneyworld, if you want to do the Magic Kingdom at night, but don't want to pay an extra $220 dollars a person, which is about what those tickets are going for the party that week, you get 2 nights you can do it.. 2 out of 7 nights, which will make those nights packed.
We are talking about the experience at WDW, and how the value of it gets further dwindled down by things like this.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

This is November.
View attachment 816416

This is November. Let's say you get to the park November 21st. You plan to stay the week and get home for Thanksgiving. Out of 7 nights at Disneyworld, if you want to do the Magic Kingdom at night, but don't want to pay an extra $220 dollars a person, which is about what those tickets are going for the party that week, you get 2 nights you can do it.. 2 out of 7 nights, which will make those nights packed.
We are talking about the experience at WDW, and how the value of it gets further dwindled down by things like this.

So you cherry pick a single 7 day period out of the entire year to do what?

Make the point that Christmas parties are popular....yes they are.

To make the point that the schedule is posted long in advance....yes they are.

To make the point if you don't want your trip to conflict with the Christmas party that there are months and months out of the year you can book your trip....yes you can.

Or that you can be at the park the 2 nights that there isn't a Christmas party...yup you can do that too.

Or your can be at the park during the day, and experience MK,....you can do that also.

If you elect to make decisions contrary to all those items above, and still complain that you knowingly booked a trip, and made a decision to go to park on a certain date, at a certain time, and didn't elect to get the special ticket for the hours you want to be there.....I can't help you. Your just looking to complain. I will be happily enjoying my Christmas cookies and the parade.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

So you cherry pick a single 7 day period out of the entire year to do what?

Make the point that Christmas parties are popular....yes they are.

To make the point that the schedule is posted long in advance....yes they are.

To make the point if you don't want your trip to conflict with the Christmas party that there are months and months out of the year you can book your trip....yes you can.

Or that you can be at the park the 2 nights that there isn't a Christmas party...yup you can do that too.

Or your can be at the park during the day, and experience MK,....you can do that also.

If you elect to make decisions contrary to all those items above, and still complain that you knowingly booked a trip, and made a decision to go to park on a certain date, at a certain time, and didn't elect to get the special ticket for the hours you want to be there.....I can't help you. Your just looking to complain. I will be happily enjoying my Christmas cookies and the parade.

Hey Jimbo, some of us have kids and have to work around their school schedules and our own work ones. I should add I had this trip booked 11 and 7 months out(DVC), and the schedule was not available then. There are several weeks like this in November and December combined. Are the parties popular, I never said they weren't but this was a discussion about costs, and value and how that effects a guest experience and the long term effects on that. You seem angry that myself and others would dare complain about something like this, well we are and we are looking around which isn't good for Disney long term, especially when the guys down the street keep upping their their game and are a better value than what we are getting out of Disney.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Depends how you look at it. The argument is you can always pay off debt, but your children are only young once. Kids grow fast, and it is often the cost of opportunity. I know several friends who always were waiting for the best time to go, between saving money, or being old enough to remember, only to never go because of divorce, or kids losing interest. I am not advocating reckless spending, but I understand the importance of a family vacation. Personally I make cuts elsewhere to fund trips, but it is often still not enough.

It doesn't depend how you look at it. Don't spend money you don't have. Kids don't need a trip to Disney to have a complete childhood and parents don't need to give it to him to not fail as parents. The failure would be putting your family at risk to go somewhere you can't afford.

"You can always pay off debt" is exactly why people in America have massive debt and those decisions predictably ruin lives and families.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Hey Jimbo, some of us have kids and have to work around their school schedules and our own work ones. I should add I had this trip booked 11 and 7 months out(DVC), and the schedule was not available then. There are several weeks like this in November and December combined. Are the parties popular, I never said they weren't but this was a discussion about costs, and value and how that effects a guest experience and the long term effects on that. You seem angry that myself and others would dare complain about something like this, well we are and we are looking around which isn't good for Disney long term, especially when the guys down the street keep upping their their game and are a better value than what we are getting out of Disney.

I am not angry, but seeing people complain for no legitimate reason, or whining about how something isn’t perfect for them, so it must be horrible business practices or Disney being out to get people is absurd.

Unless this was your first ever Disney trip, you would know had opportunity to know that Disney does the Xmas parties every year. This isn’t a surprise, but you still chose to go anyway.

You have kids and a job, so do almost everyone else that attends Disney. I find it extremely non-credible that out of 52 weeks in the year, the only one that fits into the school/work schedule for a vacation is the one single 7 day period that happens to have the most Xmas parties.

As to costs the point that the Xmas parties are so popular and sell out so quickly and completely is objectively evidence that the costs are NOT to high and that it continues year over year that people continue to see value in it. If you personally subjectively don’t like them, that’s fine, it’s your opinion. But it’s not a failing or fault of WDW to keep offering things that people like, at a cost people are willing to pay.

 

[Weather_Lady]

It started with the dessert parties, the separating guests, and giving those spending more a different experience, and it has only grown from there with after hours events and Christmas parties that run nearly every night of the week.

While guests with money always could have a different experience, be it behind the scenes tours, better resorts, better restaurants, that was always not in the face of the average guest. [...] The guest leaves wondering why they went into debt to feel like a second class citizen.
Disney is treating it's guests like suckers.

Absolutely, 100%, THIS.

Your post perfectly summarizes why my family of repeat-visiting, can't-wait-to-book-our-next-trip Disney World fans has become completely disenchanted with WDW. Our post-G+ visits in particular were more demoralizing than fun.

We are fortunate in that we could still afford WDW, but the in-your-face caste system and complex system of upcharges (marketed through relentless FOMO-mongering) really suck all the joy out of touring the parks.

WDW is caught in a dangerous downward spiral of shortsighted decision-making: fewer repeat guests means having to invent increasingly ham-fisted ways to squeeze more money from every visitor, which results in even fewer repeat guests...

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I am not angry, but seeing people complain for no legitimate reason, or whining about how something isn’t perfect for them, so it must be horrible business practices or Disney being out to get people is absurd.

Unless this was your first ever Disney trip, you would know had opportunity to know that Disney does the Xmas parties every year. This isn’t a surprise, but you still chose to go anyway.

You have kids and a job, so do almost everyone else that attends Disney. I find it extremely non-credible that out of 52 weeks in the year, the only one that fits into the school/work schedule for a vacation is the one single 7 day period that happens to have the most Xmas parties.

As to costs the point that the Xmas parties are so popular and sell out so quickly and completely is objectively evidence that the costs are NOT to high and that it continues year over year that people continue to see value in it. If you personally subjectively don’t like them, that’s fine, it’s your opinion. But it’s not a failing or fault of WDW to keep offering things that people like, at a cost people are willing to pay.

Yes, all these things we Disney fanatics are complaining about are just us nit picking. And the business practices are working out so great that park earnings are down, and can't ya just wait to see what they will be next year after Uni opens their new gate. The earnings and stock price aren't opinion.

 

[NelsonRD]

It doesn't depend how you look at it. Don't spend money you don't have. Kids don't need a trip to Disney to have a complete childhood and parents don't need to give it to him to not fail as parents. The failure would be putting your family at risk to go somewhere you can't afford.

"You can always pay off debt" is exactly why people in America have massive debt and those decisions predictably ruin lives and families.

That depends on your assumption of risk and amount of debt already owed. Cashing out a retirement plan, funding on credit cards that you only make the minimum payment on, or already have heavy credit card debt, is of course, not a good idea. Putting a trip on a credit card and paying it off within the year is the cost of opportunity. I am just suggesting time (availability, and occasions), money, and interest for Disney vacations don’t always line up, and the only movable variable is cost.

 

[Lilofan]

That depends on your assumption of risk and amount of debt already owed. Cashing out a retirement plan, funding on credit cards that you only make the minimum payment on, or already have heavy credit card debt, is of course, not a good idea. Putting a trip on a credit card and paying it off within the year is the cost of opportunity. I am just suggesting time (availability, and occasions), money, and interest for Disney vacations don’t always line up, and the only movable variable is cost.

If it wasn't for credit cards being used for purchasing 12/365 , our overall economy would collapse. The slaves to debt lifestyle of many millions is what is fueling our economy.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

"A luxury good is a non-essential product. Consumers don't need luxury goods to live. Examples include clothing from high-end designers, designer luggage and handbags, jewelry and watches, high-end vehicles, over-the-top vacations and real estate, and certain services, such as a live-in nanny." - Google

Those are not my words, but I do agree with them.

So then, is WDW an "over-the-top vacation"? Not what is it meant to be, I mean what is it now in reality. Consider the prices of other vacation options.

Amusement parks in the Sun. That’s absolutely not at “over the top” vacation. And that’s the issue.

Detachment from what it actually is…which is just a longer/more expensive version of a standard middle of the road vacation

You want to know everything is out of whack? Bad management floated some kind of alternative reality where this isn’t the case…and just enough koolaid drinkers bit to make them think they were right…
…and they never were

That’s why it’s slow burn that is bringing the house down over time…death by 1000 cuts

Don’t believe me…just watch it play