Was WDW always expensive?

[JimboJones123]

I started pricing WDW vacations about 15 years ago. Room prices have not raised too much for the value hotels we stay at.

As far as tickets are concerned, pre MYW, the Ultimate Park Hoppers for a 10 day pass were nearly $400. They are finally reaching near that point again. So, the past 6 years or so have been incredible value compared to those higher prices on lengthy tix packages.

 

[ProfSlim]

Interesting posts...I struggle with the original question of "has Disney always being expensive". As others have mentioned it would have to be in comparison to "what". Also inflation is one and only one variable in such a cost equation. Frankly, for what you get with a Disney vacation (and Disney allows you to throttle your costs with different level resorts, pass options, dining options, etc.) I think you get good value and from an expense perspective it's in-line or less than other vacation options. I have a family of five so my math is different than couples or single folks I know...

but from the Boston area take a family of 5 to Disney for, say 7 days, or to:

- Colorado to ski for 7 days
- Atlantis to "relax" for 7 days
- Nantucket to "relax" for 7 days (yes...you can spend many thousands of $$$ to go to Nantucket from Boston for a week stay !!!)
- Grand Cayman to "relax" for 7 days


All these are equalt to our more than a Disney vacation from a $$$ perspective.


Sure, I could pack everyone in our vehicle and drive, to say Myrtle Beach (great area) for a week...stay in a motel, hang on the beach, eat in chain resturants for maybe half the cost of a Disney vacation but that's not a fair comparison on what you get based on what you pay for...

 

[fosse76]

Depending on the time of year, park hopping can give me more value and more time in the parks than others...

I know...I alluded to it in a parenthtetical. :wave:

Disney is expensive for what it is...but compared to other vacation destinations it's relatively inexpensive. I once looked at going to Hersheypark for a 3-day weekend. It was actually more expensive than one of my pre-AP trips to Disney! (The obscene Amtrak tickets and hotel room rates brought it over).

Not that i'm on either side of the argument about how expensive Disney is, but I thought I would at least throw out a fact that gives somewhat of a justification for the high prices. Though we all know Everest is broken, don't need another thread about that, Everest was the most expensive roller coaster ever constructed. While most coasters can range anywhere from 15-25 million dollars to construct, Everest cost $100,000,000!!! I can understand why ticket prices are high and why new rides don't open every year. But if Everest cost 100 million, lord only knows how much Disney is dumping into the Fantasyland Expansion!

The cost of Everest includes the mountain structure, the design and cost of construction of the Yeti, the themeing around the queues (which included trips to Everest for accuracy). The coaster itself was probably around the $15-20 million. But that's irrelevant. No one is arguing that Disney shouldn't raise prices when they are offering more for your money. But raising it higher than the rate of inflation when nothing is being added is a bit ridiculous. BUt I don't think their resort options are prohibitively expensive...it's the ticket costs that are the problem.

 

[Krack]

First off...I'd really like to know where you are going to movie theaters for $7.50 because I'd like to go there! But that's besides the point.

That's the national average according to the first website that showed up in Google. However, to answer your question, in the outskirts of Houston that I live in, at the 12 screen Cinemark, matinee tickets are $5, children and senior rates are $6.50 and regular adult tickets are $8.50.

 

[atsolomon]

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.

If I were a time traveler I'd dress in drag and walk through a Charlie Chaplin film while trying to talk on my cell phone.

Well, that and buying shares of Microsoft, Berkeshire Hathaway, etc...

Yes, WDW has always been expensive and in some ways the expense has gone up faster than inflation. As others have noted, though, way back in the day there were no moderate or value resorts. Staying on site just wasn't possible for many people.

So, compared to the era before the moderates and when there were only two gates, I'd say the value and budget options are a LOT better. But comparing it to the late 90's, I'd say there's been a slight decrease in quality while costs have increased above the rate of inflation. For instance, back in 2000 I had packages delivered to my room from the parks. Today, I have to go to the resort gift shop. It's a slight decrease in the quality of my experience.

--Adam

 

[trr1]

in 1991 one day ticket price was

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]One-Day Ticket:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Adult: $31.00[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Child: $25.00[/FONT]
20 years later its
One-Day Ticket
Adult: $87.33
Child(3-9)$78.81
which is a $56.33 increase that averages out to $2.82 a year increase

 

[Lord Pheonix]

i remember going when it was only one park. and we spent 7 days there. wow.

but we also went to cypress gardens, sea world, stars hall of fame.

a week at the poly with tickets, parking and food for 3 was $600 back then, 1979-1980 ish


i havent gone in 5 years, (im sooooo sad too), but the other day i was looking into it again and the exact same trip would be over $5000 now, worth it for me, lol

 

[Lord Pheonix]

does cypress gardens even exist anymore??

 

[wm49rs]

does cypress gardens even exist anymore??

It was purchased by Merlin Entertainment earlier this year, and will soon become home to a new LegoLand Park......

 

[Lord Pheonix]

oooooo, so thats the legoland park thing iv been seeing here.

 

[bjlc57]

I am going to say No.. Disney wasn't alway expensive.. when they first put a one price for the day.. and held the price until Eisner took over, WDW price went down..

Donald Trump said that all Eisner did was raise the price on a bottle of ketchup..

and really that's what he did..

because the price was extremely stable for a few years.. and that allowed inflation of the economy to make WDW a relatively cheap place for years.

again.. we were paying $29 for a suite and got a free tankfull of gas when we left, about 20 years ago..

and hotdogs at caseys' and around the park were like $1.25.. or $2.50.. something like that.. we ate as a family of four for $10.. per meal.. one drink of course... but .. none the less , no one was hungry..

 

[bjlc57]

in 1991 one day ticket price was

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]One-Day Ticket:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Adult: $31.00[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Child: $25.00[/FONT]
20 years later its
One-Day Ticket
Adult: $87.33
Child(3-9)$78.81
which is a $56.33 increase that averages out to $2.82 a year increase

which is close to a 200 percent increase.. wages haven't gone up 200 percent in that time..

 

[loveofamouse]

in 1991 one day ticket price was

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]One-Day Ticket:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Adult: $31.00[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Child: $25.00[/FONT]
20 years later its
One-Day Ticket
Adult: $87.33
Child(3-9)$78.81
which is a $56.33 increase that averages out to $2.82 a year increase

I think this is probably the best way to show the increase. It's hard to compare prices to decades ago as, yes, MANY things have changed. BUT disney hasn't changed a TON since the 90s. Just small things here and there, especially looking at a 1 day pass to a 1 day pass, presumably at MK. MK hasn't really changed at all in 20 years.

 

[wm49rs]

Hollywood Studios opened in 1989, and Animal Kingdom in 1998. In the past 20 (21) years, that could be considered a wee bit of a change in anyone's book. Plus, Typhoon Lagoon opened in 1989 as well, and Blizzard Beach opened in 1995.

Two entire theme parks and two water parks in the past 21 years? And without even adding in any new resorts and restaurants into the calculation?

 

[njDizFan]

It's hard to compare apples to apples here since WDW is an experience quite different then anywhere else. So maybe we can compare apples to..er fruit in general.

Is a 7 day visit to WDW more expensive than a trip to another theme park, and are you geting the same entertainment value?

what about going to a sporting event? over course no hotel is required

How about a 7 day trip to the Carribean or Europe?

Or a 7 day stay in Virginia Beach or the Jersey shore?

going to the movies with snacks/drinks?

I've done all these things and believe me all are incredibly expensive.

I see value in my Disney dollar.

Sorry I understand this doesn't answer the original question but from my recollection all entertainment prices have gone up dramatically.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

When you talk about expenses, you have to talk about the entire business of not just the parks, but also getting TO the parks.

I've been going to WDW since it opened -- I was about 13 when we went the year after it opened. The cost then wasn't that high in the park itself, but add up driving from Cleveland with a family of 4, the hotels along the way, the parking, and then the park and the hotel at the park, and YES, it was just as expensive back then when you compare the cost of living then and now.

Most people didn't fly to Orlando at that time -- they drove. Ask anyone in their 40's or 50's and you will hear almost every single one of them say their family drove there from PA, or MI, or OH, or IL, or Tenn or whatnot. In some ways, Disney "created" the "Fly to a destination" vacation idea as time went by.

You also had various tiers of tickets -- E-Tickets were more expensive. Just getting into the park was pretty cheap.

Looking a few threads above, yes it HAS gone up over 200% over time -- but you also have to take into account annual cost-of-living increases, not salaries. Salaries rarely reflect cost of living increases in the real world.

Back then, cokes also just cost a buck, not 4.75. That buck was really really overpriced when they cost 15 cents to a quarter in vending machines all over America.

I have a ticket stub from seeing Evita on Broadway the year it opened. We had 7th row center orchestra seats and the ticket was 15.00 -- that same ticket now would be 185.00 at the Broadway Theater.

Entertainment in general has increased significantly since the 70s.

 

[loveofamouse]

Hollywood Studios opened in 1989, and Animal Kingdom in 1998. In the past 20 (21) years, that could be considered a wee bit of a change in anyone's book. Plus, Typhoon Lagoon opened in 1989 as well, and Blizzard Beach opened in 1995.

Two entire theme parks and two water parks in the past 21 years? And without even adding in any new resorts and restaurants into the calculation?

But being that we are talking a 1 day 1 park pass, you can not visit all of those places at once. Apples to Apples, MK is the best example as it hasn't changed much in 20yrs. So 1 day MK pass in 1991 to 1 day MK pass 2010.

 

[rct247]

At least today, you get more bang for your buck going to a Disney theme park for the day than going to the movie theater. A 1 day visit for 4 to the Magic Kingdom with tickets, food, souvenirs, is going to cost you between $500 to $1000, but for what it all includes and the hours you are there, I feel it is worth it.

Now go to your local movie theater, pay $12 per person, and everyone gets something to eat which is about $15 per person. That is over $100 to spend to watch 1 movie for 2 hours.

 

[wm49rs]

But being that we are talking a 1 day 1 park pass, you can not visit all of those places at once. Apples to Apples, MK is the best example as it hasn't changed much in 20yrs. So 1 day MK pass in 1991 to 1 day MK pass 2010.

And just how many people go to 1 park for 1 day only? That's taking the narrowest of examples to make a point....

 

[Mikester71]

My first trip to WDW wasn't until March 2005 and I was pleasantly surprised at how affordable the whole WDW vacation was for my family of four. I honestly expected it to be ALOT more than it was, which is why I never looked in to going down there earlier than that. It wasn't until a buddy of mine started taking his family every year and told me how much it was costing them that peeked my interest. Of course we drive down and don't fly, so that saves us a ton of money right there, but I found the total price of the whole vacation to be very affordable compared to other vacation destinations. And we have been going every two years since! :sohappy: