The example I use most often is room prices at the Polynesian and the Contemporary:
View attachment 272789
Adjusted for inflation, that
$29/night rate (tax included) for the Contemporary and Polynesian comes out to
$174/night today.
Even the
$44/night rate for the
most expensive room converts to
$263/night in 2017.
For the average family in 1971, these were
not cheap prices. Heck, for the average family
today, $174/$263 is not cheap.
@Goofyernmost is right that WDW was never a "cheap" vacation. What he misses is that,
relative to today, it was.
The prices of old pale in comparison to today's actual prices. Today, the
least expensive room at the Polynesian averages
$645/night. There's a world of difference between $174 and $645 per night.
Remember, there were double-digit price increases in each year from 1984 to 1988. Then prices remained relatively consistent with household income until 2000. It's only been since 2001 that price increases have outpaced income gains by roughly a two-to-one margin. Heck, I was booking rooms at the Contemporary in the low $200s in the early-to-mid 2000s. Today, the Contemporary's least expensive room averages
$530/night.
The early 2000s saw some great deals, which helped offset price increases. For example, "Buy Four, Get Three Free" which offered a 7-day ticket and 7 nights in an onsite hotel for the price of 4. 2005 saw the introduction of the a al carte Magic Your Way ticket, which created an entry-level option for Guests sensitive to cost.
However, since 2005, price increases have been relentless while today's "discounts" are being offered on prices that have far outpaced income or inflation. Today's "discounted" hotel room is more expensive than rack rates of only 5-10 years ago.
I agree that a visit to WDW is a luxury item. This doesn't invalidate an analysis of price trends and their impact on consumers.
We are seeing resistance on ticket prices at sporting events. Many "sold" seats are going to corporations. (Watch a New York Yankees home game and observe how many prime seats are empty on weeknights.) Disney does not have the luxury of having corporations buying millions of tickets. Disney needs to respect consumer sentiment.
We happen to be in an economic boom, with consumer confidence at its highest levels since before 9/11. Historically, it's times such as these that consumers spend more freely, including on their vacations. Like all booms, this one will end.
Adding a separate charge for onsite parking (something that Disney was already charging for; it was just was built into the price of the hotel room) is not going to endear Disney to its customers.
