WSJ: Even Disney Is Worried About The High Cost Of A Disney Vacation (gift link)

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Gotchya.

I think targeting Brazil, Argentina, England and Scotland (among others) may have paid off for a bit in pumping gate clicks but maybe not revenue if the discounts were very steep. We'll see.

Nah…Americans have always been overcharged more than enough to offset the discounts given to get international travelers in. Disney never “loses” on paying customers

Which is why their stance on annual passholders is beyond stupid

The most money is made in the gift shop…the best way to do that is to…you know?…fill them with people.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In all honesty they are both in trouble if they don't change things. It says a lot that the swamp parks are either flat or down while every where else they are up.

The Universal Disney comparison has to stop. They aren't only competing with each other but every other vacation place out there. This posted should send shockwaves into Disney and Universal. Instead many want to dismiss it like they do with every negative article on pricing

 

[BrianLo]

In all honesty they are both in trouble if they don't change things. It says a lot that the swamp parks are either flat or down while every where else they are up.

The Universal Disney comparison has to stop. They aren't only competing with each other but every other vacation place out there. This posted should send shockwaves into Disney and Universal. Instead many want to dismiss it like they do with every negative article on pricing

Thank you and I actually fully agree.

It’s not an either or. It’s a bit of mild alarmism on my part that there is a big bets being made in Orlando right now when 7/9 major gates in the US are severely underperforming the broader travel market. In part because consumers are really priced out.

I’m legitimately concerned that Epic is going to cause a dark period if it undershoots lofty expectations.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Good, civil discussion here (mostly)

Good evening

 

[Stripes]

Unfortunately that hasn't been the trend but I hope you're right.

Where hasn’t it been the trend lately? Where are you getting more value right now than you were 5 years ago?

 

[Stripes]

The Norwegian Prima really put the nail in the coffin for me last year.

Norwegian Bliss was terrible. Never again.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Where hasn’t it been the trend lately? Where are you getting more value with right now than you were 5 years ago?

Cruise ships, honeslty…more impressive ships with more offerings for much less inflated prices…

Regional parks still add new things and price to attract year long visitors

Europe is a fantastic deal…but they’re just pragmatic and better consumers


I’ll ask again: where have you been on vacation lately that has less comparative value?

Or are we fighting the scarecrow?

 

[Jrb1979]

Where hasn’t it been the trend lately? Where are you getting more value with right now than you were 5 years ago?

Many places but the swamp. Our family trips to Dollywood and Cedar Point haven't lost any value compared to 5 years ago. Prices haven't increased that much in 5 years ago.

Myrtle Beach cost us the same this past October as it did 5 years ago.

While those places don't do much for most here, at least for my family the value hasn't changed compared the swamp.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Many places but the swamp. Our family trips to Dollywood and Cedar Point haven't lost any value compared to 5 years ago. Prices haven't increased that much in 5 years ago.

Myrtle Beach cost us the same this past October as it did 5 years ago.

While those places don't do much for most here, at least for my family the value hasn't changed compared the swamp.

I can’t vouch for Dollywood as I’m only a recent visitor, but I think the Cedar Point experience has fallen off a decent bit.

 

[Jrb1979]

I can’t vouch for Dollywood as I’m only a recent visitor, but I think the Cedar Point experience has fallen off a decent bit.

It has a little bit in terms of experience but price wise it hasn't changed to the point many are priced out.

 

[Stripes]

I’ll ask again: where have you been on vacation lately that has less comparative value?

Alaska cruise on Norwegian (downright terrible, paid $8,000, biggest waste of money in my whole life), NYC (worse value, decent experience), France (Paris was not a good experience), Hawaii (never appealed to me, family was ready to leave on day 2 of 5).

Many places but the swamp. Our family trips to Dollywood and Cedar Point haven't lost any value compared to 5 years ago. Prices haven't increased that much in 5 years ago.

Regular amusement parks don’t appeal to me. They’re also a poor value when factoring in cost of flight and reduction in accrued vacation time.

Myrtle Beach cost us the same this past October as it did 5 years ago.

I’m just not a beach person. I grew up in California and had plenty of exposure. Recently, I was forced to drive 4 hours to a beach. Waste of a day. And I got food poisoning after eating at the beachside restaurant. But hey, cool sandcastles!

 

[Trauma]

I expect that if a 15% price increase is breached, it will be accompanied by an increase in the quality of the resort’s offerings, such as new, higher quality attractions. I, for one, am excited for every new attraction that was announced last year.

I think that the company expects some H2 operating income growth to come from increased attendance.

But, we’ll see. Certainly if there’s a 15% price increase over the next two years I will not be going then.

An increase in quality ?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Thank you for this!!

I needed a spit out your drink and fall to the floor laugh today.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

But when people feel like their being ripped off…the list snowballs in their heads

This is why I always say perceived value, had Disney raised the overall daily price by $50 a day but kept Magical Express, Luggage delivery, free FP, and the other secondary things that helped set Disney apart I’d probably still be singing them praises and saying the parks experience is worth every penny, unfortunately they chose to take away the secondary “magic” and monetize everything and its getting harder by the day to see enough value to justify my money anymore.

Perception is everything, once someone starts to question value and they take off their rose colored glasses they start seeing everything differently... the few paper towels on the bathroom floor that were previously overlooked now become “filthy bathrooms”, the random scratches on the hotel furniture they previously overlooked become “rooms in need of refurbishment”. I really thought Iger understood this and would course correct when he came back but he hasn’t and the perception that Disney isn’t worth it anymore is snowballing.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Alaska cruise on Norwegian (downright terrible, paid $8,000, biggest waste of money in my whole life), NYC (worse value, decent experience), France (Paris was not a good experience),

I’ve been on 2 Alaska cruises with Celebrity and they were both incredible experiences and value. They were like $1,000 each I think. Plus flights and hotels in Alaska.

I also loved Paris, both Disneyland and otherwise so there’s that too.

 

[Jrb1979]

This is why I always say perceived value, had Disney raised the overall daily price by $50 a day but kept Magical Express, Luggage delivery, free FP, and the other secondary things that helped set Disney apart I’d probably still be singing them praises and saying the parks experience is worth every penny, unfortunately they chose to take away the secondary “magic” and monetize everything and its getting harder by the day to see enough value to justify my money anymore.

Perception is everything, once someone starts to question value and they take off their rose colored glasses they start seeing everything differently... the few paper towels on the bathroom floor that were previously overlooked now become “filthy bathrooms”, the random scratches on the hotel furniture they previously overlooked become “rooms in need of refurbishment”. I really thought Iger understood this and would course correct when he came back but he hasn’t and the perception that Disney isn’t worth it anymore is snowballing.

Remember when Bob Iger Says Disney Theme Parks Were Priced Too High In “Zeal To Grow Profit” – It’s “A Brand That Needs To Be Accessible”

 

[Stripes]

I’ve been on 2 Alaska cruises with Celebrity and they were both incredible experiences and value. They were like $1,000 each I think. Plus flights and hotels in Alaska.

I also loved Paris, both Disneyland and otherwise so there’s that too.

For our Alaska cruise on Norwegian, the food was mediocre, things booked up almost immediately and we were unable to do many of the things we wanted to do, entertainment was boring, and the staff were not friendly. It was $8,000.

For some random June 2025 dates, I looked into 2 staterooms for 5 people on a Celebrity cruise to Alaska. 1 verandah and 1 ocean view. 7 nights $6,300, not including the Wi-Fi and drinks package, gratuities, excursions, and travel protection, etc.

On the same 7 nights, Port Orleans Riverside with two rooms and 5 park days for 5 people, not including food, Lightning Lane, travel protection, etc. was $6,600.

For $300, there’s a lot more that appeals to my family and I suspect most people on this forum. With loads of fantastic attractions and shows outweighing the gorgeous Alaskan scenery and included food. (In my experience, included cruise line food has gotten worse over the years. I’ve had to pay to get a meal that’s of comparable quality to something on land, but this wasn’t always the case. Is your experience with Celebrity different?)

Now, that’s not to say I wouldn’t book the Celebrity cruise and give it a shot. It’s not a bad value, but the value is lower than WDW for my family.

 

[BrianLo]

I think his point got a bit muddled. Cruise ships aren’t a better deal in 2025 than they were in 2019. In fact I think they’ve largely declined even faster than Orlando parks.

But they were an exceptional deal in 2019 versus land vacations are now are a reasonable deal today.

I’m actually not a DCL champion, the product has always been overpriced. But it’s actually been a lot less impacted by cuts than the broader industry. If you think OG WDW fans are a disgruntled lot you should see the seasoned cruisers thoughts on their prior preferred brands decline. Royal, NCL, Princess and Carnival particularly. They are all playing musical chairs as people swear off line x to defect to y, even though the problems are largely the same.

Celebrity, DCL and Virgin appear to have kept most of the quality afloat, but they are all a little upmarket. Even within each brand there’s a ton of ship class to ship class variability. Icon has way higher quality food than the average of the brand.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Myrtle Beach cost us the same this past October as it did 5 years ago.

…there’s a reason for that

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Remember when Bob Iger Says Disney Theme Parks Were Priced Too High In “Zeal To Grow Profit” – It’s “A Brand That Needs To Be Accessible”

You mean when he tried to throw the blame at Chapek’s feet?

The reality is he’s to blame…100%

But he had gotten away with selling stupid comments like that for years…so he tried again.

I don’t blame him…why not? That is the fault of the customers from losing control.

But here we are 2.5 years later and the house of cards is collapsing. It was inevitable

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Alaska cruise on Norwegian (downright terrible, paid $8,000, biggest waste of money in my whole life), NYC (worse value, decent experience), France (Paris was not a good experience), Hawaii (never appealed to me, family was ready to leave on day 2 of 5).

Ok…I got you.

Norwegian is the modern carnival by a lot of accounts…so I can see that coming in under.

And New York often disappoints as a “destination” place as well. I totally get that. Not designed for the “all in” type trip. It’s not built to do that.

Though I gotta question anyone who has that little view of Paris. It’s the best city on the planet in my opinion. Comparing that to wdw is like preferring the facade over the tangible. Opinions vary

Might have been operator error though

Regular amusement parks don’t appeal to me. They’re also a poor value when factoring in cost of flight and reduction in accrued vacation time.

Probably because regular amusement parks are not really “flight and hotel” kinda places. Hence “regional parks”. If you fly to them…you’re value is cratered pretty much off the jump.

I’m just not a beach person. I grew up in California and had plenty of exposure. Recently, I was forced to drive 4 hours to a beach. Waste of a day. And I got food poisoning after eating at the beachside restaurant. But hey, cool sandcastles!

The beach sucks. To be honest. Unless it’s Fiji or Maui.