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

[Disorbust]

But how many of those there are local? Staying offsite, or a short trip? Yes the parks are packed but not necessarily with families "making memories " and plan on coming back. Most of my young co-workers who have gone are one and done and say it wasn't worth the money. Actually a few feel sick over the money it cost for the experience.

 

[mkt]

Dan McCarty used to take his family of four to Walt Disney World at least once a year, but since the pandemic has opted for European trips instead. Last year they sold their membership in Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program at Disney resorts, and spent three weeks sightseeing in the Netherlands.

That's possibly going to be us this year.

Rather than a weeklong on-property-only staycation this summer, we're aiming for two weeks in Europe for almost the same money (airfare is paid for with points, so travel expenses are a wash). Paris + Brussels + Cologne.

 

[Brian]

We didn't have the time or the data to run this, but one of the questions the editors wanted to explore was "What's the average household income of a household of 4 who can afford to stay at the Grand Floridian for 5 nights, with park hoppers, the standard dining plan, and Premier Pass for 4 days?"

It ended up being $13,000 before transportation, so roughly double what the average household in the top 20% of incomes spends on travel every year.

I would suspect that there is a correlation between intent to return and annual household income. Those who can comfortably afford a vacation such as the one you described are less inclined to evaluate the value proposition (or evaluate it with less negative bias) than one who saved up for years and financially struggled to make the trip work.

Just a hunch.

 

[Jrb1979]

That's possibly going to be us this year.

Rather than a weeklong on-property-only staycation this summer, we're aiming for two weeks in Europe for almost the same money (airfare is paid for with points, so travel expenses are a wash). Paris + Brussels + Cologne.

It's one thing I have always found fascinating. The idea that if we can't do Disney, instead of opting for another theme park, it's something completely different.

 

[lentesta]

Out of random curiosity, I fed that question to Google Gemini and ChatGPT.
Gemini figured $250-300k/yr, ChatGPT figured $200-400k/yr.

That seems high to me.

It's probably low. The average pre-tax income of the top 20% is $264K and they spend ~$7,900 on average annually.

Sources in the blog.

 

[Brian]

It's one thing I have always found fascinating. The idea that if we can't do Disney, instead of opting for another theme park, it's something completely different.

Many view Disney as the best theme park, so why 'waste' money at a 'lesser' theme park destination when you can do something different, like see the world?

 

[Gusey]

Whilst it is sad people are 'priced out', it's a necessary evil. Imagine if the prices were significantly slashed and everyone could go, the parks would be slammed permanently, even more so than right now, capacity would be reached daily, shutting others out, all queues for rides, characters and food all 5 hours+. Just moving around the parks would be a chore. The whole experience would suffer significantly and crumble.

I don't think that's what the article is saying though. The parks weren't reaching capacity daily in 2011, but now less people are able to afford it/find the value in it. For many, a WDW trip is a one in a lifetime trip, but there was an option to save up and go again. With the major maintenance issues the parks face, increase in upcharges and removal of parks, what's encouraging those once in a lifetimers to return?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Out of random curiosity, I fed that question to Google Gemini and ChatGPT.
Gemini figured $250-300k/yr, ChatGPT figured $200-400k/yr.

That seems high to me.

maybe depends on how one thinks about "afford" vs "willing to pay" ... we are within those income brackets (admittedly towards the lower end) and we could technically "afford" to do the vacation outlined but would never spend that $ to have that vacation as not "worth" it to us - we would rather do Disney via a cheaper option and then do a 2nd vacation somewhere else

 

[Ayla]

That's possibly going to be us this year.

Rather than a weeklong on-property-only staycation this summer, we're aiming for two weeks in Europe for almost the same money (airfare is paid for with points, so travel expenses are a wash). Paris + Brussels + Cologne.

Cologne was my absolute favorite city on our trip last summer.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Whilst it is sad people are 'priced out', it's a necessary evil. Imagine if the prices were significantly slashed and everyone could go, the parks would be slammed permanently, even more so than right now, capacity would be reached daily, shutting others out, all queues for rides, characters and food all 5 hours+. Just moving around the parks would be a chore. The whole experience would suffer significantly and crumble.

it's definitely a unique spot to be in where the 2 biggest complaints are that a) it's too expensive and b) it's too crowded

Now there are other ways to address that - namely by adding capacity - but that can only go so far as it isn't fiscally responsible to build for the maximum crowd levels as then far too empty on other days. Plus if you build more overall that will also attract more people no matter what they do (e.g., build a 5th gate) people will still want to go to MK making that more unbearable.

So they are adding capacity to MK, and that makes sense but they are also just trying to catch up after going for a while without adding capacity in general

 

[mkt]

It's one thing I have always found fascinating. The idea that if we can't do Disney, instead of opting for another theme park, it's something completely different.

This wouldn't be the first time I've price compared a trip abroad to a time at WDW, and almost always abroad is cheaper for me.

And Europe is on the more expensive end of that equation. Latin America is a far better deal, and is my preference.

I did a long Thursday-Tuesday luxury weekend in Mexico City - not splurging - for less than what I would spend for a Friday-Sunday at WDW. It was a no brainer.

I did a quick weekend in Havana for less than what a day at Food and Wine + one night hotel would've cost me.

I spent a week in Colombia in a similar luxury situation for less than a 3-day weekend at WDW.

The craziest one was in 2010. I spent a month bouncing around Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile for a little more than what a week at WDW would've cost me.

 

[mkt]

Cologne was my absolute favorite city on our trip last summer.

I adore Cologne. Absolutely underrated city.

 

[Trauma]

I make well over the $264k and the cost is getting ridiculous for me.

I don’t really understand how they plan to push prices even higher.

At some point no matter how much you make you just say “That’s a rip off, not gonna do it”.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This wouldn't be the first time I've price compared a trip abroad to a time at WDW, and almost always abroad is cheaper for me.

And Europe is on the more expensive end of that equation. Latin America is a far better deal, and is my preference.

I did a long Thursday-Tuesday luxury weekend in Mexico City - not splurging - for less than what I would spend for a Friday-Sunday at WDW. It was a no brainer.

I did a quick weekend in Havana for less than what a day at Food and Wine + one night hotel would've cost me.

I spent a week in Colombia in a similar luxury situation for less than a 3-day weekend at WDW.

The craziest one was in 2010. I spent a month bouncing around Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile for a little more than what a week at WDW would've cost me.

One difference is a lot of families wouldn't feel comfortable/safe going to those places (know many of them, heck I would have to think twice about some of those locations). WDW (at least used to) feel safe and easy and there is value in that

Think it is just different audiences when thinking of the cheaper abroad options vs Europe or Japan or something which can definitely still be cheaper (especially if you can make the flights cheaper via reward points) but not necessarily

Going abroad also requires taking more time off from work which not everyone is able to do/comfortable doing

 

[Brian]

At some point no matter how much you make you just say “That’s a rip off, not gonna do it”.

It all depends on the person. There are some people who make $500k a year and just throw money around like it's confetti. Those folks wouldn't bat an eye at a week-long $12,000 WDW vacation with all the extras. There are others in that income bracket, one in particular who I'm thinking of, who act like they make $30k a year and will go so far as to cut paper towel rolls in half to save money.

My take is that one's attitude towards money, no matter how much you have or do not have, is heavily influenced by your parents' financial situation while you were growing up.

 

[Trueblood]

maybe depends on how one thinks about "afford" vs "willing to pay" ... we are within those income brackets (admittedly towards the lower end) and we could technically "afford" to do the vacation outlined but would never spend that $ to have that vacation as not "worth" it to us - we would rather do Disney via a cheaper option and then do a 2nd vacation somewhere else

I just realized that all of my mental estimates are based on just my wife and me vacationing and not having to pay for children.

 

[mkt]

One difference is a lot of families wouldn't feel comfortable/safe going to those places (know many of them, heck I would have to think twice about some of those locations). WDW (at least used to) feel safe and easy and there is value in that

That's one thing I love about traveling to Latin America: Almost no Americans to ruin my vibes.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I just realized that all of my mental estimates are based on just my wife and me vacationing and not having to pay for children.

yeah, as a family of 5 costs definitely go up, especially factoring in flight costs and not fitting in a lot of hotel rooms

 

[lentesta]

Hotel Our family’s hotel prices have risen 29% more than inflation since 2011. The really surprising thing here is that a two-night stay at Disney’s All-Star Resort is slightly cheaper in 2025 versus 2018 after adjusting for inflation. That might indicate that Disney’s hit the price limit on the “value for money” decisions that families make. Pricing that Value resort any higher would push more families to stay at non-Disney hotels.

Food Similarly, the cost of theme park food for our family has risen 39% beyond inflation since 2011. And like hotel costs, those increases seem to have hit a limit by 2018, because food prices are down 3% in inflation-adjusted terms since then.

This was another thing that the WSJ article didn't have room for, but deserves analsis.

They appear to have hit limits in 2018 with budget-conscious guests around hotel and sit-down food prices. Those have either tracked inflation or fallen slightly for the last ~6+ years.

Charging more for on-site Value hotels will just drive people offsite or to shorter trips. And we've already seen evidence of drops in sit-down dining numbers.

That's why Lightning Lane is so important to them. It's a new source of revenue that they can grow faster than inflation, and that's tailor-made for the richest guests.

 

[Trauma]

It all depends on the person. There are some people who make $500k a year and just throw money around like it's confetti. Those folks wouldn't bat an eye at a week-long $12,000 WDW vacation with all the extras. There are others in that income bracket, one in particular who I'm thinking of, who act like they make $30k a year and will go so far as to cut paper towel rolls in half to save money.

My take is that one's attitude towards money, no matter how much you have or do not have, is heavily influenced by your parents' financial situation while you were growing up.

It’s perfectly fine to be the confetti type. As long as you have 0 debt and invest 20% in your income first.

You will be perfectly fine spending the rest every year.

Not exactly how I would go about it. You will be perfectly good though as long as you can sustain your income.