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

[MickeyLuv'r]

I see this as a potential seat at the table for Universal, not an out-of-the-gate equalizer by any means. Disney is a lifestyle brand for people in a way that Universal isn’t (outside of Potter World, that may be an exception.) I don’t think we’re going to see Pandora, Loungefly, Lululemon and Bath and Body Works collabs for Epic Universe the way we do for Disney. I don’t think people are going to start Universal ball cap collections next to their ear collections, or join a mom Facebook group dedicated to Universal (I mean maybe a few people will, but on the whole.)

I think you're a little late to the party.

Universal already has a number of lifestyle brands: Loungefly, Lego, Crocs, Kipling, Kohls, Vera Bradley, build-A-Bear, Hasbro, GAP, Roots, Target, Ulta...

I'm not sure where you've been, but the Wicked partnerships (alone) are rather extensive.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Someone may have posted that they'll never go to Uni simply because they love WDW too much, but I can't remember ever seeing that.

If you went to such a person and said, "Here, I'm freely giving you a free ticket to WDW and a free ticket to Uni," just how many of them would say, "Keep the Uni ticket, I love WDW too much too much to accept it."

Prior to the post covid changes I bet I said it dozens of times here, I couldn’t fathom the idea of going all the way to Florida and “wasting” part of our week at Uni that we could be spending at WDW.

I also wore the pixie duster label as a badge of honor and to this day miss being a pixie duster, I miss that feeling of pure joy I used to get from the Disney parks.

 

[JoeCamel]

Maybe Uni could borrow the super luxurious transport vehicles Disney was using to get people from the Starcruiser to Galaxy's Edge and offer it to Potterheads as an upcharge experience

Jo sez no

 

[DisneyNittany]

Maybe Uni could borrow the super luxurious transport vehicles Disney was using to get people from the Starcruiser to Galaxy's Edge and offer it to Potterheads as an upcharge experience

Knight Bus to Paris only then to immediately be back in a London government building

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I miss that feeling of pure joy I used to get from the Disney parks.

Me too. I definitely felt it at Disneyland Paris and I usually feel it at Disneyland.

I do still enjoy visiting the WDW resort, but I don’t visit the parks much.

 

[Ayla]

Is it because you love Disney too much?

Anyhoo, I go to Uni about once every 3 years. And when I go, I enjoy the rides I enjoy. And then become increasingly annoyed at so many other things, that I don't go back for another 3 years.

Snark all you want ~ I used to, yes. I love what WDW used to be.

 

[HauntedPirate]

You're just tripling down on the ad hominem.

We need good-faith discourse, not catchy names for distinguishing 'us' v. 'them.'

Shill.

Unfortunately for DIS, the ripple effects of the WSJ article continue:

https://invezz.com/news/2025/02/12/could-flying-abroad-be-cheaper-than-a-disney-vacation-heres-what-the-data-says/

Is Disney World Finally Too Expensive? | The Motley Fool

The world's most visited theme park resort isn't always cheap -- but it's also not as pricey as you might think.

www.fool.com

Don't ever think for a second that Munarriz would write something that isn't in defense of DIS. Because he never has and never will. He will defend DIS until the day he dies. And then he probably has articles written to publish after he dies about how great DIS still is.

 

[John park hopper]

Prior to the post covid changes I bet I said it dozens of times here, I couldn’t fathom the idea of going all the way to Florida and “wasting” part of our week at Uni that we could be spending at WDW.

I also wore the pixie duster label as a badge of honor and to this day miss being a pixie duster, I miss that feeling of pure joy I used to get from the Disney parks.

In the words of the Righteous Brothers song ---"You've lost that loving feeling" and so have I and many others ---------but Disney doesn't care

 

[The Mom]

I'm not going to go through dozens of pages and delete all the Disney versus Universal posts, but any future ones will be deleted.

 

[mngwdw]

We were at AK yesterday. Bathrooms were filthy.
Ate at Flame Tree Barbacue. BBQ Food was cold, portion tiny.
Not like the old days!

 

[Jrb1979]

Shill.


Don't ever think for a second that Munarriz would write something that isn't in defense of DIS. Because he never has and never will. He will defend DIS until the day he dies. And then he probably has articles written to publish after he dies about how great DIS still is.

This is one thing I don't get. All these articles keep coming out even more so now than before about Disney prices. Everyone gets so defensive about them and also dismisses them.

Yet when posters here say the same thing most agree.

 

[DisneyHead123]

This is one thing I don't get. All these articles keep coming out even more so now than before about Disney prices. Everyone gets so defensive about them and also dismisses them.

Yet when posters here say the same thing most agree.

I think you could make a valid argument either way here. Yes Disney is crazy expensive but it’s also too crowded.

What I worry about is short term metrics getting prioritized over long term investments. Lightning Lane profits getting prioritized over table service, for example. On paper that might make the most sense but I don’t want to see the collection of restaurants Disney has created get cannibalized by LL spending in people’s vacation budget.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Gift link here.

Alternate link here.

I started working with the WSJ on this back in November. I pointed out - as I've said here - that Disney prices its theme parks for the top 20% of American households by income - those with pre-tax earnings of $264K. And if we're being honest, Disney really focuses on the top 10%, 5%, and 1% of incomes.

Backing up those two sentences ended up being its own 40-page blog post, covering 150+ datasets on everything from household income, to consumer expenditure surveys, to metropolitan populations around NFL cities. Links to the datasets are in the post.

Here's the post: How Much Disney Can America's Middle Class Afford?

Thanks to @wdwmagic for letting me post this. And thanks to all of you for letting me try out here how I ended up explaining it. I appreciate you.

Disney is worrying all the way to the bank:

 

[Jrb1979]

I think you could make a valid argument either way here. Yes Disney is crazy expensive but it’s also too crowded.

What I worry about is short term metrics getting prioritized over long term investments. Lightning Lane profits getting prioritized over table service, for example. On paper that might make the most sense but I don’t want to see the collection of restaurants Disney has created get cannibalized by LL spending in people’s vacation budget.

It got too crowded due to them not keeping with capacity. They should have been adding new attractions to each park yearly. Instead they have been playing a game of crowd management and finding ways to lower attendance.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

We were at AK yesterday. Bathrooms were filthy.

Was it a consistent problem or more of a one-off? In the domestic parks - I’ve been pretty impressed with restroom cleanliness - it seems they try to stay on top of it.

In Paris I was much less impressed as soap and paper towels were often not filled - it was a noticeable difference.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Start a Disney v. Universal thread. It would take all the Universal stuff out of this thread to make it easier for people who care what Disney costs but couldn't care less about Universal.

I agree. To get back on topic, the prices for everything at the parks are too high and continue to climb while at the same time offerings lessen. I do feel sorry for the bottom end of the middle class, a WDW vacation is way too expensive,

And its true, loyal fans overlook this and just keep paying.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I’m partially to blame for the topic shift but I do think you can do a good discussion on Universal’s relative costs and value as the prices for both vacation options grow.

This is not that anymore lol. Let’s take it to where it belongs — YouTube comments!

 

[mngwdw]

Was it a consistent problem or more of a one-off? In the domestic parks - I’ve been pretty impressed with restroom cleanliness - it seems they try to stay on top of it.

In Paris I was much less impressed as soap and paper towels were often not filled - it was a noticeable difference.

We were at DL Paris last year. Other than the Dragon an Pirates, we like WDW better. As well as being only 50 minutes from home.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

We were at DL Paris last year. Other than the Dragon a Pirates, we like WDW better. As well as being only 50 minutes from home.

oh I loved Disneyland Paris - castle park to castle park Paris wins everyday but I’m a huge Tony Baxter fan and loved everything from the 90s theme park world!

 

[Agent H]

oh I loved Disneyland Paris - castle park to castle park Paris wins everyday but I’m a huge Tony Baxter fan and loved everything from the 90s theme park world!

I met him once I know this doesn’t have anything to do with anything but I will not turn down a chance to brag about that.