Posted on 07/15/2023 7:44:43 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
If you’ve read much of my writing, you know that I consider myself an expert on Disney — not in the way that leftists who think you should wear masks in perpetuity are “experts” on pandemics, but a genuine expert. Disney has been part of my family life from the beginning. My parents honeymooned at Walt Disney World just months after it opened, and my siblings and I (and later my nieces) grew up on Disney movies and TV shows.
Disney’s woke content and political meddling in Florida hurt us as a family. We’re not boycotters by nature, so even though we haven’t quit Disney like some people, we’ve backed off on our trips to Walt Disney World at least for the time being, and we’re not fans of some of the new content that Disney is putting out.
But there are some other problems that have nothing to do with politics that hit my family and other dyed-in-the-wool Disney fans where it hurts the most. I believe that they’re as responsible for the recent dip in attendance at Disney’s theme parks as much as — if not more than — any political backlash.
The first reason is purely financial. To put it bluntly, a Disney vacation is getting increasingly expensive. National Review’s Jim Geraghty wrote an article earlier this week that exposed the ridiculous increase in theme park ticket prices over the years. He explained:
The current ticket prices for Walt Disney World and its related theme parks are as follows:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $109-$159
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $124-$179
- EPCOT: $114-$179
- Magic Kingdom: $124-$189
There are ranges because Disney has holiday prices, peak-day prices, regular prices, and value prices,
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
By comparison, in 2013, a ticket to the Magic Kingdom was $95. Adjusted for inflation, that is the equivalent of $125.46 today. (Inflation-adjusted prices were generated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.)
In 2003, a ticket to the Magic Kingdom was $52. Adjusted for inflation, that is the equivalent of $87.04 today.
In 1993, a ticket to the Magic Kingdom was $35. Adjusted for inflation, that is the equivalent of $74.65 today.
In 1983, a ticket to the Magic Kingdom was $17. Adjusted for inflation, that is the equivalent of $52.86 today.
And that’s just ticket prices. Consider food, souvenirs, resort, and parking prices — all of which have gone up tremendously — and you can see how Disney is pricing out many hardworking families.
The other problem that Disney has relates to trip planning. Over the past few years, the company has employed a growing set of “planning tools” that are increasingly complex and decreasingly user-friendly. Oh, and some of those tools add to the financial burden on guests.
After a visit to Disneyland in August 1959, my father complained about the cost. For my family of five, the admission, ride tickets, food and parking set us back a whopping $30.00!
RE: For my family of five, the admission, ride tickets, food and parking set us back a whopping $30.00!
That’s $309.49 in today’s prices
See here:
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Screw Disney. We can go anywhere else.
I think they have the democratic part down pat as in turning good to crap.
Latest theme park attraction numbers show Universal Studios topping all Disney parks but the Magic Kingdom.
Woke has hurt the Mouse.
Nobody now, and that should be acting as the canary in the coal mine. A park that makes such a fuss out of appealing to a Diverse Crowd is wondering where everybody else went. Anywhere else, it turns out.
That’s $309.49 in today’s prices
That would probably be a bargain for a family of five in 2023. However, even though I live nine miles from Disneyland, I haven't been there since 1969.
Wife and I went to WDW for our 25th anniversary, nearly 10 years ago. It was our first trip there without the kids. We had a great time, because we didn’t have any schedule to follow - we went where we wanted to go and did what we wanted to do. We set up Fastpass times for a few of the rides but for the most part we just moseyed around. It cost us like $1800.00 for 4 days, including stay at one of the “value” Disney resorts and meals.
It sounds like that sort of trip is not as feasible as it was back then, which would be a problem for us. Not that we would go again anyway - it’s a lot harder for us to get around than it was back then, and the groomer stuff really offends me, and the cost is ridiculous - but if we couldn’t go and do it our way we wouldn’t want to go again even if those factors were not there.
“Woke has hurt the Mouse.”
Except the entire article is discussing non-political factors. Try reading it.
All Disney needs to do is get back to basics. Cut all the silly crap and make Disney what it was in its inception.
I know I'm not going to Martha's Vinyard.
That playground belongs to Obama.
In the meantime I can go to myrtle beach.
Yeah I read it and it is wrong. The non-political factors are trivial compared to the political ones. Grooming, all of the story rewrites, the diversity days and celebrations, it just gets too complicated. The non political factors are a direct and unavoidable result. If you want to confine the discussion you don’t have to listen to anyone else.
“Nothing is more futile than schemed merriment.” -Samuel Johnson
My kids grew up with a basket full of Disney DVD’s. All the classics played daily. My grandkids have no interest whatsoever is Disney anything. I’ve never been to a Disney Park, don’t ever plan to go. Our vacations always involved miracles of nature.
Makes sense.
By “planning tools,” do you mean scheduling a time for a ride or restaurant?
I’ve heard the “fast pass” (for scheduling rides) is no longer free....I’m not sure about scheduling restaurants.
You’d better check the prices for Sea World and Universal Studios. When I lived in the Orlando area, they were getting too expensive, too.
Bttt.
5.56mm
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