Posted on 03/19/2018 9:18:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Opening the menu at the California Grill at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort overlooking the Magic Kingdom, I expected to giggle at the affordability of everything. I’m a New Yorker. Nothing out here in the sticks costs as much as it does back home, right? Instead, I found $19 glasses of wine and a $75 rib-eye. If you’re a person of average means, a trip to Disney World could leave you bippity-boppity broke.
Disney World, that enchanted land of middle class dreams, isn’t so middle-class anymore. So why is it more popular than ever? Fort Mickey is exhibit A for why “the dwindling middle class” has shrunk — because so many have moved up to the upper-middle and upper classes. Disney World is booming because America is booming.
When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, ticket prices were roughly $20 in today’s dollars ($3.50 back then). In 2018, a single weekend day at the Magic Kingdom will cost you $129. Don’t worry, kiddies, for you it’s only $123. Parking is another $22. With plane fare, accommodation, meals, car rental, and so on, a family of four can expect to spend close to $5,000 for a week’s vacation, and that’s if you take it easy on the souvenirs.
All of those left-wing columnists who fret about one-percenters and inequality seem not to have noticed, but the way capitalism is showering wealth on this country is as spectacular as Disney’s nightly fireworks show. If you can afford to drop $700 to $1,000 a day on vacation, you’re doing well. And tens of millions of us are. This month at the Magic Kingdom, my family discovered routine two-hour wait times for both the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
...and now you’re paying for parking at some venues.
About the same as a ski ticket. Killington Resort Resort Lift Tickets | Most Current Pricing Day Child Adult (19-64) Weekday - US$ 115.00 Weekend - US$ 115.00
Disney World is proof that PT Barnum was right.
I’m not convinced that that’s what it proves. Disney parks, like Las Vegas, are now going for the very highest prices they can possibly charge, and that doesn’t mean that they expect only Americans to pay it. There are more, and bigger, wallets available when you include all the rich people from China, Japan, Russia, the Middle East, etc., and that’s in the calculations now.
We went to The Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center for one day each just a couple of weeks ago. Once the daughter found that the last Ladies restroom in the “United Kingdom” part of World Showcase had two stalls, one of which was out of service...... she then knew why the last time we went to Disney World was about twenty years ago.
What’s the percentage of foreign visitors to Disney World now vs. 1971?
Cultural attractions like Disney are now huge draws for the upper classes of Japan, Korea, China, and South America. You don’t need huge percentages of them to translate into massive numbers, and huge spending, at Disney.
Went to Orlando and Disney back in 4th grade around 1977 then again around 1990 with friends during a road trip from MA to FL.
Both times thought it was great.
Now?
Never again..
No ride is worth standing in line that long.
Why would ANYONE want to experience this horror, let alone shell out thousands for it? I'd rather take my kids out to the wilderness, to camp, hike, fish and shoot.
Yep. For the first time in 45 years you have to pay from $19 to $25 for parking at all of the Disney Resorts. That on top of the recent increase in ticket cost. And don’t forget that the state of Florida, Orange County, and the municipality add about $53 per day for a stay in one of their resort hotels. As the article says it’s easy to spend $5K a week for a family of four.
That said, it’s still a great way to spend your money. There really is no place like it. And if you’re smart, you can get FastPass’s so you can scoot right into your favorite attractions. (No I am not affiliated with Disney in any way. We just like Disney World.) Flame away. :-)
Yeah, if the author really thinks that this is proof that Americans are rolling in money he needs to ‘splain it to me. I see evidence of another reality.
It’s not
I did it three years ago
1000s and crazy lines and crap food
And yes it is propped up by foreigners visits
i wonder if families are still able to pull the broken leg front of the line scam like they used to...
I heard disney also sells front of the line tiks for mucho bucks...
We have lived in Florida for 15 years, an hour and a half drive to DW. Never been there and never had the desire. Neither have our kids, who grew up here.
Other parks like Universal Studios do that, but not Disney. FastPass is free.
True Enough, and the author doesn't mention that paying full price at Disney is for suckers.
The lovely and talented Mrs Wbill researched the heck out of our trip a few years back. Got this package deal, and that meal deal, and etc etc etc. Still was pricey, but we paid nowhere near what the author mentioned. Takes some planning, gives up some spontaneity, but it made an unaffordable trip well within our means.
Wbill Jr enjoyed it. I liked the "easiness" aspect of it...they do hospitality well there. Would I go back? Meh.
Exactly.
Ya go to Disney in CA, and every other person is a non-English speaking foreigner.
That doesn’t seem to make sense
wouldn’t everybody get one? ...or do they?
You can use Fast Pass to get "head of the line" privileges for 3 to 4 rides a day. Use that on the most popular rides, and it's no problem.
I also use a crowd calendar to plan my trip, so I go when it isn't as crowded.
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