[Svartalfiar]

So now we know why Disney parks doubled their ticket prices for two years in a row.

So the wife made me go by Disneyworld (Harry Potterland) this year when we got a special deal on a hotel stay in Orlando. Military discount only applies if you buy the tickets through a military facility (nothing at the ticket window..), and a one-day pass was around $200 PER PERSON. Six Flags's season passes are cheaper than that! It didn't even come with any cool souvenirs or anything, the lanyard to hold your tickets was an extra $10!!! Holy crap I don't like amusement parks in the first place, but that was absolutely ridiculous! I have no plans to ever go back to any of their parks..

[HotHunt]

My parents used to take my brother and sister and I to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA when I was a youngin' back in the mid-50s. We lived in Riverside, back then only about a 30 minute drive away. My dad was career Air Force stationed at March Field, so we weren't rich but I remember my parents saying how reasonable it was for a family outing. We'd go every couple of months or so.

Fast forward to my wife and I retiring to Florida in 2012 and taking our two grandkids to DisneyWorld when they came to visit us on our farm from Arizona. We about choked when we got there and found out how much it cost just to get in. At some rides, the lines were over an hour's wait in the insufferably humid Florida sun. Between the entry tickets, lunch, some souvenirs for the grandkids and parking, we almost had to take out a mortgage on our home to cover the costs.

We've never been back. Grandkids never complained about not going back because of how long they had to stand in line in the sun. Too hot and not that much fun, they said. Now we just take them to the beach which costs little to nothing. And the kids have more fun.

I think Disney has lost focus on what Uncle Walt originally had in mind for his parks. Fun for the whole family, not to provide the CEO an 80% annual raise to a $65+ million salary.