General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDisney parks price out the middle class
Earlier myself and several others posted threads about Disney laying off workers and replacing them with those with H1B visas who will work for less. What follows shows the company's greed has no end.
When Walt Disney World opened in an Orlando swamp in 1971, with its penny arcade and marching-band parade down Main Street U.S.A., admission for an adult cost $3.50, about as much then as three gallons of milk.
Disney has raised the gate price for the Magic Kingdom 41 times since, nearly doubling it over the past decade. This year, a ticket inside the most magical place on Earth rocketed past $100 for the first time in history.
Ballooning costs have not slowed the mouse-eared masses flooding into the world's busiest theme park. Disney's main attraction hosted a record 19 million visitors last year, a number nearly as large as the population of New York state.
But rising prices have changed the character of Big Mouse's family-friendly empire in unavoidably glitzy ways. A visitor to Disney's central Florida fantasyland can now dine on a $115 steak, enjoy a $53-per-plate dessert party and sleep in a bungalow overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon starting at $2,100 a night.
For America's middle-income vacationers, the Mickey Mouse club, long promoted as made for you and me, seems increasingly made for someone else. But far from easing back, the theme-park giant's prices are expected to climb even more through a surge-pricing system that could value a summer's day of rides and lines at $125.
-more-
http://www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com/article/20150612/BIZ02/150619685#
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)But from the excerpt posted, they're leaving out quite a bit. Sure, you can get a $115 steak...or a $9.00 hamburger. Yes, you can pay $2100/night for a bungalow on Seven Seas Lagoon...or you can pay $89 for a regular hotel room.
And yes, admission has gone up, but that's to be expected.
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)Universal, on the other hand, is our second home.
DawgHouse
(4,019 posts)Universal has much more to offer anyway, IMO.
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)We love the Harry Potter world, but the cost is a major reason that we don't go to Disney.
LordGlenconner
(1,348 posts)Single day tickets for both places are over $100. I think Universal is $101 and Disney is $105.
https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Florida-Resident-Tickets.aspx
To the OP, I think both parks have done a really good job of pricing out the middle class. Not just a Disney thing.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Universal Studios is awesome.
Disney is still stuck in what was awesome in the 60's.
They need to dig themselves out of nostalgia and thinking people want these 50 year old relics if they want them to drop over a hundred dollars to visit this place.
Didn't they finally get rid of Carousel of Progress?
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)Marvel just signed a contract with them and is moving from Universal to Disney. Correction: Frozen. They are planning something big wit Frozen.
Still, the cost of the ticket wouldn't compel me to go. I'll save up for the day we have to bite the bullet when we have grandchildren. That's where they really win out because everything old is new to the little ones.
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)She's on The Mummy
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)My daughter knows exactly where that camera is and gets a great picture every time.
The last time I was there I finally braved the Rip Ride Rocket and I wanted the picture as proof. Damn if I hit a wind sheer at that moment the picture was taken and my hair completely wrapped around my face. I looked like Cousin It.
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)I LOVED Escape from Gringott's last time we were there.
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)and rode it five times before we finally caught up with her.
Peregrine
(992 posts)Every Labor Day, we stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. During Christmas time we'll stay at another resort, last year was Boardwalk. Year before was Wilderness Lodge. This is the first year we haven't gotten an annual pass in about 8 years. We do have annual passes to Busch Gardens/Sea World and go to Tampa about 3 - 4 times a year.
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)But we usually go to the one where you can jump on a boat to get into the Park. Polynesian?
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Season tickets for six and fly down three times a year. There annual passes are a huge bargain. Their daily admission is expensive.
gopiscrap
(23,768 posts)3 gallons of milk in 1971, the price of admission is now about 25-30 gallons of milk...sounds a lot like greed to me..in addition Walt Disney was a fucking Republican to boot!
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)At one time, a brand new car was 2,000 dollars and my grandparents bought a house for 2,900 doars with 8 bedrooms. Times are different and people flock to Disney. Space Mountain is still a 90 minute wait. Disney was a republican back when they were somewhat sane which had nothing to do with the story though.
gopiscrap
(23,768 posts)All republicans are shit to me!
Kablooie
(18,648 posts)You had to buy a ticket book of A to E tickets to ride on anything. That raised the price considerably. Today the entry fee includes entrance to all attractions and you can ride on ithem as many times as you want.
When I was a kid my parents would occasioonally go to Disneyland together and buy just entry tickets for the evening because big bands played there like Duke Ellington and Harry James. It was a very cheap way for them to see these top notch performers.
That being said, Disneyland is terribly expensive today even so.
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)Pretty sure a compliment of ride tickets (they had various 'books' with different numbers of the A-E tickets) would cost somewhere in the $15-25 range circa 1971, which is right about when I first went to Disneyland.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,466 posts)That's how i remembered it too, although i was only at Disneyworld once with the family. Spent a lot more days at Disneyland in SoCal. Went there 4 different times and i remembered the A to E tickets and being 13 and having all the A tickets left because the Dumbo ride and Teacups didn't do much for me.
I also recall, but could be wrong, that the Monorail was actually a ride that required burning a ticket at one time. Sound familiar?
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)So maybe it is visitors from other countries filling the parks, but I tell you a ton of Americans are going too. If you are a family of 4 and go for a week, you can get some good deals if you look around.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)onenote
(42,885 posts)are all upper class folks?
That's nonsense. Spend some time in the airport in Orlando watching the families leaving with armloads of Disney stuffed animals and other stuff -- they're not richie rich's.
Is it expensive? Yes. Are there packages and deals to be had? Yes. Has the middle class been priced out of going there? Apparently not since they still come in droves.
MADem
(135,425 posts)They make plenty from the wealthy, and from foreigners--but it's insanely expensive for a family of two parents and three or four kids. Just not a good vacation value, anymore.
When they fired the workers and replaced them with overseas contract help, that moved me from the "don't care" club to the "actively discourage Disney vacations" outfit.
I honestly don't think that old racist reprobate Walt would have approved of this--even he had some standards.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)But it certainly can be affordable for an average family. $3400 for two adults and three kids (6 nights, 7 days), including resort, tickets and meals is very affordable.
I don't agree with what they did with the H-1B visas either, in fact I think it was probably a violation of the law for which they should be held accountable. But if you think they're only making money off of the wealthy and foreigners, you're not living in the real world.
MADem
(135,425 posts)We did historical stuff instead--went to Saint Augustine, toured Flagler College for the interesting architecture, and saw a few other historical sights. Spent a lot of time swimming and sunning, too.
Sorry--this is just OBSCENE...and it's not a good bang for the buck. I'd rather take the money and go to Jamaica or Puerto Rico.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tickets/
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)But we never go for less than 7 days, so the per day cost drops considerably.
With my daughters both in college now, trips have been cut back considerably, but we'll make a trip next year to celebrate oldest daughter's graduation, and a trip two years later to celebrate youngest daughter's graduation.
Disney World used to be the annual trip that all four of us took together, then for a couple of years after the divorce, it was the dad and daughters trip. Since my daughters entered high school, it's all four of us again; my ex-wife shares a room with one daughter, I share with the other daughter, and we split all of the expenses.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I think more than two days, three tops, and I'd go nuts. I guess I don't get as much of a kick out of rides as I used to...!
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)But it is what it is. My ex-wife is a great person, and we made two great kids together. We weren't necessarily good together as a married couple, but we're great together as parents, so we focus on that. We both figured that we're always going to be connected by our daughters...there will be graduations, weddings, grandchildren, etc., so we decided that we needed to be able to stay connected on our own terms as well.
One of the reasons we stay for a week is because we do much more than the parks...no more open to close for us. We go for a few hours in the morning, then back to the hotel for pool time, or mini-golf, or just playing cards together in the lobby or at the pool. Then we go back to the park after dinner.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It does sound like the set-up for one of those LIFETIME movies, though!
The "happy ending" ones, where the divorced couple reunites... not the ones where some poor woman gets stalked by a creepy guy who starts out almost too good to be true!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)And Flagler College has a beautiful campus.
MADem
(135,425 posts)The price was right, too!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)Some families will stretch their budget because they want to please their kids or they buy into the whole Disney image. But that's a significant expense for most families, no matter what way you cut it.
That $3,400 doesn't even include travel expenses. It just covers lodging, park admission and food plans in the park. So that means if a family has to fly there, you have to figure in airplane tickets for that family of 5 (average fare is $385 round trip per person, so that's an extra $1,925).
Or if you go by car, it means gas--if you're more than 300 miles from Orlando or Anaheim that's at least one tank of gas, and average price of gas being $2.80 with a 15 gallon tank means $42 a tank. Plus you have to figure in things such as food and lodging on the way down (assuming you are more than 6-8 hours away from a park and don't have a friend or relative to stay with on the way.) And that's if you drive your own car and don't rent one.
I just planned out my vacation for my family (me, wife and two kids). Eight day trip. We're driving from Florida to Atlanta and staying several days in Atlanta, and also staying a few days in Florida and seeing some attractions there. We're renting a car so not to put additional miles on our own car. The hotels I booked were all Marriott brand lodging, so they're all decent places to stay. And we have the Atlanta city pass which gives us flat rate admission to the Atlanta aquarium, zoo, natural history museum, and several other area attractions. I added up the raw cost (car, gas, hotels, food and attractions) and estimated it to be a little over $1,700, or half what it costs for a week at Disney not counting travel expenses. (Mind you I do have credit card points and some gift cards that will decrease that raw cost significantly).
But basically that's a $1,700 premium to turn what I think should be a fun vacation into a Disney one for that same amount of time. That's just not worth it.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Salary for majority of Americans is not that bad.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)That is the average wage today.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)At least in 2011, although I seriously doubt that amount has doubled in the past four years.
ohnoyoudidnt
(1,858 posts)Which can give a false perception of working class income because it is distorted by highest incomes like the 1%. But it is nowhere near the average wage or even median household income.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)$3400 (more likely closer to $5,000 if you include getting there) is not "affordable."
liberal N proud
(60,352 posts)1. It is more expensive to go for one day, the more days you go, the cheaper the park price and if you are staying on property, the deals start to make it more affordable.
2. They charge more for Magic Kingdom park than all the others because of it's popularity.
A family of 4 staying on property for 5 days will get you in all the parks with 2 meals a day for around $3000 not including transportation and other junk. Price a similar experience elsewhere.
As long as they keep filling the parks, they can set a high price. We were just after Christmas this last year and one of the days, they closed Magic Kingdom mid-day due to crowding.
MADem
(135,425 posts)You still have to house and feed the rugrats, and there's always souvenirs, never mind getting there, which, if you're not rich, means trying to do it by motor car, and gas and time enroute (how much vacation can two working parents cobble together--and get it at the same time?) .... it's difficult. It's expensive. That's why a lot of folks will take the cheap-o Six Flags option, or wait for the county fair to fire up, or the cheesy carnival with the rides operated by child molesters.
It's a haves/have nots situation. It's entertainment for the upper echelons.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Disney is affordable but not to everyone. Heck the beach is not affordable to everyone.
MADem
(135,425 posts)The tuition is too damn high....and the park entrance fees are, too!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)If not free, most beaches only cost a few dollars to park at.
Getting a hotel on the beach is another matter.
sofa king
(10,857 posts)I'd have to starve myself one day a week for nine months to come up with the price of admission. I'd also have to give up the Internet because I already starve myself for that.
Of course, I haven't been part of the middle class for a decade, and it's abundantly clear that I don't count in anyone's calculations.
Too bad there's not 40 million others just like me, maybe someone would listen....
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)We just don't talk about them because they'd by too inconvenient for someone's narrative. (I too had to laugh about $3400 being affordable.) That's why I invested in camping gear 40 years ago. Has given me thousands of hours of pleasure and I know where all the free camping spots are in the Sierra so all I need is a 1/2 tank of gas and I can almost always afford that.
GoneOffShore
(17,346 posts)(And yes, I know it hasn't been open that long, so no jumping on me for that. Okay?)
It, like Las Vegas, is for folks with particular tastes.
I don't share those tastes.
I also have a huge distaste for the tactics of the Disney Corp when it comes to their policies in building parks, among other things. Also always found "Uncle Walt" to be pretty creepy. He was a business genius, but ruthless and by all accounts, mean.
Anyone who loves Disney is going to continue to love Disney. And will continue to contribute to their bottom line.
From Carl Hiassen's 1998 book, "Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World"
TEAM RODENT
How Disney Devours America
"Revulsion is good. Revulsion is healthy. Each of us has limits, unarticulated boundaries of taste and tolerance, and sometimes we forget where they are. Peep Land is here to remind us; a fixed compass point by which we can govern our private behavior. Because being grossed out is essential to the human experience; without a perceived depravity, we'd have nothing against which to gauge the advance or decline of culture; our art, our music, our cinema, our books. Without sleaze, the yardstick shrinks at both ends. Team Rodent doesn't believe in sleaze, however, nor in old-fashioned revulsion. Square in the middle is where it wants us all to be, dependable consumers with predictable attitudes. The message, never stated but avuncularly implied, is that America's values ought to reflect those of the Walt Disney Company, and not the other way around."
I bolded the text, because it was correct then and still is.
http://smile.amazon.com/Team-Rodent-Disney-Devours-World/dp/0345422805/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2096965862?ie=UTF8&%252AVersion%252A=1&%252Aentries%252A=0
daleanime
(17,796 posts)azurnoir
(45,850 posts)Nazi propaganda film maker Leni Riefenstah to Hollywood
I've also read that the Disney archives largely sugarcoat this
Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)Although it is up to debate:
https://skeptoid.com/blog/2013/07/04/was-walt-disney-an-anti-semite
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)after Kristallnacht [1938], she approached every studio in Hollywood looking for work. No studio head would even screen her movies except Walt Disney. He told her he admired her work but if it became known that he was considering hiring her, it would damage his reputation.
There were other damning accusations about Walt Disney. He was accused by senior animator Art Babbitt of a relationship with Fritz Kuhn leader of the German American Bund. Babbitt was at Disney studios from 1933-1951. Mr. Babbitt notably created one of Disneys most enduring characters Goofy. He claimed that Disney had outright sympathy for Kuhn. Babbitt made other accusations about Disney and Disneys lawyer. He claimed that they attended several German American Bund meetings. Mr Babbitt specifically stated that he had seen Walt and his attorney attend a meeting.
In the immediate years before we entered the War there was a small, but fiercely loyal, I suppose legal, following of the Nazi party . . . There were open meetings, anybody could attend and I wanted to see what was going on myself. On more than one occasion I observed Walt Disney and [Disneys lawyer] Gunther Lessing there, along with a lot of prominent Nazi-afflicted Hollywood personalities. Disney was going to meetings all the time.
Walt also had a well documented association with a known anti-Semitic group the MPAPI. Mr. Disney was a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals until the 1950s. The MPAPAI was an anti-communist, anti-fascist, and Anti-Semitic organization.
Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)Walt was a true film innovator. Olympia was truly a revolutionary film from a filmmakers perspective. Olympia contained many advanced motion picture techniques, which later became industry standards. Now common and even dated to some extent they were groundbreaking at the time. Riefenstahl used unusual camera angles, smash cuts, extreme close-ups, placing tracking shot rails within the bleachers, and the like. Does a apolitical business man, trying to build his business, spend his very valuable time to have a chat with a minor Nazi figure? Only one visit? Taking time to endorse his silent support for the Nazi Party? No, I do no think so. There is a more plausible explanation that fits the evidence. He met with another filmmaker who was innovative. Probably primarily to develop/steal those techniques for his own pictures. In addition he was probably currying favor for German marketing and distribution of his films. Others have stated that if not for her associations, Riefenstahl may have been recognized as one of the most innovative filmmakers of the time.
In my opinion, I find Riefenstahls quote about Disney apocryphal and inconsequential. She outlived Disney by more than 30 years and these statements came well after his death. Obviously it is easy to make claims without the possibility of denial. Especially when you are trying to foster a sympathetic version of events. Riefenstahl had ample opportunity to make these statements before his death yet she didnt. After World War II Riefenstahl persistently tried to paint herself as a victim of American discrimination. She steadfastly deflected/denied her impact on the death of millions.
There is independent evidence that Walt was completely naive to her influence on the German propaganda. Witnesses attest that Disney had no significant idea of her strong Nazi associations.
In 2006 Disney biographer Neal Gabler also claims in regards to Riefenstahls visit, the invitation was suggested to Disney by Jay Stowitts and that although Walt knew who Riefenstahl was, he didnt know exactly what she represented in terms of politics, as he had no particular political leaning during the 1930s.
Overall I find this claim of ignorance to fit the available facts. Given the time frame (pre-war), plus all German film makers had to be in the Nazi party at the time, making her associations less distinctive to Disney. If you were not in the Nazi party you did not make films in Germany in the late Pre-War era. There were only three people in Germany that could approve foreign films for showing in Germany at that time, Leni Riefenstahl, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, and Adolph Hitler. Riefenstahl was the only German filmmaker who produced films without Nazi party oversight (due to Hitlers direct support). Overall it very plausible that Walt was not as concerned with her political associations.
If you start off with the null hypothesis We do not know if Walt was Antisemitic or not Riefenstahl is not very compelling evidence.
Next bit of evidence involves a Jewish eyewitness. He claimed to have seen Disney and his attorney attending a German American Bund meeting several times. Although a compelling claim, the source of this evidence does pose several red flags. Mr Babbitt was the lead animator at Disney in 1938-1939. In 1941 Babbitt was one of the key organizers of the Cartoonist strike for better working conditions. It was a fairly acrimonious dispute and Walt felt personally wronged that Babbitt was a leader. Disney felt that Babbitt made an excellent living with Disney during the great depression. He was very angry that Babbitt had betrayed him. Worse, Disney was forced to rehire Babbitt at the end of the strike. Witness at the time indicated that they hated each other from that time forward. In the end Babbitt was fired, sued Disney, and won a large settlement in the supreme court. From 1938-1941 he continued to work for Disney.
Another red flag is the time frame. Babbitt made the anti-Semitic accusations decades after all the court cases and acrimony. At the time he had no problem working for a man that he observed attending German Bund meetings. Plus after he was fired no one would have blamed him for walking around and saying some form of Walt Disney is a Nazi and I have proof. Yet he did not do that. He waited until almost 20 years after both Disneys and the Attorneys death to give this quote to the author of a book. There are no other supporting witnesses. So it is Babbitts word against that of a dead man. Even more suspicious was the format for disclosing this information. The quote was never given in a public forum. It originates from a book, Walt Disney: Hollywoods Dark Prince, by Marc Eliot (Birch Lane Press, July 1993). Clearly a book attempting to paint a compelling agenda for publication.
I find the whole scenario problematic at best. Would Babbitt be anywhere near a German Bund meeting? If he did check it out, what are the odds that it was a on a night that included a visit from Walt Disney. If Walt attended many meetings, where are the other witnesses? Even if you accept the quote as fact, it suggestive but not proof of antisemitism. There may be many reasons why Disney and his Attorney were there. We just dont know what really happened.
On a personal note, I found the inclusion of the attorney to be suspicious given the legal battles Babbitt and Disney had fought. Not evidence of innocence. Just very telling in my opinion.
Disneys membership in MPAPAI is by far the most well documented Anti-Semitic indiscretion. There is no question that he was a member. There is no question that MPAPAI had rabidly anti-Semitic members and leanings. Disney tried to distance himself from the organization in the 1950s after McCarthyism and anti-communist Blacklisting of the MPAPAI became public knowledge. Does that make Disney guilty of sharing the associations anti-Semitic views? Guilt by association? Maybe. He was later ashamed of being associated with the groups antisemitic leaders as well as the blacklisting. This evidence is not open to opinion.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)for me, also I've never watched Saving Mr Banks
appalachiablue
(41,221 posts)very exclusive to white, Xian, straight youths- like from the 50s. So they went to work for 'Pizza Rut' instead and had some hilarious times.
Re price increases for admission, when a corporation pays their last chief exec/CEO Michael Eisner $1.4 Billion between 1993-2013, how else can they get by, except to lay off experienced domestic employees for much cheaper foreign guest workers, and raise costs for US families? Geesh...(sarcasm).
arikara
(5,562 posts)The disney kids who make it big all seem to turn out very messed up.
appalachiablue
(41,221 posts)the poor kid movie stars in the 1930s. Not liking Miami, my brother went on to college in DC and settled in NY where he worked in the music industry and founded a national magazine for current issues. He was a wonderful young man, brother, relative and friend to all.
MADem
(135,425 posts)it opened! The one in Orlando came much later, of course...! FWIW, I agree with your observations!
"Team Rodent"---how apropos!!!!
You can get a gander at Saint Ronnie of Reagan in this video....gaaah...
MattSh
(3,714 posts)The real world is a whole lot better. Yeah, travel is often more expensive, but you generally come back a better person and a lot more relaxed too. Neither will happen after a couple of days at Disney.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...but should make one think of this:
...one of the scummiest *corporations* out there.
Kablooie
(18,648 posts)In general they treat their employees pretty well, have always taken environmentalism seriously and have been on the forefront of equal rights for gays.
I agree the outsourcing of computer jobs sounds pretty bad so they certainly aren't perfect but on the whole they are better than a lot of other companies.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...in the name of profit.
Kablooie
(18,648 posts)SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)Once in the park, everyone is treated the same, AFAIK.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)I'm damned sick and tired of researching for others.
IT'S fucking out there...
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)As you're unwilling or unable to back up a claim that you made, then I'll just assume that the claim is false.
Response to SickOfTheOnePct (Reply #88)
Post removed
Yupster
(14,308 posts)They pay a dividend of less than two percent. They pay out way less than half their profits as dividends.
If you don't need the cash you've done really well though as its stock price has more than doubled in just a few years and quadrupled in just a few years more.
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)But they do not treat their employees very well at all. Not even those in the transportation union.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)So I'll dispute your claim that they somehow take environmentalism seriously. Especially since the place was built via a covert, secretive land grab.
PatrickforO
(14,608 posts)We're seeing this with Uber Cab too. Oh, you want a ride home RIGHT NOW??? That'll be $650!
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)Bad Thoughts
(2,541 posts)I don't know how many would be needed for a family, but there were costs beyond general admission that are not present today.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...and the "books of tickets" nearly bankrupted Mom.
The first POP (pay one price) amusement park I went to was Hersheypark (followed by Roseland Park in Canandaigua, NY). The POP price made amusement parks afforable, where the "ticket books" were designed to be for increased profits, and decreased accessibility to the park by lower-income families.
BumRushDaShow
(130,143 posts)and they were still building parts of it. Remember the books or strips of tickets bit. That was a year after they opened Great Adventure in Jersey (that we also went to literally a month after it opened, where an admission that included driving through the Safari Park, was something like $27 in 1974).
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)"The POP price made amusement parks afforable, where the "ticket books" were designed to be for increased profits, and decreased accessibility to the park by lower-income families."
If you used to be able to get into the park for a low price (as long as you didn't ride many rides) but now you have to pay a much higher price just to walk in (though you can ride as much as the lines allow), seems to me that POP is what decreases "accessibility to the park by lower-income families".
IOW while a PoP system may've made 'riding lots of rides in a day' more affordable/accessible, it made 'attending the park itself' ... much less so.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)It meant more fun and less profit for the corporations.
Yeah, I'm an unrepentant socialist.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)As in, comparing some experience to the really good rides at Disney.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,719 posts)The last time I was in Disney World was 1982 and I had the opportunity to get free passes a couple of times.
mn9driver
(4,431 posts)Some families are unquestionably being priced out, but Disney still sells as many tickets as the parks can handle. They will continue to raise prices until demand starts to slacken.
dembotoz
(16,866 posts)HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts)Makes no business sense to lower prices if your planes are still full.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)neverforget
(9,437 posts)Once was enough.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)neverforget
(9,437 posts)her mom. Over priced, tacky and way too many people for my liking.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)I asked the mom: Did you have a good time? Her reply: Not for what it cost and not for the joy of standing in lines that were out of sight.
Yuck!
wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)one is thanksgiving
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)Adrahil
(13,340 posts)My family amd i really enjoy WDW. Cheap? Nope. In fact, very expensive. But it's great fun if you like that sprt of thing. We're doing a trip there next month.
All you curmudgeons can do something else! Maybe it wont be so crowded!
pstokely
(10,541 posts)nt
kimbutgar
(21,290 posts)It took them 6 months to pay off their credit card for that trip. They wanted their kids to experience Disneyland like they did as children and were willing to take on the debt.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)nt
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Always smells so strongly of weed you can get a contact high.
GoneOffShore
(17,346 posts)Probably because that's the only way to get out of the experience with one's sanity.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)ellisonz
(27,711 posts)cstanleytech
(26,368 posts)though when I was little it might have been nice to go, now with my mom dying last June it like much in this world just doesnt matter.
A Little Weird
(1,754 posts)The loss of a parent is one of the hardest things to deal with.
Auggie
(31,252 posts)Last edited Sat Jun 13, 2015, 03:28 PM - Edit history (1)
Middle Class won't spend the same on food and souvenirs so why cater to them? It only makes the lines longer. Better to price the riff-raff out and attract the bigger money.
OhWiseOne
(74 posts)If there is a limited capacity (and there is before the lines are just too long) wouldn't any businessman do the same. A simple supply and demand factor. If the price gets high enough to really discourage demand then it will drop. Until them they should charge what the market will support. This is not a charity. If you need charity find one of those.
inanna
(3,547 posts)Was this necessary? I mean, really?
Welcome to DU.
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)And even then admission was $65.00, and don't forget the $20.00 parking. Cha Ching!!!
Historic NY
(37,463 posts)I'm DVC and even we look for savings. Ck out various FB groups... ordering food from the green grocer for you family cuts out food costs and its delivered to your room. There are even dining discount cards which might prove a better fit than expensive dining plans with 20% discounts (including liquor).
http://dvcrentalstore.com/ is one example of booking an on property family vacation for a fraction of the costs.
There are plenty of specials going around from lodging to free meal plans.
Fritz Walter
(4,292 posts)I've been a DVC member for a while and happily treat family and friends to visits to Wally World (or Mauschwitz, if you pay notice to some former cast members). It makes affordable a vacation that they'd otherwise be unable to handle financially.
Along the way, I've found ways to entertain myself and others in central Florida without setting foot in a theme park, something I highly recommend!
When I bought into DVC in 2000, I'd heard from a cast member that the typical family of four who stays "on property" spent $1,000 for a week of fun in the sun, excluding transportation there and back again. I can just imagine what that would cost now. It's no secret that many (most) "middle class" families who visit WDW max out their credit cards in the process. But then, there are plenty of other places -- including Unversal Stupidos -- that are more than happy to take your money. And the availability of easy credit should be attributed to banks and other card issuers (don't get me started).
Personally, I prefer the Disney cruise line as one venue for my escape from reality. I also have family in other parts of the world whom I can visit and vice versa. And yes, I know what cruise ships do to the environment, but they're not going away any time soon either, are they?
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)We always wanted to buy into DVC, but figured we didn't have the money. Once the daughters are out of school, I'll have the money, but question whether or not it would be worth at my age. Maybe when there are grandchildren LOL.
We used to go every year...would buy annual passes, then get two trips out of them. With the APs, I was always able to get room discounts and buy a dining card that got me 20% savings on sit down meals (and counter service at the resort we stayed at).
It's certainly possible for middle class families to visit Disney.
Historic NY
(37,463 posts)with a niece. With the points alone we have ended up spending 5 weeks there. Heading for the food & wine festival in
Sept. along with Halloween horror nights at Universal. We have a group of friends going so were all getting together.
I like to wander around and we use this as a base for travel. We going to try Tables in Wonderland discount card this time.
It just seems that it will be less that the dining plan...after all the food sampling & wine.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)I think it was called Disney Dining Experience? Anyway, we liked it better than the dining plan; we got the dining plan one time, and it felt like we were always counting credits, and really ate more, trying to get our money's worth. Since we always stayed at a moderate that didn't have a sit-down restaurant, the 20% was good at the food court. That's where we normally ate breakfast, so it was well worth it to us.
MineralMan
(146,357 posts)for a drive down the brand new Golden State Freeway (I-5) freeway to a new place called Disneyland in Anaheim. A book of ride tickets, plus park admission cost about $5, with only three coupons for the desirable C-Ticket rides.
$5. But that was 1955. At the time, my father was earning about $2.50 an hour as an auto mechanic. $5 was a lot of money then, but my parents bought ticket books for their three kids, and just a park admission for themselves. I'm guessing that $5 in 1955 was worth more than $100 is in 2015. Truly.
Disney theme parks are not daily visit sorts of places. They're a rare treat that parents enjoy giving their children. Back then, we could drive there, do the park in a day, and drive right back home. Had we stayed in a hotel, the cost of the rooms would have been equivalent in 1955 to what people pay today. Meals, too, had pretty equivalent prices in 1955 dollars to the cost today.
People take their families to theme parks. It's expensive now. It was expensive in 1955, too. The whole family never went to Disneyland again. I went, while in high school, after I had a job and could pay my own way. It was a rare treat back then. It still is.
GReedDiamond
(5,321 posts)...would be in 1955.
$5.00 would be $44.14 in 2015.
Inflation Calculator, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Not $100, but not an insignificant amount.
I went to Disneyland in 1967, as part of a summer trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
I was 12, probably a good age to go - not too young, but not too old.
My favorite "ride" was the one where Monsanto shrunk you down to microscopic size so you could experience the world from that perspective.
On edit: The Monsanto ride is long gone, and I am no fan of them.
When I moved to L.A. in the mid 70s, the ride was still there, and that was one of the rides on which we'd smoke weed.
MineralMan
(146,357 posts)It still amounted to a hefty expense for my parents, though.
My favorite ride that year was the Autopia ride. I was just tall enough to drive the little cars myself. Whee!
GReedDiamond
(5,321 posts)MineralMan
(146,357 posts)The Jungle Boat and the Canoes were others I liked. There was a lot to like at Disneyland for a kid. I even got to play in a Dixieland band there one time with a group from my high school. That was really cool.
GReedDiamond
(5,321 posts)...which was probably 18-20 years ago.
Another thing I recall, though I wasn't there, was when a band of Yippies took over Tom Sawyer's Island, and raised a Viet Cong flag over the attraction.
I think that was the first time Disneyland was abruptly shut down, so the Authorities could rout out the Yippies - early 70s Viet Nam War era.
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)I loved the shrinking ride. Sorry to hear it was Monsanto. Sorry to hear the Captain Nemo sub is gone. Also loved the trip to Mars, house of the future on the rotating stage, barbershop quartet on a bicycle. I was too small too drive the cars.
Hubby and I had many good times by arriving early enough to be first in line for the Blue Bayou restaurant, then waving at the people riding by in boats as we brunched. Then we'd see shows and go on the rides with short lines.
I can't help thinking that the prices must have been low by historical standards at that time - we're doing OK, but I can't picture paying $100 each, plus gas, parking, and food, as often and casually as we used to.
And, yeah, I'm not crazy about the Disney empire. This perpetual copyright is not what the founding fathers had in mind. To mention just one issue.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)Universal is right behind Disney. Nearly $100 to go in their parks.
Other competitors are not far behind. They are raising prices too.
And attendance is STILL hitting record numbers at these places. They will keep going up and and up until people stop going.
Hulk
(6,699 posts)I think we visited in 1988, and it was a trip that took a big chunk out of our middle class life savings. We had four kids then; 6, 9, 11 and 13. It was perfect. We had a hotel across the street from the Disney Hotel, and we had a wonderful time. I feel for the families today that try to make that trip with the same incomes, the same expenses, and the same dreams.
The fact that Disney is hiring H1B's and replacing American youth is disgusting, but not a bit surprising. A "corporation". Disgusting.
Logical
(22,457 posts)olddots
(10,237 posts)I shit you not .
No theme parks were ever cheap but now they are predatory .
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,798 posts)Yes... the rack rate price at the Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Grand Californian are high, but not dissimilar to prices charged at major downtown hotels (Hilton, Marriott, Doubletree). However, the "Good Neighbor" hotels across the street (e.g. The Annabella, the Fairfield, etc.) charge far more reasonable rates. Even Disney's Paradise Pier, whcih isn't cheap, is less than what you are quoting.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)that was horrible! Disney Hotels are too expensive for us.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)which is also very expensive. It's fun but it does cost a lot.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)has an inside water park for the price of the hotel room.
GoneOffShore
(17,346 posts)And made a documentary about it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372612/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Unfortunately he hasn't maintained the website he put up about it - though there is still some stuff there - http://www.willfulinfringement.com
William769
(55,151 posts)It's not just Disney World.
I won't even bother commenting on the rest of the story (accuracy is not their strong point).
And yes I still visit both parks.
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,798 posts)Usually, it's along the line of "Buy a 2-day pass - get the rest of the year for no additional price."
GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)it is not so much that prices are high -- wages have not kept pace.
SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)Prices are are high to regular people because regular people's wages have not even REMOTELY reflected productivity increases. In other words, we're being robbed blind. Or it's all being Hoovered upwards. Whichever way of putting it you prefer.
Warpy
(111,480 posts)when my dad's profanity over Eisner's greed got almost poetic (he was a champion cusser). It's obvious they've decided to hell with people here, they're going for the biggest bucks from the richest international tourists, who will be treated to much shorter lines at all the attractions with all the locals priced out.
They've always had a few high end hotels and restaurants for the VIPs who were nagged into bringing the kids to see Mickey Mouse instead of another private villa in Bali or Greece. Up pricing even the cattle class rooms beyond what Americans can pay is new.
wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)I first went there when my kids were 6 and 4. We waited until they were past naps and what troopers they were. To this day it is the greatest vacation I have ever had. The last time maybe 3-4 years ago and we splurged and stayed at Boardwalk. My kids are now out of college. We cut down our stay by a day to stay at Boardwalk. It was thanksgiving at that is one of the best times to go. The park is very accessible. We were told that by the people there.
We are close enough to drive(Atlanta)so that helps in expenses.
It does include everything in your ticket. I would always recommend staying on premises. We always stayed at the moderate priced hotels.
I know you all complain but I love it.
I think the service is top notch. It is clean and magical for young people. My kids will never forget the first time they met Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and the parade at night.
MAGICAL
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,798 posts)Camelback
(27 posts)More folks will be able to afford it.
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,798 posts)For example:
When Walt Disney World opened in an Orlando swamp in 1971, with its penny arcade and marching-band parade down Main Street U.S.A., admission for an adult cost $3.50, about as much then as three gallons of milk.
What that DOES NOT tell you is that all the $3.50 did was to get you in; actually riding rides required the purchase of books with "A, B, C, D, and E" tickets that got you one onto various rides.
A visitor to Disney's central Florida fantasyland can now dine on a $115 steak, enjoy a $53-per-plate dessert party and sleep in a bungalow overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon starting at $2,100 a night.
Yes, but you can also dine on $8 burgers or share $7 turkey legs. You can stay at a variety of on-site lodging for Under $200 a night, and stay "off property" often for under $75. One can do Disney on a variety of budgets.
Disney has raised the gate price for the Magic Kingdom 41 times since, nearly doubling it over the past decade. This year, a ticket inside the most magical place on Earth rocketed past $100 for the first time in history.
This is the 20% that is true. One day/one park in-summer prices are skyrocketing. What they don't say is that most people don't buy tickets that way any more. They either get length of stay passes as part of a travel package, or buy annual or "Florida Resident" passes that are good for multiple visits throughout the year. It's supply and demand (and demand was way down a lot in the past 15 years -- both right after 9-11 and between 2009-2011) and Disney profit-taking and paying for new attractions.
It's like going on cruises or hunting trips or National Park vacations: if a family has two breadwinners, and decides to make it a prority, it's affordable. Most families I know can do a 5-day vacation with tickets and staying at a Disney hotel for about $2,500 - $3,000 + whatever it costs to drive or fly to/from Orlando. YMMV.
barbtries
(28,824 posts)since i took my kids and we spent the day standing in lines and paying a fortune, $300, for the pleasure. never again. i guess that day today would run to $1,000.
nope, never again.
Phentex
(16,334 posts)I went as a kid with school groups at least every couple of years. We even went to Grad Night when I was a senior. It was all paid for by fundraisers throughout the year.
I think I went back once with friends after college and then I never went back. We never took our kids and I just don't feel we've missed out on anything. We have Six Flags Over Georgia close by now so I figure that's enough amusement stuff for them.
Meanwhile, one of my best friends loves Disney and takes her family every year. They absolutely love it and I can't imagine how much they spend since they always stay on site. To each his own I guess.
Takket
(21,729 posts)they point out Disney is expensive by quoting the prices of the most expensive meals and hotel rooms on property? very misleading. That's like saying its costs thousands of dollars to take your family to a baseball game by quoting the price of catered luxury box that seats 20.
Disney's all star hotels cost less per night then most hotels you find off a highway exit in the middle of nowhere, and feature complimentary transportation so you don't even need to rent a car. and it doesn't cost $100 per day for admission. the average daily price goes down with each additional day's ticket you buy.
yes the average admission price (in comparison to a gallon of milk) has gone up, but since the magic kingdom opened in 1971 it has expanded, and Disney has added not 1, not 2, but 3 additional theme parks, and while I'm sure Disney wishes they did, the people that work in those parks don't do so for free, nor does the electric company give them free lightning and A/C. In other words it costs them a LOT more per day to open the parks in 2015 then it did in 1971.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Not at the parks. She worked on IT in some capacity. Anyway, this woman baecame seriously ill a while ago. She'd be absend for weeks, sometimes months, and they didn't fire her.
Her conditions is stabilized now, an she is still working there
Rod Beauvex
(564 posts)Just redefine millionaires as middle class.
All the politicians already do it.
U4ikLefty
(4,012 posts)They make big $$$ but don't pay their fair share in property tax, from what I understand.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)in order to terraform Mars into Disney Planet
brooklynite
(95,070 posts)...maybe someone should tell them?
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)We lived in Houston. Six Flags was in Arlington. Arlington, near Dallas, might as well have been the other side of the moon for all the good it did me. It was 250 miles away. And I heard excuses like "You're not old enough to remember it." Six Flags was the nearest large amusement park. This was before Astroworld in Houston was built. I guess six hours of driving was too much for the parents to deal with. Texas is big and they should have realized that you have to drive a lot.
We went to see my grumpy controlling grandparents and my mom had the nerve to call it a vacation. I told her that being around grumpy old people who said we couldn't run through the house, couldn't play our rock 'n' roll records, and had nothing to read and nothing to do out in the country, was NOT a vacation by any means. The only magazines were "Reader's Indigestion" (RIGHT WING HORSESHIT YUCK), "Progressive Farmer" (YUCK) and "The Cattleman" (YUCK). My grandmother didn't sit down and read because she had an overactive thyroid and was too hyper to sit down. She thought we were all lazy which led to a lot of antagonism and grief about my family not getting enough sleep because she tried to force us all to get up at 6:30 am and do lots of "farm chores" to feed those "farmhands" that did not exist.
It didn't do me any good to whine. We didn't take vacations because vacations were "frivolous". And also "you are not old enough to remember it". My sister dies in 1990 and what do the parents do a few weeks later? Take me and the grandchild, who is not old enough to remember it, to Disney World in Orlando.
I got real sick of not going anywhere for a vacation and being isolated from other people on a daily basis. My parents were jailers and thought it was a capital offense to go outside and look for other kids to play with. They called that "running off" like it was a sin and chased me down the sidewalk with a bamboo switch in hand. I could run faster than they could.
My parents thought getting on a jet and going somewhere was "frivolous". My sister and I went places on jets when we were grown and were criticized for it. I flew home from college on a jet and my mother said I was "spoiled" and said "you kids don't know what a bus is for". I said "Yeah, and I can fly home with my dirty laundry in 40 minutes, versus 4 hours on a bus. So?" I lived 200 miles away in college. I don't think my folks ever understood the amount of stress I was under in my job. I had to take a vacation and go some place every six months to relieve stress. My sister traveled a lot going to health conferences as part of her work.
Did anyone else have parents who thought vacations were frivolous and only for rich people? We grew up in a blue-collar town.
Freddie
(9,283 posts)My dad was a teacher (all summer off!) but since teachers were paid utter crap back then (Mom didn't work until later) our vacation was a week at the grandparents'. Luckily I adored them both and there were cousins nearby when we got bored.
Here I am now with grandkids of my own and still can't afford a "proper" vacation. Never been to Disney World and probably never will be. Actually if I ever do travel that's the last place I'd go, my dream is to go to England someday.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)I wonder about the reasons people had for not going on vacations. Lack of money, deliberate isolation, fear of the unknown, thinking vacations were "frivolous" or "for rich people", conflict with relatives on vacations?
My dad argued with my grandmother on a vacation they took in 1957 to Colorado. My first memory is of sitting on a rocking horse at Carlsbad Caverns where they baby sat because the adults wouldn't take me with them down in the cave, because they just couldn't handle having to pick me up and carry me if I couldn't walk the entire two miles.
Because of that conflict, my parents did not take another vacation for 29 years, and finally took a trip on a jet for the first time in 1986. Neither of them had been on a jet before, and neither had been in an airplane since World War II.
My grandparents were pretty bad about being bossy and telling me I was lazy for not doing chores. The grandma made up chores we were supposed to do and cooking we were supposed to do which was unnecessary. My grandmother made up that we had to get up early and start cooking and scurrying around the kitchen. I had an aunt in Ohio that I didn't even meet until the 1980s because my dad refused to talk to her for FIFTY YEARS. That broke my heart.
Nutty relatives. The gift that keeps on giving.....Post Traumatic Stress.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)?
Freddie
(9,283 posts)Went there at least once a summer with friends and my church youth group. It's more "corporate" now but was a great old-fashioned family place when I was a kid in the 70s.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Six Flags is in Arlington. That's 5 hours' drive which is not a big deal in Texas.
Houston to New Orleans is six hours, 350 miles. Houston to San Antonio is 200 miles, four hours.
Houston to Austin is nearly 200 miles, about four hours.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)Last edited Wed Jun 17, 2015, 10:41 PM - Edit history (1)
?
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)However, they emphasized education so much that they gladly paid for symphony tickets and music lessons. They only praised me for being smart and making good grades or musical performances. That was all.
I got two and a half years at a private school and two years at a state university for my bachelor's degree. I got 2 years in at a community college for an associates' degree. I went to night school for five years at a private freestanding law school and paid for most of that myself because I was making enough money at my day job to pay for a J.D. I graduated before the tuition skyrocketed and didn't have any student loans. However, I never was hired for any job on the basis of my law degree, so it didn't help me get any high paying jobs. The good job I had was because of my two-year degree in court reporting.
The bachelor's and the doctorate did nothing but make me "overqualified". It burns me up how this country tosses away its highly educated people. The ones with graduate degrees.
MadDAsHell
(2,067 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,509 posts)You throw that accusation out pretty casually.
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Have them sign over their money first.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)My family really enjoys it. We've been on two trips to WDW over the years, and doing one last one there this summer. It's tremendous fun if you like that kinds thing.
People somehow manage to afford it, I guess. I wouldnt say it's out of reach of Middle Class families, though, as there a LOT of them there.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I can't remember what a 3 day pass cost then, but it was expensive.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,509 posts)Was there for a day which I thought was more than enough time.
QED
(2,755 posts)Team Rodent : How Disney Devours the World
It's an easy read and about how Disney has changed Orlando and the surrounding area by political manipulation and $$$$$.
Mortimer Mouse, oh how you have changed.
http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rodent-Disney-Devours-World/dp/0345422805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434302309&sr=8-1&keywords=team+rodent
Historic NY
(37,463 posts)liberal N proud
(60,352 posts)We have always found Disney to be quite affordable, if you don't do one day visits.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,235 posts)I live in Florida and I managed to avoid it for the first 30 or so years of my life, but when I finally went, I can't see what was so great about the place. It's horrifically overcrowded, the lines are long, and the rides suck compared to other major amusement parks. They are all old and outdated. The place continues to sell itself on a sense of nostalgia and some bogus "Disney magic", and beating you over the head with their movie products (which would be far more enjoyable had Disney not marketed the hell out of them.)
It's sad that some people's idea of a Florida vacation is flying to the Orlando airport, taking a shuttle directly to Disney World, and spending a week there without leaving Disney grounds before taking a shuttle back to the airport and flying home. There are so many places in the area that are so much more worthwhile visiting than Disney.
A few years ago, I saw commercials for Disney advertising "affordable" hotel and park packages. What was "affordable"? Why, $1,700 was "affordable" in the eyes of Disney. No joke.
I've frequently compared Disney World to North Korea, and while I'm being sarcastic, it's not as crazy as it sounds. Think about it. The place has a cult of personality about everything Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. There are constantly parades and celebrations revolving around everything Disney. The people who work in the parks (referred to as "cast members" are forced to put on an unnaturally happy face no matter what (or otherwise face the consequences). They do so with severe restrictions as to what they can wear or how they groom their hair. And they do so all while in certain circumstances being severely underpaid.
As illustration of the Disney World/North Korea common mindset perception, I give to you:
One is North Korea's infamously vacant Ryugyong Hotel. The other is Disney's not vacant Dolphin Resort.
Still don't believe me? Well, there's this:
?w=349&h=219
This is all sarcasm, of course. At least I think it is.....
PersonNumber503602
(1,134 posts)I never understood the appeal of Disney World/Land. Even as a kid I never went with my family when they went there. I for sure couldn't imagine spending $1,700 to go there now. I just hope that if I ever have kids, they'll be little miserable shits like me.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)have a great time!!
They have value hotels, and you can bring your own food in. It's not going to cost us any more than any other vacation we've taken over the past few years.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)she manages to go down there a couple of times a year (we're in the Bay Area), and do music festivals like Coachella, Outside Lands, etc.
Of course, like many twentysomething Latin@s, she lives with la familia, which helps.
whatthehey
(3,660 posts)from taking his wife and two kids there. The place gets busy at times, but tips on $2-2.50 pints aren't going to move him out of the middle clas in a hurry.. He did say it was very busy already even before peak vacation time. Must be a lot more upper class folks who like standing in sweaty lines for hours waiting for brief cramped kitschy rides than I would have thought.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)That's why, when my boys were teens, I would buy them a season pass at 6 Flags.. They used to sell them for about $40.. and it was well worth it..Disneyland tried to price out gangs..without realizing that gang members often have LOTS of money...
My boys were not all that impressed with Disneyland.. They liked Knotts & 6 Flags much better
pstokely
(10,541 posts)how far did they live from 6 flags? Did you just drop them off at the park for daycare?
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)pstokely
(10,541 posts)many parents just buy season passes and use the parks as a day care center, that's what made Six Flags consider selling Magic Mountain
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)They used those passes a LOT
pstokely
(10,541 posts)nt
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)and who was always eager to go as well ..and of course the friends who went with also chipped in..
Ace Rothstein
(3,201 posts)We probably spent as much per day on our NYC trip in April as we will on our Disney trip in September.
randys1
(16,286 posts)around $100 I think.
Prices for everything inside were completely insane and my first thought was how can anyone afford this?
Does a typical lower middle class family have to save for 5 years, never go on a vacation, then take a one time only vacation to Disneyland or wherever?
I think so.
Orrex
(63,297 posts)I feel bad for people who would like to attend but can't afford to do so, but the very notion of it seems nightmarish to me.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)$600 a night for the hotel, $400 a day for park entry fees, between $200 and $500 a day for meals and souveniers, depending on where you eat. And that doesn't include airplane fare to get there and back.
Ace Rothstein
(3,201 posts)It doesn't cost nearly that much to go to Disney, even staying on site.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)and then $100 each person for a park hopper pass each day. Yeah, that's what it costs. You can do food for $200 if you eat deep fried crap but I put that number in my estimate.
Ace Rothstein
(3,201 posts)You can stay at Paradise Pier for half the price as the Grand Californian. And if you go for multiple days, the tickets don't cost $100 per day. Do you really think most of their guests are single day guests?
We're going to Disney World in September for 9 nights with 7 day park tickets and water parks as well at a moderate resort for less than $3600. That includes our food.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)$40 for the whole time, but it's still close to $100 a day per person.
This was at Disneyland, not Disneyworld. I don't know how the prices compare.
Butterbean
(1,014 posts)No staying on site, no eating in sit down restaurants, and we certainly didn't buy our tickets directly from WDW. It's a racket, alright. The first quote I got from a travel agent was $8100, and that was just one room, meal plan and tickets for 5 people for a week. I laughed out loud and hit delete on that email immediately.
We were fortunate to go at a time with little to no wait times, but not everybody is that lucky. I can't imagine dropping so much money to go somewhere and only ride 4 rides because you had to wait 2 hours in the hot sun. No thank you. We decided after that trip last year that once was enough, and we definitely won't be going back. Not worth it.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)We woke up early and went immediately when they opened, and then when it got hot and very busy with huge lines we took a nap, but then the kids were rested and we could stay up until the park closed, and the lines are short at night even on the busiest days. 7-1, nap or rest at pool until 5, then 5-11 or whatever time they close that day.
Butterbean
(1,014 posts)Unofficial Guide?
gollygee
(22,336 posts)but don't remember where specifically.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)And it is well worth the extra cost due to saving time and going on more rides then 4.
Butterbean
(1,014 posts)Because we were able to go at low visitation and had fast passes, all the rides were walk on and no waiting for us. Still, though, a lot of $$ to drop on such an extensive vacation that really, IMO, doesn't live up to the hype unless you have hardcore Disney fans for kids (which I do not). We had fun, but not enough to warrant paying that price (or more) again to go back.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I am not a big fan of Disney but do go often because the family is. It is expensive but si is everything today.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)olddots
(10,237 posts)It was a union shop in a unionized America , along came Ronny and goodbye Happiest Place In The
World .
JI7
(89,290 posts)They would not be able to get as many people if it was only wealthy who went.
And wealthy have more and better options than Disney.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)same reason why they might go to McDonalds or Chucke E Cheese even if they can afford a fancy restaurant with better food
PersonNumber503602
(1,134 posts)I can't load the article, so I don't know if it covered that or not. I'm curious if they are just really marked up regular steak, or if it's some high-end Kobe beef. Based on the excerpt posted, I'm sure the writer is being 100% accurate in his/her writing. I have little doubt the place is overpriced, but a quick search shows there are many far cheaper quality hotels that cost less than the $2,100 one cited. Which makes me wonder if the $115 steak is the most expensive item the writer could find, and is likely some 64oz Kobe steak fed on a diet unicorn tears and fairy wings, and that was tested to have an IQ of delicious. It seems like it would have made more sense if they went with the cost of items that average folks would go for. Then again, I still can't load the page for some reason.
pstokely
(10,541 posts)but then you have transportation to and from the park, transportation is free for hotels inside the park and quick, does this guy think WDW was ever cheap?