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One thing that Disney theme parks have never been is cheap. Between the cost of the hotel, theme park tickets, meals, and merchandise, the cost adds up very quickly. Many people save up for months or years to be able to afford one trip of a lifetime to a place like the Walt Disney World Resort.
However, for years, guests justified the cost because of the many perks — like the free FastPass system, the Magical Express, and free MagicBands. Plus, the magic experienced at a Disney Resort was unmatched. Other theme parks just couldn’t measure up to what Disney had to offer.
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Related: Once Free Disney World Offerings That Are No More
However, that is not the case anymore.
Over the years, Disney parks have gotten more and more expensive in every way possible. Hotels cost more than ever, the food prices are high, and theme park tickets are a huge expense.
Plus, those free services we mentioned above? No longer there. FastPass has been replaced with the Lightning Lane MultiPass, MagicBands are no longer free for hotel guests, and those guests now have to figure out how to get to Walt Disney World Resort on their own.
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Many guests think that Disney has fallen so far from its former glory, and they are fighting back, letting Disney know just how dissatisfied they are. And Disney is finally being forced to admit that its theme parks have gotten way too expensive.
On August 7, Disney held its earnings call for the third quarter of the fiscal year. During the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston admitted that, once again, attendance was down. However, profits are still high, providing further proof that things at the parks have increased significantly in price.
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Related: Guest Astounded at Astronomical Price of Popular Disney World Hotel
During the call, Johnston admitted that the drop in attendance was due to the fact that most families don’t have the extra income to afford a Disney vacation, and those who do are electing to travel to other places.
“higher costs driven by inflation, increased technology spending and new guest offerings, partially offset by the comparison to depreciation in the prior-year quarter related to the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and cost saving initiatives.”
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As you can see, Johnston blamed inflation for the higher costs, but Disney does NOT have to cost as much as it does. Over the past decade, inflation has caused prices to increase by about 32%. However, the cost of a Disney theme park ticket has increased by 56%. The cost of food is even higher, having increased by 61% over that same period.
Admitting that the price of a Disney vacation is too much is a big deviation from Disney’s explanation for lower crowds last quarter. In May, Disney said that attendance had dropped during the second fiscal quarter, but they blamed it on the post-COVID “travel bug” having died down. But even back then, guests said that it wasn’t COVID; it was because Disney was too pricey.
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Related: Fans Say Disney Has Destroyed Its Own Stock by Ignoring Walt’s Vision
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Disney has any plans to make its theme parks more affordable. But one has to wonder if this will hurt them in the long run. If people don’t think that Disney offers a good value for its high price tag, trust and confidence in the company will drop.
If that goes down, then so does Disney’s stock price — which has been struggling since 2021. And, with Disney executives appearing to only be concerned about satisfying its shareholders, that won’t be something said shareholders appreciate.
Do you think it’s about time Disney lowered its prices? Would lower prices convince people to come back to the theme parks? Let us know in the comments!
YES!!, prices have kept my family away, we used to go 2-3 times a year!!, now only 1 time.
They just keep taking all the free amenities away and its not right.
Yes, the last time I bought tickets was when they were $43 each at aaa and were good for forever. Now I won’t go anymore because that perk was taken away.if the ticket prices dropped back to $ 65. The park would never be empty. They could hire alll the janitors back to clean up that place. The construction crews to build . Bring back the MICKEY MOUSE! Disney is not Disney without Mickey. Disney will fail if it doesn’t listen to the people, the people are the ones paying to keep things going.. right now I can go to cedar point and have the same kind of fun as Disney for 49 dollars and have less lines.. also Disney needs to add more cars to every ride. 4 hr wait for haunted house is horrible add more seats means shorter line., means happier people.
Disney prices have been so high I haven’t been able to go myself with my wife my daughter way to much I even told there staff prices to high no one cared my gut feeling this place like many will go out of business like many other businesses sad but true
The last place I would pay these ridiculous prices for vacation is WOKE DISNEY, they are an absolute disgrace!!!
I am 75 years old. I was around when Walt opened Disneyland fir ALL the children. You have completely lost site of his vision. It is now for the rich!! People save and scrimp and go broke to make their children part off what every child wants. I love Disneyland but I will not go back and give my money to an elitist Company that lost its way. SO SAD!!
My husband 65 and me 61 have been to Disney over 50 times the cost has made it impossible for a large family to enjoy Walts dream.Its sad we just can’t go like we did years ago.We have to save for two to three years now for a two day trip.We live in Georgia so it’s just a short drive but if we lived in Florida we could get season passes cheaper than two days.We love Disney this year may be our last trip because of the cost.
I live in Washington State. I have been going to Disney since 1957 (year I was born) Last Time I went was to WDW in 2022. I will not go back. No Magical Express is a huge hassle. Getting from MCO to an overpriced Disney Hotel. A 5-day trip for the wife an I and a Moderate Resort with Hotel, Airfare and food, No extras is 10K. No tours, no parties, no lightning lanes, no dining plan included on that 10K.
I can book Universal for 5 days with 2 broomsticks and Breakfast every day, pick me up at MCO and take me back, Airfare included and early entry for less than half of that for the same time period.
Compare them yourself and now that Universal has a 3rd, Park. Who needs Disney, with the constantly broke down rides, pay for every add on, Virtual ques, everything has to be woke Change Splash, Pirates, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Country Bears, to appease the woke.
Disney has been in self-destruct mode for some time, Most people think the sooner the better.
ingDisney is not what it used to be. I am going to California at the end of this month, with my family. We are only spending one day at Disneyland.We are all from Southern CA originally. We all live in Arizona. My wife, daughter, her kids, and my son=in-law all grew up in SoCal. We all remember how it used to be. Very, very shameful. Prices have gotten got out of hand. not to mention food and parking. Disney execs need to get back to reality and stop looking at their pocketbooks.