Disney’s “Pricing Bubble” Means More and More Families Can’t Visit the Parks

Disney’s high prices are certainly not new information; however, their reality is one that is continuing to hit families hard. Going to the Walt Disney World Resort or the Disneyland Resort has been one of the foremost ways of enjoying a family vacation for decades. From the wonderful rides and attractions at Magic Kingdom Park and Disneyland Park, like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Haunted Mansion, to shows like “Fantasmic!” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park, the Disney Parks have always been wonderful places to enjoy the Disney experience.

Bob “Paycheck” and the “Families from Seattle”

Since former Disney CEO Bob Chapek (known colloquially as “Bob Paycheck”) took the reins, the complaint of Disney pricing out families has been consistent. Even though Chapek constantly talked about making Disney accessible for more Guests, including his famous phrase of “families from Seattle,” many couldn’t see how the decisions that the Walt Disney Company was making were actually making Disney any more accessible.

In fact, if anything, over the last few years, more and more families have reported that Disney’s pricing “bubble” has made it so they can no longer keep with a family tradition of going to Walt Disney World or Disneyland.

Disney Pricing Out Families

Recently, fans took to social media to once again question Disney’s prices. Reddit user and Disney Vacation Club member u/Shatteredreality shared their experience of Disney’s prices, noting historical pricing for Wilderness Lodge, “in 2018 you could get a room in the value season for ~350/night. This year that’s gone up by almost 30% to ~450/night. The most expensive nights (at least for standard “studio” style rooms) are going for almost 1k/night.”

The OP noted that unless there were “huge wage increases,” people wouldn’t be able to afford Disney hotel resorts anymore.

Related: Child “Nearly Trampled” During Disney World Rope Drop: “Magic Kingdom is a Different Beast”

The discussion led to many sharing their thoughts on why Disney’s pricing has increased—the reasons are many—but what was more striking was how many had resigned themselves to the reality Disney was no longer for them.

One shared, “I’ve started seeing the discount emails on select hotels and select days. But honestly, Disney has pretty much already priced my family out for now so I’m not looking at prices as closing anymore. But as other people have mentioned, the parks are still crowded.”

Interestingly, as many noted, the prices haven’t affected Park attendance. Many still can afford to go to the Parks. Despite prices for food, Walt Disney World tickets, and even services like the Disney Genie suite (think Genie+ (Genie Plus) and Lightning Lane), that continue to be expensive for many.

Interesting opinion. How much does your household make before taxes? pic.twitter.com/WIBPycIBH3

— HoiAnHODL (@HoiAnHODL) May 10, 2023

As the user in the tweet above pointed out, the experience is limited to families with a certain income, and if not, families save up for years just to have vacations that can’t always live up to the cost. The user added in a later tweet,

Michelle’s attitude gives Disney a pass. Even Eisner wanted guests of all ages to both come to and stay at Walt Disney World. Are Disney Value resorts still a “Value”? Are the prices at Moderate resorts still “Moderate”? Are Annual Passholders respected or an “Unfavorable Mix”?

Regardless of all these complaints, as many fans noted, it’s unlikely that Disney’s prices will ever go down again (many were hoping Disney would become better once Disney CEO Bob Iger returned to take the mantle); it certainly recalls the question of whether a Disney vacation will ever become that classic all-American vacation it was meant to be for the average American family.