It will be no surprise to many Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort Guests to hear that the Walt Disney Company and Disney Parks have been facing many complaints about high prices — even after former CEO Bob Iger has returned and the much-maligned CEO Bob Chapek has left the role.
One TikTok user and influencer named Summer Reign Henning (@_reignland) has just highlighted how high Disney prices have gone by recording the expenses from a day at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World Resort and sharing the costs on TikTok.
Henning and her three other family members spent almost $4000 in one day on everything from Disney Park tickets to snacks to the controversial add-on to the Disney Genie service that is called Genie+. The total amount cost $3,758, and Henning showed everything that contributed to that cost while calling it “robbery in broad daylight.”
Tickets to the Disney Parks and the service that Henning called “Lightning Lane” (which looks like it was actually Genie+) cost $870, and four Mickey Mouse ear headbands added up to $130. Next up was “a mediocre breakfast at Hollywood & Vine”, which apparently totaled $223.
In Toy Story Land, the family paid $25 for ice cream and $16 for popcorn. Next on the list were lightsabers created at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Three Savi’s Workshop lightsabers came out to a total of $800, and the family paid $40 to have the lightsabers shipped to their home.
The family added to their Star Wars adventures by trying blue milk and green milk for $27.
@summerreignhenning Robbery in broad daylight 😮💨 And we still have 2 more parks to go 🥲 #disneyworld #disneyworld50 #howmuchispendinaday
Lunch at Backlot Express then cost $80, and a funnel cake cost $44. Henning also added that “PhotoPass was an extra $170 for cell phone-quality pictures”, implying some disappointment with the service.
Next up were snacks that cost $25, a Planet Hollywood dinner in Disney Springs that cost $311, and a $997 per night hotel rate. Many Disney fans criticized the family’s spending in this video, pointing out all of the different ways that these high costs could have been avoided, but an overarching theme also seems to be the idea that Disney is being perceived as more and more of a “luxury” spend.
Some Disney Resorts are deliberately trying to price out Guests, in a way, by decreasing their capacity so that the Guests they do have will spend more time in the Disney Parks and spend more money per day. Do you think that this is a solid strategy?
How expensive do you think Disney vacations should be? Would you spend this much on a trip to Disney World?
