'The magic's too expensive': Disney is
'pricing out loyal customers' by targeting
more affluent families with $800 hotel rooms
and $100 sandwiches despite having no
fireworks or parades since COVID
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Melissa Koenig
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
6/20/2021 6:38:52 PM
Disney has been accused of pricing out loyal customers by targeting affluent families with $800 hotel rooms and $100 sandwiches at its theme parks, despite having scaled back its 'magic' since the pandemic began. A family vacation to Disneyland - once the pinnacle of summertime for middle-class American families - will today set a family of four back more than $6,000. With the average annual income now standing at $5,725 a month, this means a visit to the so-called 'happiest place on earth' is increasingly out of reach to the average American family.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
snakeoil 6/20/2021 6:46:59 PM (No. 821693)
I'll never know but what type of sandwich costs $ 100?
55 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 6/20/2021 7:10:50 PM (No. 821704)
I'm all for capitalism. If they want to price themselves out of the market then go right ahead. Eventually most families will rebel against surrendering thousands of dollars for a 3-day vacation with cranky kids, sweltering humidity. and overpriced food.
91 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
padiva 6/20/2021 7:13:13 PM (No. 821706)
The sandwich feeds 6-8 people. It ain't no Whopper. /s
14 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
kono 6/20/2021 7:44:14 PM (No. 821713)
Better get used to it. With the superinflation that's looming, it may soon cost $100 just for the bread.
48 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
jalo1951 6/20/2021 7:47:31 PM (No. 821714)
Not a lover of theme parks. Don't like to wait in line, hate rides, I can live without crowds, heat and humidity, too much sun, too much walking. Rather spend the week in the mountains or by a nice quiet seashore or checking out some of our historical sites. I am not the person Disney is trying to win over. It will never happen. When people ask if I have ever been there I tell them no and I never wanted to go so it is not a problem. They look at me as if I have a horn growing out of my forehead. A lot of people feel like it is a right of passage if you have children. They can charge any amount they want to. Fewer people will go. It's a business decision. For me they are not worth the time or money.
73 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Zeek Wolfe 6/20/2021 7:59:34 PM (No. 821719)
It has been a while, but the last time I was at Disneyland in Anaheim I was bored. This boredom cost me over $500. Never again!
33 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
OK state mom 6/20/2021 8:04:29 PM (No. 821720)
Just a thought - they may not be able to get the help necessary for the large numbers they use to entertain.
22 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Muguy 6/20/2021 8:09:29 PM (No. 821721)
Not a good value for your $$$$
Disney is one of the companies that own a near monopoly on so many thing in media-- they should be making lots of money!
17 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Venturer 6/20/2021 8:50:28 PM (No. 821736)
Disneyland has become a rip-off for a long time now.
I won't be going again.
The ripping starts at the parking lot and never ends.
I was going to a motorcycle rally this weekend until I saw the motel rooms nearby. Ordinarily a room that goes for 86 dollars became 184 dollars because the motorcycles are coming. Next week the mountains will still be there the things they are going to see will still be there and i will be there for less than half price.
28 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
chance_232 6/20/2021 9:04:04 PM (No. 821747)
The last time that I was in Disney World was like 2006. I spent 2 days and one night. That trip cost me close to 500......15 years ago. I havent been back. Nor will I.
20 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
virbots 6/20/2021 9:13:12 PM (No. 821753)
Not a huge fan of Disney these days. But headline alerted my BS detector. You can also get a meal for $12. And a kids' meal for about $5. And confirmed what #3 said. The $100 sandwich basically feeds the whole table.
14 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
scottj 6/20/2021 9:24:05 PM (No. 821758)
Disney went woke. Glad to see them go broke.
33 people like this.
Like many on here, I quit having fun at theme parks when I grew up, for many of the same reasons already mentioned. My folks took us kids to both Disneyland and Disneyworld in the 1970s. I did my duty at smaller regional theme parks when my kids were young. But when my wife wanted a family spring break vacation to Disneyworld 15 years ago, She loves the rides that make my stomach puke. I happily waved as they drove off in the family van. I didn’t want my Debbie Downer attitude to ruin their memories.
14 people like this.
#2 - It's currently all about demand. Even before the shutdown last March, Disneyland was having to close the gates by noon on some days due to park capacity. As for Disney World, I don't see how raising prices keeps them competitive with Universal Studios. Maybe the competition is to see how much money they can suck out customers' pockets?
11 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
cor-vet 6/20/2021 9:36:23 PM (No. 821764)
My kid are 49 and 42 and we did the obligatory disney vaca about 38 years ago. Saw everything I wanted to see then. Disney wasn't woke, my folks were along for assistance and we had a great package deal. Now, I wouldn't miss either park if they disappeared tomorrow.
23 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Omen55 6/20/2021 9:46:59 PM (No. 821771)
Someone should make a move of Walt Disney defrosting back to life & taking revenge on these suits using the rides.
That would be a big hit😎
16 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
lazlototh 6/20/2021 10:31:22 PM (No. 821778)
Someone described DisneyWorld as like standing in line in a sauna and lighting $100 bills on fire. That was my sense of the experience too. You can go to Singapore for 2 weeks for less than a week to Disney World, and Singapore has ALL the control-freak aspects of DisneyWorld with more to eat and little to no wokeness, and it even has theme parks if you want to go - for far less than Disney even if Singapore is way more expensive than Orlando generally.
14 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
formerNYer 6/20/2021 11:40:00 PM (No. 821799)
Disney is on my list of companies I refuse to give any of my money. They're horribly woke,
They have also sold out to China hook, line and fortune cookie.
26 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
DVC 6/21/2021 12:05:27 AM (No. 821812)
We last went to Disney World about 25 years ago, vowed to never return. Too expensive, too fake and way too many of the displays or demonstrations in EPCOT were broken. Certainly there were a few fun things, like the laminar flow water 'fountain' and one of the first good quality 3D movie shows.
Overall, for a high price, but a small fraction of today's prices, we weren't interested in ever going back.
10 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 6/21/2021 12:32:23 AM (No. 821823)
A day at Disneyland in Anaheim several years ago added up to over $1000. Between parking tickets lunch and dinner snacks and drinks souvenirs and all that for four people. Not planning on going back. Prices have gone way up since then. I think they jacked the prices up to keep out the poor Mexicans and blacks but I could be wrong. Disneyland is as white as rice.
9 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
SALady 6/21/2021 12:50:21 AM (No. 821836)
Price is superfluous.
Disney got way too "woke" for me to ever step foot in one of their parks again. I'll leave it for the rich limousine lie-berals to enjoy...
17 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 6/21/2021 1:10:50 AM (No. 821840)
Disney left us long ago. It was never about the value of the place, only about the dreams it inspired. All gone pfft now. Like kneeling overpaid sports figures, get used to missing the game.
16 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Moritz55 6/21/2021 1:29:30 AM (No. 821851)
My first parish was three miles from Disneyland, so I had lots of company back then who stayed with me while visiting the Magic Kingdom. Forty years later, I took an exchange student there and was shocked to discover that only two things had changed: there’s a parking garage and the prices have skyrocketed. Maybe all the energy went into creating the California Experience, but Disneyland itself was disappointing, and even with the pass, the waits were inexcusable.
12 people like this.
Just my two cents; This is what you get when you put MBA graduates in charge.
Meaning me, me, me, and screw anybody that follows me!!!!
9 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 6/21/2021 6:31:43 AM (No. 821920)
It's not "magic," it's cynicism.
8 people like this.
The day will come when Disney will be exposed, and you will be embarrassed to show your pictures enjoying Disneyland. Most do not realize what they are funding when they pay them money! Walt would probably destroy it if he were still here.
9 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 6/21/2021 7:18:19 AM (No. 821946)
Poor Old Walt has rolled over in his grave so many times they finally put him on a rotisserie.....
18 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
udanja99 6/21/2021 7:28:14 AM (No. 821959)
I’m a native Floridian thought I haven’t actually lived there for a long time. The closest I have ever been to Disney World is driving through Orlando on the interstate. I’m with #5, primarily because I get claustrophobic in crowds, but also for all of the other things mentioned.
First Disney got woke and now they are going elitist. They, like the leftists in congress, simply don’t want the great unwashed in their presence.
8 people like this.
Disney is woke, but it may be much worse than that. As more evil is exposed, ala Epstein, I think we're going to learn that there are many nefarious things about The Magic Kingdom. Some have already done videos showing overt sexually imagery in their cartoons. It's not noticeable until someone highlights it - then it is glaring.
It sounds crazy, and you may want to do your own research, but some have wisely pointed out that many of their cartoons are strangely hostile towards children, e.g. Pinocchio who is abducted by two strangers. And they love witches who prey on children. And Walt may not have been the loving grandfather type he was portrayed as. We will see. A lot is being revealed at this time. Evidently, we have been lied to about almost everything.
8 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
Mr C 6/21/2021 7:43:26 AM (No. 821970)
And now AAA has joined the WOLK folk that want to go BROKE....Rainbow flags and 5 hour wait times for break down service....Of course you can enjoy your WOKE COKE if you just happened to bring some along while you while away the hours listening to your favorite WOKE preacher on your dead car radio....OH MY...what have we become?
3 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
4freedom 6/21/2021 7:44:28 AM (No. 821971)
After Disney hired cheaper foreign workers, the forced the layed off workers to train their replacements, I was totally done with Disney.
9 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
Strike3 6/21/2021 8:04:45 AM (No. 821986)
The magic is fizzling out. Cries of racism will begin in 5-4-3-2... because the po folks can't afford what us white supremacists can... Wait, they will get free admission while we pay for their tickets too, that's how it's going to work. Plus, Disney figured out years ago that single homosexuals have a ton of money too.
6 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
Zigrid 6/21/2021 8:26:18 AM (No. 822002)
Someone at Disney has no business sense....they are pricing themselves out of the market...what middle class family will send thousands for a few days of fun?...will blm have a ride?...like pirates of the Caribbean... full of scary people popping out at you and simulating burning buildings... I think not...
3 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 6/21/2021 9:15:01 AM (No. 822058)
I opted for Greece in 1988 after pricing a Disney World visit. Haven't even considered a Disney visit since, especially after a coworker accidently scheduled her family's Disney vacation on some week when they were doing some gay-themed week. She spent the whole visit unsuccessfully trying to keep her kids from seeing the "celebrants" and their exhibitionism.
4 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
Bohallx 6/21/2021 9:48:43 AM (No. 822084)
No matter what Disney provides in the way of rides ~ cheap or expensive, the best act in California some years back was the San Fran zoo!
They had a tiger that'd figured out how to leap up out of the topless tiger cage and walk over to the sandwich stand AFTER HOURS and eat the leftover hamburgers!
Talk about a $100 sandwich eh!
Then, one day, some young men stayed late and met the tiger. She pushed a fellow OUT OF MY WAY as she went for her hamburgers. He died.
We had a CIRCUS for months discussing how the young men TAUNTED the tiger. "Hey, tiger, tiger, tiger, you got a broken tooth", and so forth.
Uh, tigers don't talk. We all learned they can LEAP straight up over 20 feet!~
Topless tiger cages have to have been the best entertainment "ride" ever invented.
But Disneyland? My inlaws used to own the parking lot..... they sold it.... and forever after Disney gave them and the other former owners "Park Passes"..... what a deal. But that's where I met my first "designer $15 hamburger, with dripping grease" ~ GAD.
1 person likes this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
walcb 6/21/2021 10:20:03 AM (No. 822114)
I'm not paying that kind of money to stand in line for half a day.
1 person likes this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
mc squared 6/21/2021 10:39:57 AM (No. 822130)
#1; ask former Sens Chris Dodd and Ted Kennedy, A special sandwich I have heard was only available in DC.
1 person likes this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
RayLRiv 6/21/2021 10:42:40 AM (No. 822133)
Well...there's a great big beautiful tomorrow...shining at the end of every day...just never imagined that the shine was coming from all loot Disney's gathering w such high prices...
1 person likes this.
#20 - Actually, you're speculation is spot on. Disneyland used to offer a "Southern California Pass" to those who lived in certain zip codes, and many Southern Californians would bring their many relatives up from south of the border for the day. The change in the crowd demographics during those years was palpable, and a family friend who is a park employee once leaked at a dinner party that Disney did away with the program for just that reason. That was before wokism, though.
2 people like this.
Reply 40 - Posted by:
Buckrog 6/21/2021 11:07:06 AM (No. 822153)
This is getting to be true of a lot of things. Major league sports, etc., it all adds up. Even the local ice cream parlor subscribes to Disney pricing methods. You get a large ice cream cone and they charge you a pretty decent penny for it.
2 people like this.
Reply 41 - Posted by:
4Justice 6/21/2021 11:37:01 AM (No. 822202)
Disney should have changed its name after Walt died. It is NOTHING like the enterprise he created. With homosexual characters and all the other "woke" insanity now, as well as the entire focus now placed on greed (not just being profitable, but doing everything to amass wealth and power) with no concern for the children and families that Disney's vision encompassed, the company has become the complete opposite of what he started. I am sure he is now spinning in his grave at warp speed.
I remember how he used to be so strict about his conservative views, his employees were required to be cleancut, upright, moral and decent people with no controversy in their lives. Girls were not even allowed to wear pants. Swearing of any kind was forbidden. You couldn't get more different than it is now. Though it isn't just Disney. We have allowed our entire society go down the toilet.
5 people like this.
Reply 42 - Posted by:
swarfer 6/21/2021 11:47:36 AM (No. 822219)
Add air travel, rental car, trinkets and some activities outside the park and your looking at $8K. That’s turning into serious money, down payment on a new car, living room furniture, all new kitchen appliances, etc. All this for a theme park with absolutely no socially redeeming value that exists because of relentless brainwashing of kids from the time they can grasp a Micky doll. Glad I did the Disney years ago when the whole thing ran a few hundred bucks. Looking back, the kids forgot all about it within a few weeks and never mentioned it again. It was smoking hot, sweaty and slightly nauseating from the aroma of millions of human bodies shedding their skin all over the place.
2 people like this.
Reply 43 - Posted by:
Starboard_side 6/21/2021 12:13:27 PM (No. 822244)
Most of the comments, so far, are exactly why Disney is doing what it's doing.
You want to attend the park and have a certain experience, and unfortunately, they had a Annual Pass program that allowed some to have a pass for as little as $500, and they could go on any day they weren't blacked out. Far too many passes were issued, which resulted clogged parks. Many could pay by monthly payments plan even.
So, imagine, you're out-of-town, and you paid full ticket prices, but only got on 4-5 rides due to the crowds?
If you're on an annual pass, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, since you can likely come back the next day or next week.
Hope they increase their upcoming membership passes to the highest old annual prices, and not allow any payment plans. This would ease the crowding, allow for a better park experience, and hopefully they utilize the appointment schedules to reduce the waiting in lines (at least provide shade).
0 people like this.
Reply 44 - Posted by:
DVC 6/21/2021 12:14:02 PM (No. 822245)
How many are aware that EPCOT was Walt's dream as the Experimental Planned Community of Tomorrow? The thing that Walt envisioned was a nice suburban community for people to live in with wide streets, nice homes with great lawns, and local shopping and entertainment. All well planned, maintained and built.
Walt's dream had absolutely nothing at all to do with the theme park with international pavilions and mostly outdated and broken displays of "modern technology" that the nutballs who took over after Walt died called EPCOT.
Any nice, up market suburban area today is far closer to Walt's dream than what the money grubbers built as an adjunct theme park.
3 people like this.
Reply 45 - Posted by:
DVC 6/21/2021 12:53:52 PM (No. 822296)
stopping italics
1 person likes this.
Reply 46 - Posted by:
wayneright 6/21/2021 4:09:06 PM (No. 822465)
We switched years ago to Universal when Disney was hostile to any assistance for my autistic son. Universal has been tremendous, and they have only increased reasonable accommodations and dining options.
0 people like this.
Reply 47 - Posted by:
BeatleJeff 6/21/2021 5:15:27 PM (No. 822531)
I can't talk about Disneyland, never been there. But I love Disney World. It's one of my favorite places on Earth. I haven't been there in seven whole days (my seventh trip down in the past year) and am going through withdrawal. And I won't be back for another 20 days. Yes, it is expensive, and I blame Bob Cheapskate for that. My season pass to Kings Dominion in Virginia costs less than a day ticket to the Magic Kingdom but I'm fortunate that I can afford the admission price. It helps that I can bunk down at Le Maison du Mere et Pere (that's my parents' house, for you folks in Rio Linda), which really cuts down on expenses. It's all in what you value, and the price of admission is worth it to me to experience the Disney magic again and again. And it remains magical in spite of Chapek's recent attempts to suck out all the magic. Will they eventually price me out? It's possible, but we're nowhere near that yet.
0 people like this.