Disney primarily for the wealthy? NYT Article

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Growing up my parents pulled us from school and we went in mid-October (and during the week) and it was dead. Zero lines.

Went back for early November, and same deal - dead.

We went back for Christmas and never went back again.

November is not dead. It’s Epcot food and wine and the beginning of holiday.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never do Disney. If it was expensive, but the experience was enjoyable I would consider it. But the fact that it costs thousands AND you still have to wait an hour+ per ride? No way. Waiting in line is something I absolutely hate. There's no way I'm PAYING to spend my vacation waiting in line.

Lightening lane is pretty affordable. It’s like $30 pp per day. I never wait for more than 30 minutes for a ride, and with LL it’s under 10.

$30 per ride per person per day. That's not affordable.

Not per ride. per day per person.

It doesn't cover all rides, though and they sell separate passes for the most popular rides.

That to me is just the epitome of it. You pay extra and then you still have to pay extra on top of it. Gimme more money for stuff that used to be free. Your park ticket is also more.

The way I look it at is it might be $150 for a ticket but you can go for 10, 12, or more hours depending on how long it's open. That's like $15 an hour for a full day of entertainment. Now try taking your family to a 3 hour baseball game or even a movie and see if you get the same bang for your buck hour by hour.

Uh... injust priced the Nats game on Friday and I can get $23 tickets. And then won't make me pay additional money if I want to actually watch the game. And I can metro there so I don't have to pay for parking. And my hot dog isn't going to cost $20?

Your beer will cost $20. Add up the family food and see what you get. Then ask your kids if it was the best day ever watching from the nosebleeds or bleachers with sun in their face the whole time.

This. You are not getting out of Nats park with a family of 4 for less than $250 assuming you park.

But....I don't have to pay $250/person on flights to get there or $250/night on a hotel room to stay there.

Right so you’re stuck at home and the kids were bored anyway.

God forbid your child should ever be bored! Maybe you should just live at Disney.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never do Disney. If it was expensive, but the experience was enjoyable I would consider it. But the fact that it costs thousands AND you still have to wait an hour+ per ride? No way. Waiting in line is something I absolutely hate. There's no way I'm PAYING to spend my vacation waiting in line.

Lightening lane is pretty affordable. It’s like $30 pp per day. I never wait for more than 30 minutes for a ride, and with LL it’s under 10.

$30 per ride per person per day. That's not affordable.

Not per ride. per day per person.

It doesn't cover all rides, though and they sell separate passes for the most popular rides.

That to me is just the epitome of it. You pay extra and then you still have to pay extra on top of it. Gimme more money for stuff that used to be free. Your park ticket is also more.

The way I look it at is it might be $150 for a ticket but you can go for 10, 12, or more hours depending on how long it's open. That's like $15 an hour for a full day of entertainment. Now try taking your family to a 3 hour baseball game or even a movie and see if you get the same bang for your buck hour by hour.

Uh... injust priced the Nats game on Friday and I can get $23 tickets. And then won't make me pay additional money if I want to actually watch the game. And I can metro there so I don't have to pay for parking. And my hot dog isn't going to cost $20?

Your beer will cost $20. Add up the family food and see what you get. Then ask your kids if it was the best day ever watching from the nosebleeds or bleachers with sun in their face the whole time.

This. You are not getting out of Nats park with a family of 4 for less than $250 assuming you park.

But....I don't have to pay $250/person on flights to get there or $250/night on a hotel room to stay there.

Right so you’re stuck at home and the kids were bored anyway.

God forbid your child should ever be bored! Maybe you should just live at Disney.

Well, it’s a vacation. Do you know what that is?

[Anonymous]

When I worked there I witnessed so many kids melting down from the heat, lines, and rain and the parents the freaking out because they'd paid so much money and their kid was crying.

I also had a woman tear into me about how expensive everything was. I was a teenager getting paid a whole ten cents above minimum wage at the time.

Now I took my family and friends for free and we had some good times. But this bizarre cultural obsession people have over it never made sense to me. Its just a theme park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I worked there I witnessed so many kids melting down from the heat, lines, and rain and the parents the freaking out because they'd paid so much money and their kid was crying.

I also had a woman tear into me about how expensive everything was. I was a teenager getting paid a whole ten cents above minimum wage at the time.

Now I took my family and friends for free and we had some good times. But this bizarre cultural obsession people have over it never made sense to me. Its just a theme park.

Do you have kids yet? Because almost every vacation has its low points. But in time, everyone remembers the good and forgets the bad. For 20 minutes there was crying but then the rest of the day there was joy, happiness, and smiles. That’s how life with kids is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a huge Disney fan, but my friend just went to Japan, and while there, they went to Tokyo Disney and said it was super cheap. Tickets were $70. Sure, you have to pay for the flights, but if you are going to Japan anyways, why not? I wouldn't mind doing that but DH wouldn't do it. He loathes Disney parks.

We went to Japan but didn’t do Tokyo Disney because we were in Japan! Why waste a day at Disney when that day could be used doing something better?

[Anonymous]

For me, Disney is only worth it if you aren’t waiting in lines.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never do Disney. If it was expensive, but the experience was enjoyable I would consider it. But the fact that it costs thousands AND you still have to wait an hour+ per ride? No way. Waiting in line is something I absolutely hate. There's no way I'm PAYING to spend my vacation waiting in line.

Lightening lane is pretty affordable. It’s like $30 pp per day. I never wait for more than 30 minutes for a ride, and with LL it’s under 10.

$30 per ride per person per day. That's not affordable.

Not per ride. per day per person.

It doesn't cover all rides, though and they sell separate passes for the most popular rides.

That to me is just the epitome of it. You pay extra and then you still have to pay extra on top of it. Gimme more money for stuff that used to be free. Your park ticket is also more.

The way I look it at is it might be $150 for a ticket but you can go for 10, 12, or more hours depending on how long it's open. That's like $15 an hour for a full day of entertainment. Now try taking your family to a 3 hour baseball game or even a movie and see if you get the same bang for your buck hour by hour.

Uh... injust priced the Nats game on Friday and I can get $23 tickets. And then won't make me pay additional money if I want to actually watch the game. And I can metro there so I don't have to pay for parking. And my hot dog isn't going to cost $20?

Your beer will cost $20. Add up the family food and see what you get. Then ask your kids if it was the best day ever watching from the nosebleeds or bleachers with sun in their face the whole time.

IMO the best seats at Nats stadium are the $5 nosebleed seats that are covered and always have a breeze. Kids eat free and run the bases on Sundays. My kids have always loved going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I worked there I witnessed so many kids melting down from the heat, lines, and rain and the parents the freaking out because they'd paid so much money and their kid was crying.

I also had a woman tear into me about how expensive everything was. I was a teenager getting paid a whole ten cents above minimum wage at the time.

Now I took my family and friends for free and we had some good times. But this bizarre cultural obsession people have over it never made sense to me. Its just a theme park.

Do you have kids yet? Because almost every vacation has its low points. But in time, everyone remembers the good and forgets the bad. For 20 minutes there was crying but then the rest of the day there was joy, happiness, and smiles. That’s how life with kids is.

Yes, I have kids. I have actually taken my kids to theme parks and their favorite part was just running around and doing the slides and ropes with their friends. Never wanted to leave that part of the park.

The whole Disney Magic thing is marketing. It's not necessarily a bad experience but when you're talking about people taking out loans, combined with the increasing costs tacked on stuff that used to be free, you have to start asking questions about it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will never do Disney. If it was expensive, but the experience was enjoyable I would consider it. But the fact that it costs thousands AND you still have to wait an hour+ per ride? No way. Waiting in line is something I absolutely hate. There's no way I'm PAYING to spend my vacation waiting in line.

Lightening lane is pretty affordable. It’s like $30 pp per day. I never wait for more than 30 minutes for a ride, and with LL it’s under 10.

$30 per ride per person per day. That's not affordable.

Not per ride. per day per person.

It doesn't cover all rides, though and they sell separate passes for the most popular rides.

That to me is just the epitome of it. You pay extra and then you still have to pay extra on top of it. Gimme more money for stuff that used to be free. Your park ticket is also more.

The way I look it at is it might be $150 for a ticket but you can go for 10, 12, or more hours depending on how long it's open. That's like $15 an hour for a full day of entertainment. Now try taking your family to a 3 hour baseball game or even a movie and see if you get the same bang for your buck hour by hour.

Uh... injust priced the Nats game on Friday and I can get $23 tickets. And then won't make me pay additional money if I want to actually watch the game. And I can metro there so I don't have to pay for parking. And my hot dog isn't going to cost $20?

Your beer will cost $20. Add up the family food and see what you get. Then ask your kids if it was the best day ever watching from the nosebleeds or bleachers with sun in their face the whole time.

IMO the best seats at Nats stadium are the $5 nosebleed seats that are covered and always have a breeze. Kids eat free and run the bases on Sundays. My kids have always loved going.

Nats park is also a great park to never actually go to your seats. I actually went SRO to one of the World Series Games and experienced this. There are tons of places you can watch the game from while walking around. And I was shocked at how well kids run the bases works.

[Anonymous]

Standing in multiple lines during my vacation among the masses is not appealing to me at all.

Others feel differently 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a huge Disney fan, but my friend just went to Japan, and while there, they went to Tokyo Disney and said it was super cheap. Tickets were $70. Sure, you have to pay for the flights, but if you are going to Japan anyways, why not? I wouldn't mind doing that but DH wouldn't do it. He loathes Disney parks.

We went to Japan but didn’t do Tokyo Disney because we were in Japan! Why waste a day at Disney when that day could be used doing something better?

Tokyo Disney is like Disney in the past. It's pristine, organized, full of cute happy couples and families, and not too expensive. I was actually misty eyed there and I'm not even a Disney person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Standing in multiple lines during my vacation among the masses is not appealing to me at all.

Others feel differently 🤷🏼‍♀️

Kind of like Paris and Rome?

[Anonymous]

Finding this thread fascinating as someone who hasn't been to Disney since 1987.

Will comment that many major sights in Europe also have long lines these days and even fast track tickets and advance booking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the issues for Disney
-annual passes for FL residents are cheap and there are some very heavy users who live locally.
-DAS passes were using lightning lanes and it wasn't just the disabled person, it was their entire party. Obviously it wasn't every DAS person, but there were some heavy users who rode 20 rides + a day. It caused an increase in ride times for everyone.

We are pretty wealthy and would love to go multiple times a year, staying at premium resorts, but I can't convince DH to return. His #1 beef is with how crowded it is. Even though you're paying $$$, you get an insanely crowded park with obnoxious wait times. 60-90 minutes for my 3 year old to ride Ariel during the lowest month of the year, during a week day? It's so unenjoyable because of the wait times. And we also spent most of the day on our phones trying to book lightning lanes. It wasn't like this before with Fast pass.

AGREE! The phone thing was my biggest annoyance. The crowds. Ugh. We took our daughter at aged five because like someone mentioned it felt like a right of passage. It was not fun. Lines too long for everything! I was on my phone too much booking things and confirming reservations. Customer service was terrible - so shocked about that. When I went 10 years ago it was great. We won’t go back.