Disney primarily for the wealthy? NYT Article

[Anonymous]

I have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Love the fact that it's a reliably fun family vacation and hate that its money grabbing is never ending. For example, the early entry benefit at DL is getting pulled in 2026. They say the early entry benefit at WDW (which is configured differently) will continue through 2026. Not clear what happens after, but those super expensive hotels at DL will not be worth much without the early entry because there are many hotels within walking distance there.

https://wdwnt.com/2025/08/disneyland-ending-early-park-entry-replacing-lightning-lane/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Love the fact that it's a reliably fun family vacation and hate that its money grabbing is never ending. For example, the early entry benefit at DL is getting pulled in 2026. They say the early entry benefit at WDW (which is configured differently) will continue through 2026. Not clear what happens after, but those super expensive hotels at DL will not be worth much without the early entry because there are many hotels within walking distance there.

https://wdwnt.com/2025/08/disneyland-ending-early-park-entry-replacing-lightning-lane/

The benefit is switching to a free lightning lane selection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Love the fact that it's a reliably fun family vacation and hate that its money grabbing is never ending. For example, the early entry benefit at DL is getting pulled in 2026. They say the early entry benefit at WDW (which is configured differently) will continue through 2026. Not clear what happens after, but those super expensive hotels at DL will not be worth much without the early entry because there are many hotels within walking distance there.

https://wdwnt.com/2025/08/disneyland-ending-early-park-entry-replacing-lightning-lane/

The benefit is switching to a free lightning lane selection

That decision will change our plans going forward because we stayed on property for that perk alone. Last time we stayed offsite at a Marriott using points and it was very nice, an easy walk, less expensive, and still felt themed. Would definitely do that again since now there's no reason to stay at the other properties. I get the reasoning that it wasn't a widely used perk because so many visitors are local, but it was nice for visitors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Love the fact that it's a reliably fun family vacation and hate that its money grabbing is never ending. For example, the early entry benefit at DL is getting pulled in 2026. They say the early entry benefit at WDW (which is configured differently) will continue through 2026. Not clear what happens after, but those super expensive hotels at DL will not be worth much without the early entry because there are many hotels within walking distance there.

https://wdwnt.com/2025/08/disneyland-ending-early-park-entry-replacing-lightning-lane/

The benefit is switching to a free lightning lane selection

Lightning lane usage is totally different at DL compared to WDW. There is far less demand for it if you use it so one free LL is pretty worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Love the fact that it's a reliably fun family vacation and hate that its money grabbing is never ending. For example, the early entry benefit at DL is getting pulled in 2026. They say the early entry benefit at WDW (which is configured differently) will continue through 2026. Not clear what happens after, but those super expensive hotels at DL will not be worth much without the early entry because there are many hotels within walking distance there.

https://wdwnt.com/2025/08/disneyland-ending-early-park-entry-replacing-lightning-lane/

The benefit is switching to a free lightning lane selection

Lightning lane usage is totally different at DL compared to WDW. There is far less demand for it if you use it so one free LL is pretty worthless.

Yes, and furthermore, it is only one extra LL per STAY not per day. It's possible to do 3-6 rides at DL in the first 30 minutes if you stick with the ones close to each other in Fantasyland and save your LLs for when it gets busier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is very impressive that Disney seems to have created something that is so incredibly appealing to some people. I went once as a child and enjoyed it, and took my kids once when they were younger, and we liked it, but none of us has any desire to go again. What for? We had a good time, but we did the rides and saw the shows and why would we do those again? But it’s clear that many many people do want to keep going back, and I wonder what people see that I don’t.

For me, growing up in Florida in the 70s, it was a place of total joy. It was colorful and fun. I often went with student groups so me and my friends were off on our own, exploring and joking around. Waiting in lines wasn't a hardship because we were together and free for the day. And the rides and shows always sparked my imagination.

As a parent I have loved it because your child is always welcome and Disney puts them on a pedestal. From the Baby Centers to the kids menus to the characters that comfort crying kids, you don't have worry about being out of place. They also are very accommodating with allergies.

I am another native Floridian -I, too, grew up going many times a year. I am lucky that my parents still live there so we choose a down time (January - mid week) and swoop into the Magic Kingdom for the day - we get there at 11:00 and stay until closing and work the park strategically. It's been a fun, low stakes way to do it. Though the Lightning Lane stinks - we go to Disney to enjoy with our kids, not to spend the day looking at our phones. This is a mis-step for sure. I can't imagine spending the kind of money people do now for this experience, though. As much as I love it and it's nostalgic, it's not worth a week of lines and $8k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is very impressive that Disney seems to have created something that is so incredibly appealing to some people. I went once as a child and enjoyed it, and took my kids once when they were younger, and we liked it, but none of us has any desire to go again. What for? We had a good time, but we did the rides and saw the shows and why would we do those again? But it’s clear that many many people do want to keep going back, and I wonder what people see that I don’t.

For me, growing up in Florida in the 70s, it was a place of total joy. It was colorful and fun. I often went with student groups so me and my friends were off on our own, exploring and joking around. Waiting in lines wasn't a hardship because we were together and free for the day. And the rides and shows always sparked my imagination.

As a parent I have loved it because your child is always welcome and Disney puts them on a pedestal. From the Baby Centers to the kids menus to the characters that comfort crying kids, you don't have worry about being out of place. They also are very accommodating with allergies.

This bears repeating. In a society which really doesn't cater to children, I have appreciated the centering of the kid experience. The baby centers were a game changer for us when our potty training toddler was afraid of the automatic flush in public toilets. Disney was the only place that made lavish accommodations with that level of detail— yes even including luxury global travel.

I'm confused -- is it just you used the restrooms within the baby center and they didn't have the auto flush? Or did you put your potty training kid in pull ups and just changed them in the baby center?

I don't quite understand how this is different from any other facility with a baby/nursing center. Nats Park has a nursing room with a small play area for kids and a bathroom. It is definitely better than not having a nursing center but this isn't something unique to Disney. I actually don't find Disney to be a great destination for very young kids, other than the option of staying on site and being able to take kids back to the hotel for naps and then return. I think ages 7-12 are prime age for Disney and I would prefer to take a younger kid to something smaller in scale and less expensive, like Dutch Wonderland or Sesame Street. The size of Disney and a lot of the content is just way better suited to older kids.

Been traveling with small (very small) kids to WDW for years. But we don't go in the peak heat. It is a great place to take young ones.

[Anonymous]

I finally read the article. There were some interesting facts I learned, such as that Disney started doing fast passes after Universal did. That said - I think this article is about a lot of news these days and it's mainly about whining! In my personal life I have been known to stay onsite at WDW and buy fast passes, etc. to avoid lines. However, I went to WDW with 200 band kids during a popular spring break time in 2025. The minimum age for lightning lane is 18, and since only a minority of kids were 18, the trip rule was a firm no lightning lane allowed for anyone. We didn't stay onsite and we only had the regular entry ticket. All the kids (and I) were really able to do so many rides - including all of the big ones. I was really pleasantly surprised. I suppose the difference in attitude is that we had no chip on our shoulder about being able to AFFORD fast passes; we couldn't do it for age reasons. Of one of the rides mentioned in the article, we did the single rider line for Rise of Resistance, which worked well for us.

[Anonymous]

Just looking yesterday at Magic Kingdom, after 8PM the lines were practically non-existent. Even Peter Pan and Mine Train were 20 minutes by 9PM. Tron was closed but I'm sure it would have been long if open, although that ride is terrible. So if you know what you're doing, lines can be managed day to day, even without lightning lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looking yesterday at Magic Kingdom, after 8PM the lines were practically non-existent. Even Peter Pan and Mine Train were 20 minutes by 9PM. Tron was closed but I'm sure it would have been long if open, although that ride is terrible. So if you know what you're doing, lines can be managed day to day, even without lightning lane.

This is one of the slowest weeks of the year as families head back to school. Definitely not typical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looking yesterday at Magic Kingdom, after 8PM the lines were practically non-existent. Even Peter Pan and Mine Train were 20 minutes by 9PM. Tron was closed but I'm sure it would have been long if open, although that ride is terrible. So if you know what you're doing, lines can be managed day to day, even without lightning lane.

That is good to know but it still seems like what you can’t do is just have a normal day out (say 10am to 5pm), in a normal vacation week or weekend. (so not pulling your kids out of school), and ride the main attractions, without spending a lot of money or waiting in very long lines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking yesterday at Magic Kingdom, after 8PM the lines were practically non-existent. Even Peter Pan and Mine Train were 20 minutes by 9PM. Tron was closed but I'm sure it would have been long if open, although that ride is terrible. So if you know what you're doing, lines can be managed day to day, even without lightning lane.

That is good to know but it still seems like what you can’t do is just have a normal day out (say 10am to 5pm), in a normal vacation week or weekend. (so not pulling your kids out of school), and ride the main attractions, without spending a lot of money or waiting in very long lines.

If you research a bit in advance you can minimize the lines.

[Anonymous]

We took the kids to Tokyo Disney while we traveled in Japan, and probably spent less on that whole vacation than we would have spent for a week at Disney in Florida, and had a much better experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looking yesterday at Magic Kingdom, after 8PM the lines were practically non-existent. Even Peter Pan and Mine Train were 20 minutes by 9PM. Tron was closed but I'm sure it would have been long if open, although that ride is terrible. So if you know what you're doing, lines can be managed day to day, even without lightning lane.

That is good to know but it still seems like what you can’t do is just have a normal day out (say 10am to 5pm), in a normal vacation week or weekend. (so not pulling your kids out of school), and ride the main attractions, without spending a lot of money or waiting in very long lines.

It's a very big park with lots to do. If it was so uncrowded that you could do it all in a few hours whenever you wanted it wouldn't be in business for very long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I noticed when planning our Disney vacation years ago that for a lot of Disney people, the planning is almost as exciting as the actual going to the parks. As soon as they come home, they start planning the next trip.
I don’t mind planning for a trip. I enjoy it. But with Disney, it takes extra coordination during the trip. I don’t want to have to be on my phone still planning the day during the trip.

This is me. I enjoy trip planning but not for Disney. There should be a version of Disney that is like going to a mid-priced carribean all inclusive resort. It doesn't have to be luxury but I want to be able to go for 2 days, ride the main things and see the main things and stay in reasonably ok accommodations and eat okay food, but without paying 10k per day. That's where the disconnect is. If you could find a way to make Disney about as affordable as a trip to a mid-level resort in Puerto Rico, I could get on board. The minute people start talking about logging onto the app first thing in the morning to get my lightening pass booked, I zone out and start thinking about other vacations.

This is bascially Disneyland

Yes but hotels are more expensive and you have to fly cross-country. Which is why people on the East Coast who don't want to get super involved in gaming out Disney World wind up just doing the Puerto Rico resort or going to Europe instead. Disney World is just not a good value or investment of time when you compare it to other family-friendly trips. I know people who have chosen to do Manhattan over Disney as well -- kids get to see this iconic NYC stuff, there's a ton of kid-friendly stuff to do, but it's easier to plan and costs about the same amount, with the bonus of being a bit more fun for an adult who likes cities but doesn't care about Disney.

You can actually get very inexpensive hotels walking distance to Disney land

+1 We stayed at the Anaheim Westin (although we definitely could have gone cheaper - lots of Courtyard type places) - could see the Incredicoaster from our room. We used Marriott points but cash would've been about $300/night - cheaper than a moderate resort at DW, probably as nice or nicer, and access to the parks was as easy or easier. Very possible to come back to the hotel in the middle of the day for a nap/swim. And - I cannot stress this enough - no gross central Florida weather! I think I would rather launch myself off the top of the Tower of Terror than spend a week in Orlando at the end of August, but we went to DL August 21-26 last year (kids school doesn't start until after Labor Day) and it was a gorgeous 77-79 every day. We did three park days and felt that was the perfect amount of time. We rode and did just about everything - whereas DW you need at a minimum of four to go to all of the parks, and probably 5 or 6 if you really want to "deep dive" or go at a leisurely pace. We didn't get Lightning Lane for a single thing. Seriously. I think the longest we waited was 45 minutes for Rise of the Resistance. I leisurely made dining reservations when they opened (60 days in advance - but didn't get up in the middle of the night or anything!) but that was about the extent of having to plan ahead (besides the obvious flights/hotel booking, which you'd have to do for any vacation).

Yes, longer flight time (although if we are comparing it to a flight from DC to Puerto Rico, it is only an hour longer...). And Disneyland is not as immersive as DW- DW is a world unto itself whereas Disneyland you definitely realize you are in the middle of a city that is its own thing outside of a theme park. It's missing some of the headliner rides that are at DW (although it has some headliners of its own that DW does not have). But otherwise, it is similar to what PP is looking for.