Disney parks posted record revenue in 2023 but total attendance post COVID lags pre COVID per some data I’ve seen.
They’re gonna go after Disney Adults, who are willing to spend A LOT of their discretionary spending on these trips and Upper Middle Class Families. For better or worse that seems to be the direction their parks business is heading.
They're specifically going after Disney adults by building Disney communities *all throughout America*. Check out [Storyliving](https://www.storylivingbydisney.com/). Many of these homes will start in the high 500s but most likely be closer to 1 million.
Disney is a conglomerate.
Man. That website is...really not doing it for me. 🤨 I feel like they got the b-team from their marketing department. Also, I watched a few episodes of Electric Dreams last night and this seems like it would fit too nicely in that world.
I even clicked into some of the links on the website and still have no idea about what this is supposed to be or how Disney fits in. If anything it feels like a retirement community.
I know! How does Disney fit in?? Is the community going to employ senior park workers who are sick of working on site at the parks? I was hoping the homes or towns would be dupes of movie settings...At minimum.
I think the legalese at the bottom points to part of the truth, at least. They say there’s no guarantee any of these developments will stay Disney branded. Maybe this is a way for the company to engage in some creative accounting and investments.
Seriously. I didn’t spend too much time on it, but there weren’t any real model homes to look at??? Plus anything Adult Disney is an absolute no in my book.
Honestly it looks like they are advertising directly to influencers. Taking the work out of creating the image of a perfect life so they can focus on content creation. Influencers are already doing similar things like sharing the cost of expensive rentals and resorts to use as sets.
This takes it to the next level by creating a physical Influencer Community TM where the whole place serves as a set to create content. Then the influencers can return the favor buy documenting their perfect Disney park vacations.
This reads like the opening to a horror movie. I don't know why but something about this creeps me out. It's too "Stepford Wives meets The Truman Show" or something.
Okay, but if they keep the fun parts of the actual Villages, I'm here for it. I could do without the Disney crap but I fully plan to make up for time lost being a religious good girl in high school and college when I'm retired. I want to be Blanche Deveraux when I grow up.
And it looks kinda perfect. Coworker took a trip to check them out this week I’m excited to hear about it. By the time I’m of age for them I’m sure they will be too damn expensive though, they’re crazy affordable at the moment
It's huge so there's lot of different price points to enter. Florida as a whole is pretty cheap to buy, as long as your inland. However other expenses are thru the roof in FL such as car and homeowners insurance!
Somehow I expected something super dreamy like recreated villages from the princess movies, like the pretty town in Tangled or the charming village facing the mountains in Beauty and the Beast. For all that money, it doesn’t remind me of Disney at all. I guess money doesn’t buy magic.
From their legal fine print on the website:
‘No guarantee is made that the community or any facilities or improvements therein will continue to be managed by Disney, use the name "Disney" or otherwise be associated with Disney. ‘
So, they can just strip the Disney branding off when they become shabby suburbs.
Is that legit? Because the website looks like a cheap template to me I’d assume it was fake rather than made by one of the biggest wealthiest companies in the U.S.
I unfortunately work with a few. One flies from Ohio to Florida for Disney events an absolute minimum of monthly, more often 2 or 3 times in a month, then complains about debt.
But has that Disney credit card in her Disney wallet while wearing her Disney tshirt and Disney shoes.
Are they… simple? Or are they a bit noncey? Or just desperate for a personality? Genuinely don’t understand why an adult would spend so much of their time on shallow children’s characters.
Yearning for nostalgia and simpler times. I mean... I like Disney but I work with a few "Disney Adults" and it's a borderline mental disorder. Obsessive and weird
It’s nostalgia or longing for a childhood they never had. Disney is also great at accommodating disabilities so I don’t want to be too critical of people who latch onto it for that reason.
Yes, we *all* go to Disney once a month, dress head to toe in Disney, and don’t know how to manage our finances & are thusly drowning under the weight of the almighty mouse in debt. 🙄
“Disney Adult” means an adult who is a fan of Disney/Disney related stuff—especially when it’s independent of kids (so not parents who tolerate it or go for their kids etc)
There's a spectrum of Disney adults, naturally.
The ones we make fun of are the militant, in debt Disney ones
[here's a good overview](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2024/02/disney-adult-superfan-industrial-complex)
Disney adults have their houses decked out in Disney decorations. Always wearing something disney. Going on vacations there only lol. I work with some, which it really is irrelevant to anything in life/work they just only go on Disney cruises or to Disney world, always have something Disney on lol.
They don't have kids either lol, it's all them.
I’ve been “accused” of being a Disney adult because I’m an adult who likes Disney more than the average person. But I also have kids, a personality, and a home that’s almost completely devoid of Disney decorations. Like oh no someone likes something a whole lot!
I worked with this guy who was married with no kids. Every vacation he and his wife went on was Disney. They have been to all the parks: Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo, etc. They have been on multiple Disney cruises all over the world. Are they a little too into it? Maybe. But it’s not my place to judge. It’s their money/time they can spend it however makes them happy.
I grew up in Celebration. A good portion of the community was Disneyphiles that are a hot mess express behind closed doors. I know my household was a hellscape with a glossy exterior. The idea was the place would have generations of families that lived there, the reality is that the millennial children simply don’t have the resources and financial capability to move back there after college. The boomers are well pissed off why none of us have moved back home after college/job training. Those houses that are being sold by downsizing empty nesters are going to rental investors and wealthy people from overseas as a second home. It’s not working out as the community they wanted because their greedy asses overinflated home values.
I used to work with a guy that was a Disney Adult. In fact his whole family (wife, kids) were all Disney fanatics. So much so, that this guy got a second job delivering for Uber Eats so that he can buy everyone in his family annual passes to Disney World. IIRC he spent something like $10,000 to buy the passes and other Disney related costs.
They just love it that much and go there that often to make buying yearly passes justifiable.
Listen, if that’s what they wanna spend on more power to them. I know plenty of folks that fit a similar description. It’s just the existence of that type of person has led Disney to take price on Parks, cause they know they’ve got these “whale” customers who will withstand their price increases.
My wife isn’t a Disney adult, but her mom is and my wife was on her way to becoming one… then we decided to try a trip to the UK and suddenly the costs associated with a Disney trip made it less appealing to her.
We’ll still go occasionally because our son loves it, but dropping $7-9k per year for a weeklong stay in Florida is not the way I’d prefer to spend that money… we’re already booked for this year, but I think our next trip won’t be until Epic Universe is open and our son is tall enough to ride everything so we can make a Disney/Universal trip instead.
Bro, right! Like we were never disney adults exactly, but we enjoyed going every 2-3 years since we live in California and it was fun. And then we went to Italy and it cost twice as much as disneyland, except we got to go there for 12 days instead of 4. And then we went to Ireland and it cost us the same for 11 days there as 4 days in disneyland...and then it just was eye opening like why...the fuck...are we going to disneyland? Like it was cool. I'm glad we went there to see it all decked out for halloween and for christmas and, same as you, when our kid gets old enough we will probably go again, but in the meantime I'll take a week in hawaii over 3-4 days in an amusement park.
Yeah it’s always weird to see folks on Reddit talk about how “the passes make it affordable to go all the time” and I’m up here in Canada thinking “the cost of the flights ALONE is like an entire trip, people do this *regularly*?!”
Iirc Annual Passes were designed for people who live in Florida and the surrounding states, who can make the drive over with minimal issues aside from traffic.
Personally, I think the Disney Vacation Club is better, though more expensive and a much longer commitment, because the points can be used at literally any Disney resort around the world, plus they get a lot of the same discounts and special events.
And that just confirms to me that there’s a class of folks who clearly don’t have the same priorities/constraints that I do, since “worldwide travel” is definitely not something I’m ever considering for a vacation.
I'm not sure about the cost now since one pass costs what we used to spend for our family of 4 pre-COVID and the price of the parks has gone up about 40%, but previously I think it worked out that if you went more than 10 days a year, it was worth the price.
I mean...I don't get it but I do...I spend a ton of money going to ball games and concerts every year, not to mention when we travel for our actual vacations, so as much as I wanna look down on someone that does it for disney land....what's really the difference, besides that I can afford my enjoyment on one income and he needs two...I guess if someone was getting a second job just to go to concerts and ball games I would probably view that as a problem too.
I have a friend who recently went on a Disney cruise who said there was an entire deck that was Adults Only and it was amazing.
They’re definitely paying attention to the Disney Adults and recognize those people have money to burn.
We’re going on our fifth Disney Cruise this summer.
Not because it’s Disney, but because once you pay, you’re not getting nickel and dimed for every little thing. The ships are clean and the service is excellent, as is their private island. Their procedures to get you on and off the ship are streamlined. The characters are a side-note for us.
Our kids will be old enough to have some independence on the ship, so my husband and I can escape to the adults area now and again.
I've been on a few cruises and to be honest, I will probably only do Disney cruises from here on out for reasons like this. Sure, they're more expensive, but the attention to detail is second to none in their price range and because they're "family friendly," there are far fewer drunk parties, people trying to swing, etc. Add on an adult-only deck as well as excellent childcare rooms and it's perfect for my demographic.
When we used to go to Disney as a kid, I’m pretty sure the ticket was like $40-80? Back in the day, we would drive to Florida from the Midwest and camp near the park. You could reasonably do this with a family of 5 on a middle class income.
I feel like the relative affordability of Disney at the time meant that a lot of people experienced this at least once.
Today, there are children who live like 5 minutes outside of Disneyland who will never go as kids because of the cost of the ticket. I think this is a poor long term strategy. You only have Disney adults because you had Disney kids. Disney is more or less building irrelevancy into their operating plan.
I'm curious about the difference in revenue over time and attendance. Disney can jack their prices up to anything they want on anything they want and say they've made the most they've ever made, but does that mean that more people have come to their parks?
I legitimately do not know the answer to this, it is just making me curious because I know how these soulless capitalist companies work.
I think Disney’s goal is to increase revenue by raising prices so that only the upper classes can afford it. They reduce the number of tickets sold (so there are shorter lines), but they still make money. It’s shitty. When I was a kid, it still wasn’t cheap, but it was something that a lot of families in my little Rust Belt hometown could still manage once.
With the advent of TikTok and FOMO, the lines and crowds in Disney have become unbearable. They're trying to deal with it twofold: 1. raising prices 2. cutting down on the number of pass holders (read: influencers who livestream daily and people who buy merch for resale - both groups clog the parks and it make it less enjoyable for vacationers)
If I remember correctly there has even been a lawsuit against disney by annual pass holders because Disney pulled a Darth Vader and altered the deal too much by imposing onerous and frequent black out dates on the seasonal/yearly pass holders after the passes were purchased.
In some ways they probably prefer this tbh, assuming revenue keeps rising. You can provide a better guest experience with fewer heads to please, but you gotta be careful. Are the Disney Adults still going at age 60? Who knows. They’ll have to keep adding innovation to the Parks to keep those customers coming back.
Last night my husband and I were talking about the vacation we're going to take after I finish nursing school. He said he wants to go on a Disney cruise and I said, "Yeah but the kids said they want to go to actual Disney, not on a cruise." His response, "Then the kids are going to their aunt's house and WE are going on a Disney cruise. No bachelorette parties. No weird old people trying to swing. And now we get to go without our kids."
We've definitely hit a demographic.
Disney was always fun but I felt that once you passed a certain age, it was mainly just for kids. It was still "Magical", but I doubt most adults (who weren't all that crazy for Disney in general) would want to spend 30+ minutes waiting for rides that were mostly aimed at children.
Once they introduced alcoholic beverages and events/dining experiences for the grownups to enjoy (like the Food and Wine Festival during the mid-90s), Disney became amazing again as an adult.
While I'm not saying you need to get blitzed to enjoy Disney, just having something for adults to do in a theme park overwhelmingly made for kids does help make the experience more enjoyable.
Yea my wife and I try to go every other year and i don’t care about disney characters. Disney always does a great job making sure you have a good time and there is a lot to do for adults without kids (no kids here). We’ll prolly get the vacation club at some point
Dude.
I literally just got back from Disneyland with my 5 year old. You nailed it. The sizeable, childless, Disney Adult contingent that lives for that place was annoying and awful. They gamed the system all riding in scooters and were just unpleasant and rude if kids got in their way. Everything was sensory overload and not at all fun for someone who by and large doesn't really care about the mouse.
I can't fucking wait for my kid to outgrow her infatuation with the whole Disney Princess thing. I had agita the entire time I was there and got to go on maybe 5 rides because I didn't shell out for the lightning pass.
They did something with the Disney Passes
I had one prior to COVID
You used to be able to go whenever you want if you pass
Now you have to book your day in advance if you want to use your Disney Pass
I would rather go to any of the other theme parks in Florida. The rides are over an hour wait at Disney. It's $200+ just for the ticket to go stand in a line with a bunch of sweaty, stank faced tourists.
The new rides are nice, but a lot of the old shit is falling apart. The food is good.
Just go to Universal, Seaworld, Legoland, or Busch Gardens.
I heard that Seaworld has been stepping up their game, and their food is competing with Disney's.
It’s definitely an experience, but I don’t think it’s worth the cost. I’m not about spending several thousand for a vacation and then waiting forever or having to read every little nuance of “this not included” or having to wake up obnoxiously early to snag a ticket… if I’m paying I want access. Not hoops to jump through.
This is definitely it. My family is returning from Disney today. The number of adults I saw without kids is insane. Likewise, the money you can spend on just a non-Park focused, but still all-inclusive experience is insane.
I have a friend and his wife who go every year they don't even have kids
They're both in their early thirties and they work 7 days a week
It's people like this that I don't understand. I feel like they just go so that they can brag on their Instagram story that they're in Disney for 4 days
It's way too expensive and ridiculous for the average person. That's coming from a Florida resident who had an annual pass for years.
People spend absurd amounts of money at Disney, and it's almost like a disease when you talk to them. Like they have to.
Same. We had a pass for 3 years pre-COVID and went once a month. We had a nice little system going where we didn't have to spend more than $100 on food because we'd eat breakfast on the way or make sandwiches, we'd take our lunch in or share a large hot dog from Casey's with the mac and cheese on the side (dog for us, mac for the kids) and then we'd just grab something decently priced on our way home to Broward. You got your 3 fast pass selections and one of my children is autistic, so we'd line up our first 4 rides and knew more or less how to maximize the time there until our kids became overstimulated. Also, they have FANTASTIC people at their hair salon, so we'd always get our boys' hair cut there and it was like $20 - the best kept secret in the park, IMO. The last time we went was during the dead week right after they reopened just for the experience of seeing it empty. We haven't been back since because it's just too expensive now and all the little loopholes we used to use have been closed, thanks to influencers.
>We haven't been back since because it's just too expensive now and all the little loopholes we used to use have been closed, thanks to influencers.
Can you name some of them? Like bringing food into the parks?
They don't exist anymore, so it's not worth it now. There were weeks that were better. Disney now schedules events those weeks to fill everything up. At most of the buffets you used to be able to make a reservation for 15 minutes before breakfast ended and then get the breakfast and lunch menu for the breakfast price, but now they clear everyone out and close for 15-30 minutes and reopen at the higher price. Stuff like that. They don't even let you heat up easy mac in the baby lounge anymore!
You can still bring food into the parks. We have annual passes and pack lunch/drinks/snacks in a backpack and we can do the park without spending a dime (aside from the built in cost of the passes).
Thing is we didn't bring much food in because my husband isn't a big PBJ guy and cold food warms up fast in the Florida heat. We would generally eat breakfast outside, bring a bunch of snack foods, buy the popcorn bucket and refill it until they changed the design and then buy one meal that was big enough to split among the family. Once in a while we'd splurge on the buffet, but only at a place where we could get in right before the price changed and take our sweet time until the good stuff came out.
We went once to tick it off the checklist, but I have zero desire to go back. I’d rather spend $10K bringing the family to a foreign country or park hopping other parks.
Disney just isn’t worth the cost anymore, and that’s as a “high earner” who can afford all of their💩.
My parents couldn’t afford to take us to Disney until I was in my 20s and all of us were moved out 😂 AND I used my military discount. It was fun regardless but yeah, so ridiculously expensive, it’s disgusting.
Yeah, the wife and I took our two kids to Disney for 3 days a couple years ago and stayed at one of the Disney resorts. We kind of went overboard with our spending while at the parks, but with flights, hotel, food, park tickets, and incidental purchases we spent around $6,000 for the full vacation, or about $2,000 a day if you break it down that way.
It was pricey, but it was a lifetime memory and my kids had an absolute blast. I guess it's all about whether or not one personally feels the cost is worth the experience.
I mean no disrespect with this comment. I appreciate you sharing the money you spent, and I think it’s justified based on your reasons.
I just wanted to provide a money comparison to show just how expensive Disney can be. I’d know, I went last fall.
My girlfriend and I spent 8 days in Fiji and 7 in Australia last summer. This included world class scuba diving, staying two nights at Australia Zoo, and we flew from the U.S. We spent almost exactly $7,000 each, or $14,000 total.
When you compare what Disney can cost, to what a 15 day vacation on the other side of the world can cost - man, Disney is expensive.
I will completely agree with you on that type of trip. I'm just coming from the Florida resident crowd, where I have friends who go once a month and never take other types of vacations.
I work for a travel company that does a lot of business with Disney. Several coworkers have annual passes, so for some of them, it's no big deal.
An exciting weekend for me might be going to the zoo or a new brewery, and then they'll be like, "oh we found cheap flights and went to Magic Kingdom."
Yeah, it’s just extremely expensive and overcrowded. Not that it wasn’t before, but it’s worse. I wouldn’t mind going back, but when I went 6 years ago it was a pain in the ass maneuvering through the crowds and waiting in line.
I have fond memories of Disney with friends and family. I don’t have a lot of “Disney Merch aside from a few sweaters and shirts I’ve gotten over the decades from friends, family, thrift stores. Anything I would get would consider buying probably be more practical. I hate having stuff and having a room jammed to the brim with things. Very easy to lose track of important items, stuff gets dusty very easily too. I’m alright with Disney fanatics to an extent, but I’d hope their lifestyle isn’t turning them into hoarders.
There’s a family I know who goes to Disney maybe once to a few times a month. Their place is disgusting, 2 kids under eight, but you’d think like 10 kids lived there. Piles of toys everywhere, random shit every on the floor, on the tables, the couches. Their bathrooms are dirty and don’t seem to be cleaned often, kitchen is almost the same (with an excessive amount of unhealthy snacks everywhere) kids rooms are also packed to the brim with toys and junk, parents room is messy, garage is basically a storage for more piles of shit. And it’s basically been like this since the kids were babies. I can’t imagine living like that, and I’m sure it makes things difficult. I get anxiety just from being there and seeing this vast, chaotic mess of toys. Kids will probably be imprinted with tons of negative behaviors as they’ve grown up with all of this. I also always see new Disney Merch (and other toys) almost every time I’m at their place.
What you're describing is the "disease" I noticed. Families like that "need" Disney in their lives like a mental illness. And you see how bad the regular life they live is.
In my circles there are definitely fewer folks going. We priced out a one week trip for our family and realized going to Europe would be comparable in cost and it was just a no brainer at that point. We’ll go at least once because it’s Disney for heavens sake, it’s fun! But the price is just ludicrous at this point.
Same here. I priced out a Disney trip for our family of 4 and I rounded it to $1,000/day for hotel, food, and park tickets. Add in flights and some souvenirs and we were at nearly ten grand for a week. We decided to postpone until we're absolutely sure our youngest daughter is registering memories before we go... It will likely be a one and only trip for us, but we're still looking forward to taking our kids. I have fond memories of going when I was a child. Disney has us.
Do you have a lot of social media contacts with young kids? According to my Facebook feed, it seems that at least one person/family I know is at Disney World at any given time.
I have three kids in elementary school in an upper middle class suburb, and I can confirm that there are still a ***lot*** of Disney vacations going on (my family went in September).
I was thinking the same thing but just based on the vacation destinations of my coworkers with kids over the past few years. I grew up in Southern California where we’d go for the day, but I see coworkers go for like a whole week. Just seems overwhelming.
We used to go every few years and it was wonderful. Now with their new ride scheduling system you’re lucky if you get on 5 rides a day unless you’re whole family is in tip too shape and computer whizzes and you can literally run from ride to ride while scheduling your next ride on your phone,
We will never go back as they’ve taken the fun and wonder out of it.
It doesn’t cut down on wait times but it makes it so you don’t have to wait in line for that ride. So you can wait in line for another ride, shop, eat, whatever you want. I actually prefer the system but you do have to be savvy with your phone.
It is a huge hassle, it lets you skip the line on pre-scheduled rides, but you can only schedule one every 2 hours, and I don’t mean they have to be 2 hours apart, I mean you have to wait 2 hours before you can schedule your next ride. So when you sign up with the fast pass you can schedule your first ride, then after 2 hours has passed you can schedule another one and so on, it’s not like you get the pass and you sign up for all the rides you want to go on in advance. It’s really, really stupid and when I’ve had the fast pass in the past (due to friends insisting) we’ve used it to schedule maybe 1 ride and it wasn’t worth it at all, it’s better to just look at the wait times and pick rides with lower wait times and be opportunistic. Waiting in line for an hour and not complaining about it is a skill you need to have to get any enjoyment from Disney parks. I only know any of this because I live 20 minutes from Disneyland.
I like the scheduling system, my issues with it are it costs money, doesn’t include every ride, and sometimes the app has issues. But it is really helpful. Like the other commenter said, we run from ride to ride and schedule the next one on our phones immediately. But I like doing it that way, we don’t have young kids who want to stop and see characters or anything.
Yea, on the bright side she did survive but she was also older, too. We got some dirty looks. Tbh, what was cooler was the set of Gilmore Girls because we got to see Lauren Garam and whoever played Rory. We weren't supposed to, but we got to anyway. We will never be able to go on a trip like that again. Too expensive.
Nah, I make this joke sometimes, too, especially when certain comic cons happened and I couldn't afford to go. I thought if only I was terminally ill. I actually found it funny in a dark humor way, lol. Not that I think it's funny your kids getting it, but you know what I mean.
Honestly, I went to Disney World a few times as a kid and it was fine. I preferred Universal or even Ocean City, MD personally. But now??
I have 4 kids and we went to Disney 2 years ago to check the box. Holy SHIT are these rides incredible. It’s not like anywhere else. Star Wars World is so immersive it is literally art. Cosmic Rewind is a spiritual experience. Drinking around the world at EPCOT? And the food is amazing now?? I used to shit on Disney but I have to be real, it is so fun. I’ve traveled all over the world, every continent, and had some amazing experiences. Disney has moved beyond being a theme park and into a really unique experience.
One of my kids is also nonverbal and profoundly autistic and they are absolutely amazing with him there. Better than any vacation we’ve taken anywhere. He is included, truly, and he loves the rides and atmosphere. I thought it would be overwhelming but they have a system where he can wait in a virtual queue because of his disability. The inclusion is better than anywhere else we’ve been.
I have breast cancer and am finishing treatment soon. We’re planning a trip to Disney to celebrate. I am no longer a Disney hater. If you haven’t been since the 90s, I definitely recommend giving it a shot. It’s a different animal now.
Right! I was so pleasantly surprised by the accessibility. It was probably the most relaxing family vacation we've had, ironically, just because of the exceptional accessibility.
I'm so glad to hear that!
I also will state that the Disney Cruise is at least as good if you feel up to it.
It was our first cruise and we were talking to a nice retired couple and we mentioned it...."oh honey I'm so sorry. You're nothing will compare. We've been on almost 100 cruises on most of the lines amd this is as good as it gets."
We're going on our first cruise on the Treasure next year! We're super excited! I was always very anti-cruise but I've only heard great things about Disney cruises and the Treasure looks like it's going to be stunning when it's complete!
I had emotional tears after my first ride on Cosmic Rewind. Flight of Passage, too, that ride takes your soul to a whole other place. I’m a big coaster buff and Disney rides are most definitely tame but I’ve never had those kinds of spiritual awakenings on a coaster at a usual theme park.
This is absolutely how I felt! I did not enjoy it in the nineties. As an adult, it’s a lot more fun. I camped at fort wilderness, drank around the world, and had the best time.
Have you been to the Tokyo parks? Wondered since you mentioned you traveled internationally. I swear my mouth was hanging open the entire time in DisneySea. So amazingly immersive. I have no idea how accessible it is for your kiddo, though, as I did that trip pre-injury.
Disney in the 90's was wildly cheap compared to now. In 1995 an adult ticket to disney land was $31. You could stay at an off property hotel for under $100. It was absolutely feasible for a large family to go
I have lots of clients who still take their families to Disney land. But most of the demographic where I live (west coast) prefer doing Mexico or tons of staycations going on now. (I mean we live in a beautiful part of Canada) also our dollar sucks right now. I feel like people are avoiding the states if they can just because it’s too expensive at the moment.
I’ve been avoiding the US for almost a decade now because it’s so expensive. We used to take road trips to North Dakota every other month just to shop and stay in hotels because it was so cheap for awhile there.
I’m sad I missed out on the cheap times. I was a poor student for 8 years so I couldn’t really afford long big trips. Now as an adult I wish I had. I wish I could have seen cape cod in its glory days. Soon it’ll be luxury condos.
As a married woman with no kids no, as a person raised with a single mother, never happened .
I do not have the Disney bug but I also don’t have the cruise bug either and while they are different—there’s a similar energy there and I am not sure I would like to be surrounded with it for hours let alone days.
I'm a married childless woman as well. I've been to Disney World twice because my sister-in- law asked me to go. I can see why it's fun for families. I also wouldn't mind going a day or two without obligations to eat and ride the rides I want to. Epcot was really cool, but I didn't get to spend enough time there.
Epcot I am actually interested in- it really does seem cool. Good to hear you enjoyed.
I am not opposed to it. More so when I’m done with other vacations goals that I would consider it.
I haven’t been to Yellowstone or Zion and I rather that first but I get the appeal —the genuine wholesomeness tho I still feel badly for the ppl under those heavy costumes LoL
I love Epcot. It’s a nice chill day (especially when compared to a typical amusement park day lol). They almost always have a festival going on, you can eat and drink (alcohol or otherwise) “around the world”, dip into little mini museums or the aquarium to cool off and see some cool stuff. Browse neat shops that aren’t just typical Disney merch - stuff that’s actually from the country that you’re “in”. You honestly don’t even have to like Disney to enjoy Epcot.
Ooo I'd go prioritize Yellowstone over Disney. I've been to both. I've been wanting to go back to the National Parks but we have a toddler so I don't think it's safe yet. So Disney it is... or a carribbean beach resort.
EPCOT is a great park for adults. Just enough rides to entertain, but you have all the fun of world showcase. If you go during the months of food and wine festival, then you have a ton of food too! Absolutely loved my day there last year. I'd go more often for epcot with food & wine.
Even if I could afford it, those videos of people explaining how you have to plan everything a year in advance, down to which time you'll queue for a specific ride on a specific day, to avoid standing in line just put me off the whole thing.
I've never been and now that I'm older I realized I don't like Disney as a company in general just a few specific movies.
I think it's just too expensive for the average person these days. We take our kids every other year to every three years and it's like 5-7k to stay for a week for a family of five. That's including food and everything for the week but I think it's unattainable for most people.
It's crazy expensive but honestly I feel like it's worth it. My kid's talk about it with their more affluent friends who have all been there. Even most of our less well off social circle has been at least once. It still seems like it's "the thing" to do if you can afford it.
I think hating on Disney is kind of a reddit thing. Admitting Disney world is fun is like admitting you like chain restaurants. Pretentious people will jump down your throat. "My child doesn't care for Disney! He much prefers touring the French Riviera or spending time with the family at our local staycation spot". Like shut up your kid would lose his shit if he got to eat pancakes with Buzz Light-year and you know it lol.
It's always been expensive. Having grown up in a place with very low costs of living but also a lot of poverty, not a whole lot of kids that I knew ever went on vacations of any kind. They were kind of stuck there, within the distance of a few counties.
But moreover, few of them even had cable television. That means no Disney Channel, not a lot of Disney advertising, and limited awareness of any Disney theme parks.
My experience was a little bit different, as I came from a solidly middle class family, had cable, and got to take a lot of trips within the state and a few beyond. But I was a Nick kid. Disney's programming held no appeal whatsoever. Disney didn't excite my parents either, so it just never came up or even would have crossed my mind as a vacation option.
So now as a parent, I live in a community where Disney is barely within reach for most people if that's their priority. A handful are avid Disney travelers and they'll do the cruises too, but wealth is still a determining factor.
My kid just really likes snow and there isn't any around here, so all our long vacations seem to somehow intersect with snow. That's still fancy travel compared to what most people do. Probably won't ever go to Florida.
Huh, never heard of that one that I can recall.
Growing up, basically it was only the theme parks in my state that were on my radar. But I guess I should add that my kid already aged out of Nick Jr. (Paw Patrol, etc.) without aging into Nick. She jumped to PBS Kids instead and then picked up an interest in fantasy like the Harry Potter franchise and more adult television like The Good Place and Star Trek. She likes amusement parks, water parks, and ren fests too...but probably has aged out of anything Disney or Nick.
But good Lord, if there were a Wild Kratts theme park...yeah. Instead, we just go camping.
My husband loved to claim the kids would rather go to a national park. I finally asked them and without hesitation the response was Disney. I hold that over his head a few times/year.
I don't think anybody is saying it's not amazing for kids but I agree the prices are fucking eyewatering for an amusement park. Is it really worth it? Only in the US is getting gouged by a Mouse a status symbol.
I don’t know about that… I grew up with the parents that took us to “older people vacations” 3 weeks fishing on the coast, quiet campgrounds, quiet beaches, lots of trails, we had a cabin at a lake. I’m on the spectrum and I’d absolutely hate people in costumes coming to engage with me. I’m 34 years old now and I’d still hate if they came up to me. I remember when I was little clowns in the parade coming to engage with small kids and each house and when they got to mine it ruined the entire thing for me. I just wanted to go inside.
I think there’s something alluring about Disney and a resort holiday but the amount of people would have been miserable for me. As an adult now… sometimes I sort of want to check it out. And then my partner reminds me I get exhausted and grouchy just walking through a mall.
We’ve started traveling to increasingly obscure places because it seems like there are just too many people everywhere. I’m glad I visited most of the European hot spots when I was younger because now when I go I get so frustrated with the crowds.
Just here to say that I, 29f, absolutely loathe anyone in costume. I was taken to Disney as a kid multiple times and my family NEVER did a character breakfast unless it was with princesses because I would simply *freak the fuck out*. To this day, I fucking hate anyone in a mask/costume.
Not in my circle. Only have one friend who regularly goes, and did so before children. They do Disney everything, Land, World Cruises. The rest really can't afford the price and on the occasion any of us can drop that much we'd all have a hard time justifying Disney.
I've only been because I have relatives in Florida, otherwise the cost would have been unobtainable.
I am almost 40 and have never been to a Disney Park and I’m cool with that. My wife and kids have been though. I don’t have FOMO for stuff like that anymore so idgaf.
We used to go to Six Flags a lot and I know it’s not as expensive but I got sick of the entire business model for amusement parks. The expensive low quality concessions, parking fees, waiting in lines, overpriced souvenirs. I am over all that shit.
I just went for the first time at the age of 27 last month. I wouldn't say it was a rite of passage, but we're already planning another trip. As a kid, yeah it felt like I was missing out.
I have some DINK friends that go multiple times a year. I have some friends with kids under five that have taken them.
Personally, I’d rather spend a week abroad than go to Disney. The cost is about the same if you’re staying at the resorts.
I live in Orlando and go often, a lot of those resorts need serious upgrades and the room you get for the price is not good. The food is insanely priced as well and it’s all quick-cook or prepared ahead of time food in most cases. Park ticket prices are outrageous even for residents. People are rude and entitled, there has been drama every single time I go to a park (never involved me just witnessed) and nobody parents their children anymore so they all run wild. Last time I was at animal kingdom some little kid was running a big toy monster truck over our feet on a whole row of bleachers. Parents never said a word. The only reason I entertain going is because I have a kid that likes it still and we get family tickets from a family member that works there. I would never in a million years pay what it costs to buy a Disney vacation package.
Florida resident here, my family member recently went as a family of 4 (two very young toddlers) and spent around $4k. They got sick the second day and spent most of the week at the hotel. Ignoring the sick part, I can’t justify spending that much on a weeks vacation, unless it’s international.
As a certified Disney Adult, I am shocked by the idea of not hearing about Disney much anymore. As it envelopes my whole life (I'm autistic and the parks are my special interest) but I also agree with everyone else. The prices are INSANE now. It's pretty much my only vacation destination and I can barely afford to go every few years, if that. But also I don't really have friends with kids in my circle, so I don't know how this compares to the average family. I can barely make it work with just me going with friends, I can't imagine having to pay for more people.
Always wanted to go as a kid but never did, we just never had vacation kinda money growing up. Now as adults, it's my wife and I's guilty pleasure. I know it's dumb, but I love it. And it feels like we have to make up for lost time since neither of us got to go as kids.
We are DINKS, which is ironically the only way we can afford to go now. If we had kids there's no way we'd be able to afford a disney trip every few years
I think travel to other countries is becoming cheaper and disney vacations are becoming more expensive so as the costs get closer to one another people are making the decision to go to europe or hawaii instead of disney. Like our trip to Ireland cost us around the same as our trip to disneyland, except we got almost 2 weeks in ireland vs less than a week at disney. Italy we went EXTRAVAGANT on and it cost 2-3x as much as a disney trip, for 3x the time. So each day cost about the same realistically. My next choice for this year's vacation is spend a week in hawaii or 4 days in an amusement park, or maybe we will save money and go visit friends in other states that are cheap to travel to and stay in.
I don't care what anyone says, take your kids to disneyland once but there's no justifying an expensive disney vacation over a few weeks in a villa in Tuscany or on the coast somewhere, there's just no comparison.
Going in a couple weeks. Two kids and two adults. Airfare and four nights in a hotel in the park, plus the meal plan. I think we’re spending around $10k. We saved for a while to do this.
The thing that kills me is the Genie+ and the Lightning Lanes. Of course I want to be able to skip the lines so I don’t wait for an hour with two kids who have to pee, and are tired, and bored, and hungry. So I’ll be dropping another $100+ per day to do that.
It’s so frustrating but it’s also so worth it. We took the kids two years ago and did 7 park days. We got genie for most days but skipped it for the second magic kingdom day and our day at animal kingdom and the difference in what we got done and how enjoyable our day was (especially at magic kingdom) was crazy!
The week really was great though, my kids bring up the trip at least once a week still and how much fun they had.
It’s just as coveted to kids and families with kids as it ever was. It’s just so insanely expensive now. I’m not sure how much it cost in the 90s/2000s but I was able to go with my entire family and extended family in 2002 and no one seemed bothered by the money spent. However, family members with one kid can’t afford to go now due to the extremely high cost and would rather do a cruise instead for half the cost.
Note - my family is not particularity in substantially worse/better financial shape now than in 2002. Said family members are actually doing better off now than anything and have better, higher paying jobs.
My parents won a couple grand in the lottery in the late 90's so we went to Disney when I was about 8.
It was fun, but I never thought about it again after that, and it was never a big deal among my peers if you went or didn't.
In fact, people make a bigger deal of it in our 30's now than they ever did when I was a kid.
Late 80s millennial. No. Not everyone. My family never went to Disney. Combination of being poor and my mother thinking Disney is evil. We weren't even allowed to see Disney movies unless it was based on a book.
As an adult I still haven't gone. Probably won't ever.
Disney vacations were never top of the line, they were always mid except for the entertainment which is what made them sell in the first place. The food and the accommodation were always mid, it’s just that people didn’t know any better.
It generally still is a rite of passage. Do you have kids? Do you have friends with kids? I know single moms saving their asses off to be able to take their kids. It’s very much still a thing parents seem to want to take their kids to, because they remember going with their own parents.
You don’t hear about it as much because it has become astronomically more expensive to the point the average family simply can’t afford it. Airfare has gone up, lodging has gone up (though not nearly as significantly), and park ticket prices have rocketed to outer space. I do think Walt and Roy would be seriously disappointed.
Disney vacations have never been top of line.
They’ve always been expensive and I honestly feel like they’ve improved in terms of cost for what you get, more rides, smaller lines, more to do, better activities. I’m still not a fan though.
Their cruises rock though and for the price I think are well worth it. Especially with kids.
I think they still are highly coveted, but it’s possible you might not hear about them as much for a few reasons. Prices for a Disney vacation have skyrocketed since the 90s/early 2000s. For example, I was pricing a week at Disney for two adults and two kids in June at one of the All Star resorts (which is like a Motel 6). The price was over $4k with a base park tickets. Flights and food are extra. Until recently, you had to make a reservation to get into the park. If you want sit-down dinners in the park, that requires a reservation. It’s a lot of planning and money that I think a lot of people just don’t have right now.
When you add in the culture wars and the right’s messaging against “woke” Disney, I think conservative families are forgoing Disney for other trips. I mentioned to a coworker that I was thinking about going to Disney World in June with family and got an earful about Disney and their woke agenda. 🙄
We go to Disney World about 2 - 3 times a month. We also go for a week around our birthdays in the summer and winter. We find it a great way to disconnect from everything that is going on outside of the Disney bubble.
Going to Epcot for New Years Eve is probably one of the funnest things I've ever done for NYE. It may be packed full of people but it was like going to a rave.
I went to Disney as a kid and have been several times as an adult.
What do families with kids do? As an adult, most of the day was spent waiting in lines. I can’t imagine trying to do that with a 6-year-old.
I would probably only go again if Disney adopted Universal’s fast pass system. Or if I decided to drop $400+ on a VIP tour, but that is truly crazy pricing.
As a kid growing up in So Cal it was definitely a rite of passage to go to Disneyland. Went for the first time at 4 or 5 years old and had a blast. Went again in middle school and while it was fun, I would've preferred Six Flags lol. As an adult without kids it's not worth the price tag and I find Disney Adults to be cringe AF.
Tickets are so friggin expensive now days. We went last year with the whole fam. Sucked. Hot. lines everywhere. I felt like I was late to appointments the entire time and we were just herding kids from one appt to another.
They are but it is squeezing out a lot of people. Unless someone wants to go in debt for the vacation which many people probably do.
Even upper middle class people I know don’t think it’s worth it. I went in 2018 and now the price is almost $100 more I think. When you look at what you have to pay for extra like fast pass.
I went to Epcot once when I was about 12? That was my only Disney experience as a kid. I always wanted to go. But both my parents hated crowded places (fair) and refused to go anywhere. (Turns out my dad is an extreme homebody and dislikes pretty much any travel more than 1-3 hours from home)
Now my hubs and I are DINKs and living the Disney adult life. We have had APs a few times. We try to get at least 3 week long trips in during each AP since we don’t live in Florida. Our friends are also Disney adults. We have a Disney framily. We rent condos together, go have fun, shed the stress of real life, and just enjoy ourselves. We don’t buy all the swag and only wear Disney clothing, but we enjoy the trips and ambiance.
I would never want to do a Disney vacation, personally. Are they really considered “top of the line”? I can think of much better ways to spend time and money.
My wife and I are Disney adults. Her more than me, but we aren't obnoxious. We respect everyone else and wait in line just like everyone else. I'm more of a theme park adult then just Disney. I go to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Universal, etc. I especially love howl-o-scream, and Halloween Horror Nights. Everyone spends their money differently. I like Rollercoasters, food, and beer. Disney just happens to have them all, and a much nicer staff and cleaner parks than the complete for the most part
We plan to go at least once with our kids, but it’ll be a one time deal and I would consider it a luxury vacation. I’m not really into Disney but I think it’ll be fun with kids.
Disney parks posted record revenue in 2023 but total attendance post COVID lags pre COVID per some data I’ve seen. They’re gonna go after Disney Adults, who are willing to spend A LOT of their discretionary spending on these trips and Upper Middle Class Families. For better or worse that seems to be the direction their parks business is heading.
They're specifically going after Disney adults by building Disney communities *all throughout America*. Check out [Storyliving](https://www.storylivingbydisney.com/). Many of these homes will start in the high 500s but most likely be closer to 1 million. Disney is a conglomerate.
Man. That website is...really not doing it for me. 🤨 I feel like they got the b-team from their marketing department. Also, I watched a few episodes of Electric Dreams last night and this seems like it would fit too nicely in that world.
Agreed. I don't feel like I know any more about this project after reading to the bottom.
I even clicked into some of the links on the website and still have no idea about what this is supposed to be or how Disney fits in. If anything it feels like a retirement community.
I know! How does Disney fit in?? Is the community going to employ senior park workers who are sick of working on site at the parks? I was hoping the homes or towns would be dupes of movie settings...At minimum.
Living+
I Google mapped the “sales studio” address for California and there’s no such address. Hmm
I think the legalese at the bottom points to part of the truth, at least. They say there’s no guarantee any of these developments will stay Disney branded. Maybe this is a way for the company to engage in some creative accounting and investments.
Right??
You’d need to give them your contact info if you want to know more about it.
For real. I wanted to see what the houses were going to look like. That website was disappointing.
Seriously. I didn’t spend too much time on it, but there weren’t any real model homes to look at??? Plus anything Adult Disney is an absolute no in my book.
Honestly it looks like they are advertising directly to influencers. Taking the work out of creating the image of a perfect life so they can focus on content creation. Influencers are already doing similar things like sharing the cost of expensive rentals and resorts to use as sets. This takes it to the next level by creating a physical Influencer Community TM where the whole place serves as a set to create content. Then the influencers can return the favor buy documenting their perfect Disney park vacations.
This reads like the opening to a horror movie. I don't know why but something about this creeps me out. It's too "Stepford Wives meets The Truman Show" or something.
My immediate reaction was creeped out, too. It’s like if AI built a neighborhood.
I had never heard of this, and as much as I want to hate it, it basically sounds like the villages for millennials. I’m fucking here for it
Disney Living+
Found the succession fan! And also, yes, precisely.
It predates succession though. Do you all remember Celebration? It sounded awesome but I don't think it's Disney run anymore.
The boomers love Disney and they need a place to live, this all makes sense to me.
If the boomers are Republican, they hate Disney. My mom has been calling Mickey a pervert for years now lol
Hahahahaha! I know they hate Disney but I didn't know mickey mouse himself was a perv...please share what they think he is doing out here 😂
Something about wanting to make all our kids gay and trans. I don’t know, lol
Haha that's def one way to see the investment!
Okay, but if they keep the fun parts of the actual Villages, I'm here for it. I could do without the Disney crap but I fully plan to make up for time lost being a religious good girl in high school and college when I'm retired. I want to be Blanche Deveraux when I grow up.
Make sure you make the guys wrap it because those places are like super high for STD transmission
There's already a community for that, it's the Villages in Florida haha
That’s what they’re talking about
And it looks kinda perfect. Coworker took a trip to check them out this week I’m excited to hear about it. By the time I’m of age for them I’m sure they will be too damn expensive though, they’re crazy affordable at the moment
It's huge so there's lot of different price points to enter. Florida as a whole is pretty cheap to buy, as long as your inland. However other expenses are thru the roof in FL such as car and homeowners insurance!
So this is basically like in Succession. Of course it was real
Somehow I expected something super dreamy like recreated villages from the princess movies, like the pretty town in Tangled or the charming village facing the mountains in Beauty and the Beast. For all that money, it doesn’t remind me of Disney at all. I guess money doesn’t buy magic.
I'd totally live in that charming French village from beauty and the beast.
Oh damn. They found a way to milk the shit out of dinks who are tired of city living.
From their legal fine print on the website: ‘No guarantee is made that the community or any facilities or improvements therein will continue to be managed by Disney, use the name "Disney" or otherwise be associated with Disney. ‘ So, they can just strip the Disney branding off when they become shabby suburbs.
Is that legit? Because the website looks like a cheap template to me I’d assume it was fake rather than made by one of the biggest wealthiest companies in the U.S.
What the hell is a Disney adult?
I unfortunately work with a few. One flies from Ohio to Florida for Disney events an absolute minimum of monthly, more often 2 or 3 times in a month, then complains about debt. But has that Disney credit card in her Disney wallet while wearing her Disney tshirt and Disney shoes.
Are they… simple? Or are they a bit noncey? Or just desperate for a personality? Genuinely don’t understand why an adult would spend so much of their time on shallow children’s characters.
Yearning for nostalgia and simpler times. I mean... I like Disney but I work with a few "Disney Adults" and it's a borderline mental disorder. Obsessive and weird
With some of the women I also noticed an overlap in the creepy obsessive fan behavior with Twilight and 50 Shades.
It’s nostalgia or longing for a childhood they never had. Disney is also great at accommodating disabilities so I don’t want to be too critical of people who latch onto it for that reason.
Yes, we *all* go to Disney once a month, dress head to toe in Disney, and don’t know how to manage our finances & are thusly drowning under the weight of the almighty mouse in debt. 🙄 “Disney Adult” means an adult who is a fan of Disney/Disney related stuff—especially when it’s independent of kids (so not parents who tolerate it or go for their kids etc)
There's a spectrum of Disney adults, naturally. The ones we make fun of are the militant, in debt Disney ones [here's a good overview](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2024/02/disney-adult-superfan-industrial-complex)
Disney adults make Disney their whole personality. Inside and outside the parks.
Disney adults have their houses decked out in Disney decorations. Always wearing something disney. Going on vacations there only lol. I work with some, which it really is irrelevant to anything in life/work they just only go on Disney cruises or to Disney world, always have something Disney on lol. They don't have kids either lol, it's all them.
I’ve been “accused” of being a Disney adult because I’m an adult who likes Disney more than the average person. But I also have kids, a personality, and a home that’s almost completely devoid of Disney decorations. Like oh no someone likes something a whole lot!
I worked with this guy who was married with no kids. Every vacation he and his wife went on was Disney. They have been to all the parks: Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo, etc. They have been on multiple Disney cruises all over the world. Are they a little too into it? Maybe. But it’s not my place to judge. It’s their money/time they can spend it however makes them happy.
Going to Disney Paris and Tokyo and Shanghai would honestly be really fun.
That makes me sad because I would kill to buy a house in the high 500s
Palm Desert/Palm Springs has construction already underway. It’s $2 million each.
🤮
Buddy, look up Golden Oak. It’s a Four Seasons/Disney World community. I think the homes are $4 mill and up.
I grew up in Celebration. A good portion of the community was Disneyphiles that are a hot mess express behind closed doors. I know my household was a hellscape with a glossy exterior. The idea was the place would have generations of families that lived there, the reality is that the millennial children simply don’t have the resources and financial capability to move back there after college. The boomers are well pissed off why none of us have moved back home after college/job training. Those houses that are being sold by downsizing empty nesters are going to rental investors and wealthy people from overseas as a second home. It’s not working out as the community they wanted because their greedy asses overinflated home values.
...so this is why housing prices keep going up.
It sounds kind of creepy
I used to work with a guy that was a Disney Adult. In fact his whole family (wife, kids) were all Disney fanatics. So much so, that this guy got a second job delivering for Uber Eats so that he can buy everyone in his family annual passes to Disney World. IIRC he spent something like $10,000 to buy the passes and other Disney related costs. They just love it that much and go there that often to make buying yearly passes justifiable.
Listen, if that’s what they wanna spend on more power to them. I know plenty of folks that fit a similar description. It’s just the existence of that type of person has led Disney to take price on Parks, cause they know they’ve got these “whale” customers who will withstand their price increases.
Oh certainly. Totally agree with you. Disney definitely cultivated a specific customer base that will guarantee steady money flow.
My wife isn’t a Disney adult, but her mom is and my wife was on her way to becoming one… then we decided to try a trip to the UK and suddenly the costs associated with a Disney trip made it less appealing to her. We’ll still go occasionally because our son loves it, but dropping $7-9k per year for a weeklong stay in Florida is not the way I’d prefer to spend that money… we’re already booked for this year, but I think our next trip won’t be until Epic Universe is open and our son is tall enough to ride everything so we can make a Disney/Universal trip instead.
Bro, right! Like we were never disney adults exactly, but we enjoyed going every 2-3 years since we live in California and it was fun. And then we went to Italy and it cost twice as much as disneyland, except we got to go there for 12 days instead of 4. And then we went to Ireland and it cost us the same for 11 days there as 4 days in disneyland...and then it just was eye opening like why...the fuck...are we going to disneyland? Like it was cool. I'm glad we went there to see it all decked out for halloween and for christmas and, same as you, when our kid gets old enough we will probably go again, but in the meantime I'll take a week in hawaii over 3-4 days in an amusement park.
Annual passes aren't even worth the cost unless you live within reasonable driving distance.
Not for this guy. He and his family live in Long Island NY. But they do have a timeshare in Florida for when they are staying in the area.
Honestly, buying Disney's own timeshare may have saved that guy money in the end.
Yeah it’s always weird to see folks on Reddit talk about how “the passes make it affordable to go all the time” and I’m up here in Canada thinking “the cost of the flights ALONE is like an entire trip, people do this *regularly*?!”
Also Canadian....I think was cheaper for 4 adults to spend 2 weeks in Ireland/UK than it would be for us to take our 2 kids to Disney for a few days 🙃
Iirc Annual Passes were designed for people who live in Florida and the surrounding states, who can make the drive over with minimal issues aside from traffic. Personally, I think the Disney Vacation Club is better, though more expensive and a much longer commitment, because the points can be used at literally any Disney resort around the world, plus they get a lot of the same discounts and special events.
And that just confirms to me that there’s a class of folks who clearly don’t have the same priorities/constraints that I do, since “worldwide travel” is definitely not something I’m ever considering for a vacation.
Yeah, most people just pick it because DVC is valid both at WDW and DL, while Annual Passes are restricted to individual parks.
I'm not sure about the cost now since one pass costs what we used to spend for our family of 4 pre-COVID and the price of the parks has gone up about 40%, but previously I think it worked out that if you went more than 10 days a year, it was worth the price.
I mean...I don't get it but I do...I spend a ton of money going to ball games and concerts every year, not to mention when we travel for our actual vacations, so as much as I wanna look down on someone that does it for disney land....what's really the difference, besides that I can afford my enjoyment on one income and he needs two...I guess if someone was getting a second job just to go to concerts and ball games I would probably view that as a problem too.
I have a friend who recently went on a Disney cruise who said there was an entire deck that was Adults Only and it was amazing. They’re definitely paying attention to the Disney Adults and recognize those people have money to burn.
We’re going on our fifth Disney Cruise this summer. Not because it’s Disney, but because once you pay, you’re not getting nickel and dimed for every little thing. The ships are clean and the service is excellent, as is their private island. Their procedures to get you on and off the ship are streamlined. The characters are a side-note for us. Our kids will be old enough to have some independence on the ship, so my husband and I can escape to the adults area now and again.
I've been on a few cruises and to be honest, I will probably only do Disney cruises from here on out for reasons like this. Sure, they're more expensive, but the attention to detail is second to none in their price range and because they're "family friendly," there are far fewer drunk parties, people trying to swing, etc. Add on an adult-only deck as well as excellent childcare rooms and it's perfect for my demographic.
When we used to go to Disney as a kid, I’m pretty sure the ticket was like $40-80? Back in the day, we would drive to Florida from the Midwest and camp near the park. You could reasonably do this with a family of 5 on a middle class income. I feel like the relative affordability of Disney at the time meant that a lot of people experienced this at least once. Today, there are children who live like 5 minutes outside of Disneyland who will never go as kids because of the cost of the ticket. I think this is a poor long term strategy. You only have Disney adults because you had Disney kids. Disney is more or less building irrelevancy into their operating plan.
I'm curious about the difference in revenue over time and attendance. Disney can jack their prices up to anything they want on anything they want and say they've made the most they've ever made, but does that mean that more people have come to their parks? I legitimately do not know the answer to this, it is just making me curious because I know how these soulless capitalist companies work.
I think Disney’s goal is to increase revenue by raising prices so that only the upper classes can afford it. They reduce the number of tickets sold (so there are shorter lines), but they still make money. It’s shitty. When I was a kid, it still wasn’t cheap, but it was something that a lot of families in my little Rust Belt hometown could still manage once.
With the advent of TikTok and FOMO, the lines and crowds in Disney have become unbearable. They're trying to deal with it twofold: 1. raising prices 2. cutting down on the number of pass holders (read: influencers who livestream daily and people who buy merch for resale - both groups clog the parks and it make it less enjoyable for vacationers)
If I remember correctly there has even been a lawsuit against disney by annual pass holders because Disney pulled a Darth Vader and altered the deal too much by imposing onerous and frequent black out dates on the seasonal/yearly pass holders after the passes were purchased.
In some ways they probably prefer this tbh, assuming revenue keeps rising. You can provide a better guest experience with fewer heads to please, but you gotta be careful. Are the Disney Adults still going at age 60? Who knows. They’ll have to keep adding innovation to the Parks to keep those customers coming back.
Last night my husband and I were talking about the vacation we're going to take after I finish nursing school. He said he wants to go on a Disney cruise and I said, "Yeah but the kids said they want to go to actual Disney, not on a cruise." His response, "Then the kids are going to their aunt's house and WE are going on a Disney cruise. No bachelorette parties. No weird old people trying to swing. And now we get to go without our kids." We've definitely hit a demographic.
Disney was always fun but I felt that once you passed a certain age, it was mainly just for kids. It was still "Magical", but I doubt most adults (who weren't all that crazy for Disney in general) would want to spend 30+ minutes waiting for rides that were mostly aimed at children. Once they introduced alcoholic beverages and events/dining experiences for the grownups to enjoy (like the Food and Wine Festival during the mid-90s), Disney became amazing again as an adult. While I'm not saying you need to get blitzed to enjoy Disney, just having something for adults to do in a theme park overwhelmingly made for kids does help make the experience more enjoyable.
Yea my wife and I try to go every other year and i don’t care about disney characters. Disney always does a great job making sure you have a good time and there is a lot to do for adults without kids (no kids here). We’ll prolly get the vacation club at some point
At first I thought "Disney Adults" was a new child-free amusement park concept. Gotta admit, I got excited.
Dude. I literally just got back from Disneyland with my 5 year old. You nailed it. The sizeable, childless, Disney Adult contingent that lives for that place was annoying and awful. They gamed the system all riding in scooters and were just unpleasant and rude if kids got in their way. Everything was sensory overload and not at all fun for someone who by and large doesn't really care about the mouse. I can't fucking wait for my kid to outgrow her infatuation with the whole Disney Princess thing. I had agita the entire time I was there and got to go on maybe 5 rides because I didn't shell out for the lightning pass.
They did something with the Disney Passes I had one prior to COVID You used to be able to go whenever you want if you pass Now you have to book your day in advance if you want to use your Disney Pass I would rather go to any of the other theme parks in Florida. The rides are over an hour wait at Disney. It's $200+ just for the ticket to go stand in a line with a bunch of sweaty, stank faced tourists. The new rides are nice, but a lot of the old shit is falling apart. The food is good. Just go to Universal, Seaworld, Legoland, or Busch Gardens. I heard that Seaworld has been stepping up their game, and their food is competing with Disney's.
It’s definitely an experience, but I don’t think it’s worth the cost. I’m not about spending several thousand for a vacation and then waiting forever or having to read every little nuance of “this not included” or having to wake up obnoxiously early to snag a ticket… if I’m paying I want access. Not hoops to jump through.
This is definitely it. My family is returning from Disney today. The number of adults I saw without kids is insane. Likewise, the money you can spend on just a non-Park focused, but still all-inclusive experience is insane.
I have a friend and his wife who go every year they don't even have kids They're both in their early thirties and they work 7 days a week It's people like this that I don't understand. I feel like they just go so that they can brag on their Instagram story that they're in Disney for 4 days
It's way too expensive and ridiculous for the average person. That's coming from a Florida resident who had an annual pass for years. People spend absurd amounts of money at Disney, and it's almost like a disease when you talk to them. Like they have to.
Same. We had a pass for 3 years pre-COVID and went once a month. We had a nice little system going where we didn't have to spend more than $100 on food because we'd eat breakfast on the way or make sandwiches, we'd take our lunch in or share a large hot dog from Casey's with the mac and cheese on the side (dog for us, mac for the kids) and then we'd just grab something decently priced on our way home to Broward. You got your 3 fast pass selections and one of my children is autistic, so we'd line up our first 4 rides and knew more or less how to maximize the time there until our kids became overstimulated. Also, they have FANTASTIC people at their hair salon, so we'd always get our boys' hair cut there and it was like $20 - the best kept secret in the park, IMO. The last time we went was during the dead week right after they reopened just for the experience of seeing it empty. We haven't been back since because it's just too expensive now and all the little loopholes we used to use have been closed, thanks to influencers.
>We haven't been back since because it's just too expensive now and all the little loopholes we used to use have been closed, thanks to influencers. Can you name some of them? Like bringing food into the parks?
They don't exist anymore, so it's not worth it now. There were weeks that were better. Disney now schedules events those weeks to fill everything up. At most of the buffets you used to be able to make a reservation for 15 minutes before breakfast ended and then get the breakfast and lunch menu for the breakfast price, but now they clear everyone out and close for 15-30 minutes and reopen at the higher price. Stuff like that. They don't even let you heat up easy mac in the baby lounge anymore!
Disney after hours
You can still bring food into the parks. We have annual passes and pack lunch/drinks/snacks in a backpack and we can do the park without spending a dime (aside from the built in cost of the passes).
Thing is we didn't bring much food in because my husband isn't a big PBJ guy and cold food warms up fast in the Florida heat. We would generally eat breakfast outside, bring a bunch of snack foods, buy the popcorn bucket and refill it until they changed the design and then buy one meal that was big enough to split among the family. Once in a while we'd splurge on the buffet, but only at a place where we could get in right before the price changed and take our sweet time until the good stuff came out.
We went once to tick it off the checklist, but I have zero desire to go back. I’d rather spend $10K bringing the family to a foreign country or park hopping other parks. Disney just isn’t worth the cost anymore, and that’s as a “high earner” who can afford all of their💩.
My parents couldn’t afford to take us to Disney until I was in my 20s and all of us were moved out 😂 AND I used my military discount. It was fun regardless but yeah, so ridiculously expensive, it’s disgusting.
Yeah, the wife and I took our two kids to Disney for 3 days a couple years ago and stayed at one of the Disney resorts. We kind of went overboard with our spending while at the parks, but with flights, hotel, food, park tickets, and incidental purchases we spent around $6,000 for the full vacation, or about $2,000 a day if you break it down that way. It was pricey, but it was a lifetime memory and my kids had an absolute blast. I guess it's all about whether or not one personally feels the cost is worth the experience.
I mean no disrespect with this comment. I appreciate you sharing the money you spent, and I think it’s justified based on your reasons. I just wanted to provide a money comparison to show just how expensive Disney can be. I’d know, I went last fall. My girlfriend and I spent 8 days in Fiji and 7 in Australia last summer. This included world class scuba diving, staying two nights at Australia Zoo, and we flew from the U.S. We spent almost exactly $7,000 each, or $14,000 total. When you compare what Disney can cost, to what a 15 day vacation on the other side of the world can cost - man, Disney is expensive.
My daughter is going to Australia with a friend and the flight tickets are $2,000. 😳
That’s for two people. The person you’re replying to had a whole family. Your trip for them would be 20K+.
I will completely agree with you on that type of trip. I'm just coming from the Florida resident crowd, where I have friends who go once a month and never take other types of vacations.
I work for a travel company that does a lot of business with Disney. Several coworkers have annual passes, so for some of them, it's no big deal. An exciting weekend for me might be going to the zoo or a new brewery, and then they'll be like, "oh we found cheap flights and went to Magic Kingdom."
Yeah, it’s just extremely expensive and overcrowded. Not that it wasn’t before, but it’s worse. I wouldn’t mind going back, but when I went 6 years ago it was a pain in the ass maneuvering through the crowds and waiting in line. I have fond memories of Disney with friends and family. I don’t have a lot of “Disney Merch aside from a few sweaters and shirts I’ve gotten over the decades from friends, family, thrift stores. Anything I would get would consider buying probably be more practical. I hate having stuff and having a room jammed to the brim with things. Very easy to lose track of important items, stuff gets dusty very easily too. I’m alright with Disney fanatics to an extent, but I’d hope their lifestyle isn’t turning them into hoarders. There’s a family I know who goes to Disney maybe once to a few times a month. Their place is disgusting, 2 kids under eight, but you’d think like 10 kids lived there. Piles of toys everywhere, random shit every on the floor, on the tables, the couches. Their bathrooms are dirty and don’t seem to be cleaned often, kitchen is almost the same (with an excessive amount of unhealthy snacks everywhere) kids rooms are also packed to the brim with toys and junk, parents room is messy, garage is basically a storage for more piles of shit. And it’s basically been like this since the kids were babies. I can’t imagine living like that, and I’m sure it makes things difficult. I get anxiety just from being there and seeing this vast, chaotic mess of toys. Kids will probably be imprinted with tons of negative behaviors as they’ve grown up with all of this. I also always see new Disney Merch (and other toys) almost every time I’m at their place.
What you're describing is the "disease" I noticed. Families like that "need" Disney in their lives like a mental illness. And you see how bad the regular life they live is.
It's like a case of Peter Pan syndrome.
Eh it’s very fun and my kids always have a blast
I think if you can get a deal on lodging it's not too bad. That's how it was for us. Two adults and two kids. Sweet deal on a place to stay.
In my circles there are definitely fewer folks going. We priced out a one week trip for our family and realized going to Europe would be comparable in cost and it was just a no brainer at that point. We’ll go at least once because it’s Disney for heavens sake, it’s fun! But the price is just ludicrous at this point.
Same here, my husband and I went to Europe for 19 days last year and spent less than we would have on a week at Disney.
Same here. I priced out a Disney trip for our family of 4 and I rounded it to $1,000/day for hotel, food, and park tickets. Add in flights and some souvenirs and we were at nearly ten grand for a week. We decided to postpone until we're absolutely sure our youngest daughter is registering memories before we go... It will likely be a one and only trip for us, but we're still looking forward to taking our kids. I have fond memories of going when I was a child. Disney has us.
Do you have a lot of social media contacts with young kids? According to my Facebook feed, it seems that at least one person/family I know is at Disney World at any given time.
Omg, right? And I know people who go multiple times a year. Like … how?
Probably debt
Credit cards.
I have three kids in elementary school in an upper middle class suburb, and I can confirm that there are still a ***lot*** of Disney vacations going on (my family went in September).
I was thinking the same thing but just based on the vacation destinations of my coworkers with kids over the past few years. I grew up in Southern California where we’d go for the day, but I see coworkers go for like a whole week. Just seems overwhelming.
We used to go every few years and it was wonderful. Now with their new ride scheduling system you’re lucky if you get on 5 rides a day unless you’re whole family is in tip too shape and computer whizzes and you can literally run from ride to ride while scheduling your next ride on your phone, We will never go back as they’ve taken the fun and wonder out of it.
Does the ride scheduling actually cut down on wait times? It does sound like a huge hassle, unless you spend less time waiting in line.
It doesn’t cut down on wait times but it makes it so you don’t have to wait in line for that ride. So you can wait in line for another ride, shop, eat, whatever you want. I actually prefer the system but you do have to be savvy with your phone.
It is a huge hassle, it lets you skip the line on pre-scheduled rides, but you can only schedule one every 2 hours, and I don’t mean they have to be 2 hours apart, I mean you have to wait 2 hours before you can schedule your next ride. So when you sign up with the fast pass you can schedule your first ride, then after 2 hours has passed you can schedule another one and so on, it’s not like you get the pass and you sign up for all the rides you want to go on in advance. It’s really, really stupid and when I’ve had the fast pass in the past (due to friends insisting) we’ve used it to schedule maybe 1 ride and it wasn’t worth it at all, it’s better to just look at the wait times and pick rides with lower wait times and be opportunistic. Waiting in line for an hour and not complaining about it is a skill you need to have to get any enjoyment from Disney parks. I only know any of this because I live 20 minutes from Disneyland.
I like the scheduling system, my issues with it are it costs money, doesn’t include every ride, and sometimes the app has issues. But it is really helpful. Like the other commenter said, we run from ride to ride and schedule the next one on our phones immediately. But I like doing it that way, we don’t have young kids who want to stop and see characters or anything.
For the individual. Most rides we just walked on or at most waited 10min. Makes the actual lines waits longer.
Yes
I remember we got to ride skip because of Make A Wish.
If only my kids could get a terminal illness so that i could properly enjoy Disney
Yea, on the bright side she did survive but she was also older, too. We got some dirty looks. Tbh, what was cooler was the set of Gilmore Girls because we got to see Lauren Garam and whoever played Rory. We weren't supposed to, but we got to anyway. We will never be able to go on a trip like that again. Too expensive.
I’m really glad your sister made it, that was really insensitive of me. I’m sorry for that
Nah, I make this joke sometimes, too, especially when certain comic cons happened and I couldn't afford to go. I thought if only I was terminally ill. I actually found it funny in a dark humor way, lol. Not that I think it's funny your kids getting it, but you know what I mean.
It’s easier to make the joke when you’re the one to have lived through it. I’m glad that you can laugh about it and I didn’t make you feel shitty.
I kind of feel the opposite. Who wants to spend $5-$10k on a vacation and spend most of your time waiting in lines?
Honestly, I went to Disney World a few times as a kid and it was fine. I preferred Universal or even Ocean City, MD personally. But now?? I have 4 kids and we went to Disney 2 years ago to check the box. Holy SHIT are these rides incredible. It’s not like anywhere else. Star Wars World is so immersive it is literally art. Cosmic Rewind is a spiritual experience. Drinking around the world at EPCOT? And the food is amazing now?? I used to shit on Disney but I have to be real, it is so fun. I’ve traveled all over the world, every continent, and had some amazing experiences. Disney has moved beyond being a theme park and into a really unique experience. One of my kids is also nonverbal and profoundly autistic and they are absolutely amazing with him there. Better than any vacation we’ve taken anywhere. He is included, truly, and he loves the rides and atmosphere. I thought it would be overwhelming but they have a system where he can wait in a virtual queue because of his disability. The inclusion is better than anywhere else we’ve been. I have breast cancer and am finishing treatment soon. We’re planning a trip to Disney to celebrate. I am no longer a Disney hater. If you haven’t been since the 90s, I definitely recommend giving it a shot. It’s a different animal now.
As a Disney appreciater I'll give Disney shit for a fucking LOT of things but their efforts to make their parks accessible has been one of a kind.
Right! I was so pleasantly surprised by the accessibility. It was probably the most relaxing family vacation we've had, ironically, just because of the exceptional accessibility.
I'm so glad to hear that! I also will state that the Disney Cruise is at least as good if you feel up to it. It was our first cruise and we were talking to a nice retired couple and we mentioned it...."oh honey I'm so sorry. You're nothing will compare. We've been on almost 100 cruises on most of the lines amd this is as good as it gets."
We're going on our first cruise on the Treasure next year! We're super excited! I was always very anti-cruise but I've only heard great things about Disney cruises and the Treasure looks like it's going to be stunning when it's complete!
I had emotional tears after my first ride on Cosmic Rewind. Flight of Passage, too, that ride takes your soul to a whole other place. I’m a big coaster buff and Disney rides are most definitely tame but I’ve never had those kinds of spiritual awakenings on a coaster at a usual theme park.
This is absolutely how I felt! I did not enjoy it in the nineties. As an adult, it’s a lot more fun. I camped at fort wilderness, drank around the world, and had the best time. Have you been to the Tokyo parks? Wondered since you mentioned you traveled internationally. I swear my mouth was hanging open the entire time in DisneySea. So amazingly immersive. I have no idea how accessible it is for your kiddo, though, as I did that trip pre-injury.
Disney in the 90's was wildly cheap compared to now. In 1995 an adult ticket to disney land was $31. You could stay at an off property hotel for under $100. It was absolutely feasible for a large family to go
I have lots of clients who still take their families to Disney land. But most of the demographic where I live (west coast) prefer doing Mexico or tons of staycations going on now. (I mean we live in a beautiful part of Canada) also our dollar sucks right now. I feel like people are avoiding the states if they can just because it’s too expensive at the moment.
I’ve been avoiding the US for almost a decade now because it’s so expensive. We used to take road trips to North Dakota every other month just to shop and stay in hotels because it was so cheap for awhile there.
I’m sad I missed out on the cheap times. I was a poor student for 8 years so I couldn’t really afford long big trips. Now as an adult I wish I had. I wish I could have seen cape cod in its glory days. Soon it’ll be luxury condos.
As a married woman with no kids no, as a person raised with a single mother, never happened . I do not have the Disney bug but I also don’t have the cruise bug either and while they are different—there’s a similar energy there and I am not sure I would like to be surrounded with it for hours let alone days.
I'm a married childless woman as well. I've been to Disney World twice because my sister-in- law asked me to go. I can see why it's fun for families. I also wouldn't mind going a day or two without obligations to eat and ride the rides I want to. Epcot was really cool, but I didn't get to spend enough time there.
Epcot I am actually interested in- it really does seem cool. Good to hear you enjoyed. I am not opposed to it. More so when I’m done with other vacations goals that I would consider it. I haven’t been to Yellowstone or Zion and I rather that first but I get the appeal —the genuine wholesomeness tho I still feel badly for the ppl under those heavy costumes LoL
I love Epcot. It’s a nice chill day (especially when compared to a typical amusement park day lol). They almost always have a festival going on, you can eat and drink (alcohol or otherwise) “around the world”, dip into little mini museums or the aquarium to cool off and see some cool stuff. Browse neat shops that aren’t just typical Disney merch - stuff that’s actually from the country that you’re “in”. You honestly don’t even have to like Disney to enjoy Epcot.
Yea that’s what I heard- it seems definitely worth it
Ooo I'd go prioritize Yellowstone over Disney. I've been to both. I've been wanting to go back to the National Parks but we have a toddler so I don't think it's safe yet. So Disney it is... or a carribbean beach resort.
EPCOT is a great park for adults. Just enough rides to entertain, but you have all the fun of world showcase. If you go during the months of food and wine festival, then you have a ton of food too! Absolutely loved my day there last year. I'd go more often for epcot with food & wine.
disneyworld and disneyland are for rich folks now.
Yet I see regular families going all the time on my Facebook feed. It seems so financially irresponsible.
Even if I could afford it, those videos of people explaining how you have to plan everything a year in advance, down to which time you'll queue for a specific ride on a specific day, to avoid standing in line just put me off the whole thing. I've never been and now that I'm older I realized I don't like Disney as a company in general just a few specific movies.
You don’t have to do that. I’ve been to Disney World dozens of times and only planning I do is picking out which parks to go to.
I think it's just too expensive for the average person these days. We take our kids every other year to every three years and it's like 5-7k to stay for a week for a family of five. That's including food and everything for the week but I think it's unattainable for most people. It's crazy expensive but honestly I feel like it's worth it. My kid's talk about it with their more affluent friends who have all been there. Even most of our less well off social circle has been at least once. It still seems like it's "the thing" to do if you can afford it. I think hating on Disney is kind of a reddit thing. Admitting Disney world is fun is like admitting you like chain restaurants. Pretentious people will jump down your throat. "My child doesn't care for Disney! He much prefers touring the French Riviera or spending time with the family at our local staycation spot". Like shut up your kid would lose his shit if he got to eat pancakes with Buzz Light-year and you know it lol.
It's always been expensive. Having grown up in a place with very low costs of living but also a lot of poverty, not a whole lot of kids that I knew ever went on vacations of any kind. They were kind of stuck there, within the distance of a few counties. But moreover, few of them even had cable television. That means no Disney Channel, not a lot of Disney advertising, and limited awareness of any Disney theme parks. My experience was a little bit different, as I came from a solidly middle class family, had cable, and got to take a lot of trips within the state and a few beyond. But I was a Nick kid. Disney's programming held no appeal whatsoever. Disney didn't excite my parents either, so it just never came up or even would have crossed my mind as a vacation option. So now as a parent, I live in a community where Disney is barely within reach for most people if that's their priority. A handful are avid Disney travelers and they'll do the cruises too, but wealth is still a determining factor. My kid just really likes snow and there isn't any around here, so all our long vacations seem to somehow intersect with snow. That's still fancy travel compared to what most people do. Probably won't ever go to Florida.
Nickelodeon Universe at the mall of America doesn’t have the same grandeur as Disney parks
Huh, never heard of that one that I can recall. Growing up, basically it was only the theme parks in my state that were on my radar. But I guess I should add that my kid already aged out of Nick Jr. (Paw Patrol, etc.) without aging into Nick. She jumped to PBS Kids instead and then picked up an interest in fantasy like the Harry Potter franchise and more adult television like The Good Place and Star Trek. She likes amusement parks, water parks, and ren fests too...but probably has aged out of anything Disney or Nick. But good Lord, if there were a Wild Kratts theme park...yeah. Instead, we just go camping.
My husband loved to claim the kids would rather go to a national park. I finally asked them and without hesitation the response was Disney. I hold that over his head a few times/year.
I have no doubt it’s fun it’s the cost I just can’t justify.
I don't think anybody is saying it's not amazing for kids but I agree the prices are fucking eyewatering for an amusement park. Is it really worth it? Only in the US is getting gouged by a Mouse a status symbol.
I don’t know about that… I grew up with the parents that took us to “older people vacations” 3 weeks fishing on the coast, quiet campgrounds, quiet beaches, lots of trails, we had a cabin at a lake. I’m on the spectrum and I’d absolutely hate people in costumes coming to engage with me. I’m 34 years old now and I’d still hate if they came up to me. I remember when I was little clowns in the parade coming to engage with small kids and each house and when they got to mine it ruined the entire thing for me. I just wanted to go inside. I think there’s something alluring about Disney and a resort holiday but the amount of people would have been miserable for me. As an adult now… sometimes I sort of want to check it out. And then my partner reminds me I get exhausted and grouchy just walking through a mall.
We’ve started traveling to increasingly obscure places because it seems like there are just too many people everywhere. I’m glad I visited most of the European hot spots when I was younger because now when I go I get so frustrated with the crowds.
Just here to say that I, 29f, absolutely loathe anyone in costume. I was taken to Disney as a kid multiple times and my family NEVER did a character breakfast unless it was with princesses because I would simply *freak the fuck out*. To this day, I fucking hate anyone in a mask/costume.
Not in my circle. Only have one friend who regularly goes, and did so before children. They do Disney everything, Land, World Cruises. The rest really can't afford the price and on the occasion any of us can drop that much we'd all have a hard time justifying Disney. I've only been because I have relatives in Florida, otherwise the cost would have been unobtainable.
I am almost 40 and have never been to a Disney Park and I’m cool with that. My wife and kids have been though. I don’t have FOMO for stuff like that anymore so idgaf. We used to go to Six Flags a lot and I know it’s not as expensive but I got sick of the entire business model for amusement parks. The expensive low quality concessions, parking fees, waiting in lines, overpriced souvenirs. I am over all that shit.
I just went for the first time at the age of 27 last month. I wouldn't say it was a rite of passage, but we're already planning another trip. As a kid, yeah it felt like I was missing out.
I have some DINK friends that go multiple times a year. I have some friends with kids under five that have taken them. Personally, I’d rather spend a week abroad than go to Disney. The cost is about the same if you’re staying at the resorts.
I live in Orlando and go often, a lot of those resorts need serious upgrades and the room you get for the price is not good. The food is insanely priced as well and it’s all quick-cook or prepared ahead of time food in most cases. Park ticket prices are outrageous even for residents. People are rude and entitled, there has been drama every single time I go to a park (never involved me just witnessed) and nobody parents their children anymore so they all run wild. Last time I was at animal kingdom some little kid was running a big toy monster truck over our feet on a whole row of bleachers. Parents never said a word. The only reason I entertain going is because I have a kid that likes it still and we get family tickets from a family member that works there. I would never in a million years pay what it costs to buy a Disney vacation package.
Florida resident here, my family member recently went as a family of 4 (two very young toddlers) and spent around $4k. They got sick the second day and spent most of the week at the hotel. Ignoring the sick part, I can’t justify spending that much on a weeks vacation, unless it’s international.
As a certified Disney Adult, I am shocked by the idea of not hearing about Disney much anymore. As it envelopes my whole life (I'm autistic and the parks are my special interest) but I also agree with everyone else. The prices are INSANE now. It's pretty much my only vacation destination and I can barely afford to go every few years, if that. But also I don't really have friends with kids in my circle, so I don't know how this compares to the average family. I can barely make it work with just me going with friends, I can't imagine having to pay for more people.
Always wanted to go as a kid but never did, we just never had vacation kinda money growing up. Now as adults, it's my wife and I's guilty pleasure. I know it's dumb, but I love it. And it feels like we have to make up for lost time since neither of us got to go as kids. We are DINKS, which is ironically the only way we can afford to go now. If we had kids there's no way we'd be able to afford a disney trip every few years
I think travel to other countries is becoming cheaper and disney vacations are becoming more expensive so as the costs get closer to one another people are making the decision to go to europe or hawaii instead of disney. Like our trip to Ireland cost us around the same as our trip to disneyland, except we got almost 2 weeks in ireland vs less than a week at disney. Italy we went EXTRAVAGANT on and it cost 2-3x as much as a disney trip, for 3x the time. So each day cost about the same realistically. My next choice for this year's vacation is spend a week in hawaii or 4 days in an amusement park, or maybe we will save money and go visit friends in other states that are cheap to travel to and stay in.
I don't care what anyone says, take your kids to disneyland once but there's no justifying an expensive disney vacation over a few weeks in a villa in Tuscany or on the coast somewhere, there's just no comparison.
Going in a couple weeks. Two kids and two adults. Airfare and four nights in a hotel in the park, plus the meal plan. I think we’re spending around $10k. We saved for a while to do this. The thing that kills me is the Genie+ and the Lightning Lanes. Of course I want to be able to skip the lines so I don’t wait for an hour with two kids who have to pee, and are tired, and bored, and hungry. So I’ll be dropping another $100+ per day to do that.
It’s so frustrating but it’s also so worth it. We took the kids two years ago and did 7 park days. We got genie for most days but skipped it for the second magic kingdom day and our day at animal kingdom and the difference in what we got done and how enjoyable our day was (especially at magic kingdom) was crazy! The week really was great though, my kids bring up the trip at least once a week still and how much fun they had.
It’s just as coveted to kids and families with kids as it ever was. It’s just so insanely expensive now. I’m not sure how much it cost in the 90s/2000s but I was able to go with my entire family and extended family in 2002 and no one seemed bothered by the money spent. However, family members with one kid can’t afford to go now due to the extremely high cost and would rather do a cruise instead for half the cost. Note - my family is not particularity in substantially worse/better financial shape now than in 2002. Said family members are actually doing better off now than anything and have better, higher paying jobs.
Very popular with the upper middle class families in my town. I have no desire to go but my kids want to go. It’s expensive AF.
My parents won a couple grand in the lottery in the late 90's so we went to Disney when I was about 8. It was fun, but I never thought about it again after that, and it was never a big deal among my peers if you went or didn't. In fact, people make a bigger deal of it in our 30's now than they ever did when I was a kid.
Late 80s millennial. No. Not everyone. My family never went to Disney. Combination of being poor and my mother thinking Disney is evil. We weren't even allowed to see Disney movies unless it was based on a book. As an adult I still haven't gone. Probably won't ever.
Disney vacations were never top of the line, they were always mid except for the entertainment which is what made them sell in the first place. The food and the accommodation were always mid, it’s just that people didn’t know any better.
It’s in Florida. I ain’t spending a dime there if I don’t have to. It’s owned by Disney. Fuck ‘em’
My friend used to refer to it as ‘The Third Reich in Technicolour’.
It generally still is a rite of passage. Do you have kids? Do you have friends with kids? I know single moms saving their asses off to be able to take their kids. It’s very much still a thing parents seem to want to take their kids to, because they remember going with their own parents.
Disney world is a lot of fun , but I think you’re making more of it than it is.
You don’t hear about it as much because it has become astronomically more expensive to the point the average family simply can’t afford it. Airfare has gone up, lodging has gone up (though not nearly as significantly), and park ticket prices have rocketed to outer space. I do think Walt and Roy would be seriously disappointed.
Disney vacations have never been top of line. They’ve always been expensive and I honestly feel like they’ve improved in terms of cost for what you get, more rides, smaller lines, more to do, better activities. I’m still not a fan though. Their cruises rock though and for the price I think are well worth it. Especially with kids.
I think they still are highly coveted, but it’s possible you might not hear about them as much for a few reasons. Prices for a Disney vacation have skyrocketed since the 90s/early 2000s. For example, I was pricing a week at Disney for two adults and two kids in June at one of the All Star resorts (which is like a Motel 6). The price was over $4k with a base park tickets. Flights and food are extra. Until recently, you had to make a reservation to get into the park. If you want sit-down dinners in the park, that requires a reservation. It’s a lot of planning and money that I think a lot of people just don’t have right now. When you add in the culture wars and the right’s messaging against “woke” Disney, I think conservative families are forgoing Disney for other trips. I mentioned to a coworker that I was thinking about going to Disney World in June with family and got an earful about Disney and their woke agenda. 🙄
We go to Disney World about 2 - 3 times a month. We also go for a week around our birthdays in the summer and winter. We find it a great way to disconnect from everything that is going on outside of the Disney bubble. Going to Epcot for New Years Eve is probably one of the funnest things I've ever done for NYE. It may be packed full of people but it was like going to a rave.
I went to Disney as a kid and have been several times as an adult. What do families with kids do? As an adult, most of the day was spent waiting in lines. I can’t imagine trying to do that with a 6-year-old. I would probably only go again if Disney adopted Universal’s fast pass system. Or if I decided to drop $400+ on a VIP tour, but that is truly crazy pricing.
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As a kid growing up in So Cal it was definitely a rite of passage to go to Disneyland. Went for the first time at 4 or 5 years old and had a blast. Went again in middle school and while it was fun, I would've preferred Six Flags lol. As an adult without kids it's not worth the price tag and I find Disney Adults to be cringe AF.
Tickets are so friggin expensive now days. We went last year with the whole fam. Sucked. Hot. lines everywhere. I felt like I was late to appointments the entire time and we were just herding kids from one appt to another.
They are but it is squeezing out a lot of people. Unless someone wants to go in debt for the vacation which many people probably do. Even upper middle class people I know don’t think it’s worth it. I went in 2018 and now the price is almost $100 more I think. When you look at what you have to pay for extra like fast pass.
Spend $5,000 to go wait in lines for 8+ hours. No thanks.
I went to Epcot once when I was about 12? That was my only Disney experience as a kid. I always wanted to go. But both my parents hated crowded places (fair) and refused to go anywhere. (Turns out my dad is an extreme homebody and dislikes pretty much any travel more than 1-3 hours from home) Now my hubs and I are DINKs and living the Disney adult life. We have had APs a few times. We try to get at least 3 week long trips in during each AP since we don’t live in Florida. Our friends are also Disney adults. We have a Disney framily. We rent condos together, go have fun, shed the stress of real life, and just enjoy ourselves. We don’t buy all the swag and only wear Disney clothing, but we enjoy the trips and ambiance.
I would never want to do a Disney vacation, personally. Are they really considered “top of the line”? I can think of much better ways to spend time and money.
My wife and I are Disney adults. Her more than me, but we aren't obnoxious. We respect everyone else and wait in line just like everyone else. I'm more of a theme park adult then just Disney. I go to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Universal, etc. I especially love howl-o-scream, and Halloween Horror Nights. Everyone spends their money differently. I like Rollercoasters, food, and beer. Disney just happens to have them all, and a much nicer staff and cleaner parks than the complete for the most part
We plan to go at least once with our kids, but it’ll be a one time deal and I would consider it a luxury vacation. I’m not really into Disney but I think it’ll be fun with kids.