If we want to break it down, a trip to Disney costs between $2,000 for a short solo trip up to $15,000 for a family vacation.
For most Americans, that’s out of reach financially. It would be irresponsible to spend that much on a vacation, and they will never have the means to do it. They will watch people on TV and social media take trips to Disney, and resent that such things are possible while they struggle to pay rent and medical expenses. In a room of 100 people, this category is like 60 of them.
Then you have the next group up, the rapidly vanishing upper middle class for whom a Disney vacation has always been a dream. They also cannot afford the trip, but they are willing to sacrifice and go into debt to make a magical memory. It is still irresponsible to spend so much on a vacation, but for those four happy days of childhood bliss and nostalgia, they will make it happen. These people are most likely to hate the experience because they don’t have the cash to pay for all the extra bullshit like fastpasses and magic bands, the on-property hotel rooms, or the overpriced souvenirs. They will push the limits of their credit cards, only to fall short and go home tired and spiteful. The top half of this group might enjoy the trip, but they will be looking for more cost-effective vacations next year.
And on top you have the elites for whom spending $5,000 - $20,000* is no big deal. Visiting Disney is a status symbol, and making the annual schlep is about checking out the latest rides and obtaining the newest swag. These people will experience the best the parks have to offer, and will appreciate it the least. In that room with 100 people, this is one person.
It doesn’t have to be Disney, that’s just an easy example that most Americans can relate to. It could be any vacation destination, or buying a boat, or skiing, or practically any luxury activity or hobby you can name. Tickets to a sporting event or concert, taking a cruise, going to college, saving for retirement, orthodontia, treatment for chronic diseases, these are all modern luxuries that Americans have learned go part and parcel with the circumstances of your birth, fortunate or otherwise.
Most people cannot afford it, some people can indulge at great cost, and a very select few revel in the experience in a way that makes it seem desirable to all.
And then you have the people that live there and have a pass to go year round and go all the time. Like, after work. I only know of them tangentially from podcast chatter, but they apparently exist.
Also, many of the young people who live in the Anaheim area work the Disney parks as their summer jobs. Not sure how that fits into the hierarchy. And of course the people who make Disney movies get free entry if they reserve it ahead.
That’s the podcast chatter that made me aware of the locals who go constantly. One of the hosts lived there growing up and worked there, so free access all the time.
Yeah I don’t know how anyone is able to go to Disneyland right now. I just got a thing from the government saying that I need to pay back a benefit they mistakenly paid and that is $120 and gonna, like, bankrupt me. How are people going there? HOWWWWWWW
That really sucks. If you can reach a human (it’s worth trying an actual phone call!) and tell them how hard up you are, you might be able to break it down into small payments, ask if you can make it $10/month.
I’ve never been to Disneyland, but I am very familiar with Disney World in Orlando. Disney World is a city. It has four theme parks, and each park has enough to do to occupy a family for 2-3 days. Tickets for each park are at least $100 per day per person, and that just gets you in the door. You also need to stay somewhere, and hotels in the area are not cheap. Expect to spend about $75 per person per night for lodging. Food inside the parks is not cheap, either, but plates are usually big enough to share. Estimate $100 per person per day for food and beverages. Lastly, most visitors don’t live within driving distance, so you probably take a flight. Round trip to Orlando is going to be $150-300 per person. Add it up for four days and four people, and you’re already at $5,000, and that is the least expensive version of the trip. It’s going to suck.
If you have a few hours to kill and want a deep dive into why Disney lines suck so much, check out this documentary about the FastPass system from Defunctland.
The FastPass system has been replaced with the Genie/Lightning Lane system, but it has most of the same problems (and a bunch of new ones). While it was originally free and available to all, it is now a paid premium feature, with additional costs for specific rides AND preference given to people who stay on property. On-property hotel rooms are at least twice as expensive as the previously mentioned budget. Premium hotel rooms on-site also provide perks like better transportation and extra “Magic” hours before or after the park is normally open for the plebeians.
There are additional upgrades to the ticket, like park hopper that lets you go to a different park in the same day. Photopass allows you to access all the ride and cast photos you take throughout the day.
So the $100 tickets per person per day can easily jump to $250 per person per day. If you want to eat at the restaurants like Cinderella’s Castle, Beauty and the Beast, Pooh’s Corner, The Brown Derby, or any of the hotel restaurants (did I mention the previous budget didn’t include sit-down restaurants or any booze?) then your price per plate can easily triple. Some of these dining experiences are the only way to get to meet specific characters, which may or may not be a concern if you have kids.
So yeah, you could buy a good used car or a year of tuition at a state college for the price of a family Disney trip.
Let’s do a quick hypothetical. A solo traveller from De Moines, Iowa going to Disney Orlando. We’ll be leaving on 28th July and returning 30th, giving us one full day at the park. I picked those dates for being approximately the cheapest option on an Expedia search for flights.
Flights: $357 return
Hotel (at Disney): $288
Park entry (using the “1 Park per Day” option I got when trying to book the hotel): $823
That’s $1468, before you add in even basic meals, let alone snacks and souvenirs a person is likely to want on a theme park holiday, or travel to and from the airport. And I chose there to look for dates that were cheaper. A real person might not have that option.
One park per Day sounds like a 3 day or week long pass. For that price probably a week, which…7 days for the price of 5 wouldn’t be a horrible deal if you had that much interest in hitting all the parks
I clicked on the “3” on the page I was on when it suggested “1 Park per Day”, which I thought was meant to be 3 days. Not 100% sure though. 'twas late last night.
Magic Kingdom is the main attraction, but Epcot has better food while Hollywood Studios has the best rides and shows. Animal Kingdom is the only one I would ever recommend anyone skip if you’re short on time. Each park has more than enough to keep you busy for more than a day, though. Unless you live nearby, you’re going to leave disappointed if you only visit Magic Kingdom for a day.
The average six flags amusement park is 300 acres.
Disney world is 27,520 acres across 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, and multiple mini cities of shopping and resort centers.
Each of the 4 main parks take 2-3 days to fully explore, especially if your goal is to do every of the 173 rides. Or attend every attraction and show of which there are 30 or more unique stage performances on the average week plus parades, fireworks and other events. Then there are 200 unique restaurants including two which have Michelin stars. It’s even longer if you’re rich enough to afford the private events and secret areas where they do bespoke experiences, weddings, and conferences.
Another way to look at it is that Disney World is larger than:
All good points, and reasons you might be better off going to Disneyland in California, which is 500 acres including California Adventure. So you can “do Disney” in one long day, especially if you have little kids who don’t like the really scary rides, or you’re all too old for Small World. Then you have all the other Southern California stuff left, including several other theme parks.
Edit to add: at Disneyland, there’s an official colony of cats!
The best reason to do Disneyland over Disney world is Disneyland is in the LA area, so it’s 70 and sunny for most of the year, and the winds off the Pacific plus the fact that it’s a desert make it very comfortable 350 days out of the year, and most of the walkways are brick or pavement. Disney world is in Orlando where the air is often as thick as soup and temperatures are much higher. Everything’s much more spread out and the walkways are hot blacktop that absorb the tropical sunlight.
Also unlike Orlando where almost everything is touristy overpriced chains copy/pasted from elsewhere, there’s plenty of unique experiences in LA to do as other features of your trip (like the super under-marketed nature preserve and attractions on Catalina Island. It’s a 1 hour catamaran ride from the Port of Los Angeles and absolutely a wonderful place with hiking, glass bottom boat tours, cool architecture and neat museums and a brilliant day trip)
Yeah, I agree with this but I think the person above had no clear idea why it makes sense you’d spend a week or more at Disney World and why it would cost so much. Lots of people especially outside of the US think it’s just a regular sized park
I went to visit family in LA and take my kids to Disneyland a couple of years ago. I had saved about $5k for the trip, and the whole trip ultimately cost about double that, even with my grandparents buying the Disneyland tickets for us. The tickets were set to cost about $4k in total (I can’t remember if that was 3 day passes or only 1 day passes)
If you have a reason to go to Disneyland, my advise is, don’t bother with the park hopper. California Adventure just did not have the same charm as Disneyland, so while I enjoyed seeing DCA, I don’t have any real reason to do it again. With normal tickets you can generally pick one or the other park for one entry per day, and there’s enough in each park to fill a full day. If you are doing DCA start there so you can truly be impressed when you enter Disneyland. Get the genie pass, because it’s basically required for timely entry to any ride that has a line, and employees give preferential treatment to Genie Pass lines over the General Admission lines. Pack sandwiches and snacks because everything is expensive of course (and reasonable outside food is allowed). For Disneyland, due to its age there’s a ton of older rides tucked into corners that are easy to miss, so do some research on the rides that interest you so you don’t miss the old gems with no lines. Also while there, put on your infrastructure nerd hat and look at all of the fixtures and watch for evidence of older rides/exhibits because the attention to detail and all is incredible, as well as the Easter eggs left for those who know the history
If we want to break it down, a trip to Disney costs between $2,000 for a short solo trip up to $15,000 for a family vacation.
For most Americans, that’s out of reach financially. It would be irresponsible to spend that much on a vacation, and they will never have the means to do it. They will watch people on TV and social media take trips to Disney, and resent that such things are possible while they struggle to pay rent and medical expenses. In a room of 100 people, this category is like 60 of them.
Then you have the next group up, the rapidly vanishing upper middle class for whom a Disney vacation has always been a dream. They also cannot afford the trip, but they are willing to sacrifice and go into debt to make a magical memory. It is still irresponsible to spend so much on a vacation, but for those four happy days of childhood bliss and nostalgia, they will make it happen. These people are most likely to hate the experience because they don’t have the cash to pay for all the extra bullshit like fastpasses and magic bands, the on-property hotel rooms, or the overpriced souvenirs. They will push the limits of their credit cards, only to fall short and go home tired and spiteful. The top half of this group might enjoy the trip, but they will be looking for more cost-effective vacations next year.
And on top you have the elites for whom spending $5,000 - $20,000* is no big deal. Visiting Disney is a status symbol, and making the annual schlep is about checking out the latest rides and obtaining the newest swag. These people will experience the best the parks have to offer, and will appreciate it the least. In that room with 100 people, this is one person.
It doesn’t have to be Disney, that’s just an easy example that most Americans can relate to. It could be any vacation destination, or buying a boat, or skiing, or practically any luxury activity or hobby you can name. Tickets to a sporting event or concert, taking a cruise, going to college, saving for retirement, orthodontia, treatment for chronic diseases, these are all modern luxuries that Americans have learned go part and parcel with the circumstances of your birth, fortunate or otherwise.
Most people cannot afford it, some people can indulge at great cost, and a very select few revel in the experience in a way that makes it seem desirable to all.
And then you have the people that live there and have a pass to go year round and go all the time. Like, after work. I only know of them tangentially from podcast chatter, but they apparently exist.
Something like 60% of Disneyland’s attendees are locals. It does absolutely make it a vibe on some of the classic iconic rides like Haunted Mansion
Also, many of the young people who live in the Anaheim area work the Disney parks as their summer jobs. Not sure how that fits into the hierarchy. And of course the people who make Disney movies get free entry if they reserve it ahead.
That’s the podcast chatter that made me aware of the locals who go constantly. One of the hosts lived there growing up and worked there, so free access all the time.
Yeah I don’t know how anyone is able to go to Disneyland right now. I just got a thing from the government saying that I need to pay back a benefit they mistakenly paid and that is $120 and gonna, like, bankrupt me. How are people going there? HOWWWWWWW
That really sucks. If you can reach a human (it’s worth trying an actual phone call!) and tell them how hard up you are, you might be able to break it down into small payments, ask if you can make it $10/month.
You forgot the employees. The slaves that can never indulge but have to endure watching.
But they get to deal with the customers all day, who are I’m sure the loveliest people having their best day ever.
How?? Isn’t it just a day trip to an amusement park? Or maybe two days if its a big park?
I’ve never been to Disneyland, but I am very familiar with Disney World in Orlando. Disney World is a city. It has four theme parks, and each park has enough to do to occupy a family for 2-3 days. Tickets for each park are at least $100 per day per person, and that just gets you in the door. You also need to stay somewhere, and hotels in the area are not cheap. Expect to spend about $75 per person per night for lodging. Food inside the parks is not cheap, either, but plates are usually big enough to share. Estimate $100 per person per day for food and beverages. Lastly, most visitors don’t live within driving distance, so you probably take a flight. Round trip to Orlando is going to be $150-300 per person. Add it up for four days and four people, and you’re already at $5,000, and that is the least expensive version of the trip. It’s going to suck.
If you have a few hours to kill and want a deep dive into why Disney lines suck so much, check out this documentary about the FastPass system from Defunctland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjZpBq1XBE
The FastPass system has been replaced with the Genie/Lightning Lane system, but it has most of the same problems (and a bunch of new ones). While it was originally free and available to all, it is now a paid premium feature, with additional costs for specific rides AND preference given to people who stay on property. On-property hotel rooms are at least twice as expensive as the previously mentioned budget. Premium hotel rooms on-site also provide perks like better transportation and extra “Magic” hours before or after the park is normally open for the plebeians.
There are additional upgrades to the ticket, like park hopper that lets you go to a different park in the same day. Photopass allows you to access all the ride and cast photos you take throughout the day.
So the $100 tickets per person per day can easily jump to $250 per person per day. If you want to eat at the restaurants like Cinderella’s Castle, Beauty and the Beast, Pooh’s Corner, The Brown Derby, or any of the hotel restaurants (did I mention the previous budget didn’t include sit-down restaurants or any booze?) then your price per plate can easily triple. Some of these dining experiences are the only way to get to meet specific characters, which may or may not be a concern if you have kids.
So yeah, you could buy a good used car or a year of tuition at a state college for the price of a family Disney trip.
Let’s do a quick hypothetical. A solo traveller from De Moines, Iowa going to Disney Orlando. We’ll be leaving on 28th July and returning 30th, giving us one full day at the park. I picked those dates for being approximately the cheapest option on an Expedia search for flights.
That’s $1468, before you add in even basic meals, let alone snacks and souvenirs a person is likely to want on a theme park holiday, or travel to and from the airport. And I chose there to look for dates that were cheaper. A real person might not have that option.
ITS 823$ TO GO TO DISNEY!!!?
E: tickets are like $120-$160…
The wild price you have is for something else / for going to multiple parks.
One park per Day sounds like a 3 day or week long pass. For that price probably a week, which…7 days for the price of 5 wouldn’t be a horrible deal if you had that much interest in hitting all the parks
I clicked on the “3” on the page I was on when it suggested “1 Park per Day”, which I thought was meant to be 3 days. Not 100% sure though. 'twas late last night.
Right. For all intents and purposes…the Magical Kingdom is what folks call Walt Disney World… The newer parks are relative sideshows.
Magic Kingdom is the main attraction, but Epcot has better food while Hollywood Studios has the best rides and shows. Animal Kingdom is the only one I would ever recommend anyone skip if you’re short on time. Each park has more than enough to keep you busy for more than a day, though. Unless you live nearby, you’re going to leave disappointed if you only visit Magic Kingdom for a day.
My honeymoon didn’t even cost that much! Man, that is exactly why I don’t go anywhere or do anything.
The average six flags amusement park is 300 acres.
Disney world is 27,520 acres across 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, and multiple mini cities of shopping and resort centers.
Each of the 4 main parks take 2-3 days to fully explore, especially if your goal is to do every of the 173 rides. Or attend every attraction and show of which there are 30 or more unique stage performances on the average week plus parades, fireworks and other events. Then there are 200 unique restaurants including two which have Michelin stars. It’s even longer if you’re rich enough to afford the private events and secret areas where they do bespoke experiences, weddings, and conferences.
Another way to look at it is that Disney World is larger than:
All good points, and reasons you might be better off going to Disneyland in California, which is 500 acres including California Adventure. So you can “do Disney” in one long day, especially if you have little kids who don’t like the really scary rides, or you’re all too old for Small World. Then you have all the other Southern California stuff left, including several other theme parks.
Edit to add: at Disneyland, there’s an official colony of cats!
The best reason to do Disneyland over Disney world is Disneyland is in the LA area, so it’s 70 and sunny for most of the year, and the winds off the Pacific plus the fact that it’s a desert make it very comfortable 350 days out of the year, and most of the walkways are brick or pavement. Disney world is in Orlando where the air is often as thick as soup and temperatures are much higher. Everything’s much more spread out and the walkways are hot blacktop that absorb the tropical sunlight.
Also unlike Orlando where almost everything is touristy overpriced chains copy/pasted from elsewhere, there’s plenty of unique experiences in LA to do as other features of your trip (like the super under-marketed nature preserve and attractions on Catalina Island. It’s a 1 hour catamaran ride from the Port of Los Angeles and absolutely a wonderful place with hiking, glass bottom boat tours, cool architecture and neat museums and a brilliant day trip)
Yeah, I agree with this but I think the person above had no clear idea why it makes sense you’d spend a week or more at Disney World and why it would cost so much. Lots of people especially outside of the US think it’s just a regular sized park
I went to visit family in LA and take my kids to Disneyland a couple of years ago. I had saved about $5k for the trip, and the whole trip ultimately cost about double that, even with my grandparents buying the Disneyland tickets for us. The tickets were set to cost about $4k in total (I can’t remember if that was 3 day passes or only 1 day passes)
If you have a reason to go to Disneyland, my advise is, don’t bother with the park hopper. California Adventure just did not have the same charm as Disneyland, so while I enjoyed seeing DCA, I don’t have any real reason to do it again. With normal tickets you can generally pick one or the other park for one entry per day, and there’s enough in each park to fill a full day. If you are doing DCA start there so you can truly be impressed when you enter Disneyland. Get the genie pass, because it’s basically required for timely entry to any ride that has a line, and employees give preferential treatment to Genie Pass lines over the General Admission lines. Pack sandwiches and snacks because everything is expensive of course (and reasonable outside food is allowed). For Disneyland, due to its age there’s a ton of older rides tucked into corners that are easy to miss, so do some research on the rides that interest you so you don’t miss the old gems with no lines. Also while there, put on your infrastructure nerd hat and look at all of the fixtures and watch for evidence of older rides/exhibits because the attention to detail and all is incredible, as well as the Easter eggs left for those who know the history
Most of America has to travel across the country to even get to the park.