Hopefully, now things will improve at Disney

[NightGuardianAngel]

Since Bob Iger is now back as CEO, hopefully things will improve. Disney has really became unaffordable for the family who earns an average middle class income. You pretty much have to win the lottery jackpot to take a Disney vacation in this day and age.

 

[starry_solo]

Depends on what you consider average middle class. In high COL areas, middle class is higher than lower COL areas

 

[Smugpugmug]

I doubt drastic changes will happen as Iger was the one that initiated and oversaw many of the negative decisions impacting the parks (the main one being Genie+/ILL). I predict that he'll be focusing on the Disney+/media division of the company and that the parks will be business as usual.

 

[tvguy]

As a Disney snob, I have to agree with the Disney family. The company really started it's decline in 1984 when Michael Eisner took over and the "magic" took a backseat to the "money".
The Disney family really was trying to send a message when they refused to put the Walt Disney Family museum in any Disney park, or even in a city with a Disney park.

 

[Disneylover99]

It may improve in many ways, but if it’s unaffordable now, I don’t foresee it becoming any more affordable in the future. Prices are set and will only go up. The best you can hope for are some deep resort/ticket package discounts in the future. And I’m not too optimistic about that.

 

[ucf_knight]

Since Bob Iger is now back as CEO, hopefully things will improve. Disney has really became unaffordable for the family who earns an average middle class income. You pretty much have to win the lottery jackpot to take a Disney vacation in this day and age.

Why would disney lower their prices when the parks, restaurants and resorts are packed? Iger is going to be a better spokesman for the company and focus efforts beyond the parks which is where Disney is hurting.

 

[georgina]

I don't expect much to change at the parks. Growing up, Disney was always unaffordable for us. We camped locally for our vacations. It has never been a vacation for the lower middle income folks. I can afford Disney rates now but I am still offsite most of the time. Value in the resorts is not there except when I can use points or certificates at the Swan or Dolphin. A Disney trip is a luxury.

 

[wiscbugs]

Things are not going to get any cheaper.

 

[Narcoossee11]

NO WAY it's going to be cheaper.
What can you of think that has gotten less expensive.
I thought my cable bill was OUT of CONTROL at $50.
Now it is $300 because of internet and just
Accept it.

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

I believe pretty much is Disney is losing a lot of its money on streaming services (Disney Plus, Hulu, etc.) and acquiring brands like 20th Century Fox, Touchstone Pictures, Searchlight Pictures, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. I believe one way to experience Disney on a budget also is to stay off property or, if you own an RV or a travel trailer, is to rent a campsite at a locally owned RV park (paying the weekly rate) or at a state park and just pay for the parks (at least in an RV or a travel trailer, you can cook your own meals as well so it definitely saves you money in eating out), especially since a lot of the perks of staying on property are now gone and resorts charge for parking as well (unless you are staying in the most expensive ones on the property). However, you do have to pay for parking if driving your own vehicle to Disney World. To my knowledge, best budget months to go is January (after New Years) and February, since the holidays are over and many have already spent tons of money on Christmas gifts and traveling during the holidays and especially since kids are back in school and vacationing is during the off peak during that time of year.

 

[focusondisney]

“To my knowledge, best budget months to go is January (after New Years) and February, since the holidays are over and many have already spent tons of money on Christmas gifts and traveling during the holidays and especially since kids are back in school and vacationing is during the off peak during that time of year.”

There really isn’t an off peak at WDW anymore. January still is busy for days after NY Day, then there’s the marathon & MLK weekend. February has Presidents weekend & sometimes Mardi Gras. Plus a lot of schools in the northeast have a week off. Those months aren’t that slow. The last week of August & first 2 weeks of September are probably the lowest attendance weeks of the year anymore. Disney has been more dynamic with the resort pricing. Prices vary by day of the week, not just month of the year.

 

[starry_solo]

I believe pretty much is Disney is losing a lot of its money on streaming services (Disney Plus, Hulu, etc.) and acquiring brands like 20th Century Fox, Touchstone Pictures, Searchlight Pictures, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. I believe one way to experience Disney on a budget also is to stay off property or, if you own an RV or a travel trailer, is to rent a campsite at a locally owned RV park (paying the weekly rate) or at a state park and just pay for the parks (at least in an RV or a travel trailer, you can cook your own meals as well so it definitely saves you money in eating out), especially since a lot of the perks of staying on property are now gone and resorts charge for parking as well (unless you are staying in the most expensive ones on the property). However, you do have to pay for parking if driving your own vehicle to Disney World. To my knowledge, best budget months to go is January (after New Years) and February, since the holidays are over and many have already spent tons of money on Christmas gifts and traveling during the holidays and especially since kids are back in school and vacationing is during the off peak during that time of year.

You know all those acquisitions happened under Iger, right?

 

[focusondisney]

I don't expect much to change at the parks. Growing up, Disney was always unaffordable for us. We camped locally for our vacations. It has never been a vacation for the lower middle income folks. I can afford Disney rates now but I am still offsite most of the time. Value in the resorts is not there except when I can use points or certificates at the Swan or Dolphin. A Disney trip is a luxury.

I absolutely agree with the bolded. I can’t understand the thinking that average folks are only now being priced out. Lots of average middle class families have never been able to afford a Disney vacation. Iger is the one who said his goal was to “wean the public off discounts”. So I have no illusion he’s going to lower prices. And as others have said, the parks are packed. If prices were lowered, the demand & crowds would be out of control.

 

[DCLMP]

Depends on what you consider average middle class. In high COL areas, middle class is higher than lower COL areas

It's all relative to the cost of living. It doesn't come down to salary as much as how much disposable income you have, and how much debt you have. It's hard to put a number on how much you need to make to afford a Disney trip.

 

[tvguy]

. To my knowledge, best budget months to go is January (after New Years) and February, since the holidays are over and many have already spent tons of money on Christmas gifts and traveling during the holidays and especially since kids are back in school and vacationing is during the off peak during that time of year.

President's day week in February is a peak week at Disneyland. The public schools here started taking the entire week off about 20 years ago, and DL seems to be the place to go.

 

[RoseGold]

The parks are making money, which is the point. Nothing is going to go down in price.

 

[Wells Larsen]

I agree about pricing. I don't see it going down. That's fine.
The changes that I would like to see are having to do with the cast members and making sure the parks are not in neglect. Treat them better, increase wages and make them happy. As far as I am concerned, happy employees are the one's that make the magic.

 

[pixiegoose]

I agree about pricing. I don't see it going down. That's fine.
The changes that I would like to see are having to do with the cast members and making sure the parks are not in neglect. Treat them better, increase wages and make them happy. As far as I am concerned, happy employees are the one's that make the magic.

This. I’m not delusional enough to think prices are going to go down but I would like to see more money/attention paid to the parks. Routine maintenance has obviously gone by the wayside (look at the number of rides randomly down at any given time- that never used to happen) and I couldn’t believe how dirty the bathrooms/parks in general seemed last month compared to before. I know cm’s are doing their best with what they’re given but Disney really needs to get staffing up and get caught up/ahead on ride maintenance. If everything was actually clean and working, the prices would seem a little more “worth it” to me.

 

[EThomas]

I agree about pricing. I don't see it going down. That's fine.
The changes that I would like to see are having to do with the cast members and making sure the parks are not in neglect. Treat them better, increase wages and make them happy. As far as I am concerned, happy employees are the one's that make the magic.

Exactly this! I don’t see prices going down, but please give me Disney quality for Disney prices!

 

[JenniferParker]

I've been going to Disney since it opened, and every trip in the last 10 years has been shocking for me. So much has changed, and the prices are VERY hard to justify because it's so hard to even get on the rides without waiting for hours. I'm going to try to take each one of my grandkids once in their life because I grew up with great memories, but after that, I doubt I'll return because I'd like to retire before I die. There is very little 'magic' left for me. I can't understand how any middle-class person (or less) can afford it anymore. The average visit for a family of 4 for 4 nights is around $5,000 if flying. I don't have ANY debt. My house is paid for, my cars are paid for, and I pay my credit cards in full each month. And, I still have a VERY hard time justifying the cost because of the little ROI I get from my previous visit. I guess if I still lived near there and got the FL resident discount, it might be easier.