I feel so poor...

[pigletto]

There aren‘t many line items in my budget that haven‘t increased over the last two years. On paper our incomes are much higher than when we started going to Disney almost 15 years ago, but it feels like it’s less affordable now. I guess our priorities have changed, but the prices have gone crazy too.

We just returned last month and we had a nice time. But when I put it in perspective, we spent two weeks of grocery budget for one dinner at O‘Hana for three adults. The food costs are outrageous, the hotel costs are bananas.. I just can’t justify it anymore. I’m glad we got that last trip in with DS18 before he goes off to University in the Fall, but Disney is no longer a yearly destination for us.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I will say….I was sad that the Disney plus discount wasn’t a thing since it started…and it was only at WDW as we probably would’ve stayed on property at DLR this summer if it was for both. I think that will be in line with the discounts we will see in the future

 

[LYSE]

OP here….

Feeling poor is not being poor. Just relaying that I feel incredibly squeezed by Disney more so now than ever, and was wondering if others are FEELING similarly.

Goodness, did not mean to offend nor make light of those who are actually struggling to make ends meet…

I've noticed that using the word poor just triggers people.. even if we attempt to define actually being poor everyone thinks of something different since all that means is being unable to live to a an undefined standard ..I guess in this board/thread that might be doing disney trips

Anyway we bought DVC to try and curb that feeling and it definitely helps ..though a lack of TIW and inflated prices for everything else is chipping away at us.

 

[LYSE]

*double post

 

[enza]

I feel so poor now... Is it just me? I feel that Disney is starting to price me out, and I never considered myself impoverished before....

I get it, first world problems, boohoo, so sad, too bad.... but I've been going to disney for over 12 years consistently (anywhere between 5 days to 14 days every year) and I'm starting to feel as if I really can't afford the pricing anymore.

You are not alone. We had gone 10 years in a row but we had to take a pass this year - its just not in the budget anymore

 

[jo-jo]

We just returned last month and we had a nice time. But when I put it in perspective, we spent two weeks of grocery budget for one dinner at O‘Hana for three adults. The food costs are outrageous, the hotel costs are bananas.. I just can’t justify it anymore. I’m glad we got that last trip in with DS18 before he goes off to University in the Fall, but Disney is no longer a yearly destination for us.

Almost every trip I think, do we go to disney or get new carpeting or whatever. In 2019 and 2021, we paid for the family to come along, yet we drive 30 year old cars. We felt having the memories made with the grandkids more important. Yes, we can do other things to make memories, but the thing we like about disney, it's all in one place. They can go to AK,, go on big rides and we can meet up later at lion king. No issues about driving.

This Dec, we are blowing a years worth of dvc points on a 2 week trip. Having our oldest granddaughter join us for the second half. She has started working so missed some family events and next year going off to college.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[SteveH]

@BaybeeYoda sorry you feel that way, but welcome to the new Disney where they replaced "Where Dreams Come True" and "Happiest Place on Earth" with the new Chapek Slogan... "It's all about the Money!" It was bad before inflation and it's only going to get worse. Time to consider another happy place with a trip every few years perhaps. We've enjoyed our break from Disney and have no plans on the books to return any time soon.

 

[ThistleMae]

I would say lamenting that you’re poor because you can’t afford another $10,000 trip to a luxury destination is in pretty poor taste to the actual economic issues a large portion of the country is facing.

Having to pay for fuel oil at double the price does play a role in planning for a Disney vacation. We almost had to give it up this year and there's been some hard decisions to make. I guess you could argue being poor and feeling poor are two different animals, but for a middle class family having to think about giving up vacations for the next two years, it is quite a blow. It really makes you think about how close you are to not being able to sustain your current lifestyle....and I don't think having a vacation once a year is too much to ask for in life. After all don't we all try to save for at least this, besides working a full time and sometimes two jobs just to keep up. With all the inflation everyone is taking a huge cut in pay....and i feel really badly for those folks who just live paycheck to paycheck and have very little savings. I'm very nervous about the economy for sure.

 

[ThistleMae]

I'm MUCH more concerned about the price of heating oil come Autumn than I am about the price of gas, we use a lot more heating oil!

We are actually getting a quote to switch to propane. At double the cost of oil, it would actually be cheaper in as few as two years to replace our system.

 

[barkley]

We are actually getting a quote to switch to propane. At double the cost of oil, it would actually be cheaper in as few as two years to replace our system.

we use propane and one recommendation i would make is to get the largest tank you can manage with the space you have available. we originally had a 500 gallon but went on a wait list several years ago to upgrade to a 1000 gallon b/c i watch the pricing trends so i can do major fills when prices are lower (even absent current inflation trends it varies significantly seasonally depending on demand). i tend to do a major fill in the less expensive summer months vs. waiting until the higher demand/historically more expensive autumn months.

 

[Anthony1971]

Many people are feeling the squeeze now or better most all no matter your income. However Disney has catered to and continues to those families making 100K plus (I use this lightly as different parts of the country have different costs of living) and it was Disney who made that clear in their own words years ago. Simply put Disney does not want the family staying offsite bringing sandwich's to the parks who has discounted tickets. Slowly all of those things have become harder and more expensive from locker rental prices to no ice to smaller bags, some of more recent changes. Bottom line right now a family that could go to Disney in the past still can, maybe they have to eat more CS meals or stay at a value or even offsite (parking prices make this a hard choice much less rental car and gas these days) and the list can go on and on or simply give up thier starbucks for a 7-11 coffe or like coffee or take one from home................... Most recent Disney words -- wants less guests to have a better experience at more per person.... To say people on these boards are poor is a stretch at best. People making money and feeling poor because they can no longer buy what they could in the past however has an economic term -- Recession.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not going to lie going anywhere from 5 to 14 days for 12 years straight to me means someone who is incredibly fortunate not only in money but also in time they can take off work. Nevermind the logistics of plane or car, child or not, pet sitter or not, etc.

Not up for me to judge what someone spends their money on, so that's not what I mean, just that perhaps the feelings aren't of "feeling poor" but rather what most feel like irrespective of the destination being Disney. Quite a lot of people don't get the opportunity to vacation that often and consistently year after year.

However, that does not take away from feeling the burn of once having been able to do that and now feeling like that is less and less realistic.

 

[tzolkin]

It's not just the increased food, lodging and tickets prices. It's the cuts in services and entertainment that accompany the price increases. Like a PP stated, it's not just the cost. It's about the perceived value.

This is exactly it for us. Our income has recently tripled since we started going to Disney 14 years ago so we have more money that we could spend, but we just don't feel the value is there to justify the price anymore. Our more recent trips have been more stressful and disappointing. When you feel that your $10k+ vacation is significantly less overall enjoyment than a few years ago when you paid $2-3k for a better experience, it definitely feels like it's overpriced.

Not going to lie going anywhere from 5 to 14 days for 12 years straight to me means someone who is incredibly fortunate not only in money but also in time they can take off work. Nevermind the logistics of plane or car, child or not, pet sitter or not, etc.

Of course there is some privilege involved in being able to take vacations at all, but I believe that Disney used to have affordable options for average middle-class families that they simply don't offer anymore. For many years we went annually (usually for 12 nights) as a family of 5 with an income under $50k. We got discounts on rooms (sometimes 35-40%) and purchased discounted tickets through the YES program. Our first trip (8 nights in 2008) was around $1700. That was a manageable amount of money for an average family to be able to budget and save throughout the year. Now the park tickets alone for my family cost $4100. So when you add in food and lodging the total price is way out of reach for a family with a $50k income.

 

[jo-jo]

@BaybeeYoda sorry you feel that way, but welcome to the new Disney where they replaced "Where Dreams Come True" and "Happiest Place on Earth" with the new Chapek Slogan... "It's all about the Money!" It was bad before inflation and it's only going to get worse. Time to consider another happy place with a trip every few years perhaps. We've enjoyed our break from Disney and have no plans on the books to return any time soon.

I don't understand how anyone can afford trips with families now. Even before Covid, I don't know how people could afford some of the trips they took. Resort, park tickets, party tickets, TS meals, special tours, dessert parties, etc. Now you have all that plus the genie + and LL costs. The trips sounded wonderful but we are the type of person to carry can of soda into park with PB sandwich to not spent $15-$20 for a hot dog and soda.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Of course there is some privilege involved in being able to take vacations at all, but I believe that Disney used to have affordable options for average middle-class families that they simply don't offer anymore. For many years we went annually (usually for 12 nights) as a family of 5 with an income under $50k. We got discounts on rooms (sometimes 35-40%) and purchased discounted tickets through the YES program. Our first trip (8 nights in 2008) was around $1700. That was a manageable amount of money for an average family to be able to budget and save throughout the year. Now the park tickets alone for my family cost $4100. So when you add in food and lodging the total price is way out of reach for a family with a $50k income.

When is the last time a family of 5 with an income below $50K could afford much of a vacation to any sort of destination like Disney? I could barely afford to go anywhere myself when I was making $41K between basic necessities, student loans, health insurance, taxes, etc, can't even imagine with a child or more than that. I'm talking long before the pandemic.

Although I'd point out that with your example you're using things that your average guest did not have such as the YES program.

I would never debate the rising costs of Disney and that was never my point not did I touch on costs. However, when someone says today now that they feel poor because they aren't able to go on their 5 to 14 day trip like they have for the last 12 years stands to reason I can point out that the destination is less of the point but rather that they could even do that to begin with. Pick other destinations out there and you'll probably find the same thing for many people over the years (not just talking about the pandemic and the inflation and gas prices just over the years).

Privilege by the way wasn't what I was going for.

 

[Darcy03231]

One good thing about the cost of a WDW vacation is that it forced us to start looking at other destinations. We've taken some great trips and gone for a longer period of time that what it would have cost us to go to WDW. While we'll probably eventually go back some day, it has broken the cycle of yearly (or multiple times a year) visits for us and opened us to other adventures. While we can still afford to go to WDW, we just didn't find the value in it for our last couple of trips, and that was before the latest round of price hikes/changes.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP here….

Feeling poor is not being poor. Just relaying that I feel incredibly squeezed by Disney more so now than ever, and was wondering if others are FEELING similarly.

Goodness, did not mean to offend nor make light of those who are actually struggling to make ends meet…

OP: I don't know who is putting the incredibly rude laugh emoji on your remarks, but they obviously don't understand what you are saying. I hope you don't take these rude remarks to heart. After all, this is a Disney discussion board. If someone doesn't like what is being said, just leave the post, and go on to another. No need for rudeness.
And, yes, I am sure that that " someone" will put the laugh emoji on this post. Sad.

 

[Lilsia]

I do also. But I pretty much have stopped working. I was at my end with dealing with horrible people on a daily basis. And then I got Covid. I really was not that sick but have had lingering side affects like shortness of breath and fatigue. I can't physically be on my feet all day anymore so I have basically cut down to working a couple of shifts a month.

 

[DCLMP]

OP here….

Feeling poor is not being poor. Just relaying that I feel incredibly squeezed by Disney more so now than ever, and was wondering if others are FEELING similarly.

Goodness, did not mean to offend nor make light of those who are actually struggling to make ends meet…

It's not your imagine you are getting poorer. The purchasing power of every dollar you earn is declining every day. We're a family that has been fortunate to spend 10k-20k on traveling every year. I have nothing planned for 2023. I have no idea what we will be able to afford.