In this day and age, what are Disney theme parks without upcharges?
While theme parks have always been expensive, it does feel like they’re leaving our wallets lighter than ever in recent years. Disney has infamously increased the prices of several elements of the theme park experience since COVID-19, including tickets, merchandise, and food.
It’s the small upcharges that tend to hit hardest, thanks primarily to the fact that they often cover services that were once free or available at a significantly lower price. Think Genie+, which can now set Walt Disney World Resort guests back up to $39 per person per day, when its predecessor, FastPass, was free.
Outside of the U.S., these services can be even more expensive. While that isn’t always a bad thing (Genie+ is often sold out, which essentially renders the service pointless), the numbers can still be pretty shocking at first glance. At Disneyland Paris, for example, a single day of Premier Access will set you back anywhere between €90 ($96 USD) and €190 ($204 USD) per person.
But that’s not the only upcharge available during your trip. As one Disneyland Paris guest recently discovered, it’ll cost you a pretty penny for a service that you may assume is free.
Reddit user nsfwtttt recently detailed their experience trying to purchase merchandise from their Disneyland Paris hotel gift shop and have it delivered to their room. While many would think that falls under your typical concierge service (especially seeing as how you’re already shelling out for the merchandise itself), it turns out that the resort now charges a €45 ($48 USD) fee to make this happen.
“€45 to send a gift from the hotel shop to the room??? wtf,” they wrote. “Wanted to surprise my kids with huge Stich in our room when we’re back from the park. The lady at the shop said it’s a new policy. Seriously.”
As other Reddit users pointed out, it’s not entirely surprising that Disney charges a fee for this service. “I suppose we have to consider that this would require a cast member to go collect your purchase, take it to your room, position it, etc,” said Reddit user MoosieMusings.
“It doesn’t sound like much but in many cases staff working time is quite strictly managed so anything that deviates from the norm would need to be compensated and ofc Disney, it’s a little more expensive.”
However, the fact that this fee supposedly totals a whopping $48 is what really takes us aback here. As Reddit user 0xSnib said, there’s every chance that “it’s priced that way to discourage because it’s a ball ache to do,” this pricetag still seems pretty steep.
Would you pay $48 to have your merchandise delivered to your hotel room?
