One thing that Disney theme parks have never been is cheap. Between the cost of the hotel, theme park tickets, meals, and merchandise, the cost adds up very quickly. Many people save up for months or years to be able to afford one trip of a lifetime to a place like the Walt Disney World Resort.
However, for years, guests justified the cost because of the many perks — like the free FastPass system, the Magical Express, and free MagicBands. Plus, the magic experienced at a Disney Resort was unmatched. Other theme parks just couldn’t measure up to what Disney had to offer.
Related: Once Free Disney World Offerings That Are No More
However, that is not the case anymore.
Over the years, Disney parks have gotten more and more expensive in every way possible. Hotels cost more than ever, the food prices are high, and theme park tickets are a huge expense.
Plus, those free services we mentioned above? No longer there. FastPass has been replaced with the Lightning Lane MultiPass, MagicBands are no longer free for hotel guests, and those guests now have to figure out how to get to Walt Disney World Resort on their own.
Many guests think that Disney has fallen so far from its former glory, and they are fighting back, letting Disney know just how dissatisfied they are. And Disney is finally being forced to admit that its theme parks have gotten way too expensive.
On August 7, Disney held its earnings call for the third quarter of the fiscal year. During the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston admitted that, once again, attendance was down. However, profits are still high, providing further proof that things at the parks have increased significantly in price.
Related: Guest Astounded at Astronomical Price of Popular Disney World Hotel
During the call, Johnston admitted that the drop in attendance was due to the fact that most families don’t have the extra income to afford a Disney vacation, and those who do are electing to travel to other places.
“higher costs driven by inflation, increased technology spending and new guest offerings, partially offset by the comparison to depreciation in the prior-year quarter related to the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and cost saving initiatives.”
As you can see, Johnston blamed inflation for the higher costs, but Disney does NOT have to cost as much as it does. Over the past decade, inflation has caused prices to increase by about 32%. However, the cost of a Disney theme park ticket has increased by 56%. The cost of food is even higher, having increased by 61% over that same period.
Admitting that the price of a Disney vacation is too much is a big deviation from Disney’s explanation for lower crowds last quarter. In May, Disney said that attendance had dropped during the second fiscal quarter, but they blamed it on the post-COVID “travel bug” having died down. But even back then, guests said that it wasn’t COVID; it was because Disney was too pricey.
Related: Fans Say Disney Has Destroyed Its Own Stock by Ignoring Walt’s Vision
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Disney has any plans to make its theme parks more affordable. But one has to wonder if this will hurt them in the long run. If people don’t think that Disney offers a good value for its high price tag, trust and confidence in the company will drop.
If that goes down, then so does Disney’s stock price — which has been struggling since 2021. And, with Disney executives appearing to only be concerned about satisfying its shareholders, that won’t be something said shareholders appreciate.
Do you think it’s about time Disney lowered its prices? Would lower prices convince people to come back to the theme parks? Let us know in the comments!
We visited Disney every year for 8 days and 7 nights. It was expensive back then but now, it is ridiculous. 23 years of coming yearly ended with Covid. We considered coming back but when everything got taken away that was perks, sure does change our mind. Nothing to really draw us back. My money is good elsewhere. Love you Disney but you need to bring back the freebees. They WERE the draw to come there. It was so nice. Now I just feel like you look at us as a dollar sign.
It is too expensive. We use to upgrade our tickets every year to an annual pass and go three times a year. We haven’t been able to do that since Covid when they stopped sales of annual passes then made it too expensive to upgrade. We go every other year but even then it’s not worth the cost for what you get. Maybe bring some perks for staying on property.
It has gotten so ridiculously expensive to go to Disney World. I literally book my trip and start making payments on my trip as soon as I can and it still takes me almost 2 years to pay for it. Our trip for next October is going to cost close to $7,000 for two people and that’s without plane tickets or shuttles to and from the hotel. We even stay at a value resort which is honestly no value because it’s still very expensive. I wish they would give the perks back to the people who stay on property again. I loved the Magical Express and we used it every time we went and now magic bands cost $40. I understand they want you to use the app rather than a magic band, but not everyone has a smart phone.
I don’t understand how it’s costing you $7000 to stay at a Value Resort without the cost of flights and shuttle from the airport. It’s less than $2000 for us (2 people) for a week at a Value Resort and 6 day tickets.
I agree. The cost is ridiculous. They need to restore the free parking, free fast passes,,free magic bands, and free transportation to and from the airport. I could justify staying in the resorts before because there were so many perks. These perks were special and considered essential to many of us staying in resorts. Now they have raised resort prices and ticket prices and taken away the perks. They cannot justify this gouging with inflation.
Higher prices aren’t “due to inflation”. Higher prices are due to greed. People aren’t willing to pay more and get less.
Have been to disney for 30 years annual Passholder 5 years. Tickets too high to have to also pay extra for lightning lane. Bring back free fast pass. And the new DAS process has eliminated access for most people
Sorry this will be my last year be sure I need the DAS but denied
Ps universal is spproved
Well said!
I (we) loved coming to Disney. I have been there six times, the last five with my Grand-daughter. We stayed on Disney, used the Magical Express, ate on Disney, loved every minute of it.
When we started coming it was expensive but there were so many thing that made it worth while.
The last trip, in 2021, we were very disappointed. Things were not the same, no dinning plan made the trip more stressful. We had reservations for 2023, but as I planned the trip I see that the cost had increased by leaps and bounds. Plus, there was the issue of finding our own way to the property from the airport. Not being world travelers that was a daunting problem. The end result was I cancelled.
I would come again, I want to,, if, the Magical express was returned, fast pass was returned and deluxe dinning came back.
There is also the issue of public behavior. Not sure I would feel so safe there anymore.
Please bring the “real” Disney back.
You said it! We used to take our children (and now grandchildren) every four years. Now we’ve elected to go to Universal because the perks are better and prices are less costly. I am a shareholder and had to live through “no dividend”, but I’d be willing to give it up again if some of the freebies were returned. Typical greed of big corporate directors!
I think that if Disney would bring back the free fast passes and ditch the lightning lane the would motivate some long time fans to return.
I absolutely agree! The largest increase in the cost of a Disney vacation is the added cost for lightning lane,
Hello Disney EVERYTHING IS TOO expensive from Annual Pass, the price of SODAS (5.00) crazy
The new rules for DAS are so wrong, Mr. Igar the loyal Disney crazies are going broke trying to get to Disney World
The prices are outlandish. Went about 6 years ago and it was very expensive. I have watched the prices rise from expensive in early 80’s to present day ludicrous. They have what they want now lower crowd count same earnings.
We did a 10 day park/cruise vacation right before quarantine. That was our second time at the parks and we loved it all so much we decided to go every other year. Sadly, we haven’t been back. Everything that made it an extraordinary exerience that was well worth the high cost is gone and the costs have skyrocketed. Sadly, our vacation dollars have been better spent elsewhere. So attendance is down but earnings are up? They don’t need my dollars or my or anyone else’s loyalty. Sad.
I have been a DVC owner for many years and have been able to spoil my grandkids with yearly visits. However, with the costs of tickets becoming out of control and loss of fast pass, and magical express it will be a while before I bring them back. They miss it and so do I but I just can’t afford a yearly trip.
Disney, I haves loved you since I was a kid, but you’re killing the dream of a lot of families! Don’t lie about inflation, we all know about that. But that is not the reason for Disney to raise the prices of EVERYTHING! And my daughter has POTS, a disorder that makes herr pass out with no warning, made worse by standing, especially in very hot or cold temperatures, please bring back the DAS, just screen people better! There are more disabilities than just autism . Just a way to force people to buy Lightening lane passes, more money for you and less for families. How about all the executives take a pay cut!
Disney claims it is listening to its fans/guests, yet they do the exact opposite of what so many of us are screaming for. Disney does not have any websites for suggestions from fans, in fact, they flat out say they do not accept suggestions from fans or outsiders. That’s fine, but when people opt for other vacation spots and it really starts to effect the bottom line, Disney can’t say the signs weren’t there. They are/were there, Disney just turned a blind eye, all in the name of greed and profit.
We have been life-long fans, AP holders, DVC owners and all that, but recently we’ve been using our DVC for the room, but going to Universal and having more fun at a lower cost. Until Disney actually makes changes to benefit its fans, our park hopping will be done at Universal and other venues.
I have been to Disney World over 45 times in my 66 years. It was one of the only vacation my husband and I took every year. If I had to tell the higher ups at Disney it would be to lower the cost of tickets into the parks. This way more families could afford to come to Disney. I hear so many people say they are going to Universal, because it is priced much better than Disney World. I say i have gone enough in my lifetime, but I feel everyone young and old should experience Disney World once in their lifetime. So Disney executives if you are reading this lower the prices into the parks.
We are a retired family from the Northest. Quite frankly I think we have had our last Disney vacation. Yes, it has always been a bit more expensive but was worth it. Not anymore. I reallly don’t get it with them. If you don’t have an AP and go for a 7 night vacation you would think that they would give you some sort of break. Paying for a park hopper really gets me irritated. Years ago you could go where you wanted without cost. So if we wanted to go to MK for the day and eat at Epcot at night, it was cost free. Remember Magic Your Way? Food there sucked the last time I was there. The worse example was a burger at The Land. It was pulled out of a warming cabinet and was dryer than shoe leather. Then we had 2 kids on 2 ECV’s that cut the and the CM’s couldn’t do anything to get them off because they refused. So the people the handicap line had to wait even longer. Disney did try to make it right we had our own bus to MK. What a waste of money.
We have been going to Disney at least twice a year since 1992. I love Mickey’s Not So Scary. This will be the first time in about 15 years I will miss it. The ticket prices are ridiculous now. Used to have an AP all those years also but this year we are not renewing. Being DVC members we will stay on site but if we go to Florida we will go to Sea World and maybe Universal. It will be very hard and sad not to visit WDW. Do you remember why Walt built Disneyland? For a place for families to spend time with one another. I wish he could come back and remind both of the greedy Bobs and the board what Disney is about. I hope attendance plummets and the stocks drop and these greedy bast@@@s lose lots of $$$. I mean, how many millions of dollars do they need?
Aside from the high ticket and food prices it’s also the nonsensical changes made to placate the offended few. Throw in continual ride breakdowns due to poor or lack of maintenance and it’s no wonder attendance is down. It’s been 2 years since we have been to Disneyland and 5 years since WDW and really have no compelling desire to return.
So. Disney finally admits they’ve gotten too expensive, $$$$, but will do nothing about it?? For the same price, people can take luxury trips overseas.
Bring back the perks! Staying within the “disney bubble” is what we’ve done & it was so much better with the perks, like free magical express to & from the airport, having our check bags taken care of both upon arrival & departure. Free magic bands, free Fast Passes, Free dining if staying at a value resort, free mugs. Now that Disney is catering to shareholders, they have neglected & mistreated the very people who keep them in business! The last time my family of five went was in 2021, stayed in the same value resort, & it cost us several thousands more than in 2018 with NONE of the perks! Ridiculous! It was more stressful & expensive. We are done with their over inflated prices & loss of free perks. Disney will have to return to better days & be family friendly before we consider going back! Universal is looking better & better.