Disney is undergoing a tough time at the moment, and it looks like they may be warning guests to stay away from their parks, rather than enticing them to come in.
Disney World typically sees a surge in visitors during spring break, summer vacation, Christmas, and other holidays when kids are out of school and parents are off work. Just recently, the Labor Day weekend in Orlando brought in large crowds, as expected. Throughout the year, Disney has capitalized on these busy holiday periods, previously by increasing Disney Genie+ prices and now by raising the cost of Lightning Lane Multi Passes.
While this past week should have, in theory, been a bustling weekend at the parks with kids out of school and parents off of work, it was the opposite.
One Disney fan, Wallin Ballin, took to social media to share a screenshot of the wait times in the park, noting “Federal holiday. Three day weekend. Something something “must tear down soul of the park in order to add capacity.” Or something like that.”
Federal holiday.
Three day weekend.
Something something “must tear down soul of the park in order to add capacity.”
Or something like that. pic.twitter.com/2kabEgGXMq
— Wallin Ballin (@wallin_ballin) September 2, 2024
This is a screenshot of My Disney Experience, showing some of the wait times at Magic Kingdom. We can see popular attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean with basically no line as it had a 5-minute wait. Haunted Mansion, another popular attraction that typically holds a 1 hour+ wait, was only at 25 minutes. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, another highly beloved coaster, was only at a 20-minute wait.
From this, it is very clear that the crowds that once plagued Disney are no longer taking over. This is something we have been seeing all year long during holiday weekends. Spring break, for example, had very low crowds even though Disney was pricing their variable-priced items (ie. tickets, hotel rooms) at a higher cost, predicting that there would be a higher demand.
This Labour Day, Disney did the same thing in a different way.
There have been multiple price increases on food and drinks at Walt Disney World Resort over the past few years since the pandemic, and now, things are getting worse.
Below is a list of locations where price increases have been added to menus:
EPCOT
Disney Springs
- Chef Art Smiths Homecomin’
At the moment, these are the only recent price increases on current menu items, but these rollouts are continuing on an ongoing basis. Additionally, new items are constantly added to menus at higher price points, which do not signify a price increase since they are new, but the cost is higher off the bat.
This is just one aspect of price increases that Disney guests have to deal with.
It has actually been confirmed that for many American families, the only way to go to Disney World is to leave in debt.
Many parents are willing to go into debt to provide their children with the Disney experience. A LendingTree survey found that over 45% of parents with children under 18 have incurred debt for Disney vacations.
Adults without children or with adult children were less likely to take on debt for Disney trips. Only 16% of adults without children and 10% of parents of adult children went into debt.
Parents of young children, on average, incurred $1,983 in Disney-related debt. Despite the high costs, 59% of parents considered the debt worthwhile, and 90% viewed it as a special treat.
The survey also revealed that 25% of respondents had never visited a Disney park, with three out of five citing the expense as a barrier.
In-park food and beverages were a significant contributor to Disney-related debt, according to the LendingTree survey. A report by FinanceBuzz highlighted the substantial increase in food prices at Walt Disney World, surpassing overall inflation rates.
While food costs can be a major expense, Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, suggested bringing outside food and nonalcoholic drinks to the park as a way to save money. Disney parks allow visitors to bring their own food and beverages, with some restrictions.
Schulz advised prioritizing what matters most on a Disney trip to manage costs effectively. By carefully considering expenses and making informed choices, travelers can enjoy a memorable Disney vacation without breaking the bank.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has also recently confirmed that ticket prices will once again rise for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2025. Bob Iger stated when he returned to power as CEO that he knew the ongoing price hikes were making it impossible for many to visit Disney and that he would ensure those would stop, and while they stopped for a short amount of time (for tickets only), the price-hike ticket trend will soon return.
With Disney announcing more price hikes and raising the price of food (for example, the Italy booth at EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival has a dish which is meant to be Italian nachos, and for some tomato sauce, ground beef, and a handful of chips, Disney is charging an obscene $9.25 for the item), it is almost as if they are telling guests, “if you can’t afford it, don’t come”.
Even with smaller crowds, Disney World had financially been able to return to pre-pandemic levels due to the amount of spending guests were doing in the parks.
Considering that times of the year that were previously seen as very “busy” now be a time where you can walk on some of the most popular attractions, it is quite clear that costs have gone up to a level that is no longer possible for parents and guests to afford.
Do you think Disney is pricing out the middle-class family?
