The Disney Deal Breaker

After the time and effort that writing my "15 Adventures" series took I'm a bit burnt out from writing and lost for a subject for today's post. 

I haven't written anything about my trip to the Brick World Lego expo last weekend yet but I'm still deciding which of the 200+ pictures I'm going to use in my post. So it's coming but it will be later. 

Today I'm going to be writing about something that I've been thinking about lately: vacation. For me when the "V" word comes up I think first thing of only one place: Walt Disney World. But that may change. Here's why. 

A couple of weeks ago Walt Disney World announced an increase in the single day ticket price for the Magic Kingdom park. If you want to go to see Cinderella's Castle or eat lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant it will now cost you $105 for one day. Admission to other parks will cost you about $100 per day. Both prices are after taxes. 

Now if you buy mulit-day tickets it will cost you less per day the more days you buy. 

The reason I mention this is because this increase is significant to me. It's makes the cost of admission to a Disney theme park a "deal breaker." 

Since my first trip to see "the mouse" with my family a decade ago the price of staying on Disney property and visiting their parks has increased at an accelerating rate. It is now to the point where a typical week long family vacation (5 days) at the Walt Disney Resort requires more and more planning and a major financial investment.   

Allow me to use $35,000 as a mean for the income for a middle class family of 4. I'll also use a very conservative estimate of $5000 for the cost of a 5 day stay at Walt Disney World. This would include at least $2500 for 5 nights at a single hotel room with two beds in value resort on Disney property, 5 four-day park hopper passes. Add the other $2500 for travel costs, food, souvenirs and other incidentals. 

Now there are options and ways to save on that cost. Staying "off property" is one and there are multiple ways of saving in other ways. 

One of my favorite Disney podcasters, Lou Mongello, has just published a book with 102 ways to save for and on a Disney vacation. You can find it on Amazon or any other major book purchasing outlet if you are interested in reading it.  

But for the sake of argument going with the $5000 figure means that middle class family would have to save over $400 a month for a year. That's equivalent to 12 car payments or 6 mortgage payments. Is that not a major investment? And those expenses are beneficial. You get daily benefits from them. 

If you spread that cost over 4 years of saving that is still $100 a month. Isn't that a lot just to go on vacation once every four years?

While you do get memories and family bonding from a Disney vacation (always a major focus in any Disney Parks advertising campaign) there's a lot less expensive places to go for vacation. 

For Paula and I the cost would be a little less because we are only 2 people but the cost reduction would not be proportionate. Our minimum cost would conservatively be just under $4000. That's with us driving to Florida.

Disney doesn't seem the least bit apologetic about the cost to visit their parks and resorts. Instead they are trying to "Plus" what they offer with convenience through new technology, personalization options for guests, and the ability to plan your in-park activities well in advance aimed at reducing your wait times in the parks. 

But those options are still in the testing stage and it is unclear if they will be of more benefit to the guest or just a more efficient way for Disney to operate their parks in a more profitable manner. That's a debate that I'll leave to the experts on the blogs and podcasts.  

I consider myself a Walt Disney World fanatic of the highest degree but the cost to go there has just become too much.   

So now if I'm going to ever go back to Walt Disney World again it will have to be for a very very special occasion. The only one on the horizon right now is taking my granddaughter to meet her favorite characters or a way to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. Those occasions are a couple of years away. 

But I guess if Disney can thrive by having the average family spend a few thousand dollars with them once every four years then I guess that's what they're going to do. They'll make as much money as they can get. I mean the parks are part of an entertainment conglomerate that has an obligation to its stock holders. 

But if they continue to raise prices at the pace they have been; no matter what you get for your money the price point will eventually become prohibitive. 

With the high prices and all the competition for the tourists dollars that's starting to show up in Orlando, attendance at the Disney parks in Florida may start to go down over the next few years. That's yet to be seen. 

I could name at least 10 other vacation destinations that are other more cost efficient that would prove just as, if not, more relaxing and enjoyable than a Disney vacation. 

So for now, the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation is a deal breaker for me.