Disney’s Reputation Falls to Only “Fair”
The Walt Disney Company has seen its reputation fall further, with a drop to only “fair” for the first time ever on the influential Axios Harris Poll for 2025. This post takes a look at what changed, how Disney performed relative to the competition, along with our commentary about what this does–and does not–mean.
It’s been a rough few years for Disney’s reputation. This is a topic we’ve discussed at length, with Is Disney Ruining Its Reputation? and Disney’s Reputation Falls Further covering the company’s self-inflicted brand damage, loss of goodwill, and pricing perception problems. Those posts focused specifically on prior years of this Axios Harris reputation poll.
As of 2025, the focus has shifted. Fan concerns about Disney’s tarnished reputation are still front of mind, but we’ve seen the tone and tenor of those change. Look no further than Is Walt Disney World Pricing Out the Middle Class? That was one post in an ongoing series (see Walt Disney World is Worried About Its High Prices). Suffice to say, pricing is very much a hot-button issue with Disney fans, and for good reason.
Concerns about pricing are very much reflected in the Axios Harris Poll 100 and 2025 Corporate Reputation Rankings. This year, Trader Joe’s ranked #1, followed by many other value-prioritizing companies. This included Costco and Arizona Beverage Company, both of which have gained online fame and loyal fan-followings for their commitment to low prices.
Jim Sinegal, Costco’s co-founder, once told the company’s then-CEO Craig Jelinek, “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” And so, Costco’s hot dog deal is still priced at $1.50. That’s exactly what it cost in 1985, before the Great Recession, housing crisis, pandemic, and the latest bout of decades-high inflation.
Similarly, the 23-ounce can of AriZona Iced Tea has sold for 99 cents since 1992. Even amidst inflation and shrinkflation, AriZona has held strong. When asked on the Today show whether they’d raise prices, the company’s founder said: “Not in the foreseeable future. We’re gonna fight as hard as we can for consumers.” He added that AriZona is successful, debt free, so why do they need to raise prices? He continued: “Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink? Maybe it’s my little way to give back.”
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of my personal favorite brands, In-N-Out Burger, made the list for the first time ever at #20. Its exclusion in the past likely has more to do with methodology and awareness since In-N-Out Burger is a regional brand. It is nevertheless a success story of value-for-money, high quality, and concern for customers.
Unfortunately, there are no fun anecdotes about In-N-Out’s founders threatening to murder anyone if they raise prices, which is likely because the family-run business tries to avoid the spotlight. And perhaps because they’re anti-murder. Hard to say. Here’s hoping that Buc-ee’s breaks through on the 2026 list!
As it turns out, pricing is the main theme of the 2025 Axios Harris Rankings. According to the pollsters, consumers criticized businesses for passing along higher costs, delivering poorer perceived quality for their stretched dollars, and even capitalizing on tariffs to pad profit margins:
- 77% of Americans say companies often sell lower-quality products & services while charging higher prices.
- 70% believe companies are taking further advantage of inflation to increase profit margins.
- 60% feel companies will use tariffs as an opportunity to raise prices more than needed to boost profits.
According to Axios, it’s prices as opposed to politics that are driving most brands’ reputations in the 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100 rankings, with the election in the rear-view mirror and tariffs and inflation top of mind. None of these priorities are the least bit surprising, and it’s also unsurprising that Disney might’ve fared negatively on a poll where consumers are fixated on costs.
Against that backdrop, here’s a look at Disney’s 2025 performance:
In 2025, the Walt Disney Company ranked #76 with a score of 69.6. It’s down 9 spots, which is far from the first time it’s been one of the companies that has taken the biggest tumbles in the rankings. This is the first time we’ve ever seen the score dip below 70, and puts Disney into the “fair” tier for the first time ever. While we’ll elaborate on this further in a bit, look at the little grey graphic to the left of the 69.6 score.
That shows Disney’s rankings trend since 2019, as the company has fallen from the top of the list to outside the top 75. If you look at the full list, you’ll see almost no other companies have seen this same type of slide. There are only two others–Boeing and Tesla–that have declined in the same way over the last 5+ years.
Here’s a look at just how much Disney has dropped since 2019, alongside other poor performers:
In 2024, Disney ranked #67 with a score of 71.8 and was in the “good” tier of the list. This could’ve been viewed as a comeback story, with the company gaining 10 spots and showing positive trajectory for the first time in several years.
That came off the company’s worst performance ever in 2023, when the Walt Disney Company had a score of 70.9 and ranked 77th, which was still in the “good” tier of the list. It’s in the “fair” higher with a higher ranking because most companies saw their scores decrease this year.
In 2022, Disney scored 73.4 and ranked 65th on the list, which was a drop of 28 spots as compared to 2021–meaning that the company was down 40 spots in the course of just a couple years.
For the duration of Bob Iger’s first tenure as CEO, Disney had scored above 80, always near the top of the list in the “Excellent” tier. Here’s a look at the consecutive years when Disney ranked as high as #5 on the list:
Before going further, it’s worth noting that there’s inconsistency in the rankings. Southwest Airlines dropped, but still ranks pretty high given the year it has had. Then there are companies like Walmart and McDonald’s, both of which have made a concerted effort to restore lower prices in some regards and still underperformed.
I’ll also admit to being surprised by multiple oil, pharmaceutical, and gambling companies outperform Disney (as well as other more consumer-oriented brands). If you asked the question differently–which brand do you respect more, BP or Disney?–I’d imagine more Americans would favor Disney. Ditto ExxonMobil vs. Taco Bell.
It’s possible that the Harris Poll is a flawed way to rank certain high profile companies and a good way to rank others. There are a lot of brands we’re generally aware of, but don’t hear about with regularity. The average American probably doesn’t know much about those businesses, which could explain why many of these companies yo-yo around the rankings.
By contrast, there are companies like Disney where the reputation is part and parcel of the brand itself. There are several lifestyle brands like this, that have actual enthusiasts and a wider degree of awareness among the general public. Aside from Disney, companies that come to mind here include Apple, Starbucks, Nike, Tesla, SpaceX, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Nintendo, and Trader Joe’s. There are undoubtedly others, as well.
Below is Disney’s 2025 breakdown in the individual category scores of Character, Trajectory, Trust, Culture, Ethics, Citizenship, Vision, Growth, and Products & Services. On the plus side, at least the ‘trajectory’ is high–suggesting there is optimism for where things are headed:
The plot twist here is that, despite the pollsters indicating that the 2025 Axios Harris reputation survey had more to do with prices than politics, the Walt Disney Company is actually one of the few exceptions to this.
According to Axios, Ben & Jerry’s (+16.4 D), Pfizer (+13.3 D) and the Walt Disney Company (+12.3 D) are the most polarizing companies that skew the most towards Democratic consumers in terms of reputational perceptions. Conversely, there are even bigger gaps for the companies that most skew toward Republicans: Elon Musk-brands Tesla (+32.3 R), X (+29.5 R) and Space X (+28.7 R); and the Trump Organization (+45.3 R).
With these notable exceptions, polarization scores have largely decreased across the rankings as a whole (hence prices mattering more than politics). “Are we now entering an era of post-polarization?” questioned John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll. “We used to get so upset by the culture wars, and now the absolute dominant priority and attention has been focused by the consumer on value.”
To that point, 8 in 10 consumers told the pollsters that they care more about how brands can keep prices down than their politics. However, 2 in 3 say they aren’t interested in supporting companies that have become too political. But two-thirds also say political polarization in business is inevitable.
It’s also worth noting that companies like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Chick-fil-A all ranked very highly despite politics. This could vindicate a “quality will win out” perspective, where consumers are willing to overlook differences of opinion if brands deliver quality products people love. Or perhaps that sincerely-held but quiet beliefs are more accepted? I know about the politics of all three brands, but their CEOs aren’t making constant headlines trumpeting their values.
With regard to Disney, what’s interesting is that the company has found itself mired in various political controversies–there’s no denying that. But those seemed to peak a couple of years ago and have died down over the last ~18 months. The last year in particular has been largely controversy-free for the company, at least in terms of coverage you’d see on the nightly news. Disney vs. DeSantis is long-settled, the last proxy fight has been over for a while, and it’s been over a year since the dust-up between Bob Iger and Elon Musk.
Since late 2023, CEO Bob Iger increasingly has stressed the importance of steering the company away from political messaging. “Our primary mission needs to be to entertain and then through our entertainment to continue to have a positive impact on the world. And I’m very serious about that. It should not be agenda-driven,” Iger said during the company’s 2023 investor meeting.
He has made similar statements on CNBC repeatedly, noting that he would “quiet the noise” in culture wars and make more of an effort to reach the audience that “can be turned off by certain things…We just have to be more sensitive to the interests of a broad audience. It’s not easy.” During the 2024 investor meeting, Iger said Disney’s job was to “entertain, first and foremost” and reiterated that “we know our job is not to advance any kind of agenda.”
It doesn’t end there, either. In “‘Politics is bad for business.’ Why Disney’s Bob Iger is trying to avoid hot buttons,” the Los Angeles Times offered a rundown of how and why the Walt Disney Company has backed away from the culture wars and tried to remove itself from controversies.
The Walt Disney Company has largely repaired its relationships with major U.S. political figures. Although it hasn’t garnered much media attention, Governor DeSantis has touted Disney’s investments in Florida and hasn’t had any negatives–only positives–to say about Disney over the last year.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and President Donald Trump have seemingly resolved their differences. During a press conference in Abu Dhabi to discuss investments between the UAE and US, Trump revealed that Iger paid a visit to the White House to show him Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
Here’s what Trump had to say about the meeting with Iger: “We have American companies [like] Disney [investing in the Middle East]. The new [Disneyland Abu Dhabi] theme park is going to be incredible. Bob Iger was in my office the other day and he was showing it to me. It’s going to be incredible.” Iger meeting with Trump is the most notable example, but it’s only one instance of many suggesting that the two have repaired their previously-strained relationship.
It’s fascinating that this Disney’s politically polarized reputation has been so “sticky” and hasn’t really reflected the controversy-free year that Disney has enjoyed. When trying to recall significant backlash within the last 6 months, the best I can come up with is the Snow White. That would’ve been released right as this polling was conducted, so perhaps that’s the big driver?
There are certainly assorted “controversies” within the fan community, but as far as the broader Disney-consuming public goes, I can’t really think of anything else from the last ~365 days. It’s been a mostly positive year for Disney on balance, with strong box office results, higher guest satisfaction scores for the parks, and an increasing Disney+ domestic subscriber count.
Perhaps most notably for broader public perceptions, Disney dominated the box office last year. Inside Out 2, Moana 2, and Deadpool & Wolverine were all huge hits. Other films performed really well and added to Disney’s box office haul, but I’m skeptical those movies (e.g. Alien Romulus) would register with the public as being “Disney,” and that’s what matters for the purpose of the survey.
Star Wars and Marvel have continued to underperform expectations, and there’s undeniably a lot of breathless coverage about this online. It’s difficult to discern the extent to which this is organic and mainstream, and the extent to which it’s manufactured outrage online driven by ragebait. As someone with only a passing interest in both Star Wars and the MCU, my perception is just that the quality is low because too much of it has been churned out. I’m inclined to believe “fatigue” and bad reviews/word of mouth are a bigger driver of this than politicized content.
Personally, I’m skeptical that any announcements the company has made for the theme parks would materially impact their reputation. Disgruntled theme park fans may not want to hear this, and point to unpopular decisions like replacing MuppetVision, razing the Rivers of America, poorly-received ride reimaginings, DAS changes, Lightning Lane Premier Pass, and so forth.
Much of this is unpopular with hardcore fans, but not the general public. If it’s on their radar at all (and it mostly isn’t), the perception is probably very different. When I’ve explained to normie friends what’s happening, they’re more focused on the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster and Cars Land parts of the news.
Some of this has ‘broken containment’ from our sphere, but honestly, whenever I see coverage of the Rivers of America in mainstream outlets, the broader reaction mostly seems to be that Disney Adults are weird. Which, sure, we are…but we’re also right about this being a mistake!
All of this is precisely why, when I first read the Axios Harris press release about prices mattering more than politics, it all made sense that Disney would’ve seen its reputation fall further to “fair.”
Disney has garnered a lot of negative media scrutiny about pricing. There was that bombshell article in the Wall Street Journal back in February (shortly before this polling), and that led to tremendous fallout and broader conversation about Disney’s high prices and affordability among average middle class Americans. That garnering so much attention is likely what led to “Cool Kid Summer” and an influx of discounts. While the theme parks aren’t everything for consumers, streaming service prices have also increased.
So if pricing is seemingly the more logical explanation for Disney’s decline, why does its polarization remain so high? My best guess is that political coverage and perceptions of Disney haven’t improved all that much. The company became a poster child for cultural polarization, and that damage isn’t undone easily or overnight. It probably also doesn’t help that the quality of content has still been hit or miss. Basically, there have been enough negative headlines to maintain baked-in perceptions and not enough positive news to undo previous damage. Honestly, I have no clue–just spitballing.
What I do know is that this matters a lot to Disney. Both public perceptions–which is precisely why Bob Iger has worked to consciously uncouple from culture wars–and the brand’s ranking on this particular poll by Axios Harris. This list is highly as influential within the industry, including with Bob Iger, who according to the Wall Street Journal, based some of his fears that his successor/predecessor Bob Chapek was killing the soul of the company on this same poll.
Iger feared then that fans were “falling out of love” with the Disney brand. And those results were better than 2025! Suffice to say, the Axios Harris Poll is important to the company and its CEO (Disney touted being one of the highest-ranking companies on the poll as recently as 2019). There’s no way to spin this or paint it in a positive light: the results are bad (again) for Disney.
While I have no clue how to reconcile the politics vs. pricing perceptions, my advice to Disney would be to follow the lead of the companies that have seen their rankings rise over the last few years. Even though the businesses are very different, lessons can be learned from Trader Joe’s, Patagonia, Costco, Arizona Beverages, Nintendo, and yes, even In-N-Out Burger. A couple of these charge premium prices, but they also deliver commensurately premium products. The moral of the story: “quality will win out…it’s proven it’s a good business policy. Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, keep it friendly.” ~Walt Disney.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s your take on Disney’s spot on the 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100? Think the company can bounce back with focusing more on quality, and less on politics? Think pricing or value for money actually does play a role in the rank, even if the pollsters disagree? Will another year removed from controversies help? Hope Disney gets its groove back soon? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
“Even the move to “neutral” is a move to the left.”
This perception is key to understanding what is going on. Traditional broad entertainment itself is now being demonized in the fog of the culture wars and Disney is the poster child in right wing media. Ultimately if neutral is left (or perceived as such),. there is little Disney can do to appease this vocal minority without alienating the majority of its customers (a big swath of whom who are apolitical or want Disney to be neutral).
Live Action Remakes:
I see a lot of comments on the live action remakes (and for good reason). Here are my three cents: I think the live action remakes were interesting at first because they brought something new to the table.
Take Alice in Wonderland (2010) for example, Its not really a remake of the animated classic, its more of a sequel. Maleficient was not a straight up remake either, it was the story “that actually happened” while we are told the animated one is just how the story is told; and it goes without saying that we get Maleficient as a protagonist and we see the story from her point of view. We eventually got Cruella; While Alice felt like a sequel, Cruella felt more like a (2019)Joker-inspired prequel.
So far so good. These are not just soul-less cash ins that swap the animated for live action and call it a day. These movies bring something new to the table and I found them interesting. There could be honorable mentions here like Cristopher Robin that was also a sequel like Alice (but I didnt enjoy Cristopher Robin as much, I feel it lacked in execution).
For me, the problem with live action remakes started with Cinderella (2015). It may have good reviews or whatever, but it was the first live action remake since Alice that I felt didnt brought anything new to the table. Alice was a sequel, Maleficient was a very different, Cruella was a prequel, and Cinderella was… more or less the same story of the Animated classic, and that makes it kind of boring (for me, at least).
Beauty and The Beast (2017) is the same problem. At least they could have tried the Maleficient route and make the story from The Beast´s point of view or something. I didnt watch Dumbo (2019) but it has the same problem as far as I know. I enjoyed Aladdin (2019) thanks to Genie but at the end of the day it has the same problem.
Oh, and after Aladin 2019 we got what I think was the worst offender of the live action remakes: The Lion King 2019. I was puzzled when this got announced (and I still am). Why make a “live action” remake of a story that doesnt even have any human characters? It never made sense to me, felt like a soul-less cash-in. They should have gone straight to the Mufasa movie and make it fully animated instead of “live action”, that would have been much more interesting and fun.
Oh and dont even get me started on The Little Mermaid and Snow White. The epitome of rhe Wokies so far. If you have ever in your life felt dissapointed by Disney, you should watch South Park´s special episode: “Joining the Panderverse”. Im not into South Park, but I watched that episode specifically and it was just banger after banger of stuff that´s wrong with Modern Disney. There is also a lot of stuff wrong with Modern Disney that isnt necessarily related to cultural wars; there´s this Youtuber called “Real Life Fake Wizard”, he mostly talks about stuff that is wrong with companies he loves like Disney or Nintendo. I love the same companies so his videos are always worth a watch for me.
Disney Parks:
I have also read in the comments from some people who live outside the USA and dont want to visit the Disney Parks anymore, That´s fair. Come to Mexico on vacation instead. The World Population Review 2025 survey has named Mexico the “friendliest country in the world”. Expats and tourists frequently highlight the warmth of Mexico’s people, its hospitality, vibrant culture, and the willingness of locals to go out of their way to assist foreigners.
If you are into beaches I would recommend going to Cancun. Stay for at least a week in an all-inclusive resort. No pre-planning needed to enjoy the fun, no need to stare at your phone all day to enjoy the fun.
If beaches dont sound like your cup of tea, I would highly recommend visiting Puebla, Puebla. Beautiful city, lots of tourist things to do, and the food is possibly the best in the world.
This felt like a long post. Maybe Tom Bricker could give some tips on starting my own website. Thank you for reading.
After years of spending time and money at WDW, we are now renting out our DVC points and finding new places. They seem to be on a different path than us…not caring that Muppets was Jim Henson’s last project. Not caring about how people felt about losing Rivers of America. Continually taking…free fast passes, Magical Express, ridiculous food offerings at the special DVD Magical nights and the list goes on. The parks no longer sparkle. The workers, by and large, are putting in their hours. We’re paying more and getting less, and missing what used to be. So, I agree with the fair ranking. It’s no longer magical. And thst hurts. We’re going to Europe and Africa.
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“The last year in particular has been largely controversy-free for the company, at least in terms of coverage you’d see on the nightly news.”
Maybe so. But mainstream media does not hold sway over the public as in the past. And what I was seeing here in the Midwest, the online and social media sentiments for Disney were overwhelmingly negative, especially sparked by the Snow White controversies. It’s so disheartening for me to see that Disney’s lowest three scores were “Trust”, “Character”, and “Ethics.” But the damage to the company was largely self inflicted. They need a new crew to right their sinking ship. I’m a longtime AP and DVC Disney fan, and I sincerely hope they can recognize their errors and regain the trust lost.
Fair point!
I’m surprised they didn’t just dump Snow White onto Disney+ or pull a WBD and scrap it entirely for a tax write-off. It became clear long ago that movie wasn’t worth the trouble, and they had to have had test audience scores long ago showing it wasn’t going to somehow be a surprise box office success in spite of the controversy.
As someone who dislikes the live action remakes on principle, I find myself in this awkward spot of wanting to see them underperform but also thinking “no, not like that.”
Tom: You said it all with “The issue with Disney, at least on the parks side, is that they’ve been charging more while offering less.” I don’t mind increased prices, although they have sure skyrocketed. However, the complexity, amount of time always on my phone instead of enjoying my experience, the nastiness and laziness (and I never thought I’d say that about cast members) of some cast members were all turnoffs for me. I might try Disneyland again, but I’m done with WDW.
I’m headed to Aulani this year and wonder if the experience is going to be totally different than what we had before. I know that Amu Amu is no longer opened for lunch, and it and the character dining room are only pre-fixe menus. If you don’t want 3-4 courses, where else are you going to get decent dinners at Aulani? No where. I guess Monkeypod across the street will get a lot of my business.
Does Disney do any comparisons with Universal–either in FL or CA? I prefer the rides at Disney since the ones at Universal tend to make me sick or I can’t go on them at all due to past surgeries, but I do enjoy the less hassle side of things there.
It’s such a shame as I always sung WDW’s praises and was even mocked for going so often especially since we live several states away. I think Walt would be ashamed.
Seeing multiple complaints about Star Wars *becoming* too political is certainly interesting. The first Star Wars film premiered in 1977 and there’s been a Star Wars presence in the domestic parks since Star Tours opened at Disneyland in 1987 and if someone doesn’t think the original films were overtly political, then I’m not sure what films they watched. Maybe the better question though is when did anti-authoritarianism become “woke” and not “wholesome”?
The issue isn’t the current low number associated with this poll but rather the continuous drop over time. While the poll itself might not be a good measure, it is a measure that has been repeated and shows a decline in perception of the company. At bigger issue is that there are multiple possible causes for the indicator to decline. Park costs, politics. chapek, marvel and Star Wars, whatever the reason, it is still a downward trend that needs to be addressed and with so many possible causes, it is not an easy fix or one I think Disney is willing to make.
Probably well deserved, certainly for charging more while giving less at the parks. Also the movies were definitely not too family oriented- the topics being raised are better being discussed at home at a parents own pace/discretion. That being said I consider Disney World my home away from home and ghink they are finally starting to get things right again these past few months particularly.
Hey James, can you give me an example of those topics?
Disney’s lowest score on the Axios poll was “Trust.” Unlike Cosco, Disney is an entertainment company. And about half the parents in this country do not agree with the cultural agenda that Disney is pushing on their children. Maybe it wasn’t covered in the mainstream news you were reading and watching , but this past year was saturated with bad publicity online revolving around Disney’s live action remake of Snow White. The results of the Axios poll make total sense. Disney, take note and turn your ship around.
Snow White is discussed in the post–right around the poster from the film.
I’m still skeptical one movie made *that* much of an impact. Perhaps with people who were already predisposed to being averse to Disney’s content strategy, but I’d imagine most people saw a trailer, said “that looks awful” and moved on. If I didn’t live in this space, that’s what I would’ve done.
I do very much agree that Disney scoring so low on “trust” is incredibly concerning. That’s such an integral part of the brand and it’ll take years to undo that damage.
I think the point is Iger said Disney is getting out of politics; they are focusing on entertainment, not an agenda…And then we got Snow White. So that allowed folks already turned off by the “woke” agenda to say “Nope, this is the same old woke Disney.”
What was the cultural agenda being pushed on children in Snow White Katie? I saw a movie about how fairness is about kindness and treating people fairly, and about how beauty comes from within. What have you mistakenly allowed culture war grifters to convince you is in a movie you clearly haven’t seen?
Aeryn – I can’t speak to the movie itself, but the production of Snow White was embroiled in controversy for several years. My media consumption is almost entirely of the mainstream variety, and it was absolutely covered there. Both of the leads are polarizing (to entirely different groups), there were controversies with the dwarfs–I don’t even recall it all.
None of the normal variety (at least what I saw) had anything to do with the movie’s supposed agenda, but it would be fairly easy to see how “normies” were turned off by the regular coverage outside of the movie itself and wouldn’t have seen it as a result.
Unfortunately bullying is very popular right now, and right wing media twisted very innocuous comments into a bullying campaign against the main actress.
Those who actually watched the movie were treated to a cute, sweet, romantic movie musical with a very talented star.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a place for Disney Princess movies in mainstream culture right now. How can millions of people who voted for a bully turn around and take their children to a movie about an evil ruler being defeated by kindness and community? The whole concept just doesn’t work right now for a big chunk of Americans.
I don’t agree that Disney is trying to push an agenda on kids. A lot of the negative stuff that is appearing about Disney is on social media, where people love to diss everything, including, well, pretty much everything about the live-action Snow White.
Yikes! Disney is sharing space with spacex, tesla and boeing lol. That has to hurt.
You mention prices, but what I hear “normies” complain about in the same breath is the complexity (of visiting the theme parks). It was once an easy vacation for families that didn’t require ANY front work…buy your ticket, go and have fun! Now, it is literally as complicated to plan a Walt Disney World trip as it is to plan a trip to France or Italy. You have to us a travel agent! And you have to be on your phone all day — many parents don’t like that, and they are the ones paying for vacations and answering surveys.
I agree. It was fun to buy your ticket and just go have fun. Now it’s too much phone use to plan your time. Not fun. I hate having to pay extra to ride a ride. Why can’t the ticket price be enough? It’s run here and there instead of just moseying around each section and enjoying the park.
This is a fantastic point about complexity, and one we often hear a lot.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think prices alone are the issue. I sorta hinted at that in the post (and have discussed it elsewhere at length), but many consumers are willing to pay premium prices for a premium product. Look no further than Patagonia’s high score–not to mention other upmarket brands.
The issue with Disney, at least on the parks side, is that they’ve been charging more while offering less (at least, until recently). That’s a bad combination.
I think this is so true. It’s the upsell of access to rides and the diminished live entertainment. I loathe Lightning Lane and the time you have to spend on your phone managing it. They need to level the playing field for ride access. Don’t increase the price of tickets and lower the experience. Don’t charge more for smaller portion sizes of food. Don’t remove rice and beans from a Mexican food dinner plate. Those cheapskate changes are noticed and really irritate people (judging by the number of comments I’ve seen on social media). I still have fun at Disneyland but I have learned to plan and manage my day. For the first time or every few years visitor it has to be very frustrating. Very few people want to spend that much time managing their Disney vacation. They just want to enter the gates and have fun.
Look, my last visit to WDW was not a good experience. It was not a disaster. But not being able to hug or even interact with characters was a HUGE loss. Yes, this was years ago. Yes, things have changed since then. But your average person takes their under-13 kids to WDW once. Only once. If that had been our only trip, I would never have gone back. Instead, we remembered how magical it was when we took our daughter to WDW at age 2, and so we went to DL and had an amazing time. But I think Disney probably turned off a LOT of customers. I have no idea how they’ll win back people who spent more money than they’d ever spent on any other vacation, just to go home not having felt the magic. That COVID hit is going to carry on for a long, long time. Their kids will also not remember the magic. So why would they later take their kids? Etc.
“That COVID hit is going to carry on for a long, long time.”
This is a fantastic point. Those who visited during the pent-up demand years got hit in both directions–higher prices and reduced offerings.
Things have been steadily improving since, both with lower prices and increased offerings…but most people do not visit annually. That perception hit is definitely “sticky.”
Sorry that should read generally NOT being a very good neighbor.
I’d be very concerned about trust being at #83. OUCH!
I only buy Nathan’s or Sabrett hotdogs and generally speaking get them at $3 to $4 on sale. That’s 36/50 cents a hot dog. Full price for Nathans are generally $4.97 and Sabretts $5.49. Figure 63 cents.
So aside from the fact COSTCO was overcharging in 1985 it’s great they held the line because they are still making a nice profit in 2025.
The first year of Disneyland they sold oversized souvenir soft cover books for a quarter. They only made a few pennies on them. After the first year the guy in charge went to Walt and said we should raise the price and make some decent profit on them. Walt refused and told him he wanted the people to have something to take home with them so they could relive their experiences. Whenever hey looked at the book it would make them want to return. And when friends, neighbors or relatives came over their house and saw it out on the coffee table it would start up a positive conversation. Those people would see that book and decide to visit Disneyland.
Walt is dead and the company is the worse for it. They could sell hot dogs for $1.50 too and make a handsome profit.
We’ve discussed elsewhere that Diney has been making some obscene profits while the quality has gone down some.
We still have great experiences but that’s us.
First timers will have a great time and not know the difference but even then they will come away like my surgeon friend who remembers their trip as fun but very expensive. You don’t think people with money notice? How much more obvious is it to those who plan and wait for years to go.
So money and value does play a role. A big one.
And when that’s going against you every little negative controversy is another nail. Yes another year removed will help. Some more wholesome entertainment will help too.
And clearly a drop in prices would be huge.
Great thoughts all-around.
I would hazard a guess that someone like your surgeon friend would not have come back complaining about prices if the experience were exceptional. Disney’s absolute highest guest satisfaction scores come on its most expensive product offerings–things like Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.
The difference is that the attention to detail, service, etc., is still so high on those that guests are willing to overlook the high prices or come home and say “that was worth it.” The parks need to get back to that point.
Lowering prices to make up the difference is certainly one option, and I wouldn’t complain about paying less! But I am concerned that lower prices would be accompanied by cost-cutting, and I don’t want to see Disney race to the bottom.
I haaven’t seen their books so I’m really guessing but I think they can lower prices without cutting costs. It might mean they make less profit but if you’re doing really well then you can afford to make a little less.
Last year the Mets went to the NLCS and lost to the dodgers in 6 games.
An exciting season which was not unlike 69 or 86. So much fun. OMG! All the players were so likable and each one contributed on any given night.
To my surprise our seats, which are GREAT seats, actually went down by like $800 each. The Mets reduced seat prices around the stadium after a successful, amazing year. Honestly I was shocked.
They then went out and signed Juan Soto and brought back Pete Alonso along with some other financially significant signings.
This past Wednesday I was invited to a small gathering for a BBQ with Mookie Wilson and while there had a long talk with my Rep and he told me our seats will probably NOT go up next year.
NOT GO UP after signing Juan Soto and probably a very expensive renegotiated deal with Pete.
I can’t help but believe Disney can improve things, lower ticket and resort prices and actually make more money.
After many decades of traveling from Canada for annual family vacation stays of 10 – 12 days at Disney I can say that after our last vacation the love affair is definitely over. I have truly fallen out of love with Disney. Its so sad. In the past we hated leaving at the end of our vacation, last year we were actually very happy to be leaving and going home. Our last Disney vacation was so horrible, extremely over priced, long line ups – and it was supposed to be the slow season but there were 120 minute waits posted at popular rides and the parks were crowded, very poor service, many services are just gone altogether, encountered many rude cast members, rides were breaking down, poor quality foods everywhere from counter service restaurantsto yhe sit downs with waiters, and again very very overpriced. Tried to make the best of it but overall it was horrible!! We spent thousands and thousands of dollars to have a crappy time. It was so incredibly disappointing and disheartening. We won’t be going back to any US city to vacation for at least 4 years due to a certain political figure making us feel very unwelcome and generally being a very good neighbor, but we certainly won’t bother going back to Disney ever again if they don’t improve their services and quality and lower their ludicrous prices, which I doubt will ever happen, so bye bye Disney. It’s just not the fun vacation it used to be and it’s not worth the money or the bother. There are a lot of other places we can go to spend our vacation dollars and have an actually enjoyable vacation that doesn’t even cost half as much!! I’m sure they’ll still keep finding many other poor souls to waste thousands at their sad parks but I’m afraid we’re done with them.
Disney’s reputation hasn’t fallen just because of price increases. It has also fallen because of all these live action remakes of classic Disney movies. I believe in the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Every remake I have seen is a major disappointment. I personally have been disappointed with the content coming out of Disney Plus and I’m tired of having to pay more every year for mediocre content. It’s time for a new CEO to right the ship.
Hello Med.
Im sorry to hear that but I totally get it. May I suggest you consider coming to Mexico on vacation?
If you are into beaches I would recommend going to Cancun. Stay for a week in an all-inclusive resort. No pre-planning needed to enjoy the fun, no need to stare at your phone all day to enjoy the fun.
If beaches doesnt sound like you cup of tea, I would highly recommend visiting Puebla, Puebla. Beautiful city, lots of tourist things to do, and the food is possibly the best in the world.
You Canadians always seem eager to let us Americans know how much you wont be visiting in every tourism comment section. Doth protest too much?
I mean, if your so sensitive about a few cracks regarding a 51st state, maybe you shouldn’t visit a country where people have the freedom to tell jokes about things.
You think this is a big joke? What if some country said that about the U.S.? You’d be screaming to tar and feather them.
Leave Canada alone. They are our friendly neighbors. I was just up there. They understand it’s not the visitors making these insane demands. So even in the midst of this, they are still friendly.
Shame on you for making such an insensitive comment.
Disney definitely has a pricing/value problem. Service, cleanliness, ride quality and volume, etc. But I do think the pull back on political engagement has actually hurt them.
The above comment is a perfect example. I’m completely the opposite and was disappointed to see Disney withdrawing support of marginalized groups.
The old saying of you can’t please all of the people all of the time is evident here.
You have to pick a lane and stick. (See Costco as an example.)
I agree. And I also don’t think representation means there is an “agenda” or that creating a story that features marginalized folks is “political.” I think all kids deserve to see themselves and their families in entertainment offerings.
Why did it become bad to be awake/woke? I don’t want to go back to the “good old days”, when it was OK to make derogatory comments about anyone that was considered ‘different.’
I disagree with Disney/ABC firing Terry Moran for making a negative comment about trump on social media, and for censoring The View. Trump wouldn’t hesitate to make negative comments about any of them. Why does Disney/ABC (or any company, university, politician, foreign country) pander to trump by censoring negative comments about him.
My prediction is that Disney’s reputation has hit its low mark. It takes some time for reforms to make their way through movies in the pipeline and into the parks. All short-term indications, however, point to improvement: rededication to children and families and avoidance of political agendas in favor of timeless themes. Disney has taken enough hits on the bottom line for pursuing political agendas in their product (Strange World, Snow White, Star Wars, etc.) that they finally get it. Now they are doing 50% kids tickets, kids-eat-free, cool kid summer. Yes, these are all cost saving measures, but who is saving? They have removed objectionable, agenda-driven content from their recent programs, e.g., Win-or-Lose. Give it 5 years. I think there will be a renaissance of family-oriented and traditionally themed entertainment in both movies and parks. They will get back to the artistry, rather than cheap looking computer-generated stuff. The concept art from Pixar’s Gatto just today reflects that.
The next big sign will be who is chosen as next CEO–if D’Amaro then that’s a good sign; if Dana Walden or an activist, I will be proven wrong.
The reason it ranks so low is that half the country still hates “woke” things, they think about how much they hate “woke” things every day. Disney was one of the front and center poster children of the woke movement. It will take an insanely long time to wash that stink off. Realistically if they do everything right from here on out- 10 years probably. If they are lucky. I dont agree with it- but its the reality. These people feel scorned by “woke” by being “talked down to” and they wont forget it any time soon.
I agree, they got the Bud Light treatment and didn’t seem to realize it. I am conservative and when I talk to people about WDW vacations to other conservatives, the response to me is usually “I’m never giving them another dime of my money!” The impression given to these people is that there are Democrat activists standing on every corner of the park and walking around the park would be like walking around downtown Portland Oregon. Since most people only go a few times in their lives, that impression is kind of stuck in place. Bob talks about removing the politics from the company but I honestly don’t think he understands conservatives’ objections well enough to know how to do that. I also think it’s mostly lip service.
What they also miss here is that conservatives have more kids, and always have. So until 10-15 years ago the company inadvertently catered to conservatives by trying to please their customer base. Even the move to “neutral” is a move to the left. And most conservatives aren’t going to rally for things to change–they simply won’t go.
I would also argue there is a difference in a company like Tesla vs Disney. Musk used to be an enemy of the right, now he’s an enemy of the left, until next week when it goes back the other way. But the cars seem to be good cars, and by buying one you’re not buying into the agenda of the CEO, who sends out his political messaging personally and not as an agent of his companies. Disney sends out messaging directly. This isn’t Bob Iger saying “this is how things should be”, it’s Disney, marking it to kids. When you disagree with the message, marketing it to kids seems like a really repulsive thing to do.
I still love the parks. I see people there in Trump hats and nobody bothers them. But you have to actually GO to know what it’s like, and the people I talk to have completely written off that possibility. I think this is only half of the problem, and for me personally the problems are price as well as degraded experience, but I’m telling you what people say.
These are interesting points, Keith!
I would imagine a major turning point could/would be something like another Frozen. An original film that’s a cultural phenomenon *and* results in a fairly big and immediate parks presence. A movie that’s inescapable and unobjectionable, and maybe softens the perspective of the “I’m never giving them another dime!” crowd.
A lot of parents or grandparents might be saying that now, but if their daughters fall in love with another princess (or their son with a pirate/talking car/whatever), their tune might change. But regardless, that does take time.
It must be very upsetting to see a beloved brand like Disney treat everyone, guests, and employees, fairly and equally. It must be even more galling to see a representative cross-section of America appear as characters in the movies.
You can call that agenda if you want; I call it good old-fashioned American values in the best Disney tradition.
And what is your suggestion, Kieth, that the movies should become a whites-only affair to appease “conservatives?”
I am going to be completely,bluntly honest here. I am a white woman. I have 4 daughters. I don’t care that my youngest daughters favorite Princess is Tiana. Why on Earth does it matter if Ariel is black or Snow White is Latino? Aren’t children of all colors allowed to be represented? I turned off Little Mermaid because it was, well, just plain bad. I had a problem that Snow White wasn’t prettier than her Evil Stepmother and that the dwarves were horrible CGI. The comments on this post are alarming and disgusting. I’d rather have a brown Princess than stand in line behind someone with a political shirt. No matter which party. And hey, I’m not a Democrat. Disney is not in our plans anymore because 1)too much damn hassle. I don’t mind planning before a trip but I’m not happy with the complications even after I’m there. 2) It just isn’t affordable for a normal middle class family of 4 anymore, period. 3) For every great, magical CM you get one who is just plain rude. And that was NEVER the case in over 20 years of attending parks. So hey if you want to call Disney “woke” when you really mean you’re a bigot. Go for it. But that is not the reason Disney dropped in the rankings. It’s price for value plain and simple.
Tom, like I said I personally think this is only half of the issue. When my kids were young, they loved Disney “stuff”. All of their toys were Disney and most of what we watched on TV was Disney. That lasted until Moana got old, then nothing from Disney replaced it in the pipeline. Instead, Minions, How to Train Your Dragon, etc. took its place. This had nothing to do with my politics–this is what they gravitated to. Our next trip is not Disney–it’s to Epic Universe. Because of the IP. We’ve been to WDW ~15 times and have never been to Universal FL until now. I agree with you that a big cultural “event” movie would move things back in the right direction for them, but I think it will take 2-3 in a row to do it. And even then I think you’ll capture young kids and their families, not people who have never been and have teenagers or older.
As for price–about 18 years ago I remember paying $1350 for a week in an all-star resort, with 6 days of park tickets and free quick-service dining plans for my wife and I, in October or November. With free fastpass. We went several years in a row for similar costs. If it cost then what it costs now, I probably never would have gone–I didn’t have the money. And it was more of a luxury experience then, with cast members going out of their way to take care of us. And going before we had kids is what made me want to take my kids later on, even though the cost basically doubled.
Mike, I hear you, and I think your attitude is probably in line with a lot of Disney employees. But by breaking down a political issue into “good” and “evil”, you don’t even try to understand both sides. If Disney doesn’t even understand the objections of half of the country, how can they convince them to return to their parks and buy their merchandise? Note that I’m not even defending one side or the other here, but I do understand them both.
Christi, I appreciate your comment and I think we agree on these issues. One thought though, about Snow White not being prettier than the evil queen, cuz I’ve seen that idea mentioned a lot: Obviously physical beauty is subjective so there’s no point in arguing there. I think both actresses are lovely looking. But, the point of Snow White is that the magic mirror says she’s more fair than the queen because she is kind. She’s pure of heart, while the queen only thinks about vanity. That’s the message of Snow White. It’s not actually supposed to be about which of the two women is prettier.
Keith, I don’t see two sides. One is angry that main characters in mainstream movies aren’t always white anymore. I don’t think there are two sides to that, and I don’t understand what could pacify the “go woke go broke” crowd other than…a segregated film industry. That seems to be what they want, and it’s not going to happen.
Absolutely. I didn’t even watch Snow White for my own silly reasons. However, while maybe it was shallow (beauty is definitely deeper than outward looks!) it wasn’t bigoted. The ‘woke’ answers are just getting so old.
Very much agreed!
Great post Christi/ u the MVP 🙂
I would rather spend a week at DisneyWorld (expense be damned) than vacation at a Costco eating cheap hot dogs.
Wholesomeness is gone. They put in a drag show! Female actors need to reclaim their roles!
Wow I missed the drag show where was it?
You are 100% correct!!!
Kathleen, I totally agree.
What are you talking about?????? I was just there two weeks ago. A drag show, seriously?
Is this satire?
wait, where’s the drag show?? I want to go!
Wow, crazy – town in the comments.
Is the drag show in the room with us now?