Is Walt Disney World Too Expensive for Middle Class Americans?
Fans have complained that “Disney World is pricing out the middle class,” criticized the company for “catering only to the wealthy” and no longer wanting to fulfill Walt’s dream as a place where ordinary American parents and children can have fun together. While we’ve understood the frustration, we’ve also pushed back on these notions. However, there are a couple of new developments suggesting that maybe Disney is aiming for the affluent.
First is a bombshell new report from the Wall Street Journal that the top 10% of Americans account for 50% of all consumer spending in the United States. Households making about $250,000 a year or more are splurging on everything from luxury goods to extravagant vacations.
Those consumers now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record going back to 1989, according to a analysis by Moody’s Analytics (based on U.S. Federal Reserve data through the third-quarter of last year, the most recent data available). Three decades ago, the top 10% accounted for about 36% of consumer spending.
Over approximately the last year, the highest earners have increased their spending by 12%. Over the same period, spending by working-class and middle-class households dropped. As this spread widens, spending by the top 10% now accounts for nearly one-third of United States gross domestic product.
Consumer spending among affluent Americans has been boosted by big gains in stocks, real estate, and other assets. This makes sense. The top 10% owns 87% of the stocks in the U.S., as well as 84% of private businesses, 44% of real estate, and 67% of overall wealth. Since 1989, every single one of these numbers is up significantly.
The result of these increases is that the wealthiest Americans have increased their consumer spending well above inflation, whereas other cohorts have not. The bottom 80% of earners spent 25% more than they did four years earlier, barely outpacing price increases of 21% over that period. The top 10% spent a whopping 58% more.
Given all of the aforementioned numbers, a stock market selloff or decline in home values that rattles the confidence of the top 10% and causes them to cut back would have a significant effect on the economy. Consumer sentiment is starting to slide overall, including for the wealthiest third of consumers.
Consumer confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, and one that has wide-ranging consequences. One of which could be a stock market correction, which could have profound impacts on Walt Disney World and beyond. That’s especially true given the overreliance on the top 10% continuing to spend, but that’s beyond the scope of this post.
The bottom line is that economic growth is unusually reliant on rich Americans continuing to spend. And by extension, Walt Disney World’s financial growth is likewise increasingly reliant on the top 10% of Americans, or affluent international tourists and other comparable cohorts.
The other development comes from another Wall Street Journal report, which we’ve already covered at length in Walt Disney World is Worried About Its High Prices and its progeny of posts. That really was a fantastic piece, and included many details that we’re still fully digesting. That included this little beauty:
Walt Disney World pushed back against WSJ’s estimated costs of a typical four-day visit, saying they were exaggerated and didn’t take into account the range of value options available. According to Walt Disney World, “a four-day trip for a family of four in the fall could cost as little as $3,026 before food and transportation costs…and guests don’t need Lighting Lane passes to have a great time.”
That $3,026 is before food and transportation, excludes Lightning Lanes, and requires visiting in August or September (they didn’t say the last part, but we know those are the cheapest times to visit Walt Disney World in the fall).
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of round-trip airfare was $243 last August and $250 last September. For the entire third quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has a higher statistic, $365.64. It appears that different methodology is used, but both are nationwide averages.
Meaning that you’ll be paying more if you’re flying out of Cold Bay Airport in Alaska ($1,176 on average), but less out of Chicago-O’Hare or Dallas-Love Field. Anecdotal, but I flew out of Los Angeles (LAX) and John Wayne (SNA) during those two months last year, paying under $200 for the former and just over $250 for the latter. But I also use airfare deal trackers and have flight flexibility.
Regardless, we’re going to play this conservatively and stick with the lower $243 number. The silver lining here is that airfare is actually down since 2019. This airfare adds another $972 to the total. From MCO, ground transportation will also be necessary, and we’ll use Mears Connect for that, adding another $116 to the total.
After transportation, this brings Walt Disney World’s own number to $4,114.
Now let’s do food.
Our own price analysis, How Much Does It Cost to Go On a Walt Disney World Vacation in 2025?, does account for dining. We have four tiers, mirroring Walt Disney World’s own Value, Moderate, and Deluxe Resort hierarchy–along with the addition of a frugal class for guests staying off-site and trying to do Disney as inexpensively as possible. Based on the overlap of our and Disney’s numbers, it appears their numbers are based on our value tier.
Our food costs from that tier are $700, which is about how much it’d cost to pay out of pocket or purchase the lower-tier of the Disney Dining Plan. This brings the ballpark Walt Disney World vacation total cost to $4,814.
Above is a graph from the WSJ showing vacation starting budgets by U.S. household income quintile, along with typical costs for a 2-day Walt Disney World trip. Note that the numbers above were for 4-days, hence the discrepancies. Again, this doesn’t account for airfare, but does include food.
This data analysis was done by TouringPlans, but what I found more illuminating was their deeper dive into how much of a Walt Disney World vacation each quintile of American households can afford in 2025. Notably, this is based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES), so the same government agency that produced our more conservative airfare number above.
BLS CES data reveal the following full-year travel budgets for each quintile: lowest 20% ($612), next 20% ($1,118), middle 20% ($1,187), second-highest 20% ($3,076), and top 20% ($7,516). That’s not the single starting budget for a specific trip, but what each quintile actually spent on travel in 2023 (the last year for which data is available).
This means that the cheapest Walt Disney World vacation exceeds what every single quintile except the top 20% spends on travel, on average. (Even the top 20% spends less than our own cost-analysis of deluxe-tier Walt Disney World vacation.) At the risk of stating the obvious, these numbers are concerning! They reinforce the notion that Disney is pricing out the middle class, and increasing dependent on the top 20%–or top 10%.
However, the numbers are not conclusive of that. There’s an undeniable nexus between income quintiles and travel spending, but it’s not definitive.
It’s a fool’s errand to conduct an analysis of Disney pricing out the middle class–or any of the quintiles of consumers–based solely on spending and income data. There are over 125 million households in the United States, and Disney only needs to capture a small percentage of them each year. And that’s assuming no one visits from overseas, which is obviously inaccurate.
What various tiers of average American households spend per year on travel is only part of the equation. All it takes is the outliers to skew things completely. Nevermind credit card debt, saving up for expensive vacations, multi-generation trips funded by grandparents (more likely to be in that top 20% than their millennial children), etc.
Our own analysis has shown significant increases since 2019, with the bulk of these concentrated in 2021-2022 due to a mixture of massive price increases, reduced discounting, and the loss of perks that used to be built into the price of packages or admission.
As we’ve pointed out previously, Walt Disney World did not raise ticket prices between December 2022 and last year. That was unprecedented. Between that and better deals, the effective prices most people paid for Walt Disney World vacation packages actually decreased last year vs. 2021-2022 (or parts of 2023).
Ticket prices are up in 2025. Menu prices have also continued to go up, but what we’ve seen at counter service restaurants is an increase below the rate of inflation and their real world counterparts. Walt Disney World quick-service is often less expensive than meals at Panera, Chipotle, or other fast-casual restaurants as of 2025. That’s actually the rare positive change versus 2019.
All things considered, there’s a reasonable possibility that you’ll pay less in 2025 for the cheapest Walt Disney World vacation than the same trip would’ve cost in 2022. (To be clear, it’s still a massive increase over 2019.) This is doubly true if you can manage to take advantage of discounts.
In each of the last two years, Walt Disney World has offered a 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket that encompass travel dates throughout the off-season months of August and September (as well as April through July, but those are more expensive months to visit, so not really relevant for our purposes). With no new rides opening this year and competition from Epic Universe down the street, there’s every reason to believe this deal will be back by April 21, 2025 at the absolute latest (potentially as soon as next month if there are blockouts for Easter).
There’s also every reason to believe that Walt Disney World will soon offer another room-only discount for these months. Last year’s deal brought the All Stars down to as low as $118/night during the off-season and Pop Century to $160/night. Given that hotel rack rates barely budged for 2025 and demand has decreased, it’s safe to expect those prices again.
These deals alone could reduce vacation costs in August and September 2025 by over $2,000. (Our estimate is up to $2,600 in savings during the off-season with a 4-night weeknight stay via room-only discounts and the 4-park ticket deal. Most of the savings come from the latter–that ticket deal has been insanely good for those who can take advantage.)
This cuts the cost of the previous baseline $4,814 Walt Disney World vacation roughly in half. Even assuming families cannot take advantage of the absolute cheapest days because they (unsurprisingly) fall right after school goes back into session, we’re still looking at an early to mid-August cost of under $3,000 after those (assumed) discounts.
This is why I expressed surprise at the company’s odd highlighting of discounts to underscore its affordability in Disney Responds to Rising Costs Criticism. As discussed there, Disney’s statement felt a bit Bluthian. Savvy consumers and longtime fans (or newbies with an experienced travel agent) could almost certainly do a 4-day trip to Walt Disney World for less than $4,814.
This is not to paint Walt Disney World’s costs or affordability to the middle class in a more favorable light. If anything, this should further reinforce what the data reflects: Walt Disney World is increasingly out of reach for at least half of U.S. households, even assuming the cheapest rate seasons and most favorable discounts.
Where we disagree with the is the notion that Walt Disney World is now catering only to the wealthy–or even the top 20% of American households. It is probably fair to say that the top 20% is overrepresented at Walt Disney World as compared to most domestic destinations, but that’s not the same as “only” or even “mostly.”
It’s also undeniable that many middle class Americans have already started to trade down from premium to cheaper vacations–beaches, state and National Parks, and even certain cities. Or destinations within driving distance. There’s no shortage of data that suggests this is happening, including consumer spending in other areas or Orlando International Airport’s own passenger numbers (travel to MCO has only slowed slightly, but Universal and Disney attendance is down to a disproportionate degree).
While Walt Disney World is fairly viewed as a premium product, it’s more difficult to argue that it’s a luxury product. And there is a big difference. Although there are between 25 million and 50 million households that can afford Walt Disney World vacations based on the BLS data, that also assumes that every single one of them wants to visit Walt Disney World for more than just one-off rite of passage vacations. Bluntly, there are not enough wealthy Americans in this subset to fill the parks and resorts on a daily basis.
The top 10% has more means to fund lavish Walt Disney World trips, but that also means the same is true of extravagant European holidays, cruises, etc. They have more options, in general, and there’s more competition for their dollars and time. Money alone does not necessarily increase their interest in Disney as a destination.
As we’ve pointed out on countless occasions, the rich are not booking motel-style rooms with exterior hallways at the Value Resorts, let alone the many nearby off-site budget hotels that Disney relies upon to fill the parks. The core demographic of the All Stars is probably the middle 20%, and the off-site budget motels are likely below that.
Even on the high end, Deluxe Resorts don’t offer the caliber of service, amenities, or general quality the wealthy expect of real world destinations. This is why Disney “outsources” luxury to Four Seasons on the hotel side. There are low-volume niche experiences at Walt Disney World aimed at the wealthy, but they’re relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Walt Disney World is a middle class vacation destination–that’s its bread and butter. Park attendance and occupancy are still reliant on the middle class, and that demographic being willing and able to spend the ever-increasing amount that a Walt Disney World vacation costs, whether that means saving, splurging, going into debt, etc. Disney is trying to squeeze the middle class, not exclude them.
The latest report from the Wall Street Journal about the top 10% account for half of consumer spending is concerning. As is the Walt Disney World vacation budget versus actual cost disparity. But this does not alter my fundamental view that Walt Disney World is inherently an aspirational or premium product that appeals to the middle class, and not a luxury product aimed at the wealthy.
If anything, these new reports are slightly more worrying for me than that alternative. In light of the above numbers, it’s difficult to square how Walt Disney World’s core customer continues to afford its product. Something’s gotta give.
Nevertheless, we actually would expect Walt Disney World to aim more upmarket going forward.
This is not a particularly bold prediction, as it’s already happening. The hospitality industry in general is chasing higher-spending customers, with airlines reducing their inventory of economy seats and replacing them with fewer premium cabins and hotels replacing standard rooms with suites.
Walt Disney World has been less aggressive in doing this, often instead converting hotel rooms to Disney Vacation Club villas. Similar animating idea, different means to that end. Without having any supporting data, it’s probably safe to assume that new DVC buyers are largely from the top 20%. There’s a reason that Disney Lakeside Lodge is full steam ahead on construction despite several other properties in active sales, and direct DVC sales continue to show strong growth.
There’s also a huge unsatisfied market for more concierge lounges at Walt Disney World. In the last few years we’ve noticed that Club Level rooms are often excluded from discounts, or have no availability. This is quite the change from 5+ years ago, when it was common to luck into free Club Level upgrades due to low occupancy. We wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Walt Disney World continue to add to its resort inventory aimed at the top 10% (or top 5%).
This is also hardly a bold prediction; it’s exactly what Disneyland Resort is doing. Disney just announced the expansion of two of its Club Level lounges, along with a brand-new lounge and premium suites to launch in 2025 and 2026. Now there will be 4 concierge levels at Disneyland’s 3 hotels. There’s plenty of untapped demand for more premium accommodations at Walt Disney World, and we’d expect that to be filled in Florida, too. (By contrast, I’d be surprised to see more Value Resorts anytime soon.)
Lightning Lane Premier Pass is another example of this already happening. This is due, at least in part, to Walt Disney World hitting a wall on pricing for its mass market (e.g. middle class) line-skipping services. If anything, Disney offering increased discounts and slowing the rate of price increases since 2022–while adding new premium products–suggests to me that the company realizes the middle class is financially tapped out, but Walt Disney World still very much needs them.
Ultimately, we’d expect more of this approach going forward. Even though the top 20% is not Walt Disney World’s bread and butter, the company will continue targeting that segment with new and differentiated product offerings because, as illustrated above, that’s clearly where the money and growth potential lie.
And each new announcement of such upcharges will continue to be met with a chorus of complaints, inflicting brand and goodwill damage among Walt Disney World’s actual bread and butter. Basically, this upmarket strategy will work…until it doesn’t. There are countless reasons as to why that could happen (some of which are discussed in the opening), but it could pose problems for the company. The potential for these issues increases as consumer perceptions increasingly view Walt Disney World as a destination for the wealthy.
Once that middle class reputational damage is done, it’s hard to undo. This is precisely why we’ve repeatedly emphasized the importance of improving the guest experience and satisfaction (among other metrics), as well as the hugely negative long-term ramifications to pricing out families and alienating longtime fans. The top 10/20% undeniably has more money to spend on fancy one-off rite-of-passage vacations, but it’s still middle class families that are the lifeblood of Walt Disney World.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about the top 10% accounting for half of U.S. consumer spending? Can Walt Disney World sustain itself with these big-spenders? Or do you agree with our assessment that Walt Disney World is inherently a middle class destination, and it needs this bread & butter demo? What would you like to see done to improve the guest experience and satisfaction at Walt Disney World? 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!
We visited at least 2 dozen times over the years. When first married, we could be considered middle or lower middle class. We only ever stayed at a Moderate resort twice, and never at value. We’ve stayed at the Poly, Contemporary, Yacht Club, Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club–.the latter two several times. We could afford these deluxe resorts, eating at all Disney full-service restaurants and renting a car. Staff used to be super friendly, polite and helpful. Parks were clean. No hassles and no constant looking at your phone in order to avoid long lines.
We last visited WDW in 2018. Parks were super crowded, staff all over was not pleasant or helpful. It wasn’t the same. Went to Epcot on our last day and found out that the Voice of Liberty at the American Adventure only sang once a week unlike past visits wherein they sang every day and several times a day. Nothing had been announced so that we could have possibly planned accordingly. We kept running into things like this. Disney advertised a bunch of Christmas items for sale at various stores. Went to each one, and they hadn’t received any product. We read menus on their website, but, you guessed it, when we arrived, none of the items were on the menu.
Food in the parks was awful. We’d eat at Liberty Tavern on most visits, but, that time, the portions were dismal, and the quality was gone. Service was awful. Last couple of nights we cancelled Disney reservations both in parks and hotels and went over to The Swan for dinner. So much better.
Half of the Xmas decorations weren’t even up. Everything was such a disappointment.
On our checkout day, we called for a bellhop long before we really needed to leave, waited as long as we could but had to run our bags down ourselves so as not to be late for our flight.
We travel a lot for pleasure. I used to travel a great deal for work. As everyone has mentioned, Disney charges exorbitant rates without the accompanying service or quality (interestingly, Universal’s hotels don’t come anywhere close to the prices of Disney and that includes Portofino Bay–their best hotel). Yes, I know that location is the big plus. But another big plus that they no longer seem to have any interest in providing used to be theming. Every room looks the same, and it could be a room in any city. One wouldn’t mind paying top $ but not with these downgrades.
It is such a shame that Walt’s dream has come to this. I’m glad we visited as often as we did in the past, and I mourn for those visiting now who think it is a true Disney experience because it’s not. It’s the NEW Disney experience, and it’s awful.
On that note, Tom, I know the name of the site is “DISNEY Tourist Blog,” but what are your thoughts on including more coverage of Universal’s offerings? I have seen more articles on Epic Universe recently, and I can’t speak for anyone else but myself, but I’m much more likely to plan a Universal Orlando-centric vacation next time. Just saying…as a source that I trust, it would be great to have your thoughts on crowd calendars, best weeks to visit, best attractions, food, entertainment, etc.
No! Please keep it focused on Disney. Plenty of us come to you Tom bc you focus mostly on Disney. People who prefer the screens thrills and motion sickness o rama of Universal can perhaps find info elsewhere other than the occasional Universal updates you graciously offer.
I agree with Rick on this one. I did WDW in 2022 and DCL in 2023. I do not have any plans for a Disney trip in the near future. I continue reading because I enjoy Tom’s style. I do have a Universal trip planned late this year and would love to read Tom’s thoughts on all things Epic (and Universal more generally).
@Liz – To clarify, I wasn’t suggesting that Tom scale back his Disney coverage any. I’m merely asking his thoughts on expanding his coverage of Universal. Isn’t there room for both? Sure, I could go elsewhere, but like I said, I trust Tom as a source, so it would be a win-win if he did decide to do so.
I believe the comment ” that this strategy will work until it doesn’t is spot on. My concern is that there will be a point of no return and some sort of death spiral similar to the Star Wars hotel endeavor. Most of the folks in my part of the world who once looked upon WDW as a once in a lifetime or once every 5-10 year event are now looking elsewhere because the cost is just too much. More vacations are being financed by grandparents in my experience.
On the other hand, if I drive to Florida, stay at the Motel 6, don’t buy any sodas in the park, and eat out of the resort area, my costs go down dramatically. This was and still is my parents’ strategy. I would submit that it is possible to conduct a visit for much less. I’m not as good at frugality as my parents. As a small child living in Orange County, California, I went to Disneyland 3 times over 8 years of life despite being around the corner. This was due to cost. Disneyland was a luxury back in the early 70’s. Also, in general vacations seem to be more elaborate and luxurious then my memories.
In summation I would submit that possibly the change is not as much in Disney pricing ( though probably partly) as much as it is in our perception of what the middle class should be able to do on vacation.
Your point about food costs was spot on and really timely given what I paid for lunch near my FiDi office in Manhattan at one of the ubiquitous local fast casual spots today. I paid more for a chicken/rice/veg bowl and a bottle of sparkling water than I have at Satu’li Canteen–for way less food, mind you, and Satu’li never charged me extra for another sauce! I always thought that maybe living where I do skewed my views of pricing but Disney dining is a downright bargain compared to what I spend eating out at home. (Which is why I don’t eat out at home very often!) These things are so relative.
there was a time when our family went on a disney vacation every year for 20 years . . .because it was affordable.
you could buy a 10 day park hopper no expire ticket with extras that a person could make last for 4 vacations and abet the cost increase.
I have not been on a disney vacation for 10 years, instead I have gone to universal studios florida ( I just returned fron a 5 day vacation staying on property with tickets for $1700) or silver dollar city.
I am not sure how the higher ups at disney do not see how they are pricing out the middle class, which they will see at some point in time when the top 10% stop going to disney for the next best thing.
Has anyone done an actual statistical study of when “middle class families” with school-age children are actually visiting? Because every time I hear or read about how affordable it is for the middle class families in August or September, I can’t figure out how many of those families they think there actually are. If we assume “middle class family” to be (according to the 2023 census) a married couple with 2 kids in that economic range, and given that school goes from about ages 5-18, most of those families with kids are presumably IN school in those sample months that always get trotted out. Granted, I understand some folks home school and some pull kids for vacation. But, at least in my experience, most folks are not willing to use up their district’s allowed unexcused absence days (and family vacations don’t count in our district) in August or September, because we all know what December through February are going to be like. So turning to August and September for anything, or even February, some bits of March, and May, don’t capture times when folks are actually able to go. Most “middle class families,” I would assume, can only go during the high season. But I’ve not seen anyone run the stats on that. Feels like a major point in the conversation that is usually left out. We went last year using the 4 day 4 park pass and it was still so so expensive because if we go for that long of a vacation, we have to go in the summer because of kid school schedules and my teaching schedule. The idea that we can base the affordability of a middle class vacation off of low season rates always seems to me that it fails to take into account that most middle class families with kids just can’t do that, since that’s now how having school-aged children in schools works…
My solidly middle class family always took our trips in August, even in the 80s and 90s. NYC has the largest school population in the US and doesn’t go back until after Labor Day. And we didn’t go every year because even then it was too expensive. That’s why I always have to laugh at these complaints. Getting priced out of Disney has always been a thing, it just wasn’t a problem until certain folks started getting priced out.
100% agree Aurora-imagine-feeling priced out and unable to go 3x per year-can only go once per year/it isn’t interesting anymore-well no…it wouldn’t be if you go 3x per year and never go anywhere else is what I am thinking. As a kid in the 70s we went exactly ONCE. Period. Days Inn in Kissimmee, one eat out meal per day (none of those actually in park), no AC all the way down from NY in the car. Why? We were priced out of Poly and Contemp and had no rv or camping stuff. We actually weren’t probably even as high as middle class. It stays interesting and exciting for my family now bc it is a once every 3-5 years thing and we enjoy every second of the trip and each other
Went to hollywood studios to say goodbye to muppet vision. Stopped by to pick up a sam eagle mug and or tumbler. Donald who has worked there for 25 years walked me around, went into the back and searched high and low for me. No dice as they sold out that morning.
He told me before i left unprovoked that he appreciated me and my wife and our love for disney. This lead to a very long frank conversation about WDW. We discussed all of the above. He urged me to write literal physical letters on paper with ink. Swearing it is read by senior leaders since it is so rare.
He also said that the guest service number on the receipt would be more than happy to place a order for the items since they magic is what we all come and stay for.
I called the following morning and guest services said backwards and forwards he was wrong, spoke to two tiers of supervisors and was eventually just given a digital coupon(i didnt want it) i begged them to actually put for an effort to do what donald assured me was possible.
No dice, just typical corporate speak and indifference. was promised i would get an email from their leader that day. its been 3 days and still nothing.
Hollywood studios was dirty, litter on the ground. Heck when we stayed at beach club club level our room had not been cleaned for months.
dirt in the grout, hairs in the carpet, peeling wall paper, ground up food in the hallways carpets all day and night.
i again spoke to the club level manager, expressing my sadness at the death of wdw magic. i was given a free night at grand floridian. its utterly baffling.
I dont want free stuff. I want them to stop being such a awful company. hiring rude staff, not maintaining the resorts, rides or anything.
I must be in the bottom 2%. I can’t afford a value resort and an AP. That’s even taking into account that I bring my own food and don’t buy a multi pass. :/
Sorry the autocorrect added mistakes as where instead of were. So sorry for the eyesore
I read that touring plan article a few days ago and found it fascinating. I must be quite geeky !
Despite the limitations I appreciated they kept the same methodology to go through their idea.
What I found really astonishing was the average holiday spending for the top 20% which where actually disproportionately low compared to the income, especially in comparison with the next 20%.
I would have assumed that leisure and holidays would have been higher proportionately, at least way more than 7-8k. Maybe it is because the higher the income, the less holiday time you get ? I am curious
I was surprised by the BLS data across the board. A couple of considerations:
1) I suspect you’re right that higher incomes likely have less time to spend that money.
2) Anyone reading a site like this presumably prioritizes travel over other goods/experiences to a greater degree than the general public. We probably allocate a greater portion of our discretionary income–across all quintiles–on travel than our cohorts. I know I definitely do, but on the other hand, when I see how much the average American spends on clothing or other goods, I’m always surprised by how high those numbers are.
I would assume the higher 20% are taking the extra money and using it to invest, rather than spending more of it on experiences. If you think about it, when you stay at a WDW luxury hotel you get the same experience as someone that stays in a lower hotel. Sure the club level is nice but the rooms are so so, nothing to write home about, you go to the same parks, you buy the same food, ride the same rides, buy the same junk trinkets, etc. To me, it’s not worth it and I’ve done the luxury side multiple times. Unless, I can buy a bubble that’ll kick everyone else out of the parks (just kidding the people are part of the experiences!) why would I continue to spend money on a hotel I’m only sleeping in? I’m not going to WDW for the hotel stay. We do buy the LL passes (or whatever they’re called now).
All in all, there comes a point in which the “luxury” isn’t worth it. Invest that extra money and make it grow!
We have had AP for decades. The AP cost has increased exponentially.
DVC owners, and almost 30 Disney Cruises.
This will probably be our last to renew AP.
Quality and cleanliness at WDW is much worse.
Benefits of being an AP are almost non-existent.
Disney management has made it perfectly clear that they will take our money but not appreciate it.
The rest of our clan no longer are interested in WDW. Universal instead.
So if we go to WDW, it is just the two of us, where it used to be the whole family.
We don’t see any signs that Disney will change course. Until the parks are empty, long after we will no longer be able to go.
Such a shame. A loss for us all.
Just got back from six nights at Pop. From talking to other families on the Skyliner, it seemed like most were not buying LLSP or LLMP. Guests tended to be young families with one or two kids. I’m thinking that most of them were probably going into debt for this trip. Or else not staying for very long.
A local friend took her young adult daughters on a trip last fall. Last visit was pre-pandemic and pre-divorce, but they used to go a lot. Friend stayed deluxe for three nights, did LLSP and LLMP, ADRs for four days. She just finished paying off the trip. They had a great time but won’t be going back for the foreseeable future due to the expense.
I feel like I should also mention, given the CM dis in an earlier comment, that every single CM I interacted with during this trip was friendly and helpful.
I’ve been planning trips for decades. I’ve always considered myself savvy when it comes to finding the best deals for myself or clients. I will say it’s getting much more difficult to find what people want in the budget they give. Yes, some are clueless about the cost and once we have a chat they are happy to increase that budget to get what they need. However many families are just unable to afford it anymore. And there are plenty of times where Im embarrassed to send quotes bc of the prices even for quick trips, staying in value resorts. We are Florida residents and go multiple times a year and it’s getting more difficult to justify it bc the value we see now is not what it used to be. But also, when we price out other trips, it’s not too far off when it’s a comparable swap (amount of nights, distance etc). I think Disney has come to rely on that top 10% to make their fiscal year and will continue to find new ways to charge people because they will pay it. I think that while they might not be saying “we don’t care about the middle class” outright, they definitely have a target audience these days.
As someone who can afford it and has previously been an out of state pass holder and repeat visitor (we are dvc members but also have a home nearby), I can say that it doesn’t even matter that I can afford it because wdw no longer offers enough to entice us back. It’s felt a pretty stagnant in recent years, there’s now too much nickel and diming for less value, and it feels like we encounter several broken down rides every day we visit. We will still drop by for an occasional after hours event if we’re in the area but no real trips planned until they start launching new content.
Everyone has their own opinion; but in our view, the value proposition at WDW has deteriorated to a point that we’ve decided to significantly reduce our time there. For the last many years we’ve gone to WDW 3 times per year (at a combination of DVC and Deluxe Resorts). This year we’re going only once. We’re renting out our unused DVC points and we’re not staying at any cash Resorts.
The problems we’ve encountered are the same as many others have reported: ever higher prices, ever higher crowds, poorer service, lower quality. I find especially annoying the lower quality food and service that we’ve found at some restaurants; the insultingly high prices for their low value Premier Passes; the hassle associated with booking ADR’s, DVC rooms, LL’s; the ever increasing ride downtimes; and the lack of any really meaningful benefits for out of state AP and DVC holders.
After this year, we plan to decide whether to continue going to WDW at all and whether to keep or sell our DVC ownership.
Yep
Totally agree. Can’t cover everything in this single post, otherwise it’d be triple the length and no one would read it all. But to your point, here’s a succinct version of what we’ve written recently about the value proposition:
“As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, it’s not just price increases. It’s those coupled with corresponding cuts, nickel and diming, and other ways the guest experience has been diminished. Price isn’t the only, or perhaps even primary, concern. It’s the value proposition, which has taken hits in both directions–people are paying more…and getting less. That’s the real issue, at least for many fans.”
I would also add that it’s likely the top 10/20% are more perceptive of and sensitive to this. They have experience with real world luxury hotels, premium vacation offerings, etc. They know that while WDW might be a premium product, it’s certainly not a luxury one.
“It’s the value proposition, which has taken hits in both directions–people are paying more…and getting less. That’s the real issue, at least for many fans.”………”They know that while WDW might be a premium product (with premium prices), it’s certainly not a luxury one”.
You hit the nail on the head. Agree 100%.
It doesn’t feel like anyone is being priced out based on the crowds lately (Florida Resident AP holder). I fear that many families are going into debt to take a WDW vacation, and I actually read somewhere recently that 20% of those visiting did, in fact, put their trip on a credit card. Not a good thing for anyone.
There are surveys about debt and Disney a few times per year, and the numbers are always way higher than 20%. (Like, over half.)
I tend to put less weight in those than government data since methodologies are more likely to be flawed and with the aim of grabbing headlines. Still, I’d be shocked if the number of families going into debt for WDW is only 20%.
I think it can be best summarized as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Whether you are an individual retail investor or TWDC, diversification is a probably a prudent hedge.
“All it takes is the outliers to skew things completely.” This is also really true and is why averages can tell a lie. I would be willing to bet that median income in the top quintile is significantly lower than average income in the top quintile. And if that is the case then the price of a Disney vacation is increasingly unaffordable for a significant portion even for members of the top quintile. Disney is indeed betting on a smaller slice of the public which can and does have other options for vacation.
“I would be willing to bet that median income in the top quintile is significantly lower than average income in the top quintile.”
This is definitely true, and is another excellent point.
Just look at the type of hotels they are building. All DVC resorts. Not exactly middle class French Quarter gets great reviews. People love it. Does Disney build this type of AFFORDABLE a hotel anymore ??? NO
Alternatively, the company is likely satisfied that the top 10% can visit Disney World annually while the middle-class makes it a once in a childhood event. No quite the same as pricing out the middle class completely.
“Can visit” and “wants to visit” are two very different things.
Disney’s bread & butter wants to visit at least every few years. I’d hazard a guess that the top 10% are much more likely to do it as a rite of passage trip out of a sense of obligation to their kids. They’re probably more likely to want to visit Europe, Asia, and actual luxury resort destinations.
It’s a value received tipping point-the cost of going is skyrocketing while value received is tanking. Fewer rides; removing beloved rides; longer waits; rides constantly breaking down; cast members getting more rude and inconsiderate by the minute; new additions a total bust (yes, talking to you EPCOT!). You have to say…now, why are we going to spend an exorbitant amount of money for such a lousy product?
I can certainly understand your impressions here, but I think they go a bit too far. I did a 7-night WDW vacation in the first week of December, 2024 at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yeah, it was expensive. But Animal Kingdom lodge is absolutely amazing. There’s nothing like it anywhere outside of a five star safari resort in Africa. All the cast members we encountered were just great; polite, courteous, helpful and professional. Maybe we just go lucky, but it does mean most Cast Members are still great.
We were able to ride everything we wanted at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot with minimal lines without purchasing any Lighting lane passes. Just getting to the parks early makes all the difference there. I did purchase Lightning Lanes for Hollywood Studios since it was a Friday and I expected bigger crowds. I was right about that and the Lightning Lanes were worth it. However, it would not have been a disaster had I not purchased Lightning Lanes.
I like to eat well while on vacation. My tummy can’t take much fast food. No doubt about it, good food is expensive at WDW. By using our Disney VISA card for many years, we had over $2,000 we put on two separate Disney Gift Cards. That covered all food for three adults for all eight days; almost to the dollar. And that even included a Candlelight Processional Dining Package at Le Cellier. (Worth every dollar!)
But yeah, Disney vacations sure aren’t the value they used to be. There just isn’t as much bang for the buck compared to past years.