It talks about the pullback in consumer spending and touches on Disney. Yes, I agree with most of the things that are covered in that article about Disney in terms of the magic being gone a little, the nickel and diming and the phones. But the quote I have issue with is:
“All the add-ons, according to Bloomberg, have raised the cost for a typical, week-long trip for a family of four to $25,000, or as much as $40,000 for a top-end experience.”
Who is paying that much? 25k? Really? I’m going on a solo trip for 6 nights in September. My cost for park tickets and hotel (staying at Boardwalk) is about $3k. If my wife and two kids came along, that would really only add another $1800 or so for tickets. So that would be $4800. Let’s assume a budget for food, LLMP etc at another $3k. I’ll even round up to $8k for the total. And I know I’m getting a 30% discount for the room, but I’ll even go so far and assume that 30% discount applies to the entire package, so that still totals $11.5k.
What are people doing to spend $25k? Getting a VIP tour every day? If someone is paying $25k for a week at Disney, they are clearly not doing something right.
Not sure where the $25,000 came from. The Bloomberg article linked mentions the $40,000 for a “high end” trip. But it doesn’t mention $25,000. (However, the Bloomberg article links to ANOTHER Bloomberg article which is behind a paywall, so perhaps it is mentioned there???)
$40k is absolutely ridiculous, but even $25k is crazy. And that isn’t even considering what you can do if you are willing to stay at a value resort, which I have done and it really isn’t that bad.
That is not a “typical” cost in the least. I quote vacations for families of that size and more quite regularly and only a couple of times have I come close to the $25K mark (and NEVER for a family of 4).
I don’t disagree that it’s an expensive vacation, even at the lowest pricing. But that’s BS right there and just feeding a narrative.
This gives people that have yet to go to Disney false information about how much it costs. People hear stuff like this and think they will never be able to go to WDW. We like to stay in deluxe resorts but either rent points (studio) or get a discounted rate we are willing to pay. We never have paid anywhere near that amount for a weeklong trip with a family of four. My guess is they are getting these numbers from wealthy people who spend that much on a vacation. Eating at only fine dining restaurants, paying rack rate to stay in 2 bedroom deluxe resorts, club level, Plaid, and doing all the extras (fireworks dessert party and/or cruise, tours, etc). OR they just pulled that number out of nowhere to provide false information.
I doubt that…although, it has happened before. BUT, I’m gonna guess it is more a case of their definition of “typical” doesn’t mean to them what it does to the rest of us!
Maybe by “typical” they mean, “typical, as in the family of four that reads our newspaper and lives in the wealthiest of neighborhoods”.
True. And actually the $25K was hit when we had a party of 8 and were there for 2 weeks. So that’s basically what the CNN number looks like, if anyone is wondering. You’d have to eat at V&A every night to get that for a week with only 4.
After my trip in July, I can see where $25K can appear. Especially when your party is…um… “particular” in what they want when it comes to accommodations (and they refuse to settle for anything less)
The bulk of the cost would’ve came from the Room. A 2BR at Roughly $1500/night for 7 days. Then tickets, another $3K, flights at $2500, MBs ($160), strollers, transport to/from parks (anywhere from $60 to $300 or more), and finally any extra…like Lightsabers ($250/person), Droids ($120/person), Dessert Parties, General Party tickets, After hours… etc. Typically you’ll do 1-2 of those. Plus whatever other merch you buy.
And let us not forget about Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lanes.
So all told (I have no idea why it’s making these numbers large.)
10,577 - Room
03,210 - Tickets
02,130 - Flights
00,756 - Genie
00,250 - Lightsaber
00,800 - Party (using Christmas Party for this)
00,120 - Mears Connect to Hotel
03,000 - Dining
As a TA you bet your butt I WISH it was typical. Because dang
It isn’t. I rarely get much above $10K with family of four quotes. I had folks stay at GF in the spring, Resort Studio, with park hopper tickets AND dining, and I think that one was around $12K (discount applied)
I wouldn’t think that was typical. I’ve never done any of those and my IRL friends who go regularly don’t do them either. You’re looking at it from a different perspective than an average person.
Among Liners I’m sure, but most people aren’t liners. I’ve never been at WDW when there were parties and I would never even consider a dessert party. I’ll bet your average guest doesn’t even know there are dessert parties.
(and they refuse to settle for anything less)
