I don't know if anyone listens to the Mickey Miles and More Podcast but they had Len Testa on their past three episodes. They have been discussing Disney pricing structures from 1999 to today. They have also brought into account the household incomes, average number of vacation days, and how Disney classes their vacationers. It is a really interesting discussion and something I think goes unnoticed at times.
Finally got through all of these- interesting stuff! Thank you for sharing.
I know the conversation on here has kind of gone all over the place since post one, but oh well!
This was really reaffirming to listen to in the sense that it made me feel less crazy since I've been spending time on these boards. I truly think that there are a lot of users who are disconnected from what the "average" and "majority" household in America is- how much they make, how they are able to spend. It was SO REFRESHING to hear Len share the actual data that I have been trying to reconcile with what I read on here for some time now. Even more so to hear the Disney breakout of its audience. I want to listen to that again so I can capture it- can't seem to find that list online.
Their conversation about budget- to hear them fall silent and just kind of "wow" at the figures... YES! We need more of that. I also bet Manhattan steak tastes better than Disney steak.
My parents managed to take us twice as kids, and I do not think that is the norm. Both times we stayed offsite for free at a friend's condo in Daytona Beach. We brought food- although I do vaguely remember eating in Italy of Epcot and my parents being nervous about the cost. The first visit was free or heavily discounted as that friend's nanny was employed with WDW and got us in. The second visit was right after 9/11. My dad was deployed for about a year, and we went shortly after he got back when they were running some crazy promotion for the military. On that visit I was a teen-I think it was about 2003? I truly remember little of that trip as well. I know we visited one park per day. I know AK was hot. I know that I was not a fan of that one hour drive and walk around a park all day vacation. So yeah, even when your parents manage to take you it doesn't mean you remember it super well. I felt guilty too. I knew we weren't well off- and for that first trip my parents leased a van, and I remember the worries over the mileage, and I just really remember worrying a lot. So if you have a sensitive kid and they know how expensive and special WDW is- that can detract from the actual experience.
I would love to take my family back, but I keep running the numbers and can't figure out a way to make it work. The only reason we can go now- and to be clear we are going for our first "visit every park/multi day visit" in December during the week- is because we both work, budget like crazy, travel on the cheap, and don't have kids. I cannot fathom bringing children, or wanting to eat table service, or staying at a deluxe- heck, even art of animation. It's not worth it in my mind.
It is ridiculously expensive for the two of us. I am still working to lower these costs. Added to this is a $55.00 giftcard I got from when they closed down the Disney Vacation Account (which ended one of my other money-back plans). To be fair, buying the AP's means I can get away with spending under $1k (hopefully less) for the two or three trips of two or three nights in 2018. As you can see, I earned the Southwest Companion Pass, which helps with flight costs a lot too. I could technically not spend on airfare using the points I have saved, but I am saving those for 2019-2020, when the companion pass expires. Not sure if we will be coming back to Disney after 2018 for a while- we'll see. We have in our time together spent under $1k to up to $3k on vacations in a given year. So dropping this much on one trip is ballz insane. Hopefully the memories and experiences will be special! We spent slightly more on a new AC/Furnace this year... and those last a
decade. We spent 20% of this amount on our
couch. My eyebrows are permanently up when I think about Disney, ha! For the longest time I never went anywhere, just worked multiple jobs and threw money at student loans, etc. But I'm getting older, and life isn't promised. I want to have some good experiences with the ones I love while I can. Because who knows if we'll even have retirement in the future- a lot of people are already working through those years to support themselves. I try not to think of this as only a week or I get nauseous. Worth noting that we are counting this as our birthday and Christmas gifts too.
When Len talked about the future- I am very interested in this. Obviously, one hopes that there will be global action to try and reduce the negative effects and turn what we can around while we still can, but at this point we need to be prepared for that to not happen.
I found this NYT article from June with this infographic:
...Not great. Truly, I hope things change and improve. But even in 2017, as Len was remarking- it is
very hot in Florida. That alone rules out a lot of people from attending at points during the year. Heatstroke isn't fun, and is very dangerous.
It is interesting how much deliberate cost finagling the company uses. I loved hearing some of the inside action- and also someone who obviously loves the company critiquing it. I brought up inflation in another thread once and it didn't go well. The costs of those trips are truly high, and it is sad for the people who can only really afford one day that the ticket prices are even higher for them. That's why we got the AP- if you can't stay for long periods to get the savings after four days it adds up fast.
