Are Disney parks no longer for the Middle class?

What experiences do you think are different? I like to go over an extended weekend. For me it’s all about the attractions. And my SO prefers Cars to Test Track. And she likes the Haunted Mansion for Halloween.

I now only go to FL for Universal, which I can also do over an extended weekend. We really don’t like FL. I don’t care for the CA park either.
It's probably easier to say what we liked better at DLR

I really was blown away by the Halloween overlay on HM. That said I enjoy the longer ride at WDW. My husband however prefers the DLR version and likes the exterior more at DLR than WDW.

Pirates at DLR puts the one at WDW to shame both in length and theming though the theming in WDW is a lot in the queue whereas in DLR there's not too much theming going on with most of it being outdoors.

Test Track vs RSR well I kinda prefer the Test Track 1.0 theming with the test crash dummies but I do like the build your own car (when it was working correctly). I like that you feel more racing in the cars for longer at RSR but you get more overall speed with Test Track just a shorter time frame. I think we found with our luck that RSR loads horribly for SB line vs FP line and that really impacted our experiences.

I do like the dynamite addition to BTMRR at DLR-maybe eventually WDW will get that. Also the way that Space Mountain (was Hyperspace Mountain when we were there in 2019) seats side by side actually meant I could go on that and it didn't trigger my motion sickness like Space Mountain does with the front to back seating at WDW.

As a whole the attractions were so so at DLR and DCA in our comparisons with WDW though my husband enjoyed a more adult feel of a rollercoaster with Incredicoaster. But a lot is to be said for nostalgia. Lots of people go to DL because it's "walt's park" that means honestly nothing to us but I went to WDW growing up and only went to DLR when I was a few years old so my stronger emotional connections and ride enjoyability is stronger there.

I think we'll eventually make it back over to DLR but for our time and money Orlando with both WDW and USO will typically win out. Like I said though we have much longer spacing in trips than folks on average here on the DIS probably do and that may impact our viewpoint. We vacation elsewhere too.

WDW also has the People Mover :)
 
It's probably easier to say what we liked better at DLR

I really was blown away by the Halloween overlay on HM. That said I enjoy the longer ride at WDW. My husband however prefers the DLR version and likes the exterior more at DLR than WDW.

Pirates at DLR puts the one at WDW to shame both in length and theming though the theming in WDW is a lot in the queue whereas in DLR there's not too much theming going on with most of it being outdoors.

Test Track vs RSR well I kinda prefer the Test Track 1.0 theming with the test crash dummies but I do like the build your own car (when it was working correctly). I like that you feel more racing in the cars for longer at RSR but you get more overall speed with Test Track just a shorter time frame. I think we found with our luck that RSR loads horribly for SB line vs FP line and that really impacted our experiences.

I do like the dynamite addition to BTMRR at DLR-maybe eventually WDW will get that. Also the way that Space Mountain (was Hyperspace Mountain when we were there in 2019) seats side by side actually meant I could go on that and it didn't trigger my motion sickness like Space Mountain does with the front to back seating at WDW.

As a whole the attractions were so so at DLR and DCA in our comparisons with WDW though my husband enjoyed a more adult feel of a rollercoaster with Incredicoaster. But a lot is to be said for nostalgia. Lots of people go to DL because it's "walt's park" that means honestly nothing to us but I went to WDW growing up and only went to DLR when I was a few years old so my stronger emotional connections and ride enjoyability is stronger there.

I think we'll eventually make it back over to DLR but for our time and money Orlando with both WDW and USO will typically win out. Like I said though we have much longer spacing in trips than folks on average here on the DIS probably do and that may impact our viewpoint. We vacation elsewhere too.

WDW also has the People Mover :)

And the Carousel of Progress too.

I grew up going to WDW, so my nostalgia is there. However, I find it expensive compared to a weekend at DL.

I definitely don’t do Disney as much as folks here. While I enjoy it, I don’t want the same vacation experience every year. I will be going back to Universal again once the Hagrid ride becomes less popular.

What does your husband like at WDW?
 
We vacationed 2nd week of June when the kids got out. I was curious so I suffered through the ridiculously slow Disney site to look...

2010 we went 6 nights to Disney Pop Century. Kids were 6 and 9. Cost $2070 I think including dining with travel being the only extra cost.

2011 we went to Myrtle Beach the same 2nd week of June. Cost including eating for about $300, total around $2000 plus travel.

Looked the 2nd week of June up on Disney for now, including dining but to compare costs, I left it as 6 and 9 year old kids. $4753.86.

Looked up booking our Myrtle Beach hotel for that week, $2005.32, plus add around $300 for food and it's $2300. That is a significant difference I say, and we're not spending the night in a closet.
 
And the Carousel of Progress too.

I grew up going to WDW, so my nostalgia is there. However, I find it expensive compared to a weekend at DL.

I definitely don’t do Disney as much as folks here. While I enjoy it, I don’t want the same vacation experience every year. I will be going back to Universal again once the Hagrid ride becomes less popular.

What does your husband like at WDW?
Oh COP how could I forget that lol. We both like that.

My husband likes the attractions and parks more overall at WDW. I think it's just the vibe and the fact that there are 4 parks. Last time we went it was during Food & Wine Festival and he really enjoyed that (even though we didn't really go crazy on those offerings). We did go during DCA's FOod & Wine Festival but obviously that's a much smaller scale. His favorite attraction at the moment between WDW and DLR is FOP. Another of his favorite rides is Tower of Terror but he rode Guardians in DCA and said it wasn't bad. Given the choice though he prefers Universal Orlando over WDW just due to the types of rides there.

I forgot to mention my husband found he like DCA better than DL. I think MK had more rides he preferred or he just felt like because we had already done MK enough times the overlap in the same type of rides at DL that it was more meh and the unique rides to DL weren't necessarily his cup of tea. Oh I will say Indy was more fun than Dinosaur, while still jerky it didn't seem quite as bad as Dinosaur was. That said my husband likes the Indy stuntshow at DHS.

Originally it was rumored that Nintendo would at Universal Orlando by now but with a 2023 (I believe that's what's been said) opening date with the new park it may be worth waiting a bit longer now. Hagrid's should be less popular by then lol.
 


We vacationed 2nd week of June when the kids got out. I was curious so I suffered through the ridiculously slow Disney site to look...

2010 we went 6 nights to Disney Pop Century. Kids were 6 and 9. Cost $2070 I think including dining with travel being the only extra cost.

2011 we went to Myrtle Beach the same 2nd week of June. Cost including eating for about $300, total around $2000 plus travel.

Looked the 2nd week of June up on Disney for now, including dining but to compare costs, I left it as 6 and 9 year old kids. $4753.86.

Looked up booking our Myrtle Beach hotel for that week, $2005.32, plus add around $300 for food and it's $2300. That is a significant difference I say, and we're not spending the night in a closet.

I have to ask how do you feed a family of 4 staying in a hotel for a week for $300?

Your totals seemed crazy so I looked at those dates too and without dining, staying at ASMusic with 6 day park tickets its just under $3000.
The only thing you need is food, which does not have to cost $1700.
Even if its possible to feed a family of 4 for $300 in MB unless you just do free stuff there is going to be entertainment and recreation costs added. So in truth a WDW vacation can be a little more than a MB vacation.
I think people assume that when you go to WDW you have to spend a fortune, and there is no doubt that you easily can, but it seems just as easy to make the trip affordable and more on par with other vacation destinations.
 
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Oh COP how could I forget that lol. We both like that.

My husband likes the attractions and parks more overall at WDW. I think it's just the vibe and the fact that there are 4 parks. Last time we went it was during Food & Wine Festival and he really enjoyed that (even though we didn't really go crazy on those offerings). We did go during DCA's FOod & Wine Festival but obviously that's a much smaller scale. His favorite attraction at the moment between WDW and DLR is FOP. Another of his favorite rides is Tower of Terror but he rode Guardians in DCA and said it wasn't bad. Given the choice though he prefers Universal Orlando over WDW just due to the types of rides there.

I forgot to mention my husband found he like DCA better than DL. I think MK had more rides he preferred or he just felt like because we had already done MK enough times the overlap in the same type of rides at DL that it was more meh and the unique rides to DL weren't necessarily his cup of tea. Oh I will say Indy was more fun than Dinosaur, while still jerky it didn't seem quite as bad as Dinosaur was. That said my husband likes the Indy stuntshow at DHS.

Originally it was rumored that Nintendo would at Universal Orlando by now but with a 2023 (I believe that's what's been said) opening date with the new park it may be worth waiting a bit longer now. Hagrid's should be less popular by then lol.

I definitely prefer Universal in FL over WDW. My SO and I are big a Harry Potter fans. I can’t wait for their third gate.

I actually prefer fewer parks in CA because I really don’t like Disney transportation. Unless you’re on the monorail, it’s a time waster. But with the monorail resort prices through the roof, I have a hard time paying up for those hotels.

I did go to Hoop De Doo when I did my last Universal vacation. And it was a good time.
 
I definitely prefer Universal in FL over WDW. My SO and I are big a Harry Potter fans. I can’t wait for their third gate.

I actually prefer fewer parks in CA because I really don’t like Disney transportation. Unless you’re on the monorail, it’s a time waster. But with the monorail resort prices through the roof, I have a hard time paying up for those hotels.

I did go to Hoop De Doo when I did my last Universal vacation. And it was a good time.
I'm super excited for the new park as well.

We actually like to drive so we really didn't use Disney's transportation. For us it wasn't a time waster. That said for certain things I planned parks with our Park Hoppers strategically like we'd do MK and Epcot one day parking at the TTC and using the monorial. Or Epcot and DHS driving with our car but it being next to each other it was minimal time used up. We did do a monorail resort hop on our last day before flying out so we got a peek at the resorts we'll probably never ever stay at lol.

However nothing beats being able to walk back and forth for sure or with Universal Orlando having a park-to-park ticket and taking Hogwarts Express to get between the parks true on that part.
 


I'm super excited for the new park as well.

We actually like to drive so we really didn't use Disney's transportation. For us it wasn't a time waster. That said for certain things I planned parks with our Park Hoppers strategically like we'd do MK and Epcot one day parking at the TTC and using the monorial. Or Epcot and DHS driving with our cars but it being next to each other it was minimal time used up. We did do a monorail resort hop on our last day before flying out so we got a peek at the resorts we'll probably never ever stay at lol.

However nothing beats being able to walk back and forth for sure or with Universal Orlando having a park-to-park ticket and taking Hogwarts Express to get between the parks true on that part.

I love Hogwarts express. The idea of having your transport be a ride is an idea that I’d like Disney to embrace.
 
i don’t feel like I really give anything up though. Eating out isn’t really a priority. I’d rather make food at home. We aren’t really fans of going to the movies. We pay for various streaming services. We just don’t spend a lot on entertainment except when we vacation. I definitely don’t do coffee out. I’d rather make my own coffee at home. LikeI said everyone has their priorities and what they consider giving up to save. The things I listed aren’t things I have ever regularly enjoyed doing. So Disney’s cost increases haven’t really impacted me. Everyone is different and obviously with how crowded the parks are there are still people enjoying the parks and they certainly aren’t all wealthy families.
This is us too. We don't regularly spend much eating out or on entertainment thru the year. Our regular splurge is at the grocery where spending more on ingredients goes further. We host several BBQs/holidays and our friends & family do the same. Vacation time is our big splurge.
 
I just booked my summer vacation in the Rehoboth area- $2021 for 7 nights to rent a pet friendly cottage. That doesn't include meals or any recreation/entertainment at all.
Out of curiosity I priced up WDW, on-site and a weeks worth of tickets was a ton more, but I found off-site accommodations that included breakfast and shuttle service to the parks for $100 a night. A total of $2800 including 4 day park passes. I will still have to buy food but that is all that is needed.
By the time I buy food for a week and pay for any recreation/entertainment in Rehoboth it will be on par with a WDW vacation. The one thing that kills it for my family is airfare. It will be at least $2500 added to fly, but I can't put that on Disney.
If Disney is no longer for the middle class, then it is no different than many other vacation destinations. It isn't just Disney.

But don't you feel like that's apples to oranges - a pet-friendly cottage vs. a cheap motel? That's part of what has taken the shine off of Disney. Yes, we sometimes spend just as much elsewhere. But when the comparison is the Hyatt Regency or a whole cottage for the same price as Pop Century, it is hard not to feel like Disney is a poor use of vacation dollars. Especially when you then have to add in the $1700 for tickets (assuming four-day base tickets during the cheapest season). There's nowhere else we go where entertainment adds up to that much. The closest we might come is a city like Chicago, where we tend to visit a different museum/zoo/aquarium each day... and that costs about $400 for CityPasses for the family.
 
I have to ask how do you feed a family of 4 staying in a hotel for a week for $300?

Your totals seemed crazy so I looked at those dates too and without dining, staying at ASMusic with 6 day park tickets its just under $3000.
The only thing you need is food, which does not have to cost $1700.
Even if its possible to feed a family of 4 for $300 in MB unless you just do free stuff there is going to be entertainment and recreation costs added. So in truth a WDW vacation can be a little more than a MB vacation.
I think people assume that when you go to WDW you have to spend a fortune, and there is no doubt that you easily can, but it seems just as easy to make the trip affordable and more on par with other vacation destinations.
I've never had a bill other than 1 place that was $50 at Myrtle for the 4 of us and my kids had always eaten adult food and never off the kid menu past toddler stage. We weren't eating at cheap places either. I eat shrimp every night when I'm at Myrtle. I admit it's been a few years now though.
 
I did go to Hoop De Doo when I did my last Universal vacation. And it was a good time.
That was our favorite part of our whole trip. Hoop De Doo was so fun! Doesn't hurt that Disney's fried chicken and mashed potatoes are some of the best I'd ever had. The ribs, not so much.

Oh, I suppose I should note that only I ate breakfast and that's just usually a pop tart on vacation while everyone else gets ready for the day and lunch was sandwich fixings we brought with us for in the room, so I guess add another $20 onto the $300.
 
That was our favorite part of our whole trip. Hoop De Doo was so fun! Doesn't hurt that Disney's fried chicken and mashed potatoes are some of the best I'd ever had. The ribs, not so much.

Oh, I suppose I should note that only I ate breakfast and that's just usually a pop tart on vacation while everyone else gets ready for the day and lunch was sandwich fixings we brought with us for in the room, so I guess add another $20 onto the $300.

I usually do a Starbucks breakfast to start my day. I like either the lemon pound cake or their muffins. Good carbs to get me going. Then I try to find meals that aren’t terrible over too filling. I definitely eat differently in the theme parks.

For my last Universal trip, I did Disney dining in the evening with mix results. I drove my rental car to each resort. We did Jiko and checked out the animals at AKL. We did Kona at the Poly and watched the fireworks. And we did Hoop De Doo. Of those three we plan to only do Hoop De Doo again. Disney Dining isn’t cheap. And I felt the only value among those options was Hoop De Doo. I’d recommend it.
 
"You can afford anything, but not everything" -Paula Pant
I like that quote! I remember trying to explain something similar to my DS when he was little - that there was a difference between what we could technically afford, and what we would actually decide to spend money on.

Is this the new Disney diet?
It's a reference to an old thread. I don't even know where to find it anymore.
 
I like that quote! I remember trying to explain something similar to my DS when he was little - that there was a difference between what we could technically afford, and what we would actually decide to spend money on.

It’s really a money lesson on value. What do you get for each extra dollar spent? Is it worth it? It’s challenging to quantify this, but it’s important to think about.
 
I like that quote! I remember trying to explain something similar to my DS when he was little - that there was a difference between what we could technically afford, and what we would actually decide to spend money on.
I have 2 friends, husband and wife, that I ride the bicycles with (and work with him for the past 25 years), older and their kids from other marriages are in their 30's. I constantly have to explain that although I now can do anything I want without someone bossing me around, I can't do everything I want. They are hounding me all the time to go on trips on the bikes, on the motorcycles, etc.

No bicycle touring for me this year because I'm doing something else with my kids with the vacation money as well as paying the car off 1.5 years early, and they hound me about being cheap and not wanting to pay the costs, as small as it is to do, of a 7-9 day bicycle trip. I call them DIKAGU instead of DINKS because they are Dual Income Kids All Grown Up, LOL.
 
But don't you feel like that's apples to oranges - a pet-friendly cottage vs. a cheap motel? That's part of what has taken the shine off of Disney. Yes, we sometimes spend just as much elsewhere. But when the comparison is the Hyatt Regency or a whole cottage for the same price as Pop Century, it is hard not to feel like Disney is a poor use of vacation dollars. Especially when you then have to add in the $1700 for tickets (assuming four-day base tickets during the cheapest season). There's nowhere else we go where entertainment adds up to that much. The closest we might come is a city like Chicago, where we tend to visit a different museum/zoo/aquarium each day... and that costs about $400 for CityPasses for the family.

Yes and no to the apples and oranges. It really depends on what you want out of a vacation I suppose.
I said in the beginning of this thread that there are many ways to do a WDW vacation. Staying at POP and going to the parks for 4 days is still a WDW vacation, it is comparable in price to other places, but whether it's comparable in value will be family specific.
Staying off site and renting a house for much less is an option for WDW so you could compare that to renting a cottage somewhere else.
The cottage we rented is at the beach so we will have days where we may not spend anything extra. Our plan for entertainment and recreation is renting jet skis one day, and SUP and kayaks another. We are planning on a fishing excursion or pontoon rental and a brewery and distillery tour.
That doesn't count the inevitable mini-golf and go karts LOL. I'm not sure what the final numbers will be, but for a family of 5 it will be up there. The jet skis will be $400 and the fishing tour is $150. so I'm hoping everything is under $1000. The pontoon is $375 so if we do that instead of the fishing tour I may have to up the entertainment budget. So that total isn't a crazy amount less than WDW park tickets.


We haven't been to WDW in 6 years as an entire family because for us it is too expensive for what we feel we get out of it now. That doesn't mean we as a middle class family are priced out of a WDW vacation though.
So I believe that the middle class has not been priced out of a WDW vacation.
I believe that my family and probably alot of others who have been multiple times have seen a decline in value with rising costs, have decided that WDW costs too much for what they want out of a vacation.
 
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