One thing that Disney theme parks have never been is cheap. Between the cost of the hotel, theme park tickets, meals, and merchandise, the cost adds up very quickly. Many people save up for months or years to be able to afford one trip of a lifetime to a place like the Walt Disney World Resort.
However, for years, guests justified the cost because of the many perks — like the free FastPass system, the Magical Express, and free MagicBands. Plus, the magic experienced at a Disney Resort was unmatched. Other theme parks just couldn’t measure up to what Disney had to offer.
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However, that is not the case anymore.
Over the years, Disney parks have gotten more and more expensive in every way possible. Hotels cost more than ever, the food prices are high, and theme park tickets are a huge expense.
Plus, those free services we mentioned above? No longer there. FastPass has been replaced with the Lightning Lane MultiPass, MagicBands are no longer free for hotel guests, and those guests now have to figure out how to get to Walt Disney World Resort on their own.
Many guests think that Disney has fallen so far from its former glory, and they are fighting back, letting Disney know just how dissatisfied they are. And Disney is finally being forced to admit that its theme parks have gotten way too expensive.
On August 7, Disney held its earnings call for the third quarter of the fiscal year. During the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston admitted that, once again, attendance was down. However, profits are still high, providing further proof that things at the parks have increased significantly in price.
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During the call, Johnston admitted that the drop in attendance was due to the fact that most families don’t have the extra income to afford a Disney vacation, and those who do are electing to travel to other places.
“higher costs driven by inflation, increased technology spending and new guest offerings, partially offset by the comparison to depreciation in the prior-year quarter related to the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and cost saving initiatives.”
As you can see, Johnston blamed inflation for the higher costs, but Disney does NOT have to cost as much as it does. Over the past decade, inflation has caused prices to increase by about 32%. However, the cost of a Disney theme park ticket has increased by 56%. The cost of food is even higher, having increased by 61% over that same period.
Admitting that the price of a Disney vacation is too much is a big deviation from Disney’s explanation for lower crowds last quarter. In May, Disney said that attendance had dropped during the second fiscal quarter, but they blamed it on the post-COVID “travel bug” having died down. But even back then, guests said that it wasn’t COVID; it was because Disney was too pricey.
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Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Disney has any plans to make its theme parks more affordable. But one has to wonder if this will hurt them in the long run. If people don’t think that Disney offers a good value for its high price tag, trust and confidence in the company will drop.
If that goes down, then so does Disney’s stock price — which has been struggling since 2021. And, with Disney executives appearing to only be concerned about satisfying its shareholders, that won’t be something said shareholders appreciate.
Do you think it’s about time Disney lowered its prices? Would lower prices convince people to come back to the theme parks? Let us know in the comments!
