- Longtime Disney fan Jake Williams slammed the park as being ‘anti-consumer’
- He said the prices are not worth it and its often cheaper to travel overseas
- He visited Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, documenting the prices
The happiest place on earth is also becoming the most unaffordable; with a Disney fanatic declaring it’s cheaper to take a family on an overseas vacation than visit the famous theme parks.
Longtime Disney fan Jake Williams slammed the park as being ‘anti-consumer,’ noting the removal of some of their complimentary services adds hundreds of dollars to a family’s day at the park.
Jake visited the Disney Magic Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida, documenting how much it costs for two people to visit the park – noting a whopping 44 percent price increase since 2017.
Visiting the park with his partner Emmi, Jake stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans resort and opted to visit the Magic Kingdom park for the day.
‘I got a discounted rate at $249 a night but that really turned out to be $280 a night with tax so to start,’ he shared of their room. which he labeled ‘pretty nice’ and in a good location.
The pair began their Disney day at the dining hall in the resort.
‘We both got the bounty platter which was pretty good,’ he shared. ‘The platter is $22.79 per person and that came out to an okay $27.24 with tax.’
From there, they were able to take Disney’s complimentary bus transportation from the resorts – but the park had reformatted the price tier of their annual passes system since the last time Jake visited.
‘[They] bumped up the prices for both the passes and regular day tickets,’ he explained. ‘We chose to do the classic Park Magic Kingdom which also happens to be the most expensive Park unlike days of the past Disney, it now has variable pricing for each park depending on when you’re going.’
Magic Kingdom cost $154 per person, making it $328 for him and his girlfriend Emmi.
‘As expensive as that sounds, at least it’s not on a more expensive day like in late November where day tickets can get as high as $184 a person,’ he pointed out.
Once at the park, Jake reported the lines were ‘insane’, with lines as long over 90 minutes for some attractions and rides.
However, while in the past parkgoers could have used a FastPass to skip the line, Disney have reformatted their wait system in 2021, rebranding it as LightingLane.
The exact same trip in 2017 would have cost a total of $567 – that’s almost a $320 difference between two trips that’s a 44% increase in just 7 years far outpacing inflation which is around 24 percent
Jake said the main reason for the price hike was Disney’s decision to start charging for the bus to the resort and the fast passes.
‘During our trip we paid $23 per person, making it $46 for both pf us,’ he reported. ‘So after purchasing the privilege of something we used to get for free, we booked a few attractions for later in the day like Pirates and Haunted Mansion – but throughout the afternoon the wait times were consistently long.’
‘In this iteration they now charge you money for it,’ he said disgruntled, adding the system means you have to purchase another app called Genie+ to download that app – and some rides you have to pay extra to queue for.
‘I do not like crowds at all, I don’t like standing for long periods of time – this is all very uncomfortable for me so we really didn’t do all that much,’ Jake admitted.
The pair stopped for lunch at Park Columbia Harbor House, paying $31.70 between them, and after wandering around for a few more hours got a coffee and popcorn as a snack, which costs $12.70 together.
The only ride Jake wanted to try was the Tron Lightcycle Power Run – which opened in spring 2023. Unlike regular rides, it has two intakes for a ‘digital’ queues – which they missed out on.
Because of this, they had to purchase the individual Lightinglane – the remodeled new fast pass – which cost them $20 each.
‘$42 for a 60 second attraction, that is a hard pill,’ he admitted.
Jake and Emmi dined at Skipper Canteen, which came to $83.75, which Disney fan said was ‘overpriced.’
Overall, the day out at Disney for two adults came to $886.34 – more than a $320 difference from the prices in 2017.
‘Doing a Disney World trip has gotten a lot more expensive,’ Jake reflected.
‘And remember this is without buying additional merchandise or any other snacks or even magic bands which used to be free but are now like $35.’
Although a Disney fan, he admitted it’s ‘difficult’ to justify how expensive it is.
‘It’s frustrating to see Disney make something that used to be free generate tens of millions from it and give no extra value in the parks,’ he said
He said a hypothetical trip for a family of three – two adults and one child – that spent six days at a resort and four days at the parks – along with food and drinks plus the additional costs for ride queues is around $4,000.
‘I can’t help but think that nobody seems to care if Disney is just staggeringly more expensive than it used to be, all while removing perks that used to be free,’ he observed.
‘At this point there basically is no argument to be made for Genie plus and the elimination of Fastpass, it is simply anti-consumer as are these steep price hikes,’ he continued. ‘But people just eat the costs.’
In comparison, Jake said he had priced out a trip to the French Rivera for $3,462, and a luxurious trip to Bali for around $4,600.
‘I really do love the Disney parks but I’m not willing to put up with the huge price hikes and this convoluted system where I know there are better places for my money to be spent,’ Jake declared.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
