Are any Disney guests average income people?

[Blondie58]

Opinion: Spending is all about personal choices. We are middle income BUT we save for vacations and experiences. We do not eat out often and when we do we do not order drinks and desserts. We don't do fancy coffee and stop for this or that at fast food places. This may not be workable or desirable for others but it works for us. We use our dollars for vacations and experiences. We restrict spending on cars and clothing too. We realize we can't have it all so we work hard and live within our means and travel as we can. As a child a vacation was not even a topic of discussion. As a young adult I took very frugal short vacations here or there. Mid life the vacations became more frequent with plane flights involved yet still frugel. All kids are through college and all is paid for. Now vacations are frequent amd often involve spa time, extra special tours, and are longer in scope and duration. Still it is all about choices and how one chooses to spend. WDW is expensive. Before I was 49 I was at Disney a total of five days and felt lucky and blessed to have been able to go. We did not buy food onsite nor stay onsite. The last 10 years I have been at WDW at least once a year. We stay at GF or PR and have bought DVC. We appreciate and enjoy every moment.

 

[DLgal]

Which is why I said Manhattan and not the outer boroughs. $500k in Manhattan doesn't really go that far and you are still middle class with that salary there.

You're still wrong. Manhattan median income is $66,739. In comparison, Brooklyns is $44,850. The "NYC" number is an average of all the median incomes of all the boroughs. Most people living in Manhattan make nowhere near $500k.

 

[jcb]

People keep saying this, but what was removed besides Magical Express, which sounds to have been more of a Mears decision than a Disney decision?

Well, I'm still upset at Epcot removing Lights of Winter 13-14 years ago. We don't even have Osborne lights at DHS.

 

[bakerworld]

If motivated, there is a way to enjoy WDW. My SIL once took her family from the NE to WDW on a BUS and that, to me, shows true dedication to visiting Disney. I had a friend take her kids to WDW and ask me how Disney justified drink cart costs and I told her that I didn't allow me kids to purchase cart drinks - they waited for lunch.

Yes, Disney is expensive and the constantly shoot themselves in the foot by offering an item for 'free' and then turning it into a paid option. This creates these types of threads.

 

[DLgal]

Our family of 4 makes well above the median household income. I can tell you with certainty that if we were at the US median household income living where we do, we wouldn't have money for Disney, let alone Six Flags. Our minimum monthly expenses (rent, utilities, insurance) are $4250. We'd barely be able to eat and clothe ourselves with the money left over every month. We'd literally be in survival mode and wouldn't even be thinking about visiting Disney parks. But that's because we live in a very high COL area. I suspect if our income was that low, we'd live elsewhere.

Like everyone else has said, income on it's own doesn't tell you anything about what people can afford. You have to look at everything else in the financial picture. My single friend makes about the average household income and has plenty of money for Disney trips every year if she wants while still being able to live comfortably in condo she owns in a large city, investing for her future, etc.

 

[_19disnA]

You can probably spin the average income figures to support just about any view. The cost of living varies significantly depending upon where you live. While some large companies may pay more in areas that are costly to live just to attract/retain their employees, many do not. My sense is that the average family is going to Disney less often due to the rising prices (this was even before covid and the various cutbacks in service). The cost of a Disney vacation in my view has increased far more over the years then many other places you might choose to vacation.

 

[onelove8187]

While I understand this perspective I have to wonder how much of the experience of the past is seen through rose tinted glasses. The parks are way more crowded now than they ever were when I was growing up. Why were so few going back then? Was it really a "working class" experience? I can only think of a couple kids in my school that went so it certainly wasn't a common thing.

I'm not sure I follow the relevance of attendance many years ago vs now; however, I will say in regards to your second point that I do not mean to say its an experience everyone in the working class should or would even want to have. Simply put, 5 years ago it was doable for someone in my shoes if you wanted. It still is technically doable but drastically more difficult, to which I have a very real but subjective emotional response... I do not claim it is right or wrong, just that it makes me a little sad.

On a more personal note and relevant to other comments, I am also worried that at some point the experience for the money vs. experience will dip enough to begin eroding my love for Disney. I hope it doesn't, I was there this weekend and it was amazing as ever, but I am worried that at some point it could happen.

 

[GreatLakes]

Going back to the original post Disney has always been a luxury vacation but I do think it was much easier 20 or 30 years ago for the "average family" to make it work. The cost of a Disney trip has outpaced inflation and without really digging into it I would wager also outpaced household disposable income.

To really know you have to pull out all the "N of 1" discussion and look at the population as an aggregate and I would agree with the premise that an average middle-class American family would have a harder time going to Disney in 2021 than 1991 because it would require a higher percentage of their disposable income and that line is becoming more steep, not remaining at a constant upward angle. That could mean saving longer or forgoing more alternative optional expenses but I do believe it is harder.

 

[GAN]

When I was a kid(45-50 years ago ..lol) not many families had the ability to visit WDW every year, or even every other year for that matter. So they saved money and went every 3/4 years -whatever. Disney not being affordable is nothing new ...and it was never really an inexpensive vacation either. Even 10-years ago, 2-weeks in Europe(for me) would cost less than a 1-week WDW vacation. We were fortunate and bought into DVC 15-years ago, so without question this helped defray a huge portion of the expense of visiting. I just got back a couple weeks ago and for airfare, tickets(AP), food/drink(covered by my Disney VISA), a few UBER rides ...it was incredibly reasonable. I feel like Disney is pushing hard in that direction -unfortunately, the DVC option might not be good for everyone.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Do you know how much it is to go skiing?
The resorts are Disney high , just like Disney we can get a motel style room for $200 as a budget room. We eat in the room , but every thing is high cause it has to be brought up a mountain. The lift pass is $500+ plus the rental cost. Vacationing is expensive

 

[RamblingMad]

Do you know how much it is to go skiing?
The resorts are Disney high , just like Disney we can get a motel style room for $200 as a budget room. We eat in the room , but every thing is high cause it has to be brought up a mountain. The lift pass is $500+ plus the rental cost. Vacationing is expensive

I spent a week exploring National Parks in UT. I spent in a week what I would spend in half a day at WDW.

I can find vacations that cost more than WDW, but I get a much bigger bang for my buck.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

I'm not sure I follow the relevance of attendance many years ago vs now; however, I will say in regards to your second point that I do not mean to say its an experience everyone in the working class should or would even want to have. Simply put, 5 years ago it was doable for someone in my shoes if you wanted. It still is technically doable but drastically more difficult, to which I have a very real but subjective emotional response... I do not claim it is right or wrong, just that it makes me a little sad.

I only mentioned the attendance figures as an example to show that it really wasn't a common vacation even back in the day. Disney being crammed full of people is a relatively new phenomenon and I sort of welcome a return to parks that are more empty. If that means paying more, I'm okay with that.

I think a shift up market is necessary to be honest as the quality of the product suffers with the large crowds.

 

[GAN]

I only mentioned the attendance figures as an example to show that it really wasn't a common vacation even back in the day. Disney being crammed full of people is a relatively new phenomenon and I sort of welcome a return to parks that are more empty. If that means paying more, I'm okay with that.

yes, Yes, and YES.......

 

[dd316]

It's affordable depending on how much you're willing to sacrifice.

 

[MickeyMouse3!]

Disney does not care how much a person/family makes or their class status. They know people will save for years or finance the farm to make a Disney vacation happen. Disney also knows they can nickel and dime guests to death and they will still pay. They sell a world-wide recognized name and people want to be part of it in some way or another, even if it is a once in a lifetime vacation.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I know large families like mine would have a hard time making a Disney trip work on average income. We would definitely not be able to afford Disney if we were an “average” income family. Even without having to pay for our room (DVC) we spend an obscene amount of money on each trip. That could be cut down by not staying as long, bringing in food etc. but tickets alone for 7 people would be ridiculous. And now with Genie+ we’ll be spending an extra $105 per day, $1050 over our 10 park days. Ridiculous.

 

[DLgal]

Disney does not care how much a person/family makes or their class status. They know people will save for years or finance the farm to make a Disney vacation happen. Disney also knows they can nickel and dime guests to death and they will still pay. They sell a world-wide recognized name and people want to be part of it in some way or another, even if it is a once in a lifetime vacation.

They very much care what their guests incomes are. They ask that question in literally every survey they send out.

 

[shawthorne44]

We are. Our one-person income is on the high-end of normal, but we are a one-income family.
But then, I don't comprehend going multiple times with DVC or on-site. We are doing the one-big-trip.

 

[_19disnA]

When Disneyworld first opened it was one park (MK) and 2 on-site hotels (Contemporary & Polynesian). In order to get people to travel from 1,000-1,500 miles away, they marketed MK as a 'theme' park vs. an amusement park with 'attractions' vs rides to differentiate themselves and encourage attendance. There are lots of local amusement parks people could visit near their home for an economical day trip. For those traveling from a distance, it was considered a luxury vacation. Now they have 4 parks and numerous hotels. The GOOD news for Disney is way more people now attend then when they first opened. The BAD news for those attending it is now WAY too crowded and far more expensive compared to many other vacation destinations. What Disney tries to do to address that is anybody's guess.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

We are not rich and go multiple times a year I just don’t waste my money on their resorts which seems to be a huge budget factor to people.