The Powerball lottery is up to $900 million or something like that as of today. I don’t really pay attention but I guess no one has won in several months so the jackpot just keeps going up until someone does.
It really would be something to have that kind of money. One of the things I would definitely do more if I had it is travel. I’ve seen some major parts of the US on both coasts and even visited a few countries in Europe. But there are still a lot of countries I’ve never seen and, realistically, may not ever see.
Travel is expensive. Airfare isn’t cheap. Hotels aren’t cheap. Car rentals are not cheap. Food isn’t cheap. Plus it’s no fun to go somewhere unless you can buy a couple of souvenirs. And there’s a big difference between flying first class and staying in expensive hotels and flying coach and looking for a bargain. All that to say, it would really be nice to have a bunch of money to take that dream vacation to Bora Bora or Moorea, but so far that hasn’t happened.
I say all of that because today I read this story about the increasing cost of a vacation to Disney theme parks. And there’s no doubt the cost of those trips has gone up a lot in the last several decades.
A family day at the original Disneyland in California, including tickets, some rides and food for four people, was about a $30 affair when the park opened in 1955, which was a lot of money when the median family income was $4,400. But $30 — roughly the cost of a week’s groceries — was still an attainable number for much of America’s rapidly growing middle class.
In the early years, Disney ticket prices rose so slowly that at times they got cheaper after inflation. An employee handbook from the 1950s quotes Walt Disney as saying, “We roll out the red carpet for the Jones family from Joliet just as we would (with a few embellishments) for the Eisenhowers from Palm Springs.”…
In the mid-2000s, however, the growing ranks of the affluent presented a profit source that could not be ignored. According to Datos Insights, in 1992 there were 88,000 households worth $20 million or more in 2022 dollars; by 2022, there were 644,000. Those who could pay almost anything for a vacation were becoming their own mass market.
But the real thrust of this article isn’t that Disney has gotten more expensive, it’s that Disney now offers different experiences for different families. The story opens with a woman who has spent years saving to bring her family of 5 to Disney World. She’s doing her best to cut corners to make it possible, including staying in a cheaper hotel outside the park and not buying passes to allow her family to cut to the front of every line. At the end of a long day at Disney, her family had been on 9 rides in 14 hours. (It’s worth noting that the woman in question is confined to a scooter which probably limits how quickly she can get around the park.)
This is contrasted with another customer.
It was a different kind of Disney day for Shawn Conahan, a California tech executive who took his 13-year-old daughter to Orlando around New Year’s — one of the busiest times of the year to visit the parks, according to Mr. Testa.
Getting Disney’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which ushers its holders to the front of the line at each ride once, was a no-brainer, Mr. Conahan decided. Given he was already in for $7,000 for the four-day trip, “it’s not that crazy to spend another $900” to see the Magic Kingdom. (The pass’s price varies based on the day and the park in question.) Pass holders don’t need to worry about booking reservations online in advance; the system is holding all their seats for them…
Arriving at the notoriously busy hour of 10 a.m, Mr. Conahan and his daughter sail through to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, waiting just nine minutes despite a posted wait time of over an hour. They then hit Tiana’s, the ride Ms. Cressel had prioritized, before heading to Haunted Mansion, waiting just seven minutes while everybody else saw a standby wait estimate of 75. They stop for lunch at Skipper Canteen, a “Jungle Cruise”-themed restaurant known for waiters who tell corny jokes (like the ride’s operators) and one of his daughter’s favorite dishes — a $30 entree of fried chicken with a chili-soy glaze, jasmine rice and pickled vegetable slaw.
Post-lunch, they hop on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, in a line that took four minutes instead of 65. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train took 5 instead of 85. They finished off the day with the new Tron roller coaster, waiting eight minutes instead of 120. In all, Mr. Conahan and his daughter were able to visit 16 attractions, including all five of the park’s Tier 1 rides plus its two most coveted attractions — Seven Dwarfs and Tron — that charge separately for passes. They did all that, plus the lunch stop and a Dole Whip snack break, in just seven hours. His daughter declared it “the best day ever.”
No doubt that sounds like a better day, but is the point here that rich people have better vacations? I think that’s the point and I think maybe that’s not really news. I’m quite sure there is someone sitting on a beach in Bora Bora right now while I’m writing this story. No doubt some of those people are pretty well off which explains how they can afford to be there.
I guess the hook here is that Disney used to be more affordable for everyone. That’s true. But also, it used to be a lot smaller with a lot fewer employees, fancy rides, etc. The experience now is arguably a lot bigger and better than it was in 1960 or even 1990.
My point here is not to defend Disney, per se, but just to say that I think we all know rich people have better vacations. That’s true in Tahiti and it’s true at Disney World. Blame it on “late-stage capitalism” if you want, but this is always how things have worked. Rich people take fabulous vacations and the rest of us have to prioritize and save up a bit.
