Why Middle Class Can't Afford Disney

[tvguy]

As in available credit on a credit card?

Yup

 

[AdamEfimoff]

As in available credit on a credit card?

hope so otherwise I am very confused?

 

[dclpluto]

I'm a dvc member and there is no way I'm going to pay them expensive park tickets. This is what I do. I get a annual pass and go usually three different weeks during the year., this year is 4. Than I take a year off or longer than do it again. During my off years I spend them on DCL.

 

[ShellieMimi]

Affordable isn't the issue for many middle class families planning a Disney trip, available credit is.

If they have to charge it & aren't able to immediately pay it off, they can't afford it.

 

[mousefan73]

I started with the cheaperst ASSports ONe week, no park hopper, standard room, no food, 4 people. 2 adults and 1 kid 11 and 1 kid 12. August 2018 is 2992.00 upgrade to CBR standard 3432.00... sure you might get some discounts 20% etc.... add about 1500 at least for food plus transporation... at least 5 grand

7 years ago we had 2 parties with dining at CBR for a short week ( 6 nights) and I know 5 grand about covered both rooms. (4 adults, 2 kids). helped a bit that the kids were under 9.

 

[kymom99]

yes it was 'stole' it from another travel agent

Not on the topic of Disney, but I guess I identify most with the 3rd guy. We are in no danger of ever being well off, but we get by. The thing I realized, especially since I have a son going off to college, is that the first 2 have no concerns about college because they have inve

I started with the cheaperst ASSports ONe week, no park hopper, standard room, no food, 4 people. 2 adults and 1 kid 11 and 1 kid 12. August 2018 is 2992.00 upgrade to CBR standard 3432.00... sure you might get some discounts 20% etc.... add about 1500 at least for food plus transporation... at least 5 grand

7 years ago we had 2 parties with dining at CBR for a short week ( 6 nights) and I know 5 grand about covered both rooms. (4 adults, 2 kids). helped a bit that the kids were under 9.

yep we stayed at CBR 7 years ago. I remember I had a PIN that made the room $132 a night for preferred. You can hardly get a value for that price in June now.

 

[Allie B]

I don't like this article. Our family of 3 goes to Disney for about $1000 per person including food. We use discounts or stay at a value resort.
Booking with a travel agent and paying monthly also makes Disney more affordable and less stressful.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Granted, I don't know a lot about economics, but articles like this always make me laugh. I'm not sure what people expect Disney to do- despite price increase after price increase they are in ridiculously high demand. If they announced tomorrow ticket prices were being cut in half, how bad do you think that demand problem would get? If you think you have trouble getting a BoG ADR now.... consumers would not be happy and no one would have a pleasant experience.

Granted, I do think Disney will have to change their strategy as the millenials and generations younger than them come of parenting age here and are starting to have kids. My husband and I are very lucky that he got a fantastic job out of school because we pay the same in student loans every month as we do rent. We can afford Disney through living well below our means in other ways, but a lot of my friends weren't so lucky getting out of school and have spent the last two years working for $9 an hour with one or more college degrees. If that keeps up, they truly won't be able to afford Disney, but this remains to be seen.

 

[mousefan73]

I will admit we can afford disney because Grandma pays for most of it. She is retired and has EXTREME low living costs compared to most my generation and younger. Ex. starbucks is "too expensive" so she will skip out. Has no car etc. She saves her dollars for experiences with her grandkids. She can "afford" to do that. We cannot save as much as we just have so many other costs monthy.

 

[Hikergirl]

The title of the article could be "why americans can't afford to ........... anymore"
The only thing exclusive to Disney is the park tickets and the on-site resorts. You don't need the extras, and you don't need the dining plan. Everything else mentioned in that article has nothing to do with Disney, just life in general.

 

[goodeats]

I didn't look at the article, but I don't think it's just Disney that have priced the middle class out. We live in California so for us a Deluxe or moderate (the only way I'm going to go) WDW vacation is comparable to going to Hawaii. It's hard to say where the line is between middle, upper middle, and upper classes but I would say with health care, housing, childcare, student loans, etc most of the lower and middle middle classes could not afford a week long vacation to WDW or Hawaii.

We went to a local theme park in Northern California recently and while tickets were only $30pp to get in we spent $100+ on food and parking. Food and soda at the cheaper amusement parks always seem to be pricier than Disney.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Affordable isn't the issue for many middle class families planning a Disney trip, available credit is.

As in available credit on a credit card?

Yup

With all due respect there are a few things in life that having available credit is important...going on a Disney trip or any trip that is a pleasure/leisure trip is not one of them.

I see no harm in using a CC especially when it reaps you rewards. We plan on using our SWA CC ourselves on our trip however each month it gets paid off or for higher priced items it's paid off in a few months. But really for something like a pleasure/leisure trip is would likely be unwise to rely on a CC period regardless of the limit to be able to go on it. Financially speaking you should have that $ or not have that $. Usually it's less of a harm though if you can pay it off in a few month but still..

And being in the middle class...IDK my bank has raised my limit 5 or 6 times since I've had it for 11 years and at least 3 of those times they raised it by $3,000-$4,000 each time. I don't use my CC a lot (though I do use it to keep it active and earning me credit) thus I figure they want to entice me to use it giving me a higher available credit. They have done that automatically and without me asking.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

A lot of the points of the article aren't really even in Disney's control. They use children are expensive and paying more for every day things as a reason why Disney is unattainable and that seems unfair.

They also went the most expensive route for a vacation. Dinning plan, "extras", and base price of tickets. I'm not saying Disney is cheap or that everyone can afford to go I just think it is unfair to point to Disney as the problem.

I didn't see a problem with the article... although it should have been titled, "Why The Middle Class Can't Afford Anything" and then gone into detail about all the expenses that TODAY'S households have to manage, that they didn't have to worry so much about say, 10 years ago. Health care costs, smaller sizes in food packaging, fuel costs, taxes....

 

[quandrea]

I'm a dvc member and there is no way I'm going to pay them expensive park tickets. This is what I do. I get a annual pass and go usually three different weeks during the year., this year is 4. Than I take a year off or longer than do it again. During my off years I spend them on DCL.

We do this but not the cruise portion. Years off, we still use our dvc but we don't go to the parks. Don't miss them one bit either.

 

[Westcoastwild]

This is a big thing people forget. Even when my parents were growing up they didn't pay for a cell phone, wifi package, satellite tv, amazon prime, hulu, netflix, etc. I just did a budget check on myself and realized how much I spend in a day on things I do not have to spend that much on including my morning coffee/breakfast, lunch during the work week, snacks, etc. I know I'm not an anomaly of the average middle class worker because if I was it wouldn't take 15 minutes at 8:30 to get my breakfast and coffee at Starbucks. So a lot of people are spending 5 or more a day on coffee. I have to think in 1960 my grandfather would have scoffed at the idea of paying someone else to brew his coffee when he was capable of doing it himself before he got in his truck to go to work every morning.

Yep. Funded my last Disney trip on just my coffee money- tossed it into a jar as an effort to become less caffeinated. I have since fallen off the wagon, but it was eye opening to see just how much money I was spending on lattes.

Wifi isn't optional anymore, really. It was when I was a teen. Netflix is cheaper than cable and it's the only thing I subscribe to BUT my parents did without cable my entire childhood so I'm still spending $10 more that they would not have spent.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Granted, I don't know a lot about economics, but articles like this always make me laugh. I'm not sure what people expect Disney to do- despite price increase after price increase they are in ridiculously high demand. If they announced tomorrow ticket prices were being cut in half, how bad do you think that demand problem would get? If you think you have trouble getting a BoG ADR now.... consumers would not be happy and no one would have a pleasant experience.

Granted, I do think Disney will have to change their strategy as the millenials and generations younger than them come of parenting age here and are starting to have kids. My husband and I are very lucky that he got a fantastic job out of school because we pay the same in student loans every month as we do rent. We can afford Disney through living well below our means in other ways, but a lot of my friends weren't so lucky getting out of school and have spent the last two years working for $9 an hour with one or more college degrees. If that keeps up, they truly won't be able to afford Disney, but this remains to be seen.

I don't know. I think millenials are willing to budget for stuff they perceive being worth it. Disney, comic con, Las Vegas, hawaii are just a few trips I can think of that acquaintances of mine have taken in the last year. These aren't people who are making money; these are people who are scraping by but prioritized those trips specifically.

I do think, though, that Disney is getting a perception problem. Kind of the way malls are dying in a lot of places. Mass market vacations aren't as appealing to a lot of people in my age group, and Disney is kind of losing its pull. People want something unique, interesting. I actually know more grandparents who take the family to Disney than parents- the parents do it to humor the grandparent but they wouldn't otherwise.

 

[wilkeliza]

Yep. Funded my last Disney trip on just my coffee money- tossed it into a jar as an effort to become less caffeinated. I have since fallen off the wagon, but it was eye opening to see just how much money I was spending on lattes.

Wifi isn't optional anymore, really. It was when I was a teen. Netflix is cheaper than cable and it's the only thing I subscribe to BUT my parents did without cable my entire childhood so I'm still spending $10 more that they would not have spent.

WiFi is not a necessity. You don't need it to live and survive. Sure having it in your home is great and convenient but you don't need it to live. There are a lot of public places with free wifi. While netflix costs 10 a month you still have to pay for fast enough wifi to make it work and the devices to use it on. I think one thing society as a whole has lost track of is what actually is a necessity/need and what is a want. With my wifi I brought up the fact I pay for faster wifi. That's a want not a need. If I had to redo my budget for needs or other wants that would be something I could easily save money on.

 

[Westcoastwild]

WiFi is not a necessity. You don't need it to live and survive. Sure having it in your home is great and convenient but you don't need it to live. There are a lot of public places with free wifi. While netflix costs 10 a month you still have to pay for fast enough wifi to make it work and the devices to use it on. I think one thing society as a whole has lost track of is what actually is a necessity/need and what is a want. With my wifi I brought up the fact I pay for faster wifi. That's a want not a need. If I had to redo my budget for needs or other wants that would be something I could easily save money on.

Nope I need it for work take home stuff. Trainings are online. Software is online. Manuals online. Emailing, group projects via google docs, research, etc. None of this crap was online even 5 years ago. Now if you ask whether fax or physical copy is possible, they look at you like you're crazy.

I made it a few months without wifi because I thought the same thing. What a waste of money, surely I can work at the library or starbucks. But my family and animals would never see me, and working in Starbucks involves too much ambient noise- if I can even get a table at the one closest to my house. Starbucks is the only place that I can think of that is open on weekends and after 6 with free, adequate wifi.

So maybe not a basic necessity but since my paycheck pays for food and shelter and that paycheck relies on getting stuff done as well as my sanity- it's not a frippery either.

 

[tcufrog]

We need wifi. My older son has a lot of online assignments for school and assignments that have to be submitted online. My younger son will start having online math and spelling tutorials this year. We don't have the time to go to out somewhere to use the wifi for doing homework and the library computers always have a long line in the afternoon and evening. My husband also sometimes works from home and the work he does (engineering) can't be done on a laptop in a coffee shop. His software requires a large screen and desktop.

Another thing that has become a necessity for many people is a cell phone. When you go out in public you can't find pay phones anymore to make calls. Many jobs now such as a real estate agent (their phones now unlock the lock boxes on homes) require a cell phone. Most people don't need the latest and greatest phone but many people need something. Some people are able to save money by cutting the landline cord but some people aren't able to do that. We still keep our landline because cell phone coverage is poor at our home and calling my dh's family in India is cheaper using a landline.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Is the minimum cost of a Disney vacation (tickets and lodging) outpacing inflation? If so, by how much?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

WiFi is not a necessity. You don't need it to live and survive. Sure having it in your home is great and convenient but you don't need it to live. There are a lot of public places with free wifi. While netflix costs 10 a month you still have to pay for fast enough wifi to make it work and the devices to use it on. I think one thing society as a whole has lost track of is what actually is a necessity/need and what is a want. With my wifi I brought up the fact I pay for faster wifi. That's a want not a need. If I had to redo my budget for needs or other wants that would be something I could easily save money on.

Except society has decided that many many many things rely on internet service. Heck in the school district that I grew up in (which is a neighboring school district to where I live now) elementary school kids have iPADs that they use rather than books and paper tests. At a certain grade they get to take those iPADs home...guess what they need those for--school work.

Also you do have to be careful on public wifi--unsecured vs secured will make a difference for some things.

Not that I don't agree that there are things we have decided as a society to give a want vs a true need but there are other things that have become needs that used to be wants.