If you are a Disney fan, you probably have the dream of visiting Disney World at least once in your life. But after seeing the ticket price and calculating the costs, you may have second thoughts. Yes, Disney can be quite expensive. Now, you are probably wondering: why Disney World is so expensive.
Disney World requires high maintenance, which is costly. Besides, the demand for visiting the parks is high, but Disney has limited capacity to accommodate guests. As a result, the company keeps increasing the ticket price.
In this article, I will talk about why Disney World has become so expensive over the years. As you read through the article, you will understand that Disney actually has some solid reasons for being expensive.
7 Reasons Disney World Is Expensive
You can have unlimited fun at Disney World, but you must pay for it. As the Disney parks develop and add additional attractions every year, the cost of visiting the park is increasing. Here are some of the reasons Disney is costly:
1. The Price of Disney World Tickets Are High
If you want to enter Disney World’s theme park, you have to spend hundreds of dollars. Tickets are always in high demand all year round. Thus, Disney increases the price as it seems necessary. Sometimes Disney increases ticket prices twice in a single year.
The ticket price of Disney World has three categories: value, regular, and peak. The tickets have a high price during the peak or busiest weeks, like school vacations and summer.
The base ticket for an adult for one day costs $109 to $159, and for kids, it is $104 to $154. If you want to visit multiple theme parks in one day, get a Park Hopper Ticket. Park hopper tickets are $174–$224 for adults and $169–$219 for kids. It keeps increasing for other options as well.
The rise in ticket prices is justified as Disney has added many expensive attractions in recent years, such as the Star Wars-themed Galaxy’s Edge, and Avatar-inspired Pandora.
2. High Demand and Limited Guest Capacity
Disney World is the most popular theme park in the world. There are millions of Disney fans who want to visit Disney World to meet their favorite characters. However, the theme parks have limited capacity and accommodation for guests.
So, it allows a certain number of guests in the parks. Otherwise, the parks can get crowded with too many guests, which the management may fail to handle. As the demand for Disney World is too high, Disney has set a high price for tickets. The tickets are costly, not only for making profits but also for controlling the number of guests.
3. Parking Is Expensive
Even if you get the tickets, you can’t ignore the other costs that accumulate over time. If you are not staying at Disney hotels or resorts, you have to pay $25 per day for parking your car or motorcycle in the Disney parking lot. The cost is $30 for large-sized vehicles, like buses, limos, RVs, and such. It increases to $45-$50 for preferred parking per day.
There will be a Disney employee to collect the parking charges. There is a tram that picks up the guests from the parking lot and takes them to the main gate of Disney World. The price you pay for the parking lot covers the expenses of tram operation and maintenance.
4. High Maintenance Cost
Disney World theme parks have over 50 rides and 100 plus attractions. Besides, there are hotels, restaurants, food courts, and other buildings. All these need to be well maintained.
Many of the rides have been active since 1971, and many new rides have been added. Every day, thousands of people ride on them. With regular use, the paint of the rides flakes, the structures deteriorate, the seats get flattened, or the cushions tear. So, Disney has repairmen and engineers to keep things in good shape.
The cost of maintenance and repair is quite high. Hence, Disney has to adjust the cost by increasing the price of the tickets, rides, and resorts.
5. Employees Need To Be Kept Well Paid
Disney believes not only in happy guests but also in happy employees. In order to keep things running at Disney World, approximately 77,000 employees work around the clock, day and night.The employees, or cast members, are trained, paid well, and provided other benefits.
All cast members are provided with extensive training on Disney’s way of doing things and customer service. They are taught how to act like Disney characters and keep the guests entertained. The employees receive satisfying salaries and other benefits better than at any other theme park.
Besides, Disney has to pay a good amount in costumes for every employee, such as characters, parking attendants, cleaning crews, and others. Thus, the cost of maintaining such a large number of employees requires a lot of expense.
6. Food Is Expensive
Food is amazing in Disney World, no doubt about that. But you also have to pay a high price for the food. Want to have some burgers and fries? You have to pay $10 to $12 for one medium-sized burger! Special treats like Dole Whip cost $5.99, and the Cheshire Cat Tail costs $5.49.
For a four-member family, you have to pay $200 to $250 for meals per day. As you can see, food is expensive in Disney World. This is because most of the foods are exclusive. Besides, guests are bound to buy food at Disney World since they cannot leave the park to eat and re-enter. Even if a burger costs $12, they have to pay the price.
7. Staying At Disney World Hotels Is Expensive
You can get yourself fully immersed in Disney World activities if you stay in the hotels. Three hotels have access to the Monorail system for easy access to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. You can move around different parks in a short time.
Different characters come to the hotels to meet the guests. You can attend exclusive events, swim in the pool, and enjoy many other benefits. However, it will cost you hundreds of dollars to spend a night in one of the on-site hotels.
Tips On Saving Money At Disney World
On average, a family of four may have to pay $4000 to $5000 for 4/5 nights at Disney World. The price can get high depending on how much you want to explore. Unfortunately, Disney does not provide many coupons so that you can save money. So, plan well to save some dollars.
Here are a few tips to save money at Disney World:
- If you have plans to visit Disney World multiple times a year, get a Disney Annual pass. Then you can pay less for the visits.
- Cut food costs by taking your own food with you. You can also grocery shop and cook your meals where you are staying. This way, you can save hundreds of dollars.
- Instead of spending money on table service, get your food from Quick Services. Also, you can save money by having meals from the Kid’s menu.
- Look for special deals on Disney World Tickets. Many companies sell Disney Tickets at the lowest price possible.
- If you have a limited budget, buy base tickets to visit one of the four theme parks. Park Hopper Tickets let you visit all the parks in one day. But it will cost a lot, and you may not even have time to see all the attractions in a single day.
- Spend nights in offsite hotels to save some cash. Disney hotels and resorts are amazing, but expensive as well.
- Many people spend too much money buying souvenirs and gifts from Disney gift shops and stores. But later, these accessories are not used much. So, avoid buying unnecessary items to save your money.
Conclusion
So, why Disney World is so expensive? You must have a good idea by now. Disney World is vast, and it has thousands of employees working to keep the parks and hotels running. Maintaining rides, characters, and food services require a lot of expenditure. Hence, the cost of tickets, hotels, and food in Disney World is so high. Thanks for stopping by and make sure you check out our full guide to planning a Disney vacation before you leave! See ya real soon!
