Disney fanatic SLAMS park’s insane price rises – showing how hugely ‘expensive’ a single day trip has become – suggesting a holiday abroad should be taken instead
The happiest place on earth also becomes the most unaffordable; with one Disney fanatic claiming it’s cheaper to take a family on holiday abroad than visiting the famous theme parks.
Jake Williams, a long-time Disney fan called the park “anti-consumer” and noted that the removal of some of the once free services adds hundreds of dollars to a family day at the park.
Jake visited the Disney Magic Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida, and documented how much it costs for two people to visit the park – noting a whopping 44 percent price increase since 2017.
When Jake visited the park with his partner Emmi, he stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans resort and chose to visit the Magic Kingdom park that day.
Disney fanatic Jake Williams (pictured) called the park “anti-consumer” and noted that removing some free services adds hundreds of dollars to a family day at the park
Jake called the park “anti-consumer” and noted that removing some of their free services adds hundreds of dollars to a family day at the park
“I got a discounted rate of $249 per night, but it actually turned out to be $280 per night including tax,” he said of their room. which he called “quite nice” and in a good location.
The couple started their Disney day in the resort’s dining room.
“We both got the bounty dish, which was pretty good,” he said. “The platter cost $22.79 per person which worked out to a great $27.24 including tax.”
From there they could take Disney’s free bus transportation from the resorts, but the park had reformatted the price point of their annual pass system since the last time Jake was there.
‘[They] have increased the prices for both the passes and the regular day tickets,” he explained. “We chose to do the classic Park Magic Kingdom, which also happens to be the most expensive park, unlike the Disney days of the past. It now has variable prices for each park depending on when you go.”
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 late November, where day tickets can cost as much as $184 per person,” he noted.
Once inside the park, Jake reported that the lines were “insane,” with lines lasting more than 90 minutes for some rides and attractions.
Magic Kingdom cost $154 per person, which works out to $328 for him and his girlfriend Emmi. Wait, Jake says the crowd was “crazy.”
He paid a discounted rate of $249 per night for the room at Disney’s Port Orleans resort, which ended up being $280 per night including tax
Jake noted that the difference between 2024 and 2017 prices was about $320 – or a huge 44 percent
Although in the past park visitors could have used a FastPass to skip the line, Disney reformatted their waiting system in 2021 and renamed it Lighting Lane.
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, much faster than inflation which is around 24 percent
Jake said the main reason for the price increase was Disney’s decision to start charging for the bus to the resort and fast passes.
“On our trip we paid $23 per person, which works out to $46 for both of us,” he reported. ‘So after buying 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.’
“Now in this version they charge you for it,” he said disgruntledly. If you add the system, you’ll have to buy another app called Genie+ to download that app – and some rides will require you to pay extra to wait in line.
The park’s changes to their annual ticket system have been reformatted since the last time Jake went and are much more expensive. Jake also noticed long wait times for all the rides and attractions
Jake and his partner Emmi visited the park and spent a total of $886 for one day at Magic Kingdom
“I don’t like crowds at all, I don’t like standing for long periods of time – this is all very uncomfortable for me, so we haven’t really done that much,” Jake admitted.
The pair stopped for lunch at Park Columbia Harbor House, paying a combined $31.70, and after a few more hours of wandering they got coffee and popcorn for a snack, which cost a combined $12.70.
The only ride Jake wanted to try was the Tron Lightcycle Power Run – which opened in spring 2023. Unlike regular rides, this one has two intakes for a ‘digital’ queue – which they missed.
This forced them to purchase the individual Lightning Lane – the revamped new fast pass – which cost them $20 each.
“$42 for a 60-second attraction, that’s a tough pill to swallow,” he admitted.
Jake and Emmi dined at Skipper Canteen, which came to $83.75, which Disney fans said was “too expensive.”
In total, the day out to Disney for two adults came to $886.34 – more than a $320 difference from 2017 prices.
“Taking a Disney World trip just got a lot more expensive,” Jake reflected.
“And remember, this is without buying additional merchandise or other snacks or even magic bands, which used to be free but now cost about $35.”
Although he’s a Disney fan, he admitted it’s “hard” to justify how expensive it is.
“It’s frustrating to see Disney take something that used to be free, make tens of millions of dollars, and not add value to the parks,” he said.
He said a hypothetical trip for a family of three – two adults and one child – spending six days at a resort and four days in the parks – along with food and drinks plus the added cost of queuing would be about $4,000.
“I can’t help but think no one will care if Disney just becomes staggeringly more expensive than it used to be, all while eliminating benefits that used to be free,” he noted.
“At this point there is basically no argument for Genie Plus and the elimination of FastPass, it’s just anti-consumer, just like these steep price increases,” he continued. “But people just eat the costs.”
For comparison, Jake said he priced a trip to the French Rivera for $3,462, and a luxury trip to Bali for about $4,600.
“I really love the Disney parks, but I’m not willing to accept the huge price increases and this complicated system when I know there are better places to spend my money,” Jake stated.