"45% of Parents Visiting with Young Children Go into Debt"
Weekly Travel Expenses for a Family of Four Exceed 20 Million Won
"As Long as I Earn Money... I Don't Regret Making Memories"
As the summer vacation season approaches, it has been confirmed that many American parents are going into debt to take their young children to Disneyland. They explain that it is important to spend money to create happy memories with their family before their children become adults.
The New York Times (NYT) recently cited a survey conducted by the online financial services company LendingTree, reporting that 45% of parents with children under 18 who visited Disneyland went into debt for the trip. The average debt amount was $1,983 (about 2.64 million KRW), and 59% of them said they had "no regrets." Considering that 24% of all visitors, regardless of whether they have children, go into debt to visit Disneyland, the proportion of parents with children is relatively high.
The cost of a vacation to Disneyland is not cheap. According to another survey released by NerdWallet, a U.S. personal finance company, the cost for a family of four to travel to Disneyland for a week, excluding airfare, including accommodation and Disneyland fees, ranges from $6,463 (about 8.59 million KRW) to as much as $15,559 (about 20.68 million KRW).
Allyssa Lee, who has been visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida every year since 2015, visited Disneyland for two weeks in December 2022 with her son and husband when her son was two years old. She spent $6,000 on accommodation, tickets, rental car, and other expenses. She paid in advance with a credit card and gradually paid it off. She said, "I can just earn more money," and has no regrets.
Rebecca Mitchell, a single mom living in Iowa, also revealed that she went into credit card debt for years to take her child to Disneyland. She first visited Disneyland with her child in 2008 and has regularly visited since then. Usually, it cost $2,500 for the two of them to travel, but since she could not pay it all at once when booking, she initially paid a minimum deposit of $200 and paid off the credit card debt whenever she had money. She repaid the debt within six months after the trip. She emphasized, "Both my child and I were young. As the child grows, memories become everything."
While some parents like these are satisfied with their Disneyland trips without regrets, others express regret over excessive spending. Johnny Espeller, who lives in Helena, Alabama, visited Disneyland in February 2022 with his wife and four-year-old daughter. Their initial budget was $6,000, but when they arrived, there were unexpected additional costs such as purchasing FastPasses to get on rides faster. He explained that these were not optional but almost mandatory expenses.
Espeller said, "We were already at Disneyland and didn’t know when we would come again," adding, "'We have no choice. We have to endure it. We’ll think about the cost later.' I just want my daughter not to miss anything there."
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