Disney World Faces Sluggish Visitor Growth Amid Soaring Prices
Disney World, known as the world's 'dream theme park' and a core business of Disney, is struggling with pricing issues. This is due to a sharp increase in theme park fees, which has caused visitors to turn away.
The US daily newspaper Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 8th (local time), citing data from the data company 'Touring Plans,' calculating the cost for an average American family with two children to enjoy Disney World.
Disney World, known as the "dream theme park" for people around the world and a core business of Disney, is struggling with pricing issues. The rapid increase in theme park admission fees has caused visitors to turn away. Getty Images.
For this family of four to visit Disney World for four days, they would need to spend $4,266 (approximately 6.22 million KRW) based on last year's figures. This excludes transportation costs to Disney World. This is a 44% increase compared to $3,230 (approximately 4.71 million KRW) five years ago.
The rapid rise in Disney World fees is reportedly due to the monetization of various services. Touring Plans analyzed that this 'shift to paid services' accounts for 80% of the overall cost increase.
A representative example is the 'Fast Pass.' Since last year, Disney World began selling Fast Passes, which allow visitors to skip lines and access desired rides immediately. This ticket must be purchased separately from the basic admission ticket and is divided into tiers. The lowest tier is priced at $137.39 (approximately 200,000 KRW), and the highest tier goes up to $478.19 (approximately 700,000 KRW).
Because of this, typical American households can no longer afford to visit Disney World. Touring Plans analyzed that as of 2023, the cost for two parents traveling with one child to Disney World exceeds the entire annual travel budget of the bottom 40% income households in the US.
According to the online lending company 'LendingTree,' 45% of respondents who visited Disney resorts by June last year reported going into debt to cover travel expenses.
Households unable to bear the soaring costs are now leaving Disney and seeking other travel destinations. One family who chose a trip to Europe instead of Disney World told the media, "We sold our Disney resort membership and used that money to tour the Netherlands for three weeks," criticizing that "(Disney) is not worth the cost."
Disney rebutted that Touring Plans' analysis was exaggerated and did not sufficiently consider the various options Disney World offers. However, WSJ pointed out that the growth in the number of Disney World visitors in the US has indeed slowed. In fact, Disney's fiscal year results ending in September last year showed that the number of Disney World visitors increased by only 1% compared to the previous year.
Disney generates about 70% of its total operating profit from the 'Experience' division, which includes theme parks. If the number of visitors does not increase, the group's performance will also be affected. Regarding this, Ren Testa, founder of Touring Plans, told the media, "Disney has started to eat away at its own flesh."
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