NFT: Disney has abandoned the Middle Class model ....

selling your product for below market value? Disney's ticket prices are incredibly high, but they are not doing that to keep out lower income people. They are doing it because they can sell at those prices and fill the parks to capacity.

If a ticket to Disneyworld was suddenly $30, the demand would sky rocket but the amount of tickets they could sell would not change. Then you would just have the parks filled to capacity every day which dilutes the experience. It will also likely create some sort of after-market demand that will probably put the prices right back where they are now.

The ticket prices are very high, but that is not because of a business model with a discriminatory agenda. It's because that is what the market will pay.

In comment 14536441 Mike from Ohio said:

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selling your product for below market value? Disney's ticket prices are incredibly high, but they are not doing that to keep out lower income people. They are doing it because they can sell at those prices and fill the parks to capacity. If a ticket to Disneyworld was suddenly $30, the demand would sky rocket but the amount of tickets they could sell would not change. Then you would just have the parks filled to capacity every day which dilutes the experience. It will also likely create some sort of after-market demand that will probably put the prices right back where they are now. The ticket prices are very high, but that is not because of a business model with a discriminatory agenda. It's because that is what the market will pay.

good post and agree

In comment 14536441 Mike from Ohio said:

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selling your product for below market value? Disney's ticket prices are incredibly high, but they are not doing that to keep out lower income people. They are doing it because they can sell at those prices and fill the parks to capacity. If a ticket to Disneyworld was suddenly $30, the demand would sky rocket but the amount of tickets they could sell would not change. Then you would just have the parks filled to capacity every day which dilutes the experience. It will also likely create some sort of after-market demand that will probably put the prices right back where they are now. The ticket prices are very high, but that is not because of a business model with a discriminatory agenda. It's because that is what the market will pay.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with that... they are merely pointing out what was originally intended for a different audience is changing to a a richer audience.

what is a little frustrating and the part that would probably have Walt turning over in his grave though is the notion that even after you pay the sky-high admissions fee you need to pay again to avoid the fifty minute lines with FastPass. It's a visible reminder of the difference in experience based on the income of the child's family.

And while that existed the previous trip, back in 2011, it was not so central to the experience. The difference between Disney and the Six Flags and Busch Gardens of the world was that once you got into Disney you did not feel as though you were being soaked again at every turn. That seems to be slowly turning too.

I would NEVER do Disney without a Fast Pass. Of course, that's one of the reasons why my family can't afford to go to Disney unless we save up for it for 2-3 years.

In comment 14536497 Eric from BBI said:

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I would NEVER do Disney without a Fast Pass. Of course, that's one of the reasons why my family can't afford to go to Disney unless we save up for it for 2-3 years.

Fast Pass is free, MaxPass costs $15. Did I miss something?

MaxPass is not, but there are a variety of incentives for those staying at Disney resorts, and you can get extra FastPasses.

In comment 14536490 Dunedin81 said:

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what is a little frustrating and the part that would probably have Walt turning over in his grave though is the notion that even after you pay the sky-high admissions fee you need to pay again to avoid the fifty minute lines with FastPass. It's a visible reminder of the difference in experience based on the income of the child's family. And while that existed the previous trip, back in 2011, it was not so central to the experience. The difference between Disney and the Six Flags and Busch Gardens of the world was that once you got into Disney you did not feel as though you were being soaked again at every turn. That seems to be slowly turning too.

FastPass is free with admission.

I'd move to Celebration and work at the park if I could. Love the cruise too

In comment 14536510 Dunedin81 said:

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MaxPass is not, but there are a variety of incentives for those staying at Disney resorts, and you can get extra FastPasses.

MaxPass is a Disneyland only thing - doesn’t exist at DisneyWorld. Staying at a Disney resort lets you book your Fastpasses farther in advance, but it doesn’t give you any extra ones.

You've summarized the salient point of the discussion very well.

than others - most of my recent experience is Disneyland, their food options aren't that great but the prices are reasonable, they allow you to do fast pass once an hour without having to buy the max pass, their app is solid, free wifi, they let you bring food/drinks in, they are generous with the rules about young kids entry, lots of different hotel options nearby, full day parking is the same as anything else, etc.

If they wanted to they could be like pro arenas or airports and make people pay through the nose for every one of those things. They do inflate the prices of their on-site properties, but at least for Disneyland there are numerous other options.

Also like someone else said above I think the problem is less Disney-specific and more to the larger point that there's less disposable income for things like Disney. As a kid my family went to disney world a couple times since we were on the east coast and similar to now I don't think it was ever the cheapest vacation option. Based on my memory then and my more recent experience as a parent it's still one of the most fun experience for kids of a bunch of different ages. And in terms of daily cost (let's call it $150 per person + hotel/travel/food) my recent experience was that it was a solid value based on it delivering a really good experience in the park. Some of that time was off peak and some of it was during the busier summer days and was surprised that it was similarly manageable.

Pass for 1800 for a family of 4 for Disney world. If you are frugal with travel food accommodations and impulse spending, you can do it on a reasonable budget. But if you are eating two meals a day in the parks, staying on resort and buying a lot of souvenirs it will cost you. It definitely proves out people who are working minimum wage or many one income families. But if you are two middle class job working parents, you can make Disney work (with discipline)

In comment 14536527 Les in TO said:

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Pass for 1800 for a family of 4 for Disney world. If you are frugal with travel food accommodations and impulse spending, you can do it on a reasonable budget. But if you are eating two meals a day in the parks, staying on resort and buying a lot of souvenirs it will cost you. It definitely proves out people who are working minimum wage or many one income families. But if you are two middle class job working parents, you can make Disney work (with discipline)

Agree - and in my judgement it's hard to find a better experience (esp for kids) for less than the $75 pp per day (length of stay is obviously flexible). That's the same as a ticket to any sports event or concert (which are both over in a matter of hours and a lot less entertaining for most kids). Or slightly more than lesser theme parks. At Halloween there are crappy pumpkin patches in parking lots that cost $20pp + paying more for single ride tickets for any of the inflatable or jerry rigged "rides".

..some fixed price point - It's a highly customizable trip. Multiple levels of in-park resorts with lower tiers often having loads of specials. In-park, non-Disney resorts (ex Swan, Dolphin, etc) that offer all the same perks and you can usually get really good pricing through travel agencies, AAA and even Costco/BJ's I believe. Ride-sharing has made staying outside park much easier as it's a highly desirable gig for drivers (abundance of trips without all the drunks). By comparison -

We spent as much on a week trip to Austin/San Antonio in June (with a day and half stop at Schlitterbahn as we did on a 5 day trip to Disney last year....and that includes actually spending 3 of the nights at my brother's house in Austin. Oh, and the lines for the main attractions at Schlitterbahn were 2 1/2 - 3 hours starting right at 9 AM. Likewise the ever-popular renting a house at an obnoxious Jersey shore point, food, boardwalk, etc...not hard to average out at $500-600/day+ just to sit on the beach all day elbows to assholes with people.

As far as the parks themselves a lot depends on your mentality going in. If you treat it like a teenage boy at Six Flags trying to hit everything over and over you'll inevitably be disappointed. If you treat it like visiting a popular tourist city/country and actually do some legwork and research to tailor the experience to your family, while avoiding the rest, you'll make out much better. There's an unlimited amount of information out there. I do think at some point they're going to face some hard decisions with some of the older attractions as they'll start to lose relevance with future generations. The live character adaptations of the animated movies (which have all been pretty excellent) will buy them some time though with that part of it.

Their operational execution is astounding as well as the general cleanliness and customer service considering the fact that it's an international cultural Mecca for youth. My wife works for a very large healthcare company and they send people in droves every year for seminars Disney offers on their philosophy and approach.

drinking your way around Epcot...

confused Fast Pass with the one they have at Universal.

In comment 14536265 Red Dog said:

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Something like half the people in the country don't have $5,000 to cover an emergency, and no real savings for retirement, often because they spent it on Walt Dizzy attractions or cell phones or cruises to the Caribbean or something else that they don't need.

I think that number is closer to $400...it certainly isn't as high as $5000.

In comment 14536331 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14536310 Eric from BBI said: Quote: re: commercials. I am convinced that some of these companies could run the same ads from the 1970s-1980s and still be more effective. People remember things like "Where's the beef?", "Don't squeeze the Charmin," "I'd like to buy the world a Coke," etc. Now it's just bland, boring, and unforgettable. This is a great point. I often wonder how effective some ads even are or if companies even care. A lot of times people don't even know what the commercial was for since it has nothing to do with the product. Miller Lite commercials were classic Energizer Bunny Heinz ketchup (anticipation) Oscar Meyer Hey Kool-Aid I'm sure there are more...

Schultz and Dooley for Utica Club beer!

yawn...

in conjunction with a trip to Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding. Me, wife, and 3 kids (one will only be about 8 months old, so really 2 kids).

Based on the 45 minutes of research I've pieced together thus far, tickets for 3 days are going to run me somewhere in the vicinity of $1600. Add another few hundred for the 1 day I'm asusuming we'll shoot over to Universal Studios.

Flights are basically on the arm (been banking the AmEx points for this for some time).

Accomodations will be about $1k -- we are renting a pretty cool house off-premises about 15 minutes away with my wife's other siblings and their families.

Add in food/beverage/souvenirs/etc and I'll probably be in for $5-6k when all is said and done.

I'm grateful that we can afford to do it, and I'm excited for it, but it most definitely represents the 'big vacation' for the year.

not sure if your kids have been before but my experience is it's the single easiest "win" for a parent there is in terms of guaranteeing a fun time for kids for a full day of activities. I've only done disneyland as a parent and with world being bigger and having more stuff i'd guess that's even more true there. To me that's a reasonable value considering the alternatives for full day activities (or even multiple partial day activities) are usually a lot more hit or miss. If you get bad weather at sporting event or a bad game, etc. I've been at disney with bad weather too and you can manage it a lot better by doing the indoor stuff than having kids in the rain at a baseball stadium.

In comment 14536833 bigbluehoya said:

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in conjunction with a trip to Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding. Me, wife, and 3 kids (one will only be about 8 months old, so really 2 kids). Based on the 45 minutes of research I've pieced together thus far, tickets for 3 days are going to run me somewhere in the vicinity of $1600. Add another few hundred for the 1 day I'm asusuming we'll shoot over to Universal Studios. Flights are basically on the arm (been banking the AmEx points for this for some time). Accomodations will be about $1k -- we are renting a pretty cool house off-premises about 15 minutes away with my wife's other siblings and their families. Add in food/beverage/souvenirs/etc and I'll probably be in for $5-6k when all is said and done. I'm grateful that we can afford to do it, and I'm excited for it, but it most definitely represents the 'big vacation' for the year.

We're also planning on taking our kids at the end of January next year. The last time we went was when my oldest was 4 and now she's 8 with her brother being 4 and her sister being 1. I know that my kids will enjoy the shit out of it, and that's really the most important thing.

And to add to the ongoing discussions on other terrible Disney products, etc. My kids have absolutely enjoyed getting to watch Marvel movies. They're for entertainment purposes, and people are being entertained. We forget that aspect when we pine of the past like it was some golden age of anything. Bleh.

I don't like most superhero movies but there's no doubt in how much they pack into the films, and what it takes to bering characters like this to life. Overkill? Sure, IMO. But it hardly dampens the industry. If anything its allowed these studios some flexibility on profit margins to cushion for losses that may occur if new IP doesn't work out.

Shit like Skyscraper and The Wall I can absolutely do without, those are definitely made for the Asian markets. But I just don't go to them. Instead I'll look into the endless library of Indie movies that are streaming or will go to a boutique theater to check something out. There's a ton of great stuff no one has or will ever see.

In comment 14536912 UConn4523 said:

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I don't like most superhero movies but there's no doubt in how much they pack into the films, and what it takes to bering characters like this to life. Overkill? Sure, IMO. But it hardly dampens the industry. If anything its allowed these studios some flexibility on profit margins to cushion for losses that may occur if new IP doesn't work out. Shit like Skyscraper and The Wall I can absolutely do without, those are definitely made for the Asian markets. But I just don't go to them. Instead I'll look into the endless library of Indie movies that are streaming or will go to a boutique theater to check something out. There's a ton of great stuff no one has or will ever see.

And I agree with you that acting today is far better than back in the day. We can talk about all the great creative ideas from the past, but they still were shitty creative ideas with so many plot holes and other nonsenses that we just overlooked.

Today, some of the smaller studio movies are amazing pieces of cinematic art.

In the end though, movies are all subjective.

Except comic book movies, which are collectively a skidmark on mass culture.

In comment 14536306 Eric from BBI said:

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I'll watch movies from any era. When I was 10, I was watching films from the 1930s. Movies are shit now. They keep coming out with remakes, reboots, sequels, God knows how many super hero movies (they've ruined the genre for me), and and endless and bland action films catered to not culturally offend overseas audiences, particularly in China (who has way too much influence in Hollywood). It's boring. It's lazy. When ticket and concession prices go through the roof, of course the $$$ figures still look good. And our population is larger than ever. But don't tell me the movies are better than ever. That's absurd.

This is mostly incorrect. Yes, there are more reboots and cash-cow type films than ever, but it doesn't mean the good movies have just disappeared. Not to over-simplify it, but if you go to Rotten Tomatoes' "Best of the Year" lists, yes you'll have a couple super hero movies sprinkled in, but you'll also see a ton of films that you'd never have heard of if you only went by the commercials you saw.

In fact, I think it's fair to say that--in a round-about way--the influx of cookie-cutter super hero films is beneficial to film making. Reason being, these studios love toting their resume when they have a bunch of Oscar-nominated/award-heavy movies. But much of the time, those movies don't make very much money, and that's if they're lucky enough to not lose money. But when the studios have the super hero movies pulling in literally billions of dollars, they're far more inclined to take the loss on the good films, produce them, and then pat themselves on the back for having critically acclaimed cinema in their portfolios. Without the influx of cash, the studios wouldn't give the true creators the liberty to create authentic film. They'd push for the movies to, simply be, what sells.. and then we wouldn't have some of the best movies that have been made over the last decade.

In comment 14536833 bigbluehoya said:

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in conjunction with a trip to Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding. Me, wife, and 3 kids (one will only be about 8 months old, so really 2 kids). Based on the 45 minutes of research I've pieced together thus far, tickets for 3 days are going to run me somewhere in the vicinity of $1600. Add another few hundred for the 1 day I'm asusuming we'll shoot over to Universal Studios. Flights are basically on the arm (been banking the AmEx points for this for some time). Accomodations will be about $1k -- we are renting a pretty cool house off-premises about 15 minutes away with my wife's other siblings and their families. Add in food/beverage/souvenirs/etc and I'll probably be in for $5-6k when all is said and done. I'm grateful that we can afford to do it, and I'm excited for it, but it most definitely represents the 'big vacation' for the year.

Your estimate for the price of tickets may be a tad high. Right now Disney is offering a discount for tickets with the restriction that you don't show up before 12 N. Since you're staying at a house off site and you have an 8 month old, you're probably not getting there before 12 Noon. A 3 day adult pass will run you about $250.00. Kids under 10 are less and the 8 mo old will be free.

In comment 14536931 Greg from LI said:

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Except comic book movies, which are collectively a skidmark on mass culture.

You shut your suckhole!

In comment 14536969 Ron from Ninerland said:

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In comment 14536833 bigbluehoya said: Quote: in conjunction with a trip to Florida for my sister-in-law's wedding. Me, wife, and 3 kids (one will only be about 8 months old, so really 2 kids). Based on the 45 minutes of research I've pieced together thus far, tickets for 3 days are going to run me somewhere in the vicinity of $1600. Add another few hundred for the 1 day I'm asusuming we'll shoot over to Universal Studios. Flights are basically on the arm (been banking the AmEx points for this for some time). Accomodations will be about $1k -- we are renting a pretty cool house off-premises about 15 minutes away with my wife's other siblings and their families. Add in food/beverage/souvenirs/etc and I'll probably be in for $5-6k when all is said and done. I'm grateful that we can afford to do it, and I'm excited for it, but it most definitely represents the 'big vacation' for the year. Your estimate for the price of tickets may be a tad high. Right now Disney is offering a discount for tickets with the restriction that you don't show up before 12 N. Since you're staying at a house off site and you have an 8 month old, you're probably not getting there before 12 Noon. A 3 day adult pass will run you about $250.00. Kids under 10 are less and the 8 mo old will be free.

Thank you, Ron! - something I need to find a few minutes to look at later!

I don't go to the movies much at all. Recently took my 2 kids to see a flick, and was pleasantly shocked when each of the "Kids' combos" (small fountain drink, popcorn, fruit snacks) were only $7.99 each. I know that's basically all still profit to the theater, but in my head I had figured i was getting banged for $30 easy on kids food/snacks.

In comment 14536991 bigbluehoya said:

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I don't go to the movies much at all. Recently took my 2 kids to see a flick, and was pleasantly shocked when each of the "Kids' combos" (small fountain drink, popcorn, fruit snacks) were only $7.99 each. I know that's basically all still profit to the theater, but in my head I had figured i was getting banged for $30 easy on kids food/snacks.

I do the same for my two older ones whenever we take them out to the movies (well, one parent since the other stays home with the baby). It's not a bad deal with all things being considered on how expensive things can get in trying to have fun with kids for a few hours when you just want to relax in a climate controlled place.

is like arguing about eras in sports. Completely different games... Useless endeavor.

Of course the quality appears to have diminished. There are 700+ feature films released in the US per year these days, and that number was near 100 in 1980.

Of course actors appear to "act better" in 2019. Look at the technology we have and the resources available to actors.

In comment 14536972 RC in MD said:

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You shut your suckhole!

Aye aye, sir, corporal don't know.

your ticket, soda and popcorn would be less than $12 per person. That's a great deal, IMO. You also don't need to have anything, or can bring in some candy. Seeing people ordering hot dogs, nachos, etc at a theater makes me laugh, just eat better, and cheaper food before the show starts.

So complaining about concession prices is kinda pointless. It isn't mandatory, and you don't "need" it. My kid likes popcorn (which we split) and I bring in water bottle for her. Doesn't need to be anything more than that, IMO. I'm in/out for about $20 with her on a weekend morning.

In comment 14536236 jcn56 said:

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scratch that - I don't like it at all - save for a few of the classic movies, and they're far removed from that Disney. Having said that - is there any entertainment that's not ridiculously overpriced relative to a decade or two ago? Not sporting events. Not concert tickets. Movies are not cheap, but they're probably the closest thing to a "bargain" relative to past pricing. I don't know if their pricing has gone off the rails, or if they're just like everything else discretionary, priced high because people are willing to pay it.

Define overpriced. If something is priced to a level that no one is buying it, that's overpriced. If it's even priced to the point where there is distressed inventory, it's overpriced.

If a service/product/attraction is selling to full capacity (and doing so far in advance), it's not overpriced. If anything, it's underpriced, purely in terms of pricing.

Just because something isn't necessarily affordable for everyone doesn't make it overpriced, as long as the seller has identified enough customers who can afford it.

This (along with the examples you listed) is simply a function of demand far outpacing supply.

Even if Disney decided to use its theme parks as a loss leader and price their entry fee in such a way that it was accessible to every income level, the demand would surge to an extent that it wouldn't result in any additional people gaining access, just (potentially) different people. And it would remain out of reach of others because there just isn't enough supply to satisfy demand.

And if they then reacted to that by increasing supply (without any infrastructure changes), the customer experience would suffer. Or they could make capital improvements to help increase their supply level, but remember, we just slashed prices to help make the theme parks affordable. I guess we'll have to increase those prices back up to generate enough revenue to allow those improvements to be self-liquidating.

Pricing is a balance. A lot of people fall on the wrong side of that balance because a lot of what they want are luxury items that they probably can't really afford. It's no fun to be on the wrong side of the balance, but it doesn't mean those things are overpriced.

In comment 14536751 RC in MD said:

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yawn...

Not at all. If you're a kid, cartoons are way better today. Non-network TV is way better.

I'll stick with what I said...movies, music, advertising have deteriorated.

In comment 14537153 Eric from BBI said:

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In comment 14536751 RC in MD said: Quote: yawn... Not at all. If you're a kid, cartoons are way better today. Non-network TV is way better. I'll stick with what I said...movies, music, advertising have deteriorated.

Advertising hasn't deteriorated that much - look at how many people complain about wanting things they feel like they can't afford!

You want to get angry at someone about popcorn and soda costing so much, blame the studios who charge such enormous fees for screening movies that gouging viewers at the concession stands is the only way the theater can generate a profit.

since time immemorial. If the first instrument was a dude banging two rocks together and the next generation came up with banging sticks on rocks the guy banging rocks together would bitch about how music sucks now.

In comment 14537367 Zeke's Alibi said:

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since time immemorial. If the first instrument was a dude banging two rocks together and the next generation came up with banging sticks on rocks the guy banging rocks together would bitch about how music sucks now.

No, there is actual measurable proof. I doubt you will really take the 12 minutes to actually watch this, but if you do, you will see what I'm talking about.
The Death of Melody - ( New Window )

they'd never do this but I wonder if it would make sense to build a second Magic Kingdom Park right next to the original. Make it identical to the first one in every way....just as a way to bring more visitors in and alleviate some of the insane crowds they get.

In comment 14537548 Eric from BBI said:

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In comment 14537367 Zeke's Alibi said: Quote: since time immemorial. If the first instrument was a dude banging two rocks together and the next generation came up with banging sticks on rocks the guy banging rocks together would bitch about how music sucks now. No, there is actual measurable proof. I doubt you will really take the 12 minutes to actually watch this, but if you do, you will see what I'm talking about. The Death of Melody - ( New Window )

He referenced songs that were hitting the top of the charts. Chart toppers are practically inconsequential now due to the dearth of options available. It isn't 1985 where the number 1 on the charts was universally known by every single person in the country (recent exception Old Town Road). Everyone my age or younger uses Spotify. I wouldn't be surprised that the death of melody comes at a time when pop music is just used as background music at bars and clubs. Something easy to digest, you can sing along with, and hypnotic. I don't really listen to modern rap, but that is an art form that doesn't rely on melody at all. If melody is what you are searching for there is a ton of it out there.

there is so much innovative music out there, which is incredible to think about considering there's only so many sounds/patterns/melodies that can exist. New styles of music are continually made each decade, but yeah, lets chalk everything up to Cardi B.

I actually clicked your link and shockingly (not really) most of what's in there is comparing today's pop music with yesterdays top musicians like Led Zeppelin. You are once again confusing what's popular with what's actually out there, and not only that, but you aren't even discussing the utter trash music that has existed in any era.

I don't care for pop music, but there's other genres out there that are great, that didn't exist even a decade ago, let along 30/40 years ago. Does that not count for anything? Why is pop music the benchmark of your argument? It wouldn't have anything to do with you broadstroke "hollywood" argument, would it?

I thought it was pretty interesting. But Uconn is right, that guy is picking a few #1 hits to make his point. I think most of the stuff on the radio is crap....but there is a TON of great music out there if you look for it.

Here's a song with some melody by a local Brooklyn band....take 4 minutes to listen to it and tell me that melody is still dead in today's music (the video is a bit odd though).
Sonsick by San Fermin - ( New Window )

and I was working closely with the parks and resorts. They are often sold out and yeah it is a supply and demand thing.

They are always testing their price elasticity and any dips in attendance or usually due to factors other than price. Weather, alligators, etc

Disney gets about 65 million visitors per year. They are not all upper class. It is a destination that people choose to save $$ for.

And movies do indeed mostly suck now. It's mostly (awful) remakes of movies from the 80's and 90's, or super-hero movies.

Wow. How creative! There's a tiny bit of decent stuff out there. But by and large, woof. Hollywood certainly is not in it's most creative, inventive, or even just good quality time period for these last however many years it's been now. It can rebound when someone comes up with something original that's good, but man, it's been awhile since that's happened. Hoping that happens sooner than later. I love going to the movies, and there's barely a reason to go these days. And I'm not even one of those people that have a big problem with movie ticket prices or anything like that.

that is loyal to a fault; it should really be classified as a mental disorder. Unfortunately, I know more than a few people that fit into this class, some of them being family members. Essentially, Disney can do no wrong in their eyes. These people hold the company to absolutely no standard. It's this mentality that really hurts all of us.

I will say, this is the one area where competition doesn't benefit the consumer. In Orlando...Disney, Universal and Sea World are all horrifically expensive. Universal alone wanted $750 just to take my family of 4 for the day and that didn't include their line skipping option.

In comment 14537689 Knineteen said:

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that is loyal to a fault; it should really be classified as a mental disorder. Unfortunately, I know more than a few people that fit into this class, some of them being family members. Essentially, Disney can do no wrong in their eyes. These people hold the company to absolutely no standard. It's this mentality that really hurts all of us. I will say, this is the one area where competition doesn't benefit the consumer. In Orlando...Disney, Universal and Sea World are all horrifically expensive. Universal alone wanted $750 just to take my family of 4 for the day and that didn't include their line skipping option.

Is it any more an issue than people who live and die with their favorite sports team(s)?
And yes it is a way of life for some(a lot) of people and I mean a way of life - I know a few.

As far as I am concerned, the fast pass thing should go away.

I find spending thousands on season tickets to sports teams to be a waste, but I can atleast admit that's my opinion and realize going to these events mean more to others than it does/would to me. Adults spending $200 on authentic jerseys I'll never understand either.