“The happiest place on Earth”? Not according to one viral TikToking father in Florida.
Craig Stowell took to TikTok recently to share a video chronicling the exorbitant cost of a family trip to Disney World in Orlando.
Stowell, his wife, and three children went to Disney World, and the tab totaled out to approximately $1,400… for a single day.
The video caught on like wildfire across all social media, not just TikTok, with many outraged comments directed at the alleged greed of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
Stowell reposted his original TikTok video on Sunday, perhaps in a nod to his newfound viral fame.
You can watch the eye-popping numbers add up for yourself below:
@flyingwheelsFlorida Dad is shocked at the cost of 1 day at Disney for a family of 5♬ original sound – Flying Wheels
It didn’t take long for the price to start piling up for Stowell. Five tickets, including for one child under 10, kicked things off for the TikToking father, coming in at a cool $974.
Have you ever been to Disney World?
Stowell also commented on what he didn’t buy, including “Lightning Lane” passes for shorter ride lines, which would’ve cost $35 a head, or another $175.
Instead, after one ride, the family needed a snack pit stop.
The items? Two waters and three ice cream bars. The cost? $29.50.
Lunch was roughly $44, dinner in Downtown Disney was over $245, and that’s to say nothing of the countless drinks, snacks, and other knick-knacks that were purchased (and many that weren’t).
Stowell’s original video went viral enough that he was actually interviewed by “Fox & Friends” about it:
“I kind of had a feeling it would go viral,” Stowell told Fox. “It’s very relatable, it’s family-friendly, and Disney’s always a hot topic, and we’re all trying to pinch pennies.”
“I kind of had an idea that people would be able to relate to it,” he added.
Stowell described filming the video as his “therapy” during the draining day.
Fox, noting that this video had been seen over 8 million times, asked more about Stowell’s experience, and it wasn’t what you’d expect to hear about a place built on such cheeriness.
One biting critique was that Disney was built to keep you locked in and constantly spending money — not unlike a modern Las Vegas casino.
“They want you to never leave the park,” Stowell said. “They want you there for five days and they want you to drop 10 grand. So I think that one-day trip, I’m actually being punished for it.”
Apart from these resurfacing pricing concerns, Disney has been under scrutiny for some time now.
Ideological posturing has soured the company to many, with the parks facing a good brunt of that backlash — typically in the form of dwindling crowds and rising prices.
That’s to say nothing of other park-related issues and broader woes affecting the company currently.
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