A Florida father-of-three was utterly disgusted at the $1,400 he had to pay to take his family of four on a ‘bargain’ day out to Walt Disney World.
Craig Stowell took his three kids and his wife to the self-proclaimed ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ in Orlando while family was in town visiting them, but he quickly found out just how deep the one-day trip was going to hit his pocket.
‘It started with the ticket purchase, and then it ran right into the parking, and then it just was like a cash cow for the rest of the day,’ the small business owner told Fox and Friends.
By the end of the day, the father spent $1,394.91 on the outing, with the excruciating outlay documented by Stowell on his Instagram.
He deliberately shunned pricey extras that can get people on the most popular rides more quickly, to try and get an accurate reflection of how much the cheapest day possible at Disney would cost.
Stowell broke down the cost in a social media video, saying it cost him $30 to park, $974 for tickets – including the Florida resident discount – $145.64 on snacks and drinks, and an expensive $245.27 dinner.
They opted out of the $35-per-person Lightning Pass, as it would have only allowed them to skip the line for three rides.
The father-of-three ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the extra money.
‘Trying to put a price tag versus value, what’s it worth?’ he asked Fox and Friends. ‘The lines were so long, so we’re already a thousand [dollars] deep into the park. Now we’re going to drop another $400 to get Lightning Passes.
Craig Stowell took his three kids and his wife to Walt Disney World while family was in town visiting them, but he quickly found out just how deep the one-day trip was going to hit his pocket. By the end of the day, the father spent $1,394.91 on the fun outing
He broke down the cost in a social media video, saying it cost him $30 to park, $974 for tickets – including the Florida resident discount – $145.64 on snacks and drinks, and an expensive $245.27 dinner
‘I don’t want to say it this way, but if you do the average of cost per ride, it probably isn’t really worth it.’
The passes used to be free five years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Passes to get into the amusement park can cost over $200, depending on what day and season you visit.
Disney rose prices in 2024 for the 2025 season and again for the 2026 season, Fox reported.
Stowell believes the prices are not worth it for those coming for just a day.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t think those day-trippers are what Disney wants,’ he told Fox and Friends.
‘They want you to never leave the park. 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.’
Since late 2023, return visitors have dropped and the park’s growth has also declined, according to WSJ.
‘It started with the ticket purchase, and then it ran right into the parking, and then it just was like a cash cow for the rest of the day,’ the small business owner said
Prices have nearly doubled, with a family of four trip for four days costing $3,230 five years ago to $4,266 in 2024, the outlet found.
Disney was envisioned to be an affordable family playground, but over the decades the theme park has grown to be an expensive vacation.
Now, the vacation that was once a part of nearly every kid’s childhood has become unattainable, WSJ found.
Disney insists a visit to its parks are within the means of ordinary families.
But the firm’s own executives are said to be concerned at rising complaints over prices and believe they’re almost at the limit of what they can keep increasing prices by.
