Walt Disney Company So “Attacked” By Pricing Complaints They Issued a Press Release

Disney just can’t stand it that people are tired of being fleeced by their company. So much so that they have now issued a press release to “counter” the recent articles and videos about their overpriced vacations.

In the release they try very hard to justify and deflect the real concerns their customers have.

Here is some of the press release,

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land,” Walt Disney said when he dedicated Disney’s first theme park in 1955. It’s been the company’s motto ever since, and the reason why Disney has remained the leader in family travel for seven decades and counting.

“The number-one thing we hear from the millions of guests who visit our parks each year is how much a Disney vacation means to them, and we intentionally offer a wide variety of ticket, hotel, and dining options to welcome as many families as possible, whatever their budget,” Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, said. “We also know that, in inflationary times, it’s especially important to give families ways to save on their visits. We haven’t increased the lowest-priced ticket to Disneyland since 2019, and we recently introduced a kids’ ticket for as little as $50, just to name a couple of examples.”

Disney is trying to argue that it offers value options. However, its “value” hotels are higher priced than better offerings off-site.

Then they argue they haven’t increased their lowest-priced ticket to Disneyland since 2019. But what they aren’t mentioning is that the prices of tickets have increased at incredibly high rates. While they may not have increased the cost of their lowest price ticket, the number of days with lower prices is significantly lower than it was in 2019. The ticket prices creep up, and the availability of those lowest-priced tickets becomes more and more limited.

They continue,

“Ever since opening day at Disneyland nearly 70 years ago, generations of families have been making memories with Disney that last a lifetime. And through the decades, Disney has always created new ways for guests to save on their vacations.

“We know our parks create life-long memories for families and we’ve worked hard to make a Disney vacation accessible to guests of all income levels,” Hugh Johnston, Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company, said. “With strong guest satisfaction scores and intent-to-visit ratings, our parks remain the most popular offering in the industry.”

We understand the financial pressures that families face across every part of their spending, including how they travel. We listen to our guests and use that feedback to introduce new offers and promotional deals, which provide significant savings. Here are just a few that are available right now.”

They are fixated on Disneyland, first of all.

Secondly, they are trying to argue that they provide ways to save on Disney vacations, which is missing the point entirely. The Walt Disney Company has made up charging the norm. Paying the normal price isn’t a “value,” but Disney wants people to pay the normal price for tickets and then even more to actually be able to use the tickets to ride their attractions.

The deals they speak of are hotel discounts or free dining offerings that can usually only be taken advantage of if you book packages that give them more money to start with.

Disney doesn’t address the “Less for More” perception guests now have. Nor do they address one of the main complaints with guests– the Light Lane add-ons. Lighting Lane can cost guests hundreds more during their visit because Disney has managed to make riding without it as difficult as possible. Most people are not going to be happy to go to a theme park, pay Disney ticket prices, and then sit on a bench and spend more money on food. They expect to have access to attractions with lines that move for everyone, not only those who pay extra for help.

Disney pushes their “deals.” But, what are these “deals?”

Resident discounts!
Florida residents can buy $60 tickets or a three-day pass for $225, and California residents can buy $67 tickets or a three-day pass for $199.

Well, first of all, you have to be a Florida or California resident to get the deal. Most Disney Park guests are not residents of these states. If you do get these cheaper tickets, you also have to have theme park reservations to use them, so days that are expected to be busy and profitable will be harder to access for those with cheaper tickets.

This is further proof that you must spend more to get these “deals.”

“From January 2 to February 10, 2025, you can get a free dining plan with the purchase of a non-discounted three-night, three-day Walt Disney Company Travel package that includes a room at a select Disney Resort hotel and a Park Hopper ticket.

Available for most arrivals from May 27 through June 26 and July 7 through August 6.
Not to mention, there are a variety of resort hotel offers available right now including saving up to $200 a night from late February to June, or up to 25% on select rooms. All hotel offers can be found here.”

You must purchase a non-discounted package and pay for the upcharge Park Hopper add-on to receive free dining.

Regular resort stays may net you a small discount, capping out at $200 per night, but tickets are full-priced and will likely be higher during these times. You also have to stay for a minimum amount of days to qualify for the purchase. The longer you stay, the more money Disney gets for ticket money, food money, and souvenirs.

 But even if these are discounts, does this make the trip a “deal” and worth spending thousands of dollars on?

The point of the “press release” is supposedly to refute the perception that many customers and potential customers have regarding the costs. Instead, the press release is used as an advertisement for current entertainment events going on at the parks.

Disney presents “data” but ignores the issues.

When the Wall Street Journal presented its data and survey, Disney complained that it was “misleading,” and now they are presenting the data that they have that doesn’t even address the issue at all. It’s just more spin and “feel good” crap that deflects from the issues people are actually complaining about.

“In fact, a recent survey of 3,531 U.S. adults by Morning Consult, commissioned by the Walt Disney Company, revealed that a strong majority of families with children under five:

Said nothing compares to a Disney vacation…
Said that a visit to a Disney park gives memories that last a lifetime and can’t be replaced…
…And those that had visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World felt the vacation was worth the expense
Thanks to these promotional perks and offers, there’s never been a better time to plan a visit to a Disney resort.”

This is one of the most gas-lit press releases I’ve seen. It does not address the concerns and instead tries to deflect with feelings and distorted points of view.

Attendance is demonstrably down at the United States Disney theme parks. Even with the reduced, almost flat attendance, per-guest spending is up 4-5%. The company released those facts in its quarterly reports.

Fewer people are visiting the parks, but the ones who are there are paying more money.

Disney is so afraid of reality that it issued a press release to try to prevent the bad press.

Not a good look.

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