Consider joining the Florida Farm Bureau. You do not have to be a farmer to join. One of their perks is that you can get Disney & Universal tickets at a discount, and by joining you help a good organization.

There is a whole group of people out there who wouldn't be able to come to these parks if they were free. People that are living in poverty can't afford the airfare, lodging and food costs. I would think that people living in poverty hopefully would have higher priorities than visiting Disney World.

I know that people that can't afford it really would like to go there as much as everyone else. There are a lot of things that I would like to do that I can't afford. I have zero chance of owning my own private jet or living in a ten million dollar mansion. I have zero chance of summering in the south of France. Here's a little bit of reality for you. Not everyone in the world can do everything that they want.

And where do you get that half of the people in the United States are living at or below the poverty line?

Disney's Overhead is HUGE!
 

I was a Vendor for Disney for about 15 years until I sold my business. I sold Disney dozens of Automobile Lifts to maintain their enormous fleet of vehicles. I did the preventative maintenance on the lifts also. If you could go behind the scenes and see the day to day operation as I had for years, You would be mind boggled. Disney, in my opinion is the most safety conscious Company that I have ever worked for in my 30 some years in this business. To run a first class operation as Disney, it costs big bucks and with costs on everything rising, so must the admission cost. Hopefully this will "Splain" why this is happening.:spoken:

warren - i saw no complaint in the post that you site. i saw a rational and well thought out response.

i was one of those kids who had no shot at going to disney world as a kid - felt bad about it - but that was life! matter of fact - there was a lot i did without when growing up. might be what made me apply myself, get good jobs, work hard at them and achieve all that i have today. it's a great lessson to learn.

what is wrong with some folks not having a chance to visit disney or any other theme park? i think dougb has a better idea for being concerned about something [and i'll throw in sandy storm/tornado/wildfire/earthquake victims to his list].

I have no idea what the real stats are as far as the "poverty" level in America. However, there has been a lot of jockeying and massaging of the goal posts for what now constitutes "poverty" in America, so there may be a possibility that "on paper" the poster might be right.

However, many people who are labeled as being in "poverty" in the USA live like kings compared to those in poverty in many other places in the world.

Amen to that.

According to Wikipedia:
16% is a far cry from half.

As I said..I did not know.

I hope that you didn't take my post as an attack on you or your post. You said that you didn't know and I provided the answer. My comment was aimed more toward the poster who claimed that we have a 50% poverty rate.

Ok, that factoid about poverty levels is resolved.

Back on topic to Disney/Universal prices....

Had taken my family (2 adults 2 kids) to Disneyworld At the time they announced the building of epcot.

Traveling by plane (Eastern) staying six nights seven days at the Contemporary cost us a total of $1,000 plus food odds and ends.

We met a woman on the tram when we first arrived who sudied how to work the park so that you were always first in line. she was astoundingly accurate

[QUOTE=bkcunningham1;685667]When Disney World first opened (and for many years thereafter), guests purchased a book of ride tickets (similar to what you would get at a carnival or fair). The book consisted of A through E tickets, with the E tickets being the best rides.

Eleven Adventure Ticket Book: Adult $5.75, Junior $5.25, Children $4.75
(included transportation, admission to MK and eleven adventures)
__________________

In 1972, I had my first job after college at the VA Hospital in Gainesville. Magnificent salary of $7,319 per year or equates to $3.51 per hour. I went to Disney World that year a couple of times with a couple of different girls. The $5.75 plus parking (and gas from Gainesville to Orlando and back) added up to quite a bit from that $3.51 per hour.

Compute those figures to a decent salary for a family now and it probably is in the same ratio ballpark.

Still, $99 for a single day of amusement park is a heck of a lot of money!!

Since I grew up in St. Petersburg back in the 1960's we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa all the time. Why not, it was Free. They actually had a factory tour of the bottling plant and all adult visitors were allowed 3 free draft beers.

In 1968 -1969 I was enrolled at St. Petersburg JC studying Hotel Restaurant Management. In the fall of '69 I came to class one day and there was all these people in the hallway wearing suits. Nobody wears a suit in Florida, so I asked what was going on? Disney World was interviewing for positions at the new theme park.


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[quote=buggyone;685933]Again, I have to question how many people are actually paying that full price. I really think that it's a matter of setting the prices high enough to allow for the multitude of discounts and freebies.

[quote=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;685979]one of the biggest freebies - free magic express bus from airport for those who fly and stay on property - no rental car expense and wdw has you captive! another - free dining plan when purchasing a pkg with room/tix. only offered on less popular visitation dates - and offer means reserving a budget resort - but you are on property!