First things first, a trip to Walt Disney World is not cheap. There are ways to mitigate the cost, but Disney World is just plain expensive compared to other similar theme parks or hotels.
So, whenever someone says that they have a way to do “Disney World on the cheap,” it’s just not going to be “cheap.” It can be slightly less expensive than someone else’s trip, but no matter what you do or what you try, it’s going to be costly.
This brings us to the Walt Street Journal, which sent a reporter to Disney World to find out if going to the parks was still fun on a budget. The reporter spent one day at Magic Kingdom without using any Lightning Lane passes.
The reporter went to Magic Kingdom the week before Easter and found that the crowds were a little overwhelming and quickly realized what most Disney fans already knew: without a plan, you won’t get to do much.
He purchased a two-day ticket for $365, but he arrived 15 minutes after the park opened to find that all the best rides already had long lines. Had he paid more to stay on the property, he would have been able to enter the park 30 minutes before the general public.
He was forced to wait in lines without any Lightning Lane passes. Throughout a 15-hour day, the Journal’s reporter got on 10 different rides and attractions but missed out on several big rides and had to wait over an hour for both Space Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight after the two rides reopened after breaking down.
All in, with lunch and a snack, he paid $210 for the day. He stayed until closing but did not buy dinner in the parks. So, was it worth it?
That’s hard to say. In 15 hours at the park, he spent nearly 10 of those hours waiting in lines or for parades and fireworks shows.
Having said that, most people who go to Disney World don’t go alone. For a family of four, that cost rises to over $800 for the day. And every parent knows you can’t get away with a trip to Disney without buying something for the kids.
The article’s overriding question is, “Is Disney World on the cheap still any fun?” However, the reporter never answered the questions directly.
So, it’s still up to each family to decide if it’s worth spending that much on a day at Magic Kingdom.
Do you think it’s still fun to do Disney World on the cheap? Let us know in the comments.
The post The Wall Street Journal Tried Disney World on the ‘Cheap,’ and It Went Exactly as You Would Expect appeared first on Inside the Magic.
