Watching The Walt Disney Company has been especially intriguing over the last few years. Disney has certainly faced its fair share of challenges, ranging from political battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as well as internal issues such as the firing controversial CEO. This former CEO was the catalyst for a lot of the problems Disney is currently facing, or that’s at least what a large portion of Disney fans think.
We’re, of course, talking about Bob Chapek, who will go down as one of if not the most controversial figures in the history of The Walt Disney Company. To a lot of fans, Chapek ushered in the age of Disney becoming incredibly costly, with him leading new initiatives such as Disney Genie+.
There’s no denying that a trip to Disneyland or Walt Disney World is incredibly expensive, with prices continuing to rise year after year. Since 2020, we’ve seen the price of Park tickets increase significantly, along with the cost of food, Annual Passes, and countless events. Disney is a premium product, meaning Guests will be paying premium prices, but has Disney gone too far?
Disney also introduced a brand new experience from its Adventures By Disney vacation line. This new “expedition” takes Guests to every Disney Park and Resort across the world, and you won’t believe the price.
This trip will run you a whopping $110,000 and lasts a total of 24 days, meaning Guests wealthy enough to afford such a vacation will be spending roughly $4,500 a day. Surprisingly, this experience sold out instantly. While a lot of Guests have voiced their very valid concerns about Disney becoming too pricy, maybe Disney is correct in shifting its focus from average families to those more “fortunate.”
In a maybe-not-so-surprising move, Disney is now honoring those that have spent a large chunk of money on their products, specifically on Disney’s Cruise Line.
Disney recently announced that it would be honoring those who have sailed more than 50 times on its ever-expanding cruise line, with Guests who qualify being immortalized on display at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. This new display will be located near the island post office and will feature quite an assortment of bright colors to really catch Guest’s attention.
This was recently revealed in a new post from Disney, as shared by Scott Gustin:
NEW: Disney Cruise Line is adding a new a commemorative display at Disney Castaway Cay this fall to recognize guests who have sailed more than 50 times on DCL. The display will be near the island post office with a colorful fence that features the names of these families.
NEW: Disney Cruise Line is adding a new a commemorative display at Disney Castaway Cay this fall to recognize guests who have sailed more than 50 times on DCL. The display will be near the island post office with a colorful fence that features the names of these families. pic.twitter.com/XGhXbPBYel
While we’re all for Disney expressing how much they value their loyal customers, it’s a bold move to essentially highlight those who have spent more money in such a permanent and public way. We’ve seen Disney do similar things before at its theme parks, honoring the names of thousands of different people outside of Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.
Plenty of reactions flooded in after this announcement, with Guests and fans alike sharing similar sentiments.
“Thank you for sailing with us and spending an ungodly amount of money, we’ll put you’re name on a stick now so you can point out to your friends at what level rich you’re at,” said one user.
“It’s not even comparable to the “buy a brick” model or for large charitable donations. I do not understand this at all,” said another, “It’s a PR nightmare for everyone who isn’t super wealthy and has loads of time off though. There’s a way to recognize your loyal Guests without rubbing their privilege in the face of everyone else.”
Credit: Disney
However, this feels slightly different, especially when you add up the cost of 50 Disney Cruise Line voyages. One of the cheapest options still runs Guests about $1,500 for a three-night Baja cruise. Assuming Guests do not purchase any gifts, drinks, or souvenirs or book any excursions, this would mean the minimum amount of money you need to spend to qualify for this exclusive club sits around $75,000 per person.
This number becomes a lot more unfathomable when considering that the Disney Cruise Line was founded in 1998, meaning Guests only had 25 years to spend this amount of money sailing with Disney. This means, on average, Guests who go on the shortest and cheapest sailing possible would have had to spend at least $3,000 per year to make it into this exclusive club.
By no means are we discouraging Guests from using their money as they please; we are just highlighting the fact that Disney is so openly showing off those who have spent a significant chunk of change on the company in such a short amount of time.
Disney’s Cruise Line now consists of five different ships, the Disney Dream, Disney Magic, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wonder, and Disney Wish, and will soon be joined by the Disney Treasure.
Have you ever been on a Disney cruise? How many times have you sailed with Disney?
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