David and I had so much fun breaking down and analyzing all of the details of "The Business of Disney". We have opinions, and whether they are correct or not, we enjoyed forming and discussing them. Here are some of our thoughts:
-Disney has done such an incredible job of marketing itself as a key component of "Childhood". Whenever we would tell people that we hadn't taken our kids to Disneyland they were consistently aghast at our negligence. I think most people think that a Disneyland trip is a requirement for an un-traumatized childhood. This is obviously not true, but I would be lying if I didn't feel some relief in checking off that box in the "childhood leading to well-adjusted adulthood" area. Like, "Yes, we homeschool and have chosen almost every path alternate to mainstream decisions - but we took our kids to Disneyland so they'll have that at least." (Note from David - I think the most surprising thing is more the expectation of people that you go multiple times to Disneyland as if that is also expected and the fact we had never gone was crazy).
-Disneyland is expensive but does a fantastic job of making you feel like they are doing you a favor for allowing you to spend your money on their stuff. I wanted to break down our budget a little more:
-We spent $1,704 on park tickets for our family of 6 for three days.
-We budgeted $300 for one meal at the park each day and $150 for snacks at the park, we didn't end up spending that much(only about $200) but we only ate a meal on Tuesday evening, and even that was mostly supplemental chicken strips and fries. However, it was a significant effort for David to talk me out of dropping $400 on a princess breakfast for me, Lydia, and Lucy or $500 for a character dining meal for our family. (Note from David - Surprisingly, I actually felt like the Disneyland food prices were very reasonable, I felt like the food we got was quality and was not so expensive compared even to Lagoon).
-I also talked myself out of booking Lucy a slot at the Bippity-Boppity Boutique where they give the little girl a makeover and she gets to pick a fancy princess dress. ($300 - I'm not sure that we shouldn't have done this after all!)
| Disney Actual | |
| 3 Day Disney | 1704 |
| Homewood | 878.6 |
| Parking | 140.4 |
| St George | 140.41 |
| Food at Park | 212.38 |
| Souveniers | 236.38 |
| Gas | 237.35 |
| Beach Hotel +pk | 154.11 |
| Photopass | 26.85 |
| Travel Food | 267.85 |
| Pre-Vacation | 200.36 |
| |
| Grand Total | 4198.69 |
| less F.Econ | 3962.31 |
Once you've been convinced to go to Disneyland and you finally arrive, they do a good job of following through on their end of the (very expensive deal).
They make Disneyland feel different than almost anywhere else you can go. There is a sense of magic when walking down Mainstreet, and the way they make each land different from each other makes the whole experience feel really cool. When you walk into Cars Land it feels like you walk into a whole different world, it's incredible. They have subtle background sounds/music for each land and when you're walking between lands the background music changes so subtly you don't even notice until you're fully immersed in the next land. I even read that they pipe in different scents for each land (which was particularly interesting because I just finished the book "Life in 5 Senses" and it was cool to identify how Disneyland implants itself to all five of your senses.) (Note from David - One of the things I most appreciated in Disneyland was the ride length. Most rides were much longer than a typical roller coaster and I do feel like that really added to the experience.)
Disneyland is not just the rides, but the experience. The environment. The character dinners. The food.
They create so much value in the food that people go to Disneyland just for the eating experience - and almost anyone who has gone to Disneyland has specific food items that they rave about (*churros*). Our favorite foods were: the Banoffee Pie, the Turkey leg that we pulled apart and put on rolls for sandwiches, the mac and cheese from the Cozy Cone, the raspberry macron, and our secret tip: the super-cheap breadsticks at the Jolly Holiday Bakery.
They keep Disneyland SO clean. We were consistently impressed at the cleanliness. There were cast members everywhere making sure it stayed very tidy. We never saw any garbage on the ground, and only once did I see someone sweeping up popcorn - but other than that I never saw any spilled food or anything. Day 2 in DCA, I watched a cast member emptying the never-overflowing garbage. She opened the metal bin, pulled out the garbage, replaced the liner, and proceeded to wipe down the entire interior and exterior with a cleaning cloth. I was impressed. When it rained our last day, they even had people whose job it was to sweep the water away so you didn't end up with deep puddles in the walkways.
Overall, we believe Disneyland's marketing team is the best that there is. They have succeeded in creating and marketing an experience that exudes nostalgia, happiness, and accomplishment. Is it over-commercialized? Yes. But inside the park it didn't feel that way. It felt immersive and that made it even more fun. We probably wont ever be the family that goes every year- but we do understand the societal love for Disneyland a whole lot more than we did before.
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