Disney is cutting prices for theme park packages after facing backlash for ‘insensitive’ comments from bosses in August.
In August, finance boss Hugh Johnston blamed blame poor Americans for Disney’s profits falling. He said they had cut back on visits due to a lack of money.
The new discount initiative – ‘Stay, Play and Save Up to $200 Per Night’ – is aimed at encouraging lower-income families to return to Disney World in Florida for their vacations.
The promotion offers up to $200 per night on hotel and park tickets when booked on or after October 2.
But fans have two main complaints – prices are still ’35 per cent too expensive’, and most of the cut price deals are sold out anyway.
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To unlock the offer guests must be staying for a minimum of three nights alongside a two-day theme park ticket package.
The discount will be available for most stays between February 26 and June 30, 2025.
In addition, a room-only offer has been announced for early 2025.
This is for those who only want to book a hotel but not visit the theme park – perhaps because they have tickets already or just want to soak up the atmosphere.
This room-only deal includes 20 percent off from January 1 to February 20, and 25 percent of from February 23 to April 30.
Popular hotels like Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will also offer 15 percent off for stays most nights from February 23 to April 30, 2025.
Some fans were not happy with the promotion, complaining that prices were still sky-high and many rooms appeared to already be booked.
‘Most of the Value Resorts were already booked in the first thee weeks of May 2025.
‘Either room availability under this promo was very restricted, or that many people already took advantage of the offer,’ one consumer commented on the Disney Tourist Blog.
‘While nice, it is still about 35 percent higher than the rates should actually be at this point in the world economy,’ another added.
Disney’s All-Star Resorts and Pop Century Resort is also offering 10 percent off stays in the same period.
Disney is also extending its special offers to Florida residents and Annual Passholders.
The discounts appear to be something of an olive branch to lower-income families who have felt left behind by escalating costs at Disney’s parks.
‘The economic landscape has changed, and families are feeling the pinch,’ theme park analyst Sarah Jenkins told Inside The Magic blog.
‘This move reflects Disney’s understanding that they need to be more inclusive and accessible, especially for lower-income guests who may have felt overlooked.’
It is the latest in a string of measures Disney has been forced to bring in following criticism of its prices.
In May, Disney World began to offer cheaper prices for a one-day park hopper ticket, which had reached a high of $254.
Customers complained that the parks have gone from ‘the happiest place on earth’ to a source of mounting costs and customer service frustrations.
‘I think Disney has lost our family for good,’ Lindsey Robertson, a mother of two in Dallas, told Bloomberg.
Disney has brought in a fleet of measures following criticism of its prices
‘We’ve had back-to-back negative experiences with staff, the stand-by lines are out of control, and the cost has become insurmountable.’
The cost of a high-end trip to the Florida parks has now soared to around $40,000 for a family of four, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, the number of four or five star reviews on Yelp fell from almost 52 percent in 2019 to 33 percent in 2022.
In 2023, more than 40 percent of reviewers gave the theme parks just one or two stars.