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Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disney's Hollywood Studios)

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^ this. Disney is not affordable to the middle class. But neither are most suburban homes or full size SUVs, trucks, etc. The mortgage bust that happened a few years ago didn't happen because people were smart about their finances. Disney's growth in attendance and prices are another example of this. Eventually that bubble will pop too.
 
I'm fine with this for a fun practice saber, not a display one.

What could you possibly be "practicing" for? :lmao:

Our "gift shop" limit for our child hovers around the $30-$40 range.

Mine is $0. I have no desire to pay for something overpriced that is likely on impulse. My kids don't even ask for anything because they've never gotten a "yes".

^ this. Disney is not affordable to the middle class. But neither are most suburban homes or full size SUVs, trucks, etc. The mortgage bust that happened a few years ago didn't happen because people were smart about their finances. Disney's growth in attendance and prices are another example of this. Eventually that bubble will pop too.

My wife and I joke around when we see people buying useless crap at Disney (bubble wands, light toys, etc) and always say "The people who shouldn't buy things always seem to be the ones who do".
 
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What could you possibly be "practicing" for? :lmao:



Mine is $0. I have no desire to pay for something overpriced that is likely on impulse. My kids don't even ask for anything because they've never gotten a "yes".



My wife and I joke around when we see people buying useless crap at Disney (bubble wands, light toys, etc) and always say "The people who shouldn't buy things always seem to be the ones who do".
All I buy are mugs....lots of mugs....
 
What could you possibly be "practicing" for? :lmao:



Mine is $0. I have no desire to pay for something overpriced that is likely on impulse. My kids don't even ask for anything because they've never gotten a "yes".



My wife and I joke around when we see people buying useless crap at Disney (bubble wands, light toys, etc) and always say "The people who shouldn't buy things always seem to be the ones who do".

Well $30-$40 is usually the "grand total" we allow per day. my daughter loves shopping almost as much as the rides. So we try to buy small things here and there. I would never spend $100+ though.
 
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As a proud member of the middle class, I find Disney is not an affordable vacation at all. The constant rise of ticket prices doesn't help their cause much either. Disney drives pricing, they know people will pay it, even if they can't afford it.
I mean, maybe it’s geographically influenced because I make an average wage in Phoenix and can afford a Disney trip every year. Granted, my fiance and I don't have kids but we do go all out with staying at deluxe resorts and all of the other extras. Is there any hard data that says people are unable to afford their vacations?

^ this. Disney is not affordable to the middle class. But neither are most suburban homes or full size SUVs, trucks, etc. The mortgage bust that happened a few years ago didn't happen because people were smart about their finances. Disney's growth in attendance and prices are another example of this. Eventually that bubble will pop too.
The housing market crashed because they could afford the low introductory APR, once the normal rate was established it was too much for them to pay. Everyone bought up the houses, raising the prices due to low supply and then when people couldn't afford those houses everyone attempted to sell them/ got foreclosed creating mass supply with houses that no one could afford (it's much more complicated but that's a super simple version.) Disney most likely won't experience a dramatic pop because the perceived value of the product is intangible. Will there be a market correction? Yeah, but it won't be due to Disney but more likely an external force like another recession.
What could you possibly be "practicing" for? :lmao:
My brother and I were both in fencing throughout high school, so we like to still practice. Lightsaber fencing is a thing and it's actually a ton of fun.
 
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The housing market crashed because they could afford the low introductory APR, once the normal rate was established it was too much for them to pay. Everyone bought up the houses, raising the prices due to low supply and then when people couldn't afford those houses everyone attempted to sell them/ got foreclosed creating mass supply with houses that no one could afford (it's much more complicated but that's a super simple version.) Disney most likely won't experience a dramatic pop because the perceived value of the product is intangible. Will there be a market correction? Yeah, but it won't be due to Disney but more likely an external force like another recession.

I'm not talking about the price of houses collapsing. I'm talking about the mortgage bust, all the foreclosures, bank bailouts and all that. A lot of people had 30 year fixed mortgages they couldn't afford but were getting financed for. They couldn't afford them from day one. The housing market collapse was a result of that. But really, I was just saying that people are taking Disney vacations they can't afford. Eventually, Disney will price those people out completely. At that point, there will be a market correction.
 
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Yes this will be an interesting one for sure. People complained at wand prices so lets see how far this will go. The wands really do change your experience though, after years i finally purchased for me and sister and i can say its worth the $55. I dont know if the lightsabers will have a big enough return on them.
 
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I mean, maybe it’s geographically influenced because I make an average wage in Phoenix and can afford a Disney trip every year. Granted, my fiance and I don't have kids but we do go all out with staying at deluxe resorts and all of the other extras. Is there any hard data that says people are unable to afford their vacations?

My partner and I did a trip to Italy/London and Mexico in the same year... and I have student loans and live in one of the more expensive cities in Canada... but we did it, and I still made all my payments on time and have no debt related to the trips... so I’m with you. Anything’s affordable if you work for it.
 
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Aaaaaaand this is why Central Florida desperately needs SWE, contrary to what the Church of PETA says.

My position on the housing market bubble is pretty well-stated, so I won't get in to it. But yes, I'm amazed at how many overpriced souvenirs people are willing to buy.
 
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Star Wars isn't my thing but under $200 wouldn't be that bad for an officially licensed in park product if the lightsabers look real. There are many fans willing to spend this much or even more.

For the price of tickets it's just what people are willing to pay. They keep raising it and people keep going.

What could you possibly be "practicing" for? :lmao:

 
Yeah not having kids is a big factor in affordability. Figure it's pretty normal to pull kids out of school to go to disney because the seasonal pricing between tickets, promos, flights, and hotel can be a thousand dollar difference for a family easily between seasons. Hell the average muddle class family from the northeast has probably driven all the way down to save money in the past even when prices were cheaper and the people I knew who did that tended to be upper middle class. We can measure prices outweighing inflation to know that the middle class is getting priced out.

What people are doing is cutting back elsewhere or just making poor decisions financially to pay for Disney these days, but that doesn't make it by definition actually affordable for the middle class. Even though Disney is better in quality than most places when their pricing is so far out of touch with much of the rest of the industry they become hard to justify a trip for families.

These days I would consider places like Sea World, Dollywood, or cedar point as actually priced for the middle class. But anyway this probably should be part of it's own discussion.

Harry Potter wands can be sold on eBay for almost what you paid for them. If one is real thrifty they could consider doing the same for a lightsaber to just play with them in the park but I think the wands being more interactive it would make more sense for them.
 
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$60 for a Potter Wand feels expensive but "acceptable" to me.
$150 for a lightsaber...not as much.

Sorry you can go back to Coke products that look like Thermal Detonators.

Also...I don't believe the 30 people max capacity for a second. What's the capacity of Trader Sam's? I doubt it's smaller than that.