Adam Maguire

And, you know, there's a natural limit to the number of people who will splash out on a once in a lifetime trip, for example.

So probably not wise to, you know, become too reliant on that market.

There was also a piece in The New Yorker recently about the growing problem of Disney adults getting deeper and deeper into debt in order to fund these kind of regular trips to Disneyland, which is obviously equally unsustainable.

And that's not to mention the kind of very real risk of them eroding fans' goodwill, which Disney really, really relies on more than a lot of other brands.

Because if people feel like they're being shaken down, they're going to be less inclined to come back, you know, because they just can't afford it.

Worst case of all for Disney, they'll start to feel like the brand as a whole isn't for them.

And, you know, in fairness, there does seem to be some level of recognition of this brewing problem within Disney.

You know, a Wall Street Journal article last year claimed there were internal discussions at senior levels in Disney that they were starting to lose the kind of middle class consumer.

And that's despite Bob Iger taking some steps to undo price rises after he returned to CEO in 2022.

Back in 23, he said he was alarmed at how much prices had risen under his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek.

That was the man he handpicked for the role, by the way.

And when he was asked by investors last year about Wall Street Journal, that article and the higher prices, Iger said he does think a lot about cost and value.

He said the companies hadn't raised the price of their lowest price tickets since before COVID and they were available on more days of the year as well.

They're still very limited, though.

They're the ones that basically, you know, if you have kids, you'd have to take them out of school in the middle of winter to be able to go along to it.

So not really attractive or suitable for families.

But Iger did also signal that he didn't see price as a big issue because he said, you know, they represent good value for money.

They're always busy.

Consumers give them good satisfaction scores.

So he feels the public still think they're getting a good deal going to Disneyland.