Is Disneyland no longer ”the happiest place on earth?”

SALT LAKE CITY – When was the last time you visited Disneyland, also known as “the happiest place on earth?”

What was once a popular travel destination for a lot of people is now in their travel plans no longer.

Why?

Disneyland prices have gone up to the point that families feel priced out.

Disneyland ticket prices

The price of a standard ticket to Disneyland ranges from $104 to $194. For a family of four, that’s nearly $800 just to get in. Don’t forget, that doesn’t include the hotel stay, the food, the drinks, and the souvenirs.

“Consumers are just getting tapped out,” economist Robert Spendlove said. “In fact, a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that credit card balances have now topped $1.1 trillion. So people have been financing more things.”

Have we been addicted to travel instead of responsible with how we’re spending our money? Spendlove says reality is slowly starting to hit us.

“We’re just flowing back down to normal, but it feels like we’re slamming on the breaks,” he said.

From a Wall Street perspective, Disney’s theme-park operating income stocks fell in the third-quarter. The Wall Street Journal says that decline was because of increased costs and softer consumer demand. 

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Related: Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: Disney debt