The happiest place on earth is far from the cheapest when looking for a family vacation, but a new report from Borrow Tree found that families are going anyway – and breaking their budgets.
The report surveyed over 2,000 Disney parkers and 24% cited that they had gone into some debt paying for the ride. This number rises to 45% for parents with children under the age of 18.
LendingTree noted that the average amount of debt incurred by parents with young children is $1,983 per household with concessions being the main source of overspending – 65% of respondents said that food and drinks inside the parks cost significantly more than it was planned.
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“Looking more broadly at the 75% of American theme park-goers who have been to Disney, 24% have gone into debt on at least one trip,” LendingTree wrote in the report. “That's up 33% from 18% in our 2022 survey. Of that 24%, 74% took out their debt in the last five years, with 29% doing so in the past year.”
According to Walt Disney World's the official websitea standard one-day park ticket for those ages 10 and older is currently $109.
The new report coincides with published data last week from FinanceBuzzwhich found that concession prices at Disney World have risen nearly 60% in 10 years, including fan favorite Dole Whip which has risen 58% in the past decade.
The Walt Disney Co. it was upstairs up 13% year over year as of Friday afternoon.