Can You Guess the Resort?
During the dead of winter everyone daydreams about basking in warmer weather, and many folks are fortunate enough to make their dreams a reality. If you’re considering possible destinations, you might come across one that has some eye-popping facts. Read them below and see if you can identify this entertainment mecca:
- Food: Basic burger/fry/drink combo is about $25/person. Sit down meals start at $35 and shoot up from there. Signature dining at the top restaurants is at least $200/adult. The Michelin-starred restaurant starts at $1,200 for two.
- Room: $900/night at one of the popular villages with the best room topping out at $3,000/night.
- Splurge: The resort boasts an “Around the World Private Jet Adventure” to visit and enjoy all of their properties for a starting price of $115,000.
- If you’d like to skip the crowds and have top priority to visit the resort attractions, you can obtain a priority pass that tops out at $449 per person per day.
- Oh, and by the way, it costs $119/day just to walk in the door.
Did you figure it out yet? The resort is none other than our beloved Disney World. Some might be surprised, remembering their childhood visit in the 70s when adult admission was $3.75 and a sit-down meal was around $3/person (that’s still only about $25/person in today’s dollars).
In today’s world, many businesses — including Disney – have decided that if you cater to the well-to-do, you can make much more profit even though you sell less units (or have fewer total visitors). Disney’s visitor numbers have decreased while profits have increased. Try taking a family of 4 to a Pistons game at LCA and you will see the same concept at work.
These companies are making a big bet that they can grow their profits while ignoring those with more limited resources. I hope they are wrong because to do big things — especially if you start out with very little — you must be a bit of a dreamer, and there are few places better at inspiring dreams than Disney World.
Fun Fact: I found out watching the weather reports last week that you can use the iconic breakfast restaurant chain Waffle House to track weather. In fact, they have a Storm Center that is so thorough it assists FEMA during hurricanes. The “Waffle House Index” has 3 levels: Green – which means the restaurant is serving a full menu; Yellow – which means a limited menu is being served because power is from a generator and the food supply is low; and Red – which means the restaurant is closed. Since Waffle Houses pride themselves on being open 24/7, Red means weather conditions are extreme in the area
