Adventures By Disney just announced a new "exclusive" trip that would take 75 guests in a private jet on a 24 day trip around the world. This would include stops in every one of the twelve Disney parks on the planet, as well as visits to the Taj Mahal, Pyramids of Giza and the Eiffel Tower. All this can be yours, starting at $109,995 per person (not a typo).
I saw this news yesterday and decided against writing a post on it, but I can't stop thinking about it. I know plenty of blogs and vlogs have already dunked on this, and cries about Disney only catering to rich clientele have been renewed. I get all that. But this is so outlandish that I had to put down some thoughts on it. Let's dig in.
First, for those unfamiliar with Adventures By Disney, essentially they are a Disney operated travel agency. They have itineraries all around the globe, led by Disney-trained "adventure guides". Plenty of companies have such things and this is Disney's attempt to gain some market share there. I've never done one of these tours so I can't speak to their quality. What I do know is that there has never been an offer quite like this one.
Let's start with some obvious stuff. I have to assume that the overwhelming majority of people reading this took one look at the price tag and realized, even if they wanted desperately to do this, that it's simply a non-starter. If there are those of you that can afford this kind of thing, congratulations (and can I "borrow" some money?). So it makes sense that people would see the cost and either ignore it or make memes on social media about it.
The question then becomes - if someone COULD afford to do this, would they even want to? I don't know that much about super rich people, but the Venn diagram of them and Disney fans probably isn't that large. If you were going to visit the Taj Mahal, you might have already done so by now, or you would have planned a trip yourself.
There is an appeal in this trip about being able to see all twelve Disney parks at once. This is something I understand! That's certainly on my bucket list, even if I'm likely to kick the proverbial bucket before seeing it through. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I suspect taking multiple trips overseas individually and seeing the parks - even if you do no other sightseeing - would come in at a much lower price than what's being offered here.
So what does that rest of that dough get you? A private jet ... with 74 of your closest friends. If you had this kind of money, perhaps you already have a private jet? If not, I'm sure this is similar to flying in luxury first class everywhere you go. How about visits to the above mentioned landmarks? Again, you might have already done these, or are able to do them as part of another trip at another time.
Who exactly is the target audience here? Who can afford to travel for 24 days straight (again, excluding the independently wealthy; if you're, say, a hedge fund manager, you probably can't be away from your clientele for that long)? Why are they staggering the release times, as if the people eligible to purchase this trip on June 20 are going to scoff up all 75 tickets? And the one that bugs me the most - you get 68 meals on this trip, 23 breakfast, 23 dinners but only 22 lunches. What day do they skip, and why??
Again, it's easy to poke fun here. I just find it so strange that this is being released, particularly given the climate of global inflation as well as a possible recession. I also have no doubt that all 75 of these seats will be filled and Disney will congratulate themselves on making it happen. Everyone has been talking about this for the last couple of days and any press is good press, right?
I keep asking myself if I would do this, assuming I had unlimited wealth (let's say I won the lottery). After buying a house in Golden Oak (my favorite fictional use of lots of millions), maybe I would. It seems like a fun trip where you get to visit these parks in a once in a lifetime kind of way. As I said earlier, this can be done for less money, but what's the fun in dreaming if you can't go a little crazy?
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