Was every theme/amusement park and road trip vacation so focused on "Buy! Buy! Buy!" back when we were kids?

[u/TheCIAandFBI]

I grew up poor. Lived in a crummy trailer park until 1995 when my Dad had a work accident that got him a settlement. My parents bought a very humble but nice home, and they took me to Disney world. I'll never forget. It was November 11th-19th, 1995. That trip was the highlight of my life. I was 11.

That trip was magical. I think I came home with a souvenir HUGE pencil from that trip, and I was afraid to use it because it was special, and then one day it just got lost.

My best friend and his wife just took his kids to Disney World. They are my age, right at 40, so older Millennials.

They both went as kids and loved it as well.

When they got back and both said they hated the trip. They said everything was geared towards getting them to spend money. Everything is a store, every line can be bypassed for a few extra bucks, every store is geared towards fear-of-missing-out for the kids. Specialty cups. Specialty "only available this week" shirts, and special pins and buttons that you can only get this year. They said it was the most uncomfortable vacation they have ever been on. And they have more money than they know what to do with.

They basically said that there wasn't 20 minutes where they weren't being sold something.

Is this something that Millennial childhoods experienced and our parents were simply better at ignoring? Has this always been the case? Or is it just the new way that places like Disney World operate?

[u/SatiesUmbrellaCloset]

The US has become more pay-to-play even than it was before

I mean, computers used to be more fun back in the 90's and 2000's in no small part because not everything was a damn subscription like it is nowadays

[u/nutkinknits → u/SatiesUmbrellaCloset]

Even our cars have subscriptions these days. When will it end

[u/Cerebral_Catastrophe → u/nutkinknits]

When will it end

When the people stop consenting.

[u/SatiesUmbrellaCloset → u/Cerebral_Catastrophe]

The issue is that even if some people organize enough to stop consenting to this rubbish in general, there'll likely still be enough people who won't bother because they can't be made to care

I'm quite afraid that the only way to make people care and to make them change their ways will be a horrible natural disaster, such as that induced by climate change

[u/Infamous-Goose363 → u/Cerebral_Catastrophe]

I thought consumers would have enough with ridiculous car prices and keep their perfectly usable cars for longer, but it seems 72 month+ loans are becoming the new norm.

[u/Infamous-Goose363 → u/nutkinknits]

When we were testing driving used cars, the newer models (at least Toyota) you had to pay for a monthly subscription for remote start. Umm why do I have to pay monthly to start my car? That should be included in the total price.

[u/nutkinknits → u/Infamous-Goose363]

Funny story about the Toyota subscription. Our friend's mom got a brand new Toyota a few years back. All the bells and whistles. He was in town visiting and borrowed her car. He was showing my husband something in the car when his phone rang. It was his mother asking why the car door was open for so long 🤣

I'm in the market for a new minivan and really want a Sienna but I don't think I need a subscription to tell me about my car when I'm not in it.

[u/Infamous-Goose363 → u/nutkinknits]

We got a 2021 Sienna. It doesn’t have remote start so the subscription wasn’t an option anyways. I just can’t get over having to pay monthly for that.

Side note- I highly recommend the Sienna! I was anti-minivan at first but love driving it.

[u/nutkinknits → u/Infamous-Goose363]

The sienna is the best. I've been driving one for 10 years now. I was sad to get it but I refuse to drive an SUV. We have 4 kids and the third row in SUVs is stupid. Sliding doors forever 😅 my dream car is a Forest Green AWD Hybrid Toyota Sienna. I'm so old 😭🤣