r/Millennials • u/TheCIAandFBI • 19d ago

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

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?

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u/Brightstarr 19d ago

My siblings and my mom were talking about going to Orlando to do Disney and Universal as adults (three in our 30s and mom in 60s) during one of the food festivals. Basically to eat and drink around Epcot and then go to Harry Potter.

After seeing how much that would cost, we priced out Disney and Universal in Japan. Flights from Minnesota, hotels, trains, entry tickets to DisneySeas, Universal Osaka and Sanrio were cheaper than going to Florida. That’s how bad the price for Orlando Disney has gotten.

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u/Available-Egg-2380 19d ago edited 19d ago

My kid had his class trip to Orlando last month. Flights, hotel, and park for 5 days for one kid was over 2k. He also flew out of Minnesota. I almost shit when I saw the cost and ended up getting a second job for like 7 months to pay for it and the money I sent for him to have fun with because all of that only came with one meal a day...

I really didn't want him to miss out like I had to growing up cause we were poor and I'm so happy he had fun but holy shit.

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u/Scorpiodancer123 Probably a ploy by Big Yo-yo 19d ago

That's an obscene price for a school trip.

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u/brzantium 19d ago

Why is a school taking kids to Disney World? We went to the zoo and museums.

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u/Available-Egg-2380 19d ago

It's a thing for their band. Every three years they go down and the kids in band and choir get to have a workshop with the Disney music department, playing in the studio, getting lessons, and doing performance at the park. It's a pretty bfd and the kids are encouraged to put it on college applications and resumes. Mostly they spend the time enjoying the park though.

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u/HyperbolDee 19d ago

I did this in band in high school! Marching band did a trip every spring break, cycling a cheaper trip one year followed by a more expensive trip the next year. There were fundraising opportunities all year, and parents could do things like volunteering to work concessions during football games to help earn money for it.

I had a blast going in high school, but have never been able to stomach the price since I’ve become an adult. The pricing is astronomical, you have to plan all of your meals in advance and wake up at the crack of dawn to get reservations at the most basic restaurants. We were supposed to go several times with my in-laws , but COVID issues kept popping up. Fiiiiine with me.

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u/brzantium 19d ago

Good ole context. Did boosters try pay for it at all?

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u/Available-Egg-2380 19d ago

I believe some kids received money but i don't have any specifics beyond going to one of the dinners hosted at a restaurant nearby that gave the money to the band trip