Disney World Just Found A Way To Become Even More Expensive
Supply chain issues and bad citrus crops threaten to raise food prices at Disney.
Something's rotten in the state of Disney. Apparently, your trip to Disney World is poised to become more expensive due to supply chain issues, according to the Disney Food Blog (which is unaffiliated with the company).
There are a few different ways that the supply chain is causing headaches for Disney tourists. As DFB explains, the orange crops aren't doing so well in Florida this year. In fact, it's predicted to be the worst orange yield in 75 years, meaning orange juice at Disney World is going to get pricier. Since citrus fruit has a particular connection with the Disney parks, DFB warns that the prices on OJ will soon rise due to the orange shortage.
Why is the food at Disney World getting more expensive?
Increasing the price of orange juice and other menu items in the parks in order to keep up with costs is a plan that would make sense if Disney were a small business. But it's not, obviously. As of last year, the Walt Disney Company's assets amounted to over $200 billion. So, you know, they could probably do everyone a solid and cover the rising costs on their end, if they wanted to.
As someone whose daily routine includes visiting the Wall Street Journal homepage and immediately bashing her head with a rock, I am the first to admit that I don't know how bad the supply chain crisis is in the current moment, compared to when it overtook headlines the last few months of 2021 (and, before that, the summer of 2020). But however bad the situation might be, Disney, we beg you to be reasonable! Blaming your problems on supply chain issues is so last year. We're talking about inflation now, girlie. Why, for example, are the grapes at my local grocery store ten dollars right now? They weren't even good.
How the supply chain and inflation affect Disney prices
It turns out that inflation is a factor–or, at the very least, that's what Disney claims. The company is looking into alternatives to raising prices, such as making portion sizes smaller. In between wading through rivers of screaming children, standing in line for hours just to ride a nausea-inducing roller coaster, and figuring out how to fix the snagged zipper on the contraband Goofy costume stolen from an employee locker room, it's already exhausting enough spending a day at Disney World. (I've never been.) And now Mickey Mouse is Venmo requesting you for "supply chain lol"? The Disney adults out there deal with enough hardship as it is, presumably!
But an experience is an experience, and if you're planning on taking your family to Disney World, you're already expecting to shell out cash. If you have fun and it all feels worth it for the memories, then hey, I guess it works out in the end?