What Did a Walt Disney World Trip Cost in 1971?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Correction: I state towards the end of the video that the difference between a similar trip today and the adjust price of the 1971 trip is only around $250. The difference is actually around $600. A script error resulted in some accidental math there.

[@csking1973]

I recently found tickets from when when my Mother and Grandparents went to Disneyland in 1956. They drove from West Virginia to California. Tickets to the park for adults were $3, kids were $2, and included "10 fabulous rides of your choice."

[@Mikedemers1]

Loved the video! Just an FYI, in '71 most families would have been hitting Howard Johnson's on the road, not McDonalds. 😄 But great work!

[@Stephie2007]

Or if they were any family like my mom's side of the family (My Grandparents had this camper van since the 1970s so I can just imagine the many road trips my mom, Aunt and Uncle went on as kids) they would have probably stopped at a Hardee's and the trip to Florida from Arkansas doesn't take that long but they would have still probably stopped for the night anyway. Now my Dad's side of the family would have been a different scenerio given the fact that he grew up closer to Disneyland than WDW (But then again, around the time WDW had its grand opening, Disneyland was celebrating its 20th anniversary)

[@aestheticjesus2970]

Rob, your Disney videos are nothing short of phenomenal! You go so in depth and you talk about extremely interesting things! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Thanks! I'll try!

[@theseanwardshow]

Your research and level of detail are bonkers! Me and my wife save your videos to watch on Saturday mornings.

[@rvmorgan47]

in 1972 I spent more for food than I did for tickets and hotel. we had the Disney club and got a deal for hotel and tickets.

[@RandomKidwhodoesstuf]

Oh my god that's awesome

[@davidlitzelman9884]

Me and 3 of my buddies skipped school on a cold rainy day in November 1972. We lived in Jacksonville. We broke our piggy banks counted our pennies and had about $40.00 total. We took my old 1963 station wagon and drove to Orlando. Spent the whole day at Disney, had a blast! We nearly had the whole park to ourselves, no lines, no crowds. Had a really fun day and drove back to Jacksonville, with a couple of dollars left over. What fun times! I will never forget that day. We didn't get into too much trouble ditching school.

[@deathwizard1996]

That’s pretty cool and a nice deal to have the whole park to your self

[@timf7019]

Love the sponser. Some really cool merch

[@cyanmanta]

Tim Fodor In addition to the Disney themed merch, there's some really nice Zelda stuff.

[@World_of_Manimal]

Great video as usual. Only thing missing was a mention of more and varied attractions then vs now (ie theres more at MK now than 1971).

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Great point! That definitely adds to the value of the trip!

[@jimsmith9545]

As someone who went in 1971 (at 4 years old) and several times since then there are a few problems with your transportation costs and time. I-95 wasn't complete back then. So sometimes you had to get off and go on Route 1. This added a lot of time to the trip. It would be impossible to do it in 17 hours. Average family from New York probably had to spend two nights on the road. We (from MD) usually only did it spending one night but it was two travel filled days.

[@cooldude5611]

Finally @ the sponsor! Been looking for that contemporary resort plaque! Thanks, Rob!

[@Jake76667]

Fun Fact: My mom & her mom & dad actually did plan a trip to Walt Disney World in October 1971. Yep, right when the resort opened. This is a really fascinating video. Thanks.

[@lexfacitregem]

How about using the system my parents used to do when going down to Disney.... staying at a hotel in nearby Kissimmee. Of the 20 or so times we went to Disney, we never stayed at any of their hotels. Way too rediculously expensive!

[@Fettman07]

lexfacitregem kind of defeats the purpose of the entire video, it was to determine what a trip to Disney World would cost, not a trip to nearby Disney World. Today with the many value options you can find rooms that are in many cases cheaper to stay on property than nice ones off property. You could also take this to the extreme and say we all sleep in the car at night and share one meal per day to save money, again not the point of the video.

[@mikegruber172]

@@Fettman07 how many hotels were available outside?

[@snarkus63]

My first visit was in '75. My family stayed at the Contemporary for two days. I remember that in the Magic Kingdom,they'd already begun celebrating the Bicentennial with their parade.

[@richconner6389]

I remember those ticket books when I went with my family in 1978

[@vikingshelm]

We went on a road bender this last summer..and you're darn right about the camping. LOL I felt like Al Bundy by the end of the trip man

[@guineapigtyler]

My family always drives when we go to Florida. Though we usually go for 5 days in Florida and 2 days to get there and 2 days to get back

[@TitoTimTravels]

My dad bought our 3 bedroom house in Dallas in 1970. The house payment was $114 a month. So the 1971 Disney trip cost is about 2 months mortgage... My kids and I did 10 Disney trips in the naughts (and early 2010s) and the cost was about 5 months mortgage (my house payment was $600). Still worth it! 😀🍹🇵🇭

[@deathwizard1996]

That’s pretty cool

[@antp2004]

7:52 What are you talking about? I take the stationary and pen each time I visit a hotel. It's gotten to the point where my family writes in Disney pens a lot of the time.

[@courtneywarren3698]

What do you think about Disney launching its own streaming service? Do you think it is wise to to part ways from a giant like Netflix? Are people willing to pay money for a Disney streaming service over say, Netflix, Hulu, or regular cable?

[@erickcoffee3449]

Courtney Warren wait what is Netflix doing pls explain

[@courtneywarren3698]

Disney just announced that they will be leaving Netflix in 2019 to start their own streaming service. This came out of their recent stake in BAMTech. They will also be launching another ESPN streaming service as well next year. I don't know much more than that at the moment. A lot of information hasn't been released, but I am wondering what that will look like for not only Disney movies and TV shows on Netflix but also for Marvel and Star Wars content as well. You can read more about it and Bob Iger's statement here: www.theverge.com/2017/8/8/16115254/disney-launching-streaming-service-ending-netflix-deal

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Great question! Christine and I will be talking all about it on this week's episodes of The Tomorrowland Transit Authorities!

[@conmarsz]

Did you know Disney owns 30% of Hulu?

[@courtneywarren3698]

Con Mars no! But I am not surprised. I think Disney owns at least 30% of most things. :)

[@DimekeVDH]

Thanks for all the great and original content, Rob!

[@caramcdonald8522]

My mom and her family stayed at the fort wilderness campground back then, traveling from Michigan. My grandpa still made the trip every year until his passing, last year. Pretty impressive. If only I could have made the trip with him every time! Lol

[@SophiaPetrillosBuddy]

This is why, in all of my 20 years of life and living in Florida, I've only been to Disney World once.

[@AdmiralPreparedness]

We lived in Eastern Tennessee and while driving there, we stopped at some of the coolest road side attractions along the way. We did stay with relatives in Winter Park. The park pass book was what cost the most. Food was cheap.

[@iamaidansmith7542]

Hey that’s where i live to it’s a good trip down to Disney from there

[@andersonruble8512]

You and dsny newscast are the best Disney youtubers

[@kayoz9018]

Sponsors! Awesome! Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing. KO

[@sammylane21]

Rock and Theatrical metal bands have adopted this term.Bands like KISS and AC/DC have been described as "giving their fans the Disney E Ticket and that why they are great to see at concerts".

[@wysongmiles]

Love this video , drove down from Ottawa in 1972, 8days Inns $8, remember those tickets books

[@oldman3440]

in 1981 my wife and me with our 3 kids and wife's mother went to FLA. we stayed at the Days inn east on hwy.192 for 4 nights. we went in Disney world 2 days.1 day at sea world and also went to six flags wax museum.spent 800.00 bucks total.from 1981 through 2001 my wife and me went over 30 times.my wife passed away in 2003.

[@waytoson]

LUV LUV LUV this video... As soon as I said "I wondered where that term came from" about the E ticket. Love the comparisons. TFS

[@ninjamaster3453]

really enjoyed this type of video. the sponsor at the end was nicely done and interesting to visit.

[@Boom-fs2ny]

My grandma and mom tell me what it was like driving and the tickets. They always stayed at fort wilderness or the contemporary. Note this wasn't in 1970, it was later

[@cyanmanta]

It's also worth noting that the Contemporary and the Polynesian are now considered top tier hotels compared to the other places on property. You can get 3 or 4 nights at an All Star for the cost of one night on the monorail circuit.

[@RixFlix]

Off topic, but I'm working on my vlog for National Roller Coaster Day, and I'm work on the Expedition Everest part....what's the deal with the throwing of hair bands where the ride pauses at the broken track (before it goes backwards)....what do you know about that? Could it be a topic for you to cover?

[@Misscoolfinds]

This video was great. You always make amazing videos. Keep up the good work. I found this video very informative. Thank you 👍👍

[@Bahrutile]

We drove down family of 5, from Indiana to Florida, rented a condo nearby, 5 day park hopper passes, rented a van, all in all it cost almost 6k... Still money well spent

[@majormana1]

I bet good chunk of that was on gas.

[@sirarnie9837]

I would add a stop at South of the Border in SC. No way a family wouldn't stop there going down 95.

[@kevinpeterson6468]

A one day trip to the Disneyland Resort ranges from 30-60 dollars and that's if you have an AP. If you don't have one or you're blocked it would cost an additional 90-120 dollars.

[@MollyWissing]

love your videos so much, and im a huge disney parks fan and i learn so much from your videos!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Thanks! Glad you enjoy them!

[@DashieDoesMinecraft1]

Nice video! I was wondering where you got your Disney ride audio and music for your background music and for your Top 3 Quotes video. Thanks!

[@wdwnutjm]

Great video!!! The only possible addition was that the family would have purchased some kind of souvenir (like one of those plates or thimbles)

[@wdwnutjm]

and yes, Howard Johnson would have been the restaurant of choice back in '71! I remember one year we had Thanksgiving dinner at HoJo's because we were driving & that was the only thing open.

[@juliamason8393]

I went to Disney World shortly after it opened to the public. when our high school had Grad night, we all went to Disney World, we spent the night in Disney World riding the rides. The price of a Grad night ticket was $9.00. No air fare involved . I live 60 miles from Disney World.

[@motodork]

I was one year old in 1971. My parents took us to Disneyworld on Christmas Day. Dad wanted to stay at the Polynesian. He went in and got in line at the front desk. He overheard the employee telling the person in front of him that it would be $70 per night and dad nearly had a heart attack. So we stayed at Daytona Beach for $17 per night and drove back and forth.

[@KeyvyKeyChannel]

Ye olde proppe shoppe is a really fun idea!

[@refraggedbean]

One reason to live in florida, helps a lot with disney trips

[@bedazzled64]

Wow that's crazy. I always wondered how my parents could afford to take us all the time (living in Orlando). I was a kid when it opened, but years later realized it was because my brother worked there so my parents got free tickets. Thanks for the breakdown!

[@grantkostos8084]

Rob, I have a question for the Q&A: The Disney corporation has just decided to develop a plot of land just south of Hollywood Studios and west of the Art of Animation resort. They are planning to build a new 5th gate and have tasked you with theming the new park and a new mode of transportation to get to the park other than the existing transport methods (i.e. Gondolas, boats, MinnieVans, buses). Thanks and have a magical week! -Grant

[@elliotearles8302]

The prop shop looks really cool, but I can’t afford a cool looking sign, i could be using that money to stay at the contemporary

[@erinfagan6915]

I'm leaving for Disney world tomorrow!! I'm so excited

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Nice! Have a fantastic time!

[@sjcohen4444]

We would include WDW as a stopover during our Miami Beach Easter trips. One day was enough to cover all if the rides and attractions back then. So a trip just to Disney didn't seem worthwhile. We would stay at an International Drive motel which were much cheaper than the Disney property hotels.

[@KyrinaSpellweaver]

When I was a kid (late 80s and early 90s when we went), my family drove from Maryland to Florida in one trip. The goal was we'd leave at night so me and my brother would sleep for most of the drive and my parents would switch out. It's arguable the 5 hour difference between Baltimore and New York is what made this trip viable in one go. Also, my family was lucky because we stayed with an uncle who lived close to Disney.

[@MattMcIrvin]

When I was in grad school, early 90s, a bunch of us drove from Massachusetts to Arizona in a 48-hour stretch, driving in shifts in a rented van. It was the kind of dumb thing only graduate students could think up. The guy who planned it wanted to prove he could get to the Grand Canyon in 40 hours--we didn't quite make that rate. The rest of the trip was a bit more leisurely.

[@silvergamedog8168]

A family of four in the 70's that saved money by driving did not then spend the money to stay in a WDW hotel. They stayed on International Drive at a Quality Inn.

[@chargermopar]

My family stayed at the Hyatt House. We also went to the Sweden House Smorgasbord at the Gateway Inn.

[@TitoTimTravels]

And we still do. I have been to WDW a dozen times and have never stayed on Disney property.

[@calebweldon8102]

There is an Amtrak to Disney from New York, just two trains from Boston

[@Daniel_Scott89]

I checked out the sponsored shop and they have some legit stuff! I'm gonna get a hunted Mansion sign

[@nol_dur]

Great video rob, if this was our family we would have got are camper and camp at fort wilderness.

[@jackryan8474]

Nol Dur lol one of the jacks on my camper broke when I was showering and the sound scared the shit out of me

[@mickey7989]

another good vid !! but i think its time to film some new b-roll, the guy at 0:19 is looking too familiar lol.

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Haha yeah. I need to get back out to the parks soon so I can record some!

[@sammylane21]

Yeah..that $2000 trip price is the reason why I look for DISNEY/UNIVERSAL/OTHER Parks contests from legit sites or even on the actual companies site(s). Because fuck paying SOOOO much money to these companies and I still need to pay rent...apparently my Landlord isn't too big on the idea of me living at my building for free...*sighs* SOME PEOPLE,HUH??Haha!!

[@MattMcIrvin]

One way to think of it is that cheaper, faster transportation is effectively subsidizing Disney's much higher ticket prices. The market wouldn't bear the cost of their passes if it were still that hard to get to Florida.

[@ToldYouSoMedia]

you are my favorite disney youtuber

[@Karideplov]

I watched this video yesterday and it got me thinking about my first trip to WDW and how much it cost. I've only been twice in my life. I was born and raised in California and I remember back in 1998 begging my parents to go to WDW for our annual vacation. This was when the Backstreet Boys and NSync were doing ABC specials (concerts) at the parks and the holiday parades and I would watch it on tv. My love for the Orlando based boy bands drove that need to go see WDW because Disneyland was no longer enough theme park for me. So there I was, summer before my senior year of high school in August 1999 and I was going to WDW for the first time. Obviously my parents paid for everything. We stayed offsite because my parents owned timeshare (not DVC). I still have my tickets and parking passes from that week. We went from a Saturday to Saturday. 5 Day hopper pass was 189USD + tax per adult. Parking per day was 5USD...5 USD!!!!!! I still have the pass. I have a ticket stub for DisneyQuest, which was also new then. Universal Studios, which I think was only 1 park or I only have pictures from going to 1 park, did not have the price printed on the stub or it was worn off. Parking at Universal Studios was 6USD. I also don't see the price for Kennedy Space center.My second time to WDW was in August of 2010 with my husband (fiance at the time). By this time, i had already moved to Europe so I now have to factor in international flights. Unfortunately I no longer have the ticket stubs but I remember buying the 5 day pass and I think hopper was optional by then and I can't remember if I got it but I doubt I did. We still did 1 park per day and I want to say that the price was somewhere around the 500-550 USD mark. I remember buying it through an authorized vendor. Hopefully we will be able to go back in a few years with our daughters. I want to try for the 50th anniversary since I did go to Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2005 my girls are still young and I think it would be best to wait a few additional years.

[@greg7869]

Holy numbers ROB!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

So many numbers! I originally was going to make this video about the price in 1971, 1982, and 1993, but then I realized that 71 alone would take up a whole video.

[@Icelasher]

I wish I could stay at the contemporary resort, it's too expensive so we have to stay at Port Orleans-Riverside.

[@chartle1]

I wanna go camping! :) I did go camping in 77.

[@Genevieve0880]

I live 15 minutes away from NYC. We always drove to Disney in the early 2010s, and it stunk. We stayed in the Pop Century Hotel, as a tradition. Driving stinks, and I reccomend that people fly. Much easier.

[@burnedbytheword]

Nice library on the bookcase! Can you give us a list of the titles you have? Thanks!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Can do! I plan to make an updated video in a few weeks that go over some of my favorites, and I was going to premiere this then, but I put together a page on my website that lists all of the books that I think are worth a read: www.robplaysthatgame.com/disney-books/ That way in the future I can just update the page when there's a new book on the list.

[@dougconley]

Those prices for the time were still not considered expensive and very affordable. Today's prices for Disney is outrageous! 😬

[@trickycrayon]

Oh my gosh, stop! My honeymoon is at the Polynesian. I NEED to check out this sponsor!

[@danielcarlson563]

Although not the most popular ride, do you think Disney world will bring back the backlot tour in some way? THANK YOU, ROB!!

[@myajohnston8592]

Hey good vid rob

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Thanks!

[@nicholas_scott]

I remember taking the autotrain to wdw in the 70s as a child. Much cheaper then flying

[@sammylane21]

The total price for the same meal maybe around 300 + dollars but it is in fact mostly bun what we are all eating.Really...look at the size portion of your food and compare it to the massive bun(s) that comes with the meal?The bun/bread is almost 35% of your plate alone.

[@GIGI95975]

would you rather go back in time to visit disney during walts time, or travel to the future to visit disney world many years from now. Excluding the fact that many think that disney is going to become obsolete .

[@andresgutierrez7327]

Oh man!!! That's crazy. Hey Rob, do you have any videos planned for your Disneyland trip? And what are you most excited to experience this time around?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

I definitely want to record as much b-roll as possible, including some more 30-60s ambient clips. I'll probably do some vlogging as well on the trip. As for excitement, I'm just really psyched for Mission Breakout!

[@andresgutierrez7327]

Awesome! Have a great day Rob!

[@DCfan-xm7fp]

I love how six flags adds new rides to their parks every year

[@chiqen1766]

I wish Disney wasn't so expensive because I love it so much (not counting the trip there)

[@crystalfairy912]

Do you think the ticket books would work today? Or is paying one price to get into the park the better option?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Great question! I might do a full video on the idea in the future, but the short version is there's one argument to be made for ticket books. Today with free reign to ride whatever you want as often as you want, a lot of the attention goes towards big E-ticket attractions. With ticket books however you had a limited number of each type of ticket and so guests were more likely to devote time to smaller and lesser known attractions. It was sort of a forced balance of what a guest would experience.

[@RandomKidwhodoesstuf]

Rob ! You should put your patron in the description !!!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Good thought! Forgot to update the default links!

[@debbieboring3422]

We would have drove with 4 kids in my family we always drove. And most of the time we drove straight through. We would have camped because we had a pop-up camper. I lived in upstate NY so we did this all the time. But the first Disney Trip I took was after we moved to AZ. We went in 74'. They still had the tickets. We stayed in a hotel then because it was only 8 hr drive. And Rob those early shots of the family were from late 50's or early 60's. LOL We didn't dress anything like that in the 70's. But thanks for the breakdown of the cost most people don't even think about it they just put it on a Card.

[@DCfan-xm7fp]

I love nitro at six flags great adventure

[@CherishedbyGod]

Lol I was just looking at that etsy shop

[@nathanfournier2910]

i always did wonder what e-ticket meant lol thanks!😂

[@michellerosebrown]

Have times changed. That trip is cheaper compared to today's tax prices. When I was coming up in the 90s and early 2000s it was expensive to go to Disney World in Florida since we only lived in Minnesota and not close by like New York.

[@LPM12]

Well thats not depressing at all. Thank god I'm currently only planning on a trip for two, staying at a value resort

[@ArBob-xr6mw]

I remember wasting an E ticket on "It's a Small World." Wanted to jump overboard.

[@nathanielmancini4582]

As far as I know idk how much luck a family would have going to Walt Disney world in 1971. Walt Disney World opened in October, 1971 by Roy Disney. Most families would've probably tried to get to Walt Disney World in 1972.

[@alylin01]

what's the ride at 4:00?

[@bryan_witha_whyy]

How ridiculous is it that in today's dollars, a theme park view at the Poly was $272.98 per night. It's at least twice that now. Disney has way out done inflation and it's pretty disgusting.

[@matthewreinoehl8557]

B Miles no just most Americans have become too poor sadly

[@TitoTimTravels]

A lot of entertainment has done that. Movie prices, concerts, sporting events... all have gone up way more than inflation. Somehow it still works - look how full Disney is everyday.

[@KnakuanaRka]

3:47 Anyone else think it weird that A is actually the cheapest rides, given how ubiquitous grading systems that usually go the other way are? Maybe those systems weren’t such household usage then, though I doubt that. Or maybe they were thinking they’d have even bigger rides, so that with the normal system they’d have to bump everything down a level, while with this one they could just assign it the next letter. Then again, if they did that, all the jokes about the lettering would basically mean they F’d themselves (I’ll get me coat).

[@c0mpu73rguy]

How can flying be cheaper than taking the train in your country is a mystery to me.

[@mcflyer8150]

At the end there a live camera watching the parking lot, Where do I go to watch one live? Is there a website?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

That's not a live camera. That's footage I recorded on my last trip to Disney World.

[@texasfan54]

It cost a lot to go to Disney World, I think the last time me and my family went it cost us right at or close to $3,000, that was with 3 adults and 3 children

[@mikegruber172]

were there hotels like in Kissimmee today?

[@conmarsz]

But Rob, where do I get the trash can salt and pepper shakers?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

They have them at the Disney store on property. I couldn't find them on the Shop Disney site, but it looks like Amazon has them.

[@conmarsz]

Rob Plays Thanks yet again, Rob. You're always here to help me out with Disney stuff, and I really appreciate that.

[@RoseDupouy]

I really love the Disney World Resort, but back in the 90's my Venezuelan friends visited WDW and lowered the costs by staying at the surrounding hotels outside. I guess all of that didn't exist in the 70's!

[@bobconway5191]

Hello Rob I have an unrelated question Does it benefit you if I watch the ads on channel . Thanks

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Kind of. I mean, it does, but the reason you see so many KZbinrs today turning to platforms like Patreon, or sponsorships, or merch is because in the big picture, ad revenue is such a small part of everything. Viewing and ad is the difference of a fraction of a penny for most KZbinrs, so I'd say don't watch any ad that you otherwise wouldn't be watching anyway. It's also the reason why I'm not that upset about the idea of people using ad-blockers.

[@TooCooFoYou]

Can you do a similar take of this on Disneyland, California?

[@AtomicFox64]

can you do a few sequels to this video to see how much the price was in 1982, 1989 and 1998? that would be really interesting!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

So the actual original idea for this video was to do 71, 82, 93 all together however I found that it was a LOT more difficult to find pricing for 82 and to an extent 93 than it was for 71. I guess a lot of those numbers were recorded for posterity with the opening of Disney, but trying to find hotel rates for 1982 is surprisingly hard. I do plan to keep looking though and make follow-ups if I can find all the needed information.

[@Bruhhh-yk3zv]

Hi rob me and my family are going to book a wdw vacation in about 2 weeks and we haven't decided on a hotel, do u have any suggestions of good and nice hotels, (not poly, contemp, or grand) also do u think carrib beach is good?

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Oh nice! Have a fun time! I would say if you're only 2 weeks out it might boil down to what's free, since they're pretty booked up even towards the end of the summer. That said, I'd say my favorite moderate resort is Port Orleans Riverside (or French Quarter) and my favorite Value is Pop Century. So any of those! I've never stayed at the Caribbean Beach so unfortunately I can't weigh in on it.

[@Bruhhh-yk3zv]

Rob Plays ok thanks so much rob! 😀

[@ampat7976]

You forgot to incorporate New York traffic.

[@realazduffman]

One flaw here is that the 1970 family probably stayed at a cheaper motel somewhere near Disney, not on-site.