Business
The Leach Family’s Enchanting Disney Vacation: A Financial Struggle
Join the Leach family as they embark on a magical Disney vacation, navigating the ups and downs of financial struggles. Discover how they balance dreams and reality in this heartwarming tale of adventure, love, and resilience.
A Magical Escape: The Leach Family’s Disney Adventure
Alyssa Leach and her husband have cherished their annual trips to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, making it a tradition since 2015. For them, the enchanting theme park serves as a delightful oasis, providing a much-needed escape from the pressures of daily life. When their son, Lincoln, was born in 2020, Ms. Leach envisioned a truly memorable first visit to the park and set out to make it extraordinary.
Determined to create lasting memories, she meticulously planned a lavish two-week vacation to Florida in December 2022, which included exciting visits to both Disney World and Universal Studios. However, the costs quickly began to add up. Traveling all the way from New Haven, Connecticut, Ms. Leach opted for special experiences, such as purchasing tickets to “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party,” an exclusive after-hours event that set them back approximately $200 per person. Additionally, she invested around $100 in the theme park’s photo service, ensuring they could capture and download beautiful family moments taken by professional photographers during their visit.
The entire vacation ended up costing around $6,000, encompassing accommodations, park tickets, and car rental fees, all charged to her Disney-branded credit card. Ms. Leach’s experience is not unique; many parents find themselves taking on debt to afford a Disney family vacation. According to a survey conducted by LendingTree in June, which polled over 2,000 individuals, a staggering 45 percent of parents with children under 18 reported going into debt to fund their Disney trips.
For a family of four, planning a week-long adventure to Disney can be a significant financial undertaking, with costs ranging from $6,463 to $15,559, excluding flights and souvenirs, as detailed in an analysis by NerdWallet, a personal finance website. This financial burden means that many families are unable to partake in the magic of Disney at all. Recently, Disney reported a decline in demand for its theme parks, attributing this trend to families grappling with the realities of high inflation, which has left them with less disposable income for leisure activities.