Rising Costs Of Family Outings (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

https://thehustle.co/americas-favorite-family-outings-are-increasingly-out-of-reach/

In the 1950s and ’60s — the so-called Golden Age of American capitalism — family outings were within the realm of affordability for most median income earners. Many blue-collar workers could afford new homes and cars and still take their kids to Disneyland.

Despite rising wages, many of those same activities are now out of reach for everyday Americans.

The Hustle analyzed the cost of three family activities in 1960 vs. 2022:

A baseball game

A movie at a theater

A one-day Disneyland visit

We found that these family outings have increased in cost at 2-3x the rate of inflation — and that, in order to afford them, today’s American families have to work up to 2x as many hours as they did 60 years ago.

Lots more in the article. Thought it was notable. 

Are you seeing similar things? Tips or things you're seeing to deal with it?

 

[Cowboysfan8]

I took my Granddaughter to the movies to see Clifford last winter. I got her a soda, popcorn and a box of candy. All I got was a ticket. I think it was just under $50 

 

[BassNBrew]

https://thehustle.co/americas-favorite-family-outings-are-increasingly-out-of-reach/

Lots more in the article. Thought it was notable. 

Are you seeing similar things? Tips or things you're seeing to deal with it?

I'll start this by saying I'm pro-woman in the workforce but it's certainly not a coincidence that when most society shifted from male earner to two incomes that the prices of many things doubled the inflation rate.  Business are going to charge as much as they can until it impacts their bottom line.  When a family has more available money our capitalist system shifts with that. Throw in the need for new "necessities" like cell phones, cable, and internet and availability of new products like FF advice and it's explains why family outings are feeling pressure.

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art2full.pdf

 

[Leroy Hoard]

 Throw in the need for new "necessities" like cell phones, cable, and internet and availability of new products like FF advice and it's explains why family outings are feeling pressure.

Good point, people back then were not spending nearly as much when they stayed home.  Free TV, free radio, etc.

 

[NutterButter]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the cost of the tix when seeing top gun.  Considering the experience they're offering these days with reclining seats and plenty of space, seemed like a good deal.  At the snack bar is where they seem to get ya.   

When it comes to the movies, is it even fair to just look at the cost?  Its not like we're comparing even remotely the same experience as they had in 1960.   You could from a snack bar perspective b/c not much has changed other than maybe more selection, but in terms of the movie watching experience itself, its night and day.    

 

[SoBeDad]

This is capitalism. And there are many affordable options for those who can't afford a baseball game or Disneyland. My daughter in LA, who is not a sports fan at all, said she just might see a WNBA game as she saw tickets being offered for $3. I'm a former baseball fan, went to some Marlin games, but i gotta admit the WNBA might be more exciting for kids. 

There are so many movies one can see at home, or a friend's home. And being frugal, when we used to go to the movies, we brought a lot of our own food. With big screen TVs and great sound systems, and cc, etc, the at home movie experience is good.  

Disney... With the prices so high, there is probably an increasing divide between kids who have and haven't been. But there are local theme parks that are more affordable in some regions. In Broward county, there are several small water parks, for $10 or less, great for kids. Also, the state parks at springs in Florida are a bargain and a better way to spend a hot summer day than at Disney. 

 

[Godsbrother]

MLB, at least in PIttsburgh, can be pretty affordable for a family.

 

[NutterButter]

This is capitalism. And there are many affordable options for those who can't afford a baseball game or Disneyland. My daughter in LA, who is not a sports fan at all, said she just might see a WNBA game as she saw tickets being offered for $3. I'm a former baseball fan, went to some Marlin games, but i gotta admit the WNBA might be more exciting for kids. 

There are so many movies one can see at home, or a friend's home. And being frugal, when we used to go to the movies, we brought a lot of our own food. With big screen TVs and great sound systems, and cc, etc, the at home movie experience is good.  

Disney... With the prices so high, there is probably an increasing divide between kids who have and haven't been. But there are local theme parks that are more affordable in some regions. In Broward county, there are several small water parks, for $10 or less, great for kids. Also, the state parks at springs in Florida are a bargain and a better way to spend a hot summer day than at Disney. 

One of my regular favorite affordable experiences is minor league baseball games.   There's a stadium that's 45 minutes from me.   Free parking.  You can have great seats for <$20. Just a great family environment.  

 

[Da Guru]

MLB, at least in PIttsburgh, can be pretty affordable for a family.

My friend and his wife took me and my wife to a Tiger game.  Since he supplied tickets I said I got drinks. Before we sat down, I got 4 beers, chicken tenders and a hot dog $65.00.  It was hot out and the beers were gone by end of second inning.  Next round beers only $48.00. Add in some popcorn and another beer later.

I picked up parking too so with "free" tickets I only spent around $160.00.  That was with no kids.

 

[ChiefD]

Can't take my family of 5 to a Chiefs game.  If I pick the worse game on their schedule (Jags), I'm looking at:

Tickets: $450.

Parking: $60

So $510 just to get into the stadium.  I have to feed three kids for 3 hours, which if you have teenagers you have to feed them constantly. So figure another $200.

$710 for a day of activity. Can't do it.  

 

[BassNBrew]

MLB, at least in PIttsburgh, can be pretty affordable for a family.

I didn't think Pittsburgh has a major league team.

 

[Desert_Power]

With high and persistent income inequality, it makes sense that experiences with limited availability will see the largest increase.

 

[BassNBrew]

Can't take my family of 5 to a Chiefs game.  If I pick the worse game on their schedule (Jags), I'm looking at:

Tickets: $450.

Parking: $60

So $510 just to get into the stadium.  I have to feed three kids for 3 hours, which if you have teenagers you have to feed them constantly. So figure another $200.

$710 for a day of activity. Can't do it.  

Preseason an option?

 

[Godsbrother]

I didn't think Pittsburgh has a major league team.

True, but they sometimes play against major league baseball teams.

 

[Godsbrother]

My friend and his wife took me and my wife to a Tiger game.  Since he supplied tickets I said I got drinks. Before we sat down, I got 4 beers, chicken tenders and a hot dog $65.00.  It was hot out and the beers were gone by end of second inning.  Next round beers only $48.00. Add in some popcorn and another beer later.

I picked up parking too so with "free" tickets I only spent around $160.00.  That was with no kids.

When I take my grandkids we typically go to a family restaurant or fast food beforehand.   We are taking them to see the Red Sox on my grandson's birthday on dollar dog night, so we can handle that and a few soft drinks.

My grandkids (6, 8, 10) aren't big beer drinkers so that isn't a concern

 

[SoBeDad]

My daughters were pretty bored by the 3rd or 4th inning of a baseball game. My nephews too. I used to look forward to seeing the boxscores of the west coast teams in the afternoon delivery of the Miami News, which complemented our morning delivery of the Miami Herald. Times have changed.

 

[ChiefD]

Preseason an option?

Sure, it's an option. But the kids are sports fans. The boys are 16 and 14 and they would like to watch their main heroes play.  Which in preseason really isn't an option anymore. It would still cost me $385 for a preseason game so they could watch Mahomes MAYBE play.  

 

[BassNBrew]

Sure, it's an option. But the kids are sports fans. The boys are 16 and 14 and they would like to watch their main heroes play.  Which in preseason really isn't an option anymore. It would still cost me $385 for a preseason game so they could watch Mahomes MAYBE play.  

yeah...that kind of sucks.  I suspect you could find tickets for under $20 the week of and still give them the Arrowhead tailgate experience.  

Alternatively, you could just take the kid you like the best to a real game.  Maybe set it up as a contest based on who does the most chores and kiss asses.  Losers clean the toilets while you and the favorite kid go to the game.

 

[apalmer]

MLB, at least in PIttsburgh, can be pretty affordable for a family.

Yeah, I'll be excited when (if?) we get MLB in Pittsburgh.

 

[mr. furley]

Can't take my family of 5 to a Chiefs game.  If I pick the worse game on their schedule (Jags), I'm looking at:

Tickets: $450.

Parking: $60

So $510 just to get into the stadium.  I have to feed three kids for 3 hours, which if you have teenagers you have to feed them constantly. So figure another $200.

$710 for a day of activity. Can't do it.  

major sports are pricing their fans out of watching live. it's crazy.

Packers tickets i will pony up for, but not buy any food, drink or souvenirs. too expensive.

took my kid to a Brewers game pre-pandemic. spontaneous Saturday decision. think it was vs. the Rockies or something. we bought tickets at the gate. $47 for the cheapest seats which were so far away, and essentially vertically stacked they were so steep, that my kid didn't want to sit in them.

loge seats in the lowest section were nearer $100. for a freaking baseball game. there are a billion of them every season... a 38k seat park that gets 10k or lso fans in per night should maybe knock the price down to get butts in the seats.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

If you are ex-military or government employee, GovX has some nice discounts to sporting ventures.  Usually about 20% off.  I use them all the time.

 

[Capella]

Man we went out to eat at a local place the other day and it was a 120 bucks for the 4 of us after tax and tip. None of got steak or anything crazy. 4 entrees and one app. The average household income in Florida is like 55k, but everything is absolutely packed. I assume most people are just living out over their skis. 

 

[culdeus]

Man we went out to eat at a local place the other day and it was a 120 bucks for the 4 of us after tax and tip. None of got steak or anything crazy. 4 entrees and one app. The average household income in Florida is like 55k, but everything is absolutely packed. I assume most people are just living out over their skis. 

It make no sense at all. Yet income to debt ratio is not anywhere near 2008.  Have people I know do Disney Orlando and now whine it will have a near 20k price tag to go with their 10k ski trips.  

I think it's the power of double incomes to some extent.  Get kids in public school and just make it rain. 

 

[ChiefD]

When my wife and I got together 20 years ago we didn't make much money. But we were able to make do. And now we are lucky to have a household income that I would consider pretty darn good. So we are lucky that we can survive what's going right now with rising costs and such.

I really feel for those families that are really struggling right now with all of this.  

 

[culdeus]

Off top ofy head you have several factors. 

1) families having fewer kids and later kids

2) this puts parents higher up in the income brackets when kids hit entertainment age

3) double incomes at the middle class and education level that drives it is much more popular

4) #### saving for college. That's their problem to solve

5) what there is is basically vanishing in availability. Disney Orlando is a zoo where people pay a third world annual income to wait in line 3 hours for a three minute ride. 

If anything this #### is too cheap.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Sure, it's an option. But the kids are sports fans. The boys are 16 and 14 and they would like to watch their main heroes play.  Which in preseason really isn't an option anymore. It would still cost me $385 for a preseason game so they could watch Mahomes MAYBE play.  

I mean, pivoting to be a Lions fan is an option. Tickets are practically free, especially for road games.

 

[stbugs]

Man we went out to eat at a local place the other day and it was a 120 bucks for the 4 of us after tax and tip. None of got steak or anything crazy. 4 entrees and one app. The average household income in Florida is like 55k, but everything is absolutely packed. I assume most people are just living out over their skis. 

Birthday dinner on Saturday. Nothing crazy but my wife and I had filets and 1-2 drinks a piece plus 2 sons and one girlfriend. $340. $70 per person. If our boys are with us, even five guys is $50 with no drinks (pick up, eat at home).

As to vacations, we’ve been going to Hilton Head for 11-12 years now and renting a house on the beach with 3 other families. We started 1 row back at a house owned by people one families parents knew so probably got it a bit cheaper than we should have but rents for beach front properties are a little more than triple what they once were. Triple. Every year there’s been an increase probably in the 10-15% range and within the past few years it’s basically doubled. First time ever we basically all said no to the new cost and found another house. We usually change houses every year or so just to try them out.

The prices now for beach front are per family almost what it would have been to be one row back for all 4 families combined.

We don’t have any credit card debt and in 1 month we’ll have 4 cars with 1 payment. We are at about 75% equity in our house and my wife and I have good jobs and damn I still really care about what I spend. Luckily we do max our 401ks and have a 15 year mortgage so there’s a nice chunk of forced monthly savings. I have to assume that people are not saving anything at all. We’d have a lot extra money if I turned off 401k contributions and had done a 30 year mortgage.

That just makes me feel like there’s going to be some not so good times ahead for most people, working till their buried with no savings but living their best lives. You can’t take it with you but I can’t imagine if we were still a single income household with the prices the way they are now.

 

[mphtrilogy]

My three daughters and myself are big baseball fans so we try and get to get the ballpark when we can or if we are near one on vaca.

Took two of my daughters to Yankee Stadium at the end of May to celebrate my middle daughters College graduation.  Parking was $35 Four Blocks from the stadium right on River Avenue safe enough to walk during the day, but not too near the stadium, all lots were $35-$45 now, some used to be $20 just a few years ago.  I purchased tix on StubHub they were about $40 ea, 3rd deck, 3rd base side, decent view, but not great seats.  We brought our own food in, Sandwich Hero's, cracker jacks and some twizzlers and pretzels in a string backpack, they let all of it in and you can bring in a big 20 oz sealed water bottle which we refilled the whole game at the water fountains.   The most expensive was the ice cream, which was about $10 a cone, crazy..  Basically Yankee stadium is a "reasonable" outing if you bring in your own food and skip the ice cream.  The park energy is very good and the museum and monument park are worth the visit.  If I had to pay for all food and drinks here,  I couldn't swing it....

I surprised my daughter with a Judge Jersey (her choice of any in the shop) from the Team Store as a graduation gift, it was $150, but its a life long memory (hope he re-signs.)

I hope to get to Citi field next month to compare the latest with the Mets, but in the past its similar to Yankee Stadium and you can bring a water bottle and your own food to cut costs, but the ice cream options are bit better and the parking logistics are better as well, Citi is a great park to visit. They now have a museum as well and its pretty good, hope to check out the Seaver statue next time.  My daughter went to a game last month and got the Ice Cream in the Big Apple cup for $14... she is still using that cup so it was a worthy purchase I suppose...

On vaca in Tampa two weeks ago we took in a Rays game, cheapest tix option was from the team site, about $27 per ticket on the 1st base side (lower level behind the papa johns section) so the tix were very reasonable.  However, no food can be brought into this stadium, the food options were pretty good, but food prices were a little lower than Yankee Stadium.  You can bring in a sealed water bottle though.  This stadium is funky in person with the lighting as well, but its a fun park to visit, small museum kiosks to check out, the manta ray tank is a fun exhibit and easy to get in and out of and the Mascots are accessible and walking around.  I liked the park, but having to purchase your food here and not be able to bring anything in is kind of a bummer.   

Going to the Movies now is a treat, I took my family to see Top Gun Maverick and we had a blast, but its maybe a once a year outing now with the whole family cost over $80 for reserved seats.    My daughter and I saw Elvis last week because I'm a Fan and had the week off, Popcorn was $10.  I look at it as a special outing now... but for folks who are really into Movies Regal has a $28/mo pass which seems like a good deal.. 

I think you have to be creative (bring your own food etc..) to make the numbers work these days for outings...

 

[mphtrilogy]

Just an add on, My daughter is a massive Football fan, but it's tough to swing the tix price and the parking food for the day its gonna be well over $500...   I just got an email from the Jets for training camp tix, boom, Free Tix for the Saturday 30th first open practice...  still gonna cost me some $$ to cross a few bridges and gas, but the experience should make for a fun day for us...

I might grab a pre-season game as an alternative down the line as well, to continue to manage costs.. 

 

[Capella]

We’d have a lot extra money if I turned off 401k contributions and had done a 30 year mortgage.

This is us too, our mortgage will be paid in a decade so that’s great but yes you can’t take it with you so I do get the people who live by the spend it now while young philosophy. There is something to that too imo, it may be better memories now than when you are 65 and trying to travel, or you may not even make it to that age, so I can see it both ways. We try to balance saving and spending but it’s hard for people. 

 

[Capella]

I liked the park, but having to purchase your food here and not be able to bring anything in is kind of a bummer.   

This is a new thing for the Rays, maybe even this year? You could definitely bring in subs and chips in the past. Sucks they changed that. That owner is a scumbag. 

 

[Gopher State]

We are big baseball fans, used to go to 10+ games a year, now due to crazy prices 

, we purchased MLB network watching the games from home is not to bad, the savings$$$$$$$$$

 

[mphtrilogy]

This is a new thing for the Rays, maybe even this year? You could definitely bring in subs and chips in the past. Sucks they changed that. That owner is a scumbag. 

yeah and all three parks no more cash, credit cards only....

 

[stbugs]

When my wife and I got together 20 years ago we didn't make much money. But we were able to make do. And now we are lucky to have a household income that I would consider pretty darn good. So we are lucky that we can survive what's going right now with rising costs and such.

I really feel for those families that are really struggling right now with all of this.  

Exactly. We got lucky to buy our first house when we did years ago. Even with our two salaries, we couldn’t afford everything we do and the house we are in now without suspending all attempts to save money. 

 

[ChiefD]

My son just met Harrison Butker (kicker of the Chiefs) while they were both practicing field goals at my son's high school.   

FREE BABY!!!!!!  

 

[Galileo]

I just got back from a family vacation where we easily dropped $10k.  We have two children and definitely like to splurge a little on vacations.  Fortunately, both my wife and I make a pretty good wage where we are able to do this once a year without much impact.  We don't do many family outings like sporting events because my wife and daughter couldn't care less about those things.  I usually splurge on a few Browns games and Ohio State football games each year.  Our "family outings" consist mostly of watching movies at home these days.  We used to spend time on our boat when the kids were younger, but sold that a year and a half ago.

I guess enough people are still willing to pay for experiences, otherwise the prices wouldn't be where they are.  I hated paying the fuel costs for our latest vacation, but I did it.  

 

[Ilov80s]

My best guess would just be the way we have seen the inequality of income grow over the last 30-50 years. I am not just talking about the 0.01% elites but across the top 10% or so. The median incomes and  the bottom 10% of incomes (when adjusted for inflation) have modestly increased since the late 60s. Meanwhile the top 5% and top 10% have grown significantly. So that creates a significant group of people with a lot of extra money to spend and are willing to spend more. If you go back to 1980, the bottom 50% in the US owned about 20% of the total wealth. That was down to 12% as of a few years ago so the resources just aren't as evenly distributed which likely skews prices up. 

 

[Zow]

MLB, at least in PIttsburgh, can be pretty affordable for a family.

Arizona is reasonably priced, too. 

 

[stbugs]

This is us too, our mortgage will be paid in a decade so that’s great but yes you can’t take it with you so I do get the people who live by the spend it now while young philosophy. There is something to that too imo, it may be better memories now than when you are 65 and trying to travel, or you may not even make it to that age, so I can see it both ways. We try to balance saving and spending but it’s hard for people. 

You can’t but I’ve got three sons and I’d rather them have some sort of inheritance as well because they are entering an expensive world. Without kids (I’d be rich, but that’s another story ), I can see the spend it all when you can enjoy it and believe me we spend a lot and the kids aren’t $50k cars spoiled but we’ve saved a good amount. We do well compared to most so the inflation sucks but doesn’t stop us. I just can’t imagine the struggles most people are going through because we still feel it. It’s one thing to use your savings to go wild while young, but I think it’s more of the hey, only way I can afford Disney is to not save for retirement and put it on a credit card.

 

[jb1020]

Can't take my family of 5 to a Chiefs game.  If I pick the worse game on their schedule (Jags), I'm looking at:

Tickets: $450.

Parking: $60

So $510 just to get into the stadium.  I have to feed three kids for 3 hours, which if you have teenagers you have to feed them constantly. So figure another $200.

$710 for a day of activity. Can't do it.  

I finally broke down and took the family (5 total) to a Saints game last year.  They had already been eliminated and it was a meaningless week 17 game.  I was still about $350 on nosebleed  tickets.  $50 on parking, it was a 3 hour drive.  Food drinks...it was easily $600 or so.  And it was fun, but damn...thats expensive.  

 

[mr. furley]

anyone mention yet that companies are raking record profits, and some (like mine) did not provide cost of living adjustments/bonuses/raises for two years "because of the pandemic" while the price of everything has gone up 10% or more?

my earning power has remained static since 2019 but it's like i took a 10-15% pay cut.

 

[Chemical X]

not to be a richard, but if we go out to eat it seems like the tide has turned and i am now responsible to solve the world’s income ills.  no kids, so those activities i can’t speak to, but at a restaurant it now seems i need to patronize in order to support them and keep them in business.  the waitstaff?  well, i need to tip high cause who knows what they are making.  we’ve shifted away from nights out and have just decided to stay home.  i can’t support $150-$200 for dinner for two and a tip.  

 

[-OZ-]

https://thehustle.co/americas-favorite-family-outings-are-increasingly-out-of-reach/

Lots more in the article. Thought it was notable. 

Are you seeing similar things? Tips or things you're seeing to deal with it?

We flat out refuse to do Disney. The price would be similar to a decent used car or a pontoon boat. Or a year of college. 

Minor league baseball and hockey is still affordable but we won’t attend any major league sports events. 

we’ll hit a water park during the week, I adjusted my schedule to get every other Monday off. Half price during the week. We don’t buy lunch there but we’ll get ice cream. 

Thankfully we don’t particularly enjoy most of these outings, prefer the lake or pool during the summer, local state parks, other hiking, disc golf, etc. 

5 kids, y’all can do the math on these outings.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

My 7 year old has gotten really into baseball lately and I've been surprised at how expensive it is compared to when I was a kid, or even a few years ago.  I remember going to our local minor league game a few years ago and tickets were like $7.  We went recently and it was almost $30/ticket.  The place was almost empty so I have no idea why they're sticking to such high prices.  Maybe with scalping being so heavily regulated by most cities now and digital tickets being controlled by the big dogs that own a ton of tickets and control prices everyone just makes more money if they keep prices high with mostly empty stadiums now.

We are visiting San Diego and went to a Padres game last night as well.  Again, it was surprising.  Tickets were $50/ea but after all the fees and whatnot it was about $300 for our family of 4 just for entry.  And of course sky high food/beer prices but that has always been the case.  There was a pretty good crowd, but still a TON of empty seats.  I remember when I was younger if that was the case there would be 1000 people walking around outside the stadium holding up tickets.  Now on stubhub/vividseats we could watch all of the ticket prices increase at the same time every hour closer to the game. It was definitely being controlled like airlines, where they'd rather a bunch of tickets go unsold than people see cheap tickets available right before the game.

We were shocked at parking by the beach here.  $40!  A few years ago when we were here it was 10 bucks.

It's all so bizarre.  Everyone is screaming recession but prices on most things aren't high because supplies cost more, they're just higher because everyone is willing to pay more.  Everyone is screaming recession but everyone seems to have tons of money to spend.

Fwiw as an aside to all this, Disney was always one of the most expensive family outings.  People like to lament that a Disney ticket used to cost $1 (which is only $12 today adjusted for inflation), but they forget that $1 Disney ticket only got you access to walk around the park.  You had to buy ride access a la carte or via coupon books which were very expensive.  If I recall it was $10 for a coupon book ($120 modern equivalent) and that only got you access to one premium ride so if you wanted to ride splash mountain and space mountain you'd have to buy two coupon books, or the equivalent of $252 modern day just to get in and ride the rides. 

 

[Courtjester]

My friend and his wife took me and my wife to a Tiger game.  Since he supplied tickets I said I got drinks. Before we sat down, I got 4 beers, chicken tenders and a hot dog $65.00.  It was hot out and the beers were gone by end of second inning.  Next round beers only $48.00. Add in some popcorn and another beer later.

I picked up parking too so with "free" tickets I only spent around $160.00.  That was with no kids.

My wife, daughter and I just went to a Rockies game. Now we got club seats, but they were $340 for seats. I had three $15 beers. Lunch and soda for the family was at least another $100.00  Throw in $20 to park and another $50 in gas to get there and you have a pretty expensive day considering none of us are big baseball fans. We just wanted our daughter to see Coors Field. 

We are planning to go to the zoo this week. Tickets are $30 a person. We will probably eat there, so throw in another $75.00. Maybe another $20 to feed the animals and do some of the extraneous stuff. But basically a $200 day just to see some animals.

Things are expensive these days.  

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

I'm the last person in the world that wants to defend unfettered capitalism, but it should probably be noted that the product you're getting for at least one of these things is vastly better than it was in the 50s and 60s. These were the height of movie luxury in 1960. This is standard seating in 2022.

I think the baseball game experience is similarly upgraded. I took my three kids to a game on Saturday afternoon, where they got a bobblehead, got their faces painted as Star Wars characters and chuckled at Star Wars themed graphics on a massive hi-def scoreboard, were able to each get their personal favorite ballpark food delivered to our seats, and saw guys like Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna Jr. who almost certainly would not have been big leaguers back when there were very few international players in the game.

I have no idea what Disneyland is like compared to the 50s and 60s.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

We are planning to go to the zoo this week. Tickets are $30 a person. We will probably eat there, so throw in another $75.00. Maybe another $20 to feed the animals and do some of the extraneous stuff. But basically a $200 day just to see some animals.

Things are expensive these days.  

We're in San Diego and heard about the safari park their alternate zoo location has.  Where it's a big open area and you ride around in trucks like a Safari.  Sounds pretty cool but $640 for 4 of us just for the ride!  And that's the "cheap" version that doesn't include snacks.

 

[Capella]

another $50 in gas to get there

Do you live in another state? I know gas is expensive but that’s like 10 gallons. 

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I'm the last person in the world that wants to defend unfettered capitalism, but it should probably be noted that the product you're getting for at least one of these things is vastly better than it was in the 50s and 60s. These were the height of movie luxury in 1960. This is standard seating in 2022.

I think the baseball game experience is similarly upgraded. I took my three kids to a game on Saturday afternoon, where they got a bobblehead, got their faces painted as Star Wars characters and chuckled at Star Wars themed graphics on a massive hi-def scoreboard, were able to each get their personal favorite ballpark food delivered to our seats, and saw guys like Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna Jr. who almost certainly would not have been big leaguers back when there were very few international players in the game.

I have no idea what Disneyland is like compared to the 50s and 60s.

Baseball stadiums are definitely massively upgraded from when I was a kid.  Lined with real restaurants and 20 different breweries every 200ft you walk.  Long gone are the days of choosing from cracker jacks or chips with fake cheese sauce as your meal.

Still, I think a bigger part of the expense is that the richest capitalists have found another way to make it an investment.  A big dog buys up all of the tickets so every game is "sold out", and then controls the prices on stubhub, vividseats, etc.  And they've figured out they can make more money by filling half the stadium at $80-$100/ticket vs. letting anyone ever see a $10 ticket again.

Again though, the crazy part is just how much money everyone does seem to have.  People are on facebook all day "the economy is terrible everyone is broke we're all struggling right now! Brb I got bored for a minute so I'm gonna jump on stubhub and spend $400 on tickets for a game I really only kinda want to go to and will probably leave in the 6th inning".

 

[Desert_Power]

I remember when I was younger if that was the case there would be 1000 people walking around outside the stadium holding up tickets.  Now on stubhub/vividseats we could watch all of the ticket prices increase at the same time every hour closer to the game. It was definitely being controlled like airlines, where they'd rather a bunch of tickets go unsold than people see cheap tickets available right before the game.

This dynamic has definitely gotten worse the last few years. Ticketmaster/StubHub have to be loving the move away from physical tickets.