Do we spend more money in Disney World than maybe we intend? Well, yes, guilty as charged.

We can’t help it. When we buy Disney stuff, it feels like little treats for ourselves, and shopping for Disney souvenirs just hits differently. So maybe that’s how we ended up with a ton of Loungefly bags, a collection of Disney popcorn buckets, and other random souvenirs we couldn’t resist. We also go to Disney Parks…a lot. We get it…when it comes to spending money on Disney things, it doesn’t feel like we’re spending REAL money.

We already know that the Internet loves hating on Disney adults, and folks can get very judgmental about how much money Disney fans spend on Disney vacations and souvenirs. But there’s a reason why we can’t stop spending that money. Let’s take a look at souvenirs, for example, at Disney World, Disney does everything to trick us into buying more stuff, whether we need it or not.

For starters, there’s a gift shop EVERYWHERE, including at the end of rides. This is smart because once you’ve come off a ride, you’re on a ride high, and that shop has all kinds of merchandise dedicated to that ride. You’ll want to buy something to keep riding that high for a while longer.

Then there are the limited merchandise collections. Disney knows how to use FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) to get you to buy something you don’t need for fear you’re missing out on something HUGE.

Disney is also good at making you feel like you’re spending your money on needs. If you don’t want to wait in long lines, you’ll buy Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes. You might feel you need a MagicBand or MagicBand+, the Disney Dining Plan, Memory Maker, etc.. All these things cost money, but if you’re spending your money on what you perceive as a need, it doesn’t feel real, right?

Then there’s the PRICE of a Disney vacation. For many of us, we don’t even blink when we’re planning. We just book it and go. It doesn’t even feel like we’ve spent real money on the trip (at least until later after we get home and see how much we spent). There’s a high that comes with booking the trip, and then while you’re on the trip, all bets are off, and you’re suddenly Scrooge McDuck swimming in a pile of money.

But yeah, we get it, a lot of folks aren’t going to understand why we spend so much money on Disney. But it also may not understand why some families will save up for a year or longer, making sacrifices in their budget, just to have that perfect Disney vacation. Once we start using that savings for the trip, it doesn’t feel like real money because it’s already become DISNEY money.

You know what? That’s okay. We’re not saying you should go into debt for Disney (although many people do), but we do say TREAT YOSELF.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

Sneaky Ways You Can Save Money in Disney World

What do you think? Do you see Disney money in a different way? Let us know in the comments!

The post Fans Say “Disney Money” Doesn’t Feel Real, and the Internet Has a LOT to Say. first appeared on the disney food blog.