In 2016, Disney World announced that aspiring bridezillas all over the work can now plan to have their dream wedding in front of Cinderella’s castle. For just $75,000, you to can pretend to be a Disney Princess, kiss your prince and live happily ever after. So what else do you actually get for this $75,000? Up to 100 people at your ceremony, which must happen at 9:30am sharp (sounds brutal). The rest of the fee is for food and beverage minimums at your reception, which must be held at another location. For a few thousand more, you can make an entrance in Cinderella’s horse drawn glass coach, have fireworks, or add a slew of Disney characters who make $7.50 per hour.
It isn’t really surprising to me that Disney has started to take more advantage of the ridiculous wedding industry. Through their movies, they are partially responsible for perpetuating the stereotypical “dream wedding” into every little girls brain. Years later when these same little girls begin to plan their weddings, Disney can finally cash in.
None of this is surprising however, since over the years Disney Parks have started to leave the middle class in the dust, catering more toward the wealthy. So much so that they have raised park prices, which started at $3.50 in 1971, 41 times in the past decade.
Thinking about making huge profits on life events, makes me wonder what would happen if the Disney Parks “magical” experience extended into death. The stark reality is, none of us are getting out of life alive, and what happens after is a mystery to us all. If you could help make the experience more magical for your family and friends, as well as have your “dream funeral” would you? Just think of the huge money making opportunity official Disney funerals could be.
For a moment, let us imagine Disney’s foray into the death industry.
Disney parks would build several private cemeteries and funeral homes on official property, but not close enough to parks to be depressing. They pump cookie smell all day every day, just like Main Street. The cemeteries would be full of burial plots themed by land. For $300k, you could be buried in the vast cemetery versions of Fantasyland, Adventureland. Tommorowland or Frontierland.
The options for official Disney Parks coffins would be extensive and just like weddings, come with themed funeral add ons. Most coffins would have Dooney and Bourke interiors. Tombstones would be available in any Disney character or castle form. Disney asks that tombstone themes be kept in sync with the land of chosen burial. No Cinderella tombstones will be allowed in Frontierland, for instance.
A sample of the many options:
Package A: Snow White’s glass coffin. Comes with Seven Dwarf mourners to attend your funeral. Must be buried in the Fantasyland section.
Package B: Rocket into the beyond in a Space Mountain coffin. Glows in the dark. Comes with a eulogy by Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Must be buried in Tommorowland section.
Package C: Be buried in an actual retired ride car of your choosing. Burial section must coordinate with ride land.
Add ons:
$3,000, gets you or your loved ones name written in fireworks.*only available on off peak weeknights.
$5,000 gets you a Cinderella’s coach ride to your burial place.
$8,000 gets you a Eulogy by an animatronic of your choosing.
$600 gets a tweet shout out of the obituary, from the Disney Parks official twitter of your choosing.
Some VIP fans can choose to have their head cryogenically frozen and placed near Walt’s underneath The Magic Kingdom. *This option would only be available to illuminati members.
And if anyone could make death, funerals and burials magical, i’m certain Disney could.
And if anyone could make death, funerals and burials magical, i’m certain Disney could.
As awesome as this all would be, Disney does not offer any post death services as of yet. I personally don’t see much of a difference in Disney Parks offering death options than wedding ones. Sure, one is a very happy life event, and the other is the saddest, but both require them to sell to people who will pay big money to have the Disney Parks experience. Both also require them to prey on the aspirational hopes and dreams of Disney fans wordwide-even if unattainable.