Disney ignited outrage after charging its visitors stuck at their parks during Hurricane Milton for their “hurricane prep sandwich bags.” Taking to her TikTok page on Thursday (October 10), Alyssa Sprake, AKA “Disney Mama,” shared a clip of Disney’s offer to help its parks’ guests.
In the video, which has since amassed nearly 5 million views, Alyssa shared footage of Disney’s hurricane prep sandwich bags, which were seemingly laid out on a table inside a hotel.
The packages appeared to include a full-sized jar of Jiffy peanut butter and Smucker’s jelly, as well as a loaf of bread and utensils to help prepare sandwiches.
At one point, Alyssa panned to a price tag that suggested the bags cost $10 each. She also showed that Disney offered discounted select games, puzzles, and crafts at 25% off.
Disney sparked outrage after charging $10 for its “hurricane prep sandwich bags” amid Hurricane Milton
A slew of people were left in disbelief as a TikTok viewer commented: “I was thinking oh how sweet! Then saw they were charging $10.”
A person wrote: “First 5 seconds I think aww what a lovely thing to do Disney. Then see $10 wow don’t you have enough money Disney.”
“Disney should have given them FREE!” someone else penned.
“I’m sorry WHAT?!” a netizen added. “They are CHARGING YOU?!”
A viewer noted: “Unbelievable! They should be giving this away!”
A cybernaut argued: “Not only is it $10, but they have the nerve to call it a ‘special price’.”
A separate individual chimed in: “The way my mouth DROPPED when I saw they were charging for these.”
Alyssa echoed some of the feedback as she later responded in the comments: “Haha right it also comes with utensils and they’re full size jars & loafs of bread.”
The hurricane forced the Disney parks to close, but some guests had no choice but to wait out the storm in their hotels
The theme park was abruptly closed last week as 160 mp/h (approximately 257 km/h) gales hurtled toward Florida, USA, leaving a devastating wake of death and destruction, The Sun reported on Thursday.
Some guests visiting Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, were already staying at the venue and unable to leave.
While the company seemingly cheaped out on food supplies, Disney did offer discounts to guests who needed to extend their time at its resorts.
According to one guest who shared her experience with Business Insider, Disney gave stranded guests a 40% discount on rooms for hurricane relief as well as discounts on meals at hotel restaurants.
@alyssaksprake Such a good idea and they discounted board games #creatorsearchinsights #hurricane #disney #disneyworld #disneyresort #portorleansriverside #sandwich #preparation #hurricaneprep #groceries #hotel #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #florida #orlando #milton #storm ♬ Mary Poppins Winds In The East – The_Delirious_DM
As of October 2024, Walt Disney has a market cap of $170.71 billion. This makes Walt Disney the world’s 87th most valuable company, according to Companies Market Cap.
Walt Disney World and other Orlando, Florida, theme parks reopened after Hurricane Milton forced them to close last week, CBS News reported on Friday (October 11).
In a statement on its website Thursday afternoon, Disney said: “We’re grateful Walt Disney World Resort weathered the storm.
“Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney Springs will reopen on Friday, October 11 for the scheduled operating hours.
“Our hearts are with our fellow Floridians who were impacted by this storm.”
Parts of the theme park were open as early as 7:30 a.m. on Friday. Disney also said it would give guests unable to redeem their tickets due to Thursday’s park closure an extension through Oct. 11, 2025, as per CBS News.
Hurricane Milton is now being classified as a “storm of the century” in comparison to more recent hurricanes
Hurricane Milton, the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday (October 7), according to Climate.gov.
Hurricanes classified as Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale have winds exceeding 157 mp/h (252 km/h) and can cause catastrophic damage, including the total destruction of buildings and widespread power outages.
The scale has five levels: Category 1 (74-95 mp/h, 119-153 km/h), Category 2 (96-110 mp/h, 154-177 km/h), Category 3 (111-129 mp/h, 178-208 km/h), Category 4 (130-156 mp/h, 209-251 km/h), and Category 5 (157+ mp/h, 252+ km/h).
On Wednesday (October 9), Hurricane Milton plowed into Florida as a Category 3 storm, bringing misery to a coast recently ravaged by Storm Helene. The Hurricane pounded cities with winds of over 100 mp/h (160 kp/h) after producing a barrage of tornadoes, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
At least 23 people died from Hurricane Milton and more than 1.3 million customers were without power in Florida on Saturday (October 12), CBS News reported.
Bored Panda has contacted Disney for comment.
Netizens didn’t seem surprised by Disney’s decision to charge extra
