I've always been a big fan of Disney and an even bigger fan of Disneyland. Like everyone else, I watched the price of one day at Disneyland go up and up over the years to it now being $76 per adult. Until this past weekend, I thought that was a lot of money. Well, it is a lot of money, but it's totally worth it.

Think about it. There is no way to really know how much money it cost to build Disneyland, but let's try to guess. First, the land the park is on, in the middle of Anaheim, is worth billions. Add to that the cost of building the park. Then add the cost of California Adventure and Downtown Disney. At this point, I am guessing we are easily into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

And of course, building it isn't enough. You have to pay people to operate the park, which includes not only running the rides, but stocking all the food and merchandise, running all the food stands and stores, performing the shows and parades, providing constant security without ruining the experience, and many other jobs that I probably don't even know exist.

All that to say that your $76 doesn't even come close to covering the smallest fraction of what you get to enjoy. For $76 you get to experience things that you probably wouldn't even dream of if Disney didn't put the idea in your head (that's an interesting thought), like riding a boat through caves of pirates or taking a jeep through a crazy temple or watching a water/light show that you have to see to believe.

In a day and age when everything cool costs $200, Disneyland is the best deal you can find.