Disney Myth buster: A Disney Vacation is Too Expensive

WebmasterLeah

WebmasterLeah

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
As hard-core Disney fans, we are constantly telling anyone who will listen about our most recent trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth." The common response we hear from friends and family is that they would love to do a Disney vacation, but "it just seems too expensive." For some reason, people have this misconception that a Disney vacation is excessively more expensive than the average beach trip or renting a cabin in the mountains. Today, we are going to set the record straight. Let's break down the numbers and compare exactly how Disney stacks up against other common vacation destinations.

Read more here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/planning/disney-myth-buster-a-disney-vacation-is-too-expensive/
 
All that comparison does is tell me that Disney, beach, and mountain vacations are all expensive! LOL

Seriously, if a family is on a tight budget there are plenty of vacations that will cost you much less than any of those options. Last year we spent 5 days at Williamsburg, VA and probably spent half that much. We've also visited national parks for even less.

It's fine if you want to spend your money on a Disney vacation but there's no need justify it by pretending it's cheap.
 
I see the point of the blog post, but I would argue that it is a lot easier to lower costs for either the beach or cabin vacation vs a Disney one.
Example, the dining mentioned assumes that you are eating out more at the beach or cabin when you could easily be cooking at the cabin or condo you have rented. Hard to do that at Pop. Also, going to the beach itself does not cost much...parking? A few items... Likewise, a hike or time canoeing it pretty cheap if at the cabin.
I have done all three types of vacations and the Disney one is by far the most expensive for our family, as much as I love it
 
I think any person with the ability for critical thinking would read that article and fight to keep their eyes from rolling. The food and entertainment numbers for the beach and cabin trips seem inflated, while those for Disney are minimized. Nice try, but after all the trips we've taken to Disney and elsewhere, those numbers would definitely not fly with us.
 


WebmasterLeah said:
For some reason, people have this misconception that a Disney vacation is excessively more expensive than the average beach trip or renting a cabin in the mountains.
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This is so true. We live in NJ so the Jersey shore is a common vacation spot. Folks say they can't afford Disney but proceed to rent a beach house for a week ($2,000), buy beach tags for the family, eat fast food 3 meals/day, spend who knows how much on rides, midway games, and arcades, etc. All in all, probably spending upwards of $3,000 at a minimum. Meanwhile, we're doing a week at Disney for under $2,500.
 
disneysteve said:
This is so true. We live in NJ so the Jersey shore is a common vacation spot. Folks say they can't afford Disney but proceed to rent a beach house for a week ($2,000), buy beach tags for the family, eat fast food 3 meals/day, spend who knows how much on rides, midway games, and arcades, etc. All in all, probably spending upwards of $3,000 at a minimum. Meanwhile, we're doing a week at Disney for under $2,500.
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Pfft. In your example these would be the same people paying rack rate for a GF TPV room and eating 3 TS meals, including signature dinners every night. Then adding on dessert parties, tours and BBBpackages.
 
minnie mum said:
Pfft. In your example these would be the same people paying rack rate for a GF TPV room and eating 3 TS meals, including signature dinners every night. Then adding on dessert parties, tours and BBBpackages.
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I'm not following you. I know many people around here who rent beach houses in that price range. When I tell them that for a few hundred more, they could do a week at Disney, they're usually shocked and want more details.
 


I don't think that this in entirely a myth. With every price raising Disney becomes more expensive. Especially when at those homes that are rented on the beach or in the mountains you have a full kitchen so you can cut expenses by having breakfast or lunch in your home.

Now you can do that in the home away from or if you staying at Ft. Wilderness in a camper. Added tickets and food and you have a pretty pricy trip. It's cheaper for me but that's because there no airfaire cost if you are living in Florida.
 
I had this happen. Universal tends to be exactly equal in prices to Disney. But when we booked a trip to Orlando, Cabana Bay came out much cheaper than Pop Century even with the parking fee. Also APs are cheaper at Universal. I was shocked.

Now food, Drinks are a toss up.
 
We live in central Texas. Beach condos are now running over $200 a night and I have to cook. I don't like to cook. That is not a vacation. The mountains are far away. The closest mountain cabins (in Big Bend) are also around $150 a night without a kitchen. We stay at the Swan on points for $40 a night (resort and parking fees). Even with park tickets, we are pretty comparable. I will say that our National Park vacations are usually more than Disney. National Park lodging is very expensive. Meals inside National Parks are really pricey, too.
 
I understand the bloggers point but I don't think it's a fair comparison at all. Just as one can cut costs at WDW (stay offsite, eat offsite) they can also cut costs at other travel destinations. And while it might make sense math-wise to use a Value resort for comparison, I'll never book a hotel room unless it has at the minimum queen size beds.
 
SA mom said:
We live in central Texas. Beach condos are now running over $200 a night and I have to cook. I don't like to cook. That is not a vacation. The mountains are far away. The closest mountain cabins (in Big Bend) are also around $150 a night without a kitchen. We stay at the Swan on points for $40 a night (resort and parking fees). Even with park tickets, we are pretty comparable. I will say that our National Park vacations are usually more than Disney. National Park lodging is very expensive. Meals inside National Parks are really pricey, too.
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So everybody can stay at the Swan for $40 per night. I need to look into this. That is by far the cheapest Disney resort ever!! I'll stay there for a month if I can get that rate.
 
So much of what people consider "expensive" and what people consider a "good value" is based on context. In certain parts of the country (much of the Northeast, for example, where we live), renting a very basic house for a week in a beach town but still several miles from the beach can cost at *minimum* $2500-$3000. That's about the cost of a week's stay at a moderate or a value, plus park tickets, depending on the season. In big northeast cities, a takeout salad at a deli easily costs $12, so if you are from one of them, the quick service prices in the parks don't result in as much sticker shock.

Personally, based on stories I had heard, I was long under the impression that it was impossible to go on a Disney vacation without spending at least $10,000 (I admit I was very ill informed). So I didn't even bother looking into it. Then I learned it was absolutely possible for a family of four to go on a great Disney vacation for a third of that. Sure, you may have to use miles, sleep four in a hotel room, go during an off-peak period, stay off property or find other ways to cut costs versus renting a suite at the Contemporary during Christmas week. But it's possible.

In terms of where we find "value," we live near a beach and go all summer long. By the end of the summer, all of us are ready for an 8-month break from sand. So we really don't get that excited about beach vacations. But in my mind, a Disney vacation was always a trip-of-a-lifetime caliber experience. So finding that it was not necessarily more expensive than a beach house or other experiences that weren't nearly as special (to us) gives it a a very high value-to-expense ratio for us.

I should also add that I do acknowledge that $3000 is prohibitively expensive for MANY and a once-in-a-lifetime price tag for MANY. I think there's no question that Disney is expensive! I'm just saying that people's perception of what is "as expensive" as something else varies by circumstance, and what is a "good value" varies with perception.

Lastly, I do agree with the posters that say that some of the comparisons made in the article are apples to oranges. But I also agree with the basic conclusion.
 
I find Disney expensive. I have gone to Mexico for about $3000, traveled the US.. little trips here and there for under $4000, our annual DL trip usually runs about $7000 but this first trip to WDW is costing us $17000. To me thats a lot of money, we could have gone to Europe for that amount of money. We are going for 3 weeks, 2 at Disney, 4 days at Universal and then 2 days in Seattle. We are staying at POR with the spring deal, have the DDP and are budgeting about $2000 for spending money (including buying summer clothes in Seattle) I love Disney so I think that its money VERY well spent but I don't think that Disney is cheap at all. I am sure that it can be "done" cheap depending where you are flying from and also not eating in the parks, limiting spending money, staying off site etc. but all trips can be modified to your budget and personal tastes. I have friends who are at the moment on a 3 month adventure throughout Asia, their total budget was/is $7000. They are staying in a lot of hostels, taking buses, etc.. Personally I couldn't travel that way but thats me and everyone is different.

I also think that the more you go to the parks the easier it gets to save money on your trips because you know all the insider tricks like the cheaper places to eat, best times to go etc and you already have the t-shirts, pins etc.. but for families going on that first trip its most likely not going to be cheap. Doesn't help for us that we live on an island and just to get off of it we are looking at a couple hundred dollars.. which adds up over the year.

Overall I love going to Disney no matter the price. The feeling of walking down main st in the morning or watching the fireworks with your family... those memories are priceless. :love:
 
I feel almost like everyone is trying to find faults in the article. Guess what, everyone is different! What is expensive to you may not be expensive to me.

As far as the people saying you can cook some meals at a cabin or a beach, yes you can. You can also, as I've done in the past, bring some loaves of bread and a jar of peanut butter with you and eat nothing but peanut butter sandwiches while you're at WDW. For many people, a "vacation" also includes a vacation for the one who usually cooks at home, and eating out almost every meal. For a fair comparison, you want to eliminate as many variables as you can. In this case, eliminating the option of eating at "home" is such a variable.

Entertainment is also highly variable, if not the greatest variable in this article. My wife could be perfectly happy sitting at watching waves roll in on a beach or sitting by a pool. The idea of that makes me want to stab my eyes out! Some people could stare at a "scenic mountainside" all day. Same reaction from me. (I freely admit that I am of the generation that needs to be constantly entertained.)

To me, you probably get more for your "admissions" dollars at Disney than anywhere else. Last year, my family went to Pigeon Forge. An adult ticket for WonderWorks costs around $30, iirc. However we were through with it in around three hours. That's comparable to a $100 one-day WDW ticket, especially if used during maximum park hours.
 
disneysteve said:
This is so true. We live in NJ so the Jersey shore is a common vacation spot. Folks say they can't afford Disney but proceed to rent a beach house for a week ($2,000), buy beach tags for the family, eat fast food 3 meals/day, spend who knows how much on rides, midway games, and arcades, etc. All in all, probably spending upwards of $3,000 at a minimum. Meanwhile, we're doing a week at Disney for under $2,500.
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Yep. It does help, as with Disney, to not go at peak times (the last two weeks of July/first two weeks of August) but even so, a rental in a good location doesn't come cheap. (Source: I used to work in shore real estate.) However: I have found that I can stay longer down the shore than I can at Disney, especially since breakfast and lunch are usually at the house.
 
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