Its sad but Disneyland has priced me back to the World

[Argento]

I kinda like that some folks are priced out of Disneyland. DLR is experiencing an upswing in demand so they can charge a premium for access. The premium will, as premiums tend to do, make DLR just a little more exclusive and I am A-OK with that since I don't ever recall wishing there were somehow more people in the parks after one of our trips.

[jennilouwho]

We have the opposite problem, I would like to take my 3 kids to Disney World at least once, but to fly from Salt Lake to Orlando is insane! It would be about $2500-$3000 just to get there. I can't justify that when we can drive to California for $350.

[lisachrystine]

We got plane tickets for $165 RT from Denver to Orange County in December. We were planning on driving, but it cost $75 total more for the 5 of us to fly instead of drive - and saved us two days. Since you were a travel agent, it sounds like you know how to get deals, but my point is just not to give up. If you keep your eye on the deals, I bet you can make it work again one day

[Here4mydisneyfix]

For a MUCH cheaper hotel, check out the unnamed Hotwire deals!! We got a slammin deal at the Best Western Plus Meridian 7 nights suite for only $399, taxes and fees included! Yes, it IS 15 minutes away, but multiple ART (anaheim resort transit) routes pickup right outside the door ALL the time. Saved us a ton of money AND it's a lovely hotel with a wonderful breakfast and free parking/no resort fees too!! You could save yourself literally HUNDREDS of dollars this way! There are even cheaper deals for hotels with less stars too, as low as only $47/night, since you don't mind the "motel feel" (we don't typically either, but this is a special honeymoon/birthday trip for us!). I am calculating about $1100 savings for you if you went with the unnamed hotwire $47 motel deal in Disneyland North (actually a close one!) instead of doing Ramada! That huge of a difference in cost could totally make up the extra flight cost and probably even cover food expenses too!!

[wdwfan22]

Originally Posted by jennilouwho

We have the opposite problem, I would like to take my 3 kids to Disney World at least once, but to fly from Salt Lake to Orlando is insane! It would be about $2500-$3000 just to get there. I can't justify that when we can drive to California for $350.

Yea, I just looked at prices on Southwest from SLC to Orlando, and they are quite a bit higher than from Denver. $400 right now per person round trip, and no baggage fees. I can see how driving would keep you at DL. While DL is my favorite, I do love DW too, so I hope you can find those tickets for cheap someday and try it out. Just not in the middle or late summer. Sooo hot!

Originally Posted by Argento

I kinda like that some folks are priced out of Disneyland. DLR is experiencing an upswing in demand so they can charge a premium for access. The premium will, as premiums tend to do, make DLR just a little more exclusive and I am A-OK with that since I don't ever recall wishing there were somehow more people in the parks after one of our trips.

Haha!! Ya, I always want less people to be there too when I am!!

Originally Posted by lisachrystine

We got plane tickets for $165 RT from Denver to Orange County in December. We were planning on driving, but it cost $75 total more for the 5 of us to fly instead of drive - and saved us two days. Since you were a travel agent, it sounds like you know how to get deals, but my point is just not to give up. If you keep your eye on the deals, I bet you can make it work again one day

Thanks, I'm sure I will! There's no way I'm not going to see Carsland in the next year or so. It looks so amazing!!

Originally Posted by Here4mydisneyfix

For a MUCH cheaper hotel, check out the unnamed Hotwire deals!! We got a slammin deal at the Best Western Plus Meridian 7 nights suite for only $399, taxes and fees included! Yes, it IS 15 minutes away, but multiple ART (anaheim resort transit) routes pickup right outside the door ALL the time. Saved us a ton of money AND it's a lovely hotel with a wonderful breakfast and free parking/no resort fees too!! You could save yourself literally HUNDREDS of dollars this way! There are even cheaper deals for hotels with less stars too, as low as only $47/night, since you don't mind the "motel feel" (we don't typically either, but this is a special honeymoon/birthday trip for us!). I am calculating about $1100 savings for you if you went with the unnamed hotwire $47 motel deal in Disneyland North (actually a close one!) instead of doing Ramada! That huge of a difference in cost could totally make up the extra flight cost and probably even cover food expenses too!!

Thanks so much for this suggestion. That is an amazing deal for your hotel. I do have to remember that there are cheaper hotels options not in walking distance if it's a matter of being able to afford to go or not.

[HydroGuy]

Originally Posted by lisachrystine

We got plane tickets for $165 RT from Denver to Orange County in December. We were planning on driving, but it cost $75 total more for the 5 of us to fly instead of drive - and saved us two days. Since you were a travel agent, it sounds like you know how to get deals, but my point is just not to give up. If you keep your eye on the deals, I bet you can make it work again one day

Monument, Colorado? We're practically neighbors!

[HydroGuy]

Originally Posted by wdwfan22

Well, after falling in love again with my childhood park, Disneyland back in 2009, and not really desiring to go bacfk to Disney World (At least not before I went back to DL as many times as I could), I am heading back to the World because its sooo much cheaper.

I have seen a lot of people talking that they would like to try DW, but need to stick with DL cuz its cheaper, and it just isn't so.

I have been checking walking distance hotels lately for Sept, Oct or Feb and the prices are crazy. No retro rates hardly at HoJos. Not even any rooms for the week I was looking for. $165/nt for the Ramada Maingate? Are you kidding me? And on property hotels, wow, it seems like they have gone up, but maybe it's because I no longer have an AP for any discounts. But after much pricing, my husband and I can do 9 nts on property in a value resort in DW for about what it would cost us for 5 in DL, maybe a little less.

DW has a free dining offer for the fall, which only saves us about $400 from what it would cost in February, but every bit helps. and airfare right now is cheaper from Denver to Orlando, than to Orange County, or even LA. Crazy!

So my husband, who prefers DW pretty much just because of the dining selection, is happy. And I guess in the end, I'm thrilled to be going to any Disney park. I just really can't wait to see CarsLand and get back to my magical place.

OP, the hotel rates at the good neighbors often come down as you get closer - same thing with Hojo. So pricing out a trip now may not be indicative of what happens later in the year.

The other issue between DLR and WDW is that often the per day expense is less at WDW but the reality is you need more days at WDW so it is more expensive overall. I mean, many folks do a three day trip to DLR. Not so many to WDW.

In any case, Colorado is a great place to live, ain't it?

[squirrel]

I have done 4 trips in the past 4 years to WDW. You can get decent prices on flights. I fly out of Seattle and I believe the most I have paid was $250 per person.

I do go during Free Dining which helps a lot with the costs. I have upgraded to the regular Dining Plan when staying at a value resort.

This year I'm doing a 6 night DCL cruise down to LA, spending 4 nights outside of DLR and it's about the same price as my 2 week WDW trip. Flights would have been $99 each to get home (Bellingham-closer than Vancouver), but I used my points for free flights home. Not sure how much we will spend on food, I'm thinking mostly CS in the parks as we will have eaten a lot on the cruise. Still have to add in $ for our stop in San Francisco.

[kayleigh83]

I think the biggest thing is just watching, and waiting! Sometimes waiting too long isn't always the best bet... I was watching airfare from Vancouver to L.A. starting months ago, probably in April or even March... and then one day in late May I saw the price drop from somewhere in the $900's for two people roundtrip, to somewhere in the $700's, so we booked our tickets. I just checked prices for the same flights today (10 days out from our departure) and the price is over $1000 for roundtrip for two now! So we really hit the sweetspot for pricing, but not by waiting tooo long!

[ValpoCory]

Originally Posted by wdwfan22

But after much pricing, my husband and I can do 9 nts on property in a value resort in DW for about what it would cost us for 5 in DL, maybe a little less.

Have you looked into renting DVC points? We got it down to being able to go to DLR for 6 nights (Studio @ VGC) for the same price as 8 nights at WDW (Studio @ BWV), i.e. we found the all the costs for 8 nights at WDW is about the same as 6 nights at the Villas at the Grand Californian.

[MrsMears]

We have five trips planned to Disneyland between now and the end of November, with reservations at the Motel6 for all of those visits. The highest I am paying per night is $68 and the lowest I pay is $48, for a newly remodeled with 2 Queens and a refrigerator. On our last stay I picked up on the great suggestion of asking for the fourth floor and from the landing outside of our room I could see TOT, the Matterhorn, some of Mickey's wheel and much of the fireworks! The shuttle stops right outside of the motel office and I've already bought the shuttle passes ahead of time, saving me a considerable amount. The reality is that, I'm not sure walking vs. shuttle vs. driving, parking is much of a time difference for us.

I just yesterday started looking at a budget to do WDW next year or maybe Paris?

[disneegrl4eva]

I TOTALLY agree with you...I personally dont like parkhopping at wdw...I would rather do one park per day and frankly it costs almost as much for a 3 day parkhopper pass at DL than it does for an 8 day one park a day pass...and, there are 4 parks to go to vs. 2 parks...you can stay on property right now for as little as $69 a night with free dining..regardless whether it is CS and snack or not ...and at other times stay for almost a week for 4 people including dining for $1500..the biggest expense you may run into is the airfare and again, if you have the flexibility you can really find some great fares...dont get me wrong, I ♥ DL..its my home park but frankly many a times you cant beat wdw rates...

Originally Posted by skiingfast

This probably wasn't fair. Not apples to apples. Because you are comparing free dining and a value resort, that means no TS. That mean getting breakfast from Taste Pilots Grill or the Tomorroland Terrace, not Carnations Cafe or even Denny's. Free dining at a value resort is quick service x2 and a snack.

that is true but come on...everybody that has been to wdw knows the food quality is wayyyyy better..I would be totally fine eating CS for my entire trip at wdw...especially if its free because then it would save me a bit of money that I could use on a character meal or even upgrade to the regular DDP

Originally Posted by pixiewings71

That may be the case for you but it's the exact opposite for me. I've been trying to book us a trip to WDW for years, we have a timeshare so we don't even have to pay for a hotel but the flights price us right out of the water. For a family of 4 to fly to Orlando, simply not cost effective at all.......

Pixiewings, maybe its just the time you have been looking because I just went this past Dec. and I flew out of LAX and I didnt have a bad rate at all and my daughter is getting ready to go over a long labor day weekend and she got her rate for like $150 ea way...southwest is always having really good sales...you just have to be on the lookout for them...we are fortunate enough also that we can fly out of LAX and SNA...

Originally Posted by JadeDarkstar

just tossing this out there try quality inn 69 a night just 10 more then hojos. hope you have fun wdw or dl both are disney woot woot

well unfortunately this hotel is one of the ones on the bedbug registry..which may very well be why its only $69 a night...

[Malcon10t]

Originally Posted by disneegrl4eva

well unfortunately this hotel is one of the ones on the bedbug registry..which may very well be why its only $69 a night...

I just went to the website, and I didn't find Hojo's on their list.

Second, while bed bugs are a pain, they are usually brought in by travelers who have them at home and most hotels, once found, handle the situation. A report or two is not going to keep me form staying there.

Third, many of the economy and moderates at DW also have problems with bedbugs.

[TillyMarigold]

Originally Posted by disneegrl4eva

that is true but come on...everybody that has been to wdw knows the food quality is wayyyyy better.

Are you kidding? I've always found enough QS food options that I like at WDW by hunting and spending some time walking to them, but there's no comparison to Disneyland's options, where every QS place has a unique menu with a variety of options. If you read the WDW Dining board you'd see it's full of complaints about various WDW QS food options, whose analogs at DLR are excellent. El Pirata y el Perico vs. Rancho del Zócalo is one ... the two Tomorrowland Terraces ... Heck, even the Animal Kingdom picnic (RIP) vs. World of Color picnic. The WDW versions are decent, but the Disneyland ones are actually good.

WDW wins hand down on table-service options, but quick service is one of the reasons I'm starting to prefer Disneyland to WDW.

[scrapshappen]

Originally Posted by jennilouwho

We have the opposite problem, I would like to take my 3 kids to Disney World at least once, but to fly from Salt Lake to Orlando is insane! It would be about $2500-$3000 just to get there. I can't justify that when we can drive to California for $350.

We have this exact issue. My DH was suppose to go to a conference in Orlando the end of this month. When it was first announced in April, I ran the numbers. Even not paying for his flight or a hotel (because that would be paid for), it was cheaper for our whole family to drive to DL and stay at the Grand Californian than to fly three of us out there, buy tickets and rent a car for the week (the hotel wasn't on site).

Same thing when I wanted to go to a convention there next January (except I'm self employed so I would have had to pay for the airfare and hotel anyway, even if it would be a tax deduction).

So we are driving to DL in November instead and staying at the GC for the first time. We did get in on the old ticket rates though so that saved us nearly $200 over booking that same trip today.

ETA: It's the airfare that killed the deal for us.