Its sad but Disneyland has priced me back to the World

[kirstie101]

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.......

Ditto this for our family. I would love to take us to DW for a week but we simply can't afford the airfare for 4 people. DL works well for us because we are able to drive there. $250 in gas vs $1600 in airfare. Right now its a no brainer and we stick to DL. I do hope to get to DW someday though!!!

[DisneytheKid]

Have a nice trip to WDW. Hope to see you back at DL in the future!

[Huff]

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!

We've used Hotwire to book the Radisson Suites near Knotts. Its about 6 miles away but very easy on/off freeway access to hotel and DLR. Its around $65/nt on hotwire (rack rate around $150+) and is a large 2 bedroom suite, free hot breakfast and free parking.

I've seen the Meridian show up on Hotwire (not to difficult to figure out what the hotel will be). But I wasn't sure if it was a decent place with a good breakfast. Will have to look into it next trip! Thanks!

[chrissiecutie]

Here's my 2cents....

Your starting location will make a huge difference. As others have said, flying from the East Coast to West Coast or vice versa, is pricey! It's much cheaper to fly to CA when you're only a 2 hour flight away. And same goes for FL.

Personally, I think the FL park tix are a much better value. Since they obviously encourage you to extend your stay to as long as humanly possible, it's much cheaper the longer you go. DLR eventually caps off and the price doesn't appear to go down as much when compared to WDW tix. That's just my opinion though...

Hotel prices seems to be fairly even. The WDW value resorts can be reserved for $89/night and I know many DLR hotels/motels can be found for the same price. Its hard to compare hotels straight across the board here because DLR only offers 3 onsite hotels vs WDW many. But I would imagine that many DLR Good Neighbors would be equal to the WDW Values. Although I do long for onsite cafeteria while at DLR Good Neighbors.

With that being said....I've never been to WDW. And this is because of the price. However, I am planning a WDW trip for Fall of 2013 so that I can hopefully score FREE dining and before my son turns 9 and we have to pay more for his tix. I'm hoping by doing these 2 things, this will save us enough money to be able to afford a trip.

[Jkpark]

However, I am planning a WDW trip for Fall of 2013 so that I can hopefully score FREE dining and before my son turns 9 and we have to pay more for his tix. I'm hoping by doing these 2 things, this will save us enough money to be able to afford a trip.

I also have a tentative trip on the calendar before my DD6 jumps up to adult prices. We recently joined DVC so won't get free dining - but if you have children 3-9 who like character meals - the Dining Plan seems to very quickly pay for itself.

[chrissiecutie]

Originally Posted by Jkpark

I also have a tentative trip on the calendar before my DD6 jumps up to adult prices. We recently joined DVC so won't get free dining - but if you have children 3-9 who like character meals - the Dining Plan seems to very quickly pay for itself.

Yes! I'm really thinking this is the way to go, seems like a good deal anyways!

I saw that they are offering the free dining from end of Sept to end of Dec of this year. So much longer time frame then I had initially thought, makes me hopeful that I could actually do more of a Christmas holiday trip instead- which is my preference.

Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??

[disneegrl4eva]

Originally Posted by Malcon10t

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

hojo??? the poster of the $69 a night was for quality inn on manchester not hojo...i love hojo but they sell out of their retro rates really quick!

Originally Posted by TillyMarigold

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.

no Im not kidding...hands down wdw has better food...i live in CA and Ive gone to DL a billion times..there is not one place in DL that I havnt eaten at..I cant vouch for the mexican places because I have taquerias and mexican restaurants at every street corner here so the last thing Im going to do is eat mexican at DL but are you trying to say that DL food is better than oh say Flame Tree, or Sci Fi, rose and crown, Le Chefs de France????...to each their own I guess but I for one am basing this on experience not other peoples opinions and complaints..granted I know that the majority of people say that Corral Reef is not good so I would definitely listen to majority rules here but for the most part I do think its very different...I could gain 20lbs eating at wdw where at DL I just eat junk pretty much now

[Jkpark]

Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??

I've read that as long as he is 9 on the first day he uses the ticket - he can use the 3-9 ticket. Definitely if he has not yet had his 10th birthday. Even if you were there for the week around his birthday, if he was 9 on the first day in the park and turned 10 the next day - you would be okay.

Note for No Expiration ticket (WDW) - if you used the first half when he was 9 and then tried to use the non-expired days when he was 10, you would have to pay to upgrade.

[Stitch35]

Originally Posted by chrissiecutie

Yes! I'm really thinking this is the way to go, seems like a good deal anyways!

I saw that they are offering the free dining from end of Sept to end of Dec of this year. So much longer time frame then I had initially thought, makes me hopeful that I could actually do more of a Christmas holiday trip instead- which is my preference.

Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??

If your child is still 9 at the beginning of your trip you get to pay for the 3-9 tix. We did this for my ds 3rd birthday. He was 2 when the trip began so we didn't have to pay for his tix for the whole trip. It's in the fine print

[pixiewings71]

Originally Posted by Huff

People who live on the east coast in driving distance or short flight to Orlando would certainly have the same problem when visiting DLR. We live in Phoenix. A 6 hour drive to DLR. But often I have been able to find airfare to Orlando for less than $300. When DW has free dining and hotels are at value season rates DW has been a good value.

Does Southwest ever have decent fares out of San Francisco, San Jose or Oakland to Orlando? We fly SW mostly but you have to watch fares almost daily and buy when they drop as they only do so for a few days 2 to 3 months out.

ITA, I was just pointing out to the OP that those of us on the West Coast have the same pricing issue getting to WDW.
SW is one I watch, as is JetBlue and Delta, but with our travel times we don't find the "good" fares that others seem to find. Also, with those great fares there will be multiple stops and I try to keep the stops to a minimum while flying, I know they will happen, but I prefer as few as possible. Many of the rates I've seen that have been good have had 4 stops! Also, I have 4 people to fly, there is no chance I'm going to find airfare for $300 total for 4 people. LOL I can do gas for about $150 there and back, for 4 people that's much more workable.

Originally Posted by 3Minnies1Mickey

We found a GREAT rate with Delta ($281 RT) from Oakland to Orlando in October for DH and I.


Pixiewings....try flying 6 people!! We decided when we do make the trip to WDW, we go for 2 weeks and also stay in our timeshare (we actually traded into DVC and stayed onsite). Though in no way cheaper than a trip to Disneyland where we can drive....it IS cheaper than getting Disneyland APs for us all and doing 2+ trips.

that's awesome!! Did you book it directly through Delta? We can trade into DVC too, there's a ton of availability in the WDW hotels, I wish we had that same availability into the VGC. With our current timeshare options we can get 4-6 5-7 day visits to DL and get APs for less than flying to WDW. LOL

Originally Posted by wdwfan22

I'm sorry the airfare is so much for you. Hopefully you can get there someday, both resorts really are wonderful!!

Thanks, I will someday, right now I'm shooting for 2 years from now, to celebrate DD16 graduating from high school. But in reality it's probably at least 5 years away.

Originally Posted by disneegrl4eva

I TOTALLY
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...

I do watch, it seems what I've found won't work for us for various reasons, but I'll keep watching.

Originally Posted by scrapshappen

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.

I'm jealous, I want to stay at the GCH! It's always the airfare, it's not the tickets, it's not the food, it's not the hotel, it's the airfare.

Originally Posted by kirstie101

Ditto this for our family. I would love to take us to DW for a week but we simply can't afford the airfare for 4 people. DL works well for us because we are able to drive there. $250 in gas vs $1600 in airfare. Right now its a no brainer and we stick to DL. I do hope to get to DW someday though!!!

nice to see I'm not the only one with this problem.

Originally Posted by Stitch35

If your child is still 9 at the beginning of your trip you get to pay for the 3-9 tix. We did this for my ds 3rd birthday. He was 2 when the trip began so we didn't have to pay for his tix for the whole trip. It's in the fine print

Yes, this is 100% accurate. If your child is 9 at the start of your vacation your child is 9 for the duration. We took DD12 for her 10th birthday, we had APs but for dining she still counted as a "child" and she was able to order from the kids menu at BB for her meal.

[tiffjoy]

We are going to DL in Sept and DW in January. We live just five hours from DL, so we drive. Aside from staying onsite being more expensive if you usually stay in the value DW resorts, I don't see much of a difference. We are staying at FFI this time for $100/night. We've stayed at HOJOs for less, but they were booked. I live being able to walk to all the parks, which is a definite plus for me in terms of DL vs DW. We are hoping for free dining at DW but we've never gotten it before so that's not a factor.

I really don't see much of a difference, except when we add in airfare for DW which makes it significantly more.

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by chrissiecutie

However, I am planning a WDW trip for Fall of 2013 so that I can hopefully score FREE dining and before my son turns 9 and we have to pay more for his tix. I'm hoping by doing these 2 things, this will save us enough money to be able to afford a trip.

The tickets go THROUGH 9 years old. The next step up happens when the child turns TEN. Disneyland tickets, WDW tickets, WDW dining, the change happens when they turn 10.

3-9 means three through nine. Not *to*.

When DS was bitty I went through this with zoos. Zoo in Seattle said it one way, the zoo in Tacoma said it the other....was such a pain to figure out how long he was free at each, LOL.

But seriously, it's 10 when it changes, so feel free to go while he's 7, 8, AND 9. Save up for once he's 10.

[sheetz]

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.

It sounds like your problems are mostly with offsite hotel prices and airfares, neither of which Disneyland has any control over. The only reason WDW has promos like Free Dining is that they have 20,000+ hotel rooms that need to be filled during the off season.

[chrissiecutie]

Originally Posted by bumbershoot

The tickets go THROUGH 9 years old. The next step up happens when the child turns TEN. Disneyland tickets, WDW tickets, WDW dining, the change happens when they turn 10.

3-9 means three through nine. Not *to*.

When DS was bitty I went through this with zoos. Zoo in Seattle said it one way, the zoo in Tacoma said it the other....was such a pain to figure out how long he was free at each, LOL.

But seriously, it's 10 when it changes, so feel free to go while he's 7, 8, AND 9. Save up for once he's 10.

Thank you ALL for clearing this up for me! I had a feeling this was the case, but I wanted to make sure. Now of course I'm hoping to score FREE dining, go during the Christmas holiday AND get DS in for the cheaper 3-9 prices.

And I have to agree...it seems to really come down to the airfare. I've priced WDW vs DLR many times and hotel, tix, food are all about the same. However it's airfare that adds a ton to our budget!

Does anyone know if Alaska flys to FL? I'm assuming so...but since I've never been to FL, I don't know. My plan is to apply for an Alaska Air credit card next year (about a year before our trip) for both myself and DH. With the credit card comes a $50 companion fare each year, for a round trip of $100 plus taxes. Now granted, Alaska does charge for checked bags but the checked bag fee would be much less then what I would pay for 3 full price air tix from another company. Right now tix seem to be about $320 round trip, so X3= $960. But if I'm able to get the Alaska companion fare, I would pay around $740, so a difference of $220. Every little bit helps!

Right now for us to fly to CA is about $550. So really- WDW would only be $200 more....that is if Alaska flys to FL & I can use my companion fare!

[disneegrl4eva]

Originally Posted by sheetz

It sounds like your problems are mostly with offsite hotel prices and airfares, neither of which Disneyland has any control over. The only reason WDW has promos like Free Dining is that they have 20,000+ hotel rooms that need to be filled during the off season.

the reason behind free dining is irrelevant...they offer free dining and DL doesnt....but let me just say that with all this input about apples to apples and such...you cant compare offsite hotels/motels such as hojo, fairfield inn etc.. with a value resort either because offsite doesnt have a food court and value resorts do and none of the offsite properties have EMH included...if you have EMH its because you got it as part of your tix and even then you only get one... whereas at even at a value resort you get EMH and depending on what park you go to you can get it either in the morning or evening and pretty much everyday you can utilize a different park which can be invaluable when its peak season