Anyone else think that Disney is fairly economical?

[DisneyFanSince71]

Since discovering this board and DisneyMoms, I was always amazed at the number of people who go to Disney regularly. But the question I had was " how could they afford it?"

I know many people are hurting financially so I hope this reads as encouragement, however I do think that its fairly inexpensive to go to Disney compared to other amusement parks. (30/40 per day). Compare that price to a 10-day no-expiration ticket ($50.10 as priced on Undercover Tourist). Then, for another $52, I can buy 10 more admissions for the water parks, 9-hole golf course, Disney Quest or Wide World of Sports. WOW !! That would be perhaps 20 days of entertainment for $553 ($27.65 per day). It makes sense to throw on a Park Hopper as the $52 cost is ammortized over 10 days making the final cost $605 per ticket. ($30.25 per day).

Then consider what you get for that money it seems pretty cheap as long as you are willing to make that financial commitment.

Just got back and used 4 days on my tickets, next time I plan to use 3 days at WDW, go to the water parks for 2 days, then hit Universal Studios for a couple of day. Then after that trip and I would still have enough days on my tickets for another future WDW trip.

Thoughts?

 

[GoofyGirl75]

Honestly, I tell people this a lot. We spend about as much going to the beach a few hours away, so we might as well head to Disney!

 

[leelip1982]

me and my difi go upwards of 8-10 times a year. one long trip with a few days here and there. We have passes and as long as you go twice in a year the pass pays for it self, dvc and we get pass holder and fl resident rates. disney makes it affordable you just have to look and go the right time of year.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We also find that Disney is more economical for us and that's not counting on savings w/ the tickets. We save on transportation b/c we don't go anywhere when we get there. Magical Express takes us for free from/to airport, so no cab fee's. Airline tickets are cheaper than anywhere else we have went recently (we are not near a major city/hub). Hotels are the same or less than what we would pay in other places (for value and mods, not deluxe), dining plan has made dining cheaper (or TIW cards for some) and free dining works perfectly for us. As far as the tickets we don't have to spend money daily on entertainment b/c we have tickets and there is never a shortage of things to do. We now have AP's so as somone else mentioned, 2 trips and they pay for themselves. And I know exactly what to expect when I go.

When we take trips elsewhere we spend as much or more than when we go to Disney and the trips usually are not any more magical or special.

I go get tired of people thinking I am 'rich' b/c we go to WDW all the time and I don't even bother to explain how cheap it can be anymore.

 

[BradyBz12]

I definitely think it can be economical. WDW is our big annual vacation. We bring our camper and stay at FW. Since we go for 3 weeks at a time, we purchase APs and time our trips to get 2 in within 365 days. So for us, we're paying approx. $1000 for 40+ days in the parks for 2 people. That's about $12.50 pp/day.

As AP holders, we purchase the TiW card, which saves us 20% on most table service meals (incl. drinks) and again, one card is good for 2 trips. It's been well worth it for us, paying for itself with just a couple of really nice meals at the Cali. Grill.

We eat breakfasts and some lunches at the camper, and usually one good meal out per day. We do enough research ahead on the menus to make good choices based on what we like to eat and spend. We found that many restaurants offer nearly the same menu at lunch time for less $, so often I'll book an ADR for a very late lunch and we'll just have a snack later. All that said, we definitely eat/drink well and don't skimp.

Not counting "stuff" (and we don't buy much of that anymore), the 2 of us can usually pull off a 20 night trip - park passes, campsite & food/beverages - for about $165/day. I can't find a room alone anywhere I'd like to go for that much, never mind eat and DO stuff.

 

[marie1203]

We do! Disney is the cheapest vacations we've ever had. And now every vacations I plan I cant help but compare it with what will I get in Disney with that kind of money. Next year we will go back to disney for a short trip but my DH really wants to go to the Galapagos islands only tickets to get there is over $1000 each .

 

[KellyNY]

Be honest, I cannot travel all the way from NY and do only 3, 4 days at main parks. I will take 8-10 days with water parks and I will use every single day. Yes I will have some water days unused but I will not upgrade to non expiring, it will be cheaper for me add water option again when I will come.
I rarely do Universal or any other parks besides Disney, because all together it really costs a lot. I can manage with food options. We will split portions and refill botles with water and ice but we will also get some ADRs, after all it is vacation. We usually stay at CBR, as we love it a lot and we do spend some time at hotel, so it is a big part of our vacation. With that said, I cannot say, we do Disney economical way. Yes we can, but we will not like it. I think it better works for people who can drive to Disney and therefore can do it more often, but it costs us $700+ only airfare, so it is one big vacation.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

I have expensive tastes in vacations. (Africa, Belize, Maladives, etc) so I can always get my husband to go to Disney by comparing the prices to the other places on my must visit list.

 

[jtopp]

I have compared cost wise a week at our favorite disney resort with a visit to our local beach resort. Other then the cost to get there, disney is a better bargain, and a lot nicer.

 

[Rip]

I think park tickets are fairly economical provided you stay for more than 4 days. Other than that, no, I can't think of anything else at Disney (or any other theme park) that is economical in the least. Disney doesn't make its longest green through ticket sales, that just covers most of their expenses.

 

[kaligal]

Disney is not cheap. No matter how you look at it, it isn't cheap.

Whether or not it is worth what they charge is up to each person, but there are MANY cheaper vacations out there.

 

[lllGurulll]

Disney is probably the biggest bang for your buck but I would not call it economical by any stretch. WE have to seriously budget and cut to make Disney work at all for us. When we go to Disney we pretty much sacrifice an entire two years of vacations. That includes cutting out any 3 day weekends. As an adult, I would rather have a bunch of mini vacations. As a parent, I love the look in my kids eyes when they see Disney. I enjoy things either way but I sure wish the prices were just a little bit lower than they are.

 

[ambertides]

It depends. We had $600 for our many-years-late honeymoon and did that at WDW with Florida Resident 4-day play passes and staying offsite. That included renting a car, gas, parking, and food. I think it can be nearly as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, depending on where you're coming from and what discounts are available to you.

 

[FINFAN]

It brings decent bang for the buck to our family. For us, just GETTING anywhere for vacation is the main cost..(Chicago is just an expensive place to travel from, ESPECIALLY for Christmas and Easter)heading South is a profitable market here. Anyway, compared to paying $250 a night for the Dells water park? WDW is a no brainer.

 

[stacy347]

WDW is definitely a better value than other vacation spots for us. I probably wouldn't call it economical myself, but a good deal for sure.
There are so many things to do once you are on property that don't require extra spending and that is one of things I love about it!

 

[RMulieri]

I agree. A trip to the beach costs about the same or more for us and not as good a value.

 

[Dopey420]

We rent DVC points every time we go and so we always stay deluxe for about $100/night on weekdays. You cannot beat that rate at the beach!

 

[kschafer]

Cheap certainly is a relative term! Yes, the cost of tickets distributed over 20 days isn't bad but for many people, the cost of getting there, lodging and food can be restrictive.

Don't get me wrong, I love Disney but certainly our 2 week family tour of national parks was considerably less than our 2 weeks at WDW since we could drive our own vehicle and the cost of entertainment was much less ($80 for an annual pass for the entire family). And for some reason, a picnic lunch at a national park seems more appropriate than one in a Disney park so our food costs were also lower.

 

[dburg30]

I'm surprised at the number of people I talk to when I say something about WDW is that it's sooo expensive to get in... Well, most people know that a 1 day pass is over $70, but I'm amazed that most people dont realize that once you are over 3 days, the price per day starts to be pretty much a non-issue.. They think if you are there for 7 days you are spending almost $500 per ticket..


But I feel it can be economical with travel being resonable (again depending on where you live, being in CMH we are big enough to have decent choices for flights, and an airport close, but small enough to not be overwhelmed) and if you can go when they have decent resort pricing, it can be doable.

 

[Coach81]

Not sure if "economical" is quite the right word. When I was growing up.. we NEVER went to Disney.. my parents simply could not afford, or did not want to spend the money for it. I did not visit Disney until I was nearly 18 years old. Now that I have my own kids.. I want them to have happier childhood memories than what I had. We don't consider Disney "cheap" or economical as we have to save up to do it.. but we do consider it a great value when you consider what you get for your money, and all the great memories that are made each and every trip.