Disney is a good value

[GracieB]

I disagree with those who say the Disney parks are a rip off. While pricey, you get a lot of entertainment for the money. I do think that kids, seniors or disabled should pay less, though. Remember the ticket books? Those were fair, since not everyone rides the big rides.

I recently paid $120 per person for a field club seat to a SF Giants game. In comparison to paying over $25 more than a Disneyland ticket, compare 3 hours of entertainment to a full day/night at Disneyland!

I rest my case.

 

[janatmovies]

I agree. Think about how many people flock to Times Square, admission to 2 attractions there (let's say the wax Musuem and a play) is over 100 per person. With Disney there's something for everyone, your immersed in magic all around you. I just love it!

 

[supergoofy]

I agree.

Disney per hour is about twice what the local theater charges if I bought a 1 day ticket. It gets closer in price when you get realistic and look at a weeks vacation.

 

[crisi]

It really depends on what you compare it to. We did a wonderful week in Washington DC for less than half of what Disney cost. We did an all inclusive in Mexico for much cheaper as well.

 

[DizMe]

I disagree with those who say the Disney parks are a rip off. While pricey, you get a lot of entertainment for the money. I do think that kids, seniors or disabled should pay less, though. Remember the ticket books? Those were fair, since not everyone rides the big rides.

I recently paid $120 per person for a field club seat to a SF Giants game. In comparison to paying over $25 more than a Disneyland ticket, compare 3 hours of entertainment to a full day/night at Disneyland!

I rest my case.

Just because something else costs more doesn't make the first thing a good value, LOL. Sporting events are horrendously overpriced IMO, but that doesn't have anything to do with whether or not Disney is a good value.

I used to find Disney an excellent value, and it still is in some cases. As a family vacation for 5 of us, though, it is not. We can spend a week in Hawaii for less. We spent a lot less to go through Yellowstone and the surrounding area for 10 days last summer than we spent for 4 days in Disneyland at Christmas. It's a good deal for me by myself, as I have an annual pass and go with 3 friends so we split costs. That is very doable and a good bargain (and an excellent "girls' trip").

 

[wiigirl]

I agree. Think about how many people flock to Times Square, admission to 2 attractions there (let's say the wax Musuem and a play) is over 100 per person. With Disney there's something for everyone, your immersed in magic all around you. I just love it!

 

[ICF]

Just because something else costs more doesn't make the first thing a good value, LOL.

Exactly --- for some people Disney is a rip off and for others it's a great deal.....but just because someone overpaid for Giants tix doesnt make Disney a good or bad value.

 

[GracieB]

You are entitled to your opinion. I just love all things Disney.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

I agree...but mostly because I only have one child which makes it a bit easier! There are so many places I want to travel to, but whenever I price out airfare alone to Europe where we would like to visit, I simply cannot afford it...airfare to FL for us is $200 a person. Someday when our daughter is older we can venture out and do more, but for now, it's such a fun vacation for us and not too pricey compared to some of the other options we have looked into. Although, it's definitely more expensive then a trip to the beach or lakes nearby, ha!

 

[MillauFr]

I agree with the original poster. I priced a week of skiing at Whistler vs. Disneyland. Even though we had to pay for airline tickets, Disneyland was cheaper.

 

[GracieB]

Yes, and I realize it is pretty steep for big families. But then, most major travel (Hawaii, Europe, high end resorts) are expensive too, for large groups. I know that national parks, going to the beach or lake, etc., are certainly a bargain in comparison.

 

[flutterby3744]

Yes, and I realize it is pretty steep for big families. But then, most major travel (Hawaii, Europe, high end resorts) are expensive too, for large groups. I know that national parks, going to the beach or lake, etc., are certainly a bargain in comparison.

Yes. With a larger family, EVERYTHING is more expensive. For my family of 6, just going to the movies is well over $100, add dinner to that and your hitting the $200 mark. We live outside of Chicago and for spring break we priced out staying in the city overnight and going to 2 museums. Between hotel, food, museums, and misc spending it was over $1000! For one night, 2 days. Is Disney expensive? Yes, but so is everything else.

I agree that Disney is a good value. For the quality of entertainment, it can't be beat IMO.

 

[BSOGfam]

To the OP, I love the Giants, and I love Disney. Both are a great value to our family because the experience means so much to us

 

[Marionnette]

I disagree with those who say the Disney parks are a rip off. While pricey, you get a lot of entertainment for the money. I do think that kids, seniors or disabled should pay less, though. Remember the ticket books? Those were fair, since not everyone rides the big rides.

I recently paid $120 per person for a field club seat to a SF Giants game. In comparison to paying over $25 more than a Disneyland ticket, compare 3 hours of entertainment to a full day/night at Disneyland!

I rest my case.

I don't think that Disney is the great value that it used to be. The prices have skyrocketed (outpacing inflation) and the service/product has declined.

I do not feel that kids, seniors and those with a disability (as if a ticket booth CM would even be able to legally make the determination as to who qualifies for a disabled discount), should get any kind of admission discount. Children under the age of 10 already get a slight price break even though most attractions have height restrictions that an average 5 year old could meet. There's enough at Disney for all ages to enjoy. Disney has added a lot of entertainment since doing away with the ticket books.

If you want to make comparisons, I recently priced a stay at the GF, in an outer building, no special view. It cost more than a room at New York's Waldorf Astoria. IMO, not a good value.

 

[MrsPete]

No, Disney is not a great value. That doesn't mean it's not worthwhile, but it is no way a discount or budget choice. Things I can do for less money:

- Cruise in off-season; if you choose an ocean view cabin, this is less than $100/person/day and includes entertainment and food.

- Rent a beach house or a lake house. We can do this for about $500/week for a two or three bedroom place.

- Someone mentioned Washington DC, which is a great place to take kids. We've done it three times, and we can always get hotel rooms for $50-70, and the museums and activities are mostly free.

- Las Vegas is cheaper than Disney. We paid only $40 for a Priceline hotel, and entertainment there is cheap. Food was expensive, but it was good food; whereas Disney food was the same price for sandwich type stuff.

- You mentioned sports tickets -- those vary widely, and -- in all fairness -- you were comparing professional sports and top-notch tickets. We can get a "family pack" to watch a minor league baseball game for $40. That includes good seats, dinner and popcorn. When our Sunday School class goes to a hockey game and gets group tickets, it's less than $20/person.

- Next week our high school's putting on a play. Because I'm a teacher, I'll go for free, but my family's tickets will only be $5 each. We can see really good quality plays and concerts at the university down the road for similar prices.

I can think of dozens of things we can do for less money than visiting a Disney Park. In fact, I have trouble thinking of things that cost MORE a Disney visit -- the Cirque show we saw in Vegas was more expensive, but after that, I'm kind of stuck.

Keep in mind that none of this means you shouldn't visit Disney or that Disney isn't a fun vacation. It just isn't in any stretch of the imagination a budget choice.

 

[MrsPete]

To the OP, I love the Giants, and I love Disney. Both are a great value to our family because the experience means so much to us

Ah, you're using the word "value" in two ways, and that's what's confusing the issue:

Value as in money. Disney is a tremendously expensive vacation. It is not a good value in terms of money.

Value as in ranking high in your emotional world. If you love Disney and have had good experiences there as a family, then it might rank high among your values -- but that doesn't mean it's a good bargain.

 

[leebee]

Two separate questions here: One is how does a Disney trip stack up financially to a trip elsewhere, and the other is how much pleasure do you get from your trip to Disney (which probably justifies the price).

I used to find Disney a cheaper, more affordable, better value vacation than a trip almost anywhere else, because it was cheap for us, and we loved it. It comes down to the choices you make for your family. For 19 of our Disney trips, we stayed offsite. Often we were traveling with other family members, but even when it was just me and DD (and especially when DH traveled with us), it was more cost-effective to stay offsite and rent a car. Because of affiliation programs, we were staying in suite hotels or villas for about $50 a night- sometimes split between two families, and the cost of the minivan (once again deeply discounted… $100 for a week, never more than $200) was split with my sis and her 2 kids. My sis had APs for many years, so that took care of parking. We ate breakfast at our suite/villa, and ate dinner offsite several times a trip, also. Disney was an incredibly cheap way for us to vacation. However, many families wouldn't consider it a Disney vacation if they had to stay offsite. That significantly increases hotel costs, even if you don't use a rental car/parking, due to DME. If you have a larger family (three kids) you have to get 2 rooms or a suite/villa- NOT cheap at Disney prices. This would be detrimental for us… but for some people, staying offsite would ruin their trip and make it a significantly "bad value" for them.

Disney became a better value for us once they started DME. Staying offsite, without other families to split costs with, increased the price of our vacation. SUddenly Disney took away the cost of a rental car and parking, and by paying attention to their calendar, we didn't have to pay rack rate. Sure, it was a claustrophobically small room, but we were only there to sleep. Then free dining came in, and for awhile that increased the value of staying onsite, too. However, we have learned that we HATE using the Disney buses during the week, and the dining plan isn't a good fit for our eating habits, so while they still might be a good value, they detract from our enjoyment of our vacation. We rent the car (at least we don't pay for parking), purchase the appetizers/adult beverages and skip dessert, etc., while staying onsite. Definitely detracts from the value… but increases the pleasure, so we justify it.

We have a big trip coming up: We are going to the Food & Wine festival to celebrate DD's 21st birthday! We are all VERY excited, but this is a BIG, costly trip for us. We are staying at BWV in a studio, rented on DVC points (but STILL $200 a night- ouch, for us), bought park hopper passes so we can go to F&W whenever we want to (we stopped hopping years ago), and will rent a car as we prefer this to the bus and feel it saves us time, and time=money at Disney. I am HAPPY to spend this money (which I know is trivial for some, but WAY over what we usually spend at Disney) because it's a special trip. What will determine the VALUE of this trip will be whether we have a wonderful, relaxing, enjoyable time. I have concerns with how FP+ will effect our trip, which will in turn effect how I feel about the value of this particular Disney trip. Only time will tell, and I am trying not to stress about it, but enjoyment vs. cost is pretty much how I determine whether a Disney trip was a "good value" and "worth it" for me. Don't worry… we still will have a wonderful time, as we are celebrating a milestone event for the most perfect daughter imaginable, traveling together as a family. I'll judge the value of the trip AFTER it's over- not going to let THAT ruin our fun while we are there!

 

[eliza61]

I disagree with those who say the Disney parks are a rip off. While pricey, you get a lot of entertainment for the money. I do think that kids, seniors or disabled should pay less, though. Remember the ticket books? Those were fair, since not everyone rides the big rides.

I recently paid $120 per person for a field club seat to a SF Giants game. In comparison to paying over $25 more than a Disneyland ticket, compare 3 hours of entertainment to a full day/night at Disneyland!

I rest my case.

I guess it's how you are describing "value".

Cruises which are coming down ridiculously in price offer almost round the clock entertainment.

Next truthfully you can't compare a baseball game to a day at disney.

Remember truthfully at disney your entertainment comes in "spurts". You get maybe 5-6 minute of ride time (the entertainment time) than the rest is filler time of walking and waiting.

A parade maybe 30 mins of entertainment time then the other hour is wait time.

Now value in terms of a good buy, money wise? No way is disney a good buy especially if you compare complete packages.

Now I agree with MrsPete. Disney emotionally is a good value for my family, but it's getting less and less that way because the rest of the tourism industry has caught up IMO.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It's all relative. For us, driving to FL, staying offsite, cooking many of our meals, and carrying food into the parks, Disney was still far and away the most expensive US vacation I've ever been on. It was a GREAT time, but given the cost, it was just a so-so value. Had we flown, stayed onsite, and eaten Disney meals, it would have been anything BUT a good value

 

[wallawallakids]

I love Disney and I love going. Not sure if it is a good "value". I guess I don't care all that much about "value" on vacations. We love going and if we can make it work and afford it, then we will continue to go. It is one trip all 6 of us enjoy. It is certainly more than some vacations and less then others!

One thing that does drive me nuts about Disney (esp DLR) is the food for children. Please. The children's meals are a rip off. They are not even enough to feed a toddler. We just went again in Feb and my twin 6 year olds (who are by no means big eaters) were still hungry after getting some of the "children's meals". Case in point, my DD weighs only 32 lbs she certainly isn't putting away the food. (She's actually the one we worry about needing to eat more!) Tangaroa Terrace and Carnation Cafe was one of the worst offenders. Calling a "slider" that is the size of a baby's fist a burger and charging $7.99 is crazy! That is NOT a value. At Carnation Cafe the mac and cheese is a joke. It is seriously like a cup. As in maybe 8oz. Not a value when you can by a whole box of it for 99 cents at home. I can't even begin to imagine the mark up and profit off kids food in the park.