Disney too Expensive!

[321penguins]

Is Disney ever really going to offer relief to families during these tough economic times?

It seems like their prices only go up, and it's more and more difficult to not only plan a vacation, but to enjoy it. There are so many things that we want to do when we go down there, but it's just sooooo expensive.

 

[RMulieri]

Everything is expensive nowadays. I find Disney a relative bargain compared to some of my other vacation destinations.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

It is expensive but compared to other places I feel like it's worth the money. The best deal that I have ever seen is the free dining. With my family of 5 for 9 nights it saved me over 1500.00. I can't ask for more savings than that.

I would just save up enough to do everything that you want to do, and don't plan a trip to you meet your goal. You can also stay off site or do other things to trim your budget. There are lots of ways to budget your trip. I have learned a lot from these boards. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[JDUCKY]

Stay four nights, get 3 nights free?

Values for not much over $50/night. AKL/WL for $134/night?


Yeah...they're not doing much.

 

[koolaidmoms]

Believe me I feel the same way at times. We still lament over the room prices. I can remember when you could get the All Stars for $40 a night off season. Now if we pay $69 a night I think it is horrible!

But that said for a resort vacation we feel WDW is a pretty good deal if you want it to be.

We try to go as cheap as possible and can do a total package for about $1,600 for all 4 of us for a week. We pick one "special" thing to do each time. This past trip we upgraded to CBR because we did the 4/3 deal. That was our one "treat."

We tend to take one day off our admission because we know that even though it only saves $20 total we know we will not go to the parks every day and need a day off. We don't get park hoppers but rather plan our days very carefully so we don't need to park hop.

There are lots of ways to cut costs at WDW but it all depends on what you are willing to do. Hope you find answers that help.

 

[palavra]

I think the ticket prices are expensive. We are definitely on a budget and staying off-property. The hotel/condo deals are great! With coupon books and cards like Orlandomagic, it's also possible to save a lot of money. We are going for 8 days on a budget of $1500.00 for three people. Disney is definitely doable on a budget.

 

[Alesia]

Ummm...it's a vacation. Not a necessity.

If you can't afford it, don't go.

Or, save up until you can afford it.

 

[HunnyPots]

I think the ticket prices are expensive. We are definitely on a budget and staying off-property. The hotel/condo deals are great! With coupon books and cards like Orlandomagic, it's also possible to save a lot of money. We are going for 8 days on a budget of $1500.00 for three people. Disney is definitely doable on a budget.

Tickets are only expensive if you're only going for two or three days. Otherwise, they're a great entertainment bargain. You can get a seven day ticket for only $34 a day. Personally, I think that's a great deal!

 

[Schmeck]

Ummm...it's a vacation. Not a necessity.

If you can't afford it, don't go.

Or, save up until you can afford it.

Exactly!

A vacation is not an entitlement, so asking for 'relief' is a bit out there - I know how the OP feels though. We are not planning another WDW trip for 7 years. Can't afford one, especially with one daughter going to college this year, and the second one going in 3 years. Might not even be able to afford one in 7 years, but I promised my cousin I'd take her little one then - her first daughter, my sweetest heart, passed away before I could take her. She was never healthy enough to go.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I agree that it is only as expensive as you make it. We have had some really cheap trips to WDW. Last year we stayed 14 nights at POP during summer season and spent a grand total of $4400 for a family of 4. That included every last penny that I spent....hotel, food, parks, shopping, roundtrip travel. To make this happen we have had to do a lot of pre-planning. We booked the room about 8 months in advance with the AAA discount. We ate all but 2 of our breakfasts in the room and about half our lunches as well. For dinner we had a few nice TS meals but we had a few McD's type dinners as well.

This year we are going with the free dining promo. It will cost us $2100 for our package, air, tips and spending money.

BTW, I have friends that have gone for a week and spent over $8000. Which I think is insane.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

See, now I'm the opposite. I've done plenty of research and Disney was by far the most affordable (not to mention the awesomest and most fun!) vacation for our family of 4. Plus there are so many promotions going on with the free dining, the 7 for 4 promotion, their value season, the value hotels, etc.

Sure if you want to stay at the GF club level with park hoppers and deluxe dining then I guess I couldn't afford that either - not that I'd even want to but that's a whole other thread!

 

[Shiney]

Disney is by far the best vacation value I've found for our family of four. There's something for everyone, and you never run out of things to do!

I hate spending a ton of money on a vacation, then after about the 3rd day everyone looks at each other and says "Now what do we do?!" That's never a problem at WDW!

 

[Sir Robin Hood]

We've been budgeting and taking fewer trips during the recession. Once the economy is back on its feet again, we'll probably plan a nice 7-8 night, ON property trip and get a park hopper pass like done before. The only trip we have taken to WDW during this recession was off-property and only one park (Epcot). It was a nice escape and very cost efficient. We would also eat b'fast off Disney property to help save $$$.
There are plenty of ways to save and still go to The World during a recession. We had a great time and didn't spend an arm and a leg.

 

[kymom99]

I too think Disney is expensive, but it isn't any moreso than other destinations. I was just looking at Hersheypark and the lodging is outrageous. Also, we stayed at the beach on Cape Cod last week and the price for a room with 2 queens and a small fridge was almost as much as a mod at Disney, and we were there before the peak season prices started. There was no restaurant, no microwave, very few conveniences. Every museum or attraction we visited was at least $60 for 3 of us. These were things that lasted a couple of hours. So if you put it all in perspective, Disney can be a good value. It just depends on the extras you choose to spend your money on.

 

[kmk1180]

Is Disney ever really going to offer relief to families during these tough economic times?

.

You mean like offer 3 nights free if you buy 4?
Or offer free food for your entire stay?

I mean really, how much do they cut for you to consider it "relief"?

We're not talking about the expense of heating or air, or gas here.
And they are a company trying to make a profit.
That's part of the problem with the economy right now, people think they are entitled to something without having to pay for it or earning first. They just want it handed to them. Thus people don't spend money, companies don't make money and the economy doesn't grow.

 

[rachel09985]

I personally think Disney is very cheap and doing a lot to help the economy. I am going in September for Free Dining..that is the regular dining plan for every night of your stay for up to 14 days. If that is not helping you save money I don't know what it is. they also do have nights for free if you buy 4 i think?? I am going with my boyfriend in September and it was 1100 and that includes all of of our food. We won't have to spend much on food while we are there. Another plus of Disney that makes it less expensive is the transportation. With Disney you can fly in and get ME to your hotel. And then you can take the bus to all parks and wherever you want to go. That saves a lot of money because you don't have to pay for a rental and gas to drive to the parks! Disney is doing a lot to help the economy and I am definitely taking advantage of all they have to offer!!!

 

[moxie99]

Typically we cruise twice a year - round trip for us from LA to Hawaii and back to Maine with spending money and money for the ships casino can easily amount to about 10K. We opted out and are doing Disney in August for 7 days - 4/3 plan with park hopper option and air fare from Maine - about $4000 - we are booked in a delux at Animal Kingdom Lodge and will celebrate daughter's sweet 16 - we will not cut corners - have Delux dining plan and will shop, and do all we want - I'm budgeting about 8K and think that is a total bargain. Having been widowed and remarried (hubby as well) we both know we have never seen a Brink's truck following a hearst. You can't take it with you and we both learned very quickly we could be here today and gone tomorrow - this summer and next will be our last vacations with our daughter before college - this is family time - memories that will last her forever.

 

[LilyWDW]

That's why we are not going until 2010 so that we can save up to do everything we want. If there are things you want to do, then you save up to do them even if it means postponing your trip. OR you go sooner but have to skip some stuff.

Disney is a company... they have to make money. They are not around just to give things away. They have to pay their employees, keep their parks in tip top shape, and continue to come up with new and better ideas. This all takes $$. To make that money, Disney has to find revenue, aka ticket, food, and resort prices for their parks. As costs go up for them, they need to increase revenue. It's not just Disney either... it's the grocery store, the clothing store, the collages... everywhere has had to raise prices so that they can make some money to cover their costs.

Still, in the long run, Disney is in my opinion a vacation bargain. For the service and the amount of entertainment I believe they are actually very much in line with their costs.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Last year we priced a trip to DC, a week at the beach on the Gulf and a week at WDW. WDW (the way we did it--about middle-of-the-road in terms of our lodging/food choices) was the cheapest of the 3.

When Disney starts taking a big kick in the pants on attendance, they'll do something to get it back. Until then, they're basically charging what the market will bear, as its stockholders would want.

What I do dislike seeing are the little edges they shave off quality here and there due to cost-cutting, but again I think they'll continue to do those things until and unless they hurt attendance.

 

[RoseRoni2]

This year with 4/3 deal my dd 10 and I got 7 nights (at the POP) with park hoppers and plane tickets from KC for $1500. 6 years ago we went for 4 nights and stayed at the Pop with park hoppers for $1500 too, our deal this year was way more sweeter!!!