Does Disney overprice on their theme parks and hotels?

[celticssuck]

An average ticket to DL/WDW cost like $70.

An average hotel cost like $200 a night.

Does Disney overprice on their hotels and theme parks?

 

[kgle]

With the values and moderates, the average price/night isn't always $200+. It takes a LOT of money to keep up appearances with the parks and also pay the salaries of the CMs. I don't think they do.

 

[JackJack08]

Always values for us....not $200 more like $80!! It's expensive but there's no other place like it........that to me is worth the $$$.

 

[eclairemom]

I'll say no, because I thought my package at Disney was a great deal. Of course the last mini trip we had was to VA Beach at $250+ for an average room per night plus you had to pay for entertainment and food too.

 

[JennCa]

Depends on what you compare it to...
I love the theming which can be priceless when I am travelling with people who appreciate it. I think prices for the theme parks themselves are high, but I am still willing to pay for it.

Jenn

 

[JoyG]

I'm sure it's sacriligious to say on the Dis boards, but I think the tickets are overpriced, esp. if you just want to go for 2-3 days. Their regular price is just above the ticket price for all other theme parks that I know of. But the difference is Disney rarely discounts their tickets (if I were Military, I'd be jumping on the current promotion). When you compare Disney with Universal (it's main competition in Orlando), you see Universal is much more competitive with its ticket cost.

 

[Disneychix]

I think the tickets are ridiculous at the moment. How can US give you 7day hoppers for only $100 and at WDW you'd pay that for 1 and 1/2 days.

The rooms I don't believe are that bad. There's a lot of choices and hey, you don't have to stay onsight!

 

[crisi]

I'm sure it's sacriligious to say on the Dis boards, but I think the tickets are overpriced, esp. if you just want to go for 2-3 days. Their regular price is just above the ticket price for all other theme parks that I know of. But the difference is Disney rarely discounts their tickets (if I were Military, I'd be jumping on the current promotion). When you compare Disney with Universal (it's main competition in Orlando), you see Universal is much more competitive with its ticket cost.

Disney has a strange sort of value.

There are offsite hotels which are cheaper - and offsite hotels that are both less expensive and nicer. And yet, Disney's onsite hotels provide enough value for people that they are booked, even with the price premium. Quick transportation to the parks, 24x7 immersion in Disney.

Disney's one day tickets are a poor value - there are cheaper theme parks. But Disney's tickets once you spend 4+ days in their parks start to become a bargain. We can get six days at Disney for less than we can get six days at our local amusement park.

Disney's food is not a value when compared to offsite, but its a bargain compared to our local ballpark with its $7 hotdogs.

Disney's prices are structured to monopolize your week long vacation and spend more money in order to get more value out of the money you do spend. Once you are on property, most people don't find its worth the few dollars they'd save to leave to find a cheaper lunch or dinner. Staying on property usually creates time and flexibility - since you aren't driving in. Magical Express means you don't need a rental car (and are then tied to Disney) - saving you money on your rental, but its built into the price of the resorts.

When I look at Disney its not terribly overpriced compared to a beach resort or a cruise.

 

[crisi]

I think the tickets are ridiculous at the moment. How can US give you 7day hoppers for only $100 and at WDW you'd pay that for 1 and 1/2 days.

The rooms I don't believe are that bad. There's a lot of choices and hey, you don't have to stay onsight!

Because US has about two days worth of stuff to do. So you get 7 day tickets, but are repeating yourself after two - maybe two and a half days. Disney has seven days worth of stuff to do. I'm not sure that $100 for seven day tickets at US are a good value for us. Probably a good value if your kids want to ride Hulk, Spiderman, Mummy and the Simpsons over and over and over again.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I think the tickets are very reasonable. A 7 day park hopper is $283 ($295 through Disney), that's a average of $40.43 a day to go to 4 parks all day long- transportation included!

The Pay One Price at the local amusement park is about $30.00 for either the day or evening session.
I get discounted tickets at my Six Flags through the resort and they cost about $35.00.
For everything the Disney parks offer, the rides, shows, etc the value of admission is very fair.
The rooms aren't that bad eaither. sure you can spend alot at the deluxes but you can't get a similiar hotel room like the budgets where I live for about $70 a day.

 

[ajk912]

If you want to go during peak or holiday season, sure, of course you are going to pay those kind of rates.

But for us, I have five people in my family. There isn't many other places we can go on vacation for a week for $2100 including food, all entertainment, and lodging. That's what we pay when we go in August for free dining.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't think the rooms are overpriced - we used to go to Hershey every year, but their cheapest lodging is about $250 a night! Also, where I live, a local motel is over $100 a night! And a glass of wine at a local restaurant averages about $7, entree about $20, nothing fancy.

 

[summerrluvv]

I say no for us. A weekend at Great Wolf Lodge will run us about $800 JUST for the room and tickets. That's 2 nights of fun. We went to WDW in November for $699 for 6 days for a value and tickets.

 

[puffkin]

I think DIsney is a great value! With AP's and DVC our vacation budget is very reasonable for the two VERY NICE vacations we take a year. We also stay at the non-DVC resorts usually on weekends to save DVC points and their rates are good.

Whenever I plan trips elsewhere I am always comparing the hotel prices to Disney and think that their rates are so high compared to Disney. Plus I know I won't get the great service, quality and attention to detail of a Disney resort.

However, for short trips, I think the tickets are very high. I did a quick 3 day trip with a friend last year and her park ticket was over $200 for the 3 days without park hopping. I had my AP but it was pricey for her!

 

[nd5056]

An average ticket to DL/WDW cost like $70.

An average hotel cost like $200 a night.

Does Disney overprice on their hotels and theme parks?

I don’t want to steer any waves here but may I ask, you’re comparing it to…?


Let say Six Flags Great America:
• General Admission $54.99
• Child Under 48" $34.99
• 2 & Under FREE
• $15 for General Parking (back lot) and $25 for General Plus Parking.

Disney on Ice: $15 and up per person, how may shows you can see during one day in WDW?

If you add up all the attractions, shows, rides and playgrounds otherwise impossible to find in the same place, plus it’s available for the whole day… let me just say this:

-If you just went to Chucky Cheeses for the whole 10~12 hrs day, would it cost you any cheaper???

And the longer you stay in WDW, the cheaper it gets.

The Hotel price: you can stay in Budget Resort under $100 a night that is nicer and cleaner then those so called Moderate hotels anywhere else in the country, accept for that Marriot in the middle of no where, you can have it for $80 a night.

Manhattan, New Orleans, Chicago and anything close to a beach, can you find something that nice and cheap without fearing for your safety?

Yes, it’s expensive, but not as expensive then going any other MAJOR tourist attraction place in the whole states, if you stay at those Budget Resorts. There is nothing wrong with them.

We stayed there 3 times and I think that based on their appearance, they’re more fun for small children to stay then those moderate resorts.

This is my own opinion, please do not take it personal.

.

 

[RobinFabulous]

I don't think it's overpriced. I think there's enough variety that you can go on a $10k trip or a $1k trip and still have fun. The values are reasonably priced and clean, no they're not deluxes, but what you get for the money is great. The food is the same way, you can find okay and then ultra-expensive. Tickets are expensive, but no more than tickets to a lot of things. Two years ago we took the kids to Chattanooga, TN. We did the aquarium, Rock City, Ruby Falls. It was pricey, and to me not as much fun. I think we paid $70 a night for the hotel, and spent in a weekend around $800 for food and the tickets for everything.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I think Disney is a great value for a week-long trip. Other trips we have taken have been much more expensive when we factor in the costs of activities and entertainment (except for just hanging at the beach). I like that Disney's tickets include all rides and shows so we can ride the Pooh ride 30 times in a row without paying each time!

I do miss the old Park Hopper tickets that never expired. I don't really like paying extra to keep my tickets from expiring - it negates much of the multi-day cost savings if you are trying to use a ticket on two different trips. Of course, if we didn't have to pay for no expiration, Disney would have to change the pricing structure, which would eliminate the value of adding extra days for just a few dollars. Clearly, Disney wants us at Disney and not at Sea World or Universal, but occasionally, we like to do both.

I think tickets are expensive if you plan to go for one or two days. I'd love to buy a seven day ticket and use it for two trips without the no expiration fee (and have done that in the past by paying the fee) - sometimes we don't have a week to spend at WDW, but I would like to do a long weekend. If I'm heading somewhere for a weekend, I don't want to pay almost $900 for entertainment (4 3-day tickets), plus hotel and food. I'd love to take two long-weekend trips to Disney each year, but the economics just don't make sense. If we can't spend five or more days, I think it is too pricey for the number of days. It is still cheaper to buy a no-expiration seven day than expiring 3-day and 4-day, but it is cheaper still to come and stay for seven days all at once.

 

[mrsklamc]

From the post count and the screen name, it's pretty clear that what we have here is a troll. Please don't feed the trolls.

 

[3boymthr]

My family of 5 went on a 28 day 28 state cross country excursion, we drove over 7,000 miles, camped, stayed at hotels and resorts, visited 8 National Parks, 25 National Forest/Wildernesses/Recreation Areas, a couple of National Monuments, Some State Parks, Hoover Dam, Graceland, the LaBrea Tar Pits, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu beach, Las Vegas and on. Total cost of this trip for 5 including food, gas, entrance fees, souvenirs and lodging about $5,000 - the same as our trip to WDW is going to cost this May.

So yes, WDW is expensive, but expense is relative. If you feel you got your money's worth out of your trip then it was well worth the money.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

to the DIS!​

That's an interesting topic for discussion and I think that you'll get a variety of responses.

My feelings are that WDW is a good entertainment value IF you know how to find the deals and do your homework.

Yes, a 1-day adult MYW base pass costs $80 w/tax. But an adult 10-day MYW base pass is $253...a cost of just over $25/day! Even if you were to add no-expiry to the 10-day base pass, the cost per day still comes out to about $46. And those are the gate prices. If you search hard enough, you can find ticket brokers who sell the 10-day passes for even less.

As far as the onsite rooms go, I guess that the average rack rate is well over $200/night. But not everyone stays in a moderate or deluxe resort. And if you do some digging, you find that there's no need to pay the rack rate. There are codes out now with value rooms going for $49/night. That includes free transportation to/from the airport (translate that to mean no need to rent a car, pay for parking, tolls, or gas).

I will agree that Disney food is not a super value. My DSis & I just returned from a trip. She hadn't been to WDW in over 10 years and back then, they went back to their camper at FW for every meal. She commented often on the lack of value and quality in many of the meals. The best ones were the platters at Tangierine Cafe (EPCOT- Morocco), Whispering Canyon Cafe (WL) and Wolfgang Puck Express (Downtown Disney). The worst were pizza at Pinocchio's (MK) and chili dogs (ASMo Foodcourt). But compared to other theme parks, I think that Disney is pretty much similar in pricing and maybe a little better on quality. The difference is that most people go to the average theme park for a day or two while they're at WDW for closer to a week, sometimes more. When you're eating every meal out for several days straight, you tend to take notice of the cost.