Does Disney overprice on their theme parks and hotels?

[Faldred]

Are enough people willing to pay the price to keep the operation profitable?

The answer to that question is the same as that posed by to OP -- if it is "overpriced", then people wouldn't go. Well, except for us addicts.

 

[MinnieLove]

Overpriced? Supply and demand will help dictate the going rate. Disney does recognize this - specials such as 4/3 and Free Dining - examples.

I know we are being forced to stay off site to save money. We have a family of six and accomodations were limited. I could not afford to 2 bd villa ($900/night) even with 4/3 deal. I think larger families are forced to make some difficult choices when it comes to staying on-site. I am terribly upset we cannot stay on-site. Just could not justify the amount of a house payment = one night stay.

Disppointed in Mickey!

 

[momejay]

In some ways I do think it is overpriced.
For a family of 4 for instance. I feel like I am being punished. I have to pay for a whole other room just so my teenage, M & F children don't have to sleep in the same bed. A family of 5, is sent to a moderate hotel or has to pay for 2 rooms. Two value rooms are more than I can afford.
My children are on a special diet so a small kitchenette would be so helpful. I can usually find a decent place, with a full kitchen & beds for everyone for around $100 a night off property.
Disney prices for same services are much more. For example, a cabin at Fort Wilderness has everything we need, is comparable to what I pay for, has even a bit more than we need, yet it is $250 a night. For what extra? A bus to ride on? We drive!
On our last trip to Orlando, I paid $450, for 10 days, for a king, & 2 queen beds, in a 2 bedroom condo type hotel with a kitchen & a whirlpool tub. Bargins can be found!

 

[mybabesuz]

Every time we start to plan a vacation somewhere else it always ends up costing MORE than Disney.
So we end up just saying, "for that much $$$ we can go to Disney"...

 

[Goofy'slady]

My family has been going to Disney since the 70's before I was born. Now I have my own family and we go 1-2 X's a year and most times we stay in a vacation home off property. This will be me and my husband's second time staying on property and our little girls first. It's for our oldest daughter's 5th grade graduation present, so in order for this to be a little bit more special for her than your run of the mill Disney vaca we're staying on property. We're staying 8nights at CSR w/dining and we qualified for the 4/3 deal and it's saving us over 500 bucks. My husband is looking forward to not having to drive once we're on property, not paying for parking, and not having to worry about how much we spend on meals and snacks. Our girls are looking forward to being totally Disney-fied the entire stay.

This trip is costing us a little under 3grand. I know for a fact we would have spent that plus if we were to vacation anywhere else for our family of four.

Perhaps we'll rent another home for next year's trip and spilt the cost with my BFF who goes with us every year too. Since we'll still have a few days on our park tickets from our upcoming trip this year (we opted for the non-expiring tickets) we'll save money there too. We don't always look at the money we spend but the quality time we spend as a family and to us that's priceless. However, to answer your question do I think Disney is overpriced my answer is no! Starbucks is overpriced - not Disney.

T.

 

[LSchrow]

i have to side with the PPs:
if you are only going for a few days, the passes are very expensive.
stretch that vacation to a week, & the ticket prices are actually a very good value.

we've paid less for US, but found ourselves bored by the 2nd day (we had 5 day passes). we were not impressed with the cleanliness or too-young drunken hordes either.

imho, great adventure is overpriced and dirty, with little to do.
a few days in montauk cost about the same as WDW, with more expensive food & less to do.
there are many beautiful & exciting destinations outside of WDW, but every single one is waaaaaay more pricey. also, we don't come home relaxed & refreshed like we do from WDW.

we've gone to WDW 2-3x a year, & are still discovering new things to do & see each time. another big (HUGE) factor for us is safety: nowhere else would i have allowed my pre/early-teens to wander a resort, or enter a park by themselves (with a "buddy" & a cel phone ~ "just in case" ). lots of times, i will wander around the resort or a park by myself at night ~ never have i felt threatened or even uncomfortable.

all in all, we've found we get the most "bang for the buck" at WDW ~ good thing we enjoy it as much as we do

 

[MEM]

I don't think Disney's park tickets or resorts are "overpriced" at all. If I did, DH and I would not have purchased three DVC contracts and consecutive annual passes. Regarding the price of the resorts, there are always deals around - no one needs to ever pay full price.

FWIW, we tried out US/IOA last summer during their $85 for 7 days tickets deal. We were not at all impressed and in our opinion only two or three rides approached the quality of Disney attractions. To each his/her own, but I feel that Disney is an excellent value for my dollar and that we get what we pay for.

 

[summerrluvv]

In some ways I do think it is overpriced.
For a family of 4 for instance. I feel like I am being punished. I have to pay for a whole other room just so my teenage, M & F children don't have to sleep in the same bed. A family of 5, is sent to a moderate hotel or has to pay for 2 rooms. Two value rooms are more than I can afford.
My children are on a special diet so a small kitchenette would be so helpful. I can usually find a decent place, with a full kitchen & beds for everyone for around $100 a night off property.
Disney prices for same services are much more. For example, a cabin at Fort Wilderness has everything we need, is comparable to what I pay for, has even a bit more than we need, yet it is $250 a night. For what extra? A bus to ride on? We drive!
On our last trip to Orlando, I paid $450, for 10 days, for a king, & 2 queen beds, in a 2 bedroom condo type hotel with a kitchen & a whirlpool tub. Bargins can be found!

Did you know that you can get a family suite at a value that sleeps 6 and has a kitchenette? Not sure of the pricing though...

 

[sksjasams]

We took our first family vacation ever this Thanksgiving. We stayed at POP, preferred room, for less than $100/night including taxes & fees. I never would have dreamed we could have afforded to stay on site. It was a wonderful trip.

We are hoping to take a another vacation in 3 - 4 yrs and I was thinking it would be fun to do Universal/Sea World, and see the ocean. I was absolutely shocked at the prices to stay on site at Universal and would never consider it. Disney is a much better value for us.

 

[JonS99]

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!

Our family goes to US for $100/person, we can spend 2 days and are done..

We go to WDW for about $310/person for a 10 day ticket and we can spend 14 days....

Whats the better value for us?

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Our Disney vacations are considerably cheaper than our beach vacations. We usually stay at a Value Resort (when we're lucky we get a $49 rate, but sometimes have had to pay up to $100--and we're paying $135 for weekend nights when we go to see Davy Jones in March). So lets say we average 80 bucks a night. (Yes, we splurge occasionally and stay at the Dolphin or a mod, but only about once a year).

We can't stay anywhere near the water for 80 bucks a night. If we're lucky, we'll get a bayfront "Motel 6" kind of place for $120 a night. Other wise we'll stay at the Days Inn for around 85 a night and drive to the beach. (Yes, we have splurged and stayed at the Hilton or rented a beach house, but rarely! Like once every 5 years!)

Food--definitely cheaper at the beach.

Entertainment--we pay right around $365 each for Florida Residents Annual Passes and that basically covers ALL our entertainment at WDW for the entire year. At the beach, we pay to get into the beach, we pay to go to the Alligator Farm, we pay to climb the lighthouse, we pay to take a ghost tour, we pay to take a boat ride, we pay to go kayaking...and so on. It adds up pretty fast.

So, I think Disney is reasonably priced for Florida residents who purchase an Annual or Seasonal Pass and looks for deals on Value Resorts.

We have priced other vacations (Washington DC, Nashville, etc.) and we're always . Airline tickets are pricey and so are big-city hotels!

 

[hinodis]

I say you get what you pay for. Disney is an awesome place and they do everything on a grand scale.

 

[DawnM]

We stopped staying on site once we had our 3rd child. It is much harder to stay on site with a family of 5. We are now sold on 2 bedroom condos off site and we will be getting APs this year and planning on several weeks at Disney.

You can do it frugally or all out....it is up to you.

Dawn

 

[mamalle]

yeah I would say so- how could you not?? theme park tickets are crazy expensive now adays.. Im at least glad we are fla residents and get discounts or else we wouldnt frequent as much as we have with the kiddos.. we are definitely not the type of family to spend a week there so getting more days really wouldnt do much for us or all of that free dining. Dont get me wrong we had a great time over thanksgiving for our son's bday but for the 3 of us it came to $2000 for 4 nights. For that amount we are taking all 4of us on a ski trip next week for 9 days. so you have to really figure what its worth to you.

 

[an_evans]

Buy your child a popcorn and a drink at Sea World and you suddenly appreciate disney!

 

[C.Ann]

I think the park tickets - if you purchase hoppers - are well worth the money..

Their resorts are another story.. Unless you catch a good deal, I think all of their rooms are overpriced - even the Values..

 

[disneychard]

I would say no. I have looked into vacations in VA and Maryland, since I am from the east coast. Everything the wdw offers compare to just a nice hotel takes up half of the money I would spend for wdw. If you go somewhere else then you have think of eating, activites, and so. If runs into more money than a week at wdw

 

[clownchk]

I"d have to ask what you are comparing it to as well.

I just got done booking our family of 5 (kids 8,7 and 4 at time of travel) at POR for an average of $85 per person per night (8 nights 9 days) for Preferred room, Park hopper and basic dining plan. Airfare will be figured out later, but I tend to get direct roundtrip flights for around $200 or less Per Person

I think its a WONDERFUL deal! Yes, I did get a room discount through a pin code and no, I did not differentiate adult vs child pricing, but I think for everything you "get" it is a great deal! Plus, no parking fees, no rental car, no worries for the entire time, and even with adding food delivery, tips and souvenirs, it is still a good deal! I've spent $85 for our family to see ONE movie at the theater!

It is what it is.

 

[TnTWalter]

We're heading to AMI after WDW and are spending less total for our week there.

We got a house with a pool walking distance from beach and on the trolley line [free and goes all over island] for $1k total. We could have done condos for $600 but we're bringing dog and my parents are joining us [rented house adjacent to ours for $750].

Food budget $500. [1-2 dinners out; 1 all you can eat brekkie on beach; maybe an ice cream run or two; rest is cooking on grill at house and normal groceries].
$1500.

That's a DEAL.

I'm having a much harder time getting Disney to be $2500...goal was $3500-$4000 TOTAL, and we're going to be closer to $4k because of the house at AMI.

Still working on it....