Middle Class Priced Out???

[kniquy]

It really is a matter of how much you want to spend on a vacation - there are less expensive ways and then there are vacations for convenience. WDW has a strong market because people just like going to one destination and then having 4 parks, 2 water parks and DS to choose from. They really do offer a lot even though we are paying a lot -- you can be picked right up from the airport - need not worry about a rental car, your luggage gets picked up and poof it shows up in your room. You can just step outside your hotel and be picked up to head to a park or you can choose to have a resort day and just relax and hit the pool. Many people do disney with it being less expensive -- spending $600 for a week in a condo, but having to get a car, pay for parking at the park, eating QS meals or packing their own and not get the perks of extra hours, but those people can save quite a bit with a bit of compromise. I was one of those people until my husband (who had been to disney many times as a kid) pushed to stay onsite -- I don't think i could stay any other way. It is one vacation we splurge on.

Any vacation is expensive unless you are just camping and roughing it - We usually rent a beach house for a week in the summer, if we want right on the beach we are looking at minimum $3000+ -- and then food for the week, activities if we want (few hundred $$ each time for the family), shopping, dining out -- it all adds up. Certainly we could go cheap and stay inland, drive to the beach, eat in every day and only do free activities, but vacations in general are typically a splurge -- Don't you ever find yourself buying something or spending more on something when you are on vacation? You are more relaxed and less concerned about your daily finances.

I honestly don't think that what disney charges is that out of line compared to other vacations/trips people can take, considering what each resort and park offers. If it is too expensive for some people-- then those will be the people who won't be returning every year or it might be a once in a life time trip. There are many that do go every year or even multiple times a year.

There are different ways to make disney somewhat affordable - We bought into DVC so that we can go every other year, so our room is at least paid for. We might plan future trips so that we can explore other areas of orlando and only hit the parks for a few days. We have our off years to take less expensive trips or to simple explore other areas of the country (not saying that they will even be cheaper).

 

[kniquy]

I've heard from a lot of DVC folks that they don't go to the parks anymore.

I think it might be a matter of frequency of visits. If you own DVC you need to pretty much use your points every year or at least every other year. I guess when you go that often then the parks are not a necessity compared to those who might only go to WDW every 5 years. You could go to the parks every 2-3 visits and just enjoy DS, the resorts or even renting a car to just tour the orlando area.

We just recently purchased DVC (resale) and i can see how after a few trips we could actually see more value in the resorts than being park commandos for the entire stay. I like a relaxing vacation, but disney is far from that when parks are your top priority.

 

[BCV2003]

My husband and I are DVC members who typically visit WDW once or twice a year, on our last trip in October we decided not to go to Disney this year. While on vacation we do like to enjoy some luxuries like massages, excursions (or special opportunities) while we vacation but we honestly felt on this last trip that the value for us didn't seem to be there as much as it usually would have been. I can't put my finger on why we specifically felt that way but I do think it is partially because Disney used to do more things for their guests and seemed to genuinely care about their guests having a good time. On each of our past few visits I didn't feel the magic as much because things seemed more rushed than usual, restaurant menus have been scaled back as well as the quality of food (I know this started many years ago), and I am seeing more wear and tear in general around the parks/resorts. All of this while increasing the costs over and over again.

I also personally don't like the newer ticket structures. We used to like to purchase non-expiring passes that we could use for a few trips but they stopped that too. I'm all for increasing prices if you are using that money the right way to invest back in to and upgrading parks, services, etc but I continue to see a decline in the quality of most things WDW related.

I know Disney is a business and can and will do whatever they want to increase revenue but our choice to spend our money elsewhere for a while is more about the service and quality of the vacation. We can afford it but it's just not the vacation destination that we want to spend our $$ on right now.

 

[wrlippert]

Actually, I thought that too... until we vacationed in Hawaii. We live on the east coast and vacationed in Hawaii last June. We are a family of 4 and our airfare was $800 per person so $3200. The Condo we rented at the Ilikai in Waikiki was $150/night for 8 nights so $1200. And it was a NICE condo, newly renovated, granite countertops, stainless steel full kitchen, amazing views from the 21st floor, nice, new furniture, huge tiled walk in shower in a fresh, modern bathroom. We purchased the Go Oahu card from Costco for our activities and used the heck out of it. We went on a catamaran sail, a horseback ride at Kualoa ranch (2 of us) and a jeep tour for the others, swam at Waimea Falls, snorkled at Hanuama Bay, toured Pearl Harbor, hiked Diamond Head, went to the Polynesia Cultural Center for a luau, Breath of Ha show, and the exhibits, went to the Pineapple Plantation. The cost of the card was $180 for the adults and $165 I think for kids. We ate breakfast at the condo and ordered pizza in one night when we were tired but otherwise ate out. We tried to find reasonably priced restaurants and we were pretty successful. We rented a car for the length of our stay and paid around $380 for the entire time. All in all, our amazing trip that we all enjoyed hugely cost less than $7000.

We are headed to Orlando next week but we are not visiting Disney. We are staying onsite at a Universal deluxe hotel for 2 nights so we get 3 days worth of express passes. We are then moving to an offsite hotel and will visit Lego Land. We are purchasing an annual pass and the Universal hotel was a really good deal at the AP rate, less than what we would pay for a moderate at Disney. I compared prices and the same trip at WDW staying in a moderate would have cost significantly more. We decided on Universal though, not so much because of the money, but because of the planning. I thought about WDW but then decided that I simply didn't feel like stalking ADR's, stalking fast passes, and running around in the parks watching the clock in order not to miss a dinner reservation or a fastpass time. I am looking forward to just going with the flow next week and I am excited to see the Harry Potter stuff in the wizarding world. I don't know when we will go back to WDW but I know it won't be for a while.

My Hawaii experience is very similar. I paid about $750/RT air, $150/night for a beautiful townhouse condo on the Kings golf course at Waikaloa Villiage on the big island. The rental car was very inexpensive for a week. We explored the island, visiting many inexpensive or free attractions, stocked up at Costco and ate some meals at the home, and found some great local restaurants. It was less than a 10 day Disney trip for sure.

 

[Darcy03231]

My husband and I are DVC members who typically visit WDW once or twice a year, on our last trip in October we decided not to go to Disney this year. While on vacation we do like to enjoy some luxuries like massages, excursions (or special opportunities) while we vacation but we honestly felt on this last trip that the value for us didn't seem to be there as much as it usually would have been. I can't put my finger on why we specifically felt that way but I do think it is partially because Disney used to do more things for their guests and seemed to genuinely care about their guests having a good time. On each of our past few visits I didn't feel the magic as much because things seemed more rushed than usual, restaurant menus have been scaled back as well as the quality of food (I know this started many years ago), and I am seeing more wear and tear in general around the parks/resorts. All of this while increasing the costs over and over again.

I also personally don't like the newer ticket structures. We used to like to purchase non-expiring passes that we could use for a few trips but they stopped that too. I'm all for increasing prices if you are using that money the right way to invest back in to and upgrading parks, services, etc but I continue to see a decline in the quality of most things WDW related.

I know Disney is a business and can and will do whatever they want to increase revenue but our choice to spend our money elsewhere for a while is more about the service and quality of the vacation. We can afford it but it's just not the vacation destination that we want to spend our $$ on right now.

This is pretty much the way I feel. Future trips for us will likely be a couple of days added on to existing trips when we're already in Florida. In 2015 we did a 10 day trip to the Orlando area and didn't set foot in WDW. Before we went I really thought I'd miss it and would probably break down and pop in for a day. I was surprised to find I didn't miss it at all.

 

[Minnesota!]

Not priced out, but the value surely isn't there as it used to be. I could get away, and refresh myself for cheaper than seeing a therapist. Now, nope.

 

[MillauFr]

I can't exactly blame them for continuing to raise prices. They need to do something to control demand.

 

[mousehockey37]

My husband and I are DVC members who typically visit WDW once or twice a year, on our last trip in October we decided not to go to Disney this year. While on vacation we do like to enjoy some luxuries like massages, excursions (or special opportunities) while we vacation but we honestly felt on this last trip that the value for us didn't seem to be there as much as it usually would have been. I can't put my finger on why we specifically felt that way but I do think it is partially because Disney used to do more things for their guests and seemed to genuinely care about their guests having a good time. On each of our past few visits I didn't feel the magic as much because things seemed more rushed than usual, restaurant menus have been scaled back as well as the quality of food (I know this started many years ago), and I am seeing more wear and tear in general around the parks/resorts. All of this while increasing the costs over and over again.

I also personally don't like the newer ticket structures. We used to like to purchase non-expiring passes that we could use for a few trips but they stopped that too. I'm all for increasing prices if you are using that money the right way to invest back in to and upgrading parks, services, etc but I continue to see a decline in the quality of most things WDW related.

I know Disney is a business and can and will do whatever they want to increase revenue but our choice to spend our money elsewhere for a while is more about the service and quality of the vacation. We can afford it but it's just not the vacation destination that we want to spend our $$ on right now.

So this brings up a good question.

Do you resent buying your DVC? Obviously you can use your points at other Disney locales, Vero or Hilton Head, but are you kinda looking back now and going... Did we see this declining trend too late and got sucked in for the wrong reason?

I'm not trying to pin just you on this, but think of it in a more open-ended way. I'm sure there's lots of owners out there in your situation where the "magic" isn't what it used to be and now they have this contract for a looooong time.

 

[quandrea]

So this brings up a good question.

Do you resent buying your DVC? Obviously you can use your points at other Disney locales, Vero or Hilton Head, but are you kinda looking back now and going... Did we see this declining trend too late and got sucked in for the wrong reason?

I'm not trying to pin just you on this, but think of it in a more open-ended way. I'm sure there's lots of owners out there in your situation where the "magic" isn't what it used to be and now they have this contract for a looooong time.

We don't resent buying. We always knew the time might come where we were not comfortable with pass pricing. We still love the feel of a Disney trip even without the parks. We have started renting out our points for a nice bit of income and are happy that should we decide to sell that there is a demand for dvc. Our purchase has held its value. We would actually make money. Not many time shares can boast that.

 

[katyjeka]

We love Disney and have spent our fair share of money over the years. Prices have increased and in our opinion the service has declined. I'm not saying we don't enjoy the world as we are die hard Disney nuts but something is lacking. Maybe Disney hasn't change as much as what our family desires in a vacation. Our last trip was divided between WDW and Universal and I must admit Universal was cheaper and we enjoyed it as much if not more. We decided many years ago to show our girls more of the real world and cut back on our Disney trips. I never thought this would be possible but I can spend a week in Hawaii for the same amount of money as WDW.(including airfare which has come down in price over the years) Our favorite trip to date was a 2 week cross country trip out west. We stopped at Gateway Arch, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Branson, White Sands, and Carlsbad Caverns. This trip was one of our least expensive and we experienced so much. Our kids still talk about it and beg to do it again. To get back on topic, I don't believe Disney is pricing out just the middle class.... I believe the prices are a little high for every income level, high enough to scare some away. I believe for people like us(who have visited several times)we know where to cut corners and find ways to make our trip a little less. In the beginning we needed the deluxe properties and a ton of sit down meals, neither appeal to us now. We share a lot of food as the portions are huge. We also don't spend money on souvenirs. The girls bedrooms are full of mickey stuff just collecting dust.... Budget trips are still possible with a lot of planning and understanding that you will not be able to do everything as everything cost money.

 

[katie111]

For us it's both the price increases & the fact that 2 of my kids are now Disney "adults" and my third one will be next month. For me, the hotel prices are okay but the ticket prices & especially the food prices are just ridiculous. I don't find the food at Disney to be all that great & I have picky eaters, so we love to do character meals. Now those meals are $200-$300 if we pay OPP! And I like to be served on vacation & order what I want, so I like at least one TS a day and don't really like splitting meals. When I go to Disney I like to be "in the bubble", but everything in the bubble is just so expensive now. Free dining is harder & harder to take advantage of as the kids get older because I can't just pull them out of school at the beginning of the school year. We are going to Orlando in April & are staying at Bonnet Creek. We'll do Seaworld, Busch Gardens & Aquatica because they are so much cheaper than Disney. Not sure when we'll go back to Disney....just don't want to spend 5 grand to have 5 people in one hotel room, eat fast food all week, and wait in 2 hour lines. For me, a lot of the magic is just gone. The parks always seem busy no matter when you go.

 

[kniquy]

"magic" isn't what it used to be and now they have this contract for a looooong time

I would say for anyone who is visiting WDW every year or multiple times of year, it can lose it's magic. Everyones situation is different and isn't just tied to being a DVC member. I know many people who are not DVC members who still visit every year - renting a house or condo, staying at shades of green or just doing the value resorts.

As a member when we no longer feel the need or want to go - we can visit Vero, hilton head or Hawaii. Right now our kids want to go and my husband and i want to go on some adult only trips, then there will be grandkids to take. Disney has a special hold on our family. Disney has a way of hitting all sorts of families.

If we really see no value in traveling to WDW then we can sell our DVC contract. There is a strong market for DVC resales so no one is stuck in their contract until the end. That is the beauty in it. DVC is the only way we could afford to go to disney staying on property.

 

[katyjeka]

For us it's both the price increases & the fact that 2 of my kids are now Disney "adults" and my third one will be next month. For me, the hotel prices are okay but the ticket prices & especially the food prices are just ridiculous. I don't find the food at Disney to be all that great & I have picky eaters, so we love to do character meals. Now those meals are $200-$300 if we pay OPP! And I like to be served on vacation & order what I want, so I like at least one TS a day and don't really like splitting meals. When I go to Disney I like to be "in the bubble", but everything in the bubble is just so expensive now. Free dining is harder & harder to take advantage of as the kids get older because I can't just pull them out of school at the beginning of the school year. We are going to Orlando in April & are staying at Bonnet Creek. We'll do Seaworld, Busch Gardens & Aquatica because they are so much cheaper than Disney. Not sure when we'll go back to Disney....just don't want to spend 5 grand to have 5 people in one hotel room, eat fast food all week, and wait in 2 hour lines. For me, a lot of the magic is just gone. The parks always seem busy no matter when you go.

Just wanted to add, Bonnet Creek is in the top five of our favorite resorts. Nothing like watching Disney fireworks from your balcony while paying less for a week than the budget owned Disney resorts.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

This is pretty much the way I feel. Future trips for us will likely be a couple of days added on to existing trips when we're already in Florida. In 2015 we did a 10 day trip to the Orlando area and didn't set foot in WDW. Before we went I really thought I'd miss it and would probably break down and pop in for a day. I was surprised to find I didn't miss it at all.

Would you share some of the things you did? Places you ate? Thanks!

 

[TwoMisfits]

Would you share some of the things you did? Places you ate? Thanks!

Not the OP, but I've done this twice for trips longer than 10 days...Things we did...
Universal Power Pass (used for both trips)
Legoland PTA tickets (one trip)
I-360 Merlin 3 pack BOGO tickets (one trip)
Wonderworks Magic and Dinner Show Groupon (one trip)
Seaworld/Aquatica Blue Friday tickets (one trip)
Ripley's Believe It or Not Groupon tickets (one trip)
Capone's Dinner Theater (one trip)
Blue Man Group AP discount tickets (one trip)
Orlando Magical Dining Month discount dinners (Deep Blu both trips, Emeril's one trip)
Escape Room Groupon (I think Escapology) (one trip)
Orlando Science Center Recipricol Membership Free tickets (one trip)
Disney Springs Walk (both trips)
Universal Movie and Dinner Passes (both trips)
Orlando Art Museum (one trip)
Citywalk Movie Theater (both trips)

Not totally sure where we ate the previous trip, but this one we ate at the following TS/CS all with big discounts (separate from the dinner theaters and Magical Dining Month)...
3 days of Universal CS dining plan (BOGO 1/2 off)
Hash Hash A Go Go (TravelZoo deal)
Sweet Tomatoes (x2) (Coupons)
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium (grand opening)
Pat O'Briens (on Dinner and Movie deal)
Cowgirls Rockbar (BOGO lunch deal)

We also spent time at our resort with all the mini golf, pools, spray parks, night shows, etc...that was pretty much free...

Lots to do - no Disney - and most get discounted at some point...

 

[Nayan]

With prices at the level they are now (and have been for the last several years) for me, WDW just doesn't have the value that it did. It's not that I can't afford it, its that I don't find the value there anymore, which has forced me to look at other vacation options.

This is where I am at also. The value just isn't there anymore and I find my money goes much further when I take trips elsewhere.

 

[ellie05]

The way I do Disney is expensive (deluxe hotels, nice meals, etc). I'd rather do it well than go more often. I think the price of Disney is on par with other "luxury" middle class vacation experiences. Skiing, Beach Vacations, cruises, etc. With college savings, health care, retirement we can't do it all every year. We're not priced out but we certainly can't do it on a whim.

Now Disney Cruise or Aulani pricing I think is truly outrageous. Unless you are going during hurricane season I think it's only for the 1%ers.

I am sorry but not at all. First of all the Disney deluxe vs. real life 4-5 star hotels are not really comparable as Disney falls short. We took a 10 night vacation last December to Colorado. We spend 3 nights in Denver, 2 in Breckenridge, 2 in Vail and the last 3 in Beaver creek. Lift tickets are comparable to Disney tickets everything else it doesn't come close. We stayed at 4-5 star hotels the whole time and spend less than $2000 in lodging this included Sonnenalp in Vail which was voted in the 10 best resorts in the US.

Food well I budgeted the same amount that I would for Disney and surprisingly we still had money left over at the end of our vacation and again it doesn't even compare the food quality we ate in the Colorado trip vs Disney. We didn't choose cheap places either we ate at rioja, sweet basil, grouse Mountain grill, linger, etc we didn't eat any fast food or chain restaurant (except for Starbucks for coffee).The same budget for food at Disney doesn't get me the same amount of signature dinning. At Disney we usually eat breakfast in the room and probably one counter service and either one TS or Signature a day and we are AP and have TiW. For comparison how far off Disney is in price we recently went to the arts festival in Epcot I got a sample size of shrimp ceviche, a drink, a piece of cake and a glorify pop tart for $40.

We had to fly to Colorado we usually drive to WDW and still was much cheaper vacation. Just for quick comparison I priced out the contemporary in September(giving WDW benefit of slow season ) since it will be comparable to the places we stayed in Colorado since most of it was ski in/ski out or easy walking distance contemporary comes out to $6738 for 10 nights. Let's say we can get 30% discount it comes down to $4716 which will cover just lodging! If we add tickets, food and transportation it is way way off. The price of lodging in Disney paid my whole Colorado vacation and have a few hundred left.

Sure Disney can be done cheaper but so does Colorado. And don't even get me started how much better the customer service was.

 

[Darcy03231]

Would you share some of the things you did? Places you ate? Thanks!

We went to:

Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure (annual pass we ended up getting two trips out of)
Seaworld (annual pass we ended up getting two trips out of)
Kennedy Space Center (free tickets through Congressman)
Ripley’s Believe it or Not
Titanic Experience
Mini-golf
Beaches on both the Atlantic and Gulf side
Airboat ride through the Everglades

We ate in a lot. We were there in August when it was hot and humid so we’d get up early, have a big breakfast, hit the parks, come back in the early afternoon and have a late lunch/early dinner, swim, rest, and go back to the parks at night. We did some snacking in the parks. We also had a Super WalMart near our rental villa and hit that at night on the way back for rotisserie chicken, pizza, etc. I had also got some restaurant.com coupons and we went to House of Blues, Wild Wings, a Mexican place (can’t remember the name), and a couple of nice dinners at hotels (again, can’t remember the names, but got $100 certificates for $50). We also had Chinese buffet one night at a place on 192 and a dinner at Medieval Times.

What we really liked was the lack of a need to plan, to be racing around the parks trying to make dinner reservations and fast pass times. We decided the night before where we were going the next day. One day it was super hot and humid and we just stayed in and hung out at the pool.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

We went to:

Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure (annual pass we ended up getting two trips out of)
Seaworld (annual pass we ended up getting two trips out of)
Kennedy Space Center (free tickets through Congressman)
Ripley’s Believe it or Not
Titanic Experience
Mini-golf
Beaches on both the Atlantic and Gulf side
Airboat ride through the Everglades

We ate in a lot. We were there in August when it was hot and humid so we’d get up early, have a big breakfast, hit the parks, come back in the early afternoon and have a late lunch/early dinner, swim, rest, and go back to the parks at night. We did some snacking in the parks. We also had a Super WalMart near our rental villa and hit that at night on the way back for rotisserie chicken, pizza, etc. I had also got some restaurant.com coupons and we went to House of Blues, Wild Wings, a Mexican place (can’t remember the name), and a couple of nice dinners at hotels (again, can’t remember the names, but got $100 certificates for $50). We also had Chinese buffet one night at a place on 192 and a dinner at Medieval Times.

What we really liked was the lack of a need to plan, to be racing around the parks trying to make dinner reservations and fast pass times. We decided the night before where we were going the next day. One day it was super hot and humid and we just stayed in and hung out at the pool.

Thank you for sharing. We will be taking an orlando/ beach vacation in March. One day at MK and still figuring out the rest for the Orlando part. Beach is easier to plan without so many choices!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Disney remains one of the cheaper vacations for us year in and year out. A beachfront condo is $2,000+ in summer weeks, plus any activities, food, transportation, etc. That vacation is around $4,000 total. I am pricing out 6 days in San Diego and am coming close to $4,000 for 4 of us, that includes using Hilton Points for part of the hotel stay. We did a 4 day Grand Canyon trip that approached $2500 for 3 of us. Our last Disney trip was $3500 for 5, and that was staying onsite. Granted, we own DVC so room pricing is out of the mix. DVC allows for a grocery run for quick breakfast items and more importantly, beverages.

We are finding the parks a bit stale though. We did a DVC only trip to Animal Kingdom lodge last year, only visiting Disney Springs while onsite. The rest of the time was relaxing at the pool, watching animals, and just chilling out. It was very enjoyable and we will do that again. We also like to monorail hop to hang out at some of the other resorts.

To us, while the ticket pricing is getting expensive, it's not out of reach yet. I'm not finding value in the experience vs the cost right now though. When Star Wars and Toy Story land open, we will re-evaluate tickets. As for DVC, we bought it at 60% below Disney asking price during the recession. It has proven to be one of the best purchases we have made. Each resort is unique and can be a vacation itself, plus we do have 2 east coast beach options. I do wish DVC had more rooms near DL though.