With all the price increases is it worth even going?

[mitchwebb]

I just had a conversation with my middle DD telling her this upcoming trip was probably our last Family trip. We went all out on this trip for many reason and am sure we will make it great. We joined DVC when they were little and have had many wonderful trips along with Aulani and DL. Beside the cost of six day hoppers, which I think was crazy, we added $600 Geni+ and probably will add LL $600. Loved the bus service from airport but need to get transportation $300. So we are looking at $1500 over the base price. Its not the end of the world and I know we don't have to spend this but we are trying to enjoy this vacation. We are west coasters that enjoyed the old FP+ that let us sleep in and head to park early afternoon and still have great day. We will not be changing our vacation style to meet the new Genie+ system. We will roll with what we get and enjoy a lot more time outside of the parks.

The other change is dinning. We love Calif Grill and even Hosted our 25th anniversary dinner with ten of our family members. Not going this trip as Prix menus our not for us. We like to get a appetizer and split an entree and bottle of wine. I was able to snag a couple reservation for our party of ten and are looking forward to them.

Going to stay positive and then decide if we are going to sell or just use for Hawaii and Maybe Hilton Head.

 

[gmi3804]

That said, I wouldn't buy one day tickets, I would stay longer and bring the per day cost down. And I would probably go (example) from annual trips to every other.

Except that the per day doesn’t go down much at all anymore until something like day five or six. I recently paid over $500 for a four-day one park per day pass. From a ticket discounter.

 

[Misha72683]

We are sporadic Disney visitors, this is our second (and probably last until we have grown children) trip. The total breakdown with food + souvenirs will be about $300 a day per person.

I went to Chicago last month for 4 days and spent $1500 by myself (and ghat was with splitting a room with two others). Disney is actually slightly cheaper per day.

Doing things with my kids is expensive. We did an overnight at a hotel and then the local Cedar Faire park in the summer it was about $750 and that is using discounted tickets and a hotel discount. A trip to Disney on ice for the day was $600.

Our last trip to Disney was $2500 for the week, so this one is far more expensive, but so is the cost of living.

 

[jecarnl]

We are west coasters that enjoyed the old FP+ that let us sleep in and head to park early afternoon and still have great day. We will not be changing our vacation style to meet the new Genie+ system.

I think this what is keeping a lot of us from going back. We want to vacation like we want to vacation. I get it, Disney is ok with losing our business, and we are also fine it that as the ROI isn't there for us.

 

[HopperFan]

Except that the per day doesn’t go down much at all anymore until something like day five or six. I recently paid over $500 for a four-day one park per day pass. From a ticket discounter.

Yes, which is why I said I would stay longer. I would probably make it a "one week" trip with weekends and buy 5-6 day tickets. This brings the cost down. And I would probably only do Disney every other year.

And the dates would impact that cost as well. In some cases the cost would be under $100 per day every day of our trip. It is possible to bring the cost down, but I get that not everyone is interested in adjusting their trips to do so.

 

[MrsInsG]

Like others have said, it comes down to what you like and what value you place on different elements of your vacation. There is no wrong way to feel about what is or isn't worth it to you.

My personal feeling is not that Disney is overpriced, it's that there are a fair number of people who go there who legitimately suck as humans. Each time I go back, I wonder at the sheer number of absolute horribly behaved people (adults mostly, and some truly awful kids). I think it's a chicken vs. egg scenario, though, as much as a confluence of events. Crowds increase so prices go up. The increase in price increases the poor behavior of those that were already poorly behaved because they feel they need to get whatever their dollar value is and screw everyone else. Behavior, in general, has deteriorated since the Covid lockdowns, and Disney does not operate in a bubble. My daughter is a cast member and the stories she tells me, in addition to the antagonistic behavior of guests I have witnessed on my trips, makes me long for the day when when they raise prices again. Yes, you read that correctly. Something has got to give. My husband and I were discussing this today, and a coupling of higher costs along with a tiered removal of people who behave inappropriately would go a long way toward making the experience better for everyone. In the ultimate example of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, high enough costs will lead to lower crowds, and lower crowds will lead to less stress in the parks. Less stress in the parks will lead to less incidents of poor guest behavior.

In the meantime, we'll be visiting over Christmas again, and we'll be staying at the Beach Club. The vacation could be a lot cheaper if we skipped hoppers, stayed less expensively, ate fewer table service meals, curtailed the kids' (two teens and one early 20s) Starbucks addiction, and skipped the Christmas party. My husband and I will not be getting Genie+, but we will get it some days for our kids, as well as some ILLs. This is our big family vacation, and it's also our biggest yearly expense outside of housing and food. Our eyes are wide open going in, and we're good with it. Again, to each their own.

 

[Jrb1979]

We are sporadic Disney visitors, this is our second (and probably last until we have grown children) trip. The total breakdown with food + souvenirs will be about $300 a day per person.

I went to Chicago last month for 4 days and spent $1500 by myself (and ghat was with splitting a room with two others). Disney is actually slightly cheaper per day.

Doing things with my kids is expensive. We did an overnight at a hotel and then the local Cedar Faire park in the summer it was about $750 and that is using discounted tickets and a hotel discount. A trip to Disney on ice for the day was $600.

Our last trip to Disney was $2500 for the week, so this one is far more expensive, but so is the cost of living.

I find Disney much more expensive then any of our Cedar Point trips this summer. Having a season pass helps. It only cost us $500 for 4 nights each time. If we did Disney it would cost a lot more then that.

 

[Misha72683]

I find Disney much more expensive then any of our Cedar Point trips this summer. Having a season pass helps. It only cost us $500 for 4 nights each time. If we did Disney it would cost a lot more then that.

I'm in Ontario. The annual passes do reduce the cost (the price of going twice) but we live far enough away that either wr are doing 5 hours of driving in one day or paying $200 for a hotel room + gas and other expenses. The per trip cost of tickets would go down, but the other expenses wouldn't. 4 nights for my family of 5 would be around $1500CDN. Yes, less than Disney but also a different experience.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Thatvis where Disney still does shine. The experience is different than other parks. It is very immersive with fewer reality intrusions.
That's what made it worth the extra coin prior. Without an AP to lower daily entry costs and discounts on TS, they go to the back of the line for us.

 

[mjpwhite]

Remember, Bob Iger bought Fox for $71.3 Billion back in March, 2019 after a petty, ego-driven bidding war with Comcast (Comcast‘s bids artificially jacked up the price). Iger then resigned in February, 2021 handing that ball of massive debt to Chapek. Disney is now servicing that debt - that’s where all the money’s going. We are all paying for it. Meanwhile, they really haven’t done much with Fox.

That is why Disney has been massively raising prices. Iger is as much to blame As Chapek.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I have three 4-day park tickets in my account. I now regret buying them over a year ago. Not sure when we will return.

I have two APs in my account. I don't regret it though because when I finally do go again (which will be a long time), no telling how much tickets will cost.

 

[gmi3804]

I have two APs in my account. I don't regret it though because when I finally do go again (which will be a long time), no telling how much tickets will cost.

I’d be afraid that they’d attach a use by date to them and only give you a credit after that in the amount you paid.

 

[sipnride]

Yes

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I’d be afraid that they’d attach a use by date to them and only give you a credit after that in the amount you paid.

They state that they expire in 2099. I don't think they can change that.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

They state that they expire in 2099. I don't think they can change that.

They all say that. However, after one year from the purchase date you cannot activate them as an annual pass. You get a credit for the purchase amount towards a new annual pass and if there has been a price increase, you pay the difference.

 

[gmi3804]

They all say that. However, after one year from the purchase date you cannot activate them as an annual pass. You get a credit for the purchase amount towards a new annual pass and if there has been a price increase, you pay the difference.

And if they’re not even selling APs at that time, you’re probably SOL in getting an AP at all.

 

[slbgnb]

Did Italy/Greece this summer instead of a big Disney trip or two. It was literally the best vacation of my life. Disney is fun for what it is, but nothing compares to seeing real places and eating real local food. We liked Rome so much that we constantly talk about when we can go back. The Amalfi coast was unbelievably beautiful too. Athens was knock-your-socks off interesting, with great food. Even getting around a major city like Rome is more relaxing than a day in a Disney park these days. Enjoy!

The per-day cost in Italy was much less than a day of vacation at Disney parks too, and we really did it in style.

I really wanted to do Paris/London with the kids this summer (as in 2023) instead of Disney (current plan is Mar 2023), but I can't get it to be cheaper than Disney at all. Flights alone are $1100 each - whereas we drive to Disney. We are planning on 3 Disney days and 2 Universal days. We are even renting a house for 1 week, but paying to stay onsite at Disney for 2 nights and Universal for 1 night to get the benefits of EE and FP's (but literally not even planning on going to the room)....and with estimated food, tix and shopping etc (3 kids ages 20, 18 and 15) it's around $14K. But London/Paris I can't seem to get under $20K. I keep hearing how people are able to do Europe for less and I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. We just can't swing the extra $6K. I would love to get the kids there though....

 

[brentm77]

I really wanted to do Paris/London with the kids this summer (as in 2023) instead of Disney (current plan is Mar 2023), but I can't get it to be cheaper than Disney at all. Flights alone are $1100 each - whereas we drive to Disney. We are planning on 3 Disney days and 2 Universal days. We are even renting a house for 1 week, but paying to stay onsite at Disney for 2 nights and Universal for 1 night to get the benefits of EE and FP's (but literally not even planning on going to the room)....and with estimated food, tix and shopping etc (3 kids ages 20, 18 and 15) it's around $14K. But London/Paris I can't seem to get under $20K. I keep hearing how people are able to do Europe for less and I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. We just can't swing the extra $6K. I would love to get the kids there though....

To be clear, I wasn't taking into account airfare when saying out per-day cost was cheaper. If you can drive to WDW, that alone may make a WDW trip cheaper. We fly from Salt Lake City, and do spend more to fly to Europe (though we could actually fly there for about the same as WDW if we were flexible and watched for the deals). We also stay on site when do WDW at a more expensive moderate resort (Destino Tower at Coronado Springs). When you account for the moderate resort running $450+ per night (plus parking), plus park tickets, plus Genie+, plus a paid LL for the newest attraction, at least one (sometimes two) sit-down meal each day (usually exceeding $250 for a family of four), plus quick service meals ($60+ each) and snacks, we spend a fair amount more at WDW per day than we did in Rome, staying in a nicer hotel than WDW, eating great meals, and buying VIP-type tickets to the various attractions or private tours. And frankly, Rome was significantly more fun than any of our recent park experiences. However, I could absolutely do WDW for less than Rome if I stayed off site, didn't use Genie+ or LL, and was tighter with the food budget. You aren't doing anything wrong, it just sounds like we spend more when we travel to WDW, which is what is making the difference.

I dislike the feeling of being on a tight budget when traveling, so I do splurge at WDW, which makes it much more expensive than it has to be. But in the past, that splurging was both less expensive (even after accounting for inflation) and more enjoyable. And my "splurging" now is really just to get us back to the level of a normal trip from years past - it doesn't really even feel like splurging. That's where my disappointment with Disney comes from. In many cases, there are better options for my money, so Disney will get a much smaller fraction of it until things change.

In any case, WDW can still be fun. My wife and I are even taking an extended weekend visit there this December to just take in the Christmas ambiance, slow down and explore Epcot like we couldn't do with teens, and be in a warmer clamant. We are really looking forward to it. I hope your trip in March is fantastic! I think going in with the right expectations makes a huge difference and can make the trip much more memorable.

 

[zuke2323]

I really wanted to do Paris/London with the kids this summer (as in 2023) instead of Disney (current plan is Mar 2023), but I can't get it to be cheaper than Disney at all. Flights alone are $1100 each - whereas we drive to Disney. We are planning on 3 Disney days and 2 Universal days. We are even renting a house for 1 week, but paying to stay onsite at Disney for 2 nights and Universal for 1 night to get the benefits of EE and FP's (but literally not even planning on going to the room)....and with estimated food, tix and shopping etc (3 kids ages 20, 18 and 15) it's around $14K. But London/Paris I can't seem to get under $20K. I keep hearing how people are able to do Europe for less and I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. We just can't swing the extra $6K. I would love to get the kids there though....

I would try Trip Masters. If it's for four of you, and around a week, I would be surprised if London/Paris was more than $15K, especially since you can take the chunnel from one to the other (no need for a second flight in between).

I'm not sure where you're leaving from but I plugged in charlotte as the take-off point (where I'm from) 3 nights in London 4 nights in Paris in March 2023. Flights and hotel rooms (2 in each city for all 7 nights, not sure how many rooms you need) comes out to $5K.

Did a different one for five people, with 3 hotel rooms per night in each place, and it's $6,500 for flights and hotels.

Also I would highly recommend London and Paris. Been to both (on separate trips) and Paris is my favorite place on Earth.

 

[godfather927]

I stayed in a Little Mermaid Art of Animation room for $120 in 2018. That wasn't so long ago!

I mean, what happened here? Why is it simultaneously so expensive and yet so crowded? I guess Disney finally cracked the code on the money printing machine.

Couple things...

2018 was pre-skyliner launch so AoA and Pop were still priced similarly (or slightly above) the All-Stars back then. It's not uncommon to find a current room at an all-star room in the $120ish range.

An of course, inflation is obviously going to be a factor. It may have been only 4 years ago, but inflation since then basically adds a ~15-20% bump onto whatever prices were when you went.