5 biggest misconceptions about DISNEY?

[kimmikayb]

1) You have to do something special and/or pay for a fast pass

2) That the Magic Kingdom IS Disneyworld

3) That it is a waste of time to take young children

4) The food is bad

5) You can walk from park to park

 

[Family Fun Mom]

Since it seems like a lot of folks are replying on the cost, let me do a little breakdown as to how the costs add up for some folks . . .

3 nights, 4 days, 2 adults, 1 child, value (this would be my average trip, I usually cannot get more time off from work) Nov 6-9, 2006

Airfare: $450 per person average (that IS value price out here), so $1,350

Package at Pop, w/ PH and Dining: $1,320.36

Total: $2,670

$667 a day to go to Disney. Tell me that's not steep now. And I know that most of that is not Disney's fault, but when people say "a trip to disney is expensive" they DO have to figure out not just the cost of the parks and lodging, but also getting there.

And that's just for a family of three! We are a family of five so we not only have two other park tickets to buy plus two more mouths to feed, but we're forced to upgrade to a higher hotel class since the values only sleep four to a room. Disney ain't cheap. I'm not saying it isn't worth the money, I'm just saying it is a very, very expensive vacation destination.

We go on some sort of vacation every year, nothing has even come close to what we spent on our trip to Disney in 2005. Nothing.

 

[DisneyFunfor3]

1. That's is just a bunch of thrill rides
2. That I can just show up and look at the maps.
3. That staying off site doesn't affect my vacation (it does...the degree depends on your expectations).
4. That one can ever get bored going to Disney world.
5. That you must be very wealthy to go there more than once a year

And my personal favorite.....

6. That you must be nuts if you go there every year! If only the poor fools knew what we knew..... Shhhhhhh...let's keep it quiet about how fun it really is and all there is to do...

 

[Fintastic]

"Expensive" definitely is subjective. It's entirely up to the individual. Paying $40 a day for one adult to eat on the dining plan? That's expensive to me. Maybe not to somebody else. People who think it's a good deal are probably the ones who would be eating a lot of TS meals anyway. We don't eat TS meals, so no matter how much we'd be "saving" by doing the DDP, it's still more than we'd spend on food anyway.

The prices they charge for tickets to the "extra" stuff like MNNSHP, that's expensive to me too.

 

[Steven41782]

First, my parents (who have all grown children) will not go but every 5 years because they can't afford it. Yet they have more income and less debt than I do, and I've been 4 times in the last 3 years. At some income level, it would be unaffordable. I would imagine that the average middle class family could go (perhaps offsite stay and taking AmTrak or driving) if they WANTED to. Maybe I'm missing the point.


Now, for the misconception... My wife (girlfriend at the time) upon arriving at Epcot says... "so it's not all inside that big ball?" She thought the entire Epcot Center was inside spaceship earth. Don't worry... now she's an official Disney Junky!

Steven

 

[Boncho]

"Expensive" definitely is subjective. It's entirely up to the individual. Paying $40 a day for one adult to eat on the dining plan? That's expensive to me. Maybe not to somebody else. People who think it's a good deal are probably the ones who would be eating a lot of TS meals anyway. We don't eat TS meals, so no matter how much we'd be "saving" by doing the DDP, it's still more than we'd spend on food anyway.

The prices they charge for tickets to the "extra" stuff like MNNSHP, that's expensive to me too.

That is why I never get the dining plan - it costs more than what I spend on food. When at Disney, we don't want to spend alot of time in a restaurant so except for one night, we always eat counter service meals and it costs me $40 tops for the two of us.

 

[Silvite]

It is expensive.

This trip coming no airfare, but meal plan, hotel, tickets. Christmas - Jan 3.

3,100.00 USD
United States Dollars = 83,275.97 Russian Rubles.



That why family Canada in pay. That why it rare we go.

 

[DaisyD]

Sorry, but it is. I love Disney, but the costs are outrageous. We make what is considered a solid, good, middle class income and we have to sacrifice and save for at least two years to afford a trip to Disney. Regular folks just don't have that kind of money at their disposal. It's too bad, because everyone should get the chance to experience the special magic that is Disney. I had to wait until I was 31 to do it. Now I'm in love with the place and can't afford to go back!

I think Disney is one of the best priced vacations yet! For such a small price per day per park you are entertained from opening til close. The place is first class and yet the cost is not.

 

[DaisyD]

How long do you stay and how do you get there, though? even staying at a value, when people have to also factor in the costs of a flight (for some of us that's half the trip expense or more right there) those park tickets add up quick. Sure it's cheaper the longer you stay, but when you can't stay that long and you average it out, it CAN be expensive.

We live 14 hours from WDW. We go twice a year staying around 14 days each time. One trip we drive, the other we fly. We prefer driving but can't due to time constraints in October. We always stay at the Poly. We get APs so that really makes it a bargain. Thirty park days for under $400 per person is a fantastic deal! It isn't any cheaper going for half the time either.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

This is my take on the whole expensive vs. non expensive debate. I will agree that it is expensive. I make a comfortable living and budget myself well, and I can’t see myself spending the money to go every year. Now, with that being said, I have no problem with how much it costs because relatively speaking, it isn’t any more expensive than any other all inclusive vacation would be. What I think Disney World has working against it is that since it is a family place, people might expect for it to be priced a lot lower than it is. For instance, if you want to go on an all inclusive trip to Cancun for 6 days/7 nights and get quoted $3000, you wouldn’t bat an eye because it is an exotic getaway. But if you get quoted $3000 for the same length at Disney World, you are shocked because it is Disney World. And you wonder how they can charge that much for a family vacation. So to me, I think it is just the perception that Disney should be affordable for anybody to go when ever they want, when the reality is that it really isn’t.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I don't know, I think it IS subjective.

To me, in determining whether a DISNEY vacation is expensive specifically, you need to factor out all the things that you would pay for anyway by going on vacation. Say you are going to Florida on vacation anyway, so take out airfare, hotel and really, food, and once you get there you buy a 6 day base ticket from Disney, you are only paying $35 a day to get into the parks...I can't help it, I think that's in incredible value!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know alot of people who go on nice vacations, they fly, they stay at very nice hotels, ect...but they still insist Disney is too expensive. I can understand if you think almost any vacation is expensive, because they are, but for people doing nice vacations anyway, Disney is a bargain.

Course I'm not sure why I'm arguing the point, I mean, do I REALLY want all those "it's too expensive" people to figure out that it really isn't and start going and racking up the crowd levels?

 

[rgf207]

Sorry, but it is. I love Disney, but the costs are outrageous. We make what is considered a solid, good, middle class income and we have to sacrifice and save for at least two years to afford a trip to Disney. Regular folks just don't have that kind of money at their disposal. It's too bad, because everyone should get the chance to experience the special magic that is Disney. I had to wait until I was 31 to do it. Now I'm in love with the place and can't afford to go back!

I have to disagree with you here. I have traveled around the world for business and I have stayed at a lot of hotels. I choose to stay at Holiday Inn Hotels and their partners. Disney is right on par with popular destinations. For example POR is on avg 135 -145 dollars per night. I was in L.A on business and Paid 135 dollars for a standard room at a holiday inn family hotel. Same goes in Seattle, San Diego, San Antonio, Washington D.C, Chicago etc. A lot of times it was around 150 per night. When i went overseas to Tokyo and Italy. I paid almost 250 dollars per night.

I think disney's prices for rooms are very reasonable. Now dont get me wrong, when you stay at some place like th GF or Poly you are paying for a lot more than just the room and they are expensive but so is any other 5 star hotel in the world. They are right on par with the rest.

Also, food and drinks are cheaper at Disney than any other Theme Park I go to. Water is abou 1.00 cheaper at Disney than at Hershey Park for example.

To me the biggest misconception is that if you're an adult male who loves all things Disney, people either think you're a 1. dork, 2. immature or 3. a sexual predator or child molester...

Sometimes when I tell people I'm a big Disney fan, they give me that look like "Are you serious? Disney? For kids?"

I agree 100%. I am a 26 year old male and love everything about Disney. All my friends look at me like i have lobsters growing out of my ears. They just dont understand

 

[bstnsprts]

Since it seems like a lot of folks are replying on the cost, let me do a little breakdown as to how the costs add up for some folks . . .

3 nights, 4 days, 2 adults, 1 child, value (this would be my average trip, I usually cannot get more time off from work) Nov 6-9, 2006

Airfare: $450 per person average (that IS value price out here), so $1,350

Package at Pop, w/ PH and Dining: $1,320.36

Total: $2,670

$667 a day to go to Disney. Tell me that's not steep now. And I know that most of that is not Disney's fault, but when people say "a trip to disney is expensive" they DO have to figure out not just the cost of the parks and lodging, but also getting there.

Problem with this scenario, if you want to call it a problem, is that a Disney Vacation, or any other vacation, is more economical the longer you stay. Three nights or 10 nights the flights cost the same. It also looks like flying out of SD your fares are extremly high. I never pay more than $135 round trip from either Providence or Boston. That 4 day PH, only costs a few dollars less than a ten day PH, or you can go with an AP where you can get another trip or two in. You don't have to stay on-site and buy DDP. Staying off-site in a condo will cut the cost of your trip. Condos both one and two bedrooms, two baths and full kitchens can be had on Sky Auction for between $225 and $300. Eat in for breakfast, take out for diner, CS instead of TS when at the parks. Car rental $100 to $150 a week and if you go with the AP you won't have to pay to park. Granted, time of the year in which you can travel will affect the flight and condo price. But if you can be flexible and with good planning your per day cost at Disney can be in-expensive. So here's another breakdown:

This is based on totals for three trips per year, each 7nights, eight days, for two adults and one child. 21 nights/24 days.

Flights: $1215 Nine round trips
AP's: $1344 One time purchase
Condo: $810 Three 7 night stays using Sky Auction
Car: $400 Three weeks using codes and coupons.

Total not counting food $3769 for 24 days comes to $157 per day. Total for food would depend on how you want to eat, but looking at it this way Disney can be a rather in-expensive vacation.

 

[Fintastic]

The absolute cheapest fare I found out of our regional airport is $350 a person. And we only live 12 hours away from WDW. New Orleans is 2½ hours away and still the lowest fare is $224 a person. New Orleans to Orlando! There are three people in our family so that's $672 dollars right there just on plane tickets. I'd rather fly than drive, but driving is so much cheaper.

 

[Bunch24]

1. Disney is an amusement park. While it is certainly amusing, Disney takes amusement park-type places to a whole new level.

2. Disney is just for kids. If it were, I would have never experienced a honeymoon as fantastic as mine.

3. Characters roam around the park, and will sometimes walk right up to you. This was one of the misconceptions I had, but that came from watching TV shows that took place in Disney. I thought Mickey would come up to me while I was waiting in line for something. Little did I know I'd have to hunt Mickey down in some tent.

4. Disney is perfect. Things do go wrong at Disney. Rides break down, shows get delayed, exhibits get closed. Plus, rude people do go to Disney.

5. Everything is within walking distance on property. Another one that I found out wasn't true when I started researching. The sad thing is the travel agent was the one that told me if we stayed on property, we could just walk to the parks.


Now, to address the price issue. There's no doubt Disney is not a "cheap" vacation destination, but I don't think it's overwhelmingly more than any other vacation. I think what happens with Disney is people get sticker shock. My mom did when she saw how much our trip last Christmas cost for five adults and one child. But when we got there, she realized it was all front-loaded. Our meals were paid for, our room was paid for, our transportation was paid for, our park admission was paid. The only money that came out of our pocket when we got there was for souvenirs. IMO, Disney does a great job of making you pay for everything up front. My mom kept thinking when we got to WDW, we'd have to pay to ride rides or see shows. By the end of the trip, my mom (who we affectionately refer to as the Dollar Store Queen) was talking about how much we had saved by paying for all of it up front.

I know that last summer when we went to San Antonio, we spent about 2/3 of what we spent to go to WDW and didn't have nearly as much fun/things to do.

 

[BlindTyldak]

Problem with this scenario, if you want to call it a problem, is that a Disney Vacation, or any other vacation, is more economical the longer you stay. Three nights or 10 nights the flights cost the same. It also looks like flying out of SD your fares are extremly high. I never pay more than $135 round trip from either Providence or Boston. That 4 day PH, only costs a few dollars less than a ten day PH, or you can go with an AP where you can get another trip or two in. You don't have to stay on-site and buy DDP. Staying off-site in a condo will cut the cost of your trip. Condos both one and two bedrooms, two baths and full kitchens can be had on Sky Auction for between $225 and $300. Eat in for breakfast, take out for diner, CS instead of TS when at the parks. Car rental $100 to $150 a week and if you go with the AP you won't have to pay to park. Granted, time of the year in which you can travel will affect the flight and condo price. But if you can be flexible and with good planning your per day cost at Disney can be in-expensive. So here's another breakdown:

This is based on totals for three trips per year, each 7nights, eight days, for two adults and one child. 21 nights/24 days.

Flights: $1215 Nine round trips
AP's: $1344 One time purchase
Condo: $810 Three 7 night stays using Sky Auction
Car: $400 Three weeks using codes and coupons.

Total not counting food $3769 for 24 days comes to $157 per day. Total for food would depend on how you want to eat, but looking at it this way Disney can be a rather in-expensive vacation.

That's great for folks who can do it, but if you can't . . . why would we get AP's for a 4 day trip? We don't go for 4 days because of the cost, we go for 4 days because I have a radio show to produce and that's the most i can usually get off at a time. We'd have to get a large rental vehicle for my husband's ECV, so that costs more. Handicaped accessability at rental units offsite is often a huge problem, so that's pretty out the window, not to mention car rental plus rental plus gas is about equal to a value, so why deal with the headache when it doesn't save money? We travel off-season, so not eating in the parks is a huge waste of time since we don't have that much touring time anyway; the DDP SAVES us money. And no matter how you cut it, we'll NEVER get Logan or Green rates out of South Dakota, so there's no shaving cost there.

This is what I mean by it may not be expensive for some - you for example, can do it very economically, as can anyone who can go often with AP's, drive, or lives near an airport with good rates, and stay for a long time to get the best deal. But it IS a very expensive vacation for some of us. We can't change that. Period. And it's not because we don't know how to book, them's just the breaks. Like others said, we're not whining, because obviously it's WORTH the money and we still go, we're just saying that we agree that FOR SOME it's a very expensive vacation. Just like someone else said that it would be very expensive for them to travel north, where for me for example, those vacations are VERY cheap.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I agree 100%. I am a 26 year old male and love everything about Disney. All my friends look at me like i have lobsters growing out of my ears. They just dont understand

yep, I get the Lobster Look too! Guess it doesn't matter if you are male or female...if you are an adult and love Disney, you get "the look."

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Biggest misconceptions-
1) "We're going on a 'once in a lifetime' trip to Disney!"- I bet 80% end up going back!
2) That a two or three day trip is enough! I planned my sister's first trip, and she just couldn't understand why they needed more than a weekend. By the end of the trip, she understood that you need at least a week!
3) That it is a waste of money. Some people like to spend their money on clothes or cars or furniture- we happen to like to spend it on Disney!

re: the expensive or not discussion- Your basic Super 8 by the airport costs $80/nt these days- compare that to a Disney Value for $59 (AP rate). The Super 8 may have a continental breakfast, but it doesn't come with transportation to the nearby attractions! Or a huge food court, or probably even a gift shop!

Disney can be expensive, or relatively cheap, depending on how you do it. The dining plan is something like $38/day, right? Even if that is expensive or not is relative- if you usually eat a lot of table service meals on your trip, it may work out to be really cheap. My daily food expenditure at WDW usually falls between $20-$25, so it would be a waste for me. Going to WDW is never going to be as cheap as driving to the next state to visit Aunt Sal and the gang, but compared to other vacations, I don't think it is expensive.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

Disney is an expensive holiday for most people. To stay in a value resort it costs us £3,070 or a delux £5,300 basic. Yes thats £'s not $, so by the time you factor in spending money, trips out and such like we are talking over $12,000. Mind you a big chunk of that is flights.

 

[dizprincess717]

Through the eyes of a College Program student...

CMs are people, too. We have feelings. And we aren't machines. We all have our bad moments so please bear with us if something isn't 120% perfect... Thanks.