A few thoughts in not a particularly organized manner:
1) Disney has become more expensive and more crowded. There’s no way around those facts. The people who keep going are either upping their budget to remain at their previous amenity level or they’re adapting and finding places to save money. Lots of people are dealing with sticker shock compared to past trips.
2) Because October has become such a popular month to go, you won’t find as many discounts such as
free dining during that time. I know friends and family in the UK start back to school later than on the US, so looking at the end of August or very early September will be good times for discounts. The heat and humidity are brutal and it’s peak hurricane season, but the crowds and prices are the best you’ll see all year.
3) Free dining isn’t free. Any time period that includes free dining also includes room discounts. You’re opting out of any room or ticket discounts for the dining plan. For some, the dining plan saves money. Others would be better off without it. Some report “too much food” on the
DDP or feeling pressured to order the most expensive things, drink more alcohol than they ordinarily would, etc. All the menus are available online. Many people find that when they add up what their family would likely eat, it turns out to cost less than the DDP. The DDP tends to work best for more expensive meals like character dining, but with a child a year from University, how many character dinners would you really do? You might want to reconsider if it’s something you need. Taking a room discount or renting DVC and forgoing the DDP might be enough to get you there on budget, even if you factor in some nice splurge meals.
4) Do you need a care hire? Are you leaving Disney property frequently or could you do just as well with Disney transportation and ride shares?
5) If the car hire is because you like exploring other things in Florida, you could easily stay off site in a lovely resort for a fraction of the cost of AKL. It’s worth considering, even if it’s only part of the trip.
6) Unlike many other places, packages from Disney are often not money savers. It seems counterintuitive, but often a package is more expensive than if you bought the pieces separately. Yes, it’s more work, but pricing out different options might be eye opening. Or get a
travel agency like
Dreams Unlimited to do some of that work for you. Just make sure they’re Disney specialists.
7) If you really want your next trip to be like your old trip (October at AKL on the DDP), and anything else would be a let down, you should look to start saving now for the higher prices or consider looking elsewhere for your holiday.
8) Lots of long-time park goers have reached their breaking point, for a variety of reasons - cost, crowds, park hours, overall perceived value. If you’re at that point, that’s okay. There are so many other amazing places in the world with many other adventures to be had.
9) Speculation before prices are out is not very productive. Best to assume it will be more expensive in 2021. How much more, we don’t know. Depending on the path COVID19 takes, we may be looking at some shake ups in the travel world. With many flights at super low prices for the next few months, we may even see some airlines in bankruptcy. No idea what that will mean for travel by 2021.
