Am I the only one who thinks Disney vaca prices have gotten out of hand?

[WeLoveLilo05]

My take is....
if you are a family of 5 or more then yes Disney is a bit expensive b/c your limited to what resorts you could stay at, if on a budget you only have the option of ASMu family suites or Port Orleans...and if your flying (depending on airfare) well then thats even more cash. You could stay off site, but then how much are your spending on renting a car?

HOWEVER, we are a family of 3 and when I look at other places to vacation (Bahamas, Bermuda, DL, etc.) I think WDW is the best bang for the buck. We stay @ Value or Mod and try to go when a deal is out there (free dining, the 4/3 deal, pins, etc.)

 

[disfan07]

My husband and I have stayed both value and Deluxe, he is more so the "snob" and I'm just the type that don't care where I stay as long as they don't lose my O2 again. We don't mind staying at a value, and we don't mind staying deluxe, we LOVE saving money and try to get as many discounts as we can. I don't think there is anything wrong with Doctors that stay value, we have bills and other things just like everyone else. It's not like being a Doctor at the deluxe hotels gets you things over values, we all have equal opportunity to getting crappy rooms, and having bad customer services. It's not like we go around saying "hey, we're doctors and you had better give me this,that and the third"

No. that's what i'm saying. there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with doctors at the values. The poster I ws quoting was saying that her co-workers in healthcare who make a lot of money would never be satisfied at a value and I was saying how my doctors who make a lot of money as well have loved staying at the value resorts. I dont understand how having a lot of money=not satisfied at values. Thats what I was reading in their post. It was like they were syaing that becaus ethey make a lot of money, the values are below them ahile I was saying thattheir are a lot of people who make a lot of money who are quite happy at the values.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Holy cow!

A little background: We haven't been to WDW since 2004. We have gone to Disneyland many times since then, as we love Disneyland and Southern California in general. So, after 6 years, we finally decided to book another Christmas vacation to Disney World.

I almost FELL OVER when I started researching prices of the onsite resorts! OMG! We've been to WDW several times over the peak holiday season, but now that they have apparently done away with being able to check in before the peak rates kick in and have those prices hold for your entire stay, it is completely unrealistic! $400-500/night for AKL? And that's not even concierge! lol I think it's going to be off-site for us for the first time ever! And the dining prices...holy moley they have gone up percentage wise at an unbelievable rate! I'm glad we have all the onsite and character dining memories of so many trips when our kids were younger (5 trips when they were younger) because we certainly couldn't afford to do it now! And I should add we are in a good financial situation (no debt except mortgage, and my DH is extremely fortunate to have a very, very well paying job). But no matter how much we could afford to spend on a vacation, there's no way I can justify those onsite costs! Wow!

Yes, I have to agree.

I took a look at the Christmas rates and could only shake my head. With the economy the way it is, I guess they are banking on a lot of foreigners traveling to WDW for Christmas.

I know there are many who are willing to pay $1,100 for a MK view room at the GF, but I ain't one of them.

 

[disneylover1959]

I don't think Disney prices are bad for everything that you get. Think of all the tiny details it takes to make the whole experience "magical".

 

[rentayenta]

DVC. We have the next 30+ years of Deluxe accommodations paid for.

 

[padawans]

well thats there choice not to be satisfied at a value.

I have 8 doctors. 4 of them have kids AND have been to Disney (I know this because I mentioned we are going to disney in December) and guess what...they have all stayed at a valueOMG it's amazing isnt it.
They are apparently not as snobby as the people you work with. They loved the values. These are doctors who live in multi million dollar houses in Bevelry Hills, Malibu, etc. and they said that it was one of their best vacations.

My Imunologist asked me where we were staying and when I said Pop Century, she kept goin gon about how much she and her kids love it there. They stayed for 9 days and she said that her kids keep asking to go back (they just had a baby so they dont plan on giong back for a couple of years) and her daughter who is 4(was 3 when they went) keeps asking to stay at the hotel with the giant bike (the Big Wheel at POP) but she was looking at teh family suites becaus ethey have 5 people now and when I told her about the Animation Inn and Suites opening in 2012 she was so thrilled. So now she knows exactly when they plan on going and where they are going to stay and she knows her 3 kids will love it and .

Geez . No they are not snobs and I don't work for them I work with them. I am sorry your offended that some people don't like values. Just because someone prefers hotels that have better rooms than a motel six does not make them a snob. I think you missed the whole point of what I was saying because you were too busy being offended. My point was if middle upper class people think the disney deluxe resorts are expensive than they probably are. If you outprice the upper middle class then you have probably gone too far with your price increases. Why should someone that goes to school for 12 years and makes over 200k a year have to settle for a value resort. In addition I said my coworkers were shocked when I told them how much a deluxe resort cost. I never discussed the cost of a value or a moderater resort I have no idea how they feel about staying at one of these. I have no desire to stay at a value or moderate, but I am definetely not a snob( if I was I would not be working in healthcare). I'm just fussy about how I spend my hard earned money.

 

[nunzia]

Disney can be a great deal if you go during value season & your whole family can stay in one room. If you have to go during peak season due to work or school schedules & you need two rooms, then the price is outrageous. I also think the food is way over-priced. We're thinking about staying off-site for those very reasons. Don't get me wrong, I still love Disney. I just can't justify the incredibly high price tag for our family.

I understand what your saying, but it sure seems like school schedules are more fluid than when my kids were young. This week the public school kids have a four day weekend, and one school has the whole week off for fall break..what is fall break? What happened to just Christmas week and Easter Week? Plus..every time they have a three day weekend they are doing a teacher thing at the end creating a four day weekend for the kids..kids here rarely go for a solid 5 day week anymore. Of course, with WDW as opposed to DLR you need to stay more time, but these odd little extra weeks off would be perfect I think, and taking your kids out for a trip once in awhile isn't so bad (unless you're a teacher and can't). Still..it may be rough to vacation in the summer but that's a nice chunk of change of time off to work with. I was a teacher at one time and thought the pay was fair for all the time off..our trouble isn't so much affording things since we are cheap by nature, but how to squeeze enough days off to do it. I'd be happy to fight the summertime if I could have that many days off. (I don't know how you teachers stand it all now though..awful admin, kids out of control and parents who are uber in your face or totally don't care..of course I got dumped with all the kids who had failed out of everything else, so maybe that's why my experiences were so bad...still)

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Disney is a bargain compared to renting a worn down cottage in Lake George for the average cost of about $2,100 a week which comes $300.00 a night.
I could get alot more for that money in Disney.

 

[Michelle and crew]

Of course the people on these boards think disney is a good value because they are in love with disney. When my co-workers ask me how much it costs to go to wdw they about fallover when I tell them. These are people in healthcare that make good money and would not be satisfied at a value. When I told one doctor what a deluxe hotel cost she looked at me like I had lost my mind.

You discuss the cost of your vacations with co workers?

As far as doctors, some enjoy saving money and some enjoy spending it, just like engineers, teachers, and those that are born into money. My in laws fall into two of those categories, and choose to save for the long term rather than spend it now on bells and whistles. My dad who is a doc, is a spender, and would chooses to be a spender.

We sometimes choose one and sometimes the other. But I don't talk about the costs with the people I work with or socialize with.

 

[eliza61]

You discuss the cost of your vacations with co workers? As far as doctors, some enjoy saving money and some enjoy spending it, just like engineers, teachers, and those that are born into money. My in laws fall into two of those categories, and choose to save for the long term rather than spend it now on bells and whistles. My dad who is a doc, is a spender, and would chooses to be a spender.

We sometimes choose one and sometimes the other. But I don't talk about the costs with the people I work with or socialize with.

Heck yeah!! especially Disney vacations. I will say I have worked with the majority of my coworkers for 15 years easy, so we pretty much know a lot about each other. We know spousal information, kids accomplishment and brain farts, etc, etc.

We talk about Disney quite a bit since all of us go. Some are deluxe travelers, some are not but we always compare prices and experiences.

 

[Michelle and crew]

really? I know birthdays, anniversaries, fights, and make ups, but we don't go around bragging about vacation costs.

 

[jodifla]

really? I know birthdays, anniversaries, fights, and make ups, but we don't go around bragging about vacation costs.

Bragging? More like sharing information.

I had the same sort of staff as eliza16...we knew all about each other.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Disney is a bargain compared to renting a worn down cottage in Lake George for the average cost of about $2,100 a week which comes $300.00 a night.
I could get alot more for that money in Disney.

I think the OP was surprised at how much CHRISTMAS WEEK would cost, not other times of the year when WDW offers steep discounts.

When we would go Christmas week, we would check in on the last day of the discount so the discount would carry over--now they took that away.

We had the Florida Discount Dining card--first they blacked out Christmas Day and now they've included Christmas Eve in their blackout.

They never charged for a MK view at the Contemporary--now they do.

The list goes on and on how much they've taken away and changed over the years.

I hope there are tons of people with the mindset that WDW is a bargain at any time of the year. I need my WDW stock to go back up to at least what I paid for it years ago.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Disney is a bargain compared to renting a worn down cottage in Lake George for the average cost of about $2,100 a week which comes $300.00 a night.
I could get alot more for that money in Disney.

AGREED
renting a house @ the Jersey Shore is very expensive, and these are little bungalows, nothing luxurious, just a place to sleep.

I was looking into hotels @ Hilton Head Island to stay at on our way back home from WDW, @ $300 a night I just couldn't do it! We just stopped there for an hour on our way home.

I was looking into OBX and Virgina Beach, those are pretty expensive too.

 

[padawans]

really? I know birthdays, anniversaries, fights, and make ups, but we don't go around bragging about vacation costs.

I live in a state where people don't go wdw they go to dl. When my coworkers ask me about wdw because they thinking about taking their families of course they would ask about cost. I don't walk around bragging about being able to afford a wdw vacation. At dl there are numerous hotels not owned by disney within walking distance. When you go to WDW you have to pay big bucks to be within walking distance. I think thats the difference that surprises people. At least where I live.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I would love to see ticket prices and food be less expensive in Disney but it's still cheaper for our family of 5 to go there than other places. I priced Atlantis and Hawaii this year and certainly had sticker shock. $1000 a night for a family of five at Atlantis makes Disney look cheap and the 10k to fly to Hawaii also put Disney prices into perspective for us!

 

[Planogirl]

I always see extremes being mentioned as vacation spots when comparing Disney prices. To me Atlantis is an extreme on the high end for example.

There are less costly alternatives to these but it really depends on what you want in a vacation. I can find a cabin in the mountains for a decent price. I can also find good hotel prices in destination cities if I shop around. I don't know about the northeast though, it sounds expensive too.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I always see extremes being mentioned as vacation spots when comparing Disney prices. To me Atlantis is an extreme on the high end for example.

There are less costly alternatives to these but it really depends on what you want in a vacation. I can find a cabin in the mountains for a decent price. I can also find good hotel prices in destination cities if I shop around. I don't know about the northeast though, it sounds expensive too.

I took the comparison to be resort to resort not a motel/cabin that's why I picked Atlantis and Hawaii. However, I do agree that there are many cheaper vacations. For example, we'll be doing Disney in April but Williamsburg in August. For Williamsburg, we'll be using a paid off timeshare with a $169 transfer fee, our own car, and a 7 day bouncer pass that is 1/3rd of the price of Disney tickets. It will be considerably less than flying to Disney and visiting the Orlando area for 9 days.

 

[Planogirl]

I took the comparison to be resort to resort not a motel/cabin that's why I picked Atlantis and Hawaii. However, I do agree that there are many cheaper vacations. For example, we'll be doing Disney in April but Williamsburg in August. For Williamsburg, we'll be using a paid off timeshare with a $169 transfer fee, our own car, and a 7 day bouncer pass that is 1/3rd of the price of Disney tickets. It will be considerably less than flying to Disney and visiting the Orlando area for 9 days.

Is it meant to be resort to resort? If so I'm way offbase!

That Williamsburg trip sounds great. I've always wanted to go there.

 

[eliza61]

really? I know birthdays, anniversaries, fights, and make ups, but we don't go around bragging about vacation costs.

Not sure if I would classify it as bragging. more of a sharing of information. If I know one of my coworkers are going to Europe or even on a cruise, I do pump them for cost information. I do ask, "what's was the price of your airfare"?

I have a guy name Scott who has 3 beautiful little girls, he's thinking about going to Disney next year for the first time and he told me the price of his tickets. We talked about options on how to get park tickets cheaper and if he would really be better without the ddp for the way he travel.

Hey, I'd much rather here about the vacation details than the fights.