Anything you no longer do/buy at Disney due to price?

[Elfstar]

As a solo traveler now, with a solo income as well, I no longer stay on site. I was lucky enough to stay at AKL on two occasions - and loved it but would be just as happy at POFQ - but not at today's prices. I've got a trip scheduled next month - staying offsite with free WiFi, a free upgrade to a Disney View Room, free continental breakfast, a meal credit for the hotel restaurant and a deep rental car discount because I was able to shop around. EMH just aren't worth the extra expense.

I also have cut out buying souveniers for the most part unless I see something really special or marked down significantly. For F & W, I'll do the booths in World Showcase, and maybe one demo - no more Party for the Senses, I am trying the Swan and Dolphin answer to that this year for about half the price.

And actually, I'm glad they've priced me out. I'm planning a trip to Africa next year, Italy the year after, and I'll get a whole different experience for my money. Maybe I'll head back to Disney when the granddaughter is old enough to enjoy it. If it's affordable at all in another 6 years.

 

[disneysteve]

I do buy pins but not as many as I used to.

I clearly remember what happened in 2000 when pin trading began. The exact same pins that had been $3.99 in 1999 were suddenly $6.99 and people couldn't buy them fast enough.

To be fair, we didn't have all of the beautiful, multilayer, sliding/moving/hinged pins that we have now. The artists have done some really neat stuff but they still aren't worth $15-$18 each.

 

[Rozz]

I clearly remember what happened in 2000 when pin trading began. The exact same pins that had been $3.99 in 1999 were suddenly $6.99 and people couldn't buy them fast enough.

To be fair, we didn't have all of the beautiful, multilayer, sliding/moving/hinged pins that we have now. The artists have done some really neat stuff but they still aren't worth $15-$18 each.

I totally agree! I used to buy several or more pins every trip. I bought one pin last time. It is beautifully done but I'm just not going to buy pins at the higher costs.

 

[shoes99]

We have been pin trading since before 1999. We used to buy 2 pins, one for keep and one to trade. The market has been saturated, so we just buy one or two LE pins each trip. We also do not go to MNSSHP or MVMCP since the prices have gone way up. We still do multiple trips per year but look for discounts, and sometimes rent DVC.

 

[2girlsR2good]

4) Valet parking/ Bellmen - We park and move our own luggage.

This is the one I'll still do, even when I drop other items from my budget. I've never met a Disney parking attendant or bellhop who wasn't helpful, polite and friendly. I like knowing that my tip money is going straight to someone who earned it. The actual valet parking is often free for us (TIW card).

 

[disneysteve]

I totally agree! I used to buy several or more pins every trip. I bought one pin last time.

I think I bought 3, all WDW 40th anniversary pins. That was it for me.

The market has been saturated, so we just buy one or two LE pins each trip.

Disney is notorious for saturating the market, whatever the market happens to be. The LE pins are a perfect example. Walk into any of the pin sections today and you'll see LE pins from several past events/holidays. They no longer sell out because they kept making the edition size bigger and bigger. At some point, "limited" loses its meaning. As a long time Disney collector (not just pins), I could give you numerous stories of them doing this in the past. If 100 sell, they make 250. If 250 sell, they make 500. If 500 sell, they make 1,000. You get the idea. Eventually, the collectors lose interest because the item isn't special anymore.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Disney is notorious for saturating the market, whatever the market happens to be. The LE pins are a perfect example. Walk into any of the pin sections today and you'll see LE pins from several past events/holidays. They no longer sell out because they kept making the edition size bigger and bigger. At some point, "limited" loses its meaning. As a long time Disney collector (not just pins), I could give you numerous stories of them doing this in the past. If 100 sell, they make 250. If 250 sell, they make 500. If 500 sell, they make 1,000. You get the idea. Eventually, the collectors lose interest because the item isn't special anymore.

Yes, most collectibles seem to have done this. It's sad, not much is all that unique or special anymore. I used to collect Boyds Bears, they totally flooded the market and basically ruined the brand. Some of the blame can be placed on ebay too though...you could never get the special/limited pieces because ebay sellers bought them up and put them on ebay for waaaaaay more. I didn't buy Boyds for the appreciation value or to sell and it was so fustrating when you couldn't find the piece you wanted anywhere but ebay. I would think something similiar happened with Disney pins.

 

[LilGMom]

We no longer do the hard ticket events. Our first was sometime between 2001-2003 and the tickets were somewhere in the neighborhood of $35/adults. And at that time they emptied the park and didn't sell as many tickets so when you entered with for your hard ticket event it actually felt like a special party. Now those same tickets are over $50/adult and they don't empty the park to just hard ticket guests. The last time we did MMNSSHP was in 2007 (I think) and I saw so many guests without wristbands on enjoying the parade and trick-or-treating that we decided then to not do anymore of them. Maybe if the AP discount was a lot more than just a few dollars or if we had to buy MYW tickets I could see doing it but for us it just isn't worth the cost. And now that our oldest is 10 it really isn't worth the cost for us anymore.

 

[manhattan]

We don't go as often as we used to....nor do we buy annual passes anymore. When we lived in NY we would come down twice a year for week long vacations. When we moved down here we bought AP and would go about 4-5 times a year (weekend trips), then it went down to 3 times a year, past three years no APs and only twice a year. Definitely don't buy any souvenirs now, nor do we eat all our meal in the parks or resorts anymore, since we drive, we usually find the nearest Publix and buy food there. I do treat my little one to Mickey Waffles for breakfast a few times during our stays. I have stopped buying sodas and just ask for cups of water instead.

 

[CherylA]

We've cut WAY down on souvenirs. I'm so tired of seeing the same things in every single shop...most of it overpriced. I like to wait and try to find something I haven't seen before. For my kids we have a very strict 'no stuffed animal' rule. They hug it for two days and then it goes into the huge pile of others they never play with...no more. We also are going to stop getting the dining plan next year because all Disney has been doing EVERY single year is raising prices and taking away from the plan. I remember the first time they offered it was AMAZING. The regular dining plan included an appetizer, entree, dessert, non-alcoholic beverage AND gratuity. Since then, the price has increased, food quality has decreased, and they've gotten rid of the appetizer and gratuity. I'm just waiting to see what they take out next.

Agreed, I won't pay for the dining plan anymore, I don't even like to go for free dining anymore because if you take free dining you pay rack rate for the room plus you still have to tip on the out of control dining prices. I'd much rather use a % off code for a room, buy my tickets at a slight discount from a third party, and eat for a reasonable price . We eat some meals off site and when we do sit down in Disney we only order what we really want (which is only 1 dessert to share, not 4!) not only does that keep the price of the bill down that way but we don't have to tip on 3 desserts we didn't need!

 

[lugnut33]

We just spent 10 days at the World and only had two sit down meals (at Jiko and Bistro de Paris). The rest of our meals were off-site, quick service, or in our one bedroom villa at AKL Kidani.

 

[jesswindsor]

We have cut down on souvineers, now when we go we either have a budget for each person, or to purchase a certain item. Really it seems like everything is the same with a new year on it anyway. Now if they actually had Villians things, and/or hotel specific/Park specific merchandise I would drop the cash.