Are there big enough perks to theme park packages to justify the prices lately? Are there still inexpensive ways to visit?

[LuvOrlando]

We've been waiting for the 2026 tickets to Uni/IOA/EPIC to show up so today I just took a moment to check in on package prices during cooler off season because I can get the tickets there to move things along. Holy moly the sticker shock for packages made DH and I literally laugh and now we are wondering if anyone is actually doing this? Jumping in we looked up our favorite spots and 10 days at Portofino for 3 priced around 8K and then we looked up Polynesian and the same is around 12K.... whaaattt? We've been to both many times and have wonderful memories of both but these prices are a head scratcher. Love Poly but I don't 12K love it and loved Portiofino but I don't 8K love it, is there something that has been added I'm not seeing?

Are the hotels and parks really so crowded now that the prices are necessary to manage the crowds? Did these specific properties become much more expensive to manage in some way because the offsite hotels are holding at what look like regular prices so if they can mange to steady themselves financially what is happening with onsite prices?

Curious, is anyone local seeing stuff out of state visitors might not notice?

Also it seems we have shifted to offsite to make the trip fall in line with expectations, anytime my DH starts doing comparisons of where else we can go for the same money it's time to abort the mission and regroup. I still wanna do some Orlando theme park trips and wonder if there are still inexpensive ways to visit that won't get me a penalty flag on the field, so to speak

 

[georgina]

You have to decide what is important to you. My 2 park (IOA and US) seasonal AP cost me about $452. There are AP discounts at the hotels. Epic tickets I will have to buy separately. I have spent a night or two at the deluxe resorts for the EP, but mostly stay at the less expensive resorts with AP discounts. Even the seasonal AP gets me 10% off food at the lower cost resorts.

I often stay offsite at Disney World, but feel the benefits of being onsite are better with Universal.

 

[china mom]

We have consistently had APs for well over a decade (out of state) and for the longest time, we were die hard "only on property" people. The biggest perk was not having to rent a car. An additional perk was the ability to easily split up if members of the family wanted to come to the parks late or head back early. I was NEVER going to stay off property again. Being in the bubble was so important to me at the time.

I used to be a Disney Travel Agent and I had a client who was trying to decide between on and off site and I was able to show her that once you factored in needing a rental car plus paying to park at the parks, she would actually save money by staying on property. The numbers used to be that close.

I also use to save money by bringing food down with me or having groceries delivered and eating breakfast i the room and packing sandwiches for lunch and only buying one QS meal at the parks or hotel.

Then, they stopped magical express (and initially, also charged for parking at the resorts). Between the higher hotel prices and needing a rental, I could not justify on property anymore. My money saving tip is Flamingo Crossing hotels. They have a hot breakfast included, a full sized fridge and since, you have a rental car anyway, you can eat at restaurants off property for much cheaper.

If we want to split up, someone takes an uber and it is still cheaper that staying onsite. After rental car, ubers and hotel room, it is cheaper than paying for an airport shuttle/uber and paying Disney resort prices.

And then , by best money saving tip was to just buy a second house near Disney for hundreds of thousands of dollars . OK, that one didn't actually save money but it is great having three bedrooms and three bathrooms and a full kitchen and private pool and as close to Disney as some of the hotels. It is usually rented out so we do stay in hotels for most of our trips though. But I recommend people consider a short term rental, especially if traveling with a family where you need more room. You can often get an entire house for the same as a Pop Century room and many are in a resort like setting with more amenities than a Disney value (except transportation).

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I'm in one of those questionable phases right now. I've been to WDW many, many times. I honestly doubt I will ever sleep at a Deluxe resort again. I think my situation is a bit different from most because so many of my trips the last 10+ yrs have either been with my daughter and sister/ just my sister/ once with my daughter and my grandson. Obviously, It's not the typical 2 parents and a few kids. Now, I have a trip planned with my sister and daughter and my grandson and one bathroom is not ideal, nor can I share a bed. It will be a Value room stay for certain. Nor will I buy anymore Magic Bands ( my own big mistake getting rid of old bands). This next vacation is only 5 nights and that's so we could optimize the cheapest flights available. I'm 64 and not ready to hang up the towel just yet but I am nearing that day when "the last trip" will come.

 

[china mom]

I'm in one of those questionable phases right now. I've been to WDW many, many times. I honestly doubt I will ever sleep at a Deluxe resort again. I think my situation is a bit different from most because so many of my trips the last 10+ yrs have either been with my daughter and sister/ just my sister/ once with my daughter and my grandson. Obviously, It's not the typical 2 parents and a few kids. Now, I have a trip planned with my sister and daughter and my grandson and one bathroom is not ideal, nor can I share a bed. It will be a Value room stay for certain. Nor will I buy anymore Magic Bands ( my own big mistake getting rid of old bands). This next vacation is only 5 nights and that's so we could optimize the cheapest flights available. I'm 64 and not ready to hang up the towel just yet but I am nearing that day when "the last trip" will come.

I still like my magic band but my family gave them up long ago in favor of using their phones. I won't buy them regardless, I still have piles of old ones.

 

[Magical2017]

I would probably not buy a package.

Universal is the park where I’d want Express Passes. It was manageable on our last trip because the three premium hotels included the passes in the room rate, and prices were under $400 per night—as long as one person had an Annual Pass. Now, those same premium hotels are going for double that when I check prices. It's not surprising with Epic. Plus, our last stay was about five years ago. I’d need to do the math to compare the cost of buying a few days’ worth of Express Passes versus staying at a premium resort now.

If we ever go back to Disney, I'd probably go budget. For air, I'd use our Southwest companion pass. I'd use points for a few hotel rooms for the four of us, then get tickets for however many days we wanted. My Venture X gives me a credit that I'd use towards a rental car. We have had enough visits to Disney. I don't need another deluxe stay.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Did you price it our without a package? If you're going to 10 days, I would suggest getting a Universal annual pass (doesn't include Epic). That may be cheaper than individual tickets for non-epic days. Also, you get good room discounts with the annual pass. You could also just have 1 person in your party get the pass to get the room discounts. I think you can check the annual pass discount rates for the hotel on their website without buying one first.

Also remember that you get free express pass at Portofino for your check in and check out days. I would stay at one of the non-deluxe hotels for your Epic days and move to the deluxe for the days you're going to be at UoO and IoA.

 

[leebee]

Well, I go to WDW too often but try to make concessions to make it more affordable. This usually means staying at the AllStars. I also have a Disney VISA and a SW VISA, so usually can shave money off the hotel price and have "free" airfare as everything we purchase goes on the credit cards and is paid off monthly. I also buy Disney gift cards when I can get them at 15% off (gotta watch the sales at BJs/Sams and also the rewards at BJs). None of it is cheap anymore, but these things help make it more affordable. I have also been sucked into the BounceBack hotel pricing, meaning that I end up going to Disney more than once a year and somehow justify it.

In May DH and I took DD/SIL/Little Guy to Disney for 5 nights. We had 2 connecting preferred rooms at ASMusic, booked on bounceback rates and paid in full on Disney VISA rewards points. We also flew round trip, direct, from MHT to MCO (weren't sure how LG would handle airports, flying, etc... in retrospect a connection in BWI would have been better and a bit cheaper) for free on SW rapid rewards points, and the hotel the night before the flight was paid on Wyndham rewards points. We only had 3 day park passes, base, which was fine. It saved money and we needed a day off in there, and LG LOVED riding the monorail, ferry, skyliner, and swimming in the hotel pool. Some of this was purchased from Disney and paid by Disney gift cards (purchased at 15% off) and some were purchased from a third party supplier. We had Kroger deliver water and breakfast stuff to the room and brought our own coffee (as I really don't like Joffrey's). Our QS meals (one a day) were covered by DisVISA rewards points, and we used the DisVISA to pay for our TS meals (some restaurants give 10% discount for using the DisVISA and of course there is the 2% rewards on all dining purchases). All this helped make the trip more affordable, but it's a lot of planning and juggling. We are hoping to take everyone again in 2 years but we will definitely stay offsite. DIsney resorts are just too expensive when you need two rooms or multi-bedroom accommodations.

DH and I will be at SSR for 4 nights in January. I rented DVC points for this and we won't have park tickets. It's just a trip to see old friends and enjoy the Disney Springs restaurants. I wanted AKL/Jambo but there wasn't availability. I can justify the hotel cost because of not having park tickets, but we have to rent a car ($175 for a small SUV so not too bad).

DD and I are embarking on a split stay trip in November, with hotels booked at the bounceback rate. I'm using discounted Disney gift cards to pay for this (either 15% off when I can get it, or the regular 5% off using my target red card for the gift card purchase) and free airfare on Delta points. We'll be 3 nights at CSR, then she goes home and I'm 3 nights solo at ASSp. I have enough DisVISA points to pay for our food, but park passes are OOP this time thru one of the 3rd party vendors. Cheaper than thru Disney but still OUCH.

 

[Tuffcookie]

The early morning hours are laughable and only those staying at deluxe resorts can stay later in the evening? Hardly seems worth it to me.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Well, I go to WDW too often but try to make concessions to make it more affordable. This usually means staying at the AllStars. I also have a Disney VISA and a SW VISA, so usually can shave money off the hotel price and have "free" airfare as everything we purchase goes on the credit cards and is paid off monthly. I also buy Disney gift cards when I can get them at 15% off (gotta watch the sales at BJs/Sams and also the rewards at BJs). None of it is cheap anymore, but these things help make it more affordable. I have also been sucked into the BounceBack hotel pricing, meaning that I end up going to Disney more than once a year and somehow justify it.

In May DH and I took DD/SIL/Little Guy to Disney for 5 nights. We had 2 connecting preferred rooms at ASMusic, booked on bounceback rates and paid in full on Disney VISA rewards points. We also flew round trip, direct, from MHT to MCO (weren't sure how LG would handle airports, flying, etc... in retrospect a connection in BWI would have been better and a bit cheaper) for free on SW rapid rewards points, and the hotel the night before the flight was paid on Wyndham rewards points. We only had 3 day park passes, base, which was fine. It saved money and we needed a day off in there, and LG LOVED riding the monorail, ferry, skyliner, and swimming in the hotel pool. Some of this was purchased from Disney and paid by Disney gift cards (purchased at 15% off) and some were purchased from a third party supplier. We had Kroger deliver water and breakfast stuff to the room and brought our own coffee (as I really don't like Joffrey's). Our QS meals (one a day) were covered by DisVISA rewards points, and we used the DisVISA to pay for our TS meals (some restaurants give 10% discount for using the DisVISA and of course there is the 2% rewards on all dining purchases). All this helped make the trip more affordable, but it's a lot of planning and juggling. We are hoping to take everyone again in 2 years but we will definitely stay offsite. DIsney resorts are just too expensive when you need two rooms or multi-bedroom accommodations.

DH and I will be at SSR for 4 nights in January. I rented DVC points for this and we won't have park tickets. It's just a trip to see old friends and enjoy the Disney Springs restaurants. I wanted AKL/Jambo but there wasn't availability. I can justify the hotel cost because of not having park tickets, but we have to rent a car ($175 for a small SUV so not too bad).

DD and I are embarking on a split stay trip in November, with hotels booked at the bounceback rate. I'm using discounted Disney gift cards to pay for this (either 15% off when I can get it, or the regular 5% off using my target red card for the gift card purchase) and free airfare on Delta points. We'll be 3 nights at CSR, then she goes home and I'm 3 nights solo at ASSp. I have enough DisVISA points to pay for our food, but park passes are OOP this time thru one of the 3rd party vendors. Cheaper than thru Disney but still OUCH.

LeeBee, you and I are almost a match on the things we do to "save" for our WDW trips. Luckier for you, you go more often than I I buy GC's at our local retailer and get a 10% return and also use my D Visa to initially pay for that GC so add another 1%. I too also have and use for most everything: a Disney Visa and a Southwest CC. It's nice getting a free flight. I have Disney rewards to transfer over soon and that helps. I reduce our sit down dinners and for the next trip we will enjoy at least 1 for grandson's B day and possible 1 other but that's it! And a grocery delivery for breakfast items because it's just easier to eat and get to the bus stop!

Added: last year I did a resort only/ no parks, with my sister and we had such a nice time.