Are You Skipping Disney This Year?

[pjlla]

Skipping this year and probably next year.... mostly because DH keeps reminding me about those darn college tuition bills! I HATE being practical!

That said, I have a small "secret" fund started for trip to Europe for DD and myself..... I'm sure DH will say it isn't practical, but we'll see .............P

 

[eliza61]

We aren't cutting out, but we have cut back.

+1

Disney is no longer our "dream' vacation. Truthfully it's rare that we go for 7 days anymore.

Reasons:
1) not the same value. prices go up. quality has gone down. some food is downright nasty.
2) no longer our style of vacation. now with fast pass + it is almost mandatory that you plan every nanosecond of the day. we don't like travelling that way.
3) Discovered that Disney is no longer the big value it use to be. Now with the internet I can search out great deals. I've been doing Europe for just a few hundred bucks more than what I spend at Disney.


In a few years I'll probably sell my dvc.

 

[Happyjen27]

When planning my first trip, I wanted to go annually during the years my kids were aged 5-12. After my first trip, that desire was solidified.

This past December, we had access to legacy FP and FP+ and it was a magical trip, but it left me thinking that when Disney switches to just FP+ it was going to be a hot mess. I think some kinks need to be worked out.

Also, I think that as guests transition and accept FP+, and CM have a couple of years of FP+ under their belts, the mood of WDW will become lighter and happier.

For those reasons, my vacation line item this year will be used on some international travel, and a beach trip.

I will probably return to The World in the next few years.

 

[NancyIL]

As an annual passholder, I've gone to WDW multiple times a year for the past decade or so. Last year I went only twice, and this year I'm going only in December. However, I'll go to Disneyland in April. With higher airfares, it seems smarter to go less frequently but stay longer. I also enjoy traveling to places that aren't Disney related.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We also don't go to Disney every year so I am not sure if this thread applies to us. We went last year and plan to go back in May of next year if everything works out. Since there are several reasons that keep us from making the 17 hour drive down to Orlando which puts us in the "if we don't fly we don't go to WDW" camp, and because of the cost of park tickets for all of us and also the size accommodations our family needs, it is only financially practical for our family of seven to go every two years (maybe even every three years) as prices get higher and our children get older and it costs more to take them all. We feel fortunate and blessed to have been able to go to Disney twice so far even though a lot of folks here on the Disboards go annually. As far as this year is concerned, with my maternity care/hospital bills, DD12's orthodontist bills and out of state class trip, vehicle repairs, plans to buy a new minivan, and our pool's liner needing replaced, a big, pricey trip is out of the picture this year all together. We plan on doing a little getaway to the beach towards the end of the summer so that we can save for Disney next year. If we can't make it back to Disney in May 2015 like we hope then we will push the trip back to Sept 2015.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

I think some of the people who see Disney as a declining value are the ones who go very often. Its hard to see the money buying you something "magical and novel", when you've done all the attractions multiple times, and eaten at a good % of the restaurants.

We are going in May but haven't been in 6 years. My daughter is now 11 instead of 5, so the whole experience will be different for all of us. Plus there's some "new stuff" as well as "stuff we didn't do last time".

To us it seems like a pretty good value. Will probably cost us like a little over $4000 for 7 nights when all is said and done....about an average vacation that involves airfare. However if we went again next year, I don't think $4000 would seem like a good value.

 

[momof1princess]

Yes, unfortunately. For two reasons:

1. DH's workshop has GOT to be re-roofed as soon as possible. The roof is leaking badly and there are tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools in there. No getting around it, and the roof shingles alone will be about $1600.00.

2. I don't want to experience Fastpass+ right now. Everyone I know that's been has had major issues with getting it to work properly.

 

[Marionnette]

I think some of the people who see Disney as a declining value are the ones who go very often. Its hard to see the money buying you something "magical and novel", when you've done all the attractions multiple times, and eaten at a good % of the restaurants.

We are going in May but haven't been in 6 years. My daughter is now 11 instead of 5, so the whole experience will be different for all of us. Plus there's some "new stuff" as well as "stuff we didn't do last time".

To us it seems like a pretty good value. Will probably cost us like a little over $4000 for 7 nights when all is said and done....about an average vacation that involves airfare. However if we went again next year, I don't think $4000 would seem like a good value.

I think that you may have a point about the bloom being off the rose for the more frequent visitor. I know that I am more likely to notice imperfections the more often I look at something. It's one of the reasons why I'm considering cancelling one of my two remaining trips this year.

However, I can say that each of my visits over the years has had its own uniqueness, whether it was the first time that we took the kids when they were all under 6 or a last-minute girls' week in early January with my sister because prices were so low. There has always been something new that I got to try each time.

 

[meggiebeth]

We'd love to go to WDW every year, but I am now increasingly put off by the ridiculous prices. £5000 (about $8000) for one week in a two bedroom villa in VWL is absolutely ridiculous. In 2011, a two bedroom villa at SSR cost us just over $2000 for a week.

I'd love to go back to disney, but their prices are really rising ridiculously. The cost of upgrading from the DDP to the Deluxe DDP in 2011 was around £450 for our family, and in 2013 it was over £700. How can it increase so much in just two years?! Having a trip to Disney from the UK costs around $20,000 when staying onsite and eating on the DDP. The flights are a chunk of that; but the prices disney charges are still a much larger proportion. That really is a ridiculous price, and judging that it would cost much more than that this year, we have had to pass. Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[eliza61]

I think that you may have a point about the bloom being off the rose for the more frequent visitor. I know that I am more likely to notice imperfections the more often I look at something. It's one of the reasons why I'm considering cancelling one of my two remaining trips this year.

However, I can say that each of my visits over the years has had its own uniqueness, whether it was the first time that we took the kids when they were all under 6 or a last-minute girls' week in early January with my sister because prices were so low. There has always been something new that I got to try each time.

I don't think it's entirely due to that. I also think that the outside travel world has caught up to what use to be Disney standards.

for example, look at the difference in the Deluxe resorts and the Waldorf Astoria right outside disney's gates. Now outside of location, Disney just is not up to deluxe standards so it gets hard to justify paying 500 bucks a night when you know what it would get elsewhere. Before my dh got ill we took a mini vacation to the world, since we wanted it to be a bit more romantic we stayed at the WA. 189 bucks a night!!! that's pretty much moderate prices. My dh said, no way would we ever stay deluxe on site if we weren't using our points.

Now like you said some times I do notice "little" things but some of the little things are what use to set Disney apart. Another example, we use to use valet parking all the time, now I know for most folks valet is an incidental but when you travel with a handicapped aunt with mobility issues, valet parking is not so much of a perk. anyhoo, when the servers were disney employees it seems to me they were efficient and polite. 7 mins top to get your car. When they outsourced them, it went waaaay down hill. Now they tell you to factor in 30 minutes to wait for your car!! really 30 minutes, at the Grand floridian? supposedly your top of the line resort?

And I don't think you can really find anyone who would argue very hard that the food quality has not declined.

I think one of the issues those of us who are long time repeat customers have to grapple with is that Disney used to actually be the measuring stick family vacation places used. Not so much now.

Now we still have a great vacation when we go, but I would no longer call them "magical".

 

[gibbow]

I'm not skipping WDW, but I am planning non-park days for the first time ever. I just purchased a re-sale DVC contract, and plan to bank and borrow for a trip every 3 years and invite my family. This will be the first of hopefully, many family reunions down in Disney World. But I am hoping to save my enjoying some resort touring, boat rides, and pool days.

 

[bbak3030]

We have only gone 2 times in the last 3 years. I am definitely not skipping WDW. Just got back 3 weeks ago and it was amazing. I would book another if I could afford it right now. We are going to Destin his summer and Tennessee for thanksgiving. Hoping to get back to WDW by next summer!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Skipping this year because I was invited to go to Texas this month.

I can't afford two trips, so I chose Texas as I've never been but wanted to go.

 

[Arielle22]

We usually go every 2 to 3 years but we are increasing visits this year. DD20 got accepted into the Disney college program and starts early August. We are going down the week prior for a family vacation.

Then DH and I will go back in October with a friend to see how DD is doing. We are not sure yet if we will go down in January when she is returning home or not. Maybe go down for a long weekend and hit Universal.

Plus DH and I celebrated our 28th anniversary there last November. So it will be 3 trips in a year. I planned ahead and we bought annual passes last November so that expense won't be there.

 

[ceemys]

We skipped last year....going this year. We have gone about every 2 years for the past 8 years.

 

[QVCshopper]

We didn't go last year (18 months between trips) due to moving to a better school district, as well as waiting between annual passes.

We activated our $425/person premium annual pass tix in December 2013, and are going to use them for a total of 3 trips. Then we will take a break again.

I really haven't seen this "decline" that everyone talks about, and we loved FastPass+. I really wouldn't believe all of the bad reviews, it was excellent for us.

I will say that Disney World is more crowded overall than it was 15 years ago. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

 

[Colleen27]

I think some of the people who see Disney as a declining value are the ones who go very often. Its hard to see the money buying you something "magical and novel", when you've done all the attractions multiple times, and eaten at a good % of the restaurants.

I think that's possible, but I don't think it is true for us. When DH and I were talking about it the comparison came up to a restaurant we used to frequent. This place was/is known for their nachos. Huge portions, two orders were more than enough for our family of five, but what really set them apart was the toppings. Lots of fresh veggies, avocado, green onion, olives, diced tomatoes, etc. Now the same restaurant serves their nachos on a smaller plate, no longer has avocado at all unless you pay the upcharge for their so-so guacamole, replaced green onions with diced white/cooking onion, uses canned olives instead of fresh, and the only tomatoes are in the salsa. If you went in there for the first time you'd probably still walk away thinking that you had some really good nachos - their cheese blend and the seasoning on the meat are still excellent, and they serve an incredible house-made salsa. But if you'd been there before and remembered the oversized plate piled high with top-quality fresh toppings, you'd walk away a little disappointed.

That's where we're at with Disney. It isn't that it is a bad experience now, but the experience is so diminished from what it was even a few years ago that we walk away with the impression that it just isn't measuring up.

 

[Colleen27]

A little of everything.

I hate FP+ with a passion. It is a system that just doesn't work when you're trying to see the must-dos of a 5yo and a 16yo on the same trip without waiting in a ton of long lines.

I have a hard time swallowing the "pay more, get less" approach that holds sway right now. Higher prices and lower discounts, paired with the loss of FP and cuts in in-park entertainment are too much for me to overlook any more.

Plus DH is back in business for himself, which has so far meant a little more income but also means a lot more uncertainty. So I'm holding on to more and being more conservative with our spending decisions.

Disney has been something I've been willing to splurge on for a long time but WDW currently isn't making the cut - we're doing more "real world" travels and looking for a time to fit in a west coast trip with a couple days at DLR, but I don't foresee a return to WDW in the coming years.

 

[AquaDame]

How many of you have decided against visiting Disney this year? If so, what factors went into determining your decision?

Is it the economy? A desire to see the rest of the country? Has Disney raised their prices too much for your budget? Or...something else?

We aren't skipping Disney this year, though WDW is definitely off our docket for the foreseeable future. The value to cost took a large hit with FP+ for us, and they do not seem to be changing the rules on that while they continue to raise prices. (yes we tried FP+ for ourselves in January of this year).

This year we are doing the two DCL cruises we had planned from last year, and are going for our annual weekend trip to DLR. If FP+ makes its way there, we would likely be putting that on hiatus as well unless the program changes. NEXT year, we are not doing Disney at all that I know of due to a large Europe vacation, but I may still do our usual weekend getaway. Kinda waiting to see what their next move is... as you can see from our plans, we can certainly afford to keep going if we wanted to so the economy and our budget is not playing a part in it.

 

[HM]

We've been every year since 1999. We are skipping this year and probably next year as well. Lately its pretty much just been my daughter and I, as my husband and son are not all the interested in WDW and certainly not every year. DD and I had our last trip in December.

The costs are part of my reason to stay away. They've gone up way too much in a short period of time. The second reason is that I have other places I want to visit that I've skipped over the years and now think it's time to look at doing them. And thirdly, my kids are in college and have summer jobs that limit when we can go more than their K-12 years did.