Disney Debt!

[kathy884]

Those hard ticket parties just irk me. Throw out your regular guests early so they can collect double the number of admissions in one day.
Grrr…

They are a pet peeve of mine too. Like you, I feel like Disney is double dipping. The parties really skew crowd levels too. During party season at the MK if you go on a night that does do the fireworks (a non-party) night you get much heavier crowds than you would get for a normal day that time of year.

I did a Christmas party once (and that was one and done for me) -- It was a sell out and IMHO it was way too crowded. I like normal park days better, but then I am a morning person too.

Sure the MK is always fun, but it's a little bit of a loose / loose to me during party season.

 

[Rob Huff]

They are a pet peeve of mine too. Like you, I feel like Disney is double dipping. The parties really skew crowd levels too. During party season at the MK if you go on a night that does do the fireworks (a non-party) night you get much heavier crowds than you would get for a normal day that time of year.

I did a Christmas party once (and that was one and done for me) -- It was a sell out and IMHO it was way too crowded. I like normal park days better, but then I am a morning person too.

Sure the MK is always fun, but it's a little bit of a loose / loose to me during party season.

We were at Disneyland last week for the first time in seven years -- it was great! -- and I was reminded how morally onerous the parties are. That said...

The lines at DCA were outrageously short all morning on Sunday, and my daughters and I had complete control of DCA on Tuesday morning. We rode Goofy's Sky School four straight times in less than 15 minutes total around 9:30am on Tuesday morning. At 9:30am on non-party Wednesday, it was half an hour and it didn't get shorter than that for the rest of the day.

The party days obviously create other problems. DCA was a disaster on non-party Wednesday night, so much so that we bolted back to Disneyland. It also makes a park hopper ticket a borderline necessity, though we always get them anyway.

But those party day mornings are truly incredible.

 

[peter quill]

As I visitor from the UK who has been very fortunate to visit anually sometimes twice a year to wdw for the last 25 years, I don't necessarily think it's become too expensive. My problem is that the value has diminished over time, I used to see disney as did itself as a luxury brand when it came to vacations hence the price tag but the forever penny pinching that is now in place has soured it for me.
No more free fastpass, no more magical express, hell for god knows how long you even struggled to get daily housekeeping.
Genie plus and lighting lanes is the free fast pass of old l, i do wish visitors would have stood there ground and not paid it but its not going anywere now.
The parks are not as clean as they once were and alot of cast members have lost there sparkle, but that is not there fault and should rest directly with cost cutting and poor management.
What I will add is that every single trip myself, my wife and son have had the most amazing vacation and such happy memories that will stay with me forever.

I guess 2025 will probably (never say never) be our last visit for somemtime.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

We were at Disney World last week. Used airline miles to pay for the flights, the room and tickets were gifts and so we only had to pay for food/snacks and souvenirs out of pocket. Once we booked the trip, we started buying a $25 gift card every paycheck. We used gift cards to pay for all of our snacks/food and the 2 souvenirs we bought (the elf popcorn bucket at the Christmas party and a new Disney hat for me), and we didn't have to use our credit or debit card a single time. It was so nice. And we took cash for the little things like baggage handlers for Mears, at the Parking Spot in Dallas, tips at restaurants, stuff like that. So no debt from this Disney trip. That way we have more money to put towards other stuff we need to focus on, but the trip was much needed. First vacay for either us since April 2023 (got Covid 2 days into our last vacation and had to stay in hotel room entire time).

 

[ExcitedForWDW]

They are a pet peeve of mine too. Like you, I feel like Disney is double dipping. The parties really skew crowd levels too. During party season at the MK if you go on a night that does do the fireworks (a non-party) night you get much heavier crowds than you would get for a normal day that time of year.

I did a Christmas party once (and that was one and done for me) -- It was a sell out and IMHO it was way too crowded. I like normal park days better, but then I am a morning person too.

Sure the MK is always fun, but it's a little bit of a loose / loose to me during party season.

100% agree. We just did the party and found the value for money wasn’t there and it was just as busy as a regular park day. One and done. It would of have been way cheaper to buy an additional park day and buy a few cookies and hot coco

 

[yanking]

Maybe its time to make some new memories. There's a great big world out there. I get the whole nostalgia thing, but eventually there will be a trip where it's just not worth it anymore. I've had that trip to WDW.

I have a lot of memories tied up with DCL , but their new ships, stale itineraries and locality perks are sub par. I think I'm not far off from making that break

I get that for sure, though I still lurk occasionally here i have not been to Disney Park in a few years. I have great memories of WDW when my children where younger.

I have the cash but choose to see other parts of the world as my children are grown, and the magic has worn off somewhat.

I returned from the Philippines recently, it eclipsed any other vacation. Truly the beaches and resorts feel authentic compared to the Poly.

 

[AquaDame]

100% agree. We just did the party and found the value for money wasn’t there and it was just as busy as a regular park day. One and done. It would of have been way cheaper to buy an additional park day and buy a few cookies and hot coco

I hadn't particularly enjoyed the party years and years ago, so we havent been again until last year. Unlike the first time we went for the party, and to be honest I had a much better time! We did the photostops, cookie lines, watched the parade and fireworks, and did one meet and greet for Scrooge. I think you're dead on when you say its just as busy as a normal park day... so people shouldn't do it to try to get on rides quickly, IMO. There was TONS of space for the parade and fireworks however, even 10-15 minutes prior, compared to a normal day... I loved it and would happily go again now.

 

[bmtta2003]

I get that for sure, though I still lurk occasionally here i have not been to Disney Park in a few years. I have great memories of WDW when my children where younger.

I have the cash but choose to see other parts of the world as my children are grown, and the magic has worn off somewhat.

I returned from the Philippines recently, it eclipsed any other vacation. Truly the beaches and resorts feel authentic compared to the Poly.

I came to the same conclusion several years ago. My children are now grown and the parks simply became over priced, over crowded, and not too enjoyable. But, now I have grand children and the I can hear the parks calling us back. Hoping to see the magic through new eyes

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I came to the same conclusion several years ago. My children are now grown and the parks simply became over priced, over crowded, and not too enjoyable. But, now I have grand children and the I can hear the parks calling us back. Hoping to see the magic through new eyes

We haven't been to the parks since 2021 and we agreed the next time we'll go back would be with grandchildren, if/when we have any.

 

[CayBoo]

It's definitely too expensive, and I'm just not very fiscally responsible sometimes haha. I grew up an AP at Disneyland, but back then a year pass was only $75 for an adult.
I live out of state now, and there's no way I could afford to go often enough to even justify a pass. I still try to make it to a Disney park at least once a year. Especially now that I have kids and want so desperately for them to have even a little shred of the magic that I grew up with.
That being said, my family has to get really creative with how we plan our trips, and look for whatever deals we can. We save up Disney gift cards, use credit card points for flights, and buy discounted tickets via Sams Club. At one time we could afford to stay on property, but if we want to maintain a yearly trip, off site hotels are the norm now.