Disney is cheaper than going to the beach

[disneysteve]

I think that honestly, MOST people are better off with two trips to Disney that are more expensive, rather than regular cheaper trips to Disney.

And yeah, having a conversation with your friends, should they want to have it, where you say "you know, if you want some help, I think I can give you some advice that would make Disney just as affordable as that beach trip" is perfectly appropriate.

All perfectly good points. Bottom line is it all depends on the individuals, what they are looking for, how they like to travel, etc.

So that the "drive down, stay offsite, cook your meals" vacation makes Disney very doable for the same cost as a New Jersey beach vacation, but may not be the vacation they want.

BTW, we do drive down and stay offsite but we don't cook our meals. We eat breakfast in our house but everything else is eaten out typically and plenty of our meals are eaten onsite, even on non-park days when we may eat at a Disney resort hotel or at DTD. We are still able to keep our food spending to less than $25/person/day. Dining at Disney, even onsite, need not be a budget-breaker.

 

[princessmomma92]

We missed out on going to WDW for years because we thought it was too pricey. My MIL said they spent over $5k for two people 20 years ago. Now I know better. We go for a week, get free dining and 5 day park tix for $1200 for 2 people. (would only be around $1700 for all 3 of us) We now go 2-3 times a year.

As for a beach vacation, there are several beaches 1 1/2 hours or less from DW. Why not take a day or two off from the parks and do both. We did last year and had a great time. Just left a day earlier and stayed in Daytona Beach.

 

[DonnaL]

We vacationed for several summers on North Carolina's OBX beaches...specifically Corolla and Duck....renting beach houses. If you are traveling during the height of the season just the cost of the beach house alone is at least $2500....much more for a bigger house. And, since I didn't love the 10 hour drive to get to OBX I did extensive research into beach rentals in NJ, DE, and MD and most are even more expensive than OBX rentals and you don't get as much bang for your buck either.....so I can easily see someone spending $3500 at the NJ shore on just an average vacation. That said, someone can also do a very nice WDW vacation for about the same price.....especially for only 3 people which is the number the above poster used. You just need to do some research and look at a lot of different options.....both onsite and offsite....we've done both and enjoyed both. I have never purchased a Disney package, but, prefer to book everything separately since I've found, over the years, I can save a ton of money by doing so.....using many tips I've learned from various travel forums......

 

[LBIJim]

As a former badge-checker in Seaside Park, I didn't even realize there WERE free beaches in NJ. I remember anyone from away was SHOCKED to see us charging to use the beach. And it's not cheap. A lot of times, though, badges come with your rental.

I was shocked earlier this week when I saw the daily beach fee at Seaside Park was $10. Maybe that's to discourage the riff-raff and steer them to next-door Seaside Heights. ($5).

Free beaches in NJ: Atlantic City, the three Wildwoods (Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest), the small town of Strathmere just north of Sea Isle City, and maybe one or two other places. Barnegat Light State Park and Cape May Point State Park are also free, but the beaches there are just for sunbathing, picnics, etc. Not for swimming.

The best value in NJ beaches is probably Island Beach State Park, just south of Seaside Park. No "beach fee" per se. There's a motor vehicle entrance fee, $6 weekdays, maybe $10 weekends/holidays. The price is the same no matter if there's one person or 8 in a vehicle, and includes parking, the beach, showers and changing rooms.

But if you're renting a place at the beach, you don't have to pay for the beach ALSO, do you?

Yes, you do. The beach in front of those homes is not privately owned. A lot of rentals include beach tags in their rates, however. If you "forget" to return them, you don't get back part of your security deposit.

There are not many places you can rent right on the beach at the Jersey shore. LBI is the exception to this rule

Actually there are plenty of places to rent beachfront homes on the Jersey shore. I'd say more towns than not have them available. Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, the various towns on LBI, Lavalette, Mantoloking, Bay Head and probably others.

In a word, yes, but it really depends on who you rent from. Most, if not all, the towns in NJ charge for use of the beach. Homeowners usually get a break if they buy seasonal badges or tags at the beginning of the season. Some rental properties will come with these tags included in the cost of the rental, some not. You must have the tag on your person while on the beach. The towns hire people to walk the beach and make sure everyone over a certain age has one. If you don't have one, you have to purchase one from the person checking for the tags.

If your rental comes w/ the tags, you would leave them there for the next tenant.



However, there are very few places on LBI where the houses that are directly on the beach are on private beaches, and so those people also would need a beach badge or tag.

Absolutely NO homes on LBI have a private beach. It's all available for public use. Accessing some of these beaches can be a hassle, but they're open to anyone willing to buy a beach tag and walk to them. Feel free to ignore all those "PRIVATE PROPERTY" "KEEP OUT" "NO BEACH ACCESS" signs in the Loveladies and North Beach sections of LBI. Those homeowners just THINK they own the beaches.

The $3500 price of the OP's friend seems like an somewhat higher than average cost of a Jersey Shore vacation. You can probably get by for just under $1000 if you really scrimp, and the sky's the limit at the other end.

Jim

 

[disneysteve]

The $3500 price of the OP's friend seems like an somewhat higher than average cost of a Jersey Shore vacation. You can probably get by for just under $1000 if you really scrimp

Really? You can rent a house, pay for all of your meals, Boardwalk games, rides, water park admission and such for under $1,000 for a week for a family of 3? We are not beach people but I find that hard to believe.

 

[LBIJim]

Really? You can rent a house, pay for all of your meals, Boardwalk games, rides, water park admission and such for under $1,000 for a week for a family of 3? We are not beach people but I find that hard to believe.

No, I said really scrimp. That means an older, smaller house several blocks from the beach, most likely without AC, wifi, or premium cable TV. There are some rentals in the $750 range. Bring your food and cook instead of going out for all meals. Maybe one restaurant dinner and a pizza or such a few times. Be content mainly going to the beach and staying home in the evenings playing cards or board games or watching DVDs. Perhaps splurge one night at the Boardwalk on a few rides and games. Not my idea of a great vacation but it can be done.

Jim

 

[Karenj2]

We go to both Disney and the Jersey Shore - and although it's probably a tad cheaper to go to the Shore (mostly due to flights, and that my in-laws usually split the cost of the house), I still prefer Disney. For one, even though we usually end up paying rack rates, we do the Disney packages with the Dining plan, etc, so we know up front pretty much what our expenses are going to be (as opposed to the Shore, where we have no idea what we're going to pay for meals, etc.)

And for me, even though WDW is more hectic, *I'm* more relaxed, because I'm not making breakfast, or trying to figure out where we're going for dinner (or if/what we're doing for takeout)... Although, come to think about it, it's probably more that we only go to the shore with my in-laws, and that is an added stress right there.

And beside the monetary differences, the biggest "cost" for the Jersey shore is having to clean the house or lose your deposit, and bringing your own sheets/towels. That's not "vacation" to me.

 

[usd2bmd]

No, I said really scrimp. That means an older, smaller house several blocks from the beach, most likely without AC, wifi, or premium cable TV. There are some rentals in the $750 range. Bring your food and cook instead of going out for all meals. Maybe one restaurant dinner and a pizza or such a few times. Be content mainly going to the beach and staying home in the evenings playing cards or board games or watching DVDs. Perhaps splurge one night at the Boardwalk on a few rides and games. Not my idea of a great vacation but it can be done.

Jim

Well I guess it depends on your idea of a vacation, because that sounds a lot like my everyday life.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Kathi OD]

No, I said really scrimp. That means an older, smaller house several blocks from the beach, most likely without AC, wifi, or premium cable TV. There are some rentals in the $750 range. Bring your food and cook instead of going out for all meals. Maybe one restaurant dinner and a pizza or such a few times. Be content mainly going to the beach and staying home in the evenings playing cards or board games or watching DVDs. Perhaps splurge one night at the Boardwalk on a few rides and games. Not my idea of a great vacation but it can be done.

Jim

Well I guess it depends on your idea of a vacation, because that sounds a lot like my everyday life.

You would be surprised how many people are quite happy just spending their vacation somewhere other than at home, and if that vacation includes the ability to go to the beach every day, so much the better. In fact, many people travel to NJ shore towns on LBI because they don't have a boardwalk. If you manage to stay out of Beach Haven, you would never know there were amusement rides or a water park on the island. Too many of us have become spoiled by our Disney addiction.

 

[Kathi OD]

Absolutely NO homes on LBI have a private beach. It's all available for public use. Accessing some of these beaches can be a hassle, but they're open to anyone willing to buy a beach tag and walk to them. Feel free to ignore all those "PRIVATE PROPERTY" "KEEP OUT" "NO BEACH ACCESS" signs in the Loveladies and North Beach sections of LBI. Those homeowners just THINK they own the beaches.

Jim

I had been wracking my head to think of where there were private beaches on the island, but couldn't think of any...however, just in case there were a few that I wasn't aware of, I figured it would be safer to use the "very few" line. Thanks for reaffirming what I thought was true.

 

[MrsPete]

It depends on what you want to do once you get there. You can get reasonable accommodations in the area, just not in the center of town. And you can get discount show tickets. It just depends on what you're looking for.

One thing we never sacrafice is location. We don't mind staying in a basic, clean hotel, but we always stay close to the action. That allows us to walk instead of driving, and cutting back on transportation time = more vacation time.

For example, when we visited Denver, we stayed downtown on the 16th Street Mall. Yes, we could've stayed on the outskirts of town more cheaply, but this allowed us to walk to a variety of restaurants, to the state capital, to the Mint, to all sorts of shops (including a fantastic bookstore about which my youngest is still talking). And the trolly took us out to the ballfield, to a concert location, and to other places beyond walking distance. The convenience was easily worth the extra hotel cost, especially since we didn't know the area. If we'd stayed in the outskirts of town, we'd have needed an extra day to do all we did -- and when added to the cost of parking in town, that'd have added up to the cost of the downtown hotel anyway.

We've found this "location trumps all" philosophy to be both most convenient and economical in almost every situation.

I agree with the OP. Here in Michigan, my friend and her family rented a basic condo in South Haven on Lake Michigan for a week and spent $3500 just for the condo! And while the complex is on the lake, her unit wasn't beach front or anything. DS and I can do Disney for a week (with flight) for WAY less.

In comparison, I"m renting a 3 bedroom/2 bath first-row place at the beach for Thanksgiving weekend for less than $800. I've stayed in this exact house before, and although I don't like the kitchen much (inconvenient layout), the rest of the house is great. Good parking, screened porch, comfortable living room, good beds. I know of plenty of 3rd, 4th, 5th row houses for half that price. You can quote examples of high-priced rental areas and low-priced rental areas all day, but the real question is, What's average?

There are not many places you can rent right on the beach at the Jersey shore. LBI is the exception to this rule

Whereas, here in the South, rental houses at the beach abound.

There'd be a reason why so many Northerners come South for the beach, yet we never go North.

Really? You can rent a house, pay for all of your meals, Boardwalk games, rides, water park admission and such for under $1,000 for a week for a family of 3? We are not beach people but I find that hard to believe.

Yes, this is totally possible -- well, except for the Boardwalk games; we don't really have that here. To stay under $1000, you'd need to choose off-season (the water's still great this time of year and for another month at least). And you'd have to choose a small house not right on the beach; for that price, don't expect a stylish, up-to-date place, but you could probably have a one-bedroom condo with a pool or a 3-bedroom house. Plan to cook most of your meals "at home", but you can still eat out a couple times for this price -- especially if you pick up some of those coupon books outside the Piggly Wiggly. And you'll have money left for some moderate activities; of course, I could also point you to two moderate hotels that includes a small water park.

Also, most of us know people who either own beach houses or timeshares -- they aren't all that expensive -- and we're constantly invited to go to this or that family's beach house for the weekend. For free, just bring groceries. Or people who put together 2-3 families to spend a week at the beach and share a big house. The draw of the beach is people, not activities. You go with family or friends, and the activity is grilling out a big meal, then hanging out with friends at the beach house. We love going surf fishing after dark: We bring a big cooler of drinks and sandwiches and stay out on the beach 'til the wee hours of the morning. Kids ride bikes all day, go boogie-boarding, catch crabs in the tidal pools. Board games or card games, movies with the family, reading on the beach. For-cost activities aren't star features in Southern beach vacations.

 

[disneysteve]

One thing we never sacrafice is location. We don't mind staying in a basic, clean hotel, but we always stay close to the action. That allows us to walk instead of driving, and cutting back on transportation time = more vacation time.

For example, when we visited Denver, we stayed downtown on the 16th Street Mall. Yes, we could've stayed on the outskirts of town more cheaply, but this allowed us to walk to a variety of restaurants, to the state capital, to the Mint, to all sorts of shops (including a fantastic bookstore about which my youngest is still talking). And the trolly took us out to the ballfield, to a concert location, and to other places beyond walking distance. The convenience was easily worth the extra hotel cost, especially since we didn't know the area. If we'd stayed in the outskirts of town, we'd have needed an extra day to do all we did -- and when added to the cost of parking in town, that'd have added up to the cost of the downtown hotel anyway.

Don't forget that NYC has a fantastic subway system. Just as you took a trolly in Denver to get around, you can ride the subway to get around NYC. You can save a fair amount by starting your day with a 20 minute subway ride from a hotel a bit removed from the center of town. No driving or parking necessary. Earlier this year, we stayed at a very nice place in Astoria that was a short walk to the subway station or had a free shuttle to and from.

 

[Zdog]

Found this to be an interesting topic of discussion. We used to love Cape May. Found it to be family friendly, quiet, and our motel (The Atlas Inn) was right across the street from the beach, along with providing a free hot breakfast each morning. Then, 3 years ago, prices at the shore started to skyrocket. Beachfront hotels were no longer affordable (at least not to us) with many of them doubling their price points. This started online research to find 'affordable' beachfront locations. North Myrtle was the place we chose, and got a nice beachfront condo, at about half the cost of the Jersey Shore. Yes, it was a drive...(we're in upstate NY). But the water was warm, and beachfront beautiful.

That said...our kids were also a little older, and needed more to do than putt putt golf and shopping. IMO, that's why a WDW vacation has always been money well spent. By the time we're done in Orlando, the kids are EXHAUSTED, and ready to come home. Us too. I guess my point is, a beach vaca and a Disney vaca are two different things, and cost is relevant to the experience. But no more Jersey Shore for us. The price is too high, for a place that is still very much stuck in the 50s.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'm posting this from poolside at our Myrtle Beach vacation condo. Next fall is our Disney vacation. We are already saving for next year.

We figure that WDW will be more expensive, mostly because of park tickets. Everything else will be relatively the same (driving, lodging, meals). We will stay at offsite condos in Orlando. Right now at MB, we eat breakfast in and a late lunch or early supper out. We will probably do the same at Orlando. Entertainment at MB is right behind me....the beach. And it's free.

I think the perception of Disney expense is the park tickets. Which is not too bad if you do multi-day passes. YES tickets would be better, but my DGD is too young.

 

[eliza61]

Really? You can rent a house, pay for all of your meals, Boardwalk games, rides, water park admission and such for under $1,000 for a week for a family of 3? We are not beach people but I find that hard to believe.

We're a bit higher but well off of the 3500 bucks.

Last year we found a 2 bedroom condo in OC maryland for 115 bucks a night. It was only 1 1/2 blocks (middle of the block) from the beach. I think it came to a little over 900 by the time we finished with tax. Actually if you move a few miles down to Rehobeth beach delaware you don't have any state tax, so restaurants, clothes and lodging is the price advertised.

So I think we spent another 1000 bucks on meals and entertainment (renting bikes, minature golf, movies and broadwalk activities).

The internet has helped alot because just as with diseny you can search out deals. I don't do the Jersey shore simply because I hate the whole premise of "beach tags" but many places in OC Md, Rehobeth beach DE give various discounts. book in the winter 10% off, return customer % off, hotels always seem to have stay 5 nights get the next 2 nights free. You sign up for the travel brochure on line and they send you a huge coupon booklet with discounts for various restaurants.

 

[Tricia's mom]

I think Op was referring to the perceived expense of Disney. My MIL help ed her niece plan a vacation to WDW a couple of years ago and the niece was tickled pink with the cost. They stayed on property. It was one of the family of 4 for $1600 deals.

DH and I do choose to spend our vacation money in WDW. We are familiar with it, it is consistant and that helps us relax more I think. Some place new always requires more planning, right.

Vacation dollars are different for everyone. I can remember having lots of vacation hours at work in my early 20s and no money for vacations because they weren't as important to me.....then I discovered WDW in 2002. So at 43 I love going to WDW 1-2 times a year.

YES !!! Someplace new does require more planning !!!

 

[cktrotter]

No doubt! We live off HHI on the bluff and can vouch that Disney is a steal compared to vacationing here.

 

[mill4023]

2 weeks at WDW for less than $5,000? You want to plan my vacation for me?

We did WDW for 2 weeks last June and probably spent less than 6k as a family of 7. We drove down, so no airfare or rental car costs.

We rented a 5 bdrm pool home in Indian Creek for $2000.
We bought 7 park tickets through the YES program for $1400.
We probably spent about $2000 on food and miscellaneous stuff while there.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We did WDW for 2 weeks last June and probably spent less than 6k as a family of 7. We drove down, so no airfare or rental car costs.

We rented a 5 bdrm pool home in Indian Creek for $2000.
We bought 7 park tickets through the YES program for $1400.
We probably spent about $2000 on food and miscellaneous stuff while there.

Great minds think alike! We are a family of 5 and also stay at Indian Creek(even cheaper for us as we split the rental with the in-laws!) can't beat $475 for 10 nights with a private pool and gameroom and 10 minutes drive to the parks! Also do YES tix. (love those programs and the ticket discount!)
We are cheap though and only spent about $1000 for food and such!

 

[mks18412]

Just got back from a week in Destin, Fl. I spent less than 1k. We stayed in a condo, one bedroom, one bath with bunk beds, huge kitchen and Livingroom. Never in million year could I do Disney that cheap.... This included food and shopping. We are a family of 4.