Disney too Expensive!

[lacrosse_lady72]

I am not sure how Disney can be considered an expensive expense when comparing to the price of vacations elsewhere...

First of all, going to WDW is not a necessary expense, if you cannot afford it, you shouldn't be going. Usually I save and eat very inexpensively for a couple of months before we go to make sure I have plently of spending money but in NO WAY am I going to live uncomfortably because of Disney... I simply wouldn't go if I couldn't really afford it.

Do I make a lot of money, absolutely NOT. But to me, Disney is not an expensive vacation. There is a similar thread going around about this but to me, going to WDW is actually a REALLY good deal for what you get, especially for us. We don't have children and can go during the value season so we can get rack rates for less money and there are better deals in the value season as well. The free dining promotion is perfect for us!

When I went to WDW last year in September, I also spent 2 nights/3 days in NYC in comparing that vacation to the 12 night/13 day vacation of Disney... I actually spent close to the same.

WDW:
Flight: $260 pp
Vacation Pkg including dining for 14 nights and 10 day PH: $900 pp
Spending on food: close to nothing on free DDP

NYC:
Flight: $200 pp (from Orlando, if it was from Portland it's usually around $300)
NYC Grand Hyatt at dicounted price including tax for 2 nights: $500 pp
Spending on food: RIDICULOUS! I spent a lot of money on food in comparing to WDW... with similar eating habits to WDW. We ate at 2 TS restaurants while there (touristy places of course) at Tavern on the Green and Hard Rock Cafe. CS like places... I went to a Yankees game and that was a good chunk of change for the ticket and for souvenirs, food and very expensive beer (gotta love spending $8 on a bottle of Stella Artois).



All in all, they ending up being similar priced vacations! But it was kind of cool when I was in the World of Disney store in NY thinking I was going to be in WDW later that night...

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Everyone should live within their means... Relief - you've got to be kidding me!

 

[WTP]

I ditto all of the pp about it not being a necessity.

Frankly, I am glad the prices are not crazy cheap. What would the crowd levels be like if Disney just opened the parks up for free? Or even if you could get a 7 day ticket for $100? It would be insane and the line for Space Mountain would be down Main street.

Disney charges what they need to charge to keep the park running and make a decent profit for the shareholders. I have no problem with this.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

It is expensive but compared to other places I feel like it's worth the money....

Ding! I have been to many, many other tourist attractions (many in Florida, but also throughout the country) that were expensive and disappointing. Food quality, for one, is far superior at WDW to the vast majority of attractions in this country. But amazingly enough, these other places charge as much for their inedible slop that I pay at WDW for quality eats.

 

[Experiment_626]

There are also some great off site bargains now, clean no frills places that would allow some to have trips who cannot do offsite right now.

Amen! We drive to WDW, so staying offsite isn't a problem. Last year we were at WDW 10 times. Twice out of that time we stayed on property -- once at All Star Sports and once at Pop Century. The rest of the time we used Priceline and got rates as low as $30 per night in perfectly acceptable places, considering they were places we used for sleeping, showering, and maybe taking a dip in the pool now and then. A couple of times we got into some fairly nice places for around $45 per night and split the cost with my brother and sister-in-law. We brought 90 percent of our own food and saved a bundle. We're talking just a few hundred dollars for several days of WDW fun, and that was last year, when gas for the ~700 miles we had to drive was significantly higher than it is right now.

If you want to go and spend less, you can.

As others have noted, WDW is expensive, but it gives excellent value for the money. This was driven home to me about 10-12 years ago, when I first started going often as an adult. My wife and I went to an aquarium/aquatic show (think of it as Sea World Very Lite) in a nearby beach town. We got in for $20 per person, which was about half what a one-day admission to a WDW cost at the time. However, you can easily fill a day with what any of the WDW parks offers (even the ones most people think of as "half-day parks") and at least two of them are multi-day experiences, whereas at this aquarium, we'd done literally everything they offered in two hours.

SSB

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

A typical vacation for us is a week upstate in a cabin. So, for us, ANY vacation that involved airfare is a more expensive vacation. But that's our problem, not Disney's....

And it's the exact opposite for us. For WDW, we drive 90 minutes, park the car, and leave it there the whole time. For any other destination, we have to add airfare and rental car. Add in our seasonal passes and WDW becomes quite economical for us in comparison to other world class tourist destinations. That being said, we still plan on going to Yellowstone next year. You just have to plan for where you want to go and prioritze things.

 

[kldmom2000]

I have to agree with many of the Previous Posters... it's not that much more than a beach vacation but is WAY more fun!

We weren't going to go this year and wanted to "save" money staying close to home and renting a house on Cape Cod or staying in a hotel NEAR a beach.... rooms close to a beach in a decent hotel run upwards of $320 a night and they are grubby looking compared to even a Value resort @ Disney.... most of the houses we considered were around $1400 a week... but then you figure in the cost of food, beach passes, alternate entertainment if it rains (Which it ALWAYS seems to do when we vacation on the Cape) and you're looking at a bit over $3000 for a week in a place that you sit in tons of traffic to get ANYWHERE.

Our week in Disney will cost approx. that (but we have to pay a bit extra for airfare since we would have been driving to the Cape).

Hands down, much better trip for virtually the same amount of $$$$$ (aside from getting to and from the destination)

 

[palavra]

I think part of the reason Disney ends up being expensive to many people is that they aren't willing to compromise. Would I like to stay in a deluxe resort with DDxP for 8 days? Sure, but I can't afford that. So, we are going for 8 days, stay in a regular motel with great prices for 8 nights and eat off site or at CS places in the park, for the most part. We will still have an awesome time at Disney as a family

 

[luvthemouse71]

I agree that Disney is a business, not a charity. They don't have to offer any deals if they don't feel like it..I remember being shocked when I first heard about free dining. That's pretty awesome right there.

WDW has all different levels of resorts too..I've paid about $800 per trip for two people and as much as $7500 per trip for two people.Obviously, when I'm at a good point in my life, the resorts get a little fancier. But,I've had great times on all my trips.

Personally, I think Disney is pretty good about offering fun things at all price levels.

 

[~Kik-Kik~]

Stay four nights, get 3 nights free?

Values for not much over $50/night. AKL/WL for $134/night?


Yeah...they're not doing much.

Sarcasm + Internet = nasty (which is quite a awful habit on the DIS)

Disney is an expensive place, but if you know what to look for you can do it for less.

 

[daisyyy]

Generally, I think it's like preaching to the choir on the Dis,,,, for the most part , the people who are posting here are die hard Disney fans, (myself included,) and justify the cost of Disney in their own minds. I do agree with everyone though,,, You can do Disney on just about any budget,,, you just have to be willing to sacrifice or give up some things if you want to save a little more. For us... we don't do Deluxe... we don't feel it's worth the extra costs... especially since the moderates / values have everything you "need"... + the ME and Disney transportation is available. We always do the park hoppers... but this time we're not paying extra for the waterparks. We thought, even though the kids really enjoy it... we always feel rushed to head back to one of the other parks for an ADR or fireworks,, and usually only go one day since we try to spend most of our time in the other 4 parks,,, and,,, our resort has a pool, so we'll just use that pool, Depends on whats important to you. My kids will be disappointed, but I think for the 6 of us, we saved @ 260 by not adding the water parks to our hoppers.
Oh.... and in comparison.... my neighbor just booked a 2 night stay in Wildwood NJ ---- $700 that's just the room... during the week,,, (weekends are more) that doesn't include the food/ boardwalk entertainment... nothing else... just a room for 2 nights. And if anyone ever goes to Sesame Place... that's up to $60 a day per person ages 2 and up.. + 15 to park.... and not nearly anything remotely close to the entertainment value you get at Disney. not even close. So.. I think we are in agreement that Disney is not really "expensive"... you get alot for your money,,,

 

[dyna]

I got to agree with the other posters disney is about as cheap a vacation as you can take even then there are ways to cut expenses. DH an I just got back from a 2 week trip we rode harley down to disney 900 miles each way for us. We have AP's stayed offsite 3 nites in a cheap hotel room for 43.00 a night. The other 8 nights we was there we had a 2bed 2bath townhouse 540.00 including tax an cleaning fee. We mostly ate offsite TGIFridays a few times I had buy 1 free entree (dinner) get 1 free coupons an we ate off the light an cheap menu. Olive garden we got 3 meals off that 1 dinner. Arbys was right next to our townhouse we got the 5 for 5.00 roast beefs got 2 meals an a snack off that every time we ordered that. Went to the walfart an got stuff for breakfast I cooked us breakfast every morning at the townhouse. We did not have to pay to park at the parks since we AP holders. We drank free ice water in the parks the 3 times we ate in the parks we shared a meal and a large diet coke.

This was our 2nd disney visit of the year we will go back sept or oct maybe both an over New Years an maybe march an then again in may before our AP's expire.

 

[bicker]

There are really two issues here: (1) How much a Disney vacation costs, and (2) Whether it is reasonable to expect Disney to provide financial assistance to folks who wish to visit but find the price too high.

With regard to #1, Disney isn't the least expensive option nor the most expensive option. I do think that it is a rather efficient option: It provides a lot of simulated variety, for a very low price, at least as compared to a vacation with a comparable amount of real variety. However, I have to grant that visiting the France section of Epcot is not the same as visiting France, eh? So folks who don't place much value on what it is that Disney provides won't evaluate a Disney vacation very highly.

With regard to #2, I don't see much logic in that. Many folks who own Disney stock, or own shares in funds that own Disney stock, are looking at their statements and wondering where almost half of their comfortable retirement went. It would be pretty insulting for the folks who run Disney to so grossly disrespect the folks they owe their primary obligations to, by failing to charge whatever prices that are in the best financial interests of the owners.

 

[demonskrye]

Disney will cut rates or offer deals when they feel that their high prices are causing people to stay away from the parks to the point where they're losing money. As other posters have mentioned, Disney has been offering various deals to entice guests to come to WDW. And given the crowds so many trip reports have been telling us about, it seems to be working. If people are still coming to WDW and spending money, Disney isn't going to adjust their prices.

I have to agree that a WDW vacation is a luxury in any economic climate and hoping for "relief" from the high prices is a little bit silly. I know it's hard to feel like you can't do everything you want to because of the expense, especially when it used to be more affordable. But in a way, that's life. No matter how well the economy is doing, there will be people who can afford to go to WDW any time they want, people who go once a year, people who go just once or twice in their lifetimes, and people who will never be able to afford it. It's not fair, but companies like Disney aren't about making it possible for everyone to afford their product. There will always be people who can afford it and people who can't. And when you're in a situation where more and more people are struggling to provide basic necessities for their families, the number of people who can't is going to be bigger.

You have options. You can go to WDW, do everything you want to, and make sacrifices elsewhere in your budget to cover it. You can go to WDW and look for ways to cut costs while still having a good time. Or you can not go and save up to have the kind of vacation you want sometime later. Hoping that Disney will cut prices is not so much an option.

 

[lustergirl]

I think the cost of going to disney is pretty reasonable. I want to go to hawaii- the airfare alone is over 700 dollars per person. For that amount of money I could do disney for a week by myself staying at a value resort. My kids are older so we don't have to buy many souvies- thank the lord. My pictures are my memories and souvies. I always get great airfare deals from southwest- nonstop out of buffalo here. With the free dining plan coming up we are going to save alot of money on food, especially the way my sons eat. I look for the deals and disney has them.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Stay four nights, get 3 nights free?

Values for not much over $50/night. AKL/WL for $134/night?


Yeah...they're not doing much.

$70 + per ticket - food costs outrageous and smaller portions. $300+ p/night for the YC, BC - basically your 3-star accommodation. $100 for a VALUE? There is absolutely no doubt Disney is the world leader in separating $$$ from their guests (a quote from friends who visited Disney this year).

Choose to see it or not - your choice.

DH and I travel with castmember advantages but are always shocked when we add up what it would cost for a family of 4 - even at a value on a discount program.

There are SOOOOO many more affordable options for vacations around - especially today. Take your children to a national park, or Washington DC, take them to the ocean or on a cruise. Visit Williamsburg or Gettysburg - the choices in the US are absolutely endless. You should SEE our TO DO list!!!

True, I travel for work and know my way around a discount program. (We are spending a long weekend in NYC at the Crown Plaza at Times Square - concierge level fireworks weekend program for $120. Not $120 a night - $120 for 4 nights. Ok, ok - I am paying full fare for amtrak from DC to NYC - $48 each way. The Crown Plaza is a 4 star hotel......not a 3 star like BC, YC, BWI, Poly .....etc and conceirge service will cutdown on dining expenses. NYC tour planned, statue of liberty and Ellis Island, a show with discount tickets --- we have a packed 4 days and far less than a castmember disney trip with deeply discounted hotel rooms and free passes.

We haven't given up our Disney trips.....we now share our travel funds with far more interesting destinations.

Now tell me again how Disney is so much more affordable?

Want to find value - don't turn to Disney.

 

[Teacher03]

The biggest expense for us is the tickets. We are a family of five, and we usually take my daughter's friend, so we buy six adult tickets. Food is also a big expense. If we eat onsite table service, we usually spend twice as much as comparable table service offsite. This last trip only ended up being four of us, and our cheapest onsite table service meal was $140. We ate at Bahama Breeze offsite for $57.00. I know we could make other choices, and I am not critizing Disney in any way (don't want to make anyone upset!), but it is an expensive vacation for us. We stayed offsite this time, which was wonderful and will probably stay offsite from now on (when we originally planned the trip, 6 were going, so we would have to get two hotel rooms). We are over 1000 miles away, so there is always the issue of travel. I would LOVE to stay sometime during free dining (which I think is a great incentive) but I am a teacher and the date it begins is the date I go back to work.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

Mouseaholic!!! I'd love to hear any tips or advice for other destiniations. I've been looking into NYC, Hershey Park, and DC(all driveable distances for us) for 3 nights 4 days, and can't seem to get it cheaper than $1200. That's for hotel, tours/entertainment, and some meals. Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[eliza61]

I have no problem with the expense (well actually it is god awful expensive) the problem I'm having is the quality I'm getting for that price. Rooms only partially cleaned. Fantasmic cut down to 2X's a week. Live acts being cut. NO variety what so ever at the restaurants and more and more reports of poor service from CM's.

So for me the world is quickly approaching that magic line in the sand where the price is not "worth" what I'm getting. I expect food prices to be higher, I don't expect my food to be luke warm when I get it, I don't expect to have to wait 40 minutes with an ADR (so what's the purpose of an ADR) and why is the ADR system "down" so much? I know staying on site is more expensive but I do expect a clean room.

 

[marie1203]

I am going to agree with everyone here and say disney is not expensive for a vacation considering their packages include food, accommodations and entertainment. We are going for 9 nights and our staying at the AKL and WL in both places we have the best views and our package total is $2,700 I think is a great deal of course we will be spending extra money there but I think that is a great deal for a vacation for 2 for 9 nights. We have a lot of added things like MNSSHP and really good seats ay La Nouba, photopass, etc. But those are not necessary and if couldn't afford it I will be happy just being in Disney.