DisneyWorld too expensive for Canadians?

[cottontail]

Here is my budget for 5 travellers, all considered Disney adults. This trip includes the following:

• 1-night hotel at the airport before flights
• Three nights at Portofino Bay Hotel, 3 days, three park Universal tickets
• Ten nights in a 2-Bedroom villa at BWV, rented DVC points
• 14-day park-hopper purchased from Attraction Tickets
• Genie+ every day, waterpark shack rental, groceries
• Airport parking, kenneling for dog, lawn care

I budget generously for spending and meals and usually don't spend right to the budgeted amount. I like to ensure that we are not worried about money when we are down there. We also got a better deal on our flights, which cost around $3,700.

This is converted at a credit card exchange rate of 1.39 and a cash exchange rate of 1.36. This is just for budget purposes and will change between now and the end of August when we go. Looking at the USD column - sure would be nice if our dollars were a bit closer

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Sounds like a great trip. I can't believe the price, but you are in a dvc and a nice long stay. Will this be a trip of a lifetime for you? Im not trying to be rude but i was just curious your buying a 14 day park hopper, but your in disney 10 nights, is there a special reason for the 14 day park hopper.

We used to stay for 8 nights, sometimes poly or animal kingdom lodge or two rooms Port Orleans, 7 day pass, about 5 to 6,000 u.s. not including food. We would drive one night stayover 100 u.s. gas 500 us there and back and 100 for a motel room on the way back. This was about 9 to 10 years ago. Deb.

 

[BOTL76]

Hello, We have been to WDW 10 to 12 times and stayed on site for 8 days each time. Have not been since 2018. We feel with all the price increases, canadian exchange problem, food price increases frequently, genie plus, extra money for a top attraction that a trip to disney is too expensive now. Is anyone else feeling this way?

My goodness, thank you for posting this, we have been talking about the same thing! We share your price pain!

My family have been over 10 times, our last trip in December 2019.
Our "sweet spot" has been trying to always go early December, after the American Thanksgiving.
So we have been doing some non-scientific research on our past trips, more like OMG this is getting more expensive than ever before!
We were lucky to find a west jet deal for our immediate family of four ($1300 CDN round trip YYZ to MCO) for first week of December 2023.
But now the rest of our "usual planning" has now changed drastically.
Not sure if others will be in the same boat, but our previous trips (over 10 of them) have been heavy with visits to Disney, and not much time for anything else. Occasionally would be a trip to Universal, Busch Gardens, Legoland, beach day at Clearwater etc.

But now we are now going to be immersed in Universal! It helps that our daughters love thrill rides and roller coasters and water parks (hearing and researching great things on Volcano Bay), so not sure if I can call it taking advantage but we have gone ahead to booking the 3 day purchase at Universal Orlando Resort and get 2 days free entries.
This came to approx. just over $1,400 USD for the 4 of us (all adult level tickets). Plus we booked with Touringplans travel and you get early entry added, even though we aren't staying at Universal or Universal related properties.

Pricing out just ONE day during our trip (picked the lowest posted ticket) for Disney Hollywood Studios (our favourite park), no Genie +, Lightning Lane additions, came to over 700 USD! So as tough as it is going to be to do, we won't be visiting any Disney parks outside of maybe one of Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach (as my daughters love water parks).

The other interesting part is on our previous trips, we would always vacation with one other family from my side or my wife's side, stay offsite and go in together where possible to split/share costs for a rental house, car, food, etc. Generally just having one extra family (so 4 of us and up to 4 of them on average) on these previous trips would make it quite economical for the overall costs (we normally stay 8-10 days).
But now we have gone ahead and have added an extra family to our trip, so about 12 of us total. Call us cheap, but it is actually making a significant difference with our price points (I guess my wife and I are getting old, we love it when our price points go down)!
We are still finalizing our rental home, but most likely our share is going to be $75 USD per night for a 6 bedroom. Plus we are going to share one big van rental and thankfully we all get along quite well and will share food costs from groceries amongst other things. A big bonus too is all of us are on the same page with going to Universal and everyone has that interest for the thrills and spills we will experience there. I know this can be quite rare when travelling with other families

So for us, outside of visiting a Disney water park or going to Disney Springs, we are dealing with different emotions, as much as we love Disney, it is pricing us out and is going to be surreal to not visit any of the main 4 parks when we are there. It will have to wait for another trip, probably another 2-3 years at least for us!

I wish everyone all the best with your planning, whether in 2023 or beyond!

 

[cottontail]

My goodness, thank you for posting this, we have been talking about the same thing! We share your price pain!

My family have been over 10 times, our last trip in December 2019.
Our "sweet spot" has been trying to always go early December, after the American Thanksgiving.
So we have been doing some non-scientific research on our past trips, more like OMG this is getting more expensive than ever before!
We were lucky to find a west jet deal for our immediate family of four ($1300 CDN round trip YYZ to MCO) for first week of December 2023.
But now the rest of our "usual planning" has now changed drastically.
Not sure if others will be in the same boat, but our previous trips (over 10 of them) have been heavy with visits to Disney, and not much time for anything else. Occasionally would be a trip to Universal, Busch Gardens, Legoland, beach day at Clearwater etc.

But now we are now going to be immersed in Universal! It helps that our daughters love thrill rides and roller coasters and water parks (hearing and researching great things on Volcano Bay), so not sure if I can call it taking advantage but we have gone ahead to booking the 3 day purchase at Universal Orlando Resort and get 2 days free entries.
This came to approx. just over $1,400 USD for the 4 of us (all adult level tickets). Plus we booked with Touringplans travel and you get early entry added, even though we aren't staying at Universal or Universal related properties.

Pricing out just ONE day during our trip (picked the lowest posted ticket) for Disney Hollywood Studios (our favourite park), no Genie +, Lightning Lane additions, came to over 700 USD! So as tough as it is going to be to do, we won't be visiting any Disney parks outside of maybe one of Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach (as my daughters love water parks).

The other interesting part is on our previous trips, we would always vacation with one other family from my side or my wife's side, stay offsite and go in together where possible to split/share costs for a rental house, car, food, etc. Generally just having one extra family (so 4 of us and up to 4 of them on average) on these previous trips would make it quite economical for the overall costs (we normally stay 8-10 days).
But now we have gone ahead and have added an extra family to our trip, so about 12 of us total. Call us cheap, but it is actually making a significant difference with our price points (I guess my wife and I are getting old, we love it when our price points go down)!
We are still finalizing our rental home, but most likely our share is going to be $75 USD per night for a 6 bedroom. Plus we are going to share one big van rental and thankfully we all get along quite well and will share food costs from groceries amongst other things. A big bonus too is all of us are on the same page with going to Universal and everyone has that interest for the thrills and spills we will experience there. I know this can be quite rare when travelling with other families

So for us, outside of visiting a Disney water park or going to Disney Springs, we are dealing with different emotions, as much as we love Disney, it is pricing us out and is going to be surreal to not visit any of the main 4 parks when we are there. It will have to wait for another trip, probably another 2-3 years at least for us!

I wish everyone all the best with your planning, whether in 2023 or beyond!

Thanks for your comment. That is an interesting way to do your vacation. I have never tried universal, I was always loyal to disney. It will definitely be something i will look at one day. I heard a rumor a few years ago that Disney executives only want the rich in their parks. The rich would do more sit down meals, purchase more souvenirs, spend more money. Not sure if it is true. With Disney getting rid of fast pass and the way that it was done for resort guests, many days ahead of arrival made it very easy and less restrictive. I liked that i knew our itinery, and printed it out for each day ahead of our trip. I have not used genie plus, but do not like the idea of having to start at 7 a.m. and plan our day, with everyone trying to get ready. My daughter is chronically ill and will have to be back at a hotel by one or two at the latest in the afternoon. The fast pass would allow her to do the rides early that she liked in the morning. With genie plus i don't think that she will be able to do many her fav rides in the morning. I feel like price, all the changes and genie plus, a disney trip will not work out for us anymore, the disney magic is gone.

 

[Juventus]

Yep...we are done too for now. We have been at least once a year since 2015 (not 2021 covid) for 6-10 park days mostly during March Break. But this year we just used up some old tickets and went for 3 days including an after hours party. I feel lucky to have been able to goduring my 3 daughters' prime Disney years but now its $1000CAD+ for one day for a family of 5 just to get in the parks, plus add-ons; crazy! I love planning and never stressed once in the parks, but now at that pricepoint I feel like I have to hit everything I want each day in order to justify the cost (and when you hop to MK and both PotC and BTRR are down well that just sucks).

The weak dollar and no Canadian discount hurts, plus the fact that before it was like an extra $15 per extra day after the 4th day for tickets...but not so anymore.

With all the Airmiles/BMO news I decided to use up my 30000+ points on the most expensive Universal tickets we could and will upgrade to annual passes this summer and get 4 trips out of it. Looking forward to more relaxed/spontaneous park touring, and staying onsite (something we only did twice at Disney). First time go to UO.

I'd like to think that all the price hikes and increased complexity (e.g., Genie, Park Reservations, etc...) will have a adverse affect on DWs popularity, but I'm kinda scared that it won't.

 

[Lesverts]

I have a trip coming up in November

Room 1
2 adults, 7 day base tickets at Pop for 8 nights is just over 3000 USD
Room 2
2 adults, 1 child, 3 day base tickets at Pop for 4 nights is 2250 USD

3 night Bahama's cruise on the Wish is 2600 for room 1 and 3800

Flights we are budgeting 600 per person. Prices haven't come there yet but have regularly been checking.

So all told about 19,000 base price. I average about 150 USD per day spending all in for 2 people. Not sure about room 2.

I am actually currently trying to get Room 2 to agree to change the trip to a San Diego plus Disneyland trip for 'reasons'. But it would push the price to about 24,000. And also everyone would be going for a straight 9 days, 8 nights.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Thanks for your comment. That is an interesting way to do your vacation. I have never tried universal, I was always loyal to disney. It will definitely be something i will look at one day. I heard a rumor a few years ago that Disney executives only want the rich in their parks. The rich would do more sit down meals, purchase more souvenirs, spend more money. Not sure if it is true. With Disney getting rid of fast pass and the way that it was done for resort guests, many days ahead of arrival made it very easy and less restrictive. I liked that i knew our itinery, and printed it out for each day ahead of our trip. I have not used genie plus, but do not like the idea of having to start at 7 a.m. and plan our day, with everyone trying to get ready. My daughter is chronically ill and will have to be back at a hotel by one or two at the latest in the afternoon. The fast pass would allow her to do the rides early that she liked in the morning. With genie plus i don't think that she will be able to do many her fav rides in the morning. I feel like price, all the changes and genie plus, a disney trip will not work out for us anymore, the disney magic is gone.

Please look into DAS services!! Your family will benefit from what is offered thru this service. You can do an online chat 30 days before your first park day, explain why your daughter can't use the regular queues (no diagnosis needed, just explain why lines don't work for her), they'll take her picture and then you'll get to make 2 advance ride choices - think old school fast passes- and once you're on site you can make DAS ride selections one at a time, you will essentially get a time to return to the line about 10 minutes less than the current posted standby time and you'll enter thru the Lightening Lane.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/guest-services/disability-access-service/

 

[Genie+]

We recently got back from our family trip to WDW with an add on of DCL. 7 guests, one being a child. 3 rooms for 5 nights in a Value resort, 5 day park hoppers, dining, snacks and water ordered from Vacation Grocers delivered to resort to cut down on costs, 3 ocean view cabins (8A's, our favorites, child was free because of Disney+ offer), flights. Not included were Genie + or Lightning Lanes as we went without them, no souvenirs included in cost. Final tally was $52,000 before I stopped keeping track. When all was said and done, I figure it was close to $55,000 Canadian for less than two weeks.
Yes, it is getting expensive.

If you don’t mind my asking, how long was the cruise and was it on the Wish? I’d also like to thank you for supplying Disney movie codes Greatly appreciated.

 

[tinkerone]

If you don’t mind my asking, how long was the cruise and was it on the Wish? I’d also like to thank you for supplying Disney movie codes Greatly appreciated.

7 days on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral.
And you are welcome. Those codes come in very handy.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Sounds like a great trip. I can't believe the price, but you are in a dvc and a nice long stay. Will this be a trip of a lifetime for you? Im not trying to be rude but i was just curious your buying a 14 day park hopper, but your in disney 10 nights, is there a special reason for the 14 day park hopper.

We used to stay for 8 nights, sometimes poly or animal kingdom lodge or two rooms Port Orleans, 7 day pass, about 5 to 6,000 u.s. not including food. We would drive one night stayover 100 u.s. gas 500 us there and back and 100 for a motel room on the way back. This was about 9 to 10 years ago. Deb.

Through luck/hard work, we have been afforded a lifestyle that enables us to make a trip like this every year, but as others have said, it just keeps getting more expensive every year. I realized after I posted that it could have looked like I was flexing a bit, but my point was to show a budget for what I would consider a higher-end trip and how expensive it can be. I would make the following comments about it that provide some context.

• This is for 5 people, and is essentially all-inclusive for a 2 week vacation at what are considered (or at least priced at) 5-star resorts. Through years of going, budgeting and tracking our expenses, I include EVERYTHING in this cost, with a lot of wiggle room. This is right down to wire transfer fees, gratuities, etc.
• Flights from Canada are stupidly expensive. My in-laws fly from Detroit to meet us every year, and sometimes they can get down there for $200 return.
• The world is not made for a family of 5, hence the desire for 2 rooms at the BWV and the 1-bdr at Portofino Bay. Yes, we could cram into a smaller room and do it much cheaper, but we do not want to be stepping over each other and unpacked luggage the whole time. We could also stay at a different hotel for a lot cheaper, but we love that area and the proximity to EpCot and HS.
• My kids are 19, 16 and 12. I suspect we are at the peak of expensive trips as they start going their way and doing their things. I am willing to spend a bit of money now for some quality family time before we no longer have that opportunity.

We purchased a 14-day hopper through Attraction Ticket because it was cheaper than a 10-day through Disney.

 

[rspencer38]

Through luck/hard work, we have been afforded a lifestyle that enables us to make a trip like this every year, but as others have said, it just keeps getting more expensive every year. I realized after I posted that it could have looked like I was flexing a bit, but my point was to show a budget for what I would consider a higher-end trip and how expensive it can be. I would make the following comments about it that provide some context.

• This is for 5 people, and is essentially all-inclusive for a 2 week vacation at what are considered (or at least priced at) 5-star resorts. Through years of going, budgeting and tracking our expenses, I include EVERYTHING in this cost, with a lot of wiggle room. This is right down to wire transfer fees, gratuities, etc.
• Flights from Canada are stupidly expensive. My in-laws fly from Detroit to meet us every year, and sometimes they can get down there for $200 return.
• The world is not made for a family of 5, hence the desire for 2 rooms at the BWV and the 1-bdr at Portofino Bay. Yes, we could cram into a smaller room and do it much cheaper, but we do not want to be stepping over each other and unpacked luggage the whole time. We could also stay at a different hotel for a lot cheaper, but we love that area and the proximity to EpCot and HS.
• My kids are 19, 16 and 12. I suspect we are at the peak of expensive trips as they start going their way and doing their things. I am willing to spend a bit of money now for some quality family time before we no longer have that opportunity.

We purchased a 14-day hopper through Attraction Ticket because it was cheaper than a 10-day through Disney.

Not familiar with Attraction Ticket - is this legit? Seems like a crazy good deal 14 day full hopper/water park plus memory maker for $2745 CAD (2 Adults 1 Child). UT has 10 day full hopper/water for $3525 and Disney direct is almost $4000 (10 day with memory).

That ticket seller is UK based, any issues with non UK residents using their tickets?

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Not familiar with Attraction Ticket - is this legit? Seems like a crazy good deal 14 day full hopper/water park plus memory maker for $2745 CAD (2 Adults 1 Child). UT has 10 day full hopper/water for $3525 and Disney direct is almost $4000 (10 day with memory).

That ticket seller is UK based, any issues with non UK residents using their tickets?

There's a pretty good thread about it here. We used them last year without any issues.

 

[Susan2771]

Yes, it has. We were blessed to have visited and stayed onsite as many times as we have in the past, and had the chance to visit Disneyland in California and Aulani. Every trip was a blessing and we made some nice memories. We now spend our summer vacations in other ways and other destinations, and during the winter months enjoy Universal Orlando for a single trip. The exchange rate really hits hard though whether it is Disney or Universal. I do dream of visiting Disneyland Paris though.

 

[rspencer38]

There's a pretty good thread about it here. We used them last year without any issues.

Wow, I'm glad I decided to read this thread and your post! Saved me a small fortune plus gained some benefits we were on the fence about (like hopper)!

Really appreciate it.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Wow, I'm glad I decided to read this thread and your post! Saved me a small fortune plus gained some benefits we were on the fence about (like hopper)!

Really appreciate it.

Glad it helped. We added on the 10/ticket Flex Plus. This allows us to take advantage of any future deals they may have and cancel if Disney happens to release a Cdn deal (highly unlikely).

 

[hdrolfe]

Wow, I'm glad I decided to read this thread and your post! Saved me a small fortune plus gained some benefits we were on the fence about (like hopper)!

Really appreciate it.

I have purchased those for my May trip and it's quite a savings, love that I will have memory maker and we'll be able to go to the water park(s). Plus I don't feel bad it we got the day we arrive for only a few hours, or even the day we fly home for an hour or two. We are there 10 days including those travel days but it was so much cheaper than even the 6 day park hoppers I was looking at. They linked to MDE really easily, I was able to book all my parks and I did add on the extra 10/ticket option just in case there was a need to cancel or anything.

 

[lilsonicfan]

• Flights from Canada are stupidly expensive. My in-laws fly from Detroit to meet us every year, and sometimes they can get down there for $200 return.
• The world is not made for a family of 5, hence the desire for 2 rooms at the BWV and the 1-bdr at Portofino Bay. Yes, we could cram into a smaller room and do it much cheaper, but we do not want to be stepping over each other and unpacked luggage the whole time. We could also stay at a different hotel for a lot cheaper, but we love that area and the proximity to EpCot and HS.
• My kids are 19, 16 and 12. I suspect we are at the peak of expensive trips as they start going their way and doing their things. I am willing to spend a bit of money now for some quality family time before we no longer have that opportunity.

We purchased a 14-day hopper through Attraction Ticket because it was cheaper than a 10-day through Disney.

I agree with so much of this! Mine are 13, 11 and 10 and we just bought into DVC hoping we can get some good years of fun family trips in.

I’m sure you already checked this but did you consider an AP at universal for hotel discounts? I was seeing some great rates with an AP for August.

 

[iceprincesskcl]

Not familiar with Attraction Ticket - is this legit? Seems like a crazy good deal 14 day full hopper/water park plus memory maker for $2745 CAD (2 Adults 1 Child). UT has 10 day full hopper/water for $3525 and Disney direct is almost $4000 (10 day with memory).

That ticket seller is UK based, any issues with non UK residents using their tickets?

We have used Attraction Tickets the last four trips and have nothing but great things to say about them! For the cost of the exchange it is much cheaper to do it this way for us even if we have days left over!!!

 

[I Run Long]

It's extremely expensive especially with the drop in value of our dollar against the US dollar. We always rented DVC stays in the past but with the exchange rate that was getting crazy for us. We decided to use the money we were spending on DVC rentals and purchased a AKV resale contract. We were going every other year anyway, so we thought - let's take the plunge. We always stay in a 1 bedroom even though it is just my DH and I now since the kids are both grown. We cook most of our meals in our room to save money - if we eat out we usually have plenty to take back to the room for another day. We also get our 14 day tickets from Attraction Tickets as we usually travel down and stay for more than 2 weeks anyway. We are on Vancouver Island so we typically try to fly out of Seattle to save on our flights. It's tough for sure and I'm not sure we could afford to do this if we still had children travelling with us or if we didn't own a DVC contract. We couldn't do this yearly but we're fine with that - it helps to build the excitement for our next visit to the world.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We have been going 1-4 times a year since 2005....except in 2020/21. Most years 1-2 times for 10-14 days. The additional trips were usually short 4-6 day weekend trips. There is no way we would have gone that much if I had to pay full price for things. There are lots of ways to make it more affordable, even now. In all those years I've only paid for park tickets twice.....both times were convention tickets at a discount and I had no choice.


Sorry to tell y'all but I'm going to WDW in a few weeks and a 6 day trip (2 people) is going to cost about $1000. My DD is now a CM and has perks which I'm making sure I use.

 

[Disney Addicted]

I'm sad to say we have only stayed at Disney World once, when our kids were 6 and 11. Now they are 19 and 24.

We managed a Universal Studios trip in 2019 and I was able to sneak in MNSSHP tickets and 1-day at Animal Kingdom.

When my son was 13 (the then 6 year old at WDW), he and I got to visit Disneyland from a trip to California I won. My daughter visited Disneyland on a high school trip to California she paid for out of her newspaper collection savings.

We are trying to get a short trip back to Disney World, staying on-site, next September. I priced out the Play, Stay, Dine to get an estimate. 3 people, 8 nights at All-Sports (2 queen standard room), 5-day park tickets = $3,929 CAN. Plus meals, flights, and my husband & daughter want a 2-park 1 day at Universal, and whatever else. If we go, we already came to the agreement that our daughter has to pay her share as a working adult. But still...

As much as I'd love to go back, I'd rather spend the money on something we haven't done like an Alaskan cruise, or a trip to Ireland (my husband's side of the family), or take my Dad back to Italy.

I tried to talk her into Disneyland as I'd love to go back to California but apparently she didn't like it. I loved it.