Estimated Total of a full five night Disney Vacation (staying on property and dining at Disney) - Family of Four

[NightGuardianAngel]

Total estimated cost or a Disney World vacation (includes staying at resort) - Five night vacation for a family of four.

Round trip airfare - $600 economy per person ($2,400) + Bag check fee ($60 per bag) = $2,640 + tax

Transportation from Airport to Disney Resort - Roundtrip ($128.00). This used to be free until January 1, 2022.

Disney hotel room - $650 per night per person over two to $2,000.00 or more including taxes - $9,750.00 to $30,000.00 or more (most luxury).

Theme park one day admissio tickets - $200 average per park (visiting all theme parks) - $3,200

Food cost - Dining at Disney - $3,000

Total costs of entire trip - $18,718.00 - $38,968.00. Add Genie Plus $20 per person per day average - $400.00 (used to he free when fastpass) for a grand total of $19,118.00 - $39,368.00. Almost have to take out a loan for it.

 

[JC1984]

And this is why Disney is only going to be available to the elites in the future. I am kind of glad I gave DVC to pad those hotels costs and also I can get military salute tickets which are a screaming deal. However I am planning for a WDW trip as we usually go to Aulani since it is our home resort and I realize how astronomically more I am spending than going to Hawaii!? Is that not crazy?

 

[auralia]

The hotel costs are not realistic. It isnt 650$ per person for a hotel room unless you want it to be… pop can be had for less than 300 regularly. It isn’t 200$ per person per day for a base ticket it is a lot closer to 140$ 3000$ on dining is way more than I could ever spend on a 5 day vacation with a family of four we have never spent more than 300$ per day on dining and that is if we do a sit down.

Yes it’s expensive but these numbers used are not accurate. Not realistic at all, perhaps soon though with the Disney demand and the corporate world……..

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I just added up a 5 day trip for my family of 4 based on the 8 day trip we are actually taking (so using same airline, baggage, park ticket type, meal estimates, room, transportation and so on) and I’m nowhere near $19K, not even by half.

My “trip” includes:
-Airfare including 4 checked bags, paying for 3 carry on bags, paying to choose our seats ahead of time ($1350 round trip including all taxes and fees) (and Disney doesn’t control the airline pricing)
-Round trip airport transfers $160 plus tip including car seat for private car service
Deluxe resort- 1BR villa standard view at BLT for 4 ($4845 plus tax based on rack rate but to be fair I’m going at a less expensive time and at Christmas time this could be double)
-5 day park tickets, 1 park per day no hoppers no water parks ($2195).
-Food- it’s tough to calculate and I don’t doubt a family of 4 can easily get to the $3K mark if they each have 2 snacks per day, 1 TS per day especially if that TS is a character or signature experience. So even though my family is closer to $2K for 5 days (10 meals “out,” 2 of them table service which I’ll generously price at $300 per meal and 8 quick service meals which I’ll price around $70, plus $10 worth of snacks/ drinks/ popcorn bucket refills per person per day totaling $200, and a $100 grocery order for breakfast items, snacks, bottled water and so on) I’ll go ahead and allow $3K because there are plenty who dine much more expensively on vacation and food costs are only going up.
-G+/ ILL- my plan is to only use G+/ILL 4 days out of 5 park days but I’ll calculate 5 days just for comparison- 5 days at $20 pp for G+ is $80 per day, $400 per week. ILL using a $15 estimate is $60 per day, $300 per week for a total of $700 per week if used every day.

So total for the 5 day trip above (exclusive of some taxes and tips and using slightly different parameters than my actual trip in order to make a fair comparison) is $12250. I could easily cut that down by not staying at a deluxe resort. Same 5 nights in a suite at All Star Movies would be almost $3K cheaper and staying in one room at the All Stars or Pop would be even less than that (bringing this to $9250 or less). The $1000 difference in meals would put me at $8250 but I could still cut another $460 by swapping those 2 TS meals for QS. We’re down to $7790 at that point, and we haven’t even given up private car service, G+, ILL, paid for less or no baggage, or told my son he can’t have a Mickey bar yet.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Total estimated cost or a Disney World vacation (includes staying at resort) - Five night vacation for a family of four.

Round trip airfare - $600 economy per person ($2,400) + Bag check fee ($60 per bag) = $2,640 + tax

Transportation from Airport to Disney Resort - Roundtrip ($128.00). This used to be free until January 1, 2022.

Disney hotel room - $650 per night per person over two to $2,000.00 or more including taxes - $9,750.00 to $30,000.00 or more (most luxury).

Theme park one day admissio tickets - $200 average per park (visiting all theme parks) - $3,200

Food cost - Dining at Disney - $3,000

Total costs of entire trip - $18,718.00 - $38,968.00. Add Genie Plus $20 per person per day average - $400.00 (used to he free when fastpass) for a grand total of $19,118.00 - $39,368.00. Almost have to take out a loan for it.

Where do you get this hotel price of $650 per person per night? I don't doubt that Disney offers resort rooms at $1300 per night but that sure isn't required to visit WDW, even if one is a deluxe hotel snob like my dh.

Also, Undercover Tourist has a 5-day base ticket x4 comes to $2153.

I'd guess more like $5000-6000 if my kids were still children. We never were big into buying souvenirs. Even when the kids wanted everything in sight, we capped them at $50 pp and reminded them to be thankful they are IN WDW. It's very doable.

 

[MillauFr]

And this is why Disney is only going to be available to the elites in the future. I am kind of glad I gave DVC to pad those hotels costs and also I can get military salute tickets which are a screaming deal. However I am planning for a WDW trip as we usually go to Aulani since it is our home resort and I realize how astronomically more I am spending than going to Hawaii!? Is that not crazy?

You never have nor ever will see any elites at Disneyworld in Florida.

 

[MillauFr]

We just came back from Disneyworld in December. I liked that I can go out to signature dining at Disney for far less than costs us to go to our neighborhood Italian restaurant in Seattle. With 4 of us I never paid more than $300 for a meal. 3 of us went to Italian in Seattle last Wednesday for $411. Outrageous. We spend less money going out to eat in NYC last year than we do in Seattle.

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

Where do you get this hotel price of $650 per person per night? I don't doubt that Disney offers resort rooms at $1300 per night but that sure isn't required to visit WDW, even if one is a deluxe hotel snob like my dh.

Also, Undercover Tourist has a 5-day base ticket x4 comes to $2153.

I'd guess more like $5000-6000 if my kids were still children. We never were big into buying souvenirs. Even when the kids wanted everything in sight, we capped them at $50 pp and reminded them to be thankful they are IN WDW. It's very doable.

The most expensive I have seen is the Star Wars hotel in the ballpark of $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 or more for two nights. Staying off site definitely can save tons of money (some off property hotels have an agreement with Disney World to offer some of the same perks or benefits to their guests and their room rates may be a less expensive.).

As for souvenirs, you save money buying them off property tor anyone who wants to buy a couple of them. There are many stores around the Orlando or many places online that may sell the exact same thing for even half the price you pay if buying them in the parks. To be honest, based on my experience, anything and any food you buy in a theme park (Disney or not and even in a movie theater) is going to be the most expensive and overpriced. One of my favorite if you have an RV, travel trailer, etc, is to camp. You would have a fully equipped kitchen and can cook your own food, plus saves you more vs flying and dining out, and you can bring the family dog or cat alone too. The biggest expense out of that would be gasoline or diesel costs while driving or towing the RV there and back.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The most expensive I have seen is the Star Wars hotel in the ballpark of $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 or more for two nights. Staying off site definitely can save tons of money (some off property hotels have an agreement with Disney World to offer some of the same perks or benefits to their guests and their room rates may be a less expensive.).

As for souvenirs, you save money buying them off property tor anyone who wants to buy a couple of them. There are many stores around the Orlando or many places online that may sell the exact same thing for even half the price you pay if buying them in the parks. To be honest, based on my experience, anything and any food you buy in a theme park (Disney or not and even in a movie theater) is going to be the most expensive and overpriced. One of my favorite if you have an RV, travel trailer, etc, is to camp. You would have a fully equipped kitchen and can cook your own food, plus saves you more vs flying and dining out, and you can bring the family dog or cat alone too. The biggest expense out of that would be gasoline or diesel costs while driving or towing the RV there and back.

We have been enough times, offsite and onsite, to learn what is worth paying extra for and what isn't.

My point is, that you choose the most expensive possible choices to calculate the cost of a trip, and then say a trip to WDW soon will only be for elites. That really is not a fair or truthful argument. Why not just throw in a private jet cost while you're at it?

 

[Apiary]

There are at least two good threads on trip budgets for 2022 and 2023. 5-10k is the normal range. It’s expensive, but the OP is rage farming.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

The most expensive I have seen is the Star Wars hotel in the ballpark of $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 or more for two nights. Staying off site definitely can save tons of money (some off property hotels have an agreement with Disney World to offer some of the same perks or benefits to their guests and their room rates may be a less expensive.).

As for souvenirs, you save money buying them off property tor anyone who wants to buy a couple of them. There are many stores around the Orlando or many places online that may sell the exact same thing for even half the price you pay if buying them in the parks. To be honest, based on my experience, anything and any food you buy in a theme park (Disney or not and even in a movie theater) is going to be the most expensive and overpriced. One of my favorite if you have an RV, travel trailer, etc, is to camp. You would have a fully equipped kitchen and can cook your own food, plus saves you more vs flying and dining out, and you can bring the family dog or cat alone too. The biggest expense out of that would be gasoline or diesel costs while driving or towing the RV there and back.

Ok, that is a 2 night experience and not a hotel you book for 5 nights. It also includes food and entry to HS for those two days. So while the cost is high that's not comparable to a deluxe resort for 5 nights plus food plus tickets. You'd have to cost that out at 2 days of Star Cruiser and 3 days of meals/ resort/ park tickets. Even if a family booked that for 4 nights on Star Cruiser at your price tag of $6000 that's $12K for meals, park tickets, and hotel. Leaving only airfare, airport transfer, and G+ left to pay from your original price tag. We are still not approaching $39K even if you add the 1 more day of meals/ park tickets to make it the 5 day trip.

I fail to see the point of opening with an almost $40K price tag using very inflated parameters that aren't even realistic scenarios or requirements (as in, you wouldn't book Star Cruiser for 5 nights and Disney isn't requiring everyone to stay at a Deluxe resort and doesn't control the airline prices).

Yes, food and meals are expensive at Disney. Then again, my local theme park's version of Fast Pass is almost double what it is at Disney and the per-ride price if purchased individually is well more than ILL. A chicken tender and fries meal at my local theme park is 1/3 more expensive than the same thing at Disney. The experience however is nothing like Disney there. No characters, no fireworks, no parades. I'm lucky if one single employee smiles or says "thank you" all day there.

 

[RivShore]

Disney hotel room - $650 per night per person over two to $2,000.00 or more including taxes - $9,750.00 to $30,000.00 or more (most luxury).

Theme park one day admissio tickets - $200 average per park (visiting all theme parks) - $3,200

Please explain exactly where these numbers came from. They do not seem to be based on any current reality, yet they make up most of you total cost.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Please explain exactly where these numbers came from. They do not seem to be based on any current reality, yet they make up most of you total cost.

Right? Even the most expensive ticket which is park hopper plus for 4 adults for 5 days only gets me to $2750.

Above OP mentions Star Cruiser for $6000, but a family wouldn’t stay at Star Cruiser for 5 days, and that $6000 is for 2 nights and includes meals and HS admission. I’m not saying it’s inexpensive but we’re not at $30000 for the resort alone. I could book each of us in our own studio at BLT for less than $30K.

 

[RoseGold]

It isnt 650$ per person for a hotel room unless you want it to be… pop can be had for less than 300 regularly.

Pop is around $300 for mid-week in August, sure. It's often closer to 4 or 500.

 

[snikki]

Pop is around $300 for mid-week in August, sure. It's often closer to 4 or 500.

In mid May Pop is $215 a night rack rate. Mid April it’s $278 a night rack rate. Even Christmas week at Pop is $329. I don’t think I’ve seen Pop at $4-500 a night.

 

[StacyStrong]

Pop is around $300 for mid-week in August, sure. It's often closer to 4 or 500.

?

Going in August. It’s 197 a night for a standard room and 213 for preferred (what I chose).

 

[princesscinderella]

You never have nor ever will see any elites at Disneyworld in Florida.

I have seen many celebrities at WDW. Most recently we were in Tiffins where Giselle Bundchen was dining with a big group to celebrate her daughters birthday. I’m sure “elites” (not sure what qualifies someone as that) with lots of money have taken on their kids to WDW it’s just that maybe they have a ton of money and just aren’t famous, like hedge fund managers. They can just afford the concierge treatment others cannot. Heck even Princess Diana took the Princes to WDW.

 

[focusondisney]

Pop is around $300 for mid-week in August, sure. It's often closer to 4 or 500.

These are rack rates for a standard Pop room, including Christmas week, the most expensive week of the year. Only 400 + because of taxes. If you need to save money, the first thing is don’t go Christmas week.



Same standard room at rack rates in August. Only close to 300 on weekends if you include taxes.

 

[focusondisney]

Where do you get this hotel price of $650 per person per night? I don't doubt that Disney offers resort rooms at $1300 per night but that sure isn't required to visit WDW, even if one is a deluxe hotel snob like my dh.

Right! For $1300 a night, you’re getting a premium view rack rate club level room. And with that category of room, you get breakfast & a variety of appetizers in the lounge every day, as well as some alcoholic beverages. You could substantially decrease your food expenses if you’re in a club level room. And club level rooms are very often included in offered discounts, so you won’t even be paying $1300 anyway. Yes, I know…. that room is also more than 1300 a night during Christmas & some other holiday weeks. If you’re looking to save money, the first thing you have to do is go during the right Disney season.

 

[Anthony1971]

I have seen a number of “elites“ at Disney through the years and By no means is Disney only for the elites. Yes it CAN be extremely expensive down to expensive but that depends on many factors…. Let’s face it a Big Mac meal is close to or over 10 bucks in most areas. When you consider that Disney is not so bad anymore. What one spends on a hotel or dinning is a choice every area including New York and California have places you can spend 1000 a person easy to a 10 Big Mac meal to even less if you look. Disney does have good quality large meals everywhere for under 20 a person forgo the soda knock almost 5 bucks off that. Hotels are in the same but I can say dollar for dollar Disney deluxe down to value is not looking so bad as of recent pricing.