Every time ticket price increases, I consider selling our dvc

[Brian Noble]

One year, we took a "bonus" summer trip that was on a bit of a budget. Instead of getting theme park tickets, we bought water park + DisneyQuest annual passes. We had a ball in the water parks, visited DQ a couple times to check it out, and did a lot of resort dining we normally don't make time for. It was one of our best Orlando vacations ever; lots of fun, but very relaxing. We also lucked into a convertible on National's Emerald Aisle, so we were tooling around in style.

These days, the water park APs are a bit under $120, including tax. So, less than one peak-day MK ticket. You can add DQ to that (while it is still open anyway) for $30.

 

[kid-at-heart]

We have certainly cut back on visiting parks. Before they eliminated them, we bought several ten-day non-expiring tickets. We would still buy short (3,4,5) multi-day tickets for our shorter vacations and use our non-expiring tickets for trips where we would be there for only a day or two. When the prices kept going up, we stopped buying short multi-day (3, 4, 5) day tickets and just started going to the parks one or two days of our vacation. We are about out of days on our old tickets so I am not sure what we will do in the future. Perhaps use our villa as a base, rent a car and start exploring other areas of Florida.

 

[DougEMG]

We buy the annual passes and use them across two big trips, so we get about 40-60 days use off of an annual pass. So I don't find the ticket price to be that much of an issue. Flying down there for each trip costs for than the park tickets.

Overall with DVC and an annual pass, WDW is a fairly cheap vacation for us. And that doesn't take into consideration just how much I enjoy being at BWV, much more than the hotels I stay at when I've gone on non-Disney trips.

 

[disneybass]

Does anyone else think this way? Every time the tix price increases, I think about the absurdity of spending $1500-2k for just tickets per trip.

I think about how our DW trip is $6-7k each, even with our DVC.

I think about how the monies might be better spent on another vacation, for the same money or even less.

I think about the fact that our dvc has actually appreciated since we bought, and we should just take the profit now.

But DH said he wants to keep for another 7 more years, until our youngest is 9 years old, before selling. It really is all about the kids sometimes, isn't it?

But I think about selling dvc and no longer going to DW to save money very time the ticket prices go up.

Yes, as a matter of fact we sold all but 90 points. just to take the granddaughter down for a weekend a year is all we do now. You can throw DCL in with the price increase also. We have started cruising with RCL. No more kool aid for me

 

[SSRFred]

We haven't gotten to the point of deciding to sell but Disney is definitely chipping away at us with the loss of the non-expiring passes, the increase in food prices coupled with the increase in the price of the TIW card, and the continued rise in ticket prices. We have always had annual passes because we go to WDW at least 4 times a year but with the new AP levels and prices, we are rethinking our travel patterns. We still have a set of non-expiring passes to use and some 5 day tickets, as well, but I am sad to say that we have only 1 trip planned this year (since we still have AP's active) and will probably take next year off and rent our points instead.

 

[Dano1182]

We are not doing the parks this year 2,000 for tickets is too much.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Correct me if I'm wrong here....but didn't the recent price increase only affect single day tickets? Yes I get annoyed at price increases, but it's a capitalist world we live in and with parks attendance high can you blame them as a business? Ticket prices 5 years ago when we first looked into DVC was THE highest expense of a disney trip....and still is. We have found incredible ways to reduce the price of our trips but no we won't consider selling ours. Buying those 10 day non expiration tickets a year ago and stashing them in the safe for the future was a good plan. Thinking of jumping on the DVC "deal" even though people are bashing it. Going to Disney is not going to stop for us, and honestly pre purchasing tickets is a way to keep your costs down. In reality, you pre purchased your hotel stay by buying DVC, why not prepurchase tickets? Today's prices while high are sure to be cheaper than a few years from now.

We took my dad in 2013 and he bought 2 5 day tickets from UT (4 day plus 1 free). They were @ $305 if I remember correctly and he ordered them the weekend before the price increase earlier that year. Turns out his wife couldn't go and he had a few old tickets from the 90's with 1 day each on them. He was able to use those + MVMCP and not activate the 5 day. He has 2 5 day tickets basically at 2013 prices that most likely he'll end up giving to us. (hopefully).

This year we got AP's and after the last few years of trips, with 8 days in on the AP, with 12 more planned this year, we are out of points for next year so I actually would like to take some time off from disney. I really look forward to taking some trips without doing the parks and just enjoying the resort.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Correct me if I'm wrong here....but didn't the recent price increase only affect single day tickets?

Not just single day. Multi days received increases anywhere from 5.2%-10.4% including tax.

 

[suebeelin]

Correct me if I'm wrong here....but didn't the recent price increase only affect single day tickets? Yes I get annoyed at price increases, but it's a capitalist world we live in and with parks attendance high can you blame them as a business? Ticket prices 5 years ago when we first looked into DVC was THE highest expense of a disney trip....and still is. We have found incredible ways to reduce the price of our trips but no we won't consider selling ours. Buying those 10 day non expiration tickets a year ago and stashing them in the safe for the future was a good plan. Thinking of jumping on the DVC "deal" even though people are bashing it. Going to Disney is not going to stop for us, and honestly pre purchasing tickets is a way to keep your costs down. In reality, you pre purchased your hotel stay by buying DVC, why not prepurchase tickets? Today's prices while high are sure to be cheaper than a few years from now.

We took my dad in 2013 and he bought 2 5 day tickets from UT (4 day plus 1 free). They were @ $305 if I remember correctly and he ordered them the weekend before the price increase earlier that year. Turns out his wife couldn't go and he had a few old tickets from the 90's with 1 day each on them. He was able to use those + MVMCP and not activate the 5 day. He has 2 5 day tickets basically at 2013 prices that most likely he'll end up giving to us. (hopefully).

This year we got AP's and after the last few years of trips, with 8 days in on the AP, with 12 more planned this year, we are out of points for next year so I actually would like to take some time off from disney. I really look forward to taking some trips without doing the parks and just enjoying the resort.

If your UCT prices were $305 in 2013, and the UCT prices are currently $367 BEFORE the price increase (which should kick in within the next week), that's a 20% increase in 3 years. IMO, ouch.

That means if the prices went up 5%, it'll be a 25% increase in 3 years. If it went up 10%, then it's 30% in 3 years. You're ok with that?

I plan on picking up 4 5 day hoppers UCT tickets tomorrow and putting them in a safe.

Apparently it's better than putting my money in a bank.

Hubby wants to do DW for another 5 years. Then we are looking elsewhere.... The kids will be 7 and 11, and wiil enjoy international travel by then. And the $2k in park tickets would be better spent in something more substantive. The ticket increases are too much.

 

[AZMermaid]

Aulani is fabulous and no tickets are needed! For us, from AZ flights are the same cost to FL or Hawaii, so Aulani is a cheaper vacation.

 

[brertoad]

I hate that the prices keep increases every year, and sometimes twice in a year, but I the thought of selling our DVC timeshare had never crossed my mind. The benefit of having it is to save money on deluxe DVC hotel accommodations.

If I were in your shoes, rather than selling I'd rent out the points you were not planning on using for that year, or the next, or however many years you decide you don't want to visit WDW.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Ticket prices in 1971 were $3.50 to get into the park. That allowed you to use transportation only and walk around. You had to pay for each individual ride. A Ticket book of $4.50 would give you 7 tickets (1A, 1B, 1C, 2D and 2E). Rides required a ticket each (tiered). Additional rides cost between $.1 - $.9 each. 1972 you could get a 2 day for $7.50, a moderate discount.

Interesting fact here - the price of the rides never changed over the course of the individual tickets. Only the general admission price went up. But up it went! 10%-15% every year until 1976 where it held for a few years, then went up again. Over the course of history ticket prices have always risen slightly more than inflation. Inflation alone from 1971 to now would account for the park being approx $47.54 (today dollars if the park admission had stayed static) for Magic Kingdom only.

A single ticket today in value season costs $97.00 - for 3 days+, you don't have a season. A 5 day will cost you $68 / day and a 7 day (which is common) costs $52.86 - a difference of only $5.32. So if you are getting a 7 day park ticket, you are paying only a few dollars more, but have access to ride as many as you can (given crowds). You also have a significant number of rides and expansions compared to 1971 - including all 3 mountains, dwarf train and now the entire new fantasy land expansion.

If you look at it from that standpoint, I would say on a 7 day ticket you are getting more value per dollar than you received in 1971.

**note if you get a 10 day pass these days - it's $40.00 / day - or $7.54 CHEAPER than it would have cost you in equal value dollars in 1971, but back then you were only allowed to ride 7 total rides. Add $6/day and you get access to FOUR parks, TWO water parks and more (significantly more than you had back then) for still $1-2 LESS per day. Let's not even talk about the value of an annual pass.

So actually, Disney isn't doing too bad.

 

[jodifla]

I imagine few people like the ticket price increases. But I LOVE being able to stay at a really nice hotel room without the sky-high prices. There's another tread about someone complaining that the BWI rooms are $500 now -- and we bought DVC exactly to control our lodging costs. We didn't over buy points, so they aren't a burden. We could rent our points one year, then use the money to pay our dues and then also buy park tickets for the following year.

We could go to Universal, Sea World and other things in Florida.

We could go to HHI or Aulani.

Still enough flexibility in DVC for us to get a lot of use out of it.

 

[jmkjr72]

Back when there were 12 of us going every other year the price increases did hurt but now that it's smaller groups of adults only trips it doesn't seem to bother as much and we enjoy diffrent things like tring more places to eat

 

[luckyman_apd]

If your UCT prices were $305 in 2013, and the UCT prices are currently $367 BEFORE the price increase (which should kick in within the next week), that's a 20% increase in 3 years. IMO, ouch.

That means if the prices went up 5%, it'll be a 25% increase in 3 years. If it went up 10%, then it's 30% in 3 years. You're ok with that?

I plan on picking up 4 5 day hoppers UCT tickets tomorrow and putting them in a safe.

Apparently it's better than putting my money in a bank.

Hubby wants to do DW for another 5 years. Then we are looking elsewhere.... The kids will be 7 and 11, and wiil enjoy international travel by then. And the $2k in park tickets would be better spent in something more substantive. The ticket increases are too much.

WOW....didnt' actually see the multiday price increase....just read about seasonal pricing on 1 day tickets. And I'll have to go back and look at the actual price of those tickets. Since he bought them in 2013 (probably march before the increase in April) it really was 2012 pricing.....Could have been as high as $319....but for some reason $305 sticks in my head. I know they were @300.

Yes....that's exactly why I put the non expirations in the safe....and I really should have ordered more. The same $ invested isn't going to give you that rate of return! Since we are all DVC, we are ALL going to go in the future. Right now it doesn't make sense to use the non expiration. Got 10 days for @$769 and that includes water parks and more....so I figure $75 a day for the parks and $2 a day for the 10 water park and more admissions. I'm sure I could break that down differently but that's how I'm doing it in my head. IF....and If we needed to go in for 1-2 days....that's still a good discount over a 1 day ticket......but in 5-6 years from now, it will be even more. We like 3 day weekends and what a better way to enjoy the parks/timeshare then a long weekend with 1 day in the parks?

 

[suebeelin]

The UCT prices just went up to $384 for a 5 day hopper (from $367 a few days ago). Disney is $435.

We have 4 10 day non expire tix, and just ordered 4 5 day hoppers before the price increase. These are for future ticket use (we have gold APs right now).

That's $4500 in Disney tickets in keeping in a safe. Ugh.

 

[Tiki Sean]

We currently don't have plans to sell our DVC but we plan to probably switch to going to WDW every other year or 2 years on and 1 year off just to take advantage of having an AP. Park passes are getting out of our price range at the moment.

 

[Lisa F]

We buy the annual passes and use them across two big trips, so we get about 40-60 days use off of an annual pass. So I don't find the ticket price to be that much of an issue. Flying down there for each trip costs for than the park tickets.

Overall with DVC and an annual pass, WDW is a fairly cheap vacation for us. And that doesn't take into consideration just how much I enjoy being at BWV, much more than the hotels I stay at when I've gone on non-Disney trips.

no offense but anyone who can afford to spend two whole months at WDW is probably not concerned if the cost of the ticket media goes up by 10%.

 

[DougEMG]

no offense but anyone who can afford to spend two whole months at WDW is probably not concerned if the cost of the ticket media goes up by 10%.

Those 40-60 days are 2 annual trips, so it is really just 1 month a year. The only thing that makes it affordable was buying a lot of DVC points back in 2010-2012 when prices for loaded contract were only $50/point. As you say, a 10% increase in ticket prices is not a big deal to me, but that is because I'm already saving so much on the room.

 

[jerseyduke]

I do not think you can expect the ticket prices to go down! They are going to go up year after year until Florida is under water (at which time, prices may indeed go down).

I find airfare to be the killer. Buying 1 ticket from Newark, NJ to Orlando, used to be cheap; now it is usually pricey, often 400$ or more. That used to never be the case. Not anywhere close.