Has disney crossed the price threshold for most families?

[DisneyKidds]

It is much cheaper to go to Disneyland.

I suppose because it’s only two parks and you don’t need as long a trip to see it all….but prices aren’t any cheaper than WDW.

 

[MillauFr]

I suppose because it’s only two parks and you don’t need as long a trip to see it all….but prices aren’t any cheaper than WDW.

Yes but you can easily stay offsite. I can get to the front gate at DIsneyland faster if I stay at the Candy Cane Inn than I do if I stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Staying offsite in Florida is a far bigger hassle.

 

[DisneyKidds]

20 years ago, right here on the DIS Rumors and News Board, we debated WDW prices and value relative to 20 years earlier….and people were just as passionate then as they are now on both sides of this issue. Even though prices 20 years ago were WAY higher than they were 20 years before, I was of the opinion then that as high as prices had become (at that time) the value was increasing more than the price. There was real value there, not that I thought it was necessarily affordable for the average family then.

Fast forward to today and I can’t say I feel the same way. While prices seem to have increased to prohibitive levels, WDW was never an affordable vacation and there are still plenty that CAN afford it today. But CAN and WANT TO are very different things. IMHO the value has been stripped away to the point that the product no longer justifies the price.

Heck, maybe it never did.

I can say this, having visited for 30 years and owning DVC for 20. There’s no way we’d fall in love/infatuation with WDW, heck Disney in general, today the way we fell hard 30 years ago. My kids won’t be able to create a similar Disney arc of their own (WDW hotel prices have far outpaced starting salaries out of college). I no longer see real value there. So in that regard I do think they’ve crossed some thresholds.

Were it not for our DVC (one of the best purchases we’ve made, even in today’s light) our WDW vacations would become fewer and further between.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Yes but you can easily stay offsite. I can get to the front gate at DIsneyland faster if I stay at the Candy Cane Inn than I do if I stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Staying offsite in Florida is a far bigger hassle.

For us WDW on-site hotels have never been about pure proximity. It was the theming, being inside the bubble, behind the berm. That’s where the value has always been for us, even if we could have found cheaper lodgings off-site.

Disneyland is no different. I’m there, I want to be inside the bubble, even if the Courtyard is closer to the turnstiles. We’ve stayed off-site at Disneyland. Looking forward to our next trip on-site.

The on-site properties in CA are no cheaper that on-site properties in FL….

 

[Ldisneygraham]

For us a millennial family with two kids, the cost is nothing to sneeze at, but the value resorts aren't much worse than a typical hotel or rental. The thing I am amazed at, is the food prices. They aren't even close to any other vacation destination I've seen. Have their always been so ridiculous? It's been years since I've been.

We just got back from a trip, and our food bill was outrageous...even doing a lot of quick service. I felt like it was a lot higher than our last trip.

 

[Miffy]

Check out all the activity on the Galactic Starcruiser booking thread. Apparently there's a much higher cost threshold than I imagined there might be--and bookings aren't open to the general public yet.

 

[Rory607]

I’ve been ignoring

For us WDW on-site hotels have never been about pure proximity. It was the theming, being inside the bubble, behind the berm. That’s where the value has always been for us, even if we could have found cheaper lodgings off-site.

Disneyland is no different. I’m there, I want to be inside the bubble, even if the Courtyard is closer to the turnstiles. We’ve stayed off-site at Disneyland. Looking forward to our next trip on-site.

The on-site properties in CA are no cheaper that on-site properties in FL….

It’s definitely proximity to us. We enjoy the theming, but one thing we love about Disney is not having to drive anywhere. Some people like paying less and driving, but we will pay onsite prices for the transportation. At DL we stay at an “offsite” that is within easy walking distance to the parks. This is the main thing keeping my H from agreeing offsite at WDW. He doesn’t want to deal with traffic and parking and all that at Disney.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

For us it's like a snowball effect. Say our budget for our big yearly vacation is X amount of dollars. As a family, there are certain things we consider when planning - we aim for Y number of nights, it needs to be fun and relaxing, it needs to be entertaining for everyone, and we need to be staying at a resort that feels special and is conveniently located to whatever activities we are doing. These are the things we value in a vacation.

Up until now, we have been able to check all of those boxes, while staying within budget, by doing a Disney vacation and renting DVC. With the new fees for Genie+ and LL, and lack of DME, our usual trip now would cost almost $1000 more assuming we are doing Genie+ each day in order to get approximately the same relaxing experience we used to get with Fastpass+. So then you are faced with making cuts. We aren't really interested in staying at the moderate or value level, not because we're snooty, but just because we find the moderates/values less relaxing due to the buses being the primary transportation in most cases. So that's out. We could shave a few days off of our vacation, but again if we are flying with children, we like to stay long enough to settle in and relax. We could forego Genie+ and LL, of course, but with small kids, long lines are a no-go. Definitely not relaxing or fun. So at that point, it becomes clear that we'll check more of our boxes by just GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE. And we'd also almost certainly spend less doing it. So what I'm saying is it's not really a question of pricing us out, it's just a question of whether our time and money is going to be better spent somewhere else. I'm not even talking Universal bc really the only theme park vacation that appeals to us IS Disney. So I'm talking about re-routing all together.

This is an extreme version, of course. We booked our next trip before Genie+/LL was announced and we are rolling with the punches and just planning on shelling out for it, but fortunately we are in a position where the extra $$ isn't going to make or break us. If you were on a tighter budget, it COULD though. I'm open to seeing how this goes and I'm hoping it's better than we're expecting. But if this upcoming trip disappoints, we probably won't be back for awhile. Like I said we could shorten our trip but, meh. We could stay somewhere cheaper, but meh. We could skip the extras, but meh. I'm not spending thousands to feel MEH about my vacation.

 

[tano]

I'm not even talking Universal bc really the only theme park vacation that appeals to us IS Disney. So I'm talking about re-routing all together.

This is an extreme version, of course. We booked our next trip before Genie+/LL was announced and we are rolling with the punches and just planning on shelling out for it, but fortunately we are in a position where the extra $$ isn't going to make or break us.

I like how you said it and I have similar thoughts. However people on this board are (in general) so vested with Disney that I suspect it will be harder to stay away than we think. Unfortunately Disney has a specialized product that isn't easy to swap out.

My kids don't seem to be Disney fans. Maybe if the next (social media) generation finds other interests the demand will go down and prices stabilize. For now, it seems Disney's potential audience grows (esp. Latin/South America) and more demand of a limited commodity means higher prices.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

I still want to go back, but my husband and even my 7 year old daughter don't think it's worth the extra expense. We could probably afford it, but it would use all our savings. I'm hoping there will be some kind of deal (free dining, room discount) next summer that would make it worth it. Or maybe reports that genie and lighting lane aren't necessary.