HELP! I think my eyes just popped out.....pricing Disney for first time in years and years!

[tinkerhon]

- "your last 6 trips" - you lucky dog!!! Haha. I have been checking out the hotels by Disney Springs. I think the location would be amazing. ps. I have no idea what a Joffreys in, need to google that. Haha.

WOW!!!! Disney hotel bidding at $25/night? That must have been incredible! Bring those days back...hahahaaha! I think air travel depends on where you are flying from. For me, it seems like flights have increased more too. But again, there are so many factors to consider.

Thank you so much, I really hope I can pull it all together, too. I have to admit renting DVC points sounds confusing to me but then, I have not checked out that section on here. I will look into it as well. I know cooking in a room would be cheaper, but I am not sure I want to cook and clean on my vacation. Gosh, that sounds bad, I don't mean it to though. I just desperately need a relaxing time. I am so not opposed to easy things that can be microwaved or things of that nature, like using hot water for ramen, mac' n' cheese, instant oatmeal, etc. I also think it would be great if I had a fridge and could buy stuff for sandwiches to take into the parks. Then I would just need to budget for maybe one meal in the park. Maybe a couple table service and the rest counter service.

Gulp - I hear ya on the $100 meals, I quickly looked at some Disney menus and was like whoa!!!! I may need to take up a collection. Hahahaaha. I wish. LOL.

Yea… but the six trips are over the last 3-4 years … the days of us going to WDW 3-4 times a year sailed away years ago, when our APs became too expensive to keep.

 

[disneyseniors]

I disagree with this.

My Seasonal Annual Pass cost $450 including tax. The AP rate at the Endless Summer resorts is $86 for weeknights. That is in fact inexpensive. Plus I can walk to offsite dining from Endless Summer.

Everyone (not just you, I see it most of the time when people compare) wants to compare Universal prices vs Disney, then says that Universal tickets are more expensive when you add the express pass. Well, yeah! Express pass is optional and expensive. If it's out of the budget, don't get express passes. Go early, stay late, add a day, keep an eye on wait times, use single rider lines, etc. How much more does it add to your Disney ticket to get LL & SingleLL daily?

Yea, I wasn't thinking about the annual passes. They are really in our budget range, but we haven't decided to buy them yet. There are some health issues with us so we might not be able to use it enough to get the value. But it is a good affordable option.
We have done Universal without EP"s and were able to do all of what we wanted with little wait. That was a while ago, so I wonder if the increased crowds at Universal have affected that at all?

 

[MouseTriper]

It has become outrageously expensive in the past 10-15 years and I am sorry for your disappointment. Though I have never stayed at one, there is a new druryhotels.com on property just a stone's through from DS. They do offer free breakfast and "snacks" at 5:30 pm which, if it were me (back in the day) that is what we would have for dinner LOL! Disney Value Resorts, DVC rentals (cheaper IMO on disboards), AAA etc all worth looking into. Time "is" money is a HUGE factor for not going off site as traffic is crazy.

Lunch can be shared entrees at the parks as kids meals can add up too. DH and I often split meals. That could alleviate the food cost issue somewhat. I always consider what we spend at home per day (say $25) and put it towards food. Pack lots of snacks to bring. If you are driving, you will have more options to freeze and pack in a cooler.

Tickets are what they are, but if you don't mind doing single parks (easier in many ways) that is a savings. Resort hopping for a QS meal on the monorail is something we often do just because we enjoy it. Go to DS in the morning, have lunch at Earl of Sandwich or Chicken Guy (both splitters) and then spend the afternoon in the pool for a relaxing "middle day".

Budget a set amount for each child for spending money and maybe "advance" part of holiday gifts as cash? Little "jobs" for them to earn extra money by setting/cleaning up the table etc is a great lesson. Our son quickly learned the value of money when he had a Disney budget as a toddler.

If you share your goal budget, number of adults/kids and number of days, that would help WDW veteran's help you with recommendations. I hope it all works out for you!

Thank you for all the information. I have been looking at the Drury, too. I love the idea of free breakfast and snacks in the evening, though knowing myself, I highly doubt I would want to leave the parks just for that, but that is just me. I do think we could share some CS meals at times, and add snacks to it. I haven’t been to Earl of Sandwich in probably a decade or more. Hahaha. I did like it though and the prices seemed so reasonable.

It is me and my two kids, ages 20 and 16. They both work and are saving up money to spend on their own. Proud of them! Still trying to figure out a reasonable budget for myself, as hotel and tickets at first glance (when my eyes popped out) already exceeded my original budget…hahahahahah… crying. Laughing. What else can I do? Lol.

Regarding DVC rentals, they are cheaper than booking the same room type through Disney, but I found them not to be cheap. For a 1 bedroom suite, which you would need to have a full kitchen, expect to pay at least $500 a night if you go through a rental agency. I’m not sure how low DVC owners on this board are willing to go but it would probably be at least on par with the cost of a moderate resort room.

It’s also a bit late to book something for this December. You have a better shot at getting something 7-11 months out.

Thank you. Yes, I think I might have to look into this for some far out later trip. If there is a later trip, as that would mean there is a sooner trip, which I am still working on. Hahahaha…..

Yea… but the six trips are over the last 3-4 years … the days of us going to WDW 3-4 times a year sailed away years ago, when our APs became too expensive to keep.

I understand! I am just happy for you that you get all those trips though!!! I wish Disney would drop prices so more people could afford it.

Yea, I wasn't thinking about the annual passes. They are really in our budget range, but we haven't decided to buy them yet. There are some health issues with us so we might not be able to use it enough to get the value. But it is a good affordable option.
We have done Universal without EP"s and were able to do all of what we wanted with little wait. That was a while ago, so I wonder if the increased crowds at Universal have affected that at all?

Sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope you can get your annual passes and use them as much as possible. Having fun is gotta be good for the soul, at least! Hugs.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Disney has never been an affordable vacation it requires planning and saving.

It used to be very affordable for us. What I spent on 3 trips in 2017 only covers one trip now.

 

[MouseTriper]

It used to be very affordable for us. What I spent on 3 trips in 2017 only covers one trip now.

Oh my gosh, seriously???? See, that is insane to me. And sad. Very very sad. I wish Disney did not have to be so expensive.

 

[Belle1962]

And in addition to transportation, hotel and “normal” tickets and meals (regardless of where you eat), add in MLL, LL plus anything you might need to buy for trip (cooling towels, snacks, autograph books and big pens, World Passport at EPCOT, new clothes, hand sanitizer, handi wipes, portable chargers for cell phones, are you renting stroller/ wheelchair, etc etc etc etc) Disney is $$$ beyond the basics.

 

[Belle1962]

I haven’t read all of the replies but please go check out the Budget board.

For hotel: If you are a government employee (Fed, state or local and most times this includes school system employees) check for those rates. Also if you are AAA or AARP (you don’t need to be older to join) check those rates. Check out the Flamingo Crossings area for hotels. Extremely close to WDW “back entrance”.

If you work for a larger company or military (or retired with a CAC card) go to your local post/base to see about tix. You can also see about military discounts on hotels.

If you have points on any credit cards see if they can be turned in for anything towards the trip (I just turned in my SW points for $900.00 in Disney gift cards).

 

[Belle1962]

Me again. I’m a pest. I see where you are considering Swan/Dolphin with points. If you have Marriott points you can obtain Landrys gift cards. They have several restaurants on Disney property. Then spend the $25 to join the Landrys club annd they will put $25 in your account plus you get priority seating. Also-it’s much cheaper point wise to stay at Flamingo Crossings and you can stay at a suite or residence inn. If you don’t already have one obtain a Marriott credit card. Search the internet for one of those new enrollee deals (xxxx points if you spend xxx dollars in xxx time).

 

[loves to dive]

Since your kids are older, a value resort is probably not going to work unless you can share a bed with one of them. They do have slightly reasonable prices for the family suites at All Star Music (I think it's Music might be Movies). I'm assuming anywhere you stay unless you rent a condo. someone is going to have to share a bed. As far as renting DVC points, a 1 bedroom is still going to mean sharing a bed for someone, they have only one true bed then either a sofa bed or a pull down murphy bed. They do have a full kitchen but since you are flying you would have to order groceries and I'm not sure with the price of renting a DVC and buying groceries you would be saving that much. Sounds like an offsite might be your best option, although to be honest, I'd rather be cramped in a value, I like being in the bubble and not having to worry about transportation. Be warned, if you stay off site, unless you are close to DS you are either going to have use Uber (read more money) or rely on the hotel transportation that is not as frequent or easy as Disney transportation. If you are within walking distance to DS you could walk there and hop a Disney bus but you would need to factor in a lot of time for that. Lodging and tickets (not factoring in flying since no matter where you stay that is a must) are going to be your biggest expense.

I would look into Undercover tourist for the tickets and sometimes they even have resort discounts. Sometimes places like Orbitz, etc. will have a slight discount on rooms at actual Disney resorts. I'm not sure you are going to save enough to stay at Swan/Dolphin since they are pretty much the same price as a moderate if you are able to find a good discount.

Food is going to be where you can save the most. Others have mentioned eating breakfast in the room but again, if you are flying you are going to have to order groceries to be delivered since you aren't going to be flying with yogurt, etc. You can usually find something like a breakfast biscuit in the parks for not too expensive. I eat a lot of kid's meals since I don't eat large meals and have found most of the times, even the kids meals are too much food so I take the fruit and use it as an afternoon snack. I don't snack between meals and, thankfully, don't drink soft drinks. Just water and coffee for me and I drink the free coffee from the room. You can get free water in the parks, you can also carry a water bottle and refill it at any of the QS that have the soda fountains and there are water filling stations in each park. Even if you want to splurge every now and again on a table service meal, they are huge and easily shared or you can go with just ordering an appetizer or two and sharing that. I'd buy discount gift cards at Target or somewhere and use those to pay for meals. If you start now you should have a number of them to use. Just buy a $25 one here or there and they will add up.

I get it's expensive. I started taking my son when he was just shy of 3 and I was a single Mom, working as a secretary so not making a lot of money. I would have to save for two years for us to go, we shared a lot of happy meals at home for me to save the money. My son knew why we were saving and after the first trip, he was hooked and more than willing to not get expensive presents and pack PB&J sandwiches for trips to the park instead of movies. He is a 43 year old man now with a family of his own and still goes, they stay in value resorts, don't do park hoppers and share meals a lot.

A sample day meals at MK: Breakfast Westward Ho chicken, egg & pepper jack biscuit $7.49. Lunch: Pecos Bills Kid's Chicken Rice Bowl (comes with two sides and a small drink) $8.49. Supper Columbia Harbor House Trio Platter (battered shrimp, chicken and fish) served with French Fries (easily sharable) $14.29. Total (without tax) a tad over $30 and that is for two people sharing supper. You could probably come in around $25 per person with everyone eating kids meals and that was just a quick look at menus. You could easily share a meal at Pecos and while the grand total would be more, you would divide that by two for those two meals.

 

[Chuck wright]

you may be better off with universal .. your 20 and 16 year old will enjoy if more. Food is better / easier to find places to eat / plenty of sitting areas / tons of rides / a lot less strollers and entitled plate at and kids …. Disney lost the magic in my opinion ….. also I find the customer service overall much better and more authentic than dw.

 

[Belle1962]

FYI you can’t take a bus from Disney Springs to the parks. You would have to go to a resort andthen take their transportation to the parks. Plus the buses don’t start running until Disney Springsopen ( which is 9 or 10 am). From DS website

Bus​

Relax and enjoy the ride! We highly recommend using the Walt Disney World complimentary bus transportation.

• Bus service to Disney Resort hotels begins when Disney Springs opens and ends one hour after close.
• Bus service from theme parks to Disney Springs is not available

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Costco and Sam’s are date-based ticket. I believe Disney only sells dated-based tickets now.

Renting points is really easy once you know your travel dates. On Friday, we just rented three nights at Boulder Ridge for 09/07-09/10. It was relatively inexpensive and we booked a room category that wasn’t available through Disney. We also have DVC but it’s just not enough .

 

[sponica]

I've never priced december, but it's also hard for me to compare the cost of previous trips because they aren't apples to apples comparisons.

2018 was 5 nights, 2 adults and an under 3
2022 was 8 nights, 2 adults, a disney kid and an under 3 (we had a refund for a 2020 trip we didn't get to take so the trip was upscaled)
2023 was 7 nights, 2 adults, a disney kid and an under 3.

The one thing to keep in mind is that if you're looking at one hotel room, you're getting the extra adult fee with your 20 year old.

We've moved over to the cruiseline because it's easier for us to cost contain and get the things we like (most importantly, we don't have to have the kids bed share on the cruise)

 

[NYCgrrl]

The one thing to keep in mind is that if you're looking at one hotel room, you're getting the extra adult fee with your 20 year old.

When does the extra adult fee kick in?

 

[HopperFan]

Lots of good info here but I'll chime in.

Used to do 4-6 weeks a year, this year cut to 3 weeks a year.

Don't get caught up in the you have to do everything extra, you have to eat table service, you have to stay on property, you have to get dining plan. The only thing you have to do Disney is buy tickets. You can stay where ever you want.

If you will have no car I would:
- Stay onsite
- Stay at Disney Springs
- Stay fairly close by and use Uber
And that will all depend on prices.

We are also adults only (Me and 1 or 2 adult DS) so our hotel is for sleeping & showering as we want to spend as much time as possible in parks. We stayed in Feb and returning in September to AllStar Sports for around $125 a night with a special offer. We've stayed at most the Disney Springs and stay often offsite, using points or finding great deals.

Drury is new or all new renovated at Disney Springs and a great option. Free Breakfast and the evening reception is food more than snacks. But I get the not returning to room thing. We do it in summer to change to fresh clothes and sometimes just to take a break, maybe eat something, then head right back.



One thing we have been doing lately is skipping all table service and just eat quick service. On top of that we look for places with refillable drinks and really good kid's meals.

This is the AK Satuli' Canteen hot dog in dough, comes with homemade chips, fruit, bottle of water. We each got one for around $8 each and then bought a coke to share. Filling



This is Epcot Regal Eagle (America pavilion) kids meal. Entree, TWO sides, bottle of water. Again we got coke because there is refillable.

DS got the Hamburger, Fries and Coleslaw, def adult sized. I got the Roasted Chicken Salad - way beyond what I had hoped for - french fries and garlic bread. I was more than full. Both around $8 each.


At DHS we actually split a Pizza Rizzo Meal. He keeps 3 slices, I take one and the caesar salad. At Pinocchio he orders the chicken fingers and I order a side salad. I eat the salad and one finger. He has the rest of his meal. More than enough food on many of the adult quick serve meals. THEN we have budget for some good snack options. Like Baseline Tap House the HUGE delicious soft pretzel with mustard dip and beer cheese for only $10.

All the great hints like FREE ice water at quick serve places help keep the "drink" cost down. You can have a great time without paying for all the add ons, spending crazy money in restaurants and looking at your hotel options.

 

[sponica]

When does the extra adult fee kick in?

I could be wrong but I think it kicks in starting with the 3rd adult over age 18.

 

[HopperFan]

I could be wrong but I think it kicks in starting with the 3rd adult over age 18.

Correct.

OP states "me and my two kids (ages 20 and 16) " so he shouldn't have to worry about it.

 

[sponica]

Correct.

OP states "me and my two kids (ages 20 and 16) " so he shouldn't have to worry about it.

My brain didn't read that part.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I could be wrong but I think it kicks in starting with the 3rd adult over age 18.

It's splitting hairs but the extra cost kicks in at 18 years old, not over 18. Not that this matters to the OP given the ages of their kids. They will have 2 adults and one "under 18" child in the room.

 

[kylenne]

It used to be very affordable for us. What I spent on 3 trips in 2017 only covers one trip now.

And in 2017 a lot of people couldn't even afford to go once, much less three times in the same year.

Back when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, the idea of yearly Disney trips was an unattainable pipe dream for my single parent, middle class union family. When I was very young we either stayed with our retired military relatives in Tampa, or stayed in cheap places on I-Drive or in Kissimmee. When the Swan and Dolphin opened, my mom scrimped and saved and we did trips every 2-3 years or so at the Dolphin. But I never actually stayed on property in a Disney resort until I was an adult paying for my own trips. We didn't do table service meals either.

Yes, things have absolutely gotten much more expensive, outpacing a lot of other things in the same timeframe, but I think there's a fair bit of myopia on these boards and in Disney fan spaces in general about cost. There was a hilarious post making the rounds on twitter recently that said something like the real class system in the US is "never been to Disney, only been to Disney once, goes to Disney once or more a year" and like most funny jokes there's a kernel of truth to it. Even in my circumstances, I was very privileged compared to many of my peers who never even went once. Y'all are just feeling it now because now the prices are so comparatively outrageous that even you are the ones getting priced out. But many never even had their foot in the door to begin with, and I think that's what PPs have been trying to say. No shade or hate, just some perspective. Heck, if my partner and I had children our trips would look much, much different than they do, and I definitely wouldn't be an AP lol.

That said, to OP, if you can swing it...definitely look into Swan and Dolphin. A lot of people are down on them for not being ~magical~ but I can tell you first hand as someone who stayed at the Dolphin as a child that it was just as magical to me and I didn't know the difference lol. I mean, I was and am an introvert and didn't need Mickey in my face 24/7 even as a kid. But just being at Disney World was magical enough for me. And I think a lot of kids are the same way. You don't need all the fancy bells and whistles, and it makes me really sad to see families struggling and stressed out because they think they do in order to give their kids a great time and make core memories.