Hmmm, What could we do for 11 days in December?

[ShellyMouse]

hi- people are always saying how expensive it is to go to WDW. well, sure it is a little pricey.....but it's worth it. but, just for fun, i checked out OTHER vacation destinations for the same amount of time.

i didn't include travel cost, just the actual destination.

Dec 16th-26th (11 days/10 nights) for 2 adults and 1 7yo:

*our wdw vacation, 20 hour drive south
$2,787.00 = $253.36 per day, includes hotel, transportaion to parks, park hoppers, meals (tax and tip) AND THAT INCLUDES A TRILLION THINGS TO DO!!!

OR, we could go to:
*crystal mountain (ski resort), 2 1/2 hour drive north
$2,472.03 = $224.73 per day, includes hotel, and lift tickets. THATS IT!! NO MEALS.....we could ski and swim....which is fun, but thats all for 11 days?!
thats $314.97 less than disney, to spend the same we would have $31.49 per day left for food.....for all 3 of us together.

*great wolf lodge (hotel and indoor water park), 3 hour drive north
$1,570.00 = $142.72 per day, includes water park tickets. NO MEALS (and trust me, they are very $$$$$ there)
sitting in a water park for 11 days!!....I DON'T THINK SO!

*chicago, 3 hour drive SW
$1,511.74 = $116.74 per day, includes the hotel only.
parking fees alone would almost make up the difference of the WDW price

so!, i pick A TRILLION THINGS TO DO!!! i just thought it was fun to compare.

have a great day!

 

[laceemouse]

You are so right! We lived outside of Chicago for the past five years and everything was so pricey (lots of great museums though!) We went up to the Wisconsin Dells a couple of times and it was very pricey! Disney is expensive, but where else can you do such a variety of things?
Don't get me wrong, we LOVE to travel and do go other places. But people who never go to Disney because they "can't afford it" are not looking at the whole picture.
Skiing is NOT my cup of tea, I would never go for that one !

 

[cdrn1]

I feel that even with all the price increases and smaller discounts etc. that Disney World remains a good value. Yes, it's a lot of $$$ but I totally agree that there are a TRILLION things to do. There are so many people that think it's a few Great-America-type parks. I stayed off-site the first few times I went, and I was all sanctimonious with the "I can't imagine why people waste their $$ staying on-site when this hotel is perfectly nice" and then, I stayed onsite with a friend and spent the whole time saying "Now I get it". I can't imagine ever staying off site again. There's something to do every minute of every day.

 

[disneydancer1969]

good choice!
i flew down to orlando, and flew back 2 hours later with my neice and 2 nephews. then i took my neice and my nephews to great wolf lodge (3 hours away from me) and they loved it! we all had a great time. (considering i went on some slides to enjoy it!) they live in orlando because my sis is a chef at cr. then me, my hubby, my neice, and my nephews(nephews are twins) flew back down to orlando and went to dis w/ my sister for her week off.

 

[disneydancer1969]

good choice!
i flew down to orlando, and flew back 2 hours later with my neice and 2 nephews. then i took my neice and my nephews to great wolf lodge (3 hours away from me) and they loved it! we all had a great time. (considering i went on some slides to enjoy it!) they live in orlando because my sis is a chef at cr. then me, my hubby, my neice, and my nephews(nephews are twins) flew back down to orlando and went to dis w/ my sister for her week off.

p.s. i meant that i am glad you chose dis. i think dis is a better family service.

 

[honeybee30]

I've compared other vacation options to WDW as well. We are a couple without kids, so we've investigated the typical couples vacation destinations, but for the money, WDW stays the best value with the most entertainment. Cruises (non-Disney, of course) and all-inclusive resorts are all equally as expensive or often a lot more expensive than a week at WDW. And besides, we have such a good time at WDW that it's hard not to go back! We want to back-pack through Europe at sometime in the near future, but we definitely won't be able to do that for under $3K!