How high is too much for you?

[Sparkly]

It's interesting reading this cause now I've tried to put into perspective. We've got 2 weeks in July for 2 of us including flights, hotel (POFQ), ultimate 14 day ultimate tickets, QSDP and a $100 gift card for $5651. Tickets on there own would have been $766 for both of us, looking at it that way were paying $27 each per day. To us that's amazing value considering this weekend I'm going to my local theme park (Thorpe Park) and even with a BOGOF voucher I'll be paying $35 just for entry. Disney World actually for us is one of the most affordable holidays, though prices for a single days entry are shocking

I agree. Disney parks admission is still way better value then most UK theme parks! And you actually get service with a smile and a nice clean park (and clean toilets!). Plus I won't ride big rollercoasters so there would be nothing for me to do at Thorpe Park and I feel I'm too old for Chessington. Alton Towers is too far away for a day trip for me.

We're paying £2700 for a week at CBR (14 day ultimate ticket, QSDP, $200 gift card) and it's going to be worth every penny

 

[MsKitty77]

I agree. Disney parks admission is still way better value then most UK theme parks! And you actually get service with a smile and a nice clean park (and clean toilets!). Plus I won't ride big rollercoasters so there would be nothing for me to do at Thorpe Park and I feel I'm too old for Chessington. Alton Towers is too far away for a day trip for me.

We're paying £2700 for a week at CBR (14 day ultimate ticket, QSDP, $200 gift card) and it's going to be worth every penny

I totally agree. UK parks are getting ridiculous, I mean a 2 day break to Alton Towers for 2 including park tickets and hotel is $719 not including food or travel to the park.

I hope you have an awesome time, I'm sure you will

 

[mom2rtk]

when our vacations to Disney are costing us about the same as a decent used car it just isn't feesible or even smart to be blowing that kinda money all time.

Ummmm....have you priced decent used cars lately?

 

[Sparkly]

I totally agree. UK parks are getting ridiculous, I mean a 2 day break to Alton Towers for 2 including park tickets and hotel is $719 not including food or travel to the park.

I hope you have an awesome time, I'm sure you will

Thank you, you too!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I'll just space the trips out more.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree that Disney provides a good value if you stay for a while but not everyone can. I see people that either only have 4 or 5 days or just simply want to do other things. Then it becomes really expensive.

 

[2manypets]

Now I don't have little ones, which may play a part but after researching tons of vacation options I'm discovering there is a whole world that fits into my vacation budget.

Disney still holds a special place because of memories but it is no longer our "go to without question" vacation and the prices just make it more ridiculous.

This is us also. DH & I bought 10 day non-exp ticket last year. It'll take us through this next trip in September and then one more (probably in another 5 years) As much as I love Disney, I can't afford to go every year anymore. Some of the other guests are getting a little ruder through the years also with so much "entitlement" attitude, but that's another story.

There's just too many other places to visit that are less expensive and just as fun. Next year it's the beach, the next maybe to Las Vegas. A lot of options out there.

 

[MinnieMe129]

This is such an interesting thread!

It's a tough one for me, as I'm sure it is for many others, because it's the battle of my "practical side" vs my "emotional side".

I grew up going to WDW. Now that we have a 2 year old, who has been twice already and is going for a 3rd time this fall, we are obviously paying to watch her reaction to WDW. And frankly, that in itself is worth every penny!

However, we do have to draw the line somewhere! We have 3 mortgages (don't ask! lol), retirement, DD 529, and all the other basic costs of living that everyone occurs - and we choose to live debt free (aside from the mortgages).

I will say that the last 2 trips to WDW have been 2 fold. The first trip with DD we stayed at POR and the room was GROSS. Like, blood on the bathroom floor, scared to walk on the carpet, and a layer of dust on the TV. However, we went back. This last time was a day trip, as my brother lives nearby and he wanted to experience my DD in the park. We were at a little bit of a sticker shock at $85 a day - but again we had fun and it was worth it. Now that the price is $95, part of me says "it's just $10" - but where does that stop?

My DH however is a 100% practical thinker...and a crazy saver/planner/budgeter. While he is excited to go this fall, (of course DD will still be 2...FREE), I don't see him finding the value in going every year. Esp if they don't make a lot of changes to the parks/rides. He would much rather show her the "real" world as she is growing up.

So, for us, I think WDW will just be in the mix of vacations, not a yearly thing.

 

[6packdoesdisney]

The OP has created a very interesting thread here.
The thing is, this is DISboards and many, many of the peeps here are real Disney fanatics who go to Disney a lot.
That does mean that most here will continue to go to WDW, regardless.

Another perspective is our trip.
DH & I have been in the Orlando area a few times and Disney was not a priority.
This trip is SPECIFICALLY for Disney.
We are taking 2 granddaughters who have had a rough go of things for a while and have become great lil travelers at ages 9 & 11.
They are tiny and finally tall enough for everything at Disney.
We are also bringing their mom.
Our youngest is newly 21, with ASD and will be joining us.
A newly married son & his wife have been invited too.
We are paying for a family of 8 and know it's costing megabucks.
It is just the nature of the beast.
Airfare alone was near $3,600.
Tickets $$$$ also.
We are staying offsite, because we like it that way.
If Disney offered a 5 bdrm, 4 bath house with a private fenced pool, etc...., we would consider it, but I bet it would be way too much money, in comparison to offsite.
We will eat probably half of our meals offsite also.

This is one of those right of passage kind of trips.
Will we go again, probably....more grand kids in the future.
We just know it's a spendy proposition and accept that. Period.
We are so very, very fortunate to be able to afford this Disney vacation and
all the other traveling that we do.
This is just 1 of 4-5 trips we will take this year.
I think anyone that can afford Disney is fortunate too.

 

[going/again]

There won't be a price that Disney charges that will keep us from going,/QUOTE]

This is why they can justify the price increases, that and the parks are always full.

 

[Egdisney]

We are going to be going on our first trip to Disney this year. Neither my husband or I have ever been. My parents always wanted to go,but always felt their money could be better used elsewhere. They will be joining us. I have 4 kids, we chose to go this year bc the oldest is 9 and I can definitely see the magic starting to fade away. The cost factor also drove our decision as we didn't want to pay for a Disney adult and the 2 youngest are 2 or under on this trip(barely for our dd). Even with the fact that we are paying for 2 adults and 2 children our trip for a four night stay at POR with Dining Plan is 2400. No discounts have been released yet, so that should take away some of the burn. That cost is with the old ticket prices however.
The real kick in the pants is the plane tickets. We have to pay for 5 of those. Been watching it like a hawk and the best we will be able to do is about 1500 rt. The 2400 I can handle, it is adding the 1500 to it that brings the total to 4000. That makes it out of our league for a yearly trip. If my son was over 2 we would add another 300 to that. Ouch!
So this will be our once in a lifetime trip. We will stay on property, eat where and what we want and forget about the cost! I hope to return again in 3 years at Christmas, as that has been a lifelong dream of mine. This would be a surprise and it would be my children's Christmas gift. This time we will stay offsite, we won't do the dining plan, and we might go try another park as well. We also just got the Southwest credit card with the 50,000 points so that will help with our return tickets on this trip as well as future trips. We live 24 hours away and my husband just isn't able to be away from work for the length of time driving that far would require. I then hope we can return 3 year after that when the youngest is 7 so that he can have his "memory" trip. My plan is to make that the ultimate Orlando trip. We would hit up Disney as well as Universal, SW and Discovery Cove. I can say without a doubt that with prices as they are now, I will never stay on property again. I just can't do it now that I have learned what wonderful value is available offsite from the people on this site. This will be especially true as my 4 kids get older and require much more space!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I grew up going to Disney and took my son there 3 times last year, one trip just us, and then with each set of grandparents. I've always felt Disney was a good value, but that is rapidly decreasing. Between the price hikes for the tickets, restaurants and hotels, the value just isn't what it once was.

The value resorts are motels and are grossly overpriced, the deluxe hotels are nice, but not deluxe compared to our hotel stays elsewhere for the same price or much less. $50 for breakfast at CRT would be fine if it was a fantastic meal but it's not. We often like to hop one or two times during the trip either for dinner or to see fireworks/illuminations (often because it's cancelled due to rain the 1st time we try). At $60 a person, we'll likely just cut that out.

I actually don't mind spending the money if I feel we get our money's worth, but we really don't find that to be the case anymore.

We will still go to Disney, but instead of our usual yearly 7-10 day vacations in a moderate or deluxe resort with hoppers and daily table service meals, we will probably go every other year and may even consider staying offsite. We may also cut back character meals to just a couple a trip (like we did when I was growing up).

I already cut way back on souvenirs a few years ago. I used to find such nice, unique items in the different parks and shops, now it's the same stuff everywhere, the quality has plummeted and the prices have skyrocketed.

 

[dsdeleon]

We aren't priced out but don't put all our $$ into Disney anymore because I agree, the value isn't what it once was. We have been spreading it to Legoland, Seaworld and offsite. After this next trip we will only be staying at Fort Wilderness Campsites onsite anymore. We are doing season passes elsewhere and will do 2 days + maybe special events at Disney only per each 7 day vacation. We come from NY to Orlando 2x per year and I would rather get more bang for my buck if workers (ahem, CMs) complain to each other and have attitude. The extreme increase in prices just does not fit in with my decreasing experiences. I wish they did though! It was so much easier to just book a package.

 

[d1gitman]

For us, Disney would have to increase quite a bit more before it reaches a point that it is not worth the expense to us. Everytime i price out other trip options and compare to Disney, Disney is still competitive in overall cost. We are doing 5n/6d in August with room discount at AoA, hoppers, waterpark fun n more, airfare, food OOP, fun money for our family of 4 for $3500 all in. Atlantis is $5500 for us to do air, food, hotel - add in any excursions and it's even pricier....Turks & Caicos is $7000 all in. Niagara from Boston by car is 3 travel days, 2 site seeing days and prices out at about $2500....NYC at times square is $2500 for 2n, travel by car, food, fun - driving from Boston. Universal can be done for $2500 as a 2n/3d trip for us. Vegas is a $3500 trip for 5n, air, food, hotel, fun...however, don't really want to spend 5n in vegas with the family. Boston to Bermuda cruise, 7n in July is about $4000 all in for cruise, tips, spending money but not including land excursions which are uber pricey.

So as i continue to price out trips for us and compare the fun factor vs. cost per day of the trip, Disney is hands down a winner for us. I don't like that Disney prices continue to rise but based on what i've priced out and what we've done for past trips, it is still competitive.

 

[phillymummer]

We do not go to Disney often because of the cost. You can look at my sig to see how few times I have gone (when compared to some DISers). It's not my "go-to" vacation place. The only reason we went in 2010 was for my daughter's 5th birthday. The only reason we went in 2012 was because my hubby won 2 free airline tickets through a contest at his job. The only reason I am determined to go back in 2015 is bc my daughter will turn 10 and I will turn *coughcough40cough*. I will spend the next two years saving money for that trip.

I am already priced out of Deluxe resorts. If the cost of a moderate resort creeps over $200 during a low/moderate season, then they are out too. I have already looked into AoA and even ways to camp at The Fort.

I am reluctant to pay for PH passes again and probably won't ever buy the WP&M option.

I won't stay off-site bc we fly down and don't want the hassle of renting a car (besides, won't a rental car + gas cancel out the savings of staying off-site? )

So, Disney is already an expensive place for us. I will go at least one more time bc it *is* Disney, but probably not many more times after that.

 

[DisneyFanSince71]

I realize this is a trite saying, but it is supply and demand. If park is crowded, Disney feels free to raise prices. When demand slackens they throw other amenities into the package.

For Disney, the biggest concern might be that sometimes 'supply and demand' doesn't elastically shrink or expand. Sometimes it can snap. A primary reason, I go is for the nostalgia. My kids don't feel that same nostalgia and, because of price, we don't go quite as often as we would like. Reputations can change overnight; Apple was hot 18 months ago and it has lost quite a bit of buzz. This is twice that Apple has committed the same mistake, going for every possible dollar when it was hot and inviting competition to come in and cut them out.

So if Disney goes too hard for the dollars and, even if it fills up the park, has the wrong mix of people then it could be problems for them in future years.

It is interesting that WDW has opened up for 42 years and it currently has 47 rides. Doesn't seem like a good ratio to keep people interested long-term.

 

[maplevale]

I think a lot of it depends on regionally what you have available too.

We took DD to the zoo - one of the biggest around. We had discounted tickets, we spent over $200 (no souvenirs, just admission, parking and food) and really it was just okay and we were only there about 5 hours.

We are pricing hotel rooms for this Sunday (holiday weekend here) and $150 will get you a 2* motel with a little pool. Nothing exciting, no great atmosphere, na-da.

When I compare those 2 prices to a night at Disney - I would rather do Disney even though it's more $$. Disney is not our 'go to' vacation - however we enjoyed it enough to head back. The zoo - not so much! For us instead of doing 5 mediocre local trips (day or short term) I would rather save the $$ and spend it all at once somewhere I know we will enjoy.

 

[joeswife1109]

All in all I am paying close to $7K for our 10 day trip next week. To us this is a trip that won't happen for a few years so I am pulling out all the stops on it. I'm doing it because this year I have it and want to spoil my kids. We have had some rough times and they deserve it.

 

[phillymummer]

I think a lot of it depends on regionally what you have available too.

We took DD to the zoo - one of the biggest around. We had discounted tickets, we spent over $200 (no souvenirs, just admission, parking and food) and really it was just okay and we were only there about 5 hours.

We are pricing hotel rooms for this Sunday (holiday weekend here) and $150 will get you a 2* motel with a little pool. Nothing exciting, no great atmosphere, na-da.

When I compare those 2 prices to a night at Disney - I would rather do Disney even though it's more $$. Disney is not our 'go to' vacation - however we enjoyed it enough to head back. The zoo - not so much! For us instead of doing 5 mediocre local trips (day or short term) I would rather save the $$ and spend it all at once somewhere I know we will enjoy.

That is an interesting point! I am the complete opposite of you. I live in southern NJ so we have a ton of stuff to see around us. We do day trips to the beach and boardwalk, as well as to NYC. We take weekend trips to The Poconos a few times a year. I think it is well worth it to get away on several smaller trips rather than just one time on a big trip.

 

[snoopy352]

It is interesting that WDW has opened up for 42 years and it currently has 47 rides. Doesn't seem like a good ratio to keep people interested long-term.

Here's the thing though: as long as adults have children, these same rides are "new" to the kids, and the parents want their kids to have the same magic they had. This applies to lack of upgrades, etc. - Disney always has new generations of youngsters discovering the parks for the first time and the same cycle just repeats itself, prices be darned, and lack of upgrades be darned.