How much did your trips used to cost?

[kandb]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

My husband and I also visited after 9/11 when Disney offered emergency workers free tickets and up to 5 family members half price tickets. I know the parks were empty then because people stopped travelling. It was super slow and prices were very discounted.

 

[amg35]

They were cheaper than they are now, same length of stay.

My rent was also cheaper before but rent keeps going up in my area of the city by 30 to 40% and nothing has changed except people think it's "the" place to be. At some point I will be priced out, or at least I can get better amenities than I have now in a different area for the increased price.
Hmmm, sound familiar?

 

[powellrj]

When we first started going as a family, we would be able to fly as a family of 4 and stay a week and go to the parks for around $1200. That is about what my DH and I pay for just the 2 of us driving and not going to the parks everyday. I also remember I could buy a season pass for Universal for under $200.

 

[StuckInKS]

Our second/third trip was when they offered the kids free deal. That was the best deal ever. Plus prices were a lot cheaper then for the room, adult tix and adult dining plan that we had to pay for to get the kids free. I don't remember how cheap it was, but according to the historical price listings on AllEars for 2010, two adult 10-day base tix were $486. I can't find 2010 prices for rooms/dining but we stayed in 2 value rooms for 9 nights, which I'm gonna say was probably not much more than $1500 & had the QSDP for 2 adults, which I think was around $30...so, about $540 for that. Probably not more than $2,500 for 2 adults/4 children for 9-nights/10-days with dining.

 

[onemaybaby]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

My husband and I also visited after 9/11 when Disney offered emergency workers free tickets and up to 5 family members half price tickets. I know the parks were empty then because people stopped travelling. It was super slow and prices were very discounted.

that sounds amazing! GFnis my dream resort and 3K sounds totally doable LOL.
THis time around the cheapest was $3K for seven nights, 4 adults, no dining.

the cheapest I remember was 10 days at POP, free dining, for $1800.

 

[jrt1176]

I have no idea what my mother paid on our trips when I was younger. We probably went through a travel agent, so I'm sure we got some sort of discount...

I took my niece for her first trip in 2012 and I think it was stay 4 get 3 nights free. So, basically 43% off. Although, that might have been one of the earlier trips I had to cancel...

Her second trip in January of this year I got 30% off I think? Maybe 25%?

Of course, prices went up overall in that time with tickets, room rates, etc.

 

[JWigs]

I recently (like last week) tracked all of our Disney trips from when we started having non adults trips and the cheapest one was to Disneyland. Our flights were only $300 RT for 2 adults. DD flew for free in lap and we got military passes for the park so it was maybe $300 for 3 day park hoppers. Hotel was $110/nt at the Tropicana across the street. Easy weekend trip for us W Coasters.

FL is harder for us so we often use miles to pay for airfare to relieve the pressure.

 

[kla]

Our second/third trip was when they offered the kids free deal. That was the best deal ever. Plus prices were a lot cheaper then for the room, adult tix and adult dining plan that we had to pay for to get the kids free. I don't remember how cheap it was, but according to the historical price listings on AllEars for 2010, two adult 10-day base tix were $486. I can't find 2010 prices for rooms/dining but we stayed in 2 value rooms for 9 nights, which I'm gonna say was probably not much more than $1500 & had the QSDP for 2 adults, which I think was around $30...so, about $540 for that. Probably not more than $2,500 for 2 adults/4 children for 9-nights/10-days with dining.

We went that year, too, and it was an amazing price for our family of four. Six nights at AS Movies with non-hopper tix for less than $1000. I just found the receipt in my email the other day and couldn't believe it. We're going this summer with my brother's family and he's paying almost $2700 for seven nights at Pop for his family of four.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

I wonder if the 2009 pricing had to do with the fact the economy was still in full blown recession mode....
The collapse of 2008 left a lot of people with a lot less disposable income and even Disney was feeling the pinch. I remember hearing Pete say something on the podcast that was basically the equivalent of "the only time Disney offers a discount is when it isn't getting the numbers it was hoping for"...

 

[tinkerbella16]

I when I think of the promotions they used to offer in the past, the best one was the bug 4 nights, get 3 free like the OP mentioned. We've gone with that deal more than once. I miss that!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I know for sure the prices were lower in the past..as expected. I remember when a ticket for 1-day cost less than $50..however when it comes to overall cost you do have to consider other costs such as airfare, rental car, gas (now it's awesome price but when it was $4 and over per gallon yeah ya felt the pinch), food at the parks cost (regardless of dining plan or not they for sure are higher now), who is going (adults only or with kids), parking at the parks (if not staying at resort-in 2011 it was like $14 or $15 I believe), length of stay, etc.

For this Sep 2017 trip for 5 adults I was using Sep 2016 prices for All-Star Movies 2 rooms and tickets (prior to increase that just occurred) and all of those things listed above (excluding parking at the parks since I had us staying on-site) was $11,000 total which included 5 day hopper at WDW and 3 day Park to Park at UO for a total of 9 nights 10 days (1st day taken out for travel/Disney Springs for arrival and last day taken out due to going home travel)..I used to stay off-site or at a family member's place so that was either a significant or extremely large savings.

Our trip is now going to be for 4 adults-
After buying UT tickets for UO at the old price w/promotion of 2-day park-to-park get 3rd day free and WDW tickets bought at the old price w/promotion of 4-day park hopper get 5th day free the budget is now nearly $9,200.00 which is about $2,300.00 per person (both figures are slightly rounded). I'm going to bet that there are plenty of people out there they aren't expecting to spend nearly $2,300 PER PERSON although other families will have high trip expenses too especially depending on where they stay, how long, and if they are international guests dealing with exchange rates. Nearly 27% of the budget comes from needing 2 rooms versus 1 something that a family of 4 consisting of 2 adults and 2 children will not necessarily need thus their costs could be much lower than mine.

Of course I could have been misunderstanding what the post was really about in that the intent was not to include all the other costs and if that's the case sorry for the long-winded response that may not have anything to deal with the original intent of the post

 

[bcbmommy]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

My husband and I also visited after 9/11 when Disney offered emergency workers free tickets and up to 5 family members half price tickets. I know the parks were empty then because people stopped travelling. It was super slow and prices were very discounted.

Yep, we went in 2009 also when they had the 4/3 deal, and I think we spent about $4500 on that trip, with airfare included. That was back when we could stay in one room at the BC. Each trip since we have needed 2. This trip is easily costing us double, and that's without airfare included. It makes me a little ill to think about.

 

[Hopefully]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

My husband and I also visited after 9/11 when Disney offered emergency workers free tickets and up to 5 family members half price tickets. I know the parks were empty then because people stopped travelling. It was super slow and prices were very discounted.

Why do you start a thread like this? What is your purpose? I have read many of your other recent posts and it seems you are pretty negative on Disney right now. I know you said today, that after the trip you are currently planning you will be taking a break from Disney.
I agree with PP. 2009 pricing/deals - we took advantage of that deal too- were still deeply affected by the recession which began in 2008. What was your household income relative to traveling in 2009, to now? Not considering all facts like these are misleading. My salary has risen significantly since 2009. Food costs have risen significantly, gas, rent,salaries etc. , etc., etc.
Yes Disney is expensive. I agree costs have seemingly risen disproportionately.
But Disney is a publicity traded corporation which has a fiduciary responsibility to make money for the shareholders
I understand some people are very upset. I just think there are 2 sides to every story.

 

[crazymomof4]

ha! I don't even want to think about it! We used to have kids that were so young, they didn't need a ticket! We used to feed them (babies, toddlers) from our plates or pack food in diaper bag. We used to rent a villa home, 3 bdrm and pool for $69/ngt.
Now we travel to wdw with 3 of our 4 kids and they are ages 15-24!!! We can't just give them a sippy cup, a banana and bowl of cheerios anymore LOL
We have made good use of the free dining these past few yrs since our kids have been "Disney adults" .... as a way to stay onsite and still afford the vaca. If that promo goes away, we probably won't stay onsite anymore because it will be out of our budget.
Our family grew and Disney prices have "grown"! So I've had to get creative in my ways of earning/saving for these trips.... and will have to do so even more in the future!

 

[Ensusieasm]

I remember when Disney used to offer REALLY good discounts. One particular trip that we had and was very memorable was when we went to the Grand Floridian in Oct. 2009. My youngest son was 10 months old and my twins were 5 years.

At the time, Disney had a package deal, pay for 4 nights and get 3 free. We stayed at the Grand with our family of 5 for 7 nights and also had the dining plan. The total of the trip was around $3K. To be honest, it might of been less and I wish I knew how much our trips used to cost but I do know they were a lot less then they are now.

My husband and I also visited after 9/11 when Disney offered emergency workers free tickets and up to 5 family members half price tickets. I know the parks were empty then because people stopped travelling. It was super slow and prices were very discounted.

The economy had tanked so bad in 2008, with home foreclosures, bank failures, car makers bankrupt and getting bailed out by the government, etc. By 2009 Disney World HAD to offer those huge discounts. I went that year also. Each room we booked had the get three nights free discount along with a 200 dollar disney gift card. It was a great way for Disney to keep their employees working. We won't see discounts like that again unless there is a similar recession, and no one wants that.

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

We went in 2014 Nov 10 to 19 with FD for me and the wife it was 1700.00 US at AS MUSIC...the same trip now is 2900.00 US..not including the exchange for the Canadian dollar! plus we only spent 60.00 there ..that was our 5th trip there. As far as I am concern the Value resorts offers the best bang for your buck but I'm cheap don't see the need to spend twice as much to sleep!

1st trip off site
2nd trip POP
3rd trip POFQ
4th trip PORS
5th trip AS MUSIC

 

[meeko987]

I can share some specifics. We are a family of four who drives down from Maryland. We have never stayed on-site. The following numbers are fully inclusive (tickets, hotel, gas, food, souvenirs, parking, etc.), and our trips last 8-11 days:

2010: $270/day, 2011: $332/day, 2012: $323/day, 2013: $349/day, 2014: $323/day

All things considered, costs have been fairly stable.

Forces driving up the cost have been mainly ticket price increases and our children growing older (they eat more, darn it!). A significant factor driving down costs is that we have cut back on full-service meals. It's not that we can't afford them, but we often find that our enjoyment of quick service (Columbia Harbor House, Sunshine Seasons, Earl of Sandwich...) often tops our enjoyment of the sit-downs, where we are often left with a "that really wasn't worth the time or expense" feeling.

For our 2015 trip, we did Universal and Sea World. The necessity for Express Pass in Universal during peak season led us to stay on property for 3 of the nights. The result was a daily expense of $473/day.

 

[Squirlz]

I went in January 2001 and there was a special called Sunshine Getaway. For 2 adults it was around $2100 for a week at BWI with hoppers and a free breakfast every day. Any place that served breakfast, anything on the menu.

 

[funkyspunky871]

Back in September 2011, I booked one awesome trip for my mom, dad, little brother, and I. We stayed at the Polynesian for 7 nights, had free deluxe dining, park hoppers, Cirque tickets, and MNSSHP tickets for all around $3,000. My dad could not pass it up; as a family, we had never had a chance to stay in a deluxe resort. We must have tried a dozen new sit-down restaurants that we never would have tried had we not had the deluxe dining plan (we're more of a quick-service family when its OOP). Crowds were practically non-existent. To give you a taste of just how uncrowded it was: my mom and I rode Splash Mountain 6 times in a row because it was walk-on. We were living the good life, you know?

Unfortunately, we haven't been back all together since. You just can't find deals like that anymore, especially for deluxe resorts. It's like $500 or more a day just to cover the hotel stay! Oh, how I wish we could stay at the Poly again. And, I've always, always wanted to stay at the Contemporary.

 

[asbyrneva]

I wonder if the 2009 pricing had to do with the fact the economy was still in full blown recession mode....
The collapse of 2008 left a lot of people with a lot less disposable income and even Disney was feeling the pinch. I remember hearing Pete say something on the podcast that was basically the equivalent of "the only time Disney offers a discount is when it isn't getting the numbers it was hoping for"...

Of course it had tons to do with the full blown recession. People didn't feel secure even if they had the means to go so everybody not just Disney was offering all sorts of deals. 2008 did a doozy on airlines, hospitality industry, etc.