How much did your trips used to cost?

[bigbabyblues]

Our first trip with kids was 2004. I think we got a buy 5 nights, get 2 free deal. This was before MYW and included length of stay Ultimate Park Hopper tickets but no dining plan. We stayed at ASMo in a standard room. We paid around maybe $1400 for that, then added a night on both ends (one due to a hurricane, one because we wanted to go to MNSSHP) for a little more. To top it off, we flew for "free" because my husband had enough airline miles with Delta. However, I can't really compare that to this year's trip, because then my kids were 3 and 1, and now they are 15 and almost 13.

 

[dfb]

About $88 dollars total for 9 of us. I couldn't believe my dad would spend that much at a theme park. That was tickets only! (Ticket books). We didn't stay on property. Spent one night in hotel night before, park visit and then drove to Daytona beach in the evening late. No reservations I think hotels cost about $20 bucks a night for a "nice" one.

I think the ticket books cost about $8 each and my mom and dad got admission only.

O yeah this was in 1973, I think??

 

[kandb]

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.

I didn't think this thread was negative at all. Just reminiscing about when the prices were lower and wondering if others remember the great deals they used to get. I didn't speak negative of Disney at all. If you don't like these kind of threads, don't read or answer them. My salary has not gone up significantly since 2009, like yours. I work for the government and our healthcare prices have gone up so much that the under 2% raise that we get, we never see. I Never said Disney did not have a right to make money.

 

[kandb]

Does anyone remember approx. 10 years ago when Universal was offering 7 day passes for both parks for $80/per person? I had 2 children at the time and was thinking of buying the passes (which you could hold and activate at any time) but we are not big roller coaster people, so I never purchased them. I always think about those tickets and what a great deal they were. Did anyone ever get them?

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

Our trips have stayed roughly the same price, just with different things. We started out in 2009 with one week trips at moderates, with free or discounted dining plans, and flying. Our last trip and next trip are 11 and 12 nights, at deluxes, no dining plan, and we drive. Part of the reason the price stays roughly the same is that now we get a great deal near labour day. And a huge savings is the flights - our flights from Canada used to cost the same amount as the rest of the trip. Now we drive for less than $1000, so when the trip costs change it balances out.

 

[pmaurer74]

Our first trip was 6 nights at WL and we stayed CL six years ago. Base tickets and no airfare. $3200. It started getting harder and harder to keep it in that price range. We have an AP this year so our second trip of the year was only $1300 and now that we are DVC members our third trip this year will be only $1400 for a week for food and airfare. December's trip with no AP will be $3,000 for 6 nights for food, tickets and airfare but staying on DVC points in a two bedroom villa. So the least expensive was $1300 and most expensive $5600, they are usually in between those two.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Our first trip was in 2010 value season, free dining at values included the regular dining plan then. It was around 2300 for 11 nights and 10 day base tickets for our family of 4. Plus our Canadian dollar I think was around par then so it was a great deal.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Biggest change for us is ticket prices. In 2012 we got 4-day premium YES tickets for $748, for the 4 of us. Now, that would be over $1,600. Big change for 4 years

 

[hsmamato2]

ha! I don't even want to think about it! they are ages 15-24!!! We can't just give them a sippy cup, a banana and bowl of cheerios anymore LOL
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!

this just made me lol.... so true! I loved the days when discounts abounded,and our kids ate free at buffets,got into the parks for free(under 3's) didn't count in the room...etc etc. (oh yeah,and my fam had a dvc that we all sort of shared,it was cheap and great) now.... no DVC(sold) kids don't use sippy cups anymore (lol) so getting creative is all we have left...so we get creative,and we travel when we can! I will say that by being careful with planning our overall costs are not as steep as some might think- but it takes some work and 'creativity' to get there.....

 

[hsmamato2]

Does anyone remember approx. 10 years ago when Universal was offering 7 day passes for both parks for $80/per person? I had 2 children at the time and was thinking of buying the passes (which you could hold and activate at any time) but we are not big roller coaster people, so I never purchased them. I always think about those tickets and what a great deal they were. Did anyone ever get them?

we got those! that was how we got introduced to Universal...... good deal!

 

[tlmadden73]

If we're going to play that game ..

What did all sorts of things used to cost? Cereal? Internet? Cable TV? Going to a movie?
And let's not forget the "tricks" that most of the food packagers do today by keeping the price the same but giving you a smaller box or putting a few less cookies in it.
Right now I can't even think about flying anywhere for under $300 .. but used to fly anywhere for much under that. I used to find good hotels for under $80 but now that is a struggle. At most restaurants that aren't Fast Food you are lucky to find anything on the menu under $10.

In general you can't look at what things "USED" to cost.

You have to look at what you can afford and what you value for that dollar you are spending. Eventually something gets to a price point that even though you could technically afford it, you may just not value it as much for the money you would spend. I could afford NFL season tickets, but I don't find going to a LIVE game that much more entertaining than watching it at home. (In a lot of ways it is inferior).

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I have been too many times to count, and have no specific recollection of the costs when I was younger. That said, when we were a young family we couldn't afford "big" WDW trips. We live over 1,000 miles away, so we always drove to save money - drove straight through to avoid additional hotel expenses. We always stayed at Value resorts - we simply could not afford Mods or Deluxes. We still managed to go every year for 8-10 day trips, but we did so by ging during Value season and getting the best deal available.

Since we had a car, we often ate dinner outside of WDW to save money. We brought a toaster and had breakfast in our room. Our total cost for those early trips was right at $2k, but I couldn't say exactly how much. I only remember the $2k because that was our "budget" for travel back then, and we spent every dime on this trip. We only started taking other trips when our salaries increased.

I believe that WDW is very doable on a budget, even for a family, but that $2k 20 years ago is probably closer to $3k today and starting salaries have not increased by 50%. Not everyone could afford WDW then, and the same is true today.

 

[HM]

My first trip was a 8 night stay at ASMusic in 1999. We were a family of four with two children. We had 6 day park tickets that were hoppers from AAA (they were called something else back then). We also spent one day at TL, and we ate at four TS restaurants and the rest at QS for our nine days on site. It cost us just under $2000, including gas for the 10 hour drive each way. I've looked to see what that same trip would be in Oct 2016 and without adding in a couple meals (I can't remember the two of the restaurants we ate at), souveniers, and the gas to get there and back. The trip would cost around $4100 (+the missing stuff).

 

[lustergirl]

Back in the day when my sons were younger we would go for a week, stay at a value and the price was around 1200 dollars. That was with the free dining promo in September.

 

[TXHauntedMansionFan]

We also we lucky enough to get the buy 4 get 3 free promotion back in Dec 2009. It was our first (and only thus far) trip where we got to stay in a Deluxe. We stayed at AKL and had a blast sitting on our balcony in the mornings!

 

[DavidNYC]

I remember my 10-day non-expiring hopper for $299 . . .

I've said this in a number of threads - it's not even so much Disney is overpriced for what you get for a week. But whereas in the past I really could go do Disney for a week for less than many other vacation choices (or at least for less after the other out of pocket expenses you spend at the parks) that's no longer the case. I've used to tell people Disney was really a bargain - not anymore. It's still great but you pay for it now.

 

[DavidNYC]

If we're going to play that game ..

What did all sorts of things used to cost? Cereal? Internet? Cable TV? Going to a movie?
And let's not forget the "tricks" that most of the food packagers do today by keeping the price the same but giving you a smaller box or putting a few less cookies in it.
Right now I can't even think about flying anywhere for under $300 .. but used to fly anywhere for much under that. I used to find good hotels for under $80 but now that is a struggle. At most restaurants that aren't Fast Food you are lucky to find anything on the menu under $10.

In general you can't look at what things "USED" to cost.

You have to look at what you can afford and what you value for that dollar you are spending. Eventually something gets to a price point that even though you could technically afford it, you may just not value it as much for the money you would spend. I could afford NFL season tickets, but I don't find going to a LIVE game that much more entertaining than watching it at home. (In a lot of ways it is inferior).

Yes - but when you compare the % increase in Disney prices over the years to most of the things you've mentioned. Disney is FAR higher. For example, if you use the average movie ticket price for 1985 - it's about $3.50. Average price for 2015 was $8.50 - so about 2.5 times more. Disney is 5 times more. So its not an insignificant discrepancy.

 

[kandb]

I remember my 10-day non-expiring hopper for $299 . . .

I've said this in a number of threads - it's not even so much Disney is overpriced for what you get for a week. But whereas in the past I really could go do Disney for a week for less than many other vacation choices (or at least for less after the other out of pocket expenses you spend at the parks) that's no longer the case. I've used to tell people Disney was really a bargain - not anymore. It's still great but you pay for it now.

OMG, is that how much the 10 day non expiring tickets were? That is crazy cheap. I have been on the dis and going to Disney for around 10 years and remember reading numerous threads about everyone buying the non-expiring. I always contemplated buying them but never wanted to put the money out. Now I am sorry. We always got free dining on our trips, so I always rationalized not buying the tickets since you have to buy tickets to free dining. Oh well, glad some got that great deal.

 

[Lee & Kerry]

In the mid 1980s when we first started going down to WDW it would cost us about 1600-1800 dollars for a flight,rental car, hotel and tickets for a 6-7 day vacations, not to include eating(2 adults and 2 kids)

Last fall for just me and the wife for a 10 day vacation with, hotel and tickets cost us about 4,300 not to include eating, got that free.

We are looking at a fall trip with the me the wife, our granddaughter, our son and his son and for 9 days with all the trimmings it will cost about 6,500. Yes it is gettting expensive. The way we have had to deal with it is cutting down on our time spend at Disney. In years passed we would come down for 10 days to two weeks at Disney and do all the attractions in Orlando. Now it's just Disney as that is the main attraction for us so we cut out Sea World and Universal studios. We have been down 34 times over the years and I don't think we would ever stop coming down but we have had to modify the way we have done it in the past.

Disney does have some deals but being from Colorado and having to plan a vacation at least six to nine months in advance, do to our jobs, it makes it difficult to hit the deals sometimes.

 

[katt789]

Most days I want to cry when I think of how cheap the 2nd trip we went on was.
Sept 2011,
$893.00 each.
*cries*
There were 4 of us, each paying our own way, that number INCLUDED flights from Canada, 5 day park hopper tickets, THE FREE DINING PLAN, accommodation at Pop Century AND a photobook on top of all that.

Just got back from a trip that cost around:$1,720. flight from Canada, park tickets, food bought out of pocket, and a stay at All Star Sports on the cast member discount...