Is Disney becoming too expensive?

I have to say that I've tried to price out ski vacations and caribbean vacations and WDW is MUCH cheaper even without any discounts.

It's really hard to beat the bang for the buck IMHO.

I agree! Yesterday we did a local day trip to a ski 'resort' in PA ..... 2 soft pretzels, 1 bottle of root beer & 1 bottle of water ..... $20!!!!!!!! I was thinking "gimme Disney prices!" :rotfl: Oh - and 2 kids (ages 9 & 11) 4 hour equipment rental & lift tickets = $128!
 
Everything is becoming too expensive-at some point the bubble will burst. I pray Disney never becomes too expensive
 
I think counter service prices at Disney are actually not that bad. With the different choices, we never have a need to eat anything different inside the parks. The 3 of us can get chicken/salads/burgers inside the park for about $20, then we can go offsite for different or healthier choices.

As for lodging, we moved offsite 3 years ago due to cost and never looked back. I can spread out in a condo just outside the gates of the world for a week for less than a night at a deluxe onsite. It's nice to have the kitchen, more than 1 bathroom, multiple TV's, hot tubs, free internet and so forth.

Is Disney getting too high, yes. There are still ways to get around it though.
 
we won't go if we have to stay on site. We are a family of 5 and so no real deals.

We just got back last week.

$179/week at a skyauction 2 bdrm condo
$11 x 5 for parking
$141 for each ticket (5 day hopper with 4 vouchers for quest and waterpark)
$250 for gas
$90 neighbor to watch house and dog
$50/day food (seriously! we ate b-fast and most dinners at condo and carried in snacks)

Trip total for 5:

$1329

Not too bad for a whole week!
 

I think the issue lies in the fact that people must choose which experiences they want to take part in at WDW.

I have no desire to eat tons of TS meals, pay for extra tours, or spend my money on a deluxe resort.

Yes, the tickets are going to cost me. But, for our October trip, our 10-day non-expiration tickets averaged out to be less than $45/day per person. That is VERY reasonable to me. Especially considering that amusement parks like Six Flags and Dollywood are $50/day. I just hope the prices don't start to go up at breakneck speed.

We decided to choose one extra for each trip. Last trip was MNSSHP, our next trip will be a character breakfast.

Actually, I hope a lot of people decide it's entirely too expensive and stop going. Less crowds for my family to deal with. ;)
 
colorado skiing is more expensive then where we go and really doesnt compare but for us the NC mountains are perfect while the kids are young. Both Beech and Sugar have alot of people that either rent their homes or have quite a few resorts that have ski packages. During the week there are specials that help bring down the costs to ski on Beech. We take a few days to ski and the other days to either go tubing, ice skating or just take in the area. We cook most meals so that helps bring done the costs also. You can google each place I think sugar is skisugar for their website. I have also heard that snugglers notch up in VT is really nice for families and affordable. My kids love the outdoors. we can spend most days on vacation up there either in the winter or summer. It just has become more of a value for us then Disney. Dont get me wrong my kids love the Mouse but our trips may be more overnight here and there instead of a couple of days here and there. I had no idea about the increase in the character meals either. That is just:scared1:
 
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Last night DH and I rented 3 movies and got chinese take out. Total $28. Total entertainment time was 4.5 hours. It could have been cheaper if we stayed home and cooked.

When we go to a movie we pay $25+ for 1.5 hours. We could wait for it to come on TV and make our own popcorn.

We have APs and will enter the parks 27 times in a year. We can be in a park for 12 hours for $17.50 per person. Not expensive in my opinion. We could save that money by not going on vacation at all.

A vacation can be as expensive or inexpensive as the person going wants it to be. Just as an activity at home can be just as expensive or inexpenseive as a person wants it to be.
 
Disney has made planning our summer vacations a nightmare! I know I can get a room at the Value in the off season for around 70 $$$. I can't take my family any wear in a hotel for that price, let alone in the middle of WDW! A few years ago we wanted to go rent a house at the Jersey Shore, $1000- $3000 for a week!!:scared1: No thanks we will go to Dis and spend $ 3000 for a hotel and tickets for 10 days!
 
I think if you do WDW deluxe, the value is no longer there. WDW restaurants have overpriced and undervalued themselves regardless of the convenience factor.

There are many inexpensive ways to do WDW....buy 10 day passes, live offsite, rent a condo, don't park hop, eat offsite or in your condo.....but if you immerse yourself in the total experience, it's pricey.
 
I do think the hotel and sit down restaurant prices are starting to border on ridiculous. I was totally laughing at a trip report the other day when some guy completely flipped when he realized that the character breakfast his wife booked cost him about $140.

But, as long as people continue to pay it, I'm guessing they will continue to charge it. We do often continue to vacation elsewhere because of Disney prices, but we just aren't Disney fanatical like some people.

I'm not sure what the PP was talking about. We live outside Chicago and we go downtown to some pretty swanky places 2 or 3 times a year -- almost always for well under $200 a night. Rack rates are pretty high, but there is always some hotel offering a deal.
 
Yes ...the average American family cannot afford these prices on a daily basis (I'm talking Chef Mickey's for dinner). We'll be eating a lot this year at my favorite fast food place at WDW...Earl of Sandwich! Light dinner or lunch for around $35 for a family of 4. Love it.
 
We have been up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for skiing...Powderhorn, Indianhead, etc. and they are relatively inexpensive. I know Powderhorn has "kids ski free" with a paid adult and they offer lodging right on site. Worth checking into if you live in the Midwest and want to go skiing. We are planning a trip to Chicago this summer, as we just went to Disney at Christmastime, and that is expensive as well.

But you have to choose...Do I want to sit around at my house every weekend doing nothing too exciting or do I want to give my family experiences and memories they can hold onto the rest of their lives? I think going to the same place every year gets tiring after awhile and it takes away some of the magic.
 
Hello all, I've just been reading over this thread and started thinking about our previous trips. In our past experiences we have mostly stayed off site with a rental van. This seems to open up a lot more options and savings for food at least for us. We always tour the parks with a mid afternoon break(summer time) and can zip back to the townhouse for sandwiches or a complete meal, also the option is there for a offsite meal at a sit down place for in park counter service pricing. But to be fair to Disney, the counter service meals at Universal were MORE expensive than Disney's. We usually limit our table service meals to Character dinning and the like. But for some this may also lower the magic level. Only you can judge for your group what the best "Experience" is and adjust from there. But if you are looking for a bunch of in park TS meals perhaps the dinning plan is the way to go. Then also keep in mind this must be booked as a package and IMHO may not be the best use of time--ride wise--when you have to plan your day around which TS meals you will be eating. For what it's worth this is my 2 1/2 cents.
 
Where did you find 5 day park hopper w/ 4 "pluses" for $141.00 each? The cheapest site I have found is the mousesavers newsletter link to Undercover Tourist, and the price for that ticket is $310.00 adult/ $278.00 child. We went to WDW in October for 8 days. We stayed offsite at a hotel on points, so free. We used FF miles for our airfare, so free. We rented a full sized car on points, so free. But those dang Disney tickets (8 day PH w/ water parks and more) cost us $1275.00!!!!!! That is for 2 AD/2CH. Of course, my kids are adults to Disney, so really 4 adult tix. Now, according to your math, my park tickets for 4 of us cost almost as much as than your whole trip! Maybe you know something I don't. I hope if you do, you will share this info with the rest of us!!
And, as far as other trips being as/more expensive, it really is what you make of it. I priced a WDW trip for 2 adults, staying at POP, 4 nights, PH tix, and airfare...using FF mile for 1, purchasing 1 ticket, and it came to $1650.00. I also checked prices for a 4 night trip to Cancun/ Riviera Maya, and it included a 4 star resort, air, transfers (so would Disney with ME), and it was all-inclusive, all food/activities, and it was $1450.00. So, it was $200.00 cheaper, a nicer hotel, and included all the food. The WDW trip was not including dining. Cheaper vacations can be found, but I think alot of people don't research their options at other locations, like they do at WDW. I mean, how many people look for months or years for a special code for anywhere but Disney? Just a thought!:cool2:
 
My hotel at WDW is costing me only half as much per night as the hotel by the airport that I will stay at the night before I fly out. Dinner at Disney is less (and better) than dinner in that hotel's restaurant. It's not cheap to go to WDW, and it's a lot more than it used to be, but still a good value IMHO.
 
Interesting topic to say the least. Disney is still such a great place to go even if it is more expensive than it used to be.

Everything is higher now as was stated on page one of the thread. All of the free services have to paid for somehow though. THe Magical Express, the monorail service, the transportation to and from the parks. Even though we do not pay to get on, we pay somewhere. As gas continues to increase so will the prices. But if gas decreases, the prices will stay the same or continue to go up.

Salaries of employees, cost of living raises, maintenance costs of the parks, insurance for the parks... etc.

When you go or you are planning a trip, try not to worry about it too much. Do what you can afford and have a blast when you get there !! Show your little ones the times of their lives.

The Disney magic seems to not last forever in most kids. I have a 8 year old and ever though she loves Disney, the days of princesses are over and now it is High School Musical. I already miss the days of her wanting me to put my arm around her on Peter Pans flight because she wants to "snuggle". Now she wants to ride the big rides and I love them so that is fine with me, but I will admit, I little bit of me dies as she gets bigger...
 
Disney does seem more expensive for us than it used to. I'm not willing to blow an entire year's vacation budget on one trip, but then again I do love the Mouse. We compromised with our January trip. We stayed offsite (via that $179 Skyauction deal), ate most meals in, spent fewer days in the parks and had a wonderful time!

Jennifer
 

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