Is Disney becoming too expensive?

[momx2]

the dining plan (even with the changes) for us is still a great deal, with 2 small kids it pays for itself each day with the TS meal.

Wait until you have a 10 year old. Then it's not such a good deal.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

This has become quite the interesting thread!!

 

[disneysteve]

the dining plan (even with the changes) for us is still a great deal,

It really depends on how you choose to eat. We don't do the dining plan (actually can't since we stay offsite). Even if we did stay onsite, we still wouldn't do it because it costs a lot more than we spend on food. We typically average about $20/person/day so the dining plan would just cost us money.

 

[momx2]

Unfortunately I agree with most of the earlier posters. Vacationing anywhere is ungodly expensive. Last summer we went to Ocean city MD for a week. Our hotel was 287/night and it was not Ocean front. Not to mention, food at any shore on the East coast is expensive.
Dh & I went to the theater this past saturday to see Nathan Lane on Broadway (excellent play called November) Let's see $100/per ticket ($200) $40.00 park and another $100 bucks for dinner for two (78.00 pre-dinner plus 17.00 tip) One night out almost $400.00 for the night.
Dh & I are planning a trip to Paris for our 25th anniversary, don't even get me started on the value of a dollar oversees.

Disney is still a half way decent value to me.

Since we usually only vacation at WDW I can't compare to other places. I will say a 2 bedroom condo on the beach is pricey. I know everything is going up, up, up. It may just seem so bad to me this next trip since we are having to pay adult prices for my DD 10 to eat this time. That makes every our bill go up quiet a bit. But, I'm still going. So I guess they know what they are doing. People sure haven't stopped going!

 

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve is a master of the inexpensive Disney trip using Skyauction, staying offsite, driving down, eating meals offsite - I used to joke (and its probably still true) that my husband and I spend more on umbrella drinks at Disney than Steve spends on food.

Those little umbrellas do get expensive, don't they.

 

[punkin]

So I guess they know what they are doing. People sure haven't stopped going!

Give it time. Looks to me like we are about to have a major recession (and I mean world-wide, not just here). Discretionary spending on vacations is the first to drop.

 

[crisi]

Those little umbrellas do get expensive, don't they.

Yep, but to us they are a non-negotiable part of the vacation - at least at this point in our lives/financial cycle. I did plenty of cheap livin' younger and I don't know if I ever bought a restaurant drink until I was 30.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

LOL about "restaurant drink". We would love to buy those things, but right now, it's just not possible. Well, I should rephrase that...it's possible, but we choose not to do it at this point in our lives.

 

[HelenePA]

Wait until you have a 10 year old. Then it's not such a good deal.

that's why I said because I have young kids There is also a reason we are going this year before June 24th.. I dont wanna pay for my 2 yr old After this year we are going other places, I'd like to go to CA next year to see the redwoods.


disneysteve - even at 20$ per peron per day it would just about even out in the end.. but by staying off site you have to pay the 11$ to park. They find one way or another to get that money out of your pocket and in their hands

 

[disneysteve]

by staying off site you have to pay the 11$ to park.

That's true, and important to keep in mind when comparing offsite to onsite accomodations. And parking is one thing that has definitely been getting more expensive in recent years, though it really doesn't have an impact on the cost of our trip. We usually do the parks 5 days, so an extra $1 or $2 per day for parking only adds $5 or $10 to the total cost of the trip.

 

[Chellymouse]

We've noticed as well that Disney prices seem to be on the upswing, however, for what we pay to go to Disney, we get the most value for our money. We can go to Disney for 10 days (except for peak season) for what is costs us to go to Las Vegas (during the week) or to the Caribbean. Even the local amusment park (Cedar Point) is getting out of control. It's nearly $300 for two adults and that's WITH packing a cooler and not eating in the park!

 

[crisi]

that's why I said because I have young kids There is also a reason we are going this year before June 24th.. I dont wanna pay for my 2 yr old After this year we are going other places, I'd like to go to CA next year to see the redwoods.


disneysteve - even at 20$ per peron per day it would just about even out in the end.. but by staying off site you have to pay the 11$ to park. They find one way or another to get that money out of your pocket and in their hands

If you have a family of four - all dining plan "adults" eating for $20 a day - including tip and are paying $11 a day to park, you are still managing to save nearly $100 a day over the dining plan. The dining plan is $40 a day (approximately), plus you'll need to add probably $15-35 in a dinner tip now (unless you don't tip, but $15 is going to be a VERY modest tip for a two course table service meal for four adults) So an extra $20 per day per adult, plus $15 in tip - $11 in parking is $84 in savings - over a seven day trip thats almost $600.

In Steve's case, his family is himself, wife and teenaged (or about there) daughter - three adults - they save $50 a day after parking.

The dining plan can be a value - but there are cheaper ways to do Disney.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

Disney is getting more expensive. I can take PLENTY of other vacations for MUCH cheaper than Disney. I can take my family to Denver, Seattle, Washington D.C., all for less than Disney. This trip will happen once and only once because we're being given a timeshare to use, otherwise I'd be going else where. In a couple years we're going to Seattle, and a couple years after that we're doing Denver. In between we'll go to Disneyland since we're close to it. Disney World definitely costs a lot!

 

[disneysteve]

The dining plan can be a value - but there are cheaper ways to do Disney.

When you do the dining plan, do you have to take it for the length of your stay or can you pick the number of days you want it?

 

[crisi]

When you do the dining plan, do you have to take it for the length of your stay or can you pick the number of days you want it?

Length of stay. $40 covers one counter service meal, one snack and a table service meal. The counter service and table service meals include beverage and dessert. The table service meal does not include tips.

Some people "work the system" by checking in and checking out - they stay in one Disney resort with the meal plan for a few nights, then check into a different resort (or the same resort) without the plan.

 

[disneysteve]

Length of stay.

That would definitely turn me against it, if I wasn't already. We enjoy some non-Disney restaurants and have favorites that we go to every year. We like to have dinner at Sweet Tomatoes one night. We almost always get Flippers Pizza one night. And we always eat breakfast in our room/condo/house. That's true no matter where we travel. We did a little getaway trip last weekend and ate breakfast out both days which was highly unusual. I can't remember the last time we had breakfast in a restaurant anywhere.

I wouldn't mind doing the dining plan for part of our trip and planning meals accordingly to take advantage of it, but I definitely wouldn't want to be locked into it for the whole stay.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Yes, I think Disney is becoming too expensive. But that doesn't stop us from going. We just love it too much!

DH & I went to WDW in 1993 and this is what we got in our package - - - >
7 nights @ Polynesian (Garden View)
7-day ParkHopper Tickets (included Typhoon Lagoon)
Unlimited use of all recreational activities (i.e. golfing, water mice, etc)
3 Table Service meals per day (we ate like Kings!)
Disney Clock

The cost was less than $3,000! Now I pay that just to spend 7 nights at the Polynesian if I don't find any discounts.

Ah, those were the good old days.

 

[jsmla]

The dining plan can be a value - but there are cheaper ways to do Disney.

This is sooo true! On our recent 9 day budget trip we ate in at our $179 Skyauction condo eating at Disney for a total of 3 TS meals and one evening spent sampling the goodies around the World Showcase. All of our other meals were made from stuff brought from home supplemented by a bread/produce/milk run to the grocery store. I thought I would miss the restaurants but we found that we actually enjoyed eating back at our little home away from home.

I know that everyone is different but the two times we've done the dining plan (during Free Dining, of course) we've felt that it just wasn't for us. Too much food and too many ADRs to keep.

Jennifer

 

[disneysteve]

I know that everyone is different but the two times we've done the dining plan (during Free Dining, of course) we've felt that it just wasn't for us. Too much food and too many ADRs to keep.

That's another good point, though not a financial one. We don't make ADRs for our trips. We decide where to eat while we're there based on what parks we do, the weather, what we have for lunch, etc. And we don't usually do TS meals because we don't like to waste a bunch of valuable vacation time sitting in a restaurant. Disney has so many wonderful CS places that we can get a great meal and do it quickly and relatively inexpensively.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Yes it is becoming too expensive...and yet I still do it every year. It's just part of my DNA I guess! My particular issue is that DH insists now on staying at Deluxes (1 minute at AKL changed his view on Values!). But I think for what you get at a Disney Deluxe as opposed to what I would get at a local hotel for the same price...It's nutty. Of course there aren't local hotels with giraffes outside but you get the point.

On the other hand, I am a firm believer in the value of the dining plan. I have my frustrations with it. But overall it's been a very good value for my family.