Is Disney becoming too expensive?

[sarahlovesmickey]

I would like to go to DisneyQuest at some point.

 

[crisi]

I've had so many people say they can't afford to go to Disney and wonder how we do it every year. Then I tell them how much we spend and they are shocked. Next thing I know, I'm planning their trip for them.

Though sometimes "We can't afford it" means "we choose not to spend money there." It can be hard for a Disneyphile to understand, but occationally you could "help" someone plan a trip for nearly free, and they still aren't interested in spending even a little time and money - we've had people turn down FREE (we'll pay your airfare, food, park tickets, and hotel room) trips. You need to respect that.

Another big difference for people is some people would RATHER take one fairly extravagent vacation every five years than go on a budget vacation every year. Getting to Europe or cruising to Alaska first class is worth four other years of vacationing in their own backyard.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

For my sister, it is just poor money management. She does not make a lot of money (her own fault) and spends it very stupidly, in my opinion. I told her if she would quit smoking, that would save her a ton of money! She has never been forced to live in reality (my mother's fault) and has no concept of a budget.

 

[disneysteve]

ITA. The tickets are the hardest. The rest can be done more cheaply with discounts and dining choices, but the park tickets are never discounted enough. We would take more trips if the tickets didn't cost so much.

I guess it really depends what you are comparing it to. Ticketmania has a 5-day ticket for $220 and they actually send you a 7-day for that price. That makes it $31.43/day. Compare that to Six Flags Great Adventure here in NJ which is $59.99/day or Cedar Point in Ohio which is $42.95/day or any other park probably and you'll find that Disney is cheaper or at least comparable, and I think has a whole lot more to offer. Of course, the difference is that you don't go to those places for 5 days because there is no reason to.

 

[crisi]

For my sister, it is just poor money management. She does not make a lot of money (her own fault) and spends it very stupidly, in my opinion. I told her if she would quit smoking, that would save her a ton of money! She has never been forced to live in reality (my mother's fault) and has no concept of a budget.

Well, I'm not sure if that is any different than choosing to smoke over going to Disney - it may be less concious, but its still a choice. She might want to go to Disney, but she doesn't want it bad enough to change anything in her life to go.

 

[disneysteve]

Though sometimes "We can't afford it" means "we choose not to spend money there." You need to respect that.

That's totally different and I do respect that. I was referring to people who tell me that they'd really love to take the family to Disney but can't afford it. So instead they rent a house at the shore and spend a week down there. In the process, they spend as much or more than they could have spent for a week at Disney. They just have the mindset that Disney is really expensive and don't realize that it isn't true.

 

[runwad]

. However, the last couple hikes in ticket prices have been pretty steep. We have six days left on our current set of
10-day non-expiring tickets, and I just can't see buying another set when these are gone. I just checked undercover tourist, and the tickets cost over $300 more then the last time we bought them
.

Wow this is so totally true. I can't get over the price difference of the tickets I bought in '05 compared to now. Luckily the way we have our trips planned out my youngest will be a teenager when we've used up all our days and I doubt we'll get anymore. I think we will be Disney'd out by then. But I'm so glad I got them when I did and that we've been able to take cheap vacations in the meantime.

 

[disneysteve]

I can't get over the price difference of the tickets I bought in '05 compared to now

Does anyone have historical ticket price info? I didn't know they had gone up that much. I'm curious now. I'll have to see if I still have the records of what I paid in 2005. I know we bought 10-day passes in '05 and again in '07. I guess I can check my credit card receipts.

 

[KirstenB]

kfeuer and runwad, right on about the tix!!! We've been DVC members since '93. We're going down in May, and right now, are not planning to fork out $430 each for dh, older dd, and me to get 10 day non exprining passes.

Instead, we have platinum passes for Busch Gardens, that will get us into Sea World and Busch Gardens Tampa. I just bought the Universal Studios 7 day tix on this website. I hate the way the Disney tix are now.

To make sense for our family, we need to buy the 10 day non expiring passes. With the uncertainty about the economy, I'm just not going to do it. I desperately need my Magic Kingdom fix, so we might do a 1 day pass there, or I might just look at our photos of past trips, and let that tide me over.

 

[runwad]

Does anyone have historical ticket price info? I didn't know they had gone up that much. I'm curious now. I'll have to see if I still have the records of what I paid in 2005. I know we bought 10-day passes in '05 and again in '07. I guess I can check my credit card receipts.

I paid around 350ish for an adult 10 day non expiry park hopper plus more (whatever it's called w/the waterparks and stuff) in 2005. An email from Mousesavers I just got yesterday had that same ticket for an adult at $490.

 

[SarahKate]

The cost of everything has gone up, not just Disney. Our cars cost more, groceries, gas, etc. And all of the changes that affect us in our personal lives also affects big corporations such as Disney. They have how many employees to pay for? And tack on up to 20% for benefits for FT employees.

So of course, they are naturally going to raise prices. Why wouldn't they?

I agree that it is a lot of money.....but it's a good value as well.

Granted, we will always go during value season - but we can stay at Pop for $80 a nite. That is no more than a mid-range hotel anywhere else in the country (on a GOOD day). No parking fees at the parks.

Food's not cheap, of course.....but there are regular chain restaurants that cost just as much if not more.

I compare Disney to our trip to Branson about 4 years ago. Our hotel was MORE than $100/nite. We went to a couple of shows, which can be up to (and probably more) $50 a pop for just a TWO HOUR SHOW. Then if you go to Silver Dollar City, that's about $50-60 (sorry, I know that's not exact) for a one-day pass. Plus, the food isn't that cheap down there and we didn't have one meal there that I could really recall - nothing "special".

To us, Disney is no question a BETTER value than many of the other places we've gone.

 

[disneysteve]

I compare Disney to our trip to Branson about 4 years ago. Our hotel was MORE than $100/nite. We went to a couple of shows, which can be up to (and probably more) $50 a pop for just a TWO HOUR SHOW. Then if you go to Silver Dollar City, that's about $50-60 (sorry, I know that's not exact) for a one-day pass. Plus, the food isn't that cheap down there and we didn't have one meal there that I could really recall - nothing "special".

To us, Disney is no question a BETTER value than many of the other places we've gone.

I agree. Been to a Broadway show lately? Two tickets will set you back over $200. A hotel for the night another $200 plus parking. Add in a few meals and a 2-day trip for 2 can easily run $600 or more. Compare that to a 7-day Disney trip for two that is under $1,500. Which is the better value?

 

[fakereadhed]

I guess it really depends what you are comparing it to. Ticketmania has a 5-day ticket for $220 and they actually send you a 7-day for that price. That makes it $31.43/day. Compare that to Six Flags Great Adventure here in NJ which is $59.99/day or Cedar Point in Ohio which is $42.95/day or any other park probably and you'll find that Disney is cheaper or at least comparable, and I think has a whole lot more to offer. Of course, the difference is that you don't go to those places for 5 days because there is no reason to.

Yes, but you are comparing a multi-day ticket with per day tickets. For my family of 5 I'm looking at shelling out $1100+ just to get the $31.43 a day on your comparison. They have made a 4 day(1 park per day) trip out of the question-it would cost the same price for less days. There is not any place that has a 4 day ticket any cheaper than that that I've found.

 

[disneysteve]

Yes, but you are comparing a multi-day ticket with per day tickets.

That's true. It is definitely more economical to do longer Disney trips. They've made it so that a short trip isn't worth it, unless you can buy a longer non-expiring pass and use if for 2 or more visits.

I did compare the multi-day Disney rate to the single day rate at the other places because Disney is a multi-day destination and the other places aren't. I just wonder if the people complaining that Disney is too expensive still go to places like Great Adventure or Hershey or Dorney Park or the equivalent parks in other parts of the country.

 

[punkin]

I agree. Been to a Broadway show lately? Two tickets will set you back over $200. A hotel for the night another $200 plus parking. Add in a few meals and a 2-day trip for 2 can easily run $600 or more. Compare that to a 7-day Disney trip for two that is under $1,500. Which is the better value?

I just went to a Broadway show this weekend. Tickets for 4: $280 (playbill discount) We got two seats in row 1 center and two in the back of the orchestra center. Great seats. Hotel: $75 priceline in Jersey City (Hyatt) ($150) Had Sushi at a great little place we used to go to when we lived in NY ($120). Did Veggie Chinese dim sum and brought leftovers back home ($85). It was a nice 2 days (Friday night to Sunday morning). We drove so no plane fare. We had a couple of coffee shop meals-$50. All together: under $700 for 4 people. My last trip to Disney (where we stayed off site) cost me over $3K for 6 days. Sounds about the same to me price-wise.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Hmm. Interesting points made.

Yeah, I do remember when I was growing up, vacation consisted of a cabin at the lake an hour away, with an excessive amount of bugs and not much to do. We took a trip to Yellowstone once and I remember our "hotel room" was sleeping in the back of a panel van. (but that was the 70's and we weren't the only ones)

When oldest DS was born, I remember wanting to take him to Disney. It's only this past year we've been in a financial position to pull it off, and he's 10! For us this is a huge deal. But lots of other people we know (like co-workers, other moms at school, casual aquaintances) have been there done that like it's no big deal. Although none of them seemed to do the Type-A Commando Planning that I'm doing.

Neither kid has been on an airplane- and I hadn't been on one until I was out of college. They've only stayed at a hotel once before, and that was this past summer.

I don't know if/when we'll ever get back, because we're also the type of people that would be just as happy loading in the car and heading west without much pre-planning.

Have you ever been to WDW? The reason I'm asking is many a person has become addicted to WDW on their first trip.

You may be back before you know it.

 

[momof3littlelilos]

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.

That's one of our favorites too!
But, Shhhh, or everyone will know and we'll never a table

 

[1rockinmamato2]

You say Sandals would cost just over $3,000 for 6 nights. My wife and I could very easily do 7 nights at Disney for less than $1,500, and we would have much nicer accomodations than at Sandals.

So Disney can be very affordable if you want it to be.

I agree. We're doing a trip 7-night trip this year and we're looking at spending around $1500 for everything from travel to to accomodations to tickets to food. And have great accommodations.

What helps is that I don't drink alcohol at WDW so that saves a little bit of money.

 

[disneysteve]

I would like to go to DisneyQuest at some point.

We went to DisneyQuest a couple of times when it first opened, and it was a fun place, but we haven't been back since they changed the admission policy. Originally, it was free to go in and you got a stored value card and bought credits that you could use to play games. You could come and go whenever - pop in for an hour or two when you had some spare time. Now that you have to buy a ticket for the day, it just isn't worth it. We're not going to waste a whole day at DisneyQuest.

 

[7165red]

I agree that hotel prices are over the top all over. If the market will bear it the hotels will keep charging top dollar. I remember when we took several vacations during the year but now its just one main one. During the summer Niagra Falls Ca hotels run 400 and up per day and I could go on and on. The Jersey shore use to be reasonable now check prices in season 400 & up. I guess the economy isn't so bad, rooms are booked solid.