It's only $300 a day! That's cheap for a vacation..

[ajk912]

I don't get how people say Disney is so expensive. At all. I was trying to semi-sort of educate my MIL today when she was saying how it must be costing us a fortune to go to Disneyworld. Friends say this, too. You see this on boards, even on this one..how Disney is almost at the point of not being affordable. I don't get it. We are going in August, of course free dining is the cheapest time to go..but we are ONLY paying $300 a day. That's it. Our 6 night, 7 day vacation for FIVE people with MYW tickets, food, and of course hotel rooms at POR is $2052. That's a week with all food, lodging, and entertainment for $300- $60 a person per day. I don't see that as expensive at ALL. Heck, I can't think of a cheaper vacation???

Does anyone else hear this regularly or read it elsewhere?

 

[threecrazykids]

Now add on about $250 a person for airfare minimum (from Cedar Rapids Iowa is where I'm at)...because honestly, there is no way I'm going to drive that far in a Honda Accord with 5 people. LOL

 

[kwhite1022]

When ever someone says that to me, I just remind them that we only do this type of vaction every 2 to 3 years. Some people go on some type of trip every year, which may only run them $1000-1500, but add those up for 3 years, and you have a 7-10 day stay at Disney.

It also depends on what you call expensive. For me $2000 for a vacation is alot, for my brother, it would have to be over $5000 for him to think its alot, really depends on where you are financially in your life.

I also remind friends and family, that I find the best deals, I research well over a year out for our trips, and that kind of work pays off in the end.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Are you driving? Because flying would add a lot onto your total.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Our WDW trips average about 1,000 pp. When is not really all that bad for 5 people...7 nights. Hotel, airfare, transportation, food, tickets. hat averages out to 143.00 pp per day (day 8 doesn't count we leave or the plane at about 6am.) I do not know where you can get all inclusive and flying out of the most expensive state to fly out of, for that price.

 

[HelenePA]

Ours will be about 700$ a day (including gas we'll be driving) next year as a family of 5 (I didn't include the new baby he'll only be 8months old)

 

[disneymom3]

Having just returned from a long trip to CA which we drove and spent about 9 nights on the road, 5 nights at family's, I don't think WDW is nearly as expensive as I did about three weeks ago!

 

[Newfie2000]

Okay, I think I may be seeing part of the problem here. It seems like the more people you have the better deal you are actually getting! I am having a hard time trying to explain this so please bear with me. For example... if I were spending 2,000.00 for a week at Disney for just DH and myself it would break down to $1,000.00 per person all inclusive. But, if you had a family of five going you would be able to break it down to $400.00 per person. It definitely seems like a better deal, doesn't it? think a lot of expense comes in when there is only two people - some costs just can't be cut. Like when they offer that $1,600.00 special for a family of four. BUt it does not help me, nor work out for me because there just is not four of us. Maybe I am explaining this wrong but in my head it really does make sense!

 

[skw444]

I agree...it's costing us around $275 a day for 4 people and that includes dining (we're going during free dining), lodging and attraction tickets. But we are also close enough to drive (9 hrs). Last year before our trip to Disney, we stopped at Destin for a few days and spent close to $350 a day and had much less "entertainment". I think Disney is a great value for the money!

 

[Shyest99]

Its not so much the Disney tickets/hotel/food alone that most people find expensive. If I was to go during free dining this year, airfare would more than DOUBLE what I would pay for Disney itself. THAT is what makes it so expensive. Not everyone is lucky enough to live within driving distance.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Right there with you on the number of people. It is the same price for the room regardless of people up to four. We would save if we had paid for dining but we are also going during free dining.

Then there is the base ticket, the AP renewal and MNSSHP. In all our vacations do get expensive. We use FF miles for flights or buy 1 get 1 free.

With any amount, the number of division is the make or break point

 

[kkwis2]

I'm with you on this...

I have two sets of friends that went to Disney recently (separately). They complained about what a rip-off it is. I asked them for more details about why they thought so, because I didn't agree with them. Their stories told me that they did Disney the most expensive way. Each group did three parks on three different days. I'm not an expert, but doesn't it get way cheaper at day four to stay more days? They also did table service meals for $150 dollars on several occasions, bought the $10 balloons (that popped as they were leaving the park), etc. One friend commented that Disney charges you to enter their park and then wait in line for everything and give you nothing for free. He also hated that every ride exits into a store. I said did you watch shows? watch a parade? take a boat ride from Wilderness? You can walk right through the store, you know. You don't have to buy something at every one. Sorry, I digress!

I am not able to go during free dining, which of course would make my trip that much less expensive, but I still think we got a pretty great deal for our trip this October. We are flying but found a price we were happy with on our flight, too.

As another poster said, we only travel every 2-3 years, so we consciously save for those trips in the off years. We are also very budget minded when we travel. We pack some of our own snacks, cereal, etc. My mom and I share counter service meals. We don't buy many souvenirs.

So, I agree that there are those that think it's so expensive, but with a little more time spent researching before the vacation, it doesn't have to be that bad!

 

[N2Disney]

My husband and I talk about this all of the time. Some people think that it is so outrageously expensive but we don't agree. We love it and think it's a good value. I just checked on a hotel room at Myrtle Beach and it would cost more there than staying at POP! I would rather drive to Disney any day (or fly if we are lucky)!!

 

[lucigo]

Disney isn't cheap, especially if you add up all the money you actually spent once you get home, with all the little extras. That said, I put every expense we had on one credit card for our spring break trip, 8 nights for 4 people, driving 450 miles, FL resident rates and passes, dining plan, and it came to right at $300 a day.

Another vacation we catch heck for is cruising. People seem to think its so expensive to cruise, but we can cruise for $75-100 per day per person total.

 

[timzagain]

The accomodation, food and park tickets components of a Disney trip aren't that expensive. We're doing free dining at about $57 per person. The problem for us is the airfare from Barbados to Orlando which is about $800 US per adult (only one DD still qualifies for a child's fare). We are flying to Miami, then driving to Orlando which actually will save us a huge chunk.

Clearly this is not the kind of trip we'd be doing every year! This year will be our first (and probably only) big family trip - my sister's family, my family as well as my parents. We decided to bite the bullet and take the trip this year. At the rate at which air fares have been increasing in recent months, I'd hate to see what the rates would be like in a year's time!

 

[swea_pea1]

You made me curious! We just got back from a 4 night/5 day stay. We spent $2500 on a package through Travelocity that included air, hotel (ASMovies), park tickets (hoppers) and rental car. We spent an additional $500 on souvenirs, parking at the airport, gas for the rental, and a couple meals off-site. We used $450 in Disney rewards from Visa to eat counter service, one character breakfast, and snacks in the park.

All told that was $3000.00 for the 4 of us for 5 days or $150 per person, per day. Not too bad!

 

[Chicklogic]

Disney isn't cheap, especially if you add up all the money you actually spent once you get home, with all the little extras. That said, I put every expense we had on one credit card for our spring break trip, 8 nights for 4 people, driving 450 miles, FL resident rates and passes, dining plan, and it came to right at $300 a day.

Another vacation we catch heck for is cruising. People seem to think its so expensive to cruise, but we can cruise for $75-100 per day per person total.

Can you PM me when/how/who you cruise with from Florida? I live near Cocoa Beach but never seem to find the cruise deals I expect to find

 

[PammyJJane]

What I don't get is why it's anyone else's business how much you pay for vacation...if anyone ever mentions anything about cost to me I just smile and change the subject. Unless they're thinking about going themselves of course, then I'm happy to share what I know about costs and the best times to go, etc.

 

[Queenofthecastle]

Last month we had to book a room at one of our local beaches about 1.5 hours away from home to attend a wedding. It's a tiny seaside town and there was only one hotel/motel that allowed pets. $229/night for a *tiny* room for 2 nights, plus $20 pet fee PER pet PER night and we have two dogs. $538 for two adults and two pets and that doesn't even include food or gas. I think we spent close to $700 for 48 hours. Give me WDW any time.

 

[kwhite1022]

There are so many ways to cut your cost with a Disney vacation, where as others, your stuck. Free dining is one way, or if you luck out and get a good code, or have rewards. We also have 3 sets of grandparents, and all 3 of my kids bdays are right around Christmas....so they all get Disney dollars for birthdays....which means I dont shell out money for junk at the park that I dont want anyway. They also get my kids other more expensive perks as their Christmas presents....my son gets Disney quest/Kenndy Space Center, daughters get the BBB, and Princess meal. This helps cover those odd expenses and keeps my house from getting a ton more toys over the Holidays!! My kids also love these presents, as they know now excatly how great those presents are and what they represent.

We also bring our own breakfast and snacks in a suitcase, that we then use to carry home the loot my kids buy with their Disney dollars. Works like a dream.