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

[wallawallakids]

I think that you're missing the point that many people were making in this ancient thread.

If you're staying in two moderate or deluxe rooms instead of heading offsite, then yes, it is expensive.

If you fly 6 people from NH instead of driving, then yes, it is expensive.

If you spend a week and eat every meal out, then yes, it's expensive.

And if you get tickets with all of the addons directly from Disney and don't seek any discounts, then yes, it is expensive.

I will concede that even a cheap Disney vacation is not cheap. But there are certainly ways that you can make it more affordable.

I agree. I am staying off site. I do have to fly. (I live in Maine.) I make lunches and breakfast in our hotel room. I bought tickets from UT. I do seek "deals" to make it more affordable. I didn't realize my post was offensive. It was just my opinion. I am sorry if you don't agree. My feeling was just that I didn't feel it was an affordable vacation. To my family it is a special event. I also did not realize it was an ancient thread. My apologies.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

But since this thread last saw activity we went to Washington DC. A great vacation can be had in DC for not much money, since so many of the attractions are free.

OMG! We LOOOVE DC! You are so right when you say that you can go there for not a lot of money. I can't wait until we go again because you can't possibly see everything it has to offer in one trip.

 

[crisi]

OMG! We LOOOVE DC! You are so right when you say that you can go there for not a lot of money. I can't wait until we go again because you can't possibly see everything it has to offer in one trip.

Don't get me wrong, like many places, it CAN be really expensive - food wasn't cheap but we didn't spend a lot of time looking for cheap food. And we got a decent deal on our hotel, but hotels in and around DC can be anything from "bargain" to "Royalty stays here."

 

[captainjen]

I am paying about 700 a person for free dining, all tickets, hotel room and airplane tickets. I am going during free dining with an upgrade and staying at pop. I love it

 

[shaylahc1]

I think it's quite the opposite when it comes to number of people vs. cost. We are a family of 6 so we have to either rent 2 rooms or stay in a family suite in a value resort (or stay in a 2 bedroom suite at a deluxe resort and that's definitely too expensive). We have a tentative trip planned in November for all 6 of us to stay in a value resort in a family suite. For 8 days, park hoppers, NO airfare, NO insurance, NO dining plan (the dining plan would have been another $2000)....it's $5000 total. To me that's an insane amount of money to visit a theme park and stay in a value resort. I took my whole family to Paris, France for 12 days in Feb 2011 (including a 3 day stay at Disney Paris) and the total cost for everything---airfare (we scored a great deal on tickets), apartment rental, food, travel expenses, etc....was $5000. I dunno about you but I'd take 12 days in Paris over a week at Disney any day!

We used to go to WDW every year--when the kids were small. We could go, all of us, for about $2000 a week. Now it costs us $5000 to take that same trip. The last time we went to WDW was 4 years ago, and I doubt we'll go again anytime soon after this next trip. We love Disney but at some point the cost vs. value for your dollar just isn't worth it (to us) anymore.

 

[dhardawa]

We're at $115.62 per person per day including everything. We're staying at POFQ for 8 days, three adults and one child, dining plan, and park hopper tickets.

Total for hotel, tickets, free meal plan $3,000
Total for airfare $700 (five legs of the flight free with the 50,000 points from Southwest)

So, $3700/4 people/8 days=$115.62 per person per day

 

[wallawallakids]

We're at $115.62 per person per day including everything. We're staying at POFQ for 8 days, three adults and one child, dining plan, and park hopper tickets.

Total for hotel, tickets, free meal plan $3,000
Total for airfare $700 (five legs of the flight free with the 50,000 points from Southwest)

So, $3700/4 people/8 days=$115.62 per person per day

That is really great. You got a wonderful deal.

Perhaps the difference with my total vacation price and others is that I included EVERYTHING in my per person price. How much I pay in tips (from housekeeping, to dinner, to baggage handlers), transportation cost, airport parking, spending cash for little extras, stroller rentals, the cost to pack breakfast and lunch items, and tax on all of the above. Everything. I don't like surprises. So if I was to include just the cost of airfare and hotel and dinner's without a tip it would be significantly less. My total came from the entire weeks worth of vacation from top to bottom. Those little extras don't sound like much but they add up.

 

[QueenDoOver]

I am so excited about the trip that I have planned in august. It has been in the making for about 3 years and I think is probably the best trip I could plan at the best price possible.

My price includes flying for 4 people, two weeks stay in 2 bedroom DVC (Baylake Towers and Saratoga Springs), Tickets, Food, Rental car for 1 week and transportation to Miami, and a 4 day Cruise on NCL.

Airfare: $20 (I used miles saved and aquired over 3 years)

Lodgings: $1600 (we have other people staying with us both weeks, helping to offset the cost, which were two RCI exchanges)

Tickets: $880 YES park hopper+ tickets

Rental Car: $250 (1 week including dropping in Miami, but hope to get this down)

Dining Plan and Food Budget: $$1500. This includes the dining plan for some of us for one week, oop expenses including meals not on dining plan, tips, taxes and groceries.

Cruise: $1100 including taxes and gratuity

Grand Total $5350

That is Aug 14th to Sept 1st. I do have some other out of pocket planned regarding tours and activities, but that will not exceed $6000.

I think that is a fabulous trip for our family of 4 at $88 per day per person.


My husband and probably most family and friends will only look at the $6000, but I know all the rest of you will actually get that that is pretty darn fabulous.


Thanks for supporting my obsessive disney planning!
Tracey

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

Our trip last October was about $700 a day (for 5 ppl- all Disney adults) total including all food, lodging, tickets and airfare. We stayed in a suite at ASMu ($230 a night for 10 nights) Our airfare was about $1000 for 4 of us (one person drove) we also went to IOA/US/Cirque and all 4 Disney parks. SO we had a lot of extra ticket expenses.
The full 10 days cost $7,000.

When DH and I went back in January without the kids we stayed 6 days and it only cost us about $1500 but we drove. But that included buying season passes to Sea World and US/IOA.

When we go back this October for 7 days it is going to cost around $4,000. The 7 nights with tickets (3 day tickets for 5 ppl) at ASMu family suite is $3,000. Then with the kids add on tickets to SW/US/IOA will add about another $700 plus GAS. And that is if we get free dining.

If we don't get free dining we will stay offsite in a vacation rental home for around $130 a night and pay for our food OOP. It will come out about the same either way.

But no matter what your opinion of cheap or expensive is, we all go on vacations we have saved up for and can afford. (Most of us anyway) Some ppl just charge it on credit cards. But we don't. Ours is paid in full before we ever leave.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We have Y.E.S. tickets & a $59/night off-site condo, and our trip will still likely be far & away the most expensive trip I've ever paid for in the U.S. I have it broken into:

Travel
Lodging
Tickets
Food

I'm budgeting more for food than any other component.

Anyhow, I'd put one of our typical vacations in the $1,500-2,000 range whereas I can't really see getting this one done for less than $3,000 when it's all said & done. So yes, Disney trips ARE expensive relative to what *I* typically do on vacation. If you're used to a more exotic trip every year, Disney may not seem so expensive.

 

[JaymeC]

In my personal experience, Disney vacations ARE more expensive. But I attack each vacation we go to with equal ferocity as I do to Disney vacations in terms of money saving. Our upcoming trip will be about $50-60per person per day for four people (the optimum amount imo). I do think that's expensive, but it also took a lot of prep and giving up some things that others wouldn't. But it's worth it to us to travel THIS year instead of waiting and only traveling occasionally.

Having said that ... I've done Tokyo for the same price per day that we're doing Disney this go-round. A place that most people would consider very, very expensive (even after accounting for our tickets being free). And that included two days at TDR. Most of our trips are significantly less than that. It takes a lot of research for any destination you go to, not just looking at the surface pricing, to save. So what becomes cheap is what is familiar for most people I think.

So the best thing you can do is compare notes. They may have some money saving tips you wouldn't have figured out and you probably know many Disney tricks they don't, and everyone benefits

 

[Beckypooh1972]

I think the reason many people think the trips are so expensive is they don't know about discounts or have resources like disboards to help them get the best deal. Honestly, some people would research a television purchase more than their vacation purchase.

I would bet the average Disney visitor just pays full price and considers only when they want to go and not the best time to go. These are the same visitors who don't get the dining plan, stay on property with no car and no ability to travel offsite for cheaper eats, and then are shocked at the cost of a hamburger. Then they go home and tell everybody how they paid through the nose.

We are all planners on this site, but consider we are the small percentage! Most people go without a plan and don't know that discounts even exist.

 

[Beckypooh1972]

We are all planners on this site, but consider we are the small percentage! Most people go without a plan and don't know that discounts even exist.

Forgot to mention, a couple of years ago I saved my boss a bundle because I told her about the free dining promotion. She had no idea and called to change her reservation through Disney, who hadn't mentioned the promotion to her.

 

[disneyofcourse]

My parents felt like Disney was so expensive and I think their total was going to be just over $2000 for room and tickets. (This is before I bought DVC and this was during free dining!!). But anyways they didn't end up going because that was just so much money Even though a trip to the beach in an old room in July is almost $300 a night. Which they gladly pay, then food cost is off the charts, any activity seems to be at least $100. They go to the beach for a week and spend 3k. Yet, they can't wrap their heads around room,food and activities for 2k for a week.

Anyways bought DVC and took them to stay in a 2 bedroom for a week. THEY LOVED IT and wanted to go back but still thought it was too expensive. All they bought was food and gifts. I took care of the rest and still it was too expensive. I guess some people are just so set in thinking that Disney is too expensive no matter what. They then took a trip to the beach a few months later in August. But they want to go to Disney again this year. I really think its because Disney shows you the price up front instead of the nickle and dime approach like a beach trip.

 

[crisi]

I think the reason many people think the trips are so expensive is they don't know about discounts or have resources like disboards to help them get the best deal. Honestly, some people would research a television purchase more than their vacation purchase.

I think the reason many people think these trips are expensive is that the median household income in the U.S. is less than $50k a year.

And half the country lives far enough away from Disney that driving involves over $500 in gas and a hotel stay, alternatively- flying your family from much of the county is going to set you back $1500 or more.

For those of us with good incomes, and who get frequent flyer miles from work and other perks (my cheapest trip was free - work conference, well two trips, my husband had a corporate boondoggle at Disneyland that included spouses), those of us who live close enough to drive easily, those of us who are in low cost of living areas - a vacation isn't that much in the scheme of things. For a family of six trying to get by on $40k a year, when they are "contract" staff who get no paid vacation, who needs to fly in from Seattle, Disney is going to be a challenge to afford, no matter how many discounts can be found.

 

[jessp1021]

We are definitely in the "lower income" status and we don't feel that it is expensive to us at all..a typical week long beach trip during the summer with activities can quickly go over $1000 and that isn't including gas so to me knowing I am paying $125/day per person for airfare, hotel, a day full of dining for FREE, and park tickets for each day makes it worth it..I go into super saving mode before our trip and this year I have been able to pay a large amount towards our vacation and already completely paid off our air fare with cash in advance!

 

[Bob NC]

I think a lot of people look at vacation costs differently.

Looking at the price for a family to go to WDW and stay in a resort, have a dining plan, get park tickets all adds up to a pretty big number. However, in that number is a giant percentage of what you are going to spend in total. This includes all your entertainment from morning to late at night. The extra amount you spend over this can be very little if you so desire.

Many times when you look at the cost of other vacations you are just looking at the lodging amount. When lodging, entertainment, transportation, food is all totally separate, you kind of lose a handle on what you are actually spending for a total vacation cost.

An example is our beach vacation last year. Split the cost of a rental house at Hilton Head which cost us $1500. Then we are taking food with us, buying groceries there and eating out a few times. Me, son and his friend played golf 4 times. We're talking me shelling out 250-350 every time we played. Now, golfing is good fun and great entertainment, but I just spent around 300 and 3 of us were occupied for a grand total of 4 hours out of the day. Then we have the rest of the day to keep the whole family entertained.

If you add up the TOTAL costs for different vacation options, WDW IS expensive but perhaps not so over the top crazy expensive, relatively speaking, that many folks make it out to be.

 

[katibosch]

My high-side estimate has us spending $133 a day which I don't think sounds too bad. Is it supercheap? No. But I don't think it's a rip-off either. One thing I like about Disney is all the options regarding hotels, food, length of stay... you can custom-build it to be what you can afford.

 

[loafer74]

I think it depends on how you do it like the other posters said. We are going at the end of May. I searched my butt off and found roundtrip airfair from my small town in the mid-south for 5 people for 1000 total , thats no driving , no car storage for us , so no time spent on the 14 hour drive there and back.

Park tickets for the 5 of us is going to be 1260 or so for 7 days , rented a condo offsite for 7 nights because I couldnt stay in a small hotel with my family for that long and I couldnt justify the extra 1300 for a disney bedroom suite. Most of our food, wich will be ate offsite, and spending money is taken care of for the week via gift cards we have recieved , we have over 1200 in gift cards that didnt cost us a penny. The rental car is going to be 148 total for a week, then add parking at disney for 7 days at about 100 bucks. So total for 8 days of everything is around 3k out of pocket.

Thats about 75 dollars a day per person out of pocket for the trip , I know we will probally incur more expenses so you might take this up to 100 dollars a day per person. If you tried to go anywhere else for this many days at this price you would be bored to death because you wouldnt have the money to do anything when you got there

 

[crisi]

We are definitely in the "lower income" status and we don't feel that it is expensive to us at all..a typical week long beach trip during the summer with activities can quickly go over $1000 and that isn't including gas so to me knowing I am paying $125/day per person for airfare, hotel, a day full of dining for FREE, and park tickets for each day makes it worth it..I go into super saving mode before our trip and this year I have been able to pay a large amount towards our vacation and already completely paid off our air fare with cash in advance!

And we have a really high income and many of our vacations are far less than $125 per person per day. They often involve a friend's cabin or beach home. But DC was much cheaper than that as well.

Granted, we've also done Hawaii and Europe, both much more expensive than Disney, but the expense there was airfare. Hawaii is an expensive place.