Its sad but Disneyland has priced me back to the World

We got plane tickets for $165 RT from Denver to Orange County in December. We were planning on driving, but it cost $75 total more for the 5 of us to fly instead of drive - and saved us two days. Since you were a travel agent, it sounds like you know how to get deals, but my point is just not to give up. If you keep your eye on the deals, I bet you can make it work again one day :wizard:
Monument, Colorado? We're practically neighbors! ;)
 
Well, after falling in love again with my childhood park, Disneyland back in 2009, and not really desiring to go bacfk to Disney World (At least not before I went back to DL as many times as I could), I am heading back to the World because its sooo much cheaper.

I have seen a lot of people talking that they would like to try DW, but need to stick with DL cuz its cheaper, and it just isn't so.

I have been checking walking distance hotels lately for Sept, Oct or Feb and the prices are crazy. No retro rates hardly at HoJos. Not even any rooms for the week I was looking for. $165/nt for the Ramada Maingate? Are you kidding me? And on property hotels, wow, it seems like they have gone up, but maybe it's because I no longer have an AP for any discounts. But after much pricing, my husband and I can do 9 nts on property in a value resort in DW for about what it would cost us for 5 in DL, maybe a little less.

DW has a free dining offer for the fall, which only saves us about $400 from what it would cost in February, but every bit helps. and airfare right now is cheaper from Denver to Orlando, than to Orange County, or even LA. Crazy!

So my husband, who prefers DW pretty much just because of the dining selection, is happy. And I guess in the end, I'm thrilled to be going to any Disney park. I just really can't wait to see CarsLand and get back to my magical place.
OP, the hotel rates at the good neighbors often come down as you get closer - same thing with Hojo. So pricing out a trip now may not be indicative of what happens later in the year.

The other issue between DLR and WDW is that often the per day expense is less at WDW but the reality is you need more days at WDW so it is more expensive overall. I mean, many folks do a three day trip to DLR. Not so many to WDW.

In any case, Colorado is a great place to live, ain't it?

:wizard:
 
I have done 4 trips in the past 4 years to WDW. You can get decent prices on flights. I fly out of Seattle and I believe the most I have paid was $250 per person.

I do go during Free Dining which helps a lot with the costs. I have upgraded to the regular Dining Plan when staying at a value resort.

This year I'm doing a 6 night DCL cruise down to LA, spending 4 nights outside of DLR and it's about the same price as my 2 week WDW trip. Flights would have been $99 each to get home (Bellingham-closer than Vancouver), but I used my points for free flights home. Not sure how much we will spend on food, I'm thinking mostly CS in the parks as we will have eaten a lot on the cruise. Still have to add in $ for our stop in San Francisco.
 
I think the biggest thing is just watching, and waiting! Sometimes waiting too long isn't always the best bet... I was watching airfare from Vancouver to L.A. starting months ago, probably in April or even March... and then one day in late May I saw the price drop from somewhere in the $900's for two people roundtrip, to somewhere in the $700's, so we booked our tickets. I just checked prices for the same flights today (10 days out from our departure) and the price is over $1000 for roundtrip for two now! So we really hit the sweetspot for pricing, but not by waiting tooo long!
 


But after much pricing, my husband and I can do 9 nts on property in a value resort in DW for about what it would cost us for 5 in DL, maybe a little less.

Have you looked into renting DVC points? We got it down to being able to go to DLR for 6 nights (Studio @ VGC) for the same price as 8 nights at WDW (Studio @ BWV), i.e. we found the all the costs for 8 nights at WDW is about the same as 6 nights at the Villas at the Grand Californian.
 
We have five trips planned to Disneyland between now and the end of November, with reservations at the Motel6 for all of those visits. The highest I am paying per night is $68 and the lowest I pay is $48, for a newly remodeled with 2 Queens and a refrigerator. On our last stay I picked up on the great suggestion of asking for the fourth floor and from the landing outside of our room I could see TOT, the Matterhorn, some of Mickey's wheel and much of the fireworks! The shuttle stops right outside of the motel office and I've already bought the shuttle passes ahead of time, saving me a considerable amount. The reality is that, I'm not sure walking vs. shuttle vs. driving, parking is much of a time difference for us.

I just yesterday started looking at a budget to do WDW next year or maybe Paris?
 
I TOTALLY agree with you...I personally dont like parkhopping at wdw...I would rather do one park per day and frankly it costs almost as much for a 3 day parkhopper pass at DL than it does for an 8 day one park a day pass...and, there are 4 parks to go to vs. 2 parks...you can stay on property right now for as little as $69 a night with free dining..regardless whether it is CS and snack or not ...and at other times stay for almost a week for 4 people including dining for $1500..the biggest expense you may run into is the airfare and again, if you have the flexibility you can really find some great fares...dont get me wrong, I ♥ DL..its my home park but frankly many a times you cant beat wdw rates...



This probably wasn't fair. Not apples to apples. Because you are comparing free dining and a value resort, that means no TS. That mean getting breakfast from Taste Pilots Grill or the Tomorroland Terrace, not Carnations Cafe or even Denny's. Free dining at a value resort is quick service x2 and a snack.

that is true but come on...everybody that has been to wdw knows the food quality is wayyyyy better..I would be totally fine eating CS for my entire trip at wdw...especially if its free because then it would save me a bit of money that I could use on a character meal or even upgrade to the regular DDP

That may be the case for you but it's the exact opposite for me. I've been trying to book us a trip to WDW for years, we have a timeshare so we don't even have to pay for a hotel but the flights price us right out of the water. For a family of 4 to fly to Orlando, simply not cost effective at all.......

Pixiewings, maybe its just the time you have been looking because I just went this past Dec. and I flew out of LAX and I didnt have a bad rate at all and my daughter is getting ready to go over a long labor day weekend and she got her rate for like $150 ea way...southwest is always having really good sales...you just have to be on the lookout for them...we are fortunate enough also that we can fly out of LAX and SNA...

just tossing this out there try quality inn 69 a night just 10 more then hojos. hope you have fun wdw or dl both are disney woot woot

well unfortunately this hotel is one of the ones on the bedbug registry..which may very well be why its only $69 a night...
 


well unfortunately this hotel is one of the ones on the bedbug registry..which may very well be why its only $69 a night...
I just went to the website, and I didn't find Hojo's on their list.

Second, while bed bugs are a pain, they are usually brought in by travelers who have them at home and most hotels, once found, handle the situation. A report or two is not going to keep me form staying there.

Third, many of the economy and moderates at DW also have problems with bedbugs.
 
that is true but come on...everybody that has been to wdw knows the food quality is wayyyyy better.

Are you kidding? I've always found enough QS food options that I like at WDW by hunting and spending some time walking to them, but there's no comparison to Disneyland's options, where every QS place has a unique menu with a variety of options. If you read the WDW Dining board you'd see it's full of complaints about various WDW QS food options, whose analogs at DLR are excellent. El Pirata y el Perico vs. Rancho del Zócalo is one ... the two Tomorrowland Terraces ... Heck, even the Animal Kingdom picnic (RIP) vs. World of Color picnic. The WDW versions are decent, but the Disneyland ones are actually good.

WDW wins hand down on table-service options, but quick service is one of the reasons I'm starting to prefer Disneyland to WDW.
 
We have the opposite problem, I would like to take my 3 kids to Disney World at least once, but to fly from Salt Lake to Orlando is insane! It would be about $2500-$3000 just to get there. I can't justify that when we can drive to California for $350.

We have this exact issue. My DH was suppose to go to a conference in Orlando the end of this month. When it was first announced in April, I ran the numbers. Even not paying for his flight or a hotel (because that would be paid for), it was cheaper for our whole family to drive to DL and stay at the Grand Californian than to fly three of us out there, buy tickets and rent a car for the week (the hotel wasn't on site).

Same thing when I wanted to go to a convention there next January (except I'm self employed so I would have had to pay for the airfare and hotel anyway, even if it would be a tax deduction).

So we are driving to DL in November instead and staying at the GC for the first time. We did get in on the old ticket rates though so that saved us nearly $200 over booking that same trip today.

ETA: It's the airfare that killed the deal for us.
 
That may be the case for you but it's the exact opposite for me. I've been trying to book us a trip to WDW for years, we have a timeshare so we don't even have to pay for a hotel but the flights price us right out of the water. For a family of 4 to fly to Orlando, simply not cost effective at all.......

Ditto this for our family. I would love to take us to DW for a week but we simply can't afford the airfare for 4 people. DL works well for us because we are able to drive there. $250 in gas vs $1600 in airfare. Right now its a no brainer and we stick to DL. I do hope to get to DW someday though!!!
 
For a MUCH cheaper hotel, check out the unnamed Hotwire deals!! We got a slammin deal at the Best Western Plus Meridian 7 nights suite for only $399, taxes and fees included!

We've used Hotwire to book the Radisson Suites near Knotts. Its about 6 miles away but very easy on/off freeway access to hotel and DLR. Its around $65/nt on hotwire (rack rate around $150+) and is a large 2 bedroom suite, free hot breakfast and free parking.

I've seen the Meridian show up on Hotwire (not to difficult to figure out what the hotel will be). But I wasn't sure if it was a decent place with a good breakfast. Will have to look into it next trip! Thanks!
 
Here's my 2cents....

Your starting location will make a huge difference. As others have said, flying from the East Coast to West Coast or vice versa, is pricey! It's much cheaper to fly to CA when you're only a 2 hour flight away.;) And same goes for FL.

Personally, I think the FL park tix are a much better value. Since they obviously encourage you to extend your stay to as long as humanly possible, it's much cheaper the longer you go. DLR eventually caps off and the price doesn't appear to go down as much when compared to WDW tix. That's just my opinion though...

Hotel prices seems to be fairly even. The WDW value resorts can be reserved for $89/night and I know many DLR hotels/motels can be found for the same price. Its hard to compare hotels straight across the board here because DLR only offers 3 onsite hotels vs WDW many. But I would imagine that many DLR Good Neighbors would be equal to the WDW Values. Although I do long for onsite cafeteria while at DLR Good Neighbors.;)

With that being said....I've never been to WDW. And this is because of the price. However, I am planning a WDW trip for Fall of 2013 so that I can hopefully score FREE dining and before my son turns 9 and we have to pay more for his tix. I'm hoping by doing these 2 things, this will save us enough money to be able to afford a trip.:thumbsup2
 
However, I am planning a WDW trip for Fall of 2013 so that I can hopefully score FREE dining and before my son turns 9 and we have to pay more for his tix. I'm hoping by doing these 2 things, this will save us enough money to be able to afford a trip.

I also have a tentative trip on the calendar before my DD6 jumps up to adult prices. We recently joined DVC so won't get free dining - but if you have children 3-9 who like character meals - the Dining Plan seems to very quickly pay for itself.
 
I also have a tentative trip on the calendar before my DD6 jumps up to adult prices. We recently joined DVC so won't get free dining - but if you have children 3-9 who like character meals - the Dining Plan seems to very quickly pay for itself.


Yes! I'm really thinking this is the way to go, seems like a good deal anyways!

I saw that they are offering the free dining from end of Sept to end of Dec of this year. So much longer time frame then I had initially thought, makes me hopeful that I could actually do more of a Christmas holiday trip instead- which is my preference.;)

Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??
 
I just went to the website, and I didn't find Hojo's on their list.

hojo??? the poster of the $69 a night was for quality inn on manchester not hojo...i love hojo but they sell out of their retro rates really quick!

Are you kidding? I've always found enough QS food options that I like at WDW by hunting and spending some time walking to them, but there's no comparison to Disneyland's options, where every QS place has a unique menu with a variety of options. If you read the WDW Dining board you'd see it's full of complaints about various WDW QS food options, whose analogs at DLR are excellent. El Pirata y el Perico vs. Rancho del Zócalo is one ... the two Tomorrowland Terraces ... Heck, even the Animal Kingdom picnic (RIP) vs. World of Color picnic. The WDW versions are decent, but the Disneyland ones are actually good.

WDW wins hand down on table-service options, but quick service is one of the reasons I'm starting to prefer Disneyland to WDW.

no Im not kidding...hands down wdw has better food...i live in CA and Ive gone to DL a billion times..there is not one place in DL that I havnt eaten at..I cant vouch for the mexican places because I have taquerias and mexican restaurants at every street corner here so the last thing Im going to do is eat mexican at DL but are you trying to say that DL food is better than oh say Flame Tree, or Sci Fi, rose and crown, Le Chefs de France????...to each their own I guess but I for one am basing this on experience not other peoples opinions and complaints..granted I know that the majority of people say that Corral Reef is not good so I would definitely listen to majority rules here but for the most part I do think its very different...I could gain 20lbs eating at wdw where at DL I just eat junk pretty much now:lmao:
 
Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??

I've read that as long as he is 9 on the first day he uses the ticket - he can use the 3-9 ticket. Definitely if he has not yet had his 10th birthday. Even if you were there for the week around his birthday, if he was 9 on the first day in the park and turned 10 the next day - you would be okay.

Note for No Expiration ticket (WDW) - if you used the first half when he was 9 and then tried to use the non-expired days when he was 10, you would have to pay to upgrade.
 
chrissiecutie said:
Yes! I'm really thinking this is the way to go, seems like a good deal anyways!

I saw that they are offering the free dining from end of Sept to end of Dec of this year. So much longer time frame then I had initially thought, makes me hopeful that I could actually do more of a Christmas holiday trip instead- which is my preference.;)

Do you or anyone else know...if my son is 9 and NOT yet 10, will I still be able to purchase his tix at the 3-9 age group? Since his bday is in Feb, if we choose to go in Dec, he'll almost be 10(2 months from turning 10). But still officially 9- any idea how this works??

If your child is still 9 at the beginning of your trip you get to pay for the 3-9 tix. We did this for my ds 3rd birthday. He was 2 when the trip began so we didn't have to pay for his tix for the whole trip. It's in the fine print :)
 
People who live on the east coast in driving distance or short flight to Orlando would certainly have the same problem when visiting DLR. We live in Phoenix. A 6 hour drive to DLR. But often I have been able to find airfare to Orlando for less than $300. When DW has free dining and hotels are at value season rates DW has been a good value.

Does Southwest ever have decent fares out of San Francisco, San Jose or Oakland to Orlando? We fly SW mostly but you have to watch fares almost daily and buy when they drop as they only do so for a few days 2 to 3 months out.

ITA, I was just pointing out to the OP that those of us on the West Coast have the same pricing issue getting to WDW.
SW is one I watch, as is JetBlue and Delta, but with our travel times we don't find the "good" fares that others seem to find. Also, with those great fares there will be multiple stops and I try to keep the stops to a minimum while flying, I know they will happen, but I prefer as few as possible. Many of the rates I've seen that have been good have had 4 stops! Also, I have 4 people to fly, there is no chance I'm going to find airfare for $300 total for 4 people. LOL I can do gas for about $150 there and back, for 4 people that's much more workable. :)

We found a GREAT rate with Delta ($281 RT) from Oakland to Orlando in October for DH and I.


Pixiewings....try flying 6 people!! We decided when we do make the trip to WDW, we go for 2 weeks and also stay in our timeshare (we actually traded into DVC and stayed onsite). Though in no way cheaper than a trip to Disneyland where we can drive....it IS cheaper than getting Disneyland APs for us all and doing 2+ trips.

that's awesome!! Did you book it directly through Delta? We can trade into DVC too, there's a ton of availability in the WDW hotels, I wish we had that same availability into the VGC. :) With our current timeshare options we can get 4-6 5-7 day visits to DL and get APs for less than flying to WDW. LOL

I'm sorry the airfare is so much for you. Hopefully you can get there someday, both resorts really are wonderful!!

Thanks, I will someday, right now I'm shooting for 2 years from now, to celebrate DD16 graduating from high school. But in reality it's probably at least 5 years away.

I TOTALLY
Pixiewings, maybe its just the time you have been looking because I just went this past Dec. and I flew out of LAX and I didnt have a bad rate at all and my daughter is getting ready to go over a long labor day weekend and she got her rate for like $150 ea way...southwest is always having really good sales...you just have to be on the lookout for them...we are fortunate enough also that we can fly out of LAX and SNA...

I do watch, it seems what I've found won't work for us for various reasons, but I'll keep watching. :)

We have this exact issue. My DH was suppose to go to a conference in Orlando the end of this month. When it was first announced in April, I ran the numbers. Even not paying for his flight or a hotel (because that would be paid for), it was cheaper for our whole family to drive to DL and stay at the Grand Californian than to fly three of us out there, buy tickets and rent a car for the week (the hotel wasn't on site).

Same thing when I wanted to go to a convention there next January (except I'm self employed so I would have had to pay for the airfare and hotel anyway, even if it would be a tax deduction).

So we are driving to DL in November instead and staying at the GC for the first time. We did get in on the old ticket rates though so that saved us nearly $200 over booking that same trip today.

ETA: It's the airfare that killed the deal for us.

I'm jealous, I want to stay at the GCH! :) It's always the airfare, it's not the tickets, it's not the food, it's not the hotel, it's the airfare.

Ditto this for our family. I would love to take us to DW for a week but we simply can't afford the airfare for 4 people. DL works well for us because we are able to drive there. $250 in gas vs $1600 in airfare. Right now its a no brainer and we stick to DL. I do hope to get to DW someday though!!!

:thumbsup2 nice to see I'm not the only one with this problem. :)

If your child is still 9 at the beginning of your trip you get to pay for the 3-9 tix. We did this for my ds 3rd birthday. He was 2 when the trip began so we didn't have to pay for his tix for the whole trip. It's in the fine print :)

Yes, this is 100% accurate. If your child is 9 at the start of your vacation your child is 9 for the duration. We took DD12 for her 10th birthday, we had APs but for dining she still counted as a "child" and she was able to order from the kids menu at BB for her meal.
 

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