New pricey offerings vs. your set budget?

[ArwenMarie]

Definitely. I have a set number (actually per person per day) which I am willing to spend on a trip to Orlando. So if we go during the busy season, we usually stay offsite for example because the WDW room rates won't work within what I am willing to pay for a trip to O-town. And airfares factor in as well.

I don't keep track of every penny but I definitely swap stuff out and don't just keep adding and adding.

 

[tlmadden73]

That's what most people SHOULD do, but the reality is many don't and may get sucked into the moment and get more souvenirs or expensive meals than they should.

But I think a lot of families do have a budget and these increased prices and/or new extras would just do what the OP said .. just divert that cost. If the prices for tickets and hotels increase, it just may mean simply that family may do a vacation for one less day .. or stay offsite .. or skip a park.

I think of all the money a family could save simply by cutting out one day of your planned trip. That extra money can be spent on a fun character meal, souvenirs or an extra morning or night "event".

For me .. I just look at what I want to do .. see that overall cost is and then start trimming down to a number I feel comfortable. "Hmm .. I'd love to stay in a Deluxe resort .. but for the same money I could stay 2 extra days in a Moderate Resort and splurge for a character meal or two .. so maybe I will just do a Moderate Resort."

Last two years I have been choosing SHORT trips (4 nights) which then allows me to come more frequently without breaking the bank. (I am also blessed to be within 9 hour drive of Orlando).

 

[DougEMG]

We don't set a budget, but then everyone in the family is pretty good with money so we don't really go overboard on anything. And with DVC, annual passes and eating most meals in the room a lot of the costs are pretty much contained.

None of the new pricey offerings appeal to me.

 

[gypsicat]

I didn't start with a budget. I started by pricing out everything I wanted to do, airfare, hotel, entertainment, etc.

From there, I tried to be reasonable, lol. That is where the budget came into play. "How much can I reasonably save between now and the trip?" That was my upper budget. Next question was, "how much do I actually WANT to spend?" Then tried to plan as close to that number as possible. So I don't necessarily have a SET budget, more of a range.

I feel like that allows for a couple splurges outside of the initial plan should we decide to do that but even then, I am more likely to re evaluate the original plan and swap things out to accommodate something new rather than just spending more.

 

[ellie05]

We have a vacation budget for the year we usually like to add some extras, but I won't pay for any of the new offering they are ridiculous.

We price up the trip and go from there. If we don't want to take all of it from our vacation budget we take it from our "fun" money that month.

 

[Keyser]

I think Disney has a way of separating people from normality in terms of pricing. To be clear, this is not a criticism - I include myself in this category. There is really very very little at Disney that can be called a "value" by any reasonable definition. Everything is "overpriced" compared to what you would expect to pay for the same thing of the same quality in a more "normal" setting. The hotel rooms, the food, the souvenirs. Comparatively, the park tickets themselves, if you get a many-day pass, are probably the "best deal." But, you're not really just paying for a room, food, and a trinket, you're paying for that "special experience" that you'll have at Disney that you (think you) wouldn't have if you paid for the same things elsewhere. So, that meal is no longer just a burger, that you evaluate as a burger, it's now a special experience that you're paying to enjoy.

The net effect of this is that many people, including me, start viewing things at Disney through a "Disney price" filter. There's not a good way to put a price tag on how much a "special experience" is worth. And so, the things you think you'd never find yourself spending money on in a normal circumstance you find yourself buying - and even feeling you got a good value! The closest thing I can compare to is food at a movie theater. People are so used to the $5 popcorn and $4 coke that you think you've really gotten a value if they put them on sale for both for $6 or something.

And, I think these pricey offerings are kind of similar. Once you've kind of taken that leap about how much you'll be spending on a Disney vacation, the incremental cost for one of these events becomes easier to justify. Even if you have a "set" budget, you can think - if I increase this budget by "just" 5% or 10%, think of this super-special experience I could have that would make my whole trip that much more special (and how much less "specialness" you'd have if you had to miss it). Like others have said, this is often the once-in-a-lifetime, or once-in-a-great-while trip for many people, and so the idea that you might get an even more special time by paying just some small amount more is just easier to justify. And, since that's what this is now about - not about the strict value you're getting per $, it's really easy to spend the additional money on these special experiences.

I've often remarked to friends that Disney is masterful - I mean really really good - at identifying those price points where you find yourself debating "should I do this or not" and then deciding to go ahead and pay. Based on the reaction I've seen to these, I think they've probably identified another price point that will capture another significant chunk of $ with these pricey offerings...

 

[jade1]

We have been getting airfare from $75 round trip and usually around $100. In the past that has been usually around $300 or more.

That alone frees up $250 or so per person.

But then we look at the add ons. Doesn't mean we will spend it on any of those, but certainly could.

We are just more likely to hit Universal for the day, or Yachtsman, or just spend less.

 

[JZCubed]

Varity is t

Don't most families simply have a set amount they're going to spend on a WDW vacation - say, $5000 - and choosing some of the expensive new offerings (the early morning AK thing, to name one) just means swapping out something else? That's pretty much how we work. We wanted to do Hoop-de-Doo for the first time last year and thus skipped a character meal, for example. Or I'll eat a DW Float and caramel apple and skip lunch.

Thinking this is the case, it makes me question the decisions of all these new offerings. Although granted Disney is obviously the expert and I am not.

Or is it more that people set a budget of $5000 and then see these new events and think, "Well, maybe we can squeeze in another $600.....Okay, yeah, let's sign up for this cause I have some room on the credit card." ?

The quote is, "Variety is the spice of life."

For frequent visitors, new experiences can be enticing.

When my best friend returns with us, we'll go on the Train experience (he's an avid model train collector).

When my child is old enough, we will finally try the Keys to the Kingdom tour.

You'll never get me walking over the crocodiles (or are they alligators?) in AK; my wife is all for it.

I'm diabetic, so those dessert parties are useless for me.

We stay on-site, can't see paying extra for these new Extra Magic Hour 'events'.

We enjoy the Halloween 'hard ticket event', but never need to return for the Christmas version.

We had some extra time before our room was ready, so we rented a boat at Bay Lake - my wife had the best time.

Different strokes for different folks....another quote.

 

[aaarcher86]

We just have a general number. If I need to add something, I will. If it starts to get crazy I'll look where I can move stuff around.

The only thing I'm really thinking about is the villains thing they added at HS, which would be pricey, but it's just one thing.

I try to space put our expenses so it hurts less.

 

[aretha30]

We don't set a specific budget but we make sure we don't spend recklessly either. We start planning a year out and book when we see a good deal. We don't use the DDP we pay OOP and buy gift cards at Target with the 5% off. If we see an event we want to add we will, we've enjoyed the dessert parties in the past. We are thinking about adding a few tours this year. We pay for everything with cash, if we don't have the cash it's not in our budget for that year.

 

[jeepwreck]

We have a set budget kinda, only because we always get a room-ticket-dining meal plan so the only extra cost for use are souvenirs and even at that we don’t get a lot


I like having everything paid for before we get there so its more of a vacation and I don’t have to worry about going over budget

 

[mshanson3121]

The recent across the board increases, really throws a wrench in a "set budget". We inadvertently discovered more increases are coming in July. So, a trip booked 9-11 months out has an "up charge" of 20%-30%. Ouch! It becomes more than swapping one for another...more like cutting something out completely. It reaches a point when it's just not worth the price...e.g. CRT is listed as approx $48 on one site, over $60 on another, but is increasing to $75 for lunch in July. Ressies are made 180 days out. It would be nice to have a more accurate idea of the costs. IMO

What increases are coming in July? Is it just CRT or something else?

 

[Shanan]

We try to stay on a budget. Been enough times to know .... ok how meals will cost us about this much. And the souvenirs that we buy is generally a Disney Dooney and a wrist watch and of course the refillable mug at the resort. For the Sept. 2016 trip we will not be doing any of the new extras that Disney is offering. We will do MNSSHP since it is a 'must do' for us. I believe if you are not careful it is very easy for a person to go overboard with spending at WDW.

 

[mshanson3121]

We have a tight budget and we stick to it. If something came up that we really wanted to do, we would see if we could make it work within the budget we have, or go without. Simple.

 

[kiford]

We work the other way. We decide about how long we want to go for, which resort we want to stay at and then I go and price out hotels, tickets, meals, extras. We then look at that and decide if we're OK with the amount. We don't explicitly budget a set amount annually for vacation because we have sufficient surplus every year that we can draw on. Our house is paid for, our cars are paid for, we both have good paying jobs, no children, no debt and we don't have a particularly high living lifestyle day-to-day. So while we have a notional ballpark amount, if we want to do something, we just do it. We do like to do new things and experiences every time we go to Disney so we've done Wild Africa Trek, La Nouba, wine tastings, etc. It's more about asking if something has value for us. If we don't feel that it has value, we won't pay for it. Basically, we know when it doesn't feel like it's worth it and it's very situation based.

 

[Sydney2977]

We don't go every year and I am the super budgeter in the family, so I figure out how to save up little by little so that the trip is paid for before we go. We get discounts on room and tickets, or we wouldn't go as often. That being said, we are on vacation and normally we aren't big splurgers, so I like for everyone to enjoy themselves. We have upgraded resorts, done a couple parties, and added in special places to eat for our trips. This past trip we went to a Spring Training game. I hope to do tours in the future. I also budget for the possible souvenirs we might get.

I think these "extras" serve two purposes, as someone else said. For guests who may be on that once in a lifetime trip, they are willing to pay for what they think is the best experience, even if it means blowing their pre-determined budget. Other guests who go multiple times are looking for something new and different, so these extras fit the bill. They can save up for it, or do it in place of something else they've done before and are willing to skip.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Everyone talks about these offerings targeting the once in a lifetime people but it seems to me that they're aimed at the frequent visitors to keep them from getting bored. Our next trip will only be our 3rd trip, and there is so much we haven't done yet that I couldn't justify the extras from a time perspective, never mind a money perspective. Several trips from now I would like to do Wild Africa Trek when DS is big enough to join, but I will never pay $80pp for a cupcake party. Value is relative of course but to me there are some things that are just obvious price gouging.

 

[nolanboys]

We have an approximate budget. I would go over for something out of the box, but none of these new offerings are worth it for us. Having 6 in our family probably puts things in perspective as well. Who wants to pay $900 extra for the after hours event at MK that they are now offering? Certainly not me! I did think about the Villians party as I think it is a unique experience, but if we do, it will only be for DH, our youngest and myself as the older three boys would not appreciate it.

 

[North of Mouse]

Never have a budget, but plan as we go. We are both conservative by nature though.
I have read on the Dis, and heard in person, people will say, what's a hundred more (or X amount) when we are already spending X dollars for this trip, etc. We're not like that at all - affording it doesn't decide our spending - it's if it's something we really want to do, and if it would mean a lot to us, then we do it.
I don't like price gouging.

We're like that in everyday life also. Everything is paid for, but that's how it became that way. My parents used to say, a penny saved is a penny earned (also dollars, etc.)

 

[mefordis]

I would rather go on vacation less often and do it 110% and not miss out on anything than go more often and have to give up the things I really like doing. So, we do have a budget but it's set pretty high. We just don't go as often. Definitely not every year.