No Disney this year!

[lugnut33]

Speaking of costs, does anybody know how much those Brazilian students pay for their trips? Just curious.

 

[mikejuliestl]

For us the issue has been not so much the price increases but the return on investment... namely FP+

Since 94 we have gone 15 times, 12 of those since 2002 when we started sprouting clones. We got used to, actually very good at FP- and combined with rope drop we had an epic time. Lots of magic, lots of fun and a palpable need to plan the next trip. Then our November 2013 trip happened. Then they removed the FP- all together. Then the FP+ system was limited to 3, only one of which could be a top tier ride. I am thankful that we were able to stay on property about 100 of those days with our kids and that we have some excellent memories and photos before Disney "normalized" the experience for everyone. We have decided to really show Disney our disdain by refusing to suffer through this cut-rate experience at premium prices and instead book Disney cruises. Take that Iger!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

BG is a great park and Water Country USA was a lot of fun! Whatever you do, make sure and experience The Curse of DarKastle. That's a fabulous ride.

For me personally, I was thinking of going back to WDW in May 2015 (I like to go every two years or so), but have pushed that to either September or October 2015. There are just other things I need to spend my money on right now, rather than putting it away for a trip *anywhere.* I'm low income on disability payments and a trip to Disney means saving consciously for a year.

It doesn't break me financially, I just don't feel like making the commitment right now. It has nothing to do with FP+. We loved it when we went in December 2013 (we were at the All Star Resorts so were not given KTTW cards to double dip btw), and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I think it's still good value for money...I just need some other stuff right now.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

OP, if Disney is the only vacation you take each year, I do think it's time to try new places for your family. I really like Wiliamsburg and Busch Gardens is a nice park. Make sure you visit Jamestown Historic Park, it's my favorite part of that area.
.

We are going to Williamsburg this summer, actually. If you've gone the same place for the past 8 years, there's nothing wrong with going somewhere new.

 

[juliebug1997]

Nice article. But speaking of high prices, $60 for the Star Wars character meals?

Isn't that on par (give or take a few bucks) the meal at CRT or HDDR? It's a novelty and they're trying to see if people will pay it. Seems like they are. I know I am--it's the one thing that helped me get my husband to say yes to Memorial Day Weekend.

 

[kathy884]

We have gone to Disney every year for the last 8 years. Our last visit was Sept, 2013 and I booked a bounceback for this Sept. I am going to cancel due to the fp+, which I think is terrible and due to the price increases. We can
afford to go to Disney but I am unwilling to go when I feel like over the past few years Disney prices have gone up, up, up and what you get is going down. We are going to take our vacation this year at Busch Garden in Williamsburg in August instead. For my family of 5, we can go unlimited to Busch Gardens and Water country for $72 a person, that will be around $360 for our family. Tickets for Disney for 7 days are around $1600. We can also get a nice Marriott for around $100/night, which includes a full hot breakfast. We stayed at POR in Sept and it was just "average" and now runs around $200/night. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney but I just refuse to pay these outrageous prices and until people stop going (which doesn't seem is going to happen), they will just keep price gouging us. I have to admit, I will miss our annual trip but we will have fun with a new adventure.

Mixing it up and doing something else sounds like the perfect solution. Enjoy!

Every year, we look at our vacation budget and think about what is most appealing for us and go for it. If you decide it's worth it to do Disney again, there is always another vacation.

You might if you do decide to come back to Orlando want to consider offsite. The quality of accommodations that you get for the price are incredible. You don't feel so tied to Disney (lots of great non-Disney things in Orlando) and you are so close and can do whatever you want in WDW too. Just commenting that I think of offsite as a great value and like it better than a value or moderate onsite for sure.

There's a great big world out there, so only come back to Disney if you really want to.

 

[kathy884]

Our family went in 2006-2008-2010. We stayed on property at a moderate with the meal plan and park hopper passes so we could go wherever, whenever in the "world". We decided in 2012 to go somewhere else that we have not seen. We rented a pool home in Davenport and went to Sea world, Busch Gardens, and Universal Studios. April 2014 was suppose to be a return trip to Disney but the prices were beyond what I am willing to shell out. I totally understand that everything has gone up etc. But I broke the numbers down and to go with the same disney vacation as we did in the past(moderate resort, meal plan etc.) it would be approx. $650 + per day. I just cant justify it....so we will be skipping this years vacation. Next year we will stay off property and just visit a park or 2 and maybe Sea world again. We could cut corners but our 2 boys are 12-14 and the cheaper Dis resorts are cramped. In addition, my wife teaches so we are only able to go during school vacations $$$$. Again , no blame on Disney...its just too much for our budget.

What you are doing is almost exactly how we do Orlando. The only difference is that we usually do an owner rental of a timeshare condo rather than a house. I think this is a great way to do an enjoyable budget trip to Orlando. We are tied to the school calendar too and only go high season.

 

[connie1042]

We are a group of 14 going in Sept. I have been at least once or twice a year for many years. I am so frustrated with planning this trip, I am sure we will not be back for some time. The only thing saving us right now is the great Military discounts. We would not be going with out them. It seems Disney keeps adding extra things you can do for extra dollars. I have been to the Halloween parties and the Christmas parties, have done a few tours, and firework cruises. Use to use Disney Florist, don't anymore. I know for a fact, my son says this is the last time he is going. He is doing it for me, so I can have all the grandkids there at one time. I truly feel it will be at least 5 years before we go back. With retirement in the next 5 years, it will be even harder to come up with extra vacation funds. Plus I love the beach just about as much as Disney.

 

[ktlm]

We have gone to WDW every year since 2008, once twice in a year. For the past few years we have gone to DL in the summer and WDW in the fall or winter. Before 2008, we (being DH and I, and before DH my family from the time I was a kid) went to WDW about once every 3 years and had not been to DL in decades. For the first time since 2007, we are not planning on going this year and it is directly related to MDE/FP+. We dealt with it last fall and that was enough. We aren't looking forward to spending a good deal of money to have to deal with it again.

We dealt with MDE/FP+ last fall before tiering and now it is worse. We will still be going to DL. Until last fall, I had never even really thought about whether we got our money's worth out of WDW. Last fall we didn't get any type of discount, so it was the most expensive trip we have had in a while- that would not have even phased me EXCEPT that with MDE/FP+ we felt like we got less out of a trip that we paid more for. For the first time EVER I was left wondering whether we really got our money's worth out of a Disney trip. MDE kept me on the smart phone a lot-which was in part due to its glitching and errors- which kept the vacation from being the focus on family and putting down the phone that we like- DD (then 7) even complained about me messing with the phone as much. MDE was just one big annoying glitch that was not at all user friendly when it came to tweaking specific times one by one or changing anything- this was for the initial set up and became 100 times worse once you are actually at WDW. It took me hours to initially get it set up and tweaked to the times I thought would be best (you have to move things out of the way to get other things where you want them and then move things back etc.) We felt like we got less done because we were having to criss cross the park with the FP+ and felt very rushed. We didn't get to finish an area completely without having to run over to the next place, and that limited my shopping time substantially because shopping is No. 3 after rides and shows in an area. When I have to leave an area prematurely to get to the next FP+, I don't get to shop. We felt like we weren't controlling our vacation, WDW was. We were not FP- superusers by any means, but we utilized them to maximize our day. Now, the inability to FP both Soarin and Test Track in a day really hampers our day. At EPCOT basically we got 2 FPs a day-one for each of these (occasionally we might get a 2nd FP for Soarin since it is a favorite, but usually that didn't fit with our WS schedule). Now we feel like we are stuck with 1 useful FP in a day at EPCOT. Likewise the inability to FP both TSM and RNRR in a day really is unacceptable to us. Having to predict what the lines will be like when we are there right down to the exact time of day to decide if we need a FP for a certain thing, along with the inability to change it in the park (which is much worse now that it has opened up for everyone), is unacceptable. Having to absolutely be locked in to where you will be in the park when and which rides to your best guess two months in advance will need FP at that time of day is not acceptable. The system is a mess and in its current state we are not inclined to spend our money on a WDW trip to have to deal with it. That said, I'm still optimistic that changes are going to be made, so I have caved a bit and we will book a trip (don't want to miss those all important 180 day ADRs), but we will cancel the trip if things don't change by then. The last thing I want is not to book anything, and then see that changes are made for the better and I can't get any ADRs we want if I book a trip.

While we hate MDE/FP+ and what Disney has done in that respect- we still love Disney and certainly aren't boycotting all things Disney. We will still make our regular DL trip this year to get our Disney fix. So Disney will still get some of our money- it will just not get the money for our WDW trip.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We dealt with MDE/FP+ last fall before tiering and now it is worse.

By almost unanimous accounts, FP+ and MDE are loads better than they were last fall.

 

[magicbob]

By almost unanimous accounts, FP+ and MDE are loads better than they were last fall.

 

[bobbie68]

We have gone to Disney every year for the last 8 years. Our last visit was Sept, 2013 and I booked a bounceback for this Sept. I am going to cancel due to the fp+, which I think is terrible and due to the price increases. We can
afford to go to Disney but I am unwilling to go when I feel like over the past few years Disney prices have gone up, up, up and what you get is going down. We are going to take our vacation this year at Busch Garden in Williamsburg in August instead. For my family of 5, we can go unlimited to Busch Gardens and Water country for $72 a person, that will be around $360 for our family. Tickets for Disney for 7 days are around $1600. We can also get a nice Marriott for around $100/night, which includes a full hot breakfast. We stayed at POR in Sept and it was just "average" and now runs around $200/night. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney but I just refuse to pay these outrageous prices and until people stop going (which doesn't seem is going to happen), they will just keep price gouging us. I have to admit, I will miss our annual trip but we will have fun with a new adventure.

Hi we did the same trip to Bush Gardens and Water Country in Virginia last summer. It was our year off from Disney. We had a great time. We loved both parks and you couldn't beat the price. We plan on going back to Virginia in a year or two. I agree with the prices on Disney and what you get. This summer will be our last trip for awhile. We will go to other theme parks in Orlando as well as Universal.

Have fun.

 

[mom2rtk]

By almost unanimous accounts, FP+ and MDE are loads better than they were last fall.

Why, Bob.......... you don't sound like you are buying that.

Maybe you are that one person keeping it from being unanimous?

 

[disnut1149]

OP, have a great trip!! Love Busch Gardens and Williamsburg. DH and I are going to Universal for 4 days in September and staying at the new Cabana Beach Resort on their property. I just can't deal with all the changes for what it would cost us. My DH just retired so we'll take 2 days to relax at the resort. Will probably go back to DW summer of 2015, hoping for changes for the better. This summer will be spent at Cape May N.J.

 

[WillAustin]

By almost unanimous accounts, FP+ and MDE are loads better than they were last fall.

That's a pretty low bar.

 

[hookedonears]

It's become reality that Disney vacations are for people who have higher incomes. Hate to break it to you, but Disney is doing just fine even with the price increases. The only way you're going to be able to go back to Disney is if you get a job that gets you a higher income.

If you can't afford to go, you are not Disney's target customer anyway.

Very, very true, and Disney knows it. Disney is terrified of that stigma though, which is why, in my opinion, ABC over compensates, by doing everything they can to portray the network and its owner, Disney as being apart of the 99 percenters, when in truth, they're not.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Very, very true, and Disney knows it. Disney is terrified of that stigma though, which is why, in my opinion, ABC over compensates, by doing everything they can to portray the network and its owner, Disney as being apart of the 99 percenters, when in truth, they're not.

I'd be curious as to what defines "higher income" because we are Disney annual pass holders, despite living in NH, we visit twice in a 12 month period and stay Deluxe (often CL) for 10 nights at a time. We are not rich, but we do this very comfortably, paying in cash.

Our key is responsible living in our everyday lives...reasonable mortgage (only what we need), reasonable car payments (but boy would I love a Mercedes!!!) and no other debt. And yes, we still contribute to ours and our kids savings/college accounts.

I keep seeing people referencing having to be rich to go to Disney. I don't believe this....yes, we make a good living, but I'm sure we'd be considered very middle class and among the 99%'ers....

 

[hookedonears]

I'd be curious as to what defines "higher income" because we are Disney annual pass holders, despite living in NH, we visit twice in a 12 month period and stay Deluxe (often CL) for 10 nights at a time. We are not rich, but we do this very comfortably, paying in cash.

Our key is responsible living in our everyday lives...reasonable mortgage (only what we need), reasonable car payments (but boy would I love a Mercedes!!!) and no other debt. And yes, we still contribute to ours and our kids savings/college accounts.

I keep seeing people referencing having to be rich to go to Disney. I don't believe this....yes, we make a good living, but I'm sure we'd be considered very middle class and among the 99%'ers....

In truth, I despise the 99% phrase. Just like Main Street verse Wall Street, It's completely divisive and is not what this country needs. My point really was more to criticize Disney and the ABC Network, because in many ways they're news organization is extremely biased, divisive and one sided. Yes, affording Disney in MANY CASES, has much more to do with financial discipline and priorities, then economic circumstances.

 

[mefordis]

In truth, I despise the 99% phrase. Just like Main Street verse Wall Street, It's completely divisive and is not what this country needs. My point really was more to criticize Disney and the ABC Network, because in many ways they're news organization is extremely biased, divisive and one sided. Yes, affording Disney in MANY CASES, has much more to do with financial discipline and priorities, then economic circumstances.

Or willingness to go in debt with their Chase 0% apr for 6 months financing.

 

[Bullseye]

I thought you had already decided this.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3226817

Anyway, enjoy your new adventure!

Seriously, this thread is a re-post of the exact same subject?!? Should we expect another one in May? OP, we get it....WDW is getting too expensive so you're going to Busch Gardens. Why didn't you just bump your original thread? Enough already.