One upside of Disney pricing......

[squirk]

...is that it makes all other trips look cheap by comparison.

I am contemplating a trip to Svalbard with my son in early 2023. As I started my research, I kept reading comments on blogs, message boards, etc., about how expensive things are up there, and how pricey it is to vacation there at any time of the year, even the polar night.

So I priced out hotels, food, tours, etc. out of Longyearbyen, and compared the cost to what I pay for a Disney cruise of equal length. I just laughed and laughed. Even when I factor in all the outerwear I'd need to buy for this trip, I just laugh some more.

Yes, I know the two vacations are apples and oranges, but it's amazing how these Disney trips skew your perspective on what a "cheap" vacation looks like.

 

[Cheburashka]

...is that it makes all other trips look cheap by comparison.

I am contemplating a trip to Svalbard with my son in early 2023. As I started my research, I kept reading comments on blogs, message boards, etc., about how expensive things are up there, and how pricey it is to vacation there at any time of the year, even the polar night.

So I priced out hotels, food, tours, etc. out of Longyearbyen, and compared the cost to what I pay for a Disney cruise of equal length. I just laughed and laughed. Even when I factor in all the outerwear I'd need to buy for this trip, I just laugh some more.

Yes, I know the two vacations are apples and oranges, but it's amazing how these Disney trips skew your perspective on what a "cheap" vacation looks like.

It depends on where you're going & how you get there. Coming from central Texas, a Disney cruise is cheaper for us than a trip to Hawaii or major cities in Europe (where we stay in hotels, not "backpacking"), once we factor in the long, expensive flights (our city is not a hub), food, lodging, local transportation, etc. A trip to Disney World staying at a deluxe resort is about equal to or even more expensive than a Disney cruise, as well. The direct flights between our city and Orlando or Miami are so much cheaper than flights to those far away destinations, any non-Disney cost savings once we're on the ground in Hawaii, Paris, Amsterdam, etc. are mostly nullified, and then you have to pay for food, maybe a rental car, etc.

We've enjoyed our trips to Hawaii and Europe, but they certainly weren't cheaper than a Disney cruise. And they were a lot more exhausting, in terms of getting there and coming home.