Putting Off Next Trip

[qman6975]

For years we have visited WDW every other year. Our last trip was in 2018 but I think that instead of returning in 2020 it will be 2021 at the earliest.

One reason is, well, money. I recognize Disney is a for profit company but man have the prices climbed or what? Both hotel prices and park tickets jumped between our 2016 and 2018 trips and early looks at 2020 show more of the same. We love the "Disney bubble" where we stay on property and don't see the outside world for a week. We don't want to skimp by staying off property or shortening up the trip. If we are going to do it, we are going to do it right! However, doing it right costs a lot more than it used to and budget-wise we can't (or won't) take that hit every two years anymore.

The (smaller) issue is the current transition the parks are under right now. The current major adds like Tron or Guardians won't be up in running until 2021 so we might as well wait and get the best value for our money (that word again).

Anyway, does anyone else feel the same?

 

[Klayfish]

No, can't say I do. It's clearly subjective. To you, "doing it right" is staying on property for example, and the "bubble" clearly has a mystique for you. Not saying that's wrong, it's just a value judgement. To me, staying off property is far better than on for so many reasons, it's the only way we'd do Disney. We also think the "bubble" concept is completely silly.

WDW is expensive, no doubt about it. However, there are ways to do it reasonably, IMO.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I agree that if we couldn’t afford to “do it right” (in our opinion of course) we would push a trip a year or two away. It’s too costly for us to get down there to make it a lesser trip, again in our opinion. If we were driving distance and not dealing with crappy exchange rates I would probably be more willing to compromise on aspects of the vacation.

That said we are going in 2020. We rent points so aren’t too impacted by the hotel prices, DH and I have APs this time and everyone else has Canadian discount tickets, and we can deal with whatever construction is going on at the parks. Don’t mind missing out on the new attractions, except I am bummed that we’ll probably miss Mickey’s Runaway Railway since that one was pushed back so much. If we were a once or twice in a lifetime family I would definitely skip 2020 though.

 

[Ninja Mom]

You are not alone with the realization that Disney is pricing families out of vacations at WDW. I have family members and neighbors that come to me for advice about planning a Disney vacation and the first thing that I urge them to do is to price Disney out and then price out a different vacation destination. They are shocked at Disney pricing. Then I explain to them that the new Disney focus is to charge the highest prices while making cuts and offering less and less bang for the buck.

If they are still not sure, I urge them to talk to people they know who have recently taken a Disney World vacation and to hear what their thoughts are. That usually is enough to convince them that a Disney Parks vacation is not what it used to be and a poor financial value.

It's sad that the only priority with Disney is to make enormous, over the top, profits at the expense of everything else. It's obvious that Disney has abandoned their focus on innovation and customer service excellence in pursuit of extreme profits.

Disney has become primarily a "Media" company, and the parks and resorts only serve to market the media properties. Leadership no longer cares about the parks and resorts, except for when it is time to prop up the stock price. Then the parks and resorts are used as a financial cash cow to gouge the guests so those stock price parameters are met and the executives get their bonuses.

Disney likes to market nostalgia when encouraging people to book a Disney Parks vacation, but the sad reality of today is an inferior experience at extraordinary, over the top pricing, that is not reflective of what you will get.

~NM

 

[Farro]

We are staying at Gran Destino for 9 nights next May with 9 day park hoppers for around $3600, so we think that's still a good deal for us.

After this trip (which we need, desperately) we won't go back until 2023 after most (if not all) construction will be finished.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Well after 6 trips in 2 years we have been priced out of APs. I have park tickets in MDE that I bought ages ago and they don't expire until 2030, but we are still going to skip 2020.

I have the money saved for the trip, so that isn't the issue. I don't want to burn out my husband, because he really enjoys going. He has expressed the desire to go elsewhere next year, though. I also want to wait until Epcot construction is complete.

We also decided that Thanksgiving week is when we want to go and we don't want to be out of town every single year. Plus, the 50th anniversary stuff will be happening, which is a bonus.

We'll be going to Dallas for spring break and really looking forward to it. I'm glad to save a bit more, as I would like to add on Universal in 2021.

 

[Klayfish]

You are not alone with the realization that Disney is pricing families out of vacations at WDW. I have family members and neighbors that come to me for advice about planning a Disney vacation and the first thing that I urge them to do is to price Disney out and then price out a different vacation destination. They are shocked at Disney pricing. Then I explain to them that the new Disney focus is to charge the highest prices while making cuts and offering less and less bang for the buck.

If they are still not sure, I urge them to talk to people they know who have recently taken a Disney World vacation and to hear what their thoughts are. That usually is enough to convince them that a Disney Parks vacation is not what it used to be and a poor financial value.

It's sad that the only priority with Disney is to make enormous, over the top, profits at the expense of everything else. It's obvious that Disney has abandoned their focus on innovation and customer service excellence in pursuit of extreme profits.

Disney has become primarily a "Media" company, and the parks and resorts only serve to market the media properties. Leadership no longer cares about the parks and resorts, except for when it is time to prop up the stock price. Then the parks and resorts are used as a financial cash cow to gouge the guests so those stock price parameters are met and the executives get their bonuses.

Disney likes to market nostalgia when encouraging people to book a Disney Parks vacation, but the sad reality of today is an inferior experience at extraordinary, over the top pricing, that is not reflective of what you will get.

~NM

All of what you wrote is "IMO", of course, right?. I would...and do...strongly disagree with pretty much everything posted above. Curious, what proof do you have that their only priority is to make "enormous, over the top profits at the expense of everything else"?

 

[SaintsManiac]

You are not alone with the realization that Disney is pricing families out of vacations at WDW. I have family members and neighbors that come to me for advice about planning a Disney vacation and the first thing that I urge them to do is to price Disney out and then price out a different vacation destination. They are shocked at Disney pricing. Then I explain to them that the new Disney focus is to charge the highest prices while making cuts and offering less and less bang for the buck.

If they are still not sure, I urge them to talk to people they know who have recently taken a Disney World vacation and to hear what their thoughts are. That usually is enough to convince them that a Disney Parks vacation is not what it used to be and a poor financial value.

It's sad that the only priority with Disney is to make enormous, over the top, profits at the expense of everything else. It's obvious that Disney has abandoned their focus on innovation and customer service excellence in pursuit of extreme profits.

Disney has become primarily a "Media" company, and the parks and resorts only serve to market the media properties. Leadership no longer cares about the parks and resorts, except for when it is time to prop up the stock price. Then the parks and resorts are used as a financial cash cow to gouge the guests so those stock price parameters are met and the executives get their bonuses.

Disney likes to market nostalgia when encouraging people to book a Disney Parks vacation, but the sad reality of today is an inferior experience at extraordinary, over the top pricing, that is not reflective of what you will get.

~NM

Absolutely disagree and I find it disheartening that you're discouraging people from going.

 

[Staren]

I agree completely with waiting on a Disney trip until you can do it right by your definition of right. I know I would not enjoy a penny pinching trip. I will be going on one more trip at the end of 2019 before my AP expires, but I think I’m skipping 2020. Both because of the cost, and the current construction. I’ll probably be back for the 50th celebration.

 

[MrsInsG]

Absolutely disagree and I find it disheartening that you're discouraging people from going.

I agree wholeheartedly! Instead of discouraging people and deliberately leading them to the answer you want them to arrive at, why not talk about the various options available?

We're a family of five and WDW is expensive for us; that said, so is everything else. Some trips are more expensive than others, and it just depends on what we type of trip we are planning. Our last trip was 10 nights at BLT in a one bedroom with park hoppers and the dining plan, the trip before that was four nights at AKL with no park tickets or dining plan, and a lot of counter service. Our next "big" trip will be Christmas of 2021 at the Contemporary in concierge with only a few park days, while a couple of years ago was Art of Animation with three park days and no hopper, no dining plan. It's all about balance.

FWIW, a beach vacation, Europe, or any other comparable vacation is within range of WDW from a cost standpoint. To each their own.

 

[KenHutch]

Well we went in June of 2018 and are not going again until June 2021. Several reasons one I want the fast pass at Hollywood Studios to finally get sized up and decided on. Two the construction at Epcot and third the cost. The girls love the deluxe meal plan and want to spend 12 days at The Poly , 2 days at Universal and at least one day at Hard Rock in Daytona Beach. Since I have to get 2 rooms we are looking at around 30K and since I don't go in debt put pay cash 3 years is about what it takes to save that much.

 

[bryanb]

I agree with @Ninja Mom that Disney is getting very expensive and it is pricing many families out of the market. I also agree that they are focused on profit maximization, as any publicly traded corporation is supposed to be. Where I disagree is the idea that they've "abandoned their focus on innovation and customer service excellence in pursuit of extreme profits."

Actually, Disney continues to innovate and invest in new experiences. There are so many entertainment options competing for our leisure dollars that Disney spends enormous amounts of money to stay ahead of the competition. SWGE, Pandora, and the upcoming Epcot reimagination are just some examples of multi-billion dollar projects that will lure visitors from around the world. They're smart about their spend, so obviously they're going to tie into the media pipeline, but I'd consider these to be world class additions to the parks. And while it's easy to focus on inevitable bad examples among tens of thousands of cast members, overall I haven't experienced any decline in the service culture. In fact it's always easier to focus on the cutbacks and negatives if you're looking for them and ignore the positive.

 

[Stinkerbell's Mommy]

We just decided to visit Disney World in March after having been away for 5 years. We've take her three times so far, when she was almost 2, almost 3, 7 and now for her 13th birthday.

We will be spending nine nights at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, have 6 day park tickets and 2 day Universal tickets

I priced out several options including a cruise and Hawaii. The other trips were comparable in cost. Our daughter chose Disney for her birthday.

Is Disney different now than when I was a kid, certainly. Is it a good value for the money, probably not but it's also not overpriced compared to other trips we priced out.

 

[gatour]

Absolutely disagree and I find it disheartening that you're discouraging people from going.

Why do you find it disheartening that they are discouraging people from going?

The person is expressing their opinion to their friends.

I love cruising (non Disney) but if a friend asks me my opinion, I take into account the type of trips they normally like to do. Some I lead away others I strongly encourage them to give it a cruise a try.

As to comparing costs to other vacations. Over the last few years Disney has been increasing their rates (passes, hotel, restaurant, and drink costs) higher than the rate of inflation and this has compounded over the years.

I can do a beach vacation at a per day cost less than a Disney vacation. I can do a cruise for even less.

I had been going to WDW since it opened and had been a long time AP holder since they started offering them. We dropped them several years ago as we couldn't justify the cost. We actually got Universal APs for several years as we thought the price/value ratio was much better for an amusement park experience as opposed to Disney's

 

[georgina]

Those Disney Springs hotels are a good option now that they get 60 day FP and have access to EMH. (Oops, meant to quote Stinkerbell's Mommy)

 

[SaintsManiac]

Why do you find it disheartening that they are discouraging people from going?

The person is expressing their opinion to their friends.

I love cruising (non Disney) but if a friend asks me my opinion, I take into account the type of trips they normally like to do. Some I lead away others I strongly encourage them to give it a cruise a try.

As to comparing costs to other vacations. Over the last few years Disney has been increasing their rates (passes, hotel, restaurant, and drink costs) higher than the rate of inflation and this has compounded over the years.

I can do a beach vacation at a per day cost less than a Disney vacation. I can do a cruise for even less.

I had been going to WDW since it opened and had been a long time AP holder since they started offering them. We dropped them several years ago as we couldn't justify the cost. We actually got Universal APs for several years as we thought the price/value ratio was much better for an amusement park experience as opposed to Disney's

I would never discourage someone from going to the destination of their choice.

 

[Klayfish]

Well we went in June of 2018 and are not going again until June 2021. Several reasons one I want the fast pass at Hollywood Studios to finally get sized up and decided on. Two the construction at Epcot and third the cost. The girls love the deluxe meal plan and want to spend 12 days at The Poly , 2 days at Universal and at least one day at Hard Rock in Daytona Beach. Since I have to get 2 rooms we are looking at around 30K and since I don't go in debt put pay cash 3 years is about what it takes to save that much.

Wow! I'm not disagreeing with your assessment, but realize that it's personal choice. You're choosing to spend $30k on a trip like that (or that's what it would cost if you took it), it's not a requirement. You don't have to stay at the Poly, you don't have to have a deluxe meal plan. I could do the trip you're doing...12 days at WDW, 2 at Universal and one day in Daytona Beach and bet I'd spend just 25% of what you would, or less...and have an absolute blast.

 

[Stinkerbell's Mommy]

Those Disney Springs hotels are a good option now that they get 60 day FP and have access to EMH. (Oops, meant to quote Stinkerbell's Mommy)

That's exactly why we booked it. Being a teenager, my daughter was okay not staying at a themed resort and we saved quite a bit of money in the process.

 

[Delirium]

Last went Thanksgiving week 2018. Stayed at Beach Club and thoroughly enjoyed the easy access to Epcot and HS. Next trip will be early June 2021 at the earliest. Would absolutely love to stay at a deluxe Epcot resort again. Even though 2021 prices are not out yet, 2020 prices are, and the discrepancy between paying the cost of a deluxe resort compared to a moderate would be hard to justify. We'll keep the dream alive for a few more months until it's time to buy, but it's likely we'll be headed back to moderate.

 

[Ninja Mom]

All of what you wrote is "IMO", of course, right?. I would...and do...strongly disagree with pretty much everything posted above. Curious, what proof do you have that their only priority is to make "enormous, over the top profits at the expense of everything else"?

Curious, what proof do you have that it's not?
~NM