I was acutally just thinking about this very thing this morning, and was going to come on here and post about it!
I recently started listening to all of the podcasts from the beginning, and even back then, Pete and the gang talk about having a 'tipping point' and wondering when it will be reached. I honestly think it has been for the average vacationer.
We have tipped. We're cruising (not Disney) in the spring instead of going back to Disney.
Now, I said last year I was tipping and they sucked me back in with a 40% pin code, but our last trip was so "meh" that I don't think even that will do it for us this time. There isn't one thing that is making us rethink it, it an accumulation of a lot of things. We thought the food on the dining plan was no longer a value for us, the quality of the food has slipped a bit, the service was subpar on more than one occasion, and the magic is gone. We just feel with all the nickle and dime stuff, whether we personally use it or not, they no longer care. We're not done with Disney forever, but it will be awhile.
I totally agree with you. Really, one of the only ways we have been able to budget our trips/justify them was with free dining. But we decided after this year's trip, that if we had to pay for the dining plan, we would not, but it doesn't seem to be worth it. Even with getting it for free, the quality of food and service in the majority of restaraunts was so very aggrivating that we don't even feel that getting the free dining is a good deal anymore. We'll be going back as well, but it won't be in the near future.
I'm not sure I'll hit a "tipping" point of not going, but I'm sure at a point where I go less. Our next trip involved eating off site, going to other attractions and spending less time at Disney because the value seems to be slipping. We love the parks, but eating at the parks and never leaving property is less and less attractive to us.
We have started talking about our vacation next year, and spending it in Orlando strictly at Universal, Sea World, etc. It just seems to be a better deal for your money. Whether that's where we end up or not, we are looking at other places where we feel we'll get more out of our money. One of those possibilities does include staying and eating offsite, because the perks of staying onsite are slowly dwindling or becoming lower in quality.
We are the type of family that has to budget a certain amount to go on vacation and save for it, and with Disney consistently raising their prices, the price to go there is going to be higher than our budget very soon. It's really very sad, it seems that they are TRYING to price themselves away from people with lower budgets.
I am at the point of thinking of not going now, but I properly will then I don't know when I will go again. I am just wondering how many people are at this tipping point.
