Theme park inflation

[hllb]

I'm a Disney girl at heart but we have been spending more and more time at Universal and really enjoy it. The deluxe resorts at Universal are above and beyond the deluxe Disney resorts and we enjoy spending at least a day at the resort and if the weather is good more than a day. We enjoy the parks at Universal but enjoy doing other things such as City Walk, mini golf or an afternoon movie.

My son loves Disney but only when mom is around to negotiate him around all the ADR and FP nonsense (his words)! He would much rather go to Universal were he can sleep in and still just walk on any ride that he wants and he doesn't need to know were he is going to be eating 6 months before he actually arrives in Florida.

We stayed at the Royal Pacific. That is one of the deluxe ones, I think. It was nice, but I didn’t find it to be special. It was also nearly $500 a night (quite a bit more than we are paying for the Poly) The rooms were quite small for 5 people; smaller than the Poly. I see they’ve remodeled them since we went 2 years ago. They look nicer now.

Citywalk was nice and we spent one day in Legoland. It was a nice trip but not really a lot less than Disney, though it was a shorter trip.

 

[hereforthechurros]

to DISboards! Your Username is great! - although it is difficult to find churros in WDW as compared to DL.

Enjoy planning and your trip!

Isn't that the truth about churros! DL churros are plentiful and superior but I'll take any churro I can get. And thank you so much. Long time lurker that really enjoys the postive interactions and information provided here

 

[Davey Jones II]

Disney is a business and I understand that and I understand something that their board does not. For every bull market there is a bear market and recession's. It might take a bit but when the next retraction comes they will be scrambling to right their ship. One example that might hurt them is Brazil. If they do not get their act together they are heading for a major crash. And then a lot of South American tour groups will stop coming for awhile.

In reference to the bolded above...don't get our hopes up!

 

[Sparkly]

My answer is that some people just simply enjoy Disney enough that they'll still pony up the $$$$ required to go for a week. I'm not a huge fan of Seaworld or Busch Gardens so wouldn't go spend a week there. I might be persuaded to spend a week at Universal if the weather's good enough that I can enjoy the pool at the beautiful resorts which we couldn't back when we stayed at RPR in Feb 2012! (so disappointing! The pool looked so good but it was just too cold.)

It's your choice. And your money.

 

[epcotty]

I looked into renting points recently, there wasn’t really a savings vs. just doing a general public discount with Disney. It used to be a huge savings, oh well. On top of that you lose a lot of control over the reservation and you have to do it months in advance with no ability to cancel. So, I’ll have to find savings elsewhere.

I’m glad you were able to still get a good deal.

As far as Disney being expensive...I think the travel industry in general has started jacking up prices. When we travel, even to boring places, the hotel prices are obscene. And I always think in terms of what it would cost at Disney, like “I could be staying at CSR for less than this” when it’s just some run of the mill Hampton Inn (which I like, but it’s not on the same level as a Disney moderate or entry level deluxe) type place.

Maybe it depends on the specific hotel being stayed at? We stayed in a Hampton recently when visiting south FL. Price was about the price of a Disney value resort and it was super nice

 

[mshanson3121]

Maybe it depends on the specific hotel being stayed at? We stayed in a Hampton recently when visiting south FL. Price was about the price of a Disney value resort and it was super nice

Haha, this. I always think the opposite of PlainJane: I could be paying $115-135 per night, for a very small, very basic Disney hotel room. Or, I can spend the same (or less) amount per night, and get far nicer off-site accommodations, such as a 2 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills, or the 4 bedroom pool home that we rented. No contest for me. It blows me away what people will pay a night.

 

[Disneytam]

We stayed at the Royal Pacific. That is one of the deluxe ones, I think. It was nice, but I didn’t find it to be special. It was also nearly $500 a night (quite a bit more than we are paying for the Poly) The rooms were quite small for 5 people; smaller than the Poly. I see they’ve remodeled them since we went 2 years ago. They look nicer now.

Citywalk was nice and we spent one day in Legoland. It was a nice trip but not really a lot less than Disney, though it was a shorter trip.

Wow $500 a night was a really high price! We just stayed club level at the Porto Fino Bay resort for a little over $300 a night. The rooms are large and the bathroom had a huge tub and a separate shower. Our Universal AP is also less than half the price of Disney's AP.

 

[hllb]

Wow $500 a night was a really high price! We just stayed club level at the Porto Fino Bay resort for a little over $300 a night. The rooms are large and the bathroom had a huge tub and a separate shower. Our Universal AP is also less than half the price of Disney's AP.

Yes, it was. I ended up adding a day on and got that night for $330. Not sure why it was so high - it was the last week of September.

 

[PlainJane]

Maybe it depends on the specific hotel being stayed at? We stayed in a Hampton recently when visiting south FL. Price was about the price of a Disney value resort and it was super nice

Maybe I just travel to really expensive places? The one that shocked me was when a Courtyard wanted to charge like $300 a night in New England. Not even a super exciting town and definitely not a big city or tourist attraction.

Haha, this. I always think the opposite of PlainJane: I could be paying $115-135 per night, for a very small, very basic Disney hotel room. Or, I can spend the same (or less) amount per night, and get far nicer off-site accommodations, such as a 2 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills, or the 4 bedroom pool home that we rented. No contest for me. It blows me away what people will pay a night.

I wasn’t referring to Orlando. That’s a super saturated market. Disney only gets away with their prices because of the “bubble” they have created. I prefer staying on-site, but I’m also pretty happy with the within the gates options, with the majority of those trips being at WBC and limited experience with the Disney Springs Hotels. A lot of our stays have been timeshare trades into DVC, so the normal added expense of staying on-site wasn’t a factor (RCI has made trading in much more difficult these days, hence why I looked into the cost of points).

 

[Davey Jones II]

Wow $500 a night was a really high price! We just stayed club level at the Porto Fino Bay resort for a little over $300 a night. The rooms are large and the bathroom had a huge tub and a separate shower. Our Universal AP is also less than half the price of Disney's AP.

Yes, but you're also getting half -- two theme parks instead of four. And Disney parks are open later.

I still think Disney offers vacation value, even when it strains our budget. No one offers more high quality and unique experiences. But we did have to use a lot of the strategies learned from these boards (i.e. beating the crowds) in order to get real value for our money.

 

[Bullseye]

Resort rooms have risen only slightly each year since we joined DVC in 2009 since it's all based on maintenance fees. And we stay in much accommodations. This what has allowed (and motivated) us to keep going every year.

But everything else has risen noticeably. Part tickets, air fare, car rental, dining, and merchandise have all gone up quite a bit.

 

[epcotty]

I’m also pretty happy with the within the gates options, with the majority of those trips being at WBC and limited experience with the Disney Springs Hotels.

I always feel like the Disney Springs Hotels are underappreciated and often snubbed. But they're on property, really good and have LOTS of shuttles. We've used some of those hotels before

 

[Captainkidd76]

We stayed at the Royal Pacific. That is one of the deluxe ones, I think. It was nice, but I didn’t find it to be special. It was also nearly $500 a night (quite a bit more than we are paying for the Poly) The rooms were quite small for 5 people; smaller than the Poly. I see they’ve remodeled them since we went 2 years ago. They look nicer now.

Citywalk was nice and we spent one day in Legoland. It was a nice trip but not really a lot less than Disney, though it was a shorter trip.

$500 a night for Royal Pacific seems very high any time of year, unless you were in a suite. That's more than double what we've ever paid for a room, including Club Level.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Yes, but you're also getting half -- two theme parks instead of four. And Disney parks are open later.

Depends on the time of year. We did both last summer, and Universals parks were open later. Magic Kingdom closed some nights at 9:00.

 

[mshanson3121]

I wasn’t referring to Orlando. That’s a super saturated market. Disney only gets away with their prices because of the “bubble” they have created. I prefer staying on-site, but I’m also pretty happy with the within the gates options, with the majority of those trips being at WBC and limited experience with the Disney Springs Hotels. A lot of our stays have been timeshare trades into DVC, so the normal added expense of staying on-site wasn’t a factor (RCI has made trading in much more difficult these days, hence why I looked into the cost of points).

True enough. I know in Halifax (Canada), a basic hotel room in summer at the Comfort Hotel (granted, it's a huge room, a good hotel with nice amenities, but still, just a basic room) will run you $150-175 per night. The "nice" hotels will be $250-350 for a single room.

That said, whenever we're going on vacation for a few nights or more, we always rent through VRBO, as we always find better accommodation (ex. condos, townhouses, cottages etc) for the same or less than a basic hotel room costs. We've found that to be true no matter where we go thus far.

 

[hllb]

$500 a night for Royal Pacific seems very high any time of year, unless you were in a suite. That's more than double what we've ever paid for a room, including Club Level.

You know, you’re right. I kept looking at it feeling surprised I paid that much...then I realized it included our plane tickets. Duh!!! So, it was really more like $300 a night. The confirmation I was looking at didn’t have the flight details in it so I missed that! So, that makes it about the same price we’re paying for the Poly ($30 a night less actually)

 

[PamNC]

So the cost has more than doubled since 2006. That's a lot faster than inflation in the real world.

For our first WDW trip in 2007, I remember getting a hotel (one of the All Stars) plus park tickets package for $1200, for ten days. For our trip this year, we paid roughly the same amount just for the hotel.

I remember taking a trip in the 90's - can't remember the exact year but somewhere around 1995-1997. We stayed at CBR for 7 nights, 8 day park hopper tickets, 2 free character meals... total for both of us (not each) $1100.00.

 

[Captainkidd76]

You know, you’re right. I kept looking at it feeling surprised I paid that much...then I realized it included our plane tickets. Duh!!! So, it was really more like $300 a night. The confirmation I was looking at didn’t have the flight details in it so I missed that! So, that makes it about the same price we’re paying for the Poly ($30 a night less actually)

Definitely seems more reasonable. I think RP has a great resort feel to it, but Hard Rock is my personal fave. Better pool area. Closer to the parks (just a bit). Bigger rooms, and a great shop downstairs that serves on the go breakfast and great ice cream the rest of the day. Hotel has an awesome vibe.

That being said, $330 for the Poly is a great price. Well, compared to rack rate. We rented points last year and paid about the same price and I was stoked.

 

[Jo*Mama]

IMO the park tickets are worth the price. Especially compared to concert tickets, sports events, etc. That's a lot of hours of very exciting entertainment that appeals to all 5 of us! My problem is the cost of the resorts and restaurants. We don't like to stay off-site because we like to be able to split up and use Disney transportation. But even with the discounts, the deluxes cost way more than their amenities would dictate. We just returned from Grand Floridian, and while we went GAGA over the Christmas decor, the sofa in our room was pilled and worn, and the quick service food we got there was terrible! The result for us has been shorter stays and trying to partake in Disney Dining as little as possible!

 

[LSUmiss]

IMO the park tickets are worth the price. Especially compared to concert tickets, sports events, etc. That's a lot of hours of very exciting entertainment that appeals to all 5 of us! My problem is the cost of the resorts and restaurants. We don't like to stay off-site because we like to be able to split up and use Disney transportation. But even with the discounts, the deluxes cost way more than their amenities would dictate. We just returned from Grand Floridian, and while we went GAGA over the Christmas decor, the sofa in our room was pilled and worn, and the quick service food we got there was terrible! The result for us has been shorter stays and trying to partake in Disney Dining as little as possible!

We now go shorter stays but maybe multiple times a yr. I had the same problem w/ GF. We usually stay Poly. All of the resorts are overpriced, but to me GF is the most overpriced b/c it has all the same issues that the other ones have had (like the sofa & other small room issues) but it costs way more.