What is your line in the sand?

[SmithSmith]

Sorry I thought I was clear and I obviously wasn't ..let me try again....the comparison was made between the cost of POR to the Marriott in London by a poster. Then you commented about adding the cost of airfare to the equation suggesting that the cost overall would be better for the Disney holiday. I commented that the original comparison wasn't really a good comparison (imho)because the Marriott is by far and away a better hotel than POR and the comparison should be made with a Disney deluxe, not with the POR because the Marriott in London is closer to a Disney deluxe (imho much better). Therefore with adding in your airfare London could still be had by an equal price if not better when one is comparing apples to apples and not oranges. In other words, to be fair, compare the price of properties at the same level. When one does that then the airfare differential would be covered by the room price differential. Is that a bit better?
On a side note to the poster who got the Marriott for a better price than the POR then you got an absolute steal and congrats !

Ok. I'm on track now, thanks.

I guess that would be true. However, as W.E.D. said "it depends on what kind of Disney vacation you take". I would never pay $400 for a hotel room, no matter what city I'm in, Disney included. Plush accommodation is not at all important to me. London is terribly expensive, and unlike Disney, finding a decently located and clean hotel room for under $100 is incredibly hard to do. That is why I think Disney is the better value because it accommodates all price ranges.

Also, Disney includes transportation in their hotel cost. Another factor to consider.

 

[Luckybee]

Ok. I'm on track now, thanks.

I guess that would be true. However, as W.E.D. said "it depends on what kind of Disney vacation you take". I would never pay $400 for a hotel room, no matter what city I'm in, Disney included. Plush accommodation is not at all important to me. London is terribly expensive, and unlike Disney, finding a decently located and clean hotel room for under $100 is incredibly hard to do. That is why I think Disney is the better value because it accommodates all price ranges.

Also, Disney includes transportation in their hotel cost. Another factor to consider.

Well if you aren't looking for luxury you can find bargains in London too but it depends on what you want. Value is subjective don't you think ? For us value depends on what you get for the dollar. I have no trouble paying $400 and more for a hotel if I feel Im getting value for it which is why we wont do Disney deluxes but spend more than that for hotels elsewhere...and on this we agree ....London is expensive as heck but not nearly as bad as some other places .

The transportation isn't important to me in Orlando because we always rent a car.....Im too type A to wait around for busses....lol

 

[SmithSmith]

Well if you aren't looking for luxury you can find bargains in London too but it depends on what you want. Value is subjective don't you think ? For us value depends on what you get for the dollar. I have no trouble paying $400 and more for a hotel if I feel Im getting value for it which is why we wont do Disney deluxes but spend more than that for hotels elsewhere...and on this we agree ....London is expensive as heck but not nearly as bad as some other places .

The transportation isn't important to me in Orlando because we always rent a car.....Im too type A to wait around for busses....lol

More than likely when I finally get to travel to England I'll have to rent a flat. I'm celiac and it'll be imperative that I have access to a kitchen. Luckily for us, flat rentals are more economical than hotels, and in my mind a better value. I do not have the luxury of spending hundreds on a hotel room each night, especially when the transportation alone would cost around $2500 for the 2 of us. We can have a complete weeklong Disney vacation for the cost of transportation to and around England. I say England and not London because we're Doctor Who & Midsomer Murders fans, so we would have to have rail passes to see the countryside and Cardiff.

 

[SmithSmith]

Well if you aren't looking for luxury you can find bargains in London too but it depends on what you want. Value is subjective don't you think ? For us value depends on what you get for the dollar. I have no trouble paying $400 and more for a hotel if I feel Im getting value for it which is why we wont do Disney deluxes but spend more than that for hotels elsewhere...and on this we agree ....London is expensive as heck but not nearly as bad as some other places .

The transportation isn't important to me in Orlando because we always rent a car.....Im too type A to wait around for busses....lol

I'm curious. What does a hotel need to offer, for you to see value at $400 and up price range.

 

[robinb]

I'm curious. What does a hotel need to offer, for you to see value at $400 and up price range.

I paid over $400 for the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac over Winter Carnival in Quebec. My DH had one free night through Fairmont so I spun it to myself that we paid $225 per night .

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm curious. What does a hotel need to offer, for you to see value at $400 and up price range.

Depends on location.

In Orlando, for me, it would have to be a Four Seasons level of quality (that might be more like $500 a night but close enough). Obviously, this is dependent on the city so I'll stick to Orlando!

Room impeccably clean, no fingerprints anywhere, no dust under things that should have been moved and dusted. Clean carpets that are not past their due date. No scuff marks on the walls. High-quality sheets and towels and an beyond-comfortable bed. High-end toiletries including lotion, a shower cap, Q-tips, any little thing is appreciated above the bare minimum. Pristine bathroom. Excellent service...When you call to the front desk, you get a live person at the front desk who will actually try to assist you. Plenty of hotel porters to assist with luggage at the entrance when I arrive and upon departure. Pool area constantly being attended to...no dirty towels and empty drink cups lying around. Clean hallways with clean carpet. No housekeeping carts left in the hallway all day all night. A concierge that can help me get a dinner reservation in the hotel where I am staying.

 

[Suvadoo]

Depends on location.

In Orlando, for me, it would have to be a Four Seasons level of quality (that might be more like $500 a night but close enough). Obviously, this is dependent on the city so I'll stick to Orlando!

Room impeccably clean, no fingerprints anywhere, no dust under things that should have been moved and dusted. Clean carpets that are not past their due date. No scuff marks on the walls. High-quality sheets and towels and an beyond-comfortable bed. High-end toiletries including lotion, a shower cap, Q-tips, any little thing is appreciated above the bare minimum. Pristine bathroom. Excellent service...When you call to the front desk, you get a live person at the front desk who will actually try to assist you. Plenty of hotel porters to assist with luggage at the entrance when I arrive and upon departure. Pool area constantly being attended to...no dirty towels and empty drink cups lying around. Clean hallways with clean carpet. No housekeeping carts left in the hallway all day all night. A concierge that can help me get a dinner reservation in the hotel where I am staying.

You forgot to mention room size. That's important too.

 

[agavegirl1]

I paid over $400 for the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac over Winter Carnival in Quebec. My DH had one free night through Fairmont so I spun it to myself that we paid $225 per night .

I am still following this conversation and I also agree, it depends on the City. I had the opportunity to stay in a Four Star hotel on the Arno River in Florence, Italy. Because the buildings are historic, I don't expect new, updated amenities but clean, classic, original but functional ones. We had a free breakfast buffet with Mimosas, cloth tablecloths and attendant wearing tuxedos. We had hotel staff at our beck and call for Concierge, Bell Services and opening the front door for us. Our room was two floors with a sitting room below and the bedroom upstairs in the loft like space with it's own bathroom. (There was also a powder room downstairs). The bed was new and the bed linens luxurious. There was a huge chandalier hanging from the high ceiling down to the sitting room and a window overlooking the river with a view of Da Vinci Piazza that was more than a story high.

This Deluxe experience in a popular Italian City was priced at $412 per night but we got it for $278. There are lots of hotels in Florence and most things are walking distance.

In London, I actually expect less for that price. London is really expensive. For Orlando? Just check out the competition. That's what you should be pricing toward with a reasonable upcharge for location since everything is NOT walking distance.

 

[PEC]

Try these numbers on for size...
1971

• Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.08
• Cost of a gallon of regular gas: $0.36
• Cost of a dozen eggs: $0.53
• Cost of a gallon of Milk: $1.18
• Standard room at the Polynesian: $29.00
• WDW Adult Admission: $5.75 (11 adventure book)
• Median Household Income: $9,028.00

2014

• Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.49 (613%)
• Cost of a gallon of regular gas: $2.75 (764%)
• Cost of a dozen eggs: $2.00 (377%)
• Cost of a gallon of Milk: $3.55 (301%)
• Standard room at the Polynesian: $436.00 (1,503%)
• WDW Adult Admission: $99.00 (1 day ticket) (1,722%)
• Median Household Income: $53,891.00 (596%)

Martin

Some good points though keep in mind Universal is 96 for one day and so Disney is pretty much in line with the going rate for Major Amusement Parks in the Orlando area (Seaworld maybe less but there are several issues involved in that equation). The Househould Income just shows how much entertainment has gone up across the board for such activities. Necessities are much in line with Income but entertaiment eats into our spending. I think sports events, concert prices etc price increases are much like Disney.
Anyone comparing commodities to prices have to realize these items are sold on the commodity exhanges and can vary greatly.

 

[Luckybee]

Depends on location.

In Orlando, for me, it would have to be a Four Seasons level of quality (that might be more like $500 a night but close enough). Obviously, this is dependent on the city so I'll stick to Orlando!

Room impeccably clean, no fingerprints anywhere, no dust under things that should have been moved and dusted. Clean carpets that are not past their due date. No scuff marks on the walls. High-quality sheets and towels and an beyond-comfortable bed. High-end toiletries including lotion, a shower cap, Q-tips, any little thing is appreciated above the bare minimum. Pristine bathroom. Excellent service...When you call to the front desk, you get a live person at the front desk who will actually try to assist you. Plenty of hotel porters to assist with luggage at the entrance when I arrive and upon departure. Pool area constantly being attended to...no dirty towels and empty drink cups lying around. Clean hallways with clean carpet. No housekeeping carts left in the hallway all day all night. A concierge that can help me get a dinner reservation in the hotel where I am staying.

This^^^ and as stated depends on the location. We paid a small fortune for the Viceroy in Anguilla for a private villa with pool hanging over a cliff. We had 24 hour butler service, a private chef, service to die for and pure unadulterated luxury. For us it was worth every nickel

What sets a true luxury hotel apart imho is the extra mile. One of my favourite stories is something that happened at the 4 seasons Vegas. Dh and I were at the pool when I broke the strap to my $10.00 sandals. No biggie but one of the pool guys noticed me fiddling with them before I was about to throw them out. He offered to take them to fix them and I explained they were just a cheap pair and not to worry. He insisted, took the sandal, and later that evening brought it to our room good as new. This is the kind of service that one might see at a true luxury property.

 

[deanimal]

I have no issue with paying $400-$500 for a hotel room but I would never stay at a deluxe at Disney. The value rooms are actually a pretty good deal for what you get. But the jump to Deluxe prices is just over the top. I love my luxuries, but I'm much more interested in value for my money. I have stayed happily in a cool new youth hostel with views from the 32nd story of a Tokyo highrise for $40 per night, in a spotlessly clean basic motor inn across the street from Disneyland for $100 per night, $200 for a bare bones hotel room with a canal view just off the Grand Canal in Venice, $300 for the Four Seasons hotel in Vancouver on an off season special and $600 per night for a South African Safari lodge with a private butler and game drives twice per day. If I'm getting good value for my money, I'm a happy traveler.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I have no issue with paying $400-$500 for a hotel room but I would never stay at a deluxe at Disney. The value rooms are actually a pretty good deal for what you get. But the jump to Deluxe prices is just over the top. I love my luxuries, but I'm much more interested in value for my money.

Everyone has a different value system. For me I don't see the value in staying at a deluxe in the room itself, I find it in the convenience of being on the monorail line. Probably the reason I will never stay at the Four Seasons Orlando. While a beautiful resort, not very convenient.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

For us it is ticket prices. This is our biggest expense, second food or lodging (depending on deluxe or value resort,we stay onsite), then airfare since we can get deals with FF miles or buying way in advance. If ticket prices continue to increase significantly we will need to stop going to WDW.

 

[W.E.D.]

Hello Des Moines! I'm Davenport!

I'm going to have to write that hotel down. I thought I would need to rent a flat in order to afford London.

However, to travel to Disney costs us $150 in gas. How much did your plane tickets cost?

Hi Davenport! I see this post caused a little ripple in thread, so I'll go into more detail.

I got a package deal through Travelocity, and we traveled off-season for London (I guess), going in early April. I can't give the breakdown between room and flight. I can tell you I had been looking at 8 days, 9 nights at POR with hoppers and tix for length of stay. It seemed kind of pricey to me at the time, so I hopped over to the Travelocity site and for the heck of it started researching a trip to London, which we had always wanted to visit. I do not have the exact figures, but I can tell you for certain it was $700 - $800 cheaper to take that trip to London. Which is why we did it instead of going back to WDW that year. I certainly wouldn't have done it if it was more than WDW.

 

[Suvadoo]

Some good points though keep in mind Universal is 96 for one day and so Disney is pretty much in line with the going rate for Major Amusement Parks in the Orlando area (Seaworld maybe less but there are several issues involved in that equation). The Househould Income just shows how much entertainment has gone up across the board for such activities. Necessities are much in line with Income but entertaiment eats into our spending. I think sports events, concert prices etc price increases are much like Disney.
Anyone comparing commodities to prices have to realize these items are sold on the commodity exhanges and can vary greatly.

OK, you keep mentioning the 1 day price comparison between Disney and Unversal. But a 3 day base ticket for Disney is $285.90 vs a 3 day base ticket for Universal is $186.00. So, I would say in this comparison Universal is $100 cheaper than Disney.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

OK, you keep mentioning the 1 day price comparison between Disney and Unversal. But a 3 day base ticket for Disney is $285.90 vs a 3 day base ticket for Universal is $186.00. So, I would say in this comparison Universal is $100 cheaper than Disney.

However, Disney offers a option of 4 parks and not 2, which are smaller. I cant say this is still so, but in the past, if you wish you can use a park admission for the water parks as well.

So using your comparison system, WDW is a bargain.

Now, look at the costs of travel, parking and tickets which are off the wall expensive for a 3 to 4 hour event and many times the costs of WDW or Uni, I would say most theme parks are a bargain.

SO TO ANSWER the OP...........nope, not even close to a line in the sand.

AKK

 

[Luckybee]

I have no issue with paying $400-$500 for a hotel room but I would never stay at a deluxe at Disney. The value rooms are actually a pretty good deal for what you get. But the jump to Deluxe prices is just over the top. I love my luxuries, but I'm much more interested in value for my money. I have stayed happily in a cool new youth hostel with views from the 32nd story of a Tokyo highrise for $40 per night, in a spotlessly clean basic motor inn across the street from Disneyland for $100 per night, $200 for a bare bones hotel room with a canal view just off the Grand Canal in Venice, $300 for the Four Seasons hotel in Vancouver on an off season special and $600 per night for a South African Safari lodge with a private butler and game drives twice per day. If I'm getting good value for my money, I'm a happy traveler.

Although Im not the youth hostel travel type I agree with the general premise of your post. We too wont do the Disney Deluxes other than perhaps for a night because we just don't see the value in them. Firstly I don't think they are true deluxe hotels, not when compared with deluxe virtually anywhere else , and esp not at the price point they are at. Im prepared to give up the convenience of the "onsite" stuff to have true luxury outside the Disney gates. Now speak to me about Loews Portofino at Universal and Im in. We were thrilled with this hotel this past Sept. from the rooms, to the amazing pools, the phenomenal service, staff , physical property etc. We're now looking at this coming May and the prices are just over half the cost of the Disney Deluxes. Quite frankly I just don't get how Disney can get people in their deluxes when there are so many better hotels in Orlando but that's just me who doesn't really get the "staying in the Disney bubble".

 

[SmithSmith]

Depends on location.

In Orlando, for me, it would have to be a Four Seasons level of quality (that might be more like $500 a night but close enough). Obviously, this is dependent on the city so I'll stick to Orlando!

Room impeccably clean, no fingerprints anywhere, no dust under things that should have been moved and dusted. Clean carpets that are not past their due date. No scuff marks on the walls. High-quality sheets and towels and an beyond-comfortable bed. High-end toiletries including lotion, a shower cap, Q-tips, any little thing is appreciated above the bare minimum. Pristine bathroom. Excellent service...When you call to the front desk, you get a live person at the front desk who will actually try to assist you. Plenty of hotel porters to assist with luggage at the entrance when I arrive and upon departure. Pool area constantly being attended to...no dirty towels and empty drink cups lying around. Clean hallways with clean carpet. No housekeeping carts left in the hallway all day all night. A concierge that can help me get a dinner reservation in the hotel where I am staying.

We definitely have different ideas of value. I don't even keep my home to these impeccable standards, having them at a hotel would be a needless luxury and not at all valuable.

 

[SmithSmith]

This^^^ and as stated depends on the location. We paid a small fortune for the Viceroy in Anguilla for a private villa with pool hanging over a cliff. We had 24 hour butler service, a private chef, service to die for and pure unadulterated luxury. For us it was worth every nickel

What sets a true luxury hotel apart imho is the extra mile. One of my favourite stories is something that happened at the 4 seasons Vegas. Dh and I were at the pool when I broke the strap to my $10.00 sandals. No biggie but one of the pool guys noticed me fiddling with them before I was about to throw them out. He offered to take them to fix them and I explained they were just a cheap pair and not to worry. He insisted, took the sandal, and later that evening brought it to our room good as new. This is the kind of service that one might see at a true luxury property.

Maybe if the resort was the destination then I can see the point of splurging. However, that's unlikely because that's not how I travel. Unless, we were talking about the Adventureland Suite at Disneyland Hotel because that place is my decorating dreams realized!

 

[emmasmom77]

We haven't been in over 10 years and went last month. We were pushed over the line due mostly to crowds. Crowds during what was supposed to be a slow period because of the addition of free dining. I get that but for under $3000 we are a family of 3 with a 5 year old. We bought 4 day base tickets, MVMCP tickets, Frozen party package, rented a small SUV, and stayed off site and bought most food off site. The only reason we stay off site is because we like traveling with our dog and kitten and Disney does not offer that as an option. Disney really caters to those that stay on site and is so sad that as more hotels are allowing pets Disney will not.

We are going back next year but staying on site at Universal at one of their hotels that do allow pets and only one day at Disney with the other days at Universal, SeaWorld, LegoLand.

Plus we didn't feel that there was enough at AK, DHS, and Epcot each day to keep us busy. We left each park during the day to rest in the hotel room and got Chipotle. The places we tried pizza in the parks were not worth the money at all to us. Pinocchio's pizza was the worst. Hardly any sauce and the flatest pizza I've ever seen. Rather go to Chipotle as it fills us all and tastes good. Plus the Frozen party was a let down. Yes drinks and dessert were good but for the price it felt very overpriced.

We also didn't buy our tickets till we got to Florida for our trip. Even so we still got fast passes to most headliners like Peter Pan, Cinderella and Rapunzel M&G, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Soarin, Test Track, Safari at AK and Toy story Mania. We still saw Elsa after an hour and half wait and waited 30 minutes for the 7DMT. I feel that we got to do what we wanted but we were smashed in among the crowds.

We entered MK for MVMCP at about 5 pm and there was a dance party in the street, made it so difficult to get to the rides as we had a fast pass at 5:20 and just wanted to get to it. In the process of moving through the crowds my husband had a wheelchair run into the back of his ankle and left a gash. There was no where to go. It's bad planning with the crowds. When we can back though they had everything roped off so you could walk to the exit. I wish they did that during the dance party. It was like trying to walk through a sardine package and no one could go anywhere.

For the cost of a beach vacation where we could actually rest and enjoy ourselves it just wasn't worth it. We were so exhausted after our trip. Plus we get season passes to Busch Gardens and Six Flags so from Spring till November we are always at an amusement park. We expected more from Disney as we spend $600 with a dining plan for all 3 of us at six flags, and $50 a month for platinum membership at the Busch Gardens theme parks. We spent $1359 for all the tickets and reservation. We went to Sesame Place over the summer as well (part of Busch Gardens family) so we have a lot to compare our experience too and we expected the CMs to be nicer than the six flags staff and it wasn't the case for us. I think staying on site and staying off site offer very different experiences as well.