What is your line in the sand?

[SmithSmith]

For 4 day Uni base ticket/Express pass add-on for each day I got $445 per adult

You are creative at math!

At UT, a 4-day base ticket for Universal is $163.40. (There are better deals available, including buy 2 get 1 free, but I didn't set the rules here.)

The Express Pass starts at $34.99 per day.

Total of $303.36.

I'm trying to do a true comparison based on actual rates set by the respective companies. I'm well aware that deals exist for both properties.

I said earlier that since the express pass price is based on when you travel, I just took the next four days (Dec 4-7) worth of prices. I think it was around $69-$78 per day.

Would you rather I factor in Xmas time prices when the express pass goes up to $120?

 

[Luckybee]

Oh my gosh. Seriously.

I know you were just trying to figure out their hotel costs. But the PP said that his/her London trip was cheaper than the cost that had been worked out for the WDW vacation.

So you have to compare the total cost of the WDW vacation including transportation to the total cost of the London vacation including transportation.

Or, alternately, you could compare the partial cost of the WDW vacation excluding transportation to the partial cost of the London vacation excluding transportation.

What you can't do is compare the partial cost of the WDW vacation excluding transportation to the total cost of the London vacation including transportation. If you do your numbers will be off.

Eesh.

But that wouldn't fit the agenda...lol

 

[Love Tink]

I'm trying to compare a similar experience to a similar experience.

Oh, well you failed miserably then.

 

[Love Tink]

Hogwarts Express cant even be riden without a park to park pass, whereas there are no restrictions at WDW.

Wait, hold the phone! Now there are no restrictions on transferring from Disney park to Disney park without a park hopper pass?

Good to know!

 

[Love Tink]

Would you rather I factor in Xmas time prices when the express pass goes up to $120?

I would think even someone who is slamming her head against a brick wall as hard as you are would have to admit that an Express Pass that gets you to the front of the line at all but two attractions in each park* during Christmastime is not comparable to a FP+ that gets you a "shorter wait" for at least one popular (or Tier 1) attraction per day!

I think comparing FP+ to a low-crowd day at Universal is most fair, because that's the only time the benefits of the two are even remotely comparable.

*Hogwarts Express being excluded from this discussion as it is a ride only for those holding park hoppers.

 

[SmithSmith]

Everyone please calm down.

I was only dissecting W.E.D.'s travel costs. That is all.

I am NOT comparing anything.

 

[SirDuff]

Everyone please calm down.

I was only dissecting W.E.D.'s travel costs. That is all.

I am NOT comparing anything.

But you were doing so incorrectly!

W.E.D. said the trip cost $700-$800 less, yet you subtracted $700 from just the hotel cost of the WDW trip. And, in doing so, implied that W.E.D. was lying (not saying you meant to, but is definitely how your posts read).

 

[SmithSmith]

Wait, hold the phone! Now there are no restrictions on transferring from Disney park to Disney park without a park hopper pass?

Good to know!

I was clarifying that Disney does not have an attraction that requires a Park Hopper to ride.

 

[SmithSmith]

But you were doing so incorrectly!

W.E.D. said the trip cost $700-$800 less, yet you subtracted $700 from just the hotel cost of the WDW trip. And, in doing so, implied that W.E.D. was lying (not saying you meant to, but is definitely how your posts read).

When did I imply that WED was lying?!

If anything I was implying that they got a heck of a bargain!

 

[SmithSmith]

But you were doing so incorrectly!

W.E.D. said the trip cost $700-$800 less, yet you subtracted $700 from just the hotel cost of the WDW trip. And, in doing so, implied that W.E.D. was lying (not saying you meant to, but is definitely how your posts read).

Sorry, I should have said room costs, not travel costs.

 

[SirDuff]

When did I imply that WED was lying?!

If anything I was implying that they got a heck of a bargain!

Just telling you how I was reading it. Your repeated shock and surprise (based on your faulty math) came across as sarcastic to me.

I agree that they got a great deal - but, if you're lucky, you can come across those.

For the record, I've stayed at that hotel (for far less than $550/night) and loved it!

 

[SirDuff]

Sorry, I should have said room costs, not travel costs.

You're still wrong though.

Again, you subtracted $700 from WDW room costs but W.E.D. said that the London trip costs $700 less than the total WDW trip, not $700 less than the WDW room costs. Since you don't know the total cost of the WDW trip, you cannot determine the total cost of the London trip. Which means you cannot then subtract $2,000 (for airfare) to get the room costs of the London trip.

With the information that we have, you cannot determine what she paid for the London hotel.

 

[SmithSmith]

Just telling you how I was reading it. Your repeated shock and surprise (based on your faulty math) came across as sarcastic to me.

I agree that they got a great deal - but, if you're lucky, you can come across those.

For the record, I've stayed at that hotel (for far less than $550/night) and loved it!

If you inferred a sarcastic tone then that is on you.

 

[SmithSmith]

You're still wrong though.

Again, you subtracted $700 from WDW room costs but W.E.D. said that the London trip costs $700 less than the total WDW trip, not $700 less than the WDW room costs. Since you don't know the total cost of the WDW trip, you cannot determine the total cost of the London trip. Which means you cannot then subtract $2,000 (for airfare) to get the room costs of the London trip.

With the information that we have, you cannot determine what she paid for the London hotel.

I assumed WED gave us all the necessary costs that they factored into equation. If they didn't, then I'm wrong. But my reply was to WED to see if they could verify the number I came up with.

They said they priced out POR for 9 nights, in early April with tickets for length of Stay with park hoppers. Which would be around $3400. That is what I subtracted $700 from to come up with the London flight and hotel costs.

To me, it sounded like WED visited the Disney site to price out a POR vacation, thought it was high, so checked Travelocity and found the london package deal, and saw London would be cheaper. If I put myself in that scenario I wouldn't have to price out any other part of either trip because the Disney vacation is missing the travel costs and the London vacation is missing entertainment costs, in my experience, those costs cancel each other out. That was my line of thinking. It could be a gross oversimplification of what happened, or maybe not. You don't know for sure either. So I'd appreciate it if you stop telling me that I'm wrong.

 

[SmithSmith]

I would think even someone who is slamming her head against a brick wall as hard as you are would have to admit that an Express Pass that gets you to the front of the line at all but two attractions in each park* during Christmastime is not comparable to a FP+ that gets you a "shorter wait" for at least one popular (or Tier 1) attraction per day!

I think comparing FP+ to a low-crowd day at Universal is most fair, because that's the only time the benefits of the two are even remotely comparable.

*Hogwarts Express being excluded from this discussion as it is a ride only for those holding park hoppers.

To me, there's other factors to consider than just "short lines" for attractions.
The other factors that should be considered are: park hours, in park entertainment, character m&g's, parades, nighttime fireworks., etc.

 

[agavegirl1]

While it's really fun to see all the "math" going on. I am going back to what I posted on page 4 or so. My line in the sand is when what I perceive as VALUE ceases to exist. Everyone values different things in their vacation depending on destination and desire. I decided I would break down where I am right now after 10 days at WDW at the end of October. I guess I have individual lines in the sand and adjustments can be made for those that have been crossed.

Dining. I value good food and Disney food was just not as good as its pricing suggests it should be. My line in the sand on food has been crossed and I am considering how best to deal with this in the future. Perhaps renting a car and eating offsite, renting DVC points and cooking more of our meals. I will figure it out.

Tickets. I still consider a multi-day (at least 5) ticket to be a reasonable value for access to quite a bit of entertainment. However, some parks individually are not as good a value. Epcot and DHS in particular are somewhat stale for repeat visitors and lack attractions. Many shows at DHS are not really repeatable visit after visit. With only two headline rides on opposite sides of Future World, Epcot seems sad, outdated and stale. We were actually bored during certain parts of our trip. Maybe skipping parks or a shorter trip would be in order. At this point my DBF is not interested in going back until Pandora is done.

Resorts within WDW. I still find value here, in the Value Resorts. I went from staying at Beach Club to staying at Pop Century when the price increased 30+% in four years. I can make a decent comparison between Pop Century and hotels in other tourist areas in the country with similar amenities. Pop Century fares quite well when you can get the 15% discount that is. I think it was around $97 per night for me.

Service. This is very subjective and varies so much by individual. CM interactions vary widely. Just check out any thread on CM behavior and some people will say they have never encountered a less than Magical CM and others will say that many were just "going through the motions" or downright surly. I, personally experienced "adequate" service but nothing I would ever refer to as "Magical". I also encountered one downright mean CM. I haven't reached my "point of no return" based on service yet.

Crowds. Okay, I admit, this is a big one for me. I knew that since four years ago (my last visit) the crowds have increased incrementally overall but what really bothered me is that there are no slow times. While annual park visits and per guest spending are up a few percentage points, I don't like the reasons. Special events, free dining, upcharge parties, to spread the crowds out to previously uncrowded times has really limited my options of when to travel. I guess I could go in January but I have been in February and I was freezing. I have no desire to do WDW in a parka when I can visit a local festival in the same outfit. They are trying too hard to maximize park attendance at the expense of guest experience and it shows...big time. I am very close to the line on this one. This one might be the deciding factor.

I like reading all of your posts (for the most part). Just keep in mind, one person's breaking point may have nothing to do with what you, personally, value.

 

[WdwJon]

My "Line in the Sand" came about almost 10+ years ago. I don't know how many of you remember the hostile attempt by Comcast to takeover Disney. It gave me pause to consider what I would have done if that actually happened. With their lack of customer service as just an example which spills over into all facets of their business, I spent many a moment during that time thinking about what if.

Jon

 

[Suvadoo]

We pay a premium for our WDW vacations. Some still find their WDW vacations have value, and that's great. Others are finding that Universal is a better overall experience and it is less expensive than a WDW vacation.

Yes, everyone has different things they value on a vacation, but to defend WDW by implying it's less expensive than Universal is a complete fabrication.

 

[Suvadoo]

My "Line in the Sand" came about almost 10+ years ago. I don't know how many of you remember the hostile attempt by Comcast to takeover Disney. It gave me pause to consider what I would have done if that actually happened. With their lack of customer service as just an example which spills over into all facets of their business, I spent many a moment during that time thinking about what if.

Jon

That's ironic. Doesn't Comcast now own Universal? Aren't they responsible for all of the Universal upgrades? I've heard that Universal's customer service is what Disney's used to be, per the Dis Unplugged podcasts.

 

[canoe86]

My line (sarcastic with some reality mixed in ) is if I have to deal with waiting for autograph books to be signed. Am I one of the few who realize these characters are not real?

Another line, (sarcastic again with some reality) is the increase in the number of people who STOP right in the middle of the walk way to have a family meeting to determine where they are going. Is it really that hard to move to the side, or is that asking to much of people logically in today's world?

And FINALLY, and this one is getting more toward true reality, we are tired of being treated like cattle. There is no need to keep pushing people into small spaces to WAIT. ( ie little mermaid show at DHS)

OH, and the fact, not a lot to do in 2 of the 4 parks.