When they say going to Disney is too expensive…

[atthebeachclub]

I went to a concert this last spring and spent multiple hundreds of dollars on the tickets. It was....a lot more than I anticipated. I didn't realize Ben Folds was so expensive these days. But to be honest, the show was amazing and I don't regret the money spent. Same thing with Disney trips. I feel like it's expensive, but worth it.

 

[MillauFr]

Learn something new everyday! Had no idea you could bring your own.

Yes at the restaurants in the hotels you much better off bringing your own wines and paying the $25 fee. I was bringing $50 wines that Disney was charging over $200 A bottle. The wine prices there are horrible.

 

[gr8ful]

Honestly I have found eating at the parks cheaper than eating out at home many times. I’m still dreaming about the $10.49 tacos I had at DLR last weekend. And I used a discounted Disney gift card to pay for it! I may even have saved 10% on top of that for being DVC. The tacos were very very good on top of affordable.

This is exactly how I justify our dinners at full-service restaurants and character brunches during our stay. 10% DVC discount and paying with a DGC purchased for at least 10% less than face value, so a 20-25% discount overall.

 

[eticketplease]

This is exactly how I justify our dinners at full-service restaurants and character brunches during our stay. 10% DVC discount and paying with a DGC purchased for at least 10% less than face value, so a 20-25% discount overall.

Other than visiting @Smugpugmug bar DGC are the only way to save on drinks

 

[Brian Noble]

3-4x is a pretty typical markup for wine at a restaurant. I remember back in the EasyWDW days, Josh (may his memory be a blessing) used to quote the Total Wine price of bottles offered at the various fireworks etc. events. Let's just say they were not pouring the good stuff.

I'll also mention that one of the very unexpected side effects of getting sober was just how much lower my WDW bills were. Then again, my bills before getting sober were almost certainly higher than you think. There's a reason I had to stop, after all.

As someone who will only attend shows/concerts with GOOD seats

I do this one of two ways. If it is "I go all the time", I often do not care where I sit, and will save a litte. Back when I had season tickets for Michigan, I was in an upper corner, though I finally gave those up For Reasons. We have partial season plans for both the Unviersity Musical Society and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and for both we sit in the upper balcony. However, that is partly because the sound up there in both Hill Auditorium and Orchestra Hall is better than it is on the back half of the floor. The acoustics in Hill in particular are spectacular.

But if I am doing it as a tourist or for a once-in-a-blue-moon thing I am going to get really good seats. Club seats with lounge access? Sure! Sign me up. It costs what? Don't care.

 

[atthebeachclub]

This is exactly how I justify our dinners at full-service restaurants and character brunches during our stay. 10% DVC discount and paying with a DGC purchased for at least 10% less than face value, so a 20-25% discount overall.

Mathematically you might only be getting a 19% discount if your gift card is a 10% discount. But it’s definitely good enough for me! I love character meals.

 

[AdamsMum]

A night out to see The Nutcracker for 2 adults and a child.

Tickets - $515
Parking - $11
Dinner in the City - $100
Nutcracker Souvenir - $70
Dessert after the show - $40

Realizing how much you get for your money at Disney - priceless.

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I think you live in an affordable city. I've just moved from Toronto to Niagara Falls. In Toronto you wouldn't get parking during any event for less than $30, and dinner in a downtown restaurant at least $150 (no alcoholic drinks). Mind you that's in Canadian $, your poor cousins north.
In addition, at Disney we're spending that money every day for a week or however long our trip is. Would never be doing that at home.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I agree with the OP. Entertainment ( usually live ) is quite expensive and I too will compare costs to WDW when I'm out enjoying myself! I do it when I'm at WDW also.

 

[Genie+]

I remember the sommelier at MK telling me that $1m worth of inventory made $8m. This was back in 2016 when MK had only started to expand alcohol sales beyond Be Our Guest dinner. I can only imagine what MK sales are today! That mark-up probably still holds true

 

[mkatsy]

Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto is now going to open at 11am … Disney must have caught wind of my plans to cut back on alcohol expenses … ~take my money~

 

[Turn the Page]

Yes at the restaurants in the hotels you much better off bringing your own wines and paying the $25 fee. I was bringing $50 wines that Disney was charging over $200 A bottle. The wine prices there are horrible.

I disagree. DH manages a grocery store and knows the retail prices of wine quite well. He has commented many times about how low the markup is in WDW restaurants compared to back home in Michigan.

 

[Turn the Page]

I remember the sommelier at MK telling me that $1m worth of inventory made $8m. This was back in 2016 when MK had only started to expand alcohol sales beyond Be Our Guest dinner. I can only imagine what MK sales are today! That mark-up probably still holds true

But, to be fair, they are also not paying grocerystore prices for their inventory either. They are getting wholesale prices.

 

[Girlstar30]

You forgot :
Travel expense car/train/airfare to get to ORL
Food for several days. You not in ORL for one night.

Cook in your villa and spend the same amount on food as at home I actually looked at the prices for the small selection of food at the gift stores and I didnt think it was bad, I thought id be way worse

 

[Girlstar30]

A night out to see The Nutcracker for 2 adults and a child.

Tickets - $515
Parking - $11
Dinner in the City - $100
Nutcracker Souvenir - $70
Dessert after the show - $40

Realizing how much you get for your money at Disney - priceless.

View attachment 1031347

Tell me about it, my wife loves to go to Lakers games and its like a grand for both of us to get decent seats and doesnt include food parking etc just tickets!

I also say that DCL is a better deal than other cruise lines because just about everything is included!

The main dining food is good enough so you dont have to buy an upgraded dining package like on the other cruise lines, the drink of the day is super cheap, and no nickel and diming and no tempting casino, Hakuna Matata!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Tell me about it, my wife loves to go to Lakers games and its like a grand for both of us to get decent seats and doesnt include food parking etc just tickets!

I also say that DCL is a better deal than other cruise lines because just about everything is included!

The main dining food is good enough so you dont have to buy an upgraded dining package like on the other cruise lines, the drink of the day is super cheap, and no nickel and diming and no tempting casino, Hakuna Matata!

I was literally watching cruise videos just now and I’m so excited for our first cruise!! It’s a 3 day and I’m about to call the husband and try to talk him into letting we switch to a 5 day. We are before final payment so I think I can

 

[VGCgroupie]

Also wanted to add I occupied my sons time with 2 free local events recently. We still paid for dinner etc but the main event itself was free.

 

[Girlstar30]

I was literally watching cruise videos just now and I’m so excited for our first cruise!! It’s a 3 day and I’m about to call the husband and try to talk him into letting we switch to a 5 day. We are before final payment so I think I can

Try to do the 5 day if you can, seriously, 3 days is not enough you will wish you had more time! Or look for a back to back one that sails the day you land and book another one

I dont even think b2b people bave to disembark (dont quote me on that) A lot of people do that if the cruise they want is too short, it's a dcl thing, I have yet to do!

I think 7 days is the sweet spot. I did the 14 day one once and i thought it was wonderful to have a bunch of sea days to just relax and really get to know the ship!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is why I don't compare things that don't make sense to compare.

I know the OP has quite a lot of DVC contracts, if you're going to compare the costs you spend as a day at Disney your point is completely off if you don't talk about the investment in those DVC contracts. It would take a lot of Nutcracker events to make up the difference. I'm sure I'd get push back of "well that's not the point" but if you're going to frame it as when people talk about how Disney is expensive the tens of thousands of dollars investment should dang well be part of that

But for the grandeur point many people take events/outings as a sparing thing meaning they do it as a treat, they do it once maybe twice a year (especially if we're talking about families with kids).

For the holidays specifically we just did a local arboretum for their evening holiday walk through, the zoo during the day and the evening holiday walk through and the state museum for less than the cost of 1 person's airfare to Orlando. That includes food at each place. The only caveat being that the state museum was free until the end of the year due to reopening after a little more than 3 years refurb. And if I look at it a different way the cost of all of it for 2 people was less than 1 day's park admission to MK for 1 person.

 

[Girlstar30]

I cant wait to hear your thoughts on DCL, i truly think you will all love it and be working your way to pearl soon!

I was literally watching cruise videos just now and I’m so excited for our first cruise!! It’s a 3 day and I’m about to call the husband and try to talk him into letting we switch to a 5 day. We are before final payment so I think I can

 

[Girlstar30]

Honestly I have found eating at the parks cheaper than eating out at home many times. I’m still dreaming about the $10.49 tacos I had at DLR last weekend. And I used a discounted Disney gift card to pay for it! I may even have saved 10% on top of that for being DVC. The tacos were very very good on top of affordable.

Im guessing you went to our favorite dca dining spot, cocina Cucamonga! The quesabirria tacos are