Which Disney is cheaper?

[javamoma]

Ok, I know neither one is "cheap." BUt, is DL or WDW more budget friendly. Let's leave airfare out of the picture. I'm talking hotel stay, food etc. I heaed on the dis pod cast the other day that DL hotel costs were ridiculous. What do my fellow budgeteers think?

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I have found DL to be much cheaper.

You don't need to stay onsite. There are many hotels within walking distance; not like WDW at all. Many of the hotels have substantial discounts. I recommend checking out the DL section of the DIS.

Also, around the time we go (Spring Break) they will have buy three days get five hoppers. I believe that last year I paid $169 per person for five days of entertainment.

Not to mention that there are MANY offsite food opportunities and we have never found "California Food" (as we call it) to our liking so our food costs are much lower.

 

[tinker&belle]

It depends. For on 'onsite' stay, you can do a value at DW. At DL you can get a great rate and be across the street from the park at a good neighbor hotel.

DW has the dining plan, DL has a dining plan, but from what I could tell it wouldn't have been nearly as beneficial.

The two are very different. We stayed 6 days at DW and could have been longer, we stayed two days at DL and felt like we did most everything, in three days we could have done about everything.

 

[KCmike]

Our family of five can save over $1500 for the same vacation time plus you get a real ocean (the awesome Pacific Ocean) and the walk time between hotels, parks, and rides is so much less. I am in my thirties and disneyworld has always been my home park but we have gone to disneyland twice in a row over the last two years and it has replaced the world for us.

 

[javamoma]

I guess I should have specified that staying onstie is a requirement. Simply for the reason that I have never done it before at either park. We have been so many times but we always stay at a time share.

Next time we go will be for DD's b-day and I want the full disney experience.

I will say, price aside, the lure of less walking is inticing!

 

[phisigprincess]

I guess I should have specified that staying onstie is a requirement. Simply for the reason that I have never done it before at either park. We have been so many times but we always stay at a time share.

Next time we go will be for DD's b-day and I want the full disney experience.

I will say, price aside, the lure of less walking is inticing!

If you have to stay onsite, WDW is the better price for hotel alone, because you can choose the Value, Moderate, or Deluxe options. DL has all Deluxe resorts, so you'll be paying more. The difference is that DL has a lot of non-Disney owned hotels that are still "onsite" and can be much cheaper. If onsite to you means owned by Disney, than WDW is cheaper. If onsite means close enough to the parks, it's pretty comparable.

 

[disneychrista]

Disneyland 5 day hopper - $194
WDW 5 day hopper (exp)- $260

5 Nights Disneyland Hotel - $2494
5 Nights Poly - $1913

1/3# Cheeseburger & Fries DL - $7.59
Pepperoni Pizza Slice DL - $5.99
Chicken Strips & Fries DL - $7.99
Chef Salad DL - $8.49

1/4# Cheeseburger & Fries WDW- $6.09
Pepperoni Pizza (individual) WDW - $6.09
Chicken Nuggest & Fries WDW- $6.89
Chicken Ceaser Salad WDW - $7.19

 

[kirstie101]

Also keep in mind that some of the DL "off site" hotels are actually closer to the park entrance than the DL onsite hotels and many of them are great values!

 

[KristiA]

When we went to Disneyland, we stayed at a charming hotel called the Candy Cane Inn. We had a fantastic experience there. It was much cheaper for us that year at DL than the previous year at DW.

 

[sbell111]

You should also factor in the other things that you will do.

If we were going to go to WDW for five days, we would likely go to the parks for four days and on the 5th day go to the Farmer's Market in Celebration in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.

If we were at DL for five days, we might go to DL/DCA for two days, anbd perhaps go to Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios, the Venice Farmer's Market & Beach the remaining days.

You will need to factor in these other experiences, travel costs (and drama) between them and your hotel, and the differences in costs to travel to central Florida vs southern California.

 

[javamoma]

The side by side food and resort costs is interesting. Thanks for the info. I suspected DL might be more expensive (except for the ticket).

I know there are resorts close by DL. But to me honest it has nothing to do with that. Where I stay off site in WDW is closer to the gate of some parks than a few of the resorts on WDW property. Especially if using WDW transportation. It's the experience of not leaving disney that I want (DD will not know the difference, this part is for me ). I don't want to go anywhere else off property. I've done the local things in many times in both places.

We are stricly speaking disney here.

Overall it looks like WDW might be less expensive! Does WDW ever have a ticket deal like the one listed in the above post for DL?

Is free dining offered at DL ever? Is free dining ever offered at WDW around the first week of april? Just curious.

Thanks again for all the replies!

 

[bethy]

For staying onsite I've never seen or experienced any evidence to lead me to believe that DLR is cheaper than WDW. Even the Harbor hotels are more often than not over $100 per night, IME. For the DLR onsite hotels I've never seen or heard of the "codes" that folks get for WDW hotels. The rates are pretty firm unless there are specail AP rates in the Fall or you are with a convention.

I'm not the most seasoned DLR observer but I've never heard of or seen Free Dining there. Even the Disney Dining Plan is not at all cost effective in most peoples' opinions. I've even less experiences with WDW but I've only ever noticed Free Dining and Bounceback being offered in Fall. I'll be curious to see whether that's always been the case.

 

[thomas998]

If you are dead set on the complete "Disney" experience... then WDW can be cheaper... Frankly though... if I was going to do Disney and wanted to make sure I had a complete experience... you should only consider the 3 monorail resorts... they also give you more of that total feeling.

Since your on the budge board, I'm guessing you don't want to donate anymore money to the mouse than you have too... in which case you should keep an eye on the annual passholder discounts for resorts... once in a while they offer rates that are so cheap that you can justify getting an annual pass for yourself and still save money off the total amount you pay when you figure in the hotel discount... they sometimes also offer a dining witht he room for free or free gift cards, though you would need to be flexible on when you went.

 

[javamoma]

If you are dead set on the complete "Disney" experience... then WDW can be cheaper... Frankly though... if I was going to do Disney and wanted to make sure I had a complete experience... you should only consider the 3 monorail resorts... they also give you more of that total feeling.

Since your on the budge board, I'm guessing you don't want to donate anymore money to the mouse than you have too... in which case you should keep an eye on the annual passholder discounts for resorts... once in a while they offer rates that are so cheap that you can justify getting an annual pass for yourself and still save money off the total amount you pay when you figure in the hotel discount... they sometimes also offer a dining witht he room for free or free gift cards, though you would need to be flexible on when you went.

So, to get those kind of benefits, would just one of us have to have an AP? I guess if we all wanted to get dining benefits we would all have to have one. But for the room I guess just one of us would have to have one?

I have seriously thought about one of the 3 monorail resorts. Just because this is more a filling of my childhood dream than anything else. And those were is back in the day!

 

[thomas998]

So, to get those kind of benefits, would just one of us have to have an AP? I guess if we all wanted to get dining benefits we would all have to have one. But for the room I guess just one of us would have to have one?

I have seriously thought about one of the 3 monorail resorts. Just because this is more a filling of my childhood dream than anything else. And those were is back in the day!

Only one of you has to have the AP to get the room rate... I haven't every gotten the dining for free because when it has popped up our schedule wouldn't work out for it... and since you only get one free gift card per room when they make that offer it would again only have to have one AP the one that is booking the room. Frankly the 3 monorail resorts are the only ones I would consider in any future disney trips if I decide to stay on site... The continued increase in moderate and value rates with the decline in up-keep and service makes my Clark Howard Rip-off alarm go into overdrive at the though of value and moderates.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

If you are talking about being immersed in the disney experience (ie, staying onsite and eating all meals on proprerty) then WDW is by far cheaper than Disneyland.

We've done DL many times, staying both offsite and onsite with and without concierge. You'll be spending most of your budget on hotel since there are a limited # of DLR rooms within the 3 hotels. GCH is your most expensive, DLH your moderate and PPH the most inexpensive. Rack rates in these rooms are in the high $100s for PPH, $200+ for DLH and $300 for GCH. We've never paid rack rates as we have APs. Even with AP rates, we paid $189 for a concierge standard room in PPH, $219 for a pool view concierge at DLH and and $209 for a standard room in GCH. Add the $10 resort fee and the 15% hotel tax, it gets pretty pricey. The DL dining plan offers no $$ savings like WDW, it's a straight $ for $. The only benefit of the dining plan is that it's paid for before you arrive for your trip.

However, if you opt to stay offsite and have a few meals out of the park, DL can be quite inexpensive. DLR is much smaller than WDW and offsite hotels are often walkable.

 

[bethy]

Rack rates in these rooms are in the high $100s for PPH, $200+ for DLH and $300 for GCH. We've never paid rack rates as we have APs. Even with AP rates, we paid $189 for a concierge standard room in PPH, $219 for a pool view concierge at DLH and and $209 for a standard room in GCH. Add the $10 resort fee and the 15% hotel tax, it gets pretty pricey.

Wow, I know I've only been a DLR nut for the past few years but I have never seen rack rates that low. What you describe is what I consider more to be the special AP rates they offer sometimes. IME rack rates are more like $245 PPH, $265 DLH and $405 GCH (maybe as low as $345 during off season.) All non-concierge. Plus tax and resort fees, etc.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Wow, I know I've only been a DLR nut for the past few years but I have never seen rack rates that low. What you describe is what I consider more to be the special AP rates they offer sometimes. IME rack rates are more like $245 PPH, $265 DLH and $405 GCH (maybe as low as $345 during off season.) All non-concierge. Plus tax and resort fees, etc.

I'm more than likely off with my $s. The last time I looked at rack rates at DLR hotels was being pre-AP holders, which was in 2005. GCH in late Sep 2005 was in the low $300s for a standard room during low season.

 

[disneychrista]

And to be honest if you want to "emerge" yourself in Disney, even if DL was cheaper you WON'T get that emerged feeling because it is in the middle of a major city. Unlike WDW where the grounds are secluded from the "real world."

Now for me DL is they way to go because the cost of airline tickets for our family pays for the entire trip to DL because I can drive. You have much more opportunities to eat off site (cheaper), etc. You CAN do DL cheaper but not in an emerged way.

 

[bumbershoot]

Does WDW ever have a ticket deal like the one listed in the above post for DL?

Is free dining offered at DL ever? Is free dining ever offered at WDW around the first week of april? Just curious.

What ticket deal?


No free dining since Fall '05 that I know of (that's when we started going to DLR). And their dining plan isn't at all like WDW's. Depending on how many days' worth you get (you can get fewer days than your stay will be if you'd like) you get a certain number of character meal vouchers, then the rest of it is basically dollar amount vouchers. If you buy $4.50 in food and use a $5 voucher, you don't get change back. If you buy 6.50 in food and use a $5 voucher, you pay the extra $1.50 out of pocket.

As someone else said, it's pretty much dollar for dollar.


For me, at Disneyland, I feel immersed even walking 10 minutes to HoJo's. I walk on the Disney side of the street and can hear parade music, I can see the fireworks from the parking lot if we leave before fireworks (or like last visit, our APs were blocked out on the day we got there, so we couldn't get in to see the fireworks our first evening there). I'd rather have more money in my pocket than stay onsite, where I still have to walk through obnoxious commerce and deal with the "I wants" from my 4 year old son as we go past World of Disney and the Lego store. So to me, a place like HoJo is MORE magical, b/c we get to have more stuff with the money and stress we save.

I understand that others don't see it that way, though.


At WDW, though I've never been, I can't even imagine staying off site (unless we suddenly get a huge family and then I can see staying at one of the rental houses with a pool and such).


Pricing out packages in Feb of '07, I definitely noticed that WDW was much much cheaper.