How high is too much for you?

[MRNsMommy]

Now, having said all this I am trying to figure out a longer trip for my son and family. I think he's a great age to enjoy Disney. But we're also considering Hawaii. If they're close in price Hawaii will win out.

Pretty close! My husband and I have been talking about going back to Hawaii. We normally do Disney every other year, but with the rising costs, it's not as if we can't go...it's more that there are other places we'd like our daughters to experience. The added cost to Hawaii would be the food expenses...unless you did an all-inclusive resort.

 

[TDC Nala]

Food is quite expensive in Hawaii. Almost everything there has to be brought in to the islands from elsewhere.

 

[jaykorf001]

It would be different for a family that needs to buy multiple passes. They would not save nearly as much. The thread was questioning what would price YOU out, not what would price the average family out...I'd bet a family that needs admission for multiple people would be priced out long before I would. Especially regarding annual passes, now that the children's passes are the same price as the adult passes.

By the way, expecting Four Seasons quality from the Disney deluxe resorts is setting oneself up for disappointment. At Disney, most of the value of the deluxe resorts is proximity to one or more of the theme parks...not hotel luxury or amenities. apparently it is easier to get a "real world" hotel experience while staying onsite at the Swan or Dolphin, as they are chain resorts (Westin and Sheraton).

Yes, I know not to expect The Four Seasons and that its location that drives the cost of those resorts to a large extent. What I'm saying is that I've seen some Four Seasons located in fabulous spots that i want to go to. So when I'm figuring out what is too much cost for me, these are the things I'm considering. What can I do and where else can I go with that money?

 

[TDC Nala]

There is plenty that you can see and do with the money. Everyone will need to decide if they want to use it for Disney or something else. I'm going to Europe next month, I don't just do Disney. But WDW is cheap for me so I go a lot.

 

[bdink921]

Sure an annual pass for our local amusement park is less than a 1 day ticket to a Disney park but that said, after 6 hrs I'm pretty much done for the year. If we hang out at the water park, there's an extra 2-3hrs or so. For me, that comparison doesn't work. Now this year, our WDW trip is only costing us the price of tickets and a little spending money (I have lots of points that cover air, room, and meals) but in April we did a cruise on Royal's Freedom of the Seas. Air was free on points. Cabin was $3200 for the 3 of us (after 2 price drops). Add in rental cars to and from the port, pre-cruise hotel and food, excursions, and spending money and the trip was well over what our WDW trip would be if we were paying with cash and not points. So, for us, it's not a big deal. I can see with a larger family how the increased prices could really hurt though.

 

[rt2dz]

I'm not sure. Can we afford the increase? Yes. Am I willing to keep paying increases indefinitely? No. I'm not 100% sure where the line is though.

About 3 or 4 years ago, we started staying offsite every other trip because prices for resorts have just gotten too far out of line. I found last year we also started eating offsite much more than onsite. Last ticket purchase, I quit buying APs for kids because I hit my AP limit for kids. I may have hit my AP limit for adults after this increase. That also means, we won't be going yearly anymore. We are already taking 2013 off, but we went at the end of 2012 and will be back January 2014, so no biggie really. I'm thinking we may only go now once every 2-3 years. I guess it's just a hop, skip and a jump before we move on completely.

I love Disney, but I'm only willing to spend just so much for a trip. It's a big world out there. Quality is going down (I've been going since 1976) in cleanliness, dining, and attractions. CM training is down and it shows. Im not thrilled with the over scheduling needed to just go; it takes away from my enjoyment. I'm not saying any of it sucks, but it isn't what it was. I think it won't be long before Disney starts paying the price. The only way they'll be able to fix it is with another restructuring.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Planogirl]

I think that I could appreciate the lower cost of other parks if we had a good one close to us. SeaWorld has a good deal but we know that we wouldn't drive to San Antonio often enough to make use of it. I'd love it if we had nice parks like a Busch Gardens or Kennywood close to us.

 

[kam1011]

I will go no matter what. I don't go to WDW because it's the affordable family destination. We go because we're Disney fanatics. I grew up vacationing in WDW once or twice a year (every summer, and some years, spring break, too). I bring my kids there to relive those childhood memories and make new ones. Is it cheap? No. Will it get more expensive as time goes on? Yes. Are we going to give up on the magic and the memories of 30 years at this point? No, I don't ever see that happening. WDW will always keep its seat at the top of our budget.

 

[lizzi6692]

I doubt we'll ever be priced out of Disney. I love the experience of being in Disney and I understand and accept that I'm going to pay a premium for it. That doesn't mean I think Disney can do no wrong, but I know from personal experience that if Disney messes up in some way, all I have to do is let them know and they will make it right pretty much no questions asked. That's not the case for most other vacation spots, at a random hotel or theme park or whatever you'd be lucky to get an apology if something went wrong. That in addition to the Disney experience itself will probably always be worth it to me, no matter the cost.

 

[yiersan]

Which parks? Not being snarky, I'm really curious.

There are several SoCal theme parks (Knotts, Universal Stuidos, Six Flags Magic Mountain to name a few) that offer "buy a day get a year" promos where a season pass is in the $59-$99 range per person) and we have had passes to some of them but, imho, the quality can't be compared to the Disney parks.

...I'd bet a family that needs admission for multiple people would be priced out long before I would. Especially regarding annual passes, now that the children's passes are the same price as the adult passes.

This is so true. We spent more today for Premier passes for our family of six than I did on my first car... lol.

My biggest problem is the cost of flying. The airlines are definitely pricing us out particularly since I hate flying to begin with!

This too. We specifically waited until our kiddos were all in elem school before deciding to take them to WDW and we probably won't take them back for a while (after our upcoming trip). We like to try different places for family vacations and the only reason the kids go to DLR as often as they do is b/c we're within easy driving distance for day trips.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We haven't been since late 2010, and we go next week. It wasn't really the cost of WDW that kept us away, but changing jobs, and other vacations. I'm so excited to be going back, we really love it. Our trips may get a little further apart, but we will continue to go. We do not/would not stay offsite; we are fine with the value resorts though, and the occasional moderate stay (like this year!). Our costs are higher this year, as both of our kids are not "adults" for tickets and meals. We are not using ddp, and we only have 3 ADRs for a 10- day trip.

 

[rainynight]

We are not an "only Disney" family. At best Disney world will always be an every 2-3 vacation thing. I can't imagine only taking my child to one place his whole childhood when there is a whole world to experience. So to answer the question I don't mind a price increase because while I love Disney World its not a do or die thing. I am more than fine with staying off site and going every few years. I say let them keep raising the price to deter crowds. So yes, I am willing to pay higher prices since its not a regular vacation.

 

[kerplop]

I priced out a driving trip around New England's coast for two weeks and including hotels, food, rental cars, and expenses for tours, etc. it was as much as us going to Disney World for two weeks during Free Dining at a value. Now obviously we want to see the rest of the world and we're going to, but when I priced it out I noticed the cost being about the same. And then I got to thinking of everything you get when you go to WDW. Of course there's the rides, but there's also the shows, parades, fireworks, character meetings, pools, the added value of going to a "zoo" at AK, random street performers, all of the sights and then of course the food. Plus you don't have to drive at all if you don't want to and you get to experience people from all over the world. It's hard to beat that value on another vacation so I can totally see why people will always come back to WDW. Sure things increase in price there, but so do they EVERYWHERE else.

 

[North of Mouse]

A one-day adult ticket at a Disney park costs the same as an adult annual pass at the amusement park near where our families live and TWO adult annual passes at another park a few hours away.

There are other parks that you can go to for AN ENTIRE YEAR for $58/person! THAT'S putting it in perspective.

Six Flags, St. Louis is $52.99. I'm sure there are others if I tried to find them. Granted, they're only open March through October, but that's because of the weather. Again, I'm sure there are others if I ventured to look. I just chose that one because I knew for a fact that it was extremely cheap.

And-----------these parks compare to what Disney offers? No, they don't. I've been to several of them, 'and' I enjoyed them for a day - no longer.

It's great, if you live near them, and enjoy going there enough for season/annual passes. I wouldn't! There's no comparison to what you get out of your $$'s at Disney and the small amusement parks. You get what you pay for in this type of instance, at least we do, and we are willing to pay for it.

 

[jcemom]

And-----------these parks compare to what Disney offers? No, they don't. I've been to several of them, 'and' I enjoyed them for a day - no longer.

It's great, if you live near them, and enjoy going there enough for season/annual passes. I wouldn't! There's no comparison to what you get out of your $$'s at Disney and the small amusement parks. You get what you pay for in this type of instance, at least we do, and we are willing to pay for it.

No, they don't compare to Disney, not even close. Still...a whole year (or season) for less than the cost of ONE DAY at Disney is a huge difference. I really think I would choose an entire season at our local park over one day at a Disney park, if I had to choose one or the other.

Of course, Disney is a vacation destination, and local parks are not. So apples to oranges I suppose.

A Dollywood season pass was around $90 the last time I checked, and it's a great park. Unfortunately, I don't live near it LOL. I think BG Williamsburg is even less expensive, and also a great park. They both rank right up there near the Disney parks IMO. Again, if I had to choose, I'd choose either of those over DHS, and possibly AK.

 

[kirrrby]

For us if we didn't have the military discount I doubt we would be able to go so often.

The Military promo has $156 for a 4 day Park Hopper which is $334 from Disney. It actually makes more sense for me on our upcoming 7 day trip to buy two of the military tickets and use them back to back than to buy the 4 day promo and then a 3 day park hopper from Disney.

We're also fortunate that Shades of Green is on property and provides transportation. But the resorts also provide a 20-30% discount for military.

My parents however don't use the military tickets, they have annual passes. They live 10 1/2 hours from WDW but make at least two trips per year down there. This covers the cost of the tickets since their stays usually go 6-9 days.

The thing though is I will still go to Disney always. They provide enough to do that I can fit in 7 days and not get bored of it. Universal however is highly overpriced at $102 for the park to park tickets I can get from the Military travel agent. I would get bored of Universal after one maybe two days.

 

[worm761]

We are Florida residents so it will be a while before we are priced out. I look at other destinations and they are more expensive and less "easy" to do. I have to plan so much more for other vacations that I just don't have to do with Disney. I don' have to search out restaurants, they are right there in the park/resort. DH doesn't have to drive which means we can have a few adult beverages if we want.

On top of all that, my kids are 13 years apart. It is very hard to find a destination that keeps both of them entertained and us not stressed.

 

[meredith1]

We went on our first vacation in 2010 with our oldest daughter, stayed at CR (MK view) w/ the DxDP. Financially, we had to save until we could do an equally nice (or nicer) DW vacation. That will be Dec. 2013. We're staying in a two bedroom at BLT with the DxDP. We haven't been on a vacation since.

We will probably not go back again for another 6 years or so after this next stay in Dec. There are just to many things that I want to do with my children as they get older for the kind of money we spend for Disney.

For us, Disney is a great vacation for our children while they are young and then, once again at an age that they will somewhat remember it-that's it.

 

[tsme]

We might be priced out of flying first. It's costing us $1800 to fly for 3 people! Totally crazy But for Disney itself, we'll keep going, just maybe not every year though.

 

[jenji124]

I don't think we will ever be priced out of going to Disney, we do go on vacations to other places, but always come back to Disney. For us it is a special place that holds alot of great memories that we had with my grandparents and dad who are no longer with us. We have an emotional connection to it there is no where else like it in the world for us and the feeling we get while being at Disney hasn't been topped anywhere. We love the service and everything that Disney has to offer. For us we can be kids again and get away from the real world for a little bit.