I'm begining to think maybe Disney isn't that way over priced

[AngieInOH]

Bored today so I priced out a 5 day WDW vacation for you for next week. Your cheapest option would be Riverside. With 4 days base tickets and the dining plan your cost is $4800 so you are correct! (I assumed 3 Disney adults and 2 kids). I would choose Disney for aa differenc of $600. Too bad there is airfare too.

For my hypothetical Disney trip (4 nights, 3 days and dining for 4 adults at POP) was 3200 so a difference of about $1300 from my Gatlinburg trip. I don't think I'd choose Disney with a $1300 difference but maybe of we hadn't been in a while.

Ha! I figured it would be close. Plus you can usually get some sort of discount which would drop that a bit. Thanks!

I agree, if I had $4,XXX to spend I would choose Disney over Pigeon Forge. We’ll still go back to Pigeon Forge because we love the area, but as far as dollars spent I do feel you get more bang for your buck at Disney……at least for the way we typically like to vacation.

 

[tex1989]

Then there is the other extreme. Wife got home from getting her hair done and mentioned to the girl that cuts her hair that she was going to WDW in May. Hair cutter says she has a client that is an Attorney whose husband is an Attorney who goes every year and spends $18,000 on their trip. Wife said where do they stay? All she could remember was it was overlooking a lake. So I took the challenge, could I spend $18k for a week. Well let me tell you it was a piece of cake. 7 nights, 8 day PH with Water Parks even though this was the first week of December in the Polynesian Bungalows on the water for the parents, grandparents and two kids for a total of 6 people and room and tickets alone would set you back $28,972. Anyone win the lottery lately?

 

[M_Williams]

I feel like the majority of people who are complaining (edit: people from the comments in the WDWinfo article) are comparing peak crowds/vacation weeks. No, of course you cannot go to Disney during Thanksgiving/Christmas/February/Spring/April break. We have been twice in the last three years, never waiting in insane lines, often walking on to more popular attractions. We also only go during times when the crowds are expected to be lower. I also make sure our expectations are fairly low - we aren't going to fly through the parks, riding every ride, eating three sit down meals a day, and feel like we're the only people around. We always take afternoon breaks and call it quits once the meltdowns happen.
I don't understand people who complain about waiting in line for a popular ride/attraction for even 30 minutes. Disney would have to severely lower their crowd capacity and they simply aren't going to do that. But as long as I can still get a comfy bed for $105 a night at an all star resort, you can count me in.

I agree with this - comfy bed and quality time with the family....vacation to me!

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

I agree with the OP. I take "less expensive" vacations once or twice a year, but the reason they are less expensive is because there's not as much to do and I only stay a night or two. At Disney World, there's a ton of stuff to do. When you consider a week long vacation that's as packed full of activities, you will spend a similar amount of money anywhere else. I want to go to Hawaii and/or take a cruise, but a Disney vacation, surprise surprise, is more economical. Even at a moderate resort.

I will say the park tickets are more expensive by comparison, though. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, for example, has a record 72 rides, not including shows. Of those 72 rides, 17 are Roller Coasters. Running costs of roller coasters are much higher than dark rides and they are more expensive to build in the first place. A day ticket for Cedar Point is currently about $72 at the gate, only $55 right now if you buy online.

By comparison, I counted a total of about 50 attractions at Magic Kingdom. And their tickets range from $116 to $137, I think.

I live close to Kings Island, a "sister" park to Cedar Point. We have season passes (which can be used at both parks, and others, but those are the only 2 we're close to) which are reasonable values. However, our last trip to Cedar Point was a disaster. They have the "Fast Lane" option, which is an additional charge (on the day we went, it cost almost twice the price of a discounted daily admission) to get through the line faster. And without that? Forget it. We waited in like upwards of 6 hours to only ride 3 rides. The queues are not shaded, and we were completely exhausted. Our food (which was terrible compared to even what you can get for QS at Disney, or Chick Fil A, which is delicious, but doubled in uncharges), was insanely expensive. We've previously packed a cooler and ate at the car, but that's not a "vacation", at least in my mind. Not sure what my point is, just that few experiences are a true "value" anymore. Our CP experience has left us feeling discouraged... we want to return, but we don't feel good paying the extra cost for the Fast Lane, and without that, it's very difficult to have a good experience. WDW is crowded, for sure, but I at least have the illusion of being in control of my schedule.

 

[dhardawa]

I live close to Kings Island, a "sister" park to Cedar Point. We have season passes (which can be used at both parks, and others, but those are the only 2 we're close to) which are reasonable values. However, our last trip to Cedar Point was a disaster. They have the "Fast Lane" option, which is an additional charge (on the day we went, it cost almost twice the price of a discounted daily admission) to get through the line faster. And without that? Forget it. We waited in like upwards of 6 hours to only ride 3 rides. The queues are not shaded, and we were completely exhausted. Our food (which was terrible compared to even what you can get for QS at Disney, or Chick Fil A, which is delicious, but doubled in uncharges), was insanely expensive. We've previously packed a cooler and ate at the car, but that's not a "vacation", at least in my mind. Not sure what my point is, just that few experiences are a true "value" anymore. Our CP experience has left us feeling discouraged... we want to return, but we don't feel good paying the extra cost for the Fast Lane, and without that, it's very difficult to have a good experience. WDW is crowded, for sure, but I at least have the illusion of being in control of my schedule.

I didn’t realize King’s Island had gotten that bad. We’re about two hours away, but haven’t been in years. I’ll mark that off my list of potential things to do with the kids.

 

[kymom99]

I didn’t realize King’s Island had gotten that bad. We’re about two hours away, but haven’t been in years. I’ll mark that off my list of potential things to do with the kids.

Actually kings island isn't quite as bad. The pp was talking about cedar point. We have never used express pass at KI. I will say though, it is much more crowded now than it was when it was owned by paramount.

We don't really go anymore since my son is off doing his own things. But when we did, we stayed away from weekends at all cost. Weekdays aren't too bad.

 

[AngieInOH]

I live close to Kings Island, a "sister" park to Cedar Point. We have season passes (which can be used at both parks, and others, but those are the only 2 we're close to) which are reasonable values. However, our last trip to Cedar Point was a disaster. They have the "Fast Lane" option, which is an additional charge (on the day we went, it cost almost twice the price of a discounted daily admission) to get through the line faster. And without that? Forget it.

We are close to CP also. Try going first weekend in June. We've found the lines tolerable in the past during that weekend.

 

[katie111]

I can go to Mexico with my family of 5 for much less than we would spend on a Disney vacation for a week for 4 (DH is not a big Disney fan, so he usually does not come with us). We've stayed at several different beautiful all-inclusives. DH gets some down time and the kids and I find plenty of activities to keep us busy. Best part is we never have to say no as everything is included. At Disney we say no a lot (i.e., $6 or more for an ice cream, no thank you). We've also done trips to Hilton Head, Sedona and the Grand Canyon, and San Antonio for much less than Disney. And I feel like my kids are seeing so much more of our country. We used to do Disney a lot, sometimes more than once a year, when it seemed reasonably priced and less crowded, but now the prices just seem outrageous to me. I don't know when or if we will go back.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I didn’t realize King’s Island had gotten that bad. We’re about two hours away, but haven’t been in years. I’ll mark that off my list of potential things to do with the kids.

I'm actually from Cincinnati, and Kings Island is NEVER as busy as Cedar Point and all-in-all a better park, imho. Cedar Point just has "cooler" rides.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

We waited in like upwards of 6 hours to only ride 3 rides.

Cedar Point is really hit-or-miss. Whenever I went as a kid with the youth, we waited 1-4 hours for everything. However, my husband and I went on a Sunday in September last year and never waited more than 30 minutes. Most rides, even the ones that I was used to waiting 4 hours for, were walk-ons.

In my opinion, very few of Disney's rides are objectively as good as or better than Cedar Point's (though, I recognize, they appeal to very different crowds). The Disney rides that ARE as good or better have waits over an hour too.

I agree with other posters, though, that the intangible "magical" feelings of Disney make it hard to compare to anything else.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

I'm actually from Cincinnati, and Kings Island is NEVER as busy as Cedar Point and all-in-all a better park, imho. Cedar Point just has "cooler" rides.

Kings Island isn't anywhere near Cedar Point as far as wait times; my experience was regarding CP only. I'm originally from SE Michigan and CP was an annual thing for my family... of course 20 years ago, they had half the attractions they have now, but the lines are insane.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

I didn’t realize King’s Island had gotten that bad. We’re about two hours away, but haven’t been in years. I’ll mark that off my list of potential things to do with the kids.

Sorry, I replied to the wrong comment. Kings Island is NOTHING compared to Cedar Point as far as lines, although they do get busy. I don't know the ages of your kids, but the kids area in Kings Island is top notch. I have a 5 and 8 year old and they both absolutely love the kids area, although my 8 year old is starting to age out of a lot of the smaller attractions.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

Cedar Point is really hit-or-miss. Whenever I went as a kid with the youth, we waited 1-4 hours for everything. However, my husband and I went on a Sunday in September last year and never waited more than 30 minutes. Most rides, even the ones that I was used to waiting 4 hours for, were walk-ons.

In my opinion, very few of Disney's rides are objectively as good as or better than Cedar Point's (though, I recognize, they appeal to very different crowds). The Disney rides that ARE as good or better have waits over an hour too.

I agree with other posters, though, that the intangible "magical" feelings of Disney make it hard to compare to anything else.

The main difference for me is WDW is obviously a theme park, and the Cedar Fair parks are amusement parks, and the difference is very obvious in food service, food quality, and overall staff customer service. I feel the service at Kings Island to be severely lacking, mostly due to the fact that it's teenagers who aren't paid well and work long hours in the heat.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

The main difference for me is WDW is obviously a theme park, and the Cedar Fair parks are amusement parks, and the difference is very obvious in food service, food quality, and overall staff customer service. I feel the service at Kings Island to be severely lacking, mostly due to the fact that it's teenagers who aren't paid well and work long hours in the heat.

I guess a lot of it is based on expectations too. At Disney I expect magical customer service. (Though, to be honest I wasn't like, blown away by anything). At Kings Island I expect teenagers. And I always found them to do a really good job. And because they maybe take their job a little less seriously, they are really fun to talk to and joke around with. It's less a polished but much more genuine interaction. At Cedar Point, the ride operators are incredibly efficient and high energy, especially at their most popular rides. I have no complaints with the customer service I have gotten at either park.

I totally agree overall, theme parks and amusement parks are two totally different animals and again, hard to compare.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Off-topic, but since this started as a Pigeon Forge thread...

Anyone looking for great deals should stop by Sweet Deals today for either Ripley's 3 pack (aquarium + 2) attraction tickets or Darren Romeo magic show tickets - both are better deals than you can ever get...https://www.sweetdealscumulus.com/category/local (go to Knoxville if this isn't direct)...

 

[Hikergirl]

I agree with this - comfy bed and quality time with the family....vacation to me!

Totally agree with this. Vacation is so much more than a destination and things to do and see, it is a mindset.

OP, we went to PF years ago and it was one of our best vacations. We didn't spend quite as much for it as we do for WDW, but it was close. Truth is that difference really didn't have anything to do with DIsney, it was airfare. If we drove to WDW the costs would be comparable.

 

[tobikaye]

OP, it sounds like to spend that amount of money in Pigeon Forge, you did all the major attractions during your trip. Since it sounds like you live in northern OH, it probably is more of a once in a long while trip. I leave in SW OH and went frequently from the mid/late 80s to mid 2000s. I have not been more than a few times in the last five years though.

I will say that if you do all the attractions at once at Pigeon Forge, then it really would price out like going to WDW. Also, the Pigeon Forge area is a go to location for the SW Ohio region for Spring Breaks, especially for the families that are only going to be able to take just a few days during the time off.

 

[dtstampz]

My husband and I are headed for Tahiti next week. I’m sure the prices on Bora Bora will make Disney look like a bargain! Now if I can only convince him to go back to WDW with me ...

 

[JenzyHP]

I can't imagine spending that much in Pigeon Forge. We go pretty frequently, though, and don't do the tourist trap activities. For me, Disney pricing isn't even comparable.

 

[Hikergirl]

I can't imagine spending that much in Pigeon Forge. We go pretty frequently, though, and don't do the tourist trap activities. For me, Disney pricing isn't even comparable.

Not doing the tourist trap activities is the big difference.
We were there mostly for the Park but we did do a few tourist trap things and for a family they do add up.
We rented a cabin, which I thought was reasonably priced but I can't compare what it is to the cost of hotels there. We ate out more than I had planned which also adds up (especially when you already grocery shop for the week ). I can't remember what we spent exactly but I thought the OP's cost was around what we did, which if you take out the airfare for us to WDW it is around the same.
We are going to OC this summer for a week and not really doing any touristy things that aren't free and I'm expecting to spend around $3000-$3500 for everything.