Now that the US Dollar is expensive ...

[MarcJ55]

Does the recent drop in CAD over the US (roughly $1.15 CAD / $1USD), does this impact your plans?

We usually go to one of the Disney parks every 2nd year, so we were thinking about 2015, but it is a lot more expensive than I was there in 2013 when the dollar was at par.

 

[minnie56]

Not really, going next month ..
But then, I've also been when the USD was over $1.50 to buy!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

It will not impact our plans to visit. We have two trips in the works for 2015 (May and October).

Even as our dollar currently stands, its still not as bad as it was for our first trip in 2009.

 

[ssmurphy28]

We are going next month and the dollar has definitely increased the price of the trip! Not horribly though. If had gotten much worse, we would have switched from AKL to POR or CSR to reduce the cost. Now that the trip is paid off though, the only cost left is food and souvenirs, which we can reduce spending on if need be.

 

[Gigi22]

We purchase a set amount of US money every month, by the time a trip rolls around we already have the money saved.

 

[canadiankim]

We purchase a set amount of US money every month, by the time a trip rolls around we already have the money saved.

That's a really great idea, we always 'budget' on how much we need to save for the trip but never think about buying the US currency as we go along. At the rate we are going, the CDN $ isn't going to rise by much, if at all, so may as well get my US $ when I can.

 

[Bertie9396]

We leave next week. It won't change anything for us. We are driving though so we are very pleased with the way gas prices are going.

 

[missthatgator]

We've actually planned 2 trips for this year, so I guess the dollar hasn't changed our plans too much, it certainly does hurt a bit though.

I remember years ago when the exchange rate was really bad Disney used to offer vacation packages at par... or maybe I'm imagining things, I was pretty young at the time and travelling with my parents lol. Either way, I wouldn't mind seeing that promotion again now.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, the lower dollar does not stop us from going, but it will change our shopping habits! Would do less shopping at the outlets. Might eat in a bit more. Might have a few more resort days around the pool. Florida sunshine is free!

 

[dsneygirl]

Definitely has an influence. We are planning on 2015 but we'll drive. Airfare keeps going up and a flight that used to be $200 roundtrip is now $230 or $240 x4 and that adds up.

 

[mort1331]

Still going this March, have the DVC points that have to be used. Driving this time though.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Not really going to impact us. I have a high stress job and I need my breaks away. The added exchange rate is just the cost of the trip. For me, I need my 2 weeks away in the summer and I'm not giving it up. I still find going to FL the lowest cost vacation I can take. This past June we went to Punta Cana and 1 week there cost me as much as 2 weeks in FL. I managed to still get a week in FL in September but that was a total fluke....got air for $220 each and rented a timeshare for $200. When all was tallied up we only spent $1300 for the week.

My DD and I are going to WDW for her birthday at March Break. That trip is costing a fortune...we usually go there in August(low season). To compensate for the nearly 40% higher room rate I booked through Orbitz and used a code that saved me and extra 20%. With the WDW room only promo and the Orbitz 20% I saved approx $500. I saved a few hundred on airfare by going 2 days before the start of MB.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Like others - I try to purchase a few hundred dollars in US cash every paycheque (or at least every month) - which helps smooth out fluctuations in the exchange rate.

 

[pigletto]

We were just talking about this. To go back as soon as we would like (and we are actually in Orlando right now) we will stay offsite again. We also upgraded our buy 2 days get 1 free Universal tickets to power passes (for less than $40) so we have tickets to Universal for another trip.

We're still debating if we will bother with Disney on the next trip. I think we may do water parks, maybe one night at MVMCP and Universal next trip.

So all of these things combined really take the sting out of the price of our dollar. It will literally be thousands less than our usual onsite trips.

 

[PanamaMike]

Sorry, wouldn't even give $1.15 a second thought.

January of 2000 when I was paying $1.56...that was expensive.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We were just talking about this. To go back as soon as we would like (and we are actually in Orlando right now) we will stay offsite again.

I think that's what makes the dollar's slipping value a lot easier for our family to bear. Our offsite accommodations are so affordable, that even with an extra 15 cents on the dollar for exchange, its still ridiculously reasonable.

 

[suziespice]

the low dollar does make it harder, will just have to save for a longer amount of time before we go back.. we're going in February, but after that, not sure when we'll be able to go back again..

 

[Disneylover99]

We're heading to Disney at the end of this week.

I just converted some Canadian money to American money a week ago. The exchange rate didn't bother me too much. I won't cancel plans for future dates at these rates.

 

[SaraMc]

Not terribly. The exchange rate is still faaaaar better than it was when we went on our honeymoon in 2001.

 

[dis_guy]

For our usual Disney vacation, it'll add around $400 CDN to the bottom line for us in 2015, as it stands now. I expect airfare to be about $200 CDN more than we paid last time but we got a great deal last March. I agree with the others that said that Disney is a pretty good deal compared to lots of vacations, like our 10 days in Europe in 2013. It was wonderful but the bottom line was easily twice as much or even more, compared to what we spend at WDW.