WDW fans: How often do you go?

[Heather07438]

We were going 1-2 times a year, then decided to go less often but stay longer. Last trip was 8 nights (just got back last week) and probably won't return until May or Oct 2022.

16-20 months between trips now.

 

[Cheburashka]

More specifically for non-locals, how often do you go to Walt Disney World? As a kid, we went every 3-4 years for a total of FOUR times. Now, I find myself taking kids every 2 years. But, as we all know, the costs have increased, experience has not kept up with the prices and crowds, even with all the planning/strategy.

Planning on a trip this year. But typical costs for 5 day/4 night stay for us (our ideal period) runs $3000-4000 with hotel and airfare. Not including food costs.
How does one justify multiple trips a year given that? (barring AP and DVC ownership)

We are also planning our first Yellowstone/Teton trip this summer. And my kids are getting super excited about seeing something new and natural. (even more so than "another trip to Disney World"
In the perfect world, families would do both national parks AND Disney. But in reality, we have to make hard choices where to go on spring/summer breaks.

Until the FP+, wait times, complex planning required, construction improves, Summer 2021 may be our last trip (unless employer pays for conference there)

It's hard to ignore that an "annual pass: for unlimited NPS is $80.

When I was growing up, we went to Disney World one time and we stayed offsite. I remember seeing the Grand Floridian and wishing we could stay there: that seemed like an unattainable dream. And that one trip seemed like plenty to me. But now that I have a son, we've gone about 10 times in about as many years (we live a 2.5 hour plane flight away), and we usually stay deluxe.

For us, it's about having some precious mother and son time together, as well as getting to have fun and pamper ourselves (myself) a bit. Our trips are about building memories, and getting away from what is often a stressful life. We're planning to take our last trip (for the foreseeable future) in March. Nothing bitter caused that decision, just that we've done it enough and don't think we'll feel the need to keep returning. With all of the cutbacks, though, I do feel we got lucky with the timing of our departure.

 

[Disneylover99]

We went 1-3 times per year for 10 years. We drove down or got super cheap flights. We’d take longer trips in the summer - 18+ days, and spend the bulk of our trip in a value resort with free quick service dining. It was a good deal for many years.

 

[FoodieFriend]

My first ever trip to WDW was as an adult in 2005 because DL was always easier to access when I was a child. Once I experienced WDW, I wanted to return every 5 years because that's how long it took me to save up. But once Aulani was built, I was sold on DVC & now we go to WDW every other year since the room is already paid for. LOVE IT!

 

[malialaine]

We have been going almost every year since 1974, until about 5 years ago and started going 2-3 times. This year I already have booked 3 times and waiting for grandson to give me dates for the fourth. Most times we drive, but have flown several times. We stay 6-7 nights. We are Passholders. Each trip now is only $2500 - $3000, which you just need to know how to budget your money.

 

[LivCK]

I'm from the UK and went once circa 2003 with my family. I went back in 2018 with my boyfriend (who had been with his family in the 90s) and we very quickly booked a return trip for 2020 (which didn't happen of course ). We've rescheduled to 2022 (keeping our fingers crossed) and would consider going back maybe 2 or 3 years after that if budgets etc. allow!

 

[nkereina]

How does one justify multiple trips a year given that? (barring AP and DVC ownership)

You have to have flexibility and be willing to adjust. For some, that might mean driving instead of flying. Staying off-site instead of on-site. Going for 4 days instead of 7 days. Traveling mid-week instead of over weekends. Booking short notice and/or jumping on dates that have low airfare. Things like that.

We visit at least once per year, but can sometimes sneak a second trip in depending on circumstances. We visited for 6 days in October, will be doing a trip to the mountains in August, and will likely visit WDW again next October. I plan far in advance so I can save for it and I'm flexible with our dates and flight times to help with cost. There's also been times when we will do a second short trip to Universal and just visit Disney Springs or a Disney resort to get our Disney fix.

 

[catomi01]

When I was young, about every 3 years or so. Around the time I started HS we had family move to the Tampa area and we ended up going about once per year on shorter stays. Since I got married (to a cast member based in NY), we've gone on average once a year (twice a year a couple of times, skipped going completely once or twice). Haven't been since November '19 now, and we've got weddings in Maine and Tennessee this year, so between those and the virus, we probably won't be back til sometime in 2022.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Once a year in January. And, every other year, I add a few days in March for the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. 2021 is the first time in many years that I’m not visiting Disney World at all. Luckily I did manage to go an unusual three times in the year before the Pandemic. I’ll be back twice in January and March 2022. I might even splurge and stay longer and stay Deluxe instead of Moderate! Gotta make up for lost time!

 

[Ksquared]

We've been going every 18 to 24 months for the past few years. We live in NJ but we have been driving for awhile now. We just went over the holidays and probably won't plan another trip back until sometime in 2022. Both kids are in high school and one will be going off to college in August. We enjoy spending time there as a family and as the kids get older, we don't have to spend every minute in the parks. While there my husband and I both said there's no other place we'd rather be. In between, we have visited other places but there's something about Disney that keeps me wanting to return. But as the kids get older, it's harder to coordinate schedules other than going at the holidays. I don't mind going then but it tends to be more crowded and more expensive too. I see more trips (either Food & Wine or quick weekend trips with my husband) in the next few years.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

We are DVC and AP and from New England. We typically do 3ish trips a year. Our kids are in their 20s now so we do a family trip in May, my DH and I do our anniversary trip for F&W in September and I do runDisney races in Feb.

I have managed to sneak a 4th trip in more years than not though, ha! We also have been going to DL every few years too.

 

[MomOTwins]

We usually go at least once a year and as much as three times a year, sometimes short weekend trips, sometimes longer stays (though we usually still only get a no-more-than-4 day ticket, without hoppers, and just do resort days for the rest). We are not DVC or APs.

Honestly, I think most of what makes Disney affordable is not what you spend at WDW, but rather what you spend money on at home.

For example, we have friends who say WDW is too expensive, but they just added a sunroom to their home that cost them 5-10 times what we spend on a Disney trip, have their kids enrolled in tons of extracurriculars and weekend activities, and are buying a vacation home in the mountains. Another family we know thinks Disney is too expensive too, but they regularly play golf (which adds up to what seems like an astonishing cost to me), just put in an above-ground pool and new deck, and take vacations to Hawaii and/or the caribbean every year. You get the idea.

We love our home, but it's decor has not changed since the 90s (think brass doorknobs/light fixtures and pink bathrooms). I drove the same car I had in college until it was completely toast two years ago. We have a desktop computer. I rarely shop for new clothes and when I do, wait for major sales. I kept my very very old iphone long past when apple stopped providing updates to it--and actually he only reason I replaced it was because it was too obsolete to allow me to get a boarding group for ROTR. It's a total cliche, but I don't buy coffee at Starbucks (it adds up!).

Not because money is that tight, but because those things just don't bring me joy. Disney does bring me joy, so that's what we spend big money on.

I don't mean to diminish that for many people, including lots of our family and friends, any kind of vacation is a stretch to their budget, Disney or not. But I also think that a lot people I know who have sticker shock when they see the cost of a Disney vacation feel that way because they don't place as high of a value of a Disney vacation as I do, compared to other things that I don't value as they do. To each his own.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

When the kids were young we went every 3 years as a family. Then we started going every other year as a family. Once they got old enough to be alone after school, I started going several times a year by myself for Mom's Mental Health Trips.

I was going twice a year, then we joined DVC so now I'm going 4 times a year. Some years even more. Each trip is only 4 or 5 days though which is shorter than most peoples I think.

My kids are adults now and one is out on his own and the other is in college so it's just my husband and I these days mostly. I'm the AP Holder in the family and we are an 8 hour drive away.

 

[Blondie58]

As I child I never dreamed of going to WDW. Vacations were not a part of our upbringing due to finances. When a young married we went to WDW two different times for two days each time about five or six years apart. (I was as thrilled as the kids.) We stayed off site and never thought of eating in the parks. We saved and lived within our means to do this. Fast forward: After years of hard work, all kids through undergrad, and in semi-retirement we go to WDW at least once a year, many times twice a year, and this year had three trips planned and scheduled. Trip one (this month) was cancelled as we can't purchase an APs right now. We love the Disney bubble and staying on the monorail line. We are fortunate enough to do other traveling in addition to these trips. I share all the latter as I think how often and to what extent you stay and "live" in the Disney bubble is up to you and your family. Although others can share input, final decisions have to be a family choice based on many factors.

 

[bakerworld]

We took the kids '92, '94, '97, '00, '05 and you're right between air, tickets and food it was expensive. I will say that '92 and '94 our kids were young (4, 8, 10 then 6, 10, 12), we stayed in a Fort Wilderness cabin and our only meals out were the two dinner shows and Cinderella's Table. Then we moved into the moderates and had to become creative with in room meals (PB&J and cereal). By '00 and '05 our younger two were much more interested in the resort than the parks. In '06 we snuck away on a parents only weekend which was the death null to the children's vacations (and really they were aged out by then). From '06 to '08 we went 3 times a year for long weekends. Then we joined DVC and continued with the 3 times a year but now we stay longer. Cost-wise a couple versus a family 5 made the couples vacations look like a deal.

 

[revdon64]

We were on an "every other year" clip for a while, but haven't been since January of 2018 and not sure when we'll go back. As you said, price has outstripped product to the point that it's really difficult to see the value in going. This year we're renting a cabin in the Smokies near Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge for a week for less than we'd have to pay for two connecting rooms at Pop or All-Star.

 

[MomOTwins]

When the kids were young we went every 3 years as a family. Then we started going every other year as a family. Once they got old enough to be alone after school, I started going several times a year by myself for Mom's Mental Health Trips.

I was going twice a year, then we joined DVC so now I'm going 4 times a year. Some years even more. Each trip is only 4 or 5 days though which is shorter than most peoples I think.

My kids are adults now and one is out on his own and the other is in college so it's just my husband and I these days mostly. I'm the AP Holder in the family and we are an 8 hour drive away.

When the kids were young we went every 3 years as a family. Then we started going every other year as a family. Once they got old enough to be alone after school, I started going several times a year by myself for Mom's Mental Health Trips.

I was going twice a year, then we joined DVC so now I'm going 4 times a year. Some years even more. Each trip is only 4 or 5 days though which is shorter than most peoples I think.

My kids are adults now and one is out on his own and the other is in college so it's just my husband and I these days mostly. I'm the AP Holder in the family and we are an 8 hour drive away.

I’ve read that the data shows 4-5 days actually is the average—people on these boards often stay longer because they are big disney fans. Most guests at WDW do not post on disboards.

Just like the average DVC member has 100-150 points but to read these boards you’d think everyone has thousands of points...

 

[kathy884]

My Orlando trips are typically short budget trips just four nights, two or three theme parks, staying offsite for a great deal, and using freebie miles to to down. I usually do a four night/three day trip every year. I have relatives in Orlando and Tampa I like to see too if that works out. // My normal vacation budget usually goes to other trips and these Orlando ones end up being an extra trip with extra discretionary monies.

 

[disneycat321]

I didn't go to WDW until I was on my honeymoon, in 2010. Since then, we've been back in 2013 and 2019. Hoping to go again in 2022. So, I guess every 3 or more years? Coming from CA, it's an expensive trip. We stay at least 7 nights, and probably wouldn't do less. Our longest trip has been 10. We could do it cheaper, but the Disney resorts (we've stayed at POR and YC) and the TS meals really add a lot to the experience for us. Our 2019 trip also included DAH events when those were a thing, and they were worth every single penny. Since we don't go as often, we splurge a bit more. We've been working on some financial goals, and still are, but I think ideally we'd eventually like to go every 2-3 years. We'd also really love to go on a Disney cruise!

DH and I are both CA born and raised, so our first visits to DLR were when we were much younger (I was under 2). We were also local APs for a few years in our 20s. DLR is generally an annual-ish trip for us, and it's much less expensive than WDW. We drive (7 hours), stay at a non Disney hotel across the street from the parks, eat almost all QS meals, and only go to the parks for 2 or 3 days. We'd love to continue annual visits here. (When it reopens....)

I have also recently discovered a love of national parks. I've been to Glacier and Olympic in the US, and Waterton, Banff, and Jasper (just the southern tip) in Canada. Living in CA, we are in driving distance of a lot of national parks. It's my goal to visit many of them.

Disney does bring me joy, so that's what we spend big money on.

I love everything you said, and especially this. For both my DH and I, Disney is our happy place. We've never regretted a single Disney trip, no matter how expensive they might be. The experience for us is priceless. We don't really have expensive tastes at home - we don't buy fancy cars or new gadgets or really a lot of "stuff" at all - but we find so much value in our Disney trips to WDW and DLR. Those trips and the time we get to spend together are worth every penny!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

I've been lucky enough to be able to go to WDW more often than most. This was due to a combinations of things - a job where my longevity there afforded me a significant number of vacation days, a company vehicle which meant that my transportation cost was extremely low, the purchase of DVC early in our Disney trip series, and maximizing annual passes. We did the skip-year AP purchases, where we would buy and use an AP for multiple trips during it's time-frame and then wait a year after it expired to purchase the next.

By doing this we were often able to multiple trips a year, with at least one 12 day trip in the mix. Our best year was having 8 separate trips from one AP. Believe it or not, two of those trips were weekend trips. And our round trip distance was about 1,500 miles. I think that year we had more than 30 days on-site. Amazing times!

Looking back I realize that Disney was my stress relief from work. Once we arrived I could be free! If we needed to go somewhere, let the mouse handle it. We could enjoy spending time together or separate. We could choose a busy park day, of a slow days where we just chill in the room. One of my best memories was one trip where we had supper at Boma, the kids stayed at the Lodge to swim, and we went to Epcot. We were ably to enjoy the Beach Boys at the America's garden theater area, and then turn slightly facing the lagoon after they finished and enjoy Illuminations. All this at a relaxed pace, no extra cost, no parking at a venue to worry about. A truly wonderful day!