With all the price increases is it worth even going?

[davper]

I am a DVC owner and unless I rent my points, I am kind of obligated to go. But I am not planning to go to the parks. Instead I will go universal. It is much more economical. Especially since we cannot get an AP anymore.
My wife and I only go for for about 3 hours a day. It is just not worth spending nearly $500 for tickets & Genie+ for the 2 of us to go for a few hours. When they had the AP, yeah it was expensive, but I could spread that out over 16 days over 12 months.
When they renovate the Boulder Ridge villas, I am selling my points there. I will just keep one contract to keep my blue card and come down once every 3 years and go to Universal. Disney can shove it.

 

[RanDIZ]

I am a DVC owner and unless I rent my points, I am kind of obligated to go. But I am not planning to go to the parks. Instead I will go universal. It is much more economical. Especially since we cannot get an AP anymore.
My wife and I only go for for about 3 hours a day. It is just not worth spending nearly $500 for tickets & Genie+ for the 2 of us to go for a few hours. When they had the AP, yeah it was expensive, but I could spread that out over 16 days over 12 months.
When they renovate the Boulder Ridge villas, I am selling my points there. I will just keep one contract to keep my blue card and come down once every 3 years and go to Universal. Disney can shove it.

I’m with you on that one. I’ve been enjoying WDW so much more by staying out of the parks. It’s just ridiculous anymore with the nickel and diming. I understand certain things should increase in line with inflation. But Dis takes it to a whole other level on price increase. Sad the road Dis has chosen to go down.

 

[lugnut33]

Took my adult aged daughters last May and we had a great time. Most important thing is to be prepared to spend money and not think about it. Also, be sure you and a second person with a phone are up by 7 with G+ ready to rock and roll.

 

[Renaissancerocks]

If the only thing that changed was the prices, then maybe I would say the value was still there for me. But, it is more than just exponential price increases, it is waking up at 7am and being tied to the phone all day for genie+, it is the quality of dining/food even at the better restaurants, it is the crowds that are everywhere even during slow times, it is the dirty restrooms, the lackluster customer service, the fact that someone enters your room even when the do not disturb sign is on, the lack of offerings(all the tours etc are still not running), the longer wait for bus transportation, the fact that they keep building more and more vacation clubs which mean more people without expanding parks, and the fact that they are not putting money into the upkeep of certain rides/areas of the park. The biggest ones for me are the food…quality has really changed since after the pandemic/Chapek, I don’t know which one has more blame here. Being tied to my phone …on vacation that’s the last thing I want. And, the upscale offerings are gone…no highway in the sky. The offering that are back have a much higher price and some of the advantages/benefits are gone, ie, dessert parties no longer have savory offering and no longer have the gift item to take with you. The gift/souvenir item is also missing on wild Africa trek and savor the savanna with more limited items.

 

[squirk]

I have a trip planned for next February. Our first trip since Genie was introduced.

I am not a technophobe; quite the opposite. I have no doubt that I can handle G+.

But being able to use G+ vs. actually enjoying the G+ experience and not minding the cost? This is the least excited I think I have ever been for a WDW trip.

And if I’m being totally honest, I’m not even sure I’m “excited” for it at all.

 

[RCharnay]

I see a WDW vacation as an investment in entertainment and experiences. I believe the quality of the rides and the theming, etc are worth the price of admission. It is frustrating that experiences are being picked off for special charges but at this point, I think it is worth it.

 

[Doodlebug76812]

I am a DVC owner and unless I rent my points, I am kind of obligated to go. But I am not planning to go to the parks. Instead I will go universal. It is much more economical. Especially since we cannot get an AP anymore.
My wife and I only go for for about 3 hours a day. It is just not worth spending nearly $500 for tickets & Genie+ for the 2 of us to go for a few hours. When they had the AP, yeah it was expensive, but I could spread that out over 16 days over 12 months.
When they renovate the Boulder Ridge villas, I am selling my points there. I will just keep one contract to keep my blue card and come down once every 3 years and go to Universal. Disney can shove it.

I am totally with you. We are DVC owners in Disney now. We’ve been able to ride about 3 rides a day and that is with Genie +. We can’t get passes. We have to be up at 7:00 to try and get passes. Wait times on main attraction are 1-2 hours. It’s just not worth it at all. We’ve been coming every year for the last 12 years. This trip has been so disappointing and so expensive. We just shelled out $5k to wait in lines and buy overpriced Mickey pretzels.

 

[DavidNYC]

If the only thing that changed was the prices, then maybe I would say the value was still there for me. But, it is more than just exponential price increases, it is waking up at 7am and being tied to the phone all day for genie+, it is the quality of dining/food even at the better restaurants, it is the crowds that are everywhere even during slow times, it is the dirty restrooms, the lackluster customer service, the fact that someone enters your room even when the do not disturb sign is on, the lack of offerings(all the tours etc are still not running), the longer wait for bus transportation, the fact that they keep building more and more vacation clubs which mean more people without expanding parks, and the fact that they are not putting money into the upkeep of certain rides/areas of the park. The biggest ones for me are the food…quality has really changed since after the pandemic/Chapek, I don’t know which one has more blame here. Being tied to my phone …on vacation that’s the last thing I want. And, the upscale offerings are gone…no highway in the sky. The offering that are back have a much higher price and some of the advantages/benefits are gone, ie, dessert parties no longer have savory offering and no longer have the gift item to take with you. The gift/souvenir item is also missing on wild Africa trek and savor the savanna with more limited items.

Completely agree - in every single past trip before Genie+ I was able to basically do what I wanted to do each day. Now it feels like you're entering a casino starting at 7am every morning and having no idea whether you picked the right park, whether you'll be able to get rides at times that work for you, etc. I was exhausted - I was running around the park more than I ever have had to do before - I still spend more time on standby lines - it's just not worth it any more. Massive increases in prices for less service. And that's before we even start the discussion of the number of projects they just up and cancelled after making this big deal about all of the new things they're bringing to the parks. Cutting entertainment, cutting staff, cutting services, reduced hours . . . those things should be accompanied by huge price increases. It used to be that things were added for convenience and enjoyment as they raised prices - now it's the reverse. A corporate philosophy that they don't really care about the product as long as they're making money. Regardless of what others may allege - corporations don't all take that approach - and neither did Disney until the last few years.

 

[notatallmagic]

Not worth it for us for now. We were multi year out of state AP holders. Maybe 20 trips in the last five years, all onsite and 3-9 days at a time. Our last trips in 2021 were incredibly disappointing, so we are now Universal passholders for this year, and then we'll re-evaluate our travel options. I despise having my teenagers on their phones all the time, and I sure am not going to do that (or have them do that) on vacation at a theme park. I appreciated mobile order and the ability to change/add FastPasses, but that was quick and manageable. I abhor the idea of Genie Plus and the extra cost and stress. The crowd management strategies, ride breakdowns, and "charge more for less" philosophy are unacceptable for me.

So for us, no, its not worth it. Hopefully again someday, but not now.

 

[Sakiki]

Is WDW worth it now? Not for us, not any longer…

Back in January 2020 (when Covid was just an outbreak of flu in China) DW and I booked a 3-week break for late November 2021, staying offsite in a villa and of course hiring a car. We don’t do this lightly - we’re in the UK so we have to take flight costs into account - but we planned to get the UK-special ‘14 days for the price of 7’ tickets for WDW, spend 6 or 7 days at WDW, a couple of days at Universal (last visit there 1999), visit Seaworld (last visit 2001), visit Kennedy Space Centre (we always do this). Then Covid… We were able to postpone our trip for 12 months and we’re now travelling to Florida next month.

But we won’t be buying WDW tickets in advance and have no real plans to visit the parks at all. We’ll book a breakfast at Boma if we can (our favourite breakfast option) and if the mood takes us we might see if we can get 1-day tickets for Epcot (we both love World Showcase) but that will be it. The need for park reservations as well as tickets, the constant nickel-and-dimeing for things that used to be included, the soaring base prices, the idiocy of Genie+ and having to be on a cellphone all day for maximum benefit. And after reading on the forums about the poor cleanliness, the decline in attitude from cast members, the declining standard of the food offerings and the need to do in-park dining by cellphone… thanks but no thanks.

We’ll still visit Universal (Jurassic Park and Minions, OK?) and Seaworld and KSC, but there’s also plenty else to do in central Florida outside the WDW bubble. DW has been watching Secrets of the Zoo on National Geographic and has a yen to drive over to Tampa and visit ZooTampa at Lowry Park, and Orlando has some museums which I would like to take in… and that’s aside from a few days just chilling at the villa and enjoying the warmth and the pool.

So we’re still very much looking forward to our trip, but WDW won’t play much of a part in it.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

Nope. I can have fun somewhere else like Universal or thousands of other places.

 

[DCLMP]

Is WDW worth it now? Not for us, not any longer…

Back in January 2020 (when Covid was just an outbreak of flu in China) DW and I booked a 3-week break for late November 2021, staying offsite in a villa and of course hiring a car. We don’t do this lightly - we’re in the UK so we have to take flight costs into account - but we planned to get the UK-special ‘14 days for the price of 7’ tickets for WDW, spend 6 or 7 days at WDW, a couple of days at Universal (last visit there 1999), visit Seaworld (last visit 2001), visit Kennedy Space Centre (we always do this). Then Covid… We were able to postpone our trip for 12 months and we’re now travelling to Florida next month.

But we won’t be buying WDW tickets in advance and have no real plans to visit the parks at all. We’ll book a breakfast at Boma if we can (our favourite breakfast option) and if the mood takes us we might see if we can get 1-day tickets for Epcot (we both love World Showcase) but that will be it. The need for park reservations as well as tickets, the constant nickel-and-dimeing for things that used to be included, the soaring base prices, the idiocy of Genie+ and having to be on a cellphone all day for maximum benefit. And after reading on the forums about the poor cleanliness, the decline in attitude from cast members, the declining standard of the food offerings and the need to do in-park dining by cellphone… thanks but no thanks.

We’ll still visit Universal (Jurassic Park and Minions, OK?) and Seaworld and KSC, but there’s also plenty else to do in central Florida outside the WDW bubble. DW has been watching Secrets of the Zoo on National Geographic and has a yen to drive over to Tampa and visit ZooTampa at Lowry Park, and Orlando has some museums which I would like to take in… and that’s aside from a few days just chilling at the villa and enjoying the warmth and the pool.

So we’re still very much looking forward to our trip, but WDW won’t play much of a part in it.

Have you ever visited other areas of the US or just Florida?

 

[Betsyp]

I think if you go with a negative attitude, nothing is worth it. For me, the sheer magic of Disney is priceless. No vacation will be cheap - I look at the price as the cost of doing business.

 

[onewishupon]

.

 

[elaine amj]

I have a trip planned for next February. Our first trip since Genie was introduced.

I am not a technophobe; quite the opposite. I have no doubt that I can handle G+.

But being able to use G+ vs. actually enjoying the G+ experience and not minding the cost? This is the least excited I think I have ever been for a WDW trip.

And if I’m being totally honest, I’m not even sure I’m “excited” for it at all.

Genie+ is basically legacy FP with an app that u have to pay for. On the good side, no running across the park to grab FPs. In the bad side (just like legacy FPs), no modifying your times easily.

I missed legacy FP when we switched to FP+ and now I miss FP+ lol. Still learning my way around Genie+ but it sure burns to pay a bit extra. On the other hand, I suppose it is better than a full on ticket prices increase across the board?

We started coming in the post-recession years when Disney was offering all kinds of insane deals. For a long time now, Disney has been a pretty good value for our travel dollar. With revenge travel, they are filling up at top dollar so our discount days are done.

We’re hooked now and still go…but yeah, WDW is not the screaming deal it once was. For our family, it will be a while before we are priced out. Unless we start cruising again. I’ve always liked cruising but it has always been more $$ than a WDW trip so I’ve generally chosen the parks. I bet now it’s different.

I’ve also been many other places. BC this past spring was shockingly expensive for me lol - and mostly all I did was hike for free! Europe was fun but I prefer WDW.

 

[Betsyp]

I'm thinking I should stop reading this as it's just putting me in a negative mindset for my upcoming trip. And I really want to keep looking forward to it!

I haven't been to Disney since I was a kid. My only comparison will be to other theme parks, and I think Disney is still going to exceed my expectations based on those. I would never be planning to stay in a fancy hotel or eat a lot of table service meals. Disney's quick service prices and the value hotel price seem in line with other vacation destinations to me.

So I guess I'm that "first timer" (basically) that doesn't know how much better and cheaper it used to be and will likely be satisfied with my experience comparing only to how things are now at other theme parks. Everything has gotten more expensive. I don't feel the price I'm paying for my trip is outrageous (and as a Florida resident, Universal's prices are actually higher or right around the same as Disney's). It's too bad it's not as good a value as it once was, but as someone who doesn't do a ton of frills or add-ons for theme park trips, I think (hope) I will still feel I got my money's worth just experiencing the parks.

I’m sure you’re going to have a blast. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but please don’t let negativity color your excitement. Disney probably needs to recoup expenses given how much money they lost due to Covid; I understand that. I haven’t been in several years. Is it annoying to have to pay for things that were free before? A little, but that money goes into new rides, improvements, etc.

I just bought an AP, so it’s always going to be worth it to me

 

[ScottOKW2K]

In my case I'm still going but it's in a different way. As a DVC member my room is taken care of so other than dues the cost of my room is taken care of. What has changed is whether I will pay for admission to go to the parks. I've been on two trips this year and on each there was no admission purchased. The first trip was over the Independence day holiday and my main purpose was to enjoy the special fireworks show. Instead of admission a table was booked at California Grill to coincide with the event. The best of both worlds - excellent food and a good view for less than the cost of an admission ticket. Returned in September and no admission then. Still had a full time , ate at some special places, visited family and shopped for some things I was interested in. The vacation was cut short due to Ian but something like that cannot be planned for.

I plan to return in December and no admission purchased yet either. I'll decide closer if I want to but I feel no obligation to do so. There are new rides and attractions I've not experienced but they will still be there for years to come.

 

[squirk]

Genie+ is basically legacy FP with an app that u have to pay for.

Thanks. Yes, I’m aware of what it is. It doesn’t appear to work exactly the same way as FP+, but close enough that I am not worried about being able to drive it.

We can afford G+; it’s not a bar to entry for us. But the fact that we have to pay for it - not even including ILLs - just really, really bugs me. It wouldn’t bug me as much if we saw ticket prices (even slightly) decline, given that FastPass+ is no longer “included with your price of admission.” But no, they’re still going up just as before.

And I fear that I am going to be constantly reminded throughout my trip of how much I dislike this concept, based on reports of people feeling “glued to their phone,” repeatedly refreshing G+.

So, yeah, it’s weird to not feel at all “amped up” about my next trip.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We’ve been to WDW once since G+ was announced (normally would have been 2 and a 3rd booked but due to many of the reasons others have mentioned, only been once and no WDW trip booked.)

Anyway, the one common complaint I hear about G+ is people feel tied to their phones. We had it 3/7 days and I can say I didn’t feel more tied to my phone than any other day when I didn’t purchase G+.

Being on my phone in 2022 is daily life, IF I choose it.

At home I now use it for grocery lists so it’s out the entire time I shop. If I have a question for a family member I can easily contact them. If I have a question I Google. If I want a coffee I pre-order on the Starbucks/Tim Hortons app to save time in line. Do I have to do these things? No. I choose to do them.

At Disney, it’s the same. The choice is mine if I want to be on my phone. If I want to check wait times rather than walk to a ride to see the wait time, I use my phone. If I want to take a picture I use my phone when in the past I would pull out a camera. If I want to pre-order food to avoid standing in line, I have the choice to do this.

On our Genie+ days I was on my phone every 2 hours to chose something. I’d choose from what was available (yes sometimes refreshing a few times but not for 10-15 mins as some choose to do) then set an alarm for 2 hours later and go about our day.

Was I on my phone more with Genie*? Yes, but only fractionally more than on days I didn’t have it as in 2022 I CHOOSE to use the conveniences the MDE app offers, including Genie+ on the few days I purchased it.

No, I didn’t and don’t like the cost but honestly Disney lost money on us when they brought it in. We brought a bit more food with us re:breakfast in room and less purchased snacks. We share far more meals and feel more comfortable walking around by doing that.

And, for the first time in 35+ trips, next time I will be comparing staying offsite and seeing what will be more economical for us….whenever we choose to go again.

 

[Love Tink]

I missed legacy FP when we switched to FP+ and now I miss FP+ lol. Still learning my way around Genie+ but it sure burns to pay a bit extra. On the other hand, I suppose it is better than a full on ticket prices increase across the board?

Somewhere, Bob Chapek smiles and says, "Why not both?"