Disney, is it really that expensive?

[monarchsfan16]

Is it cheap to go to Disney? No. Is it expensive compared to other vacations my husband and I take? Again...no. For starters, there are only 2 of us. Also, we play the airfare rewards game. We also don't stay deluxe. More often than not, we stay value. What puts us ahead is not needing to rent a car. I've found great rental car prices in other cities, but I can't seem to get below just shy of $300 for a week for Orlando. My husband and I are not sit on a beach people. We are get out and explore people. Our entertainment costs are always high on vacation. All those little museums, mini golf, etc, add up. So does food. Even when we go to areas with National Parks, we end up at other tourist attractions too, to see the whole area. In Disney, we are generally content to eat mostly counter service, with one or two of the lower costing table service places thrown in. In other locations, not so much. We are anti-chain restaurant on vacation, because we want to eat at places we can't eat at at home. Then throw in the rental car, gas, parking ($60 plus tax for the one night we had to park in San Francisco...). So, as a couple, Disney is cheaper for us.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We spent less money on a trip to Europe last month (3 week trip) then we spent at Disney in November/Dec, and we stayed at a value for the first time ever (ASMu family suite, almost $300 per night if I remember). We spent 2 weeks in Disney, with free dining, still came out at almost $8000, but we are a big family.And that total doesn’t include tips, souvenirs and money spent on Universsl tickets.

 

[Goofy'slady]

Yes! Disney is expensive (just made our final payment today) BUT for me it's not just about the money. So far our 10 day, 9 night trip has cost about 6,200.00 and that includes accommodations in a moderate, 5 days of park tickets, dining, and airfare. What's not included are tips, souvenirs, and extras like Empress makeovers ect. I'm budgeting an additional 1500.00 for all of that. We haven't been since 2015 but in the meantime I took my daughter London to London for her 2016 high school graduation and spent a little less than that and we went for 8 nights, included airfare, had high tea at the Ritz, 3rd row floor seats to see WICKED in the theater district, I purchased 2 London passes which got us into all the city sightseeing spots and included enough on our tube passes to get us around were we need to go. While we were in London my youngest was in the Dominican Republic with daddy and step mum, that trip cost me $0.00. LOL

In 2016 we took our Disney budget and instead of one big WDW vacation we split it and had two nice 4 day 3 night trips. One to Wisconsin to Great Wolf Lodge and the other to San Antonio and stayed on the Riverwalk. After our trip this August we will not be going back until 2020 for two reasons - 1) I don't want to go back the year Star Wars Land opens because the crowds are going to be insane. 2) I want to save up extra to take my girls back for their first Christmas trip so I know that will be even more expensive and I'll need time to save so that we can do all the things we want. So even though Disney is expensive for us it's still a value in that I don't feel it's over priced. I feel for everything they have to offer for us to do, the experience of being in the Disney bubble and the memories we make there is all worth it. So, as long as I can reasonably afford to do it without going into debt (I don't believe in putting vacations on credit cards) I will continue to go.

 

[Pooh2]

Compared to camping at a state park for a week, yeah, Disney is expensive!
I know many families who will likely not have a disney vacation in their lifetime.

 

[Scifidiner]

Yep, it is that expensive. That's part of the reason we go every 3-4 years now.

 

[tex1989]

Yes it is expensive but then again as I look at other vacations they are fairly expensive as well. It really comes down to what do you and your family enjoy doing? It is just the wife and I now and we have a Southwest Rewards card to help with airfare and bought AP's. So take our trip last October 31 for a week. Airfare on points, Pop Century for a week at about $1,050 and AP's for park entrance. Figure another $800- $1000 for food and other things and we went for a couple thousand dollars. Now we still have to allocate AP's across that but we made three trips on that AP so it was minimal. Just about anywhere else we look at going would cst about the same (excluding AP's). We are comfortable with Disney, know our way around and relax a lot because we know with the AP we will be back so we don't feel rushed or pressured to do everything because it's our last trip for a while. While the AP's cost quite a bit I really feel like they have made going better because I just don't feel like I have to rush all week to do everything to get my monies worth.

Certainly a lot of fun can be had on vacations to other destinations but for my wife and I we feel what we pay is worth it which is what I hope for everyone who vacations at Disney or where ever they choose to go.

 

[kathy884]

I think Disney lodging and food is expensive, especially compared to the great values offsite. Now the parks, while pricey IMHO offer an excellent value (so much fun /. unique experience).

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

It looks nice but the dates I chose (end of April) put it at $920 and $280 of that is fees. I like the space and the kitchen.

I read where owners using vrbo were upset they raised the fees and also do not allow renters to contact owners directly through their site anymore. Owners apparently pay a fee to advertise through vrbo.

End of April in 2019 is Easter so that is why you are seeing higher rates.

 

[Squidgyness]

As everyone has said there are lots of ways to minimise expenses, some worth it some not depending on your preferences. Being based in the UK, I actually focus my Orlando trips around Universal these days though we will be doing a full 5 or 6 days at Disney.

For 14 days in September at Loews Royal Pacific Resort (I consider it equivalent to a lower Disney Deluxe without DDP), my room/flight/tickets and spends/travel to airport and a night in a hotel before we fly all adds up to about $5k to $5.5k. That being said, that gets me a room to myself (water view) at a lovely hotel, and includes Universal and Disney tickets. Food will be in spends. I'm lucky in that I eat at quick services almost exclusively (picky eater and impatient to get back to the action!) therefore I can save a fortune on food. Were I a table service lover, the DDP might tempt me more.

You'd think a trip to the Mediterranean would work out a lot cheaper given I live in the UK. Thing is, even just a week in an ok hotel in Malta or other tourist destinations would set me back over $1500 without spends. Two weeks more like $2.5k. And that is sometimes staying in a room with a single bed. Apparently as a single traveller Orlando works out... ok. It's expensive, but a lovely vacation. You get top quality entertainment of all kinds - even comparing only a few parks, say Universal Studios to Epcot to Animal kingdom - three wildly different types of theme park in one location. There aren't many places in the world you could say that. I love museums so am taking a trip to london - comparable to a trip to DC for folks on the East Coast. Worked out for 4 days it's going to cost me about $1k. City breaks are my other passion (other than Florida) but they can be just as brutal on the wallet and on the feet. A week in Prague (only 3 hours away from me!) would cost $1.5k-2.5k depending on accommodation and activities. Cheaper, but not cheap.

I think thats the main reason I booked to go back to the states, other trips are cheaper, but not cheap... as someone else said, where is these days? Probably won't be back for at least 2-3 years after this though. Drains the savings way too much.

 

[manning]

I think Disney is expensive.

A week next October in the French Quarter is about $4900 with dining. We are instead going to Sicily for three weeks with a budget of 6k. Better accommodations, better food, better view.

I know there are deals to be had with Disney. You can make other trip deals too.

They are now catering to the higher income bracket.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

You're drunk if think you can actually justify the huge expense of a trip to Disney I should know, I somehow managed to convince myself to spend several thousand dollars on a trip about 3 months ago. No matter how much the cost hurts, the experience is still worth it for those of us that are Disney obsessed. But I've found that people who lack the Disney gene think we are all insane, because you can buy one heck of a normal vacation for the $4,500 that it costs for a family of 4 to take a weeklong Disney vacation.

 

[hsmamato2]

of course it's expensive! yeah, you could compare it with other expensive things to try and make it seem less pricey, but it still is.(so are those other things) I'm not saying a trip there has no value or isn't worth it, but it's not truthful to say it isn't expensive. When a cheap onsite hotel room is over 100 a night, when a park ticket averages 70-100 for a day visit...when a hamburger or hotdog costs about 14.00..... yes it is. And combine that with the idea that it's not a day, it's probably a week visit....x multiple family members..... then the price per day comes down to enter, but the cost is HIGH. Lots of us figure out ways to get it cheaper, but it still ain't 'cheap'. The average price of a week vacay here on the boards seems to be about 4k for WDW..... minimum. And yes there are lots of other vacation options for a lot less money. I love Disney,and I love visiting other places too.

 

[Pookles]

We all do Disney a little bit differently. This is why I love reading about other people's trips, I get to experience a bit of everything and I get some great ideas!

 

[Magical2017]

We make Disney work for whatever budget we have. My rule for traveling anywhere is that we have everything paid for or have the cash set aside for all expenses before we step onto the plane. I usually over budget just in case. There is nothing more depressing than coming home from a trip and spending six months paying it off, like I did when I was in college.

 

[crisi]

Yes, its expensive. Even a cheap trip to Disney for two adults, assuming five day tickets and a room reservation at a hotel, will run about 5% of the average household income.

Can you do it cheaper? If you have access to resources that other people don't have - like parents who live nearby you can stay with, or a CM discount on tickets, yes.

Are there more expensive vacations? Sure. I could take a vacation to NYC, fly first class, get tickets to Broadway shows every night, stay in a $5,000 a night room, and eat at some of the best restaurants in America. Heck, I could charter a private jet.

Are there cheaper vacations? Sure. I have friends with a cabin a few hours away who will let me use it for $10 a person per night. We bring up our own food, and roundtrip gas for the Prius is less than $50. Its on the North Shore of Lake Superior, beautiful scenery, relaxing.

Can everyone afford it, nope. Can a lot of people afford it, yep.

 

[dreiwhit]

Disney is very expensive, and for my family, we're at the point now where we're priced out.

For one trip, we were quoted $4400 for 4 6-day non hopper tickets, free dining, and a value room. We stayed off site and brought our own food in. But, that vacation still cost us @$2500. For comparisons sake, our vacations usually cost around $1200-1400, depending on how much we spend.

 

[Marionnette]

Disney is very expensive, and for my family, we're at the point now where we're priced out.

For one trip, we were quoted $4400 for 4 6-day non hopper tickets, free dining, and a value room. We stayed off site and brought our own food in. But, that vacation still cost us @$2500. For comparisons sake, our vacations usually cost around $1200-1400, depending on how much we spend.

And I think that's what it all boils down to. No matter how much we save on food and accommodations, those darn tickets can only be discounted so much . When a family is shelling out for multi-day passes for 3, 4 or more people, that's a lot of money no matter how you slice it.

Yes, there are cheaper vacations. Yes, there are more expensive ones. It can come down to how much value you find in each of those in comparison. For me, no cheap camping experience is going to be satisfying. I just don't enjoy the great outdoors. But going some place where they upsell everything after they grab your admission costs and parking fees just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The Disney park experience is quickly approaching that point for me. And if you take away the park experience, then why stay at one of their overpriced hotels when I can enjoy better accommodations for the same price at other locations?

 

[dreiwhit]

And I think that's what it all boils down to. No matter how much we save on food and accommodations, those darn tickets can only be discounted so much . When a family is shelling out for multi-day passes for 3, 4 or more people, that's a lot of money no matter how you slice it.

Agreed. On the @$2500 price of the one Disney vacation, tickets were @$1600, so roughly 64% of the total cost of the trip. No matter how much you try to save, its hard to save on the tickets.

For me, its about the opportunity cost. What else could we have done with that kind of money? Truth be told, the past 10 years have not been good financially to my family and money is tight. And, what do we get from that money? Is the value real or just perceived? For example, a sit down meal for a family of four at Crystal Palace was @$150. The food quality was about what I could get at Shoney's breakfast bar for @$50. Do we spend that kind of money for tickets, and then have crowded parks, long waits in line and rides or the monorail broken down?

 

[kymom99]

And I think that's what it all boils down to. No matter how much we save on food and accommodations, those darn tickets can only be discounted so much . When a family is shelling out for multi-day passes for 3, 4 or more people, that's a lot of money no matter how you slice it.

Yes, there are cheaper vacations. Yes, there are more expensive ones. It can come down to how much value you find in each of those in comparison. For me, no cheap camping experience is going to be satisfying. I just don't enjoy the great outdoors. But going some place where they upsell everything after they grab your admission costs and parking fees just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The Disney park experience is quickly approaching that point for me. And if you take away the park experience, then why stay at one of their overpriced hotels when I can enjoy better accommodations for the same price at other locations?

That's what I keep running into when I price out trips. The last 2 trips we took were back when you could squeeze a lot of value out of the tickets by extending your stay. It's hard to say no to $3 pp per day. I don't remember how much the total ticket cost was but it wasn't too bad. I had a pin code for the room so paid $132 per night for a preferred room at CBR. That I remember. I found that trip to be very reasonable. I can't come anywhere close anymore. It's 8 years later but it doesn't seem like things should be that much more expensive.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I really wish Disney hadn’t done away with the 10 day hopper with water park fun & more no expire tickets. We invested in those and used them over 3 to 4 trips. After doing the math, it was the cheapest way to do tickets for my family even though it was a big upfront cash outlay. We still have a couple of days left on our last set. I didn’t have the cash on hand to buy another set when they announced those tickets were being discontinued.