Disney, is it really that expensive?

Pookles · Jun 22, 2018

Okay, this is probably the cottage cheese and pineapples talking, but is Disney really all that expensive? *Spoiler alert, it is.*

BUT, I was thinking about this today. The flight, hotel, EVC rental and food are all about the same as what I would pay if we went somewhere else instead. The souvenirs might be a bit more, you can only get so many t-shirts at Mount Rushmore. But the price difference of going somewhere else is really just the cost of admission isn't it? For 8 days in the parks it runs about $55 a day per person. My local amusement park is about $40 per day per person.

In conclusion, as you can see by my work above that for the 3 of us we are only paying a price difference of $15 a day to go to Disney World. So really, Disney World is very reasonable.

Also these may be the rum soaked pineapples for the BBQ tomorrow.

unrequited23 · Jun 22, 2018

For us, it is and it isn't that expensive. If you look at the raw per day costs and compare it's not that different--or you can convince yourself the difference if worth it. For us, the difference comes down to the number of days we spend on vacation. When it's not Disney we do 4 day vacations (only 3 hotel nights) and we tend to stay within a 6 hr radius of our house so we can drive. Last trip we were at Disney for 8 nights with 5 day tickets and we felt like there was still so much more to do and see. I'm pushing for 8 day tickets for our next trip.

Marionnette · Jun 22, 2018

Pookles said:
Okay, this is probably the cottage cheese and pineapples talking, but is Disney really all that expensive? *Spoiler alert, it is.*

BUT, I was thinking about this today. The flight, hotel, EVC rental and food are all about the same as what I would pay if we went somewhere else instead. The souvenirs might be a bit more, you can only get so many t-shirts at Mount Rushmore. But the price difference of going somewhere else is really just the cost of admission isn't it? For 8 days in the parks it runs about $55 a day per person. My local amusement park is about $40 per day per person.

In conclusion, as you can see by my work above that for the 3 of us we are only paying a price difference of $15 a day to go to Disney World. So really, Disney World is very reasonable.

Also these may be the rum soaked pineapples for the BBQ tomorrow.

Fuzzy Disney math. Go have some more pineapple.

I can think of a lot of other vacations that are less expensive and just as nice as Disney. Many cruises and all-inclusive Caribbean resorts come to mind. Even a week at Hilton Head in a private beachfront vacation home can be more affordable than a weekend at Disney.

However, there are a lot of ways to make the financial pain of a Disney vacation sting a little less. Travel hacking credit cards for hotels, rental cars and airfare. Rewards programs to earn anything from airline credits to gift cards that can be used at Disney. Buying a ticket from an online seller at a discount, upgrading at the parks to an AP with Disney GCs that you obtained at a discount, and then using them to cover two trips within 365 days.

kymom99 · Jun 22, 2018

I don't agree with the food being equal statement. Disney food has gotten crazy expensive. Especially table service. And if you go to a National park, for $30 you can go in and out for an entire week, or do what we did and buy an annual pass for $80. There are so many amazing things to see in the National Parks and the cost is minimal. We stayed right inside the grand canyon for $200 a night. Parking was free and our pass got our whole family in.

Also if you go to your local amusement park, you can go one day or 10 days and the price is generally the same. With Disney to get the price you quoted you have to go 8 days. At my local park I could buy a season pass for what 2 days at Disney on an 8 day ticket would cost. And that includes parking.

Poutine · Jun 22, 2018

I can get a season pass for all Cedar Fair parks for less than a military 4-day park hopper, drive to the parks, camp for $40ish/night, eat $5 hot and ready pizzas, and have a cooler in my car with cold pizza/drinks ...disney is a lot more.

Nebraska_Disney · Jun 22, 2018

unrequited23 said:
For us, it is and it isn't that expensive. If you look at the raw per day costs and compare it's not that different--or you can convince yourself the difference if worth it. For us, the difference comes down to the number of days we spend on vacation. When it's not Disney we do 4 day vacations (only 3 hotel nights) and we tend to stay within a 6 hr radius of our house so we can drive. Last trip we were at Disney for 8 nights with 5 day tickets and we felt like there was still so much more to do and see. I'm pushing for 8 day tickets for our next trip.

We always have park tickets for every day we are in Orlando. The price difference from a 5 day to an 8 day ticket is very minimal. Even if we just go to a park for half a day for our FP+ rides, we still are utilizing the park days to the max.

Carrie Ellis · Jun 22, 2018

The shows and fireworks would cost so much to attend separately somewhere else. I do think the lodging is getting out of hand though. I need 2-3 rooms for my crew and that is just way out of my league now. We used to pull our RV to the Fort and that is over $100/night with no discounts, not even military. I don't think the food is really that bad as far as price. We just don't do the crazy expensive restaurants. I believe ticket prices are fair for what is offered as long as we can ride all the rides. I have a problem with not being able to ride something that we are going there to ride. When there are no more available fast passes and the line is 2 1/2 hours, that is a problem. We stay offsite now when we have all of us going. We are on the fast passes as soon as possible which would be a HUGE problem now since offisite is only 30days...we could make the trip and not be able to ride a new ride. My parents pulled their RV last time so we were tied with them and still able to do 60 days out. That could be a huge problem in the future and not cool with the cost of the tickets.. We save up rewards and gift cards to eat. We do a walmart online pickup order for breakfast.

halfpintpeggy · Jun 22, 2018

kymom99 said:
I don't agree with the food being equal statement. Disney food has gotten crazy expensive. Especially table service. And if you go to a National park, for $30 you can go in and out for an entire week, or do what we did and buy an annual pass for $80. There are so many amazing things to see in the National Parks and the cost is minimal. We stayed right inside the grand canyon for $200 a night. Parking was free and our pass got our whole family in.

Also if you go to your local amusement park, you can go one day or 10 days and the price is generally the same. With Disney to get the price you quoted you have to go 8 days. At my local park I could buy a season pass for what 2 days at Disney on an 8 day ticket would cost. And that includes parking.

Yes, THIS! All of it. Totally agree. ::yes::

YesterDark · Jun 22, 2018

I usually don't go to local amusement parks 3-8 days in a row. That's the big difference!

neatokimmo · Jun 22, 2018

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.

loves to dive · Jun 22, 2018

It might depend on how vacation at other places, for me (especially if I go solo) it's not any more expensive then anywhere else I go. I do have an annual pass so the price of the tickets gets spread out over many visits throughout the year and I drive so there is no air fare to consider but I also drive anywhere else I go. I don't do budget vacations any more, I did when I was younger but as I've gotten older and able to not have to do them any more, I just don't. Many times I've priced out my three favorite spots to take a solo trip to - Jekyll Island, Georgia, Amelia Island, FL and WDW and every time WDW came out less. Keep in mind, when I go to Jekyll I stay at the most expensive place on the island - The Jekyll Island Club. I eat at the restaurants there at the club, which can be more expensive then WDW. I don't have to pay for tickets there but I do special tours so it just about evens out. When I go to Amelia Island I stay at the Amelia Island Plantation (which is now called something else I think) and again, eat only on property so it can be expensive. They have a private beach and I always rent a chair and umbrella (which is provided for free by the Jekyll Island Club at their private beach by the way) so that can run pretty expensive too. Heck, my honey and I took a long weekend on Jekyll last summer and didn't stay at the club, stayed at a Sheraton on the beach because we had our little dog and the room was over $400 per night and I've never paid that much a night a WDW and I always stay at the deluxe resorts.

ClapYourHands · Jun 22, 2018

kymom99 said:
if you go to a National park, for $30 you can go in and out for an entire week, or do what we did and buy an annual pass for $80. There are so many amazing things to see in the National Parks and the cost is minimal. We stayed right inside the grand canyon for $200 a night. Parking was free and our pass got our whole family in.

And if you have a 4th grader, you can get into National Parks and Monuments for free. We did a SW road trip for spring break - 3 states, 6 national parks/monuments, and our biggest expense was the one-way car rental. We flew out on inexpensive tickets and miles, did a grocery store run early on for snacks, stayed on points for free (with free breakfast) everywhere except one night at the Grand Canyon. I realize that having the 4th grader didn't do THAT much to lower costs because the parks are reasonable to begin with, but it was a nice little boost to our budget.

Darcy03231 · Jun 22, 2018

I think Disney is expensive. I'm in the planning stages for a week long trip next spring, two adults, one child, value resort, DDP, 7 day base ticket are currently coming in at about $3650. That doesn't include airfare which will add another $750-$1,000, for a total of around $4400-$4650, not including tips, souvenirs, etc.

We did two weeks in Costa Rica with two adults including airfare, rental home, transportation to and from airport, all meals/tips, activities (catamaran sail, zip-lining, snorkeling, estuary tour, horseback riding, a trip to the volcano, and surfing lessons), souvenirs, etc. for about $5000.

Granted, we have another person for the WDW trip, but the Costa Rica trip still works out to be much less expensive (and the food and lodging were much better!).

mjantz · Jun 22, 2018

It is expensive IMO but that doesn't mean you can't save a bit of money in different areas or still find value in it. For me, the value isn't there for a yearly trip. OTOH, some may not feel value in the National Parks trip I'm taking later this year.

houstonmama · Jun 22, 2018

kymom99 said:
I don't agree with the food being equal statement. Disney food has gotten crazy expensive. Especially table service. And if you go to a National park, for $30 you can go in and out for an entire week, or do what we did and buy an annual pass for $80. There are so many amazing things to see in the National Parks and the cost is minimal. We stayed right inside the grand canyon for $200 a night. Parking was free and our pass got our whole family in.

Also if you go to your local amusement park, you can go one day or 10 days and the price is generally the same. With Disney to get the price you quoted you have to go 8 days. At my local park I could buy a season pass for what 2 days at Disney on an 8 day ticket would cost. And that includes parking.

I totally agree with the food statement! We have to do a sit down meal at least one time a day because I have a special needs kiddo that needs a break so I have really noticed the price changes, especially the signature!! The steaks are running $50, I mean, I know it's disney but come on now

georgina · Jun 22, 2018

Tickets for shorter trips are VERY expensive. I have an AP this year because of multiple trips, and DH, one DD and i have some leftover non-expiring tickets from 10 day hoppers I bought years ago, but I am going to have to get my other DD a short (probably 2 day) ticket for November.

Besides ticket costs, we stay offsite now for the Disney portion of our trips, do very few TS meals, don't buy many souvenirs.

TheOneWithTheTriplets · Jun 22, 2018

Disney is absolutely expensive! I can get my family of 5 three different 7 night all-inclusive Caribbean vacations for the cost of what we're paying for a single 8 night trip.

To be fair, we're not doing the budget version of Disney. We're staying onsite so we don't have to deal with car seats in a rental. We're booking two value rooms, which is a bit more expensive than 5 person rooms at CBR or POR, but it's the cheapest way to have a door that shuts between the kids who go to bed at 7:30 and the adults who want to prep for the next day. With the two rooms, we're putting the DxDP on one and going all out on character meals for the week. It's actually not that much more expensive than what our budget version of the trip would have been (works out to about $37 per person per day plus tips) but it is a bit more.

If we went really budget (rental car, air BnB, only buying one meal a day and doing way more packed snacks/food) we'd probably only be able to afford two 7 night all inclusive Caribbean vacations for the cost of one Disney trip. The tickets are killer. We're looking at just under $2100 on Undercover Tourist for 9 day base tickets, no hopping. For that, I can get all 5 of us season passes to Six Flags (the pass with national benefits), Sesame Place, Dorney Park (local amusement park with water park) and still have $500 to spend.

kymom99 · Jun 22, 2018

houstonmama said:
I totally agree with the food statement! We have to do a sit down meal at least one time a day because I have a special needs kiddo that needs a break so I have really noticed the price changes, especially the signature!! The steaks are running $50, I mean, I know it's disney but come on now

The first 2 times we went, in 2004 and 2005, I thought the food was fairly reasonable. That was before they heavily promoted the dining plan. You could get into a TS restaurant as a walk up. Even Le Cellier. Granted, we had a little kid then so most of his meals were kids meals. But even in 2008, we ate dinner at O'Hana, there were 4 adults and one child and the bill was about half what it would be now.

TwoMisfits · Jun 22, 2018

Knowing I just did an all-costs-included 9 day trip to Niagara Falls, CN and the Origins Game convention in Columbus, OH for about the cost of 6 3 day tickets for my family ($2K)...yeah, Disney is expensive.

And in this trip, the only thing I didn't "pay for" were 4 nights at an Embassy Suites where I used points instead of dollars...so if I'd have paid for everything in cash, it probably would have cost me the equivalent of 6 4 day tickets.

That's now my big hang up with Disney. I can take an entire trip many places in an economic way for just the cost to enter the parks (without even getting to food, hotel, parking, travel costs, etc)...

mustinjourney · Jun 22, 2018

the food seems at least 20% higher than what you'd normally spend if you aren't at an amusement park. The hotels are vastly overpriced. $650 rack rate at Grand Floridian? In most any other setting, that room would be $300-$350...max.

I think there are a lot of people that don't realize how expensive disney food is b/c they are on the dining plan. In fact, if you're on the dining plan, you are almost excited that your meal "would have" cost $45 for dinner so that you can exclaim that you got your money's worth. I wouldn't doubt it if the food prices started creeping up when the dining plan came into existence. It certainly makes a lot of people less price sensitive.

Disney, is it really that expensive?

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