Disney is crazy

hoffse · September 2015

So yesterday one of my coworkers is taking his kids to Disney in the spring, and he told me it's going to cost more than a vacation to the Caribbean.

At this point another person who was listening in on the conversation said that the cost is why he hasn't taken his kids to Disney. They can travel out of the country for less money, so that's what they have decided to do instead.

I didn't believe them because I grew up going to WDW with annual passes. We lived close enough to drive, and we would stay in a hotel off property (sometimes we would even camp), pack our lunches, etc. It was a pretty cheap way to take vacations as a little kid. My parents didn't have very much money back then, and we would still go a few times per year during school breaks.

So I looked into it because I haven't been there in years. I found a website where people were posting what they have paid for a family trip to WDW.

Ok, lots of people are saying they are spending upwards of $7K for a week for a family of 4. Granted, that usually involves staying at one of the Disney resorts with a meal plan, etc., but seriously? You could take a family of 4 to Europe for that price. If you're reasonably good at travel hacking, you would probably spend less going to Europe.

I'm just blown away by this. H and I have always sort of assumed we would do Disney when we had kids. It seems like a quintessential American childhood experience. But I mean... really?

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

We plan to do disney once. When the kids are old enough to go on all the rides and remember the trip. it will be well planned for, and we'll probably get is disney visa card or something a few years before we plan to go on the trip to work some points.

I know people who take their family to disney every year, there must be some disney clubs that give some kind of "frequent visitor" rewards. Spending that much every year seems ridiculous.

jessica490 · September 2015

Wow! We don't have kids but I'm glad I got to visit there a few times in my childhood! That's good enough for me! It's a neat place, but if I'm up for rides, I'll head to Six Flags

brij2006 · September 2015

It's insane! I wanted to run one of their half marathons. It was going to cost me well over $2k between registration, airfare, hotel, park admission, and meals. Needless to say we went on an all inclusive to the Caribbean for the 2 of us that year. For the same amount!

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

Agreed! We also plan to do Disney as a full-on vacation only once. With in-laws in FL, however, we may splice in occasional one-day trips.

It doesn't have to be so bad. We did a day in the Magic Kingdom and a day at Epcot last January when visiting FL and kept prices down by skipping park hopper, packing in food for the magic kingdom (very poor food options there) and limiting souvenirs to a Finding Nemo shot glass :-P We budgeted a lot for food and drink at Epcot but the quality was worth it.

It's super silly, but since I was a kid I always had a dream to stay at the Polynesian Resort. Yes, I know going to actual Polynesia would be cheaper. It's not logical. We'll see if I ever feel speedy enough to do it once we have kids. Maybe just a night or two.

vlagrl29 · September 2015

With that kind of money we could go to hawaii twice so no thanks. I do however want to take DD when she is older and still into the princesses. Most likely we won't stay at one of their hotels on sight nor eat every meal there.

simplyelise · September 2015

Just wanted to chime in as a person who never experienced Disney, that I never felt deprived!

We couldn't afford vacations really growing up, so I think we only took two. Colorado when I was 3 and Louisville when I was 10. That's it. Everything else was just driving across the state to visit family with the three of us kids in the backseat together. And we were just fine. I never remember us feeling resentful and we definitely didn't whine about it.

My two cents is that it can get really dangerous to start thinking of travel/vacations as a necessity to having a reasonable standard of living. They really are luxuries and awesome experiences if you can afford them, but definitely not a need.

If you haven't seen Jim Gaffigan's bit about Disney, it's totally worth watching!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYacdfsORec

dragonstarjk · September 2015

Yeah, I have been wanting to take a sibling trip with me, my brother, sister, and niece because we have never been there. I've done tons of research and priced it out, and even staying off property and not eating meals at Disney I'd be looking at about $5K for the four of us. It's crazy. Park tickets themselves are crazy-expensive.

brij2006 · September 2015

I'm with simplyelise. We never went to Disney nor elaborate vacations as kids. Just 1 week at the lake every year.

However, now that my parents are older and have a grandchild, they are adamant that they want to take DD to Disney. We've told them they can go right ahead. We'll go with to Disney 1 day, then H and I will head to Wizarding World of Harry Potter and enjoy some butterbeer, because we're dorks like that. ;-) But I could really take it or leave it on Disney. I would much rather take my kids to Europe for that price and give them cultural experiences.

als1982 · September 2015

I'm guessing your co-worker believes that all the 'extras' are necessary for their Disney experience. In reality, with the exception of the set ticket costs, like everything, Disney can be as expensive or inexpensive as you make it.

Don't stay on Disney property or International Drive (near Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios), don't buy a dining package, don't do a character breakfast/lunch/dinner, etc. Those are the types of things that add up and get pricey.

H went to UCF and FIL still lives in Orlando so we visit pretty regularly, and as long as you don't go during peak season, it's easy to find good hotels for around $65 a night. And there are tons of other free or inexpensive things nearby like Cape Canaveral and the Space Ceneter, Cocoa or Dayota beach (Cocoa is better IMO) or Clearwater a little further away.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

Like I said we plan to do with our kids, my family did disney once, I remeber my parents planned for it for several years, and disney-related things were very much featured as christmas presents that year. We, the kids, were fully aware that it was a more-expensive than usual vacation, and that we should be greatful for whatever experiences we got to have there.

most our other family vacations were to visit my grandparents, or stay on a lake for a week. in general our summer-season vacations were done on the cheap, because my family was a big skiing family so a little more was always spent on our winter vacation to stay at a cabin near a mountain. I was always the kid in school that instead of coming back from february break with a suntan and my hair in cornrows I had a nice goggle tan...or just really dry skin from windburn.

cbee817 · September 2015

We're planning on taking the girls in a few years.. we have to fly there since we're in NY, but we already have $7,500 in our vacation fund just for this trip. I feel like it'll end up being pretty expensive. Chances are we'll go once so we want them to have a great time, but for me and DH, there are so many other places we would rather go!

lbonga1 · September 2015

We have Disneyland passes because they have a super good deal for So. Cal residents. But we always make sure to pack our own food and water bottles because of how expensive it is. $10 for a large drink because it comes in a souvenir cup? No thanks.

@brij2006 how did you do an all inclusive for $2k? I've been looking but the cheapest I've found so far is around $4k for a week.

Mustard76 · September 2015

Cost is the sole reason we keep pushing back our Disney trip. I WILL get there, I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger with everything else we've got going on. Here's my reasoning on the whole thing, though: we don't have kids, and aren't likely to ever have them. I'm the one who wants to go, and I only plan on doing it once. So I want to stay on property and do things that maybe aren't necessary, but I want to do them. Not the most MM, but there's balance. And even if it ends up being a giant waste of money, IMO, it's better than regretting not going. Yes, we're conscious of money and our spending habits. That doesn't mean I want to make decisions based solely on money. I know I've said it before, but to me, there's more to life than money. I want to experience life.

hoffse · September 2015

Mustard76 said:

Cost is the sole reason we keep pushing back our Disney trip. I WILL get there, I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger with everything else we've got going on. Here's my reasoning on the whole thing, though: we don't have kids, and aren't likely to ever have them. I'm the one who wants to go, and I only plan on doing it once. So I want to stay on property and do things that maybe aren't necessary, but I want to do them. Not the most MM, but there's balance. And even if it ends up being a giant waste of money, IMO, it's better than regretting not going. Yes, we're conscious of money and our spending habits. That doesn't mean I want to make decisions based solely on money. I know I've said it before, but to me, there's more to life than money. I want to experience life.

I absolutely agree with this. And if you haven't seen Disney, it really is pretty amazing (in a good way). Epcot is my favorite park, but we haven't been to Harry Potter World yet.

I guess I could see spending the money to do a more luxury version with kids (or as adults) maybe once. I did get kind of upset though when I realized that many of those folks are regulars - and they do this year after year. They can tell you minute differences between the various resorts because they have stayed at many of them.

OMG if you're going to spend $7K/year on vacations mix it up a little. I can promise you that Italy, France, and the UK aren't anything like the Epcot versions. The real places are much more interesting.

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

hoffse said:

Mustard76 said:

Cost is the sole reason we keep pushing back our Disney trip. I WILL get there, I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger with everything else we've got going on. Here's my reasoning on the whole thing, though: we don't have kids, and aren't likely to ever have them. I'm the one who wants to go, and I only plan on doing it once. So I want to stay on property and do things that maybe aren't necessary, but I want to do them. Not the most MM, but there's balance. And even if it ends up being a giant waste of money, IMO, it's better than regretting not going. Yes, we're conscious of money and our spending habits. That doesn't mean I want to make decisions based solely on money. I know I've said it before, but to me, there's more to life than money. I want to experience life.

I absolutely agree with this. And if you haven't seen Disney, it really is pretty amazing (in a good way). Epcot is my favorite park, but we haven't been to Harry Potter World yet.

I guess I could see spending the money to do a more luxury version with kids (or as adults) maybe once. I did get kind of upset though when I realized that many of those folks are regulars - and they do this year after year. They can tell you minute differences between the various resorts because they have stayed at many of them.

OMG if you're going to spend $7K/year on vacations mix it up a little. I can promise you that Italy, France, and the UK aren't anything like the Epcot versions. The real places are much more interesting.

That's about where I'm at with Disney. I definitely prefer international travel, but I have such fond memories of my one big Disney trip that I'd like to give my future kids the same experience if possible. I could not see going yearly the way some people do. As cool as it is, it's a bit overwhelming with the crowds and there are more places I want to see.

I do of course recognize that all of this is a luxury in no way essential to a happy childhood. For us, however, while we're lucky to have the health and finances to travel a bit it is worth it to us to do so.

hoffse · September 2015

Yeah I only visited as a kid because we lived close enough to drive. We were close enough that we could go for a long weekend and either stay in a budget place or camp. If we had been at a distance where we had to fly, there's no way that would have happened. There were a couple of years there where my dad snagged a great deal on season passes (those kinds of deals no longer exist), so it was an obvious place to vacation for us. I called my dad to talk to him about it, and he said most of those trips ran them under $100 for a family of 3. Granted, that was years ago.

We also went to Williamsburg and DC a few times, and I REALLY loved that as a kid. Again, we would drive and camp a couple of the nights to bring costs down. I actually have better memories of the Williamsburg trips than Disney.

brij2006 · September 2015

lbonga1 said:

We have Disneyland passes because they have a super good deal for So. Cal residents. But we always make sure to pack our own food and water bottles because of how expensive it is. $10 for a large drink because it comes in a souvenir cup? No thanks.

@brij2006 how did you do an all inclusive for $2k? I've been looking but the cheapest I've found so far is around $4k for a week.

We did an Apple Vacation, Square Deal. So they guarantee you a certain standard of resort in a certain area, but you don't know which one it is until you get there. They're only good for last minute bookings, but we loved it. We also aren't picky about where we stay as long as there's booze and food. ;-)

short+sassy · September 2015

I was fortunate to grow up 45 minutes from Disneyland, but it was still a "special trip/day" that my family only did 1-2x/year. My sister still lives in So CA and has two kids. I think they also only go 1-2x/year because it is really spendy, even if you don't have to fly and stay at a hotel!

I went to Orlando once for a work conference and took the opportunity to come in a day early and leave one day late. I heard so many good things about Epcot Center, but I was actually disappointed by it. It seemed like the attractions were few and 80% of the park was places to shop and eat. I felt like I had just paid a $60 admission to go to an outdoor mall, lol.

I don't plan to have kids but, if I did, I could see wanting to do the Disney trip, but only once. I would have hard time stomaching more than that. It would just be too expensive for a vacation I wouldn't enjoy nearly as much as other places and would only be doing it for my (hypothetical) children to begin with.

maple2 · September 2015

I am super grateful that all of the grandparents have expressed an interest in taking our kids to Disney. It's going to be a bit of a balancing act since there are 3 different people who want to take them and all of them want it to be a special, once in a lifetime experience, but I am thrilled that I won't have to go. Disney doesn't hold all that much appeal for me, so paying thousands of dollars for the experience would probably never happen. I am sure the kids will love it, but they also just loved our week long camping trip in the mountains where the highlight was learning to build a fire.

short+sassy · September 2015

maple2 said:

I am super grateful that all of the grandparents have expressed an interest in taking our kids to Disney. It's going to be a bit of a balancing act since there are 3 different people who want to take them and all of them want it to be a special, once in a lifetime experience, but I am thrilled that I won't have to go. Disney doesn't hold all that much appeal for me, so paying thousands of dollars for the experience would probably never happen. I am sure the kids will love it, but they also just loved our week long camping trip in the mountains where the highlight was learning to build a fire.

Cracking up at this! I'd be exactly the same way if I had kids. The kids would be excited to go to Disney with grandma...and short+sassy would be even more excited to not have to go, lol.

bparkhur · September 2015

It doesn't have to be that expensive though! I live in Florida, so we usually take the kids once a year. DEFINITELY stay off site. Many hotels have shuttles that go to Disney if you don't have a car. Honestly though, you can find VERY cheap lodging in Kissimmee, rent a car, and pay for parking for a fraction of the price. I recently got an email advertising a $5 a day rental car price for orlando (plus taxes, etc), so not expensive. There's no reason to spend over a hundred a night on a hotel unless luxury is your thing. If luxury is your thing, I recommend lastminutetravel.com for travel to Orlando. I've stayed at a 4.5 star Hilton on Disney property for $99 a night plus tax. Eat breakfast before you go, eat lunch at the park, eat dinner off site (or splurge one night! Epcot has some terrific restaurants). There is NO NEED for the meal plan!

BlueBirdMB · September 2015

My husband and I were just talking about this. Disney packages, cruises, tours, and a lot of all inclusive's in the islands, are way more than traveling internationally on your own if you are willing to put in a tiny bit of work.

An acquaintance was telling us how she and her husband went to Morocco on a tour for $4500 per person for one week. She was talking like it was this amazing deal! We just got back from traveling around Mexico for two weeks and spent less than $4000 grand total. We have a mileage credit card, so we rarely spend money on airfare, but otherwise, we just looked around for deals and did a little bit of planning.

Another friend was telling us how they spent $2000 per person for one week to go to an all inclusive in the Caribbean. It blows my mind. We travel more than the average person and I know people think we must have a lot of money because we can afford it, but we travel on miles and deals.

smerka · September 2015

If I can avoid going to Disney, I will. Between the price, the crowds, and the heat, I have NO interest in going. My DH is a teacher so going off-peak is not an option for us. I have friends who made the trip and their kids just wanted to play in the hotel pool.

KatieCutie05 · September 2015

I went to disney once and not until like High School. (well my parents had gone once before but i was like 1 so it was only for my older sisters (ages 5-14)

We stayed off resort - my dad got some kind of great deal.... and then he also got a good deal on a family 4 pack to the resorts. He was the king of finding good deals or theres no we would have gone because my parents did not have a lot of money. My mom says it all the time "we only went because your father found an amazing deal"

I'll have to do the same thing when we decide to go.

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

One way to do Disney super cheap, if you can handle the sales pitch, is by staying at a timeshare resort. When we were there in January my MIL gave us her week for free. The resort was actually really nice, and only about a 5 minute drive from the Disney parks. There was a shuttle too, but the times were so limited that it wasn't really practical (like, the earliest it could get you to the Magic Kingdom was 11:30 AM). If you'll submit to the sales pitch I think they let you stay there for about $50 a night or less, and the units have kitchens so you can cook your own meals.

We did the sales pitch to get a $75 Visa giftcard and it really wasn't that bad. We were just polite but said we couldn't afford it due to massive student loans (a bit of an exaggeration) and got out in the 90 minutes allotted.

ETA: In no way am I advocating actually buying a timeshare!!! They are bad bad.

Frugalmama2009 · September 2015

We are Disney people. We have spent 15,000 on 3 trips in the last 2 years. Everyone has things they like. We budget for it, and honestly, unless you are a Disney person, it's hard to explain. It's truly our ideal vacation. We are so frugal all year, when we are at Disney we don't go crazy but we really enjoy ourselves. We are not beach people, DD is insanely active so she does great doing the 12 hour days we put her through. My ADHD, ASD kid in a museum in Europe, I can't even imagine lol. Picture a kid who can walk 12 hours at Disneyland, then still needs to run laps in the hotel to burn off energy!

Frugalmama2009 · September 2015

I can also add this. We are definitely theme park/amusement park people. We have seasons passes to our small local one, we go at least 10 times a year. We are going to Hershey Park next year and it's the same price for us from Canada as Disney. It will probably be not as great but I'm keeping an open mind. So for us, coming from Canada, we are limited to the few big parks we know or hear about. We looked into Dollywood, that would cost us 7000, way more than Disney.

jtmh2012 · September 2015

I keep trying to make Disney work, but it is so darn expensive.

One time I tried was in combination with a cruise we were taking for our second honeymoon. We were staying in a suite on a cruise ship. The plan was to rent a car in Miami, drive to Orlando, stay in a hotel, do the park for a day or two (yes, we knew that wasn't enough time for everything).

I hadn't even made it to budgeting for food before I figured it was cheaper to get back on the cruise ship. We ended up just flying home from Miami.

Because of where I work, I can even get access to military rate tickets. That's a joke. Our service members deserve better.

hoffse · September 2015

Frugalmama2009 said:

I can also add this. We are definitely theme park/amusement park people. We have seasons passes to our small local one, we go at least 10 times a year. We are going to Hershey Park next year and it's the same price for us from Canada as Disney. It will probably be not as great but I'm keeping an open mind. So for us, coming from Canada, we are limited to the few big parks we know or hear about. We looked into Dollywood, that would cost us 7000, way more than Disney.

Dollywood is not my cup of tea. No offense to Dollywood lovers - it just has a really particular style. If you aren't a country music person you'll feel super out of place.

I hear what you're saying and you're right that everybody has their own travel style. Europe isn't just about the museums though! H and I wore ourselves out on our recent trip hiking around ruins for a week. I'm a huge museum person, and we didn't actually go to a museum for the first 7 days of our trip because there was lots of other stuff to do - mostly outdoor stuff. Even in Paris we walked the streets, enjoyed the amazing parks, etc. There was one day when we walked more than 10 miles of streets.

Paris also has a Disneyland. Or you could go to Florence and feel like you're in Disneyland - that place is bizarrely perfect.

Have you guys tried any city trips? I was just enamored by Washington DC as a little kid, and I mentioned Williamsburg earlier. That was very cool.

emily1004 · September 2015

A few years ago, my husband and I did an adults only trip to Disney for our anniversary. We had blast, but we also had frequent flier miles and hotel points, that allowed us to stay on property through SPG. Anyway, I couldn't figure out why so many people would spend the money to take children and babies who would never remember the trip. I had an "ah-ha" moment while I was there; Disney is actually one of the very few places to go on vacation that is "family friendly". Not to mention, watching the children at the parks was amazing. Seeing their eyes light up with all the "magic" that was happening around them was so precious. (And I don't even like kids that much). While a European vacation may be a wonderful thing, it doesn't really appeal to young children that much. I bet if you ask a younger child if he wants to go to Europe or Disney, nine times out of 10 the kid is going to pick Disney. But you're right, Disney has become out of control with it's prices. But as long as people are willing to pay it, it will keep going up.

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