Finally hit the cost wall.

[bigOlkid]

Well, I uttered the phrase I never thought I would in reference to Disney: "It's not worth it." Let me say at the outset, I'm not a troll or professional ranter, My family (Wife and 3 kids ,15,18,22) LOVE Walt Disney World. My first trip was at the age of two a couple of months after WDW opened, with multiple trips in the ensuing years, Including our honeymoon right up to to our trip this past march. I won't waste a lot of time trying to build up my Main Street Cred, lets just say WDW has been our go to place forever, but, especially in the last several years, I have arrived at the philosophy that the magic is still there, you just have to squint and hold your head right to see it. Well, sadly that philosophy has begun to change. WE are by no means a affluent bunch. WDW is pretty much the only vacation we take. We scrimp and save, sometimes use tax refunds, whatever it takes to book a trip. We stay at Port Orleans Riverside because it is generally the cheapest hotel for our party size. We have borne witness to expected price increases over time, and blindly skipped through the more recent "nickel and diming" because, "C'mon it's Disney!". No more free parking at the hotel, tiered dining plan, tiered tickets, oversold holiday parties, etc. We continued to vacation here because it was worth it TO US. This brings me to my recent epiphany, My parents winter in Florida and we sometimes visit them during the winter school break. We are varying degrees of Star Wars fans, with me and my middle child being the biggest SW geeks, so after learning the opening date for rise of the resistance would coincide with the time we might be visiting my parents, I decided we'd swing over to the studios one day and check out the full galaxy's edge experience ( 2 rides and places to spend money). Well, thanks to the new variable ticket prices based on when you go, the grand total for 5 of us was close to $1000 incl tax. That's when I hit "the wall".This was just to walk through the gates of one park. There was still food (this kind of expenditure would rule out souvenirs). I did some quick comparisons. For around $2200 more, this same party of five could stay on site at universal 2 nights during the same week (new years) with a 2 day, 3 park, park to park ticket and early access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter included. My Oldest is a huge Harry Potter Fan and Universal, who we once never gave a second thought to, has moved steadily onto our radar as a destination, and is now a better comparative value TO US. The value gap between the two has shrunk to the point that we, a "Disney Family" are no longer willing to pay the "magic tax" because, quite frankly, no matter how hard I squint, I just can't see it any more. My wife and I were at the 25th anniversary, I had hoped to be at the 50th. Who knows.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think you’ll find most complainers are just like you and have similar “main street cred” (love that, lol). We only care this much because we all love Disney parks and it’s not easy to just stop when it becomes too much.

Those shorter length tickets are killer though. I would probably find it really hard to justify that kind of money for entering one or two parks too.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We are soooo right there with you. It's the first time in a very long time that we don't have a trip to WDW planned. We have been visiting WDW at least annually since our honeymoon in 1993 and our kids have grown up going to WDW at least once a year. The past increase in AP prices was our cost wall. We just cannot justify the increase. We're going to take a break for a year or two and see how things go. We are still planning to visit Orlando because our oldest daughter now lives there, but we won't be visiting the WDW parks.

 

[LizGirl]

Short trips have definitely become prohibitive for us - the value just isn't there. So this year we are getting APs and going a bunch of times. It's the only way I can squeeze value out of the ticket investment. Of course, it's silly Disney math because that means we are spending more on hotels, etc. But two of our four trips will be value stays to save money.

I'm not sure how it will be for us moving forward. They are removing more and more value from the admission price. I'm like you - I LOVE WDW - but there's only so much we can take. Plus, the airlines have made flying from our home city (DFW) as expensive as flying to Europe. We have family in FL (where I'm from) so we are going there already but we can't keep up with the price increases.

 

[fla4fun]

You are fortunate that you like Universal. I have been a handful of times, with complimentary tickets, and still felt I didn’t get my money’s worth. I just don’t like the movies their rides are based on, and have never been a Potter fan. I am not a coaster fan either. As Disney’s prices continue to rise, I know I will be faced one day with the same decision- is Disney really the best way to spend the money. It will be a sad day when I have to say no.

Since I have an AP, I don’t always keep up with the other tickets. Would those new Mid Day Magic tickets work for you financially?

 

[shocker]

I agree with other posters, seems like AP's spread apart by some time might help alleviate a bit. Let some new attractions open up & then come back to visit several times in one year.

But, to the OP, I'm getting confused a bit by what seems like fuzzy math. You compare USO saying it would add another $2200 to the budget. I feel if you added $2200 to your WDW budget you'd end up with about the same package, 2 day/4 park on site with early entry option. What am I missing?

I too let my AP lapse July 2019. I too will likely land at USO my next trip.

 

[Bowen Family]

If you aren't already 'resort hoppers', I suggest you give this fun and cheap alternative a try! We visit family in Orlando 2-3x/year, which is more often than we can afford to be at the parks and/or staying on-property. So to scratch the Disney itch, we've found that day trips to Disney Springs and touring the resorts is often just as memorable! We've developed a list of our favourite destinations and experiences, and honestly, we look forward to these as much as any park day.

 

[bigOlkid]

I agree with other posters, seems like AP's spread apart by some time might help alleviate a bit. Let some new attractions open up & then come back to visit several times in one year.

But, to the OP, I'm getting confused a bit by what seems like fuzzy math. You compare USO saying it would add another $2200 to the budget. I feel if you added $2200 to your WDW budget you'd end up with about the same package, 2 day/4 park on site with early entry option. What am I missing?

I too let my AP lapse July 2019. I too will likely land at USO my next trip.

I have often been guilty of fuzzy math! I understand the confusion. To be clear, A 2 night stay at the cheapest resort at WDW that had availability on the same days and could accomodate 5 in a room (Art of Animation Family suite) with a 2 day parkhopper was $3406.10 plus tax. The cheapest equivalent stay for the same party on the same length of stay on the same days with a 2 day park to park was $2629, enough of a difference to make me analyze the true value comparatively. I didn't get into the fact that UO constantly runs buy 2 get 1 day free tickets and other promotions and their version of fastpass, while it is a fee, is much less schedule wrecking. But to each their own, that's why i put TO US in all caps in my post. Cheers!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

If you aren't already 'resort hoppers', I suggest you give this fun and cheap alternative a try! We visit family in Orlando 2-3x/year, which is more often than we can afford to be at the parks and/or staying on-property. So to scratch the Disney itch, we've found that day trips to Disney Springs and touring the resorts is often just as memorable! We've developed a list of our favourite destinations and experiences, and honestly, we look forward to these as much as any park day.

That's actually our plan for Thanksgiving week. We're going to take our time exploring the various resorts and Disney Springs as well as lots of other offsite stuff. Will definitely be a different experience for us because we spend all day in the parks when we have park tix.

 

[MilitaryMouse]

Yep, we just canceled our 2 week stay at AKL next month and rebooked for Universal/Hard Rock. WDW just isn’t worth it (to us) anymore either.

 

[Davey Jones II]

O.P, if you`ve never been to Universal Orlando before, I definitely recommend it because everything will be new to you and your family. And both Potter lands are amazing. But be aware that most attractions at Universal are thrill rides. Even the themed dark rides are more intense than most Disney rides, and some really shake, rattle and roll you. If your family is cool with that, have fun!

As for Disney, it is becoming increasingly expensive. I do think there is value in a longer trip; we`re usually there for 9 or 10 days.

 

[bigOlkid]

O.P, if you`ve never been to Universal Orlando before, I definitely recommend it because everything will be new to you and your family. And both Potter lands are amazing. But be aware that most attractions at Universal are thrill rides. Even the themed dark rides are more intense than most Disney rides, and some really shake, rattle and roll you. If your family is cool with that, have fun!

As for Disney, it is becoming increasingly expensive. I do think there is value in a longer trip; we`re usually there for 9 or 10 days.

We've been and like it more each time! I agree longer trips are a much better value, we just wanted to see galaxy's edge, since it wasn't open when we were there in march.

 

[bigOlkid]

Short trips have definitely become prohibitive for us - the value just isn't there. So this year we are getting APs and going a bunch of times. It's the only way I can squeeze value out of the ticket investment. Of course, it's silly Disney math because that means we are spending more on hotels, etc. But two of our four trips will be value stays to save money.

I'm not sure how it will be for us moving forward. They are removing more and more value from the admission price. I'm like you - I LOVE WDW - but there's only so much we can take. Plus, the airlines have made flying from our home city (DFW) as expensive as flying to Europe. We have family in FL (where I'm from) so we are going there already but we can't keep up with the price increases.

Oh, I specialize in "silly Disney math"!