Anyone see their yearly WDW vacations ending???

[bbak30]

Not if I can help it. Yes, it's very expensive. But we really love Disney. I still think it's a good value for what you pay.

 

[cruisingtwins]

We have APs that we won't be renewing it's not even the price increase is prices+not building fast enough+closing current attractions.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For family trips, we go every 3 years. I was surprised when my husband mentioned that he wanted to go this summer for a couple of days. We are planning 3 at Disney, 2 at Universal, 2 at a beach.
He said if the parks get too much for him, we'll just stay at Disney and do something else around Orlando. I'm ok with that since I still do my solo trips which will be getting reduced to one per year once my AP expires.

 

[Tissa]

We have been going as a family yearly since 2005 and sometimes twice a year for me. This is the first year that we are not going as a family. We've been on a cruise and on a camping trip to a national park and had a blast and it was much more affordable. I was looking at taking my oldest for a long weekend in July for his 21st birthday but with the ticket increases for a short trip, I'm not so sure it is going to happen and if it does it will be offsite. He is asking about Universal so I'll look at that and see. WDW is just not a given any longer because ticket prices may go up but my wages are not, and it makes me sad.

 

[eliza61]

I've said things to this effect time and time again. There IS a such thing as too much, and I think many, many of the complaints about WDW stem from the fact that some people go so often there's no magic left, just misery in comparing it to "the good old days."

Oh I have to disagree Irish. I know when I am getting less for my money. when you cut back on staff so that my room isn't up to psr, that's not comparing the good olé days, that's lousy service.
When you raise the price of an item consistently while giving less, that's not the "good olé days". HS isn't about me "losing the magic", its about the park not being worth the cost of admission.

Personally people who go annually usually have more "magic" because we find the "joy" in the little things. we are lucky, if we don't ride Soarin, its cool because we know we'll be back. when we ride Soarin and the film is old and skipping that's poor quality

 

[pixie921]

We went every year for over 10 years, the whole time our son was growing up, and loved it. We haven't been in 4 years, but have plans to go again next February. I do miss it, but we have enough DVC points to go every other year, so I think that will work well for us going forward. At least until grandbabies start coming along!

 

[pwdebbie]

I don't know why I even keep coming back to the DIS because I know our Disney trips are over. Our first trip in 2007 was under $2500 for eight days/nine nights. Our fifth trip in 2015 was $5,000 for ten days / eleven nights. The extra two park days (which are really negligible in terms of price) and two additional nights in the same resort, same room category, really don't justify twice the price. After our last trip I came home and so "No more." So, why am I still reading the DIS????

 

[Angel Ariel]

We still find value in going to Disneyland, but TBH it's becoming harder to choose WDW over DLR.

 

[deanimal]

We did five WDW and DLR vacations between 2011 and 2014. Our kids were aged 1/3 to 4/6 for these trips. They were all wonderful. But......we've noticed a dip in value even over that short time period. Now that the kids are older we've started exploring other options. For around $10K we've found lots of other, and we feel better options. These include:
Three weeks in Italy including a two week rental, a one week med cruise, flights and car rental.
A 7 day cruise on Norwegian in a Haven class suite plus five days in Manhatten with shows and great meals.
Two weeks over Christmas in Germany with flights including great hotels and car rental.
A week in Paris over spring break in a rental plus an extra week of exploring France by car including flights.
For our next trip I'm considering maybe an ecotour in Costa Rica or maybe a Scandinavian cruise. You can do a lot with your money once you get out of the Disney bubble!

 

[Tomh]

We first went as a family in 2008. At the time I had told the kids it would be a once in a lifetime kind of thing. We've been back every summer since, thanks in part to promotions / discounts. We are currently planning this summers trip, but with some changes to make it more affordable. We are staying offsite for the first time, and as a result, not using the dining plan. We are planning on bringing lunch with us most days, and only eating supper in the park. As the prices increase each year, we will make changes, and eventually probably stop going. Exactly when we hit that breaking point, I don't know, but I do know that it is coming.

 

[NewbieMouse]

We are DLR regulars who have gone every year for the past 6 for Xmas, but we are going to start going every other year, switching it up with Hawaii (starting this coming December). I love the DL part, but we do a larger California loop and it all felt quite repetitive this past time. Given the amount of $$ it costs, I thought we should switch it up. Also, it is just so busy at the holidays that unless there is a way for me to put DL in the front or back of the vacation to alleviate some of the crowds, I'd rather go at a less busy time. I like the idea of trading Hawaii every other year; I hope it will mean we'll appreciate Disney more.

 

[btk2333]

We're doing Boston San Francisco Vienna Singapore and several shorter trips this year- well probably go back to wdw in 2017 or 2018

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

Yes, and it breaks my heart! I know that the cheerleading team will show up soon to tell me how thrilled I should be with the simultaneous cuts/price increase, but it just flat out stinks! With the prices the way they are (and rising constantly) I think we're going to have to be an every three year family. Back in the 00's we were an multi-trip a year family, and that really wasn't that long ago!

The sad part is that I don't think my kids are going to grow up loving Disney the way I did. We were a yearly visit family throughout my childhood/teens the 80s and 90s, which planted and nurtured the love of Disney, and I continued the tradition through adulthood and my children's early years. Without a strong foundation of memories of Disney trips, are my kids going to feel the same way? Are they going to prioritize Disney trips for their kids?

The thing that really gets my goat and makes me feel helpless is that really, I should be able to swing yearly trips like my parents did. My husband and I are more comfortable (even adjusted for inflation) than my parents were, and my parents had one extra kid to buy tickets for. The fact that the costs have increased from what was a reasonable vacation expenditure in the 80/90s to something extravagant and almost out of reach is really lamentable.

And THIS is how Disney Parks are going to push themselves right into irrelevancy within a generation or two...

 

[DisneyDad2015]

I don't see our yearly family visits ending yet. With a 2016 trip already scheduled, and a planned trip for 2017, it would be 2018 before that decision would be made. A lot can happen between now and then, so there's no use in speculating that far out.

 

[lustergirl]

<<< still going every year and thinking of buying into DVC.

 

[crazymomof4]

I have changed the way I "do" Disney though. Our family was a die hard on site one for my first 20 Years of Disney. Now I go 4-5 times a year and have begun to spend about half of my time offsite in a much, much, much cheaper condo. I've also become a fan of brownbagging my lunch. I'm still spending in the same ballpark but as more of my fun money goes to tickets, less is spent on other things like food and hotels.

Recently, we have gone EVERY OTHER year but.....
This "shifting" of spending is my plan as well. We've been staying on-site (value-mod-deluxe) for the past few visits. I already have money saved up for our Sept trip this year, so we will be staying on-site this time. But, I already have been eyeing up deals at nearby hotels/resorts for future trips. My brother and his wife have a timeshare near to WDW and they've been asking us to stay with them there ... so that's an option.
When our kids were babies/toddlers we always stayed in rental homes. They were really nice, economical and we had our own pool and tons of living space! + We had breakfast in the house (saved $). Who knows, maybe we will go back to that??

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Nope.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Nope, still planning on at least yearly, optimally twice a year. one of these times, I'd like to add a Disney Cruise on there.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

No. We'll still go at least once a year. While tickets go up, I can still price shop on flights, hotels, cut back on dining, etc. We only take carry-ons now, so I even save on baggage fees. I love WDW. It's my happy place and it's a quick flight plus a very easy trip when traveling alone with my DS. It will still be our go-to place for an easy, yearly trip!

 

[Seaton]

I travel all over the country and WDW is my cheapest trip frequent trip because I am only a seven hour drive away and stay at a cheap hotel off property. No plane ticket, no rental car, no hotel that is 2-4 times as much, and I don't usually splurge on upscale restaurants and shows like I do in places like NYC and Las Vegas. WDW's not my #1 vacation place, but I do love going and intend to keep going at least every once in a while for the rest of my life.