Are Disney resorts currently worth the large price tag?

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

Wow 10-12 days is a long time . Have you considered a 6 day trip ? We were exhausted after our 7 day trip and I don’t think I could have walked another step ! We had a split stay at Yacht Club and Grand Floridian. It was an amazing trip ! We knew going in about lack of housekeeping so we got our own towels and made sure to throw away food garbage away on our own . We had an amazing room at YC on the first floor off the quiet pool . It really made our stay perfect! We took boats to every park except for AK . We did rope drop and afternoon breaks with park closing almost every night . It was one of our best ever vacations! Even with the heat and the rain we made it work . I personally would shorten your trip. 6 days is enough and then you can take another one next year. We did a split stay and enjoyed being in the magic kingdom area while at GF but we would have happily stayed at YC . It is our favorite spot now ! The packing up is a pain as well . Good luck deciding. You can make your trip magical if you go into it thinking it will be !

 

[Simba06]

We almost always stay onsite and will continue to do so. Having said that, we recently stayed in a very nice two bedroom condo at Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek, as it was the team hotel for my daughter’s cheerleading team, and I was hugely impressed by how good, how close, and how cheap it was.

Fortunately my parents own wyndham so we stay there for non-disney trips. Its great!!

 

[Simba06]

Wow 10-12 days is a long time . Have you considered a 6 day trip ? We were exhausted after our 7 day trip and I don’t think I could have walked another step ! We had a split stay at Yacht Club and Grand Floridian. It was an amazing trip ! We knew going in about lack of housekeeping so we got our own towels and made sure to throw away food garbage away on our own . We had an amazing room at YC on the first floor off the quiet pool . It really made our stay perfect! We took boats to every park except for AK . We did rope drop and afternoon breaks with park closing almost every night . It was one of our best ever vacations! Even with the heat and the rain we made it work . I personally would shorten your trip. 6 days is enough and then you can take another one next year. We did a split stay and enjoyed being in the magic kingdom area while at GF but we would have happily stayed at YC . It is our favorite spot now ! The packing up is a pain as well . Good luck deciding. You can make your trip magical if you go into it thinking it will be !

We do 10-12 day trips because we love resort days. We will only go into the parks about 7 days. Never more than 2 park days back to back. We also don’t do anything on arrival or departure days, trying to keep kids from getting over tired!

 

[BrotherCraig]

Not sure the $800 a night for a basic deluxe room is worth it at all. Moderate resort prices are around $300-$400 a night. $170 a night for All Star - probably the best for a family of 4. All depends on what your budget is. If you can afford the $800 or more for a 4 person deluxe room - go for it.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Not sure the $800 a night for a basic deluxe room is worth it at all. Moderate resort prices are around $300-$400 a night. $170 a night for All Star - probably the best for a family of 4. All depends on what your budget is. If you can afford the $800 or more for a 4 person deluxe room - go for it.

I remember in the mid nineties talking to friends who said they would never stay at the Grand Floridian because they couldn't ever justify paying $250 a night.

 

[OneinThree]

Disney's value proposition has nothing to do with dispensable income, whether the person can or should spend that much. Instead, it's relative to Disney's competition or rival experiences. Resort for resort, Disney has never provided the same level of quality or service as other, similarly priced hotels elsewhere. It's all about the parks, and proximity to them. We're currently booked for another vacation this year despite the ridiculousness of the premium. I feel that this equates to a certain Disney disorder our family has been subject to since first going in the 80's. Where the threshold? That point at which it isn't worth it? My wallet is afraid to find out I think.

 

[Simba06]

To be fair, my original question was more about the “feel” of the current resorts. We all know the prices are high. But for our family, there is a certain something about Disney resorts, the cast members, and atmosphere that we have yet to find anywhere else. My concern is that could be missing after this last year. I don’t want to be excited for my trip, then be letdown by changes in more of the intangible things that make disney special for us.

 

[Robbydj13]

Looking for honest, recently been there opinions:
We have a long 10-12 day trip booked for over Thanksgiving. This trip is to serve as a celebration for our 10 year wedding anniversary that we couldn’t celebrate last year due to covid and my husband being laid off. We will have our 6yo (who has been often) and our 1yo who obviously has never been. When I initially started planning this trip last year during covid, it provided a much needed bright spot in an otherwise stressful, uncertain time.

Now that the trip is inching closer, I an starting to doubt whether the large cost of the trip is worth it. We are booked in a split stay between Poly and Wilderness Lodge, initially hoping for club level, and realizing that’s not going to happen. I fear no/minimal discounts will be available. And with the still reduced housekeeping, lack of park entertainment, closed restaurants and reduced menus, I struggle to feel like the magic will even be there! And this is a lot of money to drop for a partial disney experience.

if you have been there recently, how did the overall feel of the resorts/parks compare to previous visits?

The room itself, I would say no. Not by a long shot. But to me, the perks are, or should I say used to be. Those are few and far between currently. But we utilized EMH and DDP and various others which made it convenient and worth it. But there are tons of better options out there than a Disney resort.

 

[Sue M]

Only you can answer if it is "worth it" to you. As others have said, the subject of worth is highly dependent on your priorities, income level, etc.

My personal opinion, staying onsite is always worth it for my family because a) we can afford it and b) we like to be in the Disney bubble. That said, I do not believe the deluxe resorts are worth the cost over moderates so we choose to stay at either CBR or POFQ the majority of the time.

For me, being able to afford it has nothing to do with worth it. I can afford to pay $200 for a burger, but I won’t. Personally I dislike feeling ripped off. And with Disney’s new model of giving less but charging more just doesn’t sit well with me. I love being in the Disney bubble too, and have enjoyed many deluxe stays.
But with how things are going, it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. The “worth” just isn’t there anymore

 

[rangerxenos]

For me, being able to afford it has nothing to do with worth it. I can afford to pay $200 for a burger, but I won’t. Personally I dislike feeling ripped off. And with Disney’s new model of giving less but charging more just doesn’t sit well with me. I love being in the Disney bubble too, and have enjoyed many deluxe stays.
But with how things are going, it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. The “worth” just isn’t there anymore

THIS! I can afford to pay, but for the last couple of years I feel that Disney has been charging WAY too much money for a lot of things. But as long as there are people willing to pay, they'll keep charging, that's what businesses do, and I can't fault them for doing it. I can choose not to give them as much of my business as I have previously, though.

 

[Lilylogan]

To be fair, my original question was more about the “feel” of the current resorts. We all know the prices are high. But for our family, there is a certain something about Disney resorts, the cast members, and atmosphere that we have yet to find anywhere else. My concern is that could be missing after this last year. I don’t want to be excited for my trip, then be letdown by changes in more of the intangible things that make disney special for us.

We went last Dec with our 3 kids - I was worried about the "feel" but we had an awesome time - I was also hesitant to get too excited but the magic was there.

 

[Simba06]

We went last Dec with our 3 kids - I was worried about the "feel" but we had an awesome time - I was also hesitant to get too excited but the magic was there.

Thats so great to hear! I know a lot of it is mindset, but I am someone who cannot enjoy thenselves if the value isnt there either.

 

[justdoip]

Worth is subjective. I haven’t felt WDW resorts are worth what they charge for a long time. When we go to Universal the difference in hotel amenities is glaring. You get more hotel at Universal. Compare value resorts at each, Pop or Allstars vs Cabana Bay, Universals value. You get 2 main pools, slides, lazy river, larger rooms, inside hallways, bowling alley! What does WDW values give you?

Plus the Express Unlimited pass if you stay at a Universal 'deluxe' hotel. I told my family that, depending on the situation at WDW for our scheduled trip in November, we might go to Universal instead.

 

[LYSE]

I don't think Disney deluxe's are worth the cash rate, this is what lead me down the road to DVC ownership and before that renting points.

I just stayed at the four seasons at Golden oak, and while it was very expensive I feel it's a much greater value than the monorail resorts at least when they go for $800+

 

[MomOTwins]

Add me to the chorus of people saying unreasonableness of the cost is not the hotels necessarily, it's the 10-12 days! I Especially with a 1 year old--for all you know, the baby might spend all night crying because they're in a strange place and all day having a total meltdown at the parks because it's overstimulating and then you'll be stuck there for the better part of two weeks paying a fortune.

The #1 reason to stay at a deluxe hotel with kids that age is for midday breaks, especially at MK where off-site guests have to go in and out through TTC and a huge parking lot with no trams running at present. At the MK area deluxes, you have convenient boat and monorail transportation (no need to fold your stroller even) to hop back quick to the hotel for naps/pool breaks. The value of that is HUGE and it is absolutely worth it in my view, but for 5-7 days, not 10-12! We NEVER stay that long--once we did a 9 day and boy was it a mistake--even though we had 3 rest/non-park days our kids were so tired by the end and just wanted to go back home. Yes you have one kid who is a Disney veteran, but the other is a first trip, and no two kids are the same.

Do a shorter stay, enjoy the nice deluxe hotels, the cost will be much more reasonable and you can save the longer stay for when your youngest is older and you have a better sense of how they will handle it.

 

[FastPasser.]

It's not just the ridiculous cost of the Disney resorts but going to WDW in general for me would be a waste of my time and money. Things are far from being back to pre-covid levels at the parks and resorts. Lines are long and CM morale is at an all time low. I'll pass for at least another year. But I'm not a big Disney fan anyway.

 

[Tigger's ally]

But I'm not a big Disney fan anyway.

Ummmm.....then why spend time on a Disney Board? Just wondering the reasoning.

 

[FastPasser.]

Ummmm.....then why spend time on a Disney Board? Just wondering the reasoning.

A fan, just not a big fan.

 

[Sue M]

THIS! I can afford to pay, but for the last couple of years I feel that Disney has been charging WAY too much money for a lot of things. But as long as there are people willing to pay, they'll keep charging, that's what businesses do, and I can't fault them for doing it. I can choose not to give them as much of my business as I have previously, though.

so true. When they pretty much doubled price of AP a few years ago I cut out 1 trip. Used to do 2-14 day trips a year. And as prices keep going up on everything and services decrease I don’t go yearly anymore. So they’re getting a lot less of my business, Universal getting more.

Plus the Express Unlimited pass if you stay at a Universal 'deluxe' hotel. I told my family that, depending on the situation at WDW for our scheduled trip in November, we might go to Universal instead.

I love the Universal Deluxe resorts and express pass. Addicted. And their other resorts are pretty nice too. Last trip airline changed my flight and so I came in a night early so stayed at Cabana Bay before my HRH stay. I was pleasantly surprised with CB! Very nice. No comparison to WDW values. Light years better.
This Oct. I’m again adding 2 nights before HRH stay because yup, airlines changed flights again! This time trying Sapphire Falls, a Universal “moderate” which looks as nice as any WDW “deluxe”.

 

[bookgirl]

Looking for honest, recently been there opinions:
We have a long 10-12 day trip booked for over Thanksgiving. This trip is to serve as a celebration for our 10 year wedding anniversary that we couldn’t celebrate last year due to covid and my husband being laid off. We will have our 6yo (who has been often) and our 1yo who obviously has never been. When I initially started planning this trip last year during covid, it provided a much needed bright spot in an otherwise stressful, uncertain time.

Now that the trip is inching closer, I an starting to doubt whether the large cost of the trip is worth it. We are booked in a split stay between Poly and Wilderness Lodge, initially hoping for club level, and realizing that’s not going to happen. I fear no/minimal discounts will be available. And with the still reduced housekeeping, lack of park entertainment, closed restaurants and reduced menus, I struggle to feel like the magic will even be there! And this is a lot of money to drop for a partial disney experience.

if you have been there recently, how did the overall feel of the resorts/parks compare to previous visits?

Were they ever?

In my opinion no, but at Disney it's all about location and nothing about ROI.

That being said I'm staying at the Boardwalk next month. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, I am also sure I'm overpaying for what I'm getting.