DisneyWorld too expensive for Canadians?

[cottontail]

Hello, We have been to WDW 10 to 12 times and stayed on site for 8 days each time. Have not been since 2018. We feel with all the price increases, canadian exchange problem, food price increases frequently, genie plus, extra money for a top attraction that a trip to disney is too expensive now. Is anyone else feeling this way?

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

Hello, We have been to WDW 10 to 12 times and stayed on site for 8 days each time. Have not been since 2018. We feel with all the price increases, canadian exchange problem, food price increases frequently, genie plus, extra money for a top attraction that a trip to disney is too expensive now. Is anyone else feeling this way?

Yes!
Consider yourself lucky to have been able to go that many times and stayed for that long.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Hello, We have been to WDW 10 to 12 times and stayed on site for 8 days each time. Have not been since 2018. We feel with all the price increases, canadian exchange problem, food price increases frequently, genie plus, extra money for a top attraction that a trip to disney is too expensive now. Is anyone else feeling this way?

Yes and we are DVC. Renting our points this year . Will rent out points for the foreseeable future and stay elsewhere perhaps when we go.

 

[bababear_50]

Yes
I do think they are pricing themselves out for repeat visitors.
But make no mistake the parks are packed with people.
Will they return after a less than *Magic* holiday,, my guess is NO,,, and it will take Disney and their coin tossers a few years to appreciate repeat customers again.


People are making choices about where they stay and often choosing off site.
Many offsite have things like hot tubs, poolside entertainment, lazy river, breakfast included,
and much cheaper food options. Some even offer Airport transportation.

People are now looking at paying for round trip transportation to and from MCO.
(( Something that was included before))

Even Extra Evening Magic Hours are now a upcharge. (They have to be booked and prepaid in advance).
(( something that was included before))

Just maybe me but I am not willing to double pay (Genie& Genie+ and Lightning Lanes) when I've already paid a hefty Park entrance fee to begin with.
(( something that was included before))

Plus I am not staring at a phone on holidays when I should be enjoying myself.


Families are now choosing to head to alternative entertainment ,,Legoland ,,( Busch Gardens) ,,
Sea World , Discovery Cove, Kennedy Space Centre , Beach trip, and my New favorite Universal Orlando.

Just my thoughts
Hugs
Mel

 

[tgropp]

if our dollar was at par it would make things so much better but it is getting way to expensive. This Decembers stay will include Epcot for a Candlelight Processional evening and Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party. We will save lots of money by not spending money for meals in the parks and eat our evening meals offsite

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

Do they still offer discounts for Canadians? I think they did that in the past.
I would pay current prices if the value was there and the crowds were manageable.

 

[Jrb1979]

Yes
I do think they are pricing themselves out for repeat visitors.
But make no mistake the parks are packed with people.
Will they return after a less than *Magic* holiday,, my guess is NO,,, and it will take Disney and their coin tossers a few years to appreciate repeat customers again.


People are making choices about where they stay and often choosing off site.
Many offsite have things like hot tubs, poolside entertainment, lazy river, breakfast included,
and much cheaper food options. Some even offer Airport transportation.

People are now looking at paying for round trip transportation to and from MCO.
(( Something that was included before))

Even Extra Evening Magic Hours are now a upcharge. (They have to be booked and prepaid in advance).
(( something that was included before))

Just maybe me but I am not willing to double pay (Genie& Genie+ and Lightning Lanes) when I've already paid a hefty Park entrance fee to begin with.
(( something that was included before))

Plus I am not staring at a phone on holidays when I should be enjoying myself.


Families are now choosing to head to alternative entertainment ,,Legoland ,,( Busch Gardens) ,,
Sea World , Discovery Cove, Kennedy Space Centre , Beach trip, and my New favorite Universal Orlando. View attachment 751581

Just my thoughts
Hugs
Mel

I would add there is a reason Wonderland is near 1 million season pass sales this season. Many people are finding it too expensive to travel right now. For us if we didn't have Cedar Fair platinum passes we wouldn't be doing our yearly Cedar Point trip.

 

[bababear_50]

if our dollar was at par it would make things so much better but it is getting way to expensive. This Decembers stay will include Epcot for a Candlelight Processional evening and Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party. We will save lots of money by not spending money for meals in the parks and eat our evening meals offsite

Yep you have a great plan. At least with the special Parties & Events you are kind of guaranteed less people in the parks.
Your MVMCP admission also includes some food/drink treats too, bonus!
Also I don't think Lightening Lane and Genie/Genie+ is used during these times.

Have an awesome holiday!
Hugs Mel

 

[CanucksRock]

I have an AP and do multiple trips a year. But I only have to pay for myself, so I’m sure it’s a different story with kids.

We usually stay off-property at a Timeshare to reduce costs. The AP provides free parking and the extra discounts. So that helps off-set the exchange. We still enjoy things like the restaurants & using Genie+. But we won’t do it everyday now with the variable pricing. Instead we try and maximize by park hopping.

I also do longer trips. I find more value by doing 2 weeks vs 5-7 days. We tend to go to the park everyday, so we get our money’s worth out of the AP with just 2 trips.

In September I plan to have my mom get the 14 day ticket thru the Uk website. She doesn’t want to go to the park everyday, this way she can go hang out at the Water Park, and we’ll get the extra perk of memory maker.

 

[Lesverts]

It certainly has gone up. But considering the average price for a quality amenity adjacent hotel in most major destination cities in the US and Canada starts at 300CND. Look at some of Canada's biggest tourist areas. Halifax starts at 250 for central location. Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver are all in the 300+ range for downtown. Jasper, Banff and the other resorts now go from 300 to over a 1000. And factor in flight prices being so much higher then they use to be.

Prices for concerts and sporting events are astronomical now.

 

[PetePanMan]

It really has gotten crazy expensive for families, particularly the ticket prices. Crowds still high so you almost get forced into add ons (e.g. Genie +, ILL’s etc.). In addition to costs, it has also gotten more complicated, less relaxing and more stressful with need for park reservations, buying genie plus each day, getting up at 7am to book attractions, virtual queues etc. Our kids are grown so we will definitely be going less and doing non park trips (as we are still DVC members). I really feel for younger, larger families.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Totally. We used to go to one of the US parks every year but this year will be the last for a while. I’ve got lots of gift cards that I got with the PC points/grocery swap and non-expiration date passes I picked up through Air Miles to use a while ago too. I also had enough Air Miles for our flights as well. I can’t even imagine paying full price for everything, I would rather go to Europe for that amount of $$$!

 

[grapefruitjellybean]

It’s too expensive to exist.

 

[Jrb1979]

It really has gotten crazy expensive for families, particularly the ticket prices. Crowds still high so you almost get forced into add ons (e.g. Genie +, ILL’s etc.). In addition to costs, it has also gotten more complicated, less relaxing and more stressful with need for park reservations, buying genie plus each day, getting up at 7am to book attractions, virtual queues etc. Our kids are grown so we will definitely be going less and doing non park trips (as we are still DVC members). I really feel for younger, larger families.

While true, they can get away with it cause people keep going. My family has given up on taking our 3 year old any time soon. We found other parks that are cheaper and just as good to visit.

 

[tinkerone]

We recently got back from our family trip to WDW with an add on of DCL. 7 guests, one being a child. 3 rooms for 5 nights in a Value resort, 5 day park hoppers, dining, snacks and water ordered from Vacation Grocers delivered to resort to cut down on costs, 3 ocean view cabins (8A's, our favorites, child was free because of Disney+ offer), flights. Not included were Genie + or Lightning Lanes as we went without them, no souvenirs included in cost. Final tally was $52,000 before I stopped keeping track. When all was said and done, I figure it was close to $55,000 Canadian for less than two weeks.
Yes, it is getting expensive.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Here is my budget for 5 travellers, all considered Disney adults. This trip includes the following:

• 1-night hotel at the airport before flights
• Three nights at Portofino Bay Hotel, 3 days, three park Universal tickets
• Ten nights in a 2-Bedroom villa at BWV, rented DVC points
• 14-day park-hopper purchased from Attraction Tickets
• Genie+ every day, waterpark shack rental, groceries
• Airport parking, kenneling for dog, lawn care

I budget generously for spending and meals and usually don't spend right to the budgeted amount. I like to ensure that we are not worried about money when we are down there. We also got a better deal on our flights, which cost around $3,700.

This is converted at a credit card exchange rate of 1.39 and a cash exchange rate of 1.36. This is just for budget purposes and will change between now and the end of August when we go. Looking at the USD column - sure would be nice if our dollars were a bit closer

 

[pigletto]

Yes it’s too much for us right now to go yearly but we’ve been many times over the years. I don’t think we have ever spent more than 5k or 6k for an Orlando vacation and I don’t think we ever will. There just comes a point where I can’t justify it. I realize we all have different budgets and priorities though. I’ll still think we can stick to our budget next time we go, but we will go longer between trips and cut out a lot of the frills.

 

[bbangel]

The increase in costs definately have me not planning a trip in the short term, but travel costs are up to go anywhere. I was shocked at how much it is costing to go to Toronto (from NS) for a long weekend to watch baseball.

 

[Greenfield1984]

As our family has gotten bigger vacation prices have obviously gone up. As a result we have steadily made adjustments to continue our trips.

We drive 26 hours to orlando.

We stay offsite at a condo.

We use our condo to cook meals that we bring into the parks.

We go to Disney less frequently.

We have a trip this summer. 5 people 6 day tickets. Condo. Gas and food costs. About 7500 for 10 days in orlando and 2 travel days.

Prices have gone up for sure but its still managable. Just not yearly. And maybe not every 2nd year.

 

[hdrolfe]

Prices and everything has gone up sure. Everything is more expensive, even stuff here in Canada. My grocery bill seems to have doubled. But we are going for 10 days in May and it will only be about $400 more than a 7 day trip in August 2019, staying on site in a Value. He was still child prices then and we got the quick service dining plan. Obviously this year no dining plan, and he's an "adult" so higher ticket prices, plus we have to pay for transfer from airport to hotel and back. It's less than we paid in August 2017 when we got an amazing deal on Yacht Club. We won't be able to stay deluxe again, that I know. I am lucky it's only two of us.