Need to vent about how expensive WDW is now

[Cadiewampus]

You may want to think about staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century, or Art of Animation. I understand the draw of the Contemporary and the convenience to the Magic Kingdom, but ask yourself is it worth twice the price?

Four years ago (2019) we stayed in the Grand Floridian and loved it. It had been over 20 years since we had been to WDW (life has a way of intervening, doesn't it?) and figured this would be one last trip for old times sake. I had forgotten how much I love the place and have since been back in 2020, 2021 and 2022. We will continue to return until old age puts us out of commission.

Anyway, after the trip, we asked ourselves why pay 2 prices for a hotel room when all we used it for was to sleep and shower. Other than that, we spent our time in the parks. The last 3 trips we stayed at the Caribbean and next spring will stay at the Pop Century. The CBR rooms weren't that much smaller than those in the GF. The monorail at the Contemporary is nice, but the Skyliner at the other places makes up for it, we think.

We stayed at Pop a couple years ago and the rooms were fine as far as size and comfort goes. Add to that the perk of the Skyliner and we would not hesitate to stay there again. In fact it will probably be our first choice.

 

[barkley]

10 day non-expiring ticket - those are gone now as well.

my soon to be 27 year old still has 1 day left on the one we bought when he still qualified as a 'child'. they still honor them if they have unused days on them-he used some days the last time we went.

 

[Cadiewampus]

But for a big group, that's reasonable, but not budget.

For example, my daily "rate" for a vacation is always under $200/person all-in for a party of 6 (and I aim for under $150/person). Yes, we haven't done Disney parks in awhile (although I'm still holding 1 day tickets), b/c that number is hard there, but not in a lot of other vacation spots.

I used to be $100/person/day for my trips, but kids aged to teens and adults and inflation happened, so I had to increase my numbers to get the same value and fun we wanted from trips...

Sure its budget. It is what they can afford to spend so it is their budget. Just like the amount you could spend is your budget. The word budget does not have a monetary threshold tied to it.

 

[Miffy]

OP, you're planning a trip for 2025 and it remains to be seen what discounts will be available for your trip dates, but if things continue as they have been, there will probably be substantial discounts for at least the resort where you want to stay. Keep an eye out for them.

Also, it may be of benefit for you for one of the people in your traveling party to purchase an AP. Right now it's too soon to tell, but as your dates get closer, you'll be able to figure things out.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

But for a big group, that's reasonable, but not budget.

For example, my daily "rate" for a vacation is always under $200/person all-in for a party of 6 (and I aim for under $150/person). Yes, we haven't done Disney parks in awhile (although I'm still holding 1 day tickets), b/c that number is hard there, but not in a lot of other vacation spots.

I used to be $100/person/day for my trips, but kids aged to teens and adults and inflation happened, so I had to increase my numbers to get the same value and fun we wanted from trips...

That’s sounds aweful!
I would not want to do that vacation

 

[Peaseblossom36]

We went this year after pushing our trip back several times and canceling multiple vacations, so our first real vacation since 2019 and while it was expensive it wasn’t too bad.

What helped us was not having to travel during any kind of school break. That’s probably what’s hurting you since you said Spring Break. We traveled right after Labor Day and were able to grab one discounts (30% off I think). I also moved us to AKL because it was $200 less than where we were staying. I ordered snacks for my toddler from Walmart.

Other than that, for things like food, we don’t really budget because we have to eat. I will say, we aren’t really snackers so really just grab meals and do pay attention to cost while picking where we are eating.

Now, I’ve been looking at next year and the pricing definitely gives me pause but I think that’s mostly because our kiddo will be three so it’s buying her tickets that hurts. Going forward we are thinking we will be renting DVC points since it’s significantly more affordable or we’ll stay in a moderate.

 

[TwoMisfits]

That’s sounds aweful!
I would not want to do that vacation

Thus, you probably are not the normal budget board vacationer. Money is probably not much of an object for you.

Most folks looking for advice on this board will have money as a primary issue for them.

 

[DisneyRobbie]

Yeah - honestly its not just Disney - Disney does overcharge IMO especially the hotels.

But everything has gotten crazy - I don't do Disney I do Universal for the most part.
The AP prices have gone up quite a bit - but not as much as Disney.
Room prices are still very reasonable - especially with AP rates.

The thing that got me on this trip comparted to 2021 (I had to skip last year) was the price of everything was much higher.
Drinks, food etc..
A pint of Guinness was $9 in 2021 - and I thought that was too much - now its 12.74. WOW and a tip on top of that.
I use the price of a beer to peg just how bad things have gotten.
I pay under $5 for a pint pretty much anywhere in Ireland and you don't tip on that for the most part - even in Dublin its under 5 for the most part.

Was in Boston recently for a show and at the show a can of beer was $17 and a tip is expected because they opened the can.
Beers at the hotel bar were $15 - so we each had two beers and it was $60 + tip.
Much more expensive than my last stay in Boston.

I was also In Portugal this year and it was much more expensive than I had planned for.
I watched all the videos, made all the plans, did all the research and when I got there everything was about twice as much as expected. Still compared to the states and especially Universal it was a bargain.
A beer was around $4 you don't tip other than a small amount - if a meal is 57 you might just round it up to 60 and that is a fair tip.

So not to defend Disney but everything has gone up pretty much everywhere - its a tough pill to swallow - but now I understand when my parents were complaining about prices and how much more everything cost compared to the 60s.

Agree - it’s not just Disney. I was arguing with my wife about the cost of Splitsville at DS for 1 lane and a party of 8 (they said we could not have 2 lanes) it’s $350 for 2 hours which I thought was insane. I looked up the cost of the equivalent bowling alley in Kissimmee (Kissimmee lanes) and it was $339 for the same situation. Bowling now costs an arm and a leg!

 

[Fraeli]

For us, the prices for Disney hotels are just insane. TBH I don’t understand how families rationally justify paying those prices when you have wonderful alternatives much cheaper. Next December our family of 4 is staying at Drury Plaza at Disney Springs - it’s a good neighbour hotel, so you get early entry. And they have free buses to the parks, complimentary breakfast, dinner, popcorn and drinks (3 per adult per day !). For all that, we will be paying $ 45 per person, per night. And the hotel has stellar reviews! So, considering staying outside the bubble could be a way to significantly cuttting your costs, without compromising comfort.

 

[barkley]

Sure its budget. It is what they can afford to spend so it is their budget. Just like the amount you could spend is your budget. The word budget does not have a monetary threshold tied to it.

ideally it's what someone 'can afford to spend'. i just read too many posts on this board by folks who have shared what they spent and it's what i consider a significant chunk of change on a vacation. then only to turn around a month or so later lamenting how one of their appliances has died, a household or auto repair has come up, they have a several hundred dollar medical co-pay.... and they can't figure out how to pay for it b/c they've got no savings and their credit cards are maxed out, then another 6 months to a year later they are posting about planning or just completing their most recent trip.

 

[john7994]

Agree - it’s not just Disney. I was arguing with my wife about the cost of Splitsville at DS for 1 lane and a party of 8 (they said we could not have 2 lanes) it’s $350 for 2 hours which I thought was insane. I looked up the cost of the equivalent bowling alley in Kissimmee (Kissimmee lanes) and it was $339 for the same situation. Bowling now costs an arm and a leg!

That’s almost a private fireworks cruise cost at Epcot or MK for 10 people.

 

[HopperFan]

This is going to be a special vacation for our family. My oldest will be a senior in high school and it will be our last big vacation before she graduates and moves to college. I want to splurge. I want to make it extra memorable. But I am feeling discouraged by the fact that it will cost us more than the first 2 cars that my husband and I bought after getting married-- combined.

And that is what Disney and all vacation destinations depend on - your willingness to splurge on what you think you must have. Disney has one of the highest occupancy rates so it isn't really hurting them.

I've said it for years the ONLY expense you really can not control is TICKETS. You can find a few dollars off here and there but bottom line it is a constant. Everything else you spend is in your control.

It is very possible, aside from tickets to go to Disney on a smaller budget and have just as much fun as everyone else. It is all in how you look at it.

 

[DisneyRobbie]

That’s almost a private fireworks cruise cost at Epcot or MK for 10 people.

And that doesn’t cover any of the food!

 

[robl45]

Can I please just vent for a minute?
I am in the very beginning stages of planning a Spring Break 2025 Disney World vacation. This week I decided to start looking into how much things will cost so we can set our budget and start saving for it. Boy am I glad I did that because it is definitely going to take over a year to save up for this trip.

The most astonishing thing to me is that we went to Disney World for Spring Break in 2021, and according to the notes that I have from planning that trip, it will cost us $3,500 more this time to do the EXACT SAME VACATION for the same number of park days (5) at the same hotel (Contemporary). That is crazy to me. 2.5 years later and the price has gone up by 38%. How do people afford to do this more than one time every 5 years?

This is going to be a special vacation for our family. My oldest will be a senior in high school and it will be our last big vacation before she graduates and moves to college. I want to splurge. I want to make it extra memorable. But I am feeling discouraged by the fact that it will cost us more than the first 2 cars that my husband and I bought after getting married-- combined.

Why are you going? I gave up my annual passes for Disney, the 6 months ahead of time planning dinner and fast passes etc was ridiculous, but the pay 15 dollars a day for Genie for what was free was just freaking ridiculous. We go to universal now and its so much of a better experience. I had been going to Disney since the late 70's as a tiny kid.

 

[tony67]

Agree - it’s not just Disney. I was arguing with my wife about the cost of Splitsville at DS for 1 lane and a party of 8 (they said we could not have 2 lanes) it’s $350 for 2 hours which I thought was insane. I looked up the cost of the equivalent bowling alley in Kissimmee (Kissimmee lanes) and it was $339 for the same situation. Bowling now costs an arm and a leg!

That is crazy - locally - other than Christmas time - bowling is very cheap - I can get a groupon for $30 for two lanes for two hours. Its not as nice - but they have space bowling some nights - just a bunch of neon lights - and the beer is cheap by the pitcher and you can bowl all you want for two hours.

 

[barkley]

What helped us was not having to travel during any kind of school break. That’s probably what’s hurting you since you said Spring Break. We traveled right after Labor Day and were able to grab one discounts (30% off I think).

that's a good point! we went when my oldest was in senior year of high school. we wanted to go off season so we approached the school during junior year and asked if there were any particular weeks (non break periods) that would be preferable for our kids to miss. the next year's academic calendar was looked at and we were given about 4 different options that they said would be easiest for staff to accommodate/least impactful on student to miss. we were asked to provide the dates as soon as we had them decided so that when our kids were assigned their teachers for the following year the information would already be on file so the teachers would know from day 1 and could make arrangements for the missed work.

 

[tony67]

ideally it's what someone 'can afford to spend'. i just read too many posts on this board by folks who have shared what they spent and it's what i consider a significant chunk of change on a vacation. then only to turn around a month or so later lamenting how one of their appliances has died, a household or auto repair has come up, they have a several hundred dollar medical co-pay.... and they can't figure out how to pay for it b/c they've got no savings and their credit cards are maxed out, then another 6 months to a year later they are posting about planning or just completing their most recent trip.

Agree 100% - too many folks commenting its not that bad - this is the budget board - and what might be nothign to one person is a lot to another.

In the end I can afford to go to Disney, I choose not to because its not value for money to me - to others it is.

To your other point - it does boggle my mind what people are willing to spend. that they cant afford in many cases, when it comes to Disney. To each their own.

 

[shh]

is it financialy feasable for you to pay your homeowners annually/auto bi-annually vs. the traditional monthly? i ask b/c just yesterday i received my renewals for both and i get about a 10% discount on the premiums doing this (plus i don't have to pay the monthly service fee they tack on). we found out about this discount several years ago and decided to bite the bullett and pull a full year's premium from savings, notified our lender (still had a mortgage then) and paid it in full. starting that month we set up an auto withdrawl from our checking into a savings account of 1/12th of what we anticipated the next year's premiums would run us.

btw-do you live in a high risk area for your homeowners to be that high? we have the highest coverage our insurer will permit and it's less than 2K per year.

appreciate the tips. Unfortunately, no discount for upfront payment (on the plus side, no extra service fees or charges for paying monthly - even by credit card. So they bill to my cash back cc and I keep the $ in MM at 5% until it's due. Every little bit helps. Yes - we're at Ground Zero for insurance problems - Florida.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Thus, you probably are not the normal budget board vacationer. Money is probably not much of an object for you.

Most folks looking for advice on this board will have money as a primary issue for them.

No, but park passes are about 100 dollars a day.

Annual passes are 90

So if you are planing on 150 per person per day. That is 60 dollars for food, airfare, and accommodations……

Not sure how that works, or if it works at all….

 

[barkley]

To your other point - it does boggle my mind what people are willing to spend. that they cant afford in many cases, when it comes to Disney. To each their own.

i see the same thing with some friends and non disney activities. now, without knowing the details of their income but having a rough idea-they can afford what they do but they also complain loudly about not being able to afford what it will cost them when appliances break down or something needs a repair (and often stall doing a smaller repair/maintainance which leads to a more costly one down the line). dh and i don't say anything but we are thinking 'well maybe if you did'nt go out to eat 4 out of 7 nites a week, play golf multiple times a week (and have lunch/drinks) it would'nt be as big a hit to your budget. it was kind of amusing during the pandemic when these activities were not available to them and they found they were able to get some things done around the house they had been putting off. they obviously realized that it was a savings to change their habits but old habits die hard b/c while they may not be dining out as much as they used to (some of their favs did'nt survive the pandemic) we can see them slipping back into their old lifestyle and hearing them now blame the economy and inflation for the reason they are spending more than they did at the height of the pandemic.