What did you do that you thought was a waste of money?

[BradChristian]

For us personally, I'd say:
1) Backyard BBQ. We did it once, won't do it again. Especially once we found out about the Campfire Sing-along with Chip & Dale, which is FREE!
2) Staying at the Grand Floridian. It's just not worth it, imo.
3) Most every signature restaurant @ Disney. The food at your local restaurants will likely be much better and much cheaper.

Is the GF not worth it because of the $500 a night? A single monorail stop sounds awesome to me.

 

[nkereina]

I tend to agree that skipping MNSSHP and MVMCP is a good way to save money. We're glad we did them once, but won't do them again. They've gotten more and more popular so the low crowd/walk on ride benefit is really no longer, and we're just not willing to pay that much for a cute parade and fireworks show.

The Wishes Dessert Party also seems to be a waste of money, based on many recent reviews. I've not done it myself, but people have complained that the dessert option weren't great, they weren't fully restocked throughout the party, and the second Wishes started, everyone moved from their tables to the railing completing negating the benefit of having reserved seats to watch from.

For BBB, I just had a friend do that with her daughter and she brought her own princess dress from home to save the money buying one there. I'm not sure how much the dresses go for, but I'm sure it saved a few bucks.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I know many people love MNSSHP and MVMCP, but we only did the Christmas party once and won't do it again. Yes, the parade was fun, but we joked that those were $38 cookies and hot chocolate (this was six years ago, and we had military discount tickets).

Seems pretty steep for cookies and hot chocolate for sure!

For MNSSHP, at least you get candy, and unique characters all dressed up. But how can one justify the cost of MVMCP? Apparently the parade and stage show can be viewed closer to xmas time. And the snow isnt really unique to the xmas party either. Im curious, whats so unique about mvmcp to justify the extra cost?

During my June trip, the biggest and only waste of money was the lunch at Crystal Palace. $85 for 2 people....crazy!

holy heck! $85 for two people?

We only get the dining plan because we usually have free dining.

Same here. We get free dining only when its free. For us, its a much better value than the room discount.

 

[CAS239]

But seating for FP+ is not in the center! Imho it is worth the dinner package for center high seating! (Great view, and you don't get wet!)

No the FP area is not in the dead center, but if you arrive early you can sit all the way to the right so your right next to the dining area and as close to the center as possible while not spending the money to do the dining plan

 

[dkrauss]

Most people will disagree with me but my biggest waste of money was Park Hoppers! Got them our first year because I kept reading you absolutely had to have them in order to get anything done. So I bought them. NEVER used them!! Wasted $250!!! Have not bought them since and have never missed them! Especially on a first trip where you have so much to do in each park, they're really not necessary. And if you have little ones, it can be more hassle than it's worth trekking from park to park.

The other one that doesn't count was the Villains party last year. $60-something per person and totally a mess! But Disney realized how bad it was and refunded a lot of tickets! So I guess that wasn't really wasted money--but lots of wasted time!

This is one that requires a plan to get any value out of it. Just always getting it can be a waste of money. I know how much planning is a dirty word , but in this case its the difference between value and waste. Our trip in December is short and at AoA.........so hopping just doesn't work for this trip, FOR US. Because we'll do MVMCP one day we'll get 2 parks that day but otherwise its one park a day. Now if you're going during the Food & Wine festival........a hopper could be worth it as you may want to visit Epcot more frequently. ADR's will also dictate whether you want/require a hopper.

Again its all about what your plan is we've actually cancelled the hopper after we finalized our plan.

Doug

 

[subtchr]

Park Hoppers. Bought them in 2008, used once just to get to an Epcot restaurant for dinner one night, never used them again. Haven't bought them since and have never missed having them.

One note on this, depending on the time of year, hoppers can be very useful for "crowd management". For example, we are going December 7-12, in parks Dec 8-11. The ONLY day the MK does not have a Christmas party is the 9th. So that day will be much more crowded, but it is also the only day we could see Wishes, because we are not doing a party. Our plan is to visit the MK on a party day until late afternoon, for lower crowds, and hop to the MK on the evening of the 9th to see Wishes. As always, YMMV on hoppers!

I mean, ive often heard people dont find it worth it to pay for it, they just go for it when it's free (and it's way too much food anyway). So i don't think you are alone.

Something people seem to forget about "free" dining -- to receive it, you must pay rack rate for a room. It's still a good deal for many families, depending on the size of the group and the resort you are using, but it's never "free". It costs at least the difference between rack rate and any resort discounts for which you are eligible. We are a military family, so with the military salute discounts, it's never a better deal for us to use free dining.

 

[Sparkly]

I agree that the dessert party really isn't worth it. $50 dollars is ridiculous. For that amount of money I could buy a huge bagful of Goofy's sweets and a dole whip and go watch the fireworks from the back of the park where it's barely crowded.

 

[jerivera]

Is the GF not worth it because of the $500 a night? A single monorail stop sounds awesome to me.

To us personally, yes it was due to the cost. Just not worth it for what you get. The Contemporary was cheaper and is also on the monorail. The Wilderness Lodge is a cheaper than both, and only a boat ride away.

It's all relative, though. One person's "not worth it" is another's "must have". For example, we love staying at Kidani Village (relaxing, quiet, all the animals, Sanaa). But only by renting points. Still, even when renting it's not exactly cheap.

 

[RedOnion]

I know many people love MNSSHP and MVMCP, but we only did the Christmas party once and won't do it again. Yes, the parade was fun, but we joked that those were $38 cookies and hot chocolate (this was six years ago, and we had military discount tickets).

I might have said this also following our only MVMCP visit in 2008, but after a more recent 2014 visit to the MNSSHP, it turns out we just did it wrong: in '08 we made the mistake of claiming a really great viewing spot for shows/parades right in front of Cinderella Castle ... but then we didn't dare move for the entire night. I was the designated cookie/cocoa runner, and I had a heck of a time getting back to my family to reclaim the small spot I had left empty. No special events; no dance parties; no taking advantage of shorter ride lines. Expensive cookies and hot chocolate indeed!

I would do MVMCP again, but next time, we'll play it much smarter.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

One note on this, depending on the time of year, hoppers can be very useful for "crowd management". For example, we are going December 7-12, in parks Dec 8-11. The ONLY day the MK does not have a Christmas party is the 9th. So that day will be much more crowded, but it is also the only day we could see Wishes, because we are not doing a party. Our plan is to visit the MK on a party day until late afternoon, for lower crowds, and hop to the MK on the evening of the 9th to see Wishes. As always, YMMV on hoppers!



Something people seem to forget about "free" dining -- to receive it, you must pay rack rate for a room. It's still a good deal for many families, depending on the size of the group and the resort you are using, but it's never "free". It costs at least the difference between rack rate and any resort discounts for which you are eligible. We are a military family, so with the military salute discounts, it's never a better deal for us to use free dining.

I think most people who use it, do the math. And honestly, the GP discounts for this fall weren't that good. I probably would have been lucky to save $30-$40 a night. Definitely not enough to feed my family of four. And because we're there during F&W we can use our snack credits on the more expensive kiosk offerings. Not sure if I would pay $7-$8 OOP for a few bites of filet from the Canada booth.

 

[tmfranlk]

Seems pretty steep for cookies and hot chocolate for sure!

For MNSSHP, at least you get candy, and unique characters all dressed up. But how can one justify the cost of MVMCP? Apparently the parade and stage show can be viewed closer to xmas time. And the snow isnt really unique to the xmas party either. Im curious, whats so unique about mvmcp to justify the extra cost?

We love both parties. For MVMCP we focus on the event specific things - special characters, dance parties, shows, parade and fireworks. Similar to Halloween there are special characters and many are in holiday wear. It keeps our night very full and we love the unique offerings. We go late Nov/early Dec so the parade, etc aren't regular day offerings.

 

[Ginya]

Here is one nobody has mentioned. Light up balloons! On my children's first trip I promised them balloons at the end of a night after fireworks and parade. My DH was the one took them to get the balloons. This was in 2011. He came back with the girls and commented on the $30 cost for two balloons! I was taken aback and told him he should have bought ones that did not light up. The balloons just floated around the room for one night in the hotel.
On a second trip we did MNSSHP. I felt it was worth it. They limit how many tickets. We sat on the curb and had great spot for parade. We trick or treated half the park and had tons of candy. We did stitches dance party in tomorrowland and the villian's show in front of the castle. The villians came down and was very easy to get photos posed with them. There were NO lines for rides. My kids rode the teacups over and over and we were able to pick our own boat for it's a small world. We rode about five other rides as well. Then there were the fireworks! The unique colours and the 180 degrees around you were spectacular. We did more in those five or six hours then we have ever done in a full day at MK!
Now, for a first trip. For our daughters first trip, ( DH & I had been before). We did eight days in the world a day at water park, a day at that other place to see the boy wizard, and a day at disneyquest. We only made three sit down table ADR's. One was a character meal for DD birthday, one was Primetime at HS for entertainment, and one at Teppan Edo also entertaining to kids. To save money each day we went back to our room and made lunch in the room. This was a HUGE savings, and it gave us all some time to relax swim etc. Instead of paying for all sorts of extras, use you resort. You haave already paid for it. For a first time you will have enough to do just trying to ride and see everything.

Hope your trip is Magical!

 

[RustManFan]

Hoop Dee Doo. The night we went there was something "off" with the food. Nobody else seems to have had the same experience so it could very well have been a one time thing. I, however, spent too much for an experience which is not a good memory.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Here is one nobody has mentioned. Light up balloons! On my children's first trip I promised them balloons at the end of a night after fireworks and parade. My DH was the one took them to get the balloons. This was in 2011. He came back with the girls and commented on the $30 cost for two balloons! I was taken aback and told him he should have bought ones that did not light up. The balloons just floated around the room for one night in the hotel.
On a second trip we did MNSSHP. I felt it was worth it. They limit how many tickets. We sat on the curb and had great spot for parade. We trick or treated half the park and had tons of candy. We did stitches dance party in tomorrowland and the villian's show in front of the castle. The villians came down and was very easy to get photos posed with them. There were NO lines for rides. My kids rode the teacups over and over and we were able to pick our own boat for it's a small world. We rode about five other rides as well. Then there were the fireworks! The unique colours and the 180 degrees around you were spectacular. We did more in those five or six hours then we have ever done in a full day at MK!
Now, for a first trip. For our daughters first trip, ( DH & I had been before). We did eight days in the world a day at water park, a day at that other place to see the boy wizard, and a day at disneyquest. We only made three sit down table ADR's. One was a character meal for DD birthday, one was Primetime at HS for entertainment, and one at Teppan Edo also entertaining to kids. To save money each day we went back to our room and made lunch in the room. This was a HUGE savings, and it gave us all some time to relax swim etc. Instead of paying for all sorts of extras, use you resort. You haave already paid for it. For a first time you will have enough to do just trying to ride and see everything.

Hope your trip is Magical!

We have always avoided those balloons. I didn't even want to know what they cost.

 

[JeninTexas]

But seating for FP+ is not in the center! Imho it is worth the dinner package for center high seating! (Great view, and you don't get wet!)

I agree. Dining package seating was great. Front row center!

 

[georgina]

Seems pretty steep for cookies and hot chocolate for sure!

For MNSSHP, at least you get candy, and unique characters all dressed up. But how can one justify the cost of MVMCP? Apparently the parade and stage show can be viewed closer to xmas time. And the snow isnt really unique to the xmas party either. Im curious, whats so unique about mvmcp to justify the extra cost?

Same here. We get free dining only when its free. For us, its a much better value than the room discount.

We enjoyed our MVMCP last December. The price compares favorably to the cost of a 1 day ticket to MK. We go for short trips using non-expiring tickets, so it saved us a day on the ticket. We weren't there close enough to Christmas that we could see the parade etc outside the party. We enjoyed the atmosphere, shows, met Jack Skellington in his Sandy Claus outfit, the 7 Dwarves, short ride lines.

The dining plan would be a waste of money for us and I could never justify taking free dining over a room discount.

I would consider most of the things in the OP a waste of money, except maybe Hoop De Doo, but I would not do that on a first trip.

 

[andyman8]

Haven't really had any experiences that I'd consider a disastrous waste of money. Like another PP mentioned, I found Biergarten to be kinda disappointing. Oh, and I had an absolutely terrible lunch as Las Ventanas at CSR back in June. Other than that, nothing comes to mind immediately. Maybe the IllumiNations Dessert Party, but that was also because we were running late and it was raining.

Anyways, OP, if you're looking to save money, you might consider choosing between Pirates & Pals and the Fireworks Dessert Party. Both of those are pretty expensive and have similar elements (mainly, the dessert). Keep in mind, you could also get a nice view of Wishes by dining at Narcoossee's and it's included in your meal! Same goes with dining at Rose & Crown. Although the food's not great, the view is one of the best, and I'd choose that over the Illuminations Dessert Party any day!

Is the GF not worth it because of the $500 a night? A single monorail stop sounds awesome to me.

I'm a huge GF fan (by far, my favorite Disney Hotel), but I think the pricing has just gotten a bit out of hand. IMO, they're trying to price it on par with a hotel like the Four Seasons, and while I have very little experience with Four Seasons, I can tell you that while the GF is amazing, it's not Four Seasons-level. That said, basically outside of Christmas/NYE and Easter, you can still find some good deals on rooms there. Using either Orbitz or Passholder discounts, I can usually get it for under $370 per night, which I think is a fair price for the amenities plus the proximity. It's a heck more than I'd pay for any other hotel, but because I'm a Disney fan and love the hotel, I'll pay it.

 

[Canuck16]

Wishes Dessert Party.......it was nice for the location but way over priced for the amount of desserts you can actually eat

 

[Oathkeeper13]

Park hopper tickets. There is more then enough in each park to fill one day. Trying to do multiple parks in one day is just plain stressful. Get the standard ticket, and save yourself some money.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Not worth it to me? The dining plans, MemoryMaker, many sit down restaurants, DisneyQuest, paying rack rate for resort rooms. DH says hard ticket parties (we did Pirates and Princess Party years ago.).