When does the cost of Disney stop it being magical

Chris and Pooh

Ukchrisuk
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
With the ever increasing cost of visiting Disney especially with Disney's latest price hike with "New Seasonally-Priced Multi-Day Tickets" and not everyone having limitless funds at what point did you or would you decide enough is enough.
 
Now you have answered your own Question ... Enough is enough
There are many many theme parks in Europe ( Efteling & Toverland ) in The Netherlands

Parc Astrix just North of Paris & Miniture France South of Paris are well worth a visit

Look at the Logis Chain Of Hotels to stay in
 
Now you have answered your own Question ... Enough is enough
There are many many theme parks in Europe ( Efteling & Toverland ) in The Netherlands

Parc Astrix just North of Paris & Miniture France South of Paris are well worth a visit

Look at the Logis Chain Of Hotels to stay in
I was asking for other peoples opinions, not my own, your answer does not help in this query, other than advice on other parks, which is not what I asked
 
That's going to depend very much on the individual. Because it's not just a financial breaking point, but also an emotional one. Disney sells as much emotional connection as it does ticketed experience. For me and my family, it's enough to reduce how often we go, but not to eliminate trips completely. For others, it might become a strictly "once in a lifetime" experience. Everyone prioritizes differently.
 


That's going to depend very much on the individual. Because it's not just a financial breaking point, but also an emotional one. Disney sells as much emotional connection as it does ticketed experience. For me and my family, it's enough to reduce how often we go, but not to eliminate trips completely. For others, it might become a strictly "once in a lifetime" experience. Everyone prioritizes differently.

I understand your feelings. My DW DD's went for the first time in 96 and fell in love with the whole experience and financially it was not such a drain. We continued to visit for years to come, but have noticed how expensive the experience now is effectively excluding those on limited budgets and to some degree becoming a middle class destination especially considering that resorts such as the Yacht Club and the Polynesian can cost over £7000 for a week excluding tickets
 
I understand your feelings. My DW DD's went for the first time in 96 and fell in love with the whole experience and financially it was not such a drain. We continued to visit for years to come, but have noticed how expensive the experience now is effectively excluding those on limited budgets and to some degree becoming a middle class destination especially considering that resorts such as the Yacht Club and the Polynesian can cost over £7000 for a week excluding tickets

it's funny because in American dollars, places like Yacht Club and Poly are strictly in the UPPER middle class budget and above....nowadays a person in the middle class range here is really a Value/Moderate visitor, and forget people being able to do it more than once in a lifetime if they're not solidly middle class (or willing to go deep in debt to make it happen)
 
I understand your feelings. My DW DD's went for the first time in 96 and fell in love with the whole experience and financially it was not such a drain. We continued to visit for years to come, but have noticed how expensive the experience now is effectively excluding those on limited budgets and to some degree becoming a middle class destination especially considering that resorts such as the Yacht Club and the Polynesian can cost over £7000 for a week excluding tickets

When were the Disney parks ever intended to be affordable to everyone? It's always been expensive. How many people did you know back in 1996 who had been to WDW? I know when I was a kid, maybe a handful in our whole year had ever been. (including me, eventually)
 


Its very much based on the individual in my opinion. For me, personally, I've never been comfortable with credit and owing money. Besides a mortgage, I'd never purchase anything that I couldn't afford to pay for outright and still be comfortable. The worry and stress otherwise prevents me enjoying it the same - whether it be a trip, a car or a piece of technology. If I can't afford to book a Disney trip, take enough spending money to enjoy it to the fullest and ensure that Im not scraping by and worrying the rest of the year? I don't book it. It means that I have less Disney trips, with cheaper holidays in between, but also means that I don't have to stress over finances. It also means however that when we do go, we always go all out and take full advantage.
 
answer, stop falling into Disney Marketing targeting Europeans on the 14 day all inclusive package to Florida and think for yourself.

I have been doing a very budget friendly yearly trip to Disneyland California, staying offsite in Motel 6 for approx $110 per night, getting discount tickets for Disneyland on Last Minute Travel Club and booking flights in the January airline sales.

I have also visited Universal Studios Hollywood multiple times.

Oh and I dont drive, I use public transport!!

Think outside the box, do your reasearch and STOP with the travel agent booked all inclusive high end 14 day generic Disney holiday!
 
When I started planning for my upcoming trip it was centered around WDW, now WDW is still a mayor part of it, but the majority of those days will be spent somewhere else. It has always been a dream destination but the costs increases and even more the budget cuts (less entertainment, less CM's so longer waiting times, etcetera) are making it less so. It is not just the costs but I find that my emotional connection with Disney has lessened due to the way it is run at the moment. I'm not looking forward to it as much as I used to do.
 
just a thought to those who say they are being priced out


Two children aged 6 waiting in line to meet Micky Mouse, both experiences are exactly the same, the childs face fills with wonder, the parents all gooey eyed taking photos.
That experience is exactly the same for Joe aged 6 staying with his family at Disneyland Hotel and for Jenny aged 6 stayed with her family at Motel 6. Both kids are experiencing Disney and making magical memories, does it reaaaaly matter how much their beds cost????
 
Been to 4 Disney locations.

Paris I never stay in a Disney property but at one of the feeder hotels and buy the tickets separately. Two day ticket is all you really need for both parks so can be done relatively cheaply. Flights are also pretty cheap so usually book independently.

Florida was expensive but we combined with New York so went through a travel agent. Yes we could have stayed off site at say the Avanti but with one bus to the ticket and transportation centre per day and not wanting to hire a car, staying onsite and using the buses which was much more convenient for us.

If I was going back (possible 2021 / 2022) I’d maybe do a split stay and one day per park but for a first ever visit, staying on site is worth it imho if you have young kids simply for the convenience factor.

Anaheim I only did one day as was on another tour so no idea about packages and transport there but California isn’t the easiest to get around with public transport so guessing you’d need a car for there.

Hong Kong I stayed in Kowloon and got the train out to Sunny Bay and to the park. One day ticket was fine (though it had just opened so there weren’t as many rides then!). Bought day ticket online and no issues getting there and back.

I’d love to go to Tokyo - though believe that would be the most expensive and not the easiest to book as a package.

I guess what I’ve saying is there is a Disney for most budgets and you don’t have to go to the US to have a fun time. Paris for U.K. would be the cheapest and a good intro to what the parks are like.
 
I’d love to go to Tokyo - though believe that would be the most expensive and not the easiest to book as a package.

TDR (and Japan in general) is surprisingly cheap. Disney hotel are pricy, but park tickets cost half than US tickets and partner hotels (Sheraton and Marriott) have great rates during the week and off season (which is when you want to visit anyway, going to TDR during the week end or a major Japan holiday is crazy due to crowd levels). A TDR holiday is definitely cheaper than Orlando.
 
One thing I have done for our trip this year from the 26th December to the 12th Jan is rent DVC Points. Doing split stays Polynesian resort from Boxing Day until 30th then Universal before returning to Animal Kingdom Lodge on the 2nd Jan. Rental for the Polynesian was $2528 lake view. The cost for 10 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah view with points was $2336. With the exchange rate all in all we paid about £4000 not bad at all for total of 15 nights at Disney especially given the usual cost of the Polynesian.
 
Having just returned from a 3 week trip to WDW I would say we aren't quite at the "enough is enough" stage yet, but we are getting there. The exchange rate is obviously not helping at the moment, but what probably affected us most was the hike in price in many Disney buffets/family style meals. We love Cape May for dinner for example, but at $52 plus tax and tip, we didn't love it that much!
 
just a thought to those who say they are being priced out


Two children aged 6 waiting in line to meet Micky Mouse, both experiences are exactly the same, the childs face fills with wonder, the parents all gooey eyed taking photos.
That experience is exactly the same for Joe aged 6 staying with his family at Disneyland Hotel and for Jenny aged 6 stayed with her family at Motel 6. Both kids are experiencing Disney and making magical memories, does it reaaaaly matter how much their beds cost????

The thing is, for us, the hotel is a really important part of a holiday, especially a Disney holiday. We could go to Disney for a quarter of the cost that we pay, but we’d rather save the extra and book a really special hotel. It’s all personal preference, but I’d hate to pay £500 per person for flights to stay in a budget hotel, which is why we love the Disney deluxes. I agree though that there are loads of cheaper ways to visit the parks if you think outside the box, but I can see how those who like to stay onsite might feel like they’re being priced out.
 
The thing is, for us, the hotel is a really important part of a holiday, especially a Disney holiday. We could go to Disney for a quarter of the cost that we pay, but we’d rather save the extra and book a really special hotel. It’s all personal preference, but I’d hate to pay £500 per person for flights to stay in a budget hotel, which is why we love the Disney deluxes. I agree though that there are loads of cheaper ways to visit the parks if you think outside the box, but I can see how those who like to stay onsite might feel like they’re being priced out.
I totally agree with this. Everybody is different, but after a 9.5 hour flight, and feeling tired and groggy, walking into a motel 6 would be completely soul destroying for me.
 
but I’d hate to pay £500 per person for flights to stay in a budget hotel,

I totally agree with this. Everybody is different, but after a 9.5 hour flight, and feeling tired and groggy, walking into a motel 6 would be completely soul destroying for me.

Um actually I fly 10 hours from Europe , pay around €800 for flights AND stay in Motel 6 in Anaheim. Actually BEING in Disneyland is whats important, I can spend €300 a night for a luxury hotel right here in my home city BUT I need to fly halfway across the the world the experience Disneyland California!
 
When the 'Disney Debt' gets greater and I'd have to work thrice as hard as Tiana to make my next Disney trip become reality, not to mention that other adult responsibilities like saving up for a house and paying the bills have to take priority.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top