Price Hikes Galore! (Genie+ variable pricing, ILL, refillable mugs, SWGE lightsaber and droids)

[ceecee101]

Plus just a different culture/attitude towards vacation .... My European colleagues take 3-4 weeks at a time, I rarely take more than a week. I get 5 weeks a year total and don't think I have ever taken all of it - and even when I do I am doing work while on vacation. I know that is partly a "me issue" but I am definitely not alone

Why hard to even do the other side of the country or Hawaii or something, travel just takes too much out of the total time I will take off (not to mention the cost of flights for 5 people). I am planning a trip to Europe for 2024 but that is a multi-year planning effort (money wise and arranging with work to be gone that long)

We stopped WDW 13 years ago and have done Europe since. If you hoard mileage and other points you have many options, and it (for us) is MUCH cheaper than what we’re paying next month for WDW.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What age are your kids? I’ve done the following non-Disney trips with my kids and enjoyed all:

Boston and then taking the Maine Coast up to Acadia is a great trip with a lot of history.

The Smoky Mountains area is a little kitschy, but I think the national park balances it out. You can easily get away from the crowds. Cabins are quite cheap in the area, too, due to high supply.

We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale, followed by Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Tucson, which has a world class natural history museum / zoo hybrid.

Park City in summer. You have great resorts that are much cheaper in summer plus some traditional urban attractions nearby in Salt Lake City. Great outdoor recreation all around. PC is upscale without being snooty IMO.

Washington DC + Williamsburg is a good trip too, but I’d probably wait until kids are 8+.

San Diego is probably the most kid friendly city I’ve been to. I’ve always done it in conjunction with Disneyland, but you could easily do a week in San Diego and no Disney. Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are great, kid friendly Orange County beach towns - though Laguna is a bit colorful.

But will anyone at any of these places tell me to have a magical day?

 

[dreday3]

I'll never understand the mindset of criticizing where others vacation.

Why the heck do you care?
Offer suggestions for other places? Sure!
Make a stupid, snarky comment about someone else's choice? Kind of not cool.

Should we all make fun of what people wear too?
Why don't we just allow a certain few to decide what everyone should be doing their lives...

 

[John park hopper]

But will anyone at any of these places tell me to have a magical day?

Since Disney says you are the magic you can have a magical day no matter where you are

 

[crazy4disney]

Close…that’s the second most successful team of the century/millennium so far

The Sawx lol

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Will someone please pass the Grey Poupon?

 

[Chi84]

I'll never understand the mindset of criticizing where others vacation.

What the heck do you care?
Offer suggestions for other places? Sure!
Make a stupid, snarky comment about someone else's choice? Kind of not cool.

Should we all make fun of what people wear too?
Why don't we just allow a certain few to decide what everyone should be doing thier lives...

It’s immature. I suspect it’s done more to get attention than anything else.

If someone is asking about vacation spots to rival WDW, it seems pretty clear they’re talking about a theme park/resorts type venue. Why cut them down on the baseless assumption they’ve never done any other kind of vacation?

The poster who originally asked has kids who are 4 and 6. That poster may have determined that a theme park vacation might be more enjoyable and comfortable for them than history museums and outdoor recreation. No need for negative comments.

Also, everything being in one place with a readily accessible transportation system has appeal to those who aren’t comfortable driving around in unfamiliar places, looking for parking, etc.

 

[Lilofan]

We stopped WDW 13 years ago and have done Europe since. If you hoard mileage and other points you have many options, and it (for us) is MUCH cheaper than what we’re paying next month for WDW.

Similar to Vegas , WDW can track your spending habits. I like the Vegas way. The more you play the more you are rewarded ( ie comps, - rooms, food, drink, experiences , etc ).

 

[Lilofan]

We love to stay around the Waynesville, NC area. There is easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, close to Asheville, tubing down Deep Creek in Bryson City, and Waynesville has a nice Main Street with cute shops.

If you ever visit Boone , NC in the winter time , seems like many visiting drive from FL for change of scenery and weather ( snow and ski ).

 

[Animaniac93-98]

But will anyone at any of these places tell me to have a magical day?

Do CMs still say that? I can't remember hearing the phrase much at any of the Disney parks I've visited in the last few years.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I just don't know how people always say a trip to Tokyo would be cheaper? If we go there, we certainly just aren't going there for Disney!
Where are people staying while there? I'd still want nice hotels. There would be a few hotel stays since we've be traveling around.
How long? We'd at least need two weeks to visit another country.
Eating? I can't imagine the amount we'd spend on great restaurants, bars, street food, etc.

Forget about the cost of flights...

We’ve done Europe 3 times and the per day cost is similar but there’s no way we’d fly that many hours for a short vacation like we do WDW. That’s the huge expense difference, we can’t justify Europe for less than 10 days, we often do 5 days at WDW.

Despite similar daily costs it ends up being twice the price.

This is exactly why I did not renew my AP…and Disney loves that I didn’t.
Sea world: we want you, your money, and your friends
Universal: we want you and your money
Disney: we don’t want you, we want your money, but only if someone with more money isn’t available to take your spot.

We’ve been DL APs for a decade and didn’t renew this year, we are going to WDW in Jan and added a couple days at Universal Florida and found out they offer such a good military AP that’s it’s too good a deal to pass up… so despite living in NV and CA we are now Universal Florida passholders.

WDW will get a few days out of this situation but DL will lose a couple dozen, we’ll also be staying at Uni hotels since they offer good AP discounts. Disney loses $10k this year, Uni gains $10k… pennies towards their bottom line but a few thousand families like us and it adds up quick.

As you said, Universal treats us like they want us so for the next year (at least) they got us.

 

[JoeCamel]

Do CMs still say that? I can't remember hearing the phrase much at any of the Disney parks I've visited in the last few years.

Go full Karen on one you will hear it plenty

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'll never understand the mindset of criticizing where others vacation.

Why the heck do you care?
Offer suggestions for other places? Sure!
Make a stupid, snarky comment about someone else's choice? Kind of not cool.

Should we all make fun of what people wear too?
Why don't we just allow a certain few to decide what everyone should be doing their lives...

It’s immature. I suspect it’s done more to get attention than anything else.

If someone is asking about vacation spots to rival WDW, it seems pretty clear they’re talking about a theme park/resorts type venue. Why cut them down on the baseless assumption they’ve never done any other kind of vacation?

The poster who originally asked has kids who are 4 and 6. That poster may have determined that a theme park vacation might be more enjoyable and comfortable for them than history museums and outdoor recreation. No need for negative comments.

Also, everything being in one place with a readily accessible transportation system has appeal to those who aren’t comfortable driving around in unfamiliar places, looking for parking, etc.

You two are well documented on your feelings…pretty much on every price thread.

Thou doth protestith muchith.

Good news is nobody is coming after you…talking about pricing and appropriateness. Nothing personal.

As En Vogue said: Free Your Mind, and the Rest will Follow.

 

[Magicart87]

Prices go up - the stock goes down. Hmm...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Prices go up - the stock goes down. Hmm...

Good…let it burn

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But will anyone at any of these places tell me to have a magical day?

No…but their computers won’t randomly charge off your room account in weird patterns at random times either

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Do CMs still say that? I can't remember hearing the phrase much at any of the Disney parks I've visited in the last few years.

You don’t need the magic…you ARE the magic (your wallet..at least)

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Note to self: Pitch this song to WDI as as part of a seasonal overlay for Cosmic Rewind in which riders are sent to Hell. Include a BUZZY cameo.

FTFY

it’s Epcot…theme consistency, you clown

 

[Magicart87]

FTFY

it’s Epcot…theme consistency, you clown

Theme consistency? Never heard of it.

 

[dreday3]

You two are well documented on your feelings…pretty much on every price thread.

Thou doth protestith muchith.

Good news is nobody is coming after you…talking about pricing and appropriateness. Nothing personal.

As En Vogue said: Free Your Mind, and the Rest will Follow.

Obsessed.

It can't be helped, I'm pretty amazing.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Similar to Vegas , WDW can track your spending habits. I like the Vegas way. The more you play the more you are rewarded ( ie comps, - rooms, food, drink, experiences , etc ).

I like it…

When you get stuff for free in Vegas…it’s been a bad trip.

Not much different in Orlando in theory.