Something the OP should know, Disney doesn't really cater to the one day crowd. They cater to the multiday, we'll-pick-you-up-at-the-airport, we'll-make-it-easy-to-pay-for-meals-in-advance-up-front, we'll-drive-you-anywhere-on-property-you-want-to-go, we'll-drive-you-back-to-the-airport-when-it's-time-to-go-for-God's-sake-just-don't-leave-our-property crowd. The longer your trip, the lower the price works out on a per-day basis. For example (and this isn't indicative of the best deal, but just for comparison's sake), I checked out prices on a 4-day trip, 2/20-23, on site in a value resort for 2 adults and a small child, with 4 day park passes and the quick service dining plan (2 counter service meals and 2 snacks a day, and a souvenir mug for each person). I got a price of $1405. Again, had I looked around for different days and different deals, it could have been cheaper. But for 800 more than you spent for ONE day, you could have had FOUR. Lodging included. Most of your meals included. Pickup to and from the airport (had you needed it) included.
Now I don't know YOUR child. But I know, were *I* a child, going to WDW with my family, and I was told "OK, instead of going to Disney World for one day, we can go for four, but NO trinkets, no costumes, no frills, is that OK by you," I would've gone positively batsh*t with glee. And as an adult, wanting to take my kid to WDW, I'd make an effort to pull that extra money together, or wait until I had it, if it meant having a longer trip, the time to visit all four parks. It's fine and dandy that you only wanted to go for one day, but you're the kind of guest that's an exception, not the rule, and WDW gears more of their "deals" to the guests who are the rule.
Also, and this may just because I'm a dude, the fact that you paid all that money for one day in the park, and then spent all that TIME in a beauty parlor and shopping for a costume...I'm assuming you had a good time and all that matters, but jeez, it's like you spent a lot of money specifically to get in some place to do nothing more than spend a lot of money. As others said, there are plenty of ways to spend less in the parks, especially by doing something as simple as packing a lunch and having a picnic (the official rule is no outside food or beverages, but I've never heard any anecdote of people having their picnic stuff confiscated). I would have felt like it was a waste of money to pay to get into a theme park only to spend much of that time in a beauty parlor instead of hitting rides, seeing parades and shows, meeting characters, etc. I don't see it as a good investment of my vacation dollar. To me, it's like spending money to stay at the Four Seasons to enjoy their selection of in-room movies instead of using Blockbuster or Netflix to rent the movies. But to each his or her own.
