Just got back from my 11 day stay. We had a blast but feel extorted by Mickey Mouse.

[Sirwalterraleigh]

By the time you calc gas and wear and tear, I’m not sure driving is that great. If you just use the AAA cost per mile study, it costs $0.65/mile to operate a car.

If you have a 1,000 mile trip, you’re driving 2,000 miles. That’s $1300 to operate the car.

You also have to stop for food, snacks, maybe a hotel to break up the trip, and you have all the risks of driving. You also need to park when you get to Disney, which costs money.

I’d say conservatively you’re spending $1,500 to drive, if you drive your own car. Flying is so cheap now, you can routinely find routes to Orlando for $200/person. A family of 4 can easily make it there under $1,000.

I need to fly the airlines you’re booking...

When you live in markets with actual people - in the current “boom” - flights are few and pricey.

Comparatively speaking.

But generally speaking I’d say $400 a person is worth it to avoid the headache of the lousy infrastructure roads that lead to Florida

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That is one definition of depreciation, but it is not the only one. Depreciation doesn't just refer to writing off the value of the asset over several years in accounting. It also refers to the general loss of value of an item over time.

From m-w.com:
a: to lower the price or estimated value of
b: to deduct from taxable income a portion of the original cost of (a business asset) over several years as the value of the asset decreases

Clearly, on personal vehicles, the latter is not going to apply. But the first definition definitely does.

But didn’t you hear this is an economics forum for those born after George HW Bush was elected?

 

[21stamps]

It depends on the lease contract. If you have unlimited miles and they take care of all of your check-ups, then sure there's no real wear and tear cost, and you can go to town on the miles. However, you still have the risk of accident, where you may be on the hook for damage to the car, and/or see your insurance rates go up. Plus, this opens up the can of worms of the extreme danger of driving/riding in a passenger automobile as opposed to flying, taking, the bus, or train. Stepping into a car is always a huge risk per mile, but especially around Orlando and Kissimmee. And, if the lease contract does cap miles, then you'll need to ration your miles, and work to keep it under the threshold, or pay a premium out of pocket for every mile you drive.

***Everyone is getting the word "depreciation" wrong. Depreciation is an accounting account that uses a set formula to recognize expense on income statement. Its arbitrary, and does not factor in actual use, just predicted use. Wear and tear is what you're talking about. That's the actual process of something losing value as a result of normal use.

People are using the term “depreciation” correctly here. Although, many comments on leasing have been a bit amusing.lol..
Either way, 2,000 miles is not going to make or break a vehicle’s value or maintenance.. it shouldn’t be a big factor in determining if a family wants to drive or fly.

 

[21stamps]

When you lease, the cost of depreciation is fully calculated and baked into the cost of the lease payment. I guarantee you that no lessor is just eating the depreciation.

The lease itself is the depreciation, not baked in- it is the payment.
It’s the difference between selling price and residual value- aka depreciation.
The bank assumes the risk.

 

[rkleinlein]

Agreed. Every time we’ve vacationed somewhere other than Disney, it’s always been way more money. Not even in the same ballpark. So while Disney is expensive, I don’t exactly get why people think it’s way more money than another destination. From personal experience, it’s way way less.

What's expensive and not expensive is completely relative. People can spend "a lot" or "a little" on a Disney vacation or a vacation anywhere else. It depends on what one spends money on beyond food and lodging. But if you just look at food and lodging it's not way more expensive elsewhere than it is at Disney. I'd argue just the opposite: the food and lodging at Disney is more expensive than comparable food and lodging at most other places. Of course there will be exceptions, but Disney is not way less than most other vacation destinations.

 

[Tom P.]

The lease itself is the depreciation, not baked in- it is the payment.
It’s the difference between selling price and residual value- aka depreciation.
The bank assumes the risk.

If the lease payment was the depreciation and nothing else, the lessor would not make a profit, which they most certainly do. Depreciation is just one of the things calculated into a lease payment.

 

[21stamps]

If the lease payment was the depreciation and nothing else, the lessor would not make a profit, which they most certainly do. Depreciation is just one of the things calculated into a lease payment.

What? The lessor is the bank. They are making their profit on the money factor and acquisition fee.. just the same as any other bank for a purchase with interest.

They are assuming risk by projecting the residual value. If the car is of less value in 3 years ( or whatever the lease term is) than the residual, then the bank is the one who eats that, not the leasee (if the leasee turns it in instead of buying or trading for another vehicle).
This is exactly how leases work.

To try to make this simpler, if you purchase a car and trade it in after 3 years, you are responsible for negative equity (if there is any). On a lease, you’re not.

 

[FettFan]

think about this .. Coca Cola is Made with purified water.. and its less then Dasani.. which is the same purified water USED TO MAKE COKE..

Aye. Dasani is essentially Coca-Cola minus Coca-Cola.

It’s the Garfield Minus Garfield of beverages.

 

[NickMaio]

People are using the term “depreciation” correctly here. Although, many comments on leasing have been a bit amusing.lol..
Either way, 2,000 miles is not going to make or break a vehicle’s value or maintenance.. it shouldn’t be a big factor in determining if a family wants to drive or fly.

Enough the car stuff already.....its becoming semantical now..........

 

[NickMaio]

What? The lessor is the bank. They are making their profit on the money factor and acquisition fee.. just the same as any other bank for a purchase with interest.

They are assuming risk by projecting the residual value. If the car is of less value in 3 years ( or whatever the lease term is) than the residual, then the bank is the one who eats that, not the leasee (if the leasee turns it in instead of buying or trading for another vehicle).
This is exactly how leases work.

To try to make this simpler, if you purchase a car and trade it in after 3 years, you are responsible for negative equity (if there is any). On a lease, you’re not.

Seriously........the post is about being hosed at WDW.
Give it a rest already

 

[Tom P.]

I apologize. I helped lead the thread off into the weeds of car leases and depreciation and so forth. That's not what this thread is really about. I'll drop the subject and get back to the topic at hand.

 

[21stamps]

Seriously........the post is about being hosed at WDW.
Give it a rest already

. You’re quoting a post from several hours ago, a simple post responding to multiple posts of misinformation. That’s all, correcting an error. There’s nothing to rest.

You’ll be ok. Deep breath. No one is forgetting about Disney World.

 

[NickMaio]

. You’re quoting a post from several hours ago, a simple post responding to multiple posts of misinformation. That’s all, correcting an error. There’s nothing to rest.

You’ll be ok. Deep breath. No one is forgetting about Disney World.

Phew.....thanks for validating me here

 

[Trackmaster]

I believe that people call loss of value as a result of overuse as "wear and tear." Generally, depreciation is an accounting only concept used for financial statement reporting or tax return preparation, not necessary always useful for economic decision making. It calculates loss of value from a formula based on asset class and time elapsed, not by resale value. Loss of resale value will depend on elapsed time and actual use of the asset. Consider the fact that cars will lose value just by sitting on the lot -- yes, purchasers car about the shape of the car and its mileage, but they simply won't pay the same for a 2005 model of a car that they would for a 2019 model even if the former had 0 miles on it. When buying a car, people do note how it loses much of its value the second you drive it off the lot, by virtue of the fact that people would rather buy new than buy old all things being equal.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I look at it like this, you know the tickets to get in are going to be expensive, the hotels too. But I really wish they would stop raising the food prices so darn much. Yes you can expect increases but when most sit downs are starting to average $30 plus entrees and the drinks are just as pricey it can add up the vacation goes on.

 

[Trackmaster]

I look at it like this, you know the tickets to get in are going to be expensive, the hotels too. But I really wish they would stop raising the food prices so darn much. Yes you can expect increases but when most sit downs are starting to average $30 plus entrees and the drinks are just as pricey it can add up the vacation goes on.

I never really do the hotels or the ADRs so its hard for me to speak knowledgeably. But I was thinking that one way that they could make the experience more affordable and still make a profit from a family on a budget would be to have week long on site apartments with kitchens and grocery stores on site. They could still charge a premium for the groceries, and it would be a way to make extra money without much extra effort on their part, and bring the cost down to a more acceptable level for a family. And a way to have more calm relaxing nights to unwind after making an early ropedrop.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Actually it will be assuming the AP family goes down 4-5 times a year. That's an extra 10 K miles a year.

Well there goes all if not a majority of the yearly allotment of miles.
Edit...btw why all this talk of leases..I get a few opinions but post seems officially hijacked

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I never really do the hotels or the ADRs so its hard for me to speak knowledgeably. But I was thinking that one way that they could make the experience more affordable and still make a profit from a family on a budget would be to have week long on site apartments with kitchens and grocery stores on site. They could still charge a premium for the groceries, and it would be a way to make extra money without much extra effort on their part, and bring the cost down to a more acceptable level for a family. And a way to have more calm relaxing nights to unwind after making an early ropedrop.

They kinda have this already, it's called DVC..it's just pricey. The markets though are surprisingly not horrible, beer is a fortune but they have some decent prices on wine and frozen stuff like pizzas.

 

[21stamps]

Actually it will be assuming the AP family goes down 4-5 times a year. That's an extra 10 K miles a year.

It didn’t sound like that was her situation.. but, If someone drives 2k miles per trip, 4-5 times per year.. then yes, that’s a different scenario altogether.
They’d be better off getting a good flight rewards credit card.. would be cheaper.lol..and also save several hours out of their life, which in itself is invaluable.

 

[thomas998]

Stay off-site in a rental HOUSE for less than the cost of a cramped value room. Imagine having three+ bedrooms, a private pool, a full kitchen, complete laundry right there and no noisy people outside your room at 1am. It's possible, my friend. All of this can be had for downwards of $70 a night. Of course, this depends on if you have a car at your disposal and if you're okay doing without EMH. For us, it completely works and is well worth it. It's enabled us to go from 1 trip per year to 3. That allows us to take full advantage of our APs.

And if you can live with less space you can find off-site hotels even cheaper and many will have free breakfasts. The cost of hotels should never be a reason people don't do Disney as that is one of the areas where you can find costs are often cheaper than at most any other vacation spot. Unfortunately the costs of the Disney tickets and anything inside the park are where you get hammered.