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

donnylambb

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Luckily my family can afford it but I do not know how a normal family can do it. I know people write about this all the time but we can definitely see the difference over the last couple of years. By the way a little trivia question for you. "In living with the land what is the name of the family in the farmhouse scene. Its on the mailbox"
 

jloucks

Well-Known Member
Luckily my family can afford it but I do not know how a normal family can do it. I know people write about this all the time but we can definitely see the difference over the last couple of years. By the way a little trivia question for you. "In living with the land what is the name of the family in the farmhouse scene. Its on the mailbox"

11 day trip!? Well, yea, that is going to cost ya! :p

Most families in the U.S. can afford it, depending on priorities and frequency. [Everything that follows assumes no medical issues. Those can throw a wrench in any well thought out plan]

Just an example here.... take a family of 4 where both adults smoke 1 pack a day. Quit smoking (+$4000)and you can afford an annual 5 day visit in a music resort (you'd have to drive there to make that price-point). Remove from your budget movies, eating out, alcohol, and other vacations and you can really upgrade your trip. Go every 3 years and you are now talking luxury resorts.

I know, I know, there are exceptions. Single parent/income families come to mind. Families where there are truly no luxuries what-so-ever. But the average family, depending on priorities, can afford it. ...supported by ---> U.S. Income

Digressing for a minute.. I have a friend who is super broke. Cannot afford anything. Certainly cannot afford a WDW trip. Which is true, but the reason he cannot afford it, is he bought a $350,000 house with pool!! :rolleyes: Monthly house payments are almost the price of a cheap trip. Almost. ....Needless to say my sympathy levels are minimal.
 
11 day trip!? Well, yea, that is going to cost ya! :p

Most families in the U.S. can afford it, depending on priorities and frequency. [Everything that follows assumes no medical issues. Those can throw a wrench in any well thought out plan]

Just an example here.... take a family of 4 where both adults smoke 1 pack a day. Quit smoking (+$4000)and you can afford an annual 5 day visit in a music resort (you'd have to drive there to make that price-point). Remove from your budget movies, eating out, alcohol, and other vacations and you can really upgrade your trip. Go every 3 years and you are now talking luxury resorts.

I know, I know, there are exceptions. Single parent/income families come to mind. Families where there are truly no luxuries what-so-ever. But the average family, depending on priorities, can afford it. ...supported by ---> U.S. Income

Digressing for a minute.. I have a friend who is super broke. Cannot afford anything. Certainly cannot afford a WDW trip. Which is true, but the reason he cannot afford it, is he bought a $350,000 house with pool!! :rolleyes: Monthly house payments are almost the price of a cheap trip. Almost. ....Needless to say my sympathy levels are minimal.



How many people still smoke a pack a day of cigarettes? Or smoke in general? Am I just living in la la land to suggest this?
 

donnylambb

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
11 day trip!? Well, yea, that is going to cost ya! :p

Most families in the U.S. can afford it, depending on priorities and frequency. [Everything that follows assumes no medical issues. Those can throw a wrench in any well thought out plan]

Just an example here.... take a family of 4 where both adults smoke 1 pack a day. Quit smoking (+$4000)and you can afford an annual 5 day visit in a music resort (you'd have to drive there to make that price-point). Remove from your budget movies, eating out, alcohol, and other vacations and you can really upgrade your trip. Go every 3 years and you are now talking luxury resorts.

I know, I know, there are exceptions. Single parent/income families come to mind. Families where there are truly no luxuries what-so-ever. But the average family, depending on priorities, can afford it. ...supported by ---> U.S. Income

Digressing for a minute.. I have a friend who is super broke. Cannot afford anything. Certainly cannot afford a WDW trip. Which is true, but the reason he cannot afford it, is he bought a $350,000 house with pool!! :rolleyes: Monthly house payments are almost the price of a cheap trip. Almost. ....Needless to say my sympathy levels are minimal.
I agree WE accepted it it was just very noticeable. On everything from water to beer and food. Kid meals are now 12.99 at some of the fast food services for 4 chicken nuggets and fries? Not complaining just saw a difference over the last couple years.
 

donnylambb

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
LOL... What isn't more expensive every time you visit?
I agree WE accepted it it was just very noticeable. On everything from water to beer and food. Kid meals are now 12.99 at some of the fast food services for 4 chicken nuggets and fries? Not complaining just saw a difference over the last couple years
 

bryanfze55

Well-Known Member
Well I’m not sure where you stayed, but a Deluxe or Mod resort will certainly add up over 11 days! I’m going to go on a whim and say you stayed at least Mod for 11 days... I don’t think most people have the patience to stay at a Value that long.

Here’s how most families can afford it, including mine. We are basically a one-career family though my wife brings in side money:

1) Don’t stay 11 days. We stay for 7.
2) No park hoppers. They are a waste of money if you’re staying more than a few days. It’s too time consuming to jump between parks every day.
3) Don’t do the dining plan. Paying out of pocket is cheaper. Only do a couple table service meals per trip.
4) Don’t drink alcohol while at Disney. Ridiculously priced and in my opinion alcohol detracts from the magic. I certainly don’t expect people to share this view, of course.
5) Have a set souvenir budget and stick to it.
6) Drive, if possible. Not everyone can do this. We live 15 hours away and drive, though. This saves on flights but also in other ways. We can pack a large cooler. Thus, we take sandwiches into the parks and don’t have to buy much food at Disney. We can also comfortably bring our own stroller so we don’t have to rent one at Disney for our daughter.
7) If we stay on Disney property, we only do Value or campground. If I want a nice hotel, I’ll go offsite and pay half as much. We are all day park people. If I want a hotel vacation, I’m not taking one at Disney.
8) Memory Maker is nice, but we only did it on our first trip. It’s not necessary.

I’ve never paid more than $3,500 for a 7-day trip with 3 people (not including gas costs driving there and back). However, on our next trip we are looking to do DVC at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which for 7 nights will probably cost close to $2,000. A good deal but we’ll spend more than $3,500 that trip.
 

Disney Drew

Active Member
B Jones #82 (nice little nod to the year EPCOT opened)!!!

390697
 

Nottamus

Well-Known Member
the thing that gets me every trip....is bottled water pricing. in 2014, it was $2.00, high in my opinion...but every trip it got higher...and now its $3.50. We drive, so I always bring a case of water now....and can spend darn near less for a case than 1 on property!

We haven't bought souvenirs for the last few years..and THAT alone saves tons of money.

For the wife and I...not including fuel and driving, we average $600-$700 a trip. We are DVC, so didn't factor that in either
 

General Hux

Member
Luckily my family can afford it but I do not know how a normal family can do it. I know people write about this all the time but we can definitely see the difference over the last couple of years. By the way a little trivia question for you. "In living with the land what is the name of the family in the farmhouse scene. Its on the mailbox"
After all that has happened in the past 2 years, it is the first time (never thought I would say this) that I have reached my tipping point. I used to get annual passes at WDW for my family of 8 and go a couple of times a year. Now I am going to be scaling back to once every 2-3 years, and no way will I stay on property with 8 people. There are just too many straws breaking the camels back.
1. The change to POTC
2. Smoking ban
3. criminal water prices in a sweltering humid swamp.
4. nickel and dime strategy getting ramped up beyond belief.
5. Shoehorning IP into everything
6. rampant political correctness
7. The curb-stomping of Luke, Han and of Star Wars in general.

Overall, the product is getting worse while the cost goes up. Nice job Disney.
 

KrazyKat

Well-Known Member
On our most recent trip this past April, we stayed in Orlando from 9/8-9/25. We only spent 2 days at a Disney resort (Port Orleans Riverside, we loved it) when we first got there and spent the rest off site where my wife got us a condo for $68 a night (a very nice resort was running a secret deal where you paid the year you were born) which was huge and right in the middle of WDW and Universal (which we are also big fans of). Luckily, the reason we stayed so long was because I had recently received a hefty worker's comp payment for surgery, and I honestly don't think we could stay that long normally, well we could but not going to the parks as much. Every year, we take half of our tax refund to pay for most of that year's trip.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Lots of things I do and spend my money on have increased over the last couple of years. It costs me more to live, care for my family, afford my lifestyle and operate my business. Disneys raising prices and policy changes are out of my control and although I'd love to do a Disney trip at the same cost as years ago, and multiple times in a year, its not going to happen. So I need to do more to save for my trip IF I want to go. No ones forcing me to take that trip, but at this point its still worth it to me, its a priority for me so I'll do what I have to do to go.
If you want it bad enough you can find a way to make it happen. Most of the people I hear complaining spend lots of money in other places and arent willing to save, budget or sacrifice for WDW. Theres countless ways a trip can be made cheaply. There are dozens of sites offering tips on doing Disney on less money and explaining how to get around the high cost.
We save for the trips we want to do. It takes will power to say no to other extravagances in order to put the money towards Disney. We know the cost has risen since our last trip and although that makes it more challenging, we save more in other places. We stay 14 days at POFQ, dine at the places we want, buy souvenirs, do extra things we choose to do and come home very satisfied. Then we will start saving for the next one with the inevitable raising costs in mind and we will adjust our plans to make it happen.
 

J Hedge

New Member
We went last November & stayed off site for a week. Ended up spending about 3K including the MVMCP tickets and the price of our annual passes to Disney and US. Went back for two weeks in February with 2 of the kids & 2 grand kids - split between Disney & US - & spent over 10K. Going again for a week next month - again off site - and don't plan to spend more than 2K. Many ways to go to Disney on almost any budget - just have to shop around and decide what's really important to you.
 

bubbles1812

Well-Known Member
How many people still smoke a pack a day of cigarettes? Or smoke in general? Am I just living in la la land to suggest this?
Speaking as a physician, sadly you are living in la la land to suggest this. The average is still around 20% for the total smoking US population. And the epidemic of E-cigs is hitting the teen population hard.

Getting back to the point of the thread... I budget a little differently but not a whole lot differently for my trips. I only feel the need, on average, to go every 2 years, which I think helps my attitude towards the price increases. They still suck but because I’m not going multiple times a year, I’m willing to be more splurgy and let some of the increases roll off my back when I do go. And when I’m there, I’m not overly thinking about what I’m spending (within reason).

The biggest thing for me is that I’m generally not willing to pay for the Deluxe resorts anymore. I see no point to spending 500+ per night as a non-DVC member for a hotel room I don’t spend a lot of time in. That’s where Disney has lost my money but staying in the moderates has also meant occasionally longer trips than I would have taken otherwise, so I suppose it balances.
 

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