Len Testa - “Disney positions itself as the all-American vacation. The irony is that most Americans can’t afford it.”

[Splash4eva]

I'm not saying it's unaffordable. All I'm saying is if I have to stay off site, cut back on park days, change the way I visit the parks (rope drop, stay late). Cut my trips down from a week to 4 days, the value isn't worth it anymore.

I can understand that. Listen. I use to stay Deluxe/Moderate depending on who/when but i finally said whats the point. Im barely in hotel. I rent a car may as well stay Value and stay longer or spend same. To may wasting all that money on a hotel im barely in is pointless to me its principle more than the money

 

[wannabeBelle]

I want to think there is some intelligence in Disney's decisions in building the DVC towers. I presume their data says there will be buyers for DVC?

I would guess so based on the decisions to build additional DVC units. I dont have any insider knowledge on this one though.

 

[Splash4eva]

Since we have been going since 2019 we have never not had the chance to park hop either with park hoppers or annual passes. When you have younger kids and you go so much, we enjoy going to one park earlier in the day and then taking a break then going to another park in the evening/night. The flexibility is nice to have so you aren't stuck in one place the whole day. Also helps for later in the trip when you have to go revisit rides or shows that the kids want to see again that you didn't plan the first time

Totally understand and agree. I always get PH but i can see families who vacation differently and dont want to deal with all that back and forth and some who really just arent educated enough which as discussed in other threads are plenty

 

[mysto]

That's what many are missing. While there are ways to make a Disney trip more affordable, you are cutting out a lot of what makes a Disney trip enjoyable.

When paying upcharges I sometimes feel like a sucker, which sucks some of the purchased enjoyment back out of a trip. I may dislike doing something stupid with my money even if I can afford it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We usually agree but you numbers are wrong. I just checked to be sure. 7 day PH is an extra $100. To me thats insignificant cost and honestly if one is unsure they can book a regular ticket and if use it simply upgrade. Its a free option but $100 for 7 park days is nothing

Yeah…I covered that. Per person. My bad

 

[Splash4eva]

Would a better way of putting it be that if you price out a current Disney vacation it is way more expensive than it ever was previously, even bringing costs of previous vacations up into today's equivalent which I believe @lentesta has done in several different places? Is everyone in the middle class priced out? No probably not. Is it worth the amount of money that they would have to spend and potentially cut from other areas of their life in order to have that vacation in the way they would like to do it worth it? That is very subjective and definitely bears looking at. Marie

Again everyone can choose what they wanna do. Its not lik Disney is the only place who has raised prices. Everyday life has gone up. If i told you what my house/home insurances have risen in a year along with my utilities its disgusting. I am a divorced Dad who at most times is only one in the house. We are talking 30% increases y/y its disgusting. My theory is tho you can save money elsewhere and stillhave a similar experience as you did in past for maybe a slightly higher cost if you still need your Disney fix

 

[Splash4eva]

Yeah…I covered that. Per person. My bad

Okay understood.

 

[Dranth]

That's Nuts. I think I park hopped 3 times in my life. We usually get burnt out for the day in a single park.

Just goes to show how people approach things differently.

I can't think of a trip where we didn't park hop. Now normally it is after going back to the resort and relaxing/napping so we aren't running around all day, but we nearly always do at least a few hours in two parks each day.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Again everyone can choose what they wanna do. Its not lik Disney is the only place who has raised prices. Everyday life has gone up. If i told you what my house/home insurances have risen in a year along with my utilities its disgusting. I am a divorced Dad who at most times is only one in the house. We are talking 30% increases y/y its disgusting. My theory is tho you can save money elsewhere and stillhave a similar experience as you did in past for maybe a slightly higher cost if you still need your Disney fix

I think what complicates things is that Disney is raising prices on everything while at the same time reducing quality and offerings.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Or is it a better investment than more hotels?? If a new hotel is built, you only make back your investment by people staying there. If you build DVC and people buy in, they are now locked in and are paying for the upkeep through dues for the next number of years. Plus they can also sell a portion of those rooms as a cash sale similar to a regular resort, that is a win-win.

Right - guess I would argue if they need more rooms of any type. So not so much DVC vs standard hotel more should it be DVC vs more investment in the parks or just using that money elsewhere.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Or is it a better investment than more hotels?? If a new hotel is built, you only make back your investment by people staying there. If you build DVC and people buy in, they are now locked in and are paying for the upkeep through dues for the next number of years. Plus they can also sell a portion of those rooms as a cash sale similar to a regular resort, that is a win-win.

They haven’t been able to fill the racks for many, many years. There’s a misconception that they’re full. Especially on the higher price tiers. So dvc is away to offset that. No coincidence they have converted thousands of rooms already and will do so again when they get a chance. I’m frankly shocked they went ahead with the river country build…I honestly don’t see the angle there at all?

But people often say on boards “they should build a new moderate/value…”

Nope. They’d lose. How do we know? Because they’ve made no attempt to do so for over 20 years…and the last effort was ahead of its needs

They added a tower at the convention centric Coronado…but then dropped a dvc ontop of 384 rooms at Caribbean at the same time…none of these moves are “coincidence”

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We have a lot of clients that switched to Royal since its multi generational and the pricing is a lot more manageable for them. And lets not forget that their private Island blows Castaway Cay away.

Pam

We did that - plus as the kids are getting older it appeals to them more

Though we are now finding ourselves priced out of Royal as well, at least for the newer ships (which is what the kids ask about), especially as we really need two cabins now as a family of 5 with multiple teenagers

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think what complicates things is that Disney is raising prices on everything while at the same time reducing quality and offerings.

…who gave you permission to point out that elephant?

 

[mysto]

A problem with park hopping in the modern era is the effect on LL. Various flavors of LL cost more in multi-parks, and it's difficult to arrange the timeslots you want in the park you want. It complicates that game a little more. It's possibly worth it but I'm saying the past eras were better for hopping (like so many things).

 

[Andrew C]

Though we are now finding ourselves priced out of Royal as well, at least for the newer ships (which is what the kids ask about), especially as we really need two cabins now as a family of 5 with multiple teenagers

I tend to stick to the older ships, for now at least. We booked a 5 nighter over Christmas 2026 on Liberty. Booking two connecting interior rooms for my family of 4 came out to be cheaper than a single balcony. If I booked a DCL over Christmas?...Yikes!! lol

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We did that - plus as the kids are getting older it appeals to them more

Though we are now finding ourselves priced out of Royal as well, at least for the newer ships (which is what the kids ask about), especially as we really need two cabins now as a family of 5 with multiple teenagers

You can still do it…but you would have to cut down your Disney even more…

Which kinda explains the travel “conundrum” that is unfolding

Airlines are way down and slashing

Vegas is in DEEP doodoo

Cruiselines will aggressively price slash the minute things sputter (they have to)

…and then there’s Disney…which people assume out of habit to believe is better positioned to withstand trouble. But that was your father’s Disney. Watch it play

 

[Disstevefan1]

…who gave you permission to point out that elephant?

Nominee for the best post of 2025

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I tend to stick to the older ships, for now at least. We booked a 5 nighter over Christmas 2026 on Liberty. Booking two connecting interior rooms for my family of 4 came out to be cheaper than a single balcony. If I booked a DCL over Christmas?...Yikes!! lol

Dcl is not competitively priced for their fleet vs Royal. It simply is not.

Now they are expanding more than ever…100% due to the weakness they’re seeing surface in parks…and already having to use gimmicks to try and fill berths…

Interesting times

 

[Dranth]

Dcl is not competitively priced for their fleet vs Royal. It simply is not.

Now they are expanding more than ever…100% due to the weakness they’re seeing surface in parks…and already having to use gimmicks to try and fill berths…

Interesting times

The brand along that tiny fleet size with small boats allowed them to charge more. Even ignoring external economic issues, as they increase capacity, it will be interesting to see if they start to have trouble filling rooms.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Dcl is not competitively priced for their fleet vs Royal. It simply is not.

Add another elephant to the herd