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

[Basil of Baker Street]

I still enjoy the planning. It gets me in the Disney mood. I've slowed down on rope dropping and go go go all day though. My days usually don't start till have 2 now.

 

[Nubs70]

Just stating a pricing fact, I will be heading to a Dominican all inclusive the last week of October.

I priced out the same number of days at Pop, park tickets, and DDP.

WDW was 2x the price than the all inclusive and WDW price did not include flights.

 

[LittleBuford]

Just stating a pricing fact, I will be heading to a Dominican all inclusive the last week of October.

I priced out the same number of days at Pop, park tickets, and DDP.

WDW was 2x the price than the all inclusive and WDW price did not include flights.

I don't really understand the point of such comparisons. The two experiences are entirely dissimilar. The deal you found may be a better value (depending on one's perspective), but you're not getting remotely the same sort of product.

 

[Bocabear]

I still enjoy the planning. It gets me in the Disney mood. I've slowed down on rope dropping and go go go all day though. My days usually don't start till have 2 now.

Oh! You're the one who enjoys all the planning....lol It did use to be fun to plan when you didn't necessarily HAVE to plan every moment... Now it feels like a job rather than a vacation....and being in the parks trying to make all your scheduled rides and meals feels like a military campaign instead of a relaxing fun vacation.
Before the expanded fastpass and pay for play reservation systems I used to be able to run up and do all four parks on an impromptu trip and hit every big ride in all 4 parks in one day... Yes that was about 15 years ago...now you are lucky if you can get on a couple rides in each park, all the restaurants always seem completely booked... parks feel mobbed... meanwhile they keep saying the crowd numbers are down.....so what are they doing that is making it feel mobbed when the numbers are supposedly down??

 

[wannabeBelle]

I don't really understand the point of such comparisons. The two experiences are entirely dissimilar. The deal you found may be a better value (depending on one's perspective), but you're not getting remotely the same sort of product.

Correct but this is a family vacation and probably the only one they will take all year. Most people dont have the time and/or the money to do multiple trips like that in a year. So will this take away from people planning a Disney vacation? Potentially. What happens if they like the All Inclusive vacation better? Or the Cruise? Or the other Theme Park? Or anything else? This does threaten Disney getting people to spend money on their product. Certainly other vacations are different, that isnt in question. What happens if they start looking at other vacation options? Will their kids have the same affinity for the brand that we do? Their happy family memories may not involve Disney. This could impact sales on resorts, parks, food, merch, etc. for a very long time.

 

[Nubs70]

I don't really understand the point of such comparisons. The two experiences are entirely dissimilar. The deal you found may be a better value (depending on one's perspective), but you're not getting remotely the same sort of product.

5k vs 2.5k

 

[LittleBuford]

What happens if they start looking at other vacation options?

They should be doing that already! Many people here act as if Disney's repeat customers are trapped in some mindless cycle until they see the light and discover that there are other/better options out there. Perhaps that's true for some, but I tend to think consumers (particularly today) are better informed than that.

Disney is a choice, and no-one should be going there unless they consider it absolutely worth their time, money, and energy.

 

[LittleBuford]

5k vs 2.5k

Yes. Different products cost different things.

 

[Disney Analyst]

They should be doing that already! Many people here act as if Disney's repeat customers are trapped in some mindless cycle until they see the light and discover that there are other/better options out there. Perhaps that's true for some, but I tend to think consumers (particularly today) are better informed than that.

Disney is a choice, and no-one should be going there unless they consider it absolutely worth their time, money, and energy.

Exactly. We rotate through things. Disney is definitely expensive, but so is our 2 week Japan trip later this year. Or London next year for a wedding.

 

[LittleBuford]

Exactly. We rotate through things. Disney is definitely expensive, but so is our 2 week Japan trip later this year. Or London next year for a wedding.

Other options can be just as expensive, yes, though many are cheaper. My main point is that the perceived value of a product goes beyond questions of price; it's also (and I would say more so) a matter of what one is actually looking for. An all-inclusive holiday in the Dominican Republic is an alternative to Disney, not a substitute for it. If someone is equally open to both options, then of course they'd do well to choose the cheaper, but that kind of approach makes little sense if it's specifically WDW you want.

 

[Miss Bella]

I fully agree, the discounts aren’t great and the rack rates are outrageous. Over $250/night after tax to stay at Pop in January at the “discounted” rate. That’s saving you a whopping $13/night.

So instead of paying that we’ll either stay off property or rent DVC points. The sky may not be falling just yet, but this simply isn’t sustainable as many have pointed out.

I looked at the weekend after our cruise and Pop was 299 before tax. Who does that? POR was 424. I think the best value I saw was CSR for 306. I use the term value as a joke. The last time I stayed at CSR was June of 2019 and paid 119.00 a night.

 

[Miss Bella]

Exactly. We rotate through things. Disney is definitely expensive, but so is our 2 week Japan trip later this year. Or London next year for a wedding.

I spent 2 weeks in Japan this year and was probably the cheapest vacation I've ever done. I did use hotel points for about half the stay, but food and groceries were cheap.

 

[Miss Bella]

Correct but this is a family vacation and probably the only one they will take all year. Most people dont have the time and/or the money to do multiple trips like that in a year. So will this take away from people planning a Disney vacation? Potentially. What happens if they like the All Inclusive vacation better? Or the Cruise? Or the other Theme Park? Or anything else? This does threaten Disney getting people to spend money on their product. Certainly other vacations are different, that isnt in question. What happens if they start looking at other vacation options? Will their kids have the same affinity for the brand that we do? Their happy family memories may not involve Disney. This could impact sales on resorts, parks, food, merch, etc. for a very long time.

If you have a limited amount of money for vacations every year like most of us do you want to make the most of it. I can't imagine doing WDW every year and nothing else. I hope parents don't limit their kids exposure to the world to just WDW.

 

[Biff215]

If you have a limited amount of money for vacations every year like most of us do you want to make the most of it. I can't imagine doing WDW every year and nothing else. I hope parents don't limit their kids exposure to the world to just WDW.

We were once caught in that trap, twice a year every year to WDW. But you know what? We saw value in it and had great trips so we always looked forward to going back. We bought DVC in 2006, always had AP’s, and continued this through 2018.

Then the price hikes hit along with FastPass+ and other changes that removed value and added cost. This forced us elsewhere…cruising, Hawaii, Alaska, Europe. Honestly the best thing that could have happened to us as our kids finally saw the world outside of Epcot, lol.

Still a little sad that our WDW trips are now typically 3+ years apart as there’s a lot of memories there. Even made the hard decision to sell our DVC while it still had value. Still thankful for all the great trips we had before things really went sideways and hope to return here and there just to get a taste of that nostalgia. We’ll have to see if our kids feel the need to do the same with their families one day.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I spent 2 weeks in Japan this year and was probably the cheapest vacation I've ever done. I did use hotel points for about half the stay, but food and groceries were cheap.

I fear we have spent a lot on hotels

 

[Bocabear]

I looked at the weekend after our cruise and Pop was 299 before tax. Who does that? POR was 424. I think the best value I saw was CSR for 306. I use the term value as a joke. The last time I stayed at CSR was June of 2019 and paid 119.00 a night.

and those were all supposed to be the value options...CSR was the original "value Option" for the WDW resort...
our very very nice Marriott in Munich for Oktoberfest was cheaper than POR...lol

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I spent 2 weeks in Japan this year and was probably the cheapest vacation I've ever done. I did use hotel points for about half the stay, but food and groceries were cheap.

A lot of international destinations can be pretty affordable - once you get there

We definitely want to do Japan but the cost of flights for 5 people to get there from the East Coast and when have to fit that lengthy of a trip into the school schedules, etc - every time we have looked into the cost of the flights just makes the entire trip a real challenge for us.

On the flip side, we are doing Paris next year as we found affordable flights during a school vacation week so could make it work

 

[Andrew C]

I fear we have spent a lot on hotels

Also, it’s the flights that get ya! Lol

We are trying to get there for summer 2027. Family of 4.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

My 86 year old mother in-law is doing great for her age. She still lives independently and drives. WDW no way. She did go on a cruise last year. I think the last time she went to Disneyland she was in her late 60's and just did it for the grandkids.

I recall seeing a lot of elderly people walking around the parks a decade ago but that seems to have decreased over time, makes me wonder if cheap APs made it a nice “walking place” that’s just not affordable with higher prices now.

They should be doing that already! Many people here act as if Disney's repeat customers are trapped in some mindless cycle until they see the light and discover that there are other/better options out there. Perhaps that's true for some, but I tend to think consumers (particularly today) are better informed than that.

I think the difference for us is Disney used to be our “weekend escape”, almost like a weekend cottage you’d escape too, our other trips were our “real” vacations. We used to average 9-10 weekends at DL per year, it wasn’t a vacation as much as just getting out of town for the weekend. Back when it was a grand a year for passes and a hundred bucks a night for hotels that was feasible, now that’s it’s a couple grand for passes and $250 a night for a hotel it just doesn’t make sense. For what that quick escape weekend now costs we can go to nearly any city on the continent, it’s opened up many more options and as a result we haven’t been to DL in 9 months.

Disney was our easy getaway, unfortunately that’s not the case anymore.

 

[Nubs70]

Yes. Different products cost different things.

Yet the same on the basic level.

8 day vacation.