Seriously?

[SpectroMagician]

Maybe don't book a $1,200 a night hotel room if you are concerned about cost?

 

[jagmed]

Maybe don't book a $1,200 a night hotel room if you are concerned about cost?

“Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.”

 

[Ayla]

Those river cruises have always fascinated me. And then I look at the prices. So much more than any other cruise. It baffles me every time. LOL.

It was worth every single penny.

 

[Bocabear]

Just came back from a river cruise...from Switzerland to Amsterdam....which sounds amazing except the water levels were too low on sections of the river... they bussed us 6 hours from Basel to Koblenz Germany where we boarded a boat and sailed a couple hours to Dusseldorf (which was not even on the itinerary) for three days. We were docked a $20 Uber ride from town and missed the stops in Strasbourg, Heidelberg,and Cologne... They Bussed us an hour downriver to Cologne, then stranded about 20 of us there by having the return bus leave 30 minutes earlier than scheduled...we then had to find our own way back to Dusseldorf... then they rushed it to Amsterdam with no more stops. It was pretty disappointing... I will say this though, we have been on a few River Cruises, and aside from this mess , we have always had an amazing experience. River Cruises are not for everyone, but we love the intimate nature of them and being able to really explore the smaller towns and areas...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Same old story. Name me one thing that hasn't had an increase in price in your daily life. Tell me you haven't expected a raise in your pay over the years while the employer who employs you didn't raise their costs to afford you to stay employed. Yes Disney has increased their rates as have all the others. Why should Disney not turn a profit or expect income to assist in the expansion of their parks and add attractions. Construction costs have gone through the roof. Their other costs to operate have not remained the same either.
Bottom line is to go to a different resort, cut out PH, cut out dining plan if it's too costly for you. We all choose how expensive a trip we book might be and if its unaffordable then adjust your plans.

The ultimate red herring

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just came back from a river cruise...from Switzerland to Amsterdam....which sounds amazing except the water levels were too low on sections of the river... they bussed us 6 hours from Basel to Koblenz Germany where we boarded a boat and sailed a couple hours to Dusseldorf (which was not even on the itinerary) for three days. We were docked a $20 Uber ride from town and missed the stops in Strasbourg, Heidelberg,and Cologne... They Bussed us an hour downriver to Cologne, then stranded about 20 of us there by having the return bus leave 30 minutes earlier than scheduled...we then had to find our own way back to Dusseldorf... then they rushed it to Amsterdam with no more stops. It was pretty disappointing... I will say this though, we have been on a few River Cruises, and aside from this mess , we have always had an amazing experience. River Cruises are not for everyone, but we love the intimate nature of them and being able to really explore the smaller towns and areas...

That really sucks…

Sounds like your trip got derailed by record heat across Europe…which unfortunately is a very real thing

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney should put some of you folks on staff.

Some people vlog/pod for free in the hopes of getting a free annual pass…

That’s the cost of one human soul these days

 

[Skibum1970]

I just got back from island hopping three islands in Hawaii for two weeks. Including hotels, airfare, and most activities, it was less than this.

Hawaii is on our list but we keep pushing it off. I may have to just schedule it and go. Time in the airplane is the biggest deterrent. It's a solid nine hour flight plus connections.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The ultimate red herring

No red herring here. The reaction that he is surprised that prices have risen when all things around him have sky rocketed is classic. He is looking to book a deluxe resort with a PH and DDP, and is startled that he has to pay a price.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No red herring here. The reaction that he is surprised that prices have risen when all things around him have sky rocketed is classic. He is looking to book a deluxe resort with a PH and DDP, and is startled that he has to pay a price.

Oh I’m not advocating no rise in prices…just throwing out “the price of everything has gone up” is a cheap way to not look deeper into whether the price is appropriate for specific products.

That’s a larger discussion.

 

[DisneyRoy]

Hawaii is on our list but we keep pushing it off. I may have to just schedule it and go. Time in the airplane is the biggest deterrent. It's a solid nine hour flight plus connections.

We flew from the east coast. Heading there was only one layover in DFW and then an 8 hr flight from there. It was long but not terrible. Coming back we had two layovers in PHX and CLT. Not the best time of year to go with multiple layovers and the weather but it worked out.

 

[Ayla]

Hawaii is on our list but we keep pushing it off. I may have to just schedule it and go. Time in the airplane is the biggest deterrent. It's a solid nine hour flight plus connections.

Do it. We've been to Hawaii twice and it's so worth it. I'd skip the Big Island, though. lol

 

[mysto]

Do it. We've been to Hawaii twice and it's so worth it. I'd skip the Big Island, though. lol

Have to disagree about skipping big island. My last 2 trips have been big island, admittedly mostly for the massive ongoing eruption, but there's a ton of good stuff. You definitely have to dig a bit.

I know I would really like any euro river cruise if there's water. A backwater British canal tour would probably be my choice...

Far less than the "Seriously" price if that matters.

 

[Ayla]

Have to disagree about skipping big island. My last 2 trips have been big island, admittedly mostly for the massive ongoing eruption, but there's a ton of good stuff. You definitely have to dig a bit.

I know I would really like any euro river cruise if there's water. A backwater British canal tour would probably be my choice...

Far less than the "Seriously" price if that matters.

We split our 11 days between Hilo (including VNP) and Kona. We visited Maui in 2022, before the Lahaina fire. Nothing can compare to that. We found the BI to be charmless and would not return.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Oh I’m not advocating no rise in prices…just throwing out “the price of everything has gone up” is a cheap way to not look deeper into whether the price is appropriate for specific products.

That’s a larger discussion.

The appropriate costs for specific products are decided by who? Take a poll by the guests? We all want to pay out as less as we can. Overall the majority of people who cry and grumble about the change in prices have never owned a business, never had to meet a budget for payroll, never faced down a banker when trying to finance a major expansion build, never fought off competitors who try to eat into your business, pay taxes and other costs demanded by the state. Do they understand how money is invested and profits used to pay investors/ shareholders and on and on and on. They have absolutely no understanding of how a company must constantly struggle to remain solvent. Yet they look at Disney as if it never should make a dime off their parks. AND they expect better attractions and better dining, transportation and service with no increase of cost to them.
I fully agree that Disney has slipped up in many aspects of how they handle their guests and they could do better with providing service. Their policies in some instances keep guests away than encouraging them to book. Yes they could operate with less increases in what they charge for certain things, but they have a responsibility to make returns on their investments which they are getting from the paying guests who are willing to pay. All companies have a breaking point where the price they demand cannot exceed what the consumer is willing to pay. Disney has started to see some fluctuation of guests but not yet enough to make prices drop to where the low income guest will be happy.

 

[flynnibus]

'low income guests'

When Disney is charging $1200 A NIGHT for a tier of rooms that they literally have hundreds of...

At boardwalk the standard rate during Dec 9 week is over $1,700 a NIGHT.

For a freaking Marriott level hotel room.. Not a suite, not a penthouse, nothing exotic at all.. just proximity. (Edit: This 1700 rate was a club room - that's the first rate Disney's site offered...)

This isn't 'the poors being jealous' - that kind of rate is just insane.

 

[nickys]

While not disagreeing that it’s expensive, it still breaks down to 22783.5/13 days/3 people=$585 a day for lodging, food and entertainment. Given that you’re staying at one of the most expensive rooms on property when you think about it that way, it still sounds reasonable. It’s just you’re doing it for 13 days, most Americans can’t get a vacation that long and wouldn’t consider staying at WDW for that long. I did a 10 day trip once, and it was almost too long, my typical trip is only 6 nights (though I occasionally extend it by 1 or 2 days.) I get that you’re hopping the Atlantic, and agree 2 weeks is the right size trip for that long of a flight, but there is so much more to see and do in this country, WDW is a short drive away from some amazing beaches, the most storied Spaceport in human history, and additional theme parks.

Direct flights are available to New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Charlotte, Washington DC and Dallas and in addition to those cities having tourist things to do, they are also major airline hubs who will certainly have direct flights back to London. US domestic flights are considerably cheaper than international flights.

Not everyone from the UK lives in London.
And flights to the other airports are usually considerably more. Flying with a non-budget airline (and remember we’re flying for 8-9 hours, so a budget airline is only for some), the cost can be $1200+

I don't disagree with including s stopover elsewhere, but an “open jaw” ticket costs more than a return, plus you have the cost of those nights elsewhere anyway. Plus park tickets ate the same for 14 days as 10 days.

 

[nickys]

Just checking... the hotel alone is $18,049.50
Adding the tickets for $2170.74 brings you up to $ 20,220.24
Finally the dinning is $2563.26 the final for $22,783.50

A small amount of advice:
Buy tickets through a UK 3rd party website and get a 14 day magic ticket for £1,278 ($1,720.89). This also gives you memory maker and water park access.

Finally skip the dinning plan... do you really plan to spend $128.16 per day per person on average?

And they could also do a split stay, starting at a value or moderate resort, to bring costs down further.

 

[JIMINYCR]

'low income guests'

When Disney is charging $1200 A NIGHT for a tier of rooms that they literally have hundreds of...

At boardwalk the standard rate during Dec 9 week is over $1,700 a NIGHT.

For a freaking Marriott level hotel room.. Not a suite, not a penthouse, nothing exotic at all.. just proximity. (Edit: This 1700 rate was a club room - that's the first rate Disney's site offered...)

This isn't 'the poors being jealous' - that kind of rate is just insane.

No . I never said anything about jealousy so don’t put words in my mouth to try to make your point. The low income guests do not regularly book Deluxe resorts, and PH and DDP. They go less expensive as possible. You are also paying for Deluxe pricing for location close to the parks for convenient access. Disney makes it clear that pricing for resorts is higher for that convenience as well as amenities, varying resort atmosphere and other things. And my post was regarding how many guests who bi&@“ about prices have little or no understanding of how Disney or any company runs a business and the complexities of doing so. Taking a Disney vacation has always been a major expense no matter what year you went. There are ways to do it cheaper than going all out and still enjoy what the parks offer.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The appropriate costs for specific products are decided by who? Take a poll by the guests? We all want to pay out as less as we can. Overall the majority of people who cry and grumble about the change in prices have never owned a business, never had to meet a budget for payroll, never faced down a banker when trying to finance a major expansion build, never fought off competitors who try to eat into your business, pay taxes and other costs demanded by the state. Do they understand how money is invested and profits used to pay investors/ shareholders and on and on and on. They have absolutely no understanding of how a company must constantly struggle to remain solvent. Yet they look at Disney as if it never should make a dime off their parks. AND they expect better attractions and better dining, transportation and service with no increase of cost to them.
I fully agree that Disney has slipped up in many aspects of how they handle their guests and they could do better with providing service. Their policies in some instances keep guests away than encouraging them to book. Yes they could operate with less increases in what they charge for certain things, but they have a responsibility to make returns on their investments which they are getting from the paying guests who are willing to pay. All companies have a breaking point where the price they demand cannot exceed what the consumer is willing to pay. Disney has started to see some fluctuation of guests but not yet enough to make prices drop to where the low income guest will be happy.

No . I never said anything about jealousy so don’t put words in my mouth to try to make your point. The low income guests do not regularly book Deluxe resorts, and PH and DDP. They go less expensive as possible. You are also paying for Deluxe pricing for location close to the parks for convenient access. Disney makes it clear that pricing for resorts is higher for that convenience as well as amenities, varying resort atmosphere and other things. And my post was regarding how many guests who bi&@“ about prices have little or no understanding of how Disney or any company runs a business and the complexities of doing so. Taking a Disney vacation has always been a major expense no matter what year you went. There are ways to do it cheaper than going all out and still enjoy what the parks offer.

Is your goal to spout the chapters of basic microeconomics we all had decade ago?

Yeah…got it…making money is the goal.

However using the way Disney has run its ops of late as the textbook example may be a bridge too far. There are weaknesses in their tactics In this “record economy” and it’s not yielding returns on the bottom line at all. One of the worst performing stocks on the Dow 30 for a decade.

Maybe your heroes aren’t doing that well afterall?