The Spirited 8th Wonder (WDW's Future & You!)

[GoofGoof]

There are 1000s of other things to do in the United States other than go to Walt Disney World or the Disneyland Resort. So why bother going to any theme parks?

I live in the United States. I'm here literally all the time. If I moved to Tokyo for 3 months for work or something I would almost definitely visit the parks there. If I'm there for a week or 2 on vacation I'm not guaranteeing that I could find the time.

 

[GLaDOS]

I live in the United States. I'm here literally all the time.

You live everywhere in the USA worth seeing?

 

[BernardandBianca]

No, I haven't. Judging from the pictures and videos I've seen of the park, it looks spectacular. But it's still a theme park. There are roughly 1,000 other things I'd need to do in Tokyo and the surrounding environs before DisneySea even made the list.

Having been to Tokyo about a dozen times (some business, some vacation), my personal opinion is that you'd be missing a great opportunity to observe the local population - at least some of them. 1,000 other things to do in Tokyo? I doubt it. Yes, you shouldn't ignore the rest of Tokyo or surroundings (Kamakuri is one of my favorites), but if you are a Disney fan you really should spend at least one day at TDS and/or TDL, and preferably do both. They can be done in one day if all you're doing is hitting the highlights, but that day should be done. And just for fun, I'd stay in town and take the subway (train) to the parks - they're convenient, cheap, and have signs in English.

 

[GoofGoof]

You live everywhere in the USA worth seeing?

Yes. That's exactly what I was saying

 

[ChrisM]

There are 1000s of other things to do in the United States other than go to Walt Disney World or the Disneyland Resort. So why bother going to any theme parks?

Because I've done hundreds of other things in the States besides visiting a theme park. It's a beautiful country. Go see it.

Convenience is, of course, another factor. Visiting a theme park has become something of a multi-generational event with my young children. Flying 15 hours to Japan and factoring in jetlag with my children and assorted grandparents is a headache I'm going to avoid for a theme park.

 

[Travel Junkie]

I wouldn't even consider going to a Disney theme park were I in Tokyo and it has absolutely nothing to do with the expense.

I did spend a day in EuroDisney during a trip to Paris shortly after college, mostly as a lark and to tell a mildly amusing story playing the role of the ugly American. Yes, it was an absolutely gorgeous park and unique in many, many ways. But would I ever do it again or waste a day on an international trip by going to a Disney theme park? No. It's not enough of an incredibly different experience from the domestic parks to warrant the time, in my opinion.

Unless someone is a very frequent traveler to these locales (and I know some of you are), I question the sanity of anyone who would take a trip to Tokyo with the express purpose of going to a Disney resort.

It depends on how you look at your vacation. With all due respect to Central Florida, a trip to Orlando does not provide a great diversity of activities. Unless you venture outside the immediate area, going to the Orlando area is essentially a theme park vacation. Most of the surrounding area outside theme parks can be had in the majority of the U.S.

On the other hand going to Tokyo (or for that matter HK or Paris) provides an incredible amount of outside activities, with Disney parks one small part of it. Going to Tokyo and only doing Disney sounds silly. Going to Central Florida and only doing Disney (and/or Universal) sounds reasonable.

The way I look at it is I can either take a vacation and after a day in the parks I’m in Orlando or I can take a trip and after a day in the parks I’m in Tokyo, Paris, or Hong Kong. Where would you rather be?

 

[ChrisM]

I'm with you on that...but to each their own

Indeed.

I'm probably a bit of the exception amongst the denizens of these fora. I only visit theme parks every few years, have no particular affinity for Disney IPs, and would never consider making multiple trips to Disney parks within a year, purchasing an AP (unless I lived within an hour drive of a park), or (sacrebleu!) buying into DVC.

"Why are you here?! Acthung!" Feels like being made in the original Castle Wolfenstein.

 

[GrammieBee]

This is confusing. According to several posts, if you want to save money, you are doing the smart thing by going to Disney as cheaply as possible. You should stay off property, eat off property, buy souveniers off property,etc., etc., but according to other posts you are somehow of lesser quality if you shop at Wallmart. So you are smart if you save money on a Disney trip, but not smart if you save money at Wallmart.

The posts also make it seem if a person stays in a deluxe resort or DVC and is a Wallmart shopper, there is something really wrong with them and they are causing Disney's downfall.

To make things clear, we are not against saving money on a trip and drive to WDW. We do like to stay on property, but have also stayed off property, have stayed in a deluxe villa once (split the cost) and rarely shop in Wallmart. We also have never seen $100K in a year in our lifetime and don't expect we ever will.

 

[GoofGoof]

This is confusing. According to several posts, if you want to save money, you are doing the smart thing by going to Disney as cheaply as possible. You should stay off property, eat off property, buy souveniers off property,etc., etc., but according to other posts you are somehow of lesser quality if you shop at Wallmart. So you are smart if you save money on a Disney trip, but not smart if you save money at Wallmart.

The posts also make it seem if a person stays in a deluxe resort or DVC and is a Wallmart shopper, there is something really wrong with them and they are causing Disney's downfall.

To make things clear, we are not against saving money on a trip and drive to WDW. We do like to stay on property, but have also stayed off property, have stayed in a deluxe villa once (split the cost) and rarely shop in Wallmart. We also have never seen $100K in a year in our lifetime and don't expect we ever will.

Don't take it personally. It's just other people's opinions which are mostly generalizations. I shop in Walmart and I am a DVC owner. There are many things that actually are wrong with me, but not those 2 things

There is nothing wrong with visiting WDW on a budget and if you want to save a lot of money following the plan laid out by @Goofyernmost is a pretty good way to do it. There is also nothing wrong with spending more money to stay on property, eat on property and buy souvenirs. It's all personal preference. I look at it like people are laying out their opinions on how they visit, not telling you that their way is the only right way. For those who insist that their way is the only way, just ignore them.

The Walmart analogy is not really about shopping at Walmart. The Walmart business model was to move into an area and offer lower priced, but more generic goods than the local businesses they were bankrupting. In the case of WDW some people feel the park was Walmarted because they lessened the services at the resorts and turned places like Main Street into a giant gift shop selling generic Disney merchandise. It has nothing to do with saving money though. Everything at WDW costs more now than it did in the past so the low cost aspect of Walmart has not translated to WDW.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Plus if you stayed for a week you could buy a 7 day park ticket and your per day ticket price would be lower too. Using the 10 day non-expiring ticket makes sense for shorter stays, but once you get up to 5 to 7 days it's cheaper to buy the regular passes that expire.

Absolutely agree. The Non-expiration section drives the price up substantially. I, however, know I am not going to spend any more then 4 days at the parks, no matter how long I stretch the trip, so this way works well for me and saves me a number of rate increases along the way.

Spoiler

As much as I enjoy WDW, after the 4th day I am scouting out giant mouse traps. I must have some form of ADHD because I lose interest very quickly. I can take a day off and go back in with renewed vigor, but, continuous exposure to the same thing makes me lose my cherub like demeanor.

 

[GrammieBee]

Don't take it personally. It's just other people's opinions which are mostly generalizations. I shop in Walmart and I am a DVC owner. There are many things that actually are wrong with me, but not those 2 things

There is nothing wrong with visiting WDW on a budget and if you want to save a lot of money following the plan laid out by @Goofyernmost is a pretty good way to do it. There is also nothing wrong with spending more money to stay on property, eat on property and buy souvenirs. It's all personal preference. I look at it like people are laying out their opinions on how they visit, not telling you that their way is the only right way. For those who insist that their way is the only way, just ignore them.

The Walmart analogy is not really about shopping at Walmart. The Walmart business model was to move into an area and offer lower priced, but more generic goods than the local businesses they were bankrupting. In the case of WDW some people feel the park was Walmarted because they lessened the services at the resorts and turned places like Main Street into a giant gift shop selling generic Disney merchandise. It has nothing to do with saving money though. Everything at WDW costs more now than it did in the past so the low cost aspect of Walmart has not translated to WDW.

I think you missed my point, again. I was merely trying to point out, tongue in cheek, how a lot of the posts would make things seem to a casual reader. Maybe nobody casual reads these posts. I am, surprise, actually able to figure out for myself the indepth analysis. We do tend to see things from a different perspective. But thank you for wanting to help an old lady who obviously didn't understand. (Is this tongue in cheek? Maybe.)

 

[crispy]

This is confusing. According to several posts, if you want to save money, you are doing the smart thing by going to Disney as cheaply as possible. You should stay off property, eat off property, buy souveniers off property,etc., etc., but according to other posts you are somehow of lesser quality if you shop at Wallmart. So you are smart if you save money on a Disney trip, but not smart if you save money at Wallmart.

The posts also make it seem if a person stays in a deluxe resort or DVC and is a Wallmart shopper, there is something really wrong with them and they are causing Disney's downfall.

To make things clear, we are not against saving money on a trip and drive to WDW. We do like to stay on property, but have also stayed off property, have stayed in a deluxe villa once (split the cost) and rarely shop in Wallmart. We also have never seen $100K in a year in our lifetime and don't expect we ever will.

I will go one better - I shop at Goodwill and Aldi and save even more money than Walmart! I actually recently discovered the Goodwill Outlet and my life will never be the same. Bins of awesome stuff (and lots of crappy stuff) sold by the pound. I am about saving money whenever possible no matter if it's on a Disney trip or groceries because, well, it's just a smart thing to do. I have actually won awards for my cheapness (seriously, I won $500 this year for being cheap).

 

[GoofGoof]

I think you missed my point, again. I was merely trying to point out, tongue in cheek, how a lot of the posts would make things seem to a casual reader. Maybe nobody casual reads these posts. I am, surprise, actually able to figure out for myself the indepth analysis. We do tend to see things from a different perspective.

For the casual reader these threads can move a little fast. My only point is this: When people here talk about the walmarting of WDW they are not putting down people who shop at WalMart to save money. They are putting down Disney management for cheapening the product and making it more generic.

 

[lazyboy97o]

In general, people take issue with those who shop at Walmart because of their corporate practices, not the desire by customers to save money. It's that singular obsession to cut costs at the expense of everything. Not a good philosophy for a place that sells itself on non-tangible items likes experience, hospitality and customer service.

 

[ParentsOf4]

This is confusing. According to several posts, if you want to save money, you are doing the smart thing by going to Disney as cheaply as possible. You should stay off property, eat off property, buy souveniers off property,etc., etc., but according to other posts you are somehow of lesser quality if you shop at Wallmart. So you are smart if you save money on a Disney trip, but not smart if you save money at Wallmart.

Disney is the premiere brand when it comes to theme parks yet, in recent years, WDW's quality has declined while its prices have skyrocketed.

People are complaining that WDW charges Nordstrom level prices for what has become Walmart level quality.

 

[Cesar R M]

Staying offsite will give you cheaper rates than any discounted Disney room, and if you stay at one of the hotels by Downtown Disney you can walk to get the Disney transportation buses in less time than it would take at some of the larger resorts.

This was not a question of staying offsite vs staying onsite.. It was regarding CM discount.
My point is.. Not everyone as access to those CM discounts (which are "big" compared to the normal Disney branded discounts).

 

[lazyboy97o]

This was not a question of staying offsite vs staying onsite.. It was regarding CM discount.
My point is.. Not everyone as access to those CM discounts (which are "big" compared to the normal Disney branded discounts).

Those price points can be reached by looking offsite.

 

[Cesar R M]

True, but Disney usually offers room only discounts that can put you in a value resort for about a $100 per night (not cheap for a value, but certainly better than the hundreds per night for a deluxe). Staying off site is also on option, but since you live in another country, I understand why that wouldn't be the best option for you because you would either need to rent a car and pay parking fees or rely on hotel transportation which can sometimes be spotty.

I definitely understand that someone who must fly because of distance or who lives in another country ends up paying more for a trip, but my point was that many people are paying out the wazoo for WDW when there are options for saving. I can't always use my friend's CM discount, but I have still never paid anywhere near 5K for a trip much less the 8 to 10K figure that a lot of people throw around.

I helped a friend plan a trip for him and his wife last year, and he insisted that they needed the deluxe dining plan along with 3 or 4 tours. No matter how much I explained that they were going to be exhausted and ready to puke after day two or three he insisted on it. When they came home, he told me that they were exhausted and had a ton of dining credits leftover because, surprise, surprise, doing 4 long tours and trying to eat at a table service for every meal is almost impossible for a 7 day vacation especially if you actually want to ride anything and see the parks. They wasted probably 2K just because they thought they needed those things for a magical trip.

that actually happened to me, I had 16 points remaining in my deluxe.. all because they had added points for days we arrived later and points left on days we had dinner-shows for example.

Those price points can be reached by looking offsite.

why do people insist in "offsite" ?
Again, I'm not talking about offsite vs onsite. I'm saying about CM discounts.

 

[Cesar R M]

Indeed.

I'm probably a bit of the exception amongst the denizens of these fora. I only visit theme parks every few years, have no particular affinity for Disney IPs, and would never consider making multiple trips to Disney parks within a year, purchasing an AP (unless I lived within an hour drive of a park), or (sacrebleu!) buying into DVC.

"Why are you here?! Acthung!" Feels like being made in the original Castle Wolfenstein.

you get points for mentioning the the good old wolfeinstein game!

man, I remember playing that thing with my 386 40Mhz pc. Doom II was also the most awesome thing.. because of how huge was the game back then (that insane 12.25MB doom2.wad )

 

[R W B]

I don't have access to CM discounts. Where I think the most money can be saved is on meals, rooms and souvenirs. Staying offsite is a huge money saver even if you rent a car and pay for parking since you can eat a lot of meals off property.

Do a lot of people do this though, eating off site? Seems like a lot of time wasted to me. Leaving the park, waiting for a tram for the parking lot, driving to an off site eatery, driving back to the park, catching a team again, waiting in line for bags/tickets. Wayyy to much hassle for me.