Time to pay the piper.

[DarthVader]

Well,

My April vacation is fast approaching yay, but now I need to start sending money over to Disney, boo. At this time, it hits home at how expensive Disney vacations can be. I take responsibilty for some of that extravagant price, as a family we decided to stay ay the Poly 3 years ago. With that, I'm still staggering at the spending over 8,000 for a Disney vacation. I've been saving up for the past few years, but one thing is for sure, this will probably be the last time we stay on property. If we do opt for a Disney vacation and stay on property in the future, it will definitely be at a value resort.

Nonetheless the kids, my wife and I are all looking forward to the trip

 

[eliza61nyc]

So this is just a general statement on how I view vacations.

1) Very few are cheap. I rented a beach house at Ocean city NJ last year. the house alone was 3K AND I then had to buy beach tags to get onto the beach. all told I kicked out 5K for the entire week and basically all we did was go swimming and bike ride. So when folks talk about how expensive a wdw vacation is, I always want to say, where are the cheap ones.

2) value is very subjective. My dh and I went to Bora Bora. it cost us about 8K (including air) and after 3 days we started calling it "Boring, Boring". while it was absolutely gorgeous and I mean drop dead, national geographic gorgeous, it just wasn't much to do. so from my side of the equation, we much rather have been at the Poly.

3) enjoy yourself. then the money is well spent. Can a disney vacation be every year? maybe not. I have a dvc membership and it still can hit the wallet but I always end up having an awesome time so that makes it worth the money I spent.

 

[SMS55]

If you're planning to make only one trip to Disney in your lifetime, then I guess yeah go all out. The problem is it can be overpriced. There are many ways to save and still have lots of fun. We usually just stay at a value resort. We only use the room to shower and sleep. If the parks are open we're usually there. We also make sandwiches and go off site for meals sometimes. We drive so we have the option of driving off. Somethings are seriously overpriced at Disney and not worth the extra money.

 

[ELG13]

Enjoy it!!! We spolied ourselves last year at ft.wilderness for a week and although the price tag was rough to swallow it was worth it. The kids still talk about it, and we will probably always see it as one of our best family trips. I'm sure the time will come when we shell out more for a fancier hotel but it won't be for a while, which I think makes it more enjoyable!!!!!! This year it's value or off property...who knows next year. It's all about the memories!!!!
Fair warning though....it's gonna be extra hard leaving when you have such an amazing trip planned for so long! So might as well start planning the next one on the flight home !

 

[Roanlady]

A lot of families do WDW as a whole package, resort, parks and air travel, and for several days. I compare this to our local Cedar Point in Ohio, their prices also just increased. Hotels around the area are high too, and most visits are only one or two days. I myself would rather invest in a Disney vacation.

 

[ELG13]

We live in the Florida panhandle and a popular vacation here is getting a beach house for a week. Just the house alone is several thousand dollars. Then you have to get groceries and if you go out to eat it's expensive on the island....and any other extras you may get. Without airfare for us, we priced it at $4500 for a week. And that's a vacation that's 15 minutes down the road. So it's all relative. I'd rather spend that on a Disney vacation...some people would rather do the beach. When the kids get older that's probably what we will do. But for now it's Disney.

 

[21stamps]

We love the Poly and I think that is not a bad price. We spent $6000 when it was just my wife and I for a week at the Poly in 2011 and then $8500 for a week at GF in 2015. I don't look at the cost too much when we go on vacation. It is for fun and a chance to get away so we save appropriately and plan to spoil ourselves.

We also prefer to stay on property either on the monorail loop or at a moderate resort (as you can see based on my signature). We tried to stay at one of the DS Hotel and was greatly disappointment so won't do that again.

GO.....HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ditto to this.

Your price isn’t that bad, comparatively. Trust me, I’m not saying it’s inexpensive, just that 8k for 4 at Poly is better than I’ve seen for the past 2 years.

The main thing is, if you’re stressing about the price- switch NOW!! If you’re already hesitant it may put more pressure on your time there.. meaning small disappointments may be amplified because you’re thinking about the cost.

If you don’t switch, grumble now.. then don’t look at this thread again, and don’t think about it again. Be confident with the decision, Poly is an amazing resort- ENJOY and HAVE FUN

 

[mmelka]

Enjoy! Even staying off property, with my wife and I only, it was near $4k for our last trip, and that was saving money on splitting a VRBO with her family, using companion fares on airfare, and having my wife's family buy part of her park hopper. We got to stay for 10 days, and we didn't say no to much once inside the park (food, drink). But like others have said, it is an experience! We loved walking through Poly, so I can only imagine getting to stay there. Please go to Trader Sam's for me! The one spot I didn't get to hit on my last vacation.

 

[Jamie77]

I've never found dollar-to-experience value in the monorail resorts or even the boardwalk area resorts. I found a sweet spot at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Old Key West, and Saratoga Springs. Much better bang for your buck without downgrading to a moderate IMO.

I have a hard time staying anywhere other than the Wilderness Lodge. I've been staying at other resorts these past few years and I always end up asking myself why I didn't book the WL. I'm looking to stay there again during WDW's 50th anniversary. This will give me some time to save while I wait for all the new stuff to drop.