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Looking into a family vacation at Disney World and realize that it is no longer affordable for middle class families - it is so expensive that only rich people (i.e. upper middle class and above) can afford it.
We were there week before last. We live in Florida, and due to our work, the old lady and I had only 4 days that we could both take off together. We have two kids. We went to Dizney because of convenience, not because of price.
To reinforce your point, here is the breakdown
3 nights at WDW Swan booked on Hotel.com 159 night
parking, resort fees, snacks etc at wdw swan 151
admission tickets to Epcot for four 380
admission to Magic Kingdom for four 404
Character breakfast at Magic Kingdom with tigger and pooh 150
Lunch at Magic Kingdom (counter svs tomorrowland) 48
Dinner at Magic Kingdom (counter svs frontierland) 48
misc snacks 26
Japanese Dining at Epcot 158
tacos and lunch 36
Chinese food 12
wine 36
snacks 25
sunglasses 32
Add it up
No we did not go because it was cheap, we went because it was convenient and because it remains a quality vacation.
Higher prices did not seem to be discouraging people from going to Magic Kingdom. Epcot was not as crowded as usual, in fact we found no lines for anything really but Magic Kingdom still had 1 to 2 hour lines at the good attractions. The parks remain clean, the employees helpful, the food good. All of course with a price, but the quality is still up to Disney standards.
I'm not a Disney fanatic I'm just struggling to find where people are getting that it costs $4,000 for a family of 4 for 4 days to Disney World. I just priced it out for a family of four two adults and kids ages 8 and 10 (10 would be adult for theme park tickets). A 4-night stay at a value resort, in this case the Disney All-Stars Movie resort, 5-day theme park tickets, and round trip airfare on Southwest came out to a grand total of $2600. Meanwhile, round-trip airfare to Paris, France for the same time frame for the same number of people came out to over $5500 on Expedia. That's just airfare. Yes, Disney has gotten very expensive but it is still cheaper than a lot of vacations people take.
We live in Florida and only go on residence discount days, we hotel outside of DW and bring in sandwiches in backpacks. But even then it is way too much money now, therefore a trip that we to make almost yearly has been something we have not done in over five years. Besides there are other attractions that are more bang for our buck.
Mr. Walt Disney would be rolling in his grave if he knew that average families would not be able to visit his vision. Truly sad that corp powers that be know that there are enough folks with enough money to disregard the rest.
They are a wonderful line, but like Disneyland and Disneyworld, you pay for what you get. That is ok, for those who can handle it and yes, I think a Disney cruise is a great vacation for a family as long as the kids are at an age they will: 1-enjoy the adventure and remember it and 2-not too old for the magic of Disney. It has been my experience, the best age for a Disney cruise is about 5-10.
Save up your money. Or take the fam elsewhere. There are many other alternatives significantly less expensive, and arguably, a better experience.
If you are heck bent on taking your kids to Disney for the sake of it being Disney, perhaps you should examine your values. Disney vacations are not an entitlement. People don't "deserve" Disney; they pay for it.
This is certainly true, but if a family can save for a Disney adventure it is something most kids will never forget. We felt lucky to live in So California where we were only a few minutes from Disneyland. Our kids got to go there many times. If they had never been to a Disney Park, no, they would not have been damaged for life but I am glad we were able to provide the experience for them. If it were today, I don't know if we could have.
and for those who say they did Europe as cheaply as 4 days at Disney, I don't know when that was, but no one would want to fly to Europe for only 4 days and with air at the price it is today, plus the exchange rate, there is no way you could do it for $4,000.
you are right, or lets say 5 is the youngest. If a family is going to splurge on something like that, you want your kids to take the memories with them. I still say, 5 to 10 is the best age.
We just went to Orlando this past spring break. I took my 14 year old, ( dad does not do Orlando, he is a national parks kind of guy ). We flew in from a major Canadian city, we stayed at a 5 star hotel for 7 nights at Universal. We ate at regular places like Hard Rock, Margaritaville, we bought very few t-shirts, some over priced items at Harry Potter, spent 2.5 days in the parks of our 3 day pass. We spent 2 afternoons at a golf resort. My son opted to spend another day having golf lessons rather than go to Disney at all. We took limos to golf, shopping ( only went shopping once at premium Outlets and bought 2 designer bags.) We ate at an expensive hotel restaurant on our last night. We went to Kennedy Space Centre on a bus tour. We did not eat in the parks as the food was horrendous at the food counters. We ate breakfast in our room. We had dinner room service on out first night as we were too tired to go out. We spent a lot of time around the pool. In the park, my teen mostly went to Hulk and Harry Potter. he did not even want to go to the other park.
I felt it was well worth it to spend 500 a night on a nice hotel on site. Actually when we checked in the upgraded us to an even nicer room, comp.
I spent well over 10 k and , as I said we did little shopping. I also rented a scooter when we were in the park, which was worth every penny.
In the parks I saw people of all economic groups, but it seemed overwhelmingly people with screaming children who were far to young to be there, and many people who looked stressed to be there. And I did hear many parents deny the kids the food and drinks they were asking for.
I am not a theme park person, and this was a once in a life time trip. I know people who live to go there and go more than once per year and I don't get it. We will go back to Orlando for the weather, the golf, the shopping and will make side trips to the beaches, and the other natural places such as the Everglades for wild life. However, that being said, we will go back in 2 years when Disney Springs is done and the new harry Potter London is done, for those attractions only.
As for the question posed by the OP, the trip can be done on various budgets. As I said I spent over 10k for 2 people for 7 nights , We did what we planned to do and I pretty much spent what I planned to, maybe 10 percent more. I had done my research but I was not into bringing a cooler of food from home etc. that is not a vacation for me. if I had to do this trip on a budget, I would not go. I saw some of the hotels around town that were in the travel books and no way would I stay at most of them. And staying on site is worth every penny. Universal is building a new on site hotel that is more family and budget- wise.
An Orlando family vacation is wonderful but kids can survive without it. I never went as a kid . Orlando and Florida are great and they know how to make your trip wonderful. And, yes, it is a much better deal than Europe, trust me.
I never went to Disney as a kid. I don't feel like I really missed much.
I've since been there numerous timesb because I have relatives in Florida.
At my kids current age they'd rather just stay in the pool all day, so on a multi day stay at one of the moderate resorts, we only went to one park.
I think what Disney does well are their themed resorts...if you are going to parks every day then it gets really expensive....and I think over $100 for the Magic Kingdom is past the point of absurdity.
Looking into a family vacation at Disney World and realize that it is no longer affordable for middle class families - it is so expensive that only rich people (i.e. upper middle class and above) can afford it.
Disney World and Disney Land and all other parks for pleasure
are only in business to make money, and as long as they
stay full the prices will stay high.
If they become overly crowded they will raise there prices even higher
or enlarge there property to make room for others.
If they fall behind in customers they will lower there prices.
That is business and common science, adjust to make more profit.
.
My wife and I went in 2009, for a week and had a great time. But, it is expensive. We paid, if I recall:
Hotel: $200 a night for 4 nights
Food: $80-$100 a day for 3 meals a day for two
Car: $50 a day
Tickets: $150 - I think around $75 per person
Miscellaneous: $20-$30 a day
Airfare: $1000 @ $500 per person
It adds up quickly.
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