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I remember when you could get into Disneyland for $1.00 and the rides were .10 cents to .35 cents, or you could buy a discount coupon book. The book coupons were marked A,B,C,D & E for the different popular rides and you could ride nearly all day or night for about $5.00. We used to take our dates there frequently.
Today our son, his wife and their 2 kids spend about $2500.00 for 3 days with costs of gas, food, rooms entry fees etc.
I remember those days as well, but they were really pretty much only the first year or so after they opened in 1955. They started the uphill climb about 1960. I think Disneyworld has always been quite a bit higher. Still yes, we could go and have a good time for very little. In fact I think it was about 1971 we took our daughter and 3 of her girlfriends there for daughter's 8th birthday. Today we families can barely take anyone for any reason to either park.
Let's just put it this way, I am glad we have past the stage of doing those theme parks. Heck I remember when Knotts Berry farm was free. The chicken dinner was about $1.25 and they had no rides, nothing like that. Between my jr and sr year in high school my boyfriend took me there twice, after we spent the day, frying ourselves at Huntington Beach.
I would add one thing to all this though: the idea of the national parks, the camping experience, the road trips, whatever are wonderful and can be very meaningful for families, but I do see the desire to take kids to the magic land. Every kid should be able to enjoy one childhood experience at a Disney Park, the unfortunate thing, at todays prices many kids never will.
Put in perspective, a four day Dismey experience would be a months salary for most middle class people.
It would only be fun, if you decided to go for it, save for it, do it, and don't scrimp or count pennies...."No, you already had ONE bottle of water today.".
If you can't afford to do it without worrying about it, don't do it. Nothing is more miserable than being on a vacation and you feel too broke to have fun.
only problem with that Stan, is: have you priced them? They are about twice as expensive as a mass marketed line and you still don't get the entire Disney experience. They are great though, I will add.
Put in perspective, a four day Dismey experience would be a months salary for most middle class people.
It would only be fun, if you decided to go for it, save for it, do it, and don't scrimp or count pennies...."No, you already had ONE bottle of water today.".
If you can't afford to do it without worrying about it, don't do it. Nothing is more miserable than being on a vacation and you feel too broke to have fun.
I agree, you don't want to be so broke that you are stressed while you are on vacation (especially in the happiest place on Earth). If you want to take a trip to Disney World you want to start saving early and make sure the kids will be old enough to remember it for many years. I wouldn't take anyone under the age of 10 and can't figure out why people take babies or toddlers there. We went as a family and saved for a year. We stayed in the "cheaper" hotels and ate as cheap as we could. There was plenty of credit card debt but it was worth it. This was in 1994 and I'm sure things were a bit cheaper then. If you can save and go without breaking the bank, then by all means go as Disney World is an amazing place. I went there at 30 and it was still fun.
However, if you can't save the money, take your kids on the cheaper vacations such as national parks or to more local amusement parks and zoos You can still get similar experiences as Disney World in these places. Even if you have to take cheap vacations it's much better than taking none at all. Your kids will forgive you for not taking them to Disney World.
Each park is separate, and each one basically takes a full day. There is Epcot, Magic Kingdom, The water park, the animal adventure... On and on, Disney is huge.
Why do you feel the need to see everything? When I go on vacation, I know there is no way I can see everything. I pick the things that are most important, and go there.
I still don't get the hype about Disneyland -it's a completely, plastic, false world-with the notable exception of Animal Kingdom. Still I'm grateful to the families to bring their brats there instead of having throngs of them destroying the ecosystems of the Yellowstone , Yosemite or Grand Canyon!
No one has mentioned Busch Gardens in tampa . I love that place . My husband and I went all the time when we lived in clearwater . We loved it . Take your kids there not that exspensive and they get to see all the animals . it is a wonderful time to be had.
I think that Disney is a commercial monster. The tickets are outrageous and I have to agree - completely overpriced.
Agree with the MOD, take them on a meaningful vacation. Go to a national park where they can interact with nature (canoe, fish, raft, swim, revel in the wonders that make this country) or some place where they can learn a bit of history - Gettysberg or D.C.
Can't you buy a multi day multi park Pass? - How much would that cost?
I visited Disney when I was in 3rd grade or maybe 1976. Good memories. I'd like to visit it as an adult but I have no kids or wife or girlfriend to go with. And I can stealth camp in my minivan to save hotel costs.
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