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Annual passes are the way to go. It’s the easiet and cheapest
For most of us, annual passes are useless because we have to find cheap flights and reasonably priced accommodation to get to Orlando in the first place. It's not possible to visit Disney ten times a year.
But I think maybe Disney should raise the prices even more aggressively to reduce the lines. There are plenty of people who are willing to pay 200-300 a day if they don't have to wait.
For $200/person to skip all the lines? We would probably go for that once a year. That said, there are already apps out there that can help you “optimize” your time. We spent 10 hours at Disneyland around Thanksgiving and went on 20+ rides/shows.
For $200/person to skip all the lines? We would probably go for that once a year. That said, there are already apps out there that can help you “optimize” your time. We spent 10 hours at Disneyland around Thanksgiving and went on 20+ rides/shows.
There are also a lot of tips and tricks that can reduce waiting time. I frequently go by myself, so I always ask if there's a single rider line. They move much faster. And if there are any parents who are with small children who won't go on a ride, they can use the Rider Switch feature. One parent waits with the child while the other goes on the ride, and when they're done, the parent that waited can go on the ride without waiting in line.
It's also helpful that Fast Passes are free at Disney, unlike Universal!
Disney is an experience that will always be priced accordingly. FWIW I did not visit Disney with my mom until I was 20 years old and working full time. My mother could not afford to take me as a child and it wasn't her obligation to do so.
My kids were lucky. My oldest went to Disney World in successive years, 2013 and 2014, and my youngest once in 2014. It was a blast. Even as an older cynical adult, Disney World is simply a magical place, especially with kids. People overall seem to be in a nicer mood, the employees are great. I had not one complaint, even spending as much as we did (close to 5k, for a family of four). That's a trip that I'd say was worth the money. Haven't been back since, but I'd love to go in the near future.
Here is the thing, in the next two years in Disneyland we will see big expansions that will draw people in. Disney World has one this year and again in 2021 (their fiftieth anniversary celebration.) I have heard a lot of belly-aching about this by Disney Park fans mind you, due to the prices of the annual pass. I'm whatever on it.
Disneyland Park gets Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, a HUGELY expensive expansion to an-used area of Disneyland (though it was at one point planned to be Discovery Bay which would turn into Discoverland in Disneyland Paris and the original Journey into Imagination) that is between Big Thunder Mountain Ranch and Critter Country. This opens this year. The Millennium Falcon ride is rumored to have cost about 400m-500m.
Disney California Adventure will get the rethemed Flik's Fun Flyers and King Triton's Carousel to become Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and Jessie's Critter Carousel for Pixar Pier and will get a highly awaited (Marvel) superhero area in 2020. The rides have not been confirmed for the Marvel area, but I imagine at D-23 (Disney's own con) we will hear new details.
Disney Hollywood Studios which has been in a state of rehab will see the same Galaxy's Edge expansion AND their own ride, Mickey's Runaway Railroad which will replace the Great Movie Ride. This new ride is a high tech screen based ride that will be "2 and a 1/2-D". No idea on costs, but I can tell you that it isn't cheap. I haven't heard any 2021 plans, yet...
Epcot will get two new rides, one new show and two new nighttime spectaculars over the next three years. In 2019 the park gets Epcot Forever which will last one year while the World Showcase Lagoon is changed over from Illuminations to their new spectacular debuting in Fall 2020. World Showcase gets two new attractions in France a Beauty & the Beast sing-a-long in the L'Impressions de France theater (it will not fully replace the IMAX movie, just switching off between the two during the day) and the Ratatouille ride. In 2021, the Universe of Energy is replaced by the Guardians of the Galaxy in a highly themed roller coaster.
Magic Kingdom will get a new ride in the Tron Light-cycle coaster in 2021. This new roller coaster goes into the back area over by the Tomorrowland Speedway, the Railroad and Space Mountain. This is to tie into the 2021 fiftieth anniversary.
I think Magic Mountain is not worth replacing Disneyland. Here is why, I am going to Magic Mountain in March. I have Six Flags Membership due to Phoenix's Wet & Wild being Six Flags owned now. Had I NOT gotten the Six Flags Membership, I would drop $99 a ticket. For about $15 more I can goto Disneyland or California Adventure. Knott's Berry Farm is cheaper. I haven't been to Knott's or Magic Mountain, but I'm not a Disney snob. I actually love amusement parks too, but Disney is its own thing. Disney has highly themed entertainment that only Universal in a way can rival. Amusement parks also have flat rides like Pendulums/Frisbees, Top Spins, Music Expresses, etc. that Disney and Universal wouldn't add since they try to aim more towards families than teenagers+.
For $200/person to skip all the lines? We would probably go for that once a year. That said, there are already apps out there that can help you “optimize” your time. We spent 10 hours at Disneyland around Thanksgiving and went on 20+ rides/shows.
Too bad you are not a fan of the universal studio. To stay in a premium universal resort or purchase an Express Pass, you can greatly cut the wait time.
I remember Disney resorts guests are allowed to enter the park one hour early? If you can get up early(I can't), maybe that helps too. The way others enjoy theme parks are too stressful for me.
By the way, why do some people frequent Disney? Do they add new rides every year? Suppose you have done all the rides available, why bother to go back if there's no new ride being added?
Disney is an experience that will always be priced accordingly. FWIW I did not visit Disney with my mom until I was 20 years old and working full time. My mother could not afford to take me as a child and it wasn't her obligation to do so.
My kids were lucky. My oldest went to Disney World in successive years, 2013 and 2014, and my youngest once in 2014. It was a blast. Even as an older cynical adult, Disney World is simply a magical place, especially with kids. People overall seem to be in a nicer mood, the employees are great. I had not one complaint, even spending as much as we did (close to 5k, for a family of four). That's a trip that I'd say was worth the money. Haven't been back since, but I'd love to go in the near future.
I went to Disney with my parents when I was 20 years. Unfortunately, none of us wanted to go back even though the experience wasn't bad. It was crowded(not as crowded as these days) but we loved the firework part. Going to Disney is like watching a movie for me, no reason to redo it.
There are also a lot of tips and tricks that can reduce waiting time. I frequently go by myself, so I always ask if there's a single rider line. They move much faster. And if there are any parents who are with small children who won't go on a ride, they can use the Rider Switch feature. One parent waits with the child while the other goes on the ride, and when they're done, the parent that waited can go on the ride without waiting in line.
It's also helpful that Fast Passes are free at Disney, unlike Universal!
Fast Passes are free at Disney, but when everybody has free Fast Passes, nobody has any real advantage.
Fast Passes are free at Disney, but when everybody has free Fast Passes, nobody has any real advantage.
We used the MaxPass, which was $15 extra. Instead of having to sign up for a FastPass ride at designated kiosks, you could sign up for rides from the app on your phone. We were signing up for the next FastPass ride while waiting in line for another ride.
My ex GF daughter was a performer in the Lion King show, so we got a discount on admission, but even at that, what they charge is really out of sight. How a family with kids can afford to go there often is hard to understand.
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