Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Peru: wildlife, gorgeous, credit card)

[mdovell]

The other thing is how much this displaces other medical care. People get cancer and heart diseases every day.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by mdovell

The other thing is how much this displaces other medical care. People get cancer and heart diseases every day.

And the stress of going through other medical treatments during covid.


I definitely think my experience fighting cancer has made covid restrictions less daunting, but there's absolutely no way I would have been able to manage if I was actively going through treatment right now.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

What's a budget trip to Disney from MA costs these days? I've heard $10K for a family of 4-5 but i'm sure it can be done for cheaper.

Oh yes, you can go cheaper. We stopped staying at the Disney hotel properties eventually when we had 3 kids and too many people for one room. There are plenty of places right outside the park that are a lot less. We stayed at one hotel that had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a pull-out sofa in the living area and a small kitchen where you could prepare and eat your own meals if you bought groceries. There was a Publix right nearby.

Staying at the Disney properties and eating in their restaurants really adds up.

[western mass and love it]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Oh yes, you can go cheaper. We stopped staying at the Disney hotel properties eventually when we had 3 kids and too many people for one room. There are plenty of places right outside the park that are a lot less. We stayed at one hotel that had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a pull-out sofa in the living area and a small kitchen where you could prepare and eat your own meals if you bought groceries. There was a Publix right nearby.

Staying at the Disney properties and eating in their restaurants really adds up.

Last time we went in 2012 We stayed at one of the fancier Disney properties with meals included and park passes with fast pass and we paid all in around $6500. There’s 4 of us and the whole time I kept thinking of all the places we could have gone for 1/2 the cost. And like so many others, my kids wanted to go to the pool more than anything.

We went to Universal Studios a 2 years ago in February when my son had a hockey tournament in Florida. It was great, no lines and weather in the 60’s. Which is freezing to most Floridians. My kids both enjoyed Universal much more than Disney.

[rach5]

Totally different thought: Since the beginning, it has been recognized that men are substantially more at risk of severe illness and death than women. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...748-7/fulltext Why are they not prioritized for vaccination (within the same priority group, say)? I have never seen it discussed as a possibility (probably not politically correct).

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

What's a budget trip to Disney from MA costs these days? I've heard $10K for a family of 4-5 but i'm sure it can be done for cheaper.

We are a family of 4 that went for 5 days in 2018 and I just looked at our expenses spreadsheet--flights, hotel, "extras" (e.g. Frozen party, Mickey's very merry xmas party, etc.), meal plan, golf cart rental because we stayed in one of the cabins on the camp ground, insurance for the trip, and park tickets totaled $7,852. Even with additional meals and things bought at the parks, I'm sure we came in under $10K.

I highly recommend working with a planner who knows Disney in and out. Ours was awesome and got all of our fast passes, got all of the dinner reservations we wanted at the restaurants that you have to book 6+ months out, and was a great resource for any questions I had.

Even though I am not a Disney person, my kids loved it. But they love amusement parks and we had actually planned a trip to Universal Studios this year before COVID happened and we had to cancel. Who knows when we'll get back there because I have a feeling post-COVID Disney and Universal will be swamped!

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I'd rather face the odds of death than have to suffer through Disneyworld. Not kidding.

I did a 4 day weekend Disney trip 30 years ago. Free airfare. Comp park passes. A steeply discounted Disney hotel on the monorail. Drink your way around the world at Epcot was fun. Smuggling rum into the Magic Kingdom and doing a Planters Punch ingredient scavenger hunt for the evening parade was fun. Pleasure Island where every night is New Years Eve was entertaining. It’s not how I would normally spend my time and discretionary income but I was entertained for a few days. I’d never dream of spending sticker price to do Disney.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

Even though I am not a Disney person, my kids loved it.

This pretty much sums it up. We have only been once, will probably take them one more time. The joy from the kids made it worthwhile for us. Also, it was fun to revisit some childhood favorites (haunted mansion).

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

Mickey's very merry xmas party

That Christmas party is totally worth it IMO. They really did a great job. The snow on Main Street was cool, as is Cinderella's castle turning into the Frozen castle. They do a good job customizing the parks for holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I did a 4 day weekend Disney trip 30 years ago. Free airfare. Comp park passes. A steeply discounted Disney hotel on the monorail. Drink your way around the world at Epcot was fun. Smuggling rum into the Magic Kingdom and doing a Planters Punch ingredient scavenger hunt for the evening parade was fun. Pleasure Island where every night is New Years Eve was entertaining. It’s not how I would normally spend my time and discretionary income but I was entertained for a few days. I’d never dream of spending sticker price to do Disney.

I enjoy it, but wouldn't go out of my way to plan a trip around it. I have family not too far Orlando and every 5 years we go down to celebrate my grandfather's birthday. As part of the whole event, we usually all do a day or two at Disney as a group and we have a ton of fun (drinking around the world). Sometimes we do Universal which is fun too (sneak in whisky to spike the butter beer). But really not something I could see spending more time and money doing. My girlfriend and I travel a lot (pandemic aside), all over the world, and most of the time we spend significantly less money than it would cost to spend the same amount of time on a Disney vacation. We went to Animal Kingdom last year and joked that when you factor in the park entrance fees, cost of food, and accommodations, our real safari in Tanzania was comparably priced to the safari ride in Animal Kingdom.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I enjoy it, but wouldn't go out of my way to plan a trip around it. I have family not too far Orlando and every 5 years we go down to celebrate my grandfather's birthday. As part of the whole event, we usually all do a day or two at Disney as a group and we have a ton of fun (drinking around the world). Sometimes we do Universal which is fun too (sneak in whisky to spike the butter beer). But really not something I could see spending more time and money doing. My girlfriend and I travel a lot (pandemic aside), all over the world, and most of the time we spend significantly less money than it would cost to spend the same amount of time on a Disney vacation. We went to Animal Kingdom last year and joked that when you factor in the park entrance fees, cost of food, and accommodations, our real safari in Tanzania was comparably priced to the safari ride in Animal Kingdom.

We can usually do 10 nights in Europe for ~$3,000 using FT points to get to London on the outbound. We canceled two trips since COVID that would have cost that or less. I cringe when I think of what families pay for Disney.