A Disney World Story That's Realistic About The Costs!?

My wife and I (no kids, earn decent livings) have been religious “stay on property” people for as long as I can remember.

However, in each of the past two years, my family has planned WDW trips and insisted on staying in one of the condo resorts off of 192 that Wahoo Skipper mentioned. We ended up getting a 4 bedroom (full scale, really new/nice) condo for like $120 a night. And I will have to admit, staying off property wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And the resort we stayed at had all the amenities of a Disney resort including an awesome pool complex with a cool tiki bar.

My wife and I like to drink and end up at Epcot most nights. So for us, staying on property takes driving out of the equation. For the two aforementioned trips off property, we Uber’d it back to the condo a couple of the nights and it was only like $15.

So my point is if it is just my wife and I, we would almost certainly stay on property. However, now that I have stayed off property twice with a larger family group, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I agree with Yahoo Skipper, WDW does not make it possible for a larger family like ours (6) to stay at a WDW resort especially not on the monorail. To have 2 adults and 4 children sleep like humans you need 2 rooms or a family suite and average around $800.00 per night or more. For some reason they market to a family of 4. Hello WDW some people have more than 2 kids !

I thought about staying at their low cost rooms that have bad reviews mostly because of the age, and smell of the building and not to happy sleeping in a table bed or large chair maybe for a dog.. We have been going to WDW for about 12 years straight, mostly when I lived in Florida and last 10 living in NJ. I now stay at a Universal property and drive to WDW. Cabana Bay is only a few years old, sleeps 6 comfortably has 2 awesome pools with a lazy river,Starbucks, Jack La lane gym, bowling alley and other cool stuff and the price averages at $135.00 per night. Now you ask why Disney cannot do the same ? Simply put if you read the Washington Post story on how WDW caters to the wall street dads and top 10% . and leave the middle class out because they can.

They really could care less if you go or not because the park is packed every day of the week and they are making 10 Billion dollars. They forget that Walt Disney built these parks so that a family can enjoy time together and make memories. He must be rolling over in his grave. And yes they have a right to make money I get that but this is pure corporate greed. Maybe one day WDW will get a CEO that loves people more than money.......

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/06/12/how-them...38f75bd1f7

If staying on the monorail line is a concern, I'm not sure why you're worried about cost at all. You could do two rooms at a value resort for $300 for portions of the year. Family suites that sleep six at Art of Animation start at $312. It's all relative... I've spent more than that for two in Hawaii because, well, it's Hawaii.

Your last paragraph makes a lot of emotional points that imply Disney's desire to be profitable is immoral. You won't get a lot of sympathetic ears around here about that.

TomG said:

They really could care less if you go or not because the park is packed every day of the week and they are making 10 Billion dollars. They forget that Walt Disney built these parks so that a family can enjoy time together and make memories.

If the parks are packed, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that they're packed with families enjoying time together and making memories. Sounds like Walt's mission is accomplished.

Maybe your missing the point.....How many families are not going nor never will because of the high cost.. And 2 rooms at Art Amination is well over $700.00. I check prices more than I care too. You are preaching to the choir. I never said making a profit is not good. But as the line in Wall Street goes" How many Yachts can you water ski behind" . I am only saying they can still make BILLIONS and also make some hotels that are Affordable. Is that wrong ?? Gezzz do you guys have stock in Disney. Lighten up

I don't have stock in Disney. That said, how many families are not going is immaterial if the the parks and resorts are meeting or exceeding their numbers. If you think you can't afford to stay on property, then you're likely not part of the market Disney is catering to.

We well know as a fact that they are exceeding their numbers. I just can't agree with you that its immaterial on how many families are not going. There are countless number of kids that watch Disney shows and buy their toys and stuffed animals and would love to go there some day buy like I keep saying " most average working people can't afford it" because of the high cost. And WDW can still meet and exceed their numbers and make trillions, but wouldn't it be nice if they could use some of the thousand of acres to build new, clean, affordable rooms for everyone like Universal parks does ! is that so bad ? Am I asking to take food out of their mouths ????

Admissions alone brought in $5 billion, not including food and other in-park sales, which combined total an additional $5 billion. Don't feel so bad for WDW.

Listen I know and you know it won't happen, I am just throwing my 2 cents worth of thoughts out there. I still go there every year and will go again next year like I have for the last 14 years. Yeah my dream would to be able to let my kids stay on the monorail but its out of my pay scale. Its free to complain..!

The parks are already packed. Lowering the cost and putting more bodies in there doesn't sound like much fun for anyone.

Sure, everyone could do it, but then no one wants to.

Disney is a high-demand premium experience. Simple as that.

^^

How are the value resorts at Disney not affordable? You can get them for under $100 a night several times throughout the year. And they are just as clean as Universal's.

He's saying he wants resorts in a premium location on the monorail line to be "affordable". Which is mind-boggling to me.

I can't really afford to go to Europe right now. Does that mean the airlines owe it to me and other middle-class families to lower their fares so I can go?

What I saidis that for a family of 6 its not affordable. They rooms you mention are not always available through out the year and when they are the largest room is not $100.00. And if you like to sleep on a table bed or a over sized chair with a ottoman then go right ahead because that is whats being offered. Do your homework and read how the older resorts need a major overhaul. Many many guest complain of musty or Clorox smells. Needless to say they are 22 years old (1994). Again Cabana Bay at Universal was built in 2014. Believe me, whatever you guys thought of I did or tried. I am not new to this. I lived in Florida and was a resident pass holder for many years. I think I know enough about pricing and condition of the hotels.

I check the WDW sites weekly for deals. I just don't get it why there is such a defense out there for Disney like I am trying to kill Mickey Mouse or something. Are you rich? Do you have disposable income ?. Please don't everyone get so offended because I say whats on my mind and God for Bid I mention that WDW make it affordable. And if they did by some ungodly reason then guess what...you would all benefit from it....

Do you not think that $8000.00 for a family of 6 for a week is not MIND-BOGGLING ( Its very affordably for a couple with 1 or 2 kids but maybe you don't know because you don't have 4 kids but you have to get 2 rooms !!!!!!!!!!! And Bigboy for your information its cheaper to go to Europe for a week. And for clarification I did not say I wanted it to be affordable to be in a premium room on the monorail just be affordable to stay in the park.. I said it would be my dream for my kids.

Have a great night everyone

So what's the magic number where it isn't too expensive? $6000? $4000? 2000? That's going to be too expensive for someone. Should they be butt hurt too? Vacations are expensive. Some people can't afford certain vacations. How does that mean that Disney is doing something wrong? That's life.

You're right. I don't have 6 kids. I have 1. And if it's too expensive for the 3 of us to go on vacation somewhere, that's not the destination's fault.

Plenty of kids who played with Disney toys and watched their movies over and over will never get to go to Disney, my own kids included. Disney likely does not care and I really don't expect them to. Once they got past a certain age they lost interest anyway.

Economics 101. The more people in one's family, the more expensive life is.

I can't afford Disney right now because we've made other financial choices that prevent us from vacationing at Disney at this point in our lives. I have two kids, and when we get around to choosing to vacation at Disney, we will save up for it and go. If I had four kids, it would obviously be more of a financial stretch for us (because, you know, four is two more than two), but instead of blaming Disney for how it sets pricing and everyone on CoasterBuzz for offering logic and reason, I would perhaps cut spending on other things, or find other ways to add to my income, or both. Or not go to Disney.

I wonder if the Duggars complain that they can't afford to do things my family can because it's more expensive for their family of a hundred and twelve.

There are a thousand hotels in Orlando, and some of these are "affordable." I don't understand the complaint. You figure out how much you can spend on your vacation, and then you find the vacation that you can afford.

And at least you can afford to go to Disney. All I could afford this year was to visit Camelbeach water park with my buddy. It was a three hour drive, all in one day. He had two free tickets. I spent $60 on that trip, and I really couldn't even afford that, actually.

Last year I spent about $100 going to Knobebels, and no other park trip that year. The year before that, I spent $120 on my credit card on my one visit Hersheypark.

I keep looking for a better job than this part-time Walmart scam I am involved with now. I've been putting in applications everywhere. Soon...

Then I can complain about Disney costing too much, and having to stay at the value resorts when I go. :)

TomG said:
Do you not think that $8000.00 for a family of 6 for a week is not MIND-BOGGLING.

No, I don't. Walt Disney World is a premium experience. Disney bases its pricing on cold-hearted analysis of the numbers, not on what you think would be right or good.

I would love to dine at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse every night, but I can't afford it. I accept it and move on.

I don't think it's unreasonable either. I did a 7-night Disney cruise to Alaska for about $5k for three of us. It was absolutely worth every penny and something I'll never forget.

TomG said:

Maybe your missing the point.....How many families are not going nor never will because of the high cost.. And 2 rooms at Art Amination is well over $700.00. I check prices more than I care too.

Then you're doing it wrong. You only need one suite room at AoA because they sleep six (for real, I've been in one), and off-peak is absolutely $312, assuming no promotions or discounts.

Others have said it, but if the product is that good, and they're still overcrowded (I can't judge, I might be used to it), then maybe it isn't priced high enough. I can tell you as a local, 20 million visits to Magic Kingdom alone are not all 1-percenters. We've been over this a hundred times on CoasterBuzz... the price is what it is, and middle class people can certainly afford it if they budget and plan for it against other priorities.

Here's another offering that I think is outstanding, and does not devalue the base experience for others in any way:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/11/new-highway-in-the-s...ld-resort/

To me, the point isn't even whether there are affordable options available. The point is whether Disney is morally obligated to charge less than they can. The same question can be phrased, "Should Disney give money to poor people for no reason?"