Need to vent about how expensive WDW is now

[MsOnceUponATime]

I just went to make a change on a BB offer I had on BWI for December. The Saturday night I added was not under the offer, and came in at $900 for the lowest category of room. I got unexpectedly outraged, lol. I said to the very nice, CM, "You know what? That is egregious pricing for a regular room. Just go ahead and cancel the whole thing, I will stay off-site".

I had already reached my limits with the CL pricing but I just found my new limits with standard room pricing. I know, it's 'resort view', but that is the lowest category and you could over look a bus station latticework divider or the parking lot, or roof. So let's not be precious about it. $900. Get outta here.

"precous about it". I love this!!!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Maybe I just think Disney is expensive, but it’s actually in line with any other vacation spot that includes some sort of vied for attraction.

Just pricing out Park City Utah for our March trip. It’s $460 a day for a lesson, lift ticket, and ski rental. For an adult that $460 is a half-day lesson, while for children, it includes a full day ski lesson. The lift ticket alone is $200-300/day.

That’s $2000 for one day of skiing, not including lodging, which means tacking on between $500 to $1500 a night. For a family of 4!! That’s $2500-$4k per day!!

Yikes. Makes Disney seem like peanuts. my two week Disney trip is probably about $10,000 for a family of four….

I feel so old. Back in my day, you could get xxxx for a quarter of the price!

You can still get great vacation deals. Just depends on where & what you want to spend your money on.

 

[mort1331]

That's pretty crazy pricing for skiing. We have some incredible spots in Canada - Banff, Blue Mountains, etc.

My daughter is going skiing with her school this week at Blue Mountain - the cost is $85 for a ski lesson, lift ticket, and all of her equipment rentals. Sure, they got a group rate. But if I went on my own it would only be about $125.

No offence Mamaofsix,,,,Blue does not compare to the hills out west. I live north of Toronto and know Blue and the others. I used to work for Lake Louise Skiing and ski all the west mountains. For a lift ticket at LL its $150 per day, for Whistler its over $230 per day. Yes Can$.
And yes I might be a ski snob,,lol,, but you cant compare the 2. Its like saying Canada's Wonderland is close to Disney for theming.
So can you go places less expensive,,,yes,,,but not the same

 

[mamaofsix]

No offence Mamaofsix,,,,Blue does not compare to the hills out west. I live north of Toronto and know Blue and the others. I used to work for Lake Louise Skiing and ski all the west mountains. For a lift ticket at LL its $150 per day, for Whistler its over $230 per day. Yes Can$.
And yes I might be a ski snob,,lol,, but you cant compare the 2. Its like saying Canada's Wonderland is close to Disney for theming.
So can you go places less expensive,,,yes,,,but not the same

Yes, we've been out west, too and I obviously understand the difference. I was simply giving an idea of the price of skiing. The PP was saying that it was costing $500+ per person, per day in Utah.

 

[40ariel]

We usually purchase 4 day tickets and eat at table service restaurants but in order to stay within budget we are doing 2 day park hopper plus tickets and only 3 table service meals on our future trip.
We are going to try some quick service restaurants we haven't tried before like Polite Pig, Blaze Pizza, Primo Piatto breakfast, and Reagle Eagle.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Wyoming

Yes, we've been out west, too and I obviously understand the difference. I was simply giving an idea of the price of skiing. The PP was saying that it was costing $500+ per person, per day in Utah.

It’s $460 for a ski lesson (9-3pm) for under age 14 plus ski gear and lift ticket…. And $368 for an adult half day lesson plus gear and lift ticket. That’s not including hotel/food.

We have decided to do ONE day lesson for 2 kids and DH. That’s almost $1300 for one day before /hotel. We can’t bear to do another day. The person on the phone said the lift ticket can be as high as $250, so might as well tag on the lesson and equipment!

Like I said, we are going to be in Salt Lake City anyway for a conference and we would never ever do a ski trip like this normally. Is banff super nice? It’s way more economical, and if kids love skiing we can head up to Canada

 

[mamaofsix]

It’s $460 for a ski lesson (9-3pm) for under age 14 plus ski gear and lift ticket…. And $368 for an adult half day lesson plus gear and lift ticket. That’s not including hotel/food.

We have decided to do ONE day lesson for 2 kids and DH. That’s almost $1300 for one day before /hotel. We can’t bear to do another day. The person on the phone said the lift ticket can be as high as $250, so might as well tag on the lesson and equipment!

Like I said, we are going to be in Salt Lake City anyway for a conference and we would never ever do a ski trip like this normally. Is banff super nice? It’s way more economical, and if kids love skiing we can head up to Canada

Banff is gorgeous - you would love it.

 

[mort1331]

It’s $460 for a ski lesson (9-3pm) for under age 14 plus ski gear and lift ticket…. And $368 for an adult half day lesson plus gear and lift ticket. That’s not including hotel/food.

We have decided to do ONE day lesson for 2 kids and DH. That’s almost $1300 for one day before /hotel. We can’t bear to do another day. The person on the phone said the lift ticket can be as high as $250, so might as well tag on the lesson and equipment!

Like I said, we are going to be in Salt Lake City anyway for a conference and we would never ever do a ski trip like this normally. Is banff super nice? It’s way more economical, and if kids love skiing we can head up to Canada

Banff and the area are amazing. And there are 3 hills you can ski there that are comparable to the rest of any big hills.
But for beginners, stick to Sunshine and Lake Louise. Sunshine is above treeline and is a sight to see, as well you ride a lift that takes you into a new province, British Columbia. So you ski in 2 provinces.

 

[kathy884]

No offence Mamaofsix,,,,Blue does not compare to the hills out west. I live north of Toronto and know Blue and the others. I used to work for Lake Louise Skiing and ski all the west mountains. For a lift ticket at LL its $150 per day, for Whistler its over $230 per day. Yes Can$.
And yes I might be a ski snob,,lol,, but you cant compare the 2. Its like saying Canada's Wonderland is close to Disney for theming.
So can you go places less expensive,,,yes,,,but not the same

Whistler we thought would always be such a cool place to ski. Love the setup. Everything is so close. We've only been out there in the summer. It's crazy though how expensive airfare is from the US to Canada. Unfortunately FYI when we've priced it out, those high airfares always killed what the other savings would have offered us and most of our ski trips have been to Colorado (very reasonable cost for us to fly there from where we live). And we to keep things in our budget have limited ski days to every other day when we go out for a week.

Those Epic passes have really changed how people ski too and made the resorts on those passes more crowded.

Thru the years price wise, I have found WDW and skiing very comparable price wise. Offsite and bus transport not ski in / ski out keep prices down. Every other day theme park and skiing, all kinds of things like that are things we've had to do to stay within our vacation budget lol and it's still been fun.

 

[mort1331]

Whistler we thought would always be such a cool place to ski. Love the setup. Everything is so close. We've only been out there in the summer. It's crazy though how expensive airfare is from the US to Canada. Unfortunately FYI when we've priced it out, those high airfares always killed what the other savings would have offered us and most of our ski trips have been to Colorado (very reasonable cost for us to fly there from where we live). And we to keep things in our budget have limited ski days to every other day when we go out for a week.

Those Epic passes have really changed how people ski too and made the resorts on those passes more crowded.

Thru the years price wise, I have found WDW and skiing very comparable price wise. Offsite and bus transport not ski in / ski out keep prices down. Every other day theme park and skiing, all kinds of things like that are things we've had to do to stay within our vacation budget lol and it's still been fun.

Yes Flights inside of Canada are even expensive fir us Canadians...sucks

 

[SL6827]

I did have a bad taste in my mouth after shelling out like $150-$200 each morning for Genie + and some ILL's for four days last week. But I knew I had it too do. We didn't rope drop but one day and it was a necessity.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe I just think Disney is expensive, but it’s actually in line with any other vacation spot that includes some sort of vied for attraction.

Just pricing out Park City Utah for our March trip. It’s $460 a day for a lesson, lift ticket, and ski rental. For an adult that $460 is a half-day lesson, while for children, it includes a full day ski lesson. The lift ticket alone is $200-300/day.

That’s $2000 for one day of skiing, not including lodging, which means tacking on between $500 to $1500 a night. For a family of 4!! That’s $2500-$4k per day!!

Yikes. Makes Disney seem like peanuts. my two week Disney trip is probably about $10,000 for a family of four….

I feel so old. Back in my day, you could get xxxx for a quarter of the price!

Part of that is Vail owns Park City. Vail as a brand charges out the nose and is usually not looked favorably upon by ski enthusiasts. As an aside ski lessons on the mountains especially well-known destinations will always be quite pricey. You're paying for convenience of ski equipment and location. We were just in Park City a few days ago and in addition to it being owned by Vail part of it is also having a ski lift that is right in the main street area that makes for added convenience (but also adds in costs).

Whenever we've gone to Salida, CO my husband, his sister and sometimes his mom if she's skiing will get equipment down off the mountain for a significant savings. They all own their own helmets and ski goggles.

If you're going in March then you're also dealing with Spring Break crowds.

Skiing isn't a cheap vacation overall and with the IKON and Epic Passes (and the others) out there most have come to the conclusion that overall has increased the ski prices all around but neither is it really comparable to a Disney trip as they aren't anywhere near the same type of vacation. Part of skiing also includes location limitations. For example when we drove outside of Park City you have Deer Valley resort which is amazing but also more of a self contained destination on a mountain where the roads may close down.

 

[Robber Baron]

I've said before and I'll say it again.

Many people spend one vacation a year in that one beach house, maybe a timeshare or a friends timeshare that they go to every year. Another weeks vacation is spent at some relatives house near some tourist area.

Then comes the Disney week and HOLY COW, it's expensive.

I spend no less on a weeks rental house at Hilton Head or the Outer Banks or Tahoe than I do for a hotel room at Disney.

I spend about the same, or more, for golf greens fees for a week as for Disney Park Hoppers.

The difference is a Park Hopper is good for me from park opening to closing every day I'm there, golf lasts 4 hours then I'm usually looking for somewhere else to spend money.

Other activity heavy vacations in tourist areas have pretty much kept pace with Disney's cost inflation.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I've said before and I'll say it again.

Many people spend one vacation a year in that one beach house, maybe a timeshare or a friends timeshare that they go to every year. Another weeks vacation is spent at some relatives house near some tourist area.

Then comes the Disney week and HOLY COW, it's expensive.

I spend no less on a weeks rental house at Hilton Head or the Outer Banks or Tahoe than I do for a hotel room at Disney.

I spend about the same, or more, for golf greens fees for a week as for Disney Park Hoppers.

The difference is a Park Hopper is good for me from park opening to closing every day I'm there, golf lasts 4 hours then I'm usually looking for somewhere else to spend money.

Other activity heavy vacations in tourist areas have pretty much kept pace with Disney's cost inflation.

The Jersey Shore prices are outrageous. We live 45-60 minutes from the shore and have never stayed a week. We do a night or two here and there but I refuse to pay 3k+++ for a week in a small condo. Then add in the boardwalk, food, carnival games and rides and you’re 6k in for the Jersey shore. I will go to an all inclusive for a week at those prices and see Crystal blue water. Or a week at Disney.

I know many people who do this trip every year and make comments of other people’s trips to all inclusive resorts and/or Disney and how much they much spend. It’s been pointed out how much they spend at the shore but they don’t see it.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Just wondering if views have changed in 6 months.

We got back from our two week west coast trip (spring break) and our two week Disney trip (June). They cost about the same. I think we like them both about the same as well!

The spring break trip was $$ bc of the two days ski lessons ($460pp x 2 people x 2 days) plus airfare (phl-lax-slc-den-phl). Nice to see so many places and friends/family. Disney was… Disney. I didn’t get to go on pandora or mine train this time around!

We do discuss selling one of our two dvc’s. Just don’t know which one to sell- the one that expires in 2042 but we prefer that location, or the one that’s 2060 expiration? We just don’t need that many points going forward….

 

[DanceDisney23]

We do discuss selling one of our two dvc’s. Just don’t know which one to sell- the one that expires in 2042 but we prefer that location, or the one that’s 2060 expiration? We just don’t need that many points going forward….

I would keep the one with the location you like better. 2042 is still a long time away, and you might not even want that contract by then either.

 

[varsityboyz]

25k for 10 nights is a biggie.

I’m not sure that really is relevant on the budget board, as clearly you had no budget.

I highly doubt that helps the OP.

Ouch! I've been going since 2003. It was expensive then and it's expensive now. The dreamy experience being sold is priceless, I guess. People suck it up!

 

[SteveH]

Our last trip to WDW was 2020, Disneyland 2019, and a good run of annual trips to WDW, now I don't see us returning. We'd planned to go for the 50th Anniversary October 2021, but found out we couldn't get into MK for the day, and that was it. With all the price gouging that I feel Disney is doing, I just can't see going back as I don't see the value of it.

After we bailed on the 50th we took our 1st trip to the Hawaiian Islands visiting Hawaiʻi and Maui, the next year Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Last year we went back to Maui for two weeks over Christmas and we're doing it again. Not fighting wait in line or wonder if we'll be able to do a certain ride is a greaet feeling. Waking up in paradise just can't be underrated.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Our last trip to WDW was 2020, Disneyland 2019, and a good run of annual trips to WDW, now I don't see us returning. We'd planned to go for the 50th Anniversary October 2021, but found out we couldn't get into MK for the day, and that was it. With all the price gouging that I feel Disney is doing, I just can't see going back as I don't see the value of it.

After we bailed on the 50th we took our 1st trip to the Hawaiian Islands visiting Hawaiʻi and Maui, the next year Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Last year we went back to Maui for two weeks over Christmas and we're doing it again. Not fighting wait in line or wonder if we'll be able to do a certain ride is a greaet feeling. Waking up in paradise just can't be underrated.

I was thinking HI sounded great so I could learn to surf. That was until last week when I read 42% of worldwide shark attacks occur in HI, mostly involving surfers.

I guess Aulani looks all the better now...

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Just wondering if views have changed in 6 months.

We got back from our two week west coast trip (spring break) and our two week Disney trip (June). They cost about the same. I think we like them both about the same as well!

The spring break trip was $$ bc of the two days ski lessons ($460pp x 2 people x 2 days) plus airfare (phl-lax-slc-den-phl). Nice to see so many places and friends/family. Disney was… Disney. I didn’t get to go on pandora or mine train this time around!

We do discuss selling one of our two dvc’s. Just don’t know which one to sell- the one that expires in 2042 but we prefer that location, or the one that’s 2060 expiration? We just don’t need that many points going forward….

My parents treated us to an on-property stay at WDW in April 2022 (I grew up going about once a year, but one MK day per trip, never staying on-property and never flying.) We ended up buying 220 points at the Poly later in 2022. That contract, from buying it in 2022 to selling it this year, got us a total of 22 nights on WDW property for less than $3,000 total. After selling that contract, we are now about to close on a third contract that will get us to 395 points across AKV (resale), BRV (resale), and OKW (direct). When we bought our initial 220 points, we figured we would spend around $10,000 per annum between dues, park tickets, food, airfare, Lyft, souvenirs, etc. for two adults and three boys. With the 395 points, we'll be a bit higher in total costs, but just due to the maintenance fees since we'll be in 1-2BRs now. In 2023, we saved some park ticket money by buying APs, but that led to booking a 10 day trip in 2023, another 9 day trip in 2024, and then booking a spontaneous 4 day trip in early 2024. So DVC and AP savings may cost you with extra trips and more DVC points.

We have since renewed the APs, so now we are going next month for 4 days, my wife goes in January 2025 I'll go in late-April 2025, and then a 10-day family trip in June 2025, and who knows what else 2025 will hold.

With DVC and APs, the cost makes WDW more affordable. It's the flights and added trips that add up for us.

On an unrelated note, our plan with buying more points was to buy enough to share our points with friends and family, which we were able to do on our trip this summer for the first time. It was an average-at-best experience, but we'll continue to offer them to friends and family.

If you're not sure about keeping or selling, I had a super easy renting out points we couldn't use through David's. They were gone within a week. Might give you some time to think about things without making a permanent decision.