What will be your breaking point? Resort fees?

[gap2368]

I don’t have a breaking point. I adjust to make the numbers work.

Me too but there will and have been less days at the park I might skip a few years of my AP and go to a closer theme park

 

[snappy]

We are long time DVC but have extended our trips with non DVC stays at various resorts. That won’t be happening any more. We will just use our DVC points every other year until we are ready to sell or points. We have enjoyed the Manhattan and Florida panhandle beach trips over the last 5-6 years way too much to drop extra money down the Disney bottomless pit any more. We had great Disney trips though and great family time. I am glad we did so while the value to us was there.

 

[Spencer Wright]

We are long time DVC but have extended our trips with non DVC stays at various resorts. That won’t be happening any more. We will just use our DVC points every other year until we are ready to sell or points. We have enjoyed the Manhattan and Florida panhandle beach trips over the last 5-6 years way too much to drop extra money down the Disney bottomless pit any more. We had great Disney trips though and great family time. I am glad we did so while the value to us was there.

Its the bottomless pit feeling which is problematic for me. I am guilty of playing into it of course, but for 2019 am probably looking into the FL Keys and a cruise, for what will probably be the same price as a WDW trip!

 

[Huff]

I am definitely in adjust mode. And have been for some time. Here are some of my adjustments:
Stopped going to Disneyland. Love it but the tickets are too expensive for just two parks,

We haven't been to Disneyland in 6 years due to rising costs. I will say that while there are only two parks, combined they have about 75% of the attractions packed into them that WDW has. Disneyland park itself has far more rides and attractions than Magic Kingdom. I'd love to go back but have found better deals at WDW although thats getting tougher each year.

 

[darrengs]

The main reason I see a resort fee in the future is the same reason why they added the parking fee, this keeps the advertised/booking rates lower as they don’t include the extra fees and they can buried in the fine print and charged at checkout.

 

[delux]

I do not rent a car because why add an extra expense? So I guess my breaking point is when the stop offering Magical Express from the Airport. Don't get me wrong, i have stayed off property and rented a car before and enjoyed my stay. But I prefer to NOT "Leave the Bubble" and I don't have any problem in using the busses for transportation. I would draw the line if I had to pay to get around.

 

[holden]

When our kids complain about going.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I have always felt the on site rooms are ridiculously overpriced for what you get. We refuse to stay onsite. I have stayed st amazing condos and houses for undrs $100/night. In September we are renting Wyndham Bonnet Creek for $80/night, it is an amazing resort and right there by the action.

 

[srpresto]

The parking fees and oddly the shampoo are what are putting me over the edge. I will probably still go to Disney, but will probably try to stay off site. I am staying 1 week at a moderate hotel this year, and last year for the same price I got airfare and a hotel for a week in Barcelona. And the food was better there. Next year I am going overseas again, I may take a pass on Disney. It is terrible when my Disney trips are as expensive as my European trips.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Up until about 10 years ago, we used to be a Disney only family. Then one year we balked at the prices and stayed at a resort in NM and were shocked at how much fun we had. Since then it has been a slow slide away from Disney. While other places and companies haved upped their game over the last 10 years, Disney seems to be ccontinuously asking for more money for less, whether it is the parks or cruise line or whatever. We still go Disney, but at this point they get 10-20% of our vacation dollars, a huge difference from 10 years ago. We also do a lot of booking with Disney and cancelling nowadays, also a recent phenomenon for us. We want to go... but don't want to also. I also am with the previous poster who pointed to the shampoo. Same here, the shampoo is just symbolic for me of the overall decline in the Disney experience. Kind of like sometimes when you ask people why they got divorced, they reply with some mundane and totally inconsequential reason that was ultimately symbolic of the entire failed relationship.

 

[PSUGuy]

The loss of the Adventurer's Club & Comedy Warehouse, Off Kilter, WS Players, the additions of resort parking fees, all could have been my Breaking Point but to paraphrase a previous poster, I tend to grab my ankles and just take it. The real breaking point will be if/when we check into Board Walk and stroll through the IG and feel nothing.

Bill From PA

 

[JohnnyB2]

The loss of the Adventurer's Club & Comedy Warehouse, Off Kilter, WS Players, the additions of resort parking fees, all could have been my Breaking Point but to paraphrase a previous poster, I tend to grab my ankles and just take it. The real breaking point will be if/when we check into Board Walk and stroll through the IG and feel nothing.

Bill From PA

AGREED ! Hopefully Star Wars & GOTG will keep us going back for years to come, but when do you say enough is enough.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We're already there. We don't go very often. I am doing a mother daughter trip with DD but I haven't been back since 2015. It's not so much the price but the value I'm getting. If we ever go back as a family of 4 we will most likely stay offsite and this is a big IF.

I can stay at an all inclusive resort for a week for around the same price as Disney BUT I'm getting much more value for my money. At Disney for a family of 4 I can go late August and do a value in two rooms (kids get their own room) with free QS DDP for around $4600. If I upgrade to the TS DDP I'm over 5K and I haven't even bought flights yet or included alcohol. I can go to the Caribbean and get a 4-5 star hotel with great amenities, flights, two rooms (kids get their own room), great restaurants, unlimited alcohol and about 3-4 excursions for around $4500.

IMO you can get much more value in hotels, food and drinks outside of WDW.

 

[maxiesmom]

I adjust now based on what I can afford. Adding fees will makes it no different. If I can only swing a value, I'm more than fine with that. If I have to watch what I eat, no big deal. I know what I can afford, and I make it work.

 

[happymommy]

My last trip, Disney screwed up our reservation royally, then "upgraded" us from TWO rooms connecting (guaranteed, it's a HA room category) at All Star Sports to ONE studio at the BWV. Half the space, one bathroom instead of two. They compensated monetarily, but that made no difference to me. So that was my last straw.

I just got an AP again that trip (in March), as I've always wanted to go to F&W and some other times that, until now, were difficult as a stay at home mom. Now that my youngest is in college, I'm still looking forward to those things, but I have the Dolphin booked in September for F&W. DH is lifetime platinum premier with SPG, so we'll stay at the Swan & Dolphin likely for the next year. Then I'll probably not go back for a while, once my AP runs out.

 

[Juliet25]

The parking fees have me pretty steamed. We drive every year, so an extra $140/week is a hard pill to swallow.

I heard on a DISunplugged podcast that Universal is constructing some budget family suites. I'm pretty sure our next trip to Orlando will be a Universal trip.

 

[sbd78]

I think I've already reached my breaking point as far as rack rates and the often unimpressive discounts Disney has been offering. For example, many of the more desirable resorts are excluded or have much lower discounts and places like CBR that are currently going through massive construction have better discounts. Deluxes are usually more than I will spend even with discounts (I'd be open to them if I found an AMAZING discount) and we've outgrown the values. (Family of 5, yes I know we could stay in a family suite but I'd rather upgrade to a moderate for way less money.) We were originally going to stay offsite at Windsor Hills this trip but ended up switching to onsite because we found a great deal on flights and a great deal for POR. Without a great deal, I would just stay offsite. (Or vacation elsewhere.) We usually travel during the higher seasons because of kid's school schedules.

 

[si-am]

My family has vacationed at Disney every single year-- sometimes twice a year, even-- since I was born (in '74-- yikes!) The first year we ever skipped was 2016 after 42 years of Disney vacations... And we're not going this year either, but we have a trip planned for '19.

So I'd still say we're still loyal, but the value has decreased so much that we're tapering off and actually feel okay with that. Which is kind of sad.

 

[mayshamp]

I agree with others who have stated that Disney is a unique product that can't be duplicated elsewhere. There are other theme parks and I enjoy them in their own right, but they are not comparable with the Disney experience. This is because Disney is more than a theme park composed of rides and attractions, it's a "feeling." Call it Disney Magic or whatever, there's just something in the air at Disney that just doesn't exist anywhere else. I feel like my family really connects with one another at Disney, that we are sort of our "best selves." We're truly happy when we're at Disney.

Continuously increased prices at rates well above inflation, reduced staff, more and more parties and special events taking away from regular park hours, the complete nonexistence of slow times anymore--I can overlook all of these without much problem. But for me the breaking point was being told I now have to pay to park my car at the resorts. It's really not about the money. I am careful with my money because I don't want to ever have to worry about money, but I can afford to pay a parking fee. It wouldn't have any effect on my overall budget; it's truly the principle. I often pay to park at other hotels and resorts, but I never had to at Disney and now I do. This has created a huge rift in that magical feeling I used to get from Disney. I wouldn't say it's entirely gone; I still have fun there. But since the parking fee I don't feel the same way about Disney.

I'm not entirely done with Disney. I have a few more trips planned for this year. I still plan to participate in some RunDisney races next year. But I'm not going to renew our APs. I'm not going to encourage any more friends and family members to come to Florida and visit Disney with me and my family. I'm not the "Disney cheerleader" I used to be (in fact I've become something of the opposite). I've taken the Disney AP magnet off my car. And I will NEVER pay for resort parking. This is the major factor that will limit the time I'll spend at Disney in the future.

My kids are old enough to appreciate European trips now, and I'm considering an African safari and an Alaskan cruise. I don't think we'll miss Disney too much. These trips probably won't feel the same as Disney did for us, but Disney just doesn't feel the same anymore. Without the magic it's just a bunch of rides.

You have described how I feel beautifully!

 

[tiredmom4]

I love Disney World. I have no breaking point. Doesn't matter how much or what they charge, I will always go. I know, they got me.