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Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: jtwriter on April 06, 2018, 02:18:27 PM

Title: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: jtwriter on April 06, 2018, 02:18:27 PM
And plan to do so again:
Quote
the experience was beyond worth it, and one we'll definitely save for again.

On the other hand, the kids will almost certainly have the Mustachian experience of paying their own college tuition. /s

https://www.romper.com/p/how-much-a-disney-world-trip-really-costs-for-a-family-of-four-8629240
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: VaCPA on April 06, 2018, 02:23:18 PM
Wife and I have begun discussing our future Disney trip, still 2-3 years away. We're a family of 5. It physically pains me to think about what it will cost. That was a fun read seeing it broken out in great detail.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: sokoloff on April 06, 2018, 03:08:28 PM
Quote
We saved by packing breakfast and snacks because $6 for a soft pretzel every time one of the kids got hungry was not in the budget.

I mean, sure, good move there, but...
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: jinga nation on April 06, 2018, 03:21:32 PM
the day will come in a couple of years when my kids realize Disney Springs is not Disney World and they want to visit the real thing.

as a Mustachian, the cost is not an issue. It's not the loss of productivity or the waiting in endless queues after shelling out hundreds of dollars. It's the thought of how miserable we will all be. That the optimism of my kids will turn into frustration and tiredness and being bored, which will then annoy their already exhausted-from-boredom parents who'll be thinking "we should have just gone to Wekiva springs and had more fun in nature".

we live only 90-100 minutes from DinkyWorld and have no desire to enter that Sneaky Smiling Rat's swamp.

But that day will come, we will soldier through it, and we'll live. It's a one-time deal we'll be offering our kids, who have been understanding so far.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MilesTeg on April 06, 2018, 03:31:14 PM
Upper middle class family of four does upper middle class vacation.

THE HORROR!!!!!
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MountainFlower on April 06, 2018, 03:32:22 PM
Good lord, that is crazy.  We just got back from Disneyland in CA and spent maybe half that for a family of 4 for the same length of time.

Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

We stayed a Staybridge Suites and had a full kitchen for $1300 while they spent $3165.     Oh, right, she needed to avoid the "he's kicking me" night drama.   The bus to disney picked up right in front of our hotel. 

Taking a family of 4 to Disney is expensive.  But come on, you can do it for a lot less if you're willing to take a bus or two. 

My one regret is that we didn't get my daughter mouse ears.  She wanted them, but I just couldn't spend $25 on them.  She was good about it, but I realized at the end of the trip, that she would have really liked them.  Oh well. 



Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: jtwriter on April 06, 2018, 03:51:41 PM
My annual household budget (not income) is 30k and my travel budget is 4-5k. That's more than 10%. I don't see the problem.

10% of budget != 10% of gross income. I assume if your budget is 30k, your gross income is more than 40-50k, so your travel budget is less than 10% of your income.

EDIT: Beyond the absolute cost, or even cost relative to income, I posted this here because I thought the general consensus was that WDW is inherently anti-mustahcian (indeed it is according to MMM himself, I'd have to search for the blog post that speaks to this.) There are just so many more interesting/fulfilling things you could do/places you could travel for nearly $9,000(!!).
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: crispy on April 06, 2018, 04:07:05 PM
I am a huge Disney World fan and have been at least 20 times (it used to be a lot cheaper!). Disney will never be a cheap vacation, but I could have gotten that down to half what they spent without really even trying too hard. I think the most we have ever spent was around 3.5k and that was a splurge.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Cgbg on April 06, 2018, 07:25:25 PM
The only reason I set foot in Disney World is that it was darn near free. My brother gave us multi day park passes for Christmas. DH was going to a conference there the following January. My brother also bought us the plane tickets (which cost him little as he gets tons of miles as a pilot.) We paid a small portion of a hotel suite, since our two kids were with us.

We bought food and that was it. Well, and a few Disney trinkets of course.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: charis on April 06, 2018, 08:21:14 PM
You can stay on site for 1/2 of the cost by renting DVC points, save 1/3 for apartment size room off-site but super close (As in closer than some of the Disney resorts). And you can travel hack. There are no excuses for any of this. 7 day park hopper tickets are completely unnecessary - this is a product of Disney marketing genius and rationalization.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: TheWifeHalf on April 06, 2018, 08:39:46 PM
We are lucky, live about an hour away from Cedar Point. Our kids never showed any interest in DW
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Cali on April 06, 2018, 08:49:33 PM
I’m always amused by posts like this. Their thing is Disney, have at it. They could have done it much cheaper and didn’t. I love Disney but would have been bored out of my mind long before the 7 day mark. I don’t pay their bills so I definitely don’t care.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: PoutineLover on April 06, 2018, 09:24:24 PM
What is weird about their mindset it is that they thought it was worthwhile to pack granola bars, but they literally spent over two thousand dollars more on accommodations for a slightly bigger bed and the privilege of not waiting in line for the shuttle. They also spent the same amount on food as what I spent total for three weeks in Mexico... Just can't wrap my head around it.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: obstinate on April 06, 2018, 10:09:37 PM
The ad in the article is classic.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Tass on April 06, 2018, 10:26:19 PM
Quote
Seeing the total cost of a week in Disney gives me the same sense of shock that comes with opening my phone to an unexpected dick-pic.

I have to give her credit for so vivdly describing the experience of seeing her total price tag.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: cawiau on April 08, 2018, 12:46:49 AM
Upper middle class family of four does upper middle class vacation.

THE HORROR!!!!!

When did ~85k/year in CT become upper middle class?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: onecoolcat on April 08, 2018, 01:09:35 AM
As a Floridian, I'm really happy that when my little one is old enough for Disney I can do it for just the price of the tickets. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: BDWW on April 08, 2018, 02:10:04 AM
It immediately set off warning bells when she included the name brand of her duffle bag a couple short paragraphs in.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: mm1970 on April 08, 2018, 10:38:11 AM
I don't feel so bad about the one time we went to Disneyland.  2 nights in a 2BR, 2BA condo, 2 days in the park for 5 (one was free though) = $1200.

I don't feel the need to repeat it, but as kid #2 doesn't remember it...might eventually.  For his 8th birthday, like we did with big bro.  But I think we might be able to swing only 1 night at a hotel, that will make it cheaper.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Gone Fishing on April 08, 2018, 07:04:13 PM
Not what I would do, but could certainly within the realm of fiscal responsibility if the rest of the budget shakes out (but I doubt it based on the terms used in the article).

That $2k spent on food for the week would feed my family of 4 for over 6 months.

I know several people with financial difficulties who still made trips to Disney:

My still working 65 year old extended family member says it too hard to save for retirement despite numerous trips to Disney over the years for his family of 5, and later on, his grandkids.

A high health risk fellow I know is paying the health insurance penalty because he can't "afford" health insurance, but managed a family trip to Disney last year.

A friend took the family to Disney right before his wife decided she didn't want to work anymore and quit.  Now he is struggling to make ends meet. 

Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: OtherJen on April 08, 2018, 09:29:35 PM
I...wow. My husband and I spent two weeks traveling through Japan for less than that, and our total included airfare and 14-day Japan Rail passes. Now I know why my parents never took me to Disney World.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Gronnie on April 08, 2018, 11:02:32 PM
Upper middle class family of four does upper middle class vacation.

THE HORROR!!!!!

Why are you even here?
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Inaya on April 08, 2018, 11:28:14 PM
Spending aside (everyone else has covered it sufficiently, I think), my favorite part was that one of the little boys wanted to be Elsa, and mom was cool with it. ($15 face paint notwithstanding.)
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: imolina on April 09, 2018, 01:56:21 AM
In Colombia salaries are low if you exchange the peso to US dollars, and I am always surprised to see how many families travel to Disney. I know many pay the trip on credit or it is their once-in-a-life-time trip. We live in Dubai with high salaries and can easily afford it but and I find it so expensive that we still have not taken the children, I am too mustachian to do it.  In our location with lower budget we can go to Asia,Europe or Africa for a vacation. I visited Disney when I was younger and really liked it, but for the cost I would prefer a more exotic location for lower price.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MayDay on April 09, 2018, 07:29:00 AM
We went last year and stayed onsite,in a moderate (so cheaper than their hotel).

OMG. So much money.so exhausting. But the kids did love it.

The key for uswas waiting until they were 7 and 9. Old enough to ride all the rides and remember it. As we told them,we will only ever go once. Plus my parents paid for the kids' park tickets.

We found the on site hotel worth it for us because it was quick. We brought food for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. Our restaurant bill was about 500 for the week.

It was not a fun trip for the adults but our kids did love it. They both wrote essays at school about Disney being the best thing ever. We will probably take them to cedar point for aday in a year or two (near family so pretty cheap for us) and I assume they'll like it more.

I can understand this family spending that much once, but it blows my mind to do it repeatedly. But my coworker does- they just went with two kids ages 1 and 3. The kids were intermittently sick the whole week and wanted to go home halfway through. Magical!
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: BayAreaFrugal on April 09, 2018, 08:25:27 AM
I recently saw a friend post on facebook asking if some thing that tells you whether you should get another thing that gets you into a priority line for a ride that's over in 2 minutes is worth the price for her upcoming trip to Disneyland. I'm sure I'm not explaining that well enough for anyone to know what I'm talking about, but that's all I could gather from her post and all of the responses telling her that it's totally worth it.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 09, 2018, 08:32:59 AM
Wow. I also agree, they could have done it for half that amount. Some of the things we did (we went twice) we drove down, and got to visit places like Charleston and Savanna going there or back. That became part of the trip.  Gas and motels were still less than plane tickets for 4. We DID stay on-site (first a moderate, then a budget) and use a meal plan. But for us we liked that we didn't need to leave the park, and we took advantage of the meal plans to have a lot of character or theme meals that were part of the experience, and also down time at the park. No park hopper, and got theme park tickets 1 day less than time staying so day was spent at the resort swimming/relaxing/doing free things in area. My kids were cool about not wanting a lot of souveneir stuff, though they both did want autograph books so we did do that for them, and after the trip put the photos we took of them with the characters in their books next to the signatures. We did do the Dole whip too : )
Both times, I didn't find really long waits, and in fact at least once got into interesting conversations with people next to us in line. In Animal kingdom we were next to a British family, so my oldest was asking their kids about how their schooling was different from American schooling as well as other things. My oldest also liked talking to park employees especially at Epcot, where they are often from the country they are representing.  The longest wait by far, was waiting for Merida's signature. She was a new character, and the line was incredibly long. I was ready to bail, but my kids wanted the signature and were willing to wait. But if it was up to me I would have walked.
 
The thing is, these type of trips are kind of once in a lifetime experiences, or in my case twice in a lifetime. Even if I asked my kids, they would want to do something different if we were spending that kind of money (which we are not at this time).

Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 09, 2018, 08:35:39 AM
I recently saw a friend post on facebook asking if some thing that tells you whether you should get another thing that gets you into a priority line for a ride that's over in 2 minutes is worth the price for her upcoming trip to Disneyland. I'm sure I'm not explaining that well enough for anyone to know what I'm talking about, but that's all I could gather from her post and all of the responses telling her that it's totally worth it.

Getting priority passes should not cost extra. There are kiosks where you can get tickets to come back at a certain time to ride some of the popular rides, this is available to everyone with no cost.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Carrie on April 09, 2018, 08:40:33 AM
Never been, not planning to... but just the planning that must go into this kind of trip sounds so stressful. Lines, people, expensive food, exhaustion.
I'm too cheap and get sensory overload so this whole thing sounds like a nightmare.
Give me a cabin vrbo in the mountains any day over this.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: zhelud on April 09, 2018, 08:59:40 AM
I don't understand why people go to Disney World at all.  There are so many other great amusement parks around the country that won't kill your budget. And Orlando isn't even near the beach.  Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 
I have 2 teens and they have never even asked to go to Disney, even when they were little.  This isn't a "my kids are so unspoiled" brag- they have just always assumed that Disney is lame compared to the other amusement parks they have visited. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: charis on April 09, 2018, 09:44:56 AM
I don't understand why people go to Disney World at all.  There are so many other great amusement parks around the country that won't kill your budget. And Orlando isn't even near the beach.  Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 
I have 2 teens and they have never even asked to go to Disney, even when they were little.  This isn't a "my kids are so unspoiled" brag- they have just always assumed that Disney is lame compared to the other amusement parks they have visited.

Although I would never pay much to go there, WDW is, money aside, a pretty fun park for little kids.  As for the beach, we can get a direct flight to Orlando, but not direct flight to anywhere with a beach in Florida (from my city).  We have enjoyed going to other amusement parks, but I get motion sickness on big rides and my youngest is either still too small or uninterested to get much out of them.  So we appreciate the entertainment side of Disney apart from the rides.

If we go back to Disney World at some point, it will be just for a day most likely.  I have to laugh about people who feel compelled to buy week long tickets because the day rate is cheaper.  It's cute and effective marketing.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Khaetra on April 09, 2018, 10:19:39 AM
I recently saw a friend post on facebook asking if some thing that tells you whether you should get another thing that gets you into a priority line for a ride that's over in 2 minutes is worth the price for her upcoming trip to Disneyland. I'm sure I'm not explaining that well enough for anyone to know what I'm talking about, but that's all I could gather from her post and all of the responses telling her that it's totally worth it.

That's Universal.  They charge extra for priority queuing.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: patchyfacialhair on April 09, 2018, 10:24:48 AM
Disney World is my family's unmustachian vice (not my favorite thing). We drive old cars and don't eat out much, but dear god, we're there every year. I've been twice since September 2017.

That said: these people are insane. A deluxe disney hotel? We pay cash to get a 1br apartment/suite somewhere for usually $100/night all in. So, $700 for a week. Food? Grocery for breakfast and snack foods and frozen or dinners. Therefore, we're only paying for one quick service per day in the parks, and my wife and I usually share a plate. So not too expensive at around $15 a meal. Flights? Yeah this depends, but we try to hack our way to decent fares. For my family of 3, we average $8-900 if we pay out of pocket to Orlando though.

Souvenirs? Kids clothes? We buy at Walmart at home for normal civilian prices, and laugh when we see the same shirts and toys for 5x as much in the parks.

We can usually get done with a trip for about $3k, and we make 2x what this family does. My wife had a work trip where we stayed at one of their deluxe hotels, and it was our worst Disney trip, despite having a lot of it covered by her company. No full kitchen, and being captive to very high Disney prices for EVERYTHING was far more exhausting than the perceived inconvenience of staying on site and eating smart.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: FINate on April 09, 2018, 10:47:18 AM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 09, 2018, 10:54:01 AM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.

Disneyland is different than Disneyworld. Disneyland is one park. You can do it in one day. Disneyworld has 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, plus now they have mini park "Pandora"). You need a day to go through one of them. Don't feel bad. I didn't know the difference until I actually started planning the vacation. Before then I assumed Disneyworld was like a six Flags or something.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: FINate on April 09, 2018, 11:01:58 AM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.

Disneyland is different than Disneyworld. Disneyland is one park. You can do it in one day. Disneyworld has 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, plus now they have mini park "Pandora"). You need a day to go through one of them. Don't feel bad. I didn't know the difference until I actually started planning the vacation. Before then I assumed Disneyworld was like a six Flags or something.

One day it is!! Still, looking at around $400-$500 for a single day at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/. I can't even...
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: cats on April 09, 2018, 11:07:44 AM
When I was a kid my parents told me that DW was for mindless stupid people who couldn't think of anything better to do with their vacations (we generally went camping for our vacations).  I later found out that my Dad was actually quite interested in checking out DW sometime in his retirement...when he didn't have to shell out for his kids to go there as well!!
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 09, 2018, 11:20:35 AM
When I was a kid my parents told me that DW was for mindless stupid people who couldn't think of anything better to do with their vacations (we generally went camping for our vacations).  I later found out that my Dad was actually quite interested in checking out DW sometime in his retirement...when he didn't have to shell out for his kids to go there as well!!

lol. I still remember when as a kid we complained we were bored, my Mom would respond "boredom is a failure of imagination".  Another one was "do as I say, not as I do."
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Icecreamarsenal on April 09, 2018, 11:41:18 AM
I am a huge Disney World fan and have been at least 20 times (it used to be a lot cheaper!). Disney will never be a cheap vacation, but I could have gotten that down to half what they spent without really even trying too hard. I think the most we have ever spent was around 3.5k and that was a splurge.

Would you like a facepunch?  or are we not doing that anymore
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MountainFlower on April 09, 2018, 11:59:49 AM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.

Disneyland is different than Disneyworld. Disneyland is one park. You can do it in one day. Disneyworld has 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, plus now they have mini park "Pandora"). You need a day to go through one of them. Don't feel bad. I didn't know the difference until I actually started planning the vacation. Before then I assumed Disneyworld was like a six Flags or something.

One day it is!! Still, looking at around $400-$500 for a single day at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/. I can't even...

Hi,
That is incorrect: there are two separate parks at Disneyland.  We did one day at each and yes, it was around $800.  However, the other 4 days we were at beaches. 

Since you're thinking about it, highly recommend Staybridge Suites in Anaheim with free full breakfast and even free dinner on weeknights.  For beaches, check out Crystal Cove and Huntington Beach.  We also went to Balboa and Seal Beach.  A trip highlight was the USS Iowa Battleship in Long Beach.  So amazing.  Don't miss it.   

I found the "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" well worth the price and time to read along with the associated app.  I feel like we got so much more value and rides out of our $800 ticket price from that book.  If you "subscribe" to their app for a few bucks, you can see what days are the least crowded at the park.  We went on a 3/10 day and waited in very few lines using their system. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: VaCPA on April 09, 2018, 02:11:30 PM
Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 

To go to Disney? I would go the opposite way with your line of thinking, and contend that there are great beaches all over the place, and often driving distance to where people live. There is no chance I'd spend the time and money to travel all the way to Florida for Disney and waste a day at the beach.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: FINate on April 09, 2018, 02:20:55 PM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.

Disneyland is different than Disneyworld. Disneyland is one park. You can do it in one day. Disneyworld has 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, plus now they have mini park "Pandora"). You need a day to go through one of them. Don't feel bad. I didn't know the difference until I actually started planning the vacation. Before then I assumed Disneyworld was like a six Flags or something.

One day it is!! Still, looking at around $400-$500 for a single day at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/. I can't even...

Hi,
That is incorrect: there are two separate parks at Disneyland.  We did one day at each and yes, it was around $800.  However, the other 4 days we were at beaches. 

Since you're thinking about it, highly recommend Staybridge Suites in Anaheim with free full breakfast and even free dinner on weeknights.  For beaches, check out Crystal Cove and Huntington Beach.  We also went to Balboa and Seal Beach.  A trip highlight was the USS Iowa Battleship in Long Beach.  So amazing.  Don't miss it.   

I found the "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" well worth the price and time to read along with the associated app.  I feel like we got so much more value and rides out of our $800 ticket price from that book.  If you "subscribe" to their app for a few bucks, you can see what days are the least crowded at the park.  We went on a 3/10 day and waited in very few lines using their system.

Yeah, I'm looking at Single Day "Admission to 1 Park" tickets: $97-$135 per adult, depending on the day (slightly cheaper for kids). So single day for family of 4, around $400 (or slightly less mid week) up to over $500 peak days. We're a couple of years off from going because I think my youngest is still too young to really appreciate it.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MgoSam on April 09, 2018, 02:25:55 PM
Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 

To go to Disney? I would go the opposite way with your line of thinking, and contend that there are great beaches all over the place, and often driving distance to where people live. There is no chance I'd spend the time and money to travel all the way to Florida for Disney and waste a day at the beach.

I plan on going to Miami in a month. I'll be going to visit a customer and some friends. I doubt I'll hit the beach as I'm not really a huge fan of beaches. Instead I plan to get as much good food as possible. There aren't many Cuban restaurants here in Minnesota nor is there as much variety of seafoods available...
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: seattlecyclone on April 09, 2018, 04:15:51 PM
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.   I can't imagine going to Disney for 7 days in a row.  We only went two days, so our tickets for 4 were just under $800.  We spent the other 4 days exploring beaches. 

Gah! Nearly spit my coffee out. That's not a typo? Just to get into the park?

I already dislike Disney, think their movies are mostly crap... even less interested now. We spent about $1000 doing a THREE WEEK road trip last summer (not counting food since we made food at camp just as we would at home). We could "afford" Disneyland just fine, just seems excessive in comparison. We'll probably take the kids once when they are a couple years older, limit it to 1 or 2 days max. Would rather go to the beach and see other things in SoCal.

Disneyland is different than Disneyworld. Disneyland is one park. You can do it in one day. Disneyworld has 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, plus now they have mini park "Pandora"). You need a day to go through one of them. Don't feel bad. I didn't know the difference until I actually started planning the vacation. Before then I assumed Disneyworld was like a six Flags or something.

One day it is!! Still, looking at around $400-$500 for a single day at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/. I can't even...

They price it so that you pay most of the park admission in the first three days even if you stay a long time. A three-day pass is $280, while a five-day pass is $320. My wife and I got a free one-day pass to Disneyland once. We did pretty much everything in the two sides of the park in that one day, but it was a long day, there was no real opportunity to repeat rides, and it was just the two of us adults. I could easily see it taking two or three full days with kids to take care of.

I'm happy I got to see it. I was really impressed by the level of craftsmanship and detail in every aspect of the park. That said, I have no plans to take my kids at full price. Ever. It's a big world and there's much more of it to see than that.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: crispy on April 09, 2018, 05:31:49 PM
I am a huge Disney World fan and have been at least 20 times (it used to be a lot cheaper!). Disney will never be a cheap vacation, but I could have gotten that down to half what they spent without really even trying too hard. I think the most we have ever spent was around 3.5k and that was a splurge.

Would you like a facepunch?  or are we not doing that anymore

Facepunch away, but I will still probably be at WDW at least once a year with no apologies. We have traveled all over the US (and I have been to several countries besides), but Disney World is still my favorite place to vacation.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 10, 2018, 05:46:30 AM
I have to admit, in addition to miniature golf places I have a soft spot for amusement parks and odd tourist places especially older ones, that have a certain charm to them. Not that I've been to that many of them, but growing up in Chicagoland area, there was Six Flags of course, Old Chicago (closed) and Santa's Village (closed?). For that reason alone I'd like to visit Disneyland at some point since it is the older of the two parks.  Does anyone have any cool old amusement parks you went to when you were growing up? Any that are still around?
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: SnackDog on April 10, 2018, 06:11:02 AM
This is really just an endorsement for Disney stock. The brand is huge, there is essentially no competition and people will pay almost anything to take their kids there.

Colleagues of mine in Latin America have told me that Disney was such a jaw-dropping fantasy for the entire family that they just opened the wallet.  They would happily pay whatever it cost just to be there.  The quote was "take my money!"  There are millions more families like these all over the world.  If they have paid a couple thousand in air fare, they are not going to nickel and dime the kids on snacks, etc.  Disney is literally the trip of a lifetime for many kids in other countries.

You can all poo-poo the cost and compare it to the Whirly-gig that comes to your Wal-Mart parking lot every other year, but it is not the same.  It is fantasy land, literally a Magic Kingdom.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Just Joe on April 10, 2018, 09:11:35 AM
Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 

To go to Disney? I would go the opposite way with your line of thinking, and contend that there are great beaches all over the place, and often driving distance to where people live. There is no chance I'd spend the time and money to travel all the way to Florida for Disney and waste a day at the beach.

Our kids loved exploring Spanish forts at St. Augustine and on a different trip - Fort Morgan. We've explored the USS Alabama. Found cool little (unique) Mom 'n Pop places for lunch or dinner here and there. Plenty of other amusement parks to choose from across the country. Don't want to visit the most famous destinations like Disney b/c of the crowds and costs.

What's great is take a trip on the cheap and when the kids want to stop for a snack and a soda - it no big deal. If they want to visit a "surf shop" for a T-shirt or trinket - its nothing really in the big picture b/c we've optimized our trip in other ways like the meals and our accommodations.

I don't expect our family will ever visit Disney. I do expect we'll visit the fresh seafood market on our next trip to the beach and have a nice meal from the grill at our rented condo on the cheap.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: mm1970 on April 10, 2018, 10:55:57 AM
This is really just an endorsement for Disney stock. The brand is huge, there is essentially no competition and people will pay almost anything to take their kids there.

Colleagues of mine in Latin America have told me that Disney was such a jaw-dropping fantasy for the entire family that they just opened the wallet.  They would happily pay whatever it cost just to be there.  The quote was "take my money!"  There are millions more families like these all over the world.  If they have paid a couple thousand in air fare, they are not going to nickel and dime the kids on snacks, etc.  Disney is literally the trip of a lifetime for many kids in other countries.

You can all poo-poo the cost and compare it to the Whirly-gig that comes to your Wal-Mart parking lot every other year, but it is not the same.  It is fantasy land, literally a Magic Kingdom.

I'm not into amusement parks, really.  Never really went to them as kids.  I do have a soft spot for Legoland, 'cuz I love legos.

Disney fascinates and disgusts me at the same time.  The cost...the crazy cost.  About 3 times every 4 years, we get tickets donated to our school raffle.  They are worth $650-800.  I imagine Disneyland donates thousands of these every year to schools nearby - we are about 110 miles from Disneyland.  The shear expense is mind-boggling.

I have a couple of friends who have annual passes, and are experienced enough with their plan to get what they want out of it.  They know when to go, what order to do the rides, etc.


We went once.  When my older son turned 8.  It was $1200 total for the tickets and a 2BR condo (Staybridge Suites) - Spouse, me, mother in law, 8 year old, 18 month old (free). 2-day park hopper but we stayed in Disneyland.  Once I experienced it, I got it. 

it truly is magical. The place is amazing, and so clean, with so much entertainment.  Little kid spent most of the day exploring Tom Sawyer island.  There's plenty to see for those who don't like rides (me).  I can totally see why it costs so much when there is so much that goes into it, and you know, the workers need to make a living.

But, probably will only go one more time.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 10, 2018, 11:55:41 AM
Each time after I left Disney World I experienced reverse sticker shock. We would pass a gas stations advertising hot dog and a soda for a $2, and I would think "wow, that should cost $5 just for the hot dog." 

I do have to admit each time I visited it was really nice, a different level nice from visiting say a six flags. They know what they are doing. My ex brother in law even did the behind the scenes tour, because he works in customer servce business and wanted to see how the best does it.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: VaCPA on April 10, 2018, 12:03:07 PM
Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 

To go to Disney? I would go the opposite way with your line of thinking, and contend that there are great beaches all over the place, and often driving distance to where people live. There is no chance I'd spend the time and money to travel all the way to Florida for Disney and waste a day at the beach.

Our kids loved exploring Spanish forts at St. Augustine and on a different trip - Fort Morgan. We've explored the USS Alabama. Found cool little (unique) Mom 'n Pop places for lunch or dinner here and there. Plenty of other amusement parks to choose from across the country. Don't want to visit the most famous destinations like Disney b/c of the crowds and costs.

What's great is take a trip on the cheap and when the kids want to stop for a snack and a soda - it no big deal. If they want to visit a "surf shop" for a T-shirt or trinket - its nothing really in the big picture b/c we've optimized our trip in other ways like the meals and our accommodations.

I don't expect our family will ever visit Disney. I do expect we'll visit the fresh seafood market on our next trip to the beach and have a nice meal from the grill at our rented condo on the cheap.

We absolutely love the beach, and go for a week or two every summer. Just not in FL because we have beautiful beaches within driving distance. I do think there's a big difference between Disney and most other amusement parks though, and most kids would probably agree. If my kids do end up being indifferent towards it I won't bother, but I suspect they'll want to and we'll do it at least once for them.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: elaine amj on April 10, 2018, 02:42:14 PM
I love tent camping in the woods and exploring various provincial and national parks. But I make no apologies for my love for Disney trips. I had gone a couple of times as a kid and always thought I would also take my kids 1-2 times. Then I took them once for a long weekend. We loved it so much we promptly returned for a 10 day vacation just 2 months later.

We have done short trips but much prefer 10-14 day trips. It's more relaxed and enjoyable IMO. Plus I have never yet run out of things to do.

Yes, it's expensive. But I usually travel hack enough to get it down to a somewhat reasonable cost. Cheaper than cruising and definitely cheaper than all-inclusives. And cheaper than many vacations if we have to pay for entertainment/attractions/shows. Going for such lengthy trips means our ticket costs (which provides us 12-15 hours of entertainment a day) work out to about $30ish per person per day. Which is pretty darn reasonable for that caliber of entertainment.

Our last splurgey 2 week trip to Disney World worked out to $80ish/pp/day including onsite accommodations, tickets, and an insane amount of food on their meal plan. Mind you - this was a splurge and I had upgraded a few things. A more normal trip would be 30% cheaper. It definitely has gone up in price though - I got hooked in the days when it cost me under $50/pp/day for a similar vacation.

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Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: crispy on April 10, 2018, 05:49:43 PM
I love tent camping in the woods and exploring various provincial and national parks. But I make no apologies for my love for Disney trips. I had gone a couple of times as a kid and always thought I would also take my kids 1-2 times. Then I took them once for a long weekend. We loved it so much we promptly returned for a 10 day vacation just 2 months later.

We have done short trips but much prefer 10-14 day trips. It's more relaxed and enjoyable IMO. Plus I have never yet run out of things to do.

Yes, it's expensive. But I usually travel hack enough to get it down to a somewhat reasonable cost. Cheaper than cruising and definitely cheaper than all-inclusives. And cheaper than many vacations if we have to pay for entertainment/attractions/shows. Going for such lengthy trips means our ticket costs (which provides us 12-15 hours of entertainment a day) work out to about $30ish per person per day. Which is pretty darn reasonable for that caliber of entertainment.

Our last splurgey 2 week trip to Disney World worked out to $80ish/pp/day including onsite accommodations, tickets, and an insane amount of food on their meal plan. Mind you - this was a splurge and I had upgraded a few things. A more normal trip would be 30% cheaper. It definitely has gone up in price though - I got hooked in the days when it cost me under $50/pp/day for a similar vacation.

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I am with you! We are fortunate to have a good friend who works at WDW who often books rooms for us with her discount so we never spend a ton. Disney planning stresses a lot of people out, but we have been enough times that I can plan a trip in a few days and then just go and enjoy. It is actually less stressful for me.

We love doing a variety of vacations. In the past few years we have done a road trip to the South Dakota/Wyoming, a Route 66 trip to the Grand Canyon staying at vintage motels, a trip to Washington DC, a cruise, a trip to Canada, a trip to Boston, and a trip to Chicago. We also do a few weekends at various state parks a year. We love to explore and learn! I spend a ton of time researching and planning these trips. The idea of relaxing at the beach is my least favorite type of trip...I relax at home, not on vacation. 

(BTW, JustJoe, I grew in Mobile which is the home of the USS Alabama. It's such a neat place. Alabama schoolchildren raised money by collecting pennies on order to preserve it. Did you visit the Mardi Gras museum in Mobile? Another cool place!).
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: The Fake Cheap on April 10, 2018, 06:20:43 PM
Personally I'm not looking forward to the blow out fight that is going to occur between my wife and I when the day comes when she wants to take our son to Disney.  I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

We manage to get along pretty well finance wise, even though she is nowhere near mustashian.  I'm pretty sure I won't be giving the green light on what is sure to be an insane amount of money for a 1 week-ish trip. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 10, 2018, 07:45:29 PM
Separate your distaste from "Disney" which I know has a whole lot of connotations. Think instead of your wife and your kid, whether you can justify the vacation costs in your budget, depending on how you spend or save, and how much or little it is important to her. I really do not like people who "veto" other people in the relationship their wants and needs just because they want to make some kind of stand, when not recognizing maybe the other partner is making sacrifices for the other. Instead think about the trip and the costs in the overall scheme of things. The reason why I'm saying this, is my ex did this a lot. For a lot of holidays. Making a lot of hurt feelings for a relatively small percentage of money saved.  Guess who bitched the most about the Disney trip both before and during, who on the last day said he was really glad he went. But at that point, I'm like f- you. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: charis on April 10, 2018, 08:27:35 PM
Personally I'm not looking forward to the blow out fight that is going to occur between my wife and I when the day comes when she wants to take our son to Disney.  I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

We manage to get along pretty well finance wise, even though she is nowhere near mustashian.  I'm pretty sure I won't be giving the green light on what is sure to be an insane amount of money for a 1 week-ish trip.

Why would you choose to have a blow out flight about this? Several posters have mentioned travel hacking and other means to reduce costs. My family's been twice and paid almost nothing, including flights and rental cars.  If my partner wanted to take a typically expensive vacation that I wasn't thrilled about, I'd figure out a way make it work or compromise at the very least.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: VaCPA on April 11, 2018, 07:11:42 AM
I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

There are exceptions(my old boss LOVED Disney stuff and I know greatly enjoyed her trips) but generally you're doing it for the kids, not yourself. As with many many things you do for your kids, the parent's enjoyment comes from seeing the kids having so much fun, not from directly enjoying the activity. Although I am expecting some of our inevitable Disney trip to be pretty fun for me too.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: elaine amj on April 11, 2018, 08:47:07 AM
I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

There are exceptions(my old boss LOVED Disney stuff and I know greatly enjoyed her trips) but generally you're doing it for the kids, not yourself. As with many many things you do for your kids, the parent's enjoyment comes from seeing the kids having so much fun, not from directly enjoying the activity. Although I am expecting some of our inevitable Disney trip to be pretty fun for me too.
Haha...my kids go to Disney for me :) And a little while ago, my DH and I were discussing a trip just for the two of us and I offered him the option of doing just about anything. My mother was completely shocked when he said he would like Disney best!

If you like live productions and musicals - Disney really provides the best entertainment value by far. Broadway shows (even our local community theatre) are $$$! And their nightly fireworks/light shows take our breath away. It all depends on your tastes though.

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Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: charis on April 11, 2018, 11:39:45 AM
I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

There are exceptions(my old boss LOVED Disney stuff and I know greatly enjoyed her trips) but generally you're doing it for the kids, not yourself. As with many many things you do for your kids, the parent's enjoyment comes from seeing the kids having so much fun, not from directly enjoying the activity. Although I am expecting some of our inevitable Disney trip to be pretty fun for me too.
Haha...my kids go to Disney for me :) And a little while ago, my DH and I were discussing a trip just for the two of us and I offered him the option of doing just about anything. My mother was completely shocked when he said he would like Disney best!

If you like live productions and musicals - Disney really provides the best entertainment value by far. Broadway shows (even our local community theatre) are $$$! And their nightly fireworks/light shows take our breath away. It all depends on your tastes though.

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The musicals are great!  The Lion King show was just as good as the Broadway Tour version that I saw years ago.   Nemo was also good.  So that can add a lot of value to an admission ticket.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MountainFlower on April 11, 2018, 02:11:50 PM
I have to admit, in addition to miniature golf places I have a soft spot for amusement parks and odd tourist places especially older ones, that have a certain charm to them. Not that I've been to that many of them, but growing up in Chicagoland area, there was Six Flags of course, Old Chicago (closed) and Santa's Village (closed?). For that reason alone I'd like to visit Disneyland at some point since it is the older of the two parks.  Does anyone have any cool old amusement parks you went to when you were growing up? Any that are still around?

Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver.  Still family owned and has original art deco stuff. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: MountainFlower on April 11, 2018, 02:20:17 PM
I personally don't buy into the whole Disney thing, I don't get it.

There are exceptions(my old boss LOVED Disney stuff and I know greatly enjoyed her trips) but generally you're doing it for the kids, not yourself. As with many many things you do for your kids, the parent's enjoyment comes from seeing the kids having so much fun, not from directly enjoying the activity. Although I am expecting some of our inevitable Disney trip to be pretty fun for me too.
Haha...my kids go to Disney for me :) And a little while ago, my DH and I were discussing a trip just for the two of us and I offered him the option of doing just about anything. My mother was completely shocked when he said he would like Disney best!

If you like live productions and musicals - Disney really provides the best entertainment value by far. Broadway shows (even our local community theatre) are $$$! And their nightly fireworks/light shows take our breath away. It all depends on your tastes though.

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Ha ha, yep, our Disney trip was for my 50th birthday.  I went there when I was 8 and wanted to go back.  My kids are 8 and 10.  Just perfect ages.  I wanted to wait until we were past the age of character greetings and to when they could ride everything.  So much fun.  Disney is magic.  For the skeptics, if your family members really want to go, just go.  My husband had never been and really didn't get it.  Now he's already talking about how we can save to go to WDW in a year or two.  I really didn't expect that. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: LifeHappens on April 11, 2018, 02:22:11 PM
I have to admit, in addition to miniature golf places I have a soft spot for amusement parks and odd tourist places especially older ones, that have a certain charm to them. Not that I've been to that many of them, but growing up in Chicagoland area, there was Six Flags of course, Old Chicago (closed) and Santa's Village (closed?). For that reason alone I'd like to visit Disneyland at some point since it is the older of the two parks.  Does anyone have any cool old amusement parks you went to when you were growing up? Any that are still around?

Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver.  Still family owned and has original art deco stuff.
Well, if you're going to travel to WDW anyway, throw in side trips to Gatorland and Weeki Wachee. Those are true Old Florida attractions.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: elaine amj on April 11, 2018, 03:21:57 PM
Ok...I read the article and OUCH! $8800 for a week for 4 people? I thought the $10k I spent for 8 people for 14 nights last year was outrageous and super splurgey. 10 years ago, I was able to spend just $2200 for a 10 day trip for 4 people, including all the pricey character meals we could want. The same trip now costs about $5k, which already makes me cringe. Nearly $10k for just one week is beyond my imagination.

Then again, she spent an extra $2k on the hotel upgrade and $1500 on flights. The numbers make a bit more sense to me now.

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Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: jinga nation on April 11, 2018, 03:55:06 PM
Why go to Florida if you aren't going to the beach? 

To go to Disney? I would go the opposite way with your line of thinking, and contend that there are great beaches all over the place, and often driving distance to where people live. There is no chance I'd spend the time and money to travel all the way to Florida for Disney and waste a day at the beach.

I plan on going to Miami in a month. I'll be going to visit a customer and some friends. I doubt I'll hit the beach as I'm not really a huge fan of beaches. Instead I plan to get as much good food as possible. There aren't many Cuban restaurants here in Minnesota nor is there as much variety of seafoods available...

Bienvenidos!

Highly recommend going to La Carreta. http://lacarreta.com/locations/

Imperial rice, Chicken Vaca Frita are my favs. The sides are amazing too.

Got to Publix and get 2 things: a Cuban sandwich (might be a Miami version, not as good as the Tampa Cuban (I'm biased)) and the chicken tenders sub.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: jinga nation on April 11, 2018, 03:56:19 PM
I have to admit, in addition to miniature golf places I have a soft spot for amusement parks and odd tourist places especially older ones, that have a certain charm to them. Not that I've been to that many of them, but growing up in Chicagoland area, there was Six Flags of course, Old Chicago (closed) and Santa's Village (closed?). For that reason alone I'd like to visit Disneyland at some point since it is the older of the two parks.  Does anyone have any cool old amusement parks you went to when you were growing up? Any that are still around?

Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver.  Still family owned and has original art deco stuff.
Well, if you're going to travel to WDW anyway, throw in side trips to Gatorland and Weeki Wachee. Those are true Old Florida attractions.
Also tubing in the Ocala area. And Wekiva Springs State Park is amazing.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Just Joe on April 11, 2018, 04:24:13 PM
(BTW, JustJoe, I grew in Mobile which is the home of the USS Alabama. It's such a neat place. Alabama schoolchildren raised money by collecting pennies on order to preserve it. Did you visit the Mardi Gras museum in Mobile? Another cool place!).

No but now that I know it exists, we'll be making the trip next time we vacation in that part of the gulf. We ate at the Dew Drop Inn for some really good burgers the day we were there.

All you reasonable people quoting more reasonable Disney prices may yet talk me into a family trip just to see what it is all about. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: nick663 on April 13, 2018, 04:29:53 PM
Is it odd that the travel toiletries bothered me more than a bunch of other things in that post?  I've never had a hard time packing normal size deodorant in my carry on and even if that family did, they checked a couple bags.  Just seems so wasteful to buy "travel sized" versions of stuff you already have in your house.
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.
I could see it being handy if you did the majority of a park and want to go back the next day.  It does take some time depending on the park (MK -> Epcot is quick, others will take about an hour) but if it saves a day on a trip it may be worth the investment.

Does anyone know if you can use a multi-day non park hopper pass to enter more than one park in a day?  Like buy a 5 day pass and visit 1 park per day for 3 days and 2 parks on the last day?  I would guess not but it would be cheaper than a park hopper and serve the same purpose.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: crispy on April 13, 2018, 05:15:10 PM
Is it odd that the travel toiletries bothered me more than a bunch of other things in that post?  I've never had a hard time packing normal size deodorant in my carry on and even if that family did, they checked a couple bags.  Just seems so wasteful to buy "travel sized" versions of stuff you already have in your house.
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.
I could see it being handy if you did the majority of a park and want to go back the next day.  It does take some time depending on the park (MK -> Epcot is quick, others will take about an hour) but if it saves a day on a trip it may be worth the investment.

Does anyone know if you can use a multi-day non park hopper pass to enter more than one park in a day?  Like buy a 5 day pass and visit 1 park per day for 3 days and 2 parks on the last day?  I would guess not but it would be cheaper than a park hopper and serve the same purpose.

You can't do that if you bought a 5 day pass. The pass wouldn't work at the second park. You could buy a ticket at one park and then a second ticket at the other park, but obviously that would be stupidly expensive (and much cheaper to just pay for the park hopper option).
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: seattlecyclone on April 14, 2018, 10:07:23 PM
Is it odd that the travel toiletries bothered me more than a bunch of other things in that post?  I've never had a hard time packing normal size deodorant in my carry on and even if that family did, they checked a couple bags.  Just seems so wasteful to buy "travel sized" versions of stuff you already have in your house.
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.
I could see it being handy if you did the majority of a park and want to go back the next day.  It does take some time depending on the park (MK -> Epcot is quick, others will take about an hour) but if it saves a day on a trip it may be worth the investment.

Does anyone know if you can use a multi-day non park hopper pass to enter more than one park in a day?  Like buy a 5 day pass and visit 1 park per day for 3 days and 2 parks on the last day?  I would guess not but it would be cheaper than a park hopper and serve the same purpose.

You can't do that if you bought a 5 day pass. The pass wouldn't work at the second park. You could buy a ticket at one park and then a second ticket at the other park, but obviously that would be stupidly expensive (and much cheaper to just pay for the park hopper option).

Their tickets selling page (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tickets/) seems to say otherwise. Looks like the park-hopper allows you to go to more than one park in a single day, while even the cheapest multi-day pass can be used in different parks on different days.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: crispy on April 15, 2018, 11:15:28 AM
Is it odd that the travel toiletries bothered me more than a bunch of other things in that post?  I've never had a hard time packing normal size deodorant in my carry on and even if that family did, they checked a couple bags.  Just seems so wasteful to buy "travel sized" versions of stuff you already have in your house.
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.
I could see it being handy if you did the majority of a park and want to go back the next day.  It does take some time depending on the park (MK -> Epcot is quick, others will take about an hour) but if it saves a day on a trip it may be worth the investment.

Does anyone know if you can use a multi-day non park hopper pass to enter more than one park in a day?  Like buy a 5 day pass and visit 1 park per day for 3 days and 2 parks on the last day?  I would guess not but it would be cheaper than a park hopper and serve the same purpose.

You can't do that if you bought a 5 day pass. The pass wouldn't work at the second park. You could buy a ticket at one park and then a second ticket at the other park, but obviously that would be stupidly expensive (and much cheaper to just pay for the park hopper option).

Their tickets selling page (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tickets/) seems to say otherwise. Looks like the park-hopper allows you to go to more than one park in a single day, while even the cheapest multi-day pass can be used in different parks on different days.

Not sure where we are disagreeing. A multi-day pass without the hopper option will not let you to use the ticket for different parks on the same day so someone who bought a 5 day pass who was planning to visit parks for 4 days couldn't use up that 5th day like a hopper to visit two parks in one day. Basically, it is one park per day unless you buy the hopper option.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: nick663 on April 15, 2018, 02:59:45 PM
Is it odd that the travel toiletries bothered me more than a bunch of other things in that post?  I've never had a hard time packing normal size deodorant in my carry on and even if that family did, they checked a couple bags.  Just seems so wasteful to buy "travel sized" versions of stuff you already have in your house.
Why did they need a 7-day park hopper pass?  The park hopper part lets you go to multiple parks in a day.  Does anyone actually do that?  That costs a few hundred bucks for that option.
I could see it being handy if you did the majority of a park and want to go back the next day.  It does take some time depending on the park (MK -> Epcot is quick, others will take about an hour) but if it saves a day on a trip it may be worth the investment.

Does anyone know if you can use a multi-day non park hopper pass to enter more than one park in a day?  Like buy a 5 day pass and visit 1 park per day for 3 days and 2 parks on the last day?  I would guess not but it would be cheaper than a park hopper and serve the same purpose.

You can't do that if you bought a 5 day pass. The pass wouldn't work at the second park. You could buy a ticket at one park and then a second ticket at the other park, but obviously that would be stupidly expensive (and much cheaper to just pay for the park hopper option).
I figured this was the case as Disney isn't stupid enough to leave that loophole open.  Just couldn't find a definitive answer on their website.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: finallyfrugal on April 15, 2018, 05:42:58 PM
This seems totally insane to me! I am not a Disney fan, so I just don't get it...
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: calimom on April 15, 2018, 08:27:54 PM
This seems totally insane to me! I am not a Disney fan, so I just don't get it...

It does to me too. I get that people are free to waste spend their own money as they see fit but it seems crazy to me to trot a couple of preschoolers around Anything Disney for a full week. You do have to love the mother's attempt at "frugality" by bringing granola bars to avoid expensive snacks on-site.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Pigeon on April 17, 2018, 07:02:42 AM
I love WDW.  If a family wants to save up for this and prioritizes it, I don't see what the problem is.  Putting it on a credit card you can't immediately pay off is a different story.  There are plenty of people here who take long vacations that also end up being expensive, but are cheaper per day, and that kind of travel gets a pass here.  Whatever.

We've gone twice as a family.  It was honking expensive.  Dh is a teacher, so we were stuck with school vacations, when the airfare from where we live is jacked up and everything is more expensive.  I don't want to go to the FL heat in the summer.  We saved money where it made sense, but these trips aren't going to be frugal.

Our first trip was right after I got done with cancer treatment.  On all those nights when I tossed and turned with worry, I'd get up, go to the computer and plan minor details of the trip.  It was great therapy.

We stayed onsite, but not at the most expensive resorts.  We could have saved money by staying off-site, but we made full use of the extra hours that come with being onsite, and we didn't have to rent a car.   It's also great to be able to easily go back to your room for a rest if you feel like it.  If you get tickets for multiple days, at a certain point, you pay relatively little for the extra days as compared it the first few days.  So longer trips make some sense, but Disney does have parting you from your money down to an exact science.

I don't see Disney as just another amusement park at all.  It's a totally different experience.  I could see dh and I going back by ourselves once we are retired, I like it that much.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: partgypsy on April 17, 2018, 07:45:10 AM
I have to admit, in addition to miniature golf places I have a soft spot for amusement parks and odd tourist places especially older ones, that have a certain charm to them. Not that I've been to that many of them, but growing up in Chicagoland area, there was Six Flags of course, Old Chicago (closed) and Santa's Village (closed?). For that reason alone I'd like to visit Disneyland at some point since it is the older of the two parks.  Does anyone have any cool old amusement parks you went to when you were growing up? Any that are still around?

Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver.  Still family owned and has original art deco stuff.
Thanks!
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: mm1970 on April 17, 2018, 10:22:53 AM
I love WDW.  If a family wants to save up for this and prioritizes it, I don't see what the problem is.  Putting it on a credit card you can't immediately pay off is a different story.  There are plenty of people here who take long vacations that also end up being expensive, but are cheaper per day, and that kind of travel gets a pass here.  Whatever.

We've gone twice as a family.  It was honking expensive.  Dh is a teacher, so we were stuck with school vacations, when the airfare from where we live is jacked up and everything is more expensive.  I don't want to go to the FL heat in the summer.  We saved money where it made sense, but these trips aren't going to be frugal.

Our first trip was right after I got done with cancer treatment.  On all those nights when I tossed and turned with worry, I'd get up, go to the computer and plan minor details of the trip.  It was great therapy.

We stayed onsite, but not at the most expensive resorts.  We could have saved money by staying off-site, but we made full use of the extra hours that come with being onsite, and we didn't have to rent a car.   It's also great to be able to easily go back to your room for a rest if you feel like it.  If you get tickets for multiple days, at a certain point, you pay relatively little for the extra days as compared it the first few days.  So longer trips make some sense, but Disney does have parting you from your money down to an exact science.

I don't see Disney as just another amusement park at all.  It's a totally different experience.  I could see dh and I going back by ourselves once we are retired, I like it that much.
We really like Legoland.  Once I priced Legoland hotel, and it's pretty expensive.  But during the "off season", it's not much more than a regular hotel.

It was really worth it.  The ability to go back to the room for a nap, or for lunch.  Ability to walk out of the hotel and into Legoland.  Activities at the hotel, nicer rooms, treasure hunts, etc.  I don't think I'd pay $700/night during prime season though.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: LiveLean on April 17, 2018, 10:41:34 AM
Number of years living in Central Florida: 20

Number of kids: 2 (15 and 12)

Number of trips to Disney World: Zero

Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: StacheyStache on April 17, 2018, 06:15:01 PM
Hey, I love Disney so no hate from me there, but it's like they went out of their way to make it as expensive as possible and get no value from their money.  I went last year and can't help but compare:

Flights:  Can't comment here as I'm close enough to drive except to side eye 140 bucks for "airport parking."  I haven't flown in ten years so I'm not the best judge but is there a reason why they couldn't uber? 

Lodging:  Holy macaroni and a side of cheese.  I rented Disney Vacation Club points, stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (also a "deluxe" resort) for less than HALF of what they paid for a week at Wilderness Lodge (both are excellent but I wouldn't consider one more or less deluxe-y than the other.  And I had a zebra hanging out outside my window). 

Tickets:  Park Hopper used to be a decent deal, now it's so expensive it's absolutely not worth it.  If you're there for a week and have time to devote more than a day to each park why do you need to park hop?

Food:  Good for them for packing breakfast, this is essential both for mustache reasons and time saving reasons.  Time is its own budget at Disney and you don't want to miss a second of rope drop magic (first hour the park is open when crowds are the lowest). 

But.  The budget.  WTF.  I straight up don't believe they only ate at one table service place a day.  If they did that's....really bad value for their money.  We spent 800 bucks for 9 days (not counting one meal that was a part of a semi-private safari tour, which was an additional 400 but was more about the tour than the food), and we ate LAVISHLY.  Boma (twice!), Flying Fish, Jiko (this was the safari dinner), Liberty Tree Tavern, Brown Derby, Yak and Yeti, Kona and tons of snacking at EPCOT food and wine festival.  A couple of those are Disney "signature" restaurants (Disney-speak for $$$). Even accounting for two extra kids (both of which look young enough to still get kids meals) that is NUTS.  The difference was we stocked up on regular groceries for breakfast and lunches.  We got protein bars, sandwich fixings, trail mix, fruit and bottles of water.  We rarely bought snacks (other than at food and wine fest).  We had two breakfasts out so as not to waste the precious rope drop hour, very few quick service meals (Disney food is wonderful, unless you're getting standard theme park food like burgers and hot dogs, then it's 15 dollars worth of bleh) and had sandwiches for lunch.  Not only did we not miss anything, it was necessary to balance out all the rich table service food, and even then I still got a stomachache a couple of times.  We also sometimes had table service for lunch instead of dinner.  Same experience, much cheaper.

Major side eye to the kids not sharing an entree either, or the adults for that matter.  Disney portions are enormous.

Souvenirs:  This is slightly bad but the other stuff is so much worse it seems mild in comparison.  Mr. Stachey got me rose gold (because millennial) Minnie ears before we left online for cheaper than retail (they're knock offs but you can't tell the difference).  We also got a Christmas tree ornament at the hotel because tradition.  Managed not to buy anything else but like I said, I'll let their souvenir spending slide a bit.

Face painting:  Eh, I'm finding it hard to care and the Elsa face paint was super cute.  Same with the dress.

Toiletries:  LOL.  Sorry, it's only 30 bucks but I'm massively judging this.  Remind me why they can't bring deodorant from home?  And the "deluxe" hotel has all the expensive shampoo and conditioner you could ever want.

So yeah.  While I can't judge a super awesome vacation to Disney, I'm judging the heck out of the value they got for their money.  They could have had the exact same trip for so much cheaper.





 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: slugline on April 18, 2018, 08:06:12 AM
Flights:  Can't comment here as I'm close enough to drive except to side eye 140 bucks for "airport parking."  I haven't flown in ten years so I'm not the best judge but is there a reason why they couldn't uber? 

Uber's cost will vary depending on time of day and how far the family lives from their home airport. For example, I've gotten estimates for transport from Houston's southside suburbs to IAH on the north side of town as high as $130 round trip. So cost-effectiveness versus airport parking is a question of how long we're going to be away.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Njdealguy on April 18, 2018, 09:02:49 AM
Also using Uber in Connecticut would have forced them to carry car seats throughout the trip which they stated as the reason for not wanting to use Uber/car rental while in Orlando, so I wouldnt cite this as necessarily their worst expense.  They could have easily went with the off-site parking for the $6 a day that was a option. 

$1781 for a family of 4 for just the lunches and dinners WITHOUT any alcohol seems totally nuts to me.  Thats about $250 per day based on 7 days for those meals for a family of 4 so figure approx $150 per dinner and $100 per lunch (at supposedly fast casual places).  We spent less than that on our recent vacation to Paris & Rome for about same amount of time including lavish meals (with nice wines) at even some top end Michelin star restaurants!

Pre-buying "souvenirs" at Target actually seems like a good idea, one badass idea I'd have on it is saving the receipt and once back from the trip if the kid seems to lose interest in any of them, return those to the store within the 90 day return period!
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Pigeon on April 18, 2018, 02:27:17 PM
We told the kids that the trip is the gift, and we weren't buying extra stuff.  The only souvenirs we got were refillable mugs at the resort.  I hate souvenirs.  Cheap, ugly, overpriced crap that I can't wait to get rid of as soon as we get home. 
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: TheGrimSqueaker on April 18, 2018, 02:34:27 PM
Pre-buying "souvenirs" at Target actually seems like a good idea, one badass idea I'd have on it is saving the receipt and once back from the trip if the kid seems to lose interest in any of them, return those to the store within the 90 day return period!

That's not badass, that's dishonest.

Not if the packaging is unopened: stores with return policies don't care why you're returning an item provided you keep the receipt. It would be different if the item had been used.
Title: Re: Family of 4 spends 10% of their gross annual income on a trip to Disney World
Post by: Njdealguy on April 18, 2018, 02:53:42 PM
Pre-buying "souvenirs" at Target actually seems like a good idea, one badass idea I'd have on it is saving the receipt and once back from the trip if the kid seems to lose interest in any of them, return those to the store within the 90 day return period!

That's not badass, that's dishonest.

Theres a very fine line here about honesty, but returns are by policy allowed if one is even "dissatisfied" with an item.   Now the definition of "dissatistied" is up to us to decide whether it is merely about the item having something physically wrong with it or a defect/performance issue, versus simply not liking it (or not liking it anymore) and then deciding to return it.  I think a child losing interest in an item qualifies in the second definition of "dissatisfied" in terms of "not liking it anymore".

And Target/Walmart are stores that will take almost anything back, whether opened or unopened already.