Inflation and deciding on a vacation!

[kandb]

We used to go to disney all the time when our children were younger. We had the best vacations, free dining and went during slow times are rarely waited for any ride. My daughter keeps asking when we can go back but I know disney has totally changed from when we were last there (2018) and I really have a problem spending around double for the same vacation when I know it won't be as great as it was before. My daughter is a freshman in college and will have a winter break, so we would be going in January. I am very hesitant to spend so much money, especially with the prices of everything so high but I want to make her happy. Maybe there will be some specials or discounts?

 

[DeeBee3]

There are certainly ways to reduce your costs (bring snacks and drinks to park) and limit souvenirs and table service dining. That being said, there is no way you will ever get to 2018 prices. So that's a decision you have to make. Do the math now on tickets, travel, and lodging. Maybe make it a shorter stay/only do a few park days...

Good luck! Our economy right now is really rough.

 

[mom2rtk]

When in January are you thinking of going? Early January has the marathon and MLK weekend, so probably no discounts.

If your daughter is college age, the main consideration to me is how many more chances will you get to do this? I went with my college age daughter freshman year (2020) then again last year (junior year) and am planning for this January (senior year). I just figure life is going to get in the way soon enough and want to do this while we can.

Can you scale back and still go? We have cut way back this year, but it's better than not going.

 

[gottalovepluto]

…Maybe there will be some specials or discounts?

Don’t count on it. And if you’re looking at a Skyliner resort check for the week it’s going down for maintenance before booking.

Personally, I think the biggest savings right now is to move to off-site hotels. On-site has very little benefit if you can use rideshares/drive your own car.

 

[georgina]

It is a difficult and personal decision. I agree with the comment that you may not get more chances. Also agree that off-site is the way to go, I booked 5 nights in Feb/March at a Flamingo Crossing hotel for 100,000 Marriott pts, which is a good deal. Free breakfast, free parking if I rent a car. Some folks will only stay onsite though.

 

[Gabby01]

I agree with everyone saying you can find a way to make it work! Maybe cut down on park days, rent a car and explore more of Florida, add days at Universal or Sea World, etc. You will make great memories no matter what, and the chance to go on a family vacation is a precious one.

 

[Upatnoon]

We used to go to disney all the time when our children were younger. We had the best vacations, free dining and went during slow times are rarely waited for any ride. My daughter keeps asking when we can go back but I know disney has totally changed from when we were last there (2018) and I really have a problem spending around double for the same vacation when I know it won't be as great as it was before. My daughter is a freshman in college and will have a winter break, so we would be going in January. I am very hesitant to spend so much money, especially with the prices of everything so high but I want to make her happy. Maybe there will be some specials or discounts?

Drive instead of fly
Staff offsite
Eat most meals offsite. Get a hotel with free breakfast, eat breakfast in your room or rent a timeshare or house with a full kitchen.
Skip the souvenirs
Visit on the dates with the lowest ticket cost
Buy one park per day tickets -- no hoppers
Skip the theme parks and do the water parks instead.
Do one party night, and a couple of water parks. Parties are expensive, but you can get a lot done. For a short trip, it can pack in a lot.
Do some free stuff, like touring resorts, and visiting Disney Springs.

 

[randumb0]

You are going to pay way more than what you did in 2018 and will get less but there are ways to cut down on how much you spend. The number one thing is to stay off site at a resort that has a shuttle to the parks

 

[scrappinginontario]

Drive instead of fly
Staff offsite
Eat most meals offsite. Get a hotel with free breakfast, eat breakfast in your room or rent a timeshare or house with a full kitchen.
Skip the souvenirs
Visit on the dates with the lowest ticket cost
Buy one park per day tickets -- no hoppers
Skip the theme parks and do the water parks instead.
Do one party night, and a couple of water parks. Parties are expensive, but you can get a lot done. For a short trip, it can pack in a lot.
Do some free stuff, like touring resorts, and visiting Disney Springs.

Lots of great suggestions here! We did a water park + MNSSHP trip in 2018 and it was more cost effective but OP is looking to visit in January and unfortunately there are not any parties in January.

 

[rwdavis2]

Don’t count on it. And if you’re looking at a Skyliner resort check for the week it’s going down for maintenance before booking.

Personally, I think the biggest savings right now is to move to off-site hotels. On-site has very little benefit if you can use rideshares/drive your own car.

I agree about off site. The price of deluxe hotels has gotten crazy but I do like staying in some of them.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[_19disnA]

Over the years we have stayed both on-site and off while at Disney and liked either choice. If you have a car and stay off-site you can also find a lot of good restaurants that are much cheaper then Disney. Generally, we always ate breakfast in our room since we aren't big breakfast eaters, did lunch while at one of the Disney parks and dinner somewhere else. I have also seen threads talking about various options for home rentals in the area. Never done that, but can also be an option that gives you more room, a real kitchen if you want to make something at home and a lower price compared to Disney. At the very least, you can compare the prices to see what your options are. Once you park your car on Disney property, you can take the available transportation options to get to the various parks so we never saw that as any big deal. If you park at TTC, for example, we enjoyed the monorail ride to Epcot even if others didn't seem to like it.

Drive vs. fly may not be a viable option if traveling from a long distance. Could take multiple days of your vacation traveling and the added cost of hotels/meals along the way. Also, if you fly, you would likely need to rent a car if staying off-site as a more convenient/economical/practical way to get around.

You just never know when discounts for Disney hotels might become available. They also only apply to certain room categories/dates/etc. so there is no guarantee when/where you want to travel will ever have a discount.

We don't go to Disney that often anymore, since the price/value is no longer there for us compared to other places we like to vacation. However, if your plan is to go to Disney, at least you can save some money by looking at other options for where you stay and enjoy your vacation just as much.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Here's the problem.

Is your pension funded consistent with good financial advice and some to spare? Do you have at least 6 months of your expenses in an emergency fund in cash in a bank in an account not used to fund your current expenses. For a professional that needs to be a year or a year and a half. Are you current on all financial obligations. Have you retired all of your credit card debt? If your debt ratio healthy? If you have a second mortgage or HELOC that should be paid off first. Is your children's college education funded without loans? If you already have a daughter in college, these are priorities that are a must for you over any vacation expenses, much less a trip to Disney. Someday, things will be better. Maybe you will eventually have grandkids to join your trip.

If all of those things are taken care of and you have the cash to fund the trip -- even with the higher prices, then go and enjoy.

If you do not, then "later" is almost always not "never." You need to make this decision with your brain, not your heart.

Wow! Really great financial advice. Wish everyone would follow this. WDW would be empty

Disney is for DREAMERS. GO! Make you and your daughter happy. There's more money out there to be earned.
You'll never get this chance again (to go w/ her as a Freshman in college).

 

[Marionnette]

We used to go to disney all the time when our children were younger. We had the best vacations, free dining and went during slow times are rarely waited for any ride. My daughter keeps asking when we can go back but I know disney has totally changed from when we were last there (2018) and I really have a problem spending around double for the same vacation when I know it won't be as great as it was before. My daughter is a freshman in college and will have a winter break, so we would be going in January. I am very hesitant to spend so much money, especially with the prices of everything so high but I want to make her happy. Maybe there will be some specials or discounts?

I would set my sights on her senior year winter break and make it a pre-graduation celebration . That would give you 3.5 years to save up, give Disney a chance to return to normal and maybe there will be good discounts by then. One thing that I did when my kids started college was to create a "stupid fund" for each of them. I put $25/week aside in each fund and if they didn't do anything stupid they would have about $5000 to start their adult life. One got his car booted for illegally parking, another was fined for "disorderly conduct", which was really underage drinking that the cop gave him a break on. Their funds were reduced by the financial cost of their stupidity.

You're going to encounter a lot of unanticipated expenses as she starts college. I would rather have the money to cover those expenses set aside instead of sunk into Disney tickets.

 

[Eastern]

I think January can be good. Since your daughter is now an adult, you can review expectations before you go.

I have gone many times in January and *in the past* there have been discounts, but they are on random room categories and certain dates will not have discounts. Depending on when Christmas week/NYE ends, we usually start our trip after that date and try to avoid marathon weekends. This may mean going Sun-Thursday. We are flexible with resort choice. As mentioned, MLK day and marathon days may be crowded/no discounts. Also, the prices are generally quite a bit higher so the 'discounts' are not the best.

Some of our best trips were during college breaks. It can be quite cool during January but as long as it's sunny it's fine. I would also consider an offsite hotel.

 

[DCLMP]

We used to go to disney all the time when our children were younger. We had the best vacations, free dining and went during slow times are rarely waited for any ride. My daughter keeps asking when we can go back but I know disney has totally changed from when we were last there (2018) and I really have a problem spending around double for the same vacation when I know it won't be as great as it was before. My daughter is a freshman in college and will have a winter break, so we would be going in January. I am very hesitant to spend so much money, especially with the prices of everything so high but I want to make her happy. Maybe there will be some specials or discounts?

If you normally stay deluxe than I would strongly suggest renting points. You will save a bundle. Because of the inflationary depression that's coming I do think demand will decrease and discounts will be back. Obviously your not the only one hesitant to spend money in this economy.

I'm not sure if they will be back by January though. It seems like Disney would rather sell less rooms and charge full price. There is a lot of rooms available in January so that's a good sign. Another advantage to DVC is bringing some of your own food and drinks. That is a big cost saver. I'm also considering a trip in January I got a quote for a 7nights in a preferred room SSR for 2277. Swan and Dolphin is another good option.

 

[DCLMP]

Wow! Really great financial advice. Wish everyone would follow this. WDW would be empty

Disney is for DREAMERS. GO! Make you and your daughter happy. There's more money out there to be earned.
You'll never get this chance again (to go w/ her as a Freshman in college).

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe .000009% of the population would qualify to go WDW with those requirements.

 

[DCLMP]

There are certainly ways to reduce your costs (bring snacks and drinks to park) and limit souvenirs and table service dining. That being said, there is no way you will ever get to 2018 prices. So that's a decision you have to make. Do the math now on tickets, travel, and lodging. Maybe make it a shorter stay/only do a few park days...

Good luck! Our economy right now is really rough.

2018 wasn't that long ago and it wasn't cheap then. The biggest difference in price will be lodging and that's because of the lack of discounts, but there are ways around that. Food is up everywhere so that should come as no shock and it's always been overpriced at WDW.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please keep this thread on topic to OP’s question and away from being a financial seminar. Thanks.