With all the price increases is it worth even going?

[aea71]

Having just returned from WDW last night, I can honestly say that my family isn't interested in rushing back to the parks anytime soon. We're 20+ year DVC members and even with our lodging already taken care of (other than annual dues), it's just not a good value anymore. We paid for Genie+ and some ILL's on 3 out of our 4 days in the parks and felt as if we were attached to the phone! We are there to be on vacation and get a break from everyday life. With crowd levels, we felt we had to go with Genie+ and ILL to make the most of our park time given what we had already spent on park tickets. Future vacations, if we decide to return to WDW, will likely be based around pool time and other non-park attractions. Cast members also don't seem to be living up to the pre-pandemic Disney quality of the past making WDW seem a lot like the local theme park.

 

[bakerworld]

We've yet to spend $ on G+ or ILL/LL but we're not ride dependent people. We enjoy walking thru and jumping in a queue less than 30 minutes. Relatives who do rope drop have little problem getting on the bigger rides but we don't usually arrive at a park until 10:30am. We still find value to the resorts and love the new iteration of Disney Springs.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Everything has changed so much in the past couple years. Is it even worth going? Seems nothing is as good as it was. Prices are higher than ever before and quality and service is lacking. Why spend a small fortune? Just wondering everyones opinions.

Price increases...part of life and I've always been ok with that. But the question is; "is the value there"? No. The value from a WDW vacation has not been there for some time. Prices will always go up but the question is does the value follow.

The value of a WDW vacation has long been lacking.

 

[Renaissancerocks]

Is WDW worth it now? Not for us, not any longer…

Back in January 2020 (when Covid was just an outbreak of flu in China) DW and I booked a 3-week break for late November 2021, staying offsite in a villa and of course hiring a car. We don’t do this lightly - we’re in the UK so we have to take flight costs into account - but we planned to get the UK-special ‘14 days for the price of 7’ tickets for WDW, spend 6 or 7 days at WDW, a couple of days at Universal (last visit there 1999), visit Seaworld (last visit 2001), visit Kennedy Space Centre (we always do this). Then Covid… We were able to postpone our trip for 12 months and we’re now travelling to Florida next month.

But we won’t be buying WDW tickets in advance and have no real plans to visit the parks at all. We’ll book a breakfast at Boma if we can (our favourite breakfast option) and if the mood takes us we might see if we can get 1-day tickets for Epcot (we both love World Showcase) but that will be it. The need for park reservations as well as tickets, the constant nickel-and-dimeing for things that used to be included, the soaring base prices, the idiocy of Genie+ and having to be on a cellphone all day for maximum benefit. And after reading on the forums about the poor cleanliness, the decline in attitude from cast members, the declining standard of the food offerings and the need to do in-park dining by cellphone… thanks but no thanks.

We’ll still visit Universal (Jurassic Park and Minions, OK?) and Seaworld and KSC, but there’s also plenty else to do in central Florida outside the WDW bubble. DW has been watching Secrets of the Zoo on National Geographic and has a yen to drive over to Tampa and visit ZooTampa at Lowry Park, and Orlando has some museums which I would like to take in… and that’s aside from a few days just chilling at the villa and enjoying the warmth and the pool.

So we’re still very much looking forward to our trip, but WDW won’t play much of a part in it.

If you want something cool to do, dance you will be in central Florida for a while, and you’re willing to drive, go to weeki Wachee state park kayaking down the weeki Wachee to search for manatees. Just got back and that was amazing, even if you don’t see manatees. https://weekiwachee.com/kayaking-paddling-boating-in-weeki-wachee-springs-state-park/

 

[gharter]

We just got back from a week at WDW and enjoyed our trip. In general, the parks felt more crowded than in previous years. some of that, I suspect is some of the attractions that used to hold a lot of people are either closed, down or not coming back.
We found Genie + was very helpful in MK and HS. Not as helpful at AK, but purchased it as the park was very busy and felt it was worth it. It still is lacking features to make it more user friendly.
We also used ILL$ for FoP, 7DMT and Rise. Found that saved us a lot of time.
We were at MK on a party day, so it closed at 6. Using EE, planning and Genie +, we were able to do 19 attractions. Extremely short lines till 2 pm.
HS was packed.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Yes, I think so. First of all, I own DVC so that's less we have to worry about so that's a big part of it. Also, we just cut back on other things. We did a week stay in May without points because of the 50% restriction and it was pretty expensive since we had cash reservations at both WL and GDT but I was celebrating my first birthday trip so I kept it. Of course, I wouldn't do it that way again if we had to do a cash reservation. Hotel prices are off the charts right now as I'm finding out by booking accommodations other than WDW. We also did 2-day park passes so much less park time which was the idea behind the Flower and Garden trip anyway. We didn't purchase Genie+ and the trip turned out to be relaxing and enjoyable. The next trip in May will be similar even with using points since I'm really hoping to do 1 or 2 after-hour events instead of multiple park days.

 

[jecarnl]

Return on investment. That's why we have not been since 2019. The product doesn't justify the price.

 

[gorkt]

Well, in a few months, I am going to find out.

I go every few years, and I started planning this trip in late 2020 as a bright spot to look forward to during COVID. I am pretty open minded about changes at WDW, since there is always some new system pretty much every time I go. I liked the change to FP+ when others did not, and I can see the potential in G+ if used properly, but I can also see the down sides. I can tell you that this trip will be my most expensive ever, by far, even with factoring out certain splurges that I added to the trip since it will be my first real vacation in years. Whether I feel it is worth the cost remains to be seen. I do feel pressured to add a lot of extras to get "lower crowd experiences" but I have been feeling that pressure for awhile. I will say, I am adding more time at Universal this trip, since my experiences there have been very positive and much more chill, especially with express pass.

 

[samster]

Naw the party's over for us. We've been going since day one and the Chapek model of greed is a line we won't cross. When the head man basically says "I will charge these rubes until they choke and scream uncle", no thanks. A ton of things better to spend entertainment dollars on

 

[tguz]

Everything has changed so much in the past couple years. Is it even worth going? Seems nothing is as good as it was. Prices are higher than ever before and quality and service is lacking. Why spend a small fortune? Just wondering everyones opinions.

I'd say, if there is any question in your family's mind, don't go. Choose someplace everyone can feel good about.

 

[BrizMarc]

Having just returned from WDW last night, I can honestly say that my family isn't interested in rushing back to the parks anytime soon. We're 20+ year DVC members and even with our lodging already taken care of (other than annual dues), it's just not a good value anymore. We paid for Genie+ and some ILL's on 3 out of our 4 days in the parks and felt as if we were attached to the phone! We are there to be on vacation and get a break from everyday life. With crowd levels, we felt we had to go with Genie+ and ILL to make the most of our park time given what we had already spent on park tickets. Future vacations, if we decide to return to WDW, will likely be based around pool time and other non-park attractions. Cast members also don't seem to be living up to the pre-pandemic Disney quality of the past making WDW seem a lot like the local theme park.

This is exactly whats turning me off booking a trip. Im worried it wont be like it used to be.

 

[Misha72683]

Disney is crazy expensive but so is most travel. I went to Chicago a few weeks ago and the food and drink prices were on par with Disney. I went with girlfriends and shared a hotel room with two other women snd it still cost me $1200 for a 4 day weekend (and it was just me, nkt my family).

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

This is exactly whats turning me off booking a trip. Im worried it wont be like it used to be.

It isn't like it used to be. Every WDW trip is different in my opinion. That's a good thing! However, the changes I experienced since we visited in early 2020 have been too much for me and my family.

I absolutely believe you can have a good trip if the cost and extra planning doesn't overwhelm your resources.

For me and mine it is time to take a break. I will have to return since my child truly loves it and has many treasured memories.

 

[EasinEpcot]

Our last trip was in Feb 2021, right before the world shut down. I spent much of the pandemic dreaming of going back when things were back to normal, I had no idea that day would never come. Now, with all the changes, I'm hesitant to book a trip. We really counted on the certainty of having 3 FP+ per park day, and knowing in advance that we'd get to ride our favorites with no stress. Having that gone is a huge loss, as is the dining plan, which allowed us to prepay for the entire vacation, no credit card bill to come home to. I've been researching Genie+ and it's just so complicated and uncertain and that is a huge negative for this type of vacation for us. We loved the magic and ease of WDW, I'm not ready to take the chance on spending so much money and being disappointed.

 

[greeneyedchick]

For me, it's not worth it and I only live 45 minutes away. The big down side is that we have been there many times, so if we go, it's only to see the new stuff. The problem is that you can pay a ton of money and there's no guarantee that you will actually get to ride the new rides. That's a huge risk! Now that we lost our APs, I would have to pay $600+ for us to get into a park for 1 day and then more if I were to buy ILL (except that since I live near there, I won't be staying at a resort so my chance of getting the ILL is nil). Then I still need to make sure that I'm there by 7am to try to get a boarding group or LL. Too stressful! And the chances of the ride breaking down is high.

And if I end up buying tickets on a day with bad weather or big crowds, I have no recourse. I miss being able to pick up the kids from school and decide to spend the evening there when it was a chilly night and the crowds were low. We'd go to whatever park we felt like and would nab a spot on the headliner right before park close (as APs we could never get good fastpass selections). Even with the FL discount, it's not worth all of the money, stress and hassle to hope to ride the new headliner. We are now Universal AP holders. I tell everyone who is coming to visit me to skip Disney and go to Universal.

 

[set88]

For me, it's not worth it and I only live 45 minutes away. The big down side is that we have been there many times, so if we go, it's only to see the new stuff. The problem is that you can pay a ton of money and there's no guarantee that you will actually get to ride the new rides. That's a huge risk! Now that we lost our APs, I would have to pay $600+ for us to get into a park for 1 day and then more if I were to buy ILL (except that since I live near there, I won't be staying at a resort so my chance of getting the ILL is nil). Then I still need to make sure that I'm there by 7am to try to get a boarding group or LL. Too stressful! And the chances of the ride breaking down is high.

And if I end up buying tickets on a day with bad weather or big crowds, I have no recourse. I miss being able to pick up the kids from school and decide to spend the evening there when it was a chilly night and the crowds were low. We'd go to whatever park we felt like and would nab a spot on the headliner right before park close (as APs we could never get good fastpass selections). Even with the FL discount, it's not worth all of the money, stress and hassle to hope to ride the new headliner. We are now Universal AP holders. I tell everyone who is coming to visit me to skip Disney and go to Universal.

A lot of the concerns you have can be said of any theme park. Universal's single day tickets are no less outrageous than Disney's. Universal is crowded and also has very long lines for their newest standout rides at peak crowd times. Universal isn't going to give you a refund if you go on a day with big crowds or bad weather. All rides can experience downtime as well. And you can and likely will wear out the rides at Universal if you visit there as many times as you've visited Disney.

I get the sense that your feelings about Disney are more about having worn it out than anything else. I get that, because I'm the same way, but with Universal instead of Disney. Almost exactly the same way - I've been an AP holder before and done everything there to death in years past, and I literally only want to go to back now to ride the newest two rides I haven't been on yet. But Universal makes it so expensive to do that that is simply isn't worth it.

That isn't a criticism of Universal the same way it isn't a criticism of Disney. I really don't like that it would cost me so much money just to go ride the newest stuff, but I get it. It's not Universal's fault that I'm less interested in the stuff I've done to death.

I will also say you absolutely still can go to Disney and ride a headliner at closing time with less of a wait, too. There's no reason for someone to believe they "can't" ride whatever they want unless they pay extra for ILL or Genie+! Aside from Guardians, every ride does have a standby line and you can go stand in it and be able to ride. It might be a longer line than is ideal if you go on a crowded day or at a peak crowd time of day, but you can do it. And Guardians will not have a VQ forever.

Also - if this helps - you don't have to be at EPCOT to join the VQ at 7am. And the 1pm VQ usually lasts long enough to easily join except on the highest crowd days. And the ILL lasts quite a long time, past park opening I think pretty much always. So you can guarantee a ride if you want.

 

[Minnie1222]

We went twice last year and once this past June. Magic returns exponentially with each subsequent visit. Obviously, I don't want to pay the extra charges at Disney or anywhere else, but it is what it is.

 

[Moliphino]

Nope. I just spent a week in Belgium for less than I spent on a week in WDW in May 2021.

 

[Monykalyn]

Hubs and did DCP back in the 90's, our oldest did 2 DCP's-we were a disney family. Had the AP's (out of state) and had just activated new ones in Jan 2020. We let them go and got our money back that summer. We kept our Universal AP's though.
After not being back in a Disney park for 2.5 years went for a MNSSHP in September. It was probably the best MNSSHP we've been to-lower crowds, perfect weather, walked up to spot in Frontierland 20 minutes prior to parade, fireworks fantastic, walked on all the rides we wanted...and yet the magic was gone. Just didn't have that super excitement like I had in 2018 &2019.
Son is saying he wants to do Disney one more time for his graduation trip. Trying to convince him to do a cruise instead (we could pay for an extra cabin for him to bring friends along and it'd be cheaper than 3 of us at Disney-and that's assuming we could use our TS to trade into a DVC).
We did 2 weeks in Hawaii this summer for what it would have cost us for a week on property (utilized out timeshares though so did "cheat" a bit on lodging)

Like everything only you can say if the cost is "worth it".

 

[Magical2017]

Not for our family. Part of it is because my kids now prefer Universal as far as theme parks go. I'm not trying to defend Universal or put down Disney--they are different experiences and we simply enjoyed the theme park experience better at Universal in recent years. It's more than a theme park comparison--it's the overall vacation experience. It seems like a real hassle to book a Disney trip. I love travel in general, but the thought of booking a Disney trip just doesn't do it for me anymore.

We have a Universal trip planned for January. That's probably it for awhile. We have some international trips planned but will probably visit Orlando again when Epic has been open for awhile. I am sure the first summer will be a madhouse.