I think it depends on your local airport. You can fly direct from almost anywhere in the US to Orlando, but only big airports have direct flights to Europe. Once you start adding connections it gets more expensive and you often can't take the cheapest ticket because the schedules are delusional (4 am flights, 30 minute layovers, etc.).
But, at Disney you are spending a baseline of like $400 per day for tickets for a family of 4. That plus the food and upgrades is way more than I usually spend on any day of a vacation in the US or abroad.
I think that is part of it. I live close to an international airport but there are still few nonstop flights. The ones they do have are very expensive. Time of year matters, too. If we could travel in say early February we would be able to make it work. We cannot. Summer travel is just bonkers. Post Covid you don’t even save much using miles (at least not with United).
Basically only Amsterdam is somewhat reasonable from IAH. I priced it just the other day and it's cheaper than flying to Hawaii. They also had better mileage redemption. We were looking at just after Labor Day so just before prices go way up.
I hate all things Disney. It's just not my thing and I have a viseral reaction to it sometimes. We went once, with kids, and that was the last time I will step foot on Disney property, lol.
10000% this. We went when S was like 9 months only because we were already in florida and friends invited us to meet them there for a discounted overnight (they have all these disney perks) and we still spent $1500 in less than 24 hours. I told my husband that if he and S want to go again in the future, they can plan it themselves and do a day trip while I spend the day on the beach. No thank you.
Also, I think about all the vacations my parents took me on where we went museums and historic sites where I couldn’t talk or touch anything and I had to follow tour guides, and I was bored to tears, so very bored.
I vowed, as an adult, I’d try to find a happy balance with vacations where my kids are entertained and places my DH and I enjoy. So if that means Disney every five years or whatever, so be it.
ha! I feel the exact opposite. My parents always took us to museums and historic sites and NEVER to disney. I grew up saying "I will take my future kids to disney!" and now I am an adult and think back to all of the amazing trips my parents took me on! So many museums and cultures I got to explore and see that many kids did not have the privilege of seeing. Now I am the same as my parents, lol.
why can’t you do both museums AND Disney? I take my nieces and nephews to museums, zoos, and amusement parks. My parents did the same with me. 🤷♀️
I think the turning point for me was when we were at Epcot in "Paris" and my husband looked at me and said "you know, with the money we spent on this trip, we could have taken a bomb-ass trip to ACTUAL PARIS."
We did it once. It was fun for what it was. We won't go back.
Yes. Bingo. Disney is fun every once and awhile but visiting the real place over a recreation is even better.
I grew up on Disney and my mom worked for them so we got free tickets every year. I love the nostalgia, how well things are done and maintained, etc. I've only been and have interest in the American parks, though. When I went to France, I was not about to spend time and money at the park outside Paris.
I need the option...I'm a fan but my family not as much. I've been twice to DW and once to DLR in the past 6 years. I love it but my kids aren't that into it and my DH hates it.
::whispers:: You can do Disney World without planning the shit out of it.
We went over Halloween last year. Three days, one park each day. We had breakfast and dinner reservations. The rest? We got in lines like regular people. We did everything we wanted and it was fun.
I can’t get on board with a lot of the overplanning for a variety of reasons.
I agree and I always get hate in this WDW facebook group I’m in when I say that.
I did do some research so I knew which genie+ rides to go for at 7 am and we did do a table service lunch every day so obviously we had to plan our day around that, but it was so easy and not a big deal at all.
We just picked an area in each park to start and then worked our way around.
I don’t get all the hand wringing over how stressful Disney is, especially from people who have been multiple times!
Post-kids, I planned a trip to take my older one just because it would be fun for her. Side benefit that I did not realize until I got there is that the entire Disney property is very handicapped accessible. This made it very easy for someone with some mobility issues like myself to be able to enjoy lots of things and know that I will never have to climb 100 stairs, navigate narrow paths, be faced with a rocky incline to get back to a hotel room, etc. And so I have returned 3 more times since then.
The only place in the US that might be as mobility-friendly is Las Vegas, but that is much further away from us on the east coast. And it's not as kid friendly.
ETA - add me to the list of loose-planners. Especially since everything changed so much post-COVID.
Post by kittycatlove on Oct 7, 2022 10:48:47 GMT -5
I'm a crazy Disney person, LOL. We go almost every year to something Disney. I never went as a kid,and took DS to Disneyland for the first time when he was 2.5. I just fell in love with it. We mostly go to WDW, because it's a closer flight. But Disneyland is just so much better. I think maybe because it was built by Walt, I don't know it's just a different experience/feel than WDW.
Don't get me wrong, I love them both I also love Disney cruises.
The immersiveness while there is magical. I don't know how to explain it.
10000% this. We went when S was like 9 months only because we were already in florida and friends invited us to meet them there for a discounted overnight (they have all these disney perks) and we still spent $1500 in less than 24 hours. I told my husband that if he and S want to go again in the future, they can plan it themselves and do a day trip while I spend the day on the beach. No thank you.
co-signed.
ha! I feel the exact opposite. My parents always took us to museums and historic sites and NEVER to disney. I grew up saying "I will take my future kids to disney!" and now I am an adult and think back to all of the amazing trips my parents took me on! So many museums and cultures I got to explore and see that many kids did not have the privilege of seeing. Now I am the same as my parents, lol.
why can’t you do both museums AND Disney? I take my nieces and nephews to museums, zoos, and amusement parks. My parents did the same with me. 🤷♀️
Post by wesleycrusher on Oct 7, 2022 12:32:06 GMT -5
My grandmother lives close to Orlando, so we go frequently to visit her and tack on Disney since we're there anyway. We go often enough that having gone so many times we know where we like to eat, it requires very little planning as we've done it before and know what we're doing, and it's very familiar which is good for DS and his special needs.
We generally go to a lot of different amusement/theme parks as a family. We travel to other places, too.
Post by midwestmama on Oct 7, 2022 13:50:08 GMT -5
We've been to WDW maybe 6 times with the kids (anywhere from 1 day at a park to full week vacations), and DH and I have gone 2x just the two of us. After the last 2 visits, though, I think we're done going for a while. It's so expensive, and it feels like Disney nickel & dimes you on everything now, even if you stay at one of their resorts. We went last year for 1 day (to Epcot) and I think it cost around $1,000 for everything for the 4 of us (park passes, Lightning Lane, parking, food, souvenirs). There isn't anything we want to see or do there that badly that we want to pay that again for 1 day of entertainment.
If you do Disneyland, there is almost zero planning. It’s really nice.
Thanks! I will plan on Disney Land for sure 😀
We went to visit a friend in LA in Aug, she’s a big Disney fan. I had never been to Disneyland, it’s SO nice and easy! The two parks are right across from each other. We did one long day and did almost everything we wanted to. Much more laid back than DW. We had no plans.
Ok douche, go ahead and call it mud. My husband DID have halitosis. We addressed it after I talked to you girls on here and guess what? Years later, no problem. Mofongo, you're a cunt. Eat shit. ~anonnamus
Ok douche, go ahead and call it mud. My husband DID have halitosis. We addressed it after I talked to you girls on here and guess what? Years later, no problem. Mofongo, you're a cunt. Eat shit. ~anonnamus
Never went as a kid, went to Disneyland as an adult, still haven't been to Disneyworld. Aside from not really wanting to visit Florida, especially in any season when it's humid, I'd be willing to go. I thought Disneyland was a pretty unique experience, different from other theme parks. But I wouldn't rush to spend every vacation there, especially with the cost and wanting to, like, vacation other places too. (I was a SoCal resident when I went to Disneyland.)
I am not a huge fan and since I live out of state, I don’t go more than every few years. But I do like to go for my own fun, not just to take kids.
I also like Universal Studios. And our last 2 Florida trips were there because it is so much easier to manage - walking distance from the room to the parks, eating, fast pass included. So, I’m not too loyal to just Disney.
I’ve never gone to any Disney park. I mentioned possibly going with my kid someday to a former coworker and she’s a crazy Disney planner person-she made it sound so hard and involved and convoluted that I figured it was too complicated to bother with. 😂 She would get excited when she could pick her meals or something 6 months ahead of time and had spreadsheets of meals and meet and greets and parades and rides. I’ve never been interested since then and then Covid happened.
I went to Disney when I was 11 and it was my favorite childhood trip by far. It was just such a fun magical place. I’ve always wanted to go back with kids but I don’t think DS (7) would be that into it, so I’m holding out for when DD is older and maybe we’ll go if she’s a Disney fan.
I’m sure if I never went as a kid and didn’t have all these nostalgic feelings I’d probably not care about taking my own kids. Also regarding the food I remember even as a kid it was mediocre, but I saw someone post a picture recently of a cookie from some specialty cookie place that looked amazing and I’m still thinking about how delicious that cookie looked. I’ll be so bummed if I crave this cookie for years and it’s a disappointment.
Also, I find the people who look down their nose and judge big disney fans more annoying than the hardcore fans. How does it even affect you?
There are a few things at play here, I think, some ridiculous, some warranted.
1) There’s a weird snobbishness around Disney, where it’s expensive but still considered low brow. Like the McMansion of vacations.
2) There are Disney fans and then there are Disney Fans. And not only is being that committed to ANYTHING going to bring out the haters, but I think it’s particularly tempting when the product is so aggressively wholesome and trying to be as uncontroversial as possible. They’re literally trying to sell “happiness” to a mass audience.
3) Disney is typically seen as one of those companies that is making a good faith effort to be on the right side of history, but they’ve had a long history of using racist and sexist tropes in their franchises. Not everyone is ready to forgive and forget. And no company could possibly live up to the Disney halo — not even Disney.
I’ve never been and probably won’t go. It’s too expensive, for the price of a trip there I just feel other equally expensive trips would be more fun.
If someone was paying for it though I’d go.
We visit Ireland quite a bit because my family lives there so I wonder if maybe someday we would take a short flight to Paris and visit Disneyland there for a day.
Also, I find the people who look down their nose and judge big disney fans more annoying than the hardcore fans. How does it even affect you?
So I think I understand the snobbery a little. I asked on the board here a few years ago what the big deal was about staying on property just to be able to utilize the Disney transportation. I lived in NYC for a while and had done plenty of monorail/bus/skyliner/ferry transfers in NYC just like they have at Disney. And it was explained to me that it is all about being in the “Disney bubble” once you arrive.” That’s when I realized that the people in the bubble implicitly prefer the bubble because it is clean, corporate controlled, you only go there if you can afford it so the vacationers are homogeneous and your bus stop won’t smell like pee, vomit or both. Disney has cute mouse pictures everywhere you turn and NYC has live rats lurking everywhere. If you were to venture out in NYC, you would have to brave the locals and there isn’t a cast member around to sprinkle pixie dust on you when a pigeon poops on your hair. Like ok, you do Disney but don’t go on and on about how hard it was to get a reservation at a restaurant themed like Paris when you would never in a million years step out of the bubble and go to the real Paris.
Also, I find the people who look down their nose and judge big disney fans more annoying than the hardcore fans. How does it even affect you?
So I think I understand the snobbery a little. I asked on the board here a few years ago what the big deal was about staying on property just to be able to utilize the Disney transportation. I lived in NYC for a while and had done plenty of monorail/bus/skyliner/ferry transfers in NYC just like they have at Disney. And it was explained to me that it is all about being in the “Disney bubble” once you arrive.” That’s when I realized that the people in the bubble implicitly prefer the bubble because it is clean, corporate controlled, you only go there if you can afford it so the vacationers are homogeneous and your bus stop won’t smell like pee, vomit or both. Disney has cute mouse pictures everywhere you turn and NYC has live rats lurking everywhere. If you were to venture out in NYC, you would have to brave the locals and there isn’t a cast member around to sprinkle pixie dust on you when a pigeon poops on your hair. Like ok, you do Disney but don’t go on and on about how hard it was to get a reservation at a restaurant themed like Paris when you would never in a million years step out of the bubble and go to the real Paris.
I think this is really reading into the whole Disney bubble thing. I always thought it just meant that you get the Disney magic the entire time rather than saying down the road at a generic hotel with generic food and generic transportation. As a kid when we stayed at a Disney property I remember how much fun our hotel was. The entire place was themed down to the Mickey shaped waffles and toiletries in the bathroom, and yeah now as an adult it’s contrived and cheesy but it’s fun for kids and really stepped up the whole vacation.
So I think I understand the snobbery a little. I asked on the board here a few years ago what the big deal was about staying on property just to be able to utilize the Disney transportation. I lived in NYC for a while and had done plenty of monorail/bus/skyliner/ferry transfers in NYC just like they have at Disney. And it was explained to me that it is all about being in the “Disney bubble” once you arrive.” That’s when I realized that the people in the bubble implicitly prefer the bubble because it is clean, corporate controlled, you only go there if you can afford it so the vacationers are homogeneous and your bus stop won’t smell like pee, vomit or both. Disney has cute mouse pictures everywhere you turn and NYC has live rats lurking everywhere. If you were to venture out in NYC, you would have to brave the locals and there isn’t a cast member around to sprinkle pixie dust on you when a pigeon poops on your hair. Like ok, you do Disney but don’t go on and on about how hard it was to get a reservation at a restaurant themed like Paris when you would never in a million years step out of the bubble and go to the real Paris.
I think this is really reading into the whole Disney bubble thing. I always thought it just meant that you get the Disney magic the entire time rather than saying down the road at a generic hotel with generic food and generic transportation. As a kid when we stayed at a Disney property I remember how much fun our hotel was. The entire place was themed down to the Mickey shaped waffles and toiletries in the bathroom, and yeah now as an adult it’s contrived and cheesy but it’s fun for kids and really stepped up the whole vacation.
As kids, we always stayed at the hotel down the road and drove to the parks. I didn't know about the theming at the property hotels until I was older and the internet was invented. I think kids don't care about the difference as much. At least mine are still young enough and find everything about an Orlando vacation amazing and magical whether it's Disney owned and Mickey themed or not. The parks are like magic on steroids to them.
Post by BlondeSpiders on Oct 7, 2022 18:21:10 GMT -5
These poll options are weird. I guess you're only supposed to go if you have kids?
I wouldn't call myself a Disney fanatic, but I do love Disney parks; I've been to Disneyworld, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney, and Disneyland Paris. No plans to go to Shanghai Disney or Hong Kong Disneyland.
I was born in SoCal and have relatives nearby, so OG Disneyland will always be my favorite. We try to go every 3-5 years, and we don't have kids. We're planning to do the Galactic Starcruiser experience for J's 45th birthday in 2024.
Also, I find the people who look down their nose and judge big disney fans more annoying than the hardcore fans. How does it even affect you?
So I think I understand the snobbery a little. I asked on the board here a few years ago what the big deal was about staying on property just to be able to utilize the Disney transportation. I lived in NYC for a while and had done plenty of monorail/bus/skyliner/ferry transfers in NYC just like they have at Disney. And it was explained to me that it is all about being in the “Disney bubble” once you arrive.” That’s when I realized that the people in the bubble implicitly prefer the bubble because it is clean, corporate controlled, you only go there if you can afford it so the vacationers are homogeneous and your bus stop won’t smell like pee, vomit or both. Disney has cute mouse pictures everywhere you turn and NYC has live rats lurking everywhere. If you were to venture out in NYC, you would have to brave the locals and there isn’t a cast member around to sprinkle pixie dust on you when a pigeon poops on your hair. Like ok, you do Disney but don’t go on and on about how hard it was to get a reservation at a restaurant themed like Paris when you would never in a million years step out of the bubble and go to the real Paris.
The value resorts are very affordable, IMO.
We stayed at a moderate and it was $210 per night. I feel like that’s pretty average for a hotel, regardless of location. I’ve definitely spent more at non Disney hotels.
The Disney bubble is all about convenience for me Vs corporate controlled.
One of the reasons I got annoyed with/looked down on hardcore Disney people is bc they make you feel as though you aren’t doing it “right” if you aren’t chock full on fast passes, special activities (the boutique, character meals etc). You MUST line up early for the parades. You MUST get a room that faces the fireworks. You MUST be there at rope drop. There’s a certain condescending superiority that is covertly implied if you don’t do it up.
We don’t vacation like that. And FWIW I found it just as annoying on the Beaches T&C FB page and even the obsession with HM “excursions” drove me crazy on the Knot back in 2003. And like it said, I’ve changed my thinking that if it brings others joy, have at it. So in short, it’s not you, it’s me.
But don’t make me feel like a POS if I sleep in, skip the fireworks and don’t shake Mickeys hand.
One of the reasons I got annoyed with/looked down on hardcore Disney people is bc they make you feel as though you aren’t doing it “right” if you aren’t chock full on fast passes, special activities (the boutique, character meals etc). You MUST line up early for the parades. You MUST get a room that faces the fireworks. You MUST be there at rope drop. There’s a certain condescending superiority that is covertly implied if you don’t do it up.
We don’t vacation like that. And FWIW I found it just as annoying on the Beaches T&C FB page and even the obsession with HM “excursions” drove me crazy on the Knot back in 2003. And like it said, I’ve changed my thinking that if it brings others joy, have at it. So in short, it’s not you, it’s me.
But don’t make me feel like a POS if I sleep in, skip the fireworks and don’t shake Mickeys hand.
But where are you talking to these people? Are these friends of yours?
Ok douche, go ahead and call it mud. My husband DID have halitosis. We addressed it after I talked to you girls on here and guess what? Years later, no problem. Mofongo, you're a cunt. Eat shit. ~anonnamus
Also, I find the people who look down their nose and judge big disney fans more annoying than the hardcore fans. How does it even affect you?
There are a few things at play here, I think, some ridiculous, some warranted.
1) There’s a weird snobbishness around Disney, where it’s expensive but still considered low brow. Like the McMansion of vacations.
I think this reason #1 is 90% of it.
I’m not a huge/insane Disney fan, but I’m not here to judge huge Disney fans either.
I feel similarly about people who judge those who eat at chain restaurants a la Red Lobster or Olive Garden. Like, I eat at those types of places hardly ever. But judging people who do is gross to me. A younger, snobbier version of me might have (when I was an annoyingly borderline-hipster “everything must be local!!1” person) but I like to think I’ve evolved since then. It’s ok for people to like stuff with mass market appeal. It doesn’t make them bad people.
And no, I’m not equating Disney with Olive Garden lol. Just musing aloud about judgments that are somewhat based in snobbishness.
mofongo no, not in real life. Like it said, I’m not letting it bother me. But I’m a message board person so when I plan a trip I read threads (here, there, wherever) and the intensity creates a sense of panic. They general energy of the planning boards and blogs that if you don’t do it x y and x way you’re not doing it right. And like it said, it’s not unique to Disney. But it certainly has the most intense vacation planning enthusiasts.
melmaria it has nothing to do with thinking it’s low brow. We can’t really afford it as a regular trip. And give me an all-inclusive Caribbean vacation and I’m happy as a pig in shit so I am not acting like I’m above any trip.