# It’s now cheaper to travel to Paris than stay at Disneyland in Anaheim



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 25, 2022)

It's now cheaper to travel to Disneyland in Paris than Anaheim
					

Inflation and price-gouging have infiltrated the Most Magical Place on Earth.




					www.sfgate.com


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 25, 2022)

I sure agree that price-gouging is Disney's new normal at both locations in the US.  Michael Eisner said many years ago that you raise the prices until people stop coming, then stay at those prices until people come back because they are addicted to Disney.  They are doing it.  Lightning Lane, Genie+ all add $$$ to a park visit, and the value hotels at Disney World that used to be just over $100 per night are ridiculously priced.  Anything to be "in the magic" for those who are not timeshare savvy.  Food has gone up explosively.  We have dining reservations for late April-early May that will cost us $80 per person with tip.  And the time waiting for table, ordering and eating takes away from time in the parks.


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## Bunk (Feb 25, 2022)

DW and I took grandchildren to Disney World a few years ago. Not only wasn't it the happiest place on earth, neither of us thought it was a happy place.  So we both decided that neither of us wanted to go back to Disney.

This YouTube discussion is by a former Disney fan who tells us:

This is not Walt's Disney anymore.  This is a vacuum sucking money pit.  It is not about the experience.  It is not about the joy.  It is not about anything to do with the customer anymore.  It is 100% about how much money they can suck from your wallet at any given moment.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 25, 2022)

Agree.  It's no longer for bigger families.  I feel sorry for those who are Disney addicts like us and cannot afford to go anymore.  I won't pay for Genie+ and Lightning Lane.  I will stand in lines.  It's not that tough, and Disney lies about the wait times.  To get an accurate wait time, use an app like Touring Plans (which has a very small cost), take advantage of early entry times  and late nights while onsite to ride the busiest rides before others arrive and leave.  Rides have lower wait times at nights during fireworks.  Skip the fireworks.  Our daughter-in-law figured this out in January.  One time for watching fireworks is enough.    

Lightning Lane times generally do not start until an hour after official park opening to everyone. Even if Frozen or Ratatouille lines look long, you can usually get into the ride within 30 minutes, if you get to the ride as soon as the park opens. The cast members will try to guide you away from the lines, but they do that to even the wait times for less popular rides. It's a sleazy thing to turn people away from a ride the kids really want to ride, just so you can sell Lightning Lane. My opinion only, don't get angry Disney apologizers. 

I had to stop watching posts by DVC owners on FB, a group I belong to.  It's actually Seth Nock's FB group (sellingtimeshare.net).  That is not meant to be an advertisement.  I liked the group initially, but these are DVC owners, all of them, and there are some there that are just mean to anyone who criticizes Disney's escalating costs, phone wait times, and long lines.  People are so mean that I feel the moderation needs to be better.  I think it's gotten so big that the moderators have lost control of it.


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## bogey21 (Feb 25, 2022)

Funny but sometime in the late 80s I was talking to an Englishman by the pool at Sabal Palms.  He told me he (and his family) had come to visit Disney World.  He said it was cheaper than going to Euro Disney even taking into account the airfare.  Was what he told me the truth?  I have no idea.  All I know is that is what he told me...

George


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## bnoble (Feb 25, 2022)

It's totally fine if some fraction---and maybe even a large fraction---of Disney guests are one-and-done. The world keeps making families with school-aged kids, and it will take a big cultural shift to remove the Mouse from his perch as a rite-of-passage for a certain slice of Americana. Until that happens, families will still make their pilgrimage to Mickey. They will scrimp and save to do so if they have to. And, a few will keep coming back for a good many years.

I just renewed my U. Michigan football season tickets. Eight home games. I get a (very modest) faculty discount, and sit in a section with the lowest required "donation" in addition to the renewal cost. But, the pair of season tickets was cheaper than two 7-day parkhopper tickets to WDW that cover our spring break trip next month. I admit to being surprised by that.



Bunk said:


> This is not Walt's Disney anymore.


There's pretty good evidence that ol' Uncle Walt was a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist who priced Disneyland high enough to keep the riff-raff out. I think it's very much Walt's Disney.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 25, 2022)

Let's just say that with AP's being in the rearview mirror for new purchasers, we will renew ours every single year to get our many weeks in each year. They may never sell those again and may at some point keep us from renewing.  They make the rules, we obey the rules.  Staying at Disney via exchange is a gift, and using the Extra Magic Hours is another gift.  They could take that away as well.  I will get up early, brush my teeth, grab a protein bar and my coffee mug and go early to ride the rides I want to ride each day.  We never go for less than two weeks.


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## nomoretslt (Feb 25, 2022)

Yeah, what is up with the annual passes?  We were fortunate that we were able to renew after they extended ours for 5 months.  We will keep renewing, as we now go 3 to 5 times/year.  BWV points for January are only 9 points weekday for a studio and as much as I hate studios, I’d like to do the festival of the arts, so going to squeeze that trip in.  Hopefully the dining plan will be back.  We do first week of December too for the Christmas decorations.  Will probably stay offsite to bookend the trip.  I’m not happy with the money grabbing and price gouging.  But it’s our happy place.  I have no desire right now to get on a plane and travel across the country or across the Atlantic.  We don’t spend money when home on things like takeout food or dinners out.  Don’t do that much in Disney because we usually have a one bedroom and do lots of meals in.  Very rarely buy souvenirs.  We did hit a very awesome pass holders discount of 75% off December 2020 because they had so much dated merchandise but nobody was there to buy it.  We killed it!


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## bnoble (Feb 25, 2022)

nomoretslt said:


> Yeah, what is up with the annual passes?


The parks are full without selling new ones, and day-ticket guests spend (much) more per day in the parks.


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## Ty1on (Feb 25, 2022)

bnoble said:


> It's totally fine if some fraction---and maybe even a large fraction---of Disney guests are one-and-done. The world keeps making families with school-aged kids, and it will take a big cultural shift to remove the Mouse from his perch as a rite-of-passage for a certain slice of Americana. Until that happens, families will still make their pilgrimage to Mickey. They will scrimp and save to do so if they have to. And, a few will keep coming back for a good many years.
> 
> I just renewed my U. Michigan football season tickets. Eight home games. I get a (very modest) faculty discount, and sit in a section with the lowest required "donation" in addition to the renewal cost. But, the pair of season tickets was cheaper than two 7-day parkhopper tickets to WDW that cover our spring break trip next month. I admit to being surprised by that.
> 
> ...


When I was a kid in the 70s, you could walk into Disneyland free of charge IIRC.  You bought a coupon book and paid for rides a la carte.  And that coupon book was quite affordable to all but the poorest.  You paid for food and merchandise of you wanted them, but you could bring in a bag lunch.

I agree, Walt was certainly a capitalist, but it is unfair to paint him as elitist when it came to pricing.


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## Luanne (Feb 25, 2022)

Ty1on said:


> When I was a kid in the 70s, you could walk into Disneyland free of charge IIRC.  You bought a coupon book and paid for rides a la carte.  And that coupon book was quite affordable to all but the poorest.  You paid for food and merchandise of you wanted them, but you could bring in a bag lunch.
> 
> I agree, Walt was certainly a capitalist, but it is unfair to paint him as elitist when it came to pricing.


I was curious when Disneyland went to the one price and it looks like it was in 1982.  But somehow that seems late to me.  I remember going to Disneyland from the time it opened in 1955.  Somewhere in the 1960s we'd go as a family and I'd take my best friend.  By that time we were allowed to go on rides by ourselves.  Our favorite was the Matterhorn.  Our record was 8 times in a row.  I don't think we could have done that with ticket books.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 25, 2022)

In July of 1976, our first ever trip to Disneyland, they had ticket books, and they had several E ticket rides in them.  Perhaps your family gave you extras? 

We were riding on Small World and a lady gave us her family's leftover tickets, and there were a couple of E tickets in those books.  We were pretty excited.  Rick and I were considering purchasing a second book, actually, because we were there for five days and no lines for many of the rides.  We so enjoyed that trip.


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## Janann (Feb 25, 2022)

Ty1on said:


> When I was a kid in the 70s, you could walk into Disneyland free of charge IIRC.


No, there was always a charge to get in.  You could buy either admission only, or admission along with an A to E ticket book.  There were two or three options for ticket books.


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## geist1223 (Feb 26, 2022)

My Dad was in the Navy. Our best times were on Navy Night. All rides included at a very substantial Discount. Great times. My Aunt and Uncle lived in Anaheim from after the Korean War until he retired in the later 1980's. He was a Disney Club Member from the very early days. He always had lots of tickets.


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## CO skier (Feb 26, 2022)

Many people have no desire to travel to either location, so it is irrelevant.  I travel where I can find the most vacation for my buck -- Yellowstone, ski vacations, Oregon coast in the summer, spring somewhere in the sunbelt; lots of possibilities much more affordable than a binary choice of Europe (Paris) or a Disney park.


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## TheHolleys87 (Feb 26, 2022)

nomoretslt said:


> Yeah, what is up with the annual passes?


I think part of the delay might be that Disney is waiting on the outcome of the lawsuit in California, which is essentially challenging how much park reservation capacity Disney has to set aside for Magic Key (annual pass) holders vs. individual ticket buyers. https://allears.net/2021/12/20/news-disneyland-responds-to-5-million-magic-key-lawsuit/. Probably isn’t the only thing, but could be contributing. I have seen posts complaining about the opposite issue - park reservations at WDW were open for AP holders but not for regular tickets.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 26, 2022)

When you stay onsite, you can always get park reservations.  That is what some would call elitist.  Pay our high prices for hotels, and you can do what you want.


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## bnoble (Feb 26, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> When you stay onsite, you can always get park reservations.


Not necessarily. For my first week next month, MK and AK are sold out for on-property guests on 3/14 and 3/15. DS is sold out for on-property guests from 3/14 through 3/17 inclusive. All four parks are available for the top two tiers of AP on all of those days. (The other two are blocked out that week.)


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## SteelerGal (Feb 26, 2022)

It’s no longer afforded and we are local to Disneyland.  And we are not the only family in our community that has been out priced.  Truly sad because many of us grew up w/ Disneyland and now can not even entertain it as an option for our children.


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## Susan2 (Feb 26, 2022)

bnoble said:


> There's pretty good evidence that ol' Uncle Walt was a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist who priced Disneyland high enough to keep the riff-raff out. I think it's very much Walt's Disney.



Walt may have been a capitalist (and what's wrong with that, really?), but he traveled widely to see what other parks offered, and was very unimpressed with the prices and the offerings.  His vision of Disneyland was to provide great value for the cost.  He was very disappointed that everyone else built all the hotels around it, and that they capitalized on his idea.  He planned Disney World (with all the land around it owned by him) to accept only hotels that would offer something special.  

I think that it was after he and his brother Roy died that the Parks have become so corporate and money-hungry.  It's really sad, especially because I don't think it was at all what Walt envisioned.


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## Ty1on (Feb 26, 2022)

Janann said:


> No, there was always a charge to get in.  You could buy either admission only, or admission along with an A to E ticket book.  There were two or three options for ticket books.


Thanks for the correction....i found a history of admission prices and it was $6 in 1975.  The history goes back to 1961 when ot was $3.50.  Hardly elitist pricing.  Adjusted for inflation, that $6 would be less than $30 today.


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## bnoble (Feb 26, 2022)

Disneyland was created in part as a means of corporate synergy for the film studio.

If you've not read it yet, I highly recommend Neal Gabler's excellent biography.


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## Luanne (Feb 26, 2022)

Ty1on said:


> Thanks for the correction....i found a history of admission prices and it was $6 in 1975.  The history goes back to 1961 when ot was $3.50.  Hardly elitist pricing.  Adjusted for inflation, that $6 would be less than $30 today.


Growing up I lived about an hour from Disneyland.  We would go several times a year.  It was very affordable for a family, especially since we didn't need a hotel.  If we needed a break we'd just go over to my aunt and uncle's house since they lived in Anaheim, only a few minutes from the park.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 26, 2022)

bnoble said:


> There's pretty good evidence that ol' Uncle Walt was a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist who priced Disneyland high enough to keep the riff-raff out. I think it's very much Walt's Disney.


I've been mulling how to respond to this for several days, and I think I'm ready to respond.

My first take is that almost anyone who starts a business is a capitalist. People start businesses because they believe they can fill a need, and in doing so generate enough money to pay the bills, pay employees, pay rent, and have enough money left over to compensate them for the blood, sweat, and tears they have put into the business.

I've spent most of my career providing professional services in the corporate world, and my second take is that in the corporate world there is a range of expressed ethos.  My training in professional liability has centered on the importance of understanding your clients, and not getting involved in projects with skanky clients. I have walked away from numerous clients in my career because they were simply not people I could trust. I have a stable of clients I work with who are all people who I trust because of the values they express in the way the conduct their business.  They treat me fairly, but when I look around I can see that they try to treat everyone fairly.  And they don't forsake profits in doing so, because they generate loyalty and trust.

Returning this to Disney, certainly Walt was a capitalist. But Walt also saw that he could be a capitalist while also connecting with and supporting a set of values, connecting with people who did not connect with what many people associated with "Hollywood".

Since Walt died, what has changed is that Disney ethos is no longer centered on that Disney proposition.  Rather Disney has morphed to a pecuniary ethos, which is obverse to Walt's original vision.


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## evonlef (Feb 26, 2022)

bogey21 said:


> Funny but sometime in the late 80s I was talking to an Englishman by the pool at Sabal Palms.  He told me he (and his family) had come to visit Disney World.  He said it was cheaper than going to Euro Disney even taking into account the airfare.  Was what he told me the truth?  I have no idea.  All I know is that is what he told me...
> 
> George


George, we booked a timeshare week in mid-March at Marriott near Disney France for $240, so accommodations can be cheaper than Anaheim, CA. But we don’t like to fly in coach and our Air France non-stop tickets were more expensive that in prior years. There are many airline offers for cheap economy seats, but you have to do research as many airlines are pricing “basic” seats that you can’t reserve in advance. I don’t want a middle seat on a 11 hour flight from a LAX.
We have no plans to visit Disney.
Ed


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## noreenkate (Feb 27, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> When you stay onsite, you can always get park reservations.  That is what some would call elitist.  Pay our high prices for hotels, and you can do what you want.



It’s my understanding that only applies at WDW- Disneyland - does not offer the same onsite priority reservations 
for Magic Key.

We had a 5 day stay booked for the beginning of the month at VGC- when evaluating magic key vs day tickets enchant magic key definitely was the better option financially but unlike WDW AP - the max reservation stands- (no more than four) and no separate onsite hotel reservation pool for AP holders. I called to confirm and have to say the cast members response of “ this isn’t Walt Disney World “ was disheartening to say the least.

We are that Disney nutty family that grumbles but continues to go to WDW frequently enough to justify our APs - was hoping for the same with Disneyland but the benefits just aren’t there right now. To be honest we are planning to head to California again in the fall. Having a hard time justifying the effort neeeded and DVC points cost to stay on property a second time.


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## ljmiii (Feb 27, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> When you stay onsite, you can always get park reservations.


Sadly not true (at least for WDW). There is a different bucket for 'on-property' park reservations but there have been times when there were AP reservations but not 'on-property' reservations available. And Disney IT being what it is, there were many AP holders staying on property who were unable to book park reservations online - they had to sit in the 1-4 hour phone queue to make their park reservations.

Disney has since 'fixed' this. You can now select which kind of the reservation you want to make...though it is somewhat non-obvious and anyone else but Disney would just pull from the available bucket if the other one is empty.  But in any case, dates on which the 'on property' bucket empties exist - most recently over President's Week 2022.


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## Deb & Bill (Feb 27, 2022)

We've been DVC members for about 25 years.  We might be going on our last trip in two weeks since we had some banked points.  No park reservations, LIghtning Lane or even park admission.  We'll stay two nights at AKL-JH and two nights SSR.  We're celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss on this trip with a few dining reservations.  Then when we get home, we'll put two of our three contracts on the market and start the offload of DVC points.  We're lucky enough we could get the Florida Resident Weekday pass, but even those are about $400 each.  We've always liked the Epcot festivals, but even those are getting pretty expensive.  I don't know how young families even afford DVC at the prices they are selling new direct contracts.


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## bogey21 (Feb 27, 2022)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Since Walt died, what has changed is that Disney ethos is no longer centered on that Disney proposition.  Rather Disney has morphed to a pecuniary ethos, which is obverse to Walt's original vision.



Makes sense...

George


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## SueDonJ (Mar 3, 2022)

Deb & Bill said:


> We've been DVC members for about 25 years.  We might be going on our last trip in two weeks since we had some banked points.  No park reservations, LIghtning Lane or even park admission.  We'll stay two nights at AKL-JH and two nights SSR.  We're celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss on this trip with a few dining reservations.  Then when we get home, we'll put two of our three contracts on the market and start the offload of DVC points.  We're lucky enough we could get the Florida Resident Weekday pass, but even those are about $400 each.  We've always liked the Epcot festivals, but even those are getting pretty expensive.  I don't know how young families even afford DVC at the prices they are selling new direct contracts.



Oh! I feel like I've been reading you forever, first on the Dis before finding TUG and now here on TUG for ages. This post of yours feels like the end of an era. 

Just in case I miss an opportunity to say it at a later date, THANK YOU for all the help you've given over the years to people like me who don't own DVC but love the Disney experience. And HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, too!


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## nomoretslt (Mar 3, 2022)

Deb & Bill said:


> We've been DVC members for about 25 years.  We might be going on our last trip in two weeks since we had some banked points.  No park reservations, LIghtning Lane or even park admission.  We'll stay two nights at AKL-JH and two nights SSR.  We're celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss on this trip with a few dining reservations.  Then when we get home, we'll put two of our three contracts on the market and start the offload of DVC points.  We're lucky enough we could get the Florida Resident Weekday pass, but even those are about $400 each.  We've always liked the Epcot festivals, but even those are getting pretty expensive.  I don't know how young families even afford DVC at the prices they are selling new direct contracts.


Did you recently relocate to Florida?  So you will be keeping one contract?  It will be nice to have that so you can stay overnight during festivals.  We really enjoyed the Festival of the Arts in January 2020 before everything went to h*ll.  I’m going to add that festival to our yearly plans.  After over 20 years we have really gotten over needing a “view”.  When working, it was part of our relaxation to sit on our balcony and watch fireworks from BLT and looking over Crescent Lake from Boardwalk (and also seeing MK and Epcot fireworks).  Now we are happy with standard or lake view at BLT and standard view at Boardwalk.  Always standard view at Riviera, too many points otherwise.  
I’m shocked that new Grand Floridian is $207.


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 3, 2022)

SueDonJ said:


> Oh! I feel like I've been reading you forever, first on the Dis before finding TUG and now here on TUG for ages. This post of yours feels like the end of an era.
> 
> Just in case I miss an opportunity to say it at a later date, THANK YOU for all the help you've given over the years to people like me who don't own DVC but love the Disney experience. And HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, too!


This also makes me sad because Disney has been our favorite trip over the years, really since 1991.  It does feel like the end of an era.  Blissful trips, relaxed pace, having FP+, all of those are gone.  We almost need a downturn in the economy again to lessen the crowds.  Europeans have not even added substantially to the crowd levels because of incoming travel requirements.  Imagine how it will be after things open up.  

The Disney Vacation Club points are crazy high. I remember Steamboat Bill talking about $84 per point + this year's and last year's points included without paying MF's. Those days are gone. I wouldn't even pay that price, I bought for $20-30 less resale. 

@Deb & Bill, have you thought of using your points for the cruises, or do you feel it's not worth the cost?


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## cbyrne1174 (Mar 7, 2022)

I only bought Disney passes because I'm able to go 2-3 times a month for $500 per person per year. I've never bought Genie and I bring my own food. IDK how people actually pay $100+ per person per day. I have a 12 night trip to St Thomas booked through my Wyndham and Marriott ownerships for $3500 for accommodations + car rental + flight for 3 people. Both resorts are beachfront with an ocean view and I will probably be able to recoup another $300-$350 in AMEX gift cards attending 2 owner updates.


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## Wingo99 (Apr 2, 2022)

I've only been to Disney once a few years ago when our kids were pretty small.  I had planned on going back at least one more time when the kids were a little more grown.  We had a fantastic trip, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.  We stayed on Disney property, with a dining plan, and the fast passes that came with staying on site.  Yes, it was expensive, but for our income was doable.

But now with this genie plus and other things you have to buy, changes to the dining plan, etc.  It has gotten so much more confusing and expensive!!  Not sure we will do this trip again.

So my wife and I talked about it, and to he** with Disney.  We will instead do Universal, Sea World, etc for a vacation with a timeshare rental.  I saw one advertised for Orange Lake Resort that looked quite appealing.  I loved Disney, but the house of mouse got way too greedy and I simply cannot afford it anymore.


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## TheHolleys87 (Apr 2, 2022)

Wingo99 said:


> I've only been to Disney once a few years ago when our kids were pretty small.  I had planned on going back at least one more time when the kids were a little more grown.  We had a fantastic trip, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.  We stayed on Disney property, with a dining plan, and the fast passes that came with staying on site.  Yes, it was expensive, but for our income was doable.
> 
> But now with this genie plus and other things you have to buy, changes to the dining plan, etc.  It has gotten so much more confusing and expensive!!  Not sure we will do this trip again.
> 
> So my wife and I talked about it, and to he** with Disney.  We will instead do Universal, Sea World, etc for a vacation with a timeshare rental.  I saw one advertised for Orange Lake Resort that looked quite appealing.  I loved Disney, but the house of mouse got way too greedy and I simply cannot afford it anymore.


Orange Lake is nice, but it’s the farthest from Universal and Sea World. Depending on which systems you can access, look at HGVC Tuscany Village and Sea World, the Marriotts, Bluegreen Fountains, Vistana Resort, Vistana Villages. Any of them would be in a much better location for y’all.


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## ScoopKona (Apr 2, 2022)

I've only been to WDW twice in my life. The first time was during the ticket-book era. The second time is when my wife, who had never been, expressed an interest in seeing it for herself. We learned that the tickets could still be redeemed for a discount on a park pass. But they were worth more sold to Disney collectors on eBay.

Things were better during the ticket era. The entire concept of "the E ticket" has lived on past the physical ticket. We still use the term occasionally. "That's an E-ticket restaurant." I think people budgeted their time better and planned more when they had a finite number of tickets to spend -- and additional ticket books were an upcharge.

My wife's assessment of WDW as a (young) adult during the day-pass era, "Why do people put up with this?" Although she enjoyed Epcot a great deal. We didn't avail ourselves to all that many rides -- I made sure she saw the culturally-significant ones that are part of our national experience. 

If it has become even worse since then, I pity parents with Disney-aged children. All that money for so little return.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 2, 2022)

ScoopLV said:


> If it has become even worse since then, I pity parents with Disney-aged children. All that money for so little return.


They obviously see a return or they wouldn't continue to return. I suspect much of Disney's success is return visitors.


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## ScoopKona (Apr 2, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> They obviously see a return or they wouldn't continue to return. I suspect much of Disney's success is return visitors.



I'm sure. But I'm also sure that the experience has diminished over time. Taking the whole family to WDW has always been an expensive proposition. Frustration with theme parks falls squarely in the realm of First-world problems. 

But I saw a big difference in the overall experience between the ticket-era and the pass-era. I think the park worked better for visitors during the ticket era. In fact, the only thing that improved between my two visits is that people stopped wearing coconut tanning lotion, so the whole park didn't smell like an explosion at a macaroon and pina colada factory.

I have given thought to whether my age at the time of the visits skewed my opinion. But I was never much of a Disney person. On the whole, I would rather have gone to an area with a coral reef. That's always been my thing. I didn't dislike either visit. But there are many things I would prefer. The first time I had no choice in the matter. And the second time, it was to help my wife overcome a cultural deficiency -- she felt she was missing out on part of the American experience never having visited a Disney park.


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## mdurette (Apr 2, 2022)

I have a few non-Disney info groups pop up in my FB feed.    Yesterday one posted about an update about the return of meet and greets that they mentioned earlier in the week.  It went on to say it was going to be a paid service, 5 minutes exclusive with the character, $X extra for a hug or pics.     As I was reading the post I didn't doubt it, heck you have to pay for certain LL options now, so why not that???    In the end, it was an April Fools day joke.  But, the sheer reality of it was that most assumed that DIsney would have taken it up another level and actually imposed a fee to say hi to Mickey.  

In the end, I will still get willing sucked into giving the mouse the money.  It is such a love/hate relationship.


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