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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had a Disney week and had fun, but see no need to do that again.[b] The ratio of price to planning work was very off [/b]

For any other trip/experience, the extra money, extra organizing and hoops would have resulted in some superior and seamless experience however with Disney it’s just getting you to enjoyable level [/quote]

I find that any trip takes SO much planning these days. We went to UK and France this summer and I couldn’t believe the amount of preplanning I had to do and really didn’t enjoy it. Same with national park trips with lots of stops. I am familiar with Disney so those trips are actually easier for me, but unless you are just going to the beach most trips require a lot of research and planning if you want to see “the good stuff” - whatever that means for where you decide to go.[/quote]
I like theme park trips because I know where we will be all day, what we will eat, where the parking is etc. When I price out a day of meals and activities from other vacations Disney isn’t always more expensive either
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Exactly and when we went to Europe this summer all the tickets and tours I had to buy for sightseeing really added up! And the hotel prices were outrageous because I needed two rooms for 4 people. It easily cost as much as Disney. [/quote]

Oh, a trip for four people to another continent cost as much as going to a theme park in Florida? Crazy  :roll: [/quote]
There are people on this very thread saying Europe is cheaper than Disney. That’s not true for most and Orlando is much easier for many reasons. I don’t go to Europe for 4 nights, I will go to Florida if that’s all the time I have [/quote]

I've priced it many times, and 10 days in Europe is always cheaper or similar in cost to 4-5 days at Disney. That makes Europe cheaper. The extra cost for plane tickets is obliterated by the cost of park tickets, hotels, and extras.

Also, when we go to Europe, we always find a lot of stuff to do that is free or close to it but really rewarding. Having a picnic in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower was like a top 5 travel moment for my kids and it cost us like $20. When we were in Copenhagen, we bough the Copenhagen Card which gets you access to a ton of museums, boat tours, plus pays for all your train travel around the region. I think the card as like $100 per person for 5 days. And only DH and I had to buy them -- if an adult gets one, the kids get one free. So for $200 we did a canal tour of Copenhagen, visited two castles, went to the Viking museum, traveled outside the city to a couple small towns in Denmark where we did a boat tour on a lake, went to the zoo, went to the children's museum, etc. Also in Copenhagen, we went to Tivoli Gardens like three times, road all the rides, saw a concert, went out to dinner there multiple times, and spent, tops $250 on all of that because Tivoli is insanely family friendly and you can get in cheap without buying a ride pass, or you can get a ride pass for everything for like $65 or something, I can't remember. It was all so inexpensive. And it's a gorgeous amusement park with beautiful landscaping, great restaurants, etc. Not as big as Disney but our kids had a blast and it's less crowded with a more relaxed atmosphere and fewer lines. I'd go there again in a heartbeat. I will never go to Disney again.

Disney is just not good value. You are buying nostalgia and this corner of American culture that Disney cornered the market on. Your money does not actually buy you a superior experience or fun. For a lot of people it's worth it to get the photos and to buy their kids what many now consider to be a childhood rite of passage for Americans. But objectively, there are a million other vacations that give you more actual entertainment for your money. Everything from national parks to Caribbean beaches to European cities. Disney feels like an elaborate marketing delusion.[/quote]

I mean I have a general agreement with your travel philosophies here but like a 4 day trip to disney is only more expensive than a 10 day trip to europe if you are choosing the absolutely MOST expensive disney experience.

Pop century resorts for a family of four you can get for like, if you go during off season, $175 a night, probably $250 a night otherwise. So lets call that $1500 for your four night, five day stay. There is currently right now a deal on disney's website for $267 but taking out any special deals you might get a 5 day ticket looks to be average $140 a day so $2800. Lets add $600 for lightening lanes for every person every day (this is all assuming everyone is an adult).

So far we are at $4600. Lets add $1200 for plane tickets. $5800. Now we have not accounted for food yet of course and that can add a lot. But you basically have a fantastic trip to Disney here for less than $6000. Lets say you got an AMAZING deal on plane tickets to europe and you're getting your family of four there for $2800. Let's say you get great hotel deals and you spend an average of $170 a night so your accommodations are at $1700. And you spend $1000 on activities.

We're at roughly the same cost, I'll give it to you, but you're at bargain basement Europe and basically full experience Disney. Both are great trips! No reason to disparage either IMO.

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