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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I haven’t read the responses, but I have wondered the same as you, OP. We are a family of two lawyers and one child, and I find the Disney hotel prices shockingly high (I’d say the same about the Universal Studios hotels).

[b]My kid is now in high school [/b]so we are past the Disney years, but we went once to [b]DisneyWorld when DD was 8 [/b]and to Universal once when DD was 10 (focused to see Harry Potter world). Here is what we did:

Disney- Pulled DD from elem school the week after thanksgiving, so rates and lines were lower, and stayed offsite but nearby at a Marriott time share property where we got a 2 BR unit with living room, kitchen, etc. [b]We paid extra for the Disney tickets to include the “fast pass” option[/b]. This all worked out great (and we are Disney skeptics) - we saved money and had a more comfortable set up by staying offsite, and since it was a lower attendance week at the parks, we didn’t need to be there the minute the parks opened (we also took advantage of early entry some days by booking character breakfasts within parks). We also saved money on breakfasts by eating at the unit, and several nights we brought in dinner, too. It was easy to get back and forth via lot parking and the tram.

Universal - We went spring break week and stayed onsite because it was the only way to get their equivalent of the fast pass. The hotel situation was an expensive, crowded, unpleasant experience, but worth it for 3 days to get their equivalent fast passes.

But bottom line, I don’t know how people afford the Disney hotels, but plenty of people seem to. I feel the same way about first class tickets on airplanes, especially when I see children in the seats! [/quote]

Are you sure you are remembering this correctly?
If your daughter is now in high school, I'm assuming she is now at least 14 years old.    You said you brought her to Disney when she was 8--so 6 years ago?
Prior to 2021, there was no way to purchase fast pass (or anything similar by another name.)   The fast pass selections came free with your ticket.  I seem to remember  there was some option for those staying club level at Deluxe resorts to purchase an additional selection, but you said you were staying in an offsite Marriott so that wouldn't apply here.

[/quote]

DD is 18 yrs old, but I may not accurately remember how old she was when we went - maybe she was 6 or 7? (I was thinking second grade, maybe it was first?) I know we had fast passes which worked great (vs the Universal equivalent was more of a mixed bag), and I thought we paid extra for them but could be remembering that part wrong, and I know we stayed offsite which was really the point I wanted to emphasize per OP’s question. [/quote]

DP here and this is another odd comment…Universal Express passes work great and better than Disney’s (then or now and we frequent both places.) At Universal with EP you don’t need a time slot and can ride over and over again. [/quote]

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