First of all, Disneyland in LA does not compare at all to Disney World in Orlando which has 4 parks. There's no Epcot at Disneyland! So if DisneyLand is any cheaper that's why. It's inferior. Now onto logistics, it's almost a 6 hour plane ride to LA from DC. The. you have to drive an hour or so to Disneyland. Which don't forgot means renting a car and a 3 hour time change. You now wasted a whole day for travel. I don't see how this is a better option then flying to Orlando which you can sometime get ticket for under $100 round trip, which is way cheaper than flying the Cali. You also don't need to rent a car, there's no time change and can get a flight that's about 3 hours.

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Anonymous wrote:Just did Disney Tokyo. $130 for two adults (kid was free). Required no advanced planning other than buying the tickets. Just show up and get in line. Everything was so reasonably priced that we splurged on all the random kitsch.

You just have to get to Tokyo!

And spend the night somewhere.

Don't be obtuse. No one is going all the way to Tokyo (or Paris) JUST for Disney. But if you're already there, it's a comparative steal.

So talking about how cheap the tickets are when we are taking about how expensive Disney is overall is ridiculous. Like, if you can afford the airfare and outrageous Japanese lodging the tickets are a steal!

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just did Disney Tokyo. $130 for two adults (kid was free). Required no advanced planning other than buying the tickets. Just show up and get in line. Everything was so reasonably priced that we splurged on all the random kitsch.

You just have to get to Tokyo!

And spend the night somewhere.

Don't be obtuse. No one is going all the way to Tokyo (or Paris) JUST for Disney. But if you're already there, it's a comparative steal.

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Anonymous wrote:Just did Disney Tokyo. $130 for two adults (kid was free). Required no advanced planning other than buying the tickets. Just show up and get in line. Everything was so reasonably priced that we splurged on all the random kitsch.

You just have to get to Tokyo!

I got lucky because my sister decided to move there. We went with my kids and their two cousins and they all wanted chocolate popcorn. Knowing we're at Disney I'm thinking I'm going to pay through the nose and it was 300 yen!
We went on New Year's Eve and she warned us that the lines would be long. The longest line was 40 minutes for the Pooh ride.

We go to Disneyworld in Orlando and have never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. $25/person for an all day Genie pass so you can reserve rides, then for other rides you just go at a slow time. I will note our kids don't like roller coasters so they aren't interested in the most popular rides anyway.

Anonymous wrote:Disney was so not worth it over a decade ago. Who in the world still goes to Disney??

Disney raised ticket prices to try and reduce demand because the parks were so full, Yogi Berra.

Disney, to me, is a once in a lifetime thing. You go once to say you went and don’t bother to go back. Pick a good age to take your kids. An age where they won’t complain about the wait time, will remember the experience and will get on the rides. For us, that is around 10. Do know that you will drop a lot of money but again, it’s only once.

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Anonymous wrote:Disney, the lines, the lame rides, the crowds, the extremely expensive food has NEVER been worth it.

Most European destinations can be described the same way. Overrun with tourists, the lines, overpriced food, bad accommodations, etc.

What does that have to do with the question about Disney? Oh...right..nothing. There are lots and lots of places that fit the bill, but we arent discussing those now are we?

Disney was so not worth it over a decade ago. Who in the world still goes to Disney??

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Anonymous wrote:The money is better in Tokyo or Paris or (if she’s into the characters) DCL.

We like Disneyland because the weather is better, flights are similarly priced, and we have family that gets discounted tickets. Orlando has never appealed.

Flights to Orlando are 1/2 as much as flights to LA.

Our tickets to LA cost 220 and our tickets to Orlando cost 200. That’s similar enough to me that I take the better weather, crowds, and ticket prices (where the discount is a greater savings than $20) but it will vary by person, I’m lucky and have all good plane travelers, I have friends who truly can’t exceed 3 hours on a plane.

I think this is a good option. We did it once after a national parks trip — late August is great because California isn’t as hot as Florida and the west coast kids are already back in school. You do miss some of the rides they have at disney world and no animal kingdom which is one of my favorite parts.

We typically do like PP and do a 3-4 day weekend when there is a random teacher grading day. Last year we went to Breckenridge instead and it was way more expensive and the food/lodgings weren’t any better (and were sort of worse). It was fun but that was one trip that I decided was not worth what we spent.

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Anonymous wrote:The money is better in Tokyo or Paris or (if she’s into the characters) DCL.

We like Disneyland because the weather is better, flights are similarly priced, and we have family that gets discounted tickets. Orlando has never appealed.

Flights to Orlando are 1/2 as much as flights to LA.

Our tickets to LA cost 220 and our tickets to Orlando cost 200. That’s similar enough to me that I take the better weather, crowds, and ticket prices (where the discount is a greater savings than $20) but it will vary by person, I’m lucky and have all good plane travelers, I have friends who truly can’t exceed 3 hours on a plane.

I guess I would just miss Epcot

Duck Fisney.

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Anonymous wrote:The money is better in Tokyo or Paris or (if she’s into the characters) DCL.

We like Disneyland because the weather is better, flights are similarly priced, and we have family that gets discounted tickets. Orlando has never appealed.

Flights to Orlando are 1/2 as much as flights to LA.

Our tickets to LA cost 220 and our tickets to Orlando cost 200. That’s similar enough to me that I take the better weather, crowds, and ticket prices (where the discount is a greater savings than $20) but it will vary by person, I’m lucky and have all good plane travelers, I have friends who truly can’t exceed 3 hours on a plane.

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Anonymous wrote:Just did Disney Tokyo. $130 for two adults (kid was free). Required no advanced planning other than buying the tickets. Just show up and get in line. Everything was so reasonably priced that we splurged on all the random kitsch.

You just have to get to Tokyo!

I got lucky because my sister decided to move there. We went with my kids and their two cousins and they all wanted chocolate popcorn. Knowing we're at Disney I'm thinking I'm going to pay through the nose and it was 300 yen!
We went on New Year's Eve and she warned us that the lines would be long. The longest line was 40 minutes for the Pooh ride.

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Anonymous wrote:For me there’s something not very attractive in being told to enjoy it you either have to plan everything out carefully or spend a ton of money (or both)

How is that different from a European vacation? You have to plan everything out in advance. You can't just waltz into the Sistine Chapel on a whim.

On a European vacation there is at most one thing a day (and it’s usually not even every day) for which we have a set time to be somewhere. I have a list of things we might want to do but those are just options that we can pick from depending on mood and energy.

I am definitely not a “slow traveller” person but still I can have a perfectly good time doing nothing on my list (or not having a list) if that’s what we feel like. But with Disney a lack of planning just means a lot of times on line and fewer rides.

At most one thing a day? Yeah right. I've seen European itineraries and have made my own. That's a lie. I think you're just low energy and don't get much done but that's ok. That's why Viking River Cruises exist.

And I think you’ve gone round the defensiveness bend

Nah just pointing out how hypocritical the European travels snobs are. They seem to think if you've been to Disney you haven't been to Europe and won't know any better.

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Anonymous wrote:For me there’s something not very attractive in being told to enjoy it you either have to plan everything out carefully or spend a ton of money (or both)

How is that different from a European vacation? You have to plan everything out in advance. You can't just waltz into the Sistine Chapel on a whim.

On a European vacation there is at most one thing a day (and it’s usually not even every day) for which we have a set time to be somewhere. I have a list of things we might want to do but those are just options that we can pick from depending on mood and energy.

I am definitely not a “slow traveller” person but still I can have a perfectly good time doing nothing on my list (or not having a list) if that’s what we feel like. But with Disney a lack of planning just means a lot of times on line and fewer rides.

At most one thing a day? Yeah right. I've seen European itineraries and have made my own. That's a lie. I think you're just low energy and don't get much done but that's ok. That's why Viking River Cruises exist.

And I think you’ve gone round the defensiveness bend