We went back in November 2023 and had fun, but I don't think we'd do it again. You basically have to throw money at every single thing to make it bearable.

I think it can be worth it with kids the right age (elementary range is great) because everything truly is catered to families.

But I recommend using a travel agent because they have access to packages, will login at 6 am to make your dining reservations, and can just generally coordinate whatever you need without paying extra. In fact about 3 weeks after we booked, our agent emailed us that she had been able to apply our booking to a new deal that was just released and saved us like $400 without us doing a thing. It felt like such a luxury not having to be the one handling all the logistics so I could basically book airfare and then show up.

We used https://believevacations.com/

Oh but my advice is don’t use the dining package. We ended up hating be locked in (e.g. my kids always wanted a slice of pizza or something not offered as part of the kid meal package and we ended up having to load up on snacks we wouldn’t have otherwise bought at the end to use up credits). I don’t think it saved any money either.

Also I agree with some PPs that you do need to prepare to spend money or it won’t be worth it. For instance instead of waiting for the shuttle from our hotel we called a Minnie Van (offered within Disney property through Lyft — included car seats, which is great). Also, I’d rather have fewer park days with genie + than an extra park day or 2 if it means cutting the perks. The hotels are so nice that you can plan to just hang at the pool and attend some of the free events across the resort properties or do a character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s or whatever to stretch your trip.

Anonymous wrote:Disney is no longer worth it. It used to be a little splurge, but you could still have fun.

The prices are now so high and added stress of genie or lightning or fast pass, which they keep changing, that it’s not fun anymore. If you don’t buy any of the extras, you wait in line forever.

Two years ago, we decided Disney was not worth it for us to go anymore and we haven’t been back.

It all just sounds like so much work. I grew up in Southern California and frequently went to Disneyland + other local amusement parks and enjoyed them but you just showed up, knew a few rides would have really long lines but the others wouldn't.

We took the kids to Disneyland as part of a visit to my family when they were 4-5. It was in early January on a cool day with a slight drizzle. Perfect day, no crowds. That's the way to do Disneyland. And after 1 day they had no interest in going back. I've suggested a Disney World trip (I'm not interested but would do it once if they wanted to) and they just aren't interested. We've done other local amusement parks and they hate waiting in lines.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yeah, 7 billion people in the world means that there are at least 100 million idiots willing to pay who can also afford to pay.

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing about Disney world - you have to pay the money to do it right (genie+, staying on property). Otherwise it’s more likely to be miserable and a sunk cost. You also need to research the parks you’re going to and have a strategy so you know where you’re going and when. If you plan well, you’ll get a lot out of it.

It sounds like a metric $h!+ ton of planning for a vacation that will be far from relaxing. There is zero possibility of me doing this. It's work and money so the ROI is negative. Costa Rica surf resort here we come... same money, less prep, more fun!

OP I think the answer really depends on whether you like Disney enough to make it the highlight vacation of the year and budget. This thread is basically a lot of people going back and forth at each other about the comparative moral judgements on liking Disney.

If you love Disney and are ok with it being the big vacation for a year or two, and can get enough out of the Disney experience, then yes it's probably worth it. The system has gotten much worse and it seems like peak time is always now, so ultimately you'll be paying to ride less rides. But if you enjoy the overall theming and what not and are ok with less rides and more waiting or strolling, do you and have fun! It won't be the same as before, it is more expensive and chaotic, but maybe you'll find you like slowing the pace a bit.

If you want to go somewhere else and budget is at all an issue, or if you are very big on rides or have kids that really can't wait, then no, I wouldn't advise it. You can get the Disney experience as others have said by tacking Disneyland onto a bigger California or even if you'd like to take a Europe

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Genie+ is no longer.

It's not exactly honest to tell people wait times are never over 15 minutes. Anyone can download the app to see current wait times and popular rides can easily be 60 minutes +. And the changes mean more people will be waiting longer than they used to.

You’re checking at the busiest time of the year. At normal times, you can reserve lightening lanes for the popular rides and will wait maybe 15 mins. Then the less popular lines are generally quite short.

Dude. It's busy every time of the year now. And you can't keep booking lightning lanes all day for the popular rides with the new changes.

we went twice last year and had no problem riding everything we wanted with reasonable waits. The longest wait was Guardians (maybe 30 min and total worth it) and Ratatoulle (maybe 25 minutes during extra evening hours, also worth it.) lots of other rides and shows we enjoy were short standby lines. But, we like all the experiences - the big rides and Country Bears.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Genie+ is no longer.

It's not exactly honest to tell people wait times are never over 15 minutes. Anyone can download the app to see current wait times and popular rides can easily be 60 minutes +. And the changes mean more people will be waiting longer than they used to.

You’re checking at the busiest time of the year. At normal times, you can reserve lightening lanes for the popular rides and will wait maybe 15 mins. Then the less popular lines are generally quite short.

Dude. It's busy every time of the year now. And you can't keep booking lightning lanes all day for the popular rides with the new changes.

Disney is no longer worth it. It used to be a little splurge, but you could still have fun.

The prices are now so high and added stress of genie or lightning or fast pass, which they keep changing, that it’s not fun anymore. If you don’t buy any of the extras, you wait in line forever.

Two years ago, we decided Disney was not worth it for us to go anymore and we haven’t been back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the people responding to “is Disney World too expensive?” With “just fly to Japan or France— Disney is cheaper there!” 🙄

OP, it’s a personal choice whether it’s worth it. We tacked one day at Disneyland on to a national park trip to CA. Our teen & tween had never been to anything Disney. We researched, planned our day, stayed at the park all 16 hrs it was open & all had a lot of fun. But my kids could also have a perfectly happy childhood never visiting Disney, of course.

Honestly off peak ticket prices fo Paris can be $800/person from hubs and peak prices to Orlando can get pricey. Given the price difference in staying on site and park passes it's not a particularly wild.

We've done the same, both for Disneyland in California and Paris and personally I think it makes for a more enjoyable overall vacation. Some kids could do Disney all day but it's hard to know that until you get there (or have done it before) so with little else to do if Disney World becomes overwhelming or not their cup of tea you're sunk.

Pick any day of the year when the direct flight from this area to Orlando is cheaper than the direct flight from here to Paris.

Xmas is a busy time of year for Disney. I just priced BWI-MCO and back 12/23-12/30 for $627 round trip on Southwest. They run 9 direct flights a day from BWI, and 3 from DCA. Add in United, American, Frontier, Jetblue, and Delta's flights and you're up to 32 direct flights a day on 12/23.

To Paris there are 2 direct flights a day, one on Air France, one on United, and those are coming to $1,940.

So just to transport our family of 4 to Paris is $7,760 vs $2,508. In reality, we plan ahead so we get our tickets to Orlando for about $250/person round-trip.

Yes, tickets to Paris a week out during Christmas and NYE are going to be wildly expensive. We got a family of four direct on the United flight for less than $3000 roundtrip (not basic economy) this year in the spring. Which is probably why it says at peak versus off peak.

No one is saying Paris is cheap, but if you're doing a full week at Disney World with all the trimmings it's not going to be cheap either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Lots of people tell me about this but many of us aren't interested in reserving rides. In fact I know a lady who owns her own business which consists of reserving rides and remotely directing some rich family around Disneyworld from her couch.

You click on the app. It's not difficult. But also some people don't make reservations at restaurants either (like in general, not specific to Disney). If you don't like making reservations, then you'll indeed face long lines at Disney.

The system set up is pure greed. I will not pay more for that. I don’t make reservations. I want to roam around and relax, not run ride to ride.

So don't go to Disney? Nobody is forcing you. There's no mandated right to go to Disney so if you don't like their system, don't go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Lots of people tell me about this but many of us aren't interested in reserving rides. In fact I know a lady who owns her own business which consists of reserving rides and remotely directing some rich family around Disneyworld from her couch.

You click on the app. It's not difficult. But also some people don't make reservations at restaurants either (like in general, not specific to Disney). If you don't like making reservations, then you'll indeed face long lines at Disney.

It's just not my kids' idea of fun. They wouldn't want me barking out where we need to be next and hustling them to the next item on the tightly packed itinerary. They would want to take their time and explore and look around.

You can still do that. And you let your kids set the pace. My kid wants to maximize his time and do every ride so we do a crazy marathon across múltiple parks.

I think people feel offfended that Disney requires planning - but outside of a resort or cruise, don’t all vacations require planning?

Exactly - every vacation other than a beach resort requires some level of planning. You really just land in some city and just wing everything?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Lots of people tell me about this but many of us aren't interested in reserving rides. In fact I know a lady who owns her own business which consists of reserving rides and remotely directing some rich family around Disneyworld from her couch.

You click on the app. It's not difficult. But also some people don't make reservations at restaurants either (like in general, not specific to Disney). If you don't like making reservations, then you'll indeed face long lines at Disney.

The system set up is pure greed. I will not pay more for that. I don’t make reservations. I want to roam around and relax, not run ride to ride.

Ok well … then enjoy 6 Flags America I guess? It’s usually pretty empty.

Your all or nothing thinking is pretty silly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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!

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.

Lots of people tell me about this but many of us aren't interested in reserving rides. In fact I know a lady who owns her own business which consists of reserving rides and remotely directing some rich family around Disneyworld from her couch.

You click on the app. It's not difficult. But also some people don't make reservations at restaurants either (like in general, not specific to Disney). If you don't like making reservations, then you'll indeed face long lines at Disney.

It's just not my kids' idea of fun. They wouldn't want me barking out where we need to be next and hustling them to the next item on the tightly packed itinerary. They would want to take their time and explore and look around.

You can still do that. And you let your kids set the pace. My kid wants to maximize his time and do every ride so we do a crazy marathon across múltiple parks.

I think people feel offfended that Disney requires planning - but outside of a resort or cruise, don’t all vacations require planning?

Anonymous wrote:

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

I know you think you are sounding oh so cool, but you just sound ignorant and stupid.

Cringe.

News Flash - lots of people still go to Disney.

So cringey.