Aibu to not want to go to Disney, Florida??

[Gallymum1]

My husband runs his own business, works really hard putting in long hours etc. We’ve had a fairly good year and he s decided he wants to take us all (5 of us) to Disney. I’ve worked out it’s going to cost £10k without spending money. To me this is a ridiculous amount of money for a holiday and I can’t reconcile it. I’d rather do a nice, fully inclusive, sunny holiday for half the cost. We do have the money if we want to blow all our profits but I feel this leaves us with no financial cushion going forwards. He says you can’t put a price on memories. I think he’s not actually in the real world! Aibu?

10k is all his profit for the year?

I’d do Disney for a day or two then go somewhere else. Can you do Disneyland instead? Then you could travel up to San Diego and San Francisco.

Disney Florida is very expensive but it can be done cheaper than that if you look around, play with dates and look the bottom through to the top hotels. If you can get the cost down you will be able to go and still have a bit of a financial cushion.

I have to say I agree with him about not being able to put a price on memories and if you have the money to do it, do it.

I’m pretty sure you could do it for much less. There’s no need at all to stay in a Disney hote, for example. We stayed at a resort a few minutes drive away which was lovely. We didn’t even go to the parks every day, they are hot and tiring so it’s good to take a break and do other things.

I agree it’s foolish to leave yourselves with no cushion. Having said that, even though it’s not my thing really, our trip with dc aged 6&8 was one of our most memorable holidays.

Investigate doing it on a smaller budget.

Araiwa no that’s not all his profit! We take a monthly dividend also, thats over and above what we normally take if that makes sense! Matildathecat, where did you stay? It’s all new to me!

Right, so you can easily afford it then.

And as many have already suggested for less than 10k too

For the gators alone I wouldn't touch Disney Orlando or Florida and I'm from the States! My parents retired to South Carolina then returned to California after two years of gators and hurricanes.

I digress.

It's stupid money. Florida sucks.

Go to California instead! You'll have a far nicer AND cheaper holiday. You can still do Disney in Anaheim but modified- as in Disneyland Paris sized as opposed to drowning in Disneyworld. California won't disappoint!

Don't go to either Florida or California in August,is my advice. The heat is awful.

How old are your children?

To me there's no better family holiday location than Disneyworld.

Although I've been a good few times, always stayed in a 5* Disney resort and not spent close to £10k.

The Disney hotels are hard to beat, even the moderate levels ones are fabulous and if you can get the free dining offer then you'll make a big saving on food etc.

If your kids are into Harry Potter then also tag on a few days at Universal.

JenniferL90 kids are 15, 13 and 4. Not bothered about Disney although would have to for little one. Older ones more in to universal. Looking online hotels coming in around £5/6k for 3* and that’s all 5 of us in one room 😱and room only! Park tickets looking to be an extra 3k do not sure how we’d do it for less! We’d have to go at Christmas as this is only time we can shut business down so maybe that’s why so expensive! 🤦‍♀️

I may be biased as Florida is my favourite! DH has actually told me no more because we went in 2017, going this October, the following December then July/Aug 2020. He’s told me we’ve gotta have our main holiday someplace else after! ....

I think Florida gives so many special memories, honestly we love it. The water parks and universal are amazing if you aren’t a Disney mad type of family. There’s also coco keys which isn’t that far away, maybe you could do a few days in Orlando and the rest at coco keys... the beach is amazing, or what about a multi destination trip? Few days Florida the rest in Mexico?

YANBU - and I say that as someone who's been to DisneyWorld and actually enjoyed it far more than I was expecting to. But we didn't spend £10k - not even close. We used air miles for our flights, we stayed in a SC apartment nearby, and we ate out in the evenings away from Disney. It was a great holiday. Plus, we went in Oct (our kids have 2 weeks off at that time). No way would I go in July or August. A lot of Brits do, but it's stinking hot and humid and personally I think traipsing round theme parks in that temp would be hell. So if that's what you're looking at I'd go somewhere else. Plenty of fabulous resorts, hotels, even theme parks - if that's what your DH wants - in Europe.

If you’re not precious about flights, have a look at teletext holidays, you’ll get a good deal, then your tickets on orlando attractions, I’d not be surprised if you could do it for £6k.

Doing everything separately is a lot cheaper than booking, say, a Disney hotel through a package deal, though I've been looking lately and it is a lot more expensive than it was the last time we went about 5 years ago, even more so if you're having to go in school holidays (we don't have children, so it's much easier for us I know).

I would NEVER go in the summer holidays though. Far, far too hot. End of May was too hot for me!

We book everything separately - flights directly with whichever airline gets us there cheapest and with reasonable flight times, villa through homeaway, car hire through Alamo using a "Brit" discount (seriously get the Brit Guide to Orlando book - brilliant advice and the Alamo discount code saves a fortune), park tickets in advance through Attraction Tickets Direct in the UK.

It's by no means a cheap or relaxing holiday, but we love it. We tend to go to a park every other day, and make sure we do a fair amount of non-Disney/Universal stuff too. A lot of people go to the parks early, back to the villa in the heat of the day and chill out by the pool, then back to the parks in the evening for their shows/fireworks.

Are your kids in to this sort of thing? I have some friends whose kids were brought up on Disney films and they absolutely adored it, but I have others whose kids were very nonplussed about it all, and it was just like any other theme park to them. They've really got to buy in to the whole Disney thing for it to be as magical as it can be, especially for the money you pay. I'm not a huge Disney freak, but there's something about Magic Kingdom that just makes me well up every time I go. (I know... I'm sad)

I would say though if you feel it's going to leave you tight on a financial buffer, then seriously consider whether it's worth it. Yes, you can't put a price on memories, but if those memories include you spending the whole holiday worrying about how much you've spent, then you're not going to enjoy it either.

I go to Disney every 2 years, I wouldn't ever not want to go!

It's as expensive or as cheap as you make it and tbh, Florida often is cheaper than a European holiday. It's the theme park tickets that drive the cost up but there's also so much to do without them too.

We go again in November and have paid £5k for 2 adults and infant, staying at a deluxe Disney property and all our food included.

If you book in April for the year after and on-site, you get dining included (depending on the hotel you book).

Otherwise, there's lovely places on Idrive and the restaurants over there are amazing.

I suppose it depends on if you're stuck to school holidays or not and what you must do when there. Join the Facebook group 'It's Orlando Time' and there's hundreds of people who do it for a lot cheaper than 10k

Okay - Christmas - well at least it won't be stinking hot. But look at SC, rather than all in one hotel room. We have 2 kids and trying to get everyone to sleep in one room is miserable.

We stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek and got a huge 2-bed apartment for about £100 a night. You'd need a 3-bed, but check it out. It has amazing pools, restaurants on site, etc, is about 15 mins from Disney and will be much cheaper.

You'd get a better deal with a cruise! Much better suited to please both the youngest and the oldest, new experiences every day, and if your OH is desperate to do Disney, you can add a day or two to your cruise and make it there.

I've booked 16 nights in Florida this Easter for us and 2 teenage DCs. Have booked everything separately and dug around Owners Direct for accomodation. Have managed to get flights, 11 nights villa accom near Disney and 5 nights villa accom near Sarasota (both with lovely shared pools) for a touch under £1k per head.
Obviously the theme park tickets will push this up massively, but as a starting point it ain't bad!

We would rather watch a tree die than go to Disney so not for our family.

A lovely all inclusive sounds much much better. But each to own.

I have three DCs and the time we spend in Florida is amazing bonding time. Go to NASA, have a few chill days, go shopping, don't max out on the parks. Imo Disney is the worst park, mine love Universal. I would do it....and we are in October.

Disney is engineered to suck the money out of your wallet.

A colleague of DH found it was cheaper to rent a private boat with crew and sail the caribbean islands.

YABVU - but then I'd go to Florida and Disney multiple times a year if I could!

There is something in Florida for everyone though. Why not compromise and look at a split stay?

YABU if you can afford it, I REALLY REALLY want to go and I'm 36

We've been a couple of times to Florida and Disney is amazing. Even the most hardened cynic will love the Magic Kingdom - it's infectious with its happiness.

Anyway, if you're going to do it there is a balance to be struck between ultra-expensive and cheapie cheapie. Eating out in Florida is cheap and there are lots of kids eat free deals. You don't have to buy the expensive Disney souvenirs or anything in the park - not even drinks as there are water fountains.

We take an apartment/villa close to the parks, come and go as we please, eat out sometimes, get takeaway, cook sometimes. A Disney based holiday does not mean you spend 24/7 in a Disney park. It is what you make of it.

If you do go, I wholeheartedly recommend heading south of Kissimmee and to one of hte airboat ride places. Amazing experience and the highlight of our last trip.

I'm with you OP, that seems ridiculous for one holiday.
You can make good memories anywhere - holidays really are what you make of them.

Forget the hotels and hire a self-catering villa in Kissimmee; you'll be able to hire one with enough bedrooms and a pool for well under £1000 per week.