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?

[CommonGrounds]

Universal is much better than disney

[ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay]

Middl east? Fantastic parks, water parks. Shopping, restaurants. Barely any jet lag as well.

[Dozer]

Two issues you seem to disagree on: affordability/max holiday budget (given other costs / business considerations) and holiday preferences.

With one much smaller DC some of the rides etc might be difficult.

[Lulusmother]

I'm with Sunnyshores... we always stay at Bahama Bay 👏👏

[greendale17]

It's stupid money. Florida sucks.

^I agree

[Peachyking000]

It’s hell on earth in July or August - crazy crowds, and so hot and humid. But we love it at Halloween or Easter

[Mummaofboys]

Why not do Disney Paris for a long weekend and then on to the south of France for a lovely sunny relaxing fortnight, might be a compromise? I don’t fancy Florida at all, it looks so gaudy and commercial I understand how you feel.

[SenecaFalls]

Florida sucks.

As a longtime resident (30+) years, I beg to differ.

And there is much more to Florida than Disney, including the area in central Florida near the parks.

I second the suggestions about villas and apartments. Much better for families than hotels.

But yes, we do have gators. And yes, don't come in August.

[Fia256]

We've done Florida every 4 years since I was 4! Absolutely love it. We do it all, all the parks Disney and universal and have always had a brilliant time!

Always always stay in a villa though. We tend to stay just further out than Kissimmee as it brings the prices down even more. We either have breakfast in the villa, or go out to somewhere like Denny's for breakfast on the way in, spend the day in the parks, leave in later in the afternoon, go back get changed and then either go out for a meal somewhere or have dinner at the villa. It really shouldn't cost 10k for you all esp without spending money!
There's also a lovely lovely town called celebration. We always go there for an afternoon and have lunch or dinner! Worth a visit

[Yvest]

YANBU Disney and Orlando is the most over rated place I’ve ever been. Magic kingdom is rundown and shabby and heaving. To be fair, universal, especially the Harry Potter stuff is great but not worth having to put up with Orlando.

However, Florida itself is lovely, especially around the Gulf Coast. If you’re set on Florida then I’d do a couple of days at universal, a day at magic kingdom just so you can say you’ve done it and maybe at a push a water park. Then get the hell out of Orlando.

For a £10k holiday there are so many other places i would take my kids.

[babyccinoo]

It's stupid money. Florida sucks.

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

I'm afraid I agree with above. We thought Busch Gardens and its water park were a bit better.

I wouldn't willing go back to Disneyland.

[Jb291]

I went to Florida in Autumn 2016 for two weeks. The heat and humidity were very oppressive and made it difficult to enjoy the attractions. There were days when I was too hot to want to do anything but lie in the shade beside a pool with endless cold drinks.
The parks were very good. I did enjoy Disneyworld but absolutely loved Universal Studios and if I went back to Florida it would probably be visiting Universal Studios only. The cost was very high. I think I spent in the region of £3000 and I was travelling solo. This includes the cost of food / accommodation / flights / tickets. Spending money was another £500 on top.

Would I go again? Probably at another time of year when the heat and humidity were less but I would never pay to stay on Disney property again as it was horrendously overpriced. The rooms were no more than basic motel standard.I would have been better off somewhere on International Drive.

[DiplomaticDecorum]

I wouldn't feel comfortable spending so much on a holiday, but it depends on your financial situation. We're spending about 10% of our savings on a Florida holiday at Easter, but only going to Busch gardens and a water park in Tampa. Disney is the expensive bit but we don't like Disney parks.
We're spending about £2500 on flights, accommodation and motels/hotels for 2a+2c. You don't have to spend a lot.

[Celebelly]

Definitely opt for a self-catering place near Epcot rather than a hotel. You will save a fortune and have way more space and flexibility. Definitely price everything up separately - sometimes you can save by doing packages, but sometimes it can cost more and actually give you less.

As for whether it's worth the money, I went to Disney when I was 10 years old and I still remember that holiday now. I loved it. I'm not sure I'd find it as great now as a parent, but I think most children will have a whale of a time.

[restbiterepeat]

I agree with you op. It's a ridiculous amount of money. You don't need to make 10ks worth of memories in a land of over-egged theme parks.

[hellsbellsmelons]

Harry Potter World is also in California.
Could you do there instead of Florida?

[caoraich]

The other thing you can do if you hire a car is the Kennedy space centre
One of the best days out I've had - genuinely educational and you can meet an astronaut! We are total space geeks though.

[Yvest]

celebelly my kids were totally indifferent to Disney. They quite liked the rollercoasters but found spending more than a day or two in parks tedious and in the end we just didn’t bother or only stayed an hour or so. They have never even mentioned the Orlando part of the holiday again. We went elsewhere in Florida afterwards and if you ever ask them what the best part of the holiday was, they all say it was going on Segways in a small seaside resort. Glad we bothered

[Angrybird345]

You can do it for under £10k. They should soon start announcing their free dining, which is amazing value - literacy no need to buy food for the holiday! So very definitely absolutely worth it!

[Chrisinthemorning]

You can definitely do Florida cheaper than that. We go in May and are staying in Orlando for 11nights, Anna Maria for 7, luxury villas with hot tubs, premium economy flights, car hire and park tickets and it’s costing just over 10k for 4 adults and a 5 year old. It’s expensive but I don’t think 2k per head is too bad for an 18 night sunshine holiday.
We love Florida but I do think everyone has different priorities and I wouldn’t spend that on a holiday if I had no savings.

[Ohyesiam]

To me the whole Disney thing has ajay's v sounded like a nightmare, doesn't soak at all. Plus Florida is one of the most dismal bits of the US.
So no YANBU at all.

[cassgate]

Hi,

I have just booked for 6 of us to go late July early August for 3 weeks. for just over £11k. This includes 6 adult flights, 5 Bedroom villa with private pool (10 min drive to Animal Kingdom) plus car hire for 3 weeks. It works out at just over £600 per person per week. I booked everything separately. We needed a 5 bed villa though and I did go for a more expensive one at that. If you can get away with a 3 bed condo then its much cheaper and I have just looked and going for 2 weeks late July early August you can easily do it for £7k. (flights, condo and car hire). This is in a resort less than 10 mins from Disney. If you are willing to stay further out and travel in every day then you would easily do it for around £6k.

[Rufustherenegadereindeer1]

Love orlando and disney

But it is 5k for flights alone for the 5 of us

Tickets and accommodation can be 3k plus

We spend a lot more than that but its the flights that are crippling...especially as they are not fun

I wish someone would invent a machine that just transferred you there

[hellokittymania]

I grew up in Florida so Disney to me is nothing special. I went twice in a week when I was 18 {I won a Disney award and we had Grad night} but other than that I went for 2 other days in 14 years. There are so many great places to visit and things to do other than Disney Florida.

[Rejoiner]

Have you got yourself over to thedibb.co.uk yet?
Book indirect flights if BA and Virgin are high for your dates or look for a flydrive package
Get a villa or stay somewhere like Staybridge Suites for space
Shop around for your park tickets but always get them in the UK before you go.

I love Disney :)