To think a (not Paris) Disney holiday is possible for the average working family?

[Lilylouis]

DD is nearly 9 and has wanted to go on a Disney holiday for years.

We took her sibling who is 11 years older to Florida, before DD was born (not thinking we’d be able to have another) and it was a once in a lifetime experience and nowhere near as much money back then- we both also had better paid jobs and our mortgage wasn’t as high add onto that the COL.

We wouldn’t do Paris for personal reasons I’d rather not go into.

Do any average families do any Disney holidays?

Currently we have to save hard for a week in Spain!

How do people do Disney?

Not sure why your 9 year old is obsessed about it, mine didn’t really know about it let alone was dying to go. We did one day in Orlando as we were visiting family in the area anyway. Flights we booked as soon as they went on sale, Orlando flights get crazy expensive in the school holidays.

my relative paid for our Disney tickets and for 3 fast tracks per person. It was crowded, we hardly managed more than 4 rides per person despite the 3 fast tracks. The show was good. Generally queues were 3-4 hours for most rides. I wouldn’t go back if you paid me tbh, let alone go for more a week or more.
food prices have gone up lots in Florida, even self catering you will spend a lot on food.

Yes Disney usually bring a deal out end of April and they offer free dining so 2 meals 2snacks a day pp including refill drinks all day, 14 days for 7 park tickets, so it’s more reasonable I think than Turkey or Greece at present however one thing I’ve noticed in past couple of year is that the flights have quadrupled which appears main cost

Gosh, we took ours to Paris Disney when they were 6 and 9. It was a great couple of days and they loved it. However, for reasons you quote, we wouldn't have done the US, not least because they weren't that into Disney but loved a theme park.

DH and I were expecting it to be awful but both liked it too. It was 20 years ago though and except for the park tickets it was as cheap as chips. I recall getting the Eurotunnel return for £18.

We have been 3 times to Florida, but largely because of ex’s job at the time, allowed a flight allowance so we used it to meet him in the US. Friend of mine who is a single parent goes every 18 months, universal not Disney now as her DD is 18. Guess she just prioritises saving for holidays. She doesn’t spend more than 3-4k on accomodation and flights, doesn’t hire a car. To stay at Disney you’re looking at 15k easily. It’s a lot of money.

We've done Paris, could afford Florida but would be our only holiday and I prefer 3 or 4 weeks throughout the year. Luckily my dc agree, and aren't massive Disney fans anyway, although we enjoyed Paris

My hairdresser has got her flights and villa in Florida booked separately for a good price. She looks for the best deal for months and then snaps it up.

Took my dgs to the Disneyland Paris during the 2020 lull in covid.
The park was only running at 20% capacity and we never queued for more than 10 minutes.
Disneyland Paris used to be small but I think it’s a good size now.

I kept hearing how magical Efteling was so we went last year. For me it honestly felt like a day out at Thorpe park or similar. It had no where near the same level of detail and general enmersiveness as Disney. (Admittedly not helped by the fact it was pouring with rain and I don’t speak the language). I wouldn’t bother going again. I definitely want to try more European theme parks generally but honestly for me I still think Disney is in a league of its own.

I longed to go as a child but there was no possibility of going so I never even bothered asking. In retrospect I now think I'd have hated it - long queues and crowds of people. My other fantasy holiday was being bronzed on a golden Fiji beach - I'm a pale skinned Celt! Funnily enough that one never came off either.

I disagree with all the disparaging comments about Disney. It’s great fun!! Of course it’s commercial and manufactured.

I went as a child two times and can still remember it - even the time I was aged 3!!

Mine has been once and we have a trip in the pipeline. It’s not too expensive, when I compare with other holiday costs, and what is included. We will stay in the parks.

I suggest calling some specialist Florida companies and get some quotes from them. It’s the theme park tickets that add up but if you book for 2 years time, and put a little away each month, hopefully it will be affordable. End of April is a good time to book with discounts.

We have normal jobs but higher than average household income and are going this year, it will be a one time thing though as I don’t actually like theme parks. It’s cost around £15K for 4 of us including Disney and Universal tickets, we could have done this cheaper but we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a dining plan and then also 4 nights at Portofino Bay Universal to get the express passes as they both love Harry Potter. My eldest has been asking to go for a few years now. We have prioritised some expensive holidays over the past few years by staying in our starter house but we will be moving next year and will have less disposable income to spend on holidays.

We did a big holiday to the states last year - road tripping, staying with some friends, staying in cheap motels and cabins the rest of the time, keeping costs reasonable on a day-by-day basis. Overall trip cost was about 4k but that was from choice - could easily have been done cheaper if we'd gone for less time etc.

As part of that we did one day at disney which was fun, but I definitely wouldn't have done two weeks there! Disney tickets were about 150 dollars each for the day and were the kids Christmas presents that year.

If you want to have a nice holiday for a not unfeasible amount of money, why not find reasonable flights and then rent a small apartment with access to a pool not too far from one of the parks. Have a couple of days around the pool, a couple of days at disney and then a couple of days sightseeing/beach? Public transport in the states is poor but you can probably manage without a car as long as you are within uber distance of the park.

Disney tickets will be expensive but they went down very very well as a xmas present so that probably saves your xmas costs quite a bit if you plan a bit in advance.......

I know for sure I’d rather go to Disney World than Greece. Why even compare Greece to DW? It’s not the same kind of holiday. 😂 But I thought Greece was pretty rubbish tbh.

I have a friend who has done Disney about 4 times now with DD. The lengths she goes to to find deals to make it affordable is ridiculous in my opinion. She has spreadsheets upon spreadsheets and knows where to eat out (by signing up to deals) and tracks flight prices and FB groups…it’s exhausting. Disney not for me but if you’re willing to dedicate 10 times as much time planning it as the time you’ll spend there then I’m sure you can make it affordable. I’ll bet most families put it all on credit cards anyway.

I don't really think it's anything average families do at all. the only people who have been there are on the well off side. I would imagine most families struggle to afford a holiday at all.

We're pretty average an wouldn't consider going to Disney Florida or similar, the cost just seems so disproportionate for what it is. It's a shame Disneyland Paris isn't an option.

We are going for 18 nights in August, it’s our only abroad holiday this year though. We do prioritise holidays and travel, our mortgage is small, cars are bought outright etc.

Since Covid we have valued experiences over material things.

We got a decent deal with free Disney dining. The flights are expensive though. Our kids are so excited, as are we!

We are going back as a family group at Easter 2027 and it’s significantly cheaper due to lots of us going in a gorgeous villa owner by a friend of my husband’s. He is kindly giving us a discounted rate.

Ridiculous comment. Greece isn’t a ‘place’, it’s a country comprised of many islands & the mainland. For example, Mykonos is completely different to a smaller, quieter island like Naxos. Saying you dislike Greece is like saying you dislike the UK.

Some people just love the planning stage though, so it’s not viewed as time wasted at all. I adore planning holidays!

We love Greece, went to Paxos last year for a lovely week, not cheap though! I would say it came in around £4K including food for the week. We have done Greece more cheaply in less desirable resorts such as Sidari on Corfu and Kalamaki on Zante but it’s not that cheap holiday it used to be when you factor in food etc. We did get a good bargain on Kefalonia pre-Covid but that was just the two of us pre kids.

People can be a bit snooty about Disney - it does divide opinion as you can see. My dh didn’t want to go but we booked it as part of a wider Florida trip and it was great and dc really enjoyed it.

We travelled in October - less crowded and humid, cheaper flights. We stayed at the Universal and Disney hotels but you can do this a whole lot cheaper by staying in a self catering apartment or villa. Car hire isn’t that expensive but parking at the resorts is as is the cost of tickets. Eating is as expensive or cheap as you want to make it. It takes a lot of planning but there’s a very helpful forum called The Dibb which is so useful. It’s also quite tiring as the parks are huge.

We go on one ‘big’ holiday a year. Disney Florida would be about 3 years worth of holiday. So that’s how I would do it if we really wanted to.

Have you looked into other Disneys? Hong Kong perhaps? Are these personal reasons you won’t go to Paris really big enough to spend an extra 10 grand on Florida? (You’re absolutely right not to disclose them here as they will get jumped on as ‘not good enough’)

if you are absolutely set on Florida then price it up. Look at quieter times of year, join facebook groups to get hints about the best deals. Then think realistically about what you can save per month and work out from there how long it will take you.

I like Greece as far as European sun holidays go, we go every year to a different island, but it really can’t be compared to a Disney holiday they are 2 different things. I also don’t find Greece any cheaper than a Disney holiday (per day) if you want to stay in a decent hotel etc.

I would second considering Hong Kong Disney. It’s small enough you’d only need a couple of days and then you could have a great holiday there or pop to Thailand or Vietnam which are far cheaper than HK, Europe or the US. Or stay in HK which is amazing for kids - do the beaches, the big water park and experience the culture generally n

People are so snooty about Disney. We’ve been 3 times and loved it, also been to Italy/Greece for culture 🙄. It’s fun imo and lots to do in Florida other than theme parks.

The accommodation is cheaper than Europe and often better - especially off site. It’s possibly to get flights £600 each, less if fly indirect. Accommodation for 2 weeks from 1k, tickets around 2k. We priced up both last year and Europe was more expensive.

We’ve been two or three times when the kids were younger. We saved is the short answer to how do you afford it, and we stayed in a suite away from the parks with a kitchen so we could do at least 2 meals a day at ‘home’.

It wasn’t somewhere I wanted to go but I decided to park my cynicism and enter into the spirit of it and it was amazing. Universal, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot more than Magic Kingdom or whatever it’s called. The kids loved it so much that as young adults they want to go back, paying for themselves and really want our grandkids (from older step sibling) to come along and share the same experiences and memories.