We chose to stay onsite this trip because I wanted the EEMH and other circumstances including flying for the first time… After this, it’s back to driving, off site stays (if we don’t get the biggest rides FP oh well), no parties (we’ll have done both), no dessert parties, and no hoppers.
I have really cut back on the extras for this next trip.
On our 2018 trip I paid excessive amounts for what I consider upcharges…MVMCP, HEA dessert party, EMM, and the dining plan…and you know what? I think our first two trips without all the extras were just as magical. Not saying I will never pay for an extra again, but I have learned that I can save that money and my family still has a blast. So, in 2020 we are back to the basics!
Based on attendance statistics – park attendance is down significantly, at a time when it was expected to be overrun by the masses – this “homeostasis” has been reached or just about reached. It feels like people are finally saying ENOUGH.
Time will tell.
The cost of Disney, in terms of feeling the squeeze, depends on your disposable income for vacations, your perceived value of Disney and your desire for luxuries. I LOVE Disney. My value on Disney isnt the same as DH’s, he would rather cruise or buy a boat. When we had a group of 4 or 5 of us, the cost per person needed to stay in budget was less vs now that its just the 2 of us. After paying for said kids over the years, it would be nice to spend the same $ amount on vacations and splurge alot on ourselves. But I can’t see doing that. I dont buy party tix or special tours, AH events etc. I don’t see the value, personally. I think TS is too expensive as the quality, IMO, has gone down. I’ll do 1 or 2 but thats it. I would rather experience other things than going to Disney multiple time a year or even yearly but the draw is DEFINATELY there, for me. Growing up in a family that was extremely frugal, I would rather do fewer vacations, have a “moderate” amount of luxury, that try to do them all in the VERY cheapest way possible. Disney is relatively expensive. I have a current budget of 4k, per year, for vacations. I will not spend more than that on Disney at the expense of other vacations.
We have been to Italy last January for 14 days and it cost less than the upcoming trip to WDW. 
Here is the rough Italy trip breakdown:
2,000 air fare
1,500 hotels
2,500 food
2,000 numerous museums, a few guided tours, trains, taxis
$ 8,000 total
The upcoming WDW trip for comparison:
1,500 air fare
1,500 AS Movies for 11 nights
2,000 park admission (4 ppl)
3,000 food
$1,000 tips, souvenirs, etc.
$9,000 total
So, the only item that is more expensive for Euro trip is the flight!
On the other hand, WDW is definitely more kid-centric and can be enjoyed by all equally. When other destinations are more of an adult trip, kids fighting the boredom type of thing.
Do we feel the squeeze? Absolutely! Do we still want to go - absolutely!
Realized another place I cut this trip was only one Table Service meal which means I cut out Tables in Wonderland.
Wait til he turns to a Disney adult. That hurt.
Ok at the risk of hijacking this thread:
Humor me for a minute.
Tell me your birth sign and whether you like the beach/ocean or not.
I’m a Cancer (crab) and my happy place when I can’t be at WDW is the ocean.
This is an obvious match
We always stay off site because there are 4 or 5 of us and getting a house is a better deal than squishing us into hotel rooms.
We drive, not fly (again, 4 or 5 times the airfare instead of one van).
As for the WDW tickets with the UOR annual pass - what if you bought your WDW tickets for your next tripi while in the U.S. at guest services? That way, you can buy a 5 or 6 day park hopper - what you need instead of a minimum 14 day ticket. Would it be worth it? I don’t think it’s worth buying single day tickets. I expect that would add up quickly. You could also buy from Undercover Tourist, can’t you?
I agree, $99 for dessert and fireworks is kind of insane. Nice, since it’s just you, but, wow! And you have to have a ticket to get into the park as well.
Booked to go to WDW September 2020 in April, 3 of us, 1 room - UK website BCR for 21 days + free DDP + UK ultimate ticket (all 6 parks + hopper) £8950 (excluding flights) same trip in 2017 was £7710 so an increase in price of £1240. £ to $ ex rate now 1.2331 down somewhat from April. Effect of Brexit!
We only cross the pond every few years as it takes us 2 flights to get to Orlando - one to cross the English Channel to Gatwick and one from Gatwick to Orlando. Just as well we enjoy the flights as part of the adventure! The UK offer seems to be relatively good value as the DDP is free and also comes with a $200 gift card and is cheaper than a good all inclusive break to somewhere like the Caribbean.
We have a reasonable budget for holidays and can easily save sufficient to be able to do what we want. As with anything planning is the key, with money you need to carefully budget for everything and stick to you budgets (mostly). Planning well ahead also helps reduce a holiday cost - finding out when special deals will be available such as free dinning and airline sales and travel points/companion tickets helps a lot with reducing costs. I have found lots of posts on TP to be very helpful.
A cruise dose nothing for us and living on a small island have 20+ white sandy beaches, some with Atlantic surf so for a beach holiday we staycation.
Do we feel a squeeze? Definitely - costs always seem to increase at a greater rate than income but with planning and a little extra time we can have the holiday we all enjoy!
Interestiing… My mom was Pisces (Fish) and she could swim all day!
I am Aquarius, enjoying water, but not obsessed. 
I am a Taurus. I enjoy being on the water, but I don’t enjoy just sitting on a beach. At least not for long.
Aries here - love the beach.
As an islander do not like to be to far from the sea. But is this thread not about the squeeze?
It was. It is.
@sanstitre_has_left_the_building you can do Disney without all the extras like DAH and dessert parties. I can’t justify the price for what it is that I’m given and I still get to do everything I want. I don’t ever have a budget when we go and tap that magic band like there’s no tomorrow but I don’t feel the need for the extras. Of course when those extras are X4 or X5 it makes a big difference. I’d rather stay at WL and not do the extras. I’d never stay off property again though. I’d like to take my family to Europe but the Diseny trips will have to stop to do that. I could have paid for the new car I bought two summers ago with what I"ve spent on Disney trips the last two years…but please don’t tell the husband that!
I was thinking this myself but afraid to suggest. Even the summer was remarked by many as lighter than similar travel last year. At the time it was widely proposed it was because the masses postponed until SWGE.
As you say, time will tell. I do wonder if there’s a bit of a plateau.
Sagittarius I believe.
I didn’t know I liked the beach until a friend invited our family to join her larger family for a week at OBXin 2008.
It was an a-ha moment for me.
I like the beach more than the water for the most park. Sharks scare me. But I loved the red sand of Prince Edward Island even without the cold water. I like the water in the Caribbean. Where you can go out for yards and yards and it’s warm and only up to my waist.
You make a good point.
Some posters are fine with OT.
Others are not.
@sanstitre_has_left_the_building? 
For a living, I work on water quality issues not related to drinking water. Many beaches are contaminated with fecal matter than have the potential to cause human diseases. 
Therefore, I don’t let my family spend much time at beaches. But when in Hawaii, we must go to the beach. We only go right after high tide and only stay for a couple of hours in the waters. Since nobody enjoys laying out in the hot sun to bake and burn, and it’s BORING, we move on after a couple of hours of snorkeling. But I get it, some people can’t decompress unless they are lounging like that.
My husband and I are both born to immigrant parents who worked very hard to earn a living and provide for their families. They were very cheap/miserly/frugal. However, they were able to put a total of 5 children, between the two families, through public universities for a Bachelor Degree. None of the children left college with a debt. We are all grateful.
We love Disney but there is so much of the world to visit and experience that we don’t get to go to Disney as often as we would like. Plus, we needed to think about 2 college tuition (totaling $240,000 + with tuition, room, and board at a 4-year public university so that the kids will earn a Bachelor Degree courtesy of us footing the bill) and our looming retirement.
Our style of vacationing has changed over the years. In our early years of marriage, we shared our parents’ values, cheap/miserly/frugal, when it came to vacations. We didn’t fly anywhere for vacation. We went camping every year and we went on day trips that were age appropriate for the kids. We didn’t travel to amusement parks until the kids were done with the napping age, otherwise we would have “wasted” time napping. We built lots of memories without spending lots of money traveling.
We went to DLR, a 6.5 hour drive from home, 5x when the kids were 6 and 8, and once when they were 12 and 14. We didn’t fly for vacation until the kids were 10 and 12 and we only do one big vacation a year with maybe 2 long weekends somewhere that doesn’t require flying or paying much. We went to WDW when the kids were 12 and 14.
Did I feel guilty or left out over the years when families around us were going on nice vacations every school holiday? YES!
In our early years of vacationing, we ate breakfast in the hotel, brown bagged lunches, and ate inexpensive dinners out because I refuse to cook on vacation unless I absolutely have to. As the years have gone by, we have loosened the purse strings for vacation experiences: enjoying more lunches out, enjoying a few nicer dinners out, and paying big bucks for experiences such as swimming with the dolphins ($$$$!), narrated bus tours of Denali and Volcanoes National Parks, narrated bike tours, and zip-lining.
In December, we are looking forward to returning to WDW for a second time. It is going to cost about $2,000 more than our trip in 2012. We are not paying for hotel or 2 RT airfares from CA. So, while it will only be $2,000 more in real cash, the December trip will actual cost $5,000 more for 3 fewer nights and 3 fewer days of park tickets. In terms of eating style, it will be similar to 2012: breakfast in, QS or snacks (think Epcot) for lunch, mostly QS for dinner, and 5 TS. But we paid for MVMCP and a Candlelight Processional Dining Package (about $750 total).
At Disney, I am unwilling to splurge on:
Do I feel the Disney squeeze? Yes, definitely. But we have moved from cheap/frugal/miserly to mostly frugal over the past 25 years of marriage. We don’t go to Disney that often, and we prioritize and make the finances work! And you people have encouraged me to seriously think about another trip to WDW May 2020 for Epcot’s Flower and Garden. Our parents would roll over in the graves if they knew how much money we spend to go to Disney more than once!