I have a graduation celebration trip planed for June. The more I look at the total price even with discounts for the three of us it will be at least $7000. We are only doing 5 park days and staying in a moderate. No dining plan, we typically split meals and buy groceries for breakfast. This is not an extravagant trip by any stretch and I feel like I am getting priced out of these 7 day once every 2 years trips. For that money I could go to Europe or Asia. Or two smaller WDW trips. My ADR day is Thursday and I am having some real second thoughts. We did pretty well with our flights getting 3 round trips for $1000.
I am considering staying off property and just doing that 4 park 4 day ticket deal. It feels depressing to do this after looking forward to the trip after a hard two years in grad school. I know my liner friends will understand this dilemma.
I can definitely relate to those feelings. Is there any consideration for staying at a value rather than a moderate to save a little? Or possibly driving to save the flight cost? Not sure how far you are. We make the 13 hour drive from our home to save money.
That’s your answer. Go on the trip. There’s something to be said for the cost of your joy and happiness.
Maybe downgrade to Pop or the All Stars. Perhaps a family suite at All Star Music to give you more room and a mini kitchen which may still be cheaper than a moderate.
Serious question…I see people say that they can got to Europe for cheaper than Disney but how? DH and I are going to Italy this summer for 13 days without the two kids. With travel insurance and just the two of us, the trip is just over $12.000. Flights were $1500 each.
If people are taking their family of 4 to Europe for $7000 please send me your tips and tricks.
Not sure what moderate, but consider switching to Pop or another Value. That will save some money. Pop and the skyliner can’t be beat.
Have you priced convention tickets for five days? Those are the only tickets I buy now. No park hopping. One park per day.
Our family of 4 (kids are 20 & 22) are going to Portugal this summer and our flights alone are $7000, and my DD only has to fly from and back to Madrid so that price doesn’t include her flight to the US from there (purchased previously). Accommodations are another $5000, and then there will be activities and food which can be spendy with 4 adults. Europe is definitely not cheaper than Disney for us.
I was/am in a very similar situation & asked myself this question about 50x a day until the 30 day mark. We ultimately decided to keep the trip, but with the knowledge that this may very likely be our last (famous last words) or no longer the every 2 yr trip it has been. The reasoning we kept it was because we can afford it right now and we had a very traumatic & shocking family event happen last year. It made looking forward to the joy of a vacation at a place we have made many memories over the years weigh heavier on the scales than the obscene cost. Only you can know if celebrating getting through grad school is going to override the irritation of the cost in your mind though. I know the feeling of letting the anxiety over the price talk you into making decisions, so if you can afford the trip I don’t want you to have regrets about canceling it later.
I’ve only ever canceled once and it was a long time ago when a big home repair came upon us unexpectedly. I was happy for us that we had the cash on hand for the repairs so while I was sad it was also a good thing.
Other than that your consideration of a cancelation does not compute (as I sit here trying to figure out a way to make a late summer/early fall trip work even though we are going in June)
When we were pricing this out for our January 2025 trip, staying at CBR in a standard room was quite a bit cheaper than trying to stay in a Family Suite at ASMu. Of course, it is a smaller room…but it was around $700 cheaper for 8 nights.
I say go on the trip. I imagine it’s been a difficult and stressful two years getting your degree and you should reward yourself and take the trip. I imagine you could slightly cut down some expenses if you moved to a value but is that worth it? Sounds like you might have a resort day or two. I say celebrate your success and hard work and take the trip. Enjoy the resort you picked!
My first thought is that $7,000 is pretty reasonable. I mean, everyone’s budget is different, but with inflation (especially in the service industry) this is a normal cost of a trip for three people these days. I’m facing a similar per-person cost for my family to go to Hawaii, for example.
We only go 4 or 5 nights and do 4-5 intense park days. We don’t find resort days at WDW to be worth the cost given the quality/price of the resorts. Also, I stayed at All Star Sports a couple times when I was in my 20’s and on a tighter vacation budget.
So why not cut a couple days off the trip and stay at a Value?
I understand how you are feeling. I’m already pricing out a trip for 2026 and feel the financial squeeze. The tickets are crazy high plus potential Genie costs and souvenirs. It’s why I’m pushing to go in January even if it means that I’m pulling my kids out of school. It’s just cheaper.
However, I think some of my feelings around the financial costs are related to the fact that I desperately want to go back but my DH feels “meh” about it. I want to justify that the cost is worth it and try to cut costs while I can without cutting experience.
Is everyone in your family pumped about this trip or are they feeling apathetic? The apathy gets to me bc I’m a people pleaser and then waffle on my decision making.
I’d say that if you can afford this trip, then you should do it. It’s been your finish line for the past two years and you should treat yourself! Maybe this does mean, however, that you evaluate where you vacation moving forward (after June).
Do you have a package booked? Room only reservation? How easy/difficult would it be to cancel or modify at this point? I find that the only place to “save” money on a Disney World trip is with the hotel. The tickets cost what they cost (with some slight exceptions). Flights are what they are. As cool as the moderates look, the pricing never seems worth it to me. If you have a room only booking, I would move to a value resort and keep all the park days you have planned already. Then choose a few special meals and reserve those on your ADR day. The rest can be quick service, and you can get groceries for all/most breakfasts and snacks.
What number would be a total trip cost that wouldn’t make you feel upset about taking the trip? See if you can shave off that amount and still have a trip you’re looking forward to taking.
That’s a good point about the right $$. If the OP can pinpoint that, then they can see if they can get there. If there is no right amount, then maybe that answers the question.
We are about 23hrs away by car. Funny story, we drove last time and between the gas, food, hotel, speeding ticket and blown tire I could have flown for cheaper. lol
Thanks everyone for the amazing advice and good tips. We have a package but could modify to a room only situation and try the convention tickets. I have only done the convention tickets when I was actually there for a convention and I am always a little worried about doing it. We are staying at POR because we have always wanted to stay there. I know when I originally priced this out there was very little savings by staying at POP and it was actually more to stay at AoA.
But after hearing a lot of your affirmations I am feeling a little better about going and celebrating. Thanks again.
Pre-covid I would go to Italy for two weeks every year for an early music festival / dance course. Solo traveler, airfare, all meals except breakfast in restaurants, hotel, cost of the course. All in it was about US$4500.
I mean, everyone’s budget is different, but with inflation (especially in the service industry) this is a normal cost of a trip for three people these days. I’m facing a similar per-person cost for my family to go to Hawaii, for example.
As cool as the moderates look, the pricing never seems worth it to me. If you have a room only booking, I would move to a value resort and keep all the park days you have planned already. Then choose a few special meals and reserve those on your ADR day. The rest can be quick service, and you can get groceries for all/most breakfasts and snacks.