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Walt Disney World: Non-Theme Park Discussion

Yep, the magic bands and months in advance booking procedure massively put me off visiting.
I don't go on holiday to be more timetabled and regimented than I am at home, that's not how I like to relax and enjoy my time.
 
The price to Orlando has got so stupid I think Disney and Universal are pricing themselves that even Americans are refusing to pay over $100 each for 1 day in a park.
I know inflation has gone up every year but for Example all holidays taken in September time.
2007 me and my wife stayed at Pop Century with 14 day ticket, free dinning plan, Hire car and Orlando Flex ticket around £2000
2008 me and my wife stayed at Port Orleans Riverside with 14 day Ticket, free dinning plan, Hire car and Orlando Flex ticket around £2500
2011 me and my wife stayed at Coronado Springs with the 14 ticket, free dinning plan and the 14 day Universal ticket, Transfers £3200
2016 me and my wife and at the time 4 year old Daughter staying at the Caribbean beach resort with 14 day ticket with Free dinning plan and used the Magical Express £4600.

I been looking at Prices during school holidays based on my daughter been 11 and my son been 4 staying at any Moderate resort with 14 day tickets and Free dinning plan and I haven’t been able to get it for under £9000.

I would love to add Universal tickets but them on there own would cost over £1000.
 
@Themeparksandy1981 £9,000 is a tough figure to swallow - in some ways, but you're getting a lot of product at peak time for four people.

I'd take the word 'free' out of your thinking with regards to the dining plan. It's anything but and if you use it, it's pretty good value. Between 2 of us we racked up the best part of €100 at PortAventura last night, if you think about what you'd spend eating out over two weeks it's a pretty eye watering number.

We are looking at Disney for 2020 at the moment and haven't found it hugely different than in previous years but our booking profile is quite different to yours in terms of resort, school holidays, number of nights etc.
 
@Themeparksandy1981 £9,000 is a tough figure to swallow - in some ways, but you're getting a lot of product at peak time for four people.

I'd take the word 'free' out of your thinking with regards to the dining plan. It's anything but and if you use it, it's pretty good value. Between 2 of us we racked up the best part of €100 at PortAventura last night, if you think about what you'd spend eating out over two weeks it's a pretty eye watering number.

We are looking at Disney for 2020 at the moment and haven't found it hugely different than in previous years but our booking profile is quite different to yours in terms of resort, school holidays, number of nights etc.

I know it’s a lot but as I been saving since my last holiday there in 2016 I been putting £30 into my savings every week and by August 2023 for my 30th anniversary since my 1st visit in 1993 I will have saved nearly £11000. If I spoke to people at work they would say that’s a good amount of money to spend on a good 2nd half motor instead on a 2 week theme park holiday.
 
Orlando can actually be a very good value for money holiday.

We will be back next year, can get flights and decent accomodation packages for under £1000. The key is to book a hotel with free theme park shuttle buses to save on parking/fuel.

There's no doubt Disney and Universal are ramping up prices, but look at how much they're adding to their resorts. It's not like Merlin who charge more but take attractions away.
 
I priced up Sea World for 1 day. We wont have time to do Busch Gardens so the combined tickets are worthless.
After I added in a all day dining for 4 and a 15 minute dolphin 'experience' (the old dolphin feeding wall) I was looking at over $700!!

I think in the UK we have a pretty good deal overall with the Disney 14 day tickets but when you look at the Seaworld example above it's clear to see how this would really affect the USA market which is obviously these parks biggest audience.
 
I stayed in All Stars Sports when I went in May as largely as I wanted put my money elsewhere and I thought it was worth it. The other hotels have their quirks and some are brilliant, but at the end of the day I just needed a place to rest my head for the night. Considering as well I needed to do Universal and BGT/SeaWorld it was definitely worth it for me personally. It was still a lot of money though, I'm planning California and it's coming out a lot cheaper.
 
I think it all depends on how many days you spend at each park like currently Disney tickets cost £406 for 14 day ticket so if we visit for 13 days it costs £31.23 per day so good value for money but if you also have the Universal 3 park ticket at £285 so if you visit them over 4 days it works so at £71.25 per day which makes the Disney tickets £44.51 per day for 9 days then if you want to do Busch gardens and Sea World you get the Orlando Flex ticket for £389 a day and a half each for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. A day each at Sea World and Busch Gardens and half a day each at the 2 water parks so 6 days in total which £64.83 per day so that leaves 7 days at Disney £58 per day.
 
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I saw that news last night, it is devastating, especially for the employees involved. I do wonder in part if the announcement has been made to try and force the hand of the Californian government in allowing Disneyland to re-open.
 
Disney have announced the permanent scrapping of Extra Magic Hours (which were temporarily removed due to covid) for on-site guests. These were either early or late opening for 1 or 2 hours of at least one park per day, often more than one in busy times.

It is being replaced with ‘Early Magic’ which will be a rather stingy 30 mins early access at all four parks.

Also, in a rather odd move they have announced that the Magical Express, the free bus from the airport to onsite hotels will be scrapped entirely in 2022. Often sited as a way to ensure guests did not leave WDW property as they didn’t need to hire a car, this one is perhaps not a great long term decision.
 
It's all about finance, sadly. This was coming in even before Covid.

They now charge hotel guests parking fees. No more Magical Express. No more extended EMH. Paid Fastpass.

The Magical Express will make more people hire cars, and this increase revenue from parking fees.
 
They must be confident that demand will still be there from guests to fill the rooms.

These perks being chipped away at just pushes me into staying offsite.

Free magic bands for onsite guests have also been scrapped.
 
Do pass holders need to pay for parking if they stay one (I’m on about the tier that gets free parking at the parks)
 
Walt Disney World is getting a train station built at Disney Springs which will take guests from the airport and you will get a resort bus when you arrive.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/disney-vacations/disney-world-new-brightline-train-station?amp=true

True, although I understand the current timeline is that this station will open late 2022 and the Magical Express is being scrapped from 1st Jan 2022.

Even so the train is set to be a paid service and will mean needing to take a train and then transfer to a bus to your hotel from Disney Springs, as opposed to the direct bus that Magic Express currently offers.
 
Just reading up on it and as the Magicial Express buses are run by Mears Transportation and cause they not like the same buses they run around the property they virtually having to run them with only 30 to 40% full. There over 500 buses on property and with it been mainly Florida guests visiting the parks currently the service hasn’t been used as much and can see it been mainly the same this year with Mears themselves taking over the service in 2022.
 
As well as Disney removing the complimentory Magical Express airport transfers to their own hotel starting 2022 they are also cutting Extra Magic Hours to just half an hour.

The removal of Magical Express doesn't even seem Covid related if it isn't starting until 2022 (they likely have to end the current contract period with Mears), as hopefully by Jan 2022 social distancing will be less of an issue. Its just cost cutting and gives me even less reasons to stay on site at WDW. No Magical Express means every trip now costs at least $50 extra per trip in taxis or transfers.

The changes to Extra Magic Hours bother me more as it means no more evening extra hours. Instead of a different park each day have one hour in the morning or two in the evening, all parks will now have half an hour in the morning for resort guests. So there is more choice as all parks have the half hour, but I rarely was ready to go to the parks at 8am anyway and used the evening hours more.

I was already thinking about staying at Universal or elsewhere off-site next trip, but the removal of almost all benefits of staying on site, together with the parking charges at the hotels means I don't think I will ever do a 14 night trip at a Disney hotel in Florida. They are just way too expensive now.
 
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