lucky2 - 2014-04-05 5:49 PM I need help....trying to plan a trip to orlando and then maybe to the east or west coast for a couple days of beach..... is it worth the extra money to stay on a disney resort park or are there some nice resorts on the outside? Thinking of co co beach or clearwater....give me your ideas....and travel websites too

BigSkyDream - 2014-04-06 8:58 AM


We went last year and I have to say, I consider Disney WAAAAY overpriced (and we had discounts). We stayed on the resort because we thought it would be an experience and convenient, but it wasn't. The room was really expensive and it was very small and nothing special other than some decor (think $35-50 hotel/motel range expectations for something 3-6x as much money). They did bus you from the resort to the entrance of the parks or to other resorts, but that was it, and if they had activities at any of the other resorts you could go and participate. We had a young child, and I was hoping for all the fun towel animals that people posted online...nope, we didn't get them so guess our room person wasn't that into her job. You got a refillable cup if you stayed in the hotel, BUT it could ONLY be refilled at a resort, which dropped the value of having it since it's not that big. And you did get a little extra time in the parks, but can't say I thought that was worth it, either.

We also tried the meal plan. It was recommended, but I wouldn't do it. It's not worth it, and most of the meals are mediocre or really overpriced for what you get. It might be worth it if you were going to do a bunch of character meals (where they have the costumed characters come in to meet and greet). Boma buffet at Animal Kingdom was good, but they value it at $30-60 if you are paying out of pocket. Not entirely sure if I agree with that price point, either, but since we already had the plan we made reservations and dined.

They do allow you to bring soft-sided coolers into the park, so you can always pack a lunch and some drinks and save money that way. I give Disney kudos for that allowance.

What really got me was how much MARKETING of overpriced stuff goes on. Yeah, it's a theme park, but when you buy those really expensive tickets and a REALLY expensive hotel room and then you walk in the gates and it's almost ALL overpriced stores, with a few attractions thrown in, it was quite disappointing to me and not very "magical".

The best thing, I think, about Disney was the Fast Pass system. The people that don't get the concept and see other people walking onto a ride complain, but for anyone that has spent any amount of time in the past waiting in 4 hour lines, it's great. If there is a big line for an attraction, you can go to the fast pass kiosk and get a couple tickets. On the ticket it gives you a time to come back to the attraction, and you can then get into the Fast Pass line (which should be shorter than the regular line). In the mean time, you can go off and do something else instead of waiting in line for a long time. You can ONLY have one fast pass at a time, so you can't just go around and collect passes, so grab a fast pass and go hop on another ride or see a show if you can make it. This is a value added feature of the parks and is a great idea.

The second best thing about Disney are the shows. Obviously, this is what they excel at. If you go, then make time for the shows because the rides are blah. Finding Nemo was good, as well as Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

My favorite park was Hollywood Studios. We were there on Star Wars weekend, so that was fun. I think that's where Fantasmic (water and light show) was, which was good, and they had the Stunt Shows, etc which were good. I think my least favorite was a tie between Epcot and Magic Kingdom, though the show they do on the Castle at the end of the night is really good if you can actually see it in the crowd. My kid, well, he wasn't much into anything. He liked the water rides the best...that's what he remembered most. And Mickey. He liked Mickey.

Tip: Buy your Disney stuff off the resort. If you have young kids and are just determined to go, might want to pre-buy and bring it with you to give them. I just said "no" a lot.
Tip:  If you have a smart phone, I think there are some apps/websites that show what the crowds are like on any given day.  If you go, use these.  You are paying a lot of money, so this helps you determine how to make the most of your time.
Tip:  Research attractions and typical wait times.  You might want to hop on the most popular ones first thing, or grab fast passes for them because they tend to be the ones with long lines.

I would never go back to Disney again. I honestly can't fathom how family's can afford to go. Like I said, we had discounted tickets and it was still expensive (and we didn't buy any souvenirs). For the price, I expected much better quality, especially the food and hotel rooms which were mostly ho-hum. We did it because we'd never gone and we had a chance at discounts, and we had a young kid and may never get the chance again. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself don't do it. I'd go to the Disney Boardwalk, which is free to go to and has some neat stuff on it.

If you are a die-hard Disney fan it might be worth it to you, but I personally think there are better things to spend that amount of money on...like a nice horse.

My preferences:

We had gone to Busch Gardens in Tampa (the Yuengling brewery is near Busch Gardens that you can tour if you like beer) and Seaworld and enjoyed those MUCH, much better. Of course, we got lucky with short lines at Busch Gardens, and they also have some really good shows, like their Ice Show and their animal shows. Their rides are much better. You can buy a souvenir cup for $8 something and I think refills are only $1 thereafter, which is really good for a park, and if you are sharing the drink, definitely worth it. And if you just want water, you can go up to a kiosk with your cup and they'll fill it for nothing (no forcing you to buy bottled water at inflated prices). We had a MUCH better times at these places.

I don't know about Universal Studios. That's down there, but have never been.

Also, if you do go down around that area, if you haven't been on an airboat ride, do it. I got whined at and complained at because I scheduled us to go on an airboat ride that was maybe 20-30 minute drive away from "where it's at". I wanted to do something that wasn't the typical activity to do in the area and never experienced before. Let me tell you, those whiny people ended up enjoying it. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't flashy, but it was enjoyable (especially when the boat went sideways, lol). We even got lucky and got to see an alligator while we were out. It was a small one, but some people don't even get to see that.

I don't know about beaches down there, but I know everyone seems to love the beaches in Destin, FL.

As a side-note, if you are a roller coaster lover, skip Florida, wait until it starts to warm up and go to Cedar Point in Ohio.

Ultimately whether something is worth it really depends on how much value you put on something, and maybe price comparisons. I'm pretty price-conscious so I'm pretty aware of what equivalent things cost so that sticks out when I see things over-priced for the quality.

This also goes hand in hand with expectations. Disney hypes itself up a lot, so you walk in there with these expectations, and when they aren't met, it makes the worth less. If they meet YOUR expectations, then you may be completely satisfied with it and think it was worth it.  

These are just my opinions, and obviously there are people that absolutely LOVE it and go again and again (I don't know how they can afford that, but they do).

BigSkyDream - 2014-04-06 9:58 AM


We went last year and I have to say, I consider Disney WAAAAY overpriced (and we had discounts). We stayed on the resort because we thought it would be an experience and convenient, but it wasn't. The room was really expensive and it was very small and nothing special other than some decor (think $35-50 hotel/motel range expectations for something 3-6x as much money). They did bus you from the resort to the entrance of the parks or to other resorts, but that was it, and if they had activities at any of the other resorts you could go and participate. We had a young child, and I was hoping for all the fun towel animals that people posted online...nope, we didn't get them so guess our room person wasn't that into her job. You got a refillable cup if you stayed in the hotel, BUT it could ONLY be refilled at a resort, which dropped the value of having it since it's not that big. And you did get a little extra time in the parks, but can't say I thought that was worth it, either.

We also tried the meal plan. It was recommended, but I wouldn't do it. It's not worth it, and most of the meals are mediocre or really overpriced for what you get. It might be worth it if you were going to do a bunch of character meals (where they have the costumed characters come in to meet and greet). Boma buffet at Animal Kingdom was good, but they value it at $30-60 if you are paying out of pocket. Not entirely sure if I agree with that price point, either, but since we already had the plan we made reservations and dined.

They do allow you to bring soft-sided coolers into the park, so you can always pack a lunch and some drinks and save money that way. I give Disney kudos for that allowance.

What really got me was how much MARKETING of overpriced stuff goes on. Yeah, it's a theme park, but when you buy those really expensive tickets and a REALLY expensive hotel room and then you walk in the gates and it's almost ALL overpriced stores, with a few attractions thrown in, it was quite disappointing to me and not very "magical".

The best thing, I think, about Disney was the Fast Pass system. The people that don't get the concept and see other people walking onto a ride complain, but for anyone that has spent any amount of time in the past waiting in 4 hour lines, it's great. If there is a big line for an attraction, you can go to the fast pass kiosk and get a couple tickets. On the ticket it gives you a time to come back to the attraction, and you can then get into the Fast Pass line (which should be shorter than the regular line). In the mean time, you can go off and do something else instead of waiting in line for a long time. You can ONLY have one fast pass at a time, so you can't just go around and collect passes, so grab a fast pass and go hop on another ride or see a show if you can make it. This is a value added feature of the parks and is a great idea.

The second best thing about Disney are the shows. Obviously, this is what they excel at. If you go, then make time for the shows because the rides are blah. Finding Nemo was good, as well as Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

My favorite park was Hollywood Studios. We were there on Star Wars weekend, so that was fun. I think that's where Fantasmic (water and light show) was, which was good, and they had the Stunt Shows, etc which were good. I think my least favorite was a tie between Epcot and Magic Kingdom, though the show they do on the Castle at the end of the night is really good if you can actually see it in the crowd. My kid, well, he wasn't much into anything. He liked the water rides the best...that's what he remembered most. And Mickey. He liked Mickey.

Tip: Buy your Disney stuff off the resort. If you have young kids and are just determined to go, might want to pre-buy and bring it with you to give them. I just said "no" a lot.
Tip:  If you have a smart phone, I think there are some apps/websites that show what the crowds are like on any given day.  If you go, use these.  You are paying a lot of money, so this helps you determine how to make the most of your time.
Tip:  Research attractions and typical wait times.  You might want to hop on the most popular ones first thing, or grab fast passes for them because they tend to be the ones with long lines.

I would never go back to Disney again. I honestly can't fathom how family's can afford to go. Like I said, we had discounted tickets and it was still expensive (and we didn't buy any souvenirs). For the price, I expected much better quality, especially the food and hotel rooms which were mostly ho-hum. We did it because we'd never gone and we had a chance at discounts, and we had a young kid and may never get the chance again. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself don't do it. I'd go to the Disney Boardwalk, which is free to go to and has some neat stuff on it.

If you are a die-hard Disney fan it might be worth it to you, but I personally think there are better things to spend that amount of money on...like a nice horse.

My preferences:

We had gone to Busch Gardens in Tampa (the Yuengling brewery is near Busch Gardens that you can tour if you like beer) and Seaworld and enjoyed those MUCH, much better. Of course, we got lucky with short lines at Busch Gardens, and they also have some really good shows, like their Ice Show and their animal shows. Their rides are much better. You can buy a souvenir cup for $8 something and I think refills are only $1 thereafter, which is really good for a park, and if you are sharing the drink, definitely worth it. And if you just want water, you can go up to a kiosk with your cup and they'll fill it for nothing (no forcing you to buy bottled water at inflated prices). We had a MUCH better times at these places.

I don't know about Universal Studios. That's down there, but have never been.

Also, if you do go down around that area, if you haven't been on an airboat ride, do it. I got whined at and complained at because I scheduled us to go on an airboat ride that was maybe 20-30 minute drive away from "where it's at". I wanted to do something that wasn't the typical activity to do in the area and never experienced before. Let me tell you, those whiny people ended up enjoying it. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't flashy, but it was enjoyable (especially when the boat went sideways, lol). We even got lucky and got to see an alligator while we were out. It was a small one, but some people don't even get to see that.

I don't know about beaches down there, but I know everyone seems to love the beaches in Destin, FL.

As a side-note, if you are a roller coaster lover, skip Florida, wait until it starts to warm up and go to Cedar Point in Ohio.

Ultimately whether something is worth it really depends on how much value you put on something, and maybe price comparisons. I'm pretty price-conscious so I'm pretty aware of what equivalent things cost so that sticks out when I see things over-priced for the quality.

This also goes hand in hand with expectations. Disney hypes itself up a lot, so you walk in there with these expectations, and when they aren't met, it makes the worth less. If they meet YOUR expectations, then you may be completely satisfied with it and think it was worth it.  

These are just my opinions, and obviously there are people that absolutely LOVE it and go again and again (I don't know how they can afford that, but they do).