Not all are created equal

[captain_slinky]

I don't remember who it was or when it was, bust quite some time ago I was having a "conversation" with somebody who was sure that I must be absolutely insane, confused and/or misinformed because I prefer DisneyLAND over Disney WORLD. I end up having this "conversation" about half-a-dozen times a year, actually, but this time was a stand-out conversation because of the counter-claim that a trip to Disney World was not only almost as cheap as a trip to Disneyland, but that it was actually *cheaper* in some instances!

We live in Washington. DisneyLAND is 3 hours away by plane, tops. Disney WORLD is in the opposite corner of the country! Just the FLIGHT THERE should cost more than my entire trip to Disneyland!

The conversation ended in a draw (as they always do), and we went our separate ways.

Recently, I've been considering a trip to Disney World, just to see how it is. Maybe give it a chance and see what all the hullaballoo is about, ya know? We've always just assumed that we could never afford it, but then I remembered that mystery conversationalist claiming that it might even be *cheaper*, so I figured I'd start pricing a trip in my spare time.

First thing I looked up was a hotel room.

The absolute CHEAPEST option is $80 a night (which coincientally is the MOST we've EVER spent for a hotel near Disneyland), and you know what that $80 gets me? A piece of dirt on which to pitch my own tent and bring my own sleeping bag.

FOR $80 A NIGHT, I CAN HAVE THE HONOR OF BEING HOMELESS AT DISNEY WORLD.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Ever.

Comments

[aurora77]

Oh gosh no, it's definitely not cheaper. There are experiences you just can't get at Disneyland, but it is more expensive. I think they may have been thinking about if you're staying on Disney property, you can get a less expensive Disney hotel than at Disneyland, which is true, but the new budget Disney hotels are still pushing $100/night on the low end. We found that the price difference between renting a car and staying off the property and taking shuttles while staying on the property was actually not all that different, and we wouldn't have to deal with traffic and parking and all that jazz, so we didn't rent a car and stayed on Disney property. But then there was the problem of only having resort food choices, which weren't the cheapest or most healthy options. Not that there were a lot of great food choices off-park that I can recall, but that was a long time ago.

DW is really for when you've been saving up and you have a full week or more and can splurge on The Big Trip. DL is good for shorter budget trips, especially on this coast.

[dagna76.livejournal.com]

We've been having that debate for years too. My husband promised me DW for our 25th anniversary (nine years to go). I size up the pricing about once a year, and Ive never once come up with remotely similar numbers. I dont see how it could be possible to spend less at DW. Where do you normally stay at DL? We average around $80 but havent always been able to find hotels that low. We stayed at the Fairfield earlier this week. Got a super great deal through LMT.com ;0)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Never heard of LMT.com... will have to check it out!

We regularly book through booking.com and end up getting great rates. OUr cheapest ever was the Eden Roc hotel for $36 a night, but that was also the furthest away ((a block away from the far corner of DCA). Our most reasonable was the Super 8 at Garden Walk (right by the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co) for $55 a night. Our most recent (and most expensive) was The Castle Inn, 1 block from the main gate, $72 a night.

[dagna76.livejournal.com]

We're staying at the Castle next month! LMT has $67. We stayed at Abbys Anaheimer last month ($57). I think thats about as far as Edon Roc, but Im not totally sure. Did you walk in from all those places? Have you ever used the offsite parking lots? Particularly the one in Garden Walk?

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

We always walk - why rent a car that we're never going to actually drive anywhere? However, we *have* stayed at the Super 8 that's right up against Garden Walk, that wasn't too bad of a walk each night... but Castle Inn was by far the closest we've ever stayed to the park. Easy walk :) Try to get a ground floor, as the walkways on the upper levels are very warped and scary.

[plumxxjam.livejournal.com]

I've only been to Disney World, so I can't compare the two, but I had a ton of fun. Holy heck, though, was it super expensive. I have no idea what the other person meant by it being cheaper in certain instances, but there's a reason why I've only been once ha ha. (I would totally go back, though; it really was a lot of fun.) We didn't stay at a Disney hotel and only had a park hopper pass for two days, so we didn't even do it properly and it still pretty much broke the bank haha.