I gotta say i went to Disney World in Christmas season in 2022 in December and the Mickey Very Merry Christmas night time event was one of the best theme park experiences I've ever had with an amazing parade to boot.
MVMCP is a great Christmas party and the party is consistent... Though I remember just a few years ago it was around $70 a person to go but now it's almost doubled in price since then
Disney at Christmas is so wonderful. My son and I spent the better part of a day when he was 10 just looking at the Christmas decorations at the monorail hotels the first day our passes were blocked out for the holidays. We booking another room and stayed an extra night at the resort so we could spend a day looking around at everything outside the parks and getting a little more Disney Magic before heading home.
It may be nice, but it's not $199 nice, especially when you can just go to Universal for less than that and get all other Christmas stuff for free as part of your daytime admission, including a parade. And, you get to be there all day instead of just a few hours.Disney's offerings are just waaaaaaayyyy overpriced for what you get.
I agree with the annual passholder thing. You can almost always tell when the majority of them are blacked out as attendance will almost always be lower. Some of their blackout dates are ridiculous. They black out AP's and the parks are dead. You can tell just how much AP's keep their parks going throughout the year.
How disney handles their annual passes is one of my biggest criticisms. If you're not a FL resident, you're pretty don't have much options. The passes for FL residents are separated by blockout dates instead of perks. The pixie pass, lowest tier pass, blocks out weekends. The next tier that allows weekends is almost twice the price of the pixie pass. I actually think the best annual pass is busch gardens/seaworld. Not only is it less expensive, but you get a lot of perks, discounts, and even free guest tickets. They also frequently give free food items at their events and cash credits to spend inside the park.
Disney has for some time now taken their AP's for granted until they need them, which I think they likely will have to lean on the AP's a lot in the next few years. Let's not forget just a few years ago they tried to create scarcity by not selling new AP's out of a select few times out of the year... I always thought that was a WILD move lol
@@capthemagic Yes Disney couldn't care less about their AP's and they seem to always forget that it's always their AP's who keep their parks busy during slower times of the year. It's like AP's are just a pain in their butt and they don't bring in as much revenue because we just pay once for a pass and parking is free so it's not worth it to them to care. They do the bare minimum for us. I'm surprised we still get free parking at its parks.
@@metallicnole4514 I agree, however I think I know why they do this. Tickets are so expensive right now for a vacation people would just buy an AP instead of tickets so Disney would only get money out of them once. So for those who planned on making a couple of trips to WDW for example you'd only be paying once. And you don't pay for parking assuming you're staying offsite, and then you don't pay as much for merch, and you also don't pay as much in their restaurants either. In the end Disney just doesn't make as much money off AP's.
We are going to Orlando for the first time next February and we are only doing one Disney park because we don't want to constantly be relying on our phones, and their prices are insane right now.
I do wonder in the coming years if people may still go to Disney but just not all the parks like people have in the past. With what Universal is doing they will likely eat into a lot more market share for this very reason. Years ago people may have gone to Disney for 4 days and Universal for 1-2 days but now if they split time evenly or even go more at Universal than Disney, that will be felt by Disney in the pocketbooks
@@capthemagic I think AK is really gonna take a hit. Possibly either EPCOT or DHS too. If families are only gonna spend a day or two at WDW then something has to give and it's definitely AK, their water parks, and possibly either EPCOT or DHS. Maybe families will split their day between DHS and EPCOT.
Very good video. Went last weekend for Xmas party. Didn’t go for summer visit. Booked alternative theme park experience. I will go and meet family down at Disney or book a short weekend. Disney is becoming stressful and may not be sustainable. 😢 I have a bucket list for Disney is I have had all the experiences but I am def not going annually anymore
Thank you! I do think the stress and complicated experience that is going to Disney World has always been there but as prices have soared it's made many people question going or not going as frequently which I do understand. I can't imagine what it's like for a first timer trying to plan a trip now lol
I love WDW but there is no way I would go back at regular list prices. I'm not thrilled about the ride reservation systems either. Last May we had a few days in Orlando so I was considering staying at WDW, but after a quick look at the prices, I decided to go to Universal instead. Then, I learned about the ride line options and was SO Glad we didn't go to Disney. I would have been beyond frustrated. I guess I'll just keep my memories and hope to be able to go back sometime in the future. It does not sound like my idea of fun and I'd hate to miss out on my favorite rides while spending all that money, time and energy going there. I've been a passholder on a budget before and although I didn't spend as much as most people do per day, I probably spent as much as once-in-a-lifetime visitors do over the 15 months that my passes were active. Not to mention bringing people with me and being an ambassador for Disney trips for over 5 decades. Disney has once again lost their magic for me, but this has happened before - hopefully it will be found again.
What's wild is when you look at the prices for Universal including Epic Universe tickets it's still cheaper than Disney tickets. I do think Disney will run some pretty heavy discounts, buy a day get a day free, etc but the value is not there like it was even 5 years ago
@@capthemagic We got the buy 2 get 4 days package when we went to Universal, stayed a total of five nights, and spent 4 days in the parks park-hopping over two trips to and from Orlando before and after Memorial Day. The total cost was probably less than two days/ three nights at Disney during that time. I hadn't been to the Harry Potter lands yet either, so that was an added incentive. It's been a while since I've been to either Orlando resort as we were pass holders at Legoland for a while after it opened and then Busch Gardens for a few years with my daughter and her family. Then everyone grew up and got busy. I love Disney, but it's not the only place to go with our time and money - there has to be some value for long-time regular (semi-regular) park visitors. I predict deep discounts at Disney after Epic opens ... Universal is becoming a week-long destination. Plus there are other things to do in the area.
There's not enough money on the planet to get me to go to WDW at any time of year... especially from December 15th through January 7th. That's like the most mental idea ever!
We typically don't go during busy times but went for a few days this year around the 15th and the crowds weren't as bad as they have been in years past for sure
people that spend $500 a day for each disney park that only has at best 3 good rides makes no sense unless your park hopping to 2-3 parks in that day. I would rather just pay 15 bucks for a guardians LL lol
Also Lighting Lane murders standby queues, however when I was looking it didn't really look any busier than a regular day. Maybe slightly busier but it's no where near where it used to be.
I gotta say i went to Disney World in Christmas season in 2022 in December and the Mickey Very Merry Christmas night time event was one of the best theme park experiences I've ever had with an amazing parade to boot.
MVMCP is a great Christmas party and the party is consistent... Though I remember just a few years ago it was around $70 a person to go but now it's almost doubled in price since then
Disney at Christmas is so wonderful. My son and I spent the better part of a day when he was 10 just looking at the Christmas decorations at the monorail hotels the first day our passes were blocked out for the holidays. We booking another room and stayed an extra night at the resort so we could spend a day looking around at everything outside the parks and getting a little more Disney Magic before heading home.
It may be nice, but it's not $199 nice, especially when you can just go to Universal for less than that and get all other Christmas stuff for free as part of your daytime admission, including a parade. And, you get to be there all day instead of just a few hours.Disney's offerings are just waaaaaaayyyy overpriced for what you get.
@@capthemagic I think towards the end of event it's more towards $200/person. That's just not worth it if you can only be there a few hours.
I agree with the annual passholder thing. You can almost always tell when the majority of them are blacked out as attendance will almost always be lower. Some of their blackout dates are ridiculous. They black out AP's and the parks are dead. You can tell just how much AP's keep their parks going throughout the year.
How disney handles their annual passes is one of my biggest criticisms. If you're not a FL resident, you're pretty don't have much options. The passes for FL residents are separated by blockout dates instead of perks. The pixie pass, lowest tier pass, blocks out weekends. The next tier that allows weekends is almost twice the price of the pixie pass. I actually think the best annual pass is busch gardens/seaworld. Not only is it less expensive, but you get a lot of perks, discounts, and even free guest tickets. They also frequently give free food items at their events and cash credits to spend inside the park.
Disney has for some time now taken their AP's for granted until they need them, which I think they likely will have to lean on the AP's a lot in the next few years. Let's not forget just a few years ago they tried to create scarcity by not selling new AP's out of a select few times out of the year... I always thought that was a WILD move lol
@@capthemagic Yes Disney couldn't care less about their AP's and they seem to always forget that it's always their AP's who keep their parks busy during slower times of the year. It's like AP's are just a pain in their butt and they don't bring in as much revenue because we just pay once for a pass and parking is free so it's not worth it to them to care. They do the bare minimum for us. I'm surprised we still get free parking at its parks.
@@metallicnole4514 I agree, however I think I know why they do this. Tickets are so expensive right now for a vacation people would just buy an AP instead of tickets so Disney would only get money out of them once. So for those who planned on making a couple of trips to WDW for example you'd only be paying once. And you don't pay for parking assuming you're staying offsite, and then you don't pay as much for merch, and you also don't pay as much in their restaurants either. In the end Disney just doesn't make as much money off AP's.
We are going to Orlando for the first time next February and we are only doing one Disney park because we don't want to constantly be relying on our phones, and their prices are insane right now.
I do wonder in the coming years if people may still go to Disney but just not all the parks like people have in the past. With what Universal is doing they will likely eat into a lot more market share for this very reason. Years ago people may have gone to Disney for 4 days and Universal for 1-2 days but now if they split time evenly or even go more at Universal than Disney, that will be felt by Disney in the pocketbooks
@@capthemagic I think AK is really gonna take a hit. Possibly either EPCOT or DHS too. If families are only gonna spend a day or two at WDW then something has to give and it's definitely AK, their water parks, and possibly either EPCOT or DHS. Maybe families will split their day between DHS and EPCOT.
Very good video. Went last weekend for Xmas party. Didn’t go for summer visit. Booked alternative theme park experience. I will go and meet family down at Disney or book a short weekend. Disney is becoming stressful and may not be sustainable. 😢 I have a bucket list for Disney is I have had all the experiences but I am def not going annually anymore
Thank you! I do think the stress and complicated experience that is going to Disney World has always been there but as prices have soared it's made many people question going or not going as frequently which I do understand. I can't imagine what it's like for a first timer trying to plan a trip now lol
I wouldn't surprised if Disney's bad reputation in general nowadays played a part in the low attendance to the Christmas event at Disney.
I love WDW but there is no way I would go back at regular list prices. I'm not thrilled about the ride reservation systems either. Last May we had a few days in Orlando so I was considering staying at WDW, but after a quick look at the prices, I decided to go to Universal instead. Then, I learned about the ride line options and was SO Glad we didn't go to Disney. I would have been beyond frustrated. I guess I'll just keep my memories and hope to be able to go back sometime in the future. It does not sound like my idea of fun and I'd hate to miss out on my favorite rides while spending all that money, time and energy going there.
I've been a passholder on a budget before and although I didn't spend as much as most people do per day, I probably spent as much as once-in-a-lifetime visitors do over the 15 months that my passes were active. Not to mention bringing people with me and being an ambassador for Disney trips for over 5 decades. Disney has once again lost their magic for me, but this has happened before - hopefully it will be found again.
What's wild is when you look at the prices for Universal including Epic Universe tickets it's still cheaper than Disney tickets. I do think Disney will run some pretty heavy discounts, buy a day get a day free, etc but the value is not there like it was even 5 years ago
@@capthemagic We got the buy 2 get 4 days package when we went to Universal, stayed a total of five nights, and spent 4 days in the parks park-hopping over two trips to and from Orlando before and after Memorial Day. The total cost was probably less than two days/ three nights at Disney during that time. I hadn't been to the Harry Potter lands yet either, so that was an added incentive.
It's been a while since I've been to either Orlando resort as we were pass holders at Legoland for a while after it opened and then Busch Gardens for a few years with my daughter and her family. Then everyone grew up and got busy.
I love Disney, but it's not the only place to go with our time and money - there has to be some value for long-time regular (semi-regular) park visitors. I predict deep discounts at Disney after Epic opens ... Universal is becoming a week-long destination. Plus there are other things to do in the area.
There's not enough money on the planet to get me to go to WDW at any time of year... especially from December 15th through January 7th. That's like the most mental idea ever!
We typically don't go during busy times but went for a few days this year around the 15th and the crowds weren't as bad as they have been in years past for sure
Kids will have more fun at a hotel with a large pool area, like Great Wolf. A great time for a fraction of the cost
Kids do love pools lol
people that spend $500 a day for each disney park that only has at best 3 good rides makes no sense unless your park hopping to 2-3 parks in that day. I would rather just pay 15 bucks for a guardians LL lol
On principle alone I'll never buy the Premiere Pass lol
Based upon the sizes of the crowds on TH-cam vloggers videos and wait times showing on the app? I’d say no they’re not
Depends but wait times are always inflated
Also Lighting Lane murders standby queues, however when I was looking it didn't really look any busier than a regular day. Maybe slightly busier but it's no where near where it used to be.
@@sky0kast0 All theme parks inflate wait times. Disney and universal as do it.
If you compare it to precious years it's way down. Disney artificially controls how many people they let in and wait times to make you think this