Cheers 2 Ears!
Two dudes named Aaron toasting their way through the Disney resorts. New episodes drop every Monday morning
Cheers 2 Ears!
Is Disney Worth The Money Or Just The Memory With A Floral Bitter Beauty
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$160 for a single day at Magic Kingdom sounds simple until you ask the real question: what are you actually buying at Disney World, and will you feel good about it when you get home? We kick things off with a cocktail inspired by the Enchanted Rose Lounge at Disney’s Grand Floridian, then jump straight into the numbers and the tradeoffs that make Disney pricing so polarizing.
We break down average park ticket costs and why a one-day visit can feel either magical or pointless depending on your tolerance for crowds, heat, and “I didn’t do enough” pressure. Then we get honest about Lightning Lane Multi Pass, single-pass splurges, and the rides we’d pay for again versus the ones that feel like bad math. If you’ve ever wondered whether Premier Pass is a ridiculous luxury or a smart way to protect your time, we talk through the strategy side too.
From there, we map out resort pricing across value, moderate, deluxe, and off-site stays, including the hidden extras that quietly erase “cheap” savings. We also get into food costs, the appeal of quick-service meals when you want to keep moving, and why dining plans can turn a vacation into a scheduling problem. Finally, we hit souvenirs and experiences, from meaningful pins and Loungefly temptation to behind-the-scenes tours, plus the jaw-dropping bucket-list world of 21 Royal and Club 33.
If you’re planning a Disney trip and trying to build a budget that still feels fun, hit play, then subscribe, share with your favorite Disney planner, and leave a review so more people can find us. What Disney expense is always worth it to you?
Floral Bitter Beauty And Lobby Love
SPEAKER_01On today's episode, we talk actual Disney prices and if they are really worth it while sipping on a floral bitter beauty from the Antenna Rose Lounge. Welcome to Tears to Ears.
SPEAKER_00From Castles to Coasters, we're here for you at Old Fashioned Manhattans. We'll talk that too from future land to the wild frontier. It's Disney talk on Tears to Ears.
SPEAKER_01Okay, we are back, and we're talking Floral Bitter Beauty from the Enchantal Rose Lounge at the Grand Californian in Florida. That's my favorite idea.
SPEAKER_02So every time we when we were in Florida, the I guess we've only taken one trip to Disney World.
SPEAKER_01Together, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you kept referring to the Grand Floridian as the Grand Californian. So it became the Grand Californian in Florida. And now the Grand Californian is the Grand Floridian in California. Yeah. Bucket list, place to stay. Very nice. We should just stay there. It's a nice looking hotel. It just is a very attractive looking hotel. It is a great lobby. Great lobby.
SPEAKER_01One of the best lobbies in all Disney. Yeah. I like a good lobby. I do. A lobby guy. Yeah, you are a lobby guy too. Yeah. And Disney World really made me a lobby person. And there are some great ones. There are. There. The Floral Bitter Beauty, though. Did it. Let me tell you what it's made with. Is that what we're going with? That's wherever they added. It's made with Hendrix Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Campari liqueur, Aperol liqueur, lemon and soda, and it's 1950.
SPEAKER_02So we did one shot of Bombay Gin, a half ounce of Bowl's elderflower liqueur, a half ounce of Campari liqueur, a half ounce of Aperol liqueur, a half ounce of lemon, and then about two and a half ounces of soda. And we'll sell it to you for $16.50. Yeah. Here in the good old Pacific Northwest. We will beat their price. So a floral bitter beauty. And I was expecting more bitter. It's still bitter. So Kampari, if you are not aware, Kampari and Aperol are both orange with herbs. So bitter herbs. Liqueur.
SPEAKER_01And it's a little bit, but not bad. I think the name says it all. It's not a beauty. If you look at the drink, it's not like the most beautiful drink you'd ever have, but it's not bad. It's a pretty drink.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I just get in the bitter right there. Did you? I took a little bit bigger. It's not a it's not an ugly drink. No. No. So it's floral. It's a kind of a peach pink color, but floral.
SPEAKER_01I call it more of a floral bitter acute.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Middle aged attractive. A floral bitter, middle aged attractive.
SPEAKER_01Twice divorced. But this, like most of the drinks we make, is good. We always get the good side, right? This is a really good drink. I would order this. I think. Let me look at the other drinks here. We're going to try one next week that's on this list already.
SPEAKER_02So see, the rye knot looked pretty good. Rye whiskey, Grand Marnier.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it has whistle pig, too.
SPEAKER_02Cinnamon, pineapple, lemon. Oh, whistle pig's pretty expensive. Yeah. So there is another one, but we're not going to mention that one because it's going to be in a few trips.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, seasonal old-fashioned though, they have there is a widow Jane 10-year straight bourbon housemade seasonal syrup and bitters. Straight up $28.50. That's the most expensive drink on their menu. But anyway, I could have this while standing in the lounge.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. The gradient. I could imagine all of these drinks being something that would be at a lounge bar called the Enchanted Rose at the Grand Florida. Yeah, this is great. Yeah. Zero problems with this drink. I think this is the probably the one that looks about the best on this menu. So there you go. I'm not even ready. I didn't have my pages right.
SPEAKER_01Look at this.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_01Here I'm out. I know. I'm already all over the place here.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, not bad. There we go. Lots of alcohol in it. But not an alcohol forward drink.
SPEAKER_01It's no, not like last drink last week's episode.
SPEAKER_02So I'd say lemon hits first. I think the it just everything mixes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. The bitter hits first with me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the lemon hits first, and then the bitter hits the back of the throat towards the end.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I get elder flower right away. Weird. Interesting.
SPEAKER_02That would be more floral than bitter for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, interesting notes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, this is an interesting drink. Yeah, I like it. But it is good.
Disney Ticket Prices And One-Day Debate
SPEAKER_01And we're gonna talk about something very interesting today, Aaron. Yes. We're talking, we're gonna talk about Disney prices as they are right now. Like the average prices of things.
SPEAKER_02And are they worth it?
SPEAKER_01And if we think they're worth it, yeah. They might not. Should you really do this? Should you? Should you even go to Disney? Yes. Oh boy, that's the answer. Okay, thank you. Episode 0. Good night. You should always go. So I made this list of average costs of different things. And I started with park tickets. Yeah. Because that's what everyone, that's their first thought. You know. First thing is park ticket prices.
SPEAKER_02Okay. I and I want to break this down one day versus multi-day trips. One day trip to me is not worth it, especially if you want park hopper. So if you're going Disneyland, not worth it. I think minimum three days. So that's what I did.
SPEAKER_01That's what I did. I focused on Disney World.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because they have so many more options for hotels and stuff like that and restaurants.
SPEAKER_02And they're always doing that four-day deal where you go four days and it's only $100 a day.
SPEAKER_01I didn't even factor in. This is just average. I'm going to Disney. Yeah. I want to go these days. I'm going. Leave me alone. What's your average price? Yeah. And the average park ticket price for one day at Magic Kingdom is $160. Yep. That's the average price day. With Animal Kingdom being the lowest price, and it's usually about 20% less.
SPEAKER_02Okay. 100 and upper 120s.
SPEAKER_01Right. But let's talk 160 days for a one-day park. $160. $160 days. Yeah. $160. For a day. Let's for one day at Magic Kingdom. Yeah. No, you don't go to you don't go to Disney all the time. You're going one time. You're in Orlando for a business trip. For yeah. Is it worth it for a day? Never go to the East Coast. 160 bucks one day at Magic Kingdom. You have all day. You have a free day.
SPEAKER_02And Epcot and Hollywood Studios would be in between those two person. In between, right. The purpose of this exercise have you ever been before? If it were us and we only could go one day.
SPEAKER_01So let's say you have been, but it's been years. Okay. Because I'm thinking the average person's been to a Disney park when they were a kid. Okay. The average person I talked to, they went, I went 15 years ago. Last time I've been to Disney was you know what I mean? Yeah. That's my usual conversation I have. So let's say you're that guy. Your average guy there for a day. You have a free day. Nothing to do that day. Yeah. Do you say screw it and go to SeaWorld, Orlando, or go to Magic Kingdom for one day? Let's just talk, let's just talk Magic Kingdom.
SPEAKER_02Just Magic Kingdom. No.
SPEAKER_01Castle?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_01No, you don't go to Magic Kingdom.
SPEAKER_02No. Because you have I think you have to be a Disney fan to really want to go.
SPEAKER_01Do you?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01You're seeing Disney though. I went to Disney while I was in Florida. I was in Orlando. I think it's something you might want to do.
SPEAKER_02I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I think you'd be a Disney fan if you want to if you had one day free and you went to Hollywood Studios or Epcot. That's a Disney fan. Because that's still pricey, but you're not seeing as much. There's no castle, no mainstream.
SPEAKER_02If given my choice and I only had one day, I might be picking Hollywood Studios.
SPEAKER_01Now, if you that's been there.
SPEAKER_02That's just me. Now, I think if you're talking Animal Kingdom, yes. Because I think the average person would like Animal Kingdom. But they wouldn't know that. They wouldn't know that. Now, Disney, Magic Kingdom, I don't think so. Because I think you have to be somewhat of a Disney fan to want to put up with Magic Kingdom and the crowds and the walking all day and the sun and all that. I don't think it's worth it just randomly one day.
SPEAKER_01Interesting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I think it I think it's worth it. I would love it. Yeah, I think it is worth it if I've never been to go and not see everything. Yeah. See the castle, ride a few rides, but see tell people back at home I went to Magic Kingdom.
SPEAKER_02I think that's you. I don't know if that's the average person. I don't know what the average person is. Let's think of Dave.
SPEAKER_01Dave would just get a home just pull. He wouldn't even go to the park. Or Asha. She could go to Magic Kingdom. Would she pick that over another one? You've never been to Orlando before. So say you've been to Disneyland.
SPEAKER_02See, and this is a tough one because she would consult with us and I would tell her to go to Animal Kingdom.
SPEAKER_01There's so many different reasons. Yes. This is a tough one. This is too tough.
SPEAKER_02It is. And thinking of what you like and think. Okay, now I will give that to Magic Kingdom that it has something to appeal to everybody.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let's break this down. Let's break it down this way.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01$160 you're spending.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01You get one day in a park.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01All the rides are no lighting. You don't have lighting lanes yet at all. Okay. But you have all the rides you want to ride, and you get to go in the park. It's everything's free once you go in, pretty much. Is $160 worth walking into Animal Kingdom?
SPEAKER_02No, not at all. You don't think so?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_02Not right now. Not right now. Oh, I kind of do. Because it's not that much.
SPEAKER_01$160 isn't that much for one person.
SPEAKER_02Puebla Esperanza is not open. And it's just there's not a ton to do there. See, this is there's too many nuances and variables, I think, to have this discussion.
SPEAKER_01So let's talk about a five-day, one park per day ticket.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, that this is more feasible. I think so. You're going for a trip, five-day, one park per day average ticket is six three dollars.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Per person.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's $120, $129 per day for five days, any park per day.
SPEAKER_02Any park per day.
SPEAKER_01You don't have to make reservations. You get to go one park per day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Is that worth it? I think that's worth it. That's worth it. Because that that's a whole trip. You're getting to see everything.
SPEAKER_01You can pick whatever park. You can start at a park and decide, do I want to see Magic Kingdom again? No, I don't care. I want to go to Epcot twice.
SPEAKER_02You'd need Park Hopper, which adds another.
SPEAKER_01No, per day. So you have five days. Yes. You can pick whatever for the fifth day. For the fifth, yeah, for the fifth day, or the for the fourth day. You can say, I don't even care if I go to Animal Kingdom. Two days at a at the same park you wanted. Or you can go to one park and not go to a park. You go to Magic Kingdom five days. You can do anything you want, right? I love Magic Kingdom. I need to spend two days there, and then we'll see what happens.
SPEAKER_02My first trip is that. Two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at each of the other parks.
SPEAKER_01That's $604 as a person, but people think that's a lot of money. Do you think that's a lot of money? For what you get for the trip.
SPEAKER_02It's a lot of money.
SPEAKER_01$604 is a lot of money.
SPEAKER_02But I stop and think I dropped that on a three-day trip to Disneyland. But see, that's me being able to do comparisons. Okay. And with a park hopper, which is almost a necessity at Disneyland, for three days for $600, and I think the last time I bought it was $605. So almost the same price. And you get two extra days, to me, that's worth it.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02That's why that and the cheaper hotels is why I a lot of times, and not much more for the airfare, is why I choose to go to Disney World as over Disneyland. Because you can go longer, see more stuff for roughly the same price. And then we live the furthest away from Florida. We do get though.
SPEAKER_01That's the whole problem.
SPEAKER_02The only if we Bellingham would be like the furthest we could live from.
SPEAKER_01We live in the furthest state away.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we do. Thanks, parents. Yeah. The only people it sucks worse for is all those up in Alaska. Maybe Hawaii. Wow, that's crazy. Changing
Lightning Lane Value And Ride Add-Ons
SPEAKER_02some time.
SPEAKER_01Next I went with Lightning Lane Multipass. Okay. And the average, I just did average per park to not get a this cost $34 a day here. $15 up to $40 all. So $15 is the average for all the parks per throughout the year. That's the average price for every day. If you average all four parks, it's gotta be more. That's what they say. That's the best intel I got. I because I mean it's more. Say it's 25. Say it's 25. Listen, say it's 25. It doesn't matter, but we're both gonna say it's worth it, right? So it doesn't matter the price we say. Because lightning lane is one of the most important things you can get, I think. A lot of people are against lightning lane.
SPEAKER_02Now, there are times of year for Disneyland you can go and you don't need Lightning Lane.
SPEAKER_01You can okay. But there's times you can go and not need it. But for the most part, even when I don't need it.
SPEAKER_02Even when I don't need it, I want it. Yeah, it's a ease of it's a peace of mind. Because it lets you relax a little bit more.
SPEAKER_01We're gonna go, let's yeah, yeah, let's go with 25 bucks is the average price. Absolutely. That was the average price. $25 for peace of mind for my day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01100% worth it.
SPEAKER_02100% worth it.
SPEAKER_01Now I did not go into single pass or premier pass.
SPEAKER_02Because that's a ride by ride. Let's talk about that really quick while we're on the street. Stron, not worth it. Rise if it's your first trip, worth it. Okay, yeah. Fly to passage, worth it. Guardian's always worth it. I would buy 10 of those. Yeah, Guardian's worth anything. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Guardian's worth a $45 single pass to me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's worth whatever they want to charge for. That's just a given because you can get a seven dwarves, which is $10, $12. No. Barely. That line sucks. Yeah, if you really want to if you haven't rode it before. Yeah. But it's not. It's not worth it. They still have seven dwarfs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01If you've never gone. It's still a single pass.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It is. That's crazy. But it's one of the it's the second longest lines of that.
SPEAKER_01I don't think Sleaky Dog would still be a I would too.
SPEAKER_02That's a long line. I know. Yeah. But Rise because of how long it is. And I there are times I really think it's worth it, even though I've been on that a bunch of times. I still think that is such a great ride that it really falls into that worth it category.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna go out there and say I underappreciate Rise of Resistance.
SPEAKER_02Probably just because you've written it so many times.
SPEAKER_01I know, but I love Star Wars. I don't know why it's not a necessity that I write it every day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because the line's so long, I don't want to pay the money every time I go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm not gonna do that. I'm never gonna get a single pass again. It's not gonna happen. Right? Unless I had unless there's some reason I don't ride it for three times in a row, I don't go there. Yeah. There's no reason to get it. When our strategies work, the the late night strategies work well. And yeah, I I just I don't ride it enough. I should want to ride that. That should be my main thought when I walk in the park.
SPEAKER_02I think the only only must do for me is Guardians right now. Flight of Passage. If I really wanted to ride that, I'd just run in the morning. Yeah. And that to me just meh. Everest is a must-do for you. Oh, it is. Everything else in there is. And it's not that I have anything against flight of passage. It's just meh. It's not your kind of ride, though. It's not my kind of ride. I don't like screen rides. No, it's not your jam. Especially when they're right in front of my face.
SPEAKER_01Now, Tron? I don't think I didn't think Eli loved it very much too. My son and my son's fiancee.
SPEAKER_02Tron is a great coaster, but it's a minute and 20 seconds, and you want me to pay 20 bucks?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I know. I it's funny because I wrote it in Shanghai when it first opened, and I we wrote it a few times. I don't know how many times we wrote it at Disney World so far, but I could care less about the ride.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's just so it's just take doesn't take it's all that standing around for a two-second thrill.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I just don't understand.
SPEAKER_02Now I wrote it with when I went with Dave and Usha and the kids and Brad, were they they were not married yet. So the boyfriend and now husband of Leah. And we paid for Tron. Usher just wanted to pay for everything. So I went ahead and paid for Tron just to do everything with everybody. It's just not, it's a great roller coaster, but it's so short. And other than that, like a special, I just wouldn't pay for that. No.
SPEAKER_01I'm interested to hear people that's their favorite ride. Yeah. Is Tron your favorite ride? Really? Really? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02They're better coasters. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's interesting. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Now, but Guardians.
SPEAKER_01It's a cool ride. Yeah. It's definitely one to experience. It looks so great in the park.
SPEAKER_02Guardians, it does. And we rode it at night. So the different colors lit up. That was cool. Now, Guardians will always be worth it because everything about that ride is great. The music, the ride itself, the pre-show, everything is awesome about that ride.
SPEAKER_01But so should we talk about the Premier Pass?
Premier Pass Ideas And Touring Strategy
SPEAKER_01Premier Pass.
SPEAKER_02So I don't have prices down.
SPEAKER_01170 to about 350 at depending on the park. Yeah. It's definitely worth it at Disneyland. Definitely worth it because why? Because it's both parks.
SPEAKER_02Right. But it's more like 450 at Disneyland. And you get both parks for the same day. But there's not as many rides that are lightning lane at but you get both parks. But you get both parks. And one day you get all the rocks. And you can go when you want. So as a splurge, I think it's worth it. I think it's worth it as a splurge, or if you can afford it for any of the parks. Especially once Animal Kingdom, Puebla Esperanza. It right now I have a hard, I would have a hard time justifying the 140 bucks at 50 bucks. But once they open three rides, they'll probably raise the price to 189 or something, 199. There's still not a lot to do in that park, but I still think as a splurge, it's worth it. And at some point I will splurge on that and do Premier Pass.
SPEAKER_01I'm thinking a good idea might be for us to go down to Disneyland, get the Premier Pass, and see just how fast we can do them all.
SPEAKER_02How fast we so one of the big advantages of that I've also heard is you don't have to crisscross the park all the time.
SPEAKER_01You can just go clockwise however you want. Yeah. We just start at one park. Yeah. And we go all the way around and see how fast we can do it. Yeah. And we go, we start like at noon and gets busy.
SPEAKER_02See, and that's the thing.
SPEAKER_01We don't have we don't rope drop.
SPEAKER_02You don't rope drop. So maybe that first day, but or you rope drop, you ride a bunch of stuff, you do your well, you start your previous pass. They don't have early entry, but like you do all the fantasy and stuff, and because that's a great way of doing it and making minis. And then at from like noon to four, you hit everything, and then once everything slows down after dinner, you just start riding stuff that it becomes available.
SPEAKER_01Wouldn't it be nice to go to every ride just in order?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I just yeah, not crisscross have to do 30,000.
SPEAKER_01It's a good experiment to see how many time how many how long it would take us. We start a stopwatch to do every single one, and that's all we do. We focus on it and we focus on it. We start like say we start at Disneyland, we start I like it. Like on the right hand side, we go down Main Street, take a left, and what is it? What's the first lightning lane there? It would be Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones. We go to Indiana Jones and we just keep going pirates. Okay. Let's not start this. We go all around the parks.
SPEAKER_02Pirates is a maybe whether or not it does it's not right now, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Let's not do that around the parks. Tiana's blah blah blah. Yeah. We just see how fast we could do it. That's a genius. There you go. Yeah. Resorts.
Resort Costs Value Vs Moderate Vs Deluxe
SPEAKER_01If you can afford it, that's a major. It's a worth it, yeah. Resorts. I have so I did a three-night stay. Okay. At Disney World. Disney World. Value, moderate, deluxe, and off-site. Yes. Is what I looked at. So the average value resort, three night stay is $835. Yes. $834. Moderate, $1,091. Deluxe, $2646. $2446. I have $26.46. That's a typo.
SPEAKER_02It is a typo. Okay. So $26.46.
SPEAKER_01Off-site $558.
SPEAKER_02But okay, so one of the off-site, it doesn't include the resort fees, which probably adds about $110 more.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So $660.
SPEAKER_01And it also doesn't include parking. Parking. So parking is $30 for if you stay off site, you pay $30.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Unless you want to do, or you got to pay for Uber. Or some resort, some hotels might have a shuttle. But they come once an hour. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01And you gotta register for so it's free resort stay, you get free parking at the resorts.
SPEAKER_02It's really a off-site versus a value, is a wash cost-wise, I think, once you start factoring in parking Uber, resort fees. The only advantage is jewelry gives you a bunch of free food. So there's a lot of free food potential there. So that's something to consider.
SPEAKER_01And and I've never stayed at a value, so I have no value. Oh, that's right, because we stayed at Coronado. Yeah, only it's yeah. Oh, I've only seen a moderate center. I said deluxe yet.
SPEAKER_02Oh, because you went to Riverside. Yeah, Port Orleans Riverside. That's a moderate, also. And I'm a huge fan of the Moderate. Caribbean. Yeah. It's that in between. Caribbean Beach. I really I love that.
SPEAKER_01The moderate has restaurants.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Stuff to do. Stuff to do. It's fun. They're nice looking. Nice looking, themed. Yeah. The Coronado was a beautiful hotel, especially Grandestino Tower, which we went to dinner at Toledo's. They have nice lounges, nice facilities. We didn't go to Three Bridges Bar and Grill, but very nice. Now, Pop Sentry. Can't beat that Skyliner in the morning. That's a great plus on that.
SPEAKER_01I mean it's thing that I didn't experience it. I just with my travel agent benefits. I don't need to. It's yeah.
SPEAKER_02When you can when you can get a A deal. Right.
SPEAKER_01So I don't. I need to just experience Puff Century. Yeah. Even with the travel, maybe next time I go, I'll use a travel agent deal on Puff Century.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And if you can find it, then you gotta plan ahead.
SPEAKER_01Buy a couple more drinks.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Buy a couple more drinks. It was a screaming deal that you got for Coronado. Yeah, we we had a great time. I think it was fifty, I think 1560 for our airfare and hotel. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. We had a great and seven days in the parks, something like that. Six. Six days? Yeah. That was a good trip. That was a great trip. So what do you think of all the hotels? I think the moderate deal's the best. Yeah, because it's another sixteen hundred bucks almost. So just stay in a deluxe.
SPEAKER_02I was pricing out some trips, and I think both Port Orleans, Riverside. Great hotel. Not French Quarter, but Riverside and Coronado were like night. Yeah. That's not bad. And it was only 50 bucks more than Pop Centry. Now, it was 148 bucks to stay at All Star. All-Stars. Sports or Music or one of them. Now, those are they feel a little like pop, they feel exactly like Pop Century, only a little more, honestly, a little more rundown. Okay. Not bad, but they just felt like it's a half just a smidge, not as nice as Pop Sentry. Okay. But I understand for value, not a bad deal. And I don't buy into the bus loops, or because we had a bus loop, or I don't really buy into any of that. I like the Skyliner because I like that as a form of transportation.
SPEAKER_01Say more. What don't you buy into?
SPEAKER_02The that it's a bad that's a negative. Buses only heavy buses are a negative.
SPEAKER_01Oh no. Correct Coronado trip. We we got lucky with our room. Yeah, we were right right next to the one of the buses.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but we had zero problems. We had zero problems. It was great. Didn't have a problem with getting to the parks on high. Nope. For rope drop. We were pretty much in front.
SPEAKER_01And even at Riverside, when I stayed there, I don't I don't remember. There's zero I don't remember any problems with buses. Yeah. It was only buses there too. In Pop Century and All Star. We took a boat to Epcot. It's pretty awesome. Really? You can take a boat to Epcot? You take a boat down the river.
SPEAKER_02I know that there is a way. Yeah. That there is a river, but I didn't realize you could get in there from Riverside.
SPEAKER_01You can go to I don't know, the boat stop is. I'd have to look at which boat is. Back back way in here. Yeah, it's awesome. Oh. I love a boat.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Now, okay, now that is my favorite thing.
SPEAKER_01You introduced us to the boat trip for a second. My favorite Eli takes the boat to Magic King Magic Kingdom when he goes. He cruises and takes that all the time. So moderate's my thing. If you're gonna if you're gonna go and you wanna moderate the best idea. Yeah. Deluxe if you want to plus up your trip. Value if you don't want to spend a bunch of money. Off-site, I'm a negative. Yeah. Don't stay off site of Disney World. It's you're not really saying stay offside. Yeah. Oh, definitely. Definitely. But Disney World, no, don't do it. That's a stupid thing. Let's talk food.
Park Food Prices And Dining Plan Reality
SPEAKER_01Food. Value resort food sucks. So I did value, moderate, and deluxe. So value is all the carts. It's all the like quick serve. Oh, yeah. It sucks. Moderate I took as you sit down. It's not a fancy place. Right? So like a Disneyland version. You have some table side. Like Disneyland would be like what's a good French quarter. The French. That's not called is it called French Quarter at Disney? The next to Tiana's.
SPEAKER_02Oh, Cafe Orleans. Cafe Orleans. Yes. At a Cafe Orleans.
SPEAKER_01That's a moderate deluxe is a plused up. Toledo's was good though. You're sitting down, right, and getting the whole thing. So value per person for a meal is about $19.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01For a value meal. $59.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but that's taking into Toledo. Everything. This is including tax and tip also. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And deluxe is $93.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And that's some topolinos or narcocy's. Yeah, I could see that.
SPEAKER_01So what do you think? I think that's a good idea for cruising around the parks. I'm more of a value meal guy as I'm cruising around because I like to go. Now, food. You have to the moderate and deluxe are both sit-downs.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Okay. Now, food, and I was thinking of resorts. While I'm in the parks. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Parks. No, not resorts. Let's I'm not going to get a no, there are different qualities. I know, but I'm not going to get a I'm not going to get a to go meal at a resort.
SPEAKER_02If you're going to go to if you're factoring that into resorts, too.
SPEAKER_01But value meal at resorts, we're talking the meal we had, the breakfast, your favorite breakfast.
SPEAKER_02That was at a deluxe. But that was a good thing. This was a value meal.
SPEAKER_01That's so good.
SPEAKER_02That was very good. Okay. So in the parks, value, yes. But I want to do one trip. I want to do a deluxe. Not a deluxe necessarily, but a moderate. So deluxe, I'm thinking there's only a few deluxe. Okay. Steak places, like maybe the right or monsoon or Chef Paul, Monsieur Paul. The real high-end or now I keep Victorian Alberts or there's the Cigarell's Royal Table. Yeah. Which no, none of those, except for the Asian at the Japan Pavilion. That one looks interesting. I might do Victorian Alberts as a Victorian Alberts is a that's a dream. That's a dream.
SPEAKER_01Now that all being said, that might be my number one dream restaurant.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't I go back and forth between that and I don't know why I'm Takumite. Yeah. As the for the Asian $250 meal.
SPEAKER_01Victorian Alberts might be more than one we're going to talk about at the end here. It might be my it might be my number one bucket list restaurant to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02But for the most part, I'm good with value because there's some good value meals all across the parks. You're not there to you could be there to eat food, but really like breakfast at Satuly Canteen by Great. That's value. That's fantastic breakfast. If I had the lunch and you loved it, I've had the breakfast, I loved it. Breakfast and lunch, great value.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. We could talk about the smoke jumpers grill breakfast. The only that's a really good value meal.
SPEAKER_02Bad value meal and are the burgers. And I'm not a big fan of chicken tenders as far as sorry, Addie. Sorry, Addie. Because I think there's just other options. And but although they've been plusing up their chicken tenders. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll have some chicken tenders. But for the most part, I'm all about the value meals. Yeah. I think they're worth it. I think you can find ABC Commissary. Great food.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So they're not bad. Yeah. And you can keep rolling with your day. You can keep rolling. That's my whole thing. You don't have to plan it. You can plan it on your phone as you cruise along.
SPEAKER_02Yes. And just thinking about all of your options at Epcot. That is a foodies paradise. Fish and chips, good barbecue.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. I didn't think German, Italian. I think about the fish and chips.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Those are great.
SPEAKER_02So although Epcot, Epcot probably best represents the value of the model. Yeah, they're an outlier. They're an outlier. Is you can find really good food in all of these categories.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. It's the best deal.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Best deal. But is it worth it to go to some of these high-end restaurants? And I would say yes.
SPEAKER_01It is if you want to splurge and if you have the time.
SPEAKER_02If you have the time.
SPEAKER_01You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02But I'm about one, I want to do one deluxe meal per trip.
SPEAKER_01So that's my problem with the dining plan.
SPEAKER_02Yes. At Disney World. Yes. Absolutely. How much time does that take off your vacation? Let's talk dining meal. Not worth it. You've got to have time. I didn't put the prices.
SPEAKER_01I didn't put the prices for the dining meals. I could maybe do a the quick service dining meal dining plan.
SPEAKER_02Two quick services and a snack.
SPEAKER_01That might be good. That would be but the dining plan? Oh, we've got to oh we gotta go sit down for three or four more hours at a restaurant.
SPEAKER_02But even then, you've got to plan it out because I would want value for that dining plan and I'd uh want to order the expensive. I don't want to think about that.
SPEAKER_01No, it's so much so much thought process for when they give you a f but a free dining plan is hard to pass up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but usually they're not giving you other discounts. No, yeah, it's free, really free. Yeah. Ever. It's because you're paying full price on your hotel room and your tickets.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about your favorite subject.
Souvenirs That Feel Worth Buying
SPEAKER_01Souvenirs. So souvenirs are I watched some. You don't understand what I thought when I saw to when I was watching our last episode stuff with the new Bluey. Yes. The Bluey shops. I love a souvenir. Oh, really? Okay. I love to go in shops. And I know I make you go in too many shops when we go together. We don't love a shop, but I like to look at all the shops.
SPEAKER_02You we hit every single shop, including all of the gift shops and the hotels, because that was your first trip, and I wanted you to be able to see all of that.
SPEAKER_01So I like to see all the things every time I go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I like to look at them all.
SPEAKER_02To me, it's if you're having to go to every single shop, that to me wastes as much time as a sit-down meal.
SPEAKER_01But that's a choice you do as you're going. Yeah. I don't have time to go look at the shop, I'm not gonna go. Or I have a couple minutes, I'm gonna go to the shop. Yeah, it's a fly, it's a it's an on-the-fly thing.
SPEAKER_02I get it.
SPEAKER_01I don't have to go in the shops, but if I'm hanging out and I have a Guardians at Disney California Adventure in 30 minutes, yeah. You're not going, I'm going to all those shops really quick. You're not shopping.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_01I'm going to shops real quick. So shops, pins, one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_02$15 to $25, not worth it, but it's worth it. Every once in a while that no, it's worth it. Buying random no random pins, I agree. But if you're buying something meaningful, yes. Yeah, I'm all about meaningful pins.
SPEAKER_01I'm all about a meaningful purchase.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01I'm all about I bought this because I want to remember why I'm here. Yes. That's why I buy merch.
SPEAKER_02Ski school Yeti. I have I have that one because I love that character. Yeah, my merch.
SPEAKER_01My merch is all about remembering when I went. I have a Disney Disneyland. It's a very popular, it's a black sweatshirt zip up. I love it, but I was really cold one day when I was there. I have a sweatshirt. And so I looked around. They were flying off the shelves, and I bought it. And it's one of my favorite things because I remember that day. Yes. Every time I put it on. Yeah. So that's what you have to do. Every pin I have is my trip. It's from an experience. Just like you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Just like you. I have one for every park I've been in. And then I have ski school Yeti. I have one that they randomly gave me when I was pulled up and I had my annual pass, and I pulled up to the parking garage. They gave me a Cinderella, her carriage, and I I think I just got the D23 one. So I have a few extras beyond just one for each park, but it has to have meaning. There has to be something like you might buy a Chewy one because you I would if I ever saw one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, it has to speak to me when I see it if I don't buy one that trip.
SPEAKER_02I think that's for any souvenirs or merchandise.
SPEAKER_01For me, that is. For some people, they have to buy stuff every time they get it.
SPEAKER_02They have to buy stuff. And that's just Mickey ears. Mickey ears. Have 9,000 pairs. I have one pair of Mickey ears.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And they are the Viking ones.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02My heritage, and they're cool because they've got the little horns and the tufts of fur. I think they're awesome. My cousin Heaven has a pair. So we have matching a matching pair. Nice. And I think that's cool. We have I have a picture of the two of us wearing our ears. I've never worn them to the parks, but I had to have a pair of the Viking ears. Perfect. Other than that, I could care less about ears.
SPEAKER_01Spirit jerseys from $80 to $100 for a spirit jersey. My cousins love them. Some people love them. Yeah. They look comfortable. My daughter looks really good in them. I don't know. Some people look good. I don't think I would look good in a spirit jersey ever. Yeah. I don't know. I think I would look flumpy. That's my word. Flumpy. Frumpy. Flumpy. So I would look weird. I don't think this isn't the way the back is. Yeah. I don't think that would work on me. But Michaela, my daughter, looks awesome in them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Some people, I think it works for some people. She works for a spirit jersey.
SPEAKER_01I just, they're not something that has ever so spirit jerseys are Michaela's thing, and we know lots of girls, including my future daughter-in-law, Addie. Lounge flies. Addie's great with a lounge fly. I think they're worth it.
SPEAKER_02$80 to $95 for a lounge fly. I think they're worth it. I think that's actually a reasonable price when you consider how much a purse can cost. I love a lounge fly. I wish they made crossbody bags. I'd get in trouble. I know. That would be my souven my souvenir kryptonite. Disney, if you're listening, or loungefly if you're listening. Crossbody bags, Disneyland, Disney Kryptonite. I would buy crossbody bags.
SPEAKER_01Christy, my wife Christy even got a great lounge fly. Yeah. We were at Animal Kingdom. It just was her. But it would be my thing. If I was a woman, oh yeah. I would have all the lounge. There would be so many lounge flies. There'd be this room we're in right now, it'll be full of lounge flies.
SPEAKER_02I bought Leah one for Christmas one year. I got one for D23. That that and a matching pair of ears, which I got that because it was just I it was the thing I liked the most, but it was the most useless item for me. So I could have gotten a Roosevelt shirt for free. I could have gotten a pack of pins. I could have gotten, and the Roosevelt shirts are pretty cool, but I was like, I'm not passing up a fly as part of my D23 package. And that will just be regifted to someone. She's probably not going to listen. That's her Christmas present. She's getting this really cool Oswald D23 Loungefly. Dark blue. It's super cool with matching Oswald ears.
SPEAKER_01So let's talk the opposite of a loungefly is a dunyum burke bag at Disney, which is two to three hundred dollars. And I don't know enough about those. They're fancy and nice. People like them. Yes.
SPEAKER_02I know that they're high-end. They're a splurge. If loungefly is an option, I yeah.
SPEAKER_01I agree. Loungefly is a better thing. And then for kids, bubble wands, $30 to $40. That's surprising to me. I had no idea they were that much money. No, that's way out of price.
SPEAKER_02Not worth it.
SPEAKER_01Because I haven't had to deal with that for years. And then the Mickey balloons, $12 for a standard and $15 for a light up balloon. My kid's buying a balloon, though. If he wants one, he's getting light up. This is true.
SPEAKER_02But if they really want to, if we're there one time and he wants a balloon, it's one of those where you budget when you go on a trip, especially with little kids, and yeah. You start them off with the pennies. Here's your crushed penny, and then you gotta move into bubble ones, and then you gotta move into a bunch of people.
SPEAKER_01I know it's crazy with kids. So let's go through the rest of this really quickly because we're going crazy with time.
Tours Workshops And Extra Experiences
SPEAKER_01We are tours really quick. Lots of tours, yes, lots of prices. Are tours worth it to you? Just in general. I put some down here, but let's just talk about are they worth it?
SPEAKER_02Yes, I just wish I had more time. Like Animal Kingdom, I want to do Behind the Seeds, which is the Epcot one.
SPEAKER_01That sounds like my favorite one for the money.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Waltz Walk, walking tour, whatever. I want to do that one. Those tours, because I'm such a Disney nerd, I yes.
SPEAKER_01And what about the price for a VIP tour guide?
SPEAKER_02I now granted you get a group of people, I think that'd be fun because they take you back entrance. You can do a ton in that amount of time.
SPEAKER_01Right amount of people, the correct people that you're with.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Right? Yeah. Would work out perfect. Yeah. We'll just keep it at that. There's lots of stuff about VIP tour guides.
SPEAKER_02But there's but Premier Pass would fill that niche for me, I believe. It could also. But honestly, a VIP tour guide at someday, if you had the right group, I that's that's a bucket list. I think that's a bucket list item.
SPEAKER_01So merchandise experiences, savvy's workshops, 20 bucks for a lightsaber.
SPEAKER_02It's gone up 50 bucks. I want to build one of those. I want to go through that experience. So do you know the new I don't want it?
SPEAKER_01You know the no so there's a new deal you can do. Really? It's for kids and kid adjacent people.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01You can do the experience without buying the lightsaber now.
SPEAKER_02Oh, how much is that? It's free. Oh.
SPEAKER_01Probably because they can't fill up, but you could have the option of purchasing your lightsaber afterwards. Oh so I think it's I think it has to do with trying to get you to buy it when you're done. Yeah. There's that thing. And if someone builds one, you can go in with them. They can take a plus one. Yeah. Which is what I did. I bought an Anakin at Doc Ondors. Yeah. I know. And then Eli built one.
SPEAKER_02Leah has one. DJ has one. We were all there together. Dave has one. Yeah, they all build them the same. Back when they were, I think, 200 bucks.
SPEAKER_01It was when they opened. Droid Depot's going to do. Droid Depot is $120 for a droid. That's actually about the price of a droid. I really want to build a droid. I don't know how to get it home.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you're a good point.
SPEAKER_01That's all I have. That's the only thing that stops me every time from building my own little R2D2. If you checked your bag type thing, there's how you get it out. Yeah, probably. I gotta figure it out because I really want to build a droid. Yeah. It's one, it's my one thing. And then I put down the Pick-A-Pearl Epcot Japan pavilion experience. So you open an oyster and you get a pearl.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And it's $20. Wait a minute.
SPEAKER_02Do you get to keep the pearl? Because you have oyster opening for $80.
SPEAKER_01Oh, is it $80? It's $20.
SPEAKER_02You have it right below that. You have two.
SPEAKER_01No, it's supposed to be $20. Okay. Yeah, you got it, you got another typo in there. Okay. And then you settings for the pearls sold separately. Okay. That looks interesting. Interesting. I never knew that one.
SPEAKER_02If I were into pearls and wanted to maybe, but it looks interesting, and I've seen a lot of people do that. I don't know if that's one that I would be w wanting to do.
SPEAKER_01That's an interesting one. What about a 20-minute photo pass experience for $99? Nah. It's you don't get any downloads or prints.
SPEAKER_02I'm not a picture person. Okay.
SPEAKER_01I could care less about I think some people might like that though to cruise around the park and have your own place.
SPEAKER_02I think everybody, not me though. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It would be good for a podcast if we like had somebody and they took pictures and we posted them online. Yeah. Just saying.
SPEAKER_02After our events, yes.
SPEAKER_01Those are worth it. There's many of them. Go look them up.
SPEAKER_02Find one of them that suits you. Suits you and go. They're great.
SPEAKER_01Now let's talk about the couple of huge things really quick and then we're done.
21 Royal Club 33 And Big Splurges
SPEAKER_01Right? 21 Royal. Okay. $15,000 for 12 people. Yes. Includes park hopper tickets.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01And the full meal butler service in Walt's old apartment.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Again, it's a bucket list thing. If you had a ton of money and yeah. I because like I think about something like that and going with when you had a really big group to take advantage of the 12 people. So when I think about it, I think of all of us. So yeah. Maybe Nasha, DJ, and Leah and Brad. Yeah, for us. And you and your whole family.
SPEAKER_01And for us, it would have to be 12 singles. Yes. It'd be like me, you, some other person not from our family. Not yeah. Some other person not from our family. Yeah. And we all chip in.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01That's the way it had to work, right?
SPEAKER_02You and I, unless we become millionaires, yeah, and we're willing to foot the bill. Yeah, that's a lot of money. That's a lot of money.
SPEAKER_01That's crazy. And then Club 33, which everyone talks about all the time. And there's the best info. There's no official concrete info on this. There's no way. Everyone says this is exactly what it is. There's nothing. There's just a roundabout right. So Disneyland is between 25 and 65,000 to join. 265, you say. 25 to 65,000 to join. And then 15 to 31,000 a year. Okay.
SPEAKER_02You got type. Yeah, that's there's type of 25 to 35 and 15 to 30k a year for your dues.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, 15 to 31 per year, but 25 to 65 to join.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And then for Disney World, it's 33 to 35 to join, and about 15,000 a year in dues.
SPEAKER_02Now you get 50 guest admissions per year. So your friends and family would never have to buy tickets. You could just hand them tickets all the time. Although you think a family of five, if they went for five days at Disney World, they're eating up, they go five different days. They're eating up half of those. But there's all kinds of other advantages. So when I was at one of the splurges I did when I was down there, when they re from Paradise Pier, they had it, it was 300 bucks and it was an early entry. You got to try all the food. It was unlimited Mickey ice cream bars, unlimited, hot dogs, unlimited drinks, all that type of stuff. But you got to try cooking, you got to try the chicken, you got to all the food. You got tickets to do all that. And then all the kiosk, you got all the free food. And then you got to ride the rides over and over and over again. And nobody else was allowed in the land. Now, when they were queuing everybody up, there was a whole bunch of people in line ahead of the people who paid 300 bucks. And they were all the D23 people. And there must be Club 33. Yeah. Club 33. Not D23. That would be a whole nother thing. A whole nother thing. But that was a couple of hundred people. And what was funny is you wrote everything and then you're like, okay, I'm done. Then they all left. So I was wandering around. There was like maybe 50-70 people, it felt like, wandering around that whole area. Just us.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, you get also a mission to the you know, one lounge.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And multiple VIP experiences. Yes. There's a lot. There's lots of stuff. It's a lot of money, though. Who knows if it's worth it?
SPEAKER_02That's up to you. It's one of those. If you are wealthy and you are a Disney fan, it is worth it. If you are not wealthy, it is not worth it. If you are not a if you are wealthy and not a Disney fan, it is not worth it.
SPEAKER_01Who knows? Yeah. So that's another thing.
SPEAKER_02It's just it's like everything.
SPEAKER_01That's our price show that was very long.
SPEAKER_02Yes. This one went long. Yeah. But it's yeah. See, now I think everything's worth it. Because I want to do all the things. That is just how I roll is how you roll. And that's how we roll. But thanks
Wrap-Up And How To Reach Us
SPEAKER_02for listening. Look at I'm slow on my drinks. I know. I've finished mine already. It was like the last episode. You were way ahead of me. They're so delicious. Yeah. Pace myself. But hey, if you could like, subscribe, follow, heart, do all those things that your platform asked to do. That would be really great. If you'd like to reach out to us, cheers the number two, ears the number one at outlook.com. That would be great because we'd love to hear from you with ideas. Until next week, cheers. Cheers.
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