2010 Cruise Prices Released

Disney released their 2010 cruise prices last week as expected. I was surprised that the prices have gone up as much as they have, especially with the state of the U.S. economy. If the U.S. economy doesn't improve much over the next year, it'll be interesting to see what Disney does. If it's bad enough, I have to think they'd bring prices down, but that's not something that happens very often with Disney.

An important thing to note is that Disney has so far not released pricing for their lowest category of staterooms, so the prices I've been basing my research on are higher than we would likely have available to us.

I've done a cost comparison of August vs. December, for the entire trip, based on current pricing.

• August is 30-42% less expensive than December if we don't cruise
• August is 9-20% less expensive than December if we do cruise

The different sizes of groups (from singles to families of 5) accounts for the percentage ranges, and the price differences are greatest for singles and couples.

It would be a shame if we don't cruise, but if we don't, we'd be looking at a much less expensive trip if we were to go in August. One option would be to extend our stay at Disney World; the longer the stay, the lower the per-day cost.

August is looking more and more like the most ideal time for the vacation, despite the drawbacks. There are ways to beat the heat, such as spending the hottest part of the day outside of the parks (which is also when the crowds are highest and the lines are longest). But as always, everything is subject to change because of how far out we still are.