BELLE ISLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Some families are draining their bank accounts, others are maxing out their credit cards to take their family on a vacation.
Lending Tree surveyed 2,000 American consumers to try and make sense of how a trip to Disney could financially impact families.
What they found was concerning; in their survey, 77 percent of American consumers who visit the theme park with their kids – 45 percent of them go into debt for a Disney trip and more than half of parents say they don't regret it at all.
But – what do metro Detroiters think? I went out to Belle Isle and caught up with Deborah Brown and Bill Duren.
They were out cooking up a feast with friends and I had to ask them the question: is it worth it to go into debt to go on a Disney vacation?
"Is it really worth it?" Brown said. "Do you have to see Mickey Mouse? Do you know what i am saying? For a $6,000 trip for one kid that's six years old? No. That doesn't add up, do the math."
"The prices today are just too high, and you need to save for vacation or pay that bill off right away because interest rates are just ridiculous," Duren said.
In a recent report by Bloomberg News, they found the average stay at Disney world for a family of four can spend up to $4200 for a week-long stay. That includes food, hotel cost, parking tickets and admission.
"If you are dead set on having that vacation, going to Disney World, to avoid debt, it's important to have a budget and plan ahead hopefully for your vacation so you have the money to afford it," said Cassie Happe with WalletHub.com.
I also spoke with travelers over at Detroit Metro Airport.
'I would say if it's short term and they have a term for rapid payback, I see no issue with that but if it's going to be long-term," said South Lyon resident Kevin White. "I mean that's a personal decision amongst that family on what kind of debt they want to take on."
"If I don't have the money, then i don't do it," said traveler Erica Brown.
