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For us, yes it was worth it. Was it expensive and a splurge?... sure. We tried to cut costs by staying in a budget resort (Art of Animation) only doing a weekend trip Friday - Monday and going before LO turned 3 so we didnt have to pay for her park ticket. We managed our expectations and friday was travel/check-in/pool/disney springs, Saturday was Magic Kingdom, Sunday - Epcot, and Monday we just did birthday character breakfast and travel. We had just moved 2 months before and I was about 6m pregnant so we had kinda rocked our LO's world this year. It was nice to get away to a place we knew she would love (she's a total princess) for a few days and have some family time just the 3 of us. We also celebrated her 3rd birthday on the last day we were there. 2+ months later she still talks about it all the time - the rides, the characters, the airplane, the cupcakes, her treasures she brought home (souvenirs)

I think the experience matches up to the cost. You get what you pay for at Disney. Whether it's worth it or not is another question; and entirely an individual one.

What @strawberrybee said. I think you get out of it what you put in. If you don't plan well, don't show up at the parks early and stick to your plan, and have appropriate expectations (i.e. it's impossible to do everything, take time for naps, breaks, etc.) then I think it's so worth it.

But I think if you just go, don't really plan, don't take breaks or don't follow your kid's schedule... it's gonna be a bad time.

I haven't taken my son yet (15 months) but we live 3 hours away from WDW and used to go all the time. I love it.

Agree that planning and knowing the park is key!

We live in FL so we can get some good deals. We did 4 days for $500 for the family this spring.

Assuming a roughly $100 ticket price, I still think its worth it.
Think about how much you would pay for tickets to see Disney on Ice or a Character theater show in your hometown? $25 a ticket? One day at disney and you can easily see 4 quality shows/parades that make the ticket "worth it". Add on a few awesome rides (3 fast passes!). We limit our food spending and other items (no souvenirs etc).

LOOOOOOVE it!! There are ways to do it cheaper with planning. Worth saving for or working side jobs to cover costs.

@yoursilverlining: Wow! Yea my mom said I should take our kids to Sesame Street Live when it came to our town. I couldn't believe how expensive tickets were. I would much rather save and drive to disney!

100% YESSSSS! Firm believer in the magic of Disney. It is expensive, travel times vary in crowd size. Do your research, plan it all out, check crowd predictors. We try to go very 2 years to either WDW or DL.
Oldest is 13, youngest is about to be 4 (She talks about it all the time, she remembers, calls it "her castle")

@lawbee11: I am trying to save pennies now for a Disney Cruise!

@Bao: LO has been to local parks and to Disney and she is way happier at Disney. We were there last week and the joy on her face was worth every single penny.

With every penny. But - lo and I are diehard Disney fans. it's not just a regular park or fair - it's Disney!

Yes, worth it. My husband swore up and down when we moved to Florida that we weren't going to get annual passes, he thought the cost was outrageous, etc. But we came by free tickets for a few months and he got hooked - we are now passholders. We have a 3.5 year old, a soon to be 2 year old, and a third on the way, and we go at least once a month. We've stayed a few times overnight as well, which is even better. It does take planning and it's not relaxing, but it's fun and super magical for kids, their experiences and memories (they talk about it all the time) make it 100% worth it.

I thought it was hell on earth.

I would say yes it's definitely worth it. But, we will wait until our kids are older. I've only gone once when I was in late elementary school and loved it. I still remember being there and things we did. It was so much fun. Disney does things wonderfully and we have family that still go every year as adults. But for us, we won't be able to do multiple Disney vacations and I would prefer to go when our kids are older and can remember the experience more and have some more flexibility (no naps, early bedtime, etc) And to speak to what you said about getting away with doing a more local waterpark... we took our kids to a water park a few hours away from us for a few days and they LOVED it. They still talk about it months later and had a wonderful time. My parents were with us and when we got there the place felt almost "Disney-ish" with the atmosphere.

@tlynne: I'm glad to hear you and the boys liked KSC. They've done a lot to improve it and although its really expensive I do think it has some neat value.

We don't like crowds and try to steer clear of most Disney stuff (though I did introduce my son to Mary Poppins this weekend). My son is almost three and has no idea about most things Disney. So to us it will not be worth it unless/until he is older and really pushes it. Even then I would probably try to limit it to a weekend visit because I would not want to spend much paid time off at a theme park.

@ElbieKay: I agree.

I actually quite like a lot of the older Disney movies and LO has seen a number of them (he's 6), but my dislike of lines and crowds and most of the other things that go along with theme parks is enough of a reason to stay away. The fairly hefty price tag is just the nail in the coffin. I've got other places I want to show LO.

If you're prepared to deal with the crowds and the weather, and the kids will still have a good time, yes... I wouldn't go with very young kids that aren't crazy about Disney. The lines are very long, it's ridiculously hot if you're there in the summer, and it's expensive - but probably no more expensive than a regular amusement park. I was there as a teen because relatives from abroad wanted to see it. We might take the kids one day, but not anytime soon.