re: When did Disney get so expensive?

I do Disney travel planning as well. It costs the consumer nothing to use a Disney travel planner, and you pay the same price that you would if you booked directly with Disney. Additionally, you have a resource who will give you guidance on which resorts would be best for your family, will assist with planning your itinerary, will book your dining and fastpasses the minute your booking window opens [unless you would prefer to stay home from work and spend two hours doing this], and will operate as a backup to assist you during your trip if there are any issues. We handle, transfers, strollers, special events, scooter rentals, etc... anything you need done. I even create clients’ My Disney Experience accounts for them and get them all set up.

Yes, you could do it on your own but why when you can have assistance for free?

And regarding the guy who got the great price above on his package for next year, that is because his 1 year old eats free and ages 3 to 9 are MUCH cheaper for tickets and dining plan. Lucky him! This summer I took my three adult kids, a son-in-law and a friend and paid for 7 adults. Lots more expensive with that many drinkers!

Finally, yes Disney is expensive. But it is a ton of fun [as long as you can avoid crowded times]. You might want to check out Universal. Two awesome parks plus one water park [and they are building a new park right now]. Many of the rides far surpass what Disney is doing right now ... and all conveniently located around a central Citiwalk entertainment district and in walking distance of three great hotels which get you Unlimited Express as a room perk. It is a much easier vacation than Disney World in that respect, and the food is less expensive.