Dreamworld Holiday Packages

[Narra]

Dreamworld have recently added the below to their website:

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/holiday-packages/

Looks like they have partnered with Paradise Resort to offer packaged accommodation and park tickets. Not sure how the cost compares to buying everything separately but the cheapest option seems to start at $1299 for 4 people over 5 nights.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 21/06/2024 at 2:31 PM, Narra said:

the cheapest option seems to start at $1299 for 4 people over 5 nights.

I've stayed here once. It was 'fine' and kids certainly get a lot of value out of it. It's self rated three stars and I'd say thats about right.

The advertised package has about 15 months validity, so this price will be the cheapest package available in that time. It's likely most folks will be booking this during school holidays, given the resort is heavily targeted at kids, so i've done a comparison for the first week of July (next week). YMMV.

A few points to make about the package inclusions:

• Free kids club session - not a perk of this package, and 1 is free with every booking made directly with the resort.
• I've priced this up for a family of 4 with two teenage kids - this just kept the math simple where some pricing varied for younger kids, so this will show the most value. Younger kids will cost less in some places so the savings are also less.
• Most prices i've sourced directly - Dreamworld, Jetboat, and the resort. Some i've had to take a stab. You might disagree with my pricing and you're welcome to, I couldn't care less, so have at it.

'Thrill n Chill'

This is a minimum 5 night package, so i've quoted it for July 1-6. This does avoid the weekend peak room rates, so the per night price for 'room only' was about $300 per night.

The package includes:

• 5 Nights accommodation ($1503.75)
• 2 day dreamworld pass ($129pp)
• Breakfast each day (22.50pp)
• 1 x Kids Club (included)
• Ice Skating Session ($20pp)
• Kids get free Paddle Pop ($3pp)

Purchased Separately: $2555.75
Advertised starting price: $1299.00
Actual Package cost for these dates: $1679.00

Saving: $876.75

The continental breakfast does a lot of heavy lifting here - at $22.50 per person, with 13 year olds charged as adults, this adds up to $450 for a 5 night stay. When it's included, Families should try to get their money's worth out of it, but as an optional extra paid separately, I can see most families opting out of this cost and opting to self-cater, or pick up a cheaper breakfast option where needed.

 

"I Want It All"

This is a minimum 7 night package, so this one is quoted for July 1-8. Weekend peak rates are unavoidable so the room only price for this period increases to $326.04

The package includes:

• 7 Nights accommodation ($2282.28)
• 2 day dreamworld pass ($129pp)
• JetBoat experience ($59pp)
• Breakfast each day (22.50pp)
• 1 x Kids Club (included)
• Resort Activity Credit ($150)
• Resort Food & Beverage Credit ($250)
• Dinner for 2 in Penguins ($164 max)
  (using two of the most expensive entrees, mains and desserts not including platters)
• 2 Welcome Drinks ($20)
• Late Checkout (Price unknown, only an extra hour)

Purchased Separately: $4248.28
Advertised starting price: $2599.00
Actual Package cost for these dates: $3378.97

Saving: $869.31

Again, breakfast is going to run you $630, which is going to take up the majority of your savings here if you opted for something else. The resort has plenty of things for you to spend your credit on, but as is usually the case with included credits, you'll either not spend the entire value, or you'll have to top up your final credit spend with some extra when it doesn't quite cover the full balance. You'll have to do your research to use the credits to their best value, but you can definitely make it work.

There's only $240 left in the savings after breakfast is taken into account, so a thin margin if you aren't going to use everything that's included. The dinner pricing is the maximum possible, but could easily be as low as $70 cheaper if you ordered the three cheapest items on the menu.

 

Dreamworld Annual Passes only run you an extra $40. If you're a savvy holiday planner, you could book week 2 of the holidays this year, and week 1 next year, and save yourself almost $360 on park tickets too.

 

TL:DR - there is value in these offerings, provided you'll use all of the inclusions.

The Thrill N Chill gives you the most value if you aren't likely to make the most of the inclusions as even without breakfast, you're essentially getting 2 days at Dreamworld for free (though if you book this across a weekend, the price is likely to increase a bit).

The I Want It All package is less valuable unless you spend a lot of time at the resort using their facilities. After paying for your room and dreamworld passes, you'd still have about $500 in your pocket to spend on whatever you wanted rather than trying to spend it at the resort, though the jetboat experience (if you like that sort of thing) would take up almost half of what is left.

 

 

[webslave]

I'd just be a bit careful what grade of room you get there.  Their oldest rooms are absolutely rank and are frequently the cause of walkouts.  The newest rooms are furthest from the action, the mid-range rooms are fine.

[Tricoart]

Also be careful when eating there. Gone once, got food poisoning on the first night, ruined whole holiday (/related birthday), never went back & never will.

Edited June 27 by Tricoart

[New display name]

Are you sure you washed your hands before eating?

[Naazon]

1 hour ago, Tricoart said:

Also be careful when eating there. Gone once, got food poisoning on the first night, ruined whole holiday (/related birthday), never went back & never will.

Honestly, its incredibly hard to pin down where you get food poisoning from. 

Symptoms can start anywhere from 30 minutes to days after. People often attribute food poisoning to the last place they ate but it could just have easily been from 2 days previously.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Tricoart said:

got food poisoning on the first night

Yeah honestly as already stated, its highly likely you got whatever bug you got before you checked in.

1 hour ago, webslave said:

I'd just be a bit careful what grade of room you get there.  Their oldest rooms are absolutely rank and are frequently the cause of walkouts.

it does depend a bit on your standards, and what you're willing to accept. The pricing I gave was for the cheapest available room, but as the package price is increased if you choose a higher grade room, there wasn't really anything to be gained when trying to compare it against the cheap advertised price in the OP.

I've stayed in their cheapest room (Astro - Resort room) probably about 2 years ago now. We stayed there because our other usual options were sold out, and it was only for one night, so we felt we could handle it as long as there was a clean bed. We usually have higher expectations and choose a slightly higher price point, but we went in eyes open and never considered 'walking out'. (If people book it expecting 5 stars for that price then the walkout is their fault)

They were definitely old, definitely showing their age, and you definitely got what you paid for considering all of the inclusions that came with it. It was clean, linen was fresh, bathroom smelled mildly of some sort of bathroom cleaning chemical - bleach or something. Carpets were worn, but obviously cleaned. I've seen far pricier hotels with dust bunnies under the bed and in the corners.

Compared to other low priced accommodation options in the region (Many hotels in the Mantra brand come to mind) it actually delivers pretty good value. You could honestly stay there and never leave property and primary school aged kids would have the time of their lives. (and happy hour at the bar plus free kids club is usually a pretty good way for mum and dad to have the time of theirs).