It isn't cheap to fly to New Jersey or NYC from central Texas. I've seen good deals from the U.S. to Europe, but they're typically from big coastal cities. So to take advantage, you have to fly to the big coastal city, which itself isn't cheap, try to get the timing exactly right without having to pay for a hotel overnight in that city (hard to do, as the best deal flights are often scheduled at 0 dark thirty in the morning)...Add to that increased cost the hassle factor, with kids...
The point I'm trying to make is that this is why a lot of people, including myself, cruise, instead of doing an expensive and complicated pilgrimmage from middle America all the way to Europe. I work hard at a full time job and being a mom to an autistic child who is required to be on a strict gluten-free diet. A
Disney cruise or a trip to WDW is affordable for us to travel to, easy to plan, my son loves the Disney characters, and Disney always provides gluten-free food, something we can't count on in random restaurants half a world away.
Disney is a vacation option that works for us right now, and we're sticking with it.