I don't particularly care where they are, as long as it isn't snowing and freezing
They need to be near a major airport. Atlanta, Orlando, NYC, Chicago, LA, etc all come to mind. The bigger the airport, the cheaper the flights (most likely)
It doesn't cost all that much to fly to Atlanta. You could find $200 roundtrips from the west coast, booked far enough in advance. This is reasonable.
Hawaii...impossible, no facilities large enough, that I know of, and airfare is astronomically high. Something on the order of $600 r/t from San Francisco.
Atlanta is pretty darn good. I like it, not as much as Disney, but I like it. Next year I'm sure FIRST will make it even better.
Disney isn't exactly a cost saving alternative. Food prices are exorbitant. The hotel packages were far less reasonable than those in Atlanta. EVERYTHING is more expensive at Disney. The only thing I liked more about Disney was the atmosphere. It was simply amazing. Having the themeparks was nice, but they didn't make, or break the deal for me.