Has anyone had to downgrade their WDW trip and still loved it?

[ptrbryant]

I agree, I think the car rental has got to go. OR, have it for Sat. night/Sunday only...sometimes Dollar has really low rates in Orlando. We've already decided on CS meals only, with the exception of 2 TS as a treat.

I'm going to look into OKW more...that really does sound like a bargain.

Thanks again, everyone! It's really given me a lot of options to think about.

Karla B.

 

[TMTIP]

You've got to be kidding me! This is what is wrong with our society--"we don't like the financial situation that we are in but let's not let that get in the way of our annual Walt Disney World Vacation"! I understand that everyone needs a little time away but there are numerous ways to have fun without breaking the bank even more. How about a local state park/museums or do a couple weekend driving trips around your hometown/state. Our income is over six figures but we don't go to WDW every year, when we do we stay at POP, drive down in our car and only eat at a TS once, maybe twice. To each his own but I am sick of seeing people cry over their debt but in the same sentence say how they refuse to give up their annual WDW trip. Let's grow up people!

 

[annsteere]

Yes, we've downsized due to budget and still had a great time.

Flying is the last thing I'd eliminate. If your DH has to drive a day and a half you are all likely to arrive tired. The drive home can be a real bumer.

We've downsized from AKL to offsite and found that a relatively painless way to be able to go to Disney, even when cash was tight.

We have also gone eating breakfast in the room and eating more meals offsite. As long as we went for at least one "nice" meal a day--Olive Garden with a coupon, not two meals at Wendy's in a single day--it didn't impact our fun much. If I tried to cut out park snacks like frozen Mikey bars, it felt like we were poor in the parks. That was not a good way for us to save a few bucks.

We did this more frugal trip when our kids had already enjoyed several trips. It was important to set expectations before the trip so everybody knew what to expect. That way, I wasn't stressed out by them wishing for things that weren't going to happen that year.

 

[ptrbryant]

Tracy

Um, I wasn't crying over debt.

And different people have different priorities. We have one car and a mortgage of about $600/month. I was only asking about creative ways to adjust the trip budget.

One of the things I've always liked about the disboards is it's usual civility. Let's try to keep it that way.

Karla B.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would definitely consider staying off-site. We did it for the first time this summer. I will admit that before we went I was a bit leary as we've always stayed on-site, but with 9 people we really needed something bigger than two hotel rooms. I doubt I will ever stay on-site again! Being in a vacation home with a private pool was absolutely wonderful! There was plenty of room for all of to spread out (5 bdrm/3 bath) and we loved having a private pool. We saved a lot of money by eating meals in. We did a big breakfast in every morning, snacked in the park with stuff we brought in (ie granola bars, waters, etc.) and then had dinner either in the house or a restaurant nearby (which was a lot less expensive that a TS meal at WDW). Oh, and the best part is that the house rented for $700 for the week, including all taxes.

 

[ptrbryant]

Yeah, I'm really on the fence about the significance of an off-site house rental in our situation. There's just DH, DS12 and myself. If we were even a family of four, I'd be more motivated by the idea of having enough space for everyone. Of course, there's the $$$ savings! I think I may be leaning more towards points at OKW ($100/nt.) and/or maybe ASMu now that it's been renovated...?!?

Karla B.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Hi Karla,

We have stayed at All Star Music and prefer to mods. We love the theming, and they are on a push to have the best customer service on property.

I would skip the car. Does the church you attend have a website? Perhaps you can contact them to see if a parishner could pick you up and drop you back at the hotel? Perhaps you could treat your driver (& their family) to lunch at the hotels food court or at Downtown Disney. This should still cost less then a car rental and you get to make new friends and spread the Disney magic!

I would shoot for breakfast in the hotel room too! I find it cheaper to schedule a buffet for a late lunch/early dinner then to pay for two CS meals. You could carry snacks for later in the day. The resort foodcourts do have microwaves and I keep making mental notes to myself that we should bring our own microwave popcorn.

Good luck!

 

[jsmla]

DH and I just took a super-budget trip and it was GREAT! We usually either tow our camper down to FW or rent DVC points. This time we took advantage of SkyAuction's $179 special and spent the week in a one bedroom condo at Celebration World Resort.

Which aspect seemed to have the least effect on your over-all WDW vacation experience?
*Staying off-site
We loved our off-site condo. The full kitchen and all the extra room was fantastic! We were also more open to venturing outside Disney and took a wonderful day trip to Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. OTOH, it would have been nice not to have to drive a couple of evenings and enjoy a few more drinks.

*Staying in a Value
I've stayed in a value and didn't mind it. Hubby on the other hand wouldn't be able to hack it. He's not a fan of 24/7 in-your-face Disney. He would have been miserable at Pop or the All Stars.

*Staying less days in the parks, more days at the resort
Like I stated earlier. We decided to skip a park day even though hubby had a ticket that expired. It was a great day-trip and we didn't miss the parks one bit!

*Having a shorter trip
Our trips are almost always a week. I don't think I'd want to drive all that way for less.

*Driving vs. flying
We almost always drive. It's about 10-11 hours for us.

*Not renting a car
Can't really answer this one. We drive ours down.

*CS meals only, no TS meals at all
This, I wouldn't like. I'm just not a CS person. I prefer eating "in" most meals and having a few nice TS meals to look forward to.

Stuff I missed:
Having to think about driving on evenings out at PI or the World Showcase.

Stuff I didn't:
Eating out so much. We were surprised how much we enjoyed both the freedom and the tastiness of having our own food at the condo.
Driving during the days. It was super easy and, in many cases, faster than when we used the Disney transportation.
Money guilt We saved enough on this trip to spring for an apartment in the Marais for our May Paris trip.

I think I may be a new off-site convert!

Jennifer