$300+ How do you justify the expense?

[ckb_nc]

To me it about magic, splurging some and maximuming Disney.

In 2001 through 2003, I have stayed Poly concierge, Off site time share with my parents for free, Holiday Inn Family Suites and finally WL concierge (4 for 7 Yeah).

Off site was far less expensive. HIFS is a great hotel and we really enjoyed our stay. But there is no magic. Disney is the one place that I really lose myself in, where the troubles and stresses of my life go away, where I can become a kid again, connect with my familt and come backtotally jzzed. I and my family have found that on site, deluxe concierge does that for us.

Like others, I pay off the credit card every month, look for discounts, go off season including pulling the kids out of school. We new DS only six month olds, I am saving right now for his debut trip, whcih my two DDs insist should be for his first birthday. I say four and my other DD gets to celebrate her birthday at Disney first....

 

[auntpolly]

Looks like you've made a little friend, skiwee! A rich, young, good looking one, at that, LOL!

Just ignore the troll......

 

[aimee11621]

OFF SITE IS LESS EXPENSIVE . But there is no majic !!! Between gas and parking and the time it takes to get from the off site hotel to the parks you really got to get up early .

Not only is time wasted in traffic , gas and money not to mention the effort to get to the park Two kids three adults . And now an ecv on top of that!!!

We stay on site and now this year just off the monorail .CR

A Yo !!! rich lady who spends so much money on a disney hotel more power to you!!!!

You got the money do it!!! If its worth it and your not missing the basics house car and material things I mean.

 

[dizcrazy]

Doodlebug939 - thanks for your lovely post.
I have my fingers crossed and hope you will get a great rate for Poly or CR and get to stay there.

 

[jkovick]

DH and I both work in finance and make a very comfortable living. We have stayed in Deluxes, Mods and Values and had great vacations in all of them. We have a "fun money fund", the balance in that account oftentimes determines where we will stay. Sometimes we have plenty in the fund and we go for pampering and higher levels of amenaties. Sometimes the balance is lower so we hit the parks hard and need fewer amenaties.
I do always look for codes though, because I LOVE getting a bargain!

 

[GeekChic]

my family is by no means ultra wealthy.

my father owned his own small construction related company for 35 years. my grandfather was a retail sales manager, and you all know what they make. my grandmother worked as secretary for a plumbing business.

we all threw in our lot together for a Villa when i was a kid; we filled the place. and i am so grateful to my parents that they did that.

i did not have a happy childhood, i will leave it at that. but my happy memories that i do have, happened at disney.

i don't consider concierge a 'status' thing. in 44 family trips to WDW in my lifetime, we have done it exactly once, for the first time last year. it was really a present for my father and husband.

will we do it again? sure, maybe someday when the right rate comes along. do i NEED to stay there to feel i've had a disney experience?

nope. to me, the experience is getting off of the monorail or bus and walking thru those magic gates. if i can do that, then where i stay isn't the main thing.

but for convenience; and with my being in a chair the whole trip, a monorail hotel is not just a splurge, it allows my husband, who has to do the hauling not only when we're on vacation but so much too at home because of my illness, to really enjoy himself.

that is what is worth it to me.

no one has to spend that much to go to WDW. if money is your number one priority, book at Pop or an AS for 55 a night with the good rate codes.

matter of fact they were so cheap I tried to talk hubby into staying there this trip instead of CR. but he declined, he wants to be able to get on the monorail and get there.

very interesting thread!

geek

 

[montblanc]

I guess it depends on how everyone enjoys a vacation.

My first visit to Disney I was a little strapped for cash, we spent 4 days at one of the All Stars hotels and I watched my money carefully. When you have a 5 year old though I think splurging on expensive lodgings is wasted. We had a great time and even though we couldn't afford some things like dinner in Cinderella's Castle it left something for us to do on the next WDW trip.

Since the first trip I set aside a lot more money for WDW by saving starting the day we returned. As a child my happiest moments were on vacations and I don't hold back. It was fun to start in a value resort then graduate to a moderate on trip two and finally a deluxe on trip three. Only problem now is I'm hooked on the deluxe hotels but if I'm low one year the moderates are still a very happy medium.

<Script language='Javascript'>var rndNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 10000);eval("var CDTDate" + rndNum + " = 'July 11, 2005 7:30:00 AM EST';");document.writeln("<form name='CDTform" + rndNum + "' action='Javascript:void(0);'>");document.writeln('<font size=2 color=darkblue>Disney Here We Come!</font><br>');document.writeln("<input type=text value='' size=40 name='WrittenByJamesMVenglarikII'>");document.writeln("</form>");if (theFunction) theFunction += "var d = new Date();";else var theFunction = "var d = new Date();";theFunction += "var c = new Date('" + eval("CDTDate" + rndNum) + "');";theFunction += "var diff = (c - d)/1000;";theFunction += "var days = Math.floor(diff / 86400);";theFunction += "var rem = diff - (days * 86400);";theFunction += "var hours = Math.floor(rem / 3600);";theFunction += "rem = rem - (hours * 3600);";theFunction += "var minutes = Math.floor(rem / 60);";theFunction += "rem = rem - (minutes * 60);";theFunction += "var seconds = Math.floor(rem);";theFunction += "if ((days < 0) | (hours < 0) | (minutes < 0) | (seconds < 0)) ";theFunction += "var out = 'At last!';";theFunction += "else ";theFunction += "var out = ' ' + days + ' days ' + hours + ' hrs. ' + minutes + ' mins. ' + seconds + ' secs.';";theFunction += "document.forms.CDTform" + rndNum + ".elements.WrittenByJamesMVenglarikII.value = out;";setInterval(theFunction, 1000);</Script>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>

All-Star Music Resort - 99'
Port Orleans Riverside - 03'
Contemporary - 04'

 

[ahoff]

It comes down to what you get accustmed to. We used to stay at moderates, but a co-worker filled us in on DVC. We started in the DVC studio, but once we stayed in a 1BR, whoa!! There was no turning back. We have a concierge stay at AKL booked for Nov, and am wodering how it will compare to the 1BR. Can't wait to find out!

 

[disneyfreakk]

just exactlly who and WHY are we having to " justify" any amount of money we spend ??? my buisness, my checkbook!! oh, and BTW..... because i want to!

 

[steveanddonna]

Do you deluxe room/concierge people all have vastly higher incomes? or am I just cheap?

I'd say neither; as several posters have said, it's a matter of priorities. We are not extravagant people, and I love a bargain/sale as much as anyone, but I'm always very aware of VALUE, a very different thing from cost. We splurge on the things that matter to us and don't squander money on the things that don't make a difference in our life. We don't buy lots of "stuff," don't look for status brands to validate us, and believe it or not I'm a big-time coupon shopper. For us, with AP discounts, travelling in value season, or whatever, staying concierge at a deluxe resort is well worth it. We get what we need & want from our vacation - convenience, freedom from the stress of planning (we get to do only the fun part of the planning and leave the rest up to IPO), the feeling of being taken care of, etc etc. For someone who doesn't spend much time at the resort or doesn't mind driving back & forth to the parks, there's probably very little value to staying at a deluxe. For us, coming from a major urban area where we fight traffic and congestion daily, staying off-property would be a nightmare. The last thing we want to do on vacation is spend time on the highway - we'll save that for our road trips. Thankfully there are endless options to satisfy the diversity of WDW guests!

 

[tinksgirl]

when we try to plan a 4 day get away close to home,disney always wins. their deluxe are always cheaper.Lake George NY great amusement park nice lake overpriced dirty lodging i just looked into some dates in august and found a ok motel room for 350.00 a night
after reading reviews it sounded just as gross as our other stays.
a winter get away North Conway NH again ok lodging,a condo at least 300.00 a night we wont even go into the price of ski school and tickets.I dont think paying 300.or more is bad for disney resorts.Living in the north east hotel rooms are expensive
with no theme,no cm's, no towel animals just a room.I also have always gotten a great rate at disney between ap rates come back rates or the internet rate i just got for the swan club level for 190.00 a night.

 

[goodferry]

We stayed at the Poly GVC in June. We are not ultra-wealthy. This is our first trip back to WDW since 2000. We run our own business and have four children, including a one-year-old. We work VERY hard, long hours. Our kids are all terrific and very grateful for everything they have, they are with us most of the time at work, so when we vacation, we like to treat ourselves. We don't use plastic for anything, because we know better. We saved up and had the kind of vacation we wanted. We didn't have to stand in line to rent a car, we were picked up by a limo. We had convienient transportation to MK and Epcot, again, that was what we wanted in a vacation. I didn't want to have to lug the baby and the stroller and all the kids onto the bus every time we wanted to go to the MK, since that was where we spend the most of our time.
This last time we upgraded from LV to GVC when the codes came out for about $50 per night. We more than got our money's worth from staying concierge, not to mention the wonderful service. It certainly had nothing to do with status, there are six of us, we had breakfast, snacks, drinks, wine, beer and dessert almost everyday. We saved more than we paid to upgrade to concierge. Beyond that, we were in a fantastic location, we could watch the fireworks in the air conditioning from the lounge, there was a secure building with keyed entry, and we had the service of the concierge staff, which I did use to make a lot of my reservations.
I would rather go less often and have the kind of vacation we want, and being on the monorail was important to us this trip, so that's why we paid the extra money to stay deluxe. (Not to mention that we all fit in one room )

 

[Kay7979]

Disneyfreakk:

Oh dear! I didn't mean you had to justify your expense to me, nor to anyone else, for that matter. I am surprised that anyone took it that way. I simply meant how do people reconcile with *themselves* that $300 for a room is "worth it" to them. I keep thinking of the equivalent costs of various items, and what $300 will buy, and for that reason I personally have never been able to talk myself into spending that much on a room. This does not mean that I think other people should not spend it, or that their choice is irrational. It is very interesting to hear people's viewpoints on how they do reconcile the $300, and what they feel they are getting for their money in the way of tangible services and amenities, as well as more intangible benefits such as convenience, a greater sense of freedom to enjoy their vacation, and of being more immersed in the excitement and magic of WDW.

 

[bytheblood]

After reading all of these posts, I decided I would finally reply. I did not want to because I was thinking this would turn into a heated topic, but I am glad to see that it hasn't.

We are not "wealthy" by any stretch of the imagination, but let's just say we are comfortable. I still cannot see spending that kind of moolah to stay in a hotel you will be spending so little time in. I don't need some hotel employee to pamper me, my husband does that, not to mention, I can take care of myself.

Perhaps, as another poster said, it depends on where your priorities are. For me, I think it would be more guilt and knowing that there are better uses for my money. Not meaning to sound like a snot, but I personally cannot see spending a car payment's worth of $$$$ a night to stay in a hotel room so that I can spend my day with the mouse. I can spend my day with the mouse while staying in a value or moderate as well. Especially when there are hungry people, homeless people, cancer hospitals, my jobless sister, etc that could put better use to that money. I would be so overwhelmed with guilt for spending $4200 for 7 nights for a hotel room, when I could have made 7 car payments with that $$$$. I personally would also feel so overwhelemed with guilt for spending that much on a hotel room knowing there are sick children who will never get to go to Disney because their parents spend all of their money on doctor's bills.

These are JMO and my preferences and are not meant to judge anybody. I do not look down on anybody who would spend the money to stay at a deluxe. Because of the guilt I would feel, I truly think that it would take winning a huge lottery for me to book a room in a deluxe. Fat chance of that happening. As they say, you can't win if you don't play.

 

[disneyfreakk]

Kay7979 , sorry this rubbed me the wrong way! i am sure you didnt mean anything by this thread. BUT you have to understand something... my family as well as my DH family give us greif all the time about what we spend and how we spend it! they make us feel as though we have been handed everything we have, and that is not the case. we both put ourselves through school. we have worked hard to get what we have!! the reason they cant spend what we do is because they didnt work for it! and if we do something nice for them its not apriciated because " we can afford it"

as far as

"Especially when there are hungry people, homeless people, cancer hospitals, my jobless sister, etc that could put better use to that money. I would be so overwhelmed with guilt for spending $4200 for 7 nights for a hotel room, when I could have made 7 car payments with that $$$$. I personally would also feel so overwhelemed with guilt for spending that much on a hotel room knowing there are sick children who will never get to go to Disney because their parents spend all of their money on doctor's bills."

we donate. and we dont use it as a tax break either!! ( i feel THAT would be wrong) my DH and I dont have children so every year for christmas we each pick an angel off of the tree ( this is usually found in any mall during christmas ) and then we spend not only our money, but our time going from store to store picking up things we think the children would like. as far as the sick children, there are loads of charitys out there that actually do take kids to places such as disney world. so bytheblood , let me ask you this .. do you donate the money that you could have spent on a room "you will be spending so little time in" ?? my guess it no, you dont.

 

[tmli]

This is a very interesting thread....when I first came here I had alot of envy regarding how many trips people seemed to take and how many stayed in concierge etc. Then I got to realizing, we are all of different ages etc. and at different places in our lives. Example someone married 6 mths probably wouldn't be as financially set as someone married 20 years.

That being said, I am at a place now where I could afford a more luxurious stay but I am still booked at POP. For me there's a couple reasons. One my dh doesn't travel with us...therefore our "spending" money is divided into 2 seperate interests, mine is disney his is electronic toys! The other reason is I grew up in a family that didn't have alot of money, as I got older that improved greatly but the memories are still there, so sometimes I still have trouble spending too much.

By the time I was ready to leave home my parents had good jobs and we were living a much more comfortable lifestyle. My dh's family had money. The mistake we made was thinking the lifestyle we left would continue. We rang up alot of debt those first couple years before we realized our parents worked 30 years for that lifestyle!

My point, and I do have one, is that we are all at different places in our lives and have different priorities and reasons for them. It doesn't make anyone wrong or right just different.

 

[bytheblood]

Originally posted by disneyfreakk
so bytheblood , let me ask you this .. do you donate the money that you could have spent on a room "you will be spending so little time in" ?? my guess it no, you dont.

Please don't be childish to assume you know where my money goes. We have many organizations aside from our church that we donate to as well as assist and volunteer for.

 

[bytheblood]

Originally posted by tmli
My point, and I do have one, is that we are all at different places in our lives and have different priorities and reasons for them. It doesn't make anyone wrong or right just different.

Sure, you have a point. I think that is well said and quite a respectable statement. Nobody is right or wrong.

 

[westjones]

This is an interesting thread. Yesterday, I booked the Poly for 1 night ($250 with tax using the new Sept discount rates). We are going to the Luau, so I thought it would be nice to just 'be' there, and the next day we are only going to MK before we fly home (we are only in town for 1 night).

DH could not bring himself to 'say' it was alright to book this room, but he didn't say I couldn't. Once it was booked he told me to just not tell him what things cost in the future. He said he trusts me with our money, and would just rather not know what we are spending.

It will be our ONLY time we ever stay at the Poly. I have a 'goal' to spend at least 1 night at each of the WDW resorts at some point. If it were for more than 1 night (and there were no discount codes), I would not have done this. And if we hadn't decided to do the Luau (while our twin DDs are still 11--the price would be double for them next year after their birthday) I wouldn't have done it.

BUT now that it is done, I know DH will enjoy it (he likes to sail, and they have sail boats there).

DJ

 

[Kay7979]

Disneyfreakk,

I figured when I read your post that you were defensive for a reason. I can relate to your frustration. My in-laws are in their late 60s and early 70s and they still CAMP everywhere they go! There are times when my husband was a kid that they didn't even stay in campgrounds, they just pitched a tent in somebody's field! They think we spend a fortune for our vacations, when on a relative basis we are actually fairly frugal, as you can see by my reluctance to spend $300 a night on a room. Truth be told, I don't think I have spent anywhere near $200 for a room. When not staying at our timeshares (which we bought resale for pennies on the dollar) we tend to book rooms through Priceline and we often stay at 3 and 4 star hotels for $40-85. We stayed at the Sheraton on a beach in Kauai for only $85 a night. Rack rate was at least $250 at the time. So, there are ways to travel without spending a lot. It is harder to do it at WDW, but it is possible, if a person feels that they need or want to save money. But for those who find reasons why they want to splurge, and the value for what they are getting seems to them fair for the price, I say go for it! I ought to start a thread about how many people you know never take a vacation at all! How many people spend all their time off at home, or taking day trips to local amusements. (Not that you can't have fun that way, too, but as someone who LOVES to travel, there's nothing like getting out of town and going somewhere for an extended stay where you can see, do, and learn new things. Bottom line, we all come from different backgrounds and there are a thousand factors that enter into each families'decision about what they'll spend and where they want to stay. I hope that people will continue to share their thoughts and not be intimidated into thinking that there is a right or wrong answer to this issue.