Adventures by Disney-- How do people do it?-- It's so much $$

[NancyIL]

I can afford an ABD tour, but I'm not willing to pay their prices. I would LOVE to take a Rick Steves tour (http://www.ricksteves.com/tours) in Europe one of these days - for about half the cost of ABD. The accommodations are much less luxurious than ABD's - but that's fine with me.

 

[NancyIL]

They are expensive trips - even the domestic ones - so its something where you either make a lot of money, have a windfall to blow, or save for a long time. It isn't something you are Swagbucksing you way to while you vaccuum in order to do every year

Too funny!

 

[SingingMom]

For the traveler that does NOT want to make all the arrangements themselves, ABD is wonderful. We went on the London / Paris trip and the Germany trip. Practically EVERYTHING is taken care of for you. The additional perks are fabulous. The hotels are first class. The castle in Germany where we stayed for 2 nights has 4 year waiting list for the general public. The front of the line or after hours admissions to important sites was terrific and saved time. The luggage handling is great. The fact you always have someone with you who speaks the language is such a comfort. And the friendships we have made are priceless.

Having said this, I don't know that I would do a trip in the US with ABD due to the prices. Maybe the ones out West, which include activities I would not plan myself, but NYC or Nashville can easily be done on your own for less. But..... You really are paying for the MAGIC of Disney - backstage tours, special opportunities, spectacular restaurants.

We really loved ABD and hope to travel again with them this summer.

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[scottmel]

We took one.

Almost every family on the tour were dual income professional families. Doctors, lawyers, corporate executives, highly paid IT specialists. There were zero one income families. There were no families where at least one person did not have a graduate degree (M.D., J.D. or MBA).

then we might be the first, lol! We are taking one this summer and I am a stay at home mom! I agree it is costly but I did get free airline miles thru charge card sign ups so that helps! DD and I are going to WDW over Easter and I do feel a little guilty about that with ABD in July!!!!

 

[SingingMom]

then we might be the first, lol! We are taking one this summer and I am a stay at home mom! I agree it is costly but I did get free airline miles thru charge card sign ups so that helps! DD and I are going to WDW over Easter and I do feel a little guilty about that with ABD in July!!!!

We are one income as well - I volunteer my time. We are fortunate that we can afford vacations. The past few years we have decided against presents and take an extra trip together. We don't need any more "stuff" but we love spending time traveling together!



"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DisneyWhovian]

I can't understand how people spend their money on these. And I could afford one if I wanted to. I just can't justify the crazy lavish, living to the absolute edge of your means, type trip these are for most people.

If you took the money from one of these trips and invested it, you could retire years earlier.

/analyst rant over

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I can't understand how people spend their money on these. And I could afford one if I wanted to. I just can't justify the crazy lavish, living to the absolute edge of your means, type trip these are for most people.

If you took the money from one of these trips and invested it, you could retire years earlier.

/analyst rant over

The absolute edge of your means (and mine) may be well short of someone else's edge though.

 

[DisneyWhovian]

The absolute edge of your means (and mine) may be well short of someone else's edge though.

I don't care if you make $200k/yr. spending $20k on a vacation is financially irresponsible. Can you afford it? Yes. Does that mean you should buy it? Unlikely.

These trips SHOULD BE taken by the literal 1%, folks with 300k+ in income and a few million in assets.

But then again, I'm just some dumb financial analyst.

 

[Oodalally13]

I was once 3 days away from death without knowing it. Granted at any time ANYONE can be inches away from death, but it really made an impact on me. Therefore I'm at the mindset that if I want to do something, experience something, or buy something I'm going to do it NOW because tomorrow may never come. I'd rather be penniless, old and living off Cheerios in a shelter thinking back on fond memories than loaded in a nursing home unable to go anywhere wishing of the things I wanted. Or worse yet.... Dead and having relatives living it up off my hard earned money.

 

[bethy]

A family with kids at home with an income of $200k - even if one income - could not easily afford these trips. Assuming they are living a relatively typical American family lifestyle.

A pair of doctors are going to have a household income of far more than that.

I have no problem with folks taking trips like these. I'm just saying that the income bar is probably higher than people seem to think. Hence the OP's question "how do most people afford this?"

We have friends who are taking an ABD trip this summer. They are paying for it in cash they will not really miss. They have one child who is not in expensive extracurricular activities. The wife sweetly commented to me that she felt badly that they could afford a trip like this when many families with more kids could not. I told her that it was one of the perks of having one kid and also a perk of the lifestyle and spending choices she and her husband have made. And that they should embrace it guilt free!

 

[Marionnette]

I don't care if you make $200k/yr. spending $20k on a vacation is financially irresponsible. Can you afford it? Yes. Does that mean you should buy it? Unlikely.

These trips SHOULD BE taken by the literal 1%, folks with 300k+ in income and a few million in assets.

But then again, I'm just some dumb financial analyst.

Oh, good! Then I have the blessing of an anonymous internet poster to spend my hard-earned money on a vacation as I choose. Thank you for your assessment. Now I don't have to write in to be on Suze Orman's "Can I Afford It" segment.

 

[DisneyWhovian]

I was once 3 days away from death without knowing it. Granted at any time ANYONE can be inches away from death, but it really made an impact on me. Therefore I'm at the mindset that if I want to do something, experience something, or buy something I'm going to do it NOW because tomorrow may never come. I'd rather be penniless, old and living off Cheerios in a shelter thinking back on fond memories than loaded in a nursing home unable to go anywhere wishing of the things I wanted. Or worse yet.... Dead and having relatives living it up off my hard earned money.

With all due respect, this is why the average American is in deep credit card debt, and likely to end up homeless on the street in retirement.

It's about being responsible. In 2010, I backpacked Europe for 3.5 months and had the time of my life. I spent $11k in total, including flights, lodging, transportation, food, and lots of partying.

These packages are about excess. When you spend $20k on a vacation that could be had for $4, you are the same person who drives your Mercedes up to your job as a waiter.

 

[SingingMom]

I was once 3 days away from death without knowing it. Granted at any time ANYONE can be inches away from death, but it really made an impact on me. Therefore I'm at the mindset that if I want to do something, experience something, or buy something I'm going to do it NOW because tomorrow may never come. I'd rather be penniless, old and living off Cheerios in a shelter thinking back on fond memories than loaded in a nursing home unable to go anywhere wishing of the things I wanted. Or worse yet.... Dead and having relatives living it up off my hard earned money.

I can understand this mindset. Some may not agree with it, but it is your decision. I had cancer at 30 and am blest now with good health. My DH's father passed away on his mom's 50th birthday. Since we CAN afford a trip, my feeling is similar to yours. I want to make memories with the three of us while we are still healthy enough to enjoy it.

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Coonhound]

I often wonder the same thing. My dsis and her dh go to DW multiple times a year and have been cruising up a storm the last year and have a couple planned for next year. I keep wondering where have I gone wrong.

But "Comparison is the death of joy" was a quote one of my students made in her graduation speech last year. This is something that has been helping me not be so envious.

The quote is actually Comparison is the thief of joy. Theodore Roosevelt.

 

[ekatiel]

We are one income as well - I volunteer my time. We are fortunate that we can afford vacations. The past few years we have decided against presents and take an extra trip together. We don't need any more "stuff" but we love spending time traveling together!



"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

My boys are still relatively young (8 and 10), but I'm hoping we can get to this point sometime in the near-ish future. I'm so sick of buying them junk, and we all love trips!

 

[Lazor460]

While the tours are expensive they aren't impossibly expensive. I would think anyone making $200,000/yr and/or retired could scrape enough money together to do one. That said, I get the impression that ABD is really a niche operator so they don't get huge numbers of guests on their tours.

That may not seem like a lot to some people but only 4% of Americans make 200000 or more per year! And only 20% even make 100000!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My boys are still relatively young (8 and 10), but I'm hoping we can get to this point sometime in the near-ish future. I'm so sick of buying them junk, and we all love trips!

Me too. I'd love to start backing down the "stuff" at Christmas & add a second yearly vacation instead.

 

[sheetz]

That may not seem like a lot to some people but only 4% of Americans make 200000 or more per year! And only 20% even make 100000!

I never said it wasn't a lot of money. Of course it's a lot. But 4% of Americans still amounts to millions of people with enough disposable income to afford it. Like I said, ABD is not a mainstream tour operator so only attracts a small number of customers per year.

 

[scottmel]

Oh, good! Then I have the blessing of an anonymous internet poster to spend my hard-earned money on a vacation as I choose. Thank you for your assessment. Now I don't have to write in to be on Suze Orman's "Can I Afford It" segment.

 

[kymom99]

With all due respect, this is why the average American is in deep credit card debt, and likely to end up homeless on the street in retirement.

It's about being responsible. In 2010, I backpacked Europe for 3.5 months and had the time of my life. I spent $11k in total, including flights, lodging, transportation, food, and lots of partying.

These packages are about excess. When you spend $20k on a vacation that could be had for $4, you are the same person who drives your Mercedes up to your job as a waiter.

Do you seriously believe the "average" American is going to end up homeless in retirement? That's quite a statement to make, don't you think?