Any other vacations?

[chanson2]

We have found the best way to afford WDW, as well as take our other vacations, is to get an annual pass, go two or more times within one year, and then not visit WDW for a year or two. That way we can go at various times of the seasons and see all Disney has to offer. And when you stay away for a year or two and then come back, there's always something new that has just arrived, to keep it fresh! Our other vacation is usually a ski vacation. Neither Disney nor skiing is cheap, but there are ways to make it more economical.

 

[slk537]

We do two trips each year to Disney. How? Well DVC helps a lot. And I love the planning process (Yesterday I spent 1 hour and 40 minutes on the phone doing all our ADR's for our next trip and never got bored once) so that helps.

DH and I have talked about this...how can we go somewhere so often and not get bored? A few reasons:

1. We vary when we go: We love the weeks after Thanksgiving for a Christmas flavor to the trip. Then we have MVMCP, Osborne lights, Christmas shopping and visiting Santa at DTD..all the things that aren't there the rest of the year. Then we'll go again in May during the Flower and Garden Festival, Mother's Day...it's a different trip.

2. We vary where we stay. WOW does that make a new flavor to the trips! In Nov/Dec we love AKL and VWL for cozy and warmth. For the other times of the year, we enjoy the BCV, OKW... a more "tropical/beachy" feel.

3. We do something new each time - fireworks cruise, birthday celebrations, new restaurants, visit resorts, see a movie at DTD, try different rides, dinner packages (Hoop Dee Do, Fantasmic)...

4. We do the classics every time - certain rides, restaurants, shops, snacks...the familiar.

5. We don't have to buy souveniers every time any more. We'll get something special instead...or have a nice dinner at a more expensive restaurant instead of buying yet one more Tshirt or frame.

I like the familiarity. I love knowing what MCO is all about - where to find the rental car, how long it will take to get to the resort, where we grocery shop (SuperTarget), what the parks look like, how the rides go, where they have the best milkshakes and cheeseburgers (Beaches and Cream), where we can pick up a hat for DS, where they take our discounts, what great gift ideas there are...and best of all, saying "We'll do that next time" if we miss something or really love something (ex: Soarin'). We research now not to figure out what there is, but to see what's new and to scratch the WDW itch.

We do do other little trips...a couple nights in the twin cities (msp/st paul) to do shopping, a weekend in Madison. And we do a lot of day trips throughout the year. But we always have a WDW trip in the works and we all love it. I do wonder if there were only a few resorts and two parks...would we go as often? Probably not. But you can't have the same trip twice, even if you try. That's what we love.

Someday we'll try Hawaii or California or Alaska. But for now, we love our WDW trips.

 

[DisneyDotty]

As many others have said here, right now travel is our family's priority. OTOH, our house is a sloooow work in progress. (Eg--I've been converting our living room into an office for three years now, and talking about getting a new kitchen floor for four years!) We spend any disposable income on trips. It's almost embarrassing to look at how much we've been traveling. But again, as others have said before, I really believe my kids are not going to remember what kind of kitchen floor they had growing up, but their memories of vacations will be with them forever. They are always bringing up past trips and planning future ones. That's priceless to me.
So, to answer your question, we typically do a major trip to WDW every 3-4 years (but I'm sneaking in a 2nd trip to the mouse this year) and do several other trips every year. We take our trips during school holidays only--and this year we are taking a trip during EVERY school holiday--Columbus Day weekend, Christmas, Martin Luther King weekend, Spring Break, and a couple during the summer.

 

[LukenDC]

I'm a single man with a good job, so I can afford more than one vacation a year. I usually take one trip to Europe and one domestic trip, in addition to a few weekend get-aways. This past September was my first trip to WDW, but I'm hooked! I'm already thinking about going back.

 

[solgent]

I am a university professor and my husband works a very flexible PT job. My salary is fine, I am happy with it, but what I really love is the vacation time. I've never worked regular job with 2 weeks vacation and I never want to!

(By the way, not ALL the time that I am not teaching is vacation. But I do take about 6 weeks!)

We go to other places as well as WDW. Trips in the past five years have been to England (2x), Maine, NY State, California (3x, I have family there). Also shorter trips to Boston, NYC, NH, Baltimore.

 

[goofie4goofy]

We have our own business and we have no kids. Vacations are definately a priority and we go away a lot. It's pretty much where ever and when ever we want. We take about 8 vacations per year...at least 1 vacation per year is WDW.

 

[Skroops]

I'm in the travel industry, so I always get great prices and I have a very flexible schedule. We've traveled all over the world thanks to my career, and I am very fortunate for that. It was a lot easier before having kids to up and go and sight see. Now that we have kids, things have changed. They are too young to see the Louve, and the great museums of the world, and we have no interest of sitting on a beach somewhere at this point of our life. Disney has so much entertainment for our money. It is so relaxing for us because we know that if we have a "toddler moment", people around us can relate. There are no firm schedules, and wherever you may wander will be fun!
We have considered DVC, but we can't seem to be able to commit to long term. Once our kids are a little older, maybe they'll enjoy the more adult site seeing of other locations. And who knows, maybe I'll be out of the industry before then. For now, Walt Disney World rocks.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I've been curious about those of you who have taken multiple vacations to DW--is this the only place you vacation, or do you go elsewhere too?

My family can only afford, both timewise and financially, one major vacation a year. We'll be going to DW in June, 2006 for the first time since December, 2000. In the years since, we've taken a major vacation each year, but to somewhere different (Hawaii, USVI, Australia).

So are you people just really blessed in being able to go to DW each year and other places as well? Or have you decided that DW is the only place you want to take your vacations? And for those of you who go more than once each year, how on earth do you do it?! I don't mean financially, since everyone is at different stages there (and I've read the threads discussing this), but in taking the time off from your job and regular daily routines.

Just really curious about it.

Thanks.

We definately go other places. Next year we will go to Disney again but because we have AP's. We will also go to Myrtle Beach.

In 2007 we are going to take a trip around the US. Five weeks starting here in NY and going all the way to CA and back the southern route.

My DH is a self-employed attorney. We miss some perks that others have, like health insurance paid for us. But one of the major perks is that he can take vacation whenever he wants..........he's the boss. So he takes about 6 weeks a year. Some of that is for working around the house, some of it for true vacation time.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

We only take one major vacation per year (except this year - ack!). Since 2000 our annual vacation has been to WDW (in 2001 we did a combo vacation, 4 days at WDW then a week at the beach).

We've decided to alternate WDW with other destinations. In 2006 we are heading back to WDW but in 2007 I think we are going to go back to Destin, FL. DH also wants to go to Scotland someday too.

One of our problems is I've been at my job 10+ years so I have about 6 weeks vacation/year, however, DH was downsized a couple year ago and basically started over with vacation. He's back down to 2 weeks/year (he had been at that job 7.5 years so he was earning quite a bit of vacation each year). And, we have a 8 yo DD which with school and other activities can affect how/when we vacation.

Debbie

 

[ufgator]

We go to WDW many times a year, but it is not our only vacation. We only live 2 1/2 hours away so it's not hard for us to get there.

I love WDW but I also love going to different places. For work, in the past year, I've had to go to Georgia twice, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and we made vacations out of them. We went to Virginia just for a vacation.

 

[liamsaunt]

We take other vacations. Our main and favorite trip is to the Caribbean for 2 1/2-3 weeks in the summer. Sometimes we do long weekends in NYC, and then Disney. My DH and I are lucky in that we both work for employers that give 5 weeks of vacation a year, and we take it all.

 

[keishashadow]

We luv Myrtle Beach. Also, quick gambling runs to Niagara Falls & WV.

1st cruise this year...should be different.

I've found that, with a lot of planning & budgeting, WDW can be "done" via economical choices, for a reasonable amount of money...especially, when free dining is an option @ Values.

 

[drayke]

We have two major vacations planned this year, something we rarely try to do. In fall 06 we're taking a Hawaian cruise for 11 days and paying for that with monthly payments. Then I decided I wanted to go to WDW for my birthday (June) as my last birthday I was working out of the country. Having to schedule around grad school resulted in a trip a few months earlier (9 days in March/April) and some forced money management to ensure the reality of my dream birthday. Which actually has been good. If all goes well, we'll have paid for the trip before we go with little adding to current credit debt. It's not easy however worth while and the process is helping to ensure other financial goals are reachable as well.

 

[AmazingBagel]

Great topic...May of 2000 when the kids were 8 & 5 we did our first WDW trip and had a good time. We are looking forward to our trip here later this month. Now that they're 13 & 11 we will be able to enjoy the parks even more. It's our first trip here since 2000. Our annual vacations are primarilly 7 day cruises on Carnival or RCCL. We always take the newest ship. However last year we actually drove (from Wisconsin) to Washington DC, up to New York City, to Niagra Falls, and back. It was the first time for all 4 of us in all of those places. It was great to spend time in each city. I feel blessed to have the time and $ to do it once a year but I'm shocked that many people take multiple vacations a year. That's great.

 

[Cinderella]

I haven't been to Disney for almost five years - due to time and financial constraints, but this year, I have been lucky. I will be going to WDW and doing Disney cruise in December (I have DVC).

Also this year, I went to Portugal for one week in a villa with partner and kids, one week Majorca with partner and kids. But I haven't had this freedom every year. I have also taken some short breaks - mostly without kids such as two nights in Vienna (with DVC points) and the odd night in other cities.

Don't know if I will be doing Disney next year at all, as I am getting married and want to splurge on honeymoon. But, admittedly, so long as my finances, and available time remain as good as they are, I would prefer to spend a lot of my disposal income on travel - it just appeals to me more than cars and furniture etc.

 

[stemikger]

We take one vacation a year and then we do small day trips. I don't like to leave my dog too long so we only do one real vacation a year.

The last two years it was Disney. I feel while my daughter still wants to vacation with us it is important that we do something that she loves. She loves Disney and so do I.

We go in the summer while she is off. In the future I think we will expand our horizons and go to other places, but for now Disney seems like a good fit for us. There is something for everyone and we never get bored.

 

[PamNC]

My DH and I are self-employed...so we don't get a set amount of money per month. It varies widely. So, depending on how business is determines how many vacations we do a year. For instance, last year was a good year, and we went on 4 vacations. 3 Disney and one non-Disney. We went to Disney for 7 nights in February, to the Outer Banks of NC (my lovely home state) for 4 nights in May, to Disney for 7 nights in July, and to Disney again 4 nights in November.

This year thus far we've had 2 vacations and will be taking one more over Thanksgiving. We went to Southern CA in May for 6 nights, we went to Disney in July for 8 nights and we're going back to Disney for 4 nights over Thanksgiving.

So we mix it up. But most of the time we choose Disney. Also, I don't count this as vacation really but my husband is an opera singer so he travels all over. As I can, I visit him so I get to visit different places here and there for a couple of days. For instance a couple of weekends ago I went to Atlanta. Back in April I went to Nashville. It's not a vacation for him because he's working. It kind of is for me though I guess.

How we do it financially??? We don't have kids for one thing. I think that makes a huge difference in how much disposable income one has. When we were first married 11 years ago we could only do one a year but once I decided to leave the rat race and start my own business, finances looked up.

Interesting thread...

PamNC

 

[stemikger]

Also, I know this is not about how much money we spend. I did my research and found if you go to Disney and stay at a value resort, some of the so called lesser vacations actually cost more.

I priced the Jersey shore which is only a couple hours from my house and after you play the games and the rides for a week it costs just about the same believe it or not. To play those games are around $3 to $5 a pop. That adds up fast.

Also, if you want to book for the summer you have to book now and the rates per night for that time are well over $200 for the night. So my conclusion is Disney is the best bang for the buck. You really can't compre it with anything else for the fun and variety you get. When I go to Disney I get that feeling like when I was a kid. IN other words it feels like a real vacation instead of just a get away.

 

[D&R love Disney]

As much as we love Disney and we are in the process of buying into DVC we love going other places as well. We like to do little weekend trips to nice inns around New England. We are also cruising this January with most of my family.

 

[boomhauer]

Just Disney for me. I just love it too much. Twice a year solo, and once a year with the family.

I just know, if I went someplace else, I'd miss Disney too much.

It's pathetic, I know.