Anyone else save money this way???

[Jon99]

After booking our room for our March trip, which is also a wedding and a honeymoon, we have started sending money to Disney each month.... The total room charges will be about $2200, so far we have sent in $1000.. Once we hit $2200 we will keep on going and build up a credit and use that for room charges.... Seems to be working out quite nicely...

 

[pooh2001]

Do NOT pay in full. IF you decide to change the resort or cancel for whatever reason -
you will pay a penalty. Leave a few extra dollars in the balance.
Better safe than sorry.

I do not save by sending WDW $$'s. I stick the $$'s in in a bank account.
I do one BIG payment when we get there.

Enjoy and congrats on your coming wedding !

 

[Tink10]

I agree with Pooh....I've had problems receiving refunds of money that I paid on a reservation Twice with Disney World & once with the cruise line. I would put inin a savings account & let it earn something......I hope this helps! HAVE FUN!

 

[Jon99]

We tried that way, but I have also just bought a house and I had a problem of taking money out of the vacation fund to buy furniture and other household needs... The easiest way to cure my lack of discipline was to send the money to Disney.. Not the most prudent thing for a person to do, but it works well for me...

 

[GEM]

We don't send in extra money to be used as a credit, but we do always send in enough money to have our room (and tickets, if we don't already have them) paid in full before we check in. It just makes things easier for us. We like to have it all paid and ready to go when we arrive. We always do this. Twice we have had to cancel or change our plans, and we have never had any problems at all getting money back. Once, we changed resorts and they just transferred the money over to the new resort. Once, we had to cancel and they just sent us a check for the full amount we had paid. It took a few weeks to process the refund, but we did get it without any problems. Just make sure you keep careful track of what you send in. Keep your cancelled checks as proof, etc. and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[TeenaS]

We always pay in full before we get there and have had to cancel too once or twice and have never had any trouble getting the money back. I love to know it is paid in full!

 

[Spinning]

We opened a second account at our bank. I didn't want to do the vacation club thing so we opened another account where DH is primary, I'm primary on the other. It works out great. You can add or with draw anytime transfer to each account. We don't have checking on this one so when we need to write out the check we just transfer it over. I don't think I would like to send the money up front.
Also we will get disney dollars. When ever we have extra money 5 here or there. Since we always shop at TDS I know they will get used if we dont' use all of them on the trip.

 

[dvc_bwv]

DH and I have a vacation account. We save our change all year and when we roll it we put it in that account, plus adding to it on a regular basis, and also any refunds we get for anything also goes in there. Believe me, you'd be surprised how quickly the change can add up. We bought DVC when we were there September 2000, so we don't worry too much now about paying for the room, now we just save for spending money, souveniers, etc.

I always thought we had to have the room paid in full at least 30 before arrival. We always sent in a deposit when we booked and then paid in full before we went???

 

[Coloradomom]

We've always gone ahead and paid in full, and also some extra so we had a credit when we arrived. This year when I sent in our last payment(last month for our trip later this month) I did the same thing. We received a call from WDW saying that they cannot do this any more..the amount has to be for the balance due and no more. They offered to return our check so I could send another, or cash our check and send a refund for the difference which would take 4 to 6 weeks. I had them return my check and then I sent another for the exact amount due.

This is a new policy according to the person who called us.

 

[Disneysnel]

For what it's worth here is my 2 cents,
We buy travelers cheques all year long. Because if the money is in the bank - I will spend it! LOL! This is a good way for us to go and we try not to charge anything while we are there. I also figure out what we are doing each day and budget a certain amount for each activity and put the $$ in small envelopes, I then put these small envelopes, along with my park maps and plans for the day in a 5X7 envelope(one for each day)and keep them all in the safe taking out one each day. ( I know I am anal)
It works well for us.

 

[Debbie]

I opened an ING account for saving. It's a wee bit harder to dip into (but actually, we can access the money at our local Canadian Tire store ATM), and earns a whole lot more than our local bank. I love it!

 

[Wagamama]

What is a vacation club account?

 

[cshaffer21]

We did just that for our trip in August. Every month I paid $150.00 to Disney as if it were a regular bill. When we got there we owed nothing, so our only expense was our meals and souvenirs.

 

[starwood]

Why not use the money to buy Disney Dollars? Then you can pay the room bill when you get there and you can't spend it on anything else (unless you fear you may blow it all at the Disney Store)!

 

[cassie]

I too have a vacation club...it's with my credit union and payroll deducted. I have reservations for next May and know what the max is going to cost me. One night is payed for and if I have to adjust my savings for more then I do. I can only visit once a year so I make the most of it. Luckily I don't get sick so I get any unused sick pay for spending money, and this year Bush's rebate just added to it. A year in advance I make a reservation so I have something to work with . Checking air fares is almost a full time job. I just keep hoping for discounts to lower my resort stay, and getting good air fare.

 

[mypriceline.com]

Thank god for Bush. He wants another rebate of $600 for families and also trying to get a vacation tax credit.. So your vacation just might be a lot cheaper

As far as vacation accounts I would suggest you also look into online bank accts that pay more interest like pcbanker and ing direct.. Also look into american airlines mutual funds

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.......................................................... We have a vacation account, and every dollar that goes there is for vacation. It can be as small as recycled cans for $50-$75. It can be birthday and Xmas gifts that go into it. The point is that every vacation is paid for before we go. Do not create debt to go on vacation.

 

[clm3]

We're planning on a June 02 vacation. I sent for the Disney Credit Card. Was going to
charge the trip and then pay in full ($2300) in full prior to going for Resort Pkg. Thought
this would be the best way for us to pay it off in full before we leave. I like the
Traveler Checks idea also ... Great way to save throughout the year.

Cheryl

 

[starwood]

Instead of using the Disney Card I would use a card that gives you some kind of reward in return.

I use the Discover card and get cash back. I also use my Hilton Hhonors Visa card and get points I can convert to Park Hopper Passes and I use the Delta Skymiles Amex which is giving double miles on all charges until the end of the year.

The Disney card is cute but you get nothing in return for using it.