Cheap Vacation or Save for a Year?

[TwistGrl101]

I really appreciate everyone's input. The only issue I have with staying off property (besides the fact that I have to rent a car), is that I usually go for free dining the end of August, and it ends up being about the same price to stay on property anyway!

 

[mafibisha]

If you can afford the cheap vacation this year, I'd take it rather than skipping a year in order to go deluxe later. Life is short - don't put off the fun stuff. You can have just as much fun on a budget trip as you can on a deluxe trip.

THIS!!

It depends on what "on a budget" means. Value resort with free dining? I'd go. Staying offsite and packing lunches for the park? I'd wait and save longer.

We haven't been terribly impressed by our deluxe stays and wouldn't delay a trip to save up a deluxe-resort budget, but I also wouldn't want to travel on a budget so tight that I was worrying about every penny, cooking because we couldn't afford to eat out, or saying no to every request the kids have that costs extra.

This, TOO!

Budget trip. Life is too short!

Especially, THIS. Life is VERY short. And you never know what a day will bring, let alone a year!!!

 

[Anne34]

I'd go for the cheaper vacation. Deluxes have very little appeal for us -- way too overpriced for what you get (another family of 5!). We can afford it, but never go more than moderate or family suite. We spend the days in the park & water parks anyway.

Another idea -- if you usually go for 7 days, maybe make it 6 days. Cut back your ticket to 4 or 5 days and spend some time at downtown disney, the pool or a water park. We usually spend a day doing mini-golf and then hanging out in the pool in the afternoon followed by dinner/shopping at Downtown disney in the evening.

Have fun!

 

[Marionnette]

You know, asking this question is sort of like asking "Would you rather have a sliver of banana cream pie every night or a chunk of chocolate cake once a week?"

Some people don't like banana cream pie. It wouldn't matter if they could have it every night. They still wouldn't want it. That's kind of how I feel about offsite and value resorts.

Some people think cake is a waste of dessert calories, no matter what flavor but they'll take whatever kind of pie they can as often as they can. And that's how some people view staying at deluxes vs frequent value stays.

Neither is a wrong choice unless it's not what YOU want.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

It depends on what "on a budget" means. Value resort with free dining? I'd go. Staying offsite and packing lunches for the park? I'd wait and save longer.
We haven't been terribly impressed by our deluxe stays and wouldn't delay a trip to save up a deluxe-resort budget, but I also wouldn't want to travel on a budget so tight that I was worrying about every penny, cooking because we couldn't afford to eat out, or saying no to every request the kids have that costs extra.

I agree with this reply. Also, I wasn't sure if the OP was referring to taking a "cheap" WDW vacation or just a "cheap" vacation in general, but based on the posts before mine it seems that the OP was referring to a WDW trip. If a "budget" or "cheap" WDW vacation means staying at a value resort and booking your stay for when free dining is offered then I can give two thumbs up for that idea because this is how my family of six was able to afford a seven night stay onsite for our recent WDW trip Even though the value resorts may not suit everyone's taste, we were pleased with our stay at a value resort and felt that it was very clean and fun with great service all around.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Funds are low right now...what would you do?

1) Go to Disney this year anyway, but be on a tight budget.

2) Don't vacation this year, and start saving now to stay deluxe in 2 years.

I would go next year.

Frugal really is only fun if that is something you purpose to do in life. If you are doing it to make something fit where it really doesn't fit--then one feels like they are missing out and risks blowing the budget anyway.

If squeaking the trip in means that you are traveling in a completely different manner than you are accustomed, I would certainly not go.

By experience--I know that I will covet at least one sit down restaurant. Happened one weekend we stayed at AKL (we are DVC).

I know that I won't miss breakfasts--we are a snack type breakfast family for the most part. So I can stuff granola bars in my suitcase and be perfectly fine with that plan.

I know that doing constant meal sharing doesn't really work as my husband and I eat very differently. Plus he uses the vacation to enjoy himself with food options...while I have my limits and different definitions of food enjoyment. Food sharing as a cost saving measure just won't work for us.

I also know that I would be fine staying in value if that is what it meant for me to go to Disney. But I'd be kicking myself if I knew that if I just saved longer, I could stay someplace nicer. I like the nicer places. So we won't splurge on a value trip because we would prefer for our point balance to allow for our DVC stay.

And one final note--we are simply NOT happy off site. I lived close enough to local that if I wanted to stay "off site", I would just drive home. I don't rent houses and anytime I got an off site deal--it just didn't feel like how I enjoy vacationing at Disney. It is great for folks who enjoy that--but we simply do not. We'd prefer to pay slightly more for slightly less accommodations at the value than we would staying at a nicer hotel off site.

Yes, frugal/budget trips can be quite enjoyable. But if you prefer something more--they can also end up being not an enjoyable vacation. Had some of those as a kid. And no--it was not me being spoiled or anything...it was trips being taken when budgets were not really set up for it and it ended up creating problems on the vacation. In one case it provides a hysterical family memory on what NOT to do when vacationing...but at the time, it just sucked.

Frugal works when it is a state of mind. It does not work when it is being used to pretend you can afford to do something when you really can't.

It is critical to know the difference and know which version defines your plans.