Circumventing rules to "afford" a WDW vacation..

[C.Ann]

On the restaurant boards you read about folks fudging their childrens ages so they can eat for free..

On the resort boards you read about folks sneaking extras into a room that is only supposed to hold "x" amount of people..

On the theme parks board folks discuss the possibility of passing their kids off as being under three so they can get free admission..

On the budget board people discuss where to eat the food that they have brought in from outside of the parks..

And so it goes.. On and on..

Where do you personally draw the line? Do you think these "budget" tactics have an adverse affect on Disney's financial position? Should everyone follow "all" of the rules? "Some" of the rules? "None" of the rules?

Just curious to hear what all of the budget-minded folks think..

 

[Mlissa88]

I'm all for saving a buck, but I won't lie to do it.

I buy Disney store items when they go on sale....but I buy some when they are full price because I WANT THEM NOW and don't want to wait.

I'll buy water and soda at a grocery stop before getting to the hotel so I don't have to buy it at the resort. I'm being budget minded without bilking anyone.

I use codes for hotel rooms if I can. I use my Disney Club discounts if they apply and I buy a Annual Pass to be able to benefit from those discounts as well.

If Disney doesn't have a discount...I pay the full price. I just learn to save in other aspects of my trip.

I don't think I have the heart to lie to save a few dollars. I can save in other ways.

But...that's me....I have no control over the actions or hearts of others. Nor am I surprised anymore over what actions others take. That's just how the some people in the world are...I can choose to follow it or follow my own heart.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

C.Ann,
It would never occur to me to lie to save money. To me it is just not right.
I believe that room limits are set for a reason and respect them.
I guess I am (to put it in a very OLD term) too square.
I work hard and save my money to vacation. I look for sales or specials everywhere, and that is how I save money on my vacations.
Telling a lie would probably bother me so much my vacation would be ruined or my nose would grow.
I am not sure if truly has a substancial effect on the bottom line, but, it does make a statement about our society. I have been truly amazed at how people justify dishonesty, like it ever could be justified.

 

[gibbys1]

Apparently quite alot of that goes on. On our first trip to SW my son was 2 going to be 3 in 2 months. At the gate when we showed our tickets they asked how old my son was and I told them he wasnt quite 3,his birthday was coming up. As we walked into the park we overheard the attendant say well it must be right before everybodys 3rd birthday then! Iwas stunned,she was basically accusing me of lying. Now I have to keep in mind that my son is big for his age, my husband is 6'7" and I am 5' 10". but why should I have to pay because he looks older. He still does. He is 16 now and looks about 22 and is 6'6" and 260 lbs.

 

[MK Familystone]

Investing in the stock market is a process of paying for a stock at price which a person can afford. If the price of the stock is too high, the investing person does not buy the stock and waits till the price decreases to a level that individual would like to buy at or a price fare to that indivdiual purchasing power.EI Fare Value.
Disney Prices for theme park passes have risen and never decreased, sure the "CLUB" gets the purchaser a discount but the price increases by buying a "CLUB CARD" , therfore increasing the fare value which is not a decrease in park passes.
When people self included bring supplies into the WDW resorts from off property stores this is an indication that the fare value of the products and services offered onsite are over valued.
No matter the MARKET stocks,bonds, WDW ,Seaworld,
Universal Studios, car rental, air lines and ETC, the fare value always reaches a level where the most purchasers buy the product.
The only exception is the pass to WDW. Think about it! What deals have WDW offered like Seaworld and Universal have on multi-passes in the last year?
Compare HIFS and any Suites at any WDW Resorts?
When was the last time you payed $40 ( park pass)to enter a restuarant (Italy Epcot)to pay close to $80 for a family of four dinner?
The average family lives on a budget and if Disney's Fare Value is out of reach then the budget has to modified EI. shopping at an off site
grocery store.
The Line is drawn by the individual and what that line looks like is up to that individual only!
"Power to the Messenger!" ENJOY!

 

[C.Ann]

Mlissa88, GAIL HAYDEN, gibbys1 & MK Familystone:

Thank you for your views on this issue.. Trying to get respones to this post is like pulling teeth.. Even posted it in a slightly varied version on one of the other boards and have only received one response so far..

This is NOT an attempt to criticize what others do but rather an attempt to find out how people feel about these things and whether they believe it has an impact on Disney's financial situation..

Thanks for being candid - and most of all, thanks for responding at all! LOL

 

[ZPT1022]

I am going to WDW in September, and I will be bringing bottled water or at least a Brita water bottle- I hate paying exhorbitant prices for water- I even use a refillable water bottle at home. We will probably also bring some snacks of our own- granola bars, bagels, etc... for the mornings when we don't want to stop for a breakfast (or don't have time ) As far as outright lying about something like the age of my child, I don't think I could do it. And coming from a big family I would NEVER want to cram too many people into a room. I'd like to be able to think of myself as good person, and as DD gets older I'd like for her to respect me and I don't think lying or cheating is the way to get those things. From what I see more and more of though, I think that this train of thought is not too common, sadly

 

[tink2dw]

C. Ann, How do you feel about........ Disney never saying there are discounts unless directedly ask the Question in just the right way?? .........about paying $2.50 for "8oz" of bottled water,when most bottles are 16oz's?

What do you think of the Whole of Central Florida raising prices to fit disney's "seasons"?
Every offsite place raises their rates/prices during Peak Season and Holiday Season to Maximize their profits.

How do you feel about paying for Florida roads, with the 12% tourist tax charged you on everything you pay for on your trip,from water,food,car,and hotels.

Are you willing to pay in full for your whole WDW trip,without any budgeting?? No,room discounts,No Vouchers,No Discounts on tickets or any part of the trip??

If you can afford that,more power to you,go for it!! But the only way I'll ever get to go again,after giving Disney $7,000.00 last time,is to find ways to cut corners. NOT BY LIEING,BUT BY WISELY BUDGETING!! If that offends people,Oh well!! They can come here and learn where and how to Budget a WDW trip,too!

How do you feel about thrift stores??

 

[CRCrazy]

I understand that people like to stretch the truth to save a buck, but that just teaches kids that lying is okay. It also ruins things for those of us that are honest. My middle daughter is a very tall, big boned girl for her age. When we went to Disney the first week of March, she was 11, wouldn't turn 12 until June 26th. We had made reservations for the Ice Cream Social, three adults (DH, Me, and DD1(13), and two children DD2(11) and DD3(5). We certainly weren't lying to save money, the sundaes are the same cost for child or adult. When we checked in, they looked at Jen, and said "2 Children?" and when we were seated, my five year old received a nice Epcot plastic insulated cup for her drink, and Jen received a glass like the adults. She was 24 inches long at birth, and hasn't slowed down yet. She was 5'5" on her twelfth birthday. Even though she is tall, she is still a kid, she still eats like a kid - she eats a lot less than my five year old, who can eat a full sized adult meal.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

How do you feel about paying for Florida roads, with the 12% tourist tax charged you on everything you pay for on your trip,from water,food,car,and hotels.

You are not taxed 12% on everything. Your water, food, passes, clothes are taxed at 6%. The tax on hotels is either 11 or 12% depending on where you stay. The car taxes, well, they are a little obscene, but, check other places, there are no real bargains on car rentals.

I am going to WDW in September, and I will be bringing bottled water or at least a Brita water bottle- I hate paying exhorbitant prices for water-

I don't blame you in the least for this one. Water has never been a "forbidden" thing. We buy a ton of it at Wal*Mart, freeze it and take it to the parks for cool water all day long.

 

[CarolA]

In my mind equating Florida and Disney raising prices with what C.Ann asked is wrong.

YOU have the choice, if Florida or Disney are too expensive you don't have to go. If you can afford it and still believe it is to expensive, you don't have to go. Yes, I realize that means not everyone can go, but that is the reality of our world. I did not come from a well to do family. We did one trip to Disney while I was growing up and it was a budget trip. I have LOTS of friends who never went growing up, they did turn out to be good members of society.

I work with Girl Scouts and at least once a year I get a troop leader who wants to put 6 or even 8 people in a room made for 4! I always point out that the girls can read and the sign on the back of the door says maximum occupancy 4! That is my thought on a lot of this. Your kids hear and see you. You are setting the standard for little people who don't necessarily know that you consider this lie ok, but other lies aren't.

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I have to say I do not believe in lying about your childrens age, we planned our last trip for June even though we usually vacation in September to hit the bargains but by then my son would have been 3 so we went 2 months before his 3rd birthday so we didnot have to lie.

I beleive Disney does not care about bringing small quanities of outside food into the parks they check everyone's bag and I would guess a good majority of people have food in their bags. I know with two small children I am not going into the parks without frozen water (so it is cold all day) and little snacks for standing in those long lines. We do usually buy at least two meals a day on property. As for keeping food in your room there is nothing dishonest or sneaky about that, you are paying for that room and if you choose to keep some food in your room that is fine. I travell alot and have never found a hotel that forbids outside food in their rooms.

I don't believe Disney is suffering because some of us choose to bring in our own bottled water, when you look at the mark up on their products I am sure they make enough money from those that do choose to buy things in the park. We all know that you can buy the same squeeze fans at Walmart for $5.00 that they sell for $17.00.

Allison

Allison

 

[Kermit]

I firmly believe that if we can't afford a Disney vacation without breaking some or just one of the rules, then we can't afford a Disney vacation.

We do take bottled water into the parks, but that's allowed. Food for babies and bottled water has always been allowed. And honestly, we do it more because we don't like the water they sell in the parks than to save money. I'm very picky when it comes to water. We also take food to our hotel room, but again, that's allowed. It's just convenient to have food in your room for breakfast when you're hungry before you get your makeup on.

Saving money legitimately is fine. I always book my room at a discount. I buy the water and food I take with us on sale. We share entrees at the restaurants (but tip as if we had both gotten our own). We tip when it's appropriate, but we avoid using things like valet parking most of the time since we don't want to pay the extra money.

I don't see how shopping a thrift store can be compared to lying to save money. There's nothing wrong with shopping at a thrift store. They wouldn't have them if they didn't want people to shop at them.

 

[NancyIL]

I wouldn't lie about my children's ages or the number of people in the room. I wouldn't bring a cooler into the park with lunch for everyone in it, but I DO bring water and small snacks.

A trip to WDW is not an entitlement. There are lots of things one can do to save money, but it will never be free.

 

[beansmom]

I agree with most of you...lying is the same as stealing in my book and I just can't afford to do either...got too much to atone for in my life already!

And I agree that people teach their children by example and no matter how 'good' you think you are, your kid is gonna bust you on the least slip up!

Vacation IS a luxury and if you can't do it honest, then you don't deserve it.

Just my two Lincolns.

 

[cchamp]

Just wanted to post a comment about bringing food and drinks into the parks. According to the Disney World web site they state that it is okay as long as the cooler is no bigger than you can carry because they have no storage area for anything larger. In fact here is exactly what they say:
Q. May I bring my own food and beverages in to the Water Parks?

A. Coolers of a size that may be safely carried are permitted. No glass containers or alcoholic beverages allowed. There is no storage areas for coolers.

I will be leaving tomorrow and I will definately be bringing a small cooler with drinks and snacks in and I won't feel bad at all.

 

[carone0318]

I really haven't thought about it! I haven't done any of the things listed above. I mean I've brought my own water and snacks, but if that really was an issue, they should take them when you enter, ya know. I know I could easily get my dd in without paying because she is so small. She will be 6 on 9/17 and this past trip in June, she was just tall enough to ride the 40" rides, never did it though.

I think the people who do put more in a room or lie about their child's age, feel that they could justify it by the amount of money that they are investing in their vacation. Do I agree, no not really, but in the same breath, it's not something I think about or dwell on, that's on them. I think the overall theme here is respect for rules and following them, there is always going to be that one (if not more) bad apple.

 

[travelitis]

For our family it's quite simple. "Thou shalt not lie" is one of the top ten. Don't think your kids don't notice if you lie about their age, although you can probably slip the number of occupants in a room right by them. Example is the greatest teaching tool. It's not a matter of if the lie hurts another or not, it's a matter of personal integrity.

There's nothing dishonest about taking a cooler into Disney or food into your hotel room. If there were, do you think refrigerators would be available to anyone who didn't have a medical reason? What you spend or don't on food is not an ethical issue.

 

[chris1gill]

This is all hypothetical for us, well, maybe not...

Anyways, I say if I have a 3 year, 2 week old child, I'll say he/she is under 3... Darned if I'm going to fork over almost as much for a 3year, 2 week old as an adult... Sorry, won't do it... We never went at that time though, we specifically scheduled a trip one month before our daughters third birthday & didn't go again til she was nearly four, so we paid of course.... But, if it's just a couple weeks or a month, it's not bad....

I would never exceed occupancy with adults, never... If I have a small child that put's me over occupancy by ONE & the child isn't much over five, I'm okay with that... Once the kid hits seven or eight, forget it, wouldn't do it... too many people in too small a space, course I'm specifically talking about the one bedroom villa's, I don't think I'd do it in a regular room, too small....

Food? We have a full kitchen while at Disney, so we cook what we want for dinners/lunches & we eat out when we want... we've always paid for the kids while eating out even when they were under 3, call us silly, we just always paid.... I'd never say my child was under 12 if he or she wasn't... Just couldn't do that... it's one thing when they're 3 years 2 weeks, entirely different when they're grown!

I'm sure people will disagree with me in regards to my thinking on very small children, but I'm also entitled to my own opinion...

 

[plummer925]

I totally agree with Travelitis; I'm a Christian and I WON'T lie.

I do not consider it bad to bring snacks into the parks, but I certainly wouldn't pull a cooler...but a few snacks in my fanny pack is fine in my opinion.

Two years ago I took my neice to a local theme park - under 4 was free. I didn't know her exact age, so I asked her - she was 4. I paid for her to get in. The person at the gate told me that I could have said she was under 4 and got in, that no one would know, to which I resonded "She would know" and pointed to my neice...

I wouldn't have had a good day if I had lied to save myself a mere $18 on her admission!!

Crystal