Conversation starter: Budget trips more often or luxury trips less often?

Joined
May 3, 2019
DH and I have been discussing whether or not future trips will be cheaper, shorter trips going once or twice a year or longer trips splurging and going every other year. I see the pros and cons to both, but I have that FOMO and things change at Disney so frequently- especially lately. We are over 1,000mi away and typically fly to come down here.

Which would you pick? Why?
 
What do you mean by luxury? Just a deluxe resort? Or going crazy with all the signature meals and after hours / viewing parties, tours, etc.

In my mind, staying at a DVC or deluxe resort doesn't equate luxury.
 
We prefer more modest trips more often. It is an escape from reality and as soon as we reach the parks the outside world just melts away for us. We don’t need or want to be waited on hand and foot. We just like being together away from everyday life with the freedom to enjoy simple and silly things like we did when we were kids.
 
We prefer modest trips more often. As much as we would love to stay in a deluxe resort I just can't justify the cost when it comes to paying X for one night at a deluxe or the same amount for 3 or more nights at a value resort. If we had spare cash (LOL, very few do!) we'd stay deluxe but for now, it's value resort and more frequent trips for us.

I think if we spent more time at the resort it would be a different story but we basically use it for sleeping and the occasional swim.
 


Small trips more often because I live 3 hours away and have friends in Orlando.

And honestly, Disney resorts IMO are a rip off.
 
This is a tougher question than meets the eye! There is a "sweet spot" when it comes to a budget trip vs one pulling out all the stops. The way we have always looked at is Disney will always have ways you can spend more money, the trick is staying within your budget, because spending more will not necessarily mean greater enjoyment. Especially when you get your bill at the end of your trip. Will you enjoy the $100per person fireworks dessert party more than the $7per person Dole Whip even if you have to stake out your spot 45 minutes before?

One way this gets tricky is multi-day tickets. Disney tickets typically get less expensive per day the longer you stay. A weeklong trip can become cheaper per day than a 2 day trip. 1 long trip may come out cheaper than 2-3 short trips. If you factor in transportation (flight/ drive time) that will also play a part. We have definitely hunted around for hotel deals in the past. I would always start looking with a set budget in mind: I don't want to spend more than ______ dollars for hotel this trip. If it came down to an extra 2 days in the parks to stay in a cheaper place, it was worth it to me if we were taking a go, go ,go trip. Now that we are older and have 3 kids, I value more relaxation time and space for us and the kiddos I look for a hotel with more amenities.
 
We go less often and go all out. Club Level, 10 day hoppers, nice dinners, don't budget for anything. Just buy what we want when we want. We last went to WDW in 2018 and don't plan to return until the Tron and Guardians coasters are open, so late 2022 or 2023.

We do live locally to Disneyland and splurge on the highest tier annual passes there and go like every week. We also do a 3 night staycation at the Grand or Disneyland hotel once a year. We don't splurge there though. Just book a standard room, usually with a discount. We bring our own drinks and food and make our own club level.
 


"Value" trips more often for us. We're actually quite fond of the POP and the All Star Resorts. We spend SO little time at the resort it makes sense; just need a place to shower and sleep before we start over bright and early the next morning. I DO contribute to a "vacation fund" on a monthly basis and after a couple of years we have enough saved to spend a week at our very favorite resort, WL. When our girls were little there was very little "extra" money and our trips were limited to every 2-3 years but we stayed at the Poly. (Nightly rates were only a little over $100 then!) So, now we really do appreciate the fact that we can just GO and enjoy the parks and Disney Springs. We always have a breakfast at the Polynesian and visit WL when we need an afternoon break from a park but come bedtime, we're perfectly happy at a Value resort. :tink:
 
Both. DVC is great for this. Sometimes we use a few points, other times A LOT.
 
What do you mean by luxury? Just a deluxe resort? Or going crazy with all the signature meals and after hours / viewing parties, tours, etc.

In my mind, staying at a DVC or deluxe resort doesn't equate luxury.
...I'm guessing that 'luxury' means different things to different people. A 7-day [or more] might mean that to someone, whereas staying at, for instance, GF (vs. a value resort) means 'luxury'.... :confused3
 

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