DH thinks it's impossible

Sundancer UK

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
We need to go to WDW next year. Our children range from 8 months to 11 years old. I fully believe it's our last chance, while our children are still children.

I've been mulling it over for days now and just mentioned it to DH. He kind of huffed and gave no answer - he obviously doesn't think it's worth considering :(
I'm going to sound insane here, but I'm willing to get in to debt for this. Obviously I intend to save like a maniac (you wouldn't believe how tight I've been since I got that savings jar!), but I simply can't save enough for 2 weeks for all of us in 16 months. I would carry on with my savings after the holiday, to pay back anything loaned.

May 2014
Frazer will be year 8
Scarlett will be year 6
Rowan and Robin will still be considered 'child'
Jasper will fly for free

Any time after 2014
Frazer possibly doing exams or studying for them from year 9 onwards
Scarlett at secondary - I don't think her school will allow time off (if it did, I don't want the stress of asking three schools!)
Rowan will no longer count as a child (Junior is from 10, right?) so cost more
Jasper will not fly free

I can accept that this is it. If we do this, then we get no more - not until our children are grown and can pay for themselves. But I've got to get Jasper to Disney. I know he will be tiny and not remember much, but he'll be older than Robin was when we went and Robin still remembers! Jasper is my Disney baby - he even calms out of screaming fits to the Wishes soundtrack!

I'm so determined, but not having my husband on board is really disheartening :( I need his help too.
 
Have you looked on the dibb website as well as on here? They have a section for villas to rent which are meant to be very reasonably priced. I assume a villa would be cheaper than a hotel for your family? You can also get flights real cheap if you are willing to not fly direct? Last year I found return flights for £400 per adult!
 
If you are looking at May watch the late deal prices this year - there have been some cracking deals with the charter airlines last minute last few years.

eg thomson or monarch/cosmos.

Your main expense is the flights for 6 or 7 of you.

We went May booked 6 days out with cosmos - under £1000 for 3 flights and a 2 bed apt for 7 nights.

I know another DISer with a larger family went late April for a similar bargain late deal price.

Get saving and then hopefully you will be in a position to pounce on a deal May 2014.
 


Thanks, it's so good to have some support somewhere!

My husband booked everything last time. Being new to it all he wasn't the best for deals and I didn't know what to look for to suggest to him. I think we got 2 weeks park hopper tickets for the price of one?
I know we'd like to do the same kind of holiday again: 2 weeks, ASMu, Park Hoppers, quick service dining, direct Virgin flights.
Though obviously with room for movement - but I think our children wouldn't forgive us if we didn't go back to ASMu! Plus we don't drive, so a WDW resort is really needed.

When you say to look for late deals - when should I be looking and where and what for exactly? When I say I'm new to this I really mean it!

If I can get an idea of a few more bargains to show my husband then maybe he'll get on board a little more. I know he loved it there and would love to go back, I just don't think he understands my feeling of urgency.
 
I know this sounds negative but please don't get in to debt for a holiday.

Wdw is like an addiction. It is a wonderful holiday but you can have other lovely holidays with your family that are within your budget.

If you can work something out within a carefully thought out budget with all those extras included that's a different matter! I'd ditch the direct Virgin flights straight away!
 
Go without your husband :rotfl2: just kidding being a Disney addict I know how your mind is working but take a breath gather some facts and gradually present to hubby. So much info and friends on here who can help you with going on a budget. Enjoy planning if not now your trip will happen one day.
 


I just wanted to add that I can totally understand where you are coning from. We had our once in a lifetime trip October past. My eldest was 13 and my youngest 5. I wanted to go before my eldest got too old and while my youngest was old enough to enjoy it. I took them both out of school for 7 days and too be honest got more grief for my little one missing than my eldest. Since getting back I would love to go again, and like you worry that my eldest can't now miss school as will be sitting exams, but would love to have one more big family trip all 4 of us. I don't think men always get the same feeling of 'they won't be children much longer sob sob' at least my husband doesn't! And in all honesty ever since we returned I am always thinking, we could just book again, go next year etc etc In saying that I am one of these people that couldn't plan/book until I had the money to do so. I wouldn't want to go knowing I will have to pay for it when I get back but that's just me! Plus if I can only do one more big one I want to do it right and not have to worry too much about money. We saved and planned 2 years for our October trip. I understand the want and the motives but your eldest children have been able to have the chance to experience it as children and even if it was a few years before you go then the little one would remember it even more! I hope you get your holiday and if you find a great last minute deal then let me know! ;)
 
I say go for it while your kids are young and it best fits into their school schedules/ your finances. If that means taking on some (manageable) debt then so be it (in my opinion).

You've got time to scope out any deals. Personally I would book everything separately rather than a Virgin Hols package but have a look and compare. Remember that flights will need to be paid in full at time of booking so if the Virgin Hols deposit system works best for your finances it might be better to do that (depending on how much saving you might make by doing it DIY of course). Also, price up packages with companies like Complete Orlando/ Charter Travel as they might be cheaper than Virgin.
Hope that helps :)
 
i really understand how u feel i was exacty the same i also wanted to go when our youngest was free for both flight and park tickets and the dh was very firm that they were too young and we were already in debt and he wanted to pay that off first ( boring and sensible lol)

anyway it took me 3 years to talk him in to it and even then he never properly agreed but i think he was sick of hearing me !!

we are a family of 5 and still havent paid off the other debts we had and by the look of my planning definatley going to be adding to it :lmao: but my youngest is just going to be 4 and i want it to be totally magical and she loves rapunzel so im sure it will be worth it

if we hadnt booked the holiday our original debt free day would have been may 2014 but i simply could not wait so we are now paying the holiday along side and added another 12 month to the debt free day ( luckily i managed to get a low rate fixed loan and transfer our ards to 0% so although going to take a bit longer wont cost us any extra in interest or charges

maybe if you quote up your expected costs when you want to go and then later when you are paying adult ticket prices for kids and extra flight so he can see the difference he might see your point of view , make him think its a bargain :rotfl:
 
Well, I added up every penny I could save over the next year (bearing in mind that actually we have 16 months, so extra time), pointed out that he could help by chucking money in the pot too. I pointed out all of my reasons - and remembered at the last minute that an extra reason is that once our baby is no longer a baby we'd have to get two rooms as there's so many of us!
Then emailed it to him. He was kind of expecting it, he knows when I'm working on something ;)

Today I got the email back saying "Yeah ok. Go on then. Don't know how much Jasper will understand or appreciate it but we will do what we can to get the money"
Sooooo - HAPPY DANCE!!! :banana::banana::yay::banana::banana:
And I will answer his wondering about Jasper - he will get as much out of it as his Brother Robin did when we went before. Robin LOVED it, and was a month younger than Jasper will be when we go. DH just can't see that yet because J is so young right now!

Now, serious saving in earnest. Finding out about deals we had no idea of last time. Getting planning. Ooohhhh I have butterflies!
 
I say go for it while your kids are young and it best fits into their school schedules/ your finances. If that means taking on some (manageable) debt then so be it (in my opinion).

You've got time to scope out any deals. Personally I would book everything separately rather than a Virgin Hols package but have a look and compare. Remember that flights will need to be paid in full at time of booking so if the Virgin Hols deposit system works best for your finances it might be better to do that (depending on how much saving you might make by doing it DIY of course). Also, price up packages with companies like Complete Orlando/ Charter Travel as they might be cheaper than Virgin.
Hope that helps :)

Thanks for this. Yes, manageable debt is the way I'm thinking of it. I'll be saving now, and continuing to put aside the same amount of money after the holiday to pay off anything borrowed.

I do need help on the deals side of things. Last time I looked around everything seemed to be aimed at people living in the US, so I left it to DH. He booked the flights and holiday seperately I think, but it was still Virgin that we flew with. We stayed at ASMu, got the QS dining plan and park tickets which I think were two weeks for the price of one (I think!)
I don't really know what to look out for, but I know that we want to do it pretty similar to last time. We *loved* ASMu, and it's the only place that has the family rooms. DH will want direct flights (and with 5 children can you blame him?), we'll want 2 weeks again and it'll be in May, aiming for Star Wars Weekends. But not the very end of May - as our baby will turn 2 on the 28th and cost more to get home!

What should I even be thinking of/looking out for?
 
wow that was quick !! amazing he agreed

its just soo exciting , the new art of animation also has family suites now

r u just going to do disney parks ?

i wasnt keen on indirect flights but the saving was too huge to ignore , plus it means the kids can get off and stretch there legs for a hour
 
Yes, Disney Parks only :) Last time we spent a day at Universal World of Adventures - the cost of tickets, transport, food, and all I spent there was a hefty chunk! And sadly we couldn't wait to get back :( We were just too spoiled at Disney by that point and people weren't as friendly or helpful at. The Harry Potter bit looked amazing, and merchandise was great but there were so many people pushing around without care, and wasn't enough air conditioning - my children were melting before my eyes! I'm glad we went, but have no desire to again.
Seaworld doesn't interest me and I know that we would be MORE than happy with the main Disney parks and the water parks :)

I am tempted by art of animation - but the sentimental person in me would have the exact same room as last time if I could! lol

I am going to have to look at indirect flights and consider it. I know DH wont be keen, and I know that we'll both be less happy with the idea than before now that we have an extra baby to bring, but it is definitely worth considering. The problem is that apart from WDW in 2011, we've never even left the UK so we're totally not used to it!
 
If you can, wait for 'Free Disney Dining' offer. Apart from our 1st 'Once in a lifetime' visit:rotfl2: when we've stayed on Disney we've only done so when 'free dining' has been offered - this makes Disney hotel prices more reasonable. I think they start offering out in about August (that's when i booked this years holiday) - booked directly with Disney for £200 deposit.

My 1st thought was leave DH at home too - that's what I threatened this year when mine wasn't sure about doing Disney again - but then my kids will be 18 & 20 :rotfl2:

Enjoy the planning :)
 
Yeah, I think so - not an expert as haven't done it for a few years - I'll see if I can find anything.
 
Current offer is for Quick Service Dining plan 6th April 2013 (After Easter) until 8th December (Christmas crowds!). Booking earlier means you'll probably get standard dinning plan - depending on what hotel you stay in.

Have you got 4 Children & a baby (sorry I know that means you've got 5:lmao:) You won't fit in one 'room' at Disney - or have a read that wrong. You may need to consider Family Suite or somewhere like Old Key West.
 
Sundancer UK said:
Yes, Disney Parks only :) Last time we spent a day at Universal World of Adventures - the cost of tickets, transport, food, and all I spent there was a hefty chunk! And sadly we couldn't wait to get back :( We were just too spoiled at Disney by that point and people weren't as friendly or helpful at. The Harry Potter bit looked amazing, and merchandise was great but there were so many people pushing around without care, and wasn't enough air conditioning - my children were melting before my eyes! I'm glad we went, but have no desire to again.
Seaworld doesn't interest me and I know that we would be MORE than happy with the main Disney parks and the water parks :)

I am tempted by art of animation - but the sentimental person in me would have the exact same room as last time if I could! lol

I am going to have to look at indirect flights and consider it. I know DH wont be keen, and I know that we'll both be less happy with the idea than before now that we have an extra baby to bring, but it is definitely worth considering. The problem is that apart from WDW in 2011, we've never even left the UK so we're totally not used to it!

I would really consider Art of Animation - we had a look around in November and it's really well themed, the food court is well above average for the values and because it's new it's spotless. Also the pool looks fantastic (Nemo themed).
 

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