Do you pay for your WDW trip before or after?

[momofpunkinboo]

I have paid for two trips AFTER the fact and it was miserable and left me with a long recovery for two weeks of fun. However, we leave in 24 days and will be staying at CBR for ten days DEBT FREE this time, thanks to the fact that I have learned to manage money better and, in part, to a sizeable "UNCLE SAM REFUND".

I, personally, have difficulty saving money and find that having the IRS "hold" my money for me allows me to have a savings account that I wouldn't otherwise have.

I think everyone has there own ideas about money and we don't have to agree with one another, but rather just appreciate each others fondness for the mouse.

Happy Disney Trips everyone!

 

[dturner]

ALWAYS before and ALWAYS in cash - unfortunately, I don't believe in credit cards. It's really nice knowing that you don't OWE anyone after the fact.

 

[lclark0621]

What I like to do is pay it off a little at a time before we go.

I book the hotel room about a year before we go & start paying it off as soon as possible. Maybe a room night or so a month or so.

I like to buy our tickets about 3 months out.

We buy our plane tickets as soon as we see a good rate.

Then when we get there all we have to pay for is food & stuff we want. It works best for us & there is never a slame of having to pay a lot at once.

Plus a lot of times I get our room paid off before we get any kind of discounts for our room, so when we go we actually have a credit on our room. :jumping4: :jumping4: :jumping4:

 

[allforpooh]

Great Thread,

We have done both, like Cujo we decided several years ago when our oldest DD was 11 and youngest DD was 2 1/2 that it had been years since we had been on a vacation. I started to realized that our oldest would be off to college before I knew it and we would have missed out on some great memories. Since I hate debt (I'm in finance) I took the plunge and charged our first couple of trips. IMHO well worth it, I never regreted the monthly payments, everytime I paid the bill I would just remember what fun we had. We are now in a position to pay for our trips up front so we no longer need to charge our vacations, although with DD19 now in college scheduling is much harder. For us it was the best decision we ever made, it gave us the time to enjoy each other without alot of outside distractions....

Denise

 

[westjones]

... although with DD19 now in college scheduling is much harder. For us it was the best decision we ever made, it gave us the time to enjoy each other without alot of outside distractions....
Denise

So do college kids still want to go to Disney with Mom and Dad? My twin DDs are 11 now, and I too see the years slipping away. I am 'hoping' we can continue our trips while they are in college. I know someday they won't want to go with us anymore, but I would love to think we have those 4 years of college to slip in a trip with them during spring breaks.

DJ

 

[dizcrazy]

We put everything on CCs when we get there. We know we have money ready to pay the bill, so we never worry or stress while on vacation. I would rather not pay Visa until I have to - and even then, ughhh!! It is amazing how quickly those swipes of the keys for sodas, burgers and shirts add up!

 

[ljones]

staying on property has the room paid for, HDD paid in full at ressie time, doing a Magical Gathering event-pre-paid;
saved money since thought of going to WDW, bringing traveller's cheques, disney dollars(another form of pre-paying), and pe-paid VISA travel money(Christmas present). Credit card for emergency (medical, legal, God forbid)not for spending

 

[allforpooh]

Westjones,

My DD19 loves WDW and doesn't mind going with her old parents, the problem we have is our 2 DD's sping breaks are not at the same time now that we have one in College and one in Middleschool. Of couse it helps that we pay for everything on the trip when she goes with us, a great motivator....

I do believe with several other posters you need to take advantage of the time you have...and if that means charging a trip you should do it, if you have a budget in mind that will not put you over the edge when you get back.

Denise

 

[ebarj1098]

Here's another hurray for getting a load of money in my account come tax return time! I definately know if we had it all year, it would be GONE! We'll have most paid off on the CC by the time we go. But gifts and food will remain to be paid when we get back.

 

[wasabi girl]

So do college kids still want to go to Disney with Mom and Dad? My twin DDs are 11 now, and I too see the years slipping away. I am 'hoping' we can continue our trips while they are in college. I know someday they won't want to go with us anymore, but I would love to think we have those 4 years of college to slip in a trip with them during spring breaks.

DJ

My DDs (19 & 17) are glad to be going on vacation with their parents. We are even planning a trip in 2006 with grandma and they want to come. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, my daughters as near-adults are fine people and I enjoy their company.

 

[HenDuck]

I give myself one month leeway when paying for our vacations. That is, I usually save up in advance to pay for the expenses, but I will allow myself to budget in one more month's savings contribution which I kick in the month after we return from the trip (which is when the credit card bill comes in anyway).

It's been years since I've put a vacation on credit. I can't bring myself to do it anymore. I just seems like a snowball that will keep getting bigger and bigger if I don't keep it in check.

That doesn't mean that I don't faint when I get that post-vacation credit card bill though!

 

[Befferk]

So do college kids still want to go to Disney with Mom and Dad? My twin DDs are 11 now, and I too see the years slipping away. I am 'hoping' we can continue our trips while they are in college. I know someday they won't want to go with us anymore, but I would love to think we have those 4 years of college to slip in a trip with them during spring breaks.

DJ

I just wanted to say that although I never went to college, I am 27 years old and love to vacation with my parents, I always have. Even now that I have a family of my own! I actually wanted them to come to FW with us May 2006 but they don't want to. So the shoe is on the other foot Really, they are "free" spirits and like to go places on their own....

Beth

 

[MrsPete]

I agree with many other posters: I couldn't enjoy a vacation knowing that I couldn't pay the VISA bill in full when I got back home. It would feel very stressful to me.

If I couldn't afford to go first-class and pay cash for it, I'd scale back my plans. We'd go for a shorter trip, or we'd camp instead of staying in a moderate hotel, or we'd stay off site, or we'd choose a completely different vacation . . . but we would never just go without knowing how we'd pay for it.

If I can't afford it today, what makes me think I can pay for it tomorrow?
It's a bad idea to spend tomorrow's resources today.

 

[Taja]

For those questioning if university students will go to WDW with their parents--I hope so! I loved going to Disneyland with my parents, regardless of my age--or theirs!

Airfare: paid by debit card at the time it is booked.
Lodging: deposit paid by debit card at the time it is booked, paid in total about two days before the holiday commences.
Park tickets: paid in advance by debit card.
Other expenses: paid by TCs purchased in advance (carry some cash), with debit card as back up for emergencies. Emergencies do not include shopping or souveniers!

Hope to return to WDW in December, 2006. Since I'm in the western U.S., I'm hoping to squeeze in a long weekend at Disneyland (California) during the Golden Celebration. It will be paid in advance to the extent possible.

Have to agree that I wouldn't enjoy myself knowing I had to pay a CC bill when I returned home!