Does anyone give up something in order to go to Disney?

[Tigger79]

Just wondering if anyone has made little sacrifices to go to Disney? Some of my co-workers think of me "wasting" my only week of vacation when I told I was using my week for Disney. They told me "you're going to have to go an entire year w/o any vacation"(I received my wk. in April of this year and we went for a week in May). I dont look at it that way. Just wondering if anyone has made sacrifces for our love of Disney?

 

[DisFam95]

What do you mean they say your wasting your week? They think Disney is waste or you going for a whole week? Do other people take a couple 3-4 days vacations per year.

Non-Dis people just don't get it so don't WASTE yout time bothering to explain

Enjoy your whole week in Disney

 

[disneyaggie]

Well, gee, would these co-workers still feel like you were "wasting" your only week if you went to the Bahamas? Or to Cancun?

I think no matter where anyone goes, there is always going to be some sort of sacrifice. Sure, I could buy a few more things for my home, but I sure love my Disney trips. To me, it's really not a sacrifice. It's a great answer for good mental health!

They are probably just jealous because you thought of going to Disney before they did!

 

[sunny04]

Dh pretty much uses all of his vacation/sick time for our trips. He doesn't get very much a year, so he usually has to do some flex time when he's actually sick - work overtime to cover the days he misses. We used to take any extra money and save it for WDW - in our "Disney Tin". All his overtime and my part-time second job money went there...now I only have my one full-time, and we don't put as much away, but we still go.

 

[Tinkbellfan]

We (my dd and I) give up time we could be spending with DH/daddy. He will only go to Disney once every five years if he "has to", so we balance our time in the World vs a vacation that includes Hubby. We always try to go when we know that he wouldn't be able to come with us and we always have a least two other family vacations during the year.

Don't feel too bad for him, if we go in the Winter, he goes skiing with the guys! Usually to a great place out West (Alta, Snowbird, etc).

He's coming with us in October, but only for a few days. We are staying longer!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

We spend an average of a month a year at DW.

It is the other 11 months that are "wasted".

We only come home so that we can tell the difference between DW and the real world.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Tigger79]

My co-workers have never been to WDW and just "dont get it" and my ex-boyfriend even gave me a hard time because I go to Disney so much. He didnt understand why we keep going back and back. Well,he goes to Kentucky all the time to visit friends. I just take a wk. off to visit my "other boyfriend"-Tigger! When I return f/WDW they all want to see pics and wonder if I had a good time. A lot of people take a Friday or a Monday off for a long wkd and they cant believe I'll use my whole week all at once. I tell them "you dont understand unless you've been there and experienced the Disney magic."

 

[jwann]

Great thread idea!

We give up lots of little things because travel is a priority for us....
*We buy used cars instead of new
*We shop for clothes at consignment sales and off-season sales
*I cut coupns
*We have to get up to turn on/off our TV by pushing a button on the TV (i.e., we don't have the latest technology -- no TiVo, no 300+ channels)
*We mow our own lawn, clean our own house, and do our own landscaping

Do we HAVE to do these things? No. We make enough money that we could drive new cars, have a huge new TV and home entertainment system, pay retail for our clothes, and hire a person to clean the house each week and cut the grass. BUT if we did those things, we wouldn't have the extra $$ to travel. Many folks look at us like we're nuts...."You're going to Disney again this year? Didn't you just get back from...." I just smile and say "Yep!"

 

[BlindTyldak]

All my vaca time went to our trip this year. And even then I'm sneaking out early the night before!

The sweetest one was my daughter asked if she could use her allowance to help pay for the trip. Even when we said it was paid for she still wanted to save all her money for it so that we could do things as a family -insisted on it - she even did extra chores to earn more! So we set her money aside and she helped us pick special activities, like a Family Magic tour and an extra character meal that she really wanted. The rest is set aside so that she will be surprised at how much she has by saving instead of buying something every couple of dollars or so.

 

[kaw1218]

Just wondering if anyone has made little sacrifices to go to Disney? Some of my co-workers think of me "wasting" my only week of vacation when I told I was using my week for Disney. They told me "you're going to have to go an entire year w/o any vacation"(I received my wk. in April of this year and we went for a week in May). I dont look at it that way. Just wondering if anyone has made sacrifces for our love of Disney?

I guess what we do can be considered sacrifices to some..... we only go to the movies once a year(normally DH takes the kids on thanksgiving so I can cook)... we never go to any of the fairs, carnivals, or other various things that pop up every weekend around us. We have sesame place passes..... but we only spend money there 1 time every year(we eat lunch there our first trip every year)
If we do go to the beach, we stay away from the games and rides on the boardwalk.

We used to eat out alot(5-8 times a month) now we have limited it to twice a month.

We have family and friends that are always asking us how we can be going to disney....AGAIN...... my DH and I just watch how much money they spend doing all those things ...... (I have watched my friend spend an easy $100 each time she takes her kid to a carnival!!!!)

and, yes....I constantly get people asking why I waste my vacation on disney.....I just ignore them knowing that I will have a great time!!!!

 

[kaw1218]

Great thread idea!

We give up lots of little things because travel is a priority for us....
*We buy used cars instead of new
*We shop for clothes at consignment sales and off-season sales
*I cut coupns
*We have to get up to turn on/off our TV by pushing a button on the TV (i.e., we don't have the latest technology -- no TiVo, no 300+ channels)
*We mow our own lawn, clean our own house, and do our own landscaping

Do we HAVE to do these things? No. We make enough money that we could drive new cars, have a huge new TV and home entertainment system, pay retail for our clothes, and hire a person to clean the house each week and cut the grass. BUT if we did those things, we wouldn't have the extra $$ to travel. Many folks look at us like we're nuts...."You're going to Disney again this year? Didn't you just get back from...." I just smile and say "Yep!"

while I have to admit I have digital cable....we do all the other things you listed.....I guess I never ever thought of them as sacrifices. .....
(it is nice, not having a car payment!)

 

[Eoywin]

I'm going to give up some free time.

I'll be working lots of overtime so we have lots of spending money for Disney.

 

[lovesmurfs]

December 2006 will be our first trip as a family (me, DH, DS12, DD7) and I've planned a great 10-day 9-night stay (HDDR, Luau, MVMCP, CP pkg, and Perfectly Princess Tea). We've rented a villa w/heated pool and 3 bedrooms. The kids know we're going, but none of the details.

However, financially, it's hitting harder than I thought it would (we want our CC paid off completely before we leave), and now we're considering making the trip our family Christmas (we return 12/23). We'd still have stockings and gifts from relatives (we live far away from both sides of the family), but no big gifts from the North Pole.

I'm actually considering having Santa mail the kids a letter saying that a passing elf found out that we're going to Disney, so instead of lots of toys (which, after WDW will be pretty anticlimatic) he's sending special event tickets as their present so that they can enjoy the Magic of Christmas. DS will understand, not sure about DD.

Time's not the issue -- I've got about 3 weeks of vacation/comp time left to use up for the year, with more comp time to accrue this fall. My DH is a college professor and will be off by the time we leave. Kids are going to miss 4 days of school before vacation (which is a Christmas present in and of itself).

 

[simzac]

Let's see, what have I given up for my WDW trip.
1. Work 51 weeks a year, used to only work49.
2. No longer go to NASCAR races, big savings of money there.
3. All but gave up golf, only played twice so far this year, used to play once a week.
4. Take my lunch every day, and do not stop at convience stores for a quick fix, if you sweet aholics like me know quite well.
5. No longer go to Kings Island and Kentucky Kingdom, just wait on our WDW trip.
6. Lastly, and this was the hardest, we no longer order pizza every weekend like we used to. Now that is a sacrifice.

 

[minniebeth]

We trade off a lot of things so that we can take our Disney trips each year.
Now we are really in trouble because we opened a can of worms by going on our first Disney cruise this year. Now we have to decide b/w WDW and another cruise. (Tough choice!) but we do make trade offs.
We don't have furniture in a lot of our rooms! (We have young children, so it actually makes it easier for them to play)
We trade off babysitting with friends rather than paying the $8 to $10 per hour for the going rate.
We don't go out to eat very much.
We wait for the movies to go to the $1 theater.
We also clean our house, do our own lawn, repairs, etc.
Also buy used vehicles,
find a lot of child friendly activities that don't cost much
So many other ways we really try to save through the year to make it happen!
We save all our change to use for spending money at WDW and it really adds up!
We love our Disney traditions and we look forward to our Disney getaway each year. We wouldn't trade it for anything, and work hard to make it possible. Everyone has their own thing that makes them happy and we are a Disney family!

 

[SmileMom]

DH and I do not exchange gifts for birthdays and holidays. Our vacation each year is a big enough present for both of us.

 

[noahynav]

I have sacrificed trying to conceive our next baby until after our trip. I want to be able to ride the rides, and don't want to feel sick on vacation. Dh said this was a Disney year and next year will be a baby year. So next year he will be sacrificing Disney if I (hopefully) get pregnant.

However, I have a sneaking suspicion that even if I get pregnant right away, we will still make it back to Disney next year. He loves it more than I do, and has no problem taking a newborn on vacation. He even asked me if I would be willing to travel before my third trimester. We'll see what happens!

 

[clonetothebone]

I drive a 1994 Nissan Maxima with torn seats and 175,000 miles on it, we don't go out except on birthdays and anniversary, cut coupons, do our own landscaping/mowing and wait until most movies come out on dvd.

We don't go to the world each year but I figure if I sacrifice all the time we can go every 3 or 4 years for a really nice trip.

 

[Kay7979]

My co-workers have never been to WDW and just "dont get it." A lot of people take a Friday or a Monday off for a long wkd and they cant believe I'll use my whole week all at once. I tell them "you dont understand unless you've been there and experienced the Disney magic."

Most people get more than one week vacation unless they just started a new job. Even if someone only gets one week, I don't see the argument. I would tell them that a Friday or Monday off to make a long weekend is not a VACATION. It's a long weekend. It's tough to go very far or do anything too exciting in three days. These people probably just hang around the house, or maybe go camping or visit family. That's OK if that's what they choose to do with their time off, but it's not a VACATION. I think it's your co-workers that have the strange out-look, not you! It takes at least a week to de-stress and get rested and recharged. You can't accomplish that in two or three days.

 

[sukhakuli]

As long as my horse comes in this Sunday, I won't be giving up a darn thing. Of course my friends think it's nuts to bet the rent money that way, but hey, you gotta throw caution to the wind sometimes.

Just kidding, of course. I'm tightening the purse strings for a little while, but we're lucky that we don't have to do much to afford to go. We don't have expensive habits, though, like drinking, smoking, eating out, etc. We live pretty simply. My only vice is clothes for the kids and cloth diapers, so no more little treats for me for a few months. I would rather spend that money at Disney.