Dvc Members-how Do You Afford More Than 1 Trip Per Year?

[alldiz]

I'm very lucky....My DH makes enough to pay the bills.

My money is for groceries...etc. AND DISNEY

Seriously.....most of the money I make is used for my Disney vacations.
I love it so much that it is worth it to me. I was about to book another trip in Jan with DM....but I stopped myself. The money is starting to dry up so I need to...ahem....slow down a little
Kerri

 

[ClarabelleCow]

we dont do AP's, and probably visit every 10-14 months and only for 5-8 nights each time. Purchase the 10 day passes with no expiration and no water parks, many days we just don't do the parks, because there is so much other stuff to do. Never rent a car, always use Disney Transportation. I have 300 points, and usually end up banking points. We did the DDP last trip, and found it to be way too much food, so wont do that again, we always eat breakfast in the room, enjoy a 1 br or 2 br for the 4 of us.

 

[DVC Jen]

we don't - but then again we have a DD in college, my DH is in grad school and our youngest DD is on 4 competition dance teams.

we bought with the knowledge that we would only be going once a year -we just go for longer trips - usually about 11 nights at a time.

now once the girls are out and on their own - you betchya DH and I will be stealing off by ourselves more often. gonna need more points then too.

 

[LeahA]

Thanks for all the responses, I need to check into a few more things a little further. We liked the DDP when we went but also thought it was more food than we normally would've eaten in a day.

Can someone explain the DDE to me?

 

[Robo-Daddy 3000]

Once we bought into DVC, we made a plan for the year so we could make multiple visits.

We booked a trip in August 2007 and bought AP for all of us and got the DDE card too. We also got Jet Blue/American Express cards to earn free flights. We've already earned 2 free round trip flights from Jet Blue.

We've borrowed some points from 2009 and used banked points from 2007. This year, we've got 3 trips planned with the last trip exactly 51 weeks after the trip in 2007. So, in the end, we will have 4 trips in a 52 week period (I think it will be 26 days total) so we really feel like we are getting the most out of our AP purchase.

However, next year my son is having his bar mitzvah ($$) so we will only be doing one trip in 2009.

 

[xipetotec]

Heck we only afford a trip every TWO years but it's a doozie!
It's my mother's membership, but she likes to take us and our kids, her ister and her kids, and sometimes my cousin and HER kids. Last time we went, we were 15 people all on her DVC. It was a two bedroom and THREE studios.

 

[DVC Mary]

Being from IL too, we usually only go once a year for a long trip. We also save change. We use a Disney VISA & another credit card that gets us airline miles. We change everything we can including automatic payments to some credit cards, but pay off the entire bill every month.

We make a few simple meals in the room to cut down on meals at the parks.

We buy APs & use them twice for 2 longer trips and then we don't renew. We wait to buy APs the following year. The DVC discount really makes the APs affordable.

Ex.

Late June 2005 bought APs
Early June 2006 used the same APs for a long trip before they expired

October 2007 bought APs
Feb 2008 (found cheap flights & went w/ 6 weeks notice for a long weekend)
June 2008 going again for a longer trip w/ 2 free tickets & 2 tickets

June 2009 buy APs
early June 2010 use the same APs

Good luck! Find the budgeting methods that work for you.

 

[Coach81]

1. Save all year.. a few hundred dollars a month.
2. Drive instead of fly.. even with the gas... it's still cheaper for us.
3. Don't get the ddp.. eat a few meals in the room.
4. Get an AP.

We plan on going at least twice a year (this will be our second trip this year in a few weeks), for the next few forseeable years. We have the most fun in Orlando!!!

 

[KathylovesPooh]

How about applying for the Disney VISA through Chase? Assuming you can pay off your credit card every month, charge all your purchases and rack up points to use towards Disney (park tickets & restaurants). Its taken us three years - but we should have $1300 to use this October for park tickets, MNSSHP tickets and dining out.

 

[smsnorthup]

We are fortunate enough to be able to drive to Disney since we're only about 6 hours away (even with high gas prices, still cheaper to drive), we bought AP's and DDE and we use points (150 per year) and are always borrowing into next year. I used to feel guilty about borrowing but then a lady at MS asked how old my kids were and she said that this was the most magical time in their lives and that when they got older we may not go as much and then we'll catch up....so no more guilt for borrowing! When we have a desire to go on a trip we crunch the #'s and Disney always comes out cheapest for us. In the past, we booked studios and only stayed 4-5 nights (never on weekends) but now we have a 5 month old so I think it's 1 bedrooms from here on out and that will use more point so we won't be able to go as much. I really want to buy more points but can't justify the cost for that yet....but I'm working on it!!

 

[DisFlan]

We get APs, DDE card, golf card, and we go twice within 12 months. That way, the bulk of the second trip is already paid for. We just have to get there. We eat breakfast and sometimes lunch in the villa. And we only occassionally do the signature type meals. (We've found they aren't usually worth the price. We can do better at home.)

And (THE biggie) we don't buy a bunch of expensive Disney stuff while we're there. We've found that all the "stuff" in the shops can be the real price breaker on vacations. Bring sweatshirts, ponchos, sunglasses etc., don't buy them from Disney. Bring golf hats and balls from home, don't buy them at the pro shop. Buy princess outfits or other costumes before you arrive - the prices in the parks are HIGH. Buying loads of stuff on site can easily double the cost of a trip.

We also don't do fireworks/Illuminations cruises or most of the other expensive add-ons. We've done them in the past. We're just as happy watching the shows in the parks.

Eating even a couple of evening meals in your villa can save a bunch. TS meals are nice, we enjoy them too, but a TS meal every night can add up fast. And watch out for "adult beverages". The prices are inflated. Like many folks, we enjoy a drink before dinner, but buy that whole bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer off site and enjoy it back in the villa. Even with the DDE discount, alcohol in the restaurants and bars can really spike the bill upwards.

We don't feel like we're missing anything by doing all this, and we get to enjoy WDW more often. We're now thinking about moving from two trips a year to three.

DisFlan

 

[LeahA]

What amazing tips!

I know we are having a garage sale in 3 weeks. I told the boys that if they have a table of their stuff that they want to sell, that they can use the proceeds for spending money at Disney.

I have a few big ticket items I want to sell, so hopefully we can pack away some dough for us as well.

We do drive, we bring alot of breakfast items as well as snack and drinks, both alcoholic and not.

We do have the Disney Visa, and we have a coin jar. We really don't buy souvenirs anymore. Usually if we do it's something small for the kids. We really don't need to do the Disney Dining Plan and we could be more economical with food.

We could also not go to the park for the entire time we are there.

So, I still have some planning to do, thanks for the input.

 

[OKW Lover]

Owning DVC is one of the ways we afford more than 1 trip per year. Most of our trips are less than a week in duration.

We plan 4 trips a year because we like to go at different times of the year. In January or early February we go down for 3-4 days just for a break from the winter. In early May we go for 3-4 days, sometimes a week, primarily for Flower & Garden. In early October we go for 4-5 days for Food & Wine. In early December its 5-7 days for all the holiday stuff.

Up until recently, it was easy to find a cheap air fare into MCO, so the price of flying down wasn't bad. I'm afraid those days are over now judging by some of the prices I'm seeing for my next couple of trips.

 

[JFrey4240]

We buy annual passes so after the initial cost of the tickets--using the DVC discount--it makes the trip seem like it doesn't cost anything besides transportation and food. We stay in a studio--there's only three of us so we can get two nice trips a year out of our points. Keep an eye on the airfares and try to have flexible dates. Also if you plan right, you can get three trips out of your tickets. We go in the summer and in the spring during the school break. Just make sure your third trip is right before your tickets expire. Gotta make every penny count!

 

[JerJan]

We use our AIRTRAN VISA card to pay for everything (car insurance, groceries, electric, gas, etc.) that way we can and then pay the bill in full every month so we accrue no interest charges. A one-way ticket on AirTran is currently 8 points. We usually average about 5 to 8 points per billing cycle. We always travel on our rewards for everyone! Not buying airline tickets saves about $1000.00 per trip. We also, like others have stated eat breakfast and lunch in our room and use the DDE card. We also have annual passes.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We buy the AP with DVC discount, DDE card for discounts, look for the cheapest airfare and then save inbetween.

That's exactly how we do it too. Take advantage of all the discounts you can, shop for cheap (or the cheapest you can find) airfare and then save what you can in between trips. Its worked for us so far. Every couple of trips we get free airfare with our airline points and we use our Disney Visa for some of our purchases and use our Reward Dollars towards our trip expenses.

 

[littlestar]

We usually take 4 trips to Orlando a year. Our travel budget is $4,000 total for those 4 trips. So $1,000 a trip. This includes our DVC dues, our maintenance fees on our (2) Every other year 2 bedroom lock-off timeshares (a Marriott and a Smoky Mtn timeshare), our Interval annual membership fee, exchange fees, and our airfrare from Indy for me and the hubby. I don't include food in that vacation budget, because I usually go to the grocery store and cook most of our meals (I figure I have to eat at home, too, so pretty much the same).

Our trips are a mix of point stays in DVC studios Sunday through Thursday and 7 night 2 bedroom Marriotts for the week (although I have a Vistana Villages 3 bedroom booked for the fall). Any family going on the trips with us buy their own airfare. We did buy 2 annual passes last year (paid for half of it with Disney Visa rewards).

I figure if airfare goes outrageous, I'll change our trips to Orlando to either 3 a year, or 2 annual Orlando trips along with one or two drive-to destinations like Gatlinburg, Branson, or Hilton Head.

 

[jackmac]

I take 3-4 trips per year to Disney. I go in January with my brother in laws and brother. I go in May with my wife to Vero and I goOctober with my wife to Disney. If you go from Sunday to Friday you save in points and the airfares are cheaper. Good luck, this was the best purchase that I have ever made.

 

[Goofy DVC]

I agree with everything posted.Two other little tips I've used to save$$$:
If airfare is expensive try flying into Tampa.This obviously assumes you rent a car. It's an easy ride on I-4 to DW.
I've saved more than $300 total several times. $75 each ticket Xs 4 tixs.
Also, the car rental was cheaper than Orlando.It doesn't always work out but it is definitely worth a look. Sometimes airfare into Tampa on SW can be as low as $59 each way for me.Also, I do a lot of business travel so I look to save up a lot of perks FF miles, Priority Club points etc. They really come in handy.

 

[kimberh]

We charge everything with the Disney Visa, I then use the Disney rewards card for food at Disney. The trip we took last week was on points and the Rewards card. I still have a ton of rewards points for our large family trip we take. I buy one annual pass, get the DDE card, then I buy a one 10 day non expiry ticket, one 10 day park hopper non expiry ticket, I use the park hopper on the days we are going to park hop, on the days we don't I use the reg ticket. We plan in advance. We do not buy the DDP every trip. When we have the family, we do, when it is just the two of us, we eat a lot less. I always have some food in the room, it really saves. Bring instant oatmeal, breakfast bars, breakfast in the room can save $60 plus dollars a day. My daughter goes to Walmart in Orlando for her Disney sov. Be careful buying the Disney pins, that can really add up.

If, you are flying don't rent a car, use Disney transporation. That will save hundreds. We don't move our car once we arrive.