For those of you that stay deluxe - what do you do for a living?

[ww52]

you'll get a lot more answers to your question if you create a new thread for it.

Thanks - I was just looking for a "yes you can" or "no you can't".

(And also, I actually did get a post deleted and a violation warning once for being off topic - when all I did was make friendly remark to another poster that admittedly had nothing to do with the topic. However, I realize the mods do a FANTASTIC job and that one perhaps was just trying to apply the rules as he/she saw them)

 

[mi*vida*loca]

That's why these boards skew "reality"; EVERYONE is a Disney fanatic and after a while it seems like that's common. Confirmation bias or whatever.

Yes, there are MANY people in this country who could not responsibly afford a Disney vacation more than once in their life. And many of them may not even WANT to. Those of us who can (though income alone or through motivated saving and budgeting) I hope recognize we do not represent the majority of the country.

I'll be going to a wedding about 2 hours drive - with a couple who at times literally mocks our decision to go to Disney "so often" (eight times in 30 years might seem like "hardly ever" to some people on the boards!). They also mock our decision to spend long weekends at a lakeside resort in a neighboring state as frivolous. I dread the car ride with them if our vacation next week comes up. Frankly, I don't understand where they get the idea they have any business commenting on how we spend our money (that I often work long hours to earn.)

I agree. We are definitely the minority and this is why disney caters to the once in a lifetime guests.

I’ve “only” been 5 times which on the boards isnt much at all. I’ve had plenty of people comment on our Disney trips and we go every 3 or so years. I haven’t told many people about our upcoming trip in November.

 

[Huff]

I really don't think what you do for a living is accurate for staying at a deluxe. If you plan ahead, which if I'm going to stay deluxe, like getting reservations a year or a little less than a year and pay monthly you don't have a problem. This is what I do for all trips even staying at moderate. Makes it a lot easier on the money and stress.

Saving for a vacation months in advance certainly makes sense rather than book it and then come up with all the money when due! Nonetheless, I do not have $400-$1000 a night to pay for a room at a Deluxe no matter how long I save!! Our upcoming 9 night trip at a value for 4 will already cost us in excess of $5000 for room, tickets, air fare, food and all other associated expenses. I already have to save months in advance in order to pay for it!! What you do for a living isn't the issue, but how much you earn making that living does!!

 

[Moliphino]

We've only ever stayed deluxe when we've gotten extreme discounts (BWI) or gotten a discount for doing the DVC preview spiel (AKL). I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a hotel, even if I could technically afford it (Disney or otherwise).

 

[focusondisney]

What you do for a living isn't the issue, but how much you earn making that living does!!

Agree! And more importantly, what decisions you make about that money. If you choose a large McMansion with a large tax bill on it over a small home with much less upkeep & taxes; designer clothes; huge gas guzzling vehicles over less expensive, less luxurious ones; the latest tech gadgets for everyone in the house; other expensive vacations during the year & every expensive activity available for your kids, you will have less money for Disney vacations no matter what your income. Neither one is wrong, just pointing out that it really isn’t even about how much money you earn, it is about the priorities each person has & how they choose to spend their money.

 

[Arazia]

Our upcoming visit in November is our first as adults. My family never really did 'theme parks' when I was younger and any kind of trips were usually adults only and the kids weren't invited. When I first became an adult, many years ago, I just didn't have the money to afford going to Disney. It was always there as something we wanted to do, though.

I'm in my mid thirties and it took until this point in my life for myself, my husband, and the friend we are traveling with to have steady, decently paying jobs. Heck, my husband lost his job just after I booked our trip last winter. There were some serious discussions about if we would cancel or not, but in the end he said that we'd been wanting to do this for a long time, and that he didn't think he'd have too much trouble finding a new job. He was right. He was only out of work for about 2 months, so we were lucky.

In any case, we decided to splurge on a Deluxe since it's our first visit, and we wanted to be close to the 'action' of the Magic Kingdom, which is why we chose the Polynesian. All three of us going (myself, my husband, and our long-time friend) are in the IT industry, doing various levels/types of programming. It pays well, but we are still paying off student loans and cars and rent and other things that eat into spending money.

I already know I'm going to want to go back, but I think if and when we do, we'll certainly be more budget conscious about it.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Agree! And more importantly, what decisions you make about that money. If you choose a large McMansion with a large tax bill on it over a small home with much less upkeep & taxes; designer clothes; huge gas guzzling vehicles over less expensive, less luxurious ones; the latest tech gadgets for everyone in the house; other expensive vacations during the year & every expensive activity available for your kids, you will have less money for Disney vacations no matter what your income. Neither one is wrong, just pointing out that it really isn’t even about how much money you earn, it is about the priorities each person has & how they choose to spend their money.

I’m very much a “to each their own” type of person. Everyone has their thing. I have family members who love technology. They love the virtual reality stuff, new 4K tv, the newest game system. More power to them! My bff buys her kids $200 sneakers and all name brand clothes. They drive gas guzzlers. They eat out a lot too. But it’s their thing! She does complain that she’s broke but That’s what they like to spend their money on. I never say a word. But it bugs me when my family (my bff never makes comments she’s genuinely happy when i vacation)makes the “must be nice” comments about our vacations. It’s what we choose to spend our money on. We don’t buy new TVs every year. We still have iPhone 6s. We have a game system we bought 4 years ago.

Neither way is wrong but the smart comments annoy me.

 

[striker1064]

I recommend researching DVC when the time is right down the road. If you truly want to stay in deluxes and intend to keep returning, it's the best way to go. We ended up buying DVC earlier this year.

I always am fascinated by threads like this. People are funny when it comes to money. It can be so taboo for so many. I dunno, I don't find it that complicated. My wife and I have good jobs. We're comfortable. We live in a very high COL area (DC). We don't own cars because we're lucky enough to be able to rely on public transportation (but we also moved from a much lower COL area where we owned cards, to here). But we have a budget. We always know what we have every month, and we build out what we need. We stash 20ish% for retirement. We put away some in savings for emergency.

But the rest? We have fun. We travel once or twice per year. We enjoy going out with friends. You figure out how to prioritize the things that are important to you.

I should mention, we also have no children, so that is not a consideration. Obviously that drastically changes the equation.

 

[hillg1868]

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, i wasn't really sure where to put it. I'm also sorry if this is an uncouth thing to discuss, but I thought it would be interesting!

I've always dreamed of taking future kids (getting married next spring) to Disney and staying at GF every time (it's my favorite!). However, I know it's incredibly expensive and can't fathom how people afford to take their kids and stay deluxe all the time! So I'm curious, if you love to stay deluxe with the kiddos, what do you do for a living? Or do you have any other secrets to how you afford to stay deluxe?

Its surprising how we do it, but we just became DVC members after crunching the numbers. We still manage to pay off a house, college loans, and basic living expenses. We like going once, maybe twice if our work schedules can work out so that alone made us decide on DVC. From a financial stand point, it made sense to invest in something to have as equity. Oh and as I type this and reread it, it just comes off as a DVC plug (SORRY!!!) Im a pilot and wife's and engineer and combined ~120-130/ year. While it seems like we need to invest our time and money else where, we've become disney fanatics over the years as its our vice to getting the heck out of the reality for a solid week.

 

[tex1989]

I really don't think what you do for a living is accurate for staying at a deluxe. If you plan ahead, which if I'm going to stay deluxe, like getting reservations a year or a little less than a year and pay monthly you don't have a problem. This is what I do for all trips even staying at moderate. Makes it a lot easier on the money and stress.

The bolded quote is it in a nutshell. I have read survey results that ask people what makes someone rich? Interestingly enough the majority of people (like 80%) answer with 'well if you make $x a year then you are rich". That is amazing to me. Wealth is not a function of what you make, it's a function of what you keep (as in don't spend on things).

So as it relates to going to WDW, I think it is all a function of your family's expectations and travel style. Could we afford Deluxe? Sure. Do we? No. We go two to three times a year and are back and forth between Budget and Moderate. We have AP's and a SW Visa to help with flights. But the money we don't spend on Disney we spend on a 51.5 acre farm and we fish, and hunt, and go other places and do other things. What you spend is not a function of what you do for a living but rather what you want to do with your vacations.

 

[stephk1981]

I really don't think what you do for a living is accurate for staying at a deluxe. If you plan ahead, which if I'm going to stay deluxe, like getting reservations a year or a little less than a year and pay monthly you don't have a problem. This is what I do for all trips even staying at moderate. Makes it a lot easier on the money and stress.

This.....if you budget and save, almost anyone can afford deluxe if they want to. You may have to eliminate some expenditures in your every day Life, but it's doable.
It's also much easier for families with no children or one child to afford versus a family with 5 children. Tickets, meals etc for a family of seven I'm sure would be astronomical.
My parents took me to WDW every year, but I am also an only child. My husband is the oldest of five, his first trip was when we took our son( when he was 2).
I buy AP's for myself and our almost ten year old, because it is cost effective. My husband doesn't go with us on every trip, so we buy him park tickets as needed. It has been fairly affordable with only one child, we now have a ten month old also......this past trip and until she's three we won't notice a difference. Once she turns 3 and I have two buy another AP and more food, our visiting habits may change.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I don't think almost anyone can afford to stay deluxe let alone go to Disney ever or take vacations. I didn't go to Disney, or go on vacation until I paid for it myself. The same with most people I grew up with.

I'm also one of those people who won't give up everything in my day to day life just so I can afford one week of vacation at Disney. I'm not going to give up cable, my cell phone plan, going out to eat, going out with friends, getting my nails done, getting a pedicure, doing my hair, etc. 358 days a year just for 7 days of pleasure. I don't go overboard but I don't love Disney that much, or any vacation destination for that matter. I still have cable, have an older iphone with an unlimited Verizon plan, we eat out, go out with friends but it's all done in moderation. I don't think it has to be all or nothing. I'm sure if I gave up all of those things we could probably afford one more vacation a year but it's not worth it to me.

 

[h&D3]

I am a Director at a design firm, and my husband is a Master Mechanic for a car dealership. We are in our late 40's and early 50's, and we have two kids. (11 and 17)

This is the first vacation we have taken with the family in 5 years. (besides a 1 nighter we took with the kids this past winter) So we've had lots of time to prepare, plan and pay for our upcoming trip. This time, our trip is going to be for 18 days. Our son will be off to college next year, so this might be our last "hoo-rah" as a family. (fingers crossed it's not, but you never know)

We are only staying 6 on-site at a Deluxe with Club Level, and then the rest of the time we are staying at a hotel in Disney springs. (which is the same hotel my family has stayed at since we started going to WDW in the late 70's/early 80's - which is fun because some of the hotel staff still remember us - kind of like our family away from home)

The first time we stayed at a Deluxe (AKL) we actually got a discount as we participated in the "give-a-day, get a Disney day" back about 8-10 years ago. We did get a free day at the magic kingdom as we helped a charity by donating our service to help them, and in return Disney gave us a free day at the park. It was an awesome program and it taught my kids so much about giving back. That was the same year we got a pin code in the mail. So we had the opportunity to stay at a Disney Deluxe hotel for a really great rate. Once we did that, we fell in love with the Deluxe hotels, and vowed that if we were lucky enough to do it again, we would.

I've spent the last 24 months planning this trip. I've searched for every discount code possible to save anywhere we can. Heck, I even pulled the all-nighter with many people on this board back in May or June when they announced the FD and Room only discounts were coming out. (that was a ton of fun and I highly recommend every tries that at least once!) It saved us a ton of $$$ right off the top of our room rate. (I think we saved almost $2k that day) Mind you that is $2K that will go for something else on the trip like food allotment or other stuff.

DH & I haven't been on a date night since before we were married. (we consider going to Disney our BIG date night all rolled into the # of days we are staying) We usually just watch movies at home on Saturday nights. We do go out to eat a few times a week, but it's more like grab a burger or pizza with the kids, vs blowing a few hundred dollars for an evening of food and alcohol, as neither of us drink, or going to sporting events or concerts. I lease my car, and my DH has an 8 year old car. So we really save there. We also help our son with his business (yes, he is 17 and has his own business... he has since he was 12 years old. He runs his own ice cream truck - which I may add that nobody is going to get rich doing... it's a lot of work, lots of hours, for very little $ in return - but it's fun and that's why we do it!) He also has a part time job so he can afford his car and he also puts money away for school/college. We have a mortgage just like most people and that is really our biggest $ per month besides the obvious stuff that always seems to add up. (food, electricity, utilities, etc) We have no credit card debt so we do not have to contend with that per month.

I plan and buy stuff that we need throughout the year that I know we need for the upcoming trip... I pick a little bit up each week when I run to walmart or target and just put the stuff in a big bin until our trip time arrives. (I buy anything that we might need that the kids won't grow out of by the time we go...) That helps a TON! We plan and budget everything for the trip so we know what it will be down to the last $.01. Personally, we love staying at a Deluxe hotel and we probably always will stay at one if we are able.

So that is our mini story on how we can afford to stay at a Deluxe.

~D

 

[AquaDame]

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, i wasn't really sure where to put it. I'm also sorry if this is an uncouth thing to discuss, but I thought it would be interesting!

I've always dreamed of taking future kids (getting married next spring) to Disney and staying at GF every time (it's my favorite!). However, I know it's incredibly expensive and can't fathom how people afford to take their kids and stay deluxe all the time! So I'm curious, if you love to stay deluxe with the kiddos, what do you do for a living? Or do you have any other secrets to how you afford to stay deluxe?

Husband is an engineer and I am in IT. We chose not to have kids, choose to live below our means day to day (mostly pack a lunch, don't buy expensive clothes monthly, replace our cars every few years, etc but we do have yard and maid service) and spend our vacation dollars wisely when we do travel. We'll stay deluxe but go in off season and look for deals like rent DVC when and where we can and I will try to use companion fares for flights or use miles, that sort of thing. We live closer to Disneyland so we go maybe every year and a half to two years and vacation elsewhere more often than WDW.

 

[Cajun23]

I am in IT and my wife is in accounting.

Like everyone mentioned it is where you chose to spend your money. The only thing we owe on is our house.

When we got married we decided we would have a nice house, send kids to private school, and go on nice vacations.

Sacrifices are we keep cars 10 years, do not by the latest and greatest, and bring lunches every day. May not seem as a lot but adds up over time.

 

[EdmondD]

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, i wasn't really sure where to put it. I'm also sorry if this is an uncouth thing to discuss, but I thought it would be interesting!

I've always dreamed of taking future kids (getting married next spring) to Disney and staying at GF every time (it's my favorite!). However, I know it's incredibly expensive and can't fathom how people afford to take their kids and stay deluxe all the time! So I'm curious, if you love to stay deluxe with the kiddos, what do you do for a living? Or do you have any other secrets to how you afford to stay deluxe?

Hi, OP. Your profile says you're 23 and you say you're getting married next spring. Congrats! You're a cute couple.

Decisions you make now are extremely important to being financially stable in your 30s and beyond. Keep your credit score high, keep and stick to a budget, try to put at least a little bit into savings every paycheck, do not take on high-interest debt, like CCs. All the stuff that's no real secret. What I've noticed is that people who are wealthy (by bank account standards) do not necessary live like they are wealthy by outward appearances, and some of that is reflected in these comments.

While you're young and before you have kids, get as much education or training as possible in whatever career you've chosen. And it doesn't hurt to have a career with a lot of growth potential over the next several years.

FTR, I'm a senior director at an association in Washington, DC. My wife is a project manager at a very respected policy-focused institution. Living in a place with lots of jobs and high wages, doesn't hurt, if you can manage the cost of living.

See you at the Beach Club in 2027!

 

[nkereina]

When I was a kid, we rarely went on vacation. My parents saved for a long time for a Disney trip, and even pushed it back a year after initial planning to save more so they could "go big or go home" in a sense. After several years of saving, we spent 7 nights at the Polynesian for our first trip. I'm an adult now, but that was my parents one big splurge while growing up.

 

[kniquy]

My husband and I make a decent living, but agree that Deluxe resorts are far too expensive for us. But there is a way to stay deluxe and not pay what Disney is charging. I am sure this has been mentioned somewhere in the thread - DVC -- either purchasing resale or renting DVC points. We bought a small DVC contract at AKL and honestly would not have been able to afford our most recent trip with extended family had we not owned DVC. It is a big commitment, but we bought enough points to go every other year. We have many interests so going to WDW although fun is not something we want to do every year.

The financials worked out for us to commit to buying a resale contract.

If you jump over to the DVC board you will be able to read a number of stories on how DVC can save you a ton on at least the room portion of your trip.

So for my scenario -- My 40th birthday gift to myself was buying our 120 point AK resale contract for $9600 (paid cash). From this we were able to bank and borrow our points for a 7 night stay this April.
3 nights in the Polynesian studios - we needed 2 rooms for 7 of us. Direct DVC rate for those rooms each was about $2000 = so here we are already up to $4000 - just for 3 days.

Next we stayed at AKL in a 2 BR for 4 nights - again the the direct cost for that room would have been about $4000. So to pay out of pocket for this one trip would have been over $8000.

We had some points to use so we do have a Nov trip for 4 nights in a studio at AKL which would have cost direct $1600. Just in this one year of trips it would have cost us what we initially bought in for -- so we have almost broken even. Of course there are yearly MF, which are ~$800, but you try to stay in a deluxe resort studio for a week for $800.

This is why the DVC purchase made sense for us. We knew we loved WDW and would want to go every other year. We love the look and feel of the deluxe resorts and were could see the value in buying into DVC when you do want to travel there frequently. We loved the Polynesian so much that we are considering buying a smaller resale contract there too, because for us that is the only way we can afford to stay there.

The DVC resale market is so strong that I could sell today and actually get back more than what i have spent while owning DVC and would have essentially taken these trips at no cost to me. I do think this is a rare situation because I was able to buy when the price per point was quite a bit lower and for some reason there has been a considerable increase in the resale market.

 

[winnieofpooh]

Hi, OP. Your profile says you're 23 and you say you're getting married next spring. Congrats! You're a cute couple.

Decisions you make now are extremely important to being financially stable in your 30s and beyond. Keep your credit score high, keep and stick to a budget, try to put at least a little bit into savings every paycheck, do not take on high-interest debt, like CCs. All the stuff that's no real secret. What I've noticed is that people who are wealthy (by bank account standards) do not necessary live like they are wealthy by outward appearances, and some of that is reflected in these comments.

While you're young and before you have kids, get as much education or training as possible in whatever career you've chosen. And it doesn't hurt to have a career with a lot of growth potential over the next several years.

FTR, I'm a senior director at an association in Washington, DC. My wife is a project manager at a very respected policy-focused institution. Living in a place with lots of jobs and high wages, doesn't hurt, if you can manage the cost of living.

See you at the Beach Club in 2027!

Thank you!! My dad has always stressed the importance of taking care of yourself financially from a young age, as he didn't start contributing towards his retirement until late and he regrets it. So we don't have any debt besides student loans, and don't buy things we can't immediately pay off with our CC's. Hopefully keeping up this trend will allow us to splurge on any future kids!

 

[HopperFan]

I believe this would be best asked on the Community Forum.

^THIS

Especially since I think the answers are likely apples to oranges,

and nothing to do with actual discussion of the Disney resorts,

but rather a discussion of personal choices.