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

[DCLPrincess]

This is a topic that fascinates me. I thought WDW was a special once or twice in a lifetime thing but from reading these boards it feels like some people live there or travel there every few weeks.

That's why when you get to the resort they say "welcome home".

 

[ColoradoMom12]

Not to change the subject but I’ve read a couple of these posts saying they get discounts with TA’s. Do TA’s get better discounts than we can get buy stalking the Disney website? I never thought there were other discounts besides the ones Disney puts out, bounce backs and personal pin codes!

Yes, at least one travel agency offers exclusive discounts better than what is available on the Disney website. I only book thru my TA to get the discount; I do the rest of my planning myself.

Edit: the discounts aren’t available for all categories or all resorts. I’ve still found more/better availability thru my TA than the Passholder discount I can get through Disney.

 

[kandb]

My husband and I both work for the government and make around $275K a year combined. We have both been in our jobs for over 20 years. We do stay at deluxe but ONLY because I get a great discount around labor day for under $300/night. I wouldn't spend more than that and would never pay $500/night which is the regular price. We love coming to Disney and our trips don't cost more than $6000 for 8 nights because I watch every penny. Even though we are very comfortable, I make our children order water instead of $3 sodas at our meals.

 

[MomOTwins]

I have no real secret. I work 16 hour days and most holidays and weekends. It's exhausting and soul destroying and I pretty much never see my kids except when we're at disney world. So when we go, we spend a lot, probably more than we should, but it is our happy place as a family and worth every penny to me to have those memories to get me through the day. Typing during my 11pm dinner break before I go back to work. *sigh*

 

[StacyStrong]

We are DVC. Best way to do deluxe. Most affordable. We do 2-3 trips a year. We have 3 older kids, in college. And I have been a stay at home mom. But DH worked really hard, passed a bunch of exams while we were raising little babies, continued to work hard at a very demanding career. He chose a career that was in high demand and there have been jobs all over the place and he's been able to take his pick. It's not been a "fun" job and he'd rather do something else but it pays very well and has afforded us a good life. But he works on vacation and weekends and holidays. I have had to take care of all things domestic because, aside from his work, he wanted to be involved with the kids activities as they grew up and didn't have time for things like bill paying or landscaping or car maintenance and the such. I did everything. So with some sacrifice and a lot of hard work you [anyone] too can enjoy annual deluxe resort trips.
DH is an actuary.

Oh, and finances weren't always good. We struggled early on as we were raising 3 littles on a single salary which DH was just starting (we had kids right out of college which wasn't necessarily the plan. But that's another topic). Our first WDW trip was when kids were 4, 4 and 6 and we stayed in a dive in Kissemmee and ate all meals at fast food and the like (no meals on WDW property...I think I even packed sandwiches for lunches). Three years later we bought our first DVC contract.

One of my best friends is an actuary and I SWEAR she is taking a new test every other month.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I own a car stereo / window tint / accessory shop and we can only leave the business once a year so I'm going to enjoy where I stay and make the most of it. We don't finance furniture or anything else, only have one car payment because my wife wanted a new Cadillac but our house is almost paid for so we stay Deluxe.

 

[soniam]

We could afford to stay deluxe every time we go, but we don't. We aren't rich, but we are both engineers that make decent money and only have 1 child. I am not always comfortable laying out large amounts of cash, because I grew up in a frugal family and my mom was a single mother who didn't have a high paying job. We stayed at the Poly before it got to its current outrageous price. We have done a trip where we just stayed deluxe a couple of nights to be near Epcot for NYE and moderate the rest. We have had splurge trips where we only stayed deluxe. Some trips we only stay moderate. We still haven't stayed value. However, now that some of them have queen beds instead of doubles, we might do it. For November, I got a D23 convention discount at Contempo. Next March we will be staying at Copper Creek, renting DVC for the first time. Last summer, we got a bounce back offer for AKL and then an even better annual pass rate. There are a lot of ways to save money, and we often get some sort of discount. I recommend booking a room at a price you feel comfortable with and then look for regular, Visa, or annual pass discounts.

 

[cutigerlady]

We stayed at the GF for our honeymoon 19 years ago and we could only afford to stay 4 nights, but we went all out staying in the RPC turret room. For our 15th anniversary we stayed for 2 nights for the same cost of the 4!

We’ve been to Disney World many times, but reserve staying at GF for very special occasions. We have been fortunate to have opportunities to stay deluxe for work conferences by speaking at them. We’ve gotten deals through travel agents, APs, trading our timeshare into DVC, and lots of time searching for discounts.

Unfortunately now our children’s sports are taking over our vacation time, so we don’t get to go as often. It’s okay, this won’t last forever.

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I don't stay deluxe at WDW, I stay at the moderates. Could I afford to do deluxe? Yes, but I usually can't justify the price when I compare it to what I pay at other very nice hotels around the world. Also I'm fortunate enough to get six weeks paid vacation a year, so the money I save pays for another trip somewhere else. I usually do a local sort of mini break, a larger north America Trip (DL, wdw, etc) and one big international trip per year - I'd probably have to drop something if I splurged on deluxe every trip and I'm not willing to do that.

 

[Nancyg56]

I believe this would be best asked on the Community Forum.
We work hard, scrimp on other things, don’t eat out, don’t go to the movies, don’t have new cars and we save.

This is us. WE know that if we are saving for a vacation, any vacation, we compromise on other things. I have a new car now, but it is the first one in over 30 years. And it killed me to let my old Highlander go, but when DH said "Sit down kid" I knew it was all over! LOL!

It's all about the budget friend. Make one, stick to it, stay where you want.

Yup. You want it, you save for it.

 

[Carol unsworth]

We have been coming to Orlando for twenty years , the first time when our son was small and we stayed in the All Star Sports and loved it! We were the only people I knew who stayed in an actual Disney Resort! We have since stayed on I Drive, more recently at the Universal Onsite Deluxe hotels, Christmas gone we stayed at the Dolphin for two weeks and two years ago Club Level Theme Park View at the Poly( which was great but sooooo not worth the 800 dollars a night!)
This October we are back to the All Star Sports!
I am a retired Registered Nurse, my husband works in construction( not particularly well paid).
We know we are lucky to come a couple of times a year from the U.K., we could afford deluxe every time because we are pretty frugal in our day to day lives, but because of regional flights, ticket prices and the sterling rate, our holidays cost us around 10 000 USD each trip .
Granted it’s usually a two week trip, so having stayed Deluxe once, I don’t think I will bother again.
( might change my mind next year- who knows!)

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We've only stayed deluxe once and it was last week... Disney blues are hitting hard!.
However now DH refuses to stay anything else, or off property again (trying to talk him into a mod in 2020). We don't make a ton of money, he's in law enforcement and I'm a full-time student. We just save and cut other spending. We rarely eat out, we really only do one big vacation a year as opposed to other little getaways too... It can be done, it just takes some sacrifice.

 

[disneyvoice]

Our decision of which resort to stay at is trip dependent. There are times staying at a deluxe works best for us (ex. during Food and Wine so we can walk to Epcot), other times staying in a family suite at All Star Music works best for us (if our teenage son is on vacation with us). Could we afford to stay at a deluxe every trip? Sure. But we don't choose to spend that much money on all of our trips. When my husband and I were younger and were traveling with a child who was a toddler or early elementary age we were able to stay at the Value resorts very comfortably. As we have gotten older we find that we aren't as comfortable at Value resorts so our couple-only trips tend to be either at either Moderate or Deluxe resorts more frequently.

At home we really don't eat out much as I love to cook and we really only shop/buy things if we need them. We don't have any credit card debt and we pay off our WDW vacation as soon as we get home. We are also AP holders so we utilize the discounts for rooms, food, etc. I don't think we have ever visited WDW without a pretty substantial discount on the room. We are also pretty realistic about food at WDW and I think that is one way we save money at WDW. We aren't breakfast eaters at home so we don't eat breakfast at WDW (except our traditional departure day breakfast at Boma that ends up being our lunch as well because we aren't hungry again until dinner). We typically share TS meals since we don't eat big portions at home, or we just share appetizers. We don't buy a bunch of souvenirs.

We are huge Disney fans though so ultimately we decided to build a house near WDW so we can go whenever we want without having to spend ANY money on a resort stay.

 

[dakotix]

Our salary is about the national average I guess. I work in IT and my husband works at a garden center so we're not rich by any stretch. We 're also foster parents to a boy we hope to adopt. We get a monthly stipend for his care. He is almost 4 and absolutely loves Mickey. We have already taken him on a short trip last fall at All-Star Sports. Next Spring we're taking him on a 10-day trip staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We decided to use the monthly stipend in order to pay for it. It just seems like the perfect use for it.

 

[loves to dive]

I started staying in the deluxe resorts when they were the only resorts on property so if you wanted to stay on property, that was where you stayed. At the time Shades of Green wasn't a military resort, it was a WDW resort so we stayed there a couple of times. We stayed at the monorail resorts until they opened the Epcot resorts then we moved over there. Now we do split stays with a couple of days in a value or moderate then move to whichever Epcot resort is less, usually Dolphin. When we first started going, I was a single mom and a secretary so no, I didn't have a huge income. We lived in a rented duplex and I drove a very old used car. I bought my son's clothes at KMart and J. C. Penney's. We went every other year because it took me two years to save. Only in about the past 5 years have I been going once a year and more recently in the past 2 or 3 years, 2 or 3 times a year. My son is grown now and I have been with my honey for about 25 years. I'm a semi-retired bookkeeper now, I work two days a week but worked around 50 hours a week before this year and was lucky enough to work for a small company so being the only bookkeeper I could take time off when I wanted it. Honey has his own IT consulting company and works from home but there are weeks when he works 13 or 14 hours a day. I go solo at least once a year and that helps with costs. I never pay rack rate for a room, I always look for AP discounts or general discounts stacked with Orbitz discounts. I have an AP now but when I buy my son's tickets, I check all the discount sites first and buy them wherever I can find them for less. As I said, we do split stays now with budgets and moderates mixed with deluxe, which helps with costs.

 

[Nvrgrowup]

My husband and I have been fortunate enough that we were able to purchase DVC at Wilderness lodge in 2001. Before that we stayed on site and off in moderates and value. We both have high stress jobs my husbands with a long commute.We have been fortunate that we have been able to escape.our every day craziness yearly to WDW.It is our happy place for our family . When we go we do what we want. We rarely do any other time away. We dont eat out a lot at home or go crazy spending. We both came from families that there was not a lot of money growing up so doing DVC was a big step for us but worth it for our family.

 

[jsbowl16]

We go once a year each summer for 9 night but we always make sure to do two trips in one calendar year so we get AP's every other year and save between $1000 and $1500 over paying for tickets, MM and getting discounts on meals and merchandise once a year. We stayed our first year at POFQ and since then we have been renting DVC points and staying at The Boardwalk the last four years. The price at The Boardwalk is only a few hundred more than POFQ and it is worth it for us to be able to walk to two different parks since we always take an afternoon break. I am an engineer and my wife is a teacher. We also only have one child which keeps expenses down for us. Like a previous poster said, we rent our DVC from a reputable owner and he does it for us at the 11 month mark. If you aren't willing to pay in full for your DVC reservation 11 months before, then it will not work for you because certain DVC rooms fill up very fast. There is also no refund when you do this. He would be able to move your dates if needed, but there are no refunds

 

[Disneytam]

My husband and I are both on the downward side of fifty years old and we own our own business. No mortgage on our home. That said we are usually too busy to go out much when we are home so a week or two at Disney is pretty much it for us. We love the BWI and often stay CL and refuse to ever pay rack rates. We used to stay in the main building at the GF years back until the pricing got out of hand. For example in the late 90's we spent a week in a theme park view room in the main building of the GF for just a little over $300 with an AP discount. Those rooms rack rate are now over $1,000 a night.

Our next trip we will be staying at the BC in a standard room because it was the only discount I could get. We also have AP and take two trips a year with them. I fly out of the northeast on Southwest and it has been a lot of years since I have had tp pay for a flight. We love the Southwest credit card. We also never rent a car at Disney. Not having to drive is a big part of vacation for my husband.

With all that said this will probably be our last Disney trip for at least a couple of years. Prices have gotten insane and we just refuse to pay them. We also enjoy our Universal trips and stay deluxe there as well for less than half of Disney's prices.

 

[goodeats]

We find a good deal (read going in August!) and save in other areas to be able to go. We make OK money, but live in HCOL area. We also only go once every 3 years or so. I'd rather go less often and stay Deluxe than go every year and stay at a value, but we live in Southern California and can always get our Disney fix at Disneyland. We also skipped getting Disneyland APs this year to help pay for our WDW trip.

This trip we're staying WL, but when we go again in a few years (with or without hubby ) I want to stay at the Beach Club.

 

[lovin'fl]

I'm a schoolteacher. I'm also in my 40's (I never could afford to travel to WDW at all in my 20's...) Now that I'm at a place in life where I have no debt besides my mortgage, I have decent employer-paid health insurance, and my ex actually has to help pay a significant share of my son's major expenses, I can afford to travel.

I'm too old (to my mind) to do bare-bones backpacking type or Motel 6 travel. I want comfort and to be treated as a valued customer. Deluxe stays are as expensive as you make them. There are times of year that are cheaper than others, there are standard rooms, there are resort discounts & travel agency deals, and because we are very efficient at touring, we don't feel the need for long stays. So those factors cut down on the cost. I also have only one child, not a brood. That helps.

I'm not at chic boutiques buying designer shoes and handbags, and I drive a (very nice) used car. I live in an affordable part of town, and am not the home-remodeling type. My priorities right now are getting my son the best education for him (he's autistic and at a private school), and building memories with him via great vacations. Works for us.

You bring up some good points. I too am not into expensive shoes or fancy cars or spend a ton at the beauty salon and the such. We buy used cars and drive them into the ground. We buy cheap furniture and wear that into the ground. I buy clothes at Target and Kohls. But we spend on our vacations. Growing up, both DH and I came from modest income families who didn't do many vacations and when they did it was in nasty cheapo hotels. So we wanted nicer vacations as adults.