Help Me Feel Better About How Much This Is Costing...

[steph73]

This trip is costing alot, and even though I know that the memories from this vacation will last much longer than the financial strain it will be putting on us, I need some encouragement .

Please tell me it's all worth it! Financially, I'm projecting July & August to be tight but we should be fine after that. It IS worth all of this, right? Help me feel better about this !

 

[DiznEeyore]

Stephanie:

I know what you mean about money being tight while you're planning a trip to WDW. In fact, I think most of us do!

I can only say from my own (and my family's) experience that it really is worth it! Once we're away on vacation, we literally shut out the rest of the world and just concentrate on having fun with each other. Take lots of pictures so you can keep reliving those great memories over and over!

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Yes, it is expensive... Let's see what makes *me* feel better...

First, find out if you have really paid for a deal. If you have, then tell yourself over and over how proud you are that you got to WDW paying way less than many others!

Second, look around you and count how many people have traveled to WDW. If the number is low, feel proud and happy for that too.

Next, just believe that croutons for dinner until you pay it off don't taste that bad after all

Oh, just kidding! Have fun. Prudence and moderaion will help make your visit a heck of a blast! You will feel a lot of joy during your trip.

But on the other hand, if you really think it is so overwhelmiong, perhaps you can wait a little longer until teh financial burden is not detrimental. It is meant to be fun, not a source for heartburn!

Wanda

 

[veraletta]

Yes a trip to Disney is expensive... and you may feel that it is a lot to pay out... but what you get back from Disney is a really good time and you will not feel that they cheated you...

you got just what you paid for a good time and tons of memories ...

and a financial burden is the last thing you will be thinking about while there...
when you leave you will be aready planning your next trip and how you will get the money to pay for it..

my husband is the only one that works in our family we had 3 children.. he didnt make too much money but enough to save money every 2 or 3 years to take our children to disney...
Now our children who are just starting out in life with children of there own are doing the same... they save money and go every two years...

we do stuff on line like milesource and search cactus to help pay for the nice resturants on disney. which really helps out... but even if you have to stay off the park it is still the place to go for a trip with your children...

we only just started to stay on the park when they got all stars in... so go have a good time forget about the money you may not have enough money to stay on the best place on disney but who cares... stay at where you can afford.. and leave the rest to disney...

 

[Riverview]

It is EXPENSIVE but the memories are PRICELESS. Our first trip was with My mother, sister and DD. It was a treat from my mother who said it was the best money she had ever spent. Six months later she became sick and passed away. The memories from that trip are worth all the money in the world to me. Enjoy yourself because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Sorry if this was depressing.
Riverview

 

[shamrock30]

If going means "tightening your belt" a little, then I think that would be fine. But if going means that you are maxing out your credit cards, leaving yourself with no savings, wondering how you'll get by if your car breaks down or you need to call a plumber, then I would say to wait. WDW has been there for a long time and will continue to be there. Putting yourself in a real financial strain to get there right now is just not worth it.

 

[fkj2]

I'm not trying to mind your planning but if you tell us what you've done, maybe somebody will have a suggestion that might save you a few $$$$.

 

[zum62]

If you have young children you will be creating memories for them which will far out weigh any financial discomfort that you will temporarily experience.
I have also found disney vacations to promote great family bonding and closeness which is invaluable as our children get older, sure helps when they are teens.
I also just read a blurb of a book written by some experts claiming that vacations are essential for our physical and mental well being. Think of the expense as necessary to you and your family's well being and health.
Lastly, it is only money. You can always make more and replace it, but you can't ever go back and create experiences you missed out on.

 

[Yay2001]

I have to admit, I'm getting cold feet, too. I just found out that DS's participation in band is going to cost around $4000.00 this year. DD is on a spirit squad and it's costing us another 1500.00. I'm gonna have to get a second job to pay for all of this.

I've been second-guessing myself lately -- wondering: where can I cut corners? Should we be staying at a less expensive hotel?? What if ....

I decided to plan for a Disney vacation a year ago. DS will be a senior in HS. We're a close knit, happy family for the most part - but we've NEVER taken a big, fun vacation. I just wanted to do it before he "flew out of the nest" -- you know??

If I was confident that he would have the time of his life, I wouldn't worry so much. Now of course I'm wondering if he's too old for Disney -- I'm worried he'll think it's all too lame. He's got a new girlfriend and is lukewarm about leaving her for 2 weeks --

At least my daughter is excited. But it's gonna be a real struggle for me to not let the worry of of the expenses cloud my enjoyment.

We leave in a week -- I hope I can shake this off and just enjoy myself.

 

[wdisneyaholic]

I always tend to look at things like you only live once, and when I die I want to know that I enjoyed my life. Saving money is great, but you can't take money with you when you die, so enjoy yourself while you are here and what better place to enjoy yourself than Disney.

Just think of all the great pictures with your kids that you will have forever!!!

Steph73, I would guess that alot of people are in your shoes, mosting hard working people realize that the money could always go to something else, but your family deserves to have a great vacation together.

 

[Mouser]

I say spend what is right for you and what you are comfortable with ...What is right for your sister or the guy at work may not be right for you...You do not have to spend $10,000 and spend two weeks in a deluxe resort to have a great disney vacation. Work out a plan or budget you can afford and that you will enjoy...Just as everyones pocketbook does not contain the same amount of money your wants and needs at WDW will not be the same as the next families..so do not pay for more things than you will use or want to use....No matter if you pay $1,500 or 8,000 on your vacation..you will have a good time if it is right for you....

What DH and I do as I have talked about on these boards before is work extra hours and put in money we would not have otherwise, bonus money from work and overtime are not budgetted into your budget and the money is not missed from each paycheck...I work A LOT of extra hours when my company is busy and put a lot of money away for Disney..so does DH when it is available...so far we have paid for our passports to WDW and Universal, paid for the airline tickets (our first trip flying down), our hotel, our rental car and we are working on our spending money for a week long trip in September...that is what is right for us...works well for me, I do not mind the six day 48 hour weeks as I KNOW what I am working for and how much fun we will have that week there, makes it easy........have a fun trip.

 

[steph73]

Thanks so much everyone for the replies.....these boards are just great!

Basically, I had one of those momentary lapses of reason! I guess I wanted to hear others say what I've been thinking - which is GO AND HAVE FUN!!

We went (as a couple) to Las Vegas twice last year - and at the time the second trip was a bit of a strain and I felt conflicted by it. DH had booked the second trip as a surprise for me.....SURPRISE! But, in hindsight I'm so glad that we went. The money spent on that trip quite honestly would have been spent on something else by now, and I'm glad we did it when we had the chance. Nothing can replace memories! And, I really enjoy traveling. My grandmother died of cancer 20 years ago when she was only 51, and her whole life all she wanted to do was go to Hawaii. They talked of it often, but were always so worried about making sure the bills got paid in time and put it off.....and they never went. A few years after her death, my grandfather suffered a stroke and has been paralyzed since. Life is just too short to always be worried about money!!

As for our situation, I'm a SAHM. Our kids are 6 and 3, and DH actually makes a pretty good living. Well enough for us to afford vacations I think. Most of my headaches have been because of bad planning on my part (I'm the "banker" of the family!). The plane tickets were bought months ago, and the first 7 days of lodging is free for us - we are lucky to be staying at my mother's timeshare. We have three nights at CBR, great rate (SoG overflow) - and we've paid the one night deposit already. Sea World passes are already bought. I'll be buying our park hoppers at the SoG when we arrive, so we'll be getting a discount on those (DH is inactive reserves). So, gathering sufficient spending money, food allowance and pass money has been the hurdle. We leave in 10 days. I stupidly dipped into our vacation money a few times over the last few months to get caught up on some bills. Soooo, what's going to end up happening is that some bills are unfortunately going to be late and we're going to have to live on hot dogs LOL for a few weeks after we get back to get caught up. But, I really do think it's worth it. It's not something I'd want to do every year, or even AGAIN LOL, but there is no way we could cancel this trip. The look on my 6 yr old's face would kill me.

I'm just going to try to go and make the most of it! The consequences will only last a few weeks, but the memories will last a lifetime! <--was that corny?!?

Sorry this was soooo long!

 

[FINFAN]

After reading your $ accomplishments I would say you guys have a pretty good grasp on the trip. DH always wants our vacations to be paid for in advance or at least the $ is sitting there to pay off the card immediately after returning.He has just o.k.'d a resort swith for us that will add about $350 to the room cost for our stay and I am shocked because we leave a lot sooner than I can come up withthe extra cash by! He said...sometimes you gotta splurge a little.I think because WDW trips are so expensive just being able to go once is an accomplishment and you guys should feel proud that you have done that.Next year we will be back to local activities for the summer...and that is always fun too!Have a great trip!

 

[MinnieMe2]

A trip to the World is never cheap, but there are always ways to save $$$. We believe that the one area that's truly within our control is food. We rent a car just to go off-site for the occasional $$$-saving sit-down dinner, eat a lot of fast food, and keep snax and drinks in our room. We NEVER buy a package because you get no discounts on your room or passes, and we feel we'd be paying for things we either wouldn't use or would rather not have/do. We use our DC to buy passes, and in the past, also used it to get our room at discount. However, we just purchased DVC , so now we don't have to scramble for those sometimes elusive specials on a room. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!! That's part of the reason we bought into DVC: we know we'll be going back to WDW over and over, and this way our room is a done deal. We'll look for cheap air and car rental, pay for our passes, and that's about it.