How can people ever afford Florida holidays??

[MayJacob]

Same its just not worth the money

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

What you buying? Buckingham Palace?

LOL!

the words further advance spring to mind !!!

but we live and learn !

 

[Portugal1000]

I am very lucky, I work for an Oil Company and my husband doesn't have to work and is full time house husband and looks after our son. He is also fantastic at budgeting. We have a Disney Account which we save atleast £800 a month in.This allows us to go once or twice a year. My husband then saves the spending money out of the money I transfer to him every month for all the food, usual everyday expenses etc. We don't drink and are not bothered about having fancy gadgets. We bought our first house 20 years ago so we are lucky and have a small mortgage and don't have any other debt. I feel really sorry for youngsters starting out because how on earth will they be able to buy somewhere and have great holidays like we have had. The one thing I would say is to never get into debt just for a holiday. I just couldn't enjoy myself if I knew it wasn't actually paid for. Our first trip to Disney was 7 years ago and we stayed in Homewood Suites which was great if you were on a budget as breakfast and food most nights included. We now stay at Saratoga or Bonnet Creek but if I couldn't afford those or had to go back to a budget holiday I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Homewood Suites or similar. There are so many ways to save money. We are back next month for 3 weeks and will be our our 9th trip. No way we could have done that without all the tips I have found on these boards.

 

[dstiles]

I would love to go Disney in Florida but every quote I come to seems to be between 3-4000 without food. I wanted to go when sons about 7-8, he's 4 at the Moment so think it will take the 3-4 years to save that amount of money. We're off to dlp for 1st time in feb and that's costing 780 with food included. Think I may have to keep doing dlp until I can afford Florida. :-/

Not sure whether it will be worth you doing, if you have already booked a package including food for your trip to DLP, but I'd highly recommend joining the Disneyland Paris Shareholders club.

You have need to buy 20 shares which would currently cost about £75 including dealing charges. The shareholders club gives you 15% discount in the restaurants and shops. You also get 10% discount in Le Vallee Village outlet centre. At the end of the day you've still got the shares too.

The bit I like the best though is that you get your own entrance into the park via Salon Mickey, where you can also get complimentary drinks and pastries.

We love going to WDW, but decided last year to buy an AP for DLP, which was also discounted through the share club, and we've really enjoyed it. We've been several times so far and typically managed to get an apartment off-site, with kitchenette, for the four of us for around £70-90 a night. We do a mix of cooking food in the apartment and eating in the restaurants in DLP which makes it a fairly affordable trip.

 

[ukool]

When we went the other year, i only had myself to pay for so put any spare money at the end of the month in to a savings account. My parents paid for them selves and my brother, and pretty much did the same. Took us a year and a half to do it but it was worth skipping nights out etc for!!

Look for free dining as well - you save a lot of money!

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

The answer is the same for all; prioritizing.

What that looks like will differ for all. For some it might be pretty simular, for others it can be very different what they might have to 'cut' to be able to afford a FL trip. For some prioritizing is 100% of the answer. For others it's the base that together with support from others will make a trip doable. But yet again, that support of others also tend to come from prioritizing so in a way I guess it also comes down to prioritizing but differs by who are involved.



For me it's a combination of me prioritizing and loved ones prioritizing. Travel is very high up on my list. It is a huge component of how I view quality of life. As such, I can agree myself with the fact that unfortunately it is costing me beyond believe but is worth it. Worth it so much that I even allow others to support building these trips by adding to paying the bills. While my income is low (sort of disability pay a bit below the level of what is considered the minimum living standard in my neck of the woods), it will have to do. I will cut any and all financial corners where I can. Health nowadays requiring me to travel business class and requiring a long stay isn't helping to keep the total price cheap. It is what it is. Each trip I simply see how far we come, and each time we make it one way or another. Being in the loop a bit is helpfull to keep things more affordable. It can safe thousands of whatever currency you use.

For instance, my BC ticket with AE is costing me a little over €1600,-. More expensive than desired but couldn't book earlier with more affordable rates. However, a great price compared to other airlines that tends to average €3000,- for a BC seat. A 23-night stay is not cheap. Wanting a bit of options at resort and certain locations with regards to parks and stuff (bedridden most of the day, so spending time smart is wise) isn't the cheapest option. This trip will be a split stay between the BWV and SSR. I am taking a realistic risk of snafus keeping in mind my health can lead into needing to cancel or reschedule, but after crunching the numbers and checking out my insurance options have decided to go with renting points for this trip. In the end it's still saving a nice sum more than any mod at 40% off. Pushing to 2 trips within 12 months instead of 13 months; an AP wasn't much more than a 21-day ticket, but results in a "free" parkticket for this trip. Probably got a too low price for the upgrade from 21-day ticket (bought at a 14-day ticket price) to AP last december, which only sweatened the deal.

In the end it's a VERY costly trip. For anybody, let alone with my income. But in the end it is an 'easy' one. The contribution to my quality of life is of such extend, it is worth all of the money, choices made, work I have to put into making it happen and permament decrease of health. Knowing how limited my health is and considering it's progressiveness has resulted in me always aiming high in this department. I do not dream, I do NOW while I still can. Each years trip was a goal in and off itself. By now it has become clear that the progressive nature is catching up with me. Has done so by a long time for most in this position but time has come to round up the Florida times. A cruel decision, but what a great cushion to fall into knowing that after this fall I will have 6 trips under my belt that nobody can take away from me. Lifetime treasures in quality of life. Mindboggling what it has all cost, but you know what? It was the best decision ever. Not a nano-second of regret. I've always known that travel ranks high with me. WDW and Florida turned out to be a special gem in that. I always have had the p.o.v. that for each trip I'ld gladly have to give up a year of my life. Turns out WDW and Florida are worth even a bit more. It is worth it and oh well it costs money unfortunately.


Being a bit savvy on saving, prefferably combined with having some flexibility (change resort or dated if the discount is good enough) goes a long way. But without prioritizing it most likely is not an option to go yearly or even once every 3 years for most I would reckon. Only you can decide if it's high enough on the list of priorities for you and your family. If it is; great. If it's not; focus on the other priorities and do it happily and with confidence. Allthough I do agree with all the others; DLRP is something I would not even consider anymore. It's a pain. Overpriced, not even close to the real thing (food, admosphere, number of parks and options etc) and not in Florida with it's great weather options and all kinds of other great vacational options in your vacation backyard. I despice DLRP if I'm honest. If you've done it before and liked it? Save your money and go to Florida. Much more affordable and it will BLOW you away. Can't miss.

 

[madmumof2]

Save, save, and save some more!

We don't have credit cards either so we save every pennt before we leave.

I run my own business which is going very well so we're lucky now to be able to afford Florida and not sacrifice days out, takeaways etc.

But the last time we went I was a single mother who wasn't working. It took 2 years of me saving everything, quitting smoking, shopping in aldi, coupons, second hand clothes, no new clothes for me at all etc to get there, and we did it

This time I pay all the bills I need to pay in the week first (I pay myself weekly) and whatever I have left I save.

I go to the post office every day with my job and at first every time I went I got $20 and put it in my jar at home, then the rate dropped. So instead I went to the cashpoint next door every day and took £10-£50 depending on whether it was pay day or not lol and put it in my terramundi pot.

I've had two pots in the last year and both times I've smashed it I've had over £800 in there!

I use teco clubcard and transfer them to airmile/avios. Eventually this will pay for a holiday but not for a while yet, in the meantime I've used them for car hire, the hotel the night before the flight and travel insurance, all technically free

It does make me feel a little sick when it hits me how expensive two weeks will cost, I could have put a deposit on a house for it! I did get a good deal, family of 5, flights, 2 weeks in a villa with car for just over £3k. Then tickets on top of that, including discovery cove for us all and a night in HRH, plus around $3500 spending money, it's costing us around £7k!

But, it is so worth it, and I only want to go every few years because of the cost.

I'm another who would never go to DLP. I don't feel I could after going to WDW first. I priced it up and worked out it costs more than 3x as much per night in dlp than it does WDW.

Obviously you wouldn't spend two weeks in dlp, you'd be bored, only two parks, no sun etc but if you did it would cost far more than WDW would!

 

[Dimplenose]

I'm another who would never go to DLP. I don't feel I could after going to WDW first. I priced it up and worked out it costs more than 3x as much per night in dlp than it does WDW.

I've been to DLP twice. First time my DD and I went with a friend and her DD and we shared a room at NPB and the kids were free. I don't think it cost much more than £200 for each adult.

Second time DH, DS, DD and I drove there (free crossing with TESCO vouchers) room only deal with expedia at Santa Fe and 2 day tickets bought separately so we could arrive late and visit Paris without losing out on tickets. That was £600 plus petrol.

When I price it up now, even for just DH and myself the prices are ridiculous. I know the Euro was probably about 1.40 to the pound then but even so!

I don't think we'll be going back which is a shame as I loved the place.

 

[BlondeViki]

It does make me feel a little sick when it hits me how expensive two weeks will cost, I could have put a deposit on a house for it!

I feel like this too...

We save for everything - have different accounts for different things but when it comes to luxuries and finally spending the money on the things we've saved for, I do feel a bit guilty - especially as our house needs so much work (that's the only reason we could afford to buy it).

Not helped by the fact that on the weekend I paid off the honeymoon, our roof leaked and we now need to spend £££'s on repairing the roof/chimney, plus a suspicious patch of damp has appeared elsewhere in the house. Timing!! It's like the house is trying to tell us we have 'more important' things to be spending money on. (Imagine that said in my mother's voice)

BUT i get around it by thinking that you can't spend everything on sensible things. Houses will always need *something* doing to them and if I spend every pound on the house, it will make me miserable and I'll come to resent it. Same way as if I had to sacrifice *all* my smaller day to day treats for a holiday, I might not enjoy it as much when I got there. Better in my view to save a little longer and give up a little less along the way.

It's all about balance!

 

[joolz1910]

I've been to DLP twice. First time my DD and I went with a friend and her DD and we shared a room at NPB and the kids were free. I don't think it cost much more than £200 for each adult.

Second time DH, DS, DD and I drove there (free crossing with TESCO vouchers) room only deal with expedia at Santa Fe and 2 day tickets bought separately so we could arrive late and visit Paris without losing out on tickets. That was £600 plus petrol.

When I price it up now, even for just DH and myself the prices are ridiculous. I know the Euro was probably about 1.40 to the pound then but even so!

I don't think we'll be going back which is a shame as I loved the place.

I feel exactly the same The first time we went, we had flights from Brum, 3 adults, 2 children. We stayed at the Santa Fe in 2 rooms and it came to about £780. The second time we stayed at the DLH in one room. 2 adults, 3 children, flights from Brum again. We also included the dining plan which gave us one ts meal each day. The cost was around £1200. I have just priced up the same package (exactly) with the same discounts and it came to £3011.

 

[scottishgirl87]

I feel exactly the same The first time we went, we had flights from Brum, 3 adults, 2 children. We stayed at the Santa Fe in 2 rooms and it came to about £780. The second time we stayed at the DLH in one room. 2 adults, 3 children, flights from Brum again. We also included the dining plan which gave us one ts meal each day. The cost was around £1200. I have just priced up the same package (exactly) with the same discounts and it came to £3011.

I agree with you and Dimplenose. As I said earlier in this post we looked at going to DLP in September for a few days and what cost us £250 each (flights, accommodation, park tickets) in 2009 was coming in at £400 each. We can appreciate DLP for what it is but I just can't justify spending that kind of money for 4 days.

 

[heatherbelle]

It's all about priorities. My house is in dire need of some tlc, but I would rather have a holiday of a lifetime. My kids will remember WDW for the rest of their lives (hopefully) but a new carpet/sofa would be largely ignored. I earn my money so I decide how it's spent.

This is a bit like me. I had the choice of a new kitchen ( been needing one for 14 years now), or our holidays. Guess what i choose?

Also as WDW is getting very expensive now due to high flight prices, we have started alternating our visits. One year WDW the next a Disney cruise around Europe. I reckon I only may have another 4 years left with taking my DS on holiday before he's off doing his thing, so I want to make the most of it. DH has got plenty of screws to fix the kitchen cupboards back on with.

 

[bex7583]

argh !!! all the lawyers can afford disney trips !! i quit my law degree when i was pregnant !! what a fool!!

we have been saving soo much but still miles off our target !! we are also paying off huge past debts the holiday keeps me focused on paying the credit card debt , my oh wont let me book anything untill i have the cc debt down to 5k !!

i cancelled my gym membership, sky movies, phone contract ( got a cheap sim only deal ) sold my car !!

i was also terrible for just popping out with the kids for the day ( always intending to not spend much but with 3 children it soon adds up so now in school holidays on weekends i pay myself £10 a day to stay at home , all our loose change goes in to various pots and tins around the house this adds up suprisingly quick !!

we made also a savings chart the kids cut pics out of disney holiday brochures and glued them i drew a number scale going u in £10s on it and also worked how much various elements cost universal ticktes , average flight prices etc and marked all these on the side, the kids love counting al the change ( good number practice as they are only 4 and 5) then they mark up the chart !!

since we started properly saving i have seens ome great last min flight prices and even last min package deals at very resonable price !!

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

I reckon I only may have another 4 years left with taking my DS on holiday before he's off doing his thing, so I want to make the most of it.

That's how I feel about this trip with our eldest. He's 16 so I think ( or hope ) that he'll not be wanting to come on holiday with us next year

 

[dixonsontour]

That's how I feel about this trip with our eldest. He's 16 so I think ( or hope ) that he'll not be wanting to come on holiday with us next year

From what i've seen on here and the dibb young adults will still go to Florida with you..then they bring their gf/wife..then a few years later your grandkids aswell

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

From what i've seen on here and the dibb young adults will still go to Florida with you..then they bring their gf/wife..then a few years later your grandkids aswell

OMG

 

[wayneg]

From what i've seen on here and the dibb young adults will still go to Florida with you..then they bring their gf/wife..then a few years later your grandkids aswell

Matt will be 18 next month, asked to celebrate his 18th Birthday out there. He starts Uni in Oct and he is gutted we are planning a trip without him in Nov, he has already said he wants to go with us next Easter.
I just hope he gets a job (and GF/Wife) in Orlando, will save me a fortune

 

[Netty]

From what i've seen on here and the dibb young adults will still go to Florida with you..then they bring their gf/wife..then a few years later your grandkids aswell

yep so true!!!
last year we went with our dd and her partner and our 2 granchildren, also our 21 yr old daughter.. my sil had her 3 lads with her and 2 of them had partners with them, so yes the kids are never too old to go to disney!!
this yr on our florida road trip none of the kids are coming

(we do genuinely love them still wanting to come on holiday with us)

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

yep so true!!!
last year we went with our dd and her partner and our 2 granchildren, also our 21 yr old daughter.. my sil had her 3 lads with her and 2 of them had partners with them, so yes the kids are never too old to go to disney!!
this yr on our florida road trip none of the kids are coming

(we do genuinely love them still wanting to come on holiday with us)

Truth be told I hope that there will be many "grand gatherings" of large family holidays to WDW .... but at the same time I am also looking forward to trips that are just DH and me

 

[scottishgirl87]

I'm 24 and have been on holiday with my parents a few times over the last few years. Infact, I go on holiday with them more now than when I was a teen, think I stopped going on holiday with them at about 14/15 as I'm an only child and it was more like torture going on holiday with my parents. In 2008 they took me and my boyfriend to LA, Mexican cruise and Vegas for my 21st, last year we went to New York for my mum's 50th and also did a European cruise too but we only tagged along then as it was a good deal.

There's definitely no way I'd be letting them go to Orlando without me