How do people do it?

[aka-mad4themouse]

Not all people want to eat like this, and it certainly doesn't NEED to cost this much, but it's definitely not impossible.

I think that you would find that most people do not eat like that on a daily basis. That's an awful lot of food! Most people who are making these multiple trips to WDW are making it happen by NOT eating 2 full-course meals per day in the more expensive restaurants.

They're sharing meals at counterservice places, bringing their own water and snacks and using the in-room coffeemaker to prepare their morning coffee. Breakfast is more likely to be a cereal bar, cup of juice and a banana from the grocery stop than it is a $10 platter from the food court.

Yes, it's possible to spend $200/day on food for two people. But if the OP wants to know how so many people make multiple trips within a year, it's a pretty good bet that most of them are not spending that kind of money on food when they're there.

 

[emmalgin]

And most people certainly have 2 good meals a day, partuclarly if on-site. Add 1-2 of the dinner shows, which must be $60+ now and I don't see how poeple don't spend at least $75/day. Tell me where you can get a meal on-site for under $10 if you include a drink, and then don't feel hungry 2 hours afterwards????

Please quit rationalizing......

 

[jbthi]

Crisi, get ready to fall out of your chair.

Our income is under the 43+ that is the median and we usually take 5 trips to Disney. We also live 1000 miles away. Some of our trips to DW are going to and from Sanibel where we spend at least 2 months.

We own BCV and BWV so we don't pay anything (other than dues for that) and we also own 6 other weeks of timeshare. We usually trade into Disney for 2 of those weeks. Most of our Disney points are spent on studios so that saves points.

I bought vouchers before they were discontinued and now I joined DDE. We don't eat cheap meals because we don't like counter service food but we usually split meals.

When we are home we don't spend much on entertainment, not to save money but because there isn't much we want to spend money on. We don't eat out much, don't smoke, drink very little, go to very few movies. Most of our entertainment is free, spent with friends at home or go to GC activities.

I will fess up here and say the reason our income is so low is because we are retired. We do have 401, IRA, annuities and savings to fall back on. Point is we have not used this money. We are planning on using it for 5 GC college if necessary. You can do a lot with very little money if you plan.

June

 

[crisi]

I'm not sure how safe a bet that is. After all, the OP said "Deluxes."

There are plenty of people here who I know how they do it. They are staying at moderates on codes, driving, and limiting their food budget - they are the ones posting that "if they can get a good code at POR they will move from Pop." And there are a few people who post on these boards that do visit frequently and do seem to stay very nice and do seem to eat relatively expensive meals and order expensive bottles of wine and book Illumination cruises and Sunrise Safaris. They don't frequent the budget board...but I can think of a few restaurant boarders and cruise boarders who I've wondered where the money comes from. Not judging, mind you....just wondering (and I know several of them are locals - and a restaurant boarder who is a local has a whole different budget than those of us that fly in).

I think that there is a huge income variation here - a few people with relatively small incomes that are trying to make one trip and who notice a few people with relatively large incomes who post about having $4,000+ stateroom bills on DCL. (Near fainted in that thread! - Remember, your food is paid for on DCL - that's a lot of drinks and photos and spa treatments) And a bunch of people with moderate incomes doing their best to get there as often as feasible.

 

[crisi]

Crisi, get ready to fall out of your chair.

Our income is under the 43+ that is the median and we usually take 5 trips to Disney. We also live 1000 miles away. Some of our trips to DW are going to and from Sanibel where we spend at least 2 months.

We own BCV and BWV so we don't pay anything (other than dues for that) and we also own 6 other weeks of timeshare. We usually trade into Disney for 2 of those weeks. Most of our Disney points are spent on studios so that saves points.

I bought vouchers before they were discontinued and now I joined DDE. We don't eat cheap meals because we don't like counter service food but we usually split meals.

When we are home we don't spend much on entertainment, not to save money but because there isn't much we want to spend money on. We don't eat out much, don't smoke, drink very little, go to very few movies. Most of our entertainment is free, spent with friends at home or go to GC activities.

I will fess up here and say the reason our income is so low is because we are retired. We do have 401, IRA, annuities and savings to fall back on. Point is we have not used this money. We are planning on using it for 5 GC college if necessary. You can do a lot with very little money if you plan.

June

You have one of the scenarios I can grasp.....retirees won't have a lot of income - but you probably don't have a lot of expenses either - no mortgage? - but something set aside by way of significant assets to generate the income. I'm going to guess that before retirement, in order to afford DVC and another timeshare, plus have savings and annuities, you were not only frugal (because you were to be able to retire and enjoy yourselves!) but made something more than that median. By moving your retirement expenses back to when you had more income via timeshares, you've made vacations on your retirement income doable. And there are probably just two of you, making travel somewhat less expensive than that family of four trying to feed two teenage boys.

June, I really hope to be able to enjoy my retirement the way you are - both frugally and luxuriously.....I'm sure you worked hard for it. Enjoy it.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

And most people certainly have 2 good meals a day, partuclarly if on-site. Add 1-2 of the dinner shows, which must be $60+ now and I don't see how poeple don't spend at least $75/day. Tell me where you can get a meal on-site for under $10 if you include a drink, and then don't feel hungry 2 hours afterwards????

Please quit rationalizing......

Ah, but the OP wants us to rationalize because the OP is trying to understand how we manage several trips to WDW a year...

I posted some sample menus of mine a few posts back. We have good meals during our trips. Good does not have to equal expensive.

 

[torianne31]

Hey goofydad, I think I did smell burning fur for a minute.....

Honestly, I thought ANYONE who took a family trip to Disneyworld had to be loaded.

But now my family and I are going to WDW for the first time in June and are entertaining thoughts of a possible second trip in November. This all started when we decided to use our income tax refund to help offset the cost of a family trip to WDW. Well, after finding the DIS site, we were able to offset a lot of the costs at the get go. We were able to rent points from a DVC member (saved a LOT on room ressies!), find discount MYW tickets and the best way to use them, we are driving down instead of flying, we have checked out menu prices on allearsnet.com so we know where we want to eat and how much we need to take with us for meals, our kids are older so souvenirs and pictures, etc will be a minimum. All told, our first trip this year is being paid for almost totally by our tax refund with little out of pocket.

The great thing is, after reading the budget board thread, we started to cut some corners and frivolous spending (DH and I both have good jobs and are comfortably middle class) so we will be able to take that second trip if we want to without having to dip into our regular savings. It's amazing how much ya spend on things like morning coffee!! I was spending $26 / week just on a morning cup of cappuccino! Now I make it at home and take it with me. Little things like that - that we overlooked in our regular savings plan have now been put into our Disney savings envelope. We are saving over $410 / month on "entertainment" stuff our kids didn't need... or really want more than a trip to WDW!!....

So...nowwww...we're either loaded and didn't know it... or better planners and wiser with our money..... GOSHHH..i REALLY hope it's the First one!!!!


For you Goofydad

 

[torianne31]

I've REALLY gotta start reading past the first couple of pages of a post before responding....this thing is 8 pages long.... Sorry if my post is a little disjointed...I jumped in before I read the whole thing...

 

[skiwee1]

I think that you would find that most people do not eat like that on a daily basis. That's an awful lot of food! Most people who are making these multiple trips to WDW are making it happen by NOT eating 2 full-course meals per day in the more expensive restaurants.

They're sharing meals at counterservice places, bringing their own water and snacks and using the in-room coffeemaker to prepare their morning coffee. Breakfast is more likely to be a cereal bar, cup of juice and a banana from the grocery stop than it is a $10 platter from the food court.

Yes, it's possible to spend $200/day on food for two people. But if the OP wants to know how so many people make multiple trips within a year, it's a pretty good bet that most of them are not spending that kind of money on food when they're there.

I doubt that most are saving money other ways in order to get to WDW more. We could eat 3 full course meals a day and still go to WDW 30 days a year. We just can't eat that much! I look bad enough lounging around the volcano pool as it is. I don't need to add to it! I really can't imagine how some that I read about can budget like they do. It isn't a vacation to me if I have to budget for anything. While it seems that we can't come close to eating $100 per adult, we try, we definitely make up for that extra money spending on souveniers. For the record, I'd chose the fruit platter over the banana cut up from the grocery store every time. Food tastes much better when someone else fixes it! LOL!

 

[ericafny]

Hi. I have been reading this post off and on for a few days, mainly because I too am curious how people can go multiple times a year to DW (I aspire to be that person some day!) I can see that everyone has different opinions regarding the subject.

What I noticed though, is that alot of the families that visit DW more than once a year live close to FL and can either drive or take a really cheap flight.

Another thing I noticed is that many families seem to live in the suburbs and the cost of living may be slightly lower in more suburban areas, as opposed to the big city.

I happen to live in NYC, one of the most expensive places to live. Its much harder for me to 'scrimp and save' (and believe me I do!) than it is for other people. Gas is more expensive, food is more expensive, even car insurance is more expensive! So I guess I am trying to say its all relative, especially to where you live and what things cost in your hometown.

I don't want to offend anyone, so I really hope I am not. If I do, I sincerely apologize...just had to put my two cents in...

 

[wirki]

...just had to put my two cents in...

Have you learned nothing by reading all of this? Save that two cents for a future trip

Debbie

 

[rockin_rep]

Disney is the best and only place I can go with my 4 yr old and not have cell phones, laptops, and PDAs going to interrupt the vacation. Cuz you can't hear enough to talk on the cell and your not sitting still long enough to get involved in work on the laptop. It is perfect for us.

And she is only young once. I will not be doing this in ten years, I am sure, she won't want to. But in tens years, if I did not do it now, I would be regretting the time I lost with her.

Very interesting thread. Too many thoughts to write them all but....

You may be surprised mwalsh -- if you and your DD continue having a good relationship and fun times, she WILL DEFINITELY want to go still with you at 14 and waaaay beyond! Our kids are older teens now too, with lots of friends and are very 'cool' with full happy lives -- and they still love vacationing with us, wherever we go!! We have a BLAST together and i am ever so grateful!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi. I have been reading this post off and on for a few days, mainly because I too am curious how people can go multiple times a year to DW (I aspire to be that person some day!) I can see that everyone has different opinions regarding the subject.

What I noticed though, is that alot of the families that visit DW more than once a year live close to FL and can either drive or take a really cheap flight.

Another thing I noticed is that many families seem to live in the suburbs and the cost of living may be slightly lower in more suburban areas, as opposed to the big city.

I happen to live in NYC, one of the most expensive places to live. Its much harder for me to 'scrimp and save' (and believe me I do!) than it is for other people. Gas is more expensive, food is more expensive, even car insurance is more expensive! So I guess I am trying to say its all relative, especially to where you live and what things cost in your hometown.

I don't want to offend anyone, so I really hope I am not. If I do, I sincerely apologize...just had to put my two cents in...

Very good points.

 

[disneyjunkie]

You may be surprised mwalsh -- if you and your DD continue having a good relationship and fun times, she WILL DEFINITELY want to go still with you at 14 and waaaay beyond! Our kids are older teens now too, with lots of friends and are very 'cool' with full happy lives -- and they still love vacationing with us, wherever we go!! We have a BLAST together and i am ever so grateful!

ITA

I asked my son if he would like to celebrate his next birthday at WDW. He said of course. We'll be there October 1-5 celebrating his 14th birthday.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

ITA

I asked my son if he would like to celebrate his next birthday at WDW. He said of course. We'll be there October 1-5 celebrating his 14th birthday.

I did my 16th and 21st birthday's in WDW with my parents. So you all should have plenty of time ahead of you. Heck, I'd do my 30th birthday at WDW with my folks if they'd offer to take me. lol!

 

[bettyann29]

We dont do Disney that much but we do cruise once or twice a year with Carnival.. we mainly look for the sales and we watch our spending when we go and by doing that we are able to travel more often..

 

[HenDuck]

Some people like fancy clothes or cars. Some like to eat out all the time. Some like to shop until they drop.

I can do without those things, but my vacations with my family are TOP priority.


My friends and I talk about this all the time. We all have our money issues and we've figured out that each of us has those one or two things that we must have and will find a way to get. For me, one of those things is travel.

We usually travel about once every other year, although last year we went to DL twice.

Although my husband and I are both professionals, we have high expenses - mortgage, car payment, private school tuition for DS. So I do have to budget and scrimp for our vacations. But I gladly do it with the goal in sight!

I too have never regretted one penny that I've spent on any of my vacations, even the ones that were taken "on credit". I pay in cash now, but like I said, it's always been worth it.

Great thread. Thanks!

 

[drakethib]

I have been lurking a lot on these boards and I want to know how do people manage to go to WDW 4 times a year and stay at a deluxe resort almost every time.

While I have no doubt that many people who do make these trips several times a year may indeed have nice incomes there are simple things that can be done to save money and spend it elsewhere.

While we don't go that many times a year, changing in spending habbits can give money for use on other things elsewhere. It all adds up at the end.

Need a small dumb example?

Instead of using paper towels @ $1.25 for 60 sheets (a little more then 2 cents per sheet )for napkins buy regualr napkins @$2.00 for 250 sheets ( less then 1 cent per sheet).

Doesn't sound like much but add simple things like this up over time and more times then not you may soon find that you have additonal money in your wallet.