How do people do it?

[disneyjunkie]

Oh, so that's where the money comes from--one's wazoo!

Some people here think you have to be "loaded" to stay in a deluxe resort several times a year.

I'm sure people that have never been to WDW may think those that stay in the value and moderates several times a year are "loaded".

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

:I'm sure people that have never been to WDW may think those that stay in the value and moderates several times a year are "loaded".

While I stay mostly in Values (my finances will likely never allow regular stays in Deluxe), I am pretty frugal the rest of the year to afford it, obtaining my precious vacation time in WDW by shopping at secondhand stores and keeping the heat down low and such. Having family in Gainesville and Daytona helps, as we visit them yearly anyway and it just makes sense to take advantage of our proximity to WDW. Even so, colleagues have made snide comments to the effect of, "Must be nice to have so much money to throw away," or asserting that I must have some "in" with the Disney Corporation because "normal" people simply can't afford to go more than once in a lifetime. Few care to hear about the trade-offs I make to afford the vacation (in cash, too - no CC debt for me!), or about how I save money through codes and general careful planning.

 

[minnie1928]

While I stay mostly in Values (my finances will likely never allow regular stays in Deluxe), I am pretty frugal the rest of the year to afford it, obtaining my precious vacation time in WDW by shopping at secondhand stores and keeping the heat down low and such. Having family in Gainesville and Daytona helps, as we visit them yearly anyway and it just makes sense to take advantage of our proximity to WDW. Even so, colleagues have made snide comments to the effect of, "Must be nice to have so much money to throw away," or asserting that I must have some "in" with the Disney Corporation because "normal" people simply can't afford to go more than once in a lifetime. Few care to hear about the trade-offs I make to afford the vacation (in cash, too - no CC debt for me!), or about how I save money through codes and general careful planning.

While I tend to stay at Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe category, not deluxe price) I also am very careful with my money the rest of the year. My heat is set low, I coupon like crazy, buy my clothes at consignment shops, sell clothes at consigment, and Ebay. I would rather spend less on the necessities so I can spend more on something I get enjoyment out of. Those that care to listen find that I do tons of research, use codes, and plan the daylights out of our trip to avoid having to buy necessities while in WDW at their over-blown prices (anyone pay $10 for a roll of film lately? ). Others simply assume that I've got money growing on trees and I simply harvest it prior to a trip.

I think alot of people would be amazed by the type of lifestyles that others have while having similiar incomes!!!

I so agree with this! I have co-workers that buy every "trendy" thing that comes out, even after declaring bankruptcy 2 years ago! And they wonder how I can afford WDW and they can't. I have car pymts and a mortgage, nothing else. I'm in the process of paying one car off by the end of this year and the other car by the end of 2006, which will save me a lot of money in interest. All the more for WDW!

 

[Goofyzgurl]

I too am one of those rich up the wazoo people that goes 2-3 times a year. Really I'm not, I will be one day when I win the lottery! We're like every one else, dh is in the military and I work for a private industry. Dh has alway said that as many times we go to dw I could've had a ten carat on my finger. Instead we spend our money on going to dw, don't eat out a lot, don't drink, don't do a lot of things other people spend their money one. We shop at tj maxx, ross, try to avoid the malls except for dd, she thinks she has to shop at The Limited Too for some reason. The main reason that we go more than once a year is that we live on one income. We're always prepared for when dh gets orders to move to another base and I won't have a job. When I worked for Labor Dept, I would always see wives/husbands come in and say they have to get a job now because they just moved her with their military spouse and need the money. Then I'd see them later both driving expensive newer model cars with a lot of "things." Well, we agreed that our thing would be vacationing at DW.

 

[mwalsh]

I am fortunate enough to have been 4 times in the past calendar year, and not loaded. Not hurting, but not loaded.

I use my AP and stay in the resort with the best savings. Sometimes it is a moderate, sometimes a deluxe. AKL, WL, and CR always seemed to have great savings. Now things may change with the MYW.

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.

We work hard and play hard!

That is why you take a break on retirement funds, and extra savings to go to Disney with your child - if you have the luxury to do so. Which I thank GOD I do.

Hope this sheds some light on the "not so loaded" but crazy folks like me.

 

[mum4jenn]

We go to Orlando several times a year but don't always do Disney. We have APs for Universal and Sea World and when we do buy tickets for Disney we buy the largest multi day passes we can and then make them last for YEARS by only doing the parks 1 or 2 days. We bought 8 day passes back in early 1992 and we still have 1 park day and 4 water park days left!! We eat lunch in the room quite a bit and hit the breakfast buffets on I-drive. Our rooms are either value resorts with great codes or we do priceline ,hotwire,hotel.com,etc etc etc. My dh will search for hours day after day to get a great price. We even will splurge once a year to stay at a onsite Universal hotel in order to get front of the line. We don't do alot of eating out usually...we hardly ever go to the movies.....my dh does all the yard work and we live close enough to Orlando (5 hours away). We are haelthy so we dont have a bunch of Dr. bills either. Dh also will do Ibid usa and restaurant.com for money saving coupons for eating and activities. Dh also works overtime just before our trips to get our spending money. I do not drive a SUV...I have a small car which is great on gas. I spend about $50 a month on gas.

Are we loaded?? Hardly...Dh works at a tire building plant and I am a manager for a school cafeteria (which I can vouch for the LOUSY pay) It can be done...just like others have said...it just depends on your priorities.

 

[disnutt]

I always have the trips paid for 100% before we go. It's hard work, but it's fun going to WDW!!

This will be our 2nd paid for up front trip to Disney. We're working the debt-free thing. It is sooooo much more fun scrimping for something you really want and then enjoying the heck out of it!

The kids (DDs 9 and 4) are even starting to plan what they will spend their hard-earned cash for. After story time before bed we lay around dreaming of all the possibilities. We never did this before and the anticipation REALLY stretches out the enjoyment.

 

[G00fyDad]

All this time I've just been trying to get money the old-fashioned way--earn it!...

You know what? My comment wasn't meant to slam anyone. I just know what it is going to cost us to go to WDW this year and stay at a Moderate. And I really don't see how anyone can afford to go more than once a year. Especially to a Deluxe. But you know what else? If you can go more than once a year and still provide for your family then fine. Great. Hooray. Good for you. Have fun. But unless someone here actually says something that is really controversial or slams on you personally, try to keep the snide comments to yourself. It makes being here in these forums so much nicer. Your comment was unnecessary the way it was and just goes to show why there are so many lurkers out there instead of posters and why so many people have use the ignore feature. Every time anyone says anything someone else comes along and gets smart with them for it.

 

[ebarj1098]

I think everyone has a different opinion on what "loaded" is. And yes, alot of people who wonder how another can afford to go to WDW waste their money on things they don't need. I, too, would rather give up "things" to be able to take my kids to Disney. My son wants to marry Cinderella, how can I pass that up? So, I'm going, and I hope to back in 3 years. I do happen to also think you have to be "loaded" to stay in a deluxe many times a year. Then again, I also happen to think anyone bringing home over 50K a year is loaded!

 

[crazelion]

I do good if go every 2 years. Do by doing free entainment in my city. Every Monday night is free movie Monday that radio station sponsers. I won eight free tickets to lastest movies that comes out. Eat at home instead going out to eat. In the summer eat at the baseball park free where I work at.

I do not have have latest thing that comes out the market. I wait a year to before electronics. This Christmas just got 2 dvd players for the house both under 60.00 dollars.

Shop at stores that people don't know about that get stuff from JC Penny and Dillards all time and sell them for dirt cheap. Will shop at Marshell's and Ross for good discounts clothes.

Shoes comes from the Reebok Outlet, Shoe Dept. and Shoe Place all under 30.00 dollars.

I am the Wal-Mart queen shops at everything grocery and clothes. Wal-Mart layway is my best friend.

Grocery is between Save-o-Lot and Wal-Mart has cheapest prices here.

 

[Mom to Will and Finn]

It's all relative. When we first got married we were broke. Our income now would seem like incredible wealth back then, yet we sometimes struggle. Loaded to one person, is different than loaded to another.

If you made over a hundred thousand a year and managed your money well, three trips to Disney per year (especially if you live close and have AP passes) wouldn't make too much of a dent.

Everyone has different income levels, spending habits, spending needs, and priorities on here. Some can only afford Disney once in their lifetimes and others can go several times a year.

I'm happy with an every-other-year trip to Disney!

 

[mamalle]

we like to go 4 times a year but we are fla residents and have seasonal passes. we also have seaworld passes and like to visit both during the year. we now started cruising and wont be going as much as we have in the past. we work and put the money away for our trips. Right now its not that expensive for us since we drive. Im a nurse and for me to pick up a extra shift is good money- I just put it away for our trips. we always stay in the CSR since its our fav and I would never go when we had to pay rack rates.

 

[HayGan]

But unless someone here actually says something that is really controversial or slams on you personally, try to keep the snide comments to yourself. It makes being here in these forums so much nicer. Your comment was unnecessary the way it was and just goes to show why there are so many lurkers out there instead of posters and why so many people have use the ignore feature. Every time anyone says anything someone else comes along and gets smart with them for it.

I'm sure that many people (including myself) found your original post here unnecessary and rude. By calling people nuts for going on vacation a few times a year or saying that they have money out the wazoo is extremely judgemental. You are flat out criticzing other lives and doing precisely what you are flaming others for!! I'm sure you meant no harm in your original post but please take a step back and think about what you have said!

Because they have money out the wazoo. If they tell you otherwise then they are either nuts for spending that kind of cash or they are pulling your leg. Anyone that has $1500 (or more) four times a year just to go to WDW is loaded. However, there are some people that go three or four times a year that only go for a day or two.

 

[MinnieM21]

We were able to go to WDW in December and will be going again in October. We're also going to Disneyland in December and have gone ever year. Going to Disney is something we value a lot and it's what makes us happy.

We stay at the Grand Floridian but with an AP codes we can get a discount of about $100 a day.

We don't have to pay for our tickets more than once because we're annual passport holders.

We're getting a DDE card which saves money when it comes to food. We don't eat counter service but with our DDE will save money at the table service restaurants.

I got a big discount on our rental car thanks everyone of the Transportation boards.

I get free airfare because we all have frequent flyer accounts, so we don't have to pay for airfare. But if we don't have enough miles, I at least have a companion tickets which I get every year.

Our Disney vacation is about $4,000. I'm glad we got the price of our vacation at what we had budgeted for. I think everyone has different ideas of what costs a lot and what doesn't. If going to Disney makes you happy, then go for it and have fun!

 

[KathyTX]

I think everyone's idea of "loaded" is different, and we all have different ways of setting priorities and budgeting for our trips.

I don't think anyone can say that someone else is nuts for the way they choose to spend their money, especially if you don't know all of their financial circumstances!

 

[disneyjunkie]

[QUOTEI don't think anyone can say that someone else is nuts for the way they choose to spend their money, especially if you don't know all of their financial circumstances![/QUOTE]

 

[robsmom]

I too am one of those rich up the wazoo people that goes 2-3 times a year. .... The main reason that we go more than once a year is that we live on one income. We're always prepared for when dh gets orders to move to another base and I won't have a job. When I worked for Labor Dept, I would always see wives/husbands come in and say they have to get a job now because they just moved her with their military spouse and need the money. Then I'd see them later both driving expensive newer model cars with a lot of "things." Well, we agreed that our thing would be vacationing at DW.

We don't go to Disney several times a year but we do usually take 2 or 3 vacations. This year we are doing vegas in April/May, Disney in July and maybe a long weekend for our 10th anniversary in the Fall. I think the above quote explains how we do it, although we are not a military family. The key is that we have always lived with the idea that we might only have 1 job at some point. We might decide that i should be a SAHM for a while or one of us might lose or jobs. 10 years later and we still have 2 jobs and have straight through. So since we try to keep our basic living expenses as close the one income as we can that gives us a little cushion for vacations.

 

[ptrbryant]

I don't think he meant anything mean-spirited. Come on, we've all seen the posts where people stay Concierge at the Poly for two weeks and then the GF a few months later, etc. Or write about THIS MONTH'S WDW trip. I think he honestly meant,"Wow! Are there that many people who can afford that?" As others have said, everyone has a different idea of what "loaded" is given their own circumstances. This is the first time we're going to try to pay for everything ahead of time since we're finally cc debt free and want to stay that way! Since I homeschool (great salary! ), we live on my DH's middle income. We also don't eat out at nice restaurants---maybe once a week at McD's out of convenience between errands, but that's usually under $10 for the 3 of us. I use coupons, send in for rebates and am often up past midnight doing eBay sales. I try to get most of my clothes on eBay, too. Even with all that, it's a big challenge to come up with the money for one trip a year. So, I think this thread was started out of amazement rather than criticism!

Karla B.

 

[FreeTime]

We made the best decision of our lives several years ago, that was to purchse DVC. We are not loaded and have worked hard to pay off the contract. We go several times a year and eat in the room, buy AP's, mostly drive, occasionaly fly, and we are trying to dig ourselves out of debt. I pay all of our extra money to debt that we created back when we were younger. We still scrimp and save for WDW money as well. Extra money? Half goes to debt and half to the vacation fund. Our kids are going to grow up fast. I would much rather spend a vacation that the family has worked hard for and enjoy it, then spend a vacation at home in front of the TV.

 

[kathyseb]

I think it all comes down to priorities. For us, WDW is a priority. Both my husband and myself travel in our jobs. Our vacations mean that four weeks out of the year we are together 24/7. And yes, I said four weeks.
We are far from loaded, and we go a total of three different trips a year. We have never stayed in a moderate, much less a deluxe. We don't spend enough time in the room to fork out that type of money.
When we were staying offsite, I would spend at least one hour a night on the computer searching for a deal at one of the Downtown Disney hotels.
We have had annual passes for the past three years. That is the only way to go with as many trips as we make. And unlike a lot of people, we got to the park everyday. And we never stray from Disney.
A year ago we bought into DVC. So we have made two trips since buying into that. So now we look at as our room is budgeted out over the entire year.
It will take us longer to get our investment back simply because we did not stay at deluxe resorts. But with as many trips as we make, we will recoup our investment.
So now the only money we need to take with us is for the hotel on the way down there (it takes us two days to drive down) food and purchases.
We are going to invest in a DDE card this spring and see how that goes. We normally do not eat at the full service restaurants in the parks other than a few, but will give it a try.

Every trip we go on we take approxiamtely $1000-1500 with us. Whatever money we bring back is put with our annual passes and is saved until our next rrip.

One trip, prior to DVC, we actually spent less than $500 for a week down there. That was for everything we did other than the tickets to the park and the room.

In debt, no we are not. We still have a house and car payment and now DVC. But we have no credit card debt.

If we feel we can't afford something we don't get it. In fact we first looked into DVC in 96 but decided there was no way we coudl afford it. So when we finally bought in 2003, we were quick to realize if we had purchased in 96 it would almost be paid for. But again, we could not afford it then. We feel we can now.
If it was more than just my husband and myself, it would cost a great deal more and we would not be able to afford 3 trips a year.