How do you afford it?

[jipsy]

I've been here for almost two years now. In that space of time, I have been to WDW once; it's all I could afford.

I know that alot of you go to WDW and/or Disneyland several times a year each year. My question is:

How do you do it? How do you afford to go that often?

I need secrets

Seriously, what do you give up or do differently? I'm no pauper; I make a good living and I actually live pretty frugally and I still can't afford to go there 3, 4, 5 times a year, or go and stay for a month at a time.

Help me be like you I want more vacations!

 

[EROS]

I run an ESCORT SERVICE for lonely Boston Men

 

[catsrule]

We can afford only 2 vacations a year, I like to go to somewhere other the WDW for one of them. We have no kids, just kitties. Don't eat out very often.

 

[Crissup]

It's easy, you buy into DVC.

 

[A kid at heart]

I rob banks.

 

[caitycaity]

the way we did it before (don't have pap's anymore and money is a bit tighter) was to have pap's, get an ap rate at a resort, and use ff miles for the airfare. that way, we only had to pay food, souveniers, and a small amount for hotel.

 

[jipsy]

DVC might cover your lodging, but only at certain places. I see alot of people on here who are not DVC members who go more often than some DVC people.

Caity, I don't fly that often so I don't get ffmiles much; I'm not much of a charge card user either so I can't build them up that way.

Excuse my ignorance but what are pap's?

 

[Raysplus1]

With airfare as cheap as it is & taking advantage of cheap hotel rates, such as the Courtyard by Mariott for $25 a night you can go to Disney for little $$.

 

[Blondie]

I am fortunate enough to have a DH that has a position within the Federal Gov't. that requires he stay updated on certain things pertaining to his position.

There are workshops/seminars/classes held through out the U.S. that he can pick from (he's already been to Vegas 3 times in the past 2 years himself) and he picks the Orlando sessions because he loves WDW as much as the kids and I do.

Out of the 8 trips to WDW since 1994, so far only two have been totally out of our pocket.

The other trips were all "business" trips with an expense check.

We only pay for 4 park hoppers and transporation for the kids and I (which is why we've only flown a few times.) He's given so much money for food each day as well, and that covers a sit down meal at one of the park restaurants.

It also helps that we qualify for the "Gov't Rate" at the Swan and Dolphin, or overflow rates through Shades Of Green.

And that's how we've afforded it.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I was going to say DVC also. Yes, it's true, we only stay at certain on-site resorts with DVC, but they are Deluxe type resorts with full kitchens, large living rooms, laundry rooms, jacuzzi tubs in the master bath etc. The joy is that we can use DVC for other vacations as well. Before DVC, we went to WDW every 2-3 years, because we didn't feel we could afford to go more often. Now we go at least 2 full weeks a year. Sometimes in one big trip, other times in multiple smaller trips. We find our biggest expense is airfare and food. We use Annual passes and try to get at least 2 or 3 trips per annual pass. That means our addmission is down to about $12 per day/per person. We plan our trips 11 months out, so we have PLENTY of time to look for the best airfare. We have gone (from Minnesota to Orlando) for as little as $145 RT or as much as $340 RT. Our average is around $250RT. We feel we broke even on the DVC purchase after about 4 years, and now we are going each year for our maintanance fee only. It is also nice to know we will always be going to WDW as often as we want, and it is our "comfort place" to vacation. I must say, before DVC, we felt just as you do. Don't feel that way any more!!!

 

[zurgswife]

We are DVCers with AP's.....I usually get really good airfare...so flying out weighs driving 17 hrs with 4 kids....Recently delta had a $133 sale....We eat most of our meals in the room, take our snacks and water into the park, the kids bring savings and allowance for souveniors....I try to put money away each week for my trip expense money.....Disney is the only vacation we do...besides weekend trips to friends vacation homes in the summer....I use my CC for everything so we rack up lots of miles and try to pay all the balance down ASAP...

I try to get 2 trips in in 12 months...usually one with kids one without.....

I just make it work....I love disney...

 

[Beauty]

We have Annual Passes so we are only out the money once for our passes. Plus there are so many Super hotel/resort rates out there. We also do a lot of eating off sight and we drive down so no airfare. It is amazing how much money you can spend eating onsight...$30 bucks for burgers and fries!!

 

[Zurg]

Originally posted by zurgswife
We are DVCers with AP's.....I usually get really good airfare...
I just make it work....I love disney...

She forgot to mention insanity.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The change jar is a great idea. We have done that for years. We buy our APs with that!

 

[supercarrie]

I live 15 minutes from DL so I just buy my AP once a year and I am set for that. For WDW, we save all year long - we have managed to go twice so far, in one year. The 2nd trip only happened because we got $99 airfare from CA to Orlando round trip after 9/11. For our trips, we constantly monitor airfare, as well as resort codes for staying onsite, although we also look at offsite deals as well. Last trip was at the HIFS with a buy one night get one night free deal, so it ended up only being around $50 a night for a kid's suite. We would rather stay offsite at a decent hotel than give up our nice meals (we love to eat . )

My mom has talked about another trip to WDW in June, right after school gets out, but we will see - my family has a certain budget for vacations (which always gets blown as we love to travel) but they do not want to go to WDW as often as I do. In real life, my parents give up expensive clothes, cars, and household furniture in exchange for more money for vacations - we love to travel.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by jipsy
....Excuse my ignorance but what are pap's?

Premium Annual Pass http://wdwig.com/apass.htm

 

[tnkrbell]

We live about 2 1/2 hours from Disney!! My Dad buys my family Ap Every year for our birthdays, (Great dad isnt he??)
My hubby Dd and I only go about 2 times a year funded by ourselves but About another tow times a year my Dad takes us all!! (Again Great dad!!)

 

[glo]

Scrtimp and save....use the AP....get good airfare and get the cheapest resort possible with codes and discounts!!!

 

[swankybeth]

For me, it's not so bad. I work full time and don't pay rent (I live at home). With my boyfriend and I splitting the cost of our trips, it comes out okay. Also, we buy AP's and get at least 2 trips out of them, not to mention using them for the great hotel discounts! We also get great airfare, usually around $120 roundtrip.

 

[jldriscoll]

Originally posted by tnkrbell
We live about 2 1/2 hours from Disney!! My Dad buys my family Ap Every year for our birthdays, (Great dad isnt he??)
My hubby Dd and I only go about 2 times a year funded by ourselves but About another tow times a year my Dad takes us all!! (Again Great dad!!)

Is he looking to adopt????