How do you all DO it?

[Chase121698]

HI,

Could someone explain the 4 play day passes? Is this just for Fla. residents?
Thanks

 

[AdventurerKat]

I go alot by myself with friends which splits lodging in half for me at least.

I do have an AP.

I generally stay at moderates on an AP rate.

We take a family trip there at least once a year.

All of my family are enrolled in mileage plans so eventually we all get a free plane ticket which is nice.

I sometimes sell on Ebay for extra trip money.

I had my second son last year and am only working pt now so my WDW travel will slow some but I know I will at least go twice this year, maybe three times.

 

[polkadotminnie]

We drive for 11 hours to get there. We've only flown once. We have enough frequent flier miles to fly the family of 5 free, but I am saving those for Hawaii or the Caribbean. We went 3 times last year. We don't have Disney AP's, but do have a 2 yr. annual pass to Seaworld and Busch Gardens (you can pay monthly on a credit card and then pay it off ). We buy park hoppers then use only a few days so we can break it into 2 trips. We get overflow rates from Shades of Green or a code to help with hotel cost. We stay half the week on-site where we want, then I use priceline or Marriott points for the rest of the week. We are building a pool this year so I don't know how many trips we will make, but March is definite.

 

[sherry8253]

My DH and I love Disney and this is our major vacation each year. We buy AP's and get 2 trips out of them - one year we arrive the 2nd week in Dec and the next year, arrive around Thanksgiving and then stay through the first week in Dec. We always go during value season rather than holiday or peak season. We drive straight through from PA instead of flying and renting a car. All of our change goes into a change jar at the end of each day. We always cash it in right before we leave and usually end up with $700 to $900 which pays for food. We pack our lunch instead of eating in the cafeteria at work and I take a thermos of coffee instead of buying 2 or 3 cups a day at $1 + each. We limit dining out through the year and when we do dine out it is usually lunch on Sat or Sun instead of more expensive dinners. We actually eat alot healthier since we don't do the fast food or dining out as much as we did before. We stay at one of the low level deluxe - AKL, WL or Swan/Dolphin which is alot less expensive than one of the high end deluxe and we are willing to stay at whichever one has the lowest price that year. You could cut your costs by several hundred dollars if you are willing to go with one of the value resorts. Our kids are grown so we don't have the expense of children. I buy alot of my clothing on ebay - I paid about $7 for brand name jeans new w/ tags that are catalog returns rather than $45 if I would buy them directly from the catalog. I am thinking about starting to clip coupons too and adding what I save to the change jar - my sister saves at least $10 a week using coupons and although that may not sound like much it would be $500 if you save it for the year. There are all sorts of ways to cut your expenses throughout the year that can help you fund your Disney fix. Good luck and let me know if you can think of any saving tips.

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by "thegirls"


--And finally if you get your children involved, the 'saving' concept can be fun...Kinda like Bill in PA said " We eat grass and tree bark the rest of the year"!!! But NOT in DISNEY!!!

I missed this one...BILL is a HOOT!!! All your tips and hints are FAB, "thegirls", and money savers all the way around.

Another good tip...buy the current issue of BIRNBAUM'S guide to WDW, it's incredible. And please, visit MARY'S spectacular site at mousesavers.com where you are sure to find numerous ways to save a dollar or two. Or, you could resort to the "GRASS AND TREE BARK" diet (which is definitely worth it as you sip the ice cold offerings at the Rose and Crown Pub on a hot summer's day, eh BILL?!). Too funny....Keep up the good work. See you all in the WORLD!

TTFN...DF99

 

[CarolA]

I post this just to say that some of us are crazy. That is step one LOL!

Actually I go to Disney WAY to much. However, I am single with an excellent job. It is much cheaper for me to go by myself then for you to take the kids. And actually what I have discovered is that there is a LARGE popluation of people like me. SO... sometimes when you read about multiple trips you get a scewed vision.

(I also get to travel to Florida in my job which means I have free plane tickets and sometimes even free hotels and cars)

 

[PamNC]

it's costly, isn't it? One reason we can do it is because we don't have kids. I don't know how people with kids do it.

We buy AP's. We usually get two trips (sometimes 2 1/2) out of them therefore for our second trip we don't have to buy any passes.

We drive. We only live 9 hours away which may sound like a long haul but it's not that bad.

We definitely don't stay Value - we usually stay deluxe but only if we can get a good AP discount or room only discount. Never paid rack rate in my life.

We eat well - but we don't spend a lot of $$$ on souvenirs. We usually buy one "prize" (that's what we call it) each and something together and that's usually something for the house.

PamNC
6 days and counting - Polynesian here I come!

 

[3boysmommy]

here I sit trying to plan ONE LITTLE TRIP!!! we are driving from Ohio

there is NO WAY we could do it yearly
course we are LOW income!! LOL

I was hoping to do ONE dinner for the boys, checked the Hoop-Dee-Doo
there is NO WAY we can afford $200.00 for one meal

so thinking we'll skip the EXTRA meals

 

[Bill From PA]

dreamflight99,

Yes, no sense ecomonizing at WDW, especially at the Rose & Crown. Life's too short to drink cheap beer!

Bill From PA

 

[QJ411]

You guys are great...I love this board...so many honest answers...nobody's



We try to go every year, this year, we're trying to go twice...only b/c we bought the AP. We fly in (via JetBlue~very cheap airfare), and we stay at WL.

We love Disney and people always make fun of us when we tell them we're going back, but it's all in the fun of it. We usually don't go anywhere else to vacation, (we've tried the 'Mexico' thing, the 'Bahamas' thing and we just keep coming back to Disney).

Honestly, each time we go, we literally empty our piggie banks. We have no charge/credit cards (we vowed never to touch those things ever again!) so we take advantage of Disney's pay w/ installments plan. When we book, we leave a deposit and we make payments until it's near the trip and we bust our butts to pay that off.

We're not multimillionaires, (we can hardly pay bills on time! )...but when it comes to "We're going to Disney!"...everything else doesn't matter and we sell whatever we can on eBay, we don't go out for dinner as much, we'll watch a movie at home instead of going out...etc. etc.

And plus, we have no kids yet...so that cuts our expenses alot. KUDOS to parents to bring their kids to Disney, b/c we see how much it costs!

Ok, I got that off my chest...phew!

XOXO

 

[goofy4tink]

My first trip down in '99 I thought it was going to be the last one for maybe 5 years or so. Wrong!!! I was back again within 2 years. And then again 18 months later, and then 4 months after that. We have bought into DVC. We'll be buying APs starting this year. I try to economize where I can. Having the money taken directly out of my account for DVC really helps. Without that, I think we would be staying at either the AllStars or POR for our future visits. I think we'll try driving down at some point. THat will save about $700. Yes, it's expensive but if this is a priority for you, then you find a way. My dd and I are Disney nuts. My dh, while he likes it there, is happy to be staying on the Boardwalk, and not having to have a park commando mentality anymore.

 

[llebrekniT]

We buy annual passes, which we justified with how much money it saves us.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_102.gif' border=0></a> If you back your trip up by one week, you can go 2x within a year and save lots on ticket cost. Also, we've saved up to 45% on our room with an AP discount.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_213.gif' border=0></a>

We run a plumbing business and buy our material with a SW Visa which usually earns us two or three plane<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_2_116.gif' border=0></a> tickets a year. We also use our DISNEY Visa for everything, you just have to be sure to pay the balance at the end of the month or it doesn't "pay" to do it. When we go in April we will have about $400 Disney reward dollars<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/27/27_4_12.gif' border=0></a> from that.

Other than that, we are just fortunate to be able to afford to go 2x a year. Other than Disney we usually just visit things within driving range of our home.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15_1_56.gif' border=0></a> We try to visit a new city every year, a short 2 or 3 day trip for that.

When the kids are grown,<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15/15_2_137.gif' border=0></a> they won't want the Disney thing as much,<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_9_4.gif' border=0></a> so we're doing it as much as we can while they're young.

 

[hockey mom]

Between 3 kids and the exchange rate it gets a little costly but we love it to much to give it up. I also buy hoppers for Disney and Universal and spread them over 2 trips. We offset a nice resort with either priceline or a good code at a value. For birthdays and such my kids recieve American money from family which helps when they have their own spending. We always go once a year and sometimes twice, but this year we are thinking of putting off our second trip and saving for DVC. We have family with great cottages on the Bay so we vacation very cheaply in the summer.

 

[MsLefty]

You guys are great! I never expected such honest, compassionate and sometimes downright funny responses. Financially, it's harder, bringing kids, not to mention working around the school scedule. Keep them coming. This thread has turned into a wealth of information and excellent tips on making Disney a possibility for everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

 

[JayCT]

Our second trip to WDW with the kids (DS8 and DS6) will be in May and we will be staying at WL (in 02 we did the Poly Concierge LV with an AP rate). Other than this, our family vacatons are pretty simple. Driving to northern New England, staying at modest family motels and visiting relatives that have a house on a lake. My DW is excellent with money. She does not buy things we do not need and shops for the kids at quality consignment shops. We watch what we charge to our Disney credit card and pay off the balance each month. We charged our airfares and will pay them and the room deposit off well before the trip. We will also pay the room charge and any charges to our cards within a couple of months. We are very fortunate to be able to do this, but we work hard all year and once in a while we feel we deserve to splurge on a good vacation.

 

[DisneyObsessed]

We've been EXTREMELY fortunate. My father took us the first couple of years. This year he passed, so we had a little bit of extra $$ to make this years trip. We have also charged the most expensive stuff, and then paid off the charge cards with tax returns. Each year I say there's no way we can ever go back next year, and somehow we do.
________________
Dawn

 

[cindyfan]

With us....it is very similar to all the other posts!

First my DH travels A LOT with his job...so we really rack up the frequent flyer points and Amer Ex points (they are partners).

We can usually get flights for 25,000 pts...if not we have been able to get flights for $188....that is really good!!

Then we use AmEx pts to cover the rental car.

We are also AP holders.....we usually go twice a year but will get 3 trips out of them.....We will go June, Oct then April or May or this time it is Oct, June then Sept.
the last pass..... I used it for 23 days of WDW!!! Pretty good for just $350......works out to $15 /day.......I can't think of any other place we can go that it only costs $15/day..

Then we look for codes for the resorts.....only once have I been able to get an AP discount.....but we have always been able to get some other kind of code for a discount.....

WDW is always our vacation destination and we can go very cheap sometimes......or if we save a bit....we will splurge and do a deluxe resort.

 

[chrisnjessie]

For us, we go a lot. We went in 9/00, 9/01, 12/01, 2/02, 5/02, 7/02, 8/02, 9/02, 12/02, Christmas 02, 5/03, 6/03, 8/03, 9/03, 10/03, 12/03, Christmas 03, 1/04, and we're leaving later on this afternoon for another trip. We moved to GA in 1/02, so we Disney is only a 5 hour drive, which helps a lot. We had AP's from when we lived in PA and did two trips, so between being able to drive and not having admission costs, it's easier for us to go often.

Usually we only go for 2-4 days at the most. That helps cut costs, too. We alternate resorts depending on how much extra money we have at the time. Of course we prefer the deluxe's, but we're fine at a value or moderate as well. And, in cases like tonight, we're leaving after DH gets home from work. We probably won't leave the house until 4:30 or 5:00 pm. By the time we get in we'll just collapse into bed, so we either stay at a value resort or priceline something, so we're not wasting a ton of money when we wouldn't notice anyway. Tomorrow, we check into the GF.

The AP rates are certainly a help. I have to admit, I am a TA, so those discounts are quite nice as well. Plus, to some extent, I blame all of our trips on "research" The main thing is that it's just DH and I in GA, none of our family is near. DH works a lot, and so we go to Disney to get away and reconnect. It doesn't much matter whether we eat at V&A's or the Electric Umbrella, we're there together, and that's the important part to us. We're willing to cut what corners we need to to make the trips happen. We also don't have kids, and while DH makes enough to cover all of our bills, I have two jobs that I do from home, so that extra money doesn't hurt.

 

[Ziggie]

I've been visiting WDW since it first opened.. but not with any regularity until 1989. Since then, we have visited WDW on the average of 5 times a year. Over the years, we have celebrated all sorts of milestones at Disney.

The one key factor in all these trips? Florida Resident Discounts. Without that, we would never go as much as we do.

Let me say this though.. our frequent trips (while glorious and thrilling), have essentially turned our DD off from WDW She has been there so many times that she has reached her personal saturation limit.

We offered to pay for her wedding at Disney and she vetoed the idea before we could say "Bippity, Boppity, Boo".

So, I guess traveling to WDW often can have it's down side. Although Hubby and I love our Disney trips, DD has essentially told us.. "I'll take a pass".

 

[k&a&c'smom]

QJ411

I had to jump back in here, to commiserate w/you about people "making fun" when you say you're going back to WDW. We get this every time, family & friends always say "again - don't you want to go somewhere else?" It makes us keep it to ourselves for as long as possible!!

And, the comment you made about credit cards - ain't that the truth!!! We paid off and got rid of all but one cc with a very low limit - those things are like crack!!!

I also wanted to add that when our kids were small, and our family of 5 would all go, we always drove to WDW, even though it is a 24-hr. drive from MO. Now, with just DD and me, we fly, as it gives us another day or two in the World. And, with 5 of us, we ate a lot more counter-service meals, with just one or two nice sit-down meals. We brought pop-tarts and snack crackers and a cooler with pop and bottled water for the room. This is a lot easier to do when you drive.

Everybody here seems to have a few secrets to getting their WDW fix - that's why this board is so great!!:happy1: