How do you guys afford the POLY!

[KCMiller]

My recommendation is either renting DVC points, which we've done a few times and are VERY happy with, or Pricelining a resort (we stayed at the Marriott Orlando World Resort for about $50 a night - do research on biddingfortravel.com) and just book your last night or two at the Poly - the best of both worlds!

As for how we afford it, well, the first time we went we just decided that we couldn't afford to NOT go (our kids were marching at MK!). After that, it's been a combination of a DH with a great job, wonderful luck on my part when it comes to which family to be born into , and a desire to maximize our entertainment dollar.

Gotta love the Mouse!

KC

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi. We are from the NW suburbs of chicago and we are planning on going to Disney over spring break. We booked on American for under $900 for five people. I do surveys both in person and on-line and save all the money for our trip. I've been able to save $900 which paid for our airline tickets. Now, I'm saving toward the hotel. We are planning on staying at the CR or Dolphin. Good luck on saving.

WOW! How'd you get that great price?- I would be flying out of O'Hare & I just checked for our spring break dates 3/24 - 4/2 and they want about $500/person!!!! ugh. What a ripoff.

Please let me know how you got $900 for 5 people. I have just been waiting for SWAs schedule, but O'Hare is closer to us than Midway.

Thanks -

Lives4Disney

 

[skiwee1]

Hubby has a great job which allows me to stay at the Poly.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

I treat our vacation funding like any other expense - it must be 'paid'. Every Friday $100 transfers from our checking account to a special savings account. That savings account is specifically used for vacations. I also get annual bonus the 1st Quarter of each year based on our company's performance the previous year. We use some of this for vacation too.

We only go to WDW once a year (but not this year) and always stay at the Poly because we absolutely adore it and it makes our WDW vacation. Yes, it's pricy but we think it's worth it.

Debbie

 

[CherCrazy]

We always brought pizza or fast food to the hotel room to eat, rather than spending every night's meal in the park. That saved us a lot of $$

DH & I went by ourselves last year, we couldn't believe the number of families with children eating in the expensive restaurants. How can they afford it?? We were really surprised.

Back to the subject of people's priorities, I had a client while I was working as a travel agent. She was booked for a trip for the GF for her family of four. This was several years ago (mid/late 90's) and the cost was over $5000. She was having trouble PAYING for the trip. She confessed to me that they didn't have any $$ but they were going to do this trip anyway! Crazy I love the mouse as much as anyone...but this lady was nuts!! I think she finally paid it off a week before departure. All her neighbors stayed at the GF, so she had to keep up with the Jones' .

 

[lynr]

Hi all, thanks for the great posts! I know everyone is trying to help, so it's all cool. We are shooting for the POLY, we'll start with that and see where we end up. So much to take into consideration, and of course, you can plan 'till the cows come home and it may still need to postponed...we have gone thru that in the past. We enjoyed a fabuous Christmas Eve dinner at O'Hana's last year, and we just fell in love with the Poly, but we do know our limitaions, and we do enjoy at least 7 nights when we plan a trip there....not trying to sound greedy, just a time frame that we enjoy.
Like I mentioned, was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy all 3 levels of the WDW resorts, would stay in any of them again, just trying to pull off one heck of a nice stay for DH's sake, (oh, and I'd love it too)
Looks like I need to put more paycheck away, and at least shoot for 3 nights there, I know DH does not want to do a split, but like I said, if I do my best to make it as smooth as possible...maybe have those tropical drinks flowing to him by the pool.... will pass before he knows it!
Pam

Pam: Have you thought about getting a membership in AAA? It has saved me a lot of money off the room and packages both. We are staying 3 nights next August and it is saving me close to $300, but we are staying Concierge.
15% off isn't a whole lot but it is better than nothing.

Lyn

 

[disneyfan67]

I find the only way I can stay at the Poly is book a trip at least a year in advance and make set monthly payments. This way it makes you decide what you want more, the vaction or going out to eat, movies, etc. It's hard and my family has to buckle down and not get a case of the I want's or the gimmies. With two 8 year old boys, that's easier said than done. LOL! I always say that a stay at the Polynesian is an investment of memories that last a lifetime.

Face it Fin Fan, some people are better off and in a better postion than most. I say good for them and I refuse to let myself feel bitter or green with envy. I'm not saying you do that or would, but a lot of people play the class warfare game and make you feel that you have to justify how you afford certain things in life.Staying at a Deluxe Disney resort for a week or more is a major outlay of cash, reguardless of how much money you make or how hard you work. Try and save for it, if you can and good luck. If worse comes to worse, stay at the Poly for only half the vacation and do it last so you have a good memory when it's time to go. I'm getting ready to start the process all over again for my trip in summer of 2007. Good luck to you and I hope it works out for you.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

Hi!!

We will continue to stay at the Poly because we LOVED it soooo much, it was WELL worth the extra $$ and the new rooms are fabulous...
here are some of our tips:

with three kids it is hard but we have one small car payment for a 1998 minivan

we have a Disney milk jug where all change and dollar bills even are put away

we have family get kids Disney dollars for Holidays

I work to go on vacation, dh pays the bills...

we go on off season (We plan to go in Mar and stay at SOG because I can not afford two stays a year at the Poly...but hope to figure it out one day!!)

basically we stay less days too...we really wanted the Poly and I sacraficed a day (was going to do POR) so that we could stay at the Poly.

We also do not get hoppers (one park a day is plenty for our family) and just get basic 4 day tickets

we had the free dining but next time we will have 1 or 2 TS and the rest CS, we also eat breakfast in room to help with food $$$ and we do not buy expensive coffees, we make it in our Poly coffee maker.

I get a refillable mug and 5 of us share it...I make the kids share the hot chocolate and pour their drinks into seperate cups...

we also split and share meals, we ate several "lunches" from snack carts, the five of us shared a pretzel and two churros...

we bought hardly any souvies and that is ok with all of us!! The kids got their Disney dollar money (80 a kid) and that was IT...no foolin'...

I brought bottled water with crystal light packs so we could have lemonade during the park visits, my girls liked it too. Less sugar and less $$$

We bought Disney souvies at Dollar Tree and I brought them with us and TINK delivered them to the kids at night!!

They made their own scrapbooks, autograph books for WDW

It really did not make sense to me to book two value rooms for our large family...I liked the relaxed, tropical environment

Oh yeah another thing about the Poly:
I realize that it is actually a money saver sometimes because instead of heading to the MK every night to see Wishes, we can watch from the beach with our refillable mugs instead of going to the park and having to buy SOMETHING for the show...

also since you can see the EWP, I found that it was nice, relaxing and not expensive to just sit in the hammock, let the kids play on the beach or in the pool and STILL have world class entertainment!!

awww crap here I go again, I sure hope I like SOG in March!!
I am just happy dh agreed!!

we were just talking today aboout how happy and blissful we all were at WDW, it was like our honeymoon all over again, this time with the kids!!!

 

[luvdmouse]

WOW! How'd you get that great price?- I would be flying out of O'Hare & I just checked for our spring break dates 3/24 - 4/2 and they want about $500/person!!!! ugh. What a ripoff.

Please let me know how you got $900 for 5 people. I have just been waiting for SWAs schedule, but O'Hare is closer to us than Midway.

Thanks -

Lives4Disney

Hi LIves4Disney,
We are leaving from O'hare on 3/27 on American. We booked it last spring when the tickets first went on sale. United was very pricey, but we got $175 pp including taxes on AA. I would just wait for a good sale that includes your dates. We tried to use frequent flier miles on UA at 330 days but we could only get really awful times and the other two tickets would have cost us $900 to purchase on the same flights. So we went with AA. Good luck!

 

[needawdwtrip]

I just want to vouch for renting points. Just got back from a 4 night stay at BCV studio and loved it!!!!! Everything went perfectly.

 

[lustergirl]

Gee I am one of those who drive a 40 thousand dollar SUV because I choose to. We went on our first trip to Disney this past month, September and stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. The way I look at it is we didn't spend alot of time in our room anyways with going to the parks and extra things that Disney has to offer- so why pay 300 hundred dollars a night, and chose to spend 79 dollars a night. I think some people define wealth and status by what resort they choose to stay at. It doesn't make a difference to me either way. I will be staying at the Sports again next September when we go back- can't wait. The more pricey resort are beautiful but I just wouldn't spend the money staying at one of them. To each his own though, hope I didn't offend anyone.

Have a great disney day,
Lisa

 

[WIDisneyFan]

Gee I am one of those who drive a 40 thousand dollar SUV because I choose to. We went on our first trip to Disney this past month, September and stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. The way I look at it is we didn't spend alot of time in our room anyways with going to the parks and extra things that Disney has to offer- so why pay 300 hundred dollars a night....

I would have to say this is a great point - one of the things we love about the Disney resprts is the options both on servies and prices (and this applies to everyone no matter what their budget is). We do choose to stay at the Polynesian and go Concierge as well. I am lucky enough to have a job in which that is an option for me and my family. At the same time my brother thinks I am nuts for spending the money on the resort and he too could easily afford it, but much like you uses the resort simply as a bedroom while we tend to spend far more time relaxing by the pool or on the beach.

 

[Mom2Rae]

That way, by the time our vacation comes around the room is paid for (this year Poly concierge lagoon view) and I haven't had to charge a thing.

I make my ressie's about 11 month before arrival and I send a check to Disney for $200 every month. It's so nice to show up at the check-in desk and everything is paid for without charging!

I also cut back on my Target Trips!!! That helps. Target gets me in trouble every time.

Chel

 

[ducklite]

Gee I am one of those who drive a 40 thousand dollar SUV because I choose to. We went on our first trip to Disney this past month, September and stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. The way I look at it is we didn't spend alot of time in our room anyways with going to the parks and extra things that Disney has to offer- so why pay 300 hundred dollars a night, and chose to spend 79 dollars a night. I think some people define wealth and status by what resort they choose to stay at. It doesn't make a difference to me either way. I will be staying at the Sports again next September when we go back- can't wait. The more pricey resort are beautiful but I just wouldn't spend the money staying at one of them. To each his own though, hope I didn't offend anyone.

Have a great disney day,
Lisa

I have the opposite train of thought. "I think some people define wealth and status by what" type of car they drive.

We tend to spend a lot of time in our room when we travel. So having the space and amenities are important to us. LIke I said in my earlier post, it's about what is a priority for you. For you it's driving an SUV and saving money on your room. For me it's driving a Saturn and having a room with space and amenities.

Anne

 

[mikkiwikki]

(Our cars are paid off, so that helps, but the bills for day care, now THAT is scary!!!)

WHA -
Dont get me started, we spent 20K in daycare expenses last year!
Thats right 20K and we dont even live in the city.

Thank GOD my son is off to kindergarten this year.
I feel like i just got a 10K RAISE!!!!!! wHOA - I did!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi LIves4Disney,
We are leaving from O'hare on 3/27 on American. We booked it last spring when the tickets first went on sale. United was very pricey, but we got $175 pp including taxes on AA. I would just wait for a good sale that includes your dates. We tried to use frequent flier miles on UA at 330 days but we could only get really awful times and the other two tickets would have cost us $900 to purchase on the same flights. So we went with AA. Good luck!

THANKS for the info!! I usually don't buy the tickets until very close to our departure date, anyway. I just thought maybe you had just recently found a great deal. Thanks again! The prices are just outrageous at this point. I have time to wait, though.

Have a great time!!!

Lives4Disney

 

[funcinderella]

Here's the type of "sacrifices" I make:

I never go anywhere without a coupon, if I can help it.
I buy nothing at the grocery store if it's not on sale or I don't have a coupon.
Same goes for clothes. (I cut out store and restaurant coupons, or keep the entertainment book in the car) and keep them in my purse. This way, I always have the coupon on hand, instead of saying "Darn, I have a coupon for that at home!"
I rarely order a soda when I eat out; I order water instead.
Before I buy anything on-line, I do a coupon search first; then I search upromise to see if it's a participating company.

All these things add up. I still like to have (and usually do) the best of everything, I just don't pay full price for it. My sacrifice is having to wait for a sale, vs. just going out and buying it whenever I feel like it.

With that said though, WDW prices don't seem all that bad to me coming from NJ. If you come from a state with a lower cost of living, they're probably pretty high. Our salaries reflect the higher cost of living here and I think WDW is on par with our salaries. But someone living in a less expensive state, doing the same job I'm doing would get paid less, but also pay less for housing, etc. Our standard of living if we stayed home would be exactly the same. However, once we venture out on vacation they are not adjusting the price we pay based on what state we come from. So to me, it's not that bad, but to others it might seem very high. Does that make sense?

Anyway, even though I don't think the Poly's prices are that bad, I still can't usually afford it.

 

[SeaSpray]

With that said though, WDW prices don't seem all that bad to me coming from NJ. If you come from a state with a lower cost of living, they're probably pretty high. Our salaries reflect the higher cost of living here and I think WDW is on par with our salaries. But someone living in a less expensive state, doing the same job I'm doing would get paid less, but also pay less for housing, etc. Our standard of living if we stayed home would be exactly the same. However, once we venture out on vacation they are not adjusting the price we pay based on what state we come from. So to me, it's not that bad, but to others it might seem very high. Does that make sense?

This makes a lot of sense to me, and I have to agree with what you said. I grew up in NJ and bought my first 2 houses there. Now I live in Massachusetts which is actually more expensive than NJ, if you can believe that. lol

To us, the costs of Disney resorts and Disney restaurants are not really different than what we pay here (Boston, NYC, etc), but if we lived in another state, the prices of Disney resorts and restaurants might be a huge difference.

 

[scanne]

I have the opposite train of thought. "I think some people define wealth and status by what" type of car they drive.

I am totally agreeing with you on this one! I see this ALL the time in the area I live in. I drive an Odyssey out of necessity - two small kids, lots of stuff that needs to be transported. I traded in my civic 2 door that was in great condition for the minivan. When my kids are out of the house, I plan on getting another civic. Great mileage!!!

 

[WIDisneyFan]

I am totally agreeing with you on this one! I see this ALL the time in the area I live in. I drive an Odyssey out of necessity - two small kids, lots of stuff that needs to be transported. I traded in my civic 2 door that was in great condition for the minivan. When my kids are out of the house, I plan on getting another civic. Great mileage!!!

I agree with you as well but only to a point - I am 6'4 and a good size guy so I drive a bigger car out of need (me in a civic is funny to see) but you are still right, some cars are a bit much for "transportation"