How do you guys afford the POLY!

[FINFAN]

We are hoping for a 20th Anniv trip (with kids, 11 and 16 then) this summer, July or Aug. DH propsed on BTMRR so it's a no brainer on WHERE to celebrate, just which resort! We have been fortunate in the past to have not paid any higher for a room than $149 , even at Christmas!
We have stayed at ASMU, CR N. Wing, CBR, DOLPHIN and WL.
We have done split stays to be able to stay at different resorts, but DH does not care to switch this time. His choice? The Poly, second choice, back to CR. The dilemma...looking to stay 8-10 nights, we are going to really make an effort to enjoy our resort this time, we usually spend every day at the parks, so this will be REALLY hard!
Anyway, we are thinking of driving down ( from IL) to help cut costs..
Any discount Guru's out there? I have not purchased our tickets yet, planning on the 10 day/hopper/no expire, so about $1350 for those, but that $300 p nite tag for the Poly
Kids and I wanted to do a POP/POLY split...maybe if I just park DH in the pool and I do all the repacking/ check in.....we have done it enough before that I know WDW does a great job, but you still have that unsettled feeling. I sure wish the N. Wing were going to be available for this summer..no offense to the DVC folks, but DANG! Losing that location hurts!

Pam

 

[ducklite]

It comes down to priorities in life.

Instead of driving $40K SUV's, some people take more expensive vacations.

Rather than having lots of jewelry, some people spend more on vacation.

Rather than eating out regularly, some people cook at home and then eat like kings during their vacation.

I think most people could afford to stay wherever they wanted, but they'd have to sacrifice something else for it. So they have to make a choice.

Of course there are some people who will never be able to afford staying at teh Polynesian, but then again some of them that I've seen post on this board, if I were them I'd never even try to take a vacation. Some people are so strapped for cash with no savings and no credit, I'd use that cash to buffer my personal finances before I'd go to WDW. JMHO.

Anne

 

[Lulu's Mom]

We would also love to stay at a resort on the monorail loop, like Poly or GF... but they are so expensive. I guess it may not be so if you owe DVC or have an annual pass.... maybe not so much anymore..... I am considering getting a PT job at a Disney store just to be able to get an employee discount

 

[FINFAN]

LOL! We pretty much ARE the things you listed...10 year old van with issues (hence the hesitation on driving down), jewelry, well, I have a few pieces, but no vault is required, and eating out...pretty much limited. So, we are the type to cut back and play on vacation, just not in the league of the POLY I guess. Maybe it is because it does take so much sacrafice to take the trip in general, (well, any trip really...not just WDW) we have had that taste of the Deluxes on a beer budget, I think that is the issue...looking for that "room only" magic once again and it seems to be rare these days!
Now if we live inCleremont....I know we'd be able to stay there at least 5 nights...it's amazing what the cost of traveling to/from can be.
Oh, and I am a huge proponent of taking a vaction, we stayed off site in the past, done 3 day trips....I like balance, and some times you need to get away, no matter what, just be prepareed to accept that decision.

Pam

 

[scanne]

In order to stay at the deluxes, I have a savings plan in effect 365 days a year. When I get my paycheck, it gets deposited into my own checking account. Then I "pay" my DH a set amount that we need to cover mortgage, utilities, insurance, etc. The rest is mine and I choose to save about 90% towards vacation. This past year I saved so well I was able to afford a long weekend trip (air, hotel, food and souvenirs - we had AP's) for DH's birthday. This was in addition to our 10 day Polynesian trip we took in July. So I just make it a priority to save for vacations. Oh, and this is done after the bills are paid, after I add to the college funds and deal with any incidentals that may come up.

I also teach private voice lessons (not many) and that money goes to Disney trips too, if we want to stay longer or in an upgraded category.

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

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi, FINFAN! We live in NW IL, too! I would also not rule out SWA flights. I have been lucky and the 5 of us have flown down to WDW for about $600 or a bit less. Don't know what you plan to drive down there, but we have an SUV as our family car and with gas prices, it would be a pretty costly drive.

I would buy APs for your group. I don't think they would be much more $$ then the 10 day MYW tickets you are pricing. Don't get PAPs, just basic APs.

July (after the 5th)thru Sept. has been Value season for deluxe resorts and hope for a Best Rate thru your AP. If the cost of the AP is a lot more than the MYW ticks, just get one AP. With that AP you also can purchase for $50 the Disney Dining Experience card. It will save you 20% off most ts restaurants and some cs, I believe. We have saved lots of $$$ with that card. I think in the past, the AP rate for Poly GV was about $235 or so w/tax in the summer value season.

Another option, that we chose when I wanted to take my kids on a "bonus" trip the end of this past summer (5th trip on our APs - so once you have those APs look out - you will be at WDW more than you think!) was a split stay between S/D and GF. I joined SPG a while ago and had enough points for a free couple of nights and S/D had an AP rate also. They are nice resorts with a great pool area - my kids and I enjoyed our stay at the Dolphin in Aug. I think a standard room at S/D was about $169/nt. We stayed CL, but all that includes, really, is bfast.

Good luck & happy planning! Congrats on your anniversary! Sounds like it will be a fun trip.

Lives4Disney

 

[ducklite]

We would also love to stay at a resort on the monorail loop, like Poly or GF... but they are so expensive. I guess it may not be so if you owe DVC or have an annual pass.... maybe not so much anymore..... I am considering getting a PT job at a Disney store just to be able to get an employee discount

TDS is no longer owned by Disney, there are no WDW employee discounts.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

LOL! We pretty much ARE the things you listed...10 year old van with issues (hence the hesitation on driving down), jewelry, well, I have a few pieces, but no vault is required, and eating out...pretty much limited. So, we are the type to cut back and play on vacation, just not in the league of the POLY I guess. Maybe it is because it does take so much sacrafice to take the trip in general, (well, any trip really...not just WDW) we have had that taste of the Deluxes on a beer budget, I think that is the issue...looking for that "room only" magic once again and it seems to be rare these days!
Now if we live inCleremont....I know we'd be able to stay there at least 5 nights...it's amazing what the cost of traveling to/from can be.
Oh, and I am a huge proponent of taking a vaction, we stayed off site in the past, done 3 day trips....I like balance, and some times you need to get away, no matter what, just be prepareed to accept that decision.

Pam

Pam,

I moved to Clermont permanently only a few months ago. My husband still keeps a residence in NJ and drives back and forth every month, so trust me, I know what the cost is. Sometimes SWA and USAir out of Philly are cheaper than driving. He also bought a Prius to save lots of $$ on gas. We maintain two households but could still spend a week at teh PR if we wanted. We only had one child who is an adult now, and both of us often worked two jobs to pay for extras. It can be done, it involves sacrifice.

There was a time in our live when we couldn't afford a deluxe, and that was the way it was. But we worked hard and made choices in our lives that allowed us financial freedom we didn't have previously. Like I said, that included often working two jobs, or working F/T and going to school P/T to get more training for a higher paying job, or for awhile, I worked F/T and supported us while DH worked P/T and went to school F/T to get his masters. Those were years that there was no vacation at all, let alone a WDW trip. In the long run it was worth the sacrifice, as difficult as it was to work 60 hour weeks for a few years.

Come to think of it, I still work two jobs. I'm the director of Marketing for a company based out of Orlando, and I write and photograph for an entertainment magazine plus a couple record labels and management companies. Yesterday my work day started at 8:00am. I left my office and drove to Universal, where I had a 4:00pm interview with a band playing at the Hard Rock Live. I then had several hours to kill (had a nice dinner at Emeril's) before I went back and caught the show, photographed all three bands during their sets, and took notes on the one that I need to write a review on. Left after the first three songs of Audioslave, I would have liked to have seen them but I was beat. That was at 10:40pm. Long day. Sacrifice. See what I mean?

Anne

 

[cottontail]

Hi: If finances are tight talk your hubby into the split stay if your vacation is say 8 or 10 days long. We love the poly but cannot afford it everytime we go t o wdw which is about every 3 or 4 years.

Deb.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Have you considered getting park hoppers that do expire? That saves you over $100/ticket. DD and I did this for our trip this past summer, I had an AP, but she and her BF had 8-day hoppers that expired 14 days after first use. We were using all 8 days of park entry, anyway, and if something comes up*illness, etc.* and you can't use them all, you can still purchase the "no expiration" option while at WDW, if done before the 14-day window.*personally, since the extra cost for a 10-day ticket over, say, a 6-day ticket is only about $11, I'd lose the $11 before paying an extra $100. But's that's just me!*

Just a thought!

 

[jlovesee]

I feel this is a post I should respond to as I share the posters feelings to some point... the easist answer to the question is that some people are lucky enough to be able to afford it and some people (like me) cannot. I don't own a 40,000 SUV nor could I afford it, I would love to have a Prius but can't afford it, my husband and I both work full time jobs, I have a college degree, and we have a magazine business that takes money from us in huge chunks, but we still go to Disney World once a year for vacation, else I would go absolutly insane. (yes truly!)

We stay in POP century, even though we have stayed at WL in the past many times and yes it hurts when I would love to stay there for the $129-$149 I have gotten in the past, but hey the way I look at it I am lucky enough just to be able to GO to Disney World.

If you're looking for a hotel to enjoy and spend some time at and not spend a fortune you might want to look at Coronado Springs, which is a moderate but is absolutly beautiful, and has a wonderful pool and beaches. Plus the food service there is very very good.

I have been to Disney atleast 7 times in the past five years, driven round trip from Kansas City 3 times, and every time we have had a car, and only relyed on Disney transportation on the boat to Magic Kingdom from WL. I would say drive (its usually cheaper), as you have a car which is in MHO the fastest way to get to any park excepting using the monorail and that's only Magic Kingdom.

Related to the driving, Kansas City and Chicago I think are fairly equal distance from Orlando, and for us in January the plane ticket would have to be less then $150 round trip for it to be the same cost as the gas, plus we would have to rent a car.

End of rant.

Jennifer

 

[FINFAN]

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

 

[Sammie]

Many that stay there do as Anne stated and sacrifice and save for the amount needed.

However many can afford to stay there. I have a friend in his 30's that last year got a $500,000 bonus in the banking industry.

 

[Eeyore2003]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC owner??? I have done this in the past and so far it has worked out really well. Your choices are OKW, BWV, BCV, VWL and SS. We have stayed at OKW and BWV so far. At OKW you can get a studio, a little bigger than a regular room with a kitchenette, (sink, fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, some dishes etc.) it has two queen sized beds. Very comfortable. The bus service we found to be excellent.

Now for teen-agers, I don't think you can beat the Epcot area, which would be BWV or BCV. The studio's there don't have the two beds, they have a bed and pullout couch. You have easy and very reliable frequent boat service to Epcot and MGM, or you can actually walk to either. Plus the Boardwalk is right there. If you go to the BCV, Stormalong Bay is the largest pool complex of any of the resorts. Also, with the Dolphin, Swan, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk and Epcot right there, the choice of close restaurants is amazing.

Studios at OKW for that time of year will run you about $110.00 and the other resorts would be about $140.00 per night. All deluxe of course.

You might want to check out the DVC Rent/Trade Board and read ALL the information on it and see if it might be something fo you. There is a modicum of "trust" between you and the DVC owner, but this is something done very frequently. Just make sure you read everything, so you feel comfortable with it. Just an idea. We used to stay at the Contemporary Tower all the time, but even though we are by no means 'strapped" for money, the prices, I think have really soared beyond what I want to pay right now. We have two kids in college...need I say more!!!

Having stayed in the Epcot area now for the last few trips, and like I said, before that at the CR, I think boat to Epcot/MGM and monorail to Epcot/MK is pretty much a fair trade off. You do have to walk from the pier into the resort, but at especially the Boardwalk, that's really nothing, it's right outside the door. Certainly can't be more than the monorail to one of the buildings at the Poly.

Just a thought.

 

[Lulu's Mom]

Where is this board located??? I tried to find it and was unable to

 

[FINFAN]

You guys really have some great points....looks like I need another cup of java to sustain the research I need to do! I love the Epcot area, have enjoyed the Dolphin location tremendously...and who knows, we may end up back there, but since DH and I are so interested in the Poly, still going to see what we can swing.
Eeyore 2003, those prices sound awesome for renting points, not sure at all how to go about it...I guess my biggest concern would be if we need to cancel or postpone. Not borrowing trouble, just being realistic.
I may be bugging you a lot in the future if I like what I read about it!
Sammie...that's $OME bonus! I'd be at the POLY too on that!
K&a's&c'smom: Going to think about the non-expire...it is helpful that you have the 14 day window, I will have to look into that. We currently have 4 hopper plus days left on each of our tickets from our Christmas trip...we plan on hitting both water parks....so figured the 10 days would not all get used, and then we would have some left from the plus passes and whatever we don't use from the 10 day, but I will have to see if it allows the POLY or not...good point, thanks for bringing it up.
lives$disney...hi there fellow Chicagoan! I love SW! Our van is not really agas guzzler, just unreliable. We do have family in S FL so we were kicking around the htought of kids and I staying longer and driving down to see my folks. If we decide to do that, flying/car rental will add to way more than driving down...but boy, that return drive is the pits. And, I am sure we will have to put some more $ into the van to get it trip worthy...it never fails. DH has ruled out the APoption...LOL....he knows Iwill try and squeek as many trips as I can, and then I know I will blow the budget overall...and with the van being 10 years old...well, better to have that $$$ set aside for a downpayment on a new vehicle. Sounds like you really got your $$$$ worth tho...way to go!
Well, good thing I started thinking about this now, our anniversary willl be here before you know it with all this planning!

Pam

 

[MiknMinMouse]

This year we're staying at the Poly because we got a really good rate from our Disney agent. We're taking two trips to WDW this year, one in Jan one in Nov so we decided it would be cheaper to get an annual pass. Since we're DVC members we get $100 off each annual pass (yeah). I went ahead and bought my voucher and we were able to book at the Poly with an annual pass rate.

Now previously I had a dillema like you. My dream had always been to stay at the GF but hey, we're on a budget and that's supposedly a dream hotel. Well for our anniversary one year hubby said if I could get a good rate then we were off. I contacted Denise at Small World Travel and gave her the challenge. One thing that helped was the time of year we went. Other than that, I'm not sure what code she found or what she did but we stayed at the GF for $264 a night. That's a lot of money but we only stayed 4 nights and it was a dream come true I would contact a Disney Travel specialist and see if they can work any magic for you. It never hurts to try. Another option as was mentioned was renting some points and trying for one of the DVC resorts. I personally love the Boardwalk (it's our home resort) and have to say that when I went to the GF I was a little disappointed because of the great service we get at the Boardwalk. It's a beautiful resort. Hope you can make your dream come true

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi finfan

Just want to add my 2 cents, for what it's worth. LOL

The farther in advance that you plan your trip, the longer you have to save for it. You want to stay at the Polynesian next summer, right? Let's say that it's 35-40 weeks from now. Figure out the approximate cost of the trip, and divide it by 35 or 40, and see if that is an amount that you and your family can put away, each week, between now and then. If it's too high of an amount, then see where you can shave off some costs. Maybe a split stay, but with the majority of nights at the Polynesian? Sometimes the math just won't work, no matter what, and in that case a person is better off booking a different category of resort, or making their trip for less nights. Only you know how much you can realistically save and put away for a vacation.

I know you want to be at the Polynesian specifically for your 25th anniversary (Congrats in advance!!), but for other trips, the farther in advance that you can plan and save, the more $$ you'll have for the trip.

Now, to answer your question - "How do you guys afford the Poly?" Well, I do plan most of our vacations pretty far in advance, at least a year. Except for this trip to the Polynesian next week, which my DH surprised me with only about a month or two ago. Our next Disney cruise was booked just under 2 years in advance. The price for that cruise, which is still 10 months away, has already gone up by about $2000. The first 2 cruises we took were booked over a year in advance. I LOVE the planning stages of a vacation, so booking trips that far out works well for me.

I can't say that we really sacrifice a lot in our daily lives, but my DH does work very hard and fortunately gets paid very well. I am not a clothes horse, or the kind of person who has a million pairs of shoes; I usually give DH and DS17 their haircuts (buzz cuts) at home; I am not a mall person, I only shop when we actually need something. We live a fairly comfortable lifestyle but at the same time, when I know I can save a $$ by using our AAA discount, or like I said above booking a cruise in advance to get the best price, then I save where I can.

I'm not sure if anything I've said is helpful or not. LOL But I hope you're able to get to the Polynesian resort next summer!

 

[FINFAN]

Today must be POLY DAY!
SEASPRAY...Good way of breaking it down...DH gets paid once a month so may be a little tough, and my pay is sporadic...freelance AKA Pauper
MiknMinMouse...We are going to look into the travel agent option as well, matter of fact I have an e-mail out ot one already! Guess great minds think alike!
Thanks for all the anniversary wishes....hopefully we can plan this trip and still make it to the anniversary...I have been known to stress out and be a planning nazi in the past...that is why I am trying so hard to focus on the POLY...the guy takes one trip a year, he ahould be able to have a say in the resort, luckily we agree on the destination!

 

[luvdmouse]

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.