How do you guys afford the POLY!

[dzneelvr]

Our family of 4 has always stayed at the Values as they were constructed, happily settling down at the ASMo after it was built. DH and I thought it would be fun to split some time at the Poly, but once we got realistic with the prices, it just didn't work for us. We don't spend much time at our resorts with teens--DS is 18 and DD is 16--and we are going to do the KTTK tour and the Sedgeway Tour so we just couldn't reconcile paying for one night what we'd spend in a week at the ASMo. The kids totally understood. And what we are doing is going to Hawaii next summer instead!

 

[lkneller]

All our married life (25 years) we have pinched pennies so we could afford vacations. There isn't anything we can cut out because we don't spend on extras. I don't even buy make-up. We cut our own hair. Use coupons, don't go out to eat, or movies. Cars are paid for and old (10+ yrs). We would roast 2 chickens on Sunday and eat the leftovers all week, and then start over again the next Sunday with 2 more chickens.

We worked and lived for our vacations. We do plan our vacations very carefully to get the most value for our money. We used to spend every last penny to get to Disney and stay at the Beach Club. We drove 1100 miles and packed food from home so we didn't even eat out along the way. But disneys prices kept going up and every stay we noticed changes in the resorts where they were cutting corners. So we started to explore other options.

We found cruising was less expensive than a week at Disney, so we gave it a try. 13 cruises later we have never been disappointed with a cruise. We have always booked and outside or balcony cabin and always had an excellent vacation for our money.

Disney cruise line is very expensive and it took us a number of years before we could get a good deal on Disney. But I am happy to say we were lucky to get 2 good deals with Disney and sailed once on the Wonder to the Bahamas and once on the Magic to the Western Caribbean. Disneys private island, Castaway Cay is the MOST BEAUTIFUL island we've ever visited. And we have been to many beautiful islands including Bermuda, Barbados, Cozemel, Grand Cayman, and more.

Our other 11 cruises were with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess.

Now we still watch our pennies and eat our chickens. But we have many more vacation options. And we will continue to pick the one that offers the most value for our very hard saved dollars.


We still love the Beach Club (and POR), but now that we found cruising we love that just as much, so whichever one has the best deal going is the one we will choose.

 

[Anewman]

...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 ...I have not purchased our tickets yet, planning on the 10 day/hopper/no expire, so about $1350 for those,...
Pam

First off sorry if this has already been addressed I have only really read the OP.

If you are really trying to save money in order to stay at a nicer resort, why would you spend an extra $400(b4 taxes) on the "no experation" option for park tickets when it looks like you may end up using everyday?

Even If you stay only 8 nights you may only end up with 1 day left on that No Expire ticket, If you go to parks on both arrival and departure days. And you can get 1 day tickets for less than what you are paying for that no expire option.

 

[Jabber_Jaws]

They only way my family of 4 can stay at the poly is because my parents, and my sister work at WDW. ( I get a ok discount ) Still we save, save, and save. Airfare is not cheap from California to Florida. Our first trip was back in 99, and the last trip was in 04. ( 5 years between trips I know how can I live )Even with the discounts it takes us a while to save.

I agree with most everyone who says plan early. Know what its going to cost, and then save for it. The family and I make a game out of it. Each month we add up all the money we saved for the trip by not drinking sodas, or cooking at home etc.

Cheers:

 

[barbarabini]

There is actually a place that is more expensive than northern New Jersey????

 

[heatherfeather24]

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.

It's interesting that this is the first time I've seen someone on this board raise this point! DH and I have had the same experience with Disney prices vs. Chicago prices. In fact, the last time we were at WDW, we commented on how good a value the CG was. I've heard multiple people complain about the cost of that particular restaurant, but it didn't even phase us compared to the cost of dinner at comparable Chicago restaurants.

 

[eclectics]

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.

I agree. I live in the N.Y. Metro area. If you can find a nicer Manhattan hotel with the same rate as the Poly, you are getting a rare bargain! I stayed at the Poly this September for 10 nights and it was a good chunk of change (I would have liked a room discount, but we did get the free dining), but living in such an expensive area, it didn't seem too bad of a deal. It's not like I go to WDW that often (unfortunately). I enjoyed the amenities of a deluxe but I also had a great time at POFQ when I stayed there (except for the rock hard bed). Although I would miss certain things about the deluxe, I would certainly have no problem staying at a mod again. Values might be a different story though. I've never considered one because I don't think I would be happy there (for a few reasons), but that's just me.

 

[FINFAN]

I totally agree that WDW is worth what you pay, not saying the POLY isn't worth the price tag, just sighing I guess, realizing just how lucky we have been to enjoy champagne accomodations on a beer budget in the past. However, if we do go ahead with the POLY, I can honestly say that that is the highest we have ever paid for a room in our lives! I tend to equate the pricw of things to airfare, so basically, one night in the POLY is = to a RT flight for me...kinda makes me step back and think, but then again, we do like nice resorts, so know that we will appreciate it there...such a problem to have, right? Worrying about how many nights we can swing at the Poly...time to count my blessings and be happy!

Pam

 

[tfiga]

I too felt somewhat disenchanted as my family can only afford a yearly trip to the world if we stay in a value, until this last trip. Maybe this story will make you feel better also.
The day before we were leaving I took my two sons 5 and 3 to the dollar store to pick up some books, crayons etc for the plane ride. While I was paying for the items my older son asked if he could play with some of the items when we got home. I told him no that it was for the plane. The cashier at this point asked my son where he was going and of course he said disneyworld. The cashier then told him she was jealous as she had never been on a plane. After we got in the car to go home my son asked why had a grown up never been on a plane, I explained that not everyone can afford to fly on vacations and that we were lucky that we could. So this upcoming May I will not grumble about Pop instead I will be grateful.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

The most I have ever paid for a room was this year in Philadelphia!!! we are staying at the Hyatt for the weekend of the Army/Navy game and spending 400.00 per night before taxes. This is for the first weekend in December. so PLEASE don't talk about prices in new york, chicago or Disney!!! Philadelphia is taking advantage of us! Oh yeah and we did book about 4 months in advance. My dear grandmother buys us the football game tickets, and this year there are 6 rooms full of us going, and it is expensive, BUT it means a lot to me and my family and we just save all year for this wonderful event. So stay at the POLY if you want, save however long it takes and just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Harmony]

Just wanted to add my .02.

I am one that drives a 40K SUV. I also have a nice home, go out to eat at nice restaurants 3 to 4 times a week. The kiddos have more than they need. DH pays the bills and my money pays for any extras.

Having said all of that, I still can't bring myself to spend money on a deluxe. I am tempted and we are considering it for our next trip. Still, it's hard to spend that kind of $ for a week when you could buy something concrete and have it last for years. KWIM?

I guess it just boils down to priorities and what makes you and your family happy. I know there are some people on here that equate resort w/ your financial status but that isn't always the case.

Just this past summer we stayed at Pop when we could've easily stayed at the GF, Poly or CR. We were going to do the Carribbean Beach...that I can handle w/o thinking "what a waste of money"...but we were traveling with others so we went along with what they were willing to spend.

So again...it just boils down to whatever makes you happy. And anyway...it's Disney, either way you'll have a great time!

 

[jw50]

Well the way we afforded to stay at the Poly was we finally managed to get the last of the kids moved out and college expenses paid for

Of course it had been 15 years since we had been to DW and we rarely take vacations. I work for the Government and my wife is a High School math teacher so we make a decent living and just happened to have enough money in the checking account that we could splurge on a vacation this year. We were originally going to stay at POR but decided to go with the Premium Package and it just made more sense to stay at one of the monorail resorts. We had reservations at the Poly 32 years ago but had to cancel because we got transferred to Germany. By the time we got back we had kids and there was no way we could afford to go to DW, much less stay at the Poly. When we went 15 years ago we stayed in a trailer at Ft Wilderness because that was all we could afford and thought it was great.

Our cars are a 94 Camaro, 97 Thunderbird, and 2000 S10 and they are all paid for, so with no kids and no car payments it is alot easier to pay for the Poly, but it isn't something we would do every year, the cars are going to have to be replaced eventually

 

[makelab]

i'll pay the extra $700-$1000 (a little more for poly, BC, etc) for the memory of a great vacation at a great hotel. we have stayed at all stars, and aside from where they are, i don't remember much about them, except always leaving to have a decent meal.

 

[Kanga1]

I too felt somewhat disenchanted as my family can only afford a yearly trip to the world if we stay in a value, until this last trip. Maybe this story will make you feel better also.
The day before we were leaving I took my two sons 5 and 3 to the dollar store to pick up some books, crayons etc for the plane ride. While I was paying for the items my older son asked if he could play with some of the items when we got home. I told him no that it was for the plane. The cashier at this point asked my son where he was going and of course he said disneyworld. The cashier then told him she was jealous as she had never been on a plane. After we got in the car to go home my son asked why had a grown up never been on a plane, I explained that not everyone can afford to fly on vacations and that we were lucky that we could. So this upcoming May I will not grumble about Pop instead I will be grateful.

I agree. It's all on perspective. I teach in a very rural area with some very poor children. Many of these children have never been to the mall or to a movie theatre...much less on a plane or to Disneyworld. We once took them on a field trip and stopped to have our meal at a Ryan's (a good-sized buffet restaurant.) You should have seen their eyes popping out because they couldn't believe all that food was available to them!!! And a few of them got sick from eating so much food.

To the OP, it's all in priorities. We live in a very nice house but I drive an '88 Corolla. We've never stayed at the Poly either...I'd rather have more to spend on nice meals or souvenirs. I sock away money monthly for vacations. It comes directly out of my paycheck so I don't have the chance to spend it first!

 

[MinnieGirl33]

... I am considering getting a PT job at a Disney store just to be able to get an employee discount

When The Disney Stores were taken over by The Children's Place ALL benefits were taken away.

Do I sound bitter?

 

[Paisleyjane]

My husband works VERY, VERY HARD! LOL

 

[MOMOFMNM]

we reuse saran wrap, garbage bags, ziplocks and toilet paper to afford the Poly~~

 

[*Fantasia*]

However, if we do go ahead with the POLY, I can honestly say that that is the highest we have ever paid for a room in our lives!

Pam... you won't regret it. I was like that at first... how can I justify staying at a $354 per night... while I know I can stay at $109 at the value resort. But I was curious about the Poly... and to eat there and walk around is not enough... I need the full experience of staying at the Poly.. and not just visit there. Then one day... I decided to just go ahead and book it. And I am glad I did it. Both of our stays at Poly was wonderful! And I can't wait to go back!! The themeing and the atmopshere fit me perfectly. I am an island kind of girl who likes to walk along the beach and watch the sunset. I wanna be under the "coconut" trees while swaying in the hammock feeling the cool breeze from the "pacific ocean." And I love exotic things.

If you don't try the Polynesian... you will never know what you're missing.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We could probably afford the Poly for our next trip, given that it's over a year and a half away, but it would require more working on my part to save for it, and that's too much time with my boys to sacrifice. We only go on vacation when we have enough cash saved to pay for it before we go, so it may be a matter of saving longer. My problem is that I'm too cheap to pay that much for a room, and so it DH.

I think it's all a matter of personal priority, as I'm sure others have said (haven't read the entire thread). We live within our means and vacation as we can afford, others don't mind putting a vacation on credit. All depends on the person, I guess.

 

[funcinderella]

Kanga1, love that picture!! So cute....