How do you justify the cost?

[hkkatie]

I am a WDW newbie. I've been to DL/DCA a couple of times with my 2 girls, (1 and 2 day trips), but we've never been to WDW. DH and I have been contemplating taking our kids to WDW next summer (2014), but after doing some research, the price seems really prohibitive. When you add up air fare, hotel, tickets, food, car rental for a few days to go off site, etc, it's nearing $5k! For those of you who go regularly, how can you afford this? I assume you aren't taking 10 day trips each time, but still... We really want to go but I don't know when we'll be able to justify that kind of money for a 10 day trip.

Thoughts?

ETA: those costs take into account value or moderate priced hotels and only 5-6 days of park tickets, not hopper.

 

[brymolmom]

It is pretty expensive to do a 10 day trip anywhere - especially when you have to fly to get there...So keep that in mind. Even going across the country and camping for 10 nights is going to cost you at least half that amount - with airfare, food, some entertainment here and there...etc.

That said, if it was me - I would just stick to WDW and skip the offsite stuff. WIth the WDW transportation - you can get all around WDW and to/from the airport for free. It will help keep your costs down and there is PLENTY to see/do on WDW property for the whole trip.

With food...You could either pack a large suitcase or get grocery delivery with drinks, snacks, breakfast foods and even lunch stuff and eat breakfast in your room and pack a soft sided cooler for lunches. THis can save a significant amount of costs on food. Especially if you keep it to just 2 - 3 sit down meals for the trip.

So it's all about what will make/break your vacation. Many people do WDW frequently but do it 'bare bones' so that they can go more often. Many others don't consider it a vacation to pack lunches...so they'll wait longer until they can spend more on their trips. There are ways to save money and cut corners - but not everyone is willing to do it.

 

[kkmcan]

Since we come from Arizona we only go once every 3-4 years. Each trip we say that's it, this is our last trip and then well...... another one seems to pop up somehow. I really think this upcoming one is our last trip. Kids are getting older and life is getting busier and more expensive with teens.

This next one (next week actually) came up because I logged onto SW website one day and saw $112 out of Phx and $157 coming home. Those are unheard of prices from Az. We decided we really wanted to do Discovery Cove this trip and do the Sea World parks and that we would stay at dh's parents timeshare (free!). With our saved up airlines miles from Capital One we only paid $300 for all of us to fly roundtrip. The bulk of our expenses are the tickets - $1200 for DC and $700 for 2 day tickets to WDW.

That's how these trips seem to happen for us. We get some kind of a deal and stay for free at inlaws timeshare and bam we've got a trip.

I'm a person that believes if you don't just decide and plan and save for it, it will never happen. Each trip we've taken, not just to WDW, has been planned for and carefully saved for and therefore we've gone so many places. If you really want it, choose a time frame and start saving and looking for deals. Maybe get the SW credit card to get a couple of free flights, book during free dining or check out the nearby offsite hotels. We are staying at Wyndham Bonnett Creek.

Lastly we justify it because our kids are only kids once and those years are almost over. We have tried to cram in as many affordable vacations with them to make memories that last a lifetime. Also, experiences are more important to us than say stuff or home improvements or cars.

I wanted to add that we have done this all while saving for our retirement on a firefighters salary only (I haven't worked in 12 years). We don't make 6 figures a year, or even half that. But it can be done. All those trips you see listed are mostly because we live 7 hours away from DL and could easily make a couple of trips per year on our AP's and stay at the inlaws Wyndham timeshare in Anaheim. The DCL trips were pretty awesome deals including the kids sail free Mex Riviera. We drove to the port!

 

[disneymom443]

We tend to go every other year, and save. As soon as our trip ends I save half of my paycheck (every paycheck) to put to WDW. When we have enough we go. When we go we stay at either Mod. or Deluxe hotels. We also use the resort buses so we don't worry about using a rental. We do the DDP and that gives us the 1 table, 1 quick service, and 1 snack, that covers the food. I am a crazy shopper, this time I have been putting $10 a week on a Disney gift card. By the time we leave I will have over $700, just for shopping. I have always wanted to buy something expensive and now I can.

So it all depends on how fast you want your vacation to be, or how willing you are to wait and save the extra $$$. Like stated above their are lots of ways to cut corners at WDW. Do your research and look at sites that talk about how to go to WDW on a dime. There is lots of info out there. If you do come to WDW I hope you have a wonderful time and just have fun.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Honestly we don't justify the cost. It is what we want to do so we do it. We do not charge any of it and I make sure to get the best deals possible. If I couldn't afford it I wouldn't go. We will not go to WDW next year because we are going on a disney cruise so that will use our vacation funds.

We do :

6 days sun-fri. I will not pay double for a weekend room.

MYW base 6 day tickets 3A 2k. We don't like wasting time hopping.

TS everyday

Air for 3 years this spring we drove. Split the cost in thirds among adults so we paid 2/3= 800.00 plus a lovely drive we had never been on. Flying would have been nearly the same but I missed the cheap flights and they doubled in cost after that.

Minimal souvies. We are not stuff people. We do like Hoodies, ornaments and some nice stuff for the kids that they want. No dust collectors.

This is how and where we like to travel so we do.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[circhead]

I go every year but I am a DVC owner.

I buy my tickets either from undercover tourist or an annual if I think I can fit two trips in in the year. If even 1 person in your group has an annual there are usually room discount deals offered to annual passholders.

The annual gives you some discounts on restaurants.

You could look at the DVC Rent/Trade board. You could get a 1 bdrm for about half of rack rate that way and with a full kitchen cut way down on the price of eating every meal in a Disney restaurant of some type.

We were a family of 5 - we discovered driving cost about 50-60% of flying (before gas hit $4.00 a gallon the savings were even better, we also drove from NY non-stop with more than 1 driver not too bad about 1100 miles 1 way) and we then had our car to go to the grocery store which I believe is even cheaper than using the grocery services.

Good luck - I hope you can figure out how to make it happen for you and your family.

There are many people here who are much more savvy about the ins and outs
of finding the Disney World deals.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Maybe you could cut your trip down to 7 or 8 days, skip off site and stay at a value resort. That would def. take nearly a 1000.00 off of the trip.

We will try to go every year until it is not the best fit for our family. The things we do are go during FD (so really no extra food costs), stay value, no hoppers, no water parks (we utilize the hotel pools) we limit our souvenirs I go for the experience not the stuff. This year we are driving to save about 500.00 (estimated).
I am pretty much a WDW newbie as well. We only have been on one trip. But I truly believe you get a lot for your money. There is always something going on to see or do. I think when you break down what Disney offers for the price it is a value. Yes you can go on other vacations for cheaper. But for us we want to be going, and doing, no where has offered that for us with as much excitement and ease as WDW

 

[kerstfan1]

i pay about 4000 in the end for me solo but for me it justifys as i love it and it is were i want to spend my money

 

[samacita]

I am a WDW newbie. I've been to DL/DCA a couple of times with my 2 girls, (1 and 2 day trips), but we've never been to WDW. DH and I have been contemplating taking our kids to WDW next summer (2014), but after doing some research, the price seems really prohibitive. When you add up air fare, hotel, tickets, food, car rental for a few days to go off site, etc, it's nearing $5k! For those of you who go regularly, how can you afford this? I assume you aren't taking 10 day trips each time, but still... We really want to go but I don't know when we'll be able to justify that kind of money for a 10 day trip.

Thoughts?

ETA: those costs take into account value or moderate priced hotels and only 5-6 days of park tickets, not hopper.

We travel a lot, and appreciate comfortable amenities, and it is definitely more expensive in the World than anywhere else. Our single room at the Poly is costing us twice per night what we paid for an ocean-view 2 BR condo in a nice part of Hawaii (the real Hawaii, not the Poly longhouse!). We justify it by telling ourselves we are paying for the Disney experience, the *magic* if you will, and for us, the convenience of staying on property with great transportation options. This is a limited experience for our family, though. We will never be regulars. Mostly because we like to see other parts of the country and the world, so don't want to spend our precious vacation time going the same places repeatedly. We're also only staying 5 nights at WDW. With our kids being young, 4 park days will be plenty to get a taste of Disney. Don't get me wrong, we are super thrilled about our upcoming trip!!! But cost is definitely prohibitive and partially for that reason, we can't let ourselves become Disney fanatics.

 

[Reddy]

I'm another one that uses half a paycheck to pay for - plus income tax return
why - because we like it & it is great place for my boys
5k is what we are spending but we are driving - don't see boys on an airplane

 

[RachaelA]

We justify it like we would any vacation. We like to vacation at WDW so that's where our budgeted vacation money goes. We own DVC and go 1-2 times a years. We do what we can afford each trip so it varies.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Vacations are a priority for us. New cars, lots of clothes etc are not. We just factor them into our life style and budget accordingly.

We like to look at vacation VALUE rather than just the cost and WDW really has pretty good vacation value. Only you can decide what is most important and what you are willing to let go of. We stay a full week with hoppers for every day. To us, the extra small amount for a few extra days in the park is much better value than doing things like minature golf or shopping at DTD. The hoppers make it better for us as we like to break up our day.

If cutting cost is important, I would just stick to WDW, ditch the rental car and do 10 day passes. If that is not budget possible, cut back as many days as you need to make it work. I would not however do less than 5 full days coming from the West Coast. I would save and wait till you can make it work.

 

[hkkatie]

OP here. Thank you all for your comments and advice! Part of our issue is that we currently live overseas, so going to WDW is really only part of our trip, and an additional $5k is huge. We plan to be in the US for about a month total, mainly on the west coast, visiting family. Also, I didn't mention in my original post that we will also have out new twins with us who will be 18- months old next summer, and so having 6 people will limit where we can stay.

Dh is not as much of a Disney fan as the rest of us, so getting him to agree to this trip in the first place was a milestone, but now that he knows the price, he's not so happy about it. So I guess we need to decide if this is a once in a lifetime trip and just go for it, or if we can take a smaller trip now and save up to do a bigger trip several years later. (But the downside to that is our twins will be older so we have to pay for six instead of four....)

Hmmm, a lot to think about.

 

[gilesmt]

We just returned from a 14 day WDW vacation. We go every 3 years to WDW and yearly to DLR. this trip was our longest, we double our time to see it all. We do not do off site. We stay at shades of green or a POR, we use Disney or shades buses or walk to the poly. We eat a few meals at shades, we get a few boxes of cereal to save some on breakfast and we save on buying bottled water. We also save by going to sit down dinners and ordering off kids meals, steak at BOG includes your drink and desert and is 1/3 the price of just the adult entree. Until this trip we did nothing extra except hoppers and one water park. This time we did lots of extras, park hoppers, BBB, pirate adventures, cabanas and more but we have never done that before, but even there we save where we can, bought DGD princess dress down at the local Mexican shop and was ale to get shoes and crown and gloves all for less than the princess dress in the park and she can wear it to a wedding this summer since it is a real dress and not a costume but she was asked for her autograph a lot that day. For twenty years as a single mother the way I do vacations is, buy gift cards until I have enough to pay for it, just keep buying as many as you can afford, use target pharmacy and credit card and then you can get 10% off, go off season and save on hotel, get free dining and you save even more. Don't book everything at the same time, planes are usually cheaper 6 to 8 weeks before travel, rental cars 1 to 2 weeks before, hotel deals come out 3 to 4 months in advance.

 

[RachaelA]

OP here. Thank you all for your comments and advice! Part of our issue is that we currently live overseas, so going to WDW is really only part of our trip, and an additional $5k is huge. We plan to be in the US for about a month total, mainly on the west coast, visiting family. Also, I didn't mention in my original post that we will also have out new twins with us who will be 18- months old next summer, and so having 6 people will limit where we can stay.

Dh is not as much of a Disney fan as the rest of us, so getting him to agree to this trip in the first place was a milestone, but now that he knows the price, he's not so happy about it. So I guess we need to decide if this is a once in a lifetime trip and just go for it, or if we can take a smaller trip now and save up to do a bigger trip several years later. (But the downside to that is our twins will be older so we have to pay for six instead of four....)

Hmmm, a lot to think about.

Definitely rent DVC points and get a 2 bedroom (or a 1 bedroom at BLT or AKV where you can have 5 plus 1 under 3) with a full kitchen. It will be cheaper to rent then paying rack rate plus you can make a lot of your own meals.

 

[rt2dz]

I am a WDW newbie. I've been to DL/DCA a couple of times with my 2 girls, (1 and 2 day trips), but we've never been to WDW. DH and I have been contemplating taking our kids to WDW next summer (2014), but after doing some research, the price seems really prohibitive. When you add up air fare, hotel, tickets, food, car rental for a few days to go off site, etc, it's nearing $5k! For those of you who go regularly, how can you afford this? I assume you aren't taking 10 day trips each time, but still... We really want to go but I don't know when we'll be able to justify that kind of money for a 10 day trip.

Thoughts?

ETA: those costs take into account value or moderate priced hotels and only 5-6 days of park tickets, not hopper.

We are a family of 6 and do go 10 days (almost) every year. Here is how we do it:

1) Drive. All our vacations in lower 48 are driving. Much, much, much cheaper than flying. I don't count travel as part of our 10 days. Depending where we are going, it sometimes takes 2 days, but we still drive. It's cheaper and easier and very rarely does the speed of flying make sense. Plus, no rental car fees!

2) At Disney, we stay offsite every other trip for the last 5 or 6 years. Even if we paid for parking, still coming out way ahead than staying onsite. A 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with a private heated pool is less than 1 night for 2 value rooms. When we do stay onsite, I rent DVC points.

3) Buy tickets in advance from an authorized discount broker. And wait for sales. Often undercover tourist through the MouseSavers newsletter link is cheapest, but not always. And then I buy the best discount, as long as I don't o over what I want. Use the ticket once, then upgrade the bridged ticket to what I want (usually APs for adults, WP&f PH for kids).

4) Skip the dining plan. It's cheaper, for us, to pay out of pocket. The plans just don't fit our dining style. Too much TS for basic, too little for deluxe. We enjoy the occasional adult beverage, and not dessert at every meal. If you want it "prepaid," put it on a gift card. Bonus--you aren't tracking credits and paying for tips additionally, which go up when you get better value for your credits. Don't fall for free dining--it requires rack rate for the room, tickets from Disney, and sometimes still more $ to upgrade to the dining plan you want. All the extra costs rarely come out more than the dining plan for our family, so run the numbers carefully.

5) utilize every discount available--AP, Disney Visa, etc. If staying onsite for cash (not renting points), make sure you use discount codes.

6) Travel during value season so no up charges on meals and lower resort rates.

That's all I can think of...

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[deuceswild10]

5K for 10 nights for a family of 6 when you factor in flying really isn't that bad. But, I still know what you mean. We are taking a 7 night cruise for less than it will cost us for 5-6 nights at Disney. But we don't 'justify' these things. We work hard for our money and just do what's best for our family.

 

[JIA333]

I have been to Disney 3 times (when I was 9, 15 and 23) and my parents paid for everything, it wasn't as expensive as it is nowdays but we managed and by no means we are rich. Not even close.

We are going again in 4 days, but this time is my parents, me AND my 3 kids!

This time it will cost around $10,000. We HAVE to fly since we are in the caribbean, and will stay 8 days/7 nights (at Clarion Lake Buena Vista). It's a nice hotel and cheap.

We are going to build memories that will last a lifetime, there is no justifying that, just enjoy!!!

 

[luvmylatte]

We are New Yorkers so we are used to nothing being cheap. That being said this is how I do it for myself and my son. We stay at a Value, we go during free dining, we do not concentrate on souveniers, but instead enjoying all, Disney has to offer. We go for 8 days, fly and do not rent a car or leave property. There is more than enough to do at WDW. One year I afforded to go strictly on my coupon savings for one year. I saved $3500.00 and that paid for our trip and we never felt the pressure of scrimping during the lead up to the trip, during the trip or trying to catch up on bills when we got home.

I justify the cost by knowing that this is the one vaca I take a year and there are very few places I could vaca soup to nuts for the prices I get at WDW. Even at a Value I feel like I am treated as special as a Deluxe guest. I don't have to lift a finger the whole time just enjoy myself and the atmosphere

Have fun!

 

[Disneyforus]

As a previous poster said, we justify it with "good deals", and lifetime memories that we are enjoying with our children.

We are a family of 6 and have always kept our total price for a week at or under 5K.

We do fly if I can get airfare for around $200/person....that equates to $1,200 or so.
(If we drive our Yukon from Michigan it's about $900 in gas plus a couple hotel stays...it's very close to the price of airfare, and we lose those days driving.)

We stay onsite when we get "promotions" and stay offsite when we can't.

Car rentals and parking fees are factored in, but still...last May we stayed at Bonnet Creek for <$90/night in a 2 BR Villa, paid $195 for a van for 14 days! Yes, I stalked Alamo for weeks LOL. That is waaay cheaper than even a value, and not renting a car. (We would need two rooms) When we are in a villa, our eating is much easier. We pick a couple restaurants in the World we want to eat at and the rest is at the Villa. Again, this saves us TONS. I bring my weekly grocery money and we are set for the week other than what special meals we decide on.

We would not be going to Disney every year if we didn't do budget trips.

This year's breakdown and why we decided onsite:
$600 for airfare (I had vouchers to use, and SW had great deals)
$1700 Lodging, 7 nts AoA room only discount
$1500 Park Tickets, 4 day Waterpark fun and more through YES
$ 200 BOG for dinner
TOTAL:$4000

If we did Bonnet Creek:
$600 airfare
$700-$900 Lodging
$300 for Van (probably will go down)
$1500 Park tickets
$200 BOG for dinner
TOTAL: $3300-$3500

Because of the Room only discount, it helps us justify staying onsite for the few hundred dollars in savings we would have at the villa, plus we are so excited to be at Art of Animation!!! Having the cheaper out of pocket for airfare was huge as well, we can't even drive for that price...though the offsite Villa with the kitchen and car would make it tons easier for eating. We will do Garden grocer onsite and make do...we aren't big eaters especially when it is so hot.

This year we are paying for our room with some overtime on my part. I know how many overtime shifts I need to work to pay for it