How do you justify?

[Colleen27]

I don't let myself take those sorts of comparisons to heart. If I did, I think I'd be sitting home twiddling my thumbs most of the time... We've spent more on Disney vacations since '05 than our house cost.

That said, when it comes to resort choice I do take a honest look at my rough itinerary to decide if a nicer resort is worth it, and the Poly has come out on the losing end of that thought process every time. For most of our trips we spend very little time in the room. Of our two deluxe stays one left us feeling like it was well worth the price (Beach Club, can't beat the location and we hung by the fabulous pool instead of hitting a waterpark that trip) and the other left us wondering why we hadn't saved a few bucks by staying at a mod (Wilderness Lodge; pretty resort but we spent little time there and in January the boat to MK isn't as big a perk as I'd imagined it would be). Plus the Poly lacks one of the amenities that keeps me from really loving the values - a hot tub - so even though the theme is beautiful and the location amazing, it is one of the less appealing deluxes in my opinion.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I'm having a hard time with this. We are planning our next Disney vacation and want to stay at the Poly. We can save the amount we need to have in order to afford it. The only debt we have is our house and car payment, which we are trying to pay off early, so finances are OK. We both really want to stay there but in my head I am having a REALLY hard time justifying the cost. We will be staying at the resort less than a week and paying more than our mortgage payment for a whole month! While we could afford it, I can't wrap my head around it once I make that comparison!

How do you guys "let go" and splurge on things? I really want to... I just can't seem to do it!

If you can afford it, omigosh DO IT! I've stayed at all levels and so far the Poly is my favorite. It's been 6 years since our last brief stay there, but pre-kids we stayed there routinely. As you can see from my kids' ages that was years ago. We'll do values and enjoy them, but you better believe we'll be back at the Deluxes when we're child-free.

If for nothing else, being on the monorail line is the BOMB!

 

[ilovepete]

You guys are making a point that is one reason why I can't ever seem to stay at anything more than a moderate - we spend very little time in the room. Basically sleep, shower, and dress, that is about it. We may spend 1/2 an afternoon at the pool, and that is about it. For me, that makes it really hard to justify. We only spend 5-6 days, including arrival and departure days (we drive) and so that leaves one full day for each park, and that is usually what we do.

 

[Planogirl]

I can't bring myself to spend the money they want. I'd be worrying too much about how I feel like I've spent way too much money for something not worth it and it would be my own fault. I think that the mods are nice enough when we stay onsite unless we can find a good deal.

Of course, it's not a rip off to everyone. This is just my perception.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I always have the same dilemma, OP. I can afford it, I can stay there within my vacation budget, but I'm not sure it is WORTH it. We have stayed twice at Poly and three times at Beach Club - I love them both, but we have either stayed with a code or in value season. I'm not sure it is worth rack rate if I have to pay it. We usually stay at Coronado Springs - the rooms are great, the beds are queen-sized and comfy, we like the transportation and the food options, and it is a great value for the price we pay, even if there are no discounts. But my DDs (who are 8 and 11) don't like to sleep in the same bed, so CSR means carrying the air mattress even though there are only four of us. Next trip, we'll either go back to a bunk bed room at AKL or stay at Poly since it has a daybed. I may even splurge and get a 1 BR at BLT or AKV - I haven't decided if it is worth the premium to have two rooms, a kitchen and a washer and dryer.

We just had a similar dilemma for Spring Break - we wanted to cruise, but the DCL prices are nuts. We have been on DCL twice and loved it, but for less money, we could book two Carnival cabins instead of one DCL and still book an excursion in every port. Although the Carnival shows were not up to Disney quality, the food, service, cabins and water slides were great, and since we went Easter week, the boat was filled with families instead of drunk college kids. It turned out to be a great value and a fabulous trip - way better than we expected for the price.

So - long-winded response - for me, it is about the value for the price paid rather than the price itself. If I feel like it is a good value for the money, I will pay the price and be happy about it. It is becoming worth paying more so one of my kids doesn't sleep on the air mattress (even though they don't mind and prefer it to sleeping together). Even though I think CSR has great rooms, a better pool than Poly and better transportation to DHS and AK, Poly has larger rooms, the monorail and better dining, as well as three beds.

 

[Ratatosk]

This last time, I really, really thought we should stay at the Contemporary or Boardwalk Villas; however, after crunching the numbers and realizing we don't spend all that much time in our room except to sleep.

 

[2disneyboys]

You guys are making a point that is one reason why I can't ever seem to stay at anything more than a moderate - we spend very little time in the room. Basically sleep, shower, and dress, that is about it. We may spend 1/2 an afternoon at the pool, and that is about it. For me, that makes it really hard to justify. We only spend 5-6 days, including arrival and departure days (we drive) and so that leaves one full day for each park, and that is usually what we do.

This (bolded) is exactly why I can't let myself spend the money on a deluxe. I could without a doubt afford the best room Disney has to offer. I have been to the point of "just book it" and then I back out... I can stay at a mod or a value or offsite for so much less and we spend so little time in our room (when we are AT disney, we want to be in a park! ropedrop to close is not unsual for us!) my only requirement for a room is that is has to be clean and I have NEVER had a problem in any level of disney room with it not being clean. I would rather stay somewhere cheaper and use that money to upgrade a memory part of the trip (take the fireworks cruise, do pirates league as a family, etc...) but that's just me

 

[marmalade]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really need to figure out how to find one of these 40% off codes!

Just call and see if you have a pin code attached to your name. I have heard of plenty of people on these boards who didn't know they had a pin until they called and asked.

 

[ilovejack02]

Ilovepete, update that blog LOL ; ) I just liked you on fb. I love trying new recipes.

 

[crisi]

For me, a Deluxe isn't about the room - we don't spend that much time their either (I do need at least Queen beds though - so no values). For me its the convienence and theming. The Deluxe resorts are so nicely located (generally). We spend less time on buses, don't rent a car.

But the big thing is theming. Particularly the Poly, WL and AKL.

However, we are DVCers and since we like our home resort (BWV - lovely location, but theme wise, just ok), we don't tend to stay at other resorts - I dont' bother to switch. So we get our taste of theming by visiting the restaurants at the resorts I enjoy the most.

As for the transportation - if you are going to stay at the Poly, doing it when your kids are in strollers provides some justification. It really is nice to just be able to stroller right onto that monorail.

 

[Sugar Jones]

I think it just depends on what your spending priorities are. As much as I would love to stay at a Deluxe resort, and we could afford it I can't justify spending the money on it. However I would not hesitate to pay $100.00 for a good pair of shoes, which would be a total waste of money in another's mind kwim?

Maybe for our trip in September 2012 if I can figure out how to rent DVC points and it's a good deal I could do a deluxe, but for now I am content with a value

 

[ilovepete]

Ilovepete, update that blog LOL ; ) I just liked you on fb. I love trying new recipes.

Gotten kind of burnt out lately and in a rut, no new stuff!

 

[ilovejack02]

Gotten kind of burnt out lately and in a rut, no new stuff!

I have been too, can you believe I made tater tot casserole last night UGHHHHH. My hubby was thrilled. Guess i need to hit your blog list and see what I can come up with new this week lol.

Ok back to topic.

 

[Chelley00]

Vacations are the one area where we do "splurge." I nickel and dime everything else in our lives but not when it comes to a vacation.

Same here. I'm a total saver, spend thrift, coupons, no cable etc. I reward myself for being so careful with money by ensuring we have nice vacations. However, not every time we go to Disney is deluxe. Most of the time we rent a villa offsite, but our last trip I took with my mom and 2 youngest kids and we stayed at the Poly and it was amazing. We did plan a lot more down time at the resort to make sure we got our money's worth out of it. We've also stayed at AKL (just DD and I) and we spent a whole day just enjoying the resort, plus lots of downtime after parks, so I justify it by making the resort part of the vacation, and not just some place we sleep.

 

[auralia]

have you considered renting DVC points for bay lake tower? i'm guessing it would be cheaper and you can still add dining on if you want and get tickets from under cover tourist saving a few bucks there... just a thought. I love my dvc i bought old key west resale for pretty darn cheap imho and now its just like i'm slowly paying for my disney rooms each month with taxes I only have 50 points and that lets us go for 10 days in the off season at a deluxe every 2-3 years depending on things but i know i will crack and buy another 50 when DS turns 2

 

[Anthony1971]

.
- buy a new car earlier
- get some new clothes
- set aside money for college
- redo my kitchen
- hookers and blow!

I laways save my money for one of the above but every year my wife takes the money and makes me spend it on Dinsey

 

[Katy Belle]

I'm having a hard time with this. We are planning our next Disney vacation and want to stay at the Poly. We can save the amount we need to have in order to afford it. The only debt we have is our house and car payment, which we are trying to pay off early, so finances are OK. We both really want to stay there but in my head I am having a REALLY hard time justifying the cost. We will be staying at the resort less than a week and paying more than our mortgage payment for a whole month! While we could afford it, I can't wrap my head around it once I make that comparison!

How do you guys "let go" and splurge on things? I really want to... I just can't seem to do it!

Everyone gets to decide how he/she spends their money and you don't have to "justify" anything, except to your spouse.

I would never pay to stay in the Poly. Just not a priority for me. At WDW we sleep in the room, and not much! We spend nearly zero time at the Resort, we LOVE to be in the parks!

Have I ever paid that for a hotel? Yes, several times. Cairo, Jordan, Rome, Russia, etc. When I needed to be sure it was nice, and safe, then I paid for it. In the USA I don't pay a lot for a hotel, because I feel safe in lesser hotels.

Could we afford the Poly. Yes. But anything we don't spend adds to the retirement fund. Perhaps I will want to stay at the Poly in retirement. If so, I will.

Good luck making your decision! Could you stay there ONE of your nights? Would it be too big of a pain to move?

 

[Arielle22]

I usually save 2 years for our vacation so we can afford to stay for a longer visit and a Deluxe. However I always have a pin code because I could not justify paying rack rate.

Since we are there longer we do spend time at the resort. In Nov we will be at Boardwalk. I picked it since my daughters like the Studios and Epcot and there is easy access.

We can't sleep in a double bed, need at least a queen so it is either a Deluxe or Corando Springs.

It is easy for me to justify because I really like staying Deluxe. If you are having a hard time then maybe Deluxe isn't for you.

 

[ilovepete]

Just call and see if you have a pin code attached to your name. I have heard of plenty of people on these boards who didn't know they had a pin until they called and asked.

Thank you for this tip, I did not know this! I called an asked. They said there wasn't one, but I now know I can do this in the future, so thank you.

 

[hopemax]

I've stayed at WL twice, AKL once and BC once. The first WL trip was honeymoon, so that was the justification. The other 3 stays were when we traveled with a CM, and were able to have a 40 or 50% discount on the room. Even with that we could only justify it for 3 nights. The other part of the trip we stayed at Port Orleans.

We have looked into renting DVC points and that seems like a good way to control costs. And a split stay isn't bad if you don't mind having to pack up and move. When we have done it we don't have "his" & "hers" suitcases but 1st part, 2nd part and so we don't have to unpack and repack everything.