How do you pay for your WDW trips?

[GEM]

I'm just curious about what other people do. Do you use credit cards for all or part of the expenses, or do you have enought cash for everything?

We always try to have enough money in our bank account to cover all the expenses (air, hotel, passes, food, shopping, etc.) and then we use our Visa debit card. It's not always easy to get it all together in advance, but I don't like the idea of putting it on a credit card. We always said that if it came down to putting a lot of money on the credit cards, we just wouldn't go. I teach drama and music classes (aside from my regular job) and all of that extra money goes right into the account for WDW trips, so that helps.

So, what do most other people do? Do you pay with pay with cash or use the credit cards and pay it off later? Or do you do a little of both?

 

[SeaWitch]

Kind of a little of both. We use our Visa debit/credit and pay off every month. And we are so glad we discovered these boards... lots of $$ saving tips!

For this trip (after reading all the posts about vouchers from Connections & Simple Escapes)... we decided to purchase a few.
Also signed up with GiftCertificates.com and got a $60 Rainforest Cafe GC for $50. Not much, but every little bit helps! And maybe with this bit of meal pre-paying it will seem like we've spent less )

Before these boards, we would never have thought of buying an annual pass and using for 2 trips... now it's the only way to go!

As far as HOW we save money... just with regular savings and a yard sale or 2.

Sorry to ramble... guess I'm excited!

 

[GEM]

Thanks for responding. If I could trust myself to pay off our credit card every month, I would probably do that too. However, both DH and I had problems with credit cards when we were younger and only got them all paid off a few years ago. That's why we stay away from them now!

 

[SeaWitch]

I completely understand... we got ours paid off about 5 years ago and now only keep 2. 1 for emergencies and the other is the one we use for pretty much everything (I think it has cash back or some other bonus program that my DH likes).

If the bill paying were in my extremely inept hands LOL - then we would also have to stay away from them! My DH just has to make sure he keeps me in check every month!

WOW! I just noticed the list of all your trips! Disneyland Paris - I'm jealous... maybe one of these days for us...

You really should go to the tech pages and add a countdown!

 

[the4moores]

Well in planning this trip we thought that we would have enough money saved for our trip but after having to but a new car that cut into our saving quite a bit so I have about half of what we budgeted. So it looks like we will be using our credit cards as well. I think we are going to put tickets and campsite on credit card then use cash for food and sovenirs.

 

[eeyore0062]

We try to pay for the whole thing by saving up in the savings account, transferring it to the checking and using our check card. We will use our Disney Card, if need be, though!

 

[pinky]

I'm not sure how useful my post will be but I'll try to stay on topic. This is the one (& only) nice vacation we take every year (in February as it is our DD's winter break).

We use to put it all on credit cards and pay for food & souvies with cash. Then pay the credit card debt off sloooowly.

Now, as DVC members, we won't have to shell out the $169 per night at CB in Feb '03 and $169+ every year after that (President's week). We did finance through Disney so we do have payments debited from our checking account monthly but it will be paid off in a few years and at least our interest is tax deductable.

We normally use AmEx at check-in and I pay it off monthly. We put all our change and bottle return money (10 cents in MI) in a big water jug, then start counting & rolling it up about 2 weeks before our trip. It then goes in our checking account & I use it when the big AmEx bill comes in.

I also save up all our winning lottery tickets and turn them in right before the trip. This money goes for tipping, food at airport, tolls, etc. and I joined Connections so in Oct, Nov, & December I will use my checking account debit card to buy meal vouchers (just a couple at a time).

I usually buy the 7 day PHP's whereever they are the cheapest. My husband doesn't use his pluses and he doesn't always go into the parks so we maneuver the passes around so I don't have to have 3 new tickets at the same time. It's a lot easier for me to save up and pay cash for 1 than it is all 3 at once. We also visit US/IOA for 2 days. I look around and can usually get 3 days for the price of 2 (as long as they do not have expiration dates) and buy them every other year.

Sorry for such a long post and I hope I didn't get too far OT.

 

[Cindy B]

Made a separate savings account, through payroll deduction.
Paid for things in increments, via credit card, and transferred money over.

We used AMX when down there, but will pay it off as soon as all the totals are in.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by pinky
We also visit US/IOA for 2 days. I look around and can usually get 3 days for the price of 2 (as long as they do not have expiration dates) and buy them every other year.

Sorry for such a long post and I hope I didn't get too far OT.

I was just at USF/IOA and they are still having the third day free promotion so you will be good to go.

Were you aware that Seaworld offered a second day free as well?

 

[beattyfamily]

We've been 3 times and going again in October.

Our first trip (1998) was mostly charged. I know it stinks but better than never going!

Then for our second trip (2000), we saved $200 a month toward it for about 10 months. When I came into extra money from change or taxes I'd put it in the 'vacation' fund as well. We'd pay for stuff in advance as we can like the hotel or tickets or whatever. We ended up having to charge some of it...not too much though.

Then our 3rd trip (2001) we became DVC members so our resort was paid for. Then we did the same as last trip and put $200 a month plus all extra money aside for the trip. By the time our trip came most big things were paid for and we had money set aside for the rest. We used our CC (not debit because that makes me nervous!) and then when we got home, we transfered what we charged from our debit card to our CC.

We plan on doing the same for October. I've already purchased all tickets (MNSSHP, passes, IOA passes), already paid for the airfare with our savings and the IOA hotel.

I even have a spreadsheet where I can plug in all expenses and figure out what it's gonna cost and TRY to save it beforehand.

 

[Kristy-Mama Bear]

We are NOT using any credit cards for this trip. We are paying them off and don't want to add to them. So, we are using our checking debit card. We have all saved money one way or another. For instance, we are saving cans, having a yard sale, selling items on Ebay, working extra odd jobs here and there, etc. We are getting closer to our trip so we are really crunching the money now. We also have a quart jar on our kitchen table that says "VACATION DONATION FUND." We put all of our spare change in there and even when grandparents come by to visit they drop change in there. We have had a wonderful time planning this and the excitement is building each day.

 

[jgates]

Save? What is this strange word all of you people keep using? (This from the gal who works at the bank............)

Our 2000 trip was saved. Most from rewards programs - had $700 in Marriott GC's so we stayed at Courtyard DTD.

This trip we did well in a lot of ways in July. $350 on webcertificate from rewards/credit card points. $25 gas card from vehicle test drive. Things like that. 10 day world hopper passes from paramount. $139 golf package so ds could go whenever he wanted (after 3pm).

However, we did take a 16 day vacation and stayed at Swan for 10 nites at a good rate, but still my credit card looks HORRIBLE. I'm going to try to pay about $200 extra per month until I can clean it up.

I do want to take DD again in a couple of years. I have a small separate checking account that I am putting rebate checks, survey reward checks etc into and stuff I sell on ebay. It's only got $109 in it, but it will grow! Also still building up webcertificate again from my chase icard.

My problem is ds just went to college so that is draining our finances!

 

[jgates]

Oh-note on checkcards. Make sure you have a credit card along with that has $ available. One thing we have found at the bank over the years is that some hotels 'hold' or 'authorize' an amount significantly larger than your regular room rate in case of damage, room service, etc. This can affect your useability of your card if you only have so much in the checking. Along with several of our customers, my own aunt had this problem in chicago. Her room rate was around $159 - THEY AUTHORIZED OVER $1000. Of course it took 5 business days for that to drop off!

 

[chris1gill]

How do we save?

First thought that comes to mind is, on a wing and a prayer!!! But really We own DVC which is paid off, the monthly dues are taken out of our checking account. We buy AP's months in advance of our trip & pay for them up front & get two trips out of it with 11 months between them. Because we stay in a 1 bedroom villa we do cook most of our food... We go out a little more now though because of the cost effectiveness of some of the Connections Vouchers. For instance this next trip we'll do Beaches & Cream a couple of times, LeCellier & Rainforest Cafe on the vouchers. I bought those vouchers 3 months or so ago & paid cash for those... So I try to stagger the cost of the big ticket items, so I pay for one big thing at a time.

As for spending money, there's none in the budget so we severely limit our spending! We go often enough that we don't need to be bring large amounts of souveniers home...

I guess that's about it, anything we do charge while we're down there gets paid right off when we get home... If we waited to charge everything at once there's no way we could go down like we do....

 

[Crjmom]

Seawitch,
Can you tell me about giftcertificates.com and have you used them a lot? Have you ever had any problems with them and how long does it usually take to recieve them by mail?? We are going to DW the first of Oct. and will be on a tight budget, but would like a nice sitdown lunch/dinner once a day. Any help would be appreciated.

Traci

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says..............................We have an account at the local credit union, just for travel expenses. Our trips are always paid for before we go. While others drive shiny new SUV, we have 1990 Geo Prizm, 1994 For Tempo. But in four years we will have gone to Washington DC, Hawaii twice and WDW three times. For simplicity I will usually pay an extra thousand to my credit card the month before we go. Then I pay for the rooms and the car, and still have a little left to spend. Much better than bringing $ 2000 cash as I've seen people do. If you start to charge part of your trip you will get farther and farther behind for your next trip.

 

[mad4themouse]

I not only save all my change, also save all my $1.00's as well. They add up much more quickly that way. When I have enough, I purchase a park hopper pass online thru whoever has the best deal and I use a rewards credit card to make the purchase. When the bill comes, I add the saved money to the checking account and pay off the charge.

For the room, I buy Disney Dollars whenever I can and ferret them away. I use the money I save from couponing, buy-one-get -one-free offers, store specials and refunds. Just $50 per month will give me $600 to pay for the room. I know that we can stay off-site for less but for me, it's just not the same.

To pay for meals and souveneirs, I do rewards programs that either pay in webcertificates or restaurant gift certificates that are on-site like Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe. I've also ordered Connections vouchers and paid for them using my webcertificate card.

I use a rewards credit card that pays in webcertificates for all my daily expenses that can be charged. The trick here is to put the money and receipt in an envelope right after the purchase is made. I make it a strict policy never to touch this money since in reality it is already spent. When the bill comes, I check all the receipts against it and deposit the total amount into my checking account. I then write out the check immediately so that I do not touch those funds.

Since DH has his own business, he uses a business rewards credit cards to pay off all the bills. The reward points really add up quickly that way and we can convert them to frequent flier miles. We've flown for free on the last two trips and only paid for two of the 4 of us on the trip before that.

I use the same airline for just about every trip. It helps that we live near a major hub for that airline. By using their "partners", I have been able to add a little more miles that way.

Usually, by the time we've arrive in WDW, the expenses are all covered and we do not need to worry about $$$$. However, we still bring a credit card and extra cash in case of an unexpect expense.

 

[supercarrie]

We pay for plane tickets in advance on a credit card. Hotel is usually done on a credit card, too, although we always have enough in the bank (have saved up enough) to pay them off when the statement comes. For meals and other expenses that are more than $20 or so, we use our debit card. For little things, we pay cash.

We pay for our trips through the vacation budget we have every year, along with garage sales, change jars, etc.

 

[emmagata]

I suppose we (just my wife and I) are very fortunate.


We usually have quite a bit saved up in the savings account (which I might as well put under my mattress for the measly interest it's earning!) to pay for the whole trip.

We pay by credit card and then pay the bill off when it comes in.
Since our whole family is going (10), we paid for everything and collected the money from them.

For some things where we can't use a CC, we send a check.

We take travelers checks with us for our food and spending money. We might use a CC during the trip but that's rare.

It's nice to come back and know that it's paid for.


What I'd like to know is how many (that don't live within a short driving distance) can afford to go 2, 3, 4 (or more) times in the same year. I guess if they were DVC owners and got an annual pass, the only real cost is air fare, food and misc. expenses. But that's STILL expensive!!

 

[dansyr]

This may not be the cheapest way to go, but probably the least stressful. We booked our trip early, approx. 8 mos. We decided on the deluxe package ( all meals and recreation included). I work a part time job as a dance instructor. I get paid a lump sum every 6 weeks. That money goes directly towards the trip. Then I will probably save a few hundred for shopping and drinks. By booking this package, all our major expenses are taken care of ahead of time. No credit card bills and no watching what we spend our money on while we are there.