How often do us budgeteers visit disney/orlando?

[Jenny-momof3]

DH makes above average but I don't work, we have 4 kids, 3 cars, a larger house, a kid in college and the middle 2 inexpensive activities....

We buy annual passes each year and get 4 trips out of them. Typically 4th of July, Christmas, Spring Break, 4th of July.

Hotels are more expensive those times of year so we stay one trip offsite at Bonnet Creek and rent DVC points for the other trips.

For meals we eat breakfast in the room or on the way to the bus. Lunch is a combo of snacky type things, sandwiches we make,etc. Dinner we eat out...sometimes table service but most often counter service or even getting a couple pizzas on Boardwalk or Pop Century.

We drive...1,000 miles each way. And we drive it straight through. So transportation is usually only $400 or less per trip. If we flew no way we would/could go near as often! We have flown before and just don't enjoy it with the kids. Driving is sooo much easier on all of us!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

About every other year, along with trips to other locations in off years. I'm a SAHM. DHs income is slightly above average median household in America. We just make our vacations a priority. Mainly because DH works so hard, so during his time off spending quality family time, making memories is our priority.

 

[Ginny Favers]

We are going every year now because the kids are the right age for it, and because I am making the money from my second job to afford it. When the kids are older, and if I don't have the money, we won't go as often.

Once a year is pretty much the most I could do it, though. I don't think I could be one of those people going several times a year.

 

[DCbride]

We are 2 incomes slightly above the average. We go to WDW usually 3x a year. We own APs and try to keep hotels under $125:150 a night. Which means sometimes we are onsite others off. Tried to price a week at the Jersey Shore or an all-inclusive and keep coming back to Disney.

 

[swilshire]

So got back 6 days ago from a wonderful vacation, went to magic kingdom, seaworld, aqautica twice, stayed at orange lake resort, all was perfect! Now I am back in boring CT trying to figure out things to do for fun which is pretty hard around here....so thinking of going back in around 6 months. Problem is with 4 kids we always are budgeting...so usually are Orlando trips are 1-2 years apart. Question is how often does everyone go? And I mean the average american family, that is why I am posting on the budget board. Not the very rich lol

We have four kids, three grown up now. There have been years when we visited WDW multiple times to take advantage of annual passes. Other times we have gone a year or two without a visit. Or just visited one day, such as the times we bought Busch Platinum passes and visited Sea World and Busch Gardens instead.

We own timeshare weeks and usually vacation somewhere Spring break, summer, and Fall break. Sometimes we take a Christmas vacation as well, depending on how the school holiday falls.

We have a middle class, one income household, but are very frugal. When we travel, the timeshares allow us to have reasonably priced lodging, we eat about like we would at home without too many meals out. For driving vacations, the only real extra general cost is the gas to get there. As Disney ticket prices have gone up, we find ourselves going there less often.

This year we visited Sedona AZ for spring break (had SW airlines credits we needed to use), Maui for summer vacation (frequent flyer miles for the flights), and will be going to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (which is a week too early for Fall break, but we'll take the youngest out of school). I have a couple of expiring timeshare weeks left to use, so we may go to Orlando for Christmas if I don't have to work. We have a few days left on 10 day non-expiry tickets.

Sheila

 

[kirstenb1]

We go every year, but go cheaply. We're long time DVCr's, so accomodations are paid for. The price of WDW tix has gone through the roof, so we no longer do WDW parks. We have platinum passes to Busch Gardens here at home, so our admission to Sea World and Aquatica is free. I'm not a foodie at all, so restaurants don't excite me. I mostly cook simple meals in our villa, and we go out maybe once or twice while we're there. We drive down. I think the most expensive part of the trip is the hotel room on the way down/back.

So much has changed over the years. This latest foolishness with planning fastpasses in advance, and timing refills on sodas is just so meh. I'm pretty done with WDW, but our kids love it, so we go. I can't wait til they're grown so dh and I can use DVC to go to Vero.

 

[beck02]

We make above average income (both of us work), yet still middle income. We couldn't afford to go more than every few years, mainly because we live so far away. If we lived closer it might be different. Since we've got a young daughter, we're going more (about every 2 or 3 years), but when she's older I don't think it will have the same appeal, and we also like to go to other places.

Even a modest vacation at disney is about double what we'd spend at lots of other places....

 

[Southernmiss]

We were at Disney in 2007 and 2009. But life itself has gotten much more expensive and dh and I are in careers with slow to non existent raises or advancement opportunity. We would be considered as above avg annual income, but we also have 4 kids and have paid for 3 sets of braces since then and are saving for set four . We got some great discounts for those 2 Disney trips but I haven't seen any good discounts in a looong time.

For us, even though we are frugal, it's not easy

 

[meggybear17]

Since DH and I started living together, we have always budgeted our expenses for the year off of 24 paychecks. However we actually get paid 26 times per year. So twice a year we have an extra paycheck. One we use toward vacations and one towards Christmas. I am a SAHM now but my DH makes an excellent salary. But we still value vacations over a lot of other things. We very rarely eat out or even order take out. I don't get manis and pedis. I get my hair colored less often than previously. And my DH never, ever, ever spends money on himself except for the occasional bottle of rum or some beer or when new work clothes are needed. So all of that extra money just goes towards vacations. We would also rather put money towards trips than spend it on birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. We have a 3 year old DS and right now Disney is a great vacation choice for our family. But we also travel other places for either a week or long weekend multiple times per year. This year we went on a long weekend to Cincinnati to visit family, had a large family trip to a cabin in Pigeon Forge TN, went on a western Caribbean cruise and spent my sons third bday in Disney for 4 nights. We also spent two weeks at our second home in Delaware near the beach. Next month we are going to Disney again for four nights followed by a Disney cruise. This was a big vacation year so next year we will probably scale back a little and do one big trip (thinking maybe Mexico all inclusive) and a lower key extended family trip like renting a big house in OBX. DH can't handle Disney every year but I think I have him onboard for every other!

 

[GAGirl13]

My youngest is 11 and we have been every year except one since she was born. The first few years we were reimbursed up to $1500 a year for a vacation as one of the perks of my DH's job!! Good perk, huh?

We are not rich by any means, but my kids love it so much and ask to go there every year. We have stayed both on site and off site. Just depends on where I get the best deal. We have never done the dining plan. Just don't eat that much food in the parks! We put $ away each month and I try to buy gift cards in advance. We have a piggy bank in the kitchen where all loose change goes and the kids love to "feed the pig" with any found change. It's amazing how much you can save with extra change!

I really think if you want to make it happen, you can! I am sure we will slow down in the next few years as my oldest is a junior in high school this year.