I have to ask...how do all these people afford...

[WaltD4Me]

For me, giving my kids what they want is more important than a trip to Disney every year or several times a year. There are some things I won't sacrifice on to travel. My one dd is a teenager and I am not going to dress her in rags or make her drive a junk car so I can go to Disney.

With that being said, we have only gone twice and the trips were 4 years apart. I hope to go again this summer. I have a regular job plus a home business and that pays for the trip.

I am sure some people would agree with me (maybe not on a Disney board LOL), that there are some things more important than traveling every year. But if I had tons of money I would go.

Of course there are some things more important than travelling every year, there are MANY things more important than travelling every year, but there are things that are also less important. Maybe designer clothes, or a more expensive car, maybe people decide to shop for the kid's clothes at Walmart or JC Penney instead of Limited Too or Macey's to help afford a trip or maybe they decide not to get a junk car, but a just a less expensive car than they might like. Myself, I've decided that eating out alot is less important to me (I even learned to cook a little, which is saying something in my case!) than going to Disney, Starbucks is less important to me, expensive purses and are less important (unless I can find a good deal at TJ Maxx! )

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Amen I agree. The disney housing project I about wet myself.

Me, too!! I love to be from those projects!! Guess I am not the kind of people some would like to associate with. We love ASMusic!!! I am not ashamed at all to go to our bus stop - it is usually the furthest from the park - but those projects house a lot of Disney Folks!!!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

. My one dd is a teenager and I am not going to dress her in rags or make her drive a junk car so I can go to Disney.


.

Trust me, if the car's not a junk when she gets it, it will be when she's done with it!!!!

Truly, I don't see anyone here going to that extreme.

Although your definition of "junk car" may be completely different than mine

 

[punkin]

Well, we are just filthy rich and can afford to do Disney as well as a cruise and a trip to Europe every year.

OK, we can't actually afford Disney EVERY year, but we do go a lot. Even when we don't we take a lot of vacations. If we have no money, we drive to NY and stay with friends for 3 days. They come to us (DC suburbs) for 3 days on their vacations. Cheap and convenient.

 

[Beca]

For me, giving my kids what they want is more important than a trip to Disney every year or several times a year. There are some things I won't sacrifice on to travel. My one dd is a teenager and I am not going to dress her in rags or make her drive a junk car so I can go to Disney.

With that being said, we have only gone twice and the trips were 4 years apart. I hope to go again this summer. I have a regular job plus a home business and that pays for the trip.

I am sure some people would agree with me (maybe not on a Disney board LOL), that there are some things more important than traveling every year. But if I had tons of money I would go.

I'm sure some people will agree with you, and others will disagree with you. And, you know what? There is no right or wrong...it is simply a question of priorities. I certainly think that you ought to feed your children adequate quantities of healthy food, and I HOPE that people are not traveling to WDW several times a year while receiving government assistance....but, I am certain people are skimping on food, and taking government aid, and still managing to go to WDW several times a year. However, even those are just my opinions.

 

[BethR]

This thread, has gone along amicably for several days. But I can see that it is now treading into very dangerous territory.
I am stepping in here now to remind everyone to post with respect when speaking of other DISsers.
Please be reminded of this from our DIS Posting Guidelines:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm

We do not believe in censorship, and open discussions about various issues is encouraged. When participating in a thread, we ask that everyone be treated with respect and that our guidelines be followed . If we find that an individual is disruptive and is unable to follow our rules, he/she will be barred from participating on our site.

and

3. NO FIGHTING/SARCASM: While we'd like to think that a Disney fan site is always lighthearted, there are times when there are disagreements. Let's face it, there are certain topics that can transform any of us into a raging "Donald Duck." When you sense this is happening, we ask that you step away from the discussion before it escalates into a fight. Just like Mom always said about fighting, we don't care who started the argument and we don't want it on the DIS. (Okay, she didn't say the part about the DIS, but you know what we mean.) No attacking others and no sarcasm please. Either will result in an infraction.

Thank you.

 

[tonilea]

Well, we have gone three times in one year and really couldn't afford it. But, we plan to go three times in the near future and it will all be with cash.

We love to vacation at WDW, but we will never do so on credit again. Right now we are almost debt free - a huge priority for us. We drive older, high-milage vehicles. We budget, cut coupons, plan purchases carefully, in general just try to be frugal with our money. Once we are debt free, we don't plan to radically alter our lifestyle - we are chosing to spend the money on vacations, investing and classic Mustangs.

 

[NY Disney fan]

By the way, I know a DINK couple (double income, no kids) who own about $2 Million in real estate (in NY, NJ and FL) and everytime they go to Disney they stay at the All-Star hotels ("Disney Housing Project") so before you make fun of the Value hotels, realize that many wealthy people CHOOSE to stay there...maybe that's how they keep their wealth.

By the way, they are my aunt and uncle...LOL!

 

[NMW]

Maybe they don't have kids! I know that if DH and I didn't have 3 children with very expensive tastes, we'd be rich!! They cost a small fortune-LOL. Now imagine if I just saved that money, DH and I could go to Disney 5 times a year if we wanted.

We have friends without kids that are DVC members, that go to Disney about 3 times a year. I'm sure they could "afford" to go more, but they both work and do vacation other places too.

Bottom line is that I chose to have 3 kids, I choose to buy them the things all their friends have. So, we only do Disney once a year. WE do try to make it magical though. We stay in a deluxe resort, eat at nice places, etc. My kids remember and talk about those aspects of the trips as much as they talk about the rides, maybe even more. We also take them out of school for that trip, so we really couldn't do it more than once a year. Unless of course, we went in the summer. Something I am dead set against for heat/crowd reasons.

 

[claudia]

I have to ask!!

I keep seeing posts on these various boards about people making their 3rd and 4th trips THIS YEAR to DW. How in the world can they afford to do that? I know what our six night trip cost and I know we saved up for quite awhile for it (ok, YEARS!!).

So what's the secret? How do they do it?


Lily

I don't think that there's any secret, I think it's just math....say 2 families expenses are identical in every aspect, the only difference is the income..... family "A" is making $40K per year and family "B" is making $80K....more disposable income gives them more spending options.

 

[bebelle]

We only go once a year, but I bought the 10 day no expiry tickets and use 2 park days and one water park day for a seven day vacation. On our off days we swim at our resort or go to DTD. So we'll get 5 trips out of those tickets. We also drive down stay offsite and eat in our condo. On the days we go to the parks we pack a lunch and just eat a CS for dinner. And usually we have a disney reward card from our disney visa that pays for our food in the parks. We can do a 7 day offsite vacation for under 1k driving from Ohio. It can be done on a budget.

WOW! I bow to you!

 

[mickeyfan2]

By the way, I know a DINK couple (double income, no kids) who own about $2 Million in real estate (in NY, NJ and FL) and everytime they go to Disney they stay at the All-Star hotels ("Disney Housing Project") so before you make fun of the Value hotels, realize that many wealthy people CHOOSE to stay there...maybe that's how they keep their wealth.

By the way, they are my aunt and uncle...LOL!

I am available for adoption.

 

[DawnM]

Know what DH said to me this past week????

He said, "Why don't we sell our house since we have so much equity in it, downsize and then buy a small condo in Kissimmee or near Orlando somewhere????"

I am pretty sure he is either joking or wants to find a way to keep me from nagging him about wanting to move back to California! But, hey, it is a thought!

Dawn

 

[Lady V]

Well, for me it is simple...DVC!!! I am a single mother of 2 wonderful kids!! I have 350 points and we do travel A LOT to WDW. Now, I am only a 10 hour drive away also. We also take my mom who bought points this year so she is helping out too now! I just really love Disney. I don't know how to explain it-not like I have to---you all understand!! This past year I went 3 times for a total of 26 days. This upcoming year I am currently booked for 28 days. I really don't spend on myself so this is what I buy for me. We buy PAP's, get the dining plan, pay for everything in cash. So, actually, once the pap's and DDP are paid for we are done. We drive most of the time and the rooms are paid for. It is the best financial decision I have ever made. I am currently in school for my Masters Degree so I know that once I am done with school I will probably only be able to travel once (gasp) a year.

 

[Princess Erin]

I put my vacations on my VISA and then transfer the balance to a 0% card for one year interest free. It helps out quite a bit.

 

[LilGMom]

I have to ask!!

I keep seeing posts on these various boards about people making their 3rd and 4th trips THIS YEAR to DW. How in the world can they afford to do that? I know what our six night trip cost and I know we saved up for quite awhile for it (ok, YEARS!!).

So what's the secret? How do they do it?


Lily

We took three trips this last year, two of which were 5-7 days long and one trip was a short three day weekend trip. We have always done 2-3 trips a year because we are Florida Residents and have always gotten either FL Res. rates at the resorts or AP rates. We have the FL Res. Seasonal Passes so that saves on tickets and those tickets also give us 10% (approx.) discounts on many lunches and merchandise around WDW. We just recently joined DVC so in about five years we will really be saving a lot on lodging, right now being DVC we are about breaking even in the cost of lodging versus dues. We joined DVC because we like the accommodations it allows us and when our boys are bigger and we want the extra room being able to get a one or two bedroom villa for a lot less than two std. rooms will be a big plus.

And like a PP said some of it is income level. We aren't rich by any means but we do make a pretty omfortable living and we manage to live within our means while still putting money back for trips. I can't see going on vacation if I have to worry about how to pay for it at the time of vacation or after vacation - that isn't fun for me. We budget and plan and then splurge if we are able.

 

[jodifla]

If you live in Florida, it's not that expensive of a proposition to go several times a year.

Florida residents have access to seasonal passes, which are even cheaper than the annual ones. They can drive, they can bring groceries to WDW hotels or stay offsite with kitchens or use their DVC if they have that.

Heck even after my first job, when I was making almost no money, I went to WDW at least four times a year.

I bought a resident pass, which was around $100 back then. Then I tent-camped at Fort Wilderness.

Easy. Simple. Not that expensive.

 

[dvcgirl]

I don't think that there's any secret, I think it's just math....say 2 families expenses are identical in every aspect, the only difference is the income..... family "A" is making $40K per year and family "B" is making $80K....more disposable income gives them more spending options.

Well, I believe that there are a lot more variables than income. Sure, in your example, family "b" is living below their means giving them more disposable income. But like many here say, priorities are another factor.

And financial priorities are the reason that it's dangerous in some ways to compare your family to any others here. We simply have no real way to know what any individuals financial picture is, and so what you see isn't necessarily as rosy as some report.

That family going to WDW four times a year as DVC members could be very wealthy and so for them the cost of four WDW vacations are a drop in the bucket. They paid cash for DVC and are able to meet all of their finanical obligations and still enjoy those kinds of vacations.

An upper-middle class family taking those same trips may be able to afford those same four trips a year without going into debt, but maybe they aren't saving enough for retirement. They've decided that these trips are a "priority" for their family and they'll worry about ramping up those retirement savings later.

Another family may be more solidly in the the middle class and taking these same four trips. But they have no kids and cook a few meals a week in their DVC unit instead of eating out. They're also able to meet all financial obligations and enjoy the trips.

There are just so many variables involved.

I would say though, in general, Americans are increasingly a "buy now pay later" society. And we're even more so an "enjoy now-save later" sort of society. While our quality of life has certainly gone up in many areas, I would point to our national savings rate (less than zero), and our enormous level of consumer debt. I think that you'll discover that these two phenomenon are a good explanation to the question: "How do all these people afford so many trips to WDW?"

Now, I'm not saying that everyone *here* is doing this, but only that consumer debt and lack of savings are certainly trends that we're seeing in our economy.

 

[walkena]

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I would say though, in general, Americans are increasingly a "buy now pay later" society. And we're even more so an "enjoy now-save later" sort of society. I think that you'll discover that these two phenomenon are a good explanation to the question: "How do all these people afford so many trips to WDW?"

Now, I'm not saying that everyone *here* is doing this.

I think you may be mistaken. We save first, put the maximum allowable into 401k's roth IRA's Educational IRA's 529's. Won't beggar the kids or our future to have fun.

I think you'll actually find a lot of the hardcore repeat dis'ers are like us, because you can't go to disney over and over again for decades being in debt or not saving, it would collapse over a few years.

You have to have a system in place where you adjust your standard of living to cover being debt free, savings, and disney, in that order.

THEN you can do it.

I think almost every one of the repeaters here will agree that they've made a conscious effort to adjust their standard of living to "fit" disney in.