I still want to know how y'all can afford to go all the time!!!

[tinkie]

I'm shocked and amazed and bowing at your feet because I cannot fathom how everyone seems to be able to afford these annual and even twice-thrice-yearly trips!!!! Did you all win the lottery or what????? All I know, after reading the boards for some time, is I NEED to buy Disney stock!!!!! My hat is off to you guys - I wish I could do it!!!

 

[slimplaw]

We bought into DVC which is costing me around $190 a month until it is paid off. I keep an eye out for a good price on air fare. Sometimes, it is just my sister and myself. I get us a room and she pays my airfare. I do have an annual pass right now and recently used it for a "special" anniversary trip and booked a room on the annual pass rate. The past few years, we have not vacationed elsewhere, but plan to go to Colorado this summer and hopefully use some of our DVC points at the Broadmoor.

 

[jennymouse]

If it weren't for these boards and learning all the money saving tips many of us wouldn't be going all the time. I did rewards programs for a while (see the rewards program board), I still do some, now I ebay for extra money. I usually keep a change jar going for my granddaugter's spending money..or mine.

My mother passed away in May and with part of my inheritance I purchased 150 points in Disney Vacation Club for myself & family so that takes care of our accomodations until the year 2042.

We save lots of money by purchasing annual passes and using them for two or more trips.

This next trip in June, since there's going to be so many of us and my knew grandbaby, we're going to take advantage of the kitchen in the 2BR villa to have several meals.

I don't spend a lot of money throughout the year. I don't have a cell phone, eat out every night, or spend a ton on clothes. I have a car and house that's paid in full which certainly helps. I believe you have to choose your priorities. I would rather take my family to WDW once or twice a year than have a brand new car, cell phone, etc. That's my choice.

 

[danny1649]

We bought into Disney Vacation Club now Old Key West Resort in 1992.When we bought it was $50.00 a point and to get you to buy they through in free Park Tickets till year 2000.So now depending on how we use our points we can stay 2 to 4 weeks at resort at no cost at least till 2042.So our cost of WDW vacation is a couple annual pass and food.Without DVC we could only visit once every 3 or 4 years.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Everyone has their priorities and this just happens to be ours. Luckily dh feels the same as I do so we save on other things so that we can enjoy being 'at home' at DW!!

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[*Fantasia*]

Well...now that we're moving to Orlando. I guess I can now afford to go every weekend if we want to! I don't have to pay for the air fare tickets nor rent a car. I don't have to eat at their restaurants, we can just eat at home. I can then buy my Florida residents annual tickets! Plus I can save money if I want to stay at their resorts which I am sure I still would. I can now splurge a little for the resorts since I don't have to pay the air tickets.

Come and move to Orlando!! That's one way to do it!

 

[Pinnie]

We bought enough points in the Disney Vacation Club to support us going about 4 times per year. Instead of Christmas, birthday and anniversary gifts to each other, my DH and I purchase each other our APx. I use my SWA VISA card for purchases and pay it off monthly and along with flying SWA, I am usually getting 3 RR round trip tickets per year.

We use our AARP and SWA codes for discounts on rental cars. For instance, I was able to snag a car for 8 days over Easter week for $219!

We usually go with friends and allow them to stay with us and they pick up the cost of meals and chip in for the car.

pin

 

[itsmetigress]

we live 3 hours away and stay in really cheap hotels lol we just got APs sooooo......gotta make sure we get lots of use out of em

 

[Deb & Bill]

Six little letters - DVC PAP

 

[HookdonWDW]

We also joined DVC, so we use our points to cover most of our stays. We usually buy APs, so we don't pay that much more for our tickets than those who go to WDW for one week. We also highly value our family time, and make it a priority. It helps that dh gets a month of vacation time each year.

Our children don't lack for anything that they need, but we definitely don't fill their every want. They get toys at Christmas and Birthdays, and once in a great while, they may get something in between if the mood strikes dh or I (and it won't strike if the kids are begging!). Otherwise, that's why they receive allowances.

We also don't buy them everything under the sun once we arrive in Orlando. Since they go so often, they don't really care if they get a new t-shirt and a stuffed animal, etc. They bring things back that they've bought on past trips. DS still has his light up rainbow sword and his Buzz Lightyear Spinner. No one at the parades knows that his are 4-5 years old instead of just bought at the cart in front of him. Again, typically they save so that they have spending money for our trips. DS is most likely to spend his $$ at the Lego Store in DTD, and DD likes to shop at the Roxy Store.

 

[Doc and Family]

We buy APs
Also in the DVC
Lodging is paid for with points
Park entrance is paid in advance
So we do 3 or 4 trips/year

 

[Momto8]

We buy PAPs and get 3 or 4 trips a year. We also look for discounts on the resorts. Every year in the spring I get a bonus for the previous year at my company which I use for our trip. I also use our income tax and put money in the credit union twice a month for our trip. It's direct deposited out of my pay check.

Other ways of saving - I use rebate checks, small commission checks from my husband's business (ones that we won't miss for our bills) and save change in a jar and use all of this for our meals. It adds up over several months.

We also will eat breakfast in our room unless we have go out for a character meal, then we'll eat later and skip lunch. We keep snacks and drinks in a cooler as well.

Disney is a priority for us and I'm thankful my DH likes going also. We also will do one or two other trips in the year somewhere else, so this is not the only place we go. This year we're planning a trip back home to Chicago for our niece's wedding and will do an anniversary trip in October, probably to Charleston, SC.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Fantasia, are you gonna have a spare room in your new home? LOL

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[kilee]

We don't do DVC. However, we still seem to average 2 trips a year. We look for really good deals and take advantage of them. We go on a budget, but we never feel limited. We don't stay on site, we priceline our rooms. That makes a HUGE difference to our budget. We have a house and newer cars and nice things. But we don't have boats, jetski's, Plasma screen TV's, SUV's, snowmobiles, or any big ticket "toys". We also don't have any credit cards. So aside from your basic living expenses there isn't much else-- some of that money gets put into the Disney fund. It is also supplemented by ebay.

 

[Vanryan]

I'm glad this was asked, I've been wondering myself! My husband and I also don't do gifts and stuff, our Birthday, Christmas and Anniversary presents this year is our trip. Of course if you look at my signature we don;t do Disney 3-4 times per year. Maybe someday. Can some of you DVC gives us an overview?

 

[maciec]

We seem to go by chance every other year. We afford it by keeping a low debt amount on our credit card and just charge the trip when we go. We are fortunate that DH makes some overtime in the summer so we can pay off some of our trip.

This year we talked my parents into going and we are going to stay in their time share off site. I am hoping that they will also give up some of their points to rent us a minivan for the week.

I hope that I can convince DH and my parents to buy a DVC this trip. I would love to have one.

Melissa

 

[faeriekisses2]

two ? what are DVC and how is it done. and also had a ? about one of the resorts and a cast member named Joshua replied I would like to thank him and tell him how impressed I was to hear from him thanks again

 

[lentesta]

APs help, as do steep discounts on hotel rooms. Those are generally two of the biggest costs. Food and transportation are probably the others. Most folks assume otherwise, but Disney doesn't discount anything to the Unofficial Guide for our research trips - we pay our own way for everything.

I've always wondered what the absolute minimum cost would be for a trip to WDW with, say, two adults and two kids. Not some theoretical minimum - information from folks who've actually done it. I think that'd be a nice addition to the Guide. Feel free to post your results.

Len

 

[kilee]

Well, we are a family of 3 (adults and one child (now 11). The cheapest I did our trip was in April 2002 (DS was 9) and it was for $1800. I still have the receipts, so I could give an exact figure, but this is the rounded one. we went really overboard on souvineers this trip too!!! The one factor that really stood out. Travel was still down after 9/11. I got an offsite, pool view hotel room for $19.99 a night for 9 nights!!! It was clean, and modern. Very comfortable. We drove, so that alleviated costs. But even our hotels on the way down and back were under $50.00 (one being a Marriott Courtyard). Our trips now pretty much average about $2200 w/ airfare. Always offsite though. We spend a lot on meals and trinkets though!!

 

[LoveToDisney]

It depends on what your priorities are. We budget and put away a certain amount each month that goes into our vacation fund to pay for the trips, so they are all pre-paid. (I prefer not to vacation on borrowed money.) We have a time share that we use and this last year we also purchased into DVC so we could stay on Disney property and still enjoy the convenience of having a washer/dryer and kitchen. If we do AP's, we usually put two vacations back to back, one later and the next year earlier so we can use them for two years. I would love to live closer so we could drive rather than having to budget for airfare. We would go even more often.