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

[Feralpeg]

I never made it to WDW until I was in my 40's. In my younger days, I worked hard and moved up the corporate ladder. I had my DD when I was 36 and was pretty well set financially. We took our first trip to WDW when DD was 4. We've been every year at least once since. Last year, we went 3 times. Now that I am retired and moving to Florida, it is a no brainer. I'm glad I saved when I was young so that I could enjoy WDW with my DD so many times!

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is the Disney Timeshare. Instead of purchasing weeks, we purchase points (real estate interest) at the various DVC resorts. We can use them anytime of year at any of the DVC resorts, many of the WDW resorts, the Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland resorts and many others. Go over to the DVC Board and look for the FAQs at the top of the board.

 

[da disney fans]

We're young newlyweds, still in school, but we're probably going back to WDW this summer, and we were just there at Christmas.

Pure and simple, we just save. We put money aside for Disney (from paychecks, but also saving loose change!) until we have enough. It's pretty amazing how much you can save in a few months time by cutting out little things here and there, like a dinner out or a daily coffee from Starbucks.

 

[jimmytammy]

DVC is one reason we visit more than once a year. I was 33 first visit and knew I would want to go back very soon. We didnt buy into DVC until after the 3rd trip. At that point we knew we wanted to go back every year at least once. Never considered more than once a year at that point.
But as time has passed, we realized we could work the points to our advantage, buying APs is also a real incentive to go more than once a year.
I work side jobs on weekends, not every weekend mind you cause family is still very important, thats why we love WDW so much. We can all have fun together! But those side jobs pay for DVC plus our trips. We dont spend $$s as much on souvenirs, 2 square meals instead of 3. The kids think its a blast to eat popcorn for lunch!
My advice if you want to try to make more than one trip a year, find something youre good at and do it to earn extra $$s. Put that money away, dont use it to pay bills or dip into it for a meal. Put it somewhere safe and leave it alone. It will add up.
I used to hear other people talk about doing this and I was skeptical, but hey it made a believer outta me.

 

[SamSam]

Vanryank, go over to the Disney Vacation Club Board and you'll be able to find out everything about DVC ownership. We are DVC owners and our only regret is that we didn't purchase years ago.
As far as affording multiple WDW vacations, I think it's priority's. I don't get my nails done, we eat at home except for very special occasions, we don't have premium cable..................vacations are our priority and so we do without in other areas to be able to put our money towards them. It's amazing how even small amounts add up.......... that daily cappucino ($3) is over $1,000 @ year; wouldn't you rather use that money for WDW.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Originally posted by 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!!!

Well, the truth of the matter is that I am fabulously rich. I have a lot of trouble spending money fast enough. I started a fire tonight here at the stately Zippa D Doodah Manor and used some wadded up 20's as kindling (I was out of 100's)

Just kidding, actullay like everyone else on these boards I priorotize about how I spend money. One big help for my family is that we simply do not pay interest on anything. If you don't pay interest its like having an extra job. My Zippa D Doodah tip for this day is to never ever charge more on your credit ard than you can pay off at the end of the month. Do this and you'll be on your way to Disney quicker than you thought possible.

 

[McKeeFamily3]

Well it's been a few years since we've gone last but we did go 2 years in a row.
Like others, we just saved for it.
I work at a local pizza joint 3 nights a week to pay for all of our vacations and extra fun family stuff. Minimum wage.
We homeschool so I don't mind working a few nights a week. I'm with the kids all day and have plenty of time to spend with them. DH works full time to pay the bills and save for retirement. Not a large salary at all.
We have a house, a car and a pop up camper. No other big toys. We have no credit cards. We save for what we want. We are a fairly low mantinence family. The only debt we have is our mortgage.
This year we are getting AP's because we would like to start going more often. We have a trip planned for the week after Thanksgiving and I am planning a surprise Birthday trip for DD in March 2005 and then we will probably go again the week after Thanksgiving 2005. 3 trips in 1 year!!!
One way we saved some $$ was to rent DVC points at OKW. You can read all about that over on the DVC boards. You can save a bundle and stay at a wonderful resort!
Last time we went we got a great deal at AK. This was shortly after they opened and the had wonderful rates. This year we are camping at Fort Wilderness. This is a great way to save some $$ if you enjoy camping.
Oh, and we drive to DW, cheaper than airfair and DH is afraid to fly anyway.
Where there is a will there is a way!!

 

[vhoffman]

We're making our third trip this December. We always manage to get our airfare free thanks to American Express Membership Rewards. When you use the AMEX card, if you sign up for Membership Rewards program you get one mile for every dollar spent. They also have a "deluxe" program of sorts that gives you 2 miles for every dollar spent on everyday purchases, such as groceries, gas, etc. The basic program costs about $50 per year and the deluxe program costa $150 per year, but well worth it if you use it. Unlike certain loyalty cards dedicated to a certain airline, the points never expire. And you can choose from several airlines--we always use Southwest because they require the least number of miles for a ticket. Our last trip we not only got four free rt tickets, we got an almost free rent car using the miles as well ( a coupon good for $100 off Dollar rent car, the total cost was $115). We charge everything we purchase on the card, groceries, gas, medical bills, phone bill, and now our mortgage co. will accept AMEX so we really rack up the miles. I don't believe I've paid for an airline ticket for the last 6 years, just use my AMEX rewards. We can even put recurring costs on AMEX such as newspaper, alarm system, and phone bill. The nice thing about AMEX is that you pay it off at the end of the month, no interest charges. Also, its nice to get the end-of-year statement to see where you're money went. Airfare is about 1/2 the total trip, nice to get it free!

 

[TDC Nala]

Having no spouse or children and a decent job means I can go where I want, when I want.... and that's where I want to go.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I go solo twice a year. I certainly am not rich - my current job is babysitting, which I do while I (fruitlessly!) look for a real job in my field. I have an old but reliable car, so I drive down from NJ and stay off-site the first couple nights at cheaper hotels like the Hampton or Fairfeild Inns, then switch onsite for about 5 nights and stay at Pop Century or a moderate at an AP discount. I have an annual pass so that helps on my second trip every year. I bring groceries with me and usually eat cereal in the room for breakfast, some snacks for lunch, and a food court dinner. I can do the whole trip for a few hundred bucks. Not bad!

I swear, the best way to save money is to NOT get a package with unlimited length of stay tickets. On my first trips with family, we always got those, and since we never hit the parks on our traveling days, we wasted hundreds of dollars! Now with the AP and booking the room only, it's so much cheaper!

<img src="http://home.att.net/~disneysue/hugsmall3.gif">

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I CAN'T afford to go all the time, so I don't. I live in FL and I'm only about 6 hours away from Disney, but our budget doesn't allow frequent travel like others.

I just take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the times we do go. Our next trip isn't for 2 years and our last was 3 years ago! I just feel blessed to go at all, because I know many who have NEVER been and may never get the opportunity to go.

 

[kaylajr]

We only go every other year and would love to go more

where i work now has a huge tourist season in July and August and
at the end i always get a good bonus so that has paid for most of the trips
this year however is probably my last year there so now
i will have to start saving and budgeting because i don't wantto give up my everyother year

 

[goofy4tink]

After visiting WDW for the first time in '99, I had planned on every other year trips, staying at a moderate resort. Well....last summer dh decided if we were going to go repeatedly, maybe we should look into DVC. We bought in Oct. Now, we'll be going at least once a year, maybe twice some years. We'll buy APs and use them for two trips. Won't be buying souveniers since we've been so many times. And we'll be trying to eat more meals in our room, well at least breakfast and some late dinners. If I'm paying monthly for DVC, then darn it, I'm going once a year!!!

 

[SimbaNoodle]

DVC & AP's - What a combo.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Well, we live much like the other posters. We buy what we need and not every thing we want. We look for cheap deals on lodging and airfare. I am also lucky to have family members who have more frequent flyer miles than they will ever be able to use who often donate me airline tickets. We eat cheap and don't splurge on lots of souveniers. Any of that stuff can always be bought later online or through the Disney merchandise line.

We're there to have fun!!

 

[The Duchess]

We only go every two years because I refuse to budget my vacation. We could probably go every year, but definately not on the Platimum Plan at the YC.
So, my priority is luxury and no stress. I want Room Service, Concierge Access and my bed turned down at night.

 

[castlegazer]

I feel like I am going against the grain here but we are a family of three and we go one-two times a year. Disney vacations are actually our cheapest vacations we take so we get to go more often than say a cruise or a tropical vacation. We don't go for more than five days at a time and due to a great real estate background and father who had great investment savvy I have always owned a condo out in Cocoa Beach. So we go to WDW only for a few days - look for the best deal out there and stay at either a value - FTW cabins - or off-site DtD hotels. The rest of the time is beach time. I never pay more than $170 a night for lodging for those few days. I look for airfares below $200 per person and will not fly if they are above that. I scour the Internet for codes and values for car rentals. I can usually do the Florida vacation for less than $2,000. But, note that I don't go for a full out WDW vacation at a Deluxe for seven nights. My Florida vacations are about more than just WDW. A typical vacation other than Florida will cost us $5,000 at th very least.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Originally posted by SlightlyGoofy
Fantasia, are you gonna have a spare room in your new home? LOL

Slightly Goofy/Linda

I might just have a spare room just for you only Linda!! I'll make sure I get a 3 bed one for my young kids and one for me and one just for you as my special guest! You get breakfast made to order too!

 

[ashjohnson80]

we try to go annually. i'm 23 and my dh is 25 and we don't have a lot of money. we live in sc and drive down to orlando its about 7-8 hrs. we also take the car with the better gas mileage which is dh's. my expedition gets awful gas mileage. i also get on the internet and try to find the lowest rates for a room. last year i used hoteldiscounts.cc and got a room in kissimee with a small kitchen for $35/night. this year i used priceline.com and got a room in northern orlando for $39/night. the room is not at all important to me, its just a place to sleep. as long as it is clean that is really all that matters, although the place we're staying this year is a 3star so it looks pretty nice. also i buy my tickets in advance from disney.com. i saved about $45 this year by doing that. also with it just being me and dh its not that bad. we also don't eat at any of the nice restaurants. i think the nicest place we ate last year was the 50's prime time cafe is mgm. that is an awesome experience by the way! you can go to wdw and spend a ton of money but you don't have to.

 

[DougR]

I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. We’re leaving in 8 days and staying at WL for 9 nights, this will be out 11 trip is 3ish years. It just came down to, life is just too short, and knowing someone that lost there life 9/11 made us realize that. I told my wife if we’re able to do it financially, then we’re going to do it. We are AP holder and we look for the deals. For the most part we stay on-site but have used our timeshare on occasion

Regards
Doug