Is Disneyland a "Want" or a "Need"?

[nunzia]

Far be it for me to judge anyone else, I haven't walked in their shoes (or mouse ears as it were) so I can only speak for myself....

Disneyland in itself is not a NEED for me or my family, in the way that food or life sustaining items might be. We do live a pretty simple existence, some of it by choice and some by circumstance, but we have a very specific set of priorities. Where the "need" comes in for me is the need to provide wonderful childhood memories for my children. If Disneyland were not in the cards then it would any other of a myriad of experiences....I would still be plotting and planning to provide them with fun and great memories. I think that in my case it is a little compulsory.... I am sure I am over-compensating for my own not too "fun" childhood. My DH will sometimes help me reign it in a little when I get too obsessive, and I think I am getting better at keeping a rational perspective. We only plan DL trips every three years, and the kids are actively involved in the savings/cashing in cans/budgeting that it takes to do so. They really enjoy knowing that when the are walking down Main Street, they worked to be there.

So to make a long-winded answer even longer, in my instance the desire to be at Disneyland is the desire to become the carefree child I never really was, and to enable my own children to feel that magic as often as is rationally possible....but if it were suddenly not an option we would survive. It would be a BUMMER though!

I'm in this camp. I don't see Disney as a NEED but when my kids were little we saw having good memory making experiences for them as one. Sometimes (more often than not) this meant a Disney trip. It also meant zoos, Sea World, family visits, beach visits, what have you. And sometimes we really couldn't afford them and there was question if the old station wagon would make it. But..we did them and had such fun and greater memories than the kids would have had having the nicest clothes or fanciest shoes. No regrets at all..and on some of these trips the cash was even subsidized by a credit card
Now we take some of the vacations with the grandkids in mind so we can give them those same memories their parents have. We like to live small to vacation large.
As to if vacationing is a want or a need..my degree is in tourism and in Hospitality 101 you learn that recreate (recreation) means re-create. You need down time and away time to refresh and renew. As always things can be taken too far but people do need to give themselves a break once in awhile.

 

[nunzia]

I agree.. as an american taxpayer... i am grateful i am able to contribute to helping people who need help getting food or medicine.
But then to read about those recieptiants posting of going to ANY theme park weekly or monthly while your only income is from the government, is Wrong.

And to see where going out to eat all the time is the norm for these goverment funded people, when i make menus and food budgets makes me want to say, Why not check out the Disboard Budget board. Sign up for some of their meal challenges and money management tip threads.

Try to chose an obsession that will benefit your life. Visit the Disboard Budget board and try to learn skills that will help you. I've learned alot there.

My DH gave me a ticket to the Food and Wine Festival French Dinner this year as i've been talking about wanting to go so badly for months and months. Then i read on the disboards where someone who's only income is goverment funded will be attending 2 of the $150 specialty meals. I was stunned?!! Is this what our hard earned tax dollars are being used for? My close friend could feed her family on that 300 for a month.

I have a friend who is a single parent and works so hard, yet she is right on the threshold of not making it. It is heartbreaking because she barely makes enough to scrape by and she works so hard. Her family has never been to any of the parks. She was even "advised" to quit working and collect benefits. But she has too much honor and doesn't want to abuse what that goverment funding is intended for. But sheesh, what about some help for a hardworking mother like that! $300 for 2 meals would feed her family for a month, i've seen how she budgets.

I was talking to my Father about this topic and He recommended a interesting book called..Nickled and Dimed.. On (Not) Getting By in America By Barbara Ehrenreich, that i am going to read.

OT..but if you read Nickel and Dimed (and I have) PLEASE also read Scratch Beginnings..This is a rebuttal of sorts to Nickel and Dimed about a college graduate who had to read that book in a class and then went out to show what can be done with a postitive attitude, budgeting and planning. Very good! They should be read as a pair.
now back to your regular topic

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

well my dh has been pushing. lol
an this post made me think alot
an there is a possibility we will just wait an go next year see the new stuff an spend the money this year on other things.

this post+dh+just nothing going right It may just be the best choice. to wait.

Its not like fantasmic or the Christmas tour wont be there next year.

I know that is a tough decision to make. I'm sure you will do what's best for you and your family. And DL and DCA will be all fresh and new next year just waiting for you.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Boy, do I have a lesson learned to post here.

The one time I went borderline addiction Disney was my one and only time at MK. It started pouring down in the afternoon on the day that I was there, so I ducked into a store in Liberty Square. Mind you, I was a bit on Disney overload after having been depraved of it for 8 or so years. Well, I saw all of the charming Cinderella merch and went on a shopping spree, thinking that I needed this, that, and the other. Spent $100 that day on souvies (which are still lovingly displayed in my bedroom). Flashforward a few months and I'm in college for my first semester. It's late at night and I'm at a gas station in the middle of nowhere with some friends wanting to get money from the ATM so I can pay for my part of the gas. Machine says there's no money in my account and spits my card out. At first, I just stared at the machine in disbelief, because I knew that I saved a chunk of change while I was in high school. Then I remembered going a little crazy at MK and realized where a good portion of that hard-earned money had gone to.

From that day forward, when I go to DL, I handle everything with cash. I take out a predetermined amount of cash and refuse to go near an ATM until I leave. That incident also made me realize how well Disney fits into the "want" category and how I really should only go when there is money in my account that is serving no other purpose in the forseeable future.

I have to admit though, that it is a top want. In the fall, I will be going to law school, which is incredibly expensive and will entail me taking out a loan for the first time (I'm hoping in between scholarship $ and what I already have that I will be able to take out only Stafford Loans that have a fixed interest rate, but I digress). Ergo, I will probably not be going to any Disney park until all of my law school debts are paid off (unless I can go with my brother [he's in USMC] and swing a sweet military deal that way...Disney's got some great deals for military). However, I am earmarking $100 or so of the money that I currently have in the bank to pay my way for when my extended family goes to Disneyland for the day in June. I'd much rather spend that $100 on bonding at my favorite place in the world with my little cousins than to use that $100 making sure that I can eat something else other than ramen for weeks on end (I actually like ramen so it wouldn't be the end of the world).

 

[Judy from Boise]

I will admit that there was a time we went into debt to finance multiple Disney trips. My DD is austic, and starting around the age of 4 it was very obvious that Disney trips (the planning the trip, and the reminiscing) was very helfull to her development. Couple this with the fact that she was in a great but expensive private school. We also had just built a house.
We eventually paid off every penny, and have never gone back into debt. I do not regret it at all. It is what our child truely "needed" at the time, and paying it off on credit was just a necessary evil.

 

[toocherie]

I'm in this camp. I don't see Disney as a NEED but when my kids were little we saw having good memory making experiences for them as one. Sometimes (more often than not) this meant a Disney trip. It also meant zoos, Sea World, family visits, beach visits, what have you. And sometimes we really couldn't afford them and there was question if the old station wagon would make it. But..we did them and had such fun and greater memories than the kids would have had having the nicest clothes or fanciest shoes. No regrets at all..and on some of these trips the cash was even subsidized by a credit card

don't let the people from the budget board read this!!!!

Boy, do I have a lesson learned to post here.

The one time I went borderline addiction Disney was my one and only time at MK. It started pouring down in the afternoon on the day that I was there, so I ducked into a store in Liberty Square. Mind you, I was a bit on Disney overload after having been depraved of it for 8 or so years. Well, I saw all of the charming Cinderella merch and went on a shopping spree, thinking that I needed this, that, and the other. Spent $100 that day on souvies (which are still lovingly displayed in my bedroom). Flashforward a few months and I'm in college for my first semester. It's late at night and I'm at a gas station in the middle of nowhere with some friends wanting to get money from the ATM so I can pay for my part of the gas. Machine says there's no money in my account and spits my card out. At first, I just stared at the machine in disbelief, because I knew that I saved a chunk of change while I was in high school. Then I remembered going a little crazy at MK and realized where a good portion of that hard-earned money had gone to.

From that day forward, when I go to DL, I handle everything with cash. I take out a predetermined amount of cash and refuse to go near an ATM until I leave. That incident also made me realize how well Disney fits into the "want" category and how I really should only go when there is money in my account that is serving no other purpose in the forseeable future.

I have to admit though, that it is a top want. In the fall, I will be going to law school, which is incredibly expensive and will entail me taking out a loan for the first time (I'm hoping in between scholarship $ and what I already have that I will be able to take out only Stafford Loans that have a fixed interest rate, but I digress). Ergo, I will probably not be going to any Disney park until all of my law school debts are paid off (unless I can go with my brother [he's in USMC] and swing a sweet military deal that way...Disney's got some great deals for military). However, I am earmarking $100 or so of the money that I currently have in the bank to pay my way for when my extended family goes to Disneyland for the day in June. I'd much rather spend that $100 on bonding at my favorite place in the world with my little cousins than to use that $100 making sure that I can eat something else other than ramen for weeks on end (I actually like ramen so it wouldn't be the end of the world).

Good for you--I will say, however, that Law School is very intense and you will need some breaks. Are you going to law school in SoCal? If so--where? I went to Loyola lo so many years ago. Our break at that time was Las Vegas trips (don't ask me why) and movies. But we got through it and so will you! Best wishes to you.

I will admit that there was a time we went into debt to finance multiple Disney trips. My DD is austic, and starting around the age of 4 it was very obvious that Disney trips (the planning the trip, and the reminiscing) was very helfull to her development. Couple this with the fact that she was in a great but expensive private school. We also had just built a house.
We eventually paid off every penny, and have never gone back into debt. I do not regret it at all. It is what our child truely "needed" at the time, and paying it off on credit was just a necessary evil.

See--personally I don't think there is anything wrong with incurring debt that you are able to pay off. Even for "luxuries" such as Disney. We all make our choices.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Good for you--I will say, however, that Law School is very intense and you will need some breaks. Are you going to law school in SoCal? If so--where? I went to Loyola lo so many years ago. Our break at that time was Las Vegas trips (don't ask me why) and movies. But we got through it and so will you! Best wishes to you.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I didn't get into my dream school (which was UCI...only 15 mins from DL and it's where I grew up), but right now, I'm deciding between Regent University in Virginia Beach and Michigan State University in East Lansing (depends on if/how much scholarship money MSU will give me). If I end up going to the one in Virginia Beach, since my brother will still be at Quantico, VA for a while to go through his MOS training and since he has a car (pick-up truck...so cliche), I will probably be harassing/persuading him to come with me to WDW at least once (I can't be that close and not feel the pull, lol). I know that law school is crazy intense, but I'm not too worried, since I like crazy intense learning (then again I also like old-school psychiatry and psychotherapy, so it's pretty obvious I'm weird). Also, it helps that so many tv shows are posted online now as well (how I got through taking the two hardest courses required for my major during the same semester, nothing quite like watching the entire first season of a new series while writing/editing a 10 page research paper). The trick will be finding a job near WDW or DL once I graduate (or working for the Mouse, since I might get my degree in entertainment law).

 

[kc10family]

I agree with a lot of you and I don't agree as well. (maybe today I am bipolar )

I know I remember our family trips as a child and I remember the joy we all had. Even when my parents split my mom charged up those credit cards and took us places. (not all the time)
So I agree that for the sake of memories sometimes it is a need.

Now on the other bipolar hand.... I also understand the stress and pain of lack of money. This is when you need to budget trips out hard. You plan for a long time, save, take on extra jobs or something, have yard sales, not eat out for a few months, etc.
I know if a trip is planned far enough out, money can be stashed away and a nice trip can come.

I recycled everything I could get paid for for an entire year when I was in need of extra money. I would ask friends for the plastics and cans as well ask old ink cartridges.
I explained it this way... if you plan to give tha to the city to recycle do you mind if I take it off your hands first. I never had anyone say no.

 

[toocherie]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I didn't get into my dream school (which was UCI...only 15 mins from DL and it's where I grew up), but right now, I'm deciding between Regent University in Virginia Beach and Michigan State University in East Lansing (depends on if/how much scholarship money MSU will give me). If I end up going to the one in Virginia Beach, since my brother will still be at Quantico, VA for a while to go through his MOS training and since he has a car (pick-up truck...so cliche), I will probably be harassing/persuading him to come with me to WDW at least once (I can't be that close and not feel the pull, lol). I know that law school is crazy intense, but I'm not too worried, since I like crazy intense learning (then again I also like old-school psychiatry and psychotherapy, so it's pretty obvious I'm weird). Also, it helps that so many tv shows are posted online now as well (how I got through taking the two hardest courses required for my major during the same semester, nothing quite like watching the entire first season of a new series while writing/editing a 10 page research paper). The trick will be finding a job near WDW or DL once I graduate (or working for the Mouse, since I might get my degree in entertainment law).

Well, most of the Mouse lawyers I know had nothing to do with "entertainment law." Just straight ol' corporate or real estate contracts. So, keep that in mind.

 

[Sherwin]

A need in spirit, but a want in flesh.

Really, though, money was never a terrible issue for us, so we never had to categorize it like that. But smart budgeting can satisfy both needs and wants!

 

[spidey_99]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I didn't get into my dream school (which was UCI...only 15 mins from DL and it's where I grew up), but right now, I'm deciding between Regent University in Virginia Beach and Michigan State University in East Lansing (depends on if/how much scholarship money MSU will give me). If I end up going to the one in Virginia Beach, since my brother will still be at Quantico, VA for a while to go through his MOS training and since he has a car (pick-up truck...so cliche), I will probably be harassing/persuading him to come with me to WDW at least once (I can't be that close and not feel the pull, lol). I know that law school is crazy intense, but I'm not too worried, since I like crazy intense learning (then again I also like old-school psychiatry and psychotherapy, so it's pretty obvious I'm weird). Also, it helps that so many tv shows are posted online now as well (how I got through taking the two hardest courses required for my major during the same semester, nothing quite like watching the entire first season of a new series while writing/editing a 10 page research paper). The trick will be finding a job near WDW or DL once I graduate (or working for the Mouse, since I might get my degree in entertainment law).

If you can, yes, get a law job by DL or WDW AND work for them as well (I think you can work for Disney in other places other than near the parks).

I got a buddy who is a lawyer for Disney and she lives in So Cal which means she gets all the perks that come with working for the mouse while being close enough in distance to the parks to actually enjoy those perks: free park admission, big in park discounts, and I think I recall her saying they do certain employee only nights (like the yearly Xmas party) where they close the park to all but Disney workers,etc)...What fun!

 

[PHXscuba]

ITA with someone several posts back who said "it's hard to be an adult sometimes!"

Our family's fall DLR trip is paid for (money in separate savings account), thank heavens. I wanted to take also DH on a special big 40th birthday trip as well this year, but he is getting very nervous about the economy and all that, so it's on hold and probably will get canceled, postponed til next year, or severely scaled back.

I have been very Grumpy lately about this because I had the birthday trip all planned out (my usual OCD) and all but booked. The childish side of me is saying "we have enough in savings to pay for this too, why can't we just go?!" but the responsible adult in me is saying that we need to keep a bigger cushion in the bank and respect DH's skittishness.

So thanks for reminding me that while trips are important for memory-making, sometimes we have to be adults and make the hard choices!

PHXscuba

P.S. I have read some doozies of stories on the WDW and Budget forums of the boards about people who are losing their jobs, asking family for money, and still planning WDW trips to "comfort" themselves.

 

[toocherie]

If you can, yes, get a law job by DL or WDW AND work for them as well (I think you can work for Disney in other places other than near the parks).

I got a buddy who is a lawyer for Disney and she lives in So Cal which means she gets all the perks that come with working for the mouse while being close enough in distance to the parks to actually enjoy those perks: free park admission, big in park discounts, and I think I recall her saying they do certain employee only nights (like the yearly Xmas party) where they close the park to all but Disney workers,etc)...What fun!

My friend who was a Disney lawyer also got to be "Tigger" one day in the parks .. . . . .

ITA with someone several posts back who said "it's hard to be an adult sometimes!"


P.S. I have read some doozies of stories on the WDW and Budget forums of the boards about people who are losing their jobs, asking family for money, and still planning WDW trips to "comfort" themselves.

that was me who said "it's hard to be an adult"--sigh. so true.

and I've read some of those posts on WDW and the budget board too-- what are people thinking?????

 

[ElloPoppet]

i consider it a need. sometimes when my life is so low in the gutter with my mom's nasty divorce and college being so tough, the only thing i have to look forward to is my boyfriend holding my hand while we ride space mountain.

 

[Stacerita]

No matter which way you slice it, or how much of an arguement you make for it, it is a "want", not a "need". You will not die from not doing to Disney. You might die without the basic "needs" in life. Disney does not fall into that. I do understand people's needs to get away from it all, de-stress and the need for fun. Disney just isn't a need though. If someone needs to get away from it all and have fun, they can do that anywhere. But they "want" to do it at Disney. See, want, not need. My DD came home to a single parent household, and its always been a single parent household, and Ive been going to school full time and working full time that some days I can't see straight. And Disney does help me relax and refresh myself. But if I couldn't afford it, I would just find an alternative. Its not a need, just a want. Lucky for me, its a want that is in my budget.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

And Disney does help me relax and refresh myself. But if I couldn't afford it, I would just find an alternative. Its not a need, just a want. Lucky for me, its a want that is in my budget.

And that's the key to everything. When necessary, an alternative stress reliever/escape can be found. It's just not that easy when Disney becomes an addiction. And for some of us, it is.

 

[Sherry E]

It took me a while to get around to posting on this thread. As much as I would like to present an iron-clad reason for why Disneyland is a definite 'need,' I have to agree that it is not. BUT, that said, even though DLR trips are not on par with those little things we need to survive such as oxygen, food & water, etc., I can definitely attest to the immense emotional benefits of a DLR trip - just when I 'need' it! So while it may not be a need, per se, it is definitely important on some level.

From like 1972 to 1995, Disneyland was a yearly or twice-yearly event for me, and it was a different experience every time based on the groups of people I was with or which specific things we did, as well as integrating stays at the DLH into the trips starting in the late '80s. Those DL trips were something happy to look forward to during my otherwise troubled childhood, and without Disneyland in my life my childhood would have been very different and much less joyful. So I don't know how I could ever say that a trip to DL - then or now - is frivolous or unnecessary (like many people would say it is) because it has meant so much more to me than that.

However, from 1996 through 1999 I did not go to DLR at all (I was involved with a boyfriend who was very un-Disney and disinterested in going there, and I had some health stuff come up that required $$$). Because I was preoccupied with other things, I didn't realize how much I missed it. Then I went back in 2000 and in 2001, and I knew I couldn't stay away that long again....or at least I didn't plan on it. But I fell on hard times financially, and I could not get caught up or get the debt paid off to save my life. Ironically, I even had to sell some of my Disney things to pay bills - which was like getting punched in the face. I HATED having to part with some of my favorite collectibles that I would never be able to find again. I was struggling mightily to keep up with rent and food. So, because of circumstances I ended up staying away from for SIX years! Honestly, after the first couple of years I stopped thinking about it. You get used to NOT going after a while - even if you think that is impossible. It can be done. But again, I have to say that, especially because of how much I was struggling with what life was throwing at me, any alternative activity to cheer myself up was not on par with what a trip to DLR would bring me.

So when I finally went back to DLR in 2007 - because of some free tickets I got from a client who felt bad for me when I lost my 14-year job, I was almost sort of apathetic about it because I was so used to NOT going or not being able to go so I didn't have that same excitement I would have had before previous trips. It took only a few moments for the unique Disney magic that we all know so well to hit me and I was bitten by the bug all over again. And I knew that I could not stay away for that long again. Yes, I may not be able to go every year - I may have to skip a year here or there - or I may not be able to do Halloween and Christmas and will just have to make one trip instead of two in a year, and I may not even be able to stay at a hotel and will just have to go and take in the holiday splendor in a brief day trip to DLR. No, I have not gotten out of financial hot water and I probably won't for many years to come, but if I waited until I was totally in the clear money-wise to go to DLR again, I would probably NEVER see DLR again in my life! Am I realistically going to stay away from DLR for the rest of my life? No. I can't go crazy with the trips and I know that at the end of the day, keeping the rent paid and the lights turned on is more important to my life than a DLR trip, so I have to kind of balance things and put them in perspective. BUT the sort of restorative and energizing effect a DLR trip has on me personally and the way it affects my mood and overall outlook on things and life's problems, as well as the way it brings my friends together, is irreplaceable and immeasurable. So it is maybe not a 'need' in the traditional sense, but I would say Disneyland, to me, is definitely very.....integral to staying in touch with the inner child and remaining joyful and positive during the worst possible times! No matter how badly things are going for me, and no matter how many aches and pains my older, creakier body may have from various health problems, a trip to DLR will always make things seem brighter by the end of the day, and I leave feeling refreshed and more capable of facing the challenges that await me when I get back home.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

If you can, yes, get a law job by DL or WDW AND work for them as well (I think you can work for Disney in other places other than near the parks).

I got a buddy who is a lawyer for Disney and she lives in So Cal which means she gets all the perks that come with working for the mouse while being close enough in distance to the parks to actually enjoy those perks: free park admission, big in park discounts, and I think I recall her saying they do certain employee only nights (like the yearly Xmas party) where they close the park to all but Disney workers,etc)...What fun!

A big part of why I'd want to be a lawyer for Disney is the perks, which I'm already aware of somewhat because I had a friend in hs whose father was an animator for Disney when she was little so she had all of these stories about the perks they got. Now that I've made my decision for law school (another school came in at the last minute with comparable scholarship money to the one that I was originally planning to go to, so I'm now going to go to Michigan State...who recently won an entertainment brief competition held by Pepperdine, they also have a good intellectual property focus which would be good for Disney), I can focus on going to Disneyland at the end of next month (aside from looking for work, I hate being unemployed). It's such a happy zen feeling for me to just think about my upcoming trip in spite of having to deal with a bridezilla in planning this trip that I can see how parents who have to deal with crazy children plan regular trips, if only to have something to look forward to at the end of the day.

In another note, maybe some parents taking trips to WDW when they shouldn't ought to stop by the new Epcot exhibit "The Great Piggy Bank Adventure" (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-05-14-disney-great-piggy-bank_N.htm)

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think Disney is in the same category as gardens, pets, books, music, art etc. No one physically dies without them, but on the flip side are they really living?

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

I think Disney is in the same category as gardens, pets, books, music, art etc. No one physically dies without them, but on the flip side are they really living?

VERY well said!!