Is the current economy affecting your...

[bigdisneydaddy]

You guys should have bought a FORD. Parts dont brake. So I don't have to change them. So I dont know where they come from. So my truck was made in America.

Dont even try selling that story, we had just as many problems with our Fords at work.

Dont forget that I live smack in the middle of the BIG 3 automakers, there arent many secrets anymore.

 

[des1954]

(Knocking on wood, here!)

My current vehicle is a 1997 Ford Explorer with 147,000 miles on it. Aside from normal maintenance, I've never had to replace anything and it has never broken down or left me stranded. I also had a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis - same thing - I drove it 140,000 miles with nothing other than normal maintenance - again - never left me stranded. I sold it to purchase a 2006 Mercury Zephyr. It has 22,000 miles with nothing but oil changes, so far.

I've owned GM, Chrysler & Toyota products in the past - and could not say the same thing about any of those. Got rid of all of them by the time they had 50,000 miles. The only Ford I had problems with was a 1987 Taurus - the motor mounts were made with an alloy they only used in 1987. When Ford figured out the alloy was no good, they were replaced on a recall, and no more problems.

DH had a 1987 F-150 that he sold to a co-worker to buy the '97 Explorer. When we sold it, it had 175,000 miles on it. The guy who bought it sold it for scrap metal last year when the truck had almost 400,000 miles. We did nothing more than normal maintenance, and so did the guy who bought it.

I won't say that Ford doesn't have their share of problems, but I've just had really good luck with Fords. The absolute WORST car I ever owned was a 1976 Toyota Celica (we bought it new in '76). It was in the repair shop more time than I drove it. Blech!!!

 

[LONE-STAR]

FORD owners unite . You know how most all of the stuff you buy at Disney says made in China well thats why they use GM vehicles most parts made in China. Thats why they cant use FORD not made in China.

 

[stacktester]

FORD owners unite . You know how most all of the stuff you buy at Disney says made in China well thats why they use GM vehicles most parts made in China. Thats why they cant use FORD not made in China.

I'm sure Chevy gives WDW a hefty discount to have all the trucks there. I remember back when the 6.0 came out. A friend of mine who had one told me when he went to the dealer to have problems fixed there were super duty's all over the place with no hood and front fenders because the motors were taken out. I can't say much though. Duramax is an Isuzu with a different label lol. As a matter of fact I've bought parts from the Isuzu dealer for my truck that the dealer didn't have.

 

[ntsammy5]

since my current AP expires in late November and we have a large credit with Southwest, AND I can get a timeshare for $329 a week, we're thinking about a trip in October. But, that will depend a lot on when our daughter has her baby. It's not so much about the economy as it is about other things. That being said, since I work for a bank, who knows what will happen there during 2008. We'll wait and see. Whatever we do, though, it probably won't be at FW. Our January trip was at SoG and November was at FW.

 

[LONE-STAR]

I'm sure Chevy gives WDW a hefty discount to have all the trucks there. I remember back when the 6.0 came out. A friend of mine who had one told me when he went to the dealer to have problems fixed there were super duty's all over the place with no hood and front fenders because the motors were taken out. I can't say much though. Duramax is an Isuzu with a different label lol. As a matter of fact I've bought parts from the Isuzu dealer for my truck that the dealer didn't have.

Believe me I have heard about all the 6.0 problems. I was going to go by a dodge because of them but the dodge dealership made me mad so I went to the ford place where my cousin works and drove home in another ford. 70,000 miles and no problems yet, but we will see. My neighbor gave me a superchip programmer for it but I am afraid to install it. My luck the motor would die and the warranty would be vold. I had a superchip in my 7.3 with no problems and loved it.

 

[auntie]

We had hoped for a pin code mailer or better codes than what have been offered so far. Ticket upgrade isn't of much interest to us. Would rather have a room discount. Only one out there is for AP..and the dates and availability are very limited. I'm glad we have our August FW trip schedule with
TinaH's 5th wheel. Looking forward to that. The kids like the WL, but with the rack rates being $330...it's not looking like that's going to happen. When I saw that Poly is some $400.00 for a garden view room.. it really got me thinking Disney has certainly stopped us from any plans to visit any of the Deluxe resorts...at least not at rack rates. I guess I'm spoiled, because we've never gone to Disney without some type of discounted rate.(been visiting since '91...anyone remember the days of 40% shareholder discounts?..or was that just a dream? ) One would have thought with the economy slowing and people somewhat apprehensive about spending, Disney would have issued some better discount codes. No such luck. Although, when I thought about it some...they do have a good share of foreign visitors. Those folks are getting more for their buck here than they ever have. So Disney likely isn't hurting. My uncle went to Italy last month and he said he was only getting 60 cents on the dollar. Turned out to be a pretty expensive trip for him. Being older he wanted to visit with his daughter and putting it off to when the dollar was stronger wasn't an option.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Those old PIN codes pushed us into a couple of trips in years gone by. They sometimes can be the tipping point on if we go or not.

 

[ntsammy5]

Yeah, Disney is pricing themselves out of a lot of budgets now. How about the trick they're playing with holiday pricing at the restaurants. They increased prices for almost all the peak seasons. The rates at FW are over the top. But I guess it's just as bad at other vacation spots. Just have to take fewer vacations or stick closer to home. I guess there are a lot of people who don't take any vacations at all, so I guess it could be worse.

 

[auntie]

Our last few visits have been the week prior to Memorial Day..with us departing Disney on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. It works out well, because my 16 year old can only miss four days of high school. He's off the Fri. before Memorial Day. In the past this was a great week in Disney, not too crowded. The crowds would come closer to the holiday weekend, when we were leaving. This year the pricing for any discounts stops on the Wed. before Memorial Day...then full rack rates kick in. Also the "week end" rates/vs. the week day rates on both ends of the week. It's crazy. It's gotten where you aren't getting much of a discount. Even that would be with an AP pass...but we figured since we are going in August..maybe that would be an option. Doesn't pay. We're getting all of 3 days at a discount, then would be paying holiday and weekend rates. So much for a savings! Somebody must doing very well and paying those rack rates.

 

[fldisneymommyto2]

....trips to FtW this year?

We usually go once a month for a three-day weekend, but DH has been unemployed since Nov 07 & we've had to cancel our trips for Feb, Mar & Apr. It really stinks to make MH payments and not get to use the MH!

Is the current downfall in the economy changing your vacation plans for 2008???

YES.... and it sucks!!! Dh was also laid off in Oct of 07... fortunately he was able to get another job, but took about a 30000 a year pay cut. We canceled our Jan trip, reduced our spring break trip and only have Tday booked for this year. Usually we go once a month or at least every other. I have also returned to work sort of so that is helping.

BTW.. his job is related to construction/housing in FL... it is really bad around here right now!!!

 

[des1954]

BTW.. his job is related to construction/housing in FL... it is really bad around here right now!!!

Tell me about it! My DH worked for Palm Harbor Homes. He was #4 in sales in the nation for PHH in 2005 & #7 for 2006 - so it's not because he's not a good saleman! He left house sales in 8/07 & went to work for a Lincoln dealership. Due to the fact that car sales have also plummeted and he was "low man on the totem pole" - Lincoln let him go in November.

BTW: January '08 holds a record low for the amount of building permits applied for in Polk County. It's BAD!!

 

[Escape Artist]

BTW: January '08 holds a record low for the amount of building permits applied for in Polk County. It's BAD!!

I feel your pain. It is bad, and it's not just housing/autos/retail. My dh's job moved to India in '06, and we had to decide between taking our chances that he could keep his income in Northern California, or drop everything and move to Texas, where the housing and job markets are better.

It's almost two years later, and I log in as "Sue in Texas" now. We had to make the best long term choice for our family. It was expensive financially and emotionally to move, but people go where the jobs are. For us, that's here.

We actually get more trips to WDW now, but we had to give up our lives in California to do it. At least we can drive to WDW and stay at FW now that we're so much closer!

Sue in Texas

 

[tungpo1]

I need some Disney dollars

 

[kiteri]

My husband got laid off in January, and he provide health insurance... so he had to take a job that resulted in a $13,000 a year pay cut just to have health insurance... so no Disney trips (or any other trips) for us this year!

Even if he hadn't gotten laid off, we were going to have to scratch to take a trip with the cost of gas... but now we are going to have to use those credit cards to make ends meet, not to charge vacations!

I am lucky, because he found another job, but the Disney lust is really bad for me... and knowing we won't get to go for a while now (if at all) makes me want to

 

[stacktester]

I paid 3.70 a gallon for diesel today. The oil companies are throwing us into a bigger recession. I still see wall to wall traffic though so I guess it's not hurting anybody yet. It's going to be a slow slow year for travel I hate to say. I think Tina is going to be very busy due to people not being able to afford the fuel to bring their campers from far states. Hopefully something will turn things around. I keep hearing interest rates are coming down more but who cares if you don't have a job to buy something with. Bush Sr. went out with a bad economy and so is his son. Hopefully Jeb won't run lol, but who knows, he wasn't a bad governor of Florida and possibly would be better than daddy or brother.

 

[LONE-STAR]

I paid 3.70 a gallon for diesel today. .

Originally I said the economy was not hurting me. But if diesel hits 4 bucks thats going to hurt. It will only add about 150 bucks to my trip to WDW which ain't bad. But the wifes fuel bill for commuting is going up up and away it's not funny. Plus the price of fuel has cut down my weekend travel. Not that I cant afford to pay for the fuel, it just annoys to spend $100 at the pump.

 

[auntie]

You know..it seems that every time gas goes up this is an issue..and most of what I've seen posted seems to indicate that it's only adding another $100.00 to a trip, and that's not going to keep anyone home. Only..it's another $100.00 here and another there..and I do believe that people are making changes in the length of their stays..making sure they are worth the price of the gas. No more "extra" short trips in between. They are picking their trips more carefully. Mabe not cancelling a trip to the fort..but not taking those extra trips elsewhere. At some point there are going to be those who just can't squeak out the extra dollars. I think where maybe a year or so ago..the increase in fuel wasn't keeping anyone home, there are those who have changed their camping trips in at least a small way. This prediction of $4.00 might be the straw that broke the camels back for some. I could see the change even last summer. The storage lot in the campground(we have a seasonal site) was FILLED. They had to open up another area to accomodate trailers. Folks that were there in July, but were coming back in August..or in the next couple of weeks, weren't taking their rigs home. It didn't pay to tow back home only to return in a few weeks. The storage charge was way cheaper than the gas it would cost to tow home and back again..and then home again. Also, the wait list for seasonal sites has become longer.

 

[kg66]

I agree with what everyone is saying re: the price of gas causing us to stay put more! Last Halloween we went down to the Fort and it caused us in excess of $900 to tow our trailer from Canada!! So we still want to go to the Fort for Halloween(my opinion the best time at FW) , so this year we're looking into renting a trailer in Fla. That way too we can put our golf cart in the truck and save $300/wk for the rental. I always pre-cook and freeze my suppers so we eat at the campground. We have lunch at the parks, and a light breakfast at the camper before we hit the parks. So that's how we'll get to the Fort this year!
Also , instead of towing this year again, we have a seasonal site at the local Yogi Bear Park (the kids love it). Gas is going to be a killer, so we'll just stay there and the girls can have friends sleepover.

 

[auntie]

I agree with what everyone is saying re: the price of gas causing us to stay put more! Last Halloween we went down to the Fort and it caused us in excess of $900 to tow our trailer from Canada!! So we still want to go to the Fort for Halloween(my opinion the best time at FW) , so this year we're looking into renting a trailer in Fla. That way too we can put our golf cart in the truck and save $300/wk for the rental. I always pre-cook and freeze my suppers so we eat at the campground. We have lunch at the parks, and a light breakfast at the camper before we hit the parks. So that's how we'll get to the Fort this year!
Also , instead of towing this year again, we have a seasonal site at the local Yogi Bear Park (the kids love it). Gas is going to be a killer, so we'll just stay there and the girls can have friends sleepover.

We're in the same situation.
I've always wanted to camp in FW..and my husband frankly has no desire to tow our tt to Fla. from NY. The price of the gas being part of his reasoning that it's not worth it. We also have been seasonal the last few years..although we do bring the trailer home to Long Island usually. After riding through the fort last May,(we stayed at the WL) we started giving serious thought to a rental also. There is a lovely woman here on the boards..TinaH who lives in Florida and rents out her 5th wheel. Seems like the best of both worlds to me..no towing or gas expense for my husband, and I get to stay in FW. There are others here on the board who have rented from her..you might want to check out her web site. We have plans to use TinaH's 5th wheel in August of this year. http://www.campatthefort.com/index.asp

While we've stayed in the cabins previously, I really look forward to staying in the RV/camping loops!