Kinda dumb questions... (if you knew me in person, thats all I really ask though!)

[luvnstuf]

Now, I am going through all these posts and I am seeing people with their lists of when they go to Disney, and I see like 2 or sometimes 3 times a YEAR! Can I just ask, what the heck some of you do for a living? I am a clerk right now and my fiance just works in a warehouse, and after talking about Disney litterly for 3 years, we finally said LETS go (actually my brother died, 25 he was a little bit (well I guess BIG) drinker, and well actually just kinda died playing video games with his friends) BUT it took that realizing life is TOO short to just sit around and dream, we finally just had to do it. (cause my fiances kids 10 and 8 I just want them to experience it before they get too old, which I don't think you can be too old-- but well thats a whole nother story, I am already off track (sorry)) But yeah out of curiosity what do some of you people do for a living (I'll be graduating RN school in 2 and 1/3 years (I have 2 semester under me belt, well... as soon as second semester is over we're basically on the plane for Disney) But, I would just love to be able to go every year.- for my step kids, but also someday I'ma have my own kids and I want them to be able to go (see I don't want my step kids to be, well she can take her kids every year, but we weren't good enough? (by the time I have kids, they'll be 15-16- we'll still take them, providing they want to go, but do you guys know what I mean?)

Lastly, I realize DH and DD and DS mean (I hope) husband, daughter, son but, me and my step-daughter (10) tried our darndest to figure out what the D stands for? Da-Husband, Da-daughter (I don't think so...)

By the way me and her also have fun sitting and figuring out all the resorts when you abreivate them!

Sorry I ramble, and make no sense whatso ever, its always been a great qualitiy of mine!

 

[pat fan]

Lastly, I realize DH and DD and DS mean (I hope) husband, daughter, son but, me and my step-daughter (10) tried our darndest to figure out what the D stands for? Da-Husband, Da-daughter (I don't think so...)

It actualy stands for "Dear"...as in Dear Husband or Dear Daughter.Sometimes I think you need a manual to make your way through these boards

what the heck some of you do for a living?

Well, I for one am NOT one of those that goes two or three times a year, it's not even every year! Our last trip was in 2002, and we are planning to go in 2007 for our oldest DS's HS graduation. Our other trips were in '99 and '00. I too wish I could go more often, but it's not in the cards, or should I say the wallet
BTW, I work in an elementary school cafeteria, and while some turn their noses up at that type of job, I really like it. It keeps me in contact with kids (which I love) and I have the same schedule as my own kids do.
Have fun planning your upcoming trip!

 

[CJRN]

"Kinda dumb questions... (if you knew me in person, thats all I really ask though!)"

First of all, please know that the only dumb question, is the one that is not asked.

OK, I'm new top these boards, and we do not go every year, however, we do go on a yearly family vacation. My kids have been to WDW a few times, and cruised twice.

I feel it is VERY important to vacation as a family,and we somehow budget it in. I am a Registered Nurse, I make a decent hourly wage, BUT I only work part time....if I did work full time, then we would be able to afford vacations more than once/year. Oh, I work as a Camp Nurse for one month in the summer.....my pay would work out to less than minumum, wage, BUT my kids go almost free (this camp costs $2,000/session, which is 2 weeks). It's what works for us right now.

Currently we do NOT have a car payment, we have a nice home (mortgage), but NO credit card debt.

Hope this helps!

Congrats on becoming an RN, it's tough, but I wouldn't trade it for any other job!

 

[CJRN]

Let me add, we HARDLY ever go out to the movies, ONLY have the very basic cable, do not have cell phones, DH, I ONLY buy clothes that we NEED (except for Christmas time). Our boys do however get the clothes they want. I hardly ever set foot in a department store, UNLESS we NEED something. We try to keep going out to a restaurant down to once every week.

Check out the Budget Board for more ideas. Good Luck!

 

[Beana9802]

It actualy stands for "Dear"...as in Dear Husband or Dear Daughter.Sometimes I think you need a manual to make your way through these boards

Oof! I thought it meant Darling..haha eh, either way, it sounds nice.

Anyway, I only go every few years. When I was younger, my aunt would take us every year, but I haven't been since Feb '04. I am a teacher, and can't seem to find an affordable time to go. Everytime we're off, it is SO expensive because every other child in America is off then too. Ah well...I miss the place, but these boards make me feel a little connection. :0)

 

[maddhatir]

WAIT A MINUTE---- i thought the D stands for DISNEY!

 

[maddhatir]

actually you can go to this link and it will tell you everything......

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

PS- D means, darling, dear, and disney

PSS- i read somewhere on the boards before about stupid questions... and someone replied- "there are no stupid questions, only uninformed idiots!"

 

[DLBDS]

Let me add, we HARDLY ever go out to the movies, ONLY have the very basic cable, do not have cell phones, DH, I ONLY buy clothes that we NEED (except for Christmas time). Our boys do however get the clothes they want. I hardly ever set foot in a department store, UNLESS we NEED something. We try to keep going out to a restaurant down to once every week.

Check out the Budget Board for more ideas. Good Luck!

This sounds like ourselves. Except we DO have cell phones (I'm on my parents plan for $20/month and DH has one through his job), and we RARELY even go out for dinner. DD8 gets clothes as needed. Usually bought from Target, WalMart or Sears. My wardrobe consists of jeans, sweatpants and t-shirts. I'm a dog groomer...so, my wardrobe is totaly appropriate for what I do. My DH wears uniforms to work but also wears jeans and t-shirts otherwise. He works for his family's carpet/flooring business. My only pleasure I indulge in is satellite tv. I have 2 premium channels. HBO/MAX. We have a mortgage, tractor payment and no credit card debt. We are going to Disney for the 1st time this year (per MY insistence. I'm also footing the bill ). Although, we could probably go twice per year...if we could get DH to leave the county we live in that often! We save $$ also by not traveling!

 

[laura001]

WAIT A MINUTE---- i thought the D stands for DISNEY!

me too.........

Even though it isn't it should be....so that is how I am going to think about it....so there.......

 

[laura001]

We don't go a few times a year, although I would love to do it. We are mortgage free, have no CC debt, BUT we have two kids in University....that sucks the life out of us (they do have jobs to help though). Both DH and I make a nice income, have had some large expenses other than the kids of about 30000.00 which has taken our vacation money away.

That being said, I bought a weekend away for DH for Christmas and by the time we finished our weekend, it cost us around 1300.00 with which we could have used instead on a trip to WDW....what was I thinking????

 

[byoung]

2or3 times we went 6 times last year. 4 times this year. Glad Southwest moved into Philly, love those $49 flights or lower with DING.

 

[daisyduck123]

Now, I am going through all these posts and I am seeing people with their lists of when they go to Disney, and I see like 2 or sometimes 3 times a YEAR! Can I just ask, what the heck some of you do for a living? :

I'm a public school teacher (that should be a hint about my salary).
DH owns his own business.

Well, my mother has always taken me & my DD11 & DS8 on our Disney trips. We go & stay for 8 nights/9 days. She pays for our hotel & park tickets (and last time...the Dining Plan). Mom & dad have lots of money...they go on cruises, trips to Hawaii, etc. several times a year.

We just started going to Disney a few years ago but now we're hooked...been going once a year...this time twice in 2006.

This May, mom will not be coming...DH will come this time!! We are so excited!!

 

[pepe of ohio]

irregardeless for what anyone does for a living, there are ways to plan and save for a Disney vacation. This can go as far as moonlighting or taking a second job. I feel there are ways to cut out some money each week or month to set aside for a vacation, if you really want to go.

We don't buy label brand clothes, we drink tap water, we minimise our car trips and no runs to the mall. Our home has been paid for for 10 years now, both kids have been through college and are well off now and we rarely travel to Disney by ourselves. We love to take friends with us but we don't have alot of them. Either a couple we know real well or our daughter and husband go and either meet us there or go together, stay in the same room and we split the bill. Cheaper for them, cheaper for us. We buy AP's and any second or third trip, we have no ticket cost, which usually is a big chunk of a trip. Wife and I most always split meals while there, to us Disney meals are huge so we split something and have room for pop corn or ice cream during the day. We do the grocery shop while there, we buy the same staples we usually have at home and make some sandwiches during our stay and have picnics around the pool with some chips, cheese and beer and wine at store prices, not Disneys. We're not cheap people, just careful spenders so we can return to Disney again and again. We usually have one or two big dinners while there, HDD and Yachtmans Steakhouse and thats it. We do not care for value or mod resorts but only travel during value season and most often get an AP rate.

I figure alot of money is spent on the travel portion of a trip so our stays are long enough to justify the cost. We stay from 8 to 10 nights and if you take a delux resort rack rate, subtract the AP discount and split by 2, throw in no tickets and watch your meals and utilize the grocery store our stays rarely cost over 1600.00. Then take about 30.00 a week from household expenses and throw in a jar and its a trip. Income tax check what have you, its affordable only if you really want it.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We take at least 1 trip per year-on rare occasion we do 2.

Yes we have a mortgage, 2 car payments, a little CC debt, etc. We also have a 7 year old boy.

I am a district manager for a newspaper, my wife is a billing director for a doctor's office.

The ability to afford Disney is how you look at things-you can spend 5K, stay at a deluxe, eat sit down meals, and so forth--or you can enjoy Disney for less than 2K in a value resort or a condo offsite-eating food court and taking snacks at times-driving instead of flying if cheaper. It just matters on your preferences.

The budget board has many ideas of ways to save money, or little ways to earn $$ for the trip. We don't do movies, sporting events, concerts and such. Shopping is done by sales and coupons only.

With some discipline, a yearly Disney vacation can be done by most people-it just depends on if the really want to or not.

 

[mom2cookies]

We are about to go on our 4th trip... ever. DH is a truck driver and i am a SAHM (stay at home mom). We have 4 children from 10 -15. How do we afford to go? Income tax refund! And lots and lots of sacrifices. We rarely go out and it is a treat to rent a video or order out for a pizza. The kids will go to the library and rent a video... they are free. We do rent our house but we don't have any doctor bills. If it wasn't for the tax refund, we wouldn't be going either. We also stay in value resorts as we figure all we do is sleep and shower there. The beds are just as comfy and the water just as clean. We spend our time in the parks so we don't really care too much about the resort perks. When DH and I are old and kids have full time jobs, then we will go for the deluxe
to the OP (original poster) : My advice is to see what "unnecessary" things are being bought. Put that money in a WDW savings jar. Tell the kids when they want something extra that they can have that or save it for WDW. If it is hard for you all not to dip into the savings jar, convert your money into Disney dollars.

 

[deedeed]

We go on at least one trip a year. You can do it if you know where to get good deals and check online often!
I think a lot of the ones that go to disney a lot are people who have the annual pass or florida residents. They get some really good discounts and the florida residents don't have to get any airfare.

 

[poohraedopey]

Congrats on finally booking your Disney trip I am so sorry it took the loss of a brother to urge you on though.

This is our first Family trip and I am really excited. I think the key for us was booking way out and paying off over several months. We went with the dining plan too so we could pay most food up front as well. Hubby has a pretty decent job He's a GM for Sodexho Campus and Catering Services at a local college, I clean overnights at the same college which allows me to work full time and still be the full time stay at home mom I was for 6+ years.... not a great job or fantastic money but I feel like I contribute more now and we live a lot more comfortably. We do have 2 car payments and a rent payment very little CC debt (maybe $2,000 tops at any time which will be zeroed by our trip too).

I wouldn't feel guilt about the step kids possibly not understanding if you don't go yearly. They will honestly be old enough by then that they will realize money doesn't grow on trees. Growing up many of my friends tooks lots of special trips yearly cruises etc. My family went on the same vacation for the same two weeks every year 3 hours from home. I wasn't jealous of my friends it's about being with your family and sharing that time and love that counts! We still continue the anual vacation to that same place with my children as well and it's wonderful.

 

[la79al]

It is not necessarily what you do but how you choose to spend the money you do make. Or how you choose to max the credit cards. In our situation, DH has a very good paying job and we make it a priority to take the kids on at least a week of cool vacation every summer. We did WDW last year and DH said we could do it again this year because it is for the kids not us and they walk around the house chanting Disney World. I have decided however that we are going to wait until next year. I don't want the kids to get used to going to WDW all the time and then get super disappointed when they just get to go to the beach or amusement parks.

 

[rlovew]

We go regularly to Disney but we are FL residents and live about 2 and a half hours away. Many times we drive up for the day of early Saturday morning for the weekend and only stay one night. We also almost always eat table service. This means that staying at SoG or a value resort a weekend costs about $110 and with no children we can afford that once a month or 2. Usually we only take one longer trip (5 days) a year.

We also live without going out to eat or to the movies and don't buy things we don't need. When we are stircrazy we drive up to Disney for the day and that only costs about $40 including gas.

 

[mickeymousemom]

We go once a year to Disney. I can't imagine going any less than that. There are ways to do it. When we first started going, both Dh and I were working. It made it much easier. Then I got pregnant(half unexpectedly if that makes sense) and we decided it would be best if i stayed home. I've also been going to school...going after my RN just like you. Every so often I have to take a semester off, but I am basically ready to start the nursing program and knowing that will take ALOT of time away from 3 DD's, I've put that off for another year or so. Anyway, It's been a little tougher with me at home. We are planning a trip again this falll, but becasue of finances aren't sure whether or not we'll pay for the dining plan. We do make payments on a timeshare(will be paid off in 2 or 3 years) so if it came right down to it we would, at the very least, stay offsite in a condo and buy a park ticket here and there over time.

We aren't loaded. DH works for one of the big three auto makers as a factory worker. its good money but the stability issues stink. We normally make ressies about 6or 7 months in advance, pay the deposit(around $200), and save, save, save for the next several months. Right now I have a coffee can that I put extra change in. If I see it laying around, or its in someone's pocket before the laundry then its fair game.

Another thing...we stay in a moderate when we go(POR), but you can watch for discounts and stay in a value resort. They're fine with me, but DH wants something "nicer", plus now our family is too big to stay in one. You could save up and pay for the value resort, then put a little money aside and get your park tickets one at a time either online or at a local Disney Store(this is what we used to do). I've always been amazed at how people think WDW is so expensive and "undoable". It isn't. The more you go, the more you learn how to save the money to get there. A great tip from a previous poster...read the budget board...there are great tips over there, and if you don't see what you want to know, then start your own thread.

Rambling done...