Making Disney a Yearly Destination

[bpatton]

Hello fellow dissers!

DW and I are long-time watchers, first-time posters. We've been to WDW every couple of years (roughly 2-3 year spans between trips) but with us having a blast, we'd love to explore ways to make it a yearly or even bi-yearly vacation spot.

Of course there is always the matter of cost involved in this. Usually when planning a trip, we just make a budget for the year to save up for the trip the following year, usually trying to catch the discounts when possible. This year, we've thought about obtaining an AP, but also explored becoming DVC members - even though the price scares us a bit.

What have been your methods to carry on the magic? Any tips or tricks of the trade for the best method to make Disney a yearly stop while watching the checkbook?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We go yearly, for the most part.
I always watch for the best deal, and go during that time. Usually 40% off PIN or GP code is the best deal for my family. Some prefer free dining or kids free.
I also have a rewards cc. When I get a check from them I put that directly into the vacation account. Any "found" money goes into the vaca acct....such as reselling kids stuff, etc.
When we do go we don't get park hoppers. I find that to be an unnecessary expense.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

What have been your methods to carry on the magic? Any tips or tricks of the trade for the best method to make Disney a yearly stop while watching the checkbook?

We go every year. We usually go in September during the off time and it makes it cheaper. We spend about $4000 a year on our Disney vacation, you just have to put back a little each paycheck. If you have trouble tapping into those funds try to book a package way out and pay on it each paycheck instead, that way the money is harder to get to unless you cancel the trip and get a refund. Also, go to different resort levels each year or do a split stay, also dont get a rental car if you are staying on property.

If you have any kids over 7 ( I think) then they can do the yes program one day and your whole family can get discounted tickets. Th open enrollment almost all year long now.

 

[cvjw]

Buy some DVC points on the resale market, and that way your lodging is paid for up front every year.

 

[DawnM]

Do you have children? Can you go off season? How many are in your party?

All of the above make suggestions for your situation much easier than just asking for saving tips.

Dawn

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

We go every year at least once and sometimes 2-3 times and we live in NJ. I do shorter trips (like 4 or 5 days) also during the best offers. We too skip the park hoppers. Too much running around for us. We have done this and stayed in every resort category possible. We try to spend around $2000-$3000 each trip including airfare. It has worked well for us, we are able to go more and still do everything that we want knowing that there is another trip in the near future. If not, I go through Disney withdrawl!

 

[msmama]

I have a Disney Visa and charge EVERYTHING and then pay it off at the end of the month. It certainly doesn't pay for everything, but I can usually take off a nice chunk of change off the total bill.

I used to be happy with every 2 years, but now that I have a kid I find myself wanting to take him every year to see how he reacts differently (although after the Santa fiasco this year, I'm thinking I'll wait a bit 'til he sees characters again).

 

[disneychic2]

First of all, welcome!

DH and I have been going yearly for a while now, but it's just the two of us. We have a vacation budget, meaning a certain amount of his pay goes into a vacation fund. We stay at moderate hotels, POFQ being our favorite. We take advantage of discounts or free dining. I watch airfare like a hawk and pounce when it gets where I want it. But once we're there, we don't give money a thought since we've planned and saved for it. We are staying at a deluxe this time, but it will be a first. You can keep costs down even more if you stay at a value or the campgrounds or off property. But personally, I wouldn't want to go if I couldn't stay on property...just me! Hope you are able to work it out to go once or twice a year. It's magical!

 

[Marionnette]

Buy annual passes. If your two trips are at least one week long you will spend less than you would buying two 7 day hoppers. Then take your trip the second year so that it falls one week before the anniversary dates of your first trip.

There are benefits to owning an annual pass like great room discounts. And annual pass owners can book discounted rooms AND add the dining plan. Or you can get a Tables in Wonderland card for $75 and then get 20% off your dining bill in select restaurants. And alcohol is included in the discount.

I wouldn't buy into DVC unless you always vacation in moderate or deluxe resorts anyway. There are maintenance fees that you will have to pay every month if you are an owner. Renting points could actually be a better way to spend your money if you want to stay in a studio or villa resort.

If you want to stay offsite then I recommend look at skyauction.com for condos and resorts around Disney at rock bottom prices.

But if you really want to go the cheapest way possible (and you have more time than money) there are tons of timeshares that will give you discounted rooms, free tickets or both. You have to sit through a high pressure sales pitch. But it could be worth it if you can stick to saying no.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We go to Florida every year and go to 1-2 Disney parks also. We save money by purchasing a 7-10 day non expiring pass and only use 1-2 days per year. Our kids are so use to going to Disney that they don't mind rotating parks each year and it has given us the opportunity to also visit Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens as well as other local attractions. We still get our Disney fix but see more of Florida too!

It's also not unusual for use to spend a day at Downtown Disney or to just ride the monorail to have a meal at the Grand Floridian.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

Hello fellow dissers!

DW and I are long-time watchers, first-time posters. We've been to WDW every couple of years (roughly 2-3 year spans between trips) but with us having a blast, we'd love to explore ways to make it a yearly or even bi-yearly vacation spot.

Of course there is always the matter of cost involved in this. Usually when planning a trip, we just make a budget for the year to save up for the trip the following year, usually trying to catch the discounts when possible. This year, we've thought about obtaining an AP, but also explored becoming DVC members - even though the price scares us a bit.

What have been your methods to carry on the magic? Any tips or tricks of the trade for the best method to make Disney a yearly stop while watching the checkbook?

We used to go every year until our DD got older has was restricted to the amount of days out of school.
You have come to the right place to learn the ins and out of saving for your trip. Don't forget to check out all of the forums. Resort/Dining/transportation. They too are filled with great info.

I agree with everything already posted. The best advice I think you got so far is to buy annual passes if you are staying longer than a week. And the over lap your yearly stays. We did this for several years. Passes are your biggest expense.

Good luck with your planning. Hopefully we'll see you here more. Be careful.....The Dis is addicting!!!

 

[marlaine]

We go every Sept during value season. My DS is in 1st grade this year. We've already booked for next Sept, but I'm thinking it might be the last time to take him out of school for a week. He makes straight As--well 2 A-.
I already talked to his teacher, and since it's the beginning of the school year, she thinks he'll be fine next year since the beginning is more review than anything.
We splurge on our Disney vacation-stay Deluxe, Club Level, but it's the only vacation we take each year. We spend the whole year planning (and saving). It's the only time that we take the time to be together with no distractions. We love it!

 

[Shleedogg]

We took 2 trips to Disney after our DD was born (when she was 2 and 8 mos). On that 8 month trip we decided to buy DVC. We wanted to stay at deluxe resorts. The previous one had been at a value and the 8 month was a mod. We also knew that since we had just started having kids, we would continue to go to Disney every year (and it appeared more than once a year as we had a trip in the works 4 months after that). We knew Disney would always be a place we wanted to go and that we wouldn't want to take the kids to Europe until they were older. At that point we could rent out our points or try an RCI trade.

We did the math. I can't tell you what our numbers are now as it's been a year and a half since we bought in and did our research. We came out ahead in about 8-10 years. I think it was closer to 20 years when compared to moderate prices (we wouldn't want to stay there regardless). We knew that we would still be going to Disney in 8 years, we'll have an 8 and 10 yr old.

What I love about DVC is the spontaneity. You can't book through Disney on cash at a few weeks notice and get a good room discount. I can call DVC at 3 weeks and get a room at AKV and not pay anything OOP. We booked about a month out for our trip next week.

We also have annual passes. Because we're DVC we also get a discount (although not much) on them. Our renewal rate is about $375 which is about $100 more than a 7 day hopper and we get 2-3 trips out of them. That's also a help with a spontaneous trip.

We just make Disney our fun. We don't go out to eat a lot, we budget very strictly, we don't go shopping, buy expensive clothes. I have friends that complain "it must be nice" that we can afford to go on vacation so much. They wear strictly J Crew, Banana Republic and other high end clothes. I shop at Old Navy and Target. It's just the little things that add up and make Disney affordable for us.

 

[alyssa810]

Welcome!
We started going once a year, and then decided to get annual passes, and make the 2nd trip right before our APs expired...except that amazing airfare deals and AP hotel rates had us going about 3-4 times a year. Once we started going that often, DVC was our next step. We started with a small DVC contract bought on the re-sale market, and we've since bought additional small contracts, then sold them all for a single larger contract at OKW, which is where we wanted to buy all along. Luckily we did everything at a time where we had the money set aside so we didn't have to finance any of it.

As far as earning additional money for our Disney trips, any extra cash we get from things like surveys, rebates on stuff we buy regularly, cash back on reusable shopping bags at the market and bottle and can redemption all goes into our "Dis Fund." We also charge all our purchases on credit cards that offer rewards, be it the Disney Visa, airline credit cards, or straight cash back cards, and that extra money goes into the fund. I also utilize sites like mypoints.com, ebates.com, and quickrewards.net for little extras. In fact, we just got another $25 Disney gift card from quickrewards.net this week!

Going in the off season definitely helps too. We also have an entertainment book that we use for car rental codes...this year we went to DL too, stayed at the GCV with our DVC points, and got the Premier Pass, the pass that's good in CA and FL! It was a big expense -$700- but it still saved us money over buying APs for both parks (since we're planning a return to DL in September, just before the passes expire, so we'll have 2 DL trips and 4 WDW trips in a year's time).

 

[DCbride]

For us the airfare deals are at the top of our list. We find great deals and then plan our trip around the dates. Two years ago we got APs which now helps with the cost of each trip too. Then, we really do not care if we are staying at a mod, deluxe or the Shades of Green, we just like to go and go often. If a deal fits our needs we jump on it.

A neighbor commented on how we can go so often. She just went with her family, got 2 rooms at the GF, and pretty much paid rack rate for everything. If we traveled like her, we would only go every 5 years too.

 

[MacFam4]

Just wanted to say Hi, we're practically neighbors! We're 2 hours from Lafayette Anyway, I agree with what everyone else is saying. Visiting disney can definitely be addicting. We're planning our 5th trip in the past 6 years. We only skipped a year because we were building our house. I also agree that the Disboards is addicting Terribly, terribly addicting.

I saved a lot of money previously when I worked in a job that paid me gas mileage. I would cash my gas mileage checks and put the money away for our trips. That always became our tip/extra spending money. Our trips were always paid in advance by saving the whole year for it. I used my disney visa for reward points, put money aside each month, saved any extra money, used some of our income tax money, etc. If you can go during off season, you're much better off!!!

 

[lucyem]

We ended up buying into DVC. But we bought resale and not a ton of points. We have enough for 5 nights. If we want more we pay cash or get a room that costs less points. If we want to skip a year we bank the points. For us buying resale we will break even in 6 years on the purchase price and then the only cost are the dues which are less then paying cash for 5 nights in a moderate. For us it works.

 

[WDW Lover]

If you can plan a year ahead of time, I believe you can get some really good deals.

If you have the ability to go in September - go then! Not as hot as the summer and by far the least crowded time in the parks PLUS great discounted room rates.

Next, if you are the type to go into the park almost every single day you are on vacation, buy an Annual Pass, then go a week earlier the next year so you can still use that pass.

If you do not go into the park every day you are there, get a 10 day non-expiring pass. (if you like water parks and Disney Quest, add that to the 10 day pass and you end up with 10 opportunities to visit those places as well! That's 20 days of fun!). This is the option that I usually do (we go a few times per year). We usually only go into the parks once or twice during our stay, then do other things like hang out at the resort, go to a water park, go "sightseeing" around other Disney resorts, etc.

If you plan far enough in advance, you can rent Disney Vacation Club points from a DVC member on the Boards and get a way better accommodation for a low price. As an example - say you wanted to stay at the Boardwalk Villas in January of 2012 (basically 11 months away from now). If you find a person renting BW pts for $10 per point (that's the norm), you can get a standard view studio for only $100 per night (Sunday through Thursday nights) and Friday and Saturday nights for $130 per night. Usually though, to get the lowest prices you have to go during the off-peak times (the whole month of Sept. is an off-peak time, as is January) and plan 11 months away from the dates. The cheap rooms get scooped up quickly by DVC members. That's not to say you can't get a super deal at other times, just that you are most likely during off-peak times. I would much rather pay $100 for a studio at a deluxe resort than $100 to stay at an All-Star (or sometimes some of the moderate resorts). Plus, with the DVC member the price per point that you pay is what you pay - there's no additional tax or anything added on.

You can get deals with your annual pass - if you have one - off of rooms... but you are still going to pay say $79 + tax at All-Stars or Pop Century - which would be almost $100 per night - and you probably could have stayed at a DVC Deluxe resort instead.

Definitely get the Disney Visa Card! We charge everything on it and pay it off at the end of the month. We use our points to pay for our food while we are at Disney. Usually we get two trips worth of food between my husband's points and mine.

 

[mousiemom]

this is how we do it every yr if not twice a yr. we are a family of 3 and our dd is 10, we always stay @ pop during value season, and we always go when it's free dining, this is the best deal for us. we usually pay for a 7 night stay w/free dining and base park tickets - $1300. we book asap for our package and we have awhile to pay it off.

 

[nunzia]

We bought DVC as well, at the VGC since that is where we go, but figure we can easily use those points somewhere at WDW if we decide to go there. I have an account that automatically has the amout I'll need for the MF and APs taken out of so I don't think about it or notice it. We take the train to DLR which is super cheap (for now)and know how to eat very cheaply if we want to. It really is the most economical vacation we can take. This year we'll be going three times: already went in January with a son and his family, then in August for the Expo with friends and then in October with another son and his family..it's quite nice to be able to provide the rooms for family and friends and know that the points are ours for a very long time if we choose to keep them.