Marathon Weekend 2024

Re: the DIS specifically and discussion boards in general…

I’ve been here longer than my profile indicates - I go back 2 pervious iterations of the Disboards, but my profile didn’t carry over. I was active WAY before I started doing any rD races and met some people from here in real life who became lifelong friends outside of the boards. I’ve also had the unfortunate experience of being unwillingly pulled into drama that spilled off the boards into real life and can attest that that’s no fun.

What places like the DIS offer that social media can’t do as well, IMO, is provide just about as much anonymity as you require. After some unpleasant experiences, I cut way back on where I post and what I’ll share, and I’m thankful that I can do that here and still feel part of the community. It’s much more difficult on social channels, FB especially, without needing to set up dummy accounts.

Online discussion in general I’ve found continues in a similar format t boards like the DIS via Reddit, though. I go there a LOT for topics I once would have found discussion about in boards. I assume there’s rD discussion there, too, but I’ve not had any need to go look.
 
SAFD: Money saving hacks for a WDW trip? I got nothing. 🤦‍♂️


I’m not privy to numbers or anything - way above my pay grade (I don’t get paid), and I pretty much only stick to the Resorts Board these days - but to me it feels like traffic has declined over the years. Covid really accelerated it as well and many long time posters I used to see frequently no longer come around. Part of that is the natural churn of life/an Internet message board, part seems due to other forms of communication/the proliferation of other sources of Disney info out there, if I had to guess.
 
SAFD: gosh, just about everything I do when I visit WDW involves money-saving, lol! AP room rates, staying offsite, bringing my own breakfast foods and snacks, using a refillable bottle for water, using rewards-heavy credit cards for all possible spending in life and using he rewards to pay for food at WDW, buying very little or no merchandise and using an AP discount when I do… it all adds up.
 
PrincessV said:
Online discussion in general I’ve found continues in a similar format t boards like the DIS via Reddit, though. I go there a LOT for topics I once would have found discussion about in boards. I assume there’s rD discussion there, too, but I’ve not had any need to go look.
Click to expand...
There is a rD subreddit, I post there occasionally. Should be a decent meeting place for expats if the need arises.

SAFD: Not a lot other than staying at S&D on points or using Chase points for tickets. I just accept that I’ll be selling a kidney…
 
sorry if this is continuing the topic unnecessarily, but I am worried about losing this board and losing all of you. My life has been horrible this past 14 months and continues to be, but the people here and during race weekends have been kind. I look forward to reading comments here even though I have stopped posting due to my depression, but I hope we can do something before there is any issue and the site goes down. or am reading too much into it?

if there is concern, i would absolutely want to be part of another board where you all are...or even a Facebook group. If necessary I would buy a domain just to put a similar forum on it. Any ideas or plans? Thank you and you can ignore this post if I sound too needy.
 
SAFD: We bought into DVC in 2008 on the resale market, so that has been huge for us, and allows us to have a kitchen.
I have groceries delivered (usually Instacart) including bottled water. Breakfast and coffee are in the room, pack snacks and water for the parks. And yes, you can have beer delivered too!

I have been trying to catch up on all the drama - it's just so sad, but seems like a long overdue reckoning. I really hope these boards don't go away - even with all the other outlets for internet conversations I feel like this is a unique format. If the worst happens, I hope we can all keep this going in some other way!
 
SAFD:
My local Kroger brand grocery store has 4x reward points on gift cards fairly often. I stock up gift cards near trips (and monthly to pay DVC dues) and can end up getting $1 off per gallon of gas with those rewards. Now if my car had a larger tank, I would save more money!
I also usually get groceries for breakfast and snacks. Sometimes I will buy cans of Coke and bring them to the parks, but I also use the trick to buy a bottle at a store with my AP discount and then get a cup of ice from a quick service if needed. I always bring a water bottle to refill and maybe some Nuun tablets to help make that MK water taste better!
 
The contributors and friends here on the DISboards have been and are part of my running journey and of my Disney addiction. Thank you.
:grouphug:

Does one really saves when going to Disney?
Get more medals for the price of less by running a Challenge? Eat breakfast in the room (because it is a 1:30AM pre-race wake-up)? Stay at a nicer resort because of a deal (looking for a miracle DVC rental or Swolphin discount for mid-April BTW)? Snack around the world instead of a character meal? Stay a week because the additional days of park tickets are cheap? Guilty of all 😜
 
SAFD: I used to work at GM, so we got ticket discounts which made a difference. Not so much now that they have gone to dynamic pricing. In the real old days (1995, e.g.) they also had Disney hotel discounts (up to 40% off). Having a rental car and doing a grocery run is a must. We are not "park eaters", so regardless of where we stay, the MO is breakfast in the room, rope drop, lunch back at the resort. Happy hour bar eats saves money on dinner, or quick service meals.

These days, bargains are harder to come by. It's partly a matter of resetting expectations lower. DVC rentals are good if I really want to "splurge" on a better resort, but I've become a fan of Pop. I've become good at giving Disney less of my money once I'm there, and honestly, it doesn't detract from the experience.
 
flav said:
The contributors and friends here on the DISboards have been and are part of my running journey and of my Disney addiction. Thank you.
:grouphug:

Does one really saves when going to Disney?
Get more medals for the price of less by running a Challenge? Eat breakfast in the room (because it is a 1:30AM pre-race wake-up)? Stay at a nicer resort because of a deal (looking for a miracle DVC rental or Swolphin discount for mid-April BTW)? Snack around the world instead of a character meal? Stay a week because the additional days of park tickets are cheap? Guilty of all 😜
Click to expand...

I think this is very accurate toward my Disney trips. It’s not so much saving money, it’s just reapportioning. Finding ways to spend less in one place so I can spend more in another. :rotfl2:
 
SAFD: it may not be truly a saving hack, but I like booking with TAs because I have most of the trip paid off before even going. It means I don’t have everything hit my back account at the same time.

I also don’t rent a car. I know there are people who love the freedom of a car, but I Uber it if Disney transportation isn’t quick enough. COVID jacked up the rental prices and I haven’t seen a trend yet of the rates declining.
 
SAFD:

"Saving" for/at Disney involves:
-using chase points for flights/rental cars
-we may or may not have bought a small, double-loaded dvc contract on the resale market this spring (and even with dues, we will break even compared renting approx the same number of points once a year after 7 years.)
-groceries: breakfasts, snacks, and adult beverages. last year we also bought a cheap cooler at target because the studio fridge is too small
-re-useable water bottles
-paying for stuff with gift cards that we can get with a 10% "reward" at our grocery store ($5 reward for ever $50 in GC) so really, buying park tickets or GCs for food/souvenirs pays for some of our groceries at home
 
SAFD: Not a ton we do for saving tips or hacks. We use our Chase Disney Visa points to buy park tickets. I always rent a car, so on the way to the resort we usually stop at that Target nearby and grab a case of water and load up on energy drinks. I have a bad energy drink habit. So it's cheaper to buy the ones I like at Target than grab the expensive gross Monster ones in the park. My family are not breakfast eaters. So usually once everyone gets ready in the morning it's out the door and straight to the park and rides. We usually stop to eat around lunch time. But of course we make up for that in buying snacks through out the park during the day. We have started bringing our insulated water bottles to the park filled with ice and filling up as needed through the day. That has helped in not having to buy $5 waters each time.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet, if you are at Epcot and need your soda fix, stopping at Club Cool and tasting all the sodas there. When I am on a solo trip and doing Epcot, I will usually stop in there a couple of times through out the day for a quick break and a couple of drinks. :)
 
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