No matter what your budget is...what is the one thing you WON'T cut corners on

[Moliphino]

I pack enough clothes for the trip as well..actually I pack a few extras just in case, I'm terrible at that part.

But I fail to see the difference here with Disney (and I'm not speaking specifically to you just quoting you for ease). Disney has a laundry facility at every resort and you betcha that there are people that use it either intentionally or because they got a stain or they just have specific needs for detergent (think bedding and all).

You can choose to not do laundry just as easily at Disney and at a condo or townhouse or house. Typically speaking for some of these types of places the laundry facility is just in your unit (like DVC can have) or building if like a townhouse or actual house. In fact many DVC owners do enjoy the ability to have their place more like a home. Even going so far as to do Owner's Locker and such. Your deluxe resorts have laundry facilities for your usage as well.

For rent by owner places can def. have the owners say "gather all towels and wash them" or "wash the towels you use" and I can see that putting someone off but you can easily rent from places that you don't do that because they have a service that comes in after you or they come and do it themselves after you leave.

Sure, I don't care if the laundry facilities exist, but I'm not using them. My dad likes to point out when there are laundromats near our hotels and say that he doesn't have to pack that much, so we tell him he can go do his laundry if he wants (he doesn't do laundry at all, so that will never happen), but we aren't doing it . My parents are used to vacationing with my aunt and uncle in a DVC villa with laundry and a kitchen, which is why it occurred to me along with not cooking.

To better fit the thread title, I would rather buy any clothing items I need than do laundry on vacation.

 

[MrsPete]

Specific to Disney trips or other travel?
Eh, nothing. I'm pretty balanced in my choices ... for a beach trip I might insist upon a big house with lots of space to spread out, for a Disney trip (when we're rarely in the room) I'm not fussy. I want one good sit-down meal each day, but that can balance with one meal out of the cooler or in-room fridge or a nothing-special fast-food meal. My husband and I often split a meal to avoid having leftovers.

At home?
I only drink two specific sodas. A very few foods must be this-or-that-brand (but not always name brand -- some of my must-haves are store-brand). Since I'm a teacher and stand up on tile all day long, I splurge on good, supportive shoes. And my refrigerator is always full of fresh vegetables. I do not worry about gas or miles put on my car. Oh, if I need to run an errand across town, I'll stop to think about what else I need to do while I'm over that way -- but I don't let gas prices stop me from going to see a friend or my mom.

If I skimp, I can go more places.

Yes! That's my theory -- I'm not going rock-bottom, but I'm fine with driving instead of flying, staying in a basic hotel room, eating some fast food or bringing food from home.

At Disney, we always stay on property and usually at a Deluxe.

In life, I don't skimp on heat or AC - I want to be comfortable in my house.

Yes, I grew up in a house with no AC, and we didn't use the heat unless it was genuinely freezing. I do not want to live that way again.

I'm surprised at the number of people who wouldn't skimp on staying on-site. We just LOVE off-site--we can rent a 4BR house for cheaper than on-site.

Agree. I love on-site; I love off-site, but they are different experiences.

 

[RamblingMad]

Food. I like to eat fish, and it's not cheap.

 

[mikehn]

I already went from titos to kirkland vodka. Im not moving down to burnetts.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

In life, food.

Disney....not sure

 

[GPC0321]

Staying onsite...at a deluxe...within walking distance of at least one park.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Clean: I look for places that are clean more than anything else and this is often why I pick more expensive places, it's not amenities I want in my 4-5 star, it's the likelihood of being scrubbed clean.

Food: Table dining to the point that I actually look up which restaurants participate in those dining plans and avoid them, can't stand the poor quality for the prices, don't charge me foodie prices and give me Applebees.

Comfort: I will pay a premium to avoid massive waits so once I can figure out how the new system works I will likely participate, if I could use a separate system to avoid crowds I would totally do that too. Like, I'll chug coffee at 4am to do all my rides 5-8am for more money because I just can't physically handle the demands of standing and all that in the heat.

Hotel, peace, quiet and comfort: Always thought on site would be a 'no matter what' but I'm seriously re-considering for our next trip. We are now a family of 4 adults who can't squeeze into one small room anymore. Accommodations for larger families or ones that want to spread out are few and far between on site, which really makes no sense since the DIsney target market is really more affluent and therefore probably more used to having individual beds...but I digress. There is DVC for larger groups but it is soooooooo over the top pricey, either that or I'm doing something wrong. At the moment, I have 2 separate rooms booked at Riverside to the tune of around $900 a night to stay on property BUT that place isn't worth anywhere near $900 a night soooo. Now I'd think there would be a discount for a second room for families like ours, like buy one get one 50% off because I think we spend more in food and tickets than they make in the hotels . So now I'm just stuck on the fence trying to decide if there is any reason or perk to stay on property anymore worth $900 a night for a moderate other than that I just want to do so.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

At Disney, we won't skimp on table service meals w/adult beverages. We always do one a day. My sister thinks we are crazy to spend the money, but dinner out in good restaurants with wine or a cocktail is important to us. We live in an area full of family chain restaurants, where "ethnic" food is Olive Garden or cheap mom-n-pop Chinese take-out places, so we like to enjoy the variety and good food in the Orlando area.

In real life, I won't skimp on laundry detergent or dish liquid. I just find the clothes don't seem as clean when I use store brand or off-label detergents, and the cheap dish liquids don't cut the grease very well. We use Arm and Hammer or All laundry detergent, and Dawn dish liquid. We just got a new dishwasher and aren't happy with the way it's cleaning/drying the dishes, but I just realized we are using Target brand dishwasher liquid. Maybe I should try one of the name brands to see if there is a difference.

Try Cascade Platinum ActionPacs. That's the best I've found.

 

[hsmamato2]

Specific to Disney trips or other travel?
Eh, nothing. I'm pretty balanced in my choices ... for a beach trip I might insist upon a big house with lots of space to spread out, for a Disney trip (when we're rarely in the room) I'm not fussy. I want one good sit-down meal each day, but that can balance with one meal out of the cooler or in-room fridge or a nothing-special fast-food meal. My husband and I often split a meal to avoid having leftovers.

At home?
I only drink two specific sodas. A very few foods must be this-or-that-brand (but not always name brand -- some of my must-haves are store-brand). Since I'm a teacher and stand up on tile all day long, I splurge on good, supportive shoes. And my refrigerator is always full of fresh vegetables. I do not worry about gas or miles put on my car. Oh, if I need to run an errand across town, I'll stop to think about what else I need to do while I'm over that way -- but I don't let gas prices stop me from going to see a friend or my mom.

Yes! That's my theory -- I'm not going rock-bottom, but I'm fine with driving instead of flying, staying in a basic hotel room, eating some fast food or bringing food from home.

Yes, I grew up in a house with no AC, and we didn't use the heat unless it was genuinely freezing. I do not want to live that way again.

Agree. I love on-site; I love off-site, but they are different experiences.

Just wanted to say @MrsPete ....I remember your many useful posts and ideas here on the bb from back in the day...... those threads where we all shared our best tips for streeeeeetching a budget to create a great trip experience for our families! I still tend to be a budget stretcher myself, so I have very few things in life I won't save on..... solid comfortable shoes is one thing I don't skimp on,and if I can't find what I need discounted I'll buy them. All other things are up for discussion! Staying onsite at Disney is fun,staying offsite (at the right place) is fun too! I've done both,and had a great trip both ways. Right now there is nothing onsite at Disney that appeals to my price point,so I won't bother. I have other trips planned this year, don't know if anything WDW is going to appeal ever again...I'll wait and see.

 

[MrsPete]

Just wanted to say @MrsPeteI have very few things in life I won't save on..... solid comfortable shoes is one thing I don't skimp on,and if I can't find what I need discounted I'll buy them.

Yes, as a teacher, I stand up on tile all day long, and I have some foot problems. Because I wear literally the most popular size, I usually go ahead and buy at full price. My size is almost never left on the clearance rack.

I have other trips planned this year, don't know if anything WDW is going to appeal ever again...I'll wait and see.

I won't say never, but the increased price and the decreased value are definitely weighing heavily as I make my decisions. My adult children rejected Disney, saying it's all just "too complicated" -- they chose Yellowstone for the fall instead of Disney for the spring.

 

[shh]

Vacation - fine w/holiday inn express/best western level, but will never cruise w/o a balcony: not just for the ocean views, but also as safeguard in case I get sick/confined to cabin, I'm guaranteed outdoors access/fresh air.

Biggest life splurge: AC. I always feel too warm and FL humidity makes temps 10x worse. I pay a fortune to keep indoor temps livable. Central AC units also wear out faster here, so more replacement costs as well. I always shake my head when I read advice on better sleep & they say to keep room temp 67-68. I WISH! It costs me a fortune just to keep temps at 76-78, and that's with a fairly energy efficient AC.

Unfortunately, every trip to the grocery store these days feels like a splurge.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Bedding. I see this a lot in DVC circles where people cram 4 or 5 adults into a studio or one bedroom villa. I'm a grown man, my days sleeping on pull-out furniture are long behind me. My wife and I also struggle to share a queen bed when we have a king at home, so my family of 5 stays in either a 1 bedroom villa with the kids on the pull-outs, two regular rooms or studios, a 2 bedroom villa, a family suite, or a Ft. Wilderness Cabin.

 

[DLgal]

Bedding. I see this a lot in DVC circles where people cram 4 or 5 adults into a studio or one bedroom villa. I'm a grown man, my days sleeping on pull-out furniture are long behind me. My wife and I also struggle to share a queen bed when we have a king at home, so my family of 5 stays in either a 1 bedroom villa with the kids on the pull-outs, two regular rooms or studios, a 2 bedroom villa, a family suite, or a Ft. Wilderness Cabin.

This is the part about DVC that has ALWAYS turned me completely off. Who wants to drop tens of thousands of dollars over 40 ish years to sleep on pull outs? It's so ridiculous. There is no excuse for not having a proper bed for every person the room can accommodate. Murphy beds should have been the standard from the beginning.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This is the part about DVC that has ALWAYS turned me completely off. Who wants to drop tens of thousands of dollars over 40 ish years to sleep on pull outs? It's so ridiculous. There is no excuse for not having a proper bed for every person the room can accommodate. Murphy beds should have been the standard from the beginning.

Most of the members seem to really love the couches. I don't get it. I don't think I've ever spent time on vacation sitting on a couch (God forbid, with the TV on) unless it was to put my shoes on in the morning. People FREAKED OUT when Disney revealed the designs for VGF2 and showed that they'd have two real queen beds and a couch that (gasp) didn't face the television.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Most of the members seem to really love the couches. I don't get it. I don't think I've ever spent time on vacation sitting on a couch (God forbid, with the TV on) unless it was to put my shoes on in the morning. People FREAKED OUT when Disney revealed the designs for VGF2 and showed that they'd have two real queen beds and a couch that (gasp) didn't face the television.

The couch at our hotel right now is suitcase dump central lol. But we're also just 2 people

 

[Sinder]

For Disney- it’s on site. We’ve always stayed deluxe but since staying at The Swan our last trip we won’t be staying in a Disney resort onsite again.

 

[MFG]

Meals for sure when traveling. I know we’d save money by packing snacks and food to bring into the park or eat in the car, but our time and pleasure are worth more than that. And who wants to eat a smushed sandwich when everyone else has a Mickey pretzel?

 

[gorkt]

I won't skimp on my length of trip. We usually go 9-10 days when we go to Orlando. I would rather go less often and stay longer, so we only do Disney every 3-4 years. Yes, you pay more for food and hotels, but the plane ticket costs the same and the park ticket increase is minimal. If I am there longer, I can take my time and not feel like I have to run from attraction to attraction. Plus, it takes me a few days to really relax, so its nice to have a little extra time.

 

[cccory]

I will never stay off property. There's something magical about staying on property. And I won't look at the prices for food. We made the decision to go to Disney, we just have to enjoy our trip and not worry about the inflated food prices.

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Staying on site, for sure, even in a value resort. Now that Pop and AoA are on the skyliner this is even more true.

We also always get park hoppers, but that’s a personality quirk that I want all the flexibility and options. What I decide I want to go to Epcot to finish the night? I can’t be stuck in MK. And AK is just not a full day park for me, but I always want to make an appearance.

My daughter would say character dining, but I wouldn’t. I like doing resort-based character dining on days we don’t have park tickets, though—we did that with Snow White Storybook dinner and the Beach Club breakfast and it worked well.