Non DVCers just don't understand

[dwight16]

so not sure if anyone else deals with this but the majority of people in my life (work, friends, Family) tend to pass a negative judgement on how much we visit WDW. Mainly the perception on how expensive it is people tend to be blown away when we go every year and if we are lucky 2 times a year. Does anyone else deal with this sorta thing or do i just have terrible people around me lol? I have spent so much time getting these vacations down as cheap as i can. I use APs, TIW, i have 2 usair cards for the 99 companion fares (family of 3), go to target and save for trips buying 50 dollar giftcards at 5% off whenever we can. just wondering what everyone else does or deals with???

 

[curan69]

We go for a weekend every December to see the Decorations and go to MVMCP. Really puts us in the Christmas mood. Then we go for a week in Jan or Feb to escape the cold. This year we are going to Hilton Head In March as well. You should see the looks I get when I tell people we are going to Disney for the Weekend. Lots of people here will go to Toronto for the weekend. I tell them it takes me less time to fly from Detroit to Orlando than to drive or take the train from Windsor to Toronto. Of course It's mainly the friends who think we are nuts, the family is all in on it with us. My parents bought into OKW in 1995. In fact it's my mother's points we are using for Hilton Head.

 

[lovin'fl]

Yes, I get the comments and looks too. I hate the 'must be nice' comments. I keep our trips on the downlow now. Only my friends/family who are also DVC do I feel comfortable discussing our trips with.

 

[MsMagical]

I am always explaining that we bought DVC (and what it is...) and that our WDW trips cost less than your average vacation at this point. We buy APs when it's worth it for us and we use TIW, AP and DVC discounts. We don't buy a lot of souvenirs anymore because we just don't need them. I am a bargain hunter for airfare and we just moved to VA in Sept. so now we can drive down. But, most people who take Disney vacations once in a lifetime go all out and spend thousands of dollars. It's hard for them to conceive going and not spending that much. There were a couple trips before DVC when we spent a fair amount of money - though it was a golden time to go because of magical packages and the initial introduction of the dining plan (which was AMAZING in it's scope and a real steal unlike the current iteration) so I understand their awe/reaction to our vacation style.

I think the question is: why do they care what kind of vacations you take? Some people just have a negative opinion of Disney in general but I tend to think it's a bit of envy or jealousy. Sometimes people find it hard to be happy for people who are doing things that make them happy and that is a reflection of them, not you.

 

[Reppstir]

I try to just focus on my family. We enjoy our DVC vacations immensely and that's the only thing that matters. Know many people who HATE WDW, including some who have NEVER been there. No problem, we just don't vacation there with those people.
As to the "must be nice" comments, my reply is always the same: Yes, yes it is.
Not in a snarky, mean way, just as a matter of fact, yes, it is very nice.
And, like you, I am sure all of us do what we have to, in our own way, to be able to go on those vacations.
To each their own. I hope they enjoy their life, and their vacations. I certainly enjoy mine!

 

[Gadget10a]

It's amazing how many people still see WDW as the equivalent of the local Six Flags park. Yes, even in this day and age the ignorance of the scope of the resort is completely lost on people. The best way I've been able to explain it is to tell folks that planning a trip to WDW is no different than planning a trip to New York City (or insert your favorite destination). Once they realize the true size of the place they understand why we consider visiting WDW with our DVC membership as no different than having a weekend cabin. Plus, it's a lot more interesting!

 

[nkosiek]

I get some of those comments too. Living in Philadelphia, I can look at the people and tell them it costs me about the same, less in many instances, for me to spend a week in Disney as it does for them to spend a week at the Jersey shore. They may or may not believe me but it is the truth. I also ask some of them if they have a problem with people who take a cruise every year.

I also don't care what people think of my vacation choices, because unlike most Americans who don't use all their vacation time, I do. I earned it, I'm going to use it in the best possible ways for me and my family and if that's Disney, Virginia, London, or Cambodia, I'm doing it for me.

 

[dwight16]

a co-worker is in the middle of planning his first trip for 4 going in September and i hear the never ending complaining about prices. they come to me wondering how i do and i try to explain to deaf ears. I mean if you think about it i could do 2 studio weeks a year with APs and flying with dues for 3500 a year......plus food.....i mean i am also from philly and a week at the shore costs way more then that....and i am doing 2 weeks in disney.....people just got get it!

 

[luckyman_apd]

Lol.... I get them too! Someone at work asked if I was Rockefeller. I said no..... I have 125 vacation club points that I paid $150 in dues for (I use my credit card rewards to pay my dues so this years out of pocket only cost me 150) and I fly Spirit Airlines with a free bag stuffed to capacity. Just got last weekends trip for $95 round trip per person. I told them if you could do Disney that cheap wouldn't you? They responded with " Yeah!"

We don't always do the parks....and sometimes it's nice to just get a party ticket (mvmcp or mnsshp).... You get to enter at 4 and pay much less than a standard days admission and far less people in the park.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

We got A LOT of this..
From friends and family (who really should know better)

The comment we get the most is..
The "MUST BE NICE" comment or face. (You know the face I'm taking about)

When that comes up I explain, no we are not rich. We have chosen to live a disney life style!
If they ask what's a disney life style..


And explain This is how we save:

My family of 4 likes to go to disney every 2 years. With this method we have been able to return on average every 12-18mo.

(Thanks to the kids mostly) read below to find out.

we had a long talk with our children.
If they want to continue to go to Disney there are rules..

1. Eating out (fast food, tables, little snacks)
We could only go out once a week.
Normally on the weekend.

2.Entertainment (going to movies,concerts,ect)
We don't go to ANY of these!
Movies tickets alone are $60 per trip add snacks, drinks and popcorn it can easliy run over $100

3. Birthdays- there is some leeway in this rule (after all it's thier gift)
Small at home birthdays.
Any gifts of money goes to Disney trip.
Any gifts that are doubles, get returned and money goes to Disney trip.
Any gift cards will be used for "needs"and equal money will be put towards disney trip.

(This is my fav!!!!!!)
4. Give kids allowance. Mine get $5 for chores and hw being done.
This way they can save for their trip.
Since it's their money they get the choice.
-Spend it now, Save it for souvenirs or add it to the trip expenses( so we can go sooner)

They don't even ask me at the store anymore.
Cuz they know the answer is "new toy or disney trip"

My oldest has $100 saved for souvenir shopping and any extra goes to the trip expenses.

5. Don't buy soda or name brand snack anymore.. The money I save from food shopping goes to Disney trip

6. No Netflix, or expensive cable package.. Money saved goes to Disney trip

7. . Credit cards..
Any points or cash back get added to the disney trip.
We signed up for a disney Visa premiere card.
Use it for EVERYTHING we can!

I'm not going to lie, this was a complete LIFE STYLE change..
But one my family is willing to make..
And all in all we are closer has a family.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

If that doesn't work (99% of the time it does)
This did...


At Christmas dinner 2 years ago my husband family started in with.

Them: "You go to Disney every vacation!"
Me: "you go to your lake house."

Them: "You ALWAYS go to Disney, there are other places."

Me:"ok where?!?!"
"AS in WHERE can I take
2 YOUNG children with SPD(sensory processing disorder) and still enjoy a family vacation?!?!?????
When you find a place you let me know...

Needless to say they couldn't come up with one place BOTH my children could enjoy...

To this day when I say we are going on vacation.. All My family says now is " hope you have a good time"

 

[luckyman_apd]

We got A LOT of this..
From friends and family (who really should know better)

The comment we get the most is..
The "MUST BE NICE" comment or face. (You know the face I'm taking about)

When that comes up I explain, no we are not rich. We have chosen to live a disney life style.

This is how we save.
My family of 4 likes to go to disney every 2 years. With this method we have been able to return on average every 12-18mo.

(Thanks to the kids mostly) read below to find out.

we had a long talk with our children.
If they want to continue to go to Disney there are rules..

1. Eating out (fast food, tables, little snacks)
We could only go out once a week.
Normally on the weekend.

2.Entertainment (going to movies,concerts,ect)
We don't go to ANY of these!
Movies tickets alone are $60 per trip add snacks, drinks and popcorn it can easliy run over $100

3. Birthdays- there is some leeway in this rule (after all it's thier gift)
Small at home birthdays.
Any gifts of money goes to Disney trip.
Any gifts that are doubles, get returned and money goes to Disney trip.
Any gift cards will be used for "needs"and equal money will be put towards disney trip.

(This is my fav!!!!!!)
4. Give kids allowance. Mine get $5 for chores and hw being done.
This way they can save for their trip.
Since it's their money they get the choice.
-Spend it now, Save it for souvenirs or add it to the trip expenses( so we can go sooner)

They don't even ask me at the store anymore.
Cuz they know the answer is "new toy or disney trip"

My oldest has $100 saved for souvenir shopping and any extra goes to the trip expenses.

5. Don't buy soda or name brand snack anymore.. The money I save from food shopping goes to Disney trip

6. No Netflix, or expensive cable package.. Money saved goes to Disney trip

7. . Credit cards..
Any points or cash back get added to the disney trip.
We signed up for a disney Visa premiere card.
Use it for EVERYTHING we can!

I'm not going to lie, this was a complete LIFE STYLE change..
But one my family is willing to make..
And all in all we are closer has a family.

Just a tip.... Look for a better credit card rewards program. We used the Disney card briefly until I realized I was only of get 1% for everything. My Amazon.com chase card gives 2% for automotive (gas) or restaurants and 3% for all Amazon purchases. I get a statement credit to call in my rewards when it's time to pay my dues (also paid with the card for reward points). Another tip.... Since the card gives me 2% back at restaurants.... I don't pay Disney meals with the magic bands or room charge.... I pay with the card directly to get that extra 1% back

 

[Just Peachy]

When I’ve been questioned about how much it costs to “Do Disney”, I just tell people it is about the same as a week-long ski trip. Living in Colorado, pretty much everyone here has a feel for how expensive that is and how you work the savings angles to get on the slopes more often.

I’ve had the discussion turn to how can they get to more affordable Disney vacations which inevitably lead to DVC discussions.

 

[bellapecas]

Just a tip.... Look for a better credit card rewards program. We used the Disney card briefly until I realized I was only of get 1% for everything. My Amazon.com chase card gives 2% for automotive (gas) or restaurants and 3% for all Amazon purchases. I get a statement credit to call in my rewards when it's time to pay my dues (also paid with the card for reward points). Another tip.... Since the card gives me 2% back at restaurants.... I don't pay Disney meals with the magic bands or room charge.... I pay with the card directly to get that extra 1% back

Another vote for the Amazon card! I buy everything from Amazon and we eat out a lot. Plus you can redeem Amazon points for cash to use anywhere. (I racked up over $1,000 in reward cash this past year!) My Disney card only gets me a Disney redemption card.


As for the OP's question ... Last week I had a coworker say "How many times have you visited the Mouse this year?" when he learned of my upcoming trip. This will make the 4th visit in 9 months and only my first visit as a DVC owner. Obviously DVC is right for my family.

 

[lovin'fl]

My own DH recently said to me "maybe we should cancel our Disney trip since money is tight right now". I had to remind him that annual dues are paid so cancelling our villa would not save us any $$ and we have PAPs from the last deal so cancelling the trip would not save us there either. And we are driving down, so we would save the few hundred that we'll spend on the drive to/from. We will have to eat at home so we'd spend the $$ of food regardless, just a bit more at WDW than at home so we would also save a few hundred there. But, all in all, this trip is not putting us out a whole lot of $$. DH was like "oh yeah, that's true".

 

[Jfine]

We get comments quite bit. Sometimes it's due to a perceived cost, but also (mainly?) because we don't have kids. That really blows people's minds!

 

[dwight16]

glad to see i am not the only one! you all should have heard my brothers best man speech at my wedding i think Disney came up at least 3 times during that roast!!!

 

[Micca]

It doesn't come up much for me, people think I'm nuts anyway The people in our circle know we are Disney enthusiasts, so they aren't shocked when we tell them we're going to WDW. Some people follow their teams around, some go to see Bruce Springsteen dozens of times, we go to WDW. Well, sometimes we go see Bruce...and Paul McCartney...but that's different.

 

[lawboy2001]

We get comments quite bit. Sometimes it's due to a perceived cost, but also (mainly?) because we don't have kids. That really blows people's minds!

^^^^ This.

I get 'this is getting weird!' in response to FB posts of WDW pics...and 'what's the attraction??' and then I feel forced to justify myself.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

^^^^ This.

I get 'this is getting weird!' in response to FB posts of WDW pics...and 'what's the attraction??' and then I feel forced to justify myself.

We went for the 1st time with out our kids last dec..
I can't not wait to do a adults only again!!!!
I sooooooo get why adults go without kids.