Non DVCers just don't understand

[tidefan]

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"

Funny you mention this. I got the "must be nice" comment from a co-worker at the office a few weeks back. I replied to her that she had a lake house and a boat, and instead of stuff like that, we had DVC and that quite honestly, the DVC was much cheaper (well, their house may appreciate, but the boat sure doesn't…). We chose to spend our money differently. We live within a somewhat drivable distance (8.5 hours), so we now call Disney "our Lake house"...

 

[AnnaS]

After a few years, you should only get - "that's nice".

My family and close friends know by now that we have a Disney "timeshare" so know we go often.

 

[DWorldOrBust]

The "must be nice" and "you're so lucky" comments get under my skin. Usually my response is something to the effect of "Why yes, I'm lucky that god gave me a healthy body, strong work ethic and the sense to save money to pay for my families vacations."

 

[kristenrice]

My friend recently sent me a FB post about how to easily save $5000 for a Disney vacation. I laughed and told her it was neat, but I don't spend $5K on a Disney vacation. Here's our typical 3-year plan...

Year 1: WDW in June
AP's: $1800
Airfare:$1200
Food: $1000
==> TOTAL: $4000

Year 2: WDW in April (Spring Break)
NO Tickets
Driving costs: $1000 (*airfare WAY too much for Easter week)
Food: $1000
==> TOTAL: $2000

Year 3: HHI in April (Spring Break)
Driving cost: $700
Entertainment at resort: $600
Food: $400
==>TOTAL: $1700

FWIW, we own 100 points at AKV and 50 points at HHI. We stay Su-Th nights (5 nights) on each trip. Sometimes, to conserve points, we split our stay between a studio and a 1BR, but not at HHI...that's a 1BR for the whole trip. Our average vacation costs are about $2600/year, add in the MF's (about $900) and we are still talking about $3500 for our family of 4 to take some VERY nice vacations.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

I think all of these "must be nice" comments come from people who don't realize

1. How to truly save for a vacation.. No eating out, movies, ect..

2. Don't know how to find or wait for deals to get WDW down to a affordable rate.

I think Walt disney may have said it best

"all our dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."

Before we bought into DVC getting our room as cheap as possible was our goal.
That meant most times we were at the values.. Through sure luck one year I got us a stay at POR for the same price as a stay at ASMo.( We rented DVC points the next time and That's when we realized what we were missing and were hooked )

Most of my friends had no idea disney offered discount.. That if you go during off-peak times it can save you $1000s!Also can save on food.. Have two small childern.. Don't order two kids meals, order one adult meal and spilt it.

Believe it or not this blows people minds!!
And when I think of all the money they wasted..

I think 70% of people who go to disney just accept what the prices are and don't keep looking. I can't tell you how many time I would hear " it's WDW, that just what the price is" These are the same people who except/buy the expensive air fare instead of looking at the -/+ 3 days..

 

[ludari]

I get comments all the time about my multiple visits to the parks, Disney Cruises, runDisney races and visiting DVC resorts. My response is "I'm single with no kids and Disney is my thing" after that comment most understand.

 

[keishashadow]

After a few years, you should only get - "that's nice".

My family and close friends know by now that we have a Disney "timeshare" so know we go often.

family & friends were able to comprehend once I mentioned a TS. Of course they still don't 'get it' in it's entirety. Often tell me they spend the same amount of $ (if not lots more) as we do per trip from just driving 12 hours to the beach for a week or two each year.

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???

Many of our work & social acquaintances look down their patrician noses at the concept of us concentrating our travel on repeat Disney-oriented visits.

I admit i'd love to be able to globe-trot as they do to different exotic & sophisticated locals, yet I'm absolutely thrilled & grateful to be able to visit 'the world' frequently. Bonus points = gifting my adult children points to use for their families on occasion while still being able to enjoy a trip to vegas or a nice cruise every year...with special thanks to DVC and cheap airfare.

 

[tup1830]

First, i am a dvc owner...but i also vacation a great deal out of the disney bubble.

I can see why people say that. If they say it must be nice, of course it is, hence we bought into it and do it so often, DUH!

If we can't understand why people think that way, then that is my fault. Being open minded, you can find plenty of true luxury vacations for less than a Disney vacation....which people may think is a waste of money to spend at Disney because there are better hotel/entertainment options out there...just depends on what your definition of better is, depending on your family's likes and dislikes.

I personally wouldn't think twice about it. There are many areas where Disney excels as a vacation and just as many areas where Disney lags. To each his/her own. Just like we spend our time/money in places that we enjoy (Disney), your time and thoughts on happy thoughts and ignore what other people say.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

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.

Me too.

And we haven't been that many times.

And other than Disney? We don't vacation anywhere else. Sorry, if my husband is going to take time off of work. If I am going to pack up our car. By gosh, we are going to Disney.

Last time someone used the "must be nice" comment, I asked them how many times they had been to the beach. "Well, our friends own a lake house."

"Well, I own a slice of Disney."

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

I am not (yet) a DVC member, but what is there to understand? When family, friends, and co-workers are expected to help me pay for my vacation, then they get a say in where I go. Until then, I pay the bills, so the boss lady makes the decisions.

 

[Minniesgal]

What makes me smile is remarks like I don't want to spend all my holidays in theme parks, or why do you need a 2 bedroom when you just sleep there.

We have moved so on from the parks for us DVC is all about the resorts. If we were having a hard up year we would save for flights, not hire a car, order groceries, cook in and still have a fantastic vacation at the resorts, the pools, the mini golf, the movies, hiring boats, and just relaxing without spending a fortune on Disney tickets or Disney food.

 

[tgropp]

My favorite line was when my SIL told me that I was " in a rut" for doing so many WDW related vacations. Oh well. Lots of people are in the same boat as I.

 

[Theaberdeenkid]

I just went through this morning with a co-worker. I was telling him the dates I would be out for vacation. He asked where we were going, I said Disney. Oh boy that started it.
I had to explain to now a group huddled around us that we own DVC (Boardwalk baby!!), which gives me discounts on annual passes, access to a Villa with a kitchen, et cetera. This allowed us 3 trips to the world last year alone.

I still don't think anyone get it.

 

[Hollymom1229]

Despite owning for 10 years we still get comments. Part of it is probably because we don't have kids, and part of it is people can't seem to grasp that these trips don't cost us as much as they cost others. Other than our annual dues the room costs us nothing, last year we did five trips on an AP and are now taking a year off. Due to the 5 trips though our average ticket cost per trip was under $100. My DH travels a lot for work, so we fly on his points. So our only big expense for each of the trips was food. So over 5 trips we probably spent as much as some families spend for a single trip. Yes, it is nice, but we have planned and saved and are fairly frugal in our day to day life.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

I get this alot. People think I am nuts. I just brush it off and move on.

We do not go out, don't drink at bars, don't smoke or do drugs. We also don't blow all our money on clothes and unneccessary items. We spend our money on DVC and travel in general.

The ironic this is that most of the people who have issues with how often I travel and my obsession with Disney are the ones who smoke, have too much credit card debt and cannot manage their money. I think jealousy has alot to do with it too.

 

[com_op_2000]

What I tell people is:
Whoever pays the piper calls the music.

If your family/friends wants you to go on a vacation and they are willing to pay for it, go and have a great time on them. If you are paying for the trip you go where and when you choose to go.