Nosy question- but how can you afford it? (Multiple trips/Resort stays?)

[Clover9990]

Originally posted by suevee
Clover9990 -

I am just curious, but haven't you ever considered using the Shades of Green resort? Their restaurants are very reasonable when it is open. Buffet breakfast was only $5.99 for an adult and less for children in June 2001. At this time an E-5 can get a standard room for $64 plus 11% tax at the Contempory Resort. It is a very large room that can easily sleep 5. It gets progressively higher depending on rate. Sometimes you can even get in at the last minute because of no-shows. If you bring food from home for breakfast, get connection vouchers for meals, and use either Florida or military ticket discounts - maybe you would be better able to afford to sped a night or two at WDW.

Yes, as a matter of fact, we have stayed at the CR through Shades of Green! We did that this year a couple of months after our tax refund was here, and that's pretty much how we could afford it. We use most of our tax refund to pay for bills and any necessities we may need- for example, for 2002, we had to buy our son a new bedroom set, since he'd outgrown his toddler bed. My DH also always needs new contacts each year, so that's $200 a pop- you know how all that "little stuff" really adds up. It was *really* nice, though, when we stayed at the CR. We had the Play 4 Days park hoppers we got for $99, so the tickets weren't too terribly expensive, and for breakfast we ate at the counter service restaurant that's next to the arcade- we just got bagels for us and cereal for the kids (one of the few breakfast foods my picky eaters will eat! ) It was pretty cool when I made the reservations, because we were just planning on going on a 1 day trip, when I came here to the DIS and learned about Shades of Green. I went to their website and saw they were putting everyone up in the Contemporary, so I called them that day and got a reservation for the very next day, no problem! It was a wonderful impromptu 2 day trip!

The biggest thing for us going to Disney is the cost of the food! My kids don't really need any souvenirs, other than the pressed pennies we get for them, so the bulk of our cost is actually the food. Normally, when we make our 1 day trips, we get a bagel/couple of donuts on the way at Dunkin Donuts, and get french toast sticks for the kids or bring fruit bars from home. We usually bring sandwiches for the kids to eat for lunch, so that saves us money, too. I would LOVE to be able to take them to character meals at least once each time we go, but when we're already on a tight budget, it's hard to justify spending over $40 just for breakfast, KWIM?

Again, I am sure that as we get older, and my DH gets more established with his job, we'll be able to afford to spend more time in the resorts and not have to worry so much about money for food while we're at WDW, etc. It's not too much of a budgeting problem with us- it's a matter of not having much leftover money every month to dedicate to "play money" or "vacation money". I am greatful that we can even afford to go to Disney at least once a year, even if we don't have the spare money to stay on-site- I know we are much luckier than others!

 

[Pat_Elliott]

To Clover 9990:

My wife and I are the cheapest people to ever go to Disney. This year, by using several methods at our disposal, we're getting there and having plenty of fun for around $800 a trip. This includes plenty of fun. I believe if we tucked it in, we could do it cheaper. We have the advantage of no kids, plus we're playing out a pair of Annual Passes.

None-the-less, I couldn't help but notice you mentioned the cost of breakfast, whcih is the easiest meal on which to cut cost, since you don't have to take it to the park. We TRY for a room with refrigerator and microwave. If we can't get that, we bring a cooler and beat up the ice machine.

Go to a grocery store, get some cereal, milk, OJ, and bagels. Get some luncheon meat and bread. Then go to Walmart and get some bulk "treats." If anything, the first year we went (we'd just bought a house and were bust), food was the ONE place we were able to save a bundle. I think we fed ourselves seven days for about twenty bucks. We took sandwiches into the parks (no one says a thing, just don't mix mayo with 90 degree heat) along with Pop Tarts and other, unfortunately, sugar-laden non-spoil food. Kept a water bottle around to save on soda. Basically, we equipped our hotel room like a small, concentrated kitchen, ate breakfast in the room or by the pool, and packed lunches and dinners for the park.

Mix that with buying tickets at SOG (my wife's a DOD biologist), and you've got yourself a mighty inexpensive holiday, relatively speaking.

Hope this repetative info helps!


Pat

 

[suevee]

Clover -

Once Shades of Green is back in operation I think you will find your food costs go down considerably! We really enjoyed the breakfast buffets for $5.99 per adult and the Evergreen Grill provided good cheap sandwiches, appetizers, and pizzas. It was one thing I really missed at CR.

 

[Clover9990]

Thanks, Pat and Suevee, for your advice! Pat~we usually DO cut costs on meals and pack our own snacks/lunches, and eat breakfast on the road on the way to Orlando, but what I was talking about when mentioning expensive breakfasts and whatnot was the whole character meal thing. My kids are at a perfect age for it, but I can't justify the cost just yet- I'm sure I could if we had extra spending money, but that won't be the case until about late Feb. of 2003, LOL! Thanks for the tips, though- they are good reminders.

And Suevee- $5.99 for a breakfast buffet sounds awesome! I didn't realize that SoG had different restaurant choices like the other resorts do (and less expensive, as well!) Since I've never seen the real SoG, I think in my mind I had something pictured like the hotels on post at Fort Bragg, LOL! I keep forgetting that it's an actual resort! The CR is great for the monorail access, but I think SoG will also be a great choice for our family once it reopens!

 

[ducklite]

We go at least two, somethimes three, four, or even five times a year.

We plan the trips well in advance, and I keep my eye peeled for airfare. We own DVC, and stay there on points for at least one of the trips.

We have AP's, so no need to buy admission each time.

We don't scrimp on WDW trips, and somehow the cash is always there

Now on to the other questions...

DH and I both work. I actually have both a f/t job that I hate, and a p/t job that I love--it's my "fun" job, plus gets me out of making dinner a couple of times a week . DH and I are both in I/T, but opted for slow steady career climbs with an old, established Fortune 500 who has a long history of not laying off employees rather than the short term more lucrative consultant positions that offer little security in the long run.

We own a townhome rather than a house. so our housing costs are much lower than most in our income bracket, although the $300+ monthly taxes are killer!! We refinanced into a 15 year loan a couple years ago, and don't have PMI on the loan due to good equity position in the house. We pay additional principal every month as well. We drive Saturns, so no high car payments, although both cars are new. We put a substantial d/p on the one, and one carries a 1.9% APR while the other has a 3.9%APR, so no rush to pay them off. We have one child, he's 16 and will not be going on to college, he has chosen to persue a career path which requires no college degree. We do have savings if he should change his mind.

We use our credit cards to our advantage--charging everything possible on cards that give airmiles, but not carrying balances.

We don't live off the stock market, these investments are long term for retirement, and we have other long term retirement savings as well.

When we wre in our 20's a trip to WDW was unobtainable. As we've gotten into our careers, and aged by about double ( ) we've found that our income has gone up, debt has gone down, and we have a tremendous amount of disposable income.

Anne

 

[kityrussell]

Someone mentioned getting looks from co-workers and friends about going to Disney so much. Glad to know it's not just us!

My DH & I are DINKS as well and while I occasionally feel pangs of guilt for not saving more money we just love going so much! we have no credit card debt, no car notes and very little left on student loans. I guess my point is while we still have the extra income to do it, why not? Life is too short. Besides, the AP passes really make it too easy. Just find some cheap airfare which has been easy lately (God Bless SWA) and get the discount room rates and we're set! But you are correct about food. We hit the grocery store for bkfast, snacks and wine.

So it boils down to, it's a priority in our life to travel and we are blessed enough to be able to do it.

 

[suevee]

Clover -

You are in for a pleasant surprise when Shades reopens. It was originally the first deluxe hotel on property. It was the golf course resort. The rooms are huge, staff great, pools very nice, and now it will have 2 or 3 restaurants to choose from as well as the Evergreen Grill. It is also only a 10 minute walk from the Poly and it's monorail. Closest thing to being on a monorail resort without paying monorail prices.

 

[Disneylvr]

Good question! First of all DH and I are childless (not by choice but it is the way it worked out for us) and we both have full-time jobs. Not high paying jobs, in fact kinda of on the low paying side but we do okay. We bought a very small house (850 sq. feet) but big enough for the two of us so our mortgage payments are allot lower than most people. We both drive small, compact cars that get excellent gas mileage. We limit our local fun (going out to dinner, movies, theater, sporting events etc...) and save our entertainment money for Disney trips! We buy AP's and the Disney Club cards and take advantage of every discount that we can. We are very flexible with our travel dates so that we can get the cheapest airfare as possible.

Not everyone would choose to live this way but we love Walt Disney World so much that it is worth it to us.

 

[Maleficent2]

Come visit us on the rewards board.We will help you make all your Disney Dreams come true.


Maybe alittle slower than befor 9-11.


Our family is a single income family we own a small business (antiques restorations and resell)there are 3 of us-DH,DS(5) and myself.

We go to WDW at least once a year and sometimes more.This year(our WDW year is from May-May)we plan on visiting probably 3 times.We went in June.We are returning in Oct.Then again in Feb.


Several of our trips have been fully funded by Rewards programs.This last trip was more than half paid for by rewards.

We Always stay onsite usually a moderate and we never penney pinch.




Mal

 

[stephaniebatesjones]

Thank you so much for asking that question. There are a bunch of us that are just as nosey as you are, but were afraid to ask the question. My family and I love Disney, but usually only can afford to go once every other year. Now that I have found dis, I"m putting all the good info I've found here to use. We are going Aug. 2002 and Aug. 2003. Thanks to mousesavers, We are staying at the Hotel Royal Plaza at DTD this trip. They have great mousesaver rates which were even better than the entertainment card rates. When I called they told me that they were having a managers special, so I got it even cheaper...Plus kids eat free there under 12, and you still get transportation. We have extra days left over from our old PHP that we were going to use, but now I think we'll buy AP's since we will use them this Aug and next Aug. Plus I just looked at the new discount codes for AP holders and they are great. We are disney club members so I think we get a discount on AP purchases. All That will be worth the price of the tickets. When we go next year I plan to use the AP discounts for rooms at Disney moderates or deluxe resorts. We buy all our stuff in advance( fans from the dollar store, water bottles, glasses, fanny pacs, etc.) and store them in our "Disney Box when we get home. So we don't have to re-buy necessities each time. We buy souvaniers before we go and buy few while we're there. Buy refillable mugs at the resort, and pack powder gatorade.

Our friends also think that we have money growing on trees, but it's not true. My DH works full time and I part time 15-20 hours a week. We have a new car (only cause the old one is such a clunker). My DH drives the old one. My DD had a heart transplant and is sick alot, so I have to be off work for her alot. But because of her condition, we try and make vacation a priority. We see how much the next trip will cost and save up enough each month to pay for it. We save all of our change and my DD saves all her birthday money,etc. to take with her on the trip. No cable tv ( or pay for it a year in advance with tax return). We think it's worth it because, THE MEMORIES ARE WHAT WILL LAST FOREVER.

Thank you guys for all your insight. It has helped me alot

Steph

 

[stephaniebatesjones]

Maleficent 2 : I'm interested in the rewards. What is it and how can I find the board. I could not find it. Can you give me a hand with that?

Thanks

Clover9990 : Since you have kids and food is your biggest expense, maybe you could eat breakfast in the room, and go off site for lunch and dinner. Kids love McDonalds, pizza, Denny's etc. I know my DD wants chicken nuggets every meal. When my DH and I went on our Honeymoon, we ate at Burger King everyday. He is not pickey, and if I can get chicken nuggets for my DD then I can get me something really great to eat for myself. We may stop at several places, but everyone is happy. Also you can buy a small microwave ate wal-mart now for $30 bucks. You can re-use it every trip. You save money in the end this way. Buy a disposable cooler and gallon size zip-lock bags( from wal-greens for a couple of bucks).Fill the bags with ice to keep your stuff cold.
And that way you can heat and cool food when needed. That's what we're gonna do.

Good Luck.

Steph

 

[babybelle]

Originally posted by DMRick


Out of Albany. Southwest has a wonderful deal right now..this is copied from thier site:

Orlando, FL
$49 each way, to/from Albany, NY

Wow, need to keep a note of this! My brother is awaiting the third and final stage of his green card to come thro'. He is going to work on the restoration of the cathedral in Albany, NY. We would love for him SIL and DN to come down to visit us next year when we are in Orlando!!!

All you folk living in the states are so lucky, with cheap internal flights and the ability to drive (albeit for hours) to WDW. Our average trip (for a family of 5) costs £5000 before spending money - we can only afford to do it every few years, despite being a double income family!!!

 

[Maleficent2]

it is here on the DIS!

sorry I should have linked.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=35


there you go and if you need any help just PM me.


Mal

 

[bprincess]

Hi Clover,

I know what you mean, I've been in early stages of family life myself, and it does limit certain things.....but time flies, freedoms come and funds open up...one of the perks of mid-life!

 

[stephaniebatesjones]

THANKS MALEFICENT 2

 

[macs4us]

Once you have an AP you kinda get sucked in We just have three kitties (our new family as of late May), and I stay at home (working on a novel, which will probably take years). One of my husband's clients is Universal, so we have been able to expense part of our trips to Orlando - the first two trips he won through a contest at work.

That said, we visited 38 states last year - we love to road trip, and have been to at least 30 National Parks/Monuments/Historic Sites this year. We are going to DC and NYC in September (unless business gets in the way). We may not make it to Disney again this year, because I will miss the kitties - Disney is not too fun for them!!!

I am a shopper - rarely buy anything not on sale, never pay rack rate, love those Connections vouchers!!! When we do go to WDW, we try to stay at home away from home so I can cook (I love to cook, but not clean up!!!), and/or use vouchers. I guess it is all about priorities - I love to travel well, but get bargains, so I budget accordingly. My sister loves clothes - she spends accordingly!!! It's all good

 

[Maleficent2]

stephaniebatesjones

you are welcome


Mal