The economy stinks, money is tight...what are you going to do???

[Cora]

We're going to Disneyworld!

Hi All,
It's been a while since I've been on the boards. We haven't been to WDW in about 3 years. Our son's high school April band trip to WDW was cancelled. So we decided to go. Using our points at our home, BWV, for 5 nights. We live in Mass, but are going to fly out of Newark. After you factor in Park, Fly Stay package, etc we still net a savings of about $600 for driving 3 hours AND the flight is non-stop. So I'll be back on the boards trying to figure out what has changed in 3 years time!

Anything anyone can think of right off the bat, would be great.
Thanks

 

[isyt]

Go znd have a great time !! I am thinking about the same thing!!!

 

[Donald is #1]

Have an awesome time!


If it has been 3 years since your last trip, then there have been a few changes in the parks. The first that comes to mind is Toy Story Mania at DHS. This ride is awesome but is extremely popular so you need to get there early to get a FP.

 

[DisFlan]

You won't find as many steaks on some of the menus. Lobster is gone in some places. A number of menus have been pared back or changed in other ways, too. And as usual, prices have gone up. Foie gras (if you like it) has been removed. The new Wave restaurant at the CR is very good. I'm fine as long as they still have creme brulee and frozen drinks.

You may see fewer CMs. The cut backs have started. Fantasmic! will go to two shows a week in January, but that may be a seasonal thing. Ditto on what Donald said about Toy Story Mania. Don't miss it.

We LOVED the park-sleep-fly program. We used it last month and got a nice room for what it would have cost to park at the airport.


DisFlan

 

[Dusti1960]

We just came back from WDW and its been 4 years. What I found to be different was Toy Story Mania and I belive Soarin was being built at the time.
We had a great time at Boadwalk.
Pat

 

[LIFERBABE]

I like your title!

That's how I feel. When all else fails, we still have DVC!

We would literally have to lose everything to give it up and even in this economy, it aint that bad!

 

[MrsBlovesDisney]

Cora,
WOW!! I just checked flights for the days we are traveling in April originating out of Newark instead of Boston and we could save about $1300.00 (a bit less when when we factor in fuel costs, etc - but WOW) if we switched airports!! We live on the MA/RI border. Something to definitely think about. Do you usually fly out of Newark???

 

[Laneychris]

Have a great time!

 

[Cora]

Cora,
Something to definitely think about. Do you usually fly out of Newark???

I know I find it incredible! It also angers me that only an hours flight north and it increases exponentially! I do understand that these are hubs, but still.

LIFERBABE - my husband has, unfortunately, been laid off several times in the past 10 years. Ironically, we've had a trip to WDW planned everytime he's been laid off AND we've gone and it's been fine. Actually, the last trip he received a job offer while we were sitting by the pool at WLV.

Pixie dust!

 

[photobob]

Curious, what have you been doing with your points the last few years?

 

[Cora]

Curious, what have you been doing with your points the last few years?

We've used them at HHI, Miami, NYC and I think a couple other places.

 

[theoarn]

The economy doesn't seem to be stinking for me. So I am going back to Disney World.

 

[Hollowellfam6]

We are still going, not to put bad hope out there, but I think the crowds will be alot less. At least that's my hope, we'll be there in a month. This will be our 4 trip to a DVC Resort this year and it's so relaxing to just get away from everything.

 

[lapeter]

We just made an low offer on more BWV pts. This might be a great time to buy and really see what Disney does with ROFR in view of the economy. Also since we just closed on our first points, the pressure is off.

 

[Dusti1960]

Hi there,
When we were there Sept 28-Oct 5th. There wasn't any wait at all for rides.We just walked right on. We got stopped by the Dream Team when we went to Animal Kingdom and got Dream Passes for the rides there. We did use it on Rafi Sahari which actually is my favorite ride! I love animals so it was a great treat for me to get a dream fast pass.

I'm already trying to plan my next WDW vacation I would like to go during my anniversary which is Memorial Day in May. I'm wondering what the crowds would be like.

 

[colonialtinker]

Since we already have several trips plan for the upcoming months there isn't too much I'm doing differently. I planned all of our upcoming trips to get the most out of our APs (5 trips). I always volunteer to be bumped when we fly. I have several free round trip flight vouchers I will be using for the upcoming trips.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I know I find it incredible! It also angers me that only an hours flight north and it increases exponentially! I do understand that these are hubs, but still.

LIFERBABE - my husband has, unfortunately, been laid off several times in the past 10 years. Ironically, we've had a trip to WDW planned everytime he's been laid off AND we've gone and it's been fine. Actually, the last trip he received a job offer while we were sitting by the pool at WLV.

Pixie dust!

Yes, Cora extra pixie dust for you and your family

We have experienced several job changes over the years and we would say "no sense in sitting around here moping" so we would take a trip or go as planned. It's always worked out for us too so that is a blessing. Now Dh has his own business

 

[ktbugsmom]

A few years ago - my husband made a job change to a 100% commission sales job. Let's just say that for 2 years - money was very very tight. (now he has a regular pay check job with health benefits - so cash flow is MUCH better!) However, during that time, due to DVC, we still made our annual WDW vacation. We rented out half of our points to friends so they could come along with us - thus our dues were paid! And, we got a nice vacation with friends out of the deal. So - DVC has been great.

However, I was really hoping to add on at BLT this year, but due to the economy, I will have to hold off on that one. But, We do have an 8 day DVC vacation for January (4 nights AKV concierge and 4 nights BWV) and I planned a spontaneous vacation to BWI for the Tower of Terror Race in October. So - I guess when the economy tanks, I go to my "happy place".

 

[Kathi OD]

The economy might stink, money definitely is tight, but we own DVC so we're going to WDW anyway!!

The economy has definitely struck a blow to our finances. DH has been out of work since June, so money is tight, but not so tight that we can't squeeze a trip to the world into our budget. We even booked the trip AFTER he got laid off. I know, I know, many will tell me we are not being fiscally responsible. But we've got an emergency fund (enough to get us through at least a year without him working) and I make enough to pay all of our bills, so we're going.

We were able to get flights for $126 rt/nonstop out of Philly for our trip in January. We have park tickets left over from previous trips and if we were home we'd have to buy food anyway, so no big deal there. The only difference we are considering this trip is using ME instead of renting a car. We like spending a day outside of Disney, and will take a day trip somewhere (last time we drove over to Daytona). I'm not sold on the ME idea, but it definitely will save us some money, unless I can score a cheap rental car.

Hopefully he'll get a job before we go, but if he doesn't, we'll still be going. We'll continue to conserve in other ways, like not eating out as often, buying on sale as much as possible, and cutting out the non-necessities (like ice cream ).

I don't think we'd be able to go if we had to pay for a room too. I my DVC!!!

ETA: for you and your family on your trip! Have a wonderful time!

 

[adminjedi]

We decided some time ago we really want BCV. After searching for resale and not finding our use year, we decided to waitlist with Disney expecting it to take 6 months to a year. Unbelievably, we got "the call" in less than a week. So, we are buying this month! We are so excited. We love BCV's location and our kids love the pool.