What are you doing to make your Disney trips more affordable?

[MikMin6554]

Have you canceled trips?

Are you cutting back on trips?

Are you doing things differently at home so you can still take your Disney vacations?

Will your upcoming trips be different than they were in the past? How so?

No
No
No
Yes We are moving to the Orlando are next spring.

 

[El&Asmom]

We will probably actually take two trips this year. We will do a longer trip in May for 7 nights, and a 5-6 night trip in January. Our Jan trip is for a conference so that will cover some of the expense. We have the points, and will be getting APs, so the main expense is food and travel.
For our trip in May, we are probably doing a split stay with 3n at SSR, and 4 at BCV if we can get in at 7m out. We may do the ddp for one part of the trip, and cook for the other part.

At home, we are trying to cut down on eating out, but are still pretty bad about it. Other than that, we haven't made a lot of changes. Our income is about the same, and dh takes the train to work. I work only 7 miles from our house so I only fill up about once a month. I don't buy many new clothes, and when I do it is from the clearance section at Old Navy. Dd3 is due in Dec, but since we already have two dds, we haven't spent much on stuff for the new one. Much easier than if we were having a boy.

Part of what I love about DVC is that we can still go on vacations without feeling guilty because it is paid for except the air travel and meals out which we can budget for.

 

[emlutz23]

At first I thought my DH and I would drive to WDW for our kid-free anniversary trip in May '09, but with only 2 of us, it's cheaper to fly!

But other than that, we won't do too much changing of our Disney habits. Some things I already do are buying a pack of 24 bottles of water from Costco.com for $7 (includes shipping!) and having it delivered to the resort. I pack a suitcase of kids snacks, cereal, etc... That way we have their favorites and one snack per day on the DDP is not enough for my kids! And then, when the food suitcase is empty at the end of our trip, there's room for all the souvenirs we bought using our Disney Visa Reward dollars!

 

[wulfekamp]

I take all my pocket change and put it in a jar every day. I get a smile on my face every time I get change back because I know Its paying for Disney. It adds up to several hundred dollars in a years time.

 

[millerse36]

Good thread. Lucky that we were able to buy points outright upfront so only worried about dues going forward, unless we decide 150 points ain't enough, which we might. We also use our Disney VISA for EVERYTHING and pay off the entire balance each month (takes some discipline). That gives us several hundred dollars to spend on DDP or souvenirs at the parks. I travel a bit so get frequent flyer points but we will be taking one trip next year over to VB, renting a big car and taking friends. Our philosophy with this going in was to invite friends/family so THEY wouldn't have to pay for accommodations themselves.

Realize times are tough out there. I'm blessed to work in healthcare, which is recession proof.

 

[toocherie]

I have an Owners Lockers which permits me to have a Brita water filter pitcher for all trips. I usually ship a box down ahead of time to the resort that contains some snack foods, cereal, boxed milk, small bottles of cranberry juice and a couple of bottles of water. We usually eat breakfast in the villa, saves time and money. The water bottles we refill and freeze, so we don't have to purchase water in the parks (that is a real issue for me). Funny, I can spend thousands on my DVC ownerships, but it really ticks me off to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water. Shipping the box may cost a few dollars, but it is cheaper than the airlines baggage fees they are charging right now. It is also cheaper to urchase those things at home than when I get down there, and it saves me time--no shopping during vacation.

Having the Owners Locker means I don't have to pack as much (most of my toiletries are already down there) and can avoid those baggage fees.

We are planning on shipping our stuff down too--can you share with me which service you use and approximately what the costs are? How early do you ship?

TiA

Cheryl

 

[Laxmom]

We are actually going more this year. Our first trip, we bought non expiring passes. We didn't rent a car for the first time and didn't miss it. We got pretty decent airfare so only food expense was left. We cooked most meals in our room. Our room was thru an II trade in with our other timeshare.

Then we went on a cruise with a pretrip park stay on points at VWL. We used more days off our nonexpiring passes.

Now we found a deal thru Travelocity for the first weekend in December that has airfare and lodging included. It cost us $230 per person for the two of us total for a long weekend. It is an offsite stay but I can deal with that if it means one more stay and it has a kitchen so we can save some there. I used reward points for our MVMCP tickets and we still have days left on our passes.

We always travel a couple times a year and are really careful about our expenses. I make a hobby out of looking for bargains in travel. We have stopped eating out just as much to eat healthier as save money. We paid cash for our points also so only MF's to worry about there. Our 2 trips next year are to HHI so we will drive instead of fly.

 

[Liljam]

For our family, we re-evaluated what is important to us and our vacations to WDW were right up there with the rest of most families' top priorities. We just find ways to make it work for us. Cutting costs on anything we can is always important, but not because it helps with our vacation funds. We're new parents and I come from a family that really never taught me to save or to budget or to be frugal. I want to be able to teach these things to my son yet offer him the family and fantasy experience WDW has to offer.

Sooooo.... to help save or offset costs we do these things:
-We drive (15 hours) last May cost us $450 or so in gas and we took our Suburban and my dad split the cost with us. My mom, step dad, brother and his friend went in second vehicle so all together there were 9 of us and that was less than $1000 split in gas - WAY cheaper than flight!
-Two hotel rooms to stop for the night $80 each with moms ARP card or something like that.
-$300 split in groceries for drinks, snacks and breakfasts or lunchs in the villa and during our trip down and back.
-Step dad offered to upgrade my tix I'd already purchased from MYWPH to WP&MO since we didn't charge them.
-Brought our own beer and drinks to the villa because it's cheaper, water too.
-Use Disney Visa for anything I can to get reward points (although I'm really cutting back now that I only work PT and was SAH for almost a year.)
-Buy Disney gift cards for myself whenever I can and tell others to do the same. I also tell family and friends to get them for my son since we splurge on him in the parks as well.

Ok so that's how I managed last trip and that's how I'll get by next time too! Actually next time around, each family member is giving us a small donation for being nice enough to bring them to the World with us! That's going pay for our tix and QSDDP, !

 

[acejka]

Have you canceled trips?
Nope. In fact I just planned 2 extra non-Disney trips... A roadtrip to Kansas City, and a week trip to Rehoboth Beach. I am also trying to fit in Thanksgiving weekend at Rehoboth to go Christmas shopping.

Are you cutting back on trips?
Cutting back spending wise, I am cooking in the room but that is because I much prefer my own cooked food.

Cutting back on taking trips, I don't really know. THis is our first DVC trip. It is in less than 48 hours until we start driving, and I am freaking out that I think I am going to get there and hate disney so who knows.

Are you doing things differently at home so you can still take your Disney vacations?
Spending as much as possible on my disney visa so I can get my maximum reaward dollars. I feel like I did something useful by spending money that way.

Will your upcoming trips be different than they were in the past? How so?

We probably won't spend as much inthe parks, but that is only because we know we will be back soon. I also think we will relax and not rush around as much.

Now that I see this all written out, its occuring to me that I am not actually doing any of this to save money.

 

[DVC Mike]

Have you canceled trips?

No.

Are you cutting back on trips?

No.

Are you doing things differently at home so you can still take your Disney vacations?

No.

Will your upcoming trips be different than they were in the past? How so?

No.

 

[jpolak]

No not doing anything different. We have always been planners and savers so we figure out how many weeks until our next trip and divide that by how much money we will need. That way we know how much money each week goes into the vacation account.

 

[quentina]

I have an Owners Lockers which permits me to have a Brita water filter pitcher for all trips. I usually ship a box down ahead of time to the resort that contains some snack foods, cereal, boxed milk, small bottles of cranberry juice and a couple of bottles of water. We usually eat breakfast in the villa, saves time and money. The water bottles we refill and freeze, so we don't have to purchase water in the parks (that is a real issue for me). Funny, I can spend thousands on my DVC ownerships, but it really ticks me off to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water. Shipping the box may cost a few dollars, but it is cheaper than the airlines baggage fees they are charging right now. It is also cheaper to urchase those things at home than when I get down there, and it saves me time--no shopping during vacation.

Having the Owners Locker means I don't have to pack as much (most of my toiletries are already down there) and can avoid those baggage fees.

Do you know that a cup of ice water has to be given for free? There is no need to buy bottled water at any amusement park. There is some sort of law that requires water to be free. It works everywhere including Disney. I have approached little stands that do not have running water however, they have always given me a cup of ice.

I am sure the amusment parks do not want many people to know this....but...it's free.

 

[Sully]

Nothing much will change for us. When we fly (a low rate if available), we use ME. We always stay in a studio. We use the DDP or whatever it is called now. We are not drinkers or smokers. We are just not big spenders, that is why we can go often.

 

[photobob]

It is really too soon to tell. Given that we are DVC members we are going to be going roughly the same amount of time every year. Our habits at home have changed, trying to use less gas. I think our changes will be spending less money while there, a lot less money on souvenirs, eat as affordably as possible, have TS meals at lunch instead of dinner which we do anyway. We are going to Vero in June instead of WDW, but that was change pace decision not a money decision.

 

[rigsby25]

We have decided on VB this October instead of WDW. We were always in the borrowing mode, but we will build points back up in case we have to sell. We've used all our airline miles (and going 1st class) in case the airlines fold. Its getting too expensive to travel to WDW.

 

[ranthony]

Do you know that a cup of ice water has to be given for free? There is no need to buy bottled water at any amusement park. There is some sort of law that requires water to be free. It works everywhere including Disney. I have approached little stands that do not have running water however, they have always given me a cup of ice.

I am sure the amusment parks do not want many people to know this....but...it's free.

I totally agree with this. I can't be bothered lugging water all around when it can be had for FREE. Now, I've lived in FL and I know some of you are going to say that the water in Disney smells, it tastes funny, etc. I guess it doesn't bother us enough to fork out the $ for it.

My DMIL feels this way about water so she'll buy a case and end up leaving half of it on check-out day. So not only does she have to lug her water around with her to save spending the $ for it but she essentially pays double for the water she does drink because she doesn't use it all. To each his own.

Now, as far as saving $ for Disney. The first thing we did while we were considering purchasing points was look at our current expenses to see where we could "cut-back" to cover the yearly dues (points were not financed). Here's what we did:

1. We cancelled our subscription to XM radio. Now that we're more tech savvy it's easy to get all the music we want onto our MP3.

2. We downsized our mobile phone plan. We were not using most of the minutes anyways.

3. DH started changing the oil in our car himself.

Just these 3 simple things saved us enough $ to pay our MF fees without any other changes in our lifestyle.

We drive to WDW to save on airfare and I'm not opposed to venturing off property for some other things. We'll be checking out Universal and the new Harry Potter area in a few years.

 

[mello]

We have cut out almost all of our eating out. I'm very conservative with grocery shopping, and I've begun making more from scratch. We're combining errands to reduce driving, and I don't just go out to the mall to look around any more. We're using the library more to borrow books & videos. The biggest change for us though is that I've been a SAHM for 15 years and this year I started working p/t at home. My kids hate it, but I tell them, "If you guys want to continue to travel, we've gotta do what we've gotta do. Otherwise, that's the next thing to go".

 

[bwvBound]

Will your upcoming trips be different than they were in the past? How so?

Good question -- one I've been pondering for several weeks. When we first started going to WDW our employer paid full fare: air, hotel, per diem and conference fees for both of us. In 2003 we started paying for my husband's travel and conference fee while mine was still paid. Over the years less and less had been paid ... and it looks like next year we'll be paying for everything for the first time. Hmm ... I'm not sure "we" are both worth it. I'm thinking of only paying for one conference badge and possibly splitting its use (one goes to AM sessions, the other PM or such). It won't be a perfect solution ... but maybe it is time to slow down a bit.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I haven't cancelled any trips but I haven't planned beyond June either. Normally by this time I would have this October, summer and next October on the books (in myhead at the very least). Next October is very iffy at this point.

I will eat more cs on my trips and don't plan to rent a car the next two trips.

At home, we eat out far less, I don't drive unless absolutely necessary and I now cut ds' hair and only go where I have a coupon for myself. Dd is nice enough to be growing her hair out right now which fits nicely with my budget measures!

I have also cut down on my cell phone plan and cut my Netflix subscription down to one movie at a time instead of three. Every little bit helps.

Am seriously thinking we may go to Vero in the summer of 2010 vs. WDW. The tickets kill us.

In all, I am just trying to be very careful at home and on my vacations. Which is something I should have been doing for a lot longer than I have been!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We have cut out almost all of our eating out. I'm very conservative with grocery shopping, and I've begun making more from scratch. We're combining errands to reduce driving, and I don't just go out to the mall to look around any more. We're using the library more to borrow books & videos. The biggest change for us though is that I've been a SAHM for 15 years and this year I started working p/t at home. My kids hate it, but I tell them, "If you guys want to continue to travel, we've gotta do what we've gotta do. Otherwise, that's the next thing to go".

Your whole post, especially the bolded part is my family to a tee! I am looking for part time work, basically just to ensure we can take our trips. If not for those, I'd probably not be doing that right now.