What Gets You Through To Your Next WDW Trip?

[PrncesKMW]

So we've started the Dave Ramsey plan. The good news - no more credit card debt. The bad news - we're not using credit cards anymore, which means no more vacations that aren't pre-paid.

We are SO far from taking another Disney vacation. I was hoping for this November... then it became next March... and now who knows!

So - what do YOU do to get your Disney fix? I started scrapbooking all of my family's old Disney pics, and that is fun (and time-consuming), but I need more ideas to get me through!

 

[swilshire]

Take other, inexpensive, vacations or even staycations. A weekend in a fun city or a week at the beach or in the mountains doesn't have to cost a fortune. Other treats might push Disney even farther out, but will keep you sane while you wait.

Sheila

 

[JaymeC]

We do as many nearby trips as inexpensively as we can. And we watch movies and read books and dream of travel

Our next trip is at least 2-3 years out. We'll make it, no biggie, but I understand your pain trust me! Whatever works to get you through

 

[Pixieflip]

Been there, too. We used to go every year and then we needed to take a break financially. Dave Ramsey helped us get it all straight, too. We went in January 2007 and thought we'd go that Christmas, too. Not so much. So we skipped a year, hoping to go for Christmas 2008, but that was the year gas went over $4 a gallon and I'm sure we all remember how hard that was plus the ripple effect on the price of everything else. So we skipped a second winter.

We couldn't take it anymore! We needed a plan, something to look forward to! So, we wrote our our budget on paper and put a jar on the kitchen table and spent the next year filling it with the cash we'd need. We sold stuff on ebay. We sold gold. We had a garage sale. I worked my little part time business more. If we thought about going away for the weekend, it was more fun to put a couple of hundred dollars in the Disney Jar.

After a three year absence, we once again visited the Mouse for Christmas/New Years of 09/10. It was great to show the kids how to save the cash instead of using credit cards. It was great to watch the cash build up in the jar. We were so grateful just to be there, we all had a new appreciation, no more taking it for granted. I cried on Main Street like it was our first trip again!

The thing we did to make it fun as we saved up was to have a monthly Disney Family Night on the 23rd of each month, counting down till Dec. 23 when we'd leave. Do a search here, there's a thread with hundreds of ideas for dinner, dessert, decorations, movies, all themed to a Disney movie or theme park. SUPER FUN! The only way we survived the three year wait.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

My Disney fix is "The Dis Boards" And our equally obsessed Disney friends!
Our first trip as a family was in 1999 and it took awhile to pay off that trip. (we used our credit cards for everything). We've never followed Dave Ramsey, but, that trip was a learning experience for us. We continued to go every year. Over the past 12 years we have been 9 times and always pay cash for 99% of the trip. Only using the cc when needed and then paid it off right away with the $$ saved.

 

[TnTWalter]

I love the DISboards but sometimes it just makes you want to be planning a trip. so if taking a break every now and again helps, do that. But the Budget board is always a good daily fix.

I agree with the poster that budgeted for a WDW trip. Give yourself a goal date and go for it. And of course I agree about Dave Ramsey. Huge TMMO fan here! You will LOVE it.

We celebrated being debt free but the house back in 2006 by going on our first big family vacation and we went to WDW of course. My kids were 3, 4 and 6. It was AWESOME.

Now that we are on the other side of the fence and our money goes to the Bank of US instead of Bank of America, one of our budgeted items is 'VACATION'. Every month a portion of hubby's paycheck gets allocated to the VACATION slot in our savings. It's not always WDW but it's vacation. We also have a CAR slot and a CHRISTMAS slot. It's the same account but a spreadsheet has the separation.

You can do it OP. Best of luck. Just keep your eye on the goal. Debt Free ROCKS. It's so much better. promise.

Trish

 

[mydisneyobsession]

We're on Baby Step 2, so we have a long way to go. I'm longing for Disney in a big way today, so I liked seeing your post. Knowing that we're on the right track financially is very satisfying, but not having a trip to plan is torture!

 

[PrncesKMW]

The thing we did to make it fun as we saved up was to have a monthly Disney Family Night on the 23rd of each month, counting down till Dec. 23 when we'd leave. Do a search here, there's a thread with hundreds of ideas for dinner, dessert, decorations, movies, all themed to a Disney movie or theme park. SUPER FUN! The only way we survived the three year wait.

I LOVE this idea. Already thinking of our first "theme" night - Under the Sea. We'll have seafood and watch The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo and wear beach clothes. Thank you thank you thank you for this tip!!!

Another thing I've been doing - rather than just doing a step aerobic workout, I watch the Disney Vacation DVD while I step - it's like taking a walk through all my favorite parts of WDW.

 

[TaraPA]

DIS Boards and DIS Radio - click on the link at the bottom of the page. They play everything from movie theme songs to attraction queues to park music. It takes me right back there! Just listened to Illuminations - my favorite!

 

[jjsmom]

I lurk on these boards!! I love helping others with questions and I love reading the trip report. I agree, the smartest thing we ever did was loose the CC's and go for all cash vacations (even though it meant giving up my Disney Visa; in the long run, so much better for us). I am constantly trying to think of ways to save money for Disney. Budgeting for the trips is actually quite fun. Everytime I pack a lunch instead of eating out, I think of that money going for something DW related. Last June was our first MAJOR all cash vacation to Disney (ok we have relatives with housing, but we covered everything else). We actually came home with a couple of hundred of bucks to spare!

 

[Marionnette]

I listen to park music - either online or on my ipod. I like this youtube channel, epecially for the Epcot World Showcase background music.
http://www.youtube.com/user/prspeppers#p/p

I drag out our old picture albums and scrapbooks. I especially love the pictures of the kids' first visit. And just looking at the prices from then (1996) to now!

I secretly plan a trip. Just on paper. With everything from resorts to adr's. I go way over my real budget and really splurge.

And like everyone else, I save, save, save for the day when we can go back. I know that we'll get back there someday. I have leftover tickets so we have to!

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

DIS Boards and DIS Radio - click on the link at the bottom of the page. They play everything from movie theme songs to attraction queues to park music. It takes me right back there! Just listened to Illuminations - my favorite!

I have been on these boards for so long and never paid any attention to the DIS Radio link. Thank you!!