What would you do?

[Pignanny]

I find it very interesting the responses to this poll. Over 90% would take the money. Hmmmm......the interesting thing about that is compared to say, the all expenses 2 week vacation every year, the value of the $200k really doesn't stack up. If you assume costs at WDW will increase every year by approximately 9% (a fair assumption), then if you compare that to the money it comes down to 1) How much do you love WDW and 2) How much might the money be worth going forward if you invested someplace? I suppose if you did that and it paid dividends at least equal to annual trip cost then taking the money might be a good choice. But there are zero guarantees there. If you take the trip then you know every single year you are guaranteed 2 weeks of fun at no cost to you.
Now suppose you had the $200k........for a family of 4 you are looking at an average cost of $4500k minimum (today) that will have an overall average increase of at least 9% every year (I think that is probably a conservative estimate). If you take those numbers that will get you somewhere between 15 and 18 trips to Disney. If you assume that Disney will be your place to visit every year (as the poll really suggests) it seems the answer here is very obvious, but the results (to this point) are not that shocking. We all tend to live in the here and now. $200k up front sounds like, and is, a lot of money. But when you put it into the context of paying for an annual 2 week trip for 4 to most magical place on earth for the rest of your life. Maybe it's just me but 15-18 trips (before the $200k is exhausted) vs. never having to worry about it for the rest of your life is a slam dunk choice.

 

[N.Bailey]

You can go to Disney quite a few times on $200K. I'm sure a good portion of that would go to taxes, but I'd take the money in a heartbeat.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

The answer that makes the most sense is that you take the money, then go to Disney for two weeks all expenses paid every year until the money runs out..Who couldn't make that money stretch out over 20 years?

 

[Planogirl]

You could invest the money and take as many trips as you wish. You could also donate some of the money or help out family members or do something else worthwhile. I can't see that taking trips to WDW every year matches up.

 

[stacy347]

I used to feel as you do-when my kids were in the 8-12 age group. we'd go every year and loved it


When they were teens they refused to go-wanted a beach vacation-which we did-wonderful

Now that DH and I travel alone-we are really not happy with how crowded WDW has become(and how the restaurants are not the special dining places they once were) and do other vacations-seeing the wonderful real slendors of America.

That is great that you took other trips with your family ~ we do the same.

We are sort of blessed/cursed with having family in a few different states so we have ample reason to take those trips and we are lucky enough to be surrounded by lakes with beautiful beaches in our area so we get plenty of that as well.

I never saw WDW in the early days (first trip was 2006) so I don't have that comparison in my head and just appreciate it for what it is now ~ I have seen a lot of people share your view though and I can appreciate that as well.

I do love reading what everyone would do though ~ it's always nice to see a different perspective!

 

[aristocatz]

Definitely the money!!

Owning our own house with no mortgage is a million times more important to us than a WDW vacation (no flames please...)

 

[mjkacmom]

I find it very interesting the responses to this poll. Over 90% would take the money. Hmmmm......the interesting thing about that is compared to say, the all expenses 2 week vacation every year, the value of the $200k really doesn't stack up. If you assume costs at WDW will increase every year by approximately 9% (a fair assumption), then if you compare that to the money it comes down to 1) How much do you love WDW and 2) How much might the money be worth going forward if you invested someplace? I suppose if you did that and it paid dividends at least equal to annual trip cost then taking the money might be a good choice. But there are zero guarantees there. If you take the trip then you know every single year you are guaranteed 2 weeks of fun at no cost to you.
Now suppose you had the $200k........for a family of 4 you are looking at an average cost of $4500k minimum (today) that will have an overall average increase of at least 9% every year (I think that is probably a conservative estimate). If you take those numbers that will get you somewhere between 15 and 18 trips to Disney. If you assume that Disney will be your place to visit every year (as the poll really suggests) it seems the answer here is very obvious, but the results (to this point) are not that shocking. We all tend to live in the here and now. $200k up front sounds like, and is, a lot of money. But when you put it into the context of paying for an annual 2 week trip for 4 to most magical place on earth for the rest of your life. Maybe it's just me but 15-18 trips (before the $200k is exhausted) vs. never having to worry about it for the rest of your life is a slam dunk choice.

Well, if I had no other expenses, I'd probably put the $200,000 in a few different mutual funds, and take money out of the more conservative ones for vacations. The rest would go to fund my childrens' college tuitions, and our retirement fund. These are much higher on my list than a 2 week WDW vacation for the rest of my life - I would prefer to have $ for food and housing in my 70's and 80's!

 

[wdwfan16]

I find it very interesting the responses to this poll. Over 90% would take the money. Hmmmm......the interesting thing about that is compared to say, the all expenses 2 week vacation every year, the value of the $200k really doesn't stack up. If you assume costs at WDW will increase every year by approximately 9% (a fair assumption), then if you compare that to the money it comes down to 1) How much do you love WDW and 2) How much might the money be worth going forward if you invested someplace? I suppose if you did that and it paid dividends at least equal to annual trip cost then taking the money might be a good choice. But there are zero guarantees there. If you take the trip then you know every single year you are guaranteed 2 weeks of fun at no cost to you.
Now suppose you had the $200k........for a family of 4 you are looking at an average cost of $4500k minimum (today) that will have an overall average increase of at least 9% every year (I think that is probably a conservative estimate). If you take those numbers that will get you somewhere between 15 and 18 trips to Disney. If you assume that Disney will be your place to visit every year (as the poll really suggests) it seems the answer here is very obvious, but the results (to this point) are not that shocking. We all tend to live in the here and now. $200k up front sounds like, and is, a lot of money. But when you put it into the context of paying for an annual 2 week trip for 4 to most magical place on earth for the rest of your life. Maybe it's just me but 15-18 trips (before the $200k is exhausted) vs. never having to worry about it for the rest of your life is a slam dunk choice.

How do you plan on paying the taxes each year on your vacation. You can pay the taxes on the cash and then invest the rest. How many DVC points would you need to get a room for two weeks every year?

 

[FireDancer]

I'd take the cash. The only debt I have is the mortgage and car payment and that would pay off both and leave some money left over. I could then take the amount I now write for my mortgage and deposit it into a separate interest earning account each month. That would become the account I draw on for vacations or large purchases like furniture and other expenses that come up.

With the exception of taking more or longer vacations I would not change a lot of my life. I would continue to work as I do now and wouldn't really buy more even though I had the saving account. I am of the opinion that when I look back at my life I would rather recall the experience I had instead of the possessions I owned which is why my first priority would be going out and seeing the world a couple of weeks at a time.

 

[pearlieq]

What a bizarre poll.

For my part, $200,000 invested today would give me over $1,000,000 when it comes time to retire, with no other effort needed on my part.

That, versus a vacation that I wouldn't even necessarily want and could be achieved much more cheaply, is a real no-brainer to me. To me, taking the overpriced, overlong annual vacation seems a more "here and now" choice than taking the cash and using it to better one's overall financial position.

Sadly, there are more important things in life than a Disney vacation.

 

[sdemore]

Take the $$$$ Your family will not remain the size it is today and when the spouses and grandkids come that vacation won't cover them all, or be what everyone wants. Not everybody wants to travel with in-laws, Also like a pp said, our kids didn't want to do WDW anymore, they wanted to go to other places. Said they could do what they wanted at Six Flags. (This must be the result of a defect in DH gene pool, certainly can't be mine)

 

[swald91]

Money, pay off my credit cards & stuff.

 

[ILoveJack]

I'd take the money, sell the house here and move there then get a job as a cast member and go all the time! LOL