When is enough, ENOUGH!!!

[3girlsfun]

I am very excited about our upcoming trip to Disney, I am just wondering, when is enough, enough?

What I am talking about is, when do you say, no more Disney spending?

We have two rooms at Pop Century, which is great, because it is cheapest. However, we are doing a few "extra" things above and beyond the dining, hotel and park tickets.

At what point do you say, this is it for this trip? I mean, the money is all relevant. I can budget and save what is needed (within reason), but keep wondering what is "worth" the money and what isn't.....

 

[connie1042]

That is different for each person. On our last trip with just my Husband and I, we had free dinning and military tickets. so I bought tickets for LaNouba, ate at Fultons(not covered on DDP) Had gift baskets delivered to the room. Had a cake at Narccoossee's. Would I do it again. I don't think so. It was nice, but just to much. I did the Illumination cruise once, and that was okay, but would not spend the money again. Loved the Keys tour. I think when you read all the stuff on here, you want to try it, or you feel your trip won't be as magical as the other persons. But I think less is almost more.

 

[disneychrista]

I think this can be a very individual thing. For some going to TS or character buffet dinning is important and are willing to spend the extra money to do so. For me it is not important and the extra cost is NOT worth it.

Some could not fathom staying at a value resort and are willing to spend the extra money to stay at moderate or deluxe. I am not.

You have to look at what you are or are not wiling to spend the money on. Since you said you could (hopefully WILL) save the money for the extras, take a look at the cost and judge is it worth it to YOU to spend the money on that. Or would you rather have the money for other things.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Enough, is when you say it is. Sometime, okay most times, I over schedule, spend a bit too much...

But really, and this is serious, the important special times usually cost nothing. It's that moment when someone smiles or does something that is just so great.

Make a list of your days. There should be enough down time so that you don't burn out and enough WOW to keep you going. It's all about balance...

I tend to do HDDR, a special party like MNSSHP, a golf time for DH, shopping time for DD, and a Disney Quest time for DS.

Have fun planning, and remember no matter what even if you do nothing above a basic package, you will have fun!

 

[abmitch01]

For us, this trip, it was adding on extras that we didn't have to have like water parks, Quest, hopping. We had 7-8 days for the parks and still didn't do everything so I felt like adding the extras wasn't necess. But then my kids are older and can understand "a water park is not in our budget this trip" and they didn't care about character dining or eating at table service restaurants.

i also decided water was good enough, not sodas. Souvenirs came out of the kids' own money. We rented a house in Windsor Hills and split it with family rather than stay on site.

We did, however, indulge in dole whips as often as possible.

Boy, this post makes me sound so cheap

 

[StacyMarie]

Last year was our 2 DDs first trip to Disney EVER, so we over did it and spent a ton of money. I realized that all that extra that I wanted to do to make it as special as possible really was not what mattered most to my girls. So, this year we are going back, upgraded to deluxe resort, staying 3 more days than last year, and added 1 grandma to the mix. Of course, we are doing CRT and some more character meals along with O'hana's but as for all the extras that happened last, my girls could care less. They were just happy to be there last year. I suspect this year's trip will be just as good if not better.

 

[Halbleib1]

All of our trips have been pretty much the same. We stayed at Pop with free basic dining on all but our first trip which we had to pay for the dining plan. We have always scheduled some character with non character meals. Of course on each trip we always did something different in the parks from the last trip but nothing that cost any more money.

Except for one trip we did the water parks because it was in Sept. and very hot therefore worth the extra cost. On trips after that we have not gotten the water park tickets because we were there in Dec. and not warm enough IMO. We were able to use the resort pool on a couple of warmer days but most days it was not even warm enough for that.

Once we decide how many days we are going for and get the best deal possible booked we sit down and figure out how much spending money we are going to take. Usually we end up spending under 4000 for everything including our flights. We could do it cheaper if we went for less days but other than our first trip which was 9 days we have gone for at least 11 days.

 

[humboldthny]

For the 3 of us we usually go with a mod resort, dining plan and park tickets...beyond that we're not big spenders...I think we ended up with about $400 in additional charges to our account and that included all tips for our meals and 2 out-of-pocket meals. Beyond that we'd given dd $40 to spend over 8 days, and previous to our trip I had made reservations for the "Behind the Seeds" tour and the Wishes dessert buffet...oh...and I had $80 in rewards dollars from our Disney Visa that we used to buy souvenirs and a thank you gift for our travel agent...

 

[brymolmom]

Definitely depends on your own preferences. Some people need to spend $5000 on a WDW trip. And if they're paying for it and it's their way to enjoy themselves - I don't have a problem with it. But we spend way, WAY less and honestly - we're at DISNEY WORLD - we don't need $150 makup/hairup do's, private cruises, hundreds of dollars in souveniers. But I realize that some people do need/want that to consider it a vacation.

We get a value room, non hoppers, dining plan when free, when not - we bring lunches to parks. If we have the dining plan we spend about $400 extra total - and a good chunk on that is on tips. If we don't have the DP - we use Disney Rewards for 2-ish TS meals.

If you're asking whether it's enough - it likely HAS gotten to that. Honestly, think about it - would you still have a WONDERFUL, SPECIAL vacation even without that extra expense??? I'm guessing the answer is YES!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I think enough is enough if it creates a financial hardship for your family. If you are neglecting other financials concerns to take a vacation then enough is enough. Or if your taking a vacation creates credit card debt you can't comfortably pay off in a short period of time then enough is enough.

But IMO if you have saved for &/or have the means to take a vacation without neglecting your financial responsibility then your enough is enough may be way too much for another family or just a good start for another

 

[3girlsfun]

I think I made my posting too vague. I think the biggest stressor I am putting on the trip right now is the MNSSHP. For whatever reason, it just seems crazy to spend that much money, when we have already spent such a large amount on park tickets. Although, I will say, I think my ODD would LOVE the party! (So, we will most likely do it.)

I think I just was in shock when DH and I added up how much everything is going to cost.

 

[badblackpug]

We have always stayed in a value. Until this year when baby #5 sized us out of ASMu suite. We are renting DVC points and staying in a villa. (for $200 more than the suite) We do MNSSHP every year and that is, basically, our only extra. My kids love it, although it is expensive! We usually get the dining plan, so we do schedule character meals. Last year our trip happened to coincide with my son's birthday, so he got a cake, and Mickey left him a t-shirt and a Bakugan set, but that is actually less than we would do at home. We buy each kid a t shirt (last year sweatshirts because it was cold ) but they spend their own money for any other souvenirs. I think I have to agree with the PP that said that the kids are really just thrilled to be in DW!

 

[NBFUN]

This is something I always contemplate when planning a disney vacation. I am the one in the family that does all the planning and sometimes feel overwhelmed with everything.

Our family trip last September was a breakthrough for us. We had free dining, but only did two sit down meals all week. My kids wanted to have their "down" time as well. They preferred grabbing a meal by the pool or a quick meal in the parks and I began to realize I always over planned everything.

So for our next trip their will be less planning and less "extras." We won't have a schedule, we'll just wake up and do what we want each day.

It is such a grueling process

 

[Joan S.]

I think I made my posting too vague. I think the biggest stressor I am putting on the trip right now is the MNSSHP. For whatever reason, it just seems crazy to spend that much money, when we have already spent such a large amount on park tickets. Although, I will say, I think my ODD would LOVE the party! (So, we will most likely do it.)

I think I just was in shock when DH and I added up how much everything is going to cost.

Hi, Have you thought about just taking your ODD to MNSSHP?? It would be less $$,possibly less stressful (just 2 of you to dress up!!) and with just 2 it would be much easier to do LOTS at MNSSHP. Will also make for a wonderful memory for the 2 of you and a REASON to go back to MNSSHP when your other 2 DD's are older!! Joan

 

[luvdisney00]

I agree with other posters who say it's individual for each family. For us, our last 2 trips were a "splurge" staying deluxe with hoppers MNSSHP tix DP+ extra TS meals BBB for ydd but that is nothing compared to a "splurge" for some other families. We enjoyed all of it sooooo much, but this year is a budget trip with a mod room, non-hoppers and driving instead of flying. We got FD and we are sticking to the meals on the plan and no more. We really don't care, any Disney vacation is a happy time for our family. We have to adjust to what our budget is for that particular trip and be happy w/that.

OP, I agree with you that it hurts to buy MNSSHP tix when you already purchased park tix for that day, but it is a great experience to do at least once. We were so glad we did it last trip and we really enjoyed it, but it was a fortune since my 2 older dds are Disney "adults". I'd say "do it" and then see if it's a one time splurge, or if you want to go and do it again. For us it was a unique experience and we all loved it. Like the visa commercial....priceless!

 

[patsal]

A very subjective question and one that is so individual.

Whatever you are spending, make sure there is the time to correspond to it. It is no fun to run form place to place dropping $$$ and getting little enjoyment from it.


I admit we go frequently, so our spending is pretty low comapred to the "once in a lifetimers".
For me, I like nice accomadations with enough space for everyone to be comfortable.
I like TS, but for lunch, so DDP or DxDDP are not my best choice.

What do I spend:
DVC accomadations (dues for the year cover that)
Sometimes QS DDP and TIW, otherwise just TIW
Annual passes (so I can get two-three trips on one pass)
Rarely a souvineer
When the kids were smaller an experience for each of them once per long summer trip (we always go for 2 weeks in the summer)

My spending is pretty low compared to many. I can go for five days and only spend $500 or I can go for two weeks and spend $2500. It really depends what the objective is for the trip. You won't have time to do everything there is to do, or see everything there is to see, so when you budget your money you also have to budget your time. As I said before a harried experience at the BBB followed by a hectic rush to get to Cinderella's Castle for a meal may not be worth it if the expereinces are not enjoyable.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Enough is enough for me when I've done most of the "extra" things already at WDW and realize that they're not that important.

Looking back at all of my trips and my most favorite memories the ones I spent extra money on don't even make my top 50. Spending a couple of hours laying in the hammock at the Poly with someone you love watching the sunset while swaying in the warm breeze, sitting on the boardwalk at the Boardwalk in the early morning soaking in the sunshine and peace and quiet and talking about life and/or the trip with family, sitting in the Norway bakery eating area during a HUGE thunderstorm laughing and talking while enjoying coffee and treats for hours....

We usually go deluxe and eat at 1-2 TS places a day but I know we would have a great time regardless of these things. It's really all about the company .

 

[sydneysmom]

I think "enough" is relative to your personal situation. We ( well, I ) was VERY hesitant to stay at the GF because of the cost. To my DH, it's worth it because it's on the monorail. We were lucky enough to get the 40% off code, so THAT made it totally worth doing.

I was considering doing one of those in room celebrations, but I decided against it. ( mostly when I saw how much it was ) But I figure that my DD4 is going to see things in the shops that she wants, so I'm going to say no because I bought some overpriced welcome package ? no, so I saved the money on that. I was also thinking of doing a celebration cake. Well, we're on DxDpl. So we're going to get dessert....we don't NEED a cake too! We chose to do the DxDpl mostly because we didn't want to worry at every meal "should we order that ?" " is that costing too much"? I don't want to deal w/ that.

I think you just have to determine what's "worth it" to you. We splurged on MNSSHP. But really, we didn't..... I put away spare money from here and there and basically saved up for it. But to us, is was worth it...we've never done it.

We aren't able to go to Disney two / three times a year. So for us, it's a big deal. This is my DD's first time coming to Disney. So we are splurging a little bit to make it special. (that being said, we're also cutting back on things here at home so that we CAN do that) it's a give and take.

But when we are finally there, after the 5th stuffed Mickey or 5th Princess doll, it'll probably be time to stop. But she's only 4 1/2 once.....and she only goes to Disney for the first time once. So I want it to be magic for all of us.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Enough is enough for us when it is something that really wouldn't enhance/provide more value during the trip. Value is subjective but there's a point when you're just adding things on just to 'do' it.

We bounce between value and deluxe depending on what we want to do during our trip. In past trips we've done the BBB, the MVMCP, Pirate and Princess Party (TOTALLY worth it!) dining at CRT, children's programs at the GF (pirate cruise, wonderland tea party) and character dining 'en masse'. Now that we've done them and DD is older, not worth it to us to do them again.

When DD told me she wanted to stay at the GF, I told her that we could only do it if we didn't go to Disney last Christmas and we could only stay 7 days instead of our usual split stay 10. She likes visiting the TS restaurants (and due to her PDD-NOS we *need* quiet/calm places to eat) so the DxDP works great for us and is an integral part of our vacation. For us we've been to WDW so much that we're not missing out by doing TS. And while we are doing a spa treatments (Mom & daughter mani-pedis), it's something DD has been begging me to do for months at home but I never had the time.

We're pros at the art of 'window shopping' at WDW so unless it is something 'unique' that we can't get at the Disney Store or order later from WDW mail order, it stays. No face painting, no hair wraps, no obscenely-priced floaty balls, spinners or glow sticks, no gimmickly-painted lollipops. One of the best souvies from a trip is giving your kid a camera, and letting them take their own pictures. The memories from that are priceless.

 

[3boymthr]

I think it's very definitely a personal thing.

We don't go that often so enough was enough when I booked the tickets, the room & DDP. I spent my extra on the room as to me location was everything, and since we were 5 our choices were limited anyway.

We got base tickets, no WPF&M, no hoppers, which is how I justified the extra cost of a deluxe room. The price difference between the deluxe room and two value rooms was the cost of those extras.

We were so busy with the parks, pool & dining that we never made it to Downtown Disney. We didn't even do the free round of mini-golf that came with our package (and the mini-golf place was practically across the street from our resort) and you know what my kids were fine with that.

I definitely thought about those water park tickets or squeezing in that trip to DTD, but despite not going there, they still talk endlessly about that vacation and how they can't wait to go back. So it's definitely okay to skip those extras. What they've never done they won't miss.