You are going or went but: Can you afford your Disney vacation?

[kizzy212]

me and my family went for the first time in 1998. our son was 15 months old. we orignally booked with friends that had been before, unfortuntaly they dropped out.we paid the hoilday and saved $800 for a 2 week hoilday off site. we hadnt got a clue where we was going or how hoildays work. just that it was disney. we had already brought our disney 7 day hopper from travel agent when booking. we arrived at hotel, and was quite impressed spent a day walking up internatinal drive. we realised that we didnt have tickets for universal etc. (which we wasnt told about). then we decided to go to disney. HOW??? went to hotel only to discover that we had to pay $10 each to get there. we paid this for four trips until someone told us about the buses. i wish they hadnt...the buses was never on time and you always had to leave the park early to get last bus. as you can imagine with 2 adults 1 teenager and 1 toddlers money started to drain. thank god for money gram. family had to send more money over. we did have good time but had to watch spending... so to round it up. always plan, budget for what your doing, shop around for prices on tickets, transport....

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Bump Bump

 

[Samar]

Given that we just dug ourselves out of debt last year, we've really kept a record of our spending. Although we could well afford a deluxe resort we chose to stay off-site this year and save for a new car (van) because we hope to expand our family soon and we want to buy the van on cash.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

ALL IN ALL...the lesson learned for us was if we do not have the money UP FRONT for a vacation then we do not go on one. Good thing I am a good planner and saver!! This is why I planned our vacation 10 mos ahead this time!!

SO true. Planning and saving is the only way we have ANY luxuries at all. Dh and I live on a very modest income in an expensive part of the country. I am a SAHM by choice and will not be returning to work as our child(ren, if we have more, and we probably will!) will be homeschooled. We do not have any credit cards and therefore must pay "cash" for everything. We take 2 "big" vacations per year, one to WDW, and pre-pay everything. It is our only option and we are very happy with it. Same thing with Christmas, birthdays, etc...while others (many with twice or three times our income!) are agonizing about having to pay off what they've charged, we come home debt-free and never think twice about it again. Many would turn up their nose at our frugal lifestyle, but for us it just makes sense. I refuse to work outside the home (and pay for daycare, be separated from my son, etc.) to pay for things like cable TV (which we have never had during our marriage, by choice, anyway) or brand-new cars (both of ours are nice but not brand new and totally paid for) when I can bargain shop and budget and have a higher quality of life for less money!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I am so glad to have this thread pop up again!!

It seems like when I ask; my question gets answered


remember last year? we paid with credit to go to the Poly?

well this year we paid the trip off as well as the CC and now we are going back again in August only PAYING IN CASH UP FRONT...

we are going to POR this time and staying a whole week but even though I will miss the Poly, I feel happy that we are doing it right and happy that dh does not feel burdened by the costs and using credit, etc...

thanks everyone!

 

[Goobergal99]

I am so glad to have this thread pop up again!!

It seems like when I ask; my question gets answered


remember last year? we paid with credit to go to the Poly?

well this year we paid the trip off as well as the CC and now we are going back again in August only PAYING IN CASH UP FRONT...

we are going to POR this time and staying a whole week but even though I will miss the Poly, I feel happy that we are doing it right and happy that dh does not feel burdened by the costs and using credit, etc...

thanks everyone!

I am so glad you convinced your DH to stay at a Disney resort again, I know you will love it (even if it isn't the Poly, and believe me I stayed lagoon view at the Poly 13 years ago and it was unforgettable ), we are staying at POR too (September 27th-October 4th)

Oh, So anyway, I voted yes and we usually go to value resorts (although we have stayed in all four categories (home away from homes included)

However, we don't have a huge savings either, but we do what we need to do and try to do what we want to do as well. Disney is important to us, so it is worth the sacrifice we often have to make to go as often as we do

 

[mrsltg]

It depends on the trip. The big one we have coming up is a blowout for DH's 40th. We are staying at the Poly for four nights and then cruising the Magic for 7 days in a suite. The cruise is paid for. The airfare is paid for. The hotel is remaining and will be paid for before we get there. We MAY end up having to charge some of our spending money due to the time of year we are going (December - dd's b-day is the 8th, Christmas the 25th) and other obligations that will come along. The goal will be to pay it within 3 or 4 months of returning. The nice thing about the Disney visa is the no interest. Plus, I have $500 in rewards I will use for my 4 day trip with DD in August.

Yes, we are lucky and I count my blessings everyday.

 

[keagansmom]

We put money all year long into a vacation savings account to cover the cost of our vacations. My husband has a once a year meeting in Orlando every year for a national committee he is on. That's when we go to WDW. His company covers part of the cost so it makes it cheaper. He works for a few days and then we always add on an extra couple of days for him to come and join my DS and I at the parks. We plan on two vacations a year-- one Disney and one other (this year we're meeting my family in Hawaii for a week--they are scattered all over the globe so it works as a meeting spot). We pay cash, set a budget and stick to it. Works for us!

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

SO true. Planning and saving is the only way we have ANY luxuries at all. Dh and I live on a very modest income in an expensive part of the country. I am a SAHM by choice and will not be returning to work as our child(ren, if we have more, and we probably will!) will be homeschooled. We do not have any credit cards and therefore must pay "cash" for everything. We take 2 "big" vacations per year, one to WDW, and pre-pay everything. It is our only option and we are very happy with it. Same thing with Christmas, birthdays, etc...while others (many with twice or three times our income!) are agonizing about having to pay off what they've charged, we come home debt-free and never think twice about it again. Many would turn up their nose at our frugal lifestyle, but for us it just makes sense. I refuse to work outside the home (and pay for daycare, be separated from my son, etc.) to pay for things like cable TV (which we have never had during our marriage, by choice, anyway) or brand-new cars (both of ours are nice but not brand new and totally paid for) when I can bargain shop and budget and have a higher quality of life for less money!

I want to say thumbs up to you, it takes dedication and a real determination to put priorities in order to live like you do. I know when you don't have the money to buy the things you want it would be easy just to charge it all, including vacations. Our last trip we charged it on the Disney Visa planning on paying for it with our income tax return, we did and were able to pay it off but we realized we could have used the money for bills and some other things we needed not just a trip we wanted. The reason I started this poll was to just see how many people can really afford to go to WDW. The majority 17.13% have said that "Yes we can afford it, we stay on-site at the moderate resorts." The next highest groups both just under 16% either said that either no they cant afford it but save for a modest vacation, or they can afford it and stay in a value resort. I was happy to see that only around 5% said "No we can't afford it and we charge a deluxe vacation." It would be horrible to know that all that the people going to the "happiest place on earth" have the unhappiest life due to debt.

 

[DVC Sadie]

We put a percentage of our income into a vacation account so whether we spend it on a Disney vacation or go anywhere else the money is ready and waiting. I could not enjoy a vacation if I had charged it and had to pay it off after I returned. Last year we bought into DVC so I can get my disney fix in several times a year. We still do split stays between deluxe and our DVC.

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

I am a huge Disney nut. Most of the people that I work with and come in contact with on a daily basis really wish that I would shut up about Mickey. We are saving up right now for what will be my 25th different trip to Disney. On my salary and what my wife makes, we really probably shouldn't be going to WDW for our 6th family trip but we are. It is a sacrifice but somethings are worth the sacrifice.

Most of my family doesn't understand my "addiction" to WDW. But for me, it is something to look forward to and it is worth every penny. If I do charge any of it, we pay it off before we even think of going again. It is worth it to me to work my butt off to see my kids faces when I tell them we are going again

 

[Goobergal99]

Most of my family doesn't understand my "addiction" to WDW. But for me, it is something to look forward to and it is worth every penny. If I do charge any of it, we pay it off before we even think of going again. It is worth it to me to work my butt off to see my kids faces when I tell them we are going again

LOL, my family are about the only ppl who do understand my disney obsession, because they are the reason I am so obsessed. My aunt has a "disney" house. Everything in the house is Dinseyish. She has all the ceramics, the toaster is Mickey, everything in the bathroom etc....

Outside of the family, ppl are always like "your going again?" "It's just another amusement park!" um can we spell B-L-A-S-P-H-E-M-Y!!!! the nicer ppl usually just say "you and that Disney"

I agree though, I love it and it's worth sacrificing other things for. There is nothing like seeing the look on your kids face when your walking down Main Street

 

[Silverbelle990]

I voted yes but we stay on a value resort. We just got back from disney and are already planning our next trip. I like to stay on Disney and can't afford POLY or GF so the values are great.

 

[DW2006]

We are not making it a blow out one time event. But this will be our first trip (with kids) and we are trying to cover all the bases without over taxing. KWIM. We have saved and it is paid in full already. We are staying at the Ft. Wilderness campgrounds. Our plan after this year is to go every two years.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

We pay cash for as much as we can but usually end up charging $1000-$2000. No we can't REALLY afford it. BUt we make it a priority to pay off the credit card quickly and stay onsite usually at a value, usually pack our lunch, don't really do souvenirs, and budget the trip strictly. When we look back on our previous 4 trips we couldn't afford it either, but we don't miss that money now. It's worth every penny of it. Believe me if we hadn't had a major toilet overflow that caused over $7000 in damage (most covered by insurance), then found out we had to redo our downstairs shower due to a shower pan leak, then our house got struck by lightning and we had to repair the roof/air conditioning/electrical problems, etc. we could probably pay cash, but there have been a lot of 'home improvements' lately that were unanticipated. There goes the yearly bonus. Can you say, "Charge it, Mickey!"

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

we try to go every year but only if we get a good FL res rate