Your budget... without Disney

[PatriciaH]

Probably about $20k + over the years. Our Adventures by Disney trips were the most so far but awesome. It would go towards other trips if not to Disney (we travel a lot). We have some collectables-books, magazines, pins and some prints and Vinylmation- but not too crazy. I could sell it all tomorrow for more than we paid for it.

 

[rockundergirl]

wow, complete no judgment zone, however I'm shocked at some of these numbers !

 

[punkin]

I have no idea, but whatever it was would have been spent on travel anyway. I just can't seem to make it more than 3 or 4 months without going somewhere.

 

[blanq]

Hmmm, I am not sure I want to see these figures on paper, but here goes. We have averaged 1 trip to WDW per year over the past 10 years, and spend about $3500 per trip, so I guess over 10 years that would be....$35,000. We take other trips too, and I would estimate we spend about $8,000 per year on travel, so about $80,000 over the past 10 years. If we had not gone to WDW, we would have vacationed somewhere else. I am like punkin...I can't seem to make it without taking a vacation every four months or so. Right now I am on a vacation dry spell and it is driving me batty. We had a week in Palm Springs in March and a cruise in February, but now we have nothing planned until next March. I am shriveling up already. OP, I know you asked what we have spent on Disney, including movies and stuff, but we have really purchased very little on Disney movies and merchandise over the years so I am not even including it.

 

[DawnM]

What are you counting? Actual money from your hands to Disney, or the entire vacation, including dog sitting, gas, food bought off property? Money spent at off-property hotels?

What are you including? It would make a big difference for my response.


Dawn

 

[pigletto]

What are you counting? Actual money from your hands to Disney, or the entire vacation, including dog sitting, gas, food bought off property? Money spent at off-property hotels?

What are you including? It would make a big difference for my response.


Dawn

I'm not sure about the others, but my response was a "Grand Total" budget including flight, spending money, airport snacks, cat sitter.. e.t.c .
Basically anything that came out of my pocket towards going to Disney for a vacation.

 

[Cin]

So far DH and I have spent $2000 for our upcoming trip next week and that is for 2 adults, 7 nights at ASMu, 8 days park tickets, free QS dining for the trip, Magical Express, and airfare included. DH has cash for souvenirs, a dinner at Boma, drinks, or whatever, and then his emergency fund for just in case. We are only taking a carry-on each so no luggage fees, saving us a little. Airport food is no big deal as it will be early so a couple of potato and egg tacos and a coffee and we're good. Soo, our total trip should be just at or less than $2500 for a whole week of WDW magic and fun!

 

[pearlieq]

Ugh--3 DVC contracts and multiple trips/year add up! It's not that we didn't have the money or don't have our other bases covered, but it's just shocking to see the total. The same way I'm sure I'd be shocked if I added up how much we spent on eating out over the years. That and travel are my two vices.

I wouldn't have wanted to spend it on anything else!

 

[CherylA]

What are you counting? Actual money from your hands to Disney, or the entire vacation, including dog sitting, gas, food bought off property? Money spent at off-property hotels?

What are you including? It would make a big difference for my response.


Dawn

I included everything for my trips, airfare, spending money, gas, anything I wouldn't have spent if I stayed at home. And then I also included all our Disney purchases we make when we are at home and our visits to the movie theater for Disney movies. Maybe thats why my totals are so high. Cause there was a poster who said they went 10 times and spent 4500 total. Thats $450/trip and they aren't local. That wouldn't even cover park passes for my family of 4!

 

[ceecee]

We've gone 9 times in the past 10 years........PRICELESS memories.

 

[rockundergirl]

What are you counting? Actual money from your hands to Disney, or the entire vacation, including dog sitting, gas, food bought off property? Money spent at off-property hotels?

What are you including? It would make a big difference for my response.


Dawn

Everything!

 

[lisaross]

WE've been to disney 2x in the last 10 years..in 06 and 09!

I'd say we probably spent about 8000.00!

 

[kkmcan]

Gosh! Adding it up will probably make me cringe! We've been DL countless times over the past 5 years. Our last 2 WDW/Disney cruises alone cost $5000 each so there's 10 grand. Not sure on the DL trips. That would take me sitting down and remembering where we stayed, if we had our annual passes at that point or not.

Some of those trips we stayed at inlaws timeshare so nothing for hotel, all of the trips we drove so $100 for gas each trip. Lots of those times we used Disney reward dollars for our food budget so = small amount or nothing for food.

 

[DawnM]

Well......in 10 years, if we include everything......

2000-2005 we still lived in Southern California, so all Disney trips were local and we got the SoCal season pass every year. $200 each year for a few years until the boys were over age 3 and then $400 per year by the time we left.

2005-2010 we have lived in North Carolina. Disney got expensive all of a sudden!

I think we have taken about 2 trips per year every year, except last year when we went five times!.....so about 13-14 trips total. Most trips are around $1,500 including gas and dog sitting, although I am sure there were a few hundred extra for special things....

About 20K in the last 10 years.

Goodness! I mean an average of $2,000 per year for vacation isn't that bad I guess. But we go other places too!

Dawn

 

[amyy]

I honestly don't want to think about. Throw in the fact we had a Disney wedding and a lot of trips over the years..........

 

[Belle5]

Well, we went to WDW for our honeymoon 25 years ago...had six kids...took them 25 times as a family (sometimes was just for a long weekend the years we had AP's) celebrated our 25th with them at WDW and are headed back for our 26th anniversary. If I added it all up I would be embarrassed. (One trip alone was 14K--but a company was covering the first 10K of it--so only 4K out of our pocket )

Had we not spent all we have spent on WDW, we would have nicer furniture, newer cars and probably would have traveled other places (which we have done some of that anyway).

We would probably dress nicer, go to more local sporting events, DH wouldn't have given up golfing. We would probably all have Macbooks, iPhones, iPads, etc.--but we don't. We are Tracfone people with no-name computers. I don't get my nails done, don't carry nice purses, etc...

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, Well 24 years of visiting Disney parks (first as a family of 3 then 4 then 5!) average 2 visits per year (ok sometimes 3 visits per year) 5 DVC contracts,countless Disney toys,games,stuffed animals,movies ,clothes and memorabilia. I will not even try to add it up!! But all I can say is Disney is my VICE and my vice makes me HAPPY!! No other vice could make me as happy and NOT have me paying for REHAB!! So I think all in all I come out ahead in happiness. Joan

 

[marie1203]

- How much money have you spent on/with/at Disney in say the last ten years?
Since we are young and it has been less than 10 years since we moved out of our parents house I can't answer for 10 but the past year we spend around $12,000 on vacations and disney stuff.

- Where would that portion of your budget be going if not for Disney being a part of your life
It will just go to other vacations and other shopping.

 

[nunzia]

Wow...over $40,000. Disney is just part of our budget. If we weren't going there, we'd probably still spend it on travel. We choose to have a small house, no cable, prepaid cellphones, etc., etc... Also, if it ain't broke, we don't replace it and certainly not with the latest and greatest. It doesn't work for everyone but it does for us.

This is us....we've always been big Disney people and took the kids quite a bit when they were little, (even when we couldn't afford it) and no regrets. We stayed offsite at DLR and one big splurge trip to WDW and stayed at the Beach Club. Then as kids were older did sporadic type trips, then started going alot again starting in 2001. We love helping our kids take their kids on Disney trips, which is why DVC was in the plans. We also became spoiled with the Grand Californian on that 2001 trip and decided that we didn't want to stay anywhere else, so the villas became a no brainer. Yes..huge outlay, but it's gone, so it's time to enjoy with just the yearly fees. Cars are a pretty huge outlay too, but I don't get as much enjoyment from them We live cheap in our day to day life and vacation large. Disney trips have really become VERY cheap. Room is done, we have APs, we take the train, eat light and really buy no extras except little grandkid gifts.
As an aside. I really get frustrated hearing people talk about how 'expensive'
Disney is..you really have to look at the what you get for the cost. Where else can you hang out for 15 hours, do everything you want, see shows, parades, fireworks have a bunch of cheery (mainly) people around to assist you, have beautiful grounds and a wonderful atmosphere at that price? It's a bargain!. I've dropped a ton at our crappy little county fair, rickety expensive rides, crummy expensive food, dust, bees, questionable characters )). Really..Disney is a bargain...
So..I've spent alot..and it's worth it

 

[Belle5]

As an aside. I really get frustrated hearing people talk about how 'expensive'
Disney is..you really have to look at the what you get for the cost. Where else can you hang out for 15 hours, do everything you want, see shows, parades, fireworks have a bunch of cheery (mainly) people around to assist you, have beautiful grounds and a wonderful atmosphere at that price? It's a bargain!. I've dropped a ton at our crappy little county fair, rickety expensive rides, crummy expensive food, dust, bees, questionable characters )). Really..Disney is a bargain...

I totally agree.

When we try other vacations, we just get so bored! There is often nothing to do in the evening, etc. except stay in the hotel room and watch TV and play cards--heck, we can do that at home! I know a lot of people think laying on a beach, reading a book, hanging out in a condo at night make for a great vacation--but not us! It does NOT suit our personality type. When we pay to vacation somewhere--in order to feel like we are getting our money's worth--we want to always have "something to do".