How to Save for Disney Trips

I just ran across a great thread over on the DIS, and thought I would share it with you. At the time of reading, it was 7 pages long, and I thought there were some great money-saving ideas in the thread.

The thread is located here.

The original poster asked how people afford to go to Walt Disney World every year, or even multiple times a year. The replies are just fantastic!

Personally, we have been trying to go every year, but it seems like we end up going about every 18 months. We usually go for a long period of time (around 2 weeks), since airfare is often a bit high from Minnesota. We used to stay off-site, but we now stay on-site. The last time we were there, we stayed in the cabins of Fort Wilderness, and just fell in love with Fort Wilderness! We went last August on a 40% room-only discount. My dream is to stay at the Polynesian, so hopefully some day we can do that :)

This year, my evil family voted, and I came out with the short straw. My wife and I both turn 40 this year, and it's also our 15th anniversary - so we're going to Hawaii instead. This is pretty cool, though, as we will be staying in a townhouse just steps away from the new Disney Hawaii Resort at Ko Olina. I think I will just hang around the construction site and pretend I'm at Disney World - haha.

Anyway, here are some things we do to pay for our trips. We usually put away some money into a savings account every two weeks. We also use our tax refund, and have a HUGE garage sale each May (just finished it, and we made about $1100, so that's cool!). We definitely live modestly, and our house is nice and clean, but could use some modernizing. We figured that we can get nice, new furniture and new carpeting/flooring when the kids are older. For now, we put money into vacations instead of doing a lot of remodeling. Our house is DEFINITELY the "Sunny D" house, and is a kid magnet in our neighborhood, so we're in no hurry to do a lot of fancy remodeling :)

Other than that, we budget for our trips, and always look for a deal to go to Walt Disney World. I don't think we would go unless we got some kind of discount or free dining.

How about you? Do you save and budget for your Disney trips? Would love to hear your thoughts!

--- Disney Dean

Comments

[Heidi]

I definitely save for Disney and any other trips our family takes. How much we save dictates where we go! It motivates me to make wise money choices. I love going to Disney so I will forego eating out during the week or buying that outfit. Don't get me wrong, I don't deprive myself, I just have a goal to take at least 2 vacations a year (not necessarily to Disney) so I am willing to give up some stuff to do that. We as Americans are all about the "feel good moments" and instant gratification but I have found that by saving a little and prolonging that much needed respite that I enjoy our vacations much more when I don't have bills to come home to--paying for a vacation I took 1 or even 2 years ago does not appeal to me! I teach a budget course and see how people balk at the word "budget". People would rather ignore the problem than try to fix it. I define the word "budget" as telling my money where to go, and in my case I tell my money to go to Disney:)!! If you don't have a plan, you can plan to fail is my motto! Sorry, got on my soapbox, but when you are passionate about something and you know it works, you just want others to catch that passion!

[Holiday Ideas]

Hi Dean

Just wondering why you stay on site and not off site? Surely off-site is loads cheaper? Thinking of DW trip this yr from UK so tell me your thinking.

[Cory]

Staying on site is definitely worth the extra money because you get a way better Disney experience. Plus you don't have to rent a car, and Disney buses will take you to wherever you want to go. I had a blast and can't wait to go back.