$4 a gallon... we aren't going...

[macsmom]

No one said it would break the bank. For me to drive I would have to budget an extra $900 in gas so, yes, it would be a concern and would certainly affect whether I choose to take a trip every year.

The solution is to go every 18-24 months instead of once a year. You still get to go, but just not as often. As much as going once a year is great, we all realize that prices for everything are going up, up, up and we have to bite the bullet. If that means going every 1 1/2 or 2, then so be it. At least I'm going.

danna

 

[ImagineAtl23]

yeah, thats true......sad.......but true......

 

[DisneyLeo18]

i drive an escalde (well over $100 to fill up) and im on my way down on thursday.... WHICH i just found out is when the 2 week POTC refurb starts and im very sad now = (

 

[bjlc57]

for one...

I personally am 6'5'' and over 300 lbs. I am a big boy. and to stuff me into a smaller vehicle would mean a couple of things. One, I would have to rent a vehicle. my truck is PAID FOR IN FULL. so you have to justify the $600 for two weeks of car rent. that is NOT a savings. even if I get 25 miles per gallon.
so with the exception of maintenance, my car just cost the price of gas. In the past we HAVE rented a car. this year, that is added expense. and its still too much.

and two with my legs and bad knee, I need a car that I can straighten my leg out. if my leg has to be bent , it aches so bad that three extra strength tylenols won't make it stop.

So there are good reasons for taking my personal vehicle in the equation.


and just for a history lesson, the price of oil during the Clinton administration was under $20 a barrel for his whole term. and price of gas was as low as 85 cents a gallon during his term. There was no situation like this. and just over a year ago, price of oil was as low as $45 per barrel. you want to see no action, you had better look at who is reaping the benefits in the White House right now. and I have documentation for this.

 

[Kelsybelle]

Thankfully I work from home! We are a one car family for now and with gas where I live (north of Boston) at $4.11 a gallon for unleaded, for the first time I'm happy we don't have 2 cars! It's definatley a scary time right now and it's unreal how expensive it is to live. We won't stop taking our Disney vacations but we don't go for as long and we book our flights as early as we can. The days of last minute, spur of the moment trips are over! With the rising costs of just about everything, it definatley takes a little more planning to stretch our Disney budget.

 

[DisneyGigi]

I don't mean this to sound like a slam, but you don't need a Suburban (huge SUV) for four adults to be comfortable. You choose a Suburban. I have traveled with 3 other adults for longer distances in smaller vehicles and been just as comfortable. You could choose a smaller vehicle for the trip, still be comfortable, and save money that way as well.

There are very few people who need large gas guzzling vehicles. It is again the me mentality in this country that "whatever I want I "get/need/deserve." I don't see gas prices going down until people as a whole can give up the large gas guzzling vehicles and start choosing smaller vehicles or mass transit. (I use the eek b/c where I live most people wouldn't be caught dead using the city busses....and they wonder why gas is so expensive :brick

I Agree exactly with the above poster. You NEED your Suburban? Probably one of the biggest gas guzzlers out there, so theres your problem right there. I just did a calculation of what it would cost me at my cars EPA Rating to get from Near Toronto, where I live, to WDW. $178.42 CDN at the current gas prices. A Suburban would cost me $366.94 for the same trip. That's DOUBLE, what I'd be paying. And that's assuming, you adhere to the EPA Ratings, and get mileage THAT good. With Smarter Driving, I can turn my $178.42 Trip into an EASY $137.43 Each way, just by driving the speed limit, coasting to red lights, maintaining an even speed uphills, and letting gravity pull me down the other side etc...

People have to change their mentality. The old days of buying a Hummer, and flooring it all the time, are over. Get used to it, Fuel is NOT going down, its only going to get WORSE. Check out CleanMPG.com for all kinds of tips on how to drive smarter and save fuel.

Drive smarter, and maybe you'll be able to afford that trip, without killing the bank.

With all due respect what about the people that happen to have a SUV that is paid for, as is my case. I can go buy another vehicle and I am spending more on a car payment than I am on the gas. It just does not make any sense. :brick:
And my idea of family bonding is not going to be driving 10 hours in a bug! No thank you! (And we are thin people)
Like I said we are still going and would be if gas is $10 a gallon. Naturally if it costs more to fuel the vehicle that is less that I will be blowing on other stuff.
Same thing with ticket prices going up.. everyone fussed about it. Nobody likes prices going up on anything and everyone vents.
I don't think you will ever see a thread dedicated to Oh My Gosh Yea!!! Gas prices are higher or yea Disney raises ticket prices!!

And maybe if we hadn't bought things from other countries to be able to get them cheaper- the demand for fuel in those countries would not be affecting the price like it is today.
We save money on cheap made knick knacks and such and now we are paying for it- IMO
We can change our driving habits but if the rest of the world doesn't then it is not going to matter anyway.

-end of rant

 

[Kelsybelle]

And maybe if we hadn't bought things from other countries to be able to get them cheaper- the demand for fuel in those countries would not be affecting the price like it is today.
We save money on cheap made knick knacks and such and now we are paying for it- IMO
We can change our driving habits but if the rest of the world doesn't then it is not going to matter anyway.

-end of rant[/quote]

Good point, I absolutley agree with you!

 

[dolbyman]

you all have to start living with it .. we pay 1,50€ for a litre (1gallon = 3,8 litre and 1€ = 1,55$) .. so do your math and jump in joy .. you pay nothin

 

[WDW Monorail]

When I traveled to parts of Europe the past March, the price for one litre of gasoline was euro1.74 in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

 

[Fluxuated]

With all due respect what about the people that happen to have a SUV that is paid for, as is my case. I can go buy another vehicle and I am spending more on a car payment than I am on the gas. It just does not make any sense.

Fair enough, but if you drive an SUV, that guzzles gas like there is no tomorrow, then you can't moan about the high prices, you did that to yourself. If you consider it a luxury, then pay a luxury price to drive it. If you can't afford it, get rid of it, and buy a more fuel efficient vehicle.

That's the same kind of argument that I bought a cheap car, so I'm annoyed that it breaks down all the time and costs me money to fix it. If I'd used my head and bought a more reliable vehicle, I'd not be in this shape.

These SUV driving people make me laugh. I'm willing to bet, that the moaners on here, are the ones Tailgating, racing to red lights, and blowing past others like they are standing still, and they wonder where their money is going... :shrug::brick: I don't get it.

 

[palmage]

These SUV driving people make me laugh. I'm willing to bet, that the moaners on here, are the ones Tailgating, racing to red lights, and blowing past others like they are standing still, and they wonder where their money is going... :shrug::brick: I don't get it.

My Hummer runs best at 85

 

[DisneyGigi]

Fair enough, but if you drive an SUV, that guzzles gas like there is no tomorrow, then you can't moan about the high prices, you did that to yourself. If you consider it a luxury, then pay a luxury price to drive it. If you can't afford it, get rid of it, and buy a more fuel efficient vehicle.

That's the same kind of argument that I bought a cheap car, so I'm annoyed that it breaks down all the time and costs me money to fix it. If I'd used my head and bought a more reliable vehicle, I'd not be in this shape.

These SUV driving people make me laugh. I'm willing to bet, that the moaners on here, are the ones Tailgating, racing to red lights, and blowing past others like they are standing still, and they wonder where their money is going... :shrug::brick: I don't get it.

And as I pointed out if you buy cheap made products from other countries because you can get them cheaper then you have contributed to the high demand for fuel which we are experiencing right now. Save money one way.. pay in another. The people that don't get that make me laugh!:ROFLOL:

I really don't get your point about tailgating & racing to redlights? That makes no sense to me if you point out that you are spending more on fuel you must have roadrage too?:shrug: I can assure you that I don't.

By the way I don't have a "cheap" car because it is paid for. I was smart enough to avoid interest fees by paying for it with cash, it is almost new,thus the reason it would be ignorant and pointless for me to get another vehicle.

I am not moaning btw I am a very lucky & thankful person that I am able to afford to go to WDW (3rd trip in a year) I get to do this because I spend in other ways wisely; meaning I don't finance and pay twice the amount for things I can't pay for on the spot. That is what works for me

 

[crlachepinochet]

I just look at the silver lining. Has anyone else who flies down and doesn't rent a car thought, "Cool, I won't be spending $60 on gas that week that I'm in WDW"?

 

[WDW 3]

I just look at the silver lining. Has anyone else who flies down and doesn't rent a car thought, "Cool, I won't be spending $60 on gas that week that I'm in WDW"?

Good way to look at it! :animwink:

 

[C&D]

I did a quick calculation using these numbers.......
Green Bay to Orlando (I have no idea where you actually are traveling from in Wisconsin)
Used two dollars per gallon higher than the last trip you made (again a guess but should be fairly close if your last trip was within a couple of years)
The difference was between 200 and 300 dollars (estimating 20 mpg)

So my question is...........is that a deal breaker (might very well be but for a week or longer vacation it's just the cost of what vacations are going to cost.) Seem reasonable to me; not really palatable, but I'd spend it to go to Disney.

 

[phlydude]

I drive a p/u truck to work 77 miles each way 4 days a week. When I bought the thing, fuel was $2.00 a gallon and going down...then Katrina hit. It hasn't been the same since.
Yeah, I kick myself for owning a truck that gets 16 MPG and costs $75 from 1/4 tank to fill now. I have over 100k miles on it, it is a little over 3 yrs old and is worth about 1/2 of what I owe on it. It does what I need it to and I drive cautiously and accelerate slowly but I maintain it and it does alright by me mechanically.
But what can I do?
The job market is tight, especially finding another job making the salary I do without a college diploma.

So, I suffer...my wife's car is paid off in 2 months so we will be doubling my payments. I hope to have it paid off by this time next year. Hopefully, I can hold out with the gas and my work makes a little more concession in letting me work from home 1 more day a week.

But as far as Disney goes, we are seriously looking at Magical Express. I am a Disney transportation snob...I hate the jam packed buses and I find it more convenient to rent a car, especially since we have family in the area. But with the cost of fuel and the higher costs of rental cars (why have they gone up in price so much?), we can't find that sub-$200 rental that we have been able to find in the past.
(and yes, since some of you are so trans-fixed on size, I am a larger person - think offensive lineman in American football - so I need a Grand Prix or Monte Carlo or Impala to drive around in and be comfortable)
Add the cost to fill up while we are away and we are tacking on another $400+ (for 10 day rental and fuel) to our 10 day trip that costs us under $2000 with airfare. Not very cost effective.

 

[earldw28]

If you are letting the price of gas determine wheter you go or not you probably shouldn't be going in the first place. Gas is the least of my expenses and I am not rich by any means. The cost of a Disney vacation has got to average in the thousands of dollars I don't see where gas comes into play at that point.

 

[Disneykidder]

Here in NY, today gas is $4.23 for 87 octane. Sorry, it's insane. Just 4 1/2 years ago gas was $1.57. It's nuts. Luckily I drive a minivan and only work 3 miles up the road!! We drive a lot on weekends, though.

 

[michelek73]

Going to Disney

I'm trying not to think about the gas...Disney has never been an affordable vacation for me. I am a civil service employee and a single mom making less than $35,000 a year. That basically covers the bills, however, as life goes sometimes, I lost my dad to cancer four years ago, total surprise...sick one day and gone six months later. The last year he was around, I was finishing up my Master's program and busy busy busy, he was gone before I knew it...so...now I say screw it...it's just money. I pay the $200 deposit and then pay off a little each at each paycheck. I cut back a little here and there, don't really need those extra cable channels, take a couple of day trips to the beach in the summer instead of our long weekend camping trips, but my kids are getting those happy magical memories every year if it kills me...lol so go to Disney...find another way..a little Overtime..maybe have a big garage sale...trust me...the memories are better.

 

[uklad79]

But isn't like 70% of that tax? Your fuel cost is similar but the tax is what jacks up the price.

58% is VAT and Duty. At the moment we are on average $8.50 a US gallon in my city.