How do people afford Deluxe?

epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
How do I stay deluxe?

At the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Resort. Better and cheaper than Disney Deluxes.

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Poolside at RC back in May. It is a fantastic property.

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jiminy.cricket

jiminy.cricket

Well-Known Member
HatboxGhost said:
Even with the fact that my wife and I don't have children and have our mortgage paid off, we STILL cannot afford to stay at a deluxe resort. Well, we could, however we wouldn't be able to eat that week. LOL.

Seriously, I look at it as a waste of money, but to each his own. My wife and I stay at the AOA in a suite and to us, THAT is our deluxe. Just the two of us in our own little "apartment".
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I love the AOA Resort. One of those suites is luxe to me!

crispy said:
Nope, I am right there with you. I have stayed at every level of resort and would choose a value or a moderate over a deluxe pretty much any day of the week because I can't justify paying the price jump from moderate to deluxe. In reality, we spend very little time at our resort even when I plan resort days and we drive so I don't get worked about transportation issues. I am a self-proclaimed tightwad, though, so you have to take that into consideration.
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Tightwads unite!
 
dave&di

dave&di

Well-Known Member
We choose to go to WDW every 2 years so we can stay at Deluxe Resorts, it takes us this long to save, during these 2 years we don't have any luxuries, we don't have nights out or re-decorate the house for the sake of a change, I don't buy lovely sparkly high heels even though I would love to! We are hard working people in ordinary low paid jobs who basically spend our years saving to go to WDW.

It shouldn't be assumed that visitors staying at a Deluxe resort have life easy, my week at that resort has come at a sacrifice of many many other things in the 2 years we've saved to stay there. I'm not saying this is the opinion of the OP but I think it is generally presumed to be the case.
 
Rutt

Rutt

Well-Known Member
dave&di said:
We choose to go to WDW every 2 years so we can stay at Deluxe Resorts, it takes us this long to save, during these 2 years we don't have any luxuries, we don't have nights out or re-decorate the house for the sake of a change, I don't buy lovely sparkly high heels even though I would love to! We are hard working people in ordinary low paid jobs who basically spend our years saving to go to WDW.

It shouldn't be assumed that visitors staying at a Deluxe resort have life easy, my week at that resort has come at a sacrifice of many many other things in the 2 years we've saved to stay there. I'm not saying this is the opinion of the OP but I think it is generally presumed to be the case.
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We were doing the same thing to stay at the Poly but then decided to use the money for a one week trip this past September at Sports and then rented a DVC for the week this January instead. Still have money left over too.
 
NeedMoreMickey

NeedMoreMickey

Well-Known Member
What is the old saying it's bettet to have a friend who owns a boat than to own a boat yourself. Same idea works with DVC. When my sister bought their DVC she told her husband she needs additional points foe our sister tripin March. I usually buy the plan tickets as my share of the cost.​
 
TXDisney

TXDisney

Well-Known Member
I think what's awesome that disney does is allows you to book your trio in advance and only have to pay 1 nights stay as a deposit. I highly recommend booking in advance regardless bc of dining reservations, fast passes, etc. But it gives you time to save for the trip. His last trip we went on we booked one month after we just got married at Disney but booked the trip not till 7 months later. That gave us 7 months to save money for the trip. We wrote down a number of all the spending. Flight, hotel, dining, souvenirs, etc. And did it bi weekly to save for it. Made it nice and easy and we stayed deluxe. You can't beat the disney perks of staying onsite especially if you get a location you love.
 
wvdisneyfamily

wvdisneyfamily

Well-Known Member
dave&di said:
We choose to go to WDW every 2 years so we can stay at Deluxe Resorts, it takes us this long to save, during these 2 years we don't have any luxuries, we don't have nights out or re-decorate the house for the sake of a change, I don't buy lovely sparkly high heels even though I would love to! We are hard working people in ordinary low paid jobs who basically spend our years saving to go to WDW.

It shouldn't be assumed that visitors staying at a Deluxe resort have life easy, my week at that resort has come at a sacrifice of many many other things in the 2 years we've saved to stay there. I'm not saying this is the opinion of the OP but I think it is generally presumed to be the case.
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I think the majority of people who stay deluxe are in this same boat. My husband works an extra part-time job and I recently took a new job (with a nice-ish raise) to finance our travel habits. We find ways to save throughout the year to afford nice vacations.
 
Matt7187

Matt7187

Well-Known Member
I have been to disney a lot in my young life. The only time we have paid to go was back in 2004, and we saved up forever to stay at the Caribbean Beach. Starting on 2008, my dad got a promotion, which led to going on company trips yearly for a while, along with making new friends who have connections, so that is the only way we have ever stayed at a deluxe hotel, and that is the Yacht Club 90% of the time, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge the other 10%
 
gostone23

gostone23

Member
So, we've stayed at AKL and Boardwalk. They were both great. They were not worth $9k a week. However, they were worth what we paid when we went. I think we had 30% off for AKL and can't remember for Boardwalk. Both of those hotels have really great themeing. The AKL lobby is breathtaking and the Boardwalk ... well it has that whole extra boardwalk section which was cool and its in walking distance to WS.

For us it's about themeing. GF's theme doesn't interest us at all. I think for our next stay we will be looking at all the hotels and deciding on which theme interests us the most and then shopping for discounts. If it fits our budget then great, if not what's are next choice... We may even look off-site as some of those hotels are really nice looking as well.

I think the car analogy is appropriate. I could be driving a BMW or Jaguar but for me a car isn't that important. For me a car is a means to an end (it gets me back and forth) for others its something they love and enjoy. Same with vacation spots and hotels. For some it's craft supplies or cookbooks for some it's Bicycles. I could never spend $1k on a bike but I know plenty of folks that have and then some.

If we plan to be in the parks a lot then the hotel matters less as we won't be in the room alot. If we plan a less intensive park trip then the hotel matters more.

There's a lot to consider.

-robert
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
I justify the price of paying deluxe due to a few things.

1. Higher level of service. CM's are bit better at the deluxe in my experience.

2. Proximity to the parks. We stay at the Boardwalk resorts (BC, YC, BW) and nothing beats walking to and from HS and Epcot. Even the walk from HS is only about 10-15 minutes. Its a million times more convenient to get back to your room for afternoon break or if you want to change clothes, get lunch, etc.

3. We dont rush anything on our trips and are not concerned with how many rides we do in a day so we enjoy the dining options deluxe resorts offer as well the bars and the pool area. After checking in and showering we love to hit Crews Cup Lounge (at YC) for a drink or two before going over to Epcot to snack and drink around the world. Most deluxe resorts have several dining options and bars. I LOVE watching football at Ale and Compass or Crews Cup while my wife goes shopping or lounges in the room with her crossword puzzles. She only watches football if the Chargers are playing. lol.

4. Late night food!!! Theres nothing more annoying than getting back to your room at 10:30 and theres nothing open to get a decent meal. No worries at the Boardwalk resorts.

5. It just feels better. Not that theres anything wrong at all with mod or value rooms, I just like the feel of the deluxe resorts. Is it a little snobbish? Maybe, but its more comfortable and less crowded.

We save up like everyone else but feel that the extra money is well wort it for our style of visiting WDW
 
devoy1701

devoy1701

Well-Known Member
BrerJon said:
I was looking at a week in low-season, low crowds, before Spring Break, so if the prices are like then I dread to think how high they climb in busy periods!

Thanks for all the replies, it's good to know I'm not the only person who isn't super rich.
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I do think the prices for the Contemporary and/or Poly and GF are usually more than we'd be willing to pay. But we've taken a half dozen trips staying at the Wilderness Lodge and our average per night price is under $200 per night. I think the most we've payed for a Courtyard view was $225 and that was the weekend rate, I think our weekday rate was $200. Our lowest price for the Wilderness Lodge was $144 per night, and our average is usually about $185.
 
TXDisney

TXDisney

Well-Known Member
Ya this next trip I might try CB or CS bc the last 2 trips I've gone deluxe and it was pricey. I like going for a full week and a full week at deluxe prices are hard. When you can do a full week at a moderate for under 2k.
 
38053WDW

38053WDW

Well-Known Member
Only 2 of you ? >> BLT (walk to the Magic Kingdom) Studio > (Bed /mini kitchen / bathroom) from David's DVC rental is $1960 (8 nights) - $140 a night ... Key is to book as far in advance as you can or forget even getting a room. (Payment due at booking though) .. There is so much to factor in for each family... We just got back and now the cycle of saving begins again for the next visit in 3 years! Oh yea .. You can get a Grand Villa at Bay Lake for the same week for $1020 a night (Sleeps 12) .. In other words, I'll never be doing that !
 
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