It's Only Money..Get a Life!...

[real mad hatter]

Hold on a second....That's better..Just received a PM on my Facebook from an old work buddy ( I can't believe he's still working and moaning about his job ) Anyway I told him were off to Andalusia in a few weeks for 12 days of peace,sun,& tranquility on a rather cheap vacation.When he asked me how much it was,I told him for the three of us,including flights and accommodation in a 4 star hotel & spa $1.500. He was shocked and said " What a waste of money" ...Whit!!!...When I told him of my 2015 plan for a 14 night vacation at Disney,staying at a deluxe resort..And the approx cost of the vacation $7.500...He exploded,saying I was out of my tiny mind.." I could buy a new car for that " he quoted..Here's my question to all off you good people..Where does a Disney vacation come in on your priority list.??...Are you the sort of person who looks at the total cost of your trip,then think,hold on...I could put that money to a house makeover..A new kitchen or a new car...Or do you say " To hell with it,we're off to Disney. "..This question probably has been asked a thousand times on here,but with things in general,being tight nowadays,watching what we spend on weekly groceries,fuel,heating bills,etc..I'am just wondering if your attitude to a Disney vacation has changed over the years..Now personally I don't reflect on how much we've spent on our five previous trips,I'am a great believer in enjoying life while your here. ( Unlike actress Shirley McClaine, I don't expect to come back as someone or something else ) So what are your present views on this nowadays..??...Has it changed from maybe your first trip twenty odd years ago.?

 

[ExtinctJenn]

We never went on vacations while we had young children, saved the money for retirement and their college. At the age of 16 my son was in a car accident and he almost lost his life. He had brain surgery and after months of rehab he is 99% normal again. After the accident we thought about what if we had lost him. We had no memories to look back on, no pictures of our family enjoying our lives. Ever since then we go on vacation every year. We have made lots of new memories! We find the money! Our family times being together are worth a lot more than money! You never know what the future will bring so take some time now to enjoy your life. You don't have to go overboard or in a large debt to do it!

What a touching story! That's always the bottom line... you may not leave with anything physically but you leave with wonderful memories that no "thing" can even come close to. It's the same thing as how I respond when folks say a child is "too young" to visit the world because they won't remember it. If that were true, why as parents would we bother doing anything with our children until they were school aged? It's to make memories together as a family. Sure my 7 year old doesn't remember the times he went when he was 10m old, 1 year old, 2 years old, etc. but we do and they are some of the most amazing memories any family could ever want. Never let money stand in the way of creating memories with your family. As you know... life is short and you never know how long you have together. Give yourselves something to look back on happily so should the unthinkable happen, you aren't alone in your grief. I applaud you!

 

[harryk]

Looks like William Katz - of old Perry Mason movies.

 

[Gabe1]

We use to make Disney a priority in our budget. We'd stay 2 weeks on average annually. Then came college for two children. We went many years without Disney because I believe a college education trumps a Disney vacation.

I still have one in college however since my son did the college program, then went to work for the mouse after he return to college and graduated, I have been able to eek some shorter trips in due to discounts and passes. Still Disney is expensive, not everything is discounted and airfare is nasty these days. I own my own business so if I am not there, I do not generate income. So with one still in college, college still is trumping Disney.

 

[real mad hatter]

Looks like William Katz - of old Perry Mason movies.

Spot on..That's the name of the dude in the original Carrie.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

Spot on..That's the name of the dude in the original Carrie.

Yes. But, it's William Katt. His mom was the lady who played Della Street. He came on years later as her son.
He also did some plays on Broadway. He played Pippen in one production, and the show I remember him from is The Greatest American Hero from tv. (Once again showing my age.)

 

[real mad hatter]

Yes. But, it's William Katt. His mom was the lady who played Della Street. He came on years later as her son.
He also did some plays on Broadway. He played Pippen in one production, and the show I remember him from is The Greatest American Hero from tv. (Once again showing my age.)

Again..Spot on..Katt...Showing my age also..After seeing that film I wanted a perm like him..Went to a fancy salon and ended up looking like a friggin cross between Barbara Streisand and Harpo Marx.....

 

[Zipadeelady]

Again..Spot on..Katt...Showing my age also..After seeing that film I wanted a perm like him..Went to a fancy salon and ended up looking like a friggin cross between Barbara Streisand and Harpo Marx.....

I definitely need a new kitchen and a new car would be lovely but eventually that kitchen will be out of date and the new car will need fixed. Disney memories will last FOREVER!!!

 

[real mad hatter]

I definitely need a new kitchen and a new car would be lovely but eventually that kitchen will be out of date and the new car will need fixed. Disney memories will last FOREVER!!!

Agree..There's always something...We built a huge extension onto our villa 6 year ago and payed off the loan last year..And a new car 2 year ago..So next trip will be 2015.. No more building..Fingers X..

 

[WDW 3]

Hold on a second....That's better..Just received a PM on my Facebook from an old work buddy ( I can't believe he's still working and moaning about his job ) Anyway I told him were off to Andalusia in a few weeks for 12 days of peace,sun,& tranquility on a rather cheap vacation.When he asked me how much it was,I told him for the three of us,including flights and accommodation in a 4 star hotel & spa $1.500. He was shocked and said " What a waste of money" ...Whit!!!...When I told him of my 2015 plan for a 14 night vacation at Disney,staying at a deluxe resort..And the approx cost of the vacation $7.500...He exploded,saying I was out of my tiny mind.." I could buy a new car for that " he quoted..Here's my question to all off you good people..Where does a Disney vacation come in on your priority list.??...Are you the sort of person who looks at the total cost of your trip,then think,hold on...I could put that money to a house makeover..A new kitchen or a new car...Or do you say " To hell with it,we're off to Disney. "..This question probably has been asked a thousand times on here,but with things in general,being tight nowadays,watching what we spend on weekly groceries,fuel,heating bills,etc..I'am just wondering if your attitude to a Disney vacation has changed over the years..Now personally I don't reflect on how much we've spent on our five previous trips,I'am a great believer in enjoying life while your here. ( Unlike actress Shirley McClaine, I don't expect to come back as someone or something else ) So what are your present views on this nowadays..??...Has it changed from maybe your first trip twenty odd years ago.?

AND!! What business is it of his! Sheesh.... Jerk

 

[kfergdisney]

My cousin has never been to Disney. Now that she has a family of her own, they really want to go. She has heard all my stories and for someone who has never been, she doesn't fully understand. She has two girls, very girly girls, and they will have A BALL!! I'm helping them plan. They wanted to wait until their youngest is 4, which is coming up soon! My cousin is sooo excited about it and her kids know of Disney World, but oh how I want the parents to take a video of them when they see the castle for the first time! It is all about making memories and spending time with your family or friends!
My parents didn't have a lot of money growing up, but my dad worked at a company that went to conventions every summer and that is the ONLY way we could have ever gone to Disney World. The company paid for everything.
So yes, somehow, someway, make it happen, even if you can only go every decade.

 

[Minthorne]

Looks like William Katz - of old Perry Mason movies.

Yup and the Greatest American Hero.

 

[Disvillain63]

Yes...we love Disney, but it's not the only thing we do or plan. We've been on many trips and as stated here, it's the memories...I can't take the money with me, so I might as well enjoy my family while I'm here. I have a nice home and it served us well in raising our children, as did having the pool in the backyard. We kept our cars until they had a minimum of 10 years and 100,000 miles...usually more, why change when everything worked well. We have 401Ks and other retirement accounts; life (wife) insurance; and all the other things we'll need as we age; in fact, we may have more retired than we have now. What has changed over the years is the Disney vacation...in the early years, it was moderates (values didn't exist), then it was values/moderates (whichever had the best price...especially during my Disney Store years)...now, it's wherever we want, but it could only be for 4 days...but luxury can be nice. In the beginning, it was creating memories with/for our children; then it was just the two of us...NOW, it's sometimes the two of us and once a year, the kids and grandkids...wouldn't change a thing.

As @MR FERRET stated, we don't smoke/drink/gamble/party all weekend...we also don't play golf every weekend day, as many of our friends. We choose to spend our money on our vacations.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Our upcoming trip will be only my second visit to Disney World. I went to Disneyland once as a kid but my family was never much for resort type trips. A WDW honeymoon was Mr.Chernaboggles' choice and we didn't really go about it right. He's not much of a planner and I had NO IDEA how huge and overwhelming it would be. For the last 9 years we've been talking about going back, better prepared this time. First it was going to be the 5 year anniversary, but the money didn't work out. Then we bought a house...we have no kids and are basically homebodies, a big expensive trip was just never a priority.

About a month ago we were talking (again) about going back to WDW "maybe for our 10th anniversary". I could hear myself starting to put it off again. I asked him why he loves WDW so much and he explained that Disney trips were some of his best memories in his whole life. Listening to him talk about it, seeing how happy he got just remembering past visits, I knew we had to go. Not "maybe for..." or "maybe next year..." but in the actual immediate future, with reservations and everything.

Admittedly, the plan has gotten somewhat insane and considerably more expensive than I anticipated. Occasionally I look at the budget and think about all the other things we could do with it...but life is short. I guess sometimes you just have to toss "practical" out the window and go for "magical" instead!

 

[real mad hatter]

Love all these answers about throwing caution to the wind..To hell with the cost...Life is too short..So many people on this awesome site have one thing in common...To get to the Magic Bubble..It's like that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind...A group of people desperate to get to a mountain...

 

[mcstensrud]

We never went on vacation as kids. My father worked hard (AT&T) his whole life and squirreled away all the money he could .What he did on his vacations was paint the house or work on his rental property. Then he got sick with the Big C and passed away at 57 in 1992.After his funeral our whole family took a trip to WDW and stayed at the Travelodge on hotel Boulevard. I think Dad would have loved it, We all did. Then after that we stayed at CBR,Then YC then my husband and I Bought DVC points and now we go at least 2 if not 3 times a year. We bring my mother, niece,nephew,brother in law,any one that wants to come or we just go alone sometimes. We have tons of family memories now .
LIFE IS TOO SHORT!!!!
LIVE FOR TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!.
GO ON VACATION

 

[tinkerbell24]

I get this a lot from family and friends but we love disney and I don't really care what they think! We save hard and make cut backs that they probably wouldn't be willing to do. we don't go out every week drinking or whatever as that's not enjoyable to us!! We want our dd to have amazing memories of growing up and where better in the world for that than wdw.
Our next holiday is costing around £7000 and although it's a lot if money it's worth every penny to us.

 

[real mad hatter]

I get this a lot from family and friends but we love disney and I don't really care what they think! We save hard and make cut backs that they probably wouldn't be willing to do. we don't go out every week drinking or whatever as that's not enjoyable to us!! We want our dd to have amazing memories of growing up and where better in the world for that than wdw.
Our next holiday is costing around £7000 and although it's a lot if money it's worth every penny to us.

Agreed...Our next trip will be around £5500..and probably flying from Manchester for the first time..Saving us around £600..

 

[Graham9]

Some people like to blow a fortune at WDW, some people don't. We, for example, will spend only what we are comfortable with. After all, I still have a life outside of WDW, bills to pay, provide money for my wife to spend, home etc etc etc.

I will spend enough to have a good time. We are coming to the 'World for the first time in three years because when we come, we will have enough spare cash to have a good time (by our standards). We could have come sooner, but it would have been on a very strict budget and a lot of things would have had to have been cut. That would have watered down our visit and reduced our 'Special time' to a 'Not so special time'. So we have waited until things are right for us and when we come and do / have all the things we consider special and enjoy ourselves all the more.

Basically, we say "If we can't do it right, let's not go at all. When we do go, let's GO FOR IT!!!"

 

[tinkerbell24]

Some people like to blow a fortune at WDW, some people don't. We, for example, will spend only what we are comfortable with. After all, I still have a life outside of WDW, bills to pay, provide money for my wife to spend, home etc etc etc.

I will spend enough to have a good time. We are coming to the 'World for the first time in three years because when we come, we will have enough spare cash to have a good time (by our standards). We could have come sooner, but it would have been on a very strict budget and a lot of things would have had to have been cut. That would have watered down our visit and reduced our 'Special time' to a 'Not so special time'. So we have waited until things are right for us and when we come and do / have all the things we consider special and enjoy ourselves all the more.

Basically, we say "If we can't do it right, let's not go at all. When we do go, let's GO FOR IT!!!"

This is similar to us! although it costs a lot for us to go, it is by no means us going overboard. We miss a year so we can go back comfortably and although we save hard to get there we do not leave ourselves short to do so. I do not wish to go on holiday and be scared to spend incase we run out of money, but I also do not go crazy.

 

[Graham9]

WDW is a special place, it's wonderful to have the opportunity to go there and have a brilliant time (not just in WDW, but in everything Orlando/Florida has to offer), but unfortunately, life goes on outside the 'World and it is not a cheap holiday/vacation. We would never go if we couldn't afford it. I would hate the idea of anyone bankrupting themselves just to visit. Bottom line is WDW just doesn't figure high enough on my list of priorities in life to put myself in debt for or to empty my savings over.