Priorities in Life

[ddbowdoin]

Hey all... my fiance and I got engaged this past March down at the world. We love it down there. Well, right now we are trying to plan our honeymoon and where else would we want to be but at Disney?

We reviewed "traditional" honeymoon options... some hot Island in the Caribbean, all inclusive stuff. It isn't for us.

So I have been working KK and I knew it would be a pricey trip and at this point I am struggling with my decision making. At first, I went with kind of an all out 11 night Poly / Beach Club stay that after flights and stuff we're looking at 5K or whatever. It's EXPENSIVE!

I guess my question here to people is kind of a generic question, where do your priorities lie and what would you do?

1.) My honeymoon is pretty important, I'm a traditional guy and I love my fiance. I'm only PLANNING on doing this ONCE, so I don't want to cheap out or not even go. Looking back, it's lame... once you put something off for "later" you rarely often return to accomplish or complete that goal.

2.) We're relatively debt free... worth just sinking some debt in for a great experience as a newlywed couple?

 

[brightlillstar]

As someone who is in between 2 legs of the honeymoon (first leg was in June at Sandals in St, Lucia and was PHENOMENAL, definitely gave Disney some competition in the vaca department even though we thought it wasn't for us -- I'dconsider trying it, and 2nd leg is Disney in Dec) I say GO FOR IT! You only do this once. You're only young once. you have the opportunity now with relativelt little debt, etc.

We spent about $6K on the St. Lucia part of our trip, Butler service, the whole 9 yards, and for Disney, we're doing our usual Pop Century. I will never forget St, Lucia. I don't know when we'll have that opportunity/excuse again. I think you should go all out (within reason).

 

[ddbowdoin]

Realistically I can only eat and get drunk for so many days before I get wickeddddddd bored. Two leg honeymoon! Big willies over here!

I'm just on the fence...

 

[BelleofDE]

When my DH and I were planning our honeymoon I told him that we weren't going to be concerned about money. You only get married once (hopefully) and wanted a nice trip! I explained that we would be getting money as wedding gifts so we could put that towards our credit card we put our honeymoon on and then it wouldn't seem like as much. He agreed, and we booked the 7 day land/sea Disney cruise + 3 more days in the parks after we got back from the cruise. That ended up costing us about $5,000 and it was worth every penny. We got quite a bit of cash for our wedding so we got that debt knocked down by a big chunk.

So my point: Spend the money. LOL. :sohappy:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Circumstances being what they were, my hubby & I got married on pretty short notice. No, I wasn't pregnant! Lol! We didn't have the means to have the wedding or honeymoon we would've wanted. We've had many fabulous trips since but not one of the awesome trips we have now changes the fact that we didn't have the one we really wanted then. Getting married is a one-shot deal. Once it's done it's done and you can't get that time back. If you can swing a splurge I can't think of a better time to do it. Certainly I wouldn't recommend overextending yourself or anything risky to your financial future. If you're financially responsible you know where you stand and where you can extend yourself within reason. The main thing is to not be on your honeymoon or down the road having regrets, ya know? Many congrats to y'all!

Oh! Had to share my little chuckle. Whenever I hear folks say "Hopefully you'll only be getting married once" I have to giggle. Reminds me of before we got married and someone said that to us. I looked my old man dead in the eye and said, "You better be real sure this is what you want because I will NEVER be divorced. I might be a widow, but never divorced." :lookaroun:lol:

 

[artbell2]

This is going to be answered by a single man's perspective. Keep that in mind!

I'm not sure if this tradition holds across the U.S. or not but generally after high school graduation all the Seniors go on a "Senior Beach Week" trip. I didn't go as I was taking summer school classes at a community college. For about a month before graduating high school, I had already started taking classes for summer. The next year I was already working and had vacation time to take. I decided to do a "theme park blitz" in my home state as I did both Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens the same trip (3 Days at Busch Gardens and 2 Days at Kings Dominion). It was my first solo vacation experience and I loved every minute of it.

I spent less on lodging, extra more on food/entertainment/merchandise. I had thought about staying in my favorite hotel down near Busch Gardens. But it was $130.00 per night, I just decided that was too much money to spend for a place to sleep.

Obviously we are talking about a honeymoon. But it depends on how much time are you REALLY planning to spend in your room or on the hotel property? If you are just going to do parks at your leisure, spending more time than usual on hotel property I would maybe consider spending more on a room. And I guess your dining options @ hotel too, is something else to consider.

If it was me planning a honeymoon, I would go with a hotel that is within walking distance of the parks. Not necessarily Deluxe oriented though. Sometimes the simple "walk" is more entertaining and memorable than a quick ride on a monorail. I'm not knocking the monorail as it's my favorite part of the trip. An early morning walk to the park seems more fun to me than a ride on the monorail line.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Hey all... my fiance and I got engaged this past March down at the world. We love it down there. Well, right now we are trying to plan our honeymoon and where else would we want to be but at Disney?

We reviewed "traditional" honeymoon options... some hot Island in the Caribbean, all inclusive stuff. It isn't for us.

So I have been working KK and I knew it would be a pricey trip and at this point I am struggling with my decision making. At first, I went with kind of an all out 11 night Poly / Beach Club stay that after flights and stuff we're looking at 5K or whatever. It's EXPENSIVE!

I guess my question here to people is kind of a generic question, where do your priorities lie and what would you do?

1.) My honeymoon is pretty important, I'm a traditional guy and I love my fiance. I'm only PLANNING on doing this ONCE, so I don't want to cheap out or not even go. Looking back, it's lame... once you put something off for "later" you rarely often return to accomplish or complete that goal.

2.) We're relatively debt free... worth just sinking some debt in for a great experience as a newlywed couple?

While it might not be what you want to hear, why not downgrade the resort to a moderate (at least for part of the stay). The moderates can still have a very nice and romantic feel (POFQ comes to mind here) and you will save a lot. Also, since you are looking at next year there might still be discounts coming out in the future that could help save you some money. Also, have you looked into an AP for at least one of you. Going for over 10 days, a resort discount and being able to purchase a Tables in Wonderland card might save you quite a bit. Explore all options including some outside the box. As far as debt for the vacation, I am one of the people who are opposed to that...I don't think you should finance something that is truly a short term luxury such as that.

 

[unkadug]

I know this could be considered heresy around here but...

Some off site spots can be quite nice and would allow you to save a bundle.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Spend it. Within reason and some common financial sense. But otherwise go for it and make this special. You only get married a handful of times!

 

[lbrad]

DH & I married 23 years ago ... honeymooned in the Poconos. That was about all we could afford (and DH did not want to have to fly:lol ...
We LOVED it!!! Had the time of our lives and lots of Memories to Cherish! We have returned to the Poconos multiple times & create new memories with every trip.

We have been to WDW 15 times since we have been together ... every trip is a blessing to us with more memories to cherish :sohappy:

Follow your heart ... no matter where you go/stay ...
you will be with the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE :sohappy:

 

[harryk]

After 35 some years we are still on our honeymoon....but for a honeymoon trip, that you only do once, go for what you want. Grand Floridian would be my pick and if they still offer the Grand Plan, which we always selected, that would be what I'd want.

 

[Blueskyze]

As someone who is in between 2 legs of the honeymoon (first leg was in June at Sandals in St, Lucia and was PHENOMENAL, definitely gave Disney some competition in the vaca department even though we thought it wasn't for us -- I'dconsider trying it, and 2nd leg is Disney in Dec) I say GO FOR IT! You only do this once. You're only young once. you have the opportunity now with relativelt little debt, etc.

We spent about $6K on the St. Lucia part of our trip, Butler service, the whole 9 yards, and for Disney, we're doing our usual Pop Century. I will never forget St, Lucia. I don't know when we'll have that opportunity/excuse again. I think you should go all out (within reason).

St. Lucia is AMAZING!!!!! My husband proposed to me there on my birthday last year, and it was an unforgettable trip that was basically a honeymoon (engagement moon?) for us. It was my first time to go anywhere like that, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was awesome! We had a simple beach wedding 4 months later on New Years Eve, and instead of going on another trip, we spent the money on renting a house at the beach for a week so our friends could stay with us for the wedding. We're taking a week-long Disney trip in January for our 1st Anniversary.

My advice would be that you're going to remember the honeymoon a lot more than the actual wedding, so save where you can on wedding expenses and put those funds toward your trip. You can make it a magical week no matter where you stay, so I wouldn't stress about absolutely having to stay in a Deluxe. And this is not my first marriage, so I consider myself sort of an expert. :lol:

Congrats and happy planning!!

 

[pixargal]

First of all, congratulations on your engagement! I understand where others have posted to just go for it, that you only get one honeymoon, so you might as well put yourself in debt. But, I have the opposite view. This is the first of many big decisions that you will make as a couple. There will always be a reason to go bigger and better. Bigger house, better car, the newest electronics, etc. Figure out now, as a couple, how to stay within a budget. Debt has a way of creeping up, even with the intention of paying it off at the end of the month. There is magic at all the resorts. So, for me, more expensive does not necessarily translate to a greater experience. Good luck in your decision.

 

[coachz]

Congratulations...we've been married 43 yrs...yes, it can be done ! Get started well, make decisions with your mate...if you feel you have to consult an online site like this,,,,?

 

[Poofiesdream]

Do it, but do it wisely! Don't stay at the most expensive resort, all of them have nice area's. I enjoy POFQ. Don't eat at expensive places every day. Space them out and only eat where you really would like the food. Save on tickets, do you really need park hoppers or water parks? When I got married Disney was not even open yet. For our 40th last March we went there and had a great time. We live in Fl a 3 hour drive to Disney and go as much as we can. Our children are all grown. You will always remember your honeymoon at Disney and when children come along share the memories with your children by taking them there. My daughter is getting married Oct. 2012 at Disney and 3 years ago my son got married and the whole wedding party, family and friends went to Disney with them on there honeymoon! It is worth every penny you spend to always have those memories!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Wow, thanks for all the responses.

I've always stayed off property until my last trip, we stayed at the Beach Club. We went down with her parents, which helped us significantly in the financial department since we split it all. Staying on property changed me forever... increased the feel of the magic, the fact that I didn't have to drive for a week was unreal. In terms of moderate vs deluxe, I am open to anything but the luxury of walking to Epcot/ DHS and a short and relatively "exclusive" bus to the other gates sold me.

Luckily we're not responsible for the wedding costs... very, very, very lucky and grateful to her parents for that.

I agree with the "one time in your life" sentiment... I'm just awful at decision making when it comes to cash, I am frugal and seperating with the funds is tough. But, we love the World and it just makes myself and my fiance smile whenever we see a commercial, see an email, or just think / talk about our past trips.

 

[mickeysshoes]

Wow, thanks for all the responses.

I've always stayed off property until my last trip, we stayed at the Beach Club. We went down with her parents, which helped us significantly in the financial department since we split it all. Staying on property changed me forever... increased the feel of the magic, the fact that I didn't have to drive for a week was unreal. In terms of moderate vs deluxe, I am open to anything but the luxury of walking to Epcot/ DHS and a short and relatively "exclusive" bus to the other gates sold me.

Luckily we're not responsible for the wedding costs... very, very, very lucky and grateful to her parents for that.

I agree with the "one time in your life" sentiment... I'm just awful at decision making when it comes to cash, I am frugal and seperating with the funds is tough. But, we love the World and it just makes myself and my fiance smile whenever we see a commercial, see an email, or just think / talk about our past trips.

Sounds like you have made up your mind...pay for it a little at a time and then it wont seen like you are spending as much as one large payment.

 

[rsoxguy]

Hey, Boston guy. I have read all of the replies (yea, quiet morning at the office). I can only add one simple sentiment; live within your means at the start of your married life, and the habit will help you throughout the remainder of your life. You don't want to begin your journey in debt. Take whatever honeymoon you can afford, down to the last dollar, and remember that it's about the two of you starting a life-long journey together, rather than your ability to provide lavish surroundings. Romance doesn't carry a price tag.

 

[ddbowdoin]

Hey, Boston guy. I have read all of the replies (yea, quiet morning at the office). I can only add one simple sentiment; live within your means at the start of your married life, and the habit will help you throughout the remainder of your life. You don't want to begin your journey in debt. Take whatever honeymoon you can afford, down to the last dollar, and remember that it's about the two of you starting a life-long journey together, rather than your ability to provide lavish surroundings. Romance doesn't carry a price tag.

OH YEAH, 100% agreed... we're pretty simple peeps, we're so cheap with everything else.

 

[YankeeMouse]

Got married 36 years ago and put a down payment on a house instead of going to Hawaii, etc; that's when down payments were not that much! Went for a long weekend at a vacation spot 90 miles from home which is Chicago. I'm glad we got the house. But barring some huge barrier like buying a house or not, you should go for the honeymoon. You will have your whole life to sacrifice, especially if you have children and you need to deal with braces, hockey equipment, doctor bills, etc. Since you obviously already feel the "magic", my advice is to have a nice honeymoon. It doesn't need to be GF but maybe WL or AKL or a nice mod. Best wishes.