Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[bubbles1812]

As someone else pointed out, they're basically mortgaging their futures by paying for these trips...possibly the trip of a lifetime for many of them. I can afford to stay at these higher end resort but we choose not to as we don't see the real value in paying $500 a night for a room we will spend very little time in. We were certainly quite comfortable in our Pop Century room for around $100 a night.

This is what I've never quite understood. I mean, if you can afford it, ok. But spending more than you can afford on Deluxe resorts with rooms at those prices... It ain't worth it. I love the Poly for example, but I'm not stupid enough to think its worth 500 dollars a night. Those rooms aren't all that "quality" anymore and especially given the majority of my time is spent out of the room, I can't justify the expense. And not being on the monorail line isn't a make or break for me. (Another thing people place so much importance on but I've never quite gotten. But that's for another time). My money is better spent elsewhere. If my fam does go Deluxe, we go Swan or Dolphin now. Still expensive yes, but not the way the others are... And with better beds

Bottom line. WDW is not worth going into debt over.

 

[janoimagine]

I am nearly 26, and my brothers are 24 and 22. Every time my mom is up for a trade-in/new car/whatever, she still insists on getting a mini-van even though we've all been out of the house for years. She loves it. Never underestimate the power of the mini-van...

We use to rent Suburbans for our production crews ... now we rent Dodge Caravans ... not only are they considerably less but they are way easier in and out of ... especially when you have about 30 hard cases of gear.

The fold flat seating is the way to go, and it was a huge missed opportunity when Chevy and GMC re-designed the Suburban's and Tahoes.

 

[marni1971]

If I'm not mistaken, when the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater was constructed, the path that exits the far side of the stroller parking and loops around the B&TB theatre (Perimeter Road) was supposed to connect to the path at the entrance of the boat dock, providing a direct exit to park transportation. I don't think they ever used it as someone figured out the $ left on the table if guests had exited without passing a single shop.

Indeed that was the original plan.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

If you guys are not all following the various Mine Train construction threads, The Parks Blog just dropped a short video of the animatronics in the new Kiddie Coaster
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...r-eyes-on-seven-dwarfs-mine-train-characters/

So you guys were too cheap to do this calibre of work...

 

[sporadic]

But since 9/11, the military industrial complex has grown hugely, as has spying on Americans. Those jobs are very well paying. So, many folks who may have been making $30K at best 15 years ago, may well be making $230,000 now ... I know this can be hot button and all. But Americans are not doing well and this idea that folks who look like they just climbed off the Honey Boo Boo express suddenly affording $500 a night accommodations or even $250 a night just isn't rational by any other way I can think of.

I don't think it's that as much as it is people just getting in way over the head with debt... Keeping up with the Jones' and the general entitlement mentality that is running rampant in our country. Screw debt, the government will save us!

As for people's actions in public or how they present themselves, I see two sides to that. On one half of the coin, you have Eddie Griswold. On the other half, you have the people who prefer to just stay comfy in shorts and a t-shirt. For the most part, middle class doesn't dress to impress like they used to. Kinda like looking back to when flying was an occasion. The whole Generation X thing and rise of the tech sector youngsters taught people they didn't need to wear a suite. Many put focus on function over form. I've never felt that I need to impress someone with my presence. Much of it is just frivolous spending on faux status symbols. For me, I prefer to stay comfy in my t-shirt and cargo shorts, but then again we don't book reservations in the finer dining establishments. The ones that we do are for the kids (or wife). The food isn't worth it for the most part, but we're kinda spoiled with good food in Charleston

 

[CDavid]

These are how people are paying for those $500/night rooms who don't have a lot of money to begin with and are vacationing at WDW.

There is no "saving" or "putting aside" or "vacation funding" for anyone who is middle-lower class (can we get a new name for this? I really hate the term "poor", even if it's so suiting for a great deal of us) and people are doing what they can to live, and trying to "live a little" with a vacation. Sad fact, but true. Unfortunately there is an all-American mindset of keeping up with the Joneses and making sure their young children get to WDW every year because they want their kids to have a happy childhood, nevermind Mom and Dad never being home because they're always at work and there's a lot of stress and tension in the household because of bills and lack of money. People want the best for their kids. It's become ingrained and beaten into our heads that above all else, the kids have to have everything they want. Including vacations, money and affording it be damned.

Sometimes it's very hard to read this forums and see the same groups of people going to WDW -who don't live in Florida- every couple of months, several times a year. What kind of jobs do you guys have where you can afford this? Or, as I suspect in several cases, what kind of job does your husband have?

And of course, this is all IMHO. But FWIW, that's my take on your statement, @WDW1974



A truer statement couldn't be made. There is such a huge divide and a great deal of denial ("I'm not lower class! Look, I can afford vacations too!!") that one day will break this country in half. But that's politics, and we shouldn't talk politics, because The Mom will yell at us and put us in time out, and I don't like time out. It smells weird in that corner.

Circling this back to Disney- Disney used to appeal to the upper-middle class but have since changed their sightlines to the middle-lower class, yet still charge the prices as if catering to a higher, richer caliber. Is it right? No. Will it ever stop? Probably not.

Will we all be priced out some day? Considering Disney has raised their prices once, sometimes twice a year (@ParentsOf4 do you have any figures on how many times Disney has raised prices since 2001?) but the last time I personally got a raise was (correction) four years ago and not a penny since... yeah, I could see pricing out of the lower class happening soon.

Then what you're left with is a low quality park that is catering to a lower class but at upper class rates that only the real money makers can afford.


I'll get off my soapbox now and hope this isn't modded out of existence.

I think you're at least on the right track. When it's all going on the VISA card anyway, people tend to spend more freely, and it is easier to fall into the trap of overpaying for accommodations ($500 rooms). If you pay cash for a vacation, you are obviously limited and can't spend more than you have (so they formerly stayed over at the All-Stars for closer to $100).

I suspect there are some other factors at play as well. For one thing, many guests who could afford a $500 room have realized they're being grossly overcharged at Walt Disney World for resorts which just aren't worth the prices charged. They've since migrated off-site (or to lower WDW resort tiers), and a decrease in the numbers of higher socioeconomic level (and perhaps better dressed) guests mean the so-called Wal-mart crowd gets noticed more. People who know what a $500 resort should look like aren't enamored with the Polynesian anymore.

Of course, many families who once stayed in a Disney deluxe resort now stay in a DVC resort instead. I don't understand the wisdom of moving some of your most freely spending customers out of your highest-priced resorts and into timeshares

 

[pheneix]

I formally petition that Fun w/ Tweets be reinstated for a one time only exhibition of the nonsense coming out of the disneysmmoms hash tag today.

I think we can all agree that mommy bloggers who were personally hand picked/bought off to participate in a day of groupthink DO NOT deserve the same protections that we would extend to our "own kind." Especially not this kind of madness.

 

[flynnibus]

I formally petition that Fun w/ Tweets be reinstated for a one time only exhibition of the nonsense coming out of the disneysmmoms hash tag today.

Can we play Hot or Not?

 

[mahnamahna101]

Those Seven Dwarfs animatronics look great! Too bad they won't be working within 6 months of opening

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I suspect there are some other factors at play as well. For one thing, many guests who could afford a $500 room have realized they're being grossly overcharged at Walt Disney World for resorts which just aren't worth the prices charged. They've since migrated off-site (or to lower WDW resort tiers), and a decrease in the numbers of higher socioeconomic level (and perhaps better dressed) guests mean the so-called Wal-mart crowd gets noticed more. People who know what a $500 resort should look like aren't enamored with the Polynesian anymore.

Of course, many families who once stayed in a Disney deluxe resort now stay in a DVC resort instead. I don't understand the wisdom of moving some of your most freely spending customers out of your highest-priced resorts and into timeshares

Absolutely, the 'walmart' crowd gets noticed more than the well dressed guests. And at some point, herd mentality has got to come into play for the 'well dressed' bunch- they see everyone wearing tank tops (some who probably shouldn't be) and flip flops and wonder why they bothered with planning their outfit at all. The same may be true for restaurants on property. Why stop and change into formal wear when the table next to you just walked off Splash Mountain and ran to their reservations with squishy shoes and damp shorts?

I'll never understand the short sightedness of the Disney DVCs. You're spot on with that, I think.

 

[sporadic]

So you guys were too cheap to do this calibre of work...

Yeah, not very fond of the projected faces either. Nice effect, but prefer physical models for animatronics.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I formally petition that Fun w/ Tweets be reinstated for a one time only exhibition of the nonsense coming out of the disneysmmoms hash tag today.

I think we can all agree that mommy bloggers who were personally hand picked/bought off to participate in a day of groupthink DO NOT deserve the same protections that we would extend to our "own kind." Especially not this kind of madness.

I guess I'm just bitter that I don't have children to exploit and that I have too many morals/ethics to be a Mommy Blogger, but I am rather jealous of the perks and money they are paid by Disney to spew forth all kinds of stuff designed to attract more Mommys to take their kids to Disney and if you don't you're a horrible parent and your children will hate you for life and the therapy bills to get them over it will be astronomical.

Like I said, might be bitter. Maybe.

 

[Fe Maiden]

That's why we have a suburban now.. Minivan is the most practical vehicle everyone refuses to acknowledge. More dry storage than anything, and more storage than most trucks.

Without a doubt, and when driving to WDW, between the dvd with wireless headphones which the kids can use while watching at the same time my wife and I are listening to satellite radio, more than enough outlets to power everyone's devices, and the Town and Country's stow-n-go, it's like driving my family room and kitchen to Florida.

 

[Stevek]

What about $200 a night? That's what I've found for stays at the GCH and the Poly in the last year.

I paid $183 a night for 3 nights at CBR in late March (last minute trip) so I would have no problem paying $200/night for the Poly, if it was a short stay. That's within my price range but I've never heard of anyone getting that price in years. If we were staying a week or longer...probably not going to pay that price.

 

[wdisney9000]

Sometimes it's very hard to read this forums and see the same groups of people going to WDW -who don't live in Florida- every couple of months, several times a year. What kind of jobs do you guys have where you can afford this?

I use an antiquated method that has long been forgotten but was taught to me by the elders. It is called saving up. We visited 4 times last year, appx every 3 months. I break it down to the amount we need to save on a daily basis to have the trip paid for by the time we leave. We book each trip usually right after we return from a visit, heck we usually begin the process on the car ride home. This helps cure the "Disney blues" and gets us pumped to get back to work and SAVE THAT MONEY!!! I will use our last trip as an example. Here is how I break it down:

- Returned home from our Sept. visit at BWV and booked 6 days for January (3 days @ BCV, 3 days @ AKL) which cost appx $900 buying DVC points. We were right around 90 days out.

- $900 at 90 days out = $10 a day ($70 a week). I usually have cash on me so I just put $10 in our Disney fund every day. That covers resort expenses. My wife will take an average of $25 from each weekly check and put it aside which gives us an additional $300 for food and drinks ($50 per day). Anytime we have extra cash or change at the end of the day we put it into the Disney fund as well. It usually adds up to give us at least an extra $150 or so. Now we have resort and food and drinks paid for.

- Occasionally my sister and her 2 kids will join us on a trip and pay for half of the room expense. That always helps. We dont have kids so I know that is a HUGE factor in helping us afford frequent trips and we live about 6-7 hours away by car so that saves airfare as well. We bring some food and beer with us to save and not have to buy all of it in the parks. We do come out of pocket a little each trip as well, wifey loves those damn $12.50 cucumber margaritas at La Cava!!

So there it is, not quite on the level of a @ParentsOf4 financial breakdown, but it works for us.

We also thank God each and every day for our blessings

 

[Stevek]

Those Seven Dwarfs animatronics look great! Too bad they won't be working within 6 months of opening

Agreed. Movements and faces all look great.

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Seriously, how did you not make it to EPCOT?

 

[TP2000]

Just own the minivan, dude. Don't try and say it's your wife's. Who cares what someone thinks? We're a family of 5, sorry I'm not cool I own a minivan, but you try sitting in the third row of an SUV.

In his defense, he says he lives in Southern California. In SoCal, you are what you drive, especially if you are a man. Personally I thought it was brave of him to even admit that there was a minivan in the family. I value his diversity.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I use an antiquated method that has long been forgotten but was taught to me by the elders. It is called saving up. We visited 4 times last year, appx every 3 months. I break it down to the amount we need to save on a daily basis to have the trip paid for by the time we leave. We book each trip usually right after we return from a visit, heck we usually begin the process on the car ride home. This helps cure the "Disney blues" and gets us pumped to get back to work and SAVE THAT MONEY!!! I will use our last trip as an example.

I totally get the 'saving up' thing, as I did that to afford my WDW trip last year. I could have gone a year earlier, but wanted a 'deluxe' stay, and saved for another solid year to do it.

I guess if you can break it down to saving $10 a day (and having DVC certainly helps) that's great. Not many people can do that. It probably also helps driving versus flying. Again, not everyone can do that.

Kudos to you, though.

 

[sporadic]

We just use our tax return every year. Paid in full!