This might be a weird question...

[coleandrachel]

But I was wondering.... How do you do it? When we go to WDW it is usually myself, my wife and our daughter (4). We usually always look for free dining plans and stay at value resorts because we want to have as much money as possible for inside the parks. I am curious as to how everyone else does their trips. Do you try to go "all out" each time? Do you only stay at certain resorts? Do you always get a dining plan? Please include how many people are in your party and if that plays a factor in your decisions. The thing is, I would LOVE to do an "all out" best of the best of everything vacation, but I would also like to go numerous times as opposed to waiting til I have the money to do this dream vacation. Plus with my daughter only being 4, she is just happy to be there. What are your thoughts?

 

[Figgy1]

This year we are renting a condo to save money. That way we can still do 10 park days and an extra day just for DTD. We are park commandos so we never spend time at the resort anyway. We don't go all out but don't skimp on what's important to us.

 

[cowanfamily]

I always get the dining plan, whether it's free or not. There are 6 of us. I go every year. I don't want the hassle of paying for everything. My teenage daughters can go eat when they want and not have to worry about getting money or carrying money around. As far as resorts go I usually always stay at POP. My younger kids love it and I can't justify the higher cost for a deluxe when I'm not in the room that much.

 

[luv]

I got the dining plan the first time it was offered - it was a better deal back then and sounded easy...turned out to be anything but easy! Never did another one...and when it became cheaper to use my discounts than to do Free Dining, it would've been silly to do that.

Some people can afford to go all out every year, even multiple times a year - Disney hotels, food, rental cars, shop till you drop. Some have to save for ten years before they can go at all and must do it as cheaply as possible - offsite, busses, sandwiches.

How you "do it" probably has more to do with how you can afford to do it than anything.

And all of the trips are good times with the family, so IMO, it doesn't matter too much. (Not implying that families who can never afford to go don't have good times, of course.)

 

[Unomas]

We just do what we can afford at the time we decide to go.

 

[real mad hatter]

We have been going every two years since 2004 ( we do a cheap holiday once a year ) Last year was our first free DDP ( q/s ) we usually wing it with several ADRS.( 4 or 5 ) Because we stay on site for 14 days it can be expensive but we think its worth it..Theres two of us and my DS ( now 15 ) Last year (2012) we stayed at PORS.So all going well for 2014 we will be back at Riverside..Was considering WL but the extra $$$$$$$$ just didn't make sense.We hardly spend any time in our rooms and only swim and chill out at our resort in the afternoon..

 

[DisneyDelirious]

We have stayed at CBR every time but once. After that, I don't see us staying anywhere else unless its WL. We do the dining plan, not because it wonderful or the end all. I just prefer to have the majority of our trip paid for before we leave. I enjoy the trip that much more knowing that I won't have bills waiting for me when I get home (also hate to come home to dirty dishes . We haven't done any of the tours, Disney Quest, mini golf, or even a water park. We are park commandos for at least 10 days a year and have done a 4 day MVMCP trip. Just being there is enough, we don't have to add a whole lot extra to it.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We do things differently each time, based on what our budget is. DH & I own a small business, and our income isn't equal year round. We have busier seasons and slower seasons. If we can save up for a deluxe & we get a good pin code, we go deluxe. If it's been slower, or we don't get a pin code, we have no problem with moderates or value's either. We never get the dining plan, I've done the math and it wouldn't work for us. We drive, so we pack a big cooler with food and bring some food with us. Like your daughter, we're just happy to be there above all else!

Our group is typically just me, DH and DD1. Prior to DD, it was usually just DH & me. This upcoming trip, my parents are coming with us. We've gone with friends in the past too. It's always changing.

 

[Cindee75]

I agree that the children don't care as long as we are there. I look at a resort cost for tow things - can we have 5 people in the room so many valure options are out for us (AoA suites would work - but cost more that 1 room at PORS.) We too like the DDP I like that I can plan ahead where we want to eat and enjoy the meal with it all being taken care of ahead of time and the bill doesn't come later. I hope for free dining but book the vacation that we can afford and any discounts are "bonus."

 

[Zman-ks]

We just do what we can afford at the time we decide to go.

This...plus a little planning/saving before hand.

 

[rsoxguy]

We mostly attend for single days and call-in an ADR on the drive up, which usually involves three or four choices in order of availability. We buy very few souvenirs, with the exception of Christmas ornaments. We have also taken our own food at times, and eaten solely at counter service places at other times.

We go "all out" when we attend for two week vacations. It is then that we stay at a better resort, eat at places reserved months in advance, and buy more "junk".

 

[bdearl41]

There are a few things you can do:
1) Share meals at the restaurants, you can try more things and the portions are huge. Get and app and entree, both of you will be full and you will have saved 20 bucks.
2) Dont stay at Deluxe resorts, you are never there anyway, we do moderate or budget.
3) Dont buy merchandise in the park, its just too expensive, you can buy Disney stuff elsewhere for cheaper.
4) Carry a water bottle, fill it up at the fountains, also better for the environment.
5) Make sure you go during non busy times, its simply cheaper. Perfect example, we are going at the end of April, beginning of May, 60 percent of the price as Easter week or the beginning of summer, but same weather, and smaller crowds.

 

[lunchbox1175]

We do it differently almost every time. I will say that being and AP holder is definately the way to go, if you are going to go more than once in a year. The discounts will pay for the pass, so there can be a huge savings there. Not to mention the TIWL Card, that can be huge as well. We sometimes pay for flights, and sometimes we use miles, we also have driven once, but not doing that again. We are a family of four, although when we go it is usually just myself and DW, or we take just one of the girls, have never gone all toghether. We also try to stay at a different resort every time as well until we find the one that we just love more than the others (currently that is WL). We do a lot of different things so that we are never concerned about having money to spend or how much money we spend on the trips. I do Mystery Shops on the Disney Stores in our area, they pay $20 for each shop (sometimes $40 if its a last minute one) so i purchase a $20 Disney GC and basically get it for free. Also, we buy Disney Gift Cards to pay for our trips at Kroger...you can get them up to $500 and you get 4 times the fuel points, so i usually get about 8 free tanks of gas just by doing that. We also are Landry's Select Club members, as they are based here in Houston, we eat at their restaurants frequently, so we get points that get us $25 off after a certain level is reached...we save those for Trex or Rainforest so we always have a free meal. Same with AMC theaters, we really like the Fork and Knife Theater there, and often it is paid for with rewards earned from going to movies at home. We feel like we do it up every time, because we find ways to help aleviate the costs. Hope this helps with your questions.

 

[wdisney9000]

For DW and myself, our trips are usually the same. Sometimes we stay in a different resort for the first night or two, but always end up at the Yacht Club. We used to do the dining plan, then we realized that we were becoming slaves to our ADR's. Last trip we had a blast looking for QS locations with the best food and only had three TS meals out of a seven day trip. We always stay on Club Level, so that helps out with snacks and drinks between meals. We always carry water and homemade "snack bags" in our backpacks, which saves about $30-$40/day. Around 4 pm each day we hit the club level lounge for a break from the parks and to refuel with beer,lol. We've done the math, and by eliminating the DP it allows for extra money to put toward club level, which we consider "all out". With AP's and planning our visits during value seasons, it allows for several trips per year and more money to spend in the parks. Hope this helps!

 

[RedDad]

We typically try to do an "all-out" deluxe trip every few years, and do the shorter "on-the-cheap" visits in between as much as we can. However, lately we are finding that we enjoy spending time at the resorts, so we're adjusting plans a bit. (if only my wallet could keep up!)

We are a family of 4 (2 adults and DD14, DD3), and are within a 6 hour drive so no airfare required. We used to do the DP, but have found we like the room discounts better now, and can pay OOP cheaper than the DP for most trips. We just set aside the $ we plan to spend on dining and put it in a separate checking account, link that to our room account, and you have the same convenience as the DP without all the extra desserts.

These days we still don't go without some type of discount - even on our deluxe trips we wait for a 30% off room. One day we'll be able to do the deluxe trip every year, but we're not there yet!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I often find myself asking the same question. DH and I are attorneys with decent salaries who live frugally, but there is no way we could afford to go "all out" on a Disney vacation. Yet there are many people on this board who go to WDW multiple times per year, and their trip plans always include deluxe accommodations, deluxe dining plans, lots of extra paid experiences, and a "money is no object" attitude. I wonder how they do it, too, but clearly they have a much higher income (or a higher debt tolerance) or just like to allocate their spending differently, than many of the rest of us.

While their carefree mention of their spending, ("Yes, we thought about saving 85% of our room costs by downgrading to a Mod, but I just can't LIVE without my $1,000 per night club level room at the Poly, you know!") may give the impression that just about everyone here is lounging around in silk smoking jackets with a teacup poodle in one hand and a diamond-encrusted iPhone in the other, let me reassure you that this is not the case! Most of us here are looking to save where we can, and consider even a bare-bones a Disney vacation a "splurge" all by itself.

We do a middle-of-the-road approach. In the past, we generally stayed in moderate resorts, in standard rooms, during times when there was a discount offer (usually around 20%) in place. We only get the dining plan if it's going to save us money, depending on where we're eating. There are four of us: 2 adults, 2 children, and we go for 6-7 days, 5-6 nights, and go during an average or lower pricing season. Total vacation cost (tickets, food and room) without airfare is $3,000 or less. We plan to go about once every 18 months.

 

[zurgandfriend]

All out, deluxe resort, park hopper passes, sit down dinning at night or maybe a lunch and a couple of breakfasts thrown in.

 

[ShookieJones]

We have a family 4-pack.

WDW - Is our 1 BIG vacation a year - if things are good for us financial we do some kind of long weekend beach get away or some day trips (depending on our finances) for our other mini vacation.

So for us our yearly WDW is always an attempt at "all out" vacation
What that "all out" happens to be that year depends on what kinda dough and deals are\is available.

We always manage to at least do a moderate...and sometimes a deluxe.
I would do a value in a heartbeat if we couldn't afford a moderate.

We try to stay at least 7 nights, but I would stay less if I had to.

What works for you works for you, but it looks like you've got your answer right here:

The thing is, I would LOVE to do an "all out" best of the best of everything vacation, but I would also like to go numerous times as opposed to waiting til I have the money to do this dream vacation. Plus with my daughter only being 4, she is just happy to be there. What are your thoughts?

We all do what we can within our means. If I was rolling in dough, I'd be hitting the world 3-4 times a year deluxe monorail resort, club level every time.

So I do what works for us based on what we can afford.

 

[PrincessMia]

We've gone for the past 4 years (DH, DD8, me), and have gotten into the habit of asking for Disney cards for birthdays, Christmas, whatever for all of us. It helps me not to stress about souvenirs and the occasional out-of-pocket meal, and gives my daughter some lessons in budgeting.

 

[Disvillain63]

It varies; we've stayed in every level of accomodation at WDW, but prefer WL or BW. Renting DVC points is a great way to turn a moderate budget into a deluxe budget. We don't eat at TS every trip; sometimes we don't want to...so we make few ADRs (one or two before we leave). Since the kids are grown and gone, we have more disposable income and can make more frequent trips; hence the 3 in a year's time...before that it was about 1 per year. Booking and paying off the room before we leave, getting tickets (undercovertourist or tickets-at-work and paying them off before we leave) and then buying gift cards for the trip...one a pay period or two from Kroger. When the kids were teenagers, we gave them charge privileges on the KTTW card and guidelines for spending for food...never had a problem.