When we were young and broke

[epcotisbest]

Sitting here planning a trip to AKL Kidani and thinking about when we first started going in the early 1980s as a newly married couple, and me having never been before as a kid.
Some of my fondest memories include driving around trying to find a cheap place to stay in a very then undeveloped area of 192. We always stayed offsite at first and the room did not matter, as long as it was fairly clean. We used to have to really stretch the budget just to be able to go. We even used to pack a cooler in the trunk of the car and would go out to the parking lot for a peanut butter sandwich and coke for lunch and dinner. It was blazing hot in the car and by early evening all the ice you could pack was melted and the last of the sandwiches were soggy and the cokes not quite cold enough, but we loved it.
There was only MK and Epcot then...yet we still never had enough time, and we always came home exhausted. Fun times. Any similar memories you would like to share?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Our early trips to WDW were always highly budgeted. We'd leave Vt. after I got done work on Friday night and drive to Albany, NY. The next morning we would have breakfast (always at McDonalds) and stop near Richmond, VA. From there to Savanna, Ga and then to Kissimmee. We had the early version of the internet and that was a booklet that listed all the locations of Econo-Lodges all the way down the east coast. Everyplace we stayed in, when there, was fairly close to the Main entrance to WDW, but, again Econo-Lodges or equivalent. We ate breakfast before going to the park, had a quick service lunch. Below is a picture of us having lunch just outside of Pinocchio Village Haus that sold what you see us consuming, a small drink and prepackaged sandwiches with chips.

Offsite for dinner in a cafeteria style or buffet style location. We used different hotels in subsequent visits, but, they were all the same type. (noticed when there in January that all the places we stayed in are now either empty lots or decaying buildings).

We budgeted just so much for each day to cover everything and if we went over then the next day was pretty sparse. If we stayed under budget, the next day was a celebration. There were, in the early 80's, a number of sit-down restaurants (Sambo's and the like) that gave a free meal for kids with every adult order. Saved a ton doing that.

Here's the picture of lunchtime in the Magic Kingdom taken in 1983. Those little girls are now 38 and 40 years old with children of there own... (sigh)

 

[zurgandfriend]

I started going to WDW a little later in life, when I was in my 40's and we had a little bit of money to spare. I have however mentioned in other threads how in 1959 my father drove us across country via route 66 to visit his brother in California. The trip included visits to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland,talk about night and day. I'm sure my parents saved and planned for this trip for a long time but they never said a word to to my sister or me. One morning they said get in the car we're going on an adventure and off we went.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Baaack when we were broke...First WDW trip ever, DW & I were adults DS was 8yo. Our business was just starting up and struggling, DW was first ill and we had lots of medical expenses. To celebrate DW coming out of a 3 month hospital rehab. stay, and have a way to recuperate as a family, we went. I remember falling in love with WDW shortly after being in MK for the first time and thinking... I'd love to come back for another trip but how can I ever afford to ? So many things looked appealing to buy as souvenirs. I fell in love with pins I saw. We had to keep telling DS, no you cant have that or that or that, then telling ourselves the same thing. I had budgeted every part of our trip to what I thought was down to the penny. Each day my wallet held that days spending money, at the end of the day I was counting what might be left over if any and add it to the next days fund. We didnt know about bringing snacks with us to help defray costs, so every meal we ordered was checked and ordered as cheaply as possible. There were no restaurant meals, very few snacks bought, no extras at all, as bare bones of a trip as we could make it. I came home with just enough money left over to buy us a dinner that night after coming in from the flight home. Still with nothing extra we were able to have a magical time and a desire to return. Since then I've found ways to scrimp, save and earn extra to fund return trips and add the extras we only dreamt of doing back then.
With the economy the way it is, I cant say things are much better money wise, there are still bills to pay, but I'm a wiser saver, a better planner and a WDW multi-time veteran.

 

[MinnieM123]

Back in the mid-80s, my mother and I visited WDW for the first time. Since I worked for a hotel company at that time, (that also had properties down in FL), we could stay for free in a nice suite. There was a refrigerator in the suite, and we went out to a grocery store and stocked up. (We even made sandwiches in the morning to take with us for lunch in the parks, and we would just buy a drink there and maybe an ice cream cone.) Dinner was the only meal we actually "bought" in the parks.

We cut the budget pretty close to the bone; and I recall our rental car deal was to buy the gas up front, and not have to fill it before returning. So, in our effort to pinch pennies, I remember that we drove that car back to the rental company on the fumes!!

 

[Dwarful]

Growing up in the 70s the youngest of three kids, we always drove to California from Illinois for two weeks to visit my mother's sister and family in Orange County California. This meant visits to DL, Knott's Berry and the occasional tour at Universal.

I remember distinctly the year my grandparents and my cousin made the trip with us. My father had just bought a new red Dodge pick up truck with a camper shell. The kind that had those crank windows with the screens. My dad and grandpa borrowed two bus seats from the church bus (an old school bus) and anchored them in the back of the truck closest to the cab..near the little window that connected to the cab. Next they installed a 'school bus drivers' fan in the back to keep us cool...(IT DID NOT WORK!!!). My dad, my brother who had just turned 16 and my grandpa sat in the cab because they were the drivers. (yep! in 1978 they let my brother with a new license help drive us 2,000 miles across the country).

My mom and grandma sat on one bus seat, my sister 13, my cousin 8 and myself 6 sat on the other bus seat. When it came time to stop for gas or a meal we would pull into a town, mom and grandma would buy supplies in a grocery and then we ate picnic style at a park or rest stop.

It sounds crazy now, would actually be illegal I guess....but looking back it was the best vacation we ever went on.

My dads 8mm film, slides and photographs taken on this trip were our only 'souvenirs' from this trip. That Christmas though we all received a 'gift' from Disneyland....that somehow our parents had purchased and kept hidden away without our knowledge. I still have my Small World book and 45 record.

 

[eeyoremum]

2003 was a heck of a year really bad on many levels. I decided to surprise my husband with a trip to WDW. There were a few things I didn't know at the time.

1. Don't go at Christmas...it is stinkin' expensive
2. Don't tell the kids (4 & 9) because that could have been their Christmas present
3. Don't fly out of Toronto..yikes!
4. Don't ever surprise your husband with a trip you cannot afford. Especially if he really never travelled as a child and didn't really want to go.

Anyway, we stayed at POP because I wanted to stay on site. We ate those nasty frozen pizzas they serve every night for dinner and paid for that trip for about 3 years...I will never do that again but it was worth it at the time.

 

[Disvillain63]

Back in '72, my dad could only afford to buy ticket books with one E-ticket...did not matter, because we still had fun.

We started taking our kids in 1990, on a fairly regular basis but monitored every meal and souveiner. We stayed at the Caribbean Resort because it was the least expensive, until the All Stars came along. Port Orleans and Dixie Landings were treats. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge the year it opened, because I was a castmember and got a significant discount. It was several years later before we were able to stay at WL again. Now deluxes are our norm...especially WL.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

1993 was a heck of a year really bad on many levels. I decided to surprise my husband with a trip to WDW. There were a few things I didn't know at the time.

1. Don't go at Christmas...it is stinkin' expensive
2. Don't tell the kids (4 & 9) because that could have been their Christmas present
3. Don't fly out of Toronto..yikes!
4. Don't ever surprise your husband with a trip you cannot afford. Especially if he really never travelled as a child and didn't really want to go.

Anyway, we stayed at POP because I wanted to stay on site. We ate those nasty frozen pizzas they serve every night for dinner and paid for that trip for about 3 years...I will never do that again but it was worth it at the time.

The Pop Century didn't open until 2003. Are you sure you mean 1993?

 

[eeyoremum]

The Pop Century didn't open until 2003. Are you sure you mean 1993?

Oops, yep, thanks

 

[Mr Toad]

I did go 3 times to WDW and once to DL when I was still living with my parents before college. We always stayed off site. I don't remember where exactly but I know we had a lot of fun.

I do recall my first time taking my oldest daughter to WDW...it was 2006 and we stayed at All Star Sports. I had told her a few years before that one day I would take her to WDW when we had the money. That year finally came in 2006. I was only able to do the trip because I got a promotion at work and now was eligible for a bonus (which has now be eliminated). So every year til 2009 I used my bonus to pay for a trip and we stayed at ASMusic, Ft Wilderness and POR. Then I got divorced and I wasn't able to afford a trip until this past June. And instead of having 1 child, I now have 5 with the 2nd wife. It will be at least 3 years til the next trip.
And by the way, I'm older now and STILL broke!

 

[Goofyernmost]

I did go 3 times to WDW and once to DL when I was still living with my parents before college. We always stayed off site. I don't remember where exactly but I know we had a lot of fun.

I do recall my first time taking my oldest daughter to WDW...it was 2006 and we stayed at All Star Sports. I had told her a few years before that one day I would take her to WDW when we had the money. That year finally came in 2006. I was only able to do the trip because I got a promotion at work and now was eligible for a bonus (which has now be eliminated). So every year til 2009 I used my bonus to pay for a trip and we stayed at ASMusic, Ft Wilderness and POR. Then I got divorced and I wasn't able to afford a trip until this past June. And instead of having 1 child, I now have 5 with the 2nd wife. It will be at least 3 years til the next trip.
And by the way, I'm older now and STILL broke!

Sometimes that never seems to go away. The only way I got solvent was getting divorced and staying that way.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

We were in that very affordable post-9/11 era of deeply discounted Disney tourism when we first started going to WDW in our early 20s. We stayed at the Pop Century for our first visit, and didn't make any dining reservations. They weren't entirely necessary because the free dining plan discounts didn't rule the autumn low season at the time. I remember spending an inordinate amount of time at MGM Studios (when we were not at Epcot, partaking in the Food & Wine festivities). I guess there was still stuff to do there back then.

 

[Mr Toad]

Sometimes that never seems to go away. The only way I got solvent was getting divorced and staying that way.

I hear ya...I'm just a sucker and got married again...

 

[Goofyernmost]

I hear ya...I'm just a sucker and got married again...

Being alone is not always a joy either, to be honest! Money isn't everything... appreciate what you have. You've been able to take a chance again... I have not had the courage to reach out again!

 

[epcotisbest]

Our early trips to WDW were always highly budgeted. We'd leave Vt. after I got done work on Friday night and drive to Albany, NY. The next morning we would have breakfast (always at McDonalds) and stop near Richmond, VA. From there to Savanna, Ga and then to Kissimmee. We had the early version of the internet and that was a booklet that listed all the locations of Econo-Lodges all the way down the east coast. Everyplace we stayed in when there was fairly close to the Main entrance to WDW, but, again Econo-Lodges or equivalent. We ate breakfast before going to the park, had a quick service lunch. Below is a picture of us having lunch just outside of Pinocchio Village Haus that sold what you see us consuming, a small drink and prepackaged sandwiches with chips.

Offsite for dinner in a cafeteria style or buffet style location. We used different hotels in subsequent visits, but, they were all the same type. (noticed when there in January that all the places we stayed in are now either empty lots or decaying buildings).

We budgeted just so much for each day to cover everything and if we went over then the next day was pretty sparse. If we stayed under budget, the next day was a celebration. There were, in the early 80's, a number of sit-down restaurants (Sambo's and the like) that gave a free meal for kids with every adult order. Saved a ton doing that.

Here's the picture of lunchtime in the Magic Kingdom taken in 1983. Those little girls are now 38 and 40 years old with children of there own... (sigh)
View attachment 65022

Thank you for sharing. Great photo with wonderful memories. For us we had to save on food and accommodations to make it happen. Our drive is from north Georgia, so we could make it easily in about nine hours, eight if we put it in the wind. Can't imagine driving from Vermont, where we have visited, and loved.

 

[epcotisbest]

I started going to WDW a little later in life, when I was in my 40's and we had a little bit of money to spare. I have however mentioned in other threads how in 1959 my father drove us across country via route 66 to visit his brother in California. The trip included visits to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland,talk about night and day. I'm sure my parents saved and planned for this trip for a long time but they never said a word to to my sister or me. One morning they said get in the car we're going on an adventure and off we went.

And what an adventure that must have been. Thank you for sharing.

 

[epcotisbest]

Baaack when we were broke...First WDW trip ever, DW & I were adults DS was 8yo. Our business was just starting up and struggling, DW was first ill and we had lots of medical expenses. To celebrate DW coming out of a 3 month hospital rehab. stay, and have a way to recuperate as a family, we went. I remember falling in love with WDW shortly after being in MK for the first time and thinking... I'd love to come back for another trip but how can I ever afford to ? So many things looked appealing to buy as souvenirs. I fell in love with pins I saw. We had to keep telling DS, no you cant have that or that or that, then telling ourselves the same thing. I had budgeted every part of our trip to what I thought was down to the penny. Each day my wallet held that days spending money, at the end of the day I was counting what might be left over if any and add it to the next days fund. We didnt know about bringing snacks with us to help defray costs, so every meal we ordered was checked and ordered as cheaply as possible. There were no restaurant meals, very few snacks bought, no extras at all, as bare bones of a trip as we could make it. I came home with just enough money left over to buy us a dinner that night after coming in from the flight home. Still with nothing extra we were able to have a magical time and a desire to return. Since then I've found ways to scrimp, save and earn extra to fund return trips and add the extras we only dreamt of doing back then.
With the economy the way it is, I cant say things are much better money wise, there are still bills to pay, but I'm a wiser saver, a better planner and a WDW multi-time veteran.

My first trip was as an adult as well. Epcot is what hooked me. We resolved to come back as often as possible and have been blessed to do so. Now, we have over the years done Uni. And SeaWorld often as well. One trip we simply ran out of money, even budgeting with sandwich picnics in the parking lot. Fortunately, we did manage to have enough to purchase gas on the way home, but the wallet was completely empty, the peanut butter jar empty, no bread or cokes left by the time we got home. If anything had happened, like a flat tire or illness, we would have been in trouble. Looking back, that was terribly irresponsible, but it was just us. We have no children. Maybe I should amend the title to when we were young, broke and irresponsible. Thank you for sharing.

 

[epcotisbest]

Back in the mid-80s, my mother and I visited WDW for the first time. Since I worked for a hotel company at that time, (that also had properties down in FL), we could stay for free in a nice suite. There was a refrigerator in the suite, and we went out to a grocery store and stocked up. (We even made sandwiches in the morning to take with us for lunch in the parks, and we would just buy a drink there and maybe an ice cream cone.) Dinner was the only meal we actually "bought" in the parks.

We cut the budget pretty close to the bone; and I recall our rental car deal was to buy the gas up front, and not have to fill it before returning. So, in our effort to pinch pennies, I remember that we drove that car back to the rental company on the fumes!!

So you look back on those lean times with fond memories too. I am sure it is my imagination, but it seems sandwiches tasted better back then. Than you for sharing.

 

[epcotisbest]

Growing up in the 70s the youngest of three kids, we always drove to California from Illinois for two weeks to visit my mother's sister and family in Orange County California. This meant visits to DL, Knott's Berry and the occasional tour at Universal.

I remember distinctly the year my grandparents and my cousin made the trip with us. My father had just bought a new red Dodge pick up truck with a camper shell. The kind that had those crank windows with the screens. My dad and grandpa borrowed two bus seats from the church bus (an old school bus) and anchored them in the back of the truck closest to the cab..near the little window that connected to the cab. Next they installed a 'school bus drivers' fan in the back to keep us cool...(IT DID NOT WORK!!!). My dad, my brother who had just turned 16 and my grandpa sat in the cab because they were the drivers. (yep! in 1978 they let my brother with a new license help drive us 2,000 miles across the country).

My mom and grandma sat on one bus seat, my sister 13, my cousin 8 and myself 6 sat on the other bus seat. When it came time to stop for gas or a meal we would pull into a town, mom and grandma would buy supplies in a grocery and then we ate picnic style at a park or rest stop.

It sounds crazy now, would actually be illegal I guess....but looking back it was the best vacation we ever went on.

My dads 8mm film, slides and photographs taken on this trip were our only 'souvenirs' from this trip. That Christmas though we all received a 'gift' from Disneyland....that somehow our parents had purchased and kept hidden away without our knowledge. I still have my Small World book and 45 record.

Thanks for sharing. Now that really is an adventure! I can't imagine 2000 miles on a bus seat in the back of a truck. What fond memories. I bet your Small World book and 45 record are treasures. I never went anywhere as a child and I think that is why I am still making up for it now in my 50s.