When we were young and broke

[rob0519]

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?

Our first trip was March 1978. So it was just the MK at the time. We stayed at a motel in Kissimmee named Admiral Benbow's or Captain Benbow's. The kids were 3 and 5 at the time. I remember letting them eat at the park even though it was expensive, but the wife and I ate almost every meal from the 7-11 across the street from the motel.
We probably have less than 24 pictures from the trip because of the cost of film and processing at the time. I wish I had more pictures, but it was a memorable trip for a lot of reasons.

 

[epcotisbest]

Our first trip was March 1978. So it was just the MK at the time. We stayed at a motel in Kissimmee named Admiral Benbow's or Captain Benbow's. The kids were 3 and 5 at the time. I remember letting them eat at the park even though it was expensive, but the wife and I ate almost every meal from the 7-11 across the street from the motel.
We probably have less than 24 pictures from the trip because of the cost of film and processing at the time. I wish I had more pictures, but it was a memorable trip for a lot of reasons.

We are the same way, very few photos back then because of the cost of film then photo processing. Very admirable letting kids eat at the park while parents eat at 7-11.

 

[rsoxguy]

Some of my fondest memories go back to when Disney only did Florida discounts occasionally and we didn't have the money for AP's. I would call on a Friday morning to ask, and if the pricing was agreeable I would surprise my wife by telling her that we were going up that afternoon as soon as we could leave work and pack something to wear for the next day. We would drive up and stay at an $18.99 per night dump on Irlo Bronson Hwy. We would then get up early and spend Saturday at the MK and then drive home that night. We would always buy gas and cheap snacks on the way to the Turnpike for the trip home. It was always a fun date for the two of us (pre-offspring days).
Good times...

 

[bjlc57]

26 years ago.. ( I believe) we took the kids for the first time.. We stayed at a new Day's In / Days Lodge.. for a four room suite, we paid 29 dollars per night with FREE BREAKFAST and a free tank of gas when you left. .our third trip we bought 49 bottles of power aide and filled about half as many more with water from our home tap.. it was either July or August.. and it was HOT.. but we froze bottles each night and carried in two that were cold.. and as the frozen ones melted, we would drink that and pour the rest over the ice.. and at the end of the day we would go out the the cooler in the truck and kill another bottle or two.. we did three parks in four days.. No AK as of that trip..

 

[CheersBigEars]

Really enjoyed this thread. I booked and paid for my trip in January but due to unforeseen events I will be broke by the time I travel in November. I will have to be creative when it comes to food and there will be no souvenirs this trip but I am still super excited to go and will enjoy the world. It was nice reading everyone's fond memories of packed lunches etc.

 

[epcotisbest]

I just remembered another tactic we used to do later, when we graduated from sandwiches to actually eating in the park, but still had a tight budget. We would eat at Pecos Bill's and order a double hamburger and for about .25 you could get an extra bun. Then we would have two regular burgers, loaded down with all the fixing we could pile on. I even remember having a lettuce, onion, tomato and pickles salad topped with mayo dressing.

 

[Ryan Toaddy]

I can remember going for the first time when I was about 5 years old, which would be 1989. MGM had just opened. We would stay off property at a Knight's Inn on 192, which I saw last week is still there. My mom told me that they would pay $29 and she would budget $100 for food for the day (which was for 5 people). We never ate in the parks and I was disturbed when I got handed my bill at Le Cellier when it ran me $180 for 2 people to eat one meal. But those trips were great as a kid. My parents cut corners on the hotel, but would buy souvenirs with the money they saved and made sure we had a great trip. Those trips are easily the best memories from my childhood.

 

[danpam1024]

in 1998 we wanted to go for NYE and were completely broke, so we stayed at an Econo Lodge somewhere close-ish- $29/night, REALLY fancy. the walls were painted concrete block. it was gross and we heard gunshots around 3pm when we were trying to nap so we could stay up for the NYE celebration. We ate at taco bell. and we had a great time We were just talking about it the other night-boy how things have changed.

 

[HollyAD]

When I was young I remember always driving to FL from MD in my Moms van. We packed as much food as possible and did not really eat out. I remember we would always get to Kissimmee the night before our reservations and I drive around looking for a hotel. We would always pick up a hotel coupon book at the FL line visitors center. I remember begging to stay at the BRAND new Motel 6. At that time it seemed to be the cleanest spot in Kissimmee. I am sure that if it still exists, its not so clean anymore. At that time I had never stayed at a WDW resort. During that stay I do remember ending up at a Holiday Inn or somewhere a little nicer for the rest of our stay. The next trip our dance troop traveled down to perform in Tomorrow Land. Every one else flew and we drove again. We could not really afford to fly and I was terrified of it! I finally discovered AS Music. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! How great was it to never have to park and ride a tram or a ferry again! And there was a food court! Not to mention the cool pool and the building with the outline of a man playing a saxophone(what I played in school). After that trip we were hooked! The money issue became a little better and we then started trying out WDW resorts. Even though we choose to stay at WDW, I still like to drive through Internation Drive and Kissimme for nostalgic reasons. A remembrance of days before I was hooked on WDW resorts. I still had just as much fun on our much lower budget family trips. On my next trip in Oct I plan on driving around just to see whatever came of the places I used to go like Old Towne.

 

[Phonedave]

My first trip was with my parents, in the early 80's

There was a discount airline at that time - People's Express. The local grocery store was running a promotion. If you bought $X of groceries, you qualified to but a discounted airline voucher on People's. They divided the country into three zones, east to west. A one zone ticket was $99. We are east coast, so we only needed one zone to go to WDW. My parents bought 4 of those vouchers and that covered airfare. We rented a car and stayed in a townhouse in Kissimmee. WDW consisted of MK and EPCOT at that time. We did a day at each of those parks, a day at SeaWorld, and a day at Cape Canaveral. We bought groceries and ate breakfast and dinner in the condo, and packed lunches.

Fast forward to 2000 (maybe, maybe 1999 maybe 2001) and my then wife wanted to go with our daughter (about 1 or 2 years old at the time). I really had no desire to go to WDW and quite frankly did not have the money. A new house, a new kid, and all the expenses that go with it. Well we ended up going (stayed in Pop Century), and I LOVED it. What I really loved about it was I felt like I was getting my moneys worth. Sure it was expensive and stretched the budget, but I felt (back in those days) it was worth the price. The quality of the parks, the attractions, the service, etc. - it made spending that money worth it.

Fast forward again. I have been to WDW more times than I can count - 3 or 4 times a year at times. I have been divorced and remarried. Between my wife and I we have 3 kids total between 9 and 15 - all who enjoy WDW. We are in a much more comfortable spot with money than I was in 1999 ( don't get me wrong, we don't have money coming out of our ears, but we don't worry about if we can make a mortgage payment each month). We own DVC, when we go we stay on property and eat a mostly signature restaurants. We went this June with all 5 of us, plus my mother-in-law and father-in-law (in a SSR treehouse). However, in the last two years or so, we have come to the conclusion that WDW is no longer worth the money. WE can afford it a lot easier now, but we just don't think it is worth it. We continue to go from time to time, and Food and Wine still gets us there, but we no longer do even yearly trips. It's a shame, now at a point where we can afford it, and not worry about money, the quality of the product has gone downhill and we no longer feel it is worth it.

 

[danpam1024]

My first trip was with my parents, in the early 80's

There was a discount airline at that time - People's Express. The local grocery store was running a promotion. If you bought $X of groceries, you qualified to but a discounted airline voucher on People's. They divided the country into three zones, east to west. A one zone ticket was $99. We are east coast, so we only needed one zone to go to WDW. My parents bought 4 of those vouchers and that covered airfare. We rented a car and stayed in a townhouse in Kissimmee. WDW consisted of MK and EPCOT at that time. We did a day at each of those parks, a day at SeaWorld, and a day at Cape Canaveral. We bought groceries and ate breakfast and dinner in the condo, and packed lunches.

Fast forward to 2000 (maybe, maybe 1999 maybe 2001) and my then wife wanted to go with our daughter (about 1 or 2 years old at the time). I really had no desire to go to WDW and quite frankly did not have the money. A new house, a new kid, and all the expenses that go with it. Well we ended up going (stayed in Pop Century), and I LOVED it. What I really loved about it was I felt like I was getting my moneys worth. Sure it was expensive and stretched the budget, but I felt (back in those days) it was worth the price. The quality of the parks, the attractions, the service, etc. - it made spending that money worth it.

Fast forward again. I have been to WDW more times than I can count - 3 or 4 times a year at times. I have been divorced and remarried. Between my wife and I we have 3 kids total between 9 and 15 - all who enjoy WDW. We are in a much more comfortable spot with money than I was in 1999 ( don't get me wrong, we don't have money coming out of our ears, but we don't worry about if we can make a mortgage payment each month). We own DVC, when we go we stay on property and eat a mostly signature restaurants. We went this June with all 5 of us, plus my mother-in-law and father-in-law (in a SSR treehouse). However, in the last two years or so, we have come to the conclusion that WDW is no longer worth the money. WE can afford it a lot easier now, but we just don't think it is worth it. We continue to go from time to time, and Food and Wine still gets us there, but we no longer do even yearly trips. It's a shame, now at a point where we can afford it, and not worry about money, the quality of the product has gone downhill and we no longer feel it is worth it.

Sadly, I couldn't agree with you more I am hoping by the time my son Graduates HS (5 years) it will have expanded and been re imagined into something none of us could have expected in our wildest dreams. And we can once again go not feeling like we're being rooked.

 

[epcotisbest]

Sadly, I couldn't agree with you more I am hoping by the time my son Graduates HS (5 years) it will have expanded and been re imagined into something none of us could have expected in our wildest dreams. And we can once again go not feeling like we're being rooked.

We just got back and are feeling the same way. It is just so expensive and the experience is not what it used to be. Maybe it is because we go often, but it seems to be less enjoyable and more costly every time.

 

[danpam1024]

We just got back and are feeling the same way. It is just so expensive and the experience is not what it used to be. Maybe it is because we go often, but it seems to be less enjoyable and more costly every time.

our last time was Thanksgiving 2011- at the BWI. 9 days cost us somewhere around $9,000- and we drive from 2 1/2 hours away! I just refuse to pay it anymore, especially when I enjoy Hard Rock Hotel (maybe even a little more) for 1/2 the price.

 

[chipndale76]

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

Love this photo
I am 38 myself and have great memories of my trips with my family many moons ago. My most recent proud moment when my almost 15 year old son said to his dad my hubby what do you mean Disney is "ok" Disney is awesome it never gets old. I love that he has inherited my love for everything Disney and I only hope he'll make memories with his own family one day.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Love this photo
I am 38 myself and have great memories of my trips with my family many moons ago. My most recent proud moment when my almost 15 year old son said to his dad my hubby what do you mean Disney is "ok" Disney is awesome it never gets old. I love that he has inherited my love for everything Disney and I only hope he'll make memories with his own family one day.

The older girl on the left in that picture, now has three children and goes to WDW fairly often. She even requested that as a wedding gift (she got it). The younger one on the right still loves it, but, isn't quite as enthusiastic as her sister. When she was in college in New Orleans and I would travel to WDW, she usually hopped a plane and went with us. Since she has married (one child) she has only been about 4 times and I have always accompanied them. Her husband thinks I make a good tour guide. I think he's just trying to suck up to me though. He knows he married my baby girl and I am watching him closely.

Here's some picture so what those two little girls look like now.

And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without the BEFORE picture.

 

[pixiesteno]

I remember going as a kid in '72, '76, and '80. Every trip was taken in Feb so we could go to the Daytona 500 (I wish the money for the race tickets would have been applied to another day at wdw). We would go for two weeks with the truck and p/u camper on the back. An additional tent provided more sleeping room as we grew. We would stay at family's house around the central FL area during the trip to off-set camping expenses. There was one campground, a Jellystone campground, in Apopka that we always stayed at for numerous days as part of the trip. We always did the WDW visit after visiting Aunt Violet in Plant City. She worked at a place where they gave her a special card that allowed us to purchase a booklet of "E tickets" only so we would get a couple of those and then supplement with a regular booklet for the "lower" ticket activities. We would leave Plant City early in the morning and arrive in the parking lot of WDW (the MK really) and have breakfast before leaving for the park. Lunch would be very conservative in the parks and then we would leave during the late afternoon, travel to the campground in Apopka and have dinner in the camper. We would beg, when we found that there was an impending trip, to stay at Fort Wilderness but by the time that the decision was made to travel it was filled. All meals done out of the camper and grill, stopping at Piggly Wiggly for groceries, and who got to ride in the top bunk watching the road and who got stuck riding in the middle in the cab. Oh the memories!

 

[chipndale76]

Awww that's awesome. My first trip was in 1980 but those photos are at my parents. The earlier photo here is around 1989 and way too much hairspray
The newest is my children and I, our last trip in 2012. We will be going back in 33 days!

 

[danpam1024]

View attachment 67137 Awww that's awesome. My first trip was in 1980 but those photos are at my parents. The earlier photo here is around 1989 and way too much hairspray
The newest is my children and I, our last trip in 2012. We will be going back in 33 days!View attachment 67136

it took great skill to get bangs THAT high- especially in the FL humidity! Looks like an Aquanet/Aussie Sprunch Spray combo

 

[chipndale76]

it took great skill to get bangs THAT high- especially in the FL humidity! Looks like an Aquanet/Aussie Sprunch Spray combo

I'm sure it took way too long to look that " good ". Ha lol. Odds are that was very early in the day.

 

[chipndale76]