How do you justify the finances taking a Disney World trip?

[lustergirl]

OP is taking her entire family including grandchildren and great grandchildren. This isn't simply a family of 4 or 5. This could easily be 20 or more people. Also she says her dh is turning 80 soon. It may be physically difficult to sit in a car for such a long time. Depending where in the Midwest the OP is coming from this could easily take much more than 1 day of driving straight through. It's not much of a vacation if you're not enjoying yourself.
Personally, we fly anytime a drive is greater than 6-8 hrs. That's just our preference and wouldn't knock someone for wanting to drive, or someone with fear of flying.


OP, is there some way you can compromise if you feel guilty about spending so much $? Perhaps if you can't get a deal for free dining, offer to pay for flights, hotel, tickets and maybe treat the family to one character meal, with everyone together and let them buy the rest of their meals and souvenirs. That would still be extremely generous.

Adults would be paying their own way.

 

[sk!mom]

o,

Family time is precious, but it can happen anywhere.

I would prioritize college over Disney. I have prioritized college over Disney - our kids will graduate with no college debt.

I too, would and have, prioritized college over vacations for my own children. I have one in college now. Two years down- no debt- curtailed traveling for the duration.

The OP is talking about travel with her children and grandchildren. When I'm 80, if I'm healthy enough to travel to Disney and treat my family- I hope that I do it.

DH and I already talk about the fact that we won't buy our future grandchildren a bunch of crap at birthdays and holidays but will instead buy small gifts and make contributions to college funds. We do not, however, plan to fully fund those educations or curtail our own travel for that purpose. Our children can pay that forward.

I would, however, be looking for the best possible deal.

 

[Livvie]

Adults would be paying their own way.

OP made it sound like she will be covering the entire cost of the trip.

 

[Katy Belle]

These are your Great Grandchildren. Perhaps their parents, and Grandparents (maybe both sides of family) are saving for their education? They might really appreciate a great trip , with you! We made sure we had a good start on kids college funds before we took vacations. We would have loved a vacation with Grandparents.

 

[Anal Annie]

I've only read about the first 3 pages on this thread... We own DVC so to answer one of the questions the OP first asked about justifying a Disney vacation we do it by knowing that our accomodations are covered up front. But the costs of meals and tix has SKYROCKETED. Even for us it can be cost prohibitive. I also think the OP should seriously consider looking into renting DVC points for her group. But she should do it SOON as early December tends to book up with DVC and her availability will be dropping as I type. I would also say to steer away from the DDP. That would be a huge savings right there to plan to eat OOP.

RE: college funds. Our DS is currently a freshman at a private college that cost about $49K this past year and is going up for next year. He's seriously considering adding in his Masters while he's there (they have a 5-year Masters program for his major so it makes sense). For his HS graduation last year he got some money from the grandparents - not HUGE amounts but I can tell you that ANYTHING towards college is HUGE and was a God-send. Had he stayed in-state at a public college our 529 plan and with the scholarships he was offered would've meant we wouldn't have had to even worry about having college debt. But that's not the path he chose. He wanted a school that offered the best education for his major. Now we're all going to face massive amounts of debt before he's done. If the grandparents could have contributed even small amounts to his 529 plan when he was younger the 529 plan would've been worth more now.... So I can see that side too. If the OP wants to contribute toward college I suggest a small contribution to their 529's (or STARTING them if they're not started yet) with any savings she might have after planning this trip. I really think she should be able to do this trip for a fraction of what she first thought.

Also can't help but wonder if the OP has discussed the trip at all yet with the parents of the 2 great grandkids? I'm thinking they might be willing to help pay something in some small way - especially if they have a few months to save. I realize the OP wants to treat everything BUT, I'm betting the parents wouldn't mind covering some of the cost. Perhaps the transportation to get there. Or maybe the meals. Just a small portion? Maybe they could cover their kids spending money for souvenirs? I think I read the OP was budgeting $25 / day (per kid?) for souvies? That's a LOT IMO. (Plus you gotta find room to drag all that stuff home!!) It might be a compromise worth thinking about?!?!

Good luck OP - I hope you can figure it out without breaking the bank. I think you can. But it's going to take some planning.

 

[Bete]

Thanks again everyone. My great grandchildren's parents just bought a home in Chicago. Our grandchild, mom, is a stay at home mom. We really don't expect them to pitch in for the trip. The total amount going on this trip is 4 adults and two kids. The adults are mom and dad and us and of course, the two great grandchildren.

Without free dining we probably won't go. I really feel Disney World has cycles and we will just wait for a better time if it doesn't happen this year. We have done this for many years and we will get a good deal before we take this trip.

 

[ldo]

if you decide to go without dining plan: rent a 2BR DVC villa or a Ft W cabin and cook dinners in the unit--for 4 adults, that will knock off almost $1K over the week. Get base tickets without park hopping. Do 1-2 character meals--plenty for that age. Take drinks/snacks into the parks to supplement meals. Drinks and snacks add up. Get water with meals in which drink is not free. Kids meals are a good value, as they include a drink. Split large meals to feed 2 persons. We do the above (using our own DVC points) and really don't spend that much $. We eat in the room for breakf, lunch in the parks, back for simple dinner @ DVC and then back for a few hours in the PM to the park. Only you can decide if the $ is worth it. In 10+ years, we have driven/trained/flown to WDW and would not consider another theme park the same. But, at 4 yrs old, my kids liked Busch Gardens just fine and we had some very fun times. But, I would not pay $4K for BG vs. $8K for WDW.

 

[crisi]

o,

I too, would and have, prioritized college over vacations for my own children. I have one in college now. Two years down- no debt- curtailed traveling for the duration.

The OP is talking about travel with her children and grandchildren. When I'm 80, if I'm healthy enough to travel to Disney and treat my family- I hope that I do it.

DH and I already talk about the fact that we won't buy our future grandchildren a bunch of crap at birthdays and holidays but will instead buy small gifts and make contributions to college funds. We do not, however, plan to fully fund those educations or curtail our own travel for that purpose. Our children can pay that forward.

I would, however, be looking for the best possible deal.

I'd prioritize it for my grandchildren over traveling with them. I have a few friends who had portions of college paid for by grandparents (or great grandparents - or in one case a great great grandparent who left it in trust - still going four generations later). It was a sweet deal for them.

I'd prioritize my own travel over my grandchildren's educations.

 

[LovesTimone]

Personally I would go, those memories will be priceless for you and your family.

You could look at moderate resort, that way when "FD" is offered you will get the reg DDP, so those character meals are covered.

Think about renting points for DVC from a broker, more room and privacy would be nice, with a kitchen it will help out on the food cost, breakfast in room, snacks, back to the room for lunch, swim and naptime for everyone.

 

[PamNC]

I would suggest looking into renting points from a DVC owner (here on the boards!). You could rent a 2 bedroom and save $$$. I would skip the dining plan.

 

[hsmamato2]

I think it's a personal thing for different people..... I 'justify' our travel expenses b/c
1- I work hard to get really good bargains
2- I am frugal in most other aspects of life
3- which ties to#2, I am frugal b/c I choose to spend a certain % of our income on travel,as it's very important to me,I love it.
4- Our travel budget budget comes after our necessities and savings budget.
...OP I am with some other pp's I wouldn't be paying for a grandchilds college anyway so that wouldn't factor in for me.

 

[serenitynow]

On our last trip, we bought Disney Gift Cards at SAMs Club (slight discount) in the amount the Disney Dining Plan was going to cost us. We like to pay off our vacation in advance. It became clear a few days into the trip that we going to have dollars left over on the gift cards, so we relaxed, ate what we wanted, when we wanted and had enough left over for the boys to take a horseback ride at Ft. Wilderness. Good times

 

[brymolmom]

I'm leaning towards going and I will just wait for any deals that will hopefully come along and grab one. If there's no free dining then we will cut back on eating at the parks. I will look into renting points for DVC, too. With a kitchen we could save eating costs. I will say though I just don't like the idea of cooking on vacation, but it would be a compromise to make costs more manageable.

I appreciate everyone's outlook. I really like Disney World and I would love to give that experience to our great grandchildren. I will have to learn more about fastpass plus and magic bands, now. Yes, we are renting off site for a scooter.

Since we probably won't go back for another trip we would like to stay for a week. We could always go to SeaWorld or other parks, too.

Well - If it was ME...And I was footing the bill...This wouldn't be an issue at all (not wanting to cook on vacation) - I would have your kids do the cooking! You could present it like this: I want to bring us on a trip to WDW...I will provide this, this and this...I will pay for two sit down dinners out, but would expect you to cook a few meals in the condo. WHAT A DEAL they're getting...I would cook a few 'quick' meals in a condo to snag a free trip to Disney! It's a win/win - you get to save a bit and keep it within budget - they still get their trip!

 

[Burnedout]

We are only given so many days on this earth. My kids have had a lifetime of travel with my mom joining us. It is our job to put our kids through school. Not hers. T is her job to be a part of their memories and their lives.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Let me first say that hubby and I have been to Disney World over 40 times throughout the years. We have been very lucky to have gone when prices seemed to be more reasonable in years past. We have not been for 4 years. To me it seems prices have gotten outrageous.

I just started playing around with a budget for hubby and I, our great 2 grandchildren and their parents for a week at Disney World in December 2016. Hubby will be turning 80 soon. He can do the parks with a scooter. I can probably get along without one. If we don't do it now it may never happen. I think the next few years will be it for us traveling to Florida from the Midwest.

Anyway, this looks like it can cost us between $10000 to $12000 staying on site for all of us. This would include transportation and souvenirs and such. I'm looking at either 2 Pop Century rooms or a suite at the Art of Animation. I want to do the regular dining plan; because, we want character meals. This will probably be the only time the great grandkids will ever go. They adore Disney toys and movies; so, we would like to make this happen before they get older and we can't go. Currently, prices are without a promotion and I sure would like to catch a free dining plan. Even if I squeezed the pennies it would still probably be at least $8000.

I keep thinking how the money would be better spent in a college fund. This would be a big amount for us that could go towards their education. I was thinking it might be better to compromise and go to Dollywood and enjoy the Smokies with them for probably half the cost.

The kid in me says go to Disney World and enjoy our grandkids there before it's too late.

So, how do you justify a trip to Disney World?

After reading all 6 pages I think it sounds like you will probably go.

For us family of 2 adults 3 kids 5,3,1 it was $6000 for a 10 day trip at pofq with the ddp of 1 ts, 1 qs, 1 snack per night last January. This included two first hair cuts and two bbb appts. Plus lots of souvenirs.

We now are dvc members but we value our family vacations. Yes we could put
Money towards the kids college but having the memories from family vacations is very important.

I did take advantage of the dining plan by doing all character meals for our TS credits. With having kids it was well worth it. They loved the characters and it made us stop and eat. We are planing a 12 day trip this dec and will do the dining plan. We will break even or save money. Kids always want snacks from the park and to me cooking on vacation at Disney isn't a true vacation. If you were going every other year then maybe cook some.

For what you have said I would Rent a 2 bedroom dvc villa. Add the dining plan and have a great trip. The kids will have a blast. Hope you get to go

 

[kathy884]

Just want to say that any kind of get-together / mini trip with family can really be fun. Do something that you are comfortable with financially. I love to take a mini spring break trip and often pick Orlando. If that's not in the budget though, I've done fun little weekends. One was a little two night stay in Memphis with an extended family group that included my nephew who was a huge Elvis fan. We toured Graceland and Sun City, saw an Elvis impersonator show. No it wasn't a Disney trip and it was only one full day, but it was a fun get-together we all remember and enjoyed together.

When I don't want to compromise on lodging and expensive activities, sometimes too to make things more comfortable for my budget, I've just shortened the trip: Fly out on a Monday, stay four nights, and fly back on a Friday. It feels like I've been gone a week, but I saved three nights of lodging expense, and two full days of activity expense. It's easy for me to pick and choose what we'd like to do most, and this has been a good strategy for me over the years. In fact this is the way that I am doing an LA/Disneyland trip next January, and what I did to that to make it fit in my budget and into what I was comfortable spending on vacation.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

If there's flexibility book your trip when free dining is offered. Sounds like you'd need 2 rooms and want the QS dining plan, so a value would work and would be affordable. Given the ages of the group I'd want to stay on site as well so anyone can leave at anytime for a break if they want and not have to worry about travelling in a pack back to an offsite resort.

You can easily cut out a lot of extras, like the dessert party or less spending $$.

Honestly if you were my grandparent I'd be so grateful for the trip I don't think I could even accept you shelling out $$ at the park for extras. Yes, it's nice for grandparents to treat once in a while but the parents can put limits on their kids spending too. As first timers to Disney there will be so much to see and do that they wouldn't be missing out not doing those extras like a party. Heck they will probably just want to play in the poo! Put that $$ into a college fund instead of those extra tickets and ease your guilt about the college fund!

You don't need to justify anything if you've got the $ and can afford it. Don't feel guilty about not putting it into an education fund. That's the parents and student's responsibility. Yes, it's a bonus if a grandparent is able to help out ... and who knows in the future you still may. But to have 80 yr old great grandparents that are healthy enough to do stuff with, that's priceless.

 

[Bete]

It's my practical side that gets to me, here. I have read all posts and this is starting to bother me in a different way. I think we can swing a $10000 trip and do a Disney trip with the extras. If I get a deal/promo it won't be that much. My real issue is putting the money to better use for the great grandkids instead. I really don't want to pinch pennies to save $1000 and be more miserable doing Disney in a lesser way. I think family moments are important, but I like getting value from a trip and in reality the great grandkids parents are a concern, too. I think this has been nagging at me. It took all these posts for me to realize there are underlying issues, too.

It's just getting to Florida and doing Disney once there that will be a challenge for the parents of the great grandkids. I know the day of arrival and departure will not have time at the parks. For one, I'm sure I will have to do later air flights. Mom won't get up early; I'm sure. Then, settling in the resort will take more time for them. It's like everything is in slow motion. I can picture mom wanting to sleep the morning away each day. We can't handle the great grandkids on our own or I wouldn't care. We can help some, but we can't take over completely. I can see mom doing a three hour day and being done with the parks. She'd be happy to take a nap, enjoy the pool where she could just watch the kids in the pool and skip the parks except for a short look. Or worse yet stay in the resort room and watch television. I'm not sure about dad's drive and energy, either, but he has a good job and he has a physical job; so, I think he would have endurance. I don't think he would go to the parks without mom. There's no medical condition with the parents for real. To put it simply, they are not driven. Getting them to walk the entire Disney park will be a challenge. Hubby and I are very different people. We are driven and even with our limitations we don't let it stop us from doing anything really. We take a rest if needed, but we can accomplish an eight hour day at the parks easily when we are on our own. I know with the grandkids it will be more exhausting for us and so I would like to see us do 6 hours a day at the parks. I would be satisfied with 6 hours at the parks per day to get our money's worth. We could go off on our, but that's not really the point of this trip.

We know the great grandkids like the Disney characters, but we have no idea how they will react to the crowds, waits and so forth at Disney World. With the parents probably very willing to bail this could be a disaster. I could see the trip being a big waste of money. We will surely have a serious talk with the parents with our concerns. This has to be handled carefully though or we will be sure to offend. We don't live in the same state; so, we don't see them on a regular basis. The bonding with the great grandkids isn't that good; because, we don't see them as much as we would like to. I don't think they would want to be with us without one of the parents. The bond is very strong with mom; since, she is a stay at home mom. This is one of the reasons we wanted to do the trip; so, we could have strong quality time with everyone at the Happy Place.

For us, it won't be a satisfying trip if we are not in the parks for at least 4 hours a day and would prefer 6. It took all these posts to realize this is more complicated than just spending the money for the trip.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I think your concerns that you state above are very valid. It's your money, so I'm not going to comment on that aspect, but if you feel the money won't be a good value or well-spent, that's going to stick in your craw. Would it be worth considering a different vacation destination? Your post made me think, specifically, of Beaches in Jamaica. It's all-inclusive, there are plenty of fun activities. but a lower-energy vacationer could also spend plenty of time relaxing. Beaches used to have Sesame Street characters (not sure if they still do), which is why I thought of them, but there are other all-inclusives (Sanibel Island?) that might be good choices. I know it's kind of DIS heresy to recommend looking outside Disney World, but something else might be a better fit for what you want to accomplish.

In any event, good luck with planning, and I hope you get some wonderful bonding time with the little ones, wherever you wind up.

 

[serenitynow]

I do not wish to offend anyone, as this is only my opinion.

I had 2 sets of grandparents that were total opposites. One set had very little money, but every couple of years would pile all the grandkids into the car and take a road trip somewhere. Graceland, Corpus Christie, Memphis, Washington, D.C., myrtle beach, etc. we would either camp or stay in really cheap roadside motels. We ate sandwiches in the car, grilled out, etc. Some of my favorite childhood memories come from these trips, usually when something went wrong ( which it often did!). When they died, all they left us were the memories, no money.

My second set of grand parents were savers. They reused ziploc bags, never went on vacations, lived very frugally. They had substantially more money than my other grandparents.
When they passed there were two cedar chests filled with beautiful linens, crystal and other glass wear that they were saving for "special occasions". They left each of their grandchildren a small amount of money in trust for our educations. For which I was grateful and still am. Plus the cedar chests full of brand new items for "special".

Most of my childhood favorite memories come from the times spent with my first set of grandparents, eating PB&J in an old station wagon on our way to Graceland or some other silly place. Even the trips that were disasters are funny in retrospect. Like the time the whole crew nearly got arrested for camping on the beach!

So I decided with my own family to save and spend on family times that people will hopefully have fond memories of for the rest of their lives. We spend what little "extra money" there is on good times rather than things for "special" or saving accounts for grandchildren. Now that's not the right decision for everyone, but it's what works for us.