Do people think your rich because you go to Disney every year?

[wdw71]

I really hate it when I get the eye roll or the sigh when I say we are going back to Disney. But it is perfectly OK for those same people to go to the beach every year. We are like many others here, we live in a smaller house and only have one new car at a time and we hardly spend our money on other luxuries throughout the year. We like a vacation every year and the last two, soon to be three years we have chosen WDW.

 

[LeahA]

Thanks for all the responses! Well most of us are not monitary rich, we all know that we are lucky that we get to vacation at one of the happiest places on earth!

 

[aurorae]

We have a neighbor that funds her frequent vacations by taking out a second mortgage on her house. Or at least, she did before the housing market crashed. Not something I would recommend, but it's her life.

We never commented on it, of course. Never did an eye roll, never made snide remarks. Just watched her cat when she left town.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Oddly enough, I don't get comments about spending money on Disney..This surprises me because I have friends and family who think that I have it made because I'm a single woman who makes a good living..

No, I get the "aren't you bored going to the same place year after year?" This from people who go to the same timeshare year after year where all you do is shop and sit on the beach.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Flipflopmom, I agree completely, the memories with my Dad and sister at WDW I'll cherish forever. We still talk and laugh about stuff that happened back in 2002 when we went.

 

[NancyIL]

Apparently being "rich" is a bad thing! We are rich compared to many people in other parts of the world. We're not rich compared to the owners of the companies most of us work for. Those who make snarky comments about others being rich usually do so out of envy...ignore them!

 

[jojomoore]

I definately do not consider myself "rich" in the traditional since of the word. I do take offense to people who say to me "you get to go to disney because you have more money than me". I actually do not make or have more money than these people. I just choose to spend my money differently. Sometimes i don't think people understand how much money drinking and smoking adds up over a years time or understand that buying a fountain drink with ice is no where near as economical as buying a 20 ounce bottle in a six pack. If you work hard every day and spend your money wisely then usually you can afford a vacation once a year - if thats what you really want to do. Sometimes its about making choices.

 

[Chip's My Hero]

I just read the first post so i mihgt now be off topic. LOL But, for the most part they start off thinking it's expensive and then once we talk about it they are shocked by just how relatively inexpensive it is. We go every year and LOVE it. We try to educate friends and family on how best to "do" Disney. I can't tell you how many people start planning a trip after learning how much it doesn't cost.

 

[h0pe]

I think people just want to gossip about anything!

I am a FL resident, so Disney is very convenient !


I am also a college student and go at least twice a year and will become a DVC member when I graduate.

There is no such thing as PAYING FULL PRICE for Disney, you can get codes and discounts all the time.

 

[michelleiada]

We don't go every year but have been going every other year and we stay 10nights at Disney Deluxe (Beach Club) with Dining Plan, Park Hopper and Waterparks. We save the money ahead of time by putting $40-50 a week in an envelope and accrue reward points by using the Disney Visa card for most of our monthly expenses and pay the balance every month. We usually end up with around $1200 in reward points which we apply to our dining plan. My husband is a tax accountant and I am a nurse working only part time. We have two kids. We are by no means financially rich, but like many of you have said rich in many other ways. We have health, and all that we need to survive. We work hard. My husband does not believe in use of credit cards or I should say carrying a balance on them. His education is in accounting and finance so he has learned to handle money very well....and he works very hard to support us. We don't live extravagantly....but love our Disney Vacations. You only live once...and life is short. If you work hard every day and you pay your bills, you deserve that vacation every year...or in our case, every other. People give us the same remarks when we tell them we are going to Disney again. "Aren't you tired of Disney" or "Haven't you done it all already" We will never tire of Disney and after many trips...still get just as excited as the first few times we went. We have traveled to other places and have not ever had the desire to return like we do with WDW! So...like many of you have said..we are not financially rich, but find a way to visit WDW on a regular basis!

 

[luvthemouse71]

I definately do not consider myself "rich" in the traditional since of the word. I do take offense to people who say to me "you get to go to disney because you have more money than me". I actually do not make or have more money than these people. I just choose to spend my money differently. Sometimes i don't think people understand how much money drinking and smoking adds up over a years time or understand that buying a fountain drink with ice is no where near as economical as buying a 20 ounce bottle in a six pack. If you work hard every day and spend your money wisely then usually you can afford a vacation once a year - if thats what you really want to do. Sometimes its about making choices.

Hey, good point! Let's do some math. How much are cigarettes per pack these days?(I'm a non-smoker) Let's say $7.00 a pack..my good friend at work is a pack a day smoker..so that's $49 dollars a week just for cigarettes- multiply that times 52 weeks in a year..$2,548.00.
I believe this could pay for a family of 4 to stay in a value(maybe a moderate) for a week. especially with the use of pin codes, going at cheaper times of year etc.

Like a PP said, all about priorities.

 

[LeahA]

We went to the Disney Store today and bought our tickets, the lady behind me heard the total and said "Oh my God!" When my kids wanted to eat in the food court then, I said, "Do you realize we just spent over a $1,000.00 on Disneyworld tickets????"

 

[luvthemouse71]

Ok, I'm nerdy like that but I went to the WDW site and did the quick quote pricing for a family of 4(2 adults, and I put the kids ages at 6 and 8)staying at Pop Century for a week(standard room), with the dining plan and park hoppers. Price came to $2592.40. So I was pretty close! Of course, this fictional family could get rid of the standard dining plan(use the QS dining plan or go when there's free dining) and the park hoppers, and it would be even cheaper.

They could stay off site too, I suppose.

BTW, they were traveling in September..

 

[DCbride]

I get a lot of comments about how often we have been going recently. But we typically spend about $1200 on a Disney trip due to our APs. Most of the people around here get a house at the Jersey Shore for a week for about $4000 in the summer. I would much rather spend 3 vacations at Disney then a week at the shore for the same price. Plus I am not cooking!!

 

[Micca]

When I was growing up our family "vacations" were mostly visitng other family members withing 150 miles miles. We went ONCE to California to go to DLR, and ONCE to the Ozarks for ...whatever. In my family (def old school) we just didn't spend money on vacations. I don't think I'm rich, but the fact that we go to WDW twice a year is a dream come true luxury to me.

 

[drag n' fly]

People don't think I am rich for going to Disney so often. My friends and family have confirmed they think I am a few fries short of a happy meal for spending so much money there

 

[Backside of Water]

I guess it depends on your definition of "rich" and "affordable".

I wish I could go more often, but I just can't drop a grand for anything these days.

 

[freshlybarked]

We have friends who go to Europe every year or some grand vacation. We go to WDW and see France at Epcot. The same - no, but it's as close as we will ever get. They tell us save your money and go to the real thing. Since it would take us 10 years to save for the real thing and I don't feel like going without a vacation for 10 years we will continue to feel "rich" and go to WDW. It's a lot less trouble and more fun for us.

 

[NancyIL]

We have friends who go to Europe every year or some grand vacation. We go to WDW and see France at Epcot. The same - no, but it's as close as we will ever get. They tell us save your money and go to the real thing. Since it would take us 10 years to save for the real thing and I don't feel like going without a vacation for 10 years we will continue to feel "rich" and go to WDW. It's a lot less trouble and more fun for us.

I agree with your friends about seeing the real Europe and not just World Showcase! If you don't want to go to Europe, that's one thing. But if you'd like to go - you need to lose the WDW is as close as we'll ever get mentality and start saving for Europe, too. Yes, it will take longer, but Europe isn't 10 times as expensive as WDW.

You could cruise on Disney's April 10-24, 2010 Transatlantic cruise from Port Canaveral to Barcelona for $699/pp plus tax. You could also choose from the April/May 2010 10 or 11-night Mediterranean cruises starting at $999/pp + tax. Yes, airfare is high, but those are bargain cruises to Europe.

 

[wdwfan16]

I was talking to a friend about money, fianances and I made a comment that my dh and I must give off some illusion that we are richer than we are. My friend said "Well you do go to Disney every year, some people only get to go one time every 5 or 10 years or not at all!"

First, we are not rich. Second, we have driven to Florida every year, we pack alot of food and drinks. We have a coin jar going all year to help with those little extras, the kids get money from their grandparents for souvenirs. Before buying the DVC we were off site many years with great Priceline deals. When we did stay onsite it was always with a code to get the lowest rate.

I feel that we all spend our money differently. Her 3 kids are in football, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, basketball. So I feel what she pays for in sports every year, I probably pay the same or less for my Disney trip.

Just venting!!!

So you started the rich discussion and then try to play it down.