To think a (not Paris) Disney holiday is possible for the average working family?

[Lilylouis]

DD is nearly 9 and has wanted to go on a Disney holiday for years.

We took her sibling who is 11 years older to Florida, before DD was born (not thinking we’d be able to have another) and it was a once in a lifetime experience and nowhere near as much money back then- we both also had better paid jobs and our mortgage wasn’t as high add onto that the COL.

We wouldn’t do Paris for personal reasons I’d rather not go into.

Do any average families do any Disney holidays?

Currently we have to save hard for a week in Spain!

How do people do Disney?

People do get really snooty about Disney holidays for some reason! We are taking dd6 end of this year - staying in a moderate Disney resort with the dining plan and it has cost just over 7k all in, including Disney tickets. A lot of the cost is the park tickets - if we wanted to do universal too we would be adding another 1.5k on probably!

We looked at two weeks in the likes of Turkey, Greece, Majorca and it was only marginally cheaper for rubbish hotel. You can also do Disney a lot cheaper if you stay offsite - it’s just the tickets which usually push it over the price of elsewhere.

I went for the first time when I was 15 and loved it, my family and I then went about 5 times over the following years and I then had a desire for something more real. After that I explored other parts of the US with West Coast/East Coast road trips and visiting the mid states, we had a fabulous time.

I’ve not been back to Disney World since 2009 but can’t wait to experience it with my young children. I know they will love it!

How much do you spend on your Spain trip? Miss a couple of those and save the money then maybe you could do it?

We would like to take our kids but it is completely out of budget right now and that's with a decent combined income!

We could afford it but I won't spend that much money on that kind of holiday. We have done long haul destinations on our list for when DS is older Japan, Costa Rica, South Africa for Safari that will cost a similar amount but at much as I do enjoy a theme park I can't get my head around spending that much on one.

DS loves Efteling have you considered going there? We go via euro tunnel it's a simple drive, the accommodation includes your park tickets, we've stayed in Bosrijck twice and it was lovely. Easter or May school holidays and it's not been overly busy.

So many people on here make terrible life choices, because of a romantic image they have, rather than applying the rationality they might employ when choosing their mortgage. I think Disney has played a significant part in implanting these ideas in our heads at a young age.

We’ve been saving £100 a month for 7 years, goes to our ‘Florida fund’ we’ll go when my younger is a bit older so a few more years of saving to go. It was one of my favourite holidays when I was a kid. Currently we have a campervan and holiday in the UK & Europe which is a cheap way to do it, but we were lucky in that we received a gift of money which we bought the van with.

so with planning and luck we’re going to manage it.

We went for 10 days in April 2023, taking 3 days in term time to save £1k (!)

We saved for ages because we had years of no holidays due to COVID and we were specifically saving to go. We wanted to be on site which costs more, but meant we could enter the parks before everyone else.

The overall spend was well into the teens for 2 adults and 2 kids (for tickets kids are classed as under 10!). I'm glad we did it as we wanted to experience it, but I found it hot and stressful. You've got to plan it down to a tee if there are certain rides and/or restaurants you want to visit.

We won't be returning.

No, I don't think it's accessible to the average UK family to just decide to go. With planning and saving, yes. It can be done cheaper than what we did, but it's still a very expensive holiday.

Who are you to say something is a terrible life choice? We’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds on holidays over the years, yep we could knock years, decades off our mortgage, for what? Life is for living, it’s not for hoarding wealth. Sure don’t get into debt for a holiday, but I really don’t think there is anything superior about paying off a mortgage early and living a smaller life than you would have otherwise wanted. Balance and all that; we have pensions, mortgage, insurances, we don’t go into debt for holidays, but we absolutely do not prioritise our mortgage above all else because life is too bloody short! Childhood especially.

I was making the point that filling our kids heads with Prince charming, snow white and all the other architypes Disney explore, has probably led to a less than rational approach to relationships.

Exactly. My dad was a saver. Hardly ever spent money (unless it was on me). He always drove an old banger. Never ate out. Paid off his mortgage as soon as possible. Only went abroad twice in his life. He retired (thankfully) at age 58 due to ill health. Was dead by 60.

Everyone needs a balance in life. You should never put yourself into unnecessary debt for frivolous reasons. But if someone chooses to save 10k for a Disney trip (or any other kind of trip) that’s their business. Not every penny needs to go to the mortgage etc.

I did 2 weeks in Florida for 3 of us was about £6000

Apologies, what kind of life choices are you referring to in comparison to mortgage shopping?

We did 10 days in 2022 - staying with Disney it was around £10k for a family of four all in. It was a fantastic trip, but definitely a once in a lifetime trip for us. At the time, we had extra cash as DH wasn't my committing post-Covid, saving us over £5k a year, so we used that money on top of our normal holiday fund.

We could go again, if we went without holidays for a couple of years, but we make other choices - more shorter, cheaper holidays and more regular saving deposits. We have a well above average household income, but as others have said, it's really priorities. Among peers on similar incomes, we seem to have nicer holidays than some, but I know we save less, have a lower mortgage, and don't have a car lease.

For us it would mean not doing other holidays for years. So if we did it, it would really have to be worth it. So although part of me thinks about it, I think it won't live up to it. Its far too busy these days. All this fast pass nonsense puts me right off for a start. All the extra money for that. Waiting hours in queues is not fun. You need to go for a minimum of 10 days really. That's a lot of school to miss, if you go when it's cheaper too. I went at 18(1999) and enjoyed it, used my own money to go. However it's so much busier now and more expensive. I don't think it'd be worth it.

There is 6 of us for a start that was a quote for this Easter ( when husband looked last year)

This is true of the older films definitely. But have you seen the newer ones? Much better messages. You can’t change or erase the old films. But with other external influences and messages and teachings from parents/family/school I dont think these days Disney can be solely to blame from poor life choices.

Ps now you’ve edited your original post rather than just clarifying separately it makes what others are replying to you look a bit odd now.

You might by thinking outside of the box.

For instance, flights direct to Florida cost a lot, but you can get very cheap flight to NY. Internal flights are cheaper too. Always book direct with the company.

Avoid hotels and villas advertised through travel companies. Look at sites about people who are looking for pet sitters for instances. You might be a bit further away but let you use their car.

Those are just examples but it's amazing what you can do with creativity.

I've edited my post to better explain myself, but basically i think Disney, soap operas, and TV in general, has infuenced the way we approach life. I don't think its created balanced, rational thinking either. I think it's taught us that drama is normal. It's reinforced all sorts of agendas that i doubt we'd have lept to align ourselves with otherwise. They call them TV "programs" for a reason.

Ok…but sorry what’s that got to do with holidays and mortgages?

I was making the point that filling our kids heads with Prince charming, snow white and all the other architypes Disney explore, has probably led to a less than rational approach to relationships
Haha, the divorce rate was much lower when these were out at it's peak of popularity!

Why do so many people feel it’s very important to tell the OP how much they’d HATE a Disney holiday?! She wasn’t planning to take you. It isn’t compulsory for you to go. She’s been before and wants to go again and so she presumably loved it?! I would hate 2 weeks on a quiet island but it would be other people’s idea of bliss - that’s fine?! OP, I don’t think there’s an amazing trick to a cheaper Disney holiday unfortunately. We just had to save lots, prioritise it over other things and be as flexible as possible on dates. Some savings can be made of indirect flights, flying from different U.K. airports etc but none get you down to a particularly cheap trip.

Don't put it on a credit card. That is how people end up with debt they cannot afford and do not need. A credit card should be seen as an emergency fund. Or to use for the month then pay off in full.

People always say 'life is short enjoy it' yes it is. But I don't think stressing about paying off a credit card would be enjoyable

It doesn’t appeal to me but I would go for a few days as part of a holiday seeing different areas. If you did something like that would the price be lower?

Not sure how many Disney princesses and rollercoasters her 9 year old would get to see on that kind of holiday.

People easily apply rational thinking when choosing a mortgage, but can't apply the same thinking to their relationships, or emotional situations. I personally think that's a taught behaviour from watching TV, to some extent at least.