How do people my age afford to go to Disney so much?!

[kydisneyfans]

How we did it in our 20s was driving instead of flying, offsite stays through skyauction, and buying 10 day non expire tickets and stretching them over 3 trips. We also ate in the offsite condo, took coupons to eat at Olive Garden, Logan's, Bob Evans etc. Financing was through tax returns, and the 2 "extra" pays a year we got-26 pays, 24 biweekly payments, and we even budgeted funding for things we would not do at home($25 less electric/$15 less water, etc).

Now we do multiple trips within the same year on an AP, then take time off and do it again later. We fly on points, and we bought DVC in the resale market so lodging is no longer a worry. 25 years old 20 years ago is so much different than 25 years old today.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have grandchildren ages 17 and 22. As long as they Want to go with us we will pay! It’s well worth the money.

 

[Darcy03231]

I also wanted to add that growing up our children saw how we lived and were able to experience the multiple trips a year which helped them to shape the way the wanted to live so they could do the same. DH and I are very frugal. Currently he drives a 2007 vehicle and I drive a 2009. We don't eat out much and rarely go to the movies, shows, concerts, etc. He's retired now, but when he was working he packed a lunch. I still work and pack my lunch and make my own coffee. When we need something we try to buy it second hand first. If that doesn't work, we find the best sale we can. I never pay full price for anything. We eat well, but make the most of buying what's on sale that week for meat, fresh fruits and vegetables. We always treated travel as a line item in our budget and put money away for it every week. It takes discipline, but it can be done. Every time you want to go out to eat, get coffee, a new outfit, etc. ask yourself if you want it or need it. If it's a want remind yourself that if you save it toward a trip you'll be able to go sooner. It's amazing how quickly all the little purchase add up.

 

[_19disnA]

A lot depends on the person's financial situation and how they choose to spend their money vs. save for the future. Wouldn't surprise me to find that many who post on social media brag/exaggerate in an effort to impress others. Whether or not what they post is true/reality is anyone's guess. Do the things you want to do and are within your budget. I wouldn't try to live my life imitating what others claim to be doing.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We have grandchildren ages 17 and 22. As long as they Want to go with us we will pay! It’s well worth the money.

My coworker takes his two adult sons (24 and 27) each other year to Disney and pays for them as well. He has the same rationale if they want to spend time with mom and dad they're taking advantage of it. Plus as he says, he could afford it where they are still trying to get established.

Very nice of you to do for your grandchildren, such great memories the entire family will have for life.

 

[RamblingMad]

I am in my mid 20s. College graduate, professional job, but still low on the totem pole. I follow a lot of people on Instagram who go to Disney like 5 times a year. And I get it if you live close and can drive, which I used to, so I went more frequently. Now I have to fly. A particular person I follow has to fly. And she goes multiple times a year! And I don't get how!

Instagram isn't real. It's a fantasy.

 

[smmco]

I am in my mid 20s. College graduate, professional job, but still low on the totem pole. I follow a lot of people on Instagram who go to Disney like 5 times a year. And I get it if you live close and can drive, which I used to, so I went more frequently. Now I have to fly. A particular person I follow has to fly. And she goes multiple times a year! And I don't get how!

Let me say that I'm not hating on these people in any way, I ask this question because I WISH I could do that! Like how do you get that much time off? How do you afford that many flights? They go on weekends, which isn't always the cheapest time to fly. Obviously they have annual passes, which I plan on getting, but it's still mind boggling!

I totally get how people who are older afford it, as they probably make a lot more money than me, have more time off accrued, etc.

I'm guessing maybe credit cards? Man, I wish I knew how to go that much because I would!

Don’t feel bad I didn’t have the money to do it at your age. I could barely afford one night in a hotel at your age.
Even to do it with credit card points as others have suggested you need a pretty high income to spend enough to earn the points. Just be patient, stay out of debt and start a vacation savings account. It took me a year to save up for our first trip and I was in my mid 30’s. I’m late 40’s now. Now we travel a lot I’ll be taking my 24th DCl cruise this Summer. It took a while to get to this point, but it’s worth it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Not everyone takes that many trips. I am 58 and I am an IT Specialist for the federal government and we are just now planning our 6th trip since 2006. It takes me two to three years to save the 20 to 25K we spend there but the girls have been bitten by the deluxe bug and I have little debt.

Whew I thought DCL prices were rough...

 

[James From Utah]

A Disney trip doesn't have to be that expensive. I just go to DIsneyland for a weekend every other month or so. Flights from Utah to LA for are about $130 or less round trip. 1 nights hotel is around $100. Throw in about $50 for transportation and you're set.

 

[smmco]

It's funny because I work with a lot of Millenials who think I'm rich because my family travels so much. Um, no....I'm nowhere near rich. I'm just old. Not even old just middle-aged closing in on 50. Most of the twenty-somethings I work with are paying off college debt, getting married, buying houses, having kids.......normal stuff. I honestly don't know anyone young or old that goes to Disney very often or at all. I don't live near Disney World so maybe that's why.

 

[spiders]

In my job, you have to be hired before you turn 31. As a result, we have a pretty young workforce. We also make a lot of money when you get through training. Many are finishing up in their mid 20's, some aren't even married yet, many don't have kids. So they travel...a lot.

As for the social media bragging -- we're all friends on social media and we all post pictures. I never mind pictures whether of someone's kids or travel or whatever. It's the "oh, my life is so miserable because of xyz blah blah blah blah blah" or "here is my political opinion for the hour"...

We all travel a lot, we all like looking at other people's photos and then we all talk about the photos at work and where everyone liked/didn't like. I know a lot about Bali right now because two recently went and both said it was absolutely fantastic. They know I like Disney so I get a lot of questions about Disney. So for me, the overwhelming majority I see on social media is not bragging because of who I stayed connected with.

 

[gnozuk]

Investments at an early age allowed me to travel around the world and visit Disney whenever I wanted!

 

[DisLiss]

I am in my mid 20s. College graduate, professional job, but still low on the totem pole. I follow a lot of people on Instagram who go to Disney like 5 times a year. And I get it if you live close and can drive, which I used to, so I went more frequently. Now I have to fly. A particular person I follow has to fly. And she goes multiple times a year! And I don't get how!

There are so many variables in how one earns or spends income and so many ways in which to pay for a Disney trip. Credit cards are just one of them.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I had no kids. Neither did my boyfriend/fiance/DH. We both worked full time. I tended to work more than full time. And the overtime paid well and accumulated quickly. We also tended to do some side jobs to save up extra spending money.

We were able to go to WDW far more often then, when we were younger than we ever could when we hit our 40s/50s, because then the kids were using up way more than their half of the funds! And we're too tired for the overtime and side hustles, LOL!

So it goes both ways. Some people are more able to go when they are younger and some are more able to go when they are older.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Heck I am in my 40s and wonder how people on these boards go as much as they do. Then I realize I don’t care and wouldn’t want to spend as much money on Disney as they do.

 

[OhMari]

We have not gone back in 5 years, and we are going this April. Did I miss going sure, but we did a lot of other things. Me and my husband both said, there was so much construction going on in the last 5 years, it just wasn't worth it to us. Now we are ready to go back and we have everything paid off. And we are not staying onsite, we are renting an AirB&B. Disney makes you feel if you don't stay on site, you are missing out on the Disney bubble. Guess what, they made the roads, double and triple wide, and it is really easy driving in and out. It stinks that the parking fee's have gone way up, but like everything else, prices at Disney just keep increasing, I don't think I ever saw a decrease.

 

[RamblingMad]

We have not gone back in 5 years, and we are going this April. Did I miss going sure, but we did a lot of other things. Me and my husband both said, there was so much construction going on in the last 5 years, it just wasn't worth it to us. Now we are ready to go back and we have everything paid off. And we are not staying onsite, we are renting an AirB&B. Disney makes you feel if you don't stay on site, you are missing out on the Disney bubble. Guess what, they made the roads, double and triple wide, and it is really easy driving in and out. It stinks that the parking fee's have gone way up, but like everything else, prices at Disney just keep increasing, I don't think I ever saw a decrease.

I saw massive decreases during the last recession. I went to both parks the same year during the recession. They were empty.

 

[OhMari]

[/QUOTE]

I saw massive decreases during the last recession. I went to both parks the same year during the recession. They were empty.

We went during the recession too. I am talking prices. Ticket prices never decreased. You could get deep discounts on room reservations. I felt very fortunate to go to WDW during the recession. My husband worked in Florida each winter for a month, and we had non -expiring tickets 10 day tickets, that costs like $200.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

We've done it. I use my side income to help cash flow it. And set aside a certain amount every paycheck. We have APs which makes it easier to justify, and a Tables in Wonderland card which helps a lot with dining. And we put away a lot of gift cards when there are deals. CC points get used for flights. We don't buy a lot of merch. And only eat one big meal a day with some small snacks in between. We also stay in values or moderates or we use DVC points.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We have not gone back in 5 years, and we are going this April. Did I miss going sure, but we did a lot of other things. Me and my husband both said, there was so much construction going on in the last 5 years, it just wasn't worth it to us. Now we are ready to go back and we have everything paid off. And we are not staying onsite, we are renting an AirB&B. Disney makes you feel if you don't stay on site, you are missing out on the Disney bubble. Guess what, they made the roads, double and triple wide, and it is really easy driving in and out. It stinks that the parking fee's have gone way up, but like everything else, prices at Disney just keep increasing, I don't think I ever saw a decrease.

We won’t return until May 2022. We will probably stay offsite and upgrade the tickets we have to APs. The only way I can justify WDW resort prices is with a very deep discount. I’d rather do Swan/Dolphin, or just stay elsewhere. We would go 2-3 times then take another 2-3 years off.
The only reason I’m considering APs is because we have those tickets to put towards them and the perks are nice, especially the parking when you’re offsite. And there will be so many new things we will need a few trips to see it all. Can’t do long trips anymore due to pets and my husband’s work.

 

[kmhowell]

It'll be 4 years in May since I graduated from college ('16). My first priority after school was to pay off all of my student loans & credit card (totaling little less than $50K) so I wouldn't have that debt hanging around for long. I didn't travel much, eat out, or really do anything that exciting for two years. I just paid as much as I could on my loans, throwing every extra penny I saved towards them. I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard both of which helped me stay focused while I was working towards my goal of becoming debt free. I like their philosophy of living within your means. Dave says it best, "If you live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else." Since then, I've saved and bought my first (town)home (well below what the bank said I could borrow). I took my dad on a 50th birthday trip to Green Bay, WI to watch the Packers play and tour Lambeau field (twice), been on a few cruises, and took my younger brother to Disney in December as an early graduation gift to him. It's all about your priorities and being intentional with your time and money.

Other ways I'm able to afford these trips is by sticking to a budget. Spirit Airlines is very affordable if they fly out of an airport near you (if you can pack light). We flew to Chicago, IL for $28 roundtrip (per person) when we went to Green Bay. If you go to the actual airport to purchase Spirit flights I think you save around $19-ish dollars off (each way) of the price they have online. I could be wrong, but I think Allegiant does this as well. We flew ultra cheap when we went to Disney as well. I also follow this Dis Priceline Express Deals board where people discuss the deals they get on Priceline and Hotwire "hidden" deals. I was able to book All Mov in Dec for a little less than $88/night. So sticking with a budget and putting in the work to find deals really pays off too.