What's Your Limiting Factor?

I think definitely cost on our end. We like to intersperse Disney trips with vacations elsewhere, so money is funneled into Disney and non-Disney pots. We've been heading to Disney once a year, which has worked for us. Though we've been discussing a couple of long-weekend trips for next year, so we'll have to see what pans out.

It's both for us. We do take cheap/quick trips sometimes if we can get a good deal on a flight, but things still add up. Usually we wind up taking fewer, longer trips which I think actually winds up being cheaper in the end. But sometimes you just get the urge and have to go.

And don't forget that "when you gotta go, you just gotta go. At least that's the way it is for me.

All of the above, with time and money pretty much being equal.

Bottom line, there is NO cheap Disney trip. Even the ones in the past that we've specifically PLANNED to be cheap have turned out expensive.

With DVC we don't have to pay for a room, but you DO have to pay for...
Airfare
Meals
Rental car (if you don't use the Magical Express)
Assorted other stuff

As much as we say we aren't going to spend a lot on food and 'other stuff', we invariably do. And no matter how much I plan on not spending a lot on food, I DO spend a "lot on food". It just happens.

I think this is one reason why the cruises have been so attractive to us the last few years. We can go into the cruise with room and board paid for, we pre-pay the gratuities and transfers, and we truly can go into whatever cruise we've picked knowing that the only thing extra that will come up are drinks and souvenirs, both of which we aren't extravagant on.

Hee hee!

Our limiting factor is also vacation time. We'd live there if we could!

Well, I suppose time and money are the 2 things we never have enough of in life, huh? They are both limiting factors for us. As cdub said, we like to go elsewhere in addition to WDW , so have to divide the available time and money.

Of course, when deals come along (like buy 4 get 3 free), it sways things to WDW. We had been to WDW in Feb, and had originally been thinking of Grand Canyon and Vegas for this summer .....but who could resist the 4/3 deal?

So, dopeynme, remind me; are you going back this summer?

Time and money both of course, but honestly more time than money. We have so many things we want to do and so little time available that we do not go as often as we would like. Every trip I really spend more than I would like, but it's a lot of fun and we don't really ever regret it.

I totally agree with Mousetraveler though. The "cheap" trip is a fiction you play on yourself to get yourself there. We've stayed in values and planned to be frugal and what not, it still adds up. I say just make sure to maximize the fun while you're there.

Hi, Al!

Annie, yes, DH and I are going in early Aug . We got the 4/3 deal and added 2 room only nights. We got the Disney Visa deal on those nights. Staying at POFQ.
Part of me cannot wait, but then part of me doesn't want it to come because then it will be over! Silly, huh?

Fantastic! And, no, not silly! I think the best time of all is the night before you leave for vacation: it's almost there, but time hasn't started ticking yet Have you ever stayed at POFQ? Any big plans for the trip yet?

It's funny you mention this. I have a similar issue that I started a topic on:

The Halfway Point Blues

Time has always been my limiting factor. Being able to get the time off work or my loved ones being able to. There have been many times I couldn't afford to go on vacation, but to me that's not part of the equation because I either can or I can't. It's kind of a binary issue - it's yes or it's no, there is no in between. My mom always taught me, if you're going to go on vacation, go ahead and do the things you want to do...enjoy it. If you can't afford to do any of the "extra things", perhaps you shouldn't be going on vacation at all. So, even when I could only go every few years, I'd save then go and not worry about financial constraints.

That's a really good point. A lot of time people (including us at times) stretch their budgets to go on vacation, when I wonder if that doesn't create more stress overall...

That's been my experience. That's the last thing you want to do when you're on vacation is bring the stresses of your normal life. And what's often the number one stressor? Money.
I'm quite frugal by nature and early in adulthood, I would always be mindful of my spending; even on vacation. In this case, it wasn't that I didn't have the money, I just didn't like to spend it on things I didn't see as necessary. So when it came time to look at souveniers or fee-based attractions I would always shy away. My mom taught me to look at things differently (and finally helped me understand after much effort). It's not a $20-$30 t-shirt, it's a $20-$30 memory - something you can't put a pricetag on. When it comes time to decide if you should do that extra thing that might cost a hundred bucks (or more); it's not $100 for X number of hours or minutes, it's $100 for something that enriches your experience and greatly enhances your time together.

You really do have to look at those things differently. I rarely buy souvenirs, but I WILL shell out the cash for an Illuminations cruise; it's different.

Don't know what heppened with this post, sorry.

I hear that! For me, though, even some of the little things have meant a lot to me. For example, I own ONE piece of Disney apparrel (besides my gold ears). I always thought Disney clothing (and the like) looked silly on grown men, especially myself - again, I'm austere. My first trip to WDW, I decided I just had to have a Goofy basketball jersey in my favorite team's colors. I wore it that trip and every trip since and it's one of my favorite things. I do plan to get more on subsequent trips.

i usually see quite a bit of clothing i wouldn't mind owning in wdw, sadly though i never want to pack it so i save the money. maybe next time i'll just bring less clothing.

I buy Disney clothes every time I'm there! I have six or seven shirts by now that I wear on a regular basis. My favorite is my Goofy shirt, though I had a red Mickey hoodie I wore constantly for four or five years, but it has a rip in it and has fallen out of rotation. May need to re-up on the hoodies this trip.

I spend way too much money there - but that's what I love so...

Oooh, I'm a big hoodie fan. I've got entirely too many as is, but I may just look into that.

i actually love hoodies, but there's only about 2 months tops per year i can wear them here.

Every day I'm not at work - out came the red Mickey hoodie

I definitely need a new one...

Probably get another T-shirt too.

I have a GREAT one of the Disney villains that I LOVE (I ALWAYS get comments on it) but it's black and when the sun is pounding down, that shirt acts like a furnace!

I want a black villan hoodie! That would be the ultimate for me.

[is on a mission]

It's not a hoodie - it's a T-shirt, though I wonder if there IS a hoodie out there like that...

I know yours was a t-shirt, but I figure there is a black hoodie with some villan( I'm fond of out there. Some of my favorite characters are villans.

Go check at Villains in Vogue in DHS!!

You know I will!

Last two times I was there, they didn't have any such thing, but I'm going to have to bring home some kind of coolness from there this trip (hoodie or not).

I love that store. And the candy part next to it.

Have I seen a "Nightmare Before Christmas" hoodie, or am I misremembering?