Need Advice!!

[ladytorch101]

Hi all! I am brand new to the forum. I have a question for you all.

I am going to be graduating with my Masters degree this spring, and my best friend will be graduating with her Bachelors degree. We have known eachother since we were in PreSchool, and so we wanted to do something special to celebrate our completing our education!!

We are both HUGE Disney fans (we've actually already been there once!) and we are also HUGE Harry Potter fans. We thought that the perfect celebration would be to go to Florida! Wheee!

Now, we live in Iowa, and it would be really expensive to get plane tickets plus a rental car, so we are planning on driving there. Our dates for the trip are May 8 through May 22. We plan on staying at a Disney Value resort for 5 nights, and to get a 5-day ticket for Disney. Then, we have a friend who lives in Orlando who we will be staying with for the remainder of our trip. We plan on getting the 3-day base ticket to Universal Studios.

My real question is if you think that this is a bad idea, financially, to be taking a trip straight out of college. I will have the money saved for it, so I won't have to be putting any of it on credit cards. I also will have about $250 in Disney Gift Cards. We plan on packing most of our meals when we're in the park, or just do some light snacking. We plan on doing only three sit-down meals in the resorts.

I don't have any credit card debt, but I WILL have student loans to begin paying off six months after I graduate. My rationale was that we should take the trip now, before we are totally burdened with other financial obligations.

Thoughts?

 

[Fyrefly]

I don't see anything wrong with it, personally. You have the money saved up and you are taking pains to make this as cheap a trip as possible. You're not talking spending over $1000 right out of college on a trip, you're talking a few hundred. What you need to make sure of is that you will have a job when you get back.

I don't know your degree but I think a few hundred dollars for a vacation out of savings you already have will be a drop in the bucket once you get a real job and can start replenishing that savings. The only thing is, can you get the job? If you're in a crappy field right now, you might need to keep that money handy so you don't default on those loans right off. But if it looks good for you, go for it! You're not going to be young enough to do silly cross-country trips with nobody to worry about but yourself forever.

 

[windycitymom]

Congratulations and go for it! You are young enough to do something like this and you don't have family responsibilities, so you can tighten up the belt when you come back. I hope you have a Thelma & Louise road trip

 

[DawnM]

Go, have a great time!

Enjoy it now, before you have a family of 5 and can't go as easily!

 

[DisneyBill]

Welcome to the DIS! Go have fun, take pictures, make memories, you've achieved it.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi all! I am brand new to the forum. I have a question for you all.

I am going to be graduating with my Masters degree this spring, and my best friend will be graduating with her Bachelors degree. We have known eachother since we were in PreSchool, and so we wanted to do something special to celebrate our completing our education!!

We are both HUGE Disney fans (we've actually already been there once!) and we are also HUGE Harry Potter fans. We thought that the perfect celebration would be to go to Florida! Wheee!

Now, we live in Iowa, and it would be really expensive to get plane tickets plus a rental car, so we are planning on driving there. Our dates for the trip are May 8 through May 22. We plan on staying at a Disney Value resort for 5 nights, and to get a 5-day ticket for Disney. Then, we have a friend who lives in Orlando who we will be staying with for the remainder of our trip. We plan on getting the 3-day base ticket to Universal Studios.

My real question is if you think that this is a bad idea, financially, to be taking a trip straight out of college. I will have the money saved for it, so I won't have to be putting any of it on credit cards. I also will have about $250 in Disney Gift Cards. We plan on packing most of our meals when we're in the park, or just do some light snacking. We plan on doing only three sit-down meals in the resorts.

I don't have any credit card debt, but I WILL have student loans to begin paying off six months after I graduate. My rationale was that we should take the trip now, before we are totally burdened with other financial obligations.

Thoughts?

I can't think of a better time in your life to take the kind of trip you're planning. The older you get, the more difficult it will become to coordinate your vacation time. You may have spouses, kids, a house to worry about or maybe pets to board. Go and have fun.

 

[cjnix29]

Go for it and have fun!!! Also, sign up for a rewards program where you can earn gift cards/papal, etc., if you wanted to earn more money for your trip. There is a forum on the DIS about those programs. My favorite is Sunshine Rewards, but there are others you can do as well! Have a great time!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would say go for it.

And remember, a ten day WDW ticket is only $42.60 (including tax) more than a five day ticket. And for any ticket you have 14 days from date of first use to use all of the entries so you can still use the ticket while with your friends in Orlando.

 

[Plumeria9]

You definitely have to go for it, you deserve it! Plus like everybody else said, before you know it you will have a full time job, family, etc. and those things change your life instantly. You won't have time to go whenever you want anymore.

Between now and then you can tell or drop hints to everybody in the family what you are doing and that you are "saving money" for this upcoming trip, and hopefully you will gain some gift cards, cash, or even offers of discounts. So have something to look forward to, have a wonderful time!

 

[njmom47]

Sounds like 2 great reasons to celebrate. I say "go for it!" Congrats and good luck!

 

[sparkyboy]

absolutely--go and celebrate at the World

 

[roadtripper]

Road trip to Disney--YES. Thelma and Louise road trip--NO. Stay away from cliffs, and have a good time!

 

[ladytorch101]

Thanks guys!!! I'm glad I'm not totally crazy for thinking that this is an awesome idea! I am participating in online surveys, and trying to do some couponing here and there. It's hard to find time for all that while working and going to school simultaneously! I also have a Disney Visa card, so hopefully I'll have some points racked up on that!

I will definitely be taking lots of photographs, and will probably try my hand at a trip report when I'm done!

 

[rockethouse]

Hey ladytorch,
Just wanted to add that this is the same thing me & my friends did this past spring after college graduation, except we had to fly - we live in CA. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to go because it's really a great moment in your life to take a trip like this. I know my friends and I all had an amazing time and I hope your trip is amazing too!

Good luck with your senior year, it really can be quite a zoo.

 

[beansmom]

i know flying sounds really expensive but you might be better off to fly after you figure the cost of gas to orlando and back. Disney provide Magic Express from the airport to the resort. There is public transportation in Orlando as well. You could rent a car for the portion of the trip that you are not in Disneyworld.

Your friend could pick you up to take ya home with them. I'm just sayin don't rule out flying altogether. Time is money and a 3 day road trip is 3 days you could be at Disney or Universal.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[ladytorch101]

i know flying sounds really expensive but you might be better off to fly after you figure the cost of gas to orlando and back. Disney provide Magic Express from the airport to the resort. There is public transportation in Orlando as well. You could rent a car for the portion of the trip that you are not in Disneyworld.

We were thinking about flying, and I think it would end up costing more than driving. I'm thinking gas will be around $600, maybe a little bit more. Split that in half, and thats $300 a person, which would be cheaper than a flight.

We've flown before, and LOVE the convenience of not having to worry about driving, but I don't think its going to be possible on this trip. We thought about renting a car, but we are both under 25 years of age, which adds an extra $25 fee PER DAY that we have the car. We plan on doing a 2-day drive there and back. Our dates are a little flexible, though, so if we want to add an extra day or two for driving, its possible.

If our friend in Orlando didn't have a job that she's obligated to (she won't be able to get time off,) then we would TOTALLY fly in, and use her as our chauffeur for the week!

 

[bigmama67]

Absolutely! Go! ENJOY!

I don't know if you've heard about this, but Costco has a three-day, two-park ticket for $134 to Universal (or maybe $144?...but a good deal either way).

Going in May should mean less crowds as school isn't out yet.