Marionnette
Children see magic because they look for it
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2009
I don't think that I could afford it either.I think that the original question in my post was not communicated properly or just not understood in the way that I meant it.
I know that the $2000 pricing I have is good, I was more curious about the $700 a night AK or other rooms and how people afford that ontop of tickets and dining (oop or ddp).
I'm successful in my job and make just shy of 6 figures but I still couldn't afford $700 a night. It just seems unreal.
We purchased DVC at a time when prices on the resale market were great. We paid cash for each contract - no loans! Our only OOP costs going forward are our annual maintenance fees. Grand Floridian. Boardwalk Villas. Animal Kingdom Villas. We own a little piece of each of them. I'm not convinced that purchasing DVC is the bargain today that it was in the past. But owning DVC today has turned out to be quite the money-saver vs. staying in Deluxe Resort hotel rooms. If you were to price out what those villas would cost on the Disney website, your jaw would drop.
Owning DVC means being able to book a villa with a kitchen. Thus, breakfast -a real breakfast! - can be made in the room. Evening snacks, "happy hour" with family, etc. is all more affordable after a grocery run compared to dining out in the restaurants. (But we still eat out when we are in the parks because, after all, we ARE on vacation!)
We get Annual Passes for a discount because of DVC. We go at least twice during the year that the passes are valid and then we skip buying them for a year. Cheaper than buying tickets for separate visits and the passes come with perks like passholder events and merchandise discounts.
And one last thing: Vacationing is a priority for us. So instead of a new car every couple of years, we are still driving a 2005 model with over 100K miles on it. We rarely dine out. We don't go to the movies or concerts. This is how we can pay those maintenance fees and buy those APs.