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I, also, have two very codependent dogs that I am loathe to leave. The younger is resilient and he managed a few days stay in a boarding facility just fine. But my old girl is more sensitive, and the three days in boarding were an unhappy stressful ordeal for her. I can’t / won’t put her through that again.
I have adult children close by who came by the house to feed / walk / love on the dogs during a recent trip. That worked out well for the dogs, but was a bit of an imposition on the boys. Our upcoming trip to WDW is only four days and the boys will be caring for the dogs again. Any longer than that might be too much of an imposition and I should hire a professional, but having a stranger in our home is something we are very uncomfortable with.
I have a very demanding job that is difficult to be away from for any extended time and cannot be done remotely. Two week vacation? Maybe when I retire. I do envy you Brits and your generous vacation days. If you’re trying to budget yourself and not suffer the pup too much, every two years seems a reasonable interval.
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Do you have anything like this near you?
If you have the funds to do it and will not get into debt that you can’t manage, book a trip. You only live once and, as you say, everyone needs something to look forward to.
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Potential game changer: POP CENTURY
I’ve just seen they’ve remodelled all the rooms. I like them. OK, so the location isn’t as good as BC. But it’s significantly cheaper. Room, tickets and regular DDP is £2,262 compared with £3,999 for BC. For nine nights.
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So, I understand completely what you are saying. I agree with @Twynyrodyn - you only live once, and everyone needs something to look forward to.
I’m supposing that taking your dog overseas with you is too problematic?
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We will be staying at Pop Century this Christmas for two nights before moving to AKL. It looks like a great place! We got ours through MVT at a great discount. I’m excited about it.
I’m thinking the dining plan is an even better idea now with the recent increase of food prices.
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I’m going to come at this a different angle. I’m a pretty frugal person. I also like to travel. We have not been to Disney as much as some people on here, but my family loves going. The only debt we have right now is paying off an iPhone 7, which we bought after iPhone 8’s came out, and our mortgage. We drive older vehicles. We have 3 kids. One is getting orthodontic work done, they have extra curricular activities, etc. We have no pets. We have a modest house.
That being said, we would love to go back to Disney more often. We just got a pin code and I looked up the costs. We have never stayed deluxe. Only value or moderate (because we have 5 people). Even All Star movies (which is being refurbished like Pop’s rooms) is way over what I would want to pay if we went next year. We just don’t do tons of extras. You only live once, but I know that I don’t want a bunch of debt constantly hanging over me and I don’t want to keep accumulating more and more. We may want to go to Disney World, but I know that I have to take care of the needs of myself and my family. We plan on going in 2020, if the funds look like they will be available. I consider us lucky that we can even think about going again in a couple of years. Next year, we are doing a smaller scale vacation, a road trip to DC and the beach. We plan on having a great time and enjoying our trip.
Just wanted to put this out there because I am sure there will be plenty of people on here that will give you every reason to go to Disney when you want to. This is kind of a different point of view.
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We could afford to stay at delux resorts but since my next trips are short with minimal time at resort, I am staying at Pop. The rooms look very nice. I am a little worried that DH will not like the outside decor but at a significantly reduced price tag it is worth it.
You could consider moving to Orlando with Calivin and get a job at WDW. I’m sure you would make an excellent CM! Or be a food blogger and have to eat at all of the restaurants for the good of your work!
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These are designed to tempt. You have your priorities right. A holiday is not worth long term debt and worry.
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The CM idea is hilarious. But this is a good idea.
OK. This might actually be happening.
I just found an AMAZING flight price: Premium Economy outbound, Upper Class inbound, £1,200.
Pop Century 11 nights, tickets and regular dining plan, £2,500.
That’s £100 cheaper than 9 nights at BC with no flight.
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But you like food and signature restaurants!
THIS^
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That is an incredible price!
The Premium outbound, Upper Class inbound involves a change in Atlanta on the way home. It’s £1,142.
Or, I could get Premium both ways, direct, for £822.
Thoughts, anyone?
Also, Pop Century with deluxe dining plan is £2,819.
So Premium/Upper Class + Deluxe dining is almost exactly £4,000 for 11 nights. (Which is the cost of nine nights at BC with regular dining plan and no flights.)
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Atlanta is a big airport and you are adding another potential risk of a flight delay into the equation.
There’s a two hour layover. Or there’s an option with a slightly longer one.
I prefer as few flights as possible. At least, with a direct flight, you know that once the aeroplane has taken off, you can make a reasonably safe guess at when it will arrive. Why add in another risk of delay? Also, with a direct flight, even if you are less comfortable, there is a possibility of undisturbed sleep. What is the flight time difference? Will you have to clear customs and airport security in Atlanta? Isn’t that one of your ‘dislikes’?
The Premium/Premium option actually has three plus points: (1) cheaper (2) direct (3) more flexible choice of dates — specifically I can shorten the holiday by a day and make an increased saving there. For a total saving of around £600. So one extra night and the flight home in Upper Class is another £600. Difficult to justify, especially with the layover complication.
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