Marathon Weekend 2023

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: I will admit that I don't really budget for MW - but I do try to do things to help bring down the overall cost of the trip. We are DVC, so I don't really count our dues as a cost as we would be paying that anyway. I had an AP this year so park tix weren't an additional expense. I had groceries delivered so I saved money not buying water, made coffee/breakfast in the room, and had snacks to help save some $. I have been blessed to be able to go to WDW a lot over the years, so I don't usually spend a lot on souveniers (this trip I came home with an ornament, sweatshirt, and Tervis). I live in GA and when I go solo (as I did for MW) I can usually get a pretty cheap airfare from Atlanta.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD:

Do you save up for Marathon Weekend, if so how? Do you have to give up other things to set money aside? Do you have any suggestions or money saving hacks that you use?

I don't save for MW specifically: I have a savings account into which I put part of every paycheck and that's where I pull from for nonessential expenses. I don't "give up" anything, but I'm not one to spend much on everyday nonessentials in the first place. I'm very good at doing WDW on a budget: I use my Disney Visa for everything I possibly can in life and use the Rewards dollars for food and merch at WDW; I stay offsite with no parking or resort fees at half the cost of a WDW resort, and I rent a timeshare with full kitchen, so I can make the majority of my meals myself; I'm not a collector of stuff, so I buy very little merchandise, if any, and use my AP discount when I do; I'm not a fan of WDW food or its prices, so I often bring a lunch to the parks. It all adds up!

 

[ZellyB]

SAFD:

We don't save for it specifically usually but it is basically an annual vacation for us, so it is generally included in vacation budgeting in general. We have at times put a specific amount of money back each paycheck for our vacation fund, but we don't do that consistently every year.

For saving tips, we do have a travel card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, that has good travel perks and earns 3x points for dining or travel. We use this card for anything we would typically use a CC for (and especially dining or travel) and rack up as many points as we can. I was able to book our 4 airfare tickets on this past trip using reward points.

 

[ZellyB]

Agree, I ended up “ignoring” this thread because I get too many notifications that are just the SAFD posts. While those may be great for the people who participate, it doesn’t seem relevant to the Marathon discussion.

If it's the notifications that are a bother, you could always turn them off for this thread (or maybe that's what you mean by "ignore") and just check it periodically using the Watched Threads links. Just an idea so you don't have to give up on the thread entirely...unless you just want to. All good either way.

And see I happen to think this SAFD is really relevant to MW. We all know Disney is expensive and especially MW, so any saving trips for the weekend are a welcome resource to me. Obviously YMMV though.

 

[GreatLakes]

SAFD:

We don't really budget per se but will look at our options and decide if each item is worth it. ADRs at sit down places vs counter service, eating more meals off property, doing non-Disney stuff instead of more Disney stuff on off days. Part of it is the luxury of having been so many times and part is that our son is still young and isn't running from ride to ride but over the past 5 or so years we have really scaled back on how much "Disney" we do even on Disney vacations. We also like to do a lot of travel and know that as a percentage the more time we spend at Disney the less we can otherwise do. The tradeoff is often leveraged a great deal. Adding one day to a Disney trip may offset an entire long weekend at a lodge closer to home for example.

 

[GreatLakes]

Double post.

 

[flav]

SAFD: I have a virtual fun budget for special trips related to races. I only put in it what I save for myself: Gifts I receive and lunch/coffee that I prepared instead of dining out (weekly budget minus what I spent at restaurants).

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD: I don't really budget for the trips per se, but I do consider my DVC dues and Disney park tickets as part of my annual vacation budget that I set aside money for each month. I also always analyze the cash price of value rooms vs the cost of the DVC dues. There may come a day where I just rent out the points and stay at a value resort or off property instead.

 

[UK_Disney_Dopey_Hopeful]

SAFD

Not recommending my way of budgeting at all (Just wanna get that out there now) but i gamble and any winnings i put towards any pot im particularly saving towards (Marathon weekend 2022 was my first ever disney races and 80% of it was paid from winnings)

before everyone hates on me, im not saying this is a safe/smart way to budget for anything and there is of course the very real chance that you lose everything. But i am very strict with myself. I have done this for years now. Start of every year i put a nominal amount into my betting account and let it grow. some days i have fantastic results, some days it goes down.

i should also add that this takes up far too much of my spare time. Not actually gambling, its the research i put into every event and fixture to try and make sure i am picking the right choice to maximise my chance of a return (I dont do video poker or any electronic game like that, its all sports). The only thing i will point out is that im not one of these people who think they can become a millionaire and constantly pick out 1000-1 chances. i prefer to bet on favourites and win little and often

Like i say, i dont encourage or recommend my way, but its worked for me on family holidays/xmas/races etc and fingers crossed it will continue

 

[Goofed98]

SAFD

Not recommending my way of budgeting at all (Just wanna get that out there now) but i gamble and any winnings i put towards any pot im particularly saving towards (Marathon weekend 2022 was my first ever disney races and 80% of it was paid from winnings)

before everyone hates on me, im not saying this is a safe/smart way to budget for anything and there is of course the very real chance that you lose everything. But i am very strict with myself. I have done this for years now. Start of every year i put a nominal amount into my betting account and let it grow. some days i have fantastic results, some days it goes down.

i should also add that this takes up far too much of my spare time. Not actually gambling, its the research i put into every event and fixture to try and make sure i am picking the right choice to maximise my chance of a return (I dont do video poker or any electronic game like that, its all sports). The only thing i will point out is that im not one of these people who think they can become a millionaire and constantly pick out 1000-1 chances. i prefer to bet on favourites and win little and often

Like i say, i dont encourage or recommend my way, but its worked for me on family holidays/xmas/races etc and fingers crossed it will continue

Pizza bets. I'd bet enough to cover a pizza and a six pack once or twice a week.

I have a job to cover my retirement. Gambling was a way for me to accept the many, many, many losses the Cowboys have suffered over the years.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Oh my gosh. I was looking at DVC availability this morning and got unnecessarily excited (I mixed up my dates by a day) and I MAY have convinced DH to go back again next year and run the half or something with me. I need to ride the wave of him just having a physical and his doc telling him to do more cardio and lose 10 pounds. If I can get him locked in with a DVC rental that's all I would need to ensure a trip next January.

 

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD
Like many, we don’t budget for trips but have an annual vacation budget. DVC dues and APs all get paid with gift cards that were bought at discount with a CC that got points back and gets paid in full. Everything from a dollar to the limit goes on it and gets paid in full to take advantage of no interest and lots of points. We do very little shopping on Disney trips but do enjoy a table service for either lunch or dinner every day.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I had a European cruise planned for this year, and I decided to cancel it since COVID. Since I did that, getting those funds back covered Disney and then some. I also used a TA for Princess 2019, and that worked great! It was a way of saving for the trip, since I paid down the balance with a little bit of each paycheck. I really liked doing it that way instead of getting hit with the big hotel balance at once.

 

[The Expert]

Booked my DVC room today! Trying Bay Lake Tower this time, for easier spectating for the family and to see how it is riding the monorail to the half and full.

 

[lukemorenus]

2023 Booked! Back to "fake Hawaii" for us!

 

[Novatrix]

Booked at OKW. As always, I'll try swapping to an EPCOT resort, but if that doesn't work out OKW truly does feel like home when I stay there.

Excited to hopefully celebrate New Years Eve in EPCOT this year!

 

[Baloo in MI]

It will be back to Wilderness Lodge for my family. I went to book at the 11 month window and my wife had already done it! I guess no need to figure out how to get her on board for next year! Heck, looks like she is driving the boat!

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

I've been lurking on this thread for a few days and decided to go ahead and register. Lol.

Just booked Beach Club for MW. I'm hoping to do Dopey if I can get in. I was registered for the full marathon in 2021 (would have been my second full) before it got cancelled, and running the Disney Marathon has been a bucket list item for a while. I figured I might as well be totally insane and just run all the races in one weekend.

Also, I may need a key to decode some of these acronyms y'all are using. I still cannot figure out what SAFD stands for, among other things. Hehe.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I still cannot figure out what SAFD stands for, among other things.

SAFD: Sundays Are For Disney. A weekly question— sometimes just about Disney, sometimes about running at Disney/trip prep type stuff!

 

[Baloo in MI]

I've been lurking on this thread for a few days and decided to go ahead and register. Lol.

Just booked Beach Club for MW. I'm hoping to do Dopey if I can get in. I was registered for the full marathon in 2021 (would have been my second full) before it got cancelled, and running the Disney Marathon has been a bucket list item for a while. I figured I might as well be totally insane and just run all the races in one weekend.

Also, I may need a key to decode some of these acronyms y'all are using. I still cannot figure out what SAFD stands for, among other things. Hehe.

Welcome!