Disney World Training 101 – Picking the best months to save

Disney World Training 101 - Picking the best months to save

This year marks the first year we have decided to get an Annual Pass for Walt Disney World. Most times we go once a year and go all out by getting deluxe dining and a moderate resort. We use up our entire tax check (and then some) to pay for our yearly pilgrimage to the House of Mouse. With the birth of our newest DD (Disney Daughter) we haven’t been able to get to Disney World since Jan of 2010. Probably one of the longest stretches for me being a Florida State resident in years past.

So having not been in so long I felt it was justification for 2 vacations less than 6 months apart (Sept 2011 & Jan 2012). But like most people my wife and I work for a living. Believe it or not but I do Chip and Co for the love of the Disney and don’t really make a ton of money off my banner ads we run. I try to not flood the site with ads like some Disney sites out there and really use them to pay for our server and my other websites I host and run.

So with 2 vacations coming up shortly and a tax check that was not going to cover 3 Annual Passes, Room, and Food. What were we to do?


Our saving grace (which is our newest DD’s middle name) was the bonus paychecks we get.

What Chip you get bonus checks at work?

Not hardly. These bonus checks come on months that have 5 Fridays!

Being the uber nerd I am we have a budget that we try to stick to. Its a neat Google doc and if you have seen my Planning Spreadsheets you can get an idea what our budget looks like.

So on months that we have a bonus paycheck we take a big chunk and make a payment to Disney for our trip. This year we are rolling it in savings till I buy our AP’s and Tables in Wonderland card. In the remaining months of 2011 there are 3 more bonus paycheck months. July, Sept, and December.

My plan is to use our July bonus check to pay for the AP’s. September Bonus will be to pay for our food on our September vacation. Finally the December bonus will be to pay for the food for our January trip since tickets will be covered already.

Not a bad deal.

Looking ahead into 2012 I see March, June, August, and November as bonus months. So between those months we should be able to do it all over again.

Disney World Training 101 - Picking the best months to save
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Chip is the owner, editor, and writer of Chip and Company. When he is not writing about Disney News or Planning Tips, you will find him counting down the days to his next Disney Vacation.
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7 thoughts on “Disney World Training 101 – Picking the best months to save

  1. We use our tax refund as well, but always have the trip planned ahead of time. Honestly, deluxe dining for us felt a bit wasteful. This year we’re trying to revert back to the “regular” dining plan and see how we like that. It will mean more counter service meals, but my husband is the king of chicken fingers, so I’m sure we’ll be just fine!

  2. We use our tax refund as well, but always have the trip planned ahead of time. Honestly, deluxe dining for us felt a bit wasteful. This year we’re trying to revert back to the “regular” dining plan and see how we like that. It will mean more counter service meals, but my husband is the king of chicken fingers, so I’m sure we’ll be just fine!

  3. We use our tax refund as well, but always have the trip planned ahead of time. Honestly, deluxe dining for us felt a bit wasteful. This year we’re trying to revert back to the “regular” dining plan and see how we like that. It will mean more counter service meals, but my husband is the king of chicken fingers, so I’m sure we’ll be just fine!

  4. This is similar to how I was able to pay for our October trip. I am envious. My goal is to retire someday and live in florida with annual passes. We only get to go every couple of years because we live to far away and have to pay for flights. Haven’t been to see the mouse since 2008 and the kids haven’t been since 2006. I miss him!!

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