Experiencing Disney Without Spending One Dollar

The price tag to experience a Disney vacation is a serious investment. Although our family has invested several dollars on multiple Disney vacations over the years, we never have spent one dollar. Let me explain what I mean. When I spend money on something, that money is gone forever. However, when I invest money in something, that money is expected to bring a return that goes beyond the amount I put down. Every dollar that has gone into Disney experiences has had substantial returns for our family. Not one dollar ever was spent; there continues to be massive returns.

Disney is an investment that allows me to have ongoing conversations about what we experienced in the past and what we hope to enjoy in the future. Not a week of our life goes by as a family when a conversation does not find us back in the Magic Kingdom reliving the moments we enjoyed together. Yes, the Disney dining plan can stretch a budget. Yet repeatedly throughout our year we find ourselves around the dinner table enjoying a meal and talking about something we first tried at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or on a Disney Cruise. As a matter of fact, I could go for a Dole Whip right now!

The pace of life and packed schedules seems to attack with relentless effort the relationships of my marriage and my kids. But time slows down once we step into the Disney bubble. Nothing else matters but being together and experiencing the magic as a family. I see the smiles on my kids’ faces. I watch them skip and jump as we move from attraction to attraction. Every thrill is compounding in relational interest. Every wide-eyed moment of exhilaration that we re-live throughout the year is another dividend reinvested in my relational pursuit with my family that will last long after the magic bands are put away.

As our kids get older, their hearts stay young when it comes to Disney. The subject causes a twinkle to reappear in their eyes if they’ve had a bad day at school. The family can get back to Main Street and relive a magical firework display with a few clicks on You Tube. Regularly we find ourselves as a family watching a Disney Parks Live Stream event together that becomes the catalyst for another conversation about something we did when we were there or something we want to be sure and do the next time we get to go.

Yes, many dollars have been transferred from my bank account into Disney’s. But I’m the richer man for it. We are building a relational and experience portfolio with my family that will continue to produce returns for a lifetime. Disney continues to be worth every penny paid and we never spent one dollar. We just keep enjoying the returns on our investment.