We just got back from 6 days at Disney World. We were there to celebrate my father-in-law’s retirement and it was definitely a trip of a lifetime for my kids.
There was wonder and amazement all around us. They giggled and smiled from ride to ride, from ice cream cones to frozen lemonade, through 3D shows and magic tricks. They couldn’t get enough.
My 3 year old son made best friends with all the characters and was able to see his toys come to life. Nap schedules and bed times were thrown out the window and healthy eating kicked to the curb. 6 days of pure fun and …sweat.
Some Observations:
- Disney is the future
Room keys are gone, magic bands have replaced them. With these bands, (bracelets) you can enter your hotel, buy food, enter the parks and track your location. Disney spent $1 billion about 3 years ago to implement these bands and they are a major success. https://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/ When the whole world goes cashless, Disney will have been ground zero.
- Disney is the most well run company I have ever seen
Tens of thousands of people visit their parks everyday. The place was insanely clean, customers were kept moving and employees were always smiling, all in 100 degree temperatures….
- People are feeling rich
The place was packed! Every park. People were everywhere. Food and merchandise was flying left and right. Everyone had Mickey gear on and the price tag didn’t matter.
- Parents and grandparents are amazing
My in-laws are amazing. They were pushing the envelope harder and faster than we were. They made sure no expense was spared and that their grandkids had the best time…. and they delivered.
And I saw a lot of other amazing parents too. There were parents pushing strollers with 2, 3 and 4 kids. I saw parents carrying kids with broken bones and other disabilities to rides and shows all throughout the park. I witnessed parents waiting on lines to meet characters at 8am dripping wet in sweat, holding balloons while their kids were napping in the stroller. I saw grandparents holding the camera, the toys, the food, while their kids and grandkids went on rides.
It was an amazing trip but now it’s back to reality for me and all of those other customers. 6 days in Disney is the closest thing to fantasyland that I can imagine. I mean, we didn’t even have to use cash to spend money! Who was keeping track? No one in our party, that’s for sure.
My father-in-law is a great example of how to reach financial success, the old fashioned way. He worked for 30 years, lived below his means, spent money on experiences for his family, not on material things and saved regularly.
How many of us are on that path..?
How many of us are living in financial fantasyland?
Living and spending as if our future wasn’t on the line.
Forgoing the company 401k, not bothering to invest any surplus cash and going without an emergency bucket is financial fantasyland.
If you think you can spend every dollar you earn and everything will just work out, you are drunk on Disney magic. In real life, magic bands are called credit cards and eventually you have to pay up.
So I’m here to let you know that you deserve this vacation but when the magic wears off it’s time to buckle down. It’s time start saving and planning for the future.
Ultimately it’s better for your kids to be financially secure than have another batch of Mickey Mouse waffles for $15.99
-Jared
few more shots
