Cheapest way to DW for 10 days???

[denverdi]

Hi there we are planning on going to DW next January. (2003). My friend has a time share and is willing to let us use a week. ($710.00) We would like to see as much as possible, DW all the parks, Universal for 2 days, Sea world for a day and KSC for 1 day, and of course shopping at the outlet malls for 1/2 to 1 full day. I have no problem with cooking our meals for the days we are in the time share. and we will probably stay at a hotel with a kitchenette to help with alot of this (only need to stay in hotel for 2-3 nights.) The kids already have a great start on their spending money. So it is just DH and I for spending money. My girl friend just came back and said that they spent $9500.00 for 9 days. That seems really high to me. Can anyone give me a better budgeted amount?????? HELP!!! Thank you all ahead of time.

Denver DI:smooth:

[LKS]

We are a family of 5 going for 9 nights next June, including one sit-down PS per day (staying at Contemporary Standard Garden Wing for 6 nights and AKL Deluxe Savannah for 3 nights). Our carefully calculated cost (I'm an accountant and built a spread sheet), including some extra spending money, is around $6K and I am hoping to get it closer to $5k with an AP discount if they release any. We do not have airfare or car rental, but $9,500 still sounds pretty high. I know you can do it for much less if you get a good airfare and eat some meals in the room. Her price sounds like a WDW package or something. Those are sold at a premium.

[catwho]

Sure you can spend 10 grand in 9 days at WDW. *I* wouldn't, but I suppose it could be done. We are a family of 5 and we did 6 days at WDW for $1500 including meals (few off-site and only breakfast in our rooms 3 days), room, gas down, and souveniors.

Mayhaps your friends stayed at a Deluxe resort concierge level at rack room rate and did lots of shopping? Maybe they didn't get a good deal on airline tickets? Maybe they rented a car for a week at no discount? Maybe they ate PS restraunts the entire time? I can see how someone *can* spend that much on a vacation, but I don't know if I'd *want* to!

There are lots of ideas here (and on a few websites) that can help you budget a trip. Check out Disney Dollarle$$ (http://www.disneydollarless.com) or Mouse Savers (http://www.mousesavers.com) or Deb's Site (http://www.wdwig.com) for some great ways to save while seeing all that WDW has to offer!

:earsgirl:
27 days til WDW!!!!

[Jordan's MOM]

A disney trip can be done in so many different price ranges. Our 7 night January Trip will come in around 2500.00 We got a good rate at All star Resort (558.00) for the week, have 5 day hopper tickets in hand (611.00) and are allowing around 100.00 per day food. We will also do Disney Quest and HDHR. We are a family of three.Two adults and DS (9).We will drive and eat cheap on the way down. We will also do most breakfasts in our room. We will eat some sitdown and a lot of counter service.

10 days to GO !!!!!!

Jordan' mom

[juicefruit00]

HI

We are spending $4348 and that includes everything. I know we will not need that much but that is what we saved for our trip.

Air: $366
hoppers $750
POR $332
Kennel: $200- (Dog and Cat)
car rental $200
timeshare $530


And we are taking $2000 dollars spending for food and whatever. If we get in trouble we have the credit cards. We have only been once before, so i don't want money to be a bother. I am sick of penny pinching. We staying a couple of extra days and , have extra expenses because we saved so much on air. That we decieded to stay an extra couple of days. Then my sister and her family are coming and i didn't deduct the money she is chipping in for the timeshare.

[Buckleybunch]

Catwho
I would love to hear how you did 6 days for 1500.00.
I'm trying to do our next vacation cheap.. but nice.. but the ticket/hoppers are killing us..

Thanks
Linda

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says............................................ We just spent 10 days at WDW, including 4 at a deluxe(AKL), and air fare from the west coast, and a rental car, and the cost of AP's, and food and every piece of junk we bought for $4100. We plan to pull off our next trip for $1750 or less. Tickets, paid for. Rooms 8 nights at $69.00 at Hawthorne Suites. Air fare, 2 FF miles coupons and one purchase at $300 to $400. Food $400 or less because we have free breakfast and a kitchen we may use a few times. If we can't work out the two free flyer tickets to our advantage then add $500 to the price. With no splurges, still comes out to $1750.!! One time good deal.

[hercamore]

The only fixed prices for a disney vacation are the park tickets (you can get a slight discount on them tho with a DC card)..Other expenses can be as expensive or cheap as you are confortable with.

Your friends spent l,000 a day? on what? must have been a really expensive hotel

We spent $2,500 for l0 days this August for 3 adults.

It can be done.

[Buckleybunch]

I would love to hear how you guys do it?
I have a family of 6! We want to go Dec 17-27th.. I can't seem to get get below 6000.
I don't want to spend that much..
1500 for hotel
1800 for passes
1200 for food.
1000 for spending
500 for driving expenses ( we have a conversation van )

Granted these are what we have figured budgeted. But normally we have always been on target with our budgets..

[Biyanna]

How many people are going? Is you're friend allowing you to use the timeshare for free but it's worth 710.00 or do you mean that you are paying her 710.00 (a discount) for the use? Are you only staying at the timeshare a week then moving on to a property w/ a kitchenette for the rest of the time?

[fkj2]

I don't know the ages of the people in the party, but even for adults, we frequently meal share at places like 50s Prime Time and Sci-Fi, Tonys; except for family style restaurants you can always ask.

Take bottles to refill with h20 from the hotel.

You're going over Christmas, turns into high season but I thought someone on the resorts board had posted that whatever room rate you had beginning your stay carried through the entire vacation but I'm not 100% sure about that. Unless you're set on staying on-site, there are several off-site alternatives that seem to be much cheaper. Many have posted about vrbo.com.

If you're staying 10 days, have you considered annual passes which would make your next trip within the year cheaper?

[BethR]

Hi denverdi! Welcome to the DIS! Hope that you are able to get a lot of good information to allow you to get the most out of your Disney Vacation for the least amount of money.

The first thing that I need to tell you is that I really think that you need to rethink your intinery. You want to do USF, Sea World, KSC, and spend a good day shopping. That leaves only 2 to 2 1/2 days for all four Disney MAIN Parks. Quite a feat in itself! There are no hopper passes for under 4 days, so you will have to purchase admissions to each of the parks each time that change parks. So for 2 1/2 days you are talking about at least $200 in admission costs for each adult. Then you will have admission costs for USF and SW. AND if you are going to run each day, you probably not have much time to have meals in your rooms.

I urge you to rethink your plans. Try not to fit SO MUCH into a week. You will enjoy your vacation so much more that way.

Any thoughts on this?

We are here to help! :)

[denverdi]

Okay there are 4 of us DH, DS 11, DD9, and me. The timeshare is just a rental so yes we do have to pay. The other days we will be in a hotel. Meal sharing between DD and myself is not a problem. The other two, well lets just say they need their own meals. We thought 4 days in DW, 2 days between Universal and Islands of Adventure, 1 day at Sea World, 1 day at KSC, and maybe 1/2 to 1 day shopping at the outlet malls, and 1 day each way for travel. Thank you so much for all of your help and advice. My girlfriend pieced her whole trip together, They are also a family of 4. I think I can already beat her really high vacation of $9500.00.

[mooses41]

The Annual Pass idea is a good one. If you plan on going next year and scedule your trips 51 weeks apart you cant get a great deal.:jester:

[BethR]

Sorry denverdi - I ignored the TITLE of your post ( 10 Days ). :o OK so you DO have a few more days to spend at WDW. :) GOOD! :D
I would think that we can help you get the best price on a WDW vacation, you have a year to plan and do the leg work.
You already have 7 nights lodging taken care of, so you will need to get a room for 3 more nights. SInce you are staying off site in the Time Share, you might want to think about staying on-site. But if you want to stay somewhere for the bare minimum - off site is probably your best bet.
Staying off site, you will need a car to rent. I would recommend the Dollar Site - and you can try the discount codes of KISS or FVG. These codes are available to anyone. If you are a Disney Club member, you are entitled to discounts at National.
For you admissions, you can save money on them with a Disney Club Membership, a AAA membership, or at on-line ticket services such as www.floridaorlandotickets.com where you can get discounts similar to that of DC and AAA. You can get discounts on USF tickets from AAA and the on-line places as well.
If you are flying, watch this Board. People tend to post when good rates are available at particular airlines.
Food is one of the easiest ways to save money on a Disney vacation. You can have breakfast in your room, have packed snacks for a second "meal" and eat only one meal out a day. As you read more on this board, you will find many ways to save money on food and drinks.
Hope that you find this helpful. Be sure to stick around and post questions on the Budget Board and I am sure that you will end up saving in ways that you never thought of before.
:)

[fkj2]

Not that I'm trying to come between you and your friend, but I think you can do better than $710 for an off-site rental. I had some friends trying to rent out their timeshare (a red week) before Christmas and were willing to do so for less than $500.

I think Beth's given you a great thought....about not hitting so many tourist sites. I always plan a day at Universal but never get there. It's amazing how fast those 9 and 10 day vacations go by.

You might also want to consider the Emerald Isle at National; sometimes there is a free signup and that's usually posted at the Budget forum. And then there's Priceline.com for car rentals if you do fly. I'd try them the next time I go. I used them for a first night stay the last time I went to WDW.

Don't underestimate the amount of food Dis provides in a meal; if your 11 can eat an adult meal there, he's got quite an appetite. They give extremely generous portions.

[DizzKneeLand]

I went to WDW (2 adults) at the beginning of December for 4 days and Very Merry Mickey night :

2 Very Merry Mickey Party Tickets - $80
Rental Car - ~$100.00
Two 4 day Hopper (with DC Discount) - ~$400.00
Airfare for two adults (from New Orleans) - ~$300.00
1 Hotel Room (Downtown Disney) for 4 nights - ~$200.00
Disney Quest for two adults - ~ $50.00
Candlelight Processional for two adults - ~$80.00

So without food we spent about $600 a person. All total with food I spent about $750.00 plus souvieners.

We did not use one of our days on the hopper - really needed a downtime day - so we went to Disney Quest instead.

You are planning a jam-packed vacation - remember to include at least one downtime day - and shopping can be as tiring as the parks sometimes.

Just my 2 cents
DizzKneeLand

[denverdi]

Hi just a quick question, How can I find a time share for less money that what my friend is offering us? :confused:

[blewett]

Hi,

Here is a list of my costs for the year starting Aug 2001 to Aug 2002 for two people:

Annual Pass, Charter Member - $275 ea. = $550

Aug 2001 trip, 9 days
Gas, RI to FL, round trip - free, business trip
Time share exchange, $112, but - free, reimbursed for business trip
Park entry - free, see annual pass above
Food ~ $45/day (3 days reimbursed for businees trip) - $270
Misc. stuff in the parks - ~ $150
new time share condo - $10,000

Jan 2002 trip, 9 days (estimated costs)
Gas (car), RI to FL, round trip- $150
Time share exchange, $112
Hotels while on road, 2 nights @$65 ea - $130
Park entry - free, see annual pass above
Food ~ $45/day - $405
Misc. stuff in the parks - ~$150

May 2002, 9 days (estimated costs)
Gas (motorhome), RI to FL, round trip - $350
7 days at Fort Wilderness, $61/night - $427
Park entry - free, see annual pass above
Food ~ $45/day - $405
Misc. stuff in the parks - ~$150

Total for 21 days in the parks ~ $3250.

I didn't include the annual maintenance costs for the time shares since I have to pay those anyway. The new time share cost I tossed in for a warning. Don't take the time share tours if you have *any* weakness at all. You'll buy one. But otherwise, my 3 trips to Disney for this one year period works out to $77.38/person/day.

It can be done cheaply!

[zippehsmom]

blewett,

Just curious, what's a charter member?

Thanks

zippehsmom:)

[fkj2]

What week in January are you looking for? I think they have some time banked and it's at a timeshare called Orbit I I think. Supposed to be a nice two bedroom that sleeps 8. (Privacy for 6, excuse me and two baths)If you're interested, email me and I'll pass along your message. [email]fkj2@netscape.net[/email


My friend also says that she can exchange to other sites reasonably and for an additional exchange fee.

[Biyanna]

fkj2-I was thinking the same thing. I have seen posts on this very board for considerably less. No way should you pay 710.00 for 7 days in a timeshare. I searched timeshares on this board and found alot of deals out there. Someone got a 3bdrm for a week for 400.00, someone else got 4 days for 199.00. Search this board to get a feel for what's out there. You can also post for help. The people here are great. Another option you may want to consider is Priceline. At this time suites w/kitchenettes aren't coming up. But if you monitor Sheryl's board http://pub4.************/bpricelineandexpediabidding.html and only bid on two or three days at a time you can get a 1bdrm suite w/full kitchens for less than 35.00 total a day. And since you have some time before your trip you can afford to keep a look out.
As far as the food goes if you are willing to make some meals and quick breakfasts then that's cut into the cost deeply. If you want to do some character dining or dinner shows, Connections is a great way to save money and have those Disney meals prepaid. Check out http://www.mousesavers.com
As far as park tickets you need to compare the savings of Connections, Disney Club, AAA, and other online brokers. Go back and read through some of the previous posts.
Last year we went for 10 days for less than 2,500 and it included 4 days offsite and 6 days onsite.
Good luck! And have fun planning.