Budget Mousesaver Article [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

fam4jc

03-24-2004, 06:56 PM

Hi. I've found that Dreams Unlimited Travel, an online disney only travel agency is the best way to go IF you don't want to spend all that time hunting codes yourself. You make your initial reservation and every 45 days they double check all current code for your time frame and automatically make adjustments to your ressie! It's a huge time saver for budget minded disneyites. One of the best parts of their servive is they will make your ps' for you, including Cindys!! I know its fun to search the boards for codes and possible savings, (ive done it for months) but I'm at a very busy time with work and needed the help. Anyway, it's something to consider, especailly if you are going several months from now.
:wave: Hope this helps.

BethR

03-24-2004, 08:04 PM

CheapMom,

As someone who is really desperate ::yes:: to get back to WDW this summer and has about the budget that you mentioned, I would love to hear the details of the trip that you mentioned.

Thanks! :)

maximom

03-24-2004, 09:45 PM

Originally posted by rigs32
My cheapest budget trip came in at a grand total of $1500 for four people - including plane fare, hotel, food, tickets, rental car, the works. Granted, some of the items were cheaper because DH is military, but even wothout that we would have come in under $2k for the week.

I thought the $1000 would be for at least a few more days than it was for.

I agree ! I wasn't really impressed by the "savings". We have about an 18 hr drive to Orlando, therefore we'll be staying overnight in Atlanta both ways. Luckily through work I am a travel planner for the office and receive inner circle points at Drury so those nights will be freebies. I've gone over my budget with a fine tooth comb and for my family of four we'll be spending about $2000 offsite including food, gas & 3 day PH (thanks Mary) for 5 nights in Orlando. Granted I'm getting a room w/ full kitchen and don't plan on eating out a lot in Orlando but still think we're doing good.

rigs32

03-24-2004, 11:32 PM

Money saving - priceline is your friend. You can get off site rooms for $20 and up.

We stayed in a place with a full kitchen. We got it cheap through the Air Force, but anyone can stay at an Extended Stay America, and they have good weekly rates.

Use the fridge to store healthy breakfast stuff - cereal & milk, yogurt, etc. Eat breakfast in room.

Pack lunches - sandwiches, leftovers that work at room temp, etc. Also bring snacks.

Take your daily break for an early dinner back at the room. Easy prep stuff - pre-prepped hamburgers, pasta, chicken breasts, etc. Return to a different park for the evening.

Get 4 day hoppers for a week trip - spend other days exploring the resorts, DTD, etc.

Go to the outlets for your souveneirs. Do you NEED a tank top in the summer and a sweatshirt in the winter? Get a sweatshirt during that summer trip. You can remind yourself of the trip all winter long.

Cindy B

03-25-2004, 06:55 AM

I wasnt' that impressed either.

I did a five day trip totally onsite for four people 2 adults, 2 kids for less than $1000.

We drove, did not stop onroute, and did well.

I noticed that they ate a lot in the parks.. we always pack snacks. My kids never ever eat little things.

They would have done better with a hopper pass instead of a UPH. They did not utilitze the UPH to its advantage.

The second trip we went on was also onsite and about $1100 including gas money and food onroute.

We also drive from PA/NJ so it is a further drive.

As for making it cheaper, there are so many things you can do .

Lewisc

03-25-2004, 07:02 AM

Originally posted by Cindy B

I noticed that they ate a lot in the parks.. we always pack snacks. My kids never ever eat little things.

They would have done better with a hopper pass instead of a UPH. They did not utilitze the UPH to its advantage.

Park rules don't allow you to bring in outside food. Mary wanted to follow the rules for this trip. You can't get a 2 day park hopper and you can't get EE unless you stay onsite. I think her methods were well planned BUT I can't see many people doing it that way. I think there are better ways to do a budget trip BUT I don't think you can follow all the rules, see all 4 parks and keep to a $1,000 budget much better than what they did.

I don't think you can get much lower. I think staying offsite and getting a 3 day convention ticket would make for a better trip but I don't think you could get the budget under $1,000.

mad4themouse

03-25-2004, 07:34 AM

I found the article to be interesting but really didn't see any savings hints that I haven't found on these boards.

I did appreciate the comments that Suzanne included at the end, especially about the turkey sandwiches becoming "tired" and the need for a hot breakfast now & then.

I also like the caveat that the whirlwind, 2-day express economy tour of WDW is not for the newbie. Just getting oriented to the parks' layouts takes time. There is no way that a WDW virgin is going to make it to all 4 parks in 2 days and see as much as Suzanne did.

One of these days, I'm going to try to see how cheaply I can "do Disney". It just won't be this next trip.

Hillbeans

03-25-2004, 07:50 AM

Don't forget, the one child was an "adult" ticket, that ups the price quite a bit.

Honestly, if they went outside of the park more for food, like the Golden Corral with the coupon, they'd have enough food to last them the day. We did this 3 days, skipped lunch, and had dinner. Eating at the park is really expensive.

CheapMom

03-25-2004, 11:00 AM

I don't remember all the specifics (it was in 2000) but I know we got friends fly free from Southwest plus we had 2 airline vouchers from SWA rapid rewards.
All Star Movies had a $69 (tax included) advance purchase rate.
We did our character breakfast at Baskerville's and had a coupon for 50% off (Bill totalled around $20)
We used a coupon in our Entertainment book for a rental car for 1 week that was around $89 (before taxes)
We did 4 day hoppers. (2 adult, 2 child)
We stopped at the store for PB&J ingredients, juice boxes, pop tarts, cereal milk, chips, beer and wine, cheese and crakers... We ate all of our breakfasts in the room (except the character breakfast) and carried lunch into the parks most days and always had snacks on hand at the parks. Always carried water bottles into park. The food court at ASMO is pretty good and reasonable. We ate dinner there most nights.
(Our kids were 3 and 5 so we didn't care about fancy dining)
Both sets of grandparents gave each kid $20 (so they each had 40 total) They could spend it any way they chose, Mickey bars, souveniers... That was it, we didn't buy them anything else.
We travelled off season
BTW- with little kids 4 days at the parks was more than enough- my favorite day of this trip was when we spent the morning at the pool and then rode the monorail to GF, Poly, and Contemporary. Got off at each resort and strolled around the hotels- the kids loved it too. The article I really like at Mousesavers is the one titled something like "Free and cheap things to do at WDW"
I know the exact price because everything went on a credit card- that was all we used it for and we got an end of year statement

CheapMom

03-25-2004, 11:29 AM

Beth- I know some of these things in my budget (namely airfare) prob. won't help you. Southwest had incredibly cheap airfare back then, if i recall it was around $100 rt from Baltimore. I think those days are over. And our Rapid reward credit card had some great promos back then. So you probably won't see those airfare savings.
That said, if I had it to do over I would have gotten 3 day hoppers (from Disney's group sales) for greater savings. I really enjoyed the off days from the parks, relaxing at the Mickey pool with my peeps, searching for hidden Mickeys at the resort!
This time around I am glad to say we have a bigger budget!

crazelion

03-25-2004, 11:33 AM

It's easy to a budget trip if willing to give a few things.

Do a weekend trip. Example if driving distance do a Thursday through Sunday trip.

You will be amazing on how much you can do.

Be willing to stay offsite when can't afford onsite prices.

Check hotelkingdom.com for hotel rates for cheap without doing priceline. Then check tripadvsior.com for hotel reviews.

Once got hotel took care of then time what tickets to purchase. Decide which parks to go to IOA, US, and WDW.

If love Orlando IOA and US should not be miss because you can get cheap tickets all the time becuse they offer coupons.

Be willing to eat offsite for breakfeast and dinner. Eat two meals a day offsite that will save money.

I not a fan eating breakfeast in the room. Then again I don't like cold ceral. I will take lunch in the park with me if I get hungrey.

Examples of thing I take with is :
tuna saland in a can. That do have to in the fridge. They offer many varity ham saland and chicken saland with crackers with to.

I loved chicken saland and crackers together I take them to work with me for lunch all the time. They is only a 1.00 dollar.

Pringles lover so I took those to.

Drink water in the parks. They give a free cup water at the concession stand. Or bring on drinks in the park.

I always took water or powerade in the park. Not just WDW either. I do that at every amusement park I go to. Except for Lake Winnie. That's only because it 10 minutes from my house.

Gas try fill in Georiga because it's cheaper.

For the car trip down take snacks with you that will save all money.

I have took plenty weekend trips every where because that all I can afford take. Or not go. That do not take away from the fun.

rigs32

03-25-2004, 03:36 PM

DH and I have a somewhat complicated budget system for ourselves, but it works for us.

That said, I think that in order to do a true budget trip, you need to either:
1) plan for splurges (budget for a park snack every day or every other day)
or
2) if someone decides to splurge, the extra comes from their personal money, not the group money. I'm a saver and DH is a spender. If his desserts, extras, and whatnot came from the travel budget, I'd be pulling my hair out. Instead, we decide *before we leave* on a set budget and any deviations come from our own personal money. He can go buy what he wants and not cause me to have to miss out on something I wanted to do.

You do not *have* to give into your kids demads for a snack. If you know they'll be hungry, plan a meal schedule that will take it into consideration.

As for sandwiches getting old, again it's a trade off. Much of the park food is mediocre. Why not eat my own, cheaper, mediocre food? If sticking to an in room breakfast will, in the long run, allow me to have a longer vacation, I'll do it. Saving $20 each day adds up quickly.

Tina

03-25-2004, 03:41 PM

Hillbeans - you mentioned a coupon for Golden Corral - where can I find this? DH and I are doing a 6 night/5 day budget trip for at the end of April. We could use all the coupons we can get.

Did anyone else notice that she only SPLIT a cheeseburger with her husband for lunch at EPCOT? Hello? Those cheeseburgers arent' THAT big!! I'd like my own, please. :rolleyes:

Hillbeans

03-25-2004, 04:09 PM

Originally posted by Tina
Hillbeans - you mentioned a coupon for Golden Corral - where can I find this? DH and I are doing a 6 night/5 day budget trip for at the end of April. We could use all the coupons we can get.

Did anyone else notice that she only SPLIT a cheeseburger with her husband for lunch at EPCOT? Hello? Those cheeseburgers arent' THAT big!! I'd like my own, please. :rolleyes:

Actually, at the Golden Corral, they have a bunch of coupon books, but they're at the exit (sneaky!) Grab a few of the coupon books and use them right then. We did. Even better, we have a DS 3 who we said was 3 each time we went and they didn't charge us for him for some reason. I guess they only charge for over 3 year olds. We ate a huge breakfast for $13.50 for 3 and then had a light snack until dinner. We're breakfast people and like to eat our big meal early in the day.

The coupon books are also at the other restaurants around town, like Denny's and the like on the 192 and Int'l drive area. The golden Corral is at the Downtown Disney area exit.

Tina

03-25-2004, 05:33 PM

Thanks. We'll definitely grab those coupons books on our first night!

FoodLover

03-25-2004, 06:08 PM

I've enjoyed reading the comments here. I'm particularly interested by the folks who say they are not impressed with the $1000 plan and think they could stay longer on that amount of money.

My article had one specific goal: to figure out if a family of four that had ONLY $1000 available and NO prepaid anything (i.e. no free airfare, Annual Passes, restaurant gift cards, etc.) could actually put together a WDW vacation that would allow them to go to all 4 parks.

Seriously, if you can beat my budget, I would LOVE to hear how! Keep in mind the following guidelines:

- Admission to all 4 parks for 2 adults, 2 kids (ages 8 & 10)
- Hotel stay for 3 nights in Peak Season
- $100 gas costs
- 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 snacks and one meal on the road
- $80 for souvenirs

Do the math and you'll quickly find the whole problem is admission costs. Yes, with a 3-day Hopper Plus, you could stay longer, spend more time in the parks and the whole trip would be much more enjoyable. But you're not going to be able to do the trip for $1000, because the tickets alone would cost $643.32.

Add the gas, souvenirs and 5 nights in a 2-star Priceline hotel at $30 a night and your budget is gone. Once you pay for meals (even off-site) you're going to be closer to $1300 or so. Is it worth it to pay the extra $300 and stay two days longer? I think so. But if you don't have the $300, the "How Low Can You Go" plan offers a possible solution.

Actually, it's possible to shave my plan down to $900 or even less, and I explain how in the article. I picked $1000 because it's a nice round number and it allows a little "leeway" for some extras (like eating meals in the parks) that make the experience more enjoyable. I mean, if you have to do two parks in a day, do you really want to leave the property to eat?

My next project will be to do what I consider a more realistic budget trip, for a 6 or 7 night stay. I think that will be a lot of fun!

Mary
MouseSavers.com

***tink386

03-25-2004, 06:14 PM

:earseek: I'd love to see a budget for at least 4 days, and for those of us who live to far away to drive:wave: Thank you for all the tips!!

rigs32

03-25-2004, 11:14 PM

Mary -

I started this thread, but i do want to say that I love your site.

I agree that there are items that could not been made cheaper, but I think something a lot of us noticed were the places where the budget was exceeded - extras not totaled, etc.

Things to try in the future -
1) Maybe have the family peruse the menus online before leaving to know which restaurants will give them the best bang for their buck - with or without vouchers.
2) Figuring out the value of time lost or gained in trying to save money. (i.e. Will you recoup the cost of a rental car on a short trip by not taking buses?)
2b) If the family stays someplace with a full kitchen, will the money saved on food offset the increased travel time and time outside the parks. Maybe the cost of an on site home away from home resort (renting DVC points?) vs. a standard room.
3) Free plans for non-park days (DTD, Bob Jackson at POR, campfire at FW)
4) Maybe a spirit of Disney trip in which a family goes to WDW and stays on site, but doesn't actually go into the theme parks. How does it compare?

Maybe even a competition between families to keep their budget down? I know these all cost $$$$, but they're just ideas.

Keep up the great work! It's with the help of your site that I've been able to decrease my WDW budget.

FoodLover

03-25-2004, 11:37 PM

Originally posted by rigs32
1) Maybe have the family peruse the menus online before leaving to know which restaurants will give them the best bang for their buck - with or without vouchers.
2) Figuring out the value of time lost or gained in trying to save money. (i.e. Will you recoup the cost of a rental car on a short trip by not taking buses?)
2b) If the family stays someplace with a full kitchen, will the money saved on food offset the increased travel time and time outside the parks. Maybe the cost of an on site home away from home resort (renting DVC points?) vs. a standard room.
3) Free plans for non-park days (DTD, Bob Jackson at POR, campfire at FW)
4) Maybe a spirit of Disney trip in which a family goes to WDW and stays on site, but doesn't actually go into the theme parks. How does it compare?

Maybe even a competition between families to keep their budget down? I know these all cost $$$$, but they're just ideas.

Lots of great ideas there, and believe me, I'm thinkin' about 'em all! :D

I'm puzzled by this: "something a lot of us noticed were the places where the budget was exceeded - extras not totaled, etc."

Can you explain what you mean? Every penny of their expenses was accounted for (believe me, I have the receipts!) and they were only $3.31 over budget.

That is excepting the steak dinner they opted for on the night they arrived, which was NOT in the plan. They were supposed to be eating food brought from home, which would be out of a regular grocery budget. The flaw in that plan is that my sister-in-law really doesn't cook at all (even sandwiches). They are fast-food junkies. She'd be the first to admit it!

So in some ways they were not an optimal family to test this plan. But that's actually one reason I chose them. I wanted to "torture test" the plan and make sure it would work. We all have different lifestyles and I knew they would end up deviating from the original plan a bit. I was curious to see if the plan had enough flexibility to accommodate that. It seems to me that overall it worked out. Suzi chose to use the parents' "mad money" toward hot breakfasts, for instance.

Am I missing something?

Mary
MouseSavers.com

Cindy B

03-26-2004, 06:22 AM

I do agree that checking the menus pre trip would have saved money.

I personally hate all the restaurant food while on vacation.. I can taste the grease and junk.

I personally like the idea of being able to cook. I like sandwiches, or even as a compromise a sandwich/hoagie from the deli section of Winn Dixie/Publix. I would use my grocery budget for the week in very creative ways..

For hotels with fridge/stove options (ie DVC, etc.)
some lunchmeat (bought with coupons from Sunday paper )
some pasta/sauce (again with coupons from paper if generic weren't better price)
box mac n cheese/chicken noodle soup (my daughter loves this)
some frozen chicken breast (Weaver/Banquet)
Novelty ice cream.. there are Mickey shaped ones at the Winn Dixie in Orlando!

Even a rotisserie chicken precooked would be nice.
I would also buy some premade items

Also milk, coffee creamer, etc.

For hotels without fridge/stove options (this is more creative but doable)

Using a cooler brought from home.

I have brought.. lunchables, yogurt (Gogurt bought on sale w/coupon), pudding cups, and some kids cuisine.

I used the All Star microwave to heat up some things.. don't worry I also purchased refillable mugs as well.

I also brought microwave popcorn

rigs32

03-26-2004, 02:42 PM

Mary -

As a poor 20something, when I go on a budget trip, I squeeze those pennies so I can splurge on stuff. For example, we share meals so we can splurge on dinner at Crystal Palace.

I guess it's just differing opinions on how budget you want to go. Did they save money? Of course. Could they have done a little better? Probably.

My DH was against budget travel at first. His opinion was that if we're going on vacation, we're out to enjoy ourselves. It took only one year of showing him how by being super budget conscious, we could still afford two vacations a year, even though we're in the lowest tax bracket. We do a group cruise with friends and co-workers every January for under $1000 (including everything) and something on our own in the summer - last year it was WDW.

I, personally, would not spend $20 on a snack for the family. If I knew people would get hungry, I'd get the meal vouchers at AK - have lunch on them, then get the ice cream to eat while traveling to another park. You save time and money. Those cone are huge, so not everyone would get their own, either. Or we'd use one for two of us. Get the ribs and chicken meal at AK to share, then DH gets the ice cream (and I get to taste) and I get a Diet Coke to quench that sweet craving without the calories.

For beverages, we carry those backpack hydration things. Fill with ice, top off with water (taps in counter service restaurants are very drinkable). Plenty of beverage, you've got a backpack for any items you're carrying, and the ice keeps your back cool.

Since many of us here are avid readers of your site, we're always looking for other ways to make those trips even cheaper.

Would the kind of trip I take be bad for some? Yeah. It does take prep work. But I *love* the planning. I have small pages (quarter sheets) of places to eat in the parks that would be a good deal for us. At lunch time in Epcot, I'll ask DH if he wants Italian, Moroccan, or Japanese. We still get a choice, but we limit out choices to the most cost effective. For the two of us, I think our food budget averaged out to ~$25 per day.