Budgeting for Disney

[willgb09]

I'm trying to work on a Disney budget, and was hoping those who have gone can help. Does anyone have any Don't Forget to Budget For type items/experiences/important charges? With 7 of us going, I need to be as ready as I can with no super huge SURPRISE charges!

 

[MAO]

something to eat on the plane (to and from)
tips, if you give them, for Magical Express and/or Mousekeeping
tolls, if you drive

 

[verleniahall]

We alwyas budget $400.00 in emergancy cash - you never know what will pop up during yoru trip

money for tips - your bus drive, luggage delievery, mousekeeping, etc.....

 

[Marionnette]

I'm trying to work on a Disney budget, and was hoping those who have gone can help. Does anyone have any Don't Forget to Budget For type items/experiences/important charges? With 7 of us going, I need to be as ready as I can with no super huge SURPRISE charges!

If you're not staying onsite, you will need to budget for parking (currently $17/day).
Tolls for the highway, if you're arriving by car or renting one at the airport.
Resort fees if you are staying in an offsite resort that charges one.

 

[elsbit]

Outside the cost of our resort and park tickets, I have budgeted for:

Food:
We are using the dining plan for our trip. So I have budgeted for tips for the wait service, any meals that are not covered by our plan (meaning travel to and from, meals not covered by the plan). Since we are doing the DP I have figured out what restaurants I want to book and the number of credits that each one will use. From there, I am able to factor any out of pocket. Breakfast is not covered(based on my planning with the DP), so we will mostly eat breakfast in our room.Since we are driving, I can easily bring breakfast food from home. Food is a big budget factor in your trip. We chose the DP so we wouldn't have to worry about prices while there.

Travel Gas:
I have been collecting discounted gas cards, so I will be saving 20% on gas (Publix has gas card deals if you buy 50 in groceries you can buy a $50 gas card for $40). I budgeted the mileage at a high gas price to determine the "max" I will need. There are websites that can determine this for you based on the make of your car, etc.

Travel Hotel:
This is because we are driving a long trip and will split up the drive down to Florida.

Kid Souvenirs:
My kids will have their own budget. They set their own goal to save $100-150 for Disney. They have been saving by doing chores/odd jobs. We will buy Disney gift cards at Sam's at a discounted price so they will save a little. They are 3 and 6. We did this with our eldest when she was 4 and we took a vacation. It worked great. It taught her the value of her dollar, hard work, and made her really consider her purchases since it was HER money. They also get very excited when they find change on the ground. Oh to be little and think a dime is amazing!

Adult "Mad Money":
I budgeted $400 for miscellaneous for my husband and I. If we don't spend it, we will just save it.

Disney Extras- like Cirque Du Soleil, etc:
We picked out the extra cost activities that we want to do and have set aside money for them.

Non-Park Day activities:
Are you taking any days off from the Parks? If you plan to go out, factor the cost of what you might do.

Misc.:
Tolls
Money for penny machines (.51 each) and laundry machines


Additionally, I am picking up stuff in advance so I won't have to buy it while there. Things such as water, ponchos, ziplock bags, laundry soap, etc. Our trip is not until December, so I have time to buy things when on clearance, with a coupon, etc.

 

[JenB1104]

Pet sitting or boarding if you have pets. Adult beverages if you and DH like drinks with dinner. Any extra excursion type things - golf, boats etc.

 

[dalayney]

Also.. there's always the expense of when you're packing. Small toiletries you need to buy. .. A new piece of clothing you need for the trip.... sunscreen, moleskin for blisters, magazines for the trip... etc. Quarters if you plan on doing laundry... garden grocer bill if you plan on having some food or cases of water delivered to your hotel...

 

[JenB1104]

Also.. there's always the expense of when you're packing. Small toiletries you need to buy. .. A new piece of clothing you need for the trip.... sunscreen, moleskin for blisters, magazines for the trip... etc. Quarters if you plan on doing laundry... garden grocer bill if you plan on having some food or cases of water delivered to your hotel...

I agree - don't even want to calculate what I have spent over last several months on things FOR the trip - clothing, packing cubes, ponchos etc. etc. etc.

 

[mchac430]

Read the fine print if you're staying in a hotel outside of the park. Last time we went, we had a $150 deposit that we didn't catch when we first booked. It was refunded at the end of our trip, but it was some money that I didn't expect to pay out up front. I would find the nearest Walmart and load up on snacks and water you can take into the park with you. You may not think too much of those little expenses, but they definitely do add up!

 

[pinkprincess30]

It seems obvious I guess, but SHOES! Kids grow fast so making sure they all have good walking shoes is important. I also had such terrible blisters on our last trip I had to buy a pair of comfy flip flops at a nearby store just to get by!

I second the suggestion to budget for travel days... That pack of gum, magazine or extra meal will add up!

 

[angierae]

Budget for my Big Trip next year includes:

8 nights Pop Preferred, 8 day park hoppers + food upgrade (assuming free dining at this point, but will have $ if not)
Universal tickets
Flights
Memory Maker
KTTK
MNSSHP
Lunch at Universal

Souvenirs @ Disney
Souvenirs @ Universal
Snacks/Drinks beyond DDP
Unexpected Extras - last Resort DO NOT TOUCH
Airport meals/snacks/expenses
Tips
Buying pins ahead of time

 

[tnd]

If you are flying, parking or transport to and from the airport. Even the off-site places can be $10/day and that can add up. Also agree with the person who said pet boarding or pet sitting if needed.

 

[FairyPrincessMerida]

Safest bet - 20% buffer from whatever number you come up with.

 

[pinkprincess30]

One thing I just thought of! Those pictures available from your ride. Like at the top of the hill on Splash Mountain. If you don't have Photopass Plus these can really add up if you intend to buy them.

 

[willgb09]

Thank you for all the replies!

We do plan to fly, and I'd really prefer to stay on site. If we stay on site, we won't need to rent a car, right? I'd also like to Universal Studios, but I've read there's a bus to there. Is that correct?

I appreciate all the responses. There are quite a few I didn't think of.

 

[LovesTimone]

I'm trying to work on a Disney budget, and was hoping those who have gone can help. Does anyone have any Don't Forget to Budget For type items/experiences/important charges? With 7 of us going, I need to be as ready as I can with no super huge SURPRISE charges!

Are you Flying or Driving?
What time of year are you visiting?
Staying On site or Off-Site?

If you haven't decided whether to stay on or off site, running the numbers is the most important. When making that decision make sure to add in all the extras for staying off-site. As an example my friends got what they thought was a great deal for staying off site. But she failed to check all the little things, such as parking at the resort, Wi-Fi, cleaning of the unit, hidden resort fees. Which added in right at 1000.00 for the 7 nights, plus the cost of a rental car, and gas. Parking at the parks, the time going back and forth to the parks. They were use to free dinning, and she said she almost had sticker shock when they got the bill for dinner at CM. She said she could have stay in 2 moderate rooms with FD and used magical express to get back and forth to the airport and saved money. Plus her DH would not have been like I thought this would save us money and all it is doing is costing us more money. When everything is paid for up front its easier to have a good time.

Hit the dollar store, for glow necklaces and bracelets, they have some cute Disney things to take along for the ride and in the room. Disney coloring books, puzzles. Be on the look out for stuff for your trip when your out and about. I was at Kohl's yesterday, they had a lot of Disney clothing in the kids dept. on clearance.

If you are coming during Halloween or Christmas and are thinking about attending one the hard ticket events, they are an extra cost so plan for that. My friends always attend Mickey Christmas Party, so she takes off one day on their tickets, and they don't go to the park until time for the party, they stay at the resort and swim, or go to the outlet mall for some retail therapy.

 

[LovesTimone]

Thank you for all the replies!

We do plan to fly, and I'd really prefer to stay on site. If we stay on site, we won't need to rent a car, right? You can take Magical express to and from the airport. I'd also like to Universal Studios, but I've read there's a bus to there. Is that correct? -There is not a bus per say to Universal, not really sure on where or how to get a bus over there. I would just taxi it over to Universal. We have gone over to meet some friends for cocktails and dinner, so we went to DTD and grabbed a taxi over there and back easy peasy.

I appreciate all the responses. There are quite a few I didn't think of.

 

[MAO]

Thank you for all the replies!

We do plan to fly, and I'd really prefer to stay on site. If we stay on site, we won't need to rent a car, right? I'd also like to Universal Studios, but I've read there's a bus to there. Is that correct?

I appreciate all the responses. There are quite a few I didn't think of.

I suspect there's a local bus that would take you there; precisely where on Disney property it would stop I've no idea. Check the Orlando/Kissimmee websites for public transportation. Also check the Universal website for driving directions - if there's a local bus, they should post it on their site somewhere. Note that it's highly unlikely it will be stopping *at* any Disney resort and there may be some walking on your part needed to get to the bus stop.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I always fill a backpack with snacks to have in the room or take into the park. Saves us lots of money. Also, we hate the taste of Florida water, so have some water from Amazon delivered to your room, or if the water doesn't bother you get free cups inside the park at quick service resturants.

 

[kathy884]

When I have a group of seven, I usually stay offsite in a two bedroom condo that I rent from an owner from a site like TUG2.net or redweek.com and rent a minivan. Usually I can rent a great two bedroom condo at a place with a really nice resort feel for $1000 for the week or less with no extra fees or taxes. The places I've rented most recently are Sheraton Vistana resort and Cypress Point. Many people from the UK who stay offsite stay on I-drive and take buses, but I personally would find it too inconvenient not to have a car unless I were staying onsite at Disney or in a downtown Disney hotel and doing all Disney. Also a car makes it easy to go to the grocery store, etc. so you can have snacks etc. available and maybe do a few meals in.

I budget for
dog at Kennel
-- air
-- condo
-- rental car
-- park tickets (We usually do in a week four park days, a day to Clearwater beach, and one resort day)
-- any special meals out -- as they cost of fortune and would bust my food budget like Disney table service at Ohana or Boma, character dinner, nice dinner at some place like Café Tu Tu Tango -- my favorite offsite restaurant
-- food and groceries (don't forget travel days and meals / snacks at the airport -- I usually budget 1/2 of a normal food day for travel days) // Eating in saves some, but doesn't save that much over chain offsite restaurants, but it's nice to do. We eat healthier and prefer not to eat all of our meals out. // At the grocery store too figure you'll spend more than you would at home for a week even eating out because of buying thing like zip lock bags, foil, mustard, ketchup, laundry detergent, bounce sheets, that at home you only buy on occasion. We eat all breakfasts in, eat lunches in on non park days, bring sandwiches to Disney, but eat lunches out on park days at SeaWorld and Universal as you can't bring sandwiches in, eat two dinners in, and four dinners out on a typical trip. At parks when we eat their food not ours we do counter service places, not table service and find that lunch, dinner, and snacks if you don't bring in your own food costs about $30 pp for the day.
-- incidentals -- gas, parking at parks, items at Walgreens, non food items at grocery store, etc.
-- souvenirs -- I limit this to one refrigerator magnet out of the family budget and have kids buy these with their own money. My son always gets souvenirs too

If you want to stay onsite, and it works for your budget do that. I would say look at what you would like your vacations to look like vs. just pure expense numbers. I find that my condo, car, and parking usually runs about the cost of value rooms, and considerable less than moderate rooms. And I just prefer the offsite condo to either of those. And the Disney deluxe properties are really expensive -- too much for my vacation budget. (I've done three stays at the Contemporary when DH had conferences there -- enjoyed that, but the company paid for three nights and we just paid for one extra night at a convention discounted rate.)

Onsite is super popular, though, as almost 40% of park guests stay onsite, a staggering statistic. If you aren't wanting to drive, like I said before I'd do onsite or a downtown Disney hotel and I'd stay away from Downtown Disney till their construction is complete. I personally think onsite is way overpriced, and I feel trapped having to eat all that Disney food and want to escape lol. Others feel like it's a Disney immersion experience.

Also, how long is your trip. Most owner condo rentals are for a full week. An offsite house or condo is cheaper than renting a timeshare property. I prefer to rent the timeshare properties as they have more of the resort feel that my family always likes. Do note too, that you will be asked to pick up a welcome package and if you'd like to do a timeshare presentation/resort tour -- My recommendations is to always declines - say no thank you -- easy to do // I wouldn't waste precious vacation time sitting though something like this.