Decisions, decisions, Need help!!!!

[livinfreeinaz]

Well here is the dilemma,

DH said the week before Katrina hit that I could start to plan and get prices for a trip to DW. We have been trying to get to DW for the past 6 years and this year is the year that we thought we maybe able to pull it off.

I am now rethinking our trip to DW and thinking maybe DL this year. I would actually like to give part of our DW money as a donation. (not all, but definatly some.) The kids (15) DS (12) DD have gone through our stock pile of personal hygiene items and give as much as they can. They are even giving up their allowances they have both saved for the past several weeks. Great kids!!!!!

We have about 3500.00 for our trip, Dec 31 - Jan 7. I do know we will have about another 1000.00 before our trip. I was thinking of giving 500.00 - 1000.00 to the relief effort, do you think we can do DW for 3500.00. We are not picky to where we stay, as long as it is safe and clean. Not fussy either, we can have pizza, subs or what ever. Only want to do a few nice dinners. breakfast in the room is fine and snack throughout the day is great with my bunch. We only have to go to KSC and DW. Do want this to be a nice trip but there are so many in need right now. Can you please help me decide if I can do DW of if it will be DL this year??

All of your help is always welcome.

TIA
Livinfreeinaz

 

[Leigha]

You sound like great people! You also sound as if you'd regret not doing both the donation and going to DW. I think you could easily do the DW trip on $3,500. especially since you're not picky people. You still have plenty of time to plan so I say go for it!

 

[EthansMom]

I think you could probably afford to donate $500 and still have a nice vacation for $4000. First, I would recommend that you avoid going to WDW until Jan. 1 which is when value season starts at the resorts and you'll also avoid the Dec. 31st crowds (you won't be able to move in the crowds).

If you go to WDW Jan 1 - Jan 8, you could get a standard room at Pop Century at rack rate (full price) for $617 (incl. tax). If you can get a room at the AAA rate, you would pay $493 for 7 nights at POP.

4 adult six-day MYW tix with park hopping from reputable discounter http://www.ticketmania.com would cost $924. Want to squeeze in some park visits the day you arrive? You could get 7 day tickets for a total of $12 more.

Tickets on http://www.southwest.com com out to $1339.60 for Jan. 2 - Jan. 8 from Phoenix to MCO.

Take Magical Express to/from the airport for free.

For food, I figured an average of $40 per person for 6 full days at the parks for a total of $960.

If each person picks just one souvenir, you could probably stick to $50 per person for souvenirs.

So, for a 7 night budget, I come out with:
7 nights @ Pop Century with AAA rate: $493
7 day MYW tix with park hopping: $936
Airfare: $1340
Food: $960
Souvenirs: $200

Total: $3929

Don't forget, you could consider donating some money now and then donating any money you have left over when you get back. Those poor people affected by Katrina will be in need for months and Red Cross, Salvation Army and other charitable organizations will certainly need to replenish their stores of food, clothes, etc. too.

I hope this helps you to reach your goal of helping others as well as your goal of having a nice vacation!

 

[dawnball]

For your dates and family - you can stay at POP century on the dining plan for $2887 with no discounts and hopper tickets. So with inexpensive airfare and a few discounts - you should be fine.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

You sound like such a caring person! God Bless You for wanting to make such a generous donation to those in such desperate need! This is what I came up with:

At this point, your best hope for decent airfare would be to book a package that includes it. I went to the Disneyworld.com website and plugged in your dates. For All-Star Movies (std. view), 5-day MYW base passes, airfare (from Phoenix) and Magical Express ground transportation for 4 (2 adults + 2 juniors) the cost with insurance comes to $3290. Adding the dining package would bring the total cost to $4365!

A similar vacation package (Pop Century, std view, 5-day MYW base tix and no dining) at SouthWestVacations.com priced out at $3100. This would leave you about $400 for food for the week for 4 people. Staying offsite would be less expensive by a few hundred dollars but might require the rental of a car to get back and forth from the parks plus the cost of parking.

If you can postpone the trip until Jan.1, your stay will be during Value Season as opposed to Holiday Season. This would save you a tremendous amount on the cost of the room. You could also apply a AAA discount to the room/package. There are no AAA discounts for Holiday Season.

Another thing to consider is that this also does not include your planned trip to KSC, which would cost another $100+ for standard admission tix and would involve renting a car for at least a day (KSC is on the Atlantic Coast, about 1 hour from Orlando). You might want to skip KSC or postpone it until a later date.

I hope that you can make the trip workout for your family. I do believe that you can do the trip comfortably on $4000 if you put together the right package. Best of luck!

 

[livinfreeinaz]

Thank you all so much.

After discussing with DH I think we are going to get a cheaper hotel off site for Dec 31st. We do not need to be in the parks for NYE. We are going to start with 500.00 donation to Katrina survivors and the other items we have, including clothing. After we get back and get our taxes filed we will give another 500.00, I have a feeling they will still be in need of all that they can get at that time, at least I hope so. I will also find the local Red Cross and donate "extra" items that we can as the months go on. So Thank you for all of your help. I do think we can make this work. I am going to start planning today. I am going to get the bank check for our donation as soon as the bank opens this morning.
I would have never thought of staying on site, thought it would be too expensive, thank you all for all of your help. God Bless you all!!!

Livinfreeinaz