This is the worst week of my life

[LJSquishy]

Here is a possible scenario for your family for your day in Magic Kingdom which includes a TS dinner:

Example [Breakfast, Lunch, TS Dinner & 2 Snacks]
Breakfast: Riverside Mill Foodcourt (POR)- Kid's Breakfast Platter ($4.99), Kid's French Toast Meal ($4.99), Adult Breakfast Platter ($6.79)
Lunch: Kid's Mrs. Pott's Platter ($8.49), Kid's Les Macaronis Maurice ($6.99), Adult Carved Prime Chuck Roast Beef Sandwich ($12.19), 1 Soda ($3) {Kid's meals each come with beverage AND dessert cupcake}
Dinner: The Plaza - Kid's Cheeseburger Meal ($8.59), Kid's Grilled Chicken Strips Meal ($8.59), Adult Angus Chuck Cheeseburger ($13.99), 1 Soda ($3) {Kid's Meals each come with beverage AND dessert}
Snacks: Aloha Isle Dole Whip Float to share ($4.99), Lunching Pad Mickey Pretzel ($4.29)

Total w/ tax = $96.80

The Plaza is one of the least expensive TS restaurants which is why I picked it specifically. You could potentially do a huge TS breakfast character meal (pricey), skip lunch, then do a CS dinner with maybe 1 snack in between meals but if the goal is to save as much money as possible, I would stick to mostly CS locations with 1 or no TS meals per day.

 

[hsmamato2]

this is a sad story, please,please, whatever happens, stay away from this person from now on, you must protect yourself and your kids,and he has shown you who he truly is. Take care of YOURSELF. ALso, b/c it's so close, just go on your trip, and be with your kids. I would advise NO character meals or table service at the parks, just eat at all the wonderful TS options on that cruise, then let the kids know when you're at the parks that you will be eating more simply,still yummy, but simpler. You can get great cs choices, and snacks and desserts everywhere, you can share a cs meal a lot of times b/c they're pretty large,and then as you're wandering around later, grab a fun dessert,and everyone shares a bite, so you all get to try fun stuff without breaking the bank. ALso I'd call Disney,and see if you can switch your resort to a value instead of a Mod,like Pop,which gives you more pocket money.

 

[JillianMarie]

1. This is TOTALLY DOABLE on your budget. You'll be just fine. You might not be getting dessert and soda with every meal, but you'll be completely fine. Plus those meals are huge, there's nothing wrong with sharing. In a lot of cases it's preferable.

2. Please talk to the police about your plans to go out of town. I don't really know exactly how these things work, but if there is a pending restraining order (and there should be) or arrest you might be advised not to leave the state. I'm not saying cancel your trip without cause, but if the authorities need you to be around, I personally think that putting this dirtbag behind bars is more important than a Disney trip every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[khaoskat]

1) Contact a Domestic Violence shelter, they can put you up some place safe for a few days.
2) Go right to the Court first thing in the morning and file a DV Protection Order/Civil Stalking Protection Order...while it is just a piece of paper, it protects you so he cannot legally come back into the residence.
3) Instead of Cash, do Target Gift Cards. Get the Target Debit Card, and use it to purchase Disney Gift Cards. That $600, would only be $570..., there by giving $630...., $500 would be $475, if you went for less in gift cards. They can be used to pay for stuff you charge on the cruise and in the parks....
4) Keep copies of your receipts from everything..if he is found and charged, he could be forced to pay you back as part of his sentence...

And go to Disney!!!!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

I know you need a vacation, but you need to take care of the issue with this man. He can't hide forever. I do think you need to talk to your children about what they saw. You may go on vacation but you are coming back to face it when you return. He needs to be dealt with now.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Another way to help save money... Since you are staying offsite is your hotel close to a grocery store or a drug store? You can go there and buy bottled water or pop which ever your family drinks and take them into the park with you. You can take drinks as long as its not in a glass bottle, into the parks.

You can also take your own snacks. I would pack some in your luggage. For example a snack bag of pretzels at Disney will cost you $3.99 but the same one you can pick up and bring with you will cost .99 cents. My DH about died when I showed him the bag I brought from home with the price printed on it and we compared it to the one Disney was selling which was the same size bag as mine, same company yet the price $3.99! Trail mix is another good snack to pack. I buy the big bag WalMart brand trail mix and pack some ziplock bags.

That should help save some $$$$$.

What hotel are you staying at after the cruise?

Why not switch from staying at POR before your cruise, to staying at a Disney value resort. You could save some money by doing this.

QS is budget friendly and you don't have to eat just burgers. QS at POR has pasta, salad, fish sticks. QS at AOA has build your own pasta and salad option. And the burgers there are great. At DTD you can get a Wetzel Pretzel dog for $2.99 and is very filling and if you take your own drink and you have a cheap lunch option.
** At the Animal Kingdom park FlameTree BBQ is a QS location with very affordable meals. We like eating there. Take a look http://allears.net/menu/menu_ftb.htm

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

So sorry,

I wouldn't worry about buying stuff. The kids get to trick or treat at the Halloween party and will get enough "junke" you probably normally wouldn't buy them to make it fun!

I agree with others to just stick to Counter Service and you should be fine.

Also don't rule out sharing meals. I don't know about Universal, but there are some meals at Disney that a couple of you could share without too much trouble.

 

[patsal]

Go, you have enough money. Immerse yourself into the experience and forget your reality for a few days. The cruise will require very little money. You will not need any food that isn't included on a Disney cruise!
After the cruise your kids will not care about sit down food and will want to do all the things the parks have to offer. Counter service will allow for this very easily.
I hope that you are able to heal both mentally and physically from this horrible event.

 

[cheshireqt]

Go, and have a good time with your children. $400 is doable, can you pack some oatmeal packets and snackbars for breakfast for land portion?
One suggestion, put anything valuable or sentimental at a friends house, just in case.

 

[poohfriend77]

What's your normal spending budget for a week at home? For groceries, gas, eating out, parking/tolls, anything else you normally pay that you WON'T spend the week you're gone? I would think you could add that into your budget, so you'd have a little cushion (even if you'd have to put a bit on a credit card and pay off with your next check). You probably won't even need it, but I know it would make me feel better to have it for emergencies.

I hope your trip is full of pixie dust and healing for your family!

 

[Glenn]

Sounds like a good trip. Some ways of savings, forget souvenirs for the most part they end up in drawers. Pressed pennies are good. Photos with family, characters or funny ones are great. Sit down dinners are expensive. If you can stick to casual dinning but maybe places like Columbia House that are a little more upscale. Like others said drink tap water (bring crystal light), snacks from home and sometimes even buying something at the resort store is cheaper than buying it at the park. Lots of good advice on other things in this thread.

 

[BlueIvy]

Thank you. You guys just made me feel so much more relaxed about the money. I was racking my brain with numbers. The Plaza is an excellent table service meal idea. I originally planned planet hollywood for the ts because you get the $15 coupon. I was going to get the salad. My kids are simple they don't need much to be happy. My aunt is giving me $50 to buy the kids a gift. I'm going to walgreens to get them each a $25 gift card to spend on any souvenir of their choice. They're 6 and 8 years old. I'm trying to keep my mind off what he did to me but my leg where he kicked me hurts like heck . I'm going to tell the detective I'm going to be out of the country for a few days because I won't have any cellphone service on the ship so the 8th through the 12th I won't be reachable.

I'm going to try my best to just keep my mind off him and his betrayal. Its so easy to get sucked into a depression . I just feel so betrayed . He's already taken so much from me . I don't want to let him take away the joy of this trip. I want to be excited and joyful.

We have a tradition of eating in the airport the day we leave but I just told my kids i'd be making breakfast sandwiches for their breakfast to eat on the plane and packing hotdogs for lunch to eat at the resort...and surprisingly..they didn't care ...they're still excited . I told them i'd get them a cheeseburger kids meal for dinner with a burger ,fries and grapes...they said YAY GRAPES! They're so cute...just seeing them be so excited and not wanting or caring about extras just made me feel better. I just got them excited about the free things on the ship...the aquaduck..the beach at castaway cay ..the waterpark at castaway cay. They're super excited.

We'll be staying at CocoKey water park resort after we leave the Dream. I chose cocokey because my kids love waterparks and they have queen size beds.

 

[shortbun]

I echo what others have said, and am chiming in only to encourage you to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE), if you haven't already - they can help you figure out what to do to ensure your and your children's safety while your ex is still on the loose, possible direct you to no-cost temporary emergency housing in your area, and assist you with next steps in moving forward from here.

This-call the hotline-get temporary housing and go on vacation. Take a jar of peanut butter and apples in your luggage. Take some koolaid too and you can make drinks in the room if you get tired of water. Drink water at all meals you're paying for. No one orders drinks!

 

[manning]

Here's a spot for a cheap meal and they are good. It's in downtown Disney.

http://allears.net/menu/menu_eofs.htm

 

[danygirl]

When we were at universal they had an all you can eat all day meal plan. The price for kids was pretty cheap-I would call and ask about it! Last time we went we had breakfast in the room (granola bars fruit and cereal) and snacks in the park- candy from rite aid, granola bars and fruit and drank the free water. I think we did one CDs meal per day. You can do fine on $400. Especially after eating a ton on the cruise. I am so cheap that I would probably bring some big zip lock bags on the cruise and save some cookies and treats for the non cruise part of the trip!!! Please get some help for your family.

 

[dimimi]

Enjoy

You do not have to tip the porters. There are signs posted they are paid appropriately. I would also bring breakfast for the hotels.

 

[MrsPete]

I'm sorry this has happened to you. Here are my thoughts on getting through this tough time:

You say you're not excited. Right now you're just caught up in all that's happened. Once you pull out of your driveway and start your trip, I bet the vacation attitude'll kick in, and you'll have a blast. I don't think you'll have to fake it for the kids. This is a great time for you to get away from town. Hopefully the police'll have caught him by the time you return.

Yes, $400 is enough for one adult and two young kids to eat for three days. You should watch for value so that you can hopefully bring some money home, but it's totally do-able. When we travel, we usually eat one sit-down meal and one fast-food meal . . . and round it out with snacks. This isn't deprivation; it just feels right for us at a theme park. The cheapest meal you can have at any Florida hotel is pizza delivery. I suggest that you bring plenty of snacks from home for the kids -- when my kids were little, I'd allow them to have snacks on vacation that were usually off-limits (Lunchables, Baby Bottle Pops, etc.), and they were so excited that they failed to realize it was a money-saver.

Also tell your kids that you're going to watch your pennies on land, but your "food splurges" will be on the cruise ship -- they can have ice cream, nachos, whatever by the pool for snacks, great dinners every night . . . and it won't cost you a penny extra. They're old enough to understand this.

Aside from your tips, everything you NEED is included in your cruise ticket price. Be sure you get your kids' ship ID cards "punched" at check-in so they can't charge anything. You don't need to discover on the last day that they ran up a $600 charge in the arcade. Also turn OFF your cell phones so that you don't risk running up a bill that'll have to be paid once you're back home.

On the ship, food that will cost extra will be milkshakes for the kids and alcoholic beverages for you. These aren't much of anything to give up in the name of saving a dollar.

I suggest you tell the kids NO souvieners. We quit doing them years ago, and our kids genuinely don't care. As a result, they've learned to value experiences over trinkets. Be aware that the theme parks have this buy-junk-from-us thing down to a science: When you exit a ride, you are forced to walk through a shop. To combat this, as soon as you get off the ride, ask your kids, "What's up next? Who has the map?" and distract them.

Do you have the option of switching to a different post-cruise hotel that doesn't have a resort fee?

Do you have the option of downgrading to a lesser cabin on the ship? They won't give you a refund for what you've paid, but they might give you OBC (on board credit), which could then be used to pay your tips. Then you'd be bringing home more of your small cash-stash.

I suggest you do not turn your cash into gift cards. You've said you don't have any emergency money, and if you buy gift cards, you've given up flexibility and forced yourself to spend that money in the parks.

Definitely pack plenty of sunscreen, asprin, etc. from home. These things are very expensive on the ship and at the parks, and it's really frustrating to pay $10 for a 10-pack of Tylenol when you KNOW you have a giant bottle sitting at home.

Absolutely DO NOT bring ziplocks full of cookies and fruit off the cruise ship. The customs folks can fine you ASTRONOMICALLY HUGE AMOUNTS for bringing food into the US. My husband travels frequently for work, and he's observed people caught and fined for such small offenses such as bringing half a cup of coffee through customs, or having an apple in their handbags. This is NOT something to mess around with. You are VERY likely to be caught if you attempt this.

You're doing the cruise first? So you're going to need to bring snacks on the cruise and then have them at the park? I hadn't considered this with Customs. You are allowed to bring factory-packaged foods (granola bars, bags of peanuts, microwave popcorn, individual packs of oreos) through Customs.


For the future:

Does he have a key to your house? Change the locks.

If he should come back and threaten you, do consider staying at a shelter.

Next time consider a cruise line other than Disney. Yes, really. I've sailed Disney, and it's great . . . but you can have a full week in a nicer cabin on Royal Caribbean or Princess for the cost of a Disney cruise . . . and it's really just as wonderful. These less expensive lines will allow you to cruise without stretching your budget to excess.

 

[NYCDiane]

I echo what others have said, and am chiming in only to encourage you to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE), if you haven't already - they can help you figure out what to do to ensure your and your children's safety while your ex is still on the loose, possible direct you to no-cost temporary emergency housing in your area, and assist you with next steps in moving forward from here.

Totally agree.

I'm more concerned about her safety and the safety of her kids than I am about her vacation.

You need to change every single lock on the doors to your home. You need to reinforce the windows so they cannot be pried open. YOU NEED TO GO TO COURT AND GET AN ORDER OF PROTECTION.

I suffered domestic violence with a maniac for YEARS. He wouldn't leave me alone. I still have scars from what he did to me. When I tried to leave him, he stalked me. In those days (the 1980s), they didn't have "stalker" laws or anything like that. The cops always took the word of the man over the woman. It wasn't until the Joel Steinberg/Hedda Nussbaum case and also "The Burning Bed" movie with Farrah Fawcett that some lawmakers opened their eyes and the laws started to change.

In NYC, Mayor Ed Koch made a law that the cops HAD to do something if there was a domestic violence incident. That was great but the cops STILL wouldn't do anything.

My ex broke into my apartment and destroyed everything. He burned all my clothing. He called my job when he knew I was off and told them that he was my brother and there was a family emergency and I had to quit. He stalked me and found me in a bar where my friend worked and caused a huge scene, calling me filthy names, and spitting on me in front of everyone. All these incidents? The cops NEVER did anything.

I had absolutely NO ONE to help me.... no family (both parents died when I was a teen) and friends were afraid to get involved. The cops refused to help. I was a young woman, early 20s with NO ONE to help me with this. There were NO "domestic violence" helplines.. The term "domestic violence" didn't even exist back then.

I could go on and on and on, but you get it. "orders of protection" weren't available in those days. Today, it's different. CALL THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE NOW and find out where you can get help. If this piece of sh!t did this to you over HIS cheating, he will absolutely do it again and may even kill you or your childrent.

 

[NYCDiane]

http://www.thehotline.org/

1-800-799-SAFE
1-800-799-7233​

 

[Planogirl]

$400 should be enough. Just stay away from the over-priced character meals in the parks. There are some great counter service places so you won't go hungry.

I wish you all the best.