2012 WDW Super Budget Plans & Questions

[jason586]

2010 WDW Super Budget (10 day/13 night) Vacation:

MOTEL:
$346.84 = $320.84 ($21.30 + fees/night) + $26.00 "resort fee" ($2/night x 13 nights)
Check-in February 21 / Check-out March 06

Travellodge Maingate Suites (4694 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy - Kissimmee)
Included:
2 Double Beds
1 Sleeper Sofa + (plenty room for pack-n-play for baby)
Mini-Fridge
Microwave
Free Complimentary Breakfast (basic, but adequate)
Free Shuttle to WDW (took 45-50 minutes each way though)

TICKETS:
$551.25 - 2 (10 day) Basic Adult Tickets - bought at Downtown Disney Feb 21
$0.00 - 2 children (both under 3)

TRAVEL:
$187 - Gas to and from Arkansas to Orlando in Madza 626 V-6

FOOD:
$0.00 - Complimentary (Breakfast)
$50ish - ($4-5/day) Backpack with PBJ sandwiches, pre-coooked chicken fingers, apples, sandwich cookies, refilled water bottles (Lunch/Snacks in park)
$50ish - ($4-5/day) Basic microwave meals in room (Dinner)

PARKING:
$0.00 - Hotel
$0.00 - Free shuttle to WDW
(7:45am - left hotel, 8:30-8:45am arrived WDW, 5:30pm - left WDW, 6:15-6:30pm arrived hotel)
$1185 Vacation Grand Total




Estimating 2012 WDW Super Budget (8 day/9 night) Vacation:

MOTEL (????????):
Check-in February 06 to Check-out February 14 (9 nights)
Travellodge Maingate Suites again??????

TICKETS (estimated - ?????????) - not bought yet:
$619.84 - 2 (10 day) Basic Adult Tickets - $309.92 each at gate (with tax???)
$579.36 - 2 (10 day) Basic Children Tickets - $289.68 each at gate (with tax???)
$0.00 - 2 children (under 3)

*NOW BOUGHT: (4) YES 8 Day Tickets 8 Day for $746.20 - $200 cc promo - $170 cc promo = $376.20 net cost

TRAVEL (estimated):
$150ish - Estimated gas to and from Alabama to Orlando in Ford Expedition V-8

FOOD (estimated):
$0.00 - Complimentary (Breakfast)
$75ish - ($6-7/day) Backpack with PBJ sandwiches, pre-coooked chicken fingers, apples, sandwich cookies, refilled water bottles (Lunch/Snacks in park)
$75ish - ($6-7/day) Basic microwave meals in room (Dinner)

PARKING (estimated):
$0.00 - Hotel
$0.00 - Free shuttle to WDW (2012 Bus Schedule for hotels/motels????????)


2012 QUESTIONS:

1)Current Low Price Motels???
Must have:
a) Free shuttle to Disney
b) Free Continental Breakfast
c) Fridge & Microwave
d) Room for 2 adults/3 children

2) This motel was a bit dirty but really the worst part for us was the 45-50 minute ride to and from WDW Ticket Center. We were the first on and last off every day due to its location. I timed some of the other drop offs and it was only about 20-25 minutes to and from WDW, but I can not remember which motels they were..........Is there a hotel shuttle schedule posted with the pick up and drop off times for the free shuttles from the motels/hotels???

3) Where to buy Lowest Price 10 day Basic (Non-hopper) Tickets??? *NOW BOUGHT*

4) Any other Super Budget Suggestions to save even more???

 

[jason586]

Oops! Posted in wrong area, please move to where it belongs.

 

[rt3773]

watch for deals on expedia.com for condo/hotel rentals. Create an account and sign up to get emails. They run email specials every Wednesday.

Very impressed with your budget--especially your meal budget. Not sure we could do that.

 

[At World's End]

Are your dates flexible at all, and do you have a child who is 5 or older? If so, The Disney YES program will save some $ on tickets. There is a class on 2/14 that is open to kids 5-8. They only offer up to 8 day tickets, but you can add the Water Parks and More for less than you would pay normally for a basic ticket. I don't know if the weather would be warm enough for a water park, but you could go to Disney Quest if it's too cold. With the savings on the tickets, I would skip the shuttles and pay for parking at the parks. This would open up your options for hotels and save a bunch of time. I can't imagine spending that much time on a shuttle every day, especially with small tired kids.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've found Undercover Tourist is usually the least expensive for tickets. If you sign up for the mousesavers (www.mousesavers.com) newsletter you can save a bit more.

Overall, I've found the hotel shuttles very unreliable. After our first experience if we stay on-site we rent a car. Since you'll have your car with you, can you stretch the budget to include parking? The other nice thing about that is you can put food in a cooler and, although you'd have to go back to your car, you could have dinner in the car and then go back to the parks for the evening without having to catch a shuttle back to your hotel and then a shuttle back to the parks, and then back to the hotel.

If you don't need to rely on a hotel shuttle it will also open up more possibilities for a hotel - just a thought.

 

[Joy]

TICKETS (estimated - ?????????) - not bought yet:
$619.84 - 2 (10 day) Basic Adult Tickets - $309.92 each at gate (with tax???)
$579.36 - 2 (10 day) Basic Children Tickets - $289.68 each at gate (with tax???)
$0.00 - 1 child (under 3)

If you subscribe to the Mousesavers newsletter, there is a link to Undercover Tourist to buy park tickets. It will save you about $10 on each ticket.

The YES tickets would be cheaper still.

Did you check ebay for Wyndham Bonnet Creek rentals. They are usually only for one week at a time, but sometimes you can get a week pretty inexpensively.

 

[jason586]

Our dates are flexible. Can you direct me to the details about the YES program?
We are (2) adults, (1) 4 1/2 years old, (1) 6 years old for ticket purchases + (1) 2 1/2 year old + (1) 1 year old = (6) Total
Can we all get discounted tickets or only the 1 child?

The reason for the dates we choose is to miss the crowds from both presidents day and spring break. It worked very well in 2010 with very minimal wait times in lines.

Are your dates flexible at all, and do you have a child who is 5 or older? If so, The Disney YES program will save some $ on tickets. There is a class on 2/14 that is open to kids 5-8. They only offer up to 8 day tickets, but you can add the Water Parks and More for less than you would pay normally for a basic ticket. I don't know if the weather would be warm enough for a water park, but you could go to Disney Quest if it's too cold. With the savings on the tickets, I would skip the shuttles and pay for parking at the parks. This would open up your options for hotels and save a bunch of time. I can't imagine spending that much time on a shuttle every day, especially with small tired kids.

 

[Joy]

Here is the link: http://www.disneyyouth.com/individual-enrollment/

I am not sure about how many tickets you can buy.

 

[DisCookie]

Sorry no suggestions, but I am staying at the same Travel Lodge at the end of the month. Just wondering if their latest shuttle is the 5:30PM one? Though I plan on taking Lynx bus, so I can spend more time in the parks.

 

[dancin Disney style]

For hotel deals look on....

www.travelzoo.com
www.lastminutetravel.com


When you look on LMT you don't see the name of the hotel but can look at pictures and compare to hotel websites to figure out which place it is. I love this site for hotels.....they have the Waldorf for $131/night in July, Buena Vista Palace for $95/night including resort fee. I realize that is not what the OP is looking for but it shows the good deals they have.

I also saw the Buena Vista suites which includes breakfast for $70/night....I've been looking only at July dates though. I would think that Feb would be a little cheaper.

 

[jason586]

Here is the link.....[/url]

I am not sure about how many tickets you can buy.

Thanks! I ordered and paid for my YES tickets yesterday. For reference, I called and all immediate family can get tickets as long as 1 child is going to the program, although no additional children will be allowed to come into the program. So for us, one parent has to take the child to the program while the other has to take the younger kids elsewhere in the park (and then meet back up after the program is over).

We will just go for 8 days/9 nights, since 8 days is the longest that is available with YES tickets. I purposely picked up 2 new credit cards a few weeks ago (CITI Diamond Preferred and Chase Freedom) that each give a $200 statement credit with $500 spent in the first 90 days. One was used for these tickets, and the other will be used for motel and gas. Plus, I did not have to use the free $200 Disney Rewards Card from Chase on tickets (another credit card promotion from about a year ago). I'll probably sell it on ebay as we do not spend any additional money in the park, and they sell for only $5-$10 less than actual value which would be about $170 net after paying ebay and paypal fees. So, the tickets cost $746.20 - $200 - $170 = $376.20 net for all four of us for 8 days.....Pretty Good!

 

[jason586]

We took the hotel shuttle every day for 10 days straight in 2010, and they were on time or very close every day. It just took a long time to and from WDW (about 45-50 minutes). I actually packed an oversized backpack with enough snacks/food and drink that we ate all our food in the parks from the backpack, plus we had enough leftover food to feed the girls most of a dinner on the shuttle ride home (5:30-6:20). We then gave them a quick bath and put them to bed by 6:45, then they slept for about 11 hours and were well rested for the next day with the complimentary breakfast at 7:00 and the shuttle at the motel at 7:45. We also had a small travel cooler with sippies, milk bottles, and frozen water bottles that hung on one of the strollers at the park. We were either on the way to a line, in line, or on a ride all 10 days. We would just eat when we were in a longer line which made the girl's actually enjoy the lines (although the longest one we stood in was only about 20-25 minutes when we went). We were never hungry or thirsty in the park, but it was obviously not gourmet.

Overall, I've found the hotel shuttles very unreliable. After our first experience if we stay on-site we rent a car. Since you'll have your car with you, can you stretch the budget to include parking? The other nice thing about that is you can put food in a cooler and, although you'd have to go back to your car, you could have dinner in the car and then go back to the parks for the evening without having to catch a shuttle back to your hotel and then a shuttle back to the parks, and then back to the hotel.

If you don't need to rely on a hotel shuttle it will also open up more possibilities for a hotel - just a thought.