a challenge for all you spend thrifts

[Disneydenise]

You can celebrate each childs B-day while there I would plan the day in advance. It will be exciting to have an unbirthday any day but if your in Disney it would be the best. We have celebrated my DD and Dh's b-days several times in DW but not mine or my sons. He is going to be at a fencing tournament, that we are hoping will be at the wide world of sports, this year so it will be his fist birthday in DW. He is more excited about celebrating it there and he will be 17. We usually make reservations at the birthday persons fav restaurant and get a special dessert for them. We are only 4 so we can't finish a whole cake. I think that your family probably could so I would request it. Have a fabulous trip. You are so lucky to have such large family.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I remember my poor college days, my best friend & I would keep a cooler in our room with cold cuts and drinks. We save $$ and time by making cold cut sandwiches or just plain PB&J sandwiches and carrying them in our fanny packs with juice boxes, etc. I never minded squashed sandwiches - but for those who do, the disposable gladware sandwich containers are light and cheap and will keep your sandwiches in good shape.

If you have a frig in your suite, even if you don't "pack lunch," I think that bringing your own snacks and drinks will save enough $$ to keep your food purchases in the parks to under $5/pp. If your kids are big eaters, a couple of PB&J sandwiches along with whatever you buy at the parks should tide them over. Bagels really fill you up & they keep real well.

Since you all will already be having 2 full meals at the HIFS. Heck, I might even think about skipping lunch and just snacking it!! Save the $$ and go have the birthday celebrations at the Ice Cream Social I keep hearing about at the Garden Grill.

Sounds like your children are willing to make sacrifices and not whining about it.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!!!

 

[tarmand]

How unselfish your children must be! I don't have any children, but I hope that when I do, they will understand that in life you have to give up certain things to obtain others. Congratulations on having children that have values. Have a wonderful time at WDW and I know it will be worth the birthday and Christmas sacrifices.

 

[travelitis]

CHEAP DISNEY CANTEENS
The Disney Store is running their big clearance sale right now, and we bought canteens with characters and straps to hang them around your neck for only $2 each for our next trip at Thanksgiving. They have a lid that turns and a straw pops up - great for toddlers on up. I put Tang in them so they get some vitamins in their water. I bought 3 in Minneapolis and 3 in Texas, so they should be available everywhere.

RESTAURANT QUICK REFERENCE
I used the menus at wdwig to make quick reference sheets for meals organized by parks. I listed what seemed like the best of the inexpensive eats along with quick menu sample, so we won't have to remember where the best value for us is. E-mail me, and I'll be happy to forward it to you.

 

[dtauer]

In theory your plan should work. You will probably be able to find things for $5 per lunch but eating the same buffet every night of vacation?

Take a look at the resorts board, there are a few comments regarding the "free" dinner buffet at HIFS. The best I've read is that it's OK, the worst post said they could only handle it for one night.

Not trying to be discouraging but I can't imagine eating at the same dinner buffet every night.

 

[mm42]

BTW, the dictionary definition of a "spendthrift" is "a person who spends improvidently or wastefully", which doesn't generally apply to those of us on the Budget Board. Well, maybe the ones who stay on-site.

 

[merryweather's twin]

Ok I know I may be flamed for this but what about renting a house? We rented one at kissimmie for $560. for 7 nights with all tax included that is about 80. a night. And had our own kitchen and pool that was open all night! We used www.vrbo.com and made a great deal. I think the average rate for HIFS is 110. per room a night plus tax. even with free b-kfast and dinner a house is a better deal. Just think of the amount of food you could buy with the extra $140. plus tax a night! You all could eat 2 charater meals a day with that much extra!!! It is just a thought. I loved having our own pool with all the kids and all the space to spread out and the washer and dryer was also a big bonus. I hope this helps!
P.S. Having a private room with a king size bed and a private shower was great for DH and I also!!!!

 

[disneywith6kids]

Thank you so much for all of your help and kind words. I'll definitely look into those connections vouchers. Raising a large family has a lot of challenges, however, one thing I've noticed is that my kids have learned to be thankful for what they have. This is especially true in the food department. They've learned not to be such picky eaters so I'm sure the buffet will be no problem. Of course they would all love to dine differently but we really couldn't afford that and a 2 week trip.Our family is fed extremely well at home, so 2 weeks of skimping won't hurt...

travelitis..I'm sending you an e-mail Thank you for sharing and saving me precious time I can't find these days

Mark...I'm sorry you didn't get my humor in the post, I guess I was just being facetious 1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : WAGGISH <just being facetious>
2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious

Sorry, homeschooling 6 kids can get a little stressfull!!!!!!!!!!
Mark are you laughing yet?

Let's not get too off topic or we might get detention

 

[merryweather's twin]

I think we posted at the same time! My last post may be a big help! We homeschool our kids also! Have a great day!

 

[Jane E.]

Sounds like you are going to have fun! When our sons were small & we'd go to the parks, we'd pack a backpack with sandwiches, cookies, fruit & trail mix or sometimes we'd do the lunchables. We'd place a couple of icepaks in the bag & then store it in a locker until lunch time. That was a long time ago! More & more when we go out we'll split a couple of appetizers. We're finding that we can't each eat an entire meal, especially at lunch time. We homeschool too! We're schooling an hour or two a day over the summer so we can take a September trip to Orlando when the parks aren't quite as busy.