Advice for not-so-rich family of six!

[*disneybound*]

First, let me say this is a great board- I have spent a few hours reading posts and I feel completely overwhelmed so I thought I'd ask some direct questions that pertain to my circumstance. We are going to Disney the first week of April (coming up) My DH and I and our 4 kids (ages 12, 7, 5 and 3 (a girl) Accomodations are taken care of (off site) and dining won't be an issue because I will cook where we'll be staying. I need to know what parks I should go to (I would do them all if money weren't an issue, but I can't) My 7 year old HAS to see Buzz Lightyear and Woody. We went 8 years ago or so and saw the cutest Barnie show (is it still on?) Other than that, we are open to suggestions.

THANKS so much!!!!!

 

[Leigha]

Let's narrow this down - how many days/parks can you afford? No, I don't think you'll find Barney there. Sorry!

 

[DisneyDotty]

Barney show would've been at Universal Studios.
Buzz and Woody are at Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios.
I'd go to as many parks/as many days as possible. If you're only able to do a day a park, be sure to get to the park early and use Fastpass!
Have a great trip!
And welcome to the boards!

 

[chip91]

Hi and welcome to the DIS!
I went to the walt disney world site for you & typed in your info..
(I used my state - not sure why the ask that, does it depend on how much they tax you?)
Anyway - you will need 3 adult tickets & 3 child tickets

for the magic my way (with no options, meaning 1 park per day no hopping) here would be your cost: (these don't include tax or s&h)
2 day = $684.00
3 day = $990.00
4 day = $1065.00
5 day = $1083.00
**If you can swing this much into your budget, I would probably at least get the 4 day, so you can visit each of the 4 Disney Parks & if your spending this amount of money the difference between a 3 day & 4 day I.M.O. is worth $75.00!

I hope that helps! Also, from what I've read if you go to mousesavers.com & subscribe to their newsletter, there is a link on there to cheaper tickets (I think it's ticketmania?)

Chip

 

[mjh8955]

You will save money by getting your tickets at Ticketmania (sign up for the free Mousesavers newsletter at mousesavers.com; each newsletter comes out the 15th of the month and in it is a link for mousesavers subscribers only -you can't get that particular discount any other way), or try Mapleleaftickets.com. Both are reputable. With ticketmania, tax is included, there is a shipping charge. Last time I checked, mapleleaf tickets included both tax and shipping. The tickets on the Disney website look good, until you realize you have to add tax and shipping. I am all about saving a buck. Before we bought our last tickets I compared 7 or 8 different ticket places and watched prices almost daily for 3 months. I got the cheapest tickets out there at the time through Ticketmania. They arrived right when they said they would and when I called customer service with a question they were very helpful.

 

[*disneybound*]

You are all wonderful- thank you!!

We are going for 7 days, but there is no way we will be at the parks the whole time (I WISH!)

I know MK is a MUST- thanks SO much for that ticketmania tip

 

[chip91]

I didn't find any special link, but just went to their site,
5 day mmy tickets (basic, expiry) for 3 adults & 3 kids + 5.00 s/h is $1106.00

So it is cheaper than Disney ( I think they add 6.5% tax on + s/h charges + 3% credit card charges)

Good luck here's the link to ticketmania..
www.coolcart.net

 

[MOMOFMNM]

We went with a 4 day base but added an extra day for an EMH for a grand total of 12 bucks!! I do not know if you can do this on Ticketmania tix or not...


anyway at least 4 days!! AT A MINIMUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

and see everything!!

your kids are each at an age where each park would be cool to each different person in your family!!!


I would suggest giving the kids their own $$ for extras and when its gone its gone!!! That is what we did...you can even get Disney Dollars for them...

I do not think hoppers will suit you unless you are going for a LONG stay!!

we did great with a base tix and will probably never get Hoppers, although I should have gotten 10 day No expiry to save $$ on this next trip

sorry to confuse you

it is tight taking a large family to Disney but it is SOOO WONDERFUL!!!

Have fun and hang here with us!!

 

[just.me]

12, 7, 5, and 3 ahh
you have a big range there...

our last trip we did MK one day, and Epcot at night (it was a hopper - will you have a hopper?) then we did MGM another day.

I have been to Animal Kingdom before and didn't think I would miss it that much - but now that they have a new big ride - I forget the name of it - I would have to go there too
sorry I quess I was no help at all

But I bet the three year old would LOVE Bear in the Big Blue house at mgm (all my kids were dancing along - even the 10 year old!)

 

[*disneybound*]

Oh my goodness- I am in shock at the $1000 quotes (well, not really!) I should also mention that I am pretty close to Disney so we do plan on going again in a few years. I would love to see all the parks but not sure yet if we can swing that amount. More like half that amount....

So it's a toss between Animal Kingdom and MGM. MK is a given.

 

[*disneybound*]

I guess it's MGM then- must see Bear In The Big Blue House (although I swear I thought I saw it listed at MK as well???)

 

[xraydave]

While you're researching, check out undercovertourist.com They sell tickets for the same price as ticketmania but with free shipping! To my surprise we ordered 4 day basic tickets and they came as 6 day tickets! It turns out 4-5 and 6 day base tickets are the same $. Now we don't have to feel guilty about going to one of the parks on the same day we arrive even if it's just for the fireworks at night.

Good luck and keep reading. You'll definately enjoy yourself more if you have some sort of plan or idea of what to expect.

 

[*disneybound*]

Thanks for the tips!

Looks like I'll be spending more than $500!!

 

[icecrystahl]

I'de say number one park you should visit is Magic Kingdom, i'de say the next best thing for children of that age would be Animal Kingdom or MGM.

 

[FayeW]

FYI~ If you are interested in going to US/IOA (which your kids would love, by the way) with their current promotion it would cost $313. for your family of 6 for 5 FULL DAYS! Right now you get one kids' ticket free for every adult ticket you purchase when you buy the 2 day/2 park ticket, AND they give you 3 extra days for free! Then maybe you could add one or two of the WDW parks as well.

 

[rcraw45425]

Is Bear still there? I thought that Jojo's Circus replaced it. Maybe its' both. With your kids diverse ages MGM is great. There are shows for your daughter (Beauty & the Beast, Little Mermaid, Muppetvision) along with the thrillers like Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. The Fantasmic show in the evening is great too. I personally love hoppers, but we always stay onsite. We usually go in the morning, hop over to another park for lunch, back to the hotel to rest, then dinner in a park or at a resort, then back to a park at night for EMH (only available for onsiter guests). We go ofter, but only stay for 3-4 nights at a time and have Annual Passes. I highly recommend a good book like the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or Birnbaums Guide to WDW (my kids are 8&10 and love the Birnbaums Guide called Walt Disney World For Kids by Kids). You may be able to check one out of your local library if you want to save the $$$. Food, especially snacks, are pricey, water and bottled sodas are >$2 each. For < $10 a day you can rent a locker at the park entrance and stow a backpack with bottled waters, juice boxes, even sandwiches if you desire. Counter service for our family of 4 is usually over $25. We will share drinks (my girls rarely can finish a whole fountain drink). Also the flavor packs for water are good although the water bottles at the park are larger than the 16.9 oz that the packs are designed for. One trip we made that was a budget one, we split the counter service meals. It's easy to do , most portions are huge. Enjoy planning this trip. On our budget trip we stayed offsite, if I had found this trip beforehand we could have afforded onsite due to the discount codes that used to be available!

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

If you were to skip a park with kids ,I would skip EPCOT. You can do MGM and AK in a day, and MK would be nice at the beginning and end of your trip .That way you go go back to the rides you enjoyed the most and some of them that you may have missed!!! Also, you can relax and enjoy the MK if you had 2 days there. I never get tired of walking down Main St. and seeing the Castle!!! Make sure to use your Fastpass and the "Parent Swap" as much as possible ! Have a great time planning

 

[mill4023]

Yep, the Barney show is still running, but it's at Universal Studios, so that's a whole different park you'd have to buy tickets for. Although on a tight budget, the Universal parks are quite a deal right now. You can get 4 day tickets for $99 and get a free child's ticket with each adult. So you could get 4 day tickets for all of your family for $300. Although if I had to choose between WDW and Universal, I'd definitely pick WDW.

I just checked undercovertourist to see if they had any good prices on 2 day tickets for WDW and they are actually more expensive than getting them direct from WDW (although shipping is free).

So here are the best prices I know of (including tax):

2-day tickets (from WDW):
Adult: $133, child: $109
Total: $726

3-day tickets (from Ticketmania with Mousesavers rates):
Adult: $190, child: $156
Total: $1038

4-day (Ticketmania w/MS rate):
Adult: $200, child: $163
Total: $1089

5-day (Ticketmania w/MS rate):
Adult: $200, child: $161
Total: $1083 (yep, cheaper than 4-day tickets)

So the jump from 2-day tickets to 3 is pretty substantial, but after that, it's not much more to go 4 or 5 days. I certainly understand being on a budget, but if there's any way you can swing it, the price of 5 day tickets is quite a deal compared to 2 days. If money wasn't an issue, I'd think 4 days at the parks during a 7 day stay would be perfect. You could do 2 park days, then a rest day, then 2 more park days.

But if you have to limit it to 2 parks, my vote would be for Disney-MGM Studios. It has 2 of the best rides in Disney (Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster), some great shows (Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors, Action and Beauty and the Beast), and my favorite nighttime show (Fantasmic). I also love the movie studio themeing.

 

[maxiesmom]

I hate to make your park choice hard, but--I have 1 nephew and 2 nieces. The oldest is 14. And the favorite park is--Epcot!!! As soon as we drive thru the purple gates the chant starts. EPCOT! EPCOT! Dear nephew's favorite thing? The Living With the Land boat ride. But your kids might have different likes. We may be just a family of nerds!

 

[suevee]

Remember AK closes early and has no fireworks. If you do not have the park hoppers then your day would be over at 5 or 6. I would choose Epcot or MGM over AK. Also Epcot has test tract, mission space, soaring, and crunch for the little one as well as the world showcase, street performers, and make your own mask at each kidcot station. As you can see Epcot is one of my favorites!

But in your case I would seriously look at Universal package for $300 ( three ticket packages of 5 consecutive days with child free for $99) then add a one day pass to MK which would be approximately $360 (6 times $60 approximately) for a total of $660 and six full days of park fun! It would definately make your buck go further! It would be hard to be there for seven days and only 3 days at the parks. Check out the Universal threads for more information.