Am I underestimating?

[3kidsandagoldenpuppy]

I am trying to finalize our trip to Disney and am wondering if I am taking enough cash. We're going April 14-27 and here is what I have so far. It's myself and 5 kids but the infants don't count so myself and my 7.5 yr old and 5 yr old twins

I'm taking cash only, as I always do.

$4658 in cash possibly more
$75 in disney gift cards

clarion inn- $539 total
$140 for hotel to and from(we are driving)
$300 for gas
$1000 for food(kids share meals)
cannot decide on 5 or 7 day tix- approx $930

4 character meals- $332.14

I MAY cancel some of the character meals. Not entirely sure yet.

I like to be VERY free to spend money for souvies. I hav a newborn who will be 3.5 months old and I spend money like water to be honest.

Is this enough money or should I rebudget, cancel more meals, do 5 or 7 days at disney. 1 day will be dtd for shopping and rides as well. Looking for any thoughts.

 

[tlh0726]

I am trying to finalize our trip to Disney and am wondering if I am taking enough cash. We're going April 14-27 and here is what I have so far. It's myself and 5 kids but the infants don't count so myself and my 7.5 yr old and 5 yr old twinsI'm taking cash only, as I always do.

$4658 in cash possibly more
$75 in disney gift cards

clarion inn- $539 total
$140 for hotel to and from(we are driving)
$300 for gas
$1000 for food(kids share meals)
cannot decide on 5 or 7 day tix- approx $930

4 character meals- $332.14

I MAY cancel some of the character meals. Not entirely sure yet.

I like to be VERY free to spend money for souvies. I hav a newborn who will be 3.5 months old and I spend money like water to be honest.

Is this enough money or should I rebudget, cancel more meals, do 5 or 7 days at disney. 1 day will be dtd for shopping and rides as well. Looking for any thoughts.

You lost a kid already

 

[collegejunkie]

is the $4650 just for fun, after everything else has been paid? even if you need to pay for things, based on the numbers you gave, you will likely be more than fine.

 

[bumbershoot]

You lost a kid already

The infantS and then she mentioned 3 other kids....the newborn is one of the infants and I assume she has another baby that's just not a newborn.




OP, there are only 3 of us but we budgeted $100 per day for food, and the adults shared quite a bit of the time (though it did cover grocery shopping as well). I might up that budget with as long a trip as you have.

Have you made sure to budget enough for gas considering the prices seem to be rising?

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Have you made sure to budget enough for gas considering the prices seem to be rising?

I agree ^^ I budgeted for gas being $4/gal by the time we travel mid-May. I also overestimated the total # of miles because of stops and driving around Orlando.

 

[twinsmommy06]

yes my other baby is 15 mo, or will be. And its not paid for, not yet at all. And yes I did the aaa trip gas estimator and it said about $350 for gas so I rounded that down a bit. So I should be ok?

 

[twinsmommy06]

i also forgot 930 for tix

 

[juliebean]

So, it's you, a 7.5 yo, two 5 yo's, a 15 month old, and a 3.5 month old?

Can you bring a mother's helper? Maybe a teenaged cousin or a babysitter you can trust to help with bathrooms, getting napkins....

I would think the time and peace of mind of having an extra pair of hands when buckling car seats, standing in line, etc. would be worth the cost...

I'd add a little extra for gas and food, but you could always shift from less spending money if needed. Also, I know you said you are only bringing cash and I understand the theory, but I'd bring a CC along in case of a car emergency.

 

[tlh0726]

So, it's you, a 7.5 yo, two 5 yo's, a 15 month old, and a 3.5 month old?

Can you bring a mother's helper? Maybe a teenaged cousin or a babysitter you can trust to help with bathrooms, getting napkins....

I would think the time and peace of mind of having an extra pair of hands when buckling car seats, standing in line, etc. would be worth the cost...

I'd add a little extra for gas and food, but you could always shift from less spending money if needed. Also, I know you said you are only bringing cash and I understand the theory, but I'd bring a CC along in case of a car emergency.

And you are going the week leading into Easter which means the parks will be BUSY.

As the PP suggested you may want to think about bringing along some help.

 

[cvjw]

I don't think one person can handle an infant, a toddler and 3 other children by themselves at Disney. How are you going to handle the strollers, the bathroom breaks, letting the kids ride the attractions all by yourself? The first time we took our 4 year old and 14 month old, we had 4 adults at Disney and it took all of us to handle those two kids. The toddler wasn't old enough to ride most things, so someone had to stay behind with him while someone else went on the attractions with the 4 year old. Getting on the buses was another area where we needed several people. I hope you have someone to help you, or I would consider leaving the younger two at home with Grandma.

 

[twinsmommy06]

i dont need help. do it all myself. did it by myself the past 4 yrs i enjoy it. and yes were going april 14 thru easter.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I am trying to finalize our trip to Disney and am wondering if I am taking enough cash. We're going April 14-27 and here is what I have so far. It's myself and 5 kids but the infants don't count so myself and my 7.5 yr old and 5 yr old twins

I'm taking cash only, as I always do.

$4658 in cash possibly more
$75 in disney gift cards

clarion inn- $539 total
$140 for hotel to and from(we are driving)
$300 for gas
$1000 for food(kids share meals)
cannot decide on 5 or 7 day tix- approx $930

4 character meals- $332.14

I MAY cancel some of the character meals. Not entirely sure yet.

I like to be VERY free to spend money for souvies. I hav a newborn who will be 3.5 months old and I spend money like water to be honest.

Is this enough money or should I rebudget, cancel more meals, do 5 or 7 days at disney. 1 day will be dtd for shopping and rides as well. Looking for any thoughts.

i dont need help. do it all myself. did it by myself the past 4 yrs i enjoy it. and yes were going april 14 thru easter.

I am confused, Are you the same person? Why do you have 2 screen names? Something seems off about all of this...

 

[Jaden'smommy]

I am confused, Are you the same person? Why do you have 2 screen names? Something seems off about all of this...

i was thinking the same thing. so weird

 

[juliebean]

Is this some dis version of "punk'd"?

 

[scrapquitler]

i dont need help. do it all myself. did it by myself the past 4 yrs i enjoy it. and yes were going april 14 thru easter.

I'm trying to figure this all out, and it's not adding up to me. You quote $539 for the hotel...and then you say April 14 thru Easter, which is the 24th...the hotel is really less than $50 per night? You mention 5-7 day tickets, what are you going to do all the other days that you don't go to the parks?

I can't see being by myself in a park during spring break with 5 kids and no help, no matter HOW used to handling them at home I was.

 

[twinsmommy06]

i am soooo sorry. i didnt realize i have 2 differnt screen names. I have 1 on my laptop and 1 on my desktop. DUH ME! Anyhow, the hotel, clairion lbv is $49 per night from april 15-26. We leave the 14 and stay overnight usually in GA or SC and then come back the 26, possibly the 27, dependimg.I swear I'm not a troll Just an overworked mommy who can't keep track But I think ths will work. Been tweaking my budget all evening and listed a bunch of things fs on craigslist for a few extra spending bucks there

 

[scrapquitler]

i am soooo sorry. i didnt realize i have 2 differnt screen names. I have 1 on my laptop and 1 on my desktop. DUH ME! Anyhow, the hotel, clairion lbv is $49 per night from april 15-26. We leave the 14 and stay overnight usually in GA or SC and then come back the 26, possibly the 27, dependimg.I swear I'm not a troll Just an overworked mommy who can't keep track But I think ths will work. Been tweaking my budget all evening and listed a bunch of things fs on craigslist for a few extra spending bucks there

Don't forget that by the time the hotel adds the rooms tax, it's going to cost a lot more than $49...rooms tax is probably in the 10-12% range.

To save money on food, since you are driving, you can bring breakfast items and snacks plus a cooler. Eat Breakfast/snacks in the room.

Another thought I had, don't forget you'll need to pay for parking each day you are in the parks, and that adds up. It's around $12 per day to park (maybe more since the last time I was there, someone else can verify the current price).

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I bow to you if you can do Disney by yourself with 5 kids under the age of 8! I go all over the place with 4 by myself but NOT disney! And my kids are really spread out in age!!

We were there last year the week before Easter. Dh didn't tour the parks ome day due to a work commitment. Even with my oldest dd's help I had a tough time getting around and keeping track of everyone with the parks being so packed!

 

[Diegosmom]

dont forget to pack (or have casah) for diapers. With 2 in diapers you will go thru a ton in 2 weeks. And bring extra then you think. I went to MExico when DS was 2 and I thought I brought more then enough. But ending up buying some in MExico then again at the airport...talk about expensive...

 

[scrapquitler]

I am trying to finalize our trip to Disney and am wondering if I am taking enough cash. We're going April 14-27 and here is what I have so far. It's myself and 5 kids but the infants don't count so myself and my 7.5 yr old and 5 yr old twins

I just had another thought, and it is not a budget one, it is a logistics one. I'm really not sure how you are going to ride the rides without another adult. Let's use the Buzz Lightyear ride as an example. Three of you can ride in one car on that ride. You'll have the two little ones, but I doubt that the cast members are going to let the 7 year old and the twins ride together without an adult. I seem to remember hearing 7 years old as a cutoff for riding without a grown up. So yes, perhaps the 7 year old can ride alone, but I don't think that the 7 year old will be allowed to supervise the two 5 year olds in a separate car from the adult. Again, not sure, but it is something you have to think about VERY carefully. I think you will run into the same problem with many of the rides. It could be a deal breaker.

I hope someone else will weigh in on this aspect to clarify it for you...it would really suck to get there and find out you have this big problem that you didn't anticipate.