Anyone Done Disney on an Extremely Tight Budget?

[Justbranches5]

We leave in 3 weeks (driving) & I find myself not super excited. We bought non-expiring tickets 4 years ago & got a great deal on an off-site resort townhouse with it's own pool (Windsor Hills) which we paid for 6 mos ago. Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, most of our Disney spending money is gone. We have 3 teenagers & a 5 year old and will be down from Oct 6-Oct 12 (my DD's birthday!) & will do 3 days of parkhopping, spending the rest of the time at the resort. I just think it's going to be tough to keep everyone happy with very little spending $. 4 years ago we stayed at the Contemporary, went to O'Hana's, ate in the parks, etc, so this trip will be very different! My son is a senior & this may very well be our last whole family vacation or I'd consider canceling the trip. I plan on bringing most of our food & drinks to the resort & parks and eating out very little. Anyone find themselves in this situation in the past? Any tips for inexpensive splurges, especially in the parks? Other ways to keep spending to a minimum & still have fun?

Sorry if this sounds whiney...I really am grateful to be going to Disney at all in this economy (my husband is in construction)

 

[pattyw]

We just returned from a stay at WDW. we stayed at the FW cabins. Food has become so exppensive that we decided to stay at the cabins and cook. We loved it!! We did do CS restaurants and they were pretty reasonably priced. Plus, at CS, we brought in our own drinks which saved $$. I think you will have a great time. You'll still be at Disney and your family will be together. Yes, you'll lose a little time commuting and cooking, but you're on vacation- RELAX! and enjoy!!

 

[Justbranches5]

Thanks, Patty! I am actually totally okay with staying off-site...the resort is very nice & minutes from the park & we'll have our car since we are driving. It's disappointing the kids that I'm worried about. When there are 6 of you & your total budget for 7 days is about $600, it's tough when you have to say no to everything they ask for. There are so many great treats in the parks, but if I remember correctly, a Mickey cookie is about $3.50 & the Dole whips they love are $4 each...that's $50 for our family! I have found some great ideas on here...we will bring water bottles & individual drink mixes & I love the suggestion about buying glow necklaces etc at the Dollar store before we go (for my 5 year old). I'm looking for more of those suggestions...

Anyone know of any really inexpensive snack kiosks or treats in any of the parks that you watch for? I just want them to be able to enjoy some of the Disney magic, without killing our budget...

 

[ReginaGraham]

The cheapest snack I can think of are the pickles. My husband discovered they are only $1.00 in MK. You can buy mickey ice-creams for about $2 each. But your best bet is to bring your own. Wal-mart is not that far away. You can buy pre-popped pop-corn, etc. and bring it with you.

 

[Redheaded Sunshine]

Please don't beat yourself up about being on a tight budget. Your kids will very likely surprise you. The older ones especially. And you can very easily explain to them (in a nutshell of course) that your budget is strained and you can't always "do Disney" bigger. For your 5 year old, my suggestion is this...start teaching him now about money. Make him do little chores at home to earn his "dollars" (this is what my kids say) and let him end up with about $20 for his souveniers. Most 5 year olds will be really happy with anything that they can get for about $20. This is what I'm doing and have done with my kids.

I very much understand because I was nearly in tears the other day because I had to tell my kids we couldn't do something because we just didn't have the "dollars," but they know that we have to save our dollars to go see Mickey and they're ok with that!

 

[njmom47]

I tried to be pretty frugal on our last vacation to WDW. My kids (all teenagers) did not ask for one souvenir because they knew we didn't really have extra spending money. It might be tougher with a little one though!
But if you can find stuff at the dollar store and dole it out during the week, that might keep your 5 yr old happy.
We split meals when we did eat in the parks, and we also ate at "lunchtime" as opposed to "dinner" (lunch is usually cheaper...you can always check menus ahead of time also to see what the cost of meals are), we brought water and snacks and even sandwiches to eat lunch in the parks.. My one splurge would be that I had food delivered to eat breakfast in the room which saved time and money in the A.M. (although staying off-site will be a big help in defraying meal costs).
Have fun!

 

[thebeesknees]

Yep, the only time we've gone was on a very tight budget. Stayed off-site and brought in our own sandwiches, no extra treats or souvenirs. The kids still had a blast. I'm sure your older ones will understand the situation, and they are big enough that if there is one souvenir they really have to have, they can purchase it themselves. Your youngest won't remember your last trip so comparison to past trips shouldn't be an issue with that child. Maybe they could each choose one "treat" (Dole Whip, Mickey bar, whatever) to have on one park day? The house with the pool sounds really nice and should be lots of fun. As far as inexpensive fun things, maybe you could do pressed pennies, or get a list of Hidden Mickeys and do a hunt for those. Or make up a scavenger list (find something with a pirate on it, find a CM from Africa, etc.) and have them get a picture of it before the end of the day - see how many things you can cross off your list. Honestly, they are going to be so busy running from ride to attraction on your 3 park days that they probably won't have time to "miss" the stuff they had other times.

 

[jaminmd]

Post your question on the budget board or search their old posts. Those folks amaze me when I see how some of them do budget vacations. I've never done one so I'm no help otherwise.

Have a wonderful time with your family!

 

[HeatherC]

Not really a suggestion on what to buy at Disney, but wondering if you have anything lying around the house that you might be able to sell on either Craigslist or Ebay?

Reason this popped into my head is I just sold a Kate Spade Purse on Ebay for $170. It was just sitting in my closet and I figured I'd never use it so I listed it and put the money in my Disney fund for our trip in February.

You still have a couple weeks to maybe generate a little extra cash to free up your budget.

Another thought was to try and really save on your food budget between now and then. If you can cut your budget by like $50 a week that would be about $200 extra you could have. I've been able to do this by really planning out my meals and using our grocery delivery service that I order online. That way I know exactly what I'm spending and I don't have to go to the supermarket which stops me from impulse buying.

Any change you can cash in? Have an impromptu garage sale?

Just trying to think of some ideas that may help. And even if you can't do any of them, you will still have a wonderful time!!!

 

[TinkerBrie]

Not really a suggestion on what to buy at Disney, but wondering if you have anything lying around the house that you might be able to sell on either Craigslist or Ebay?

Reason this popped into my head is I just sold a Kate Spade Purse on Ebay for $170. It was just sitting in my closet and I figured I'd never use it so I listed it and put the money in my Disney fund for our trip in February.

You still have a couple weeks to maybe generate a little extra cash to free up your budget.

Another thought was to try and really save on your food budget between now and then. If you can cut your budget by like $50 a week that would be about $200 extra you could have. I've been able to do this by really planning out my meals and using our grocery delivery service that I order online. That way I know exactly what I'm spending and I don't have to go to the supermarket which stops me from impulse buying.

Any change you can cash in? Have an impromptu garage sale?

Just trying to think of some ideas that may help. And even if you can't do any of them, you will still have a wonderful time!!!

All of these are really great ideas!!!

Do you have any old or broken gold or silver jewelry you can sell?? I took a little box of old broken junk (nothing even remotely sentimental!) and got almost $900.00

Just an idea Have fun with your kiddies!!!!

 

[MrsAlly]

Don't feel bad that your having to do Disney on a budget since it is more common than you think - we were only able to barely squeeze it in and plan on a few special meals (the character ones we are sticking to breafast since it is much cheaper and all of them are buffets so it gives us a set cost for those meals and the rest will pretty much be counter service or sandwiches and what not that we do up)

We don't have a set budget but we plan on going and spending the least about available (we even took a crappy flight out since we did it on miles, though the bussiness class on the way back makes up for that)

The budget board is the way to go, we are finding lots of tips there like get a double cheeseburger with extra cheese and and extra bun and there you go, you have 2 burgers for less of a cost or get 2 pieces of bread and many of the condiment stations have peanutbutter and jelly. I also found that whole foods carries some single serving peanutbutter packages that really will do more like 2 sandwiches and then just snag some jelly off the condiment stations.

I love the idea of having the kids "earn" their money for soulvineers or even setting ahead of time what items they will want and what the max they can spend on that item.

I think they will love beeing there and will understand (my 3 year old knows when we go on trips - do you want a gift or get to go to another park instead - Kids will always pick the second one because they want to go have more fun!

 

[DisneyStiles]

I do understand the challenge as we are leaving shortly with two teens and we too have ended up being on a tight budget. Our kids have been saving for their own spending money and totally understand that when that money is gone so are most of the little extras - so they are learning to budget and since it is their own money - it doesn't get spent as easy. Maybe with the older ones you could set a daily budget and get their imput into how to spend the money for that day. For the 5 year old a lot of stuff can be bought cheaper ahead of time and brought to the park.

Our kids are excited that even in this tough economy that family time is still very important and I'm sure that yours are probably the same. Go and have a blast and make a game out of what fun you can make on the cheep!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

We just went to WDW in May. We were on a very tight budget. We had our three children and DDbf. We paid for the rooms (value on site) and food. I had planned this out the year before. Everyone was given $25 a day for food or whatever they wanted; they understood this and was fine with it. They even managed to splurge on the last day at the Rainforest with the money they saved throughout the week. My DD and her BF shared meals. DH & I rarely spent all our allotted money.

My point not giving you an amount but to let you know that our children UNDERSTOOD and made our budget work for them. They all agreed our pictures were our souvies. Our DS3; I brought things from the dollar store and dollar section at Target.
I bought him cars, glo sticks, stickers, books, color books (things he likes) bubbles, you get the idea! He did get a very big souvie with his own money his grandparents sent him with. My older son was given $30 by my parents that is what he went to the Rainforest with (he really wanted to go there--so that was his souvie)

Staying offgrounds will be a tremdous help!!DTD has a shop for $10 and under for your child! if you feel the need to souvie shop. and the above posters had some great suggestions.

We felt sooo bad about what our budget allowed; but, we had a wonderful magical time on our trip. If if would not have been for the rain; it would have been the best family vacay yet. We plan to return next year and again probably on a budget. Disney is a very pricey vacay but can be done with a limit!

Have a great and magical time and don't stress too much! they understand!

 

[Mandrake]

yes I agree with Redheaded Sunshine you shouldn't beat yourself up. I don't know you Justbranches5, but you sounds like a great mother. Dealing with children is not easy, I wish you a great time at Disney, I am sure you will all keep beautiful memories of it.

 

[Justbranches5]

Thanks for all the support & great tips, everyone You are the best!

Heather...you & I think alike! We actually have 5 pricey items on Craigslist right now & are hoping they sell soon!
And boy, have I cut our food budget...thankfully, we stock up when things are on sale so I've been able to shop for just necessities. Since we are staying offsite, I bought laundry detergent, paper plates, etc at the Dollar Store along with some glow necklaces & bracelets for my youngest DD.
We have decided to let the little one use up the change in her piggy bank that we've been dropping in there all year for her souvenirs/spending $...she actually had $35 in change! And the 3 older ones have been collecting their change for a while & came up with another $35. Every little bit helps

Tink...I hadn't thought about the gold...hmmm--another great idea!
We also found the Minnie Ears we bought my DD5 on our last trip & her Tinkerbell pin so we will "regift" her with those while we are there & she'll be thrilled

How do you bring sandwiches into the park...in a sm. soft cooler? Do you carry the cooler around all day? Any tips on that? We could make our own "subs" & they would be happy with that I'm sure. They don't care about sandwiches being brought in (at the gate)?

 

[thebeesknees]

No problem with sandwiches brought in at the gate. They won't let you bring in a rolling cooler, but a soft-sided one is fine. You can either carry it with you or rent a locker for the day and keep it there. I still have a stroller, so it's easy to tuck it in there, but ours also fits in my husband's backpack, so when we no longer travel with the stroller, we'll just stick it in there.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[loriandmatt]

we stayed at a windsor hills town home a few years back and i have some suggestions on ways to save $ (especially on food)

no one likes to cook while on vaca, but i found that if i relied on the toaster, the microwave and a crockpot, it wasn't too bad (i also forced everyone to pitch in with prep and clean up). check with your rental agent to see if your townhome has a crock pot/slow cooker. if not perhaps drag one from home. when we drive down i prep a few weeks/months in advance and then take them along in the car/cooler. i slowly aquire snack, drink and dinner items when on sale. i pre-prep and freeze such dinner items as mexican chicken, shepards pie, bbq pork. our car ride is 16-18 hours divided into two days...and these items are still pretty much frozen solid when we arrive....so no worries about going bad. we just make a Publix or Goodings run when we get there for parishables. one cheap quick meal we like is to pick up bagged salad and the cooked shrimp or chicken from the grocery store...my family loves a "big salad" night.

since we have the car we hit shoneys or waffel house at least once each trip too. cheap and yummy (everyone needs a fat and carbo load once in a while!)

Windor Hills has a great game room, fitness center and even a small movie viewing room. all free. (ok, i think some of the games in the game room require quarters) but there are tons of things there to do that are free/almost free. wonderful sitting area outside in that vacinity too. we could sit there enjoying "boat drinks" that i mixed up at the condo, have an eye on the little one playing in the splash water area near the pool and the teen was hitting the game room and fitness center.

 

[tam626]

We just returned from a stay at WDW. we stayed at the FW cabins. Food has become so exppensive that we decided to stay at the cabins and cook. We loved it!! We did do CS restaurants and they were pretty reasonably priced. Plus, at CS, we brought in our own drinks which saved $$. I think you will have a great time. You'll still be at Disney and your family will be together. Yes, you'll lose a little time commuting and cooking, but you're on vacation- RELAX! and enjoy!!

This sounds just like our trip last year. We are doing the same thing in less than 2 weeks. We will eat lunches at the parks & that's about all the money we will be spending. Not much on souveniers. We had an awesome time last year & did'nt spend much while at the parks.

 

[ndgqccmiller]

Okay I am heading off to work so I did not read everyones posts but I will tell you when we go to Disney we are there to DO Disney not BUY Disney. That is my favorite saying so here goes.

We made autograph books versus buying them. Bought Disney pens from Target before we left. Saved$

Snacks for in the park slim jims, string cheese, pretzels, cheez its little dum dum suckers like you get at the bank, fruit chews etc.

froze drinks and took them to the park

If you do eat at the park you and your 5 yr old split a meal

Set a limit 20 for each kid to spend(if you can do it) tell them that arcade, souvinors, face painting so they will need to decide wisely.

Fort Wilderness does a movie and music night. Its free they have music disney characters and singing and you can bring smores and cook them around the campfire and a disney movie Tell the big kids this is for the little one and to enjoy.
I hope this helps and I will make sure to come back and read what everyone else posted. I love to have fun without breaking the bank!
Glow necklaces from the dollar tree

 

[DisTwix]

I am a single person, but have done plenty of budget Disneying. For myself, I do protein bars for breakfast, bring bags of fruit snacks or another bar for in the park... I eat kid's meals, which are plenty of food (and I like the kid's side choices better!)... I never, ever, ever buy water - I bring my metal water bottle and fill it with counter requested water or out of the fountains... if I'm feeling fancy I'll add the little flavor packets.... when I went in cold weather, I brought my own tea bags into the park and requested hot water from CS.... I'll think long and hard before going about any souveniers I might need. "Need". The things I seem to truly use the most are t-shirts and, funny enough, the antenna toppers, and I'll figure out what I'm going to buy and how much I have to spend and stick to it once I'm there (so, so, so hard).


There is NO shame in being on a budget - if anything, you are spreading some great values and money skills to your kids! For me, the budgeting has gotten to be kind of a game... how little can I spend today, and still eat on property and have a fine time?


This next trip (10 days away!) will be interesting since it's my first Free Dining excursion. I have a feeling it's more food than I've ever seen @ Disney!!!!!!