Anyone not go to WDW on a budget?
- Thread starter BounceyOne
- Start date
btuftee
MK Obsessed
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2003
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- 455
Planning for a Disney trip is a bit of a paradox. You don't want to spend so much money that you regret going on the trip once you get home, but you don't want to scrimp and cut corners while you're at WDW and feel like you wasted your time there.
Some costs you can't control at all, like admission prices. Other things you have some control over, like airfare and car rental expenses, because you can shop around and get deals/discounts. Food and souvenirs are a big part of the budget, but are also controllable. If you're trying to cut costs, it's easy to avoid the really expensive meals. You can pack breakfast bars and late-night snacks in your luggage, and cut that expense down. You can also avoid the expensive sit-down places, or limit them to just one or two meals of the trip. If I'm going to Disney on a budget, I'll trade an expensive meal or two for an extra day in the parks, easy.
I find I don't have much of a problem with souvenir spending at WDW. I usually buy one t-shirt, some postcards, and a few other small knicknacks. Of course, kids can complicate this a bit. From experience, the best way to deal with kids is to ration their spending via Disney Dollars. Start the trip with a supply of these, and ration them out a a certain rate. Don't let the kids spend all their money at once though - if they want something big, they have to save up. It's kind of like a Disney allowance, $10-15 a day for each day of the trip. Give the kids their money in the morning when you leave for the parks (or if they're too young, hold onto it for them, but let them see those Disney Dollars first). They can blow the full allowance each day, or save it up for something big at the end of the trip. I think it's also easier to say "no" to the child when you give them control over their own spending.
Hotels are hard to budget in, because most people have strong feelings on whether to stay inside WDW or not. If you stay in the world, you're going to pay for it. Personally, no amount of saving is worth the hassle of driving to the parks each morning from the hotel, but that's just me. At least with the new All-Star and Pop Century resorts, people who want to stay inside WDW have some lower cost options. If you're willing to stay outside of WDW, then you can get the cheapest motel room that you can stand (you don't spend much time in the hotel room anyways, right?).
My own experience is that I want to go to WDW and not worry one bit about money. The best way to do this is to save, save, save in advance (instead of paying for it all later). Also, it helps to pre-pay as much as you can. Get your airfare and tickets in advance, and if you're staying in WDW, prepay a good chunk of your hotel bill. You'll feel much more confident that your expenses are in control, if all you have left to spend is money on food and merchandise, and you know the exact amount of the hotel bill.
Some costs you can't control at all, like admission prices. Other things you have some control over, like airfare and car rental expenses, because you can shop around and get deals/discounts. Food and souvenirs are a big part of the budget, but are also controllable. If you're trying to cut costs, it's easy to avoid the really expensive meals. You can pack breakfast bars and late-night snacks in your luggage, and cut that expense down. You can also avoid the expensive sit-down places, or limit them to just one or two meals of the trip. If I'm going to Disney on a budget, I'll trade an expensive meal or two for an extra day in the parks, easy.
I find I don't have much of a problem with souvenir spending at WDW. I usually buy one t-shirt, some postcards, and a few other small knicknacks. Of course, kids can complicate this a bit. From experience, the best way to deal with kids is to ration their spending via Disney Dollars. Start the trip with a supply of these, and ration them out a a certain rate. Don't let the kids spend all their money at once though - if they want something big, they have to save up. It's kind of like a Disney allowance, $10-15 a day for each day of the trip. Give the kids their money in the morning when you leave for the parks (or if they're too young, hold onto it for them, but let them see those Disney Dollars first). They can blow the full allowance each day, or save it up for something big at the end of the trip. I think it's also easier to say "no" to the child when you give them control over their own spending.
Hotels are hard to budget in, because most people have strong feelings on whether to stay inside WDW or not. If you stay in the world, you're going to pay for it. Personally, no amount of saving is worth the hassle of driving to the parks each morning from the hotel, but that's just me. At least with the new All-Star and Pop Century resorts, people who want to stay inside WDW have some lower cost options. If you're willing to stay outside of WDW, then you can get the cheapest motel room that you can stand (you don't spend much time in the hotel room anyways, right?).
My own experience is that I want to go to WDW and not worry one bit about money. The best way to do this is to save, save, save in advance (instead of paying for it all later). Also, it helps to pre-pay as much as you can. Get your airfare and tickets in advance, and if you're staying in WDW, prepay a good chunk of your hotel bill. You'll feel much more confident that your expenses are in control, if all you have left to spend is money on food and merchandise, and you know the exact amount of the hotel bill.
Refillable Mug Dork
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2003
- Messages
- 11
As the name suggests, I'm cheap. I hunt for the best deals on planes,tickets, cars...etc. We compromise a larger, nicer hotel room to stay on-site at an All Star Resort (which the kids love). We set a certain amount of money per day and roll the total forward as the trip goes on. By the end of the trip we usually splurge more on shopping and nice meals. By doing this, I keep the cost under control (as much as possible at WDW) and I can start planning the next trip sooner.
OneMoreTry
<br><img src="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/i
- Joined
- May 9, 2003
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- 2,632
WDW is designed to make you MANIC and want to spend money. Everything is an AD and enticement to open your wallet and shovel it out. Spending money is the fun of it. Food, clothes, souvenirs, shows and even more food. A little here a little there.
When I was a kid we were strapped and bought nothing but the least expensive meals. No souvenirs. STayed at the el cheapo motels -- there weren't many back then. 192 was actually quite desolate. That's when entry was $6.25 a day. We had a blast WITHOUT spending much at all.
Now we have more money. But don't spend as much as we could because we have other priorities. Without limits I know I could easily spend $20,000 for a week at WDW. VIP guides in the parks. Scuba diving. Best restaurants -- or room service -- every meal. Concierge. Disney cels and giclees. Dare I say originals? Watches. Crystal. Water skiing. Pins. More pins. Surfing. Make that $30,000.
But I wouldn't enjoy it any more.
Personally, I think that would be substituting the "magic of self-indulgence" for "Disney magic."
When I was a kid we were strapped and bought nothing but the least expensive meals. No souvenirs. STayed at the el cheapo motels -- there weren't many back then. 192 was actually quite desolate. That's when entry was $6.25 a day. We had a blast WITHOUT spending much at all.
Now we have more money. But don't spend as much as we could because we have other priorities. Without limits I know I could easily spend $20,000 for a week at WDW. VIP guides in the parks. Scuba diving. Best restaurants -- or room service -- every meal. Concierge. Disney cels and giclees. Dare I say originals? Watches. Crystal. Water skiing. Pins. More pins. Surfing. Make that $30,000.
But I wouldn't enjoy it any more.
Personally, I think that would be substituting the "magic of self-indulgence" for "Disney magic."
georgina
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2003
- Messages
- 15,974
My kids love those waffle houses too. And there's one on every corner (it seems).
We don't plan a set budget, but I'm a natural cheapskate, so we save by eating breakfast in the room, then one sit-down meal and one counter service meal in the parks. Kids have a limited amount to spend on souvenirs, or we'd be bringing home the entire plastic toy collection in Japan. Sometimes we drive and camp in Fort Wilderness.
iwannabeminnie
<font color=blue>It's a world of laughter, a world
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2002
- Messages
- 1,089
It seems to me there must be a happy medium somewhere. While I agree that while on vacation you spend more than you normally would and that is part of "vacationing", I would be a miserable wreck when I got home worrying about the credit card bill. While we have a "budget" it is somewhat loose. I know how many meals are going to be nice meals and about how much they will cost, etc. I also try to budget on the high side and usually have money left over at the end of the day from that day's allotment. Then at the end of the week I can either splurge on a really nice souvenir or take the cash home and start planning my next trip!
Shooby doo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2003
- Messages
- 1,198
On our very first trip we went with a tight budget & although it was still fun,we definately looked at things & "would come back later".After that we decided that if we had to go & worry about what we spent then it's better to stay at home!Hence the reason we normally only go every 2/3 years-plenty of saving time!Let's face it WDW et al is not a cheap vacation,in fact if I was to add up my trips & spending money I probably could have bought a small house!!
SD
SD
I guess we belong to that group of people who try to shop carefully before we go for the best deals on flights, hotels, rental cars and passes. I'm willing to do lots of work to try to get the best prices and greatest convenience in advance. I'm sure it's a form of denial, but I usually don't even know the entire cost of our vacation. We just pay the airfare on such a date, the cruise deposit on another, the hotel deposit on another, etc, etc. We stay at a value, moderate, or deluxe hotel (sometimes two different levels) depending upon the time of year we travel and the deals we're able to get.
Once we get there, we don't worry about how much money we spend, but then we don't really see anything to go totally overboard about, either. We generally eat one or sometimes two sit-down meals a day because that works best for us. That's driven by time, rather than money, however because sometimes we're just so eager to go and see and do that we're too impatient for a leisurely meal in the middle of the day or at breakfast. Although we take a certain number of traveller's checks, we charge things back to our room and pay if off with Visa, if we've run out of traveller's checks. As long as the money to pay the bill is in our bank account I have no problem with that.
DH and I rarely buy souvenirs - usually a Christmas ornament and a few sweatshirts or maybe a few things for the kids. I don't think we'll spend more than $200 on souvenirs in a two week trip, because we just don't do very much shopping at WDW. DS (10) and DD (7), on the other hand, would like us to take back truckfuls of stuff, so they do work within a daily budget (plus extra spending money for something big from the grandmothers).
I often like to keep track of dining receipts, and hotel rates, however, because I know that's a help to those on the DIS!
Once we get there, we don't worry about how much money we spend, but then we don't really see anything to go totally overboard about, either. We generally eat one or sometimes two sit-down meals a day because that works best for us. That's driven by time, rather than money, however because sometimes we're just so eager to go and see and do that we're too impatient for a leisurely meal in the middle of the day or at breakfast. Although we take a certain number of traveller's checks, we charge things back to our room and pay if off with Visa, if we've run out of traveller's checks. As long as the money to pay the bill is in our bank account I have no problem with that.
DH and I rarely buy souvenirs - usually a Christmas ornament and a few sweatshirts or maybe a few things for the kids. I don't think we'll spend more than $200 on souvenirs in a two week trip, because we just don't do very much shopping at WDW. DS (10) and DD (7), on the other hand, would like us to take back truckfuls of stuff, so they do work within a daily budget (plus extra spending money for something big from the grandmothers).
I often like to keep track of dining receipts, and hotel rates, however, because I know that's a help to those on the DIS!
ASFCurly
Dreaming of when I finally get to go back to WDW!
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2000
- Messages
- 5,816
The last two times I went I had to budget, I didn't have a credit card, the first time I went with my mom so if I spent too much she could have helped me out till we got home and I got the money (I didn't by the way) but this last time I was solo and didn't have that option, so I had to be really careful, and because of that I ended up worrying the entire time about money and that took away from the trip, being nervous about spending the whole time, I have since gotten a credit card, (my last trip was in May, I applied for it when I got back and got it in June) so while I am budgeting, I don't have to worry about going overboard the entire time, I will still be careful, but I don't have to worry the entire time, I will have the credit card, just in case I find something I didn't budget for, or something happens I didn't count on.
alvernon90
Two Decade Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 1,647
In my opinion, you absolutely MUST let go of the budgeting urge when you go to WDW, or the outrageous prices will drive you insane. $2.50 for a Coke? Come on!
We work very hard to get the best deals on everything we can before going down, and once we're there we just let it go. But we are fortunately to have sufficient resources and modest wants. We're not tempted by the $400 leather jackets with Mickey all over them, or whatever. For us, a postcard for the refrigerator is all we need to bring home. We would never dream of putting more on the credit card than we could pay off immediately.
Frankly, when we're there we have a much harder time budgeting calories than money! I always come back with about 10 pounds of debt that needs to be worked off!
We work very hard to get the best deals on everything we can before going down, and once we're there we just let it go. But we are fortunately to have sufficient resources and modest wants. We're not tempted by the $400 leather jackets with Mickey all over them, or whatever. For us, a postcard for the refrigerator is all we need to bring home. We would never dream of putting more on the credit card than we could pay off immediately.
Frankly, when we're there we have a much harder time budgeting calories than money! I always come back with about 10 pounds of debt that needs to be worked off!
iwannabeminnie
<font color=blue>It's a world of laughter, a world
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2002
- Messages
- 1,089
Lol alvernon, been there, done that.
Like I said, we budget, but very loosely. I usually plan on $200 a day for just my husband and myself and the daughter. We always have money left over. When we take the boys this next trip it will be a little harder to plan. I am thinking $300 a day. They will have their own spending money, so I will just be paying for meals.
One year I did make a somewhat large credit card purchase while at WDW. I found a great deal on some bee-yoo-ti-ful sweaters in a shop on the Boardwalk. I bought myself, my best friend, my mom, both of my sisters, and my sister-in-law one for Christmas. I didn't feel bad or guilty about it because it went on the Christmas budget and not the vacation budget
Like I said, we budget, but very loosely. I usually plan on $200 a day for just my husband and myself and the daughter. We always have money left over. When we take the boys this next trip it will be a little harder to plan. I am thinking $300 a day. They will have their own spending money, so I will just be paying for meals.
One year I did make a somewhat large credit card purchase while at WDW. I found a great deal on some bee-yoo-ti-ful sweaters in a shop on the Boardwalk. I bought myself, my best friend, my mom, both of my sisters, and my sister-in-law one for Christmas. I didn't feel bad or guilty about it because it went on the Christmas budget and not the vacation budget
I admit that I can't rest easy until I am sure that I have gotten the lowest possible plane, rental car and hotel rates available for where I want to go and stay. But when we arrive I can't stick to a "$X per day for food" type of budget. Rather, I look for good values and try to make the "splurges" worth it...for example, if you're going to eat a character meal or nice, sit down meal, make sure it is at a time where everyone has the energy and time and appetite to enjoy it. When the kids (and adults) are dead tired from a day at the parks, that's the time to have a pbj in the room rather than making everyone wait for table service.
Also, for our recent DLR trip, I gave each child $50 at the beginning of the trip for souveniers, extra snacks, etc., with the understanding that they could keep what they didn't spend. One child came back having spent it all and owing me 2 weeks allowance, one broke even (12 year old son, spending most of the money on churros) and the youngest came back with $20 left. It's kind of sad to see them realize that what seemed like so much money isn't enough for that hat and that sweatshirt and that snow globe, but it sure makes them more careful with what they spend! (And yes, I did spring for some snacks, but I didn't stop at every single churro or ice cream stand.)
Also, for our recent DLR trip, I gave each child $50 at the beginning of the trip for souveniers, extra snacks, etc., with the understanding that they could keep what they didn't spend. One child came back having spent it all and owing me 2 weeks allowance, one broke even (12 year old son, spending most of the money on churros) and the youngest came back with $20 left. It's kind of sad to see them realize that what seemed like so much money isn't enough for that hat and that sweatshirt and that snow globe, but it sure makes them more careful with what they spend! (And yes, I did spring for some snacks, but I didn't stop at every single churro or ice cream stand.)
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