Big family woes

[wishtdream]

Ohana, Liberty Tree Tavern and Garden Grill are all family style. Whispering Canyon also has an All You Can Eat Skillet and "BOTTOMLESS MILKSHAKES". Ohana and Whispering Canyon have entertainment for the kids. Liberty Tree Tavern and Garden Grill are Character Meals.

We agree with others about going in Aug. for free dining, well worth it.

 

[bucket o' butter]

I agree with the person who reccommended the Disney Vacation Club Rentals. People rent their timeshares all the time. The prices range from $9 a point to $13 a point. You can look at the point charts at http://********************/point_calculator.asp . Different resorts require a different amount of points. It looks like the cheapest place to stay is Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa which I am sure is very nice. A rental for a week in April would be between $1000 and $1350, depending on the rental amount.

Since these units have kitchens you could do most of your cooking yourselves which would cut back drastically on food cost. I am seriously considering renting one for our next trip to Disney.

I also agree that you can do Disney without getting the park hopper passes. We have always had park hoppers, but that adds quite a bit of money to the ticket prices. You could go to a park in the morning, come back to your hotel for relaxation, naps, swimming, etc. for the afternoon and then go back to the same park in the evening.

Good luck on your planning. Congratulations on the birth of your upcoming child.

 

[bucket o' butter]

In my previous post, I put in the web address to check point values. Obviously, you aren't allowed to do that because the link doesn't work. Just go to google and type in Disney Vacation Club Rentals and you can find all the information necessary. There are also many threads on DISboards that cover DVC rentals.

 

[twooley2]

We have planned to eat at
Grand Flordian- breakfast
Crystal Palace- lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern- supper
Tappon Edo- Japan- supper (first time for this place)
San Angel Inn- lunch
Ohano- Bk with Lilo and Stitch
Chef Mickeys- supper
DHS- 50's Primetime- supper

Just these meals alone with our the dining plan would cost my family over 650.00 not counting our lunch meal we are not big breakfast eaters plus we would rather close the park down than open it up so we sleep in a little and go later.

Mousesavers is a great we site go sign up for the newsletter you can get it each month and also I have found lost of helpful menu ideals on allears.net and well and this board. I am learning new things each day about Disney.

Have a great time and good luck with your planning

Does the dining plan cost not cost you this already? Maybe I am missing something ?

 

[vcgirl925]

Thanks so much for responding, I think we really are going to drive down, I just feel overwhelmed at the thought of flying out of Philly with all the kids and stroller and luggage.. It's just to have everything in arms reach if I need it. When you go, Do you take I- 95 straight down ? we were thinking I-81 might be a little less congested.

I should have mentioned that dh really wants the dining plan, we spent hours on all ears, checking the menus and such and when you total up most of the places he wants to try out , we're saving money with the DP. Plus I cook breakfast and dinner every single day.. on the weekends, lunch too. I just don't want to be bothered with cooking. This is my fault, but I cook everything from scratch and my kids as a result are a little pickier... meaning they aren't fans of jar spaghetti sauce or box macaroni.. so if I actually want them to eat and not pick and then cry they are hungry an hour later, I'm gonna have to actually cook a meal and of course clean up afterwards..

We had originally thought about staying off site, or even booking through Universal's deals, but then the added cost of parking and gas to drive to the parks and food seemed like it would be about the same. To be honest, we can afford the trip as it is. It's something we were planning for and I expected to spend a bundle. I was just trying to figure out a few ways to minimize other costs, it would be nice if it was just a little cheaper.. I mean aren't we all looking to save money?

We take I-95. This year, thankfully, we are flying! Ok, so i think if you drive down and get the base tickets, you will be saving a good bit of money. Plus check AAA like some of the PP's have said.

 

[Aliceacc]

Does the dining plan cost not cost you this already? Maybe I am missing something ?

I think the point was that the table service meals alone would pay for the DDP in this particular case.. it's as if the rest of the DDP (counter service meals and snacks) are free.

The numbers change from one family to another. For us, with 2 kids under 10, it worked out to be a deal. For other families, it isn't. Each family needs to do its own math.

 

[twooley2]

I agree it does depend on the family makeup. As for us, we can pay cash and eat as if on the DDP and still pay the same amount after the savings from renting a vacation home. As the savings from the vacation home makes up for paying OOP for the same meals on the DDP. We have teens and it works out best with the extra room from a vacation home vs paying in high season 300 plus for a Deluxe resort.(room only)

 

[Kenenitz]

Does the dining plan cost not cost you this already? Maybe I am missing something ?

When we looked at the dining plan it was 630.00 for the week for us to add it. When we started looking at the restaurants and saw the prices for some of the places we wanted to eat, we estimated our bills for those places. Just looking at the sit down meals alone we were pushing $700. So getting the DP for us is like having all our lunches and a snack each day free.

 

[adell557]

I would say if you drive, you will save about $1000 believing gas doesn't shoot through the roof next year.

And ditch the hoppers, they really aren't necessary. The only reason we have found that hoppers are even at all necessary is if you want to eat a TS meal at a different park than what you visited that day.

We have a 4 and 2 year old and there is always a ton of things to do at each park that takes all day, and with a break in the middle of the day we don't hop from park to park.

As for the onsite off site debate. I say stay on site it is worth the money. JMO. I am all about cutting corners, staying at values, etc. but onsite is one I don't really budge on. It has WAY TOO many benefits staying onsite!!

 

[piratemom07]

Does the dining plan cost not cost you this already? Maybe I am missing something ?

You are correct !!

I guess what I mean is by doing the dining plan I am getting to take advantage of places I might not have eaten at.
If I have figured this correctly if we did Chef Mickeys it would cost us before tax approx. 120.00 then if we had a counter service meal approx. 50.00 and then snacks for four people 16.00. That would be 186.00. On the dining plan for one day I have spent 151.96.
We usually budget 175.00 per day for food and the dining plan we are paying 151.96 per day for food.

This will be our first time on the plan and we might find out it was too much food or it just did not work for us but I think it will.

Hope I have made myself more clear.

 

[piratemom07]

Aliceacc when in August will you be at Disney!!! this will be our first time in August as well we will be with a grand gathering so there will be 12 of us. (6 adults and 2 teens (13,18), kids ages 9,9,3 and 19 months.)for one family this will be there first time to go.

 

[piratemom07]

We have always done PH tickets but it depends on the family, we have done several things at Epcot in one day and then that night have went to MK for late night. It just all really depends on the family and how much you want to spend in each park and when. Also what is the price difference in PH and non PH.

This year I know we are not doing the water parks and more option and I know from 6-7 days PH option it was approx. 12.00 difference since we are driving we thought we might go back into a park on our last day there. The more I think about that I might want to change it back to a 6 day can I do that once the package is paid for.

If it will cost me to make a change than for 12.00 it is not worth it we were orginally thinking on our day of arrival we might possibly get to our hotel in time to visit a park for fireworks or something but after a long day on the road I bet the only thing we will want to hit is the BED

 

[PrincessTiffany]

You are correct !!

I guess what I mean is by doing the dining plan I am getting to take advantage of places I might not have eaten at.
If I have figured this correctly if we did Chef Mickeys it would cost us before tax approx. 120.00 then if we had a counter service meal approx. 50.00 and then snacks for four people 16.00. That would be 186.00. On the dining plan for one day I have spent 151.96.
We usually budget 175.00 per day for food and the dining plan we are paying 151.96 per day for food.

This will be our first time on the plan and we might find out it was too much food or it just did not work for us but I think it will.

Hope I have made myself more clear.

I think you will find out it works great! We love the dining plan. It will save us about $400.00 on our next trip. We used to save about $600.00 per 9 night night trip, but since we have to pay tips now at TS it will be about $400.00 - which is still great in my opinion!

 

[twooley2]

You are correct !!

I guess what I mean is by doing the dining plan I am getting to take advantage of places I might not have eaten at.
If I have figured this correctly if we did Chef Mickeys it would cost us before tax approx. 120.00 then if we had a counter service meal approx. 50.00 and then snacks for four people 16.00. That would be 186.00. On the dining plan for one day I have spent 151.96.
We usually budget 175.00 per day for food and the dining plan we are paying 151.96 per day for food.

This will be our first time on the plan and we might find out it was too much food or it just did not work for us but I think it will.

Hope I have made myself more clear.

Yes you are clear here. I guess for us the extra spent by paying cash vs the dining plan was saved in the cost of our accomodations offsite so it balances out to the same budget cost either way.

 

[badblackpug]

DH wants to know what rocket you were driving. You would have to cover about 86 mph over the highways. To do that you would need to have an average speed of about 105mph, with mo stop for dinner. lol

OP - We drove down last year from the jersey shore and it took us about 18 hours. We took a hour break for dinner and drove while the kids slep.

Yes, thank you! I was wondering, too. I live right outside of Philly and it is 18 hours from here.

I can't really offer you money saving tips, but I can tell you, we love the DDP and actually enjoy the break that a sit down dinner gives us.

I should mention that I travel with 4: 11, 7, 6, and 9m. You couldn't pay me to drive! 2 days in a car with kids ("he's touching me" "she's in my space") sounds like the 7th ring of h*ll!

We also always get the park hopper, and we stay at the ASMu suites. The 2 full baths are nice, and having our own bedroom is great.

I'm not sure where you re located, but have you looked into flying out of Lehigh Valley?

For me the peace of mind is worth the extra $$.

 

[Aliceacc]

Aliceacc when in August will you be at Disney!!! this will be our first time in August as well we will be with a grand gathering so there will be 12 of us. (6 adults and 2 teens (13,18), kids ages 9,9,3 and 19 months.)for one family this will be there first time to go.

We'll be there from the 13th to the 19th-- how about you?

 

[tina_la]

We stayed in a Family Suite in May, and I can attest to the fact that they do indeed have 2 whole bathrooms. Which is wonderful! Plus, the pull-outs are pretty comfy, I slept on one! There is not a bar across your back like in typical pull-outs. These ones were designed especially for Disney, and are much better than the other kind. Plus you get a fridge, which is an extra cost for the Value resort regular rooms.

Thanks for the corrections. Not sure why I got the impression that the family suites only had 1 bathroom. That makes it a little better value for us then too. Didn't consider the fridge either. May have to think about that the next time we go.

 

[Kenenitz]

Yes, thank you! I was wondering, too. I live right outside of Philly and it is 18 hours from here.

I can't really offer you money saving tips, but I can tell you, we love the DDP and actually enjoy the break that a sit down dinner gives us.

I should mention that I travel with 4: 11, 7, 6, and 9m. You couldn't pay me to drive! 2 days in a car with kids ("he's touching me" "she's in my space") sounds like the 7th ring of h*ll!

We also always get the park hopper, and we stay at the ASMu suites. The 2 full baths are nice, and having our own bedroom is great.

I'm not sure where you re located, but have you looked into flying out of Lehigh Valley?

For me the peace of mind is worth the extra $$.

Yeah I know five kids in a car.. LOL but we'll most likely hit the road around ten at night... a friend of mine suggested taking 81 because it's cheaper gas wise, but another suggested driving 95. we are torn, my uncle lives in TN.. I am thinking we might dirve to Knoxville.. 10-11 hours.. get there in the morning, hang out with my aunt.. nap while she plays with the kids, have some dinner, and then leave early the next morning, get into orlando 6 hours later. not too bad that way.
We are right in between Harrisburg and Lehigh for flying, but I feel like we have way too many things to bring, way too many kids at a young age to fly alone.. trust me, we have goine back and forth.. right now we are driving. lol

I like the idea of the sit down dinner, whenever we go out my kids are looking for that down time, because they are accustomed to it I think. Even when we go shopping for the day, they know we are going to have dinner somewhere. I hardly ever have an issue with them in restaurants. They enjoy the time... even if we are doing something fun.

 

[wishtdream]

Yes, thank you! I was wondering, too. I live right outside of Philly and it is 18 hours from here.

I can't really offer you money saving tips, but I can tell you, we love the DDP and actually enjoy the break that a sit down dinner gives us.

I should mention that I travel with 4: 11, 7, 6, and 9m. You couldn't pay me to drive! 2 days in a car with kids ("he's touching me" "she's in my space") sounds like the 7th ring of h*ll!

We also always get the park hopper, and we stay at the ASMu suites. The 2 full baths are nice, and having our own bedroom is great.

I'm not sure where you re located, but have you looked into flying out of Lehigh Valley?

For me the peace of mind is worth the extra $$.

When we drove last year DD (then 4 about to turn 5 on the trip) had no idea where we were going. When we stopped for dinner @ Denny's she thought it was the best meal ever! When we left there we told her we were going to continue driving to see some friends. She woke up outside WDW main gate. She only asked are we there yet once.

Our other DD was only 7 weeks old @ the time.
This year DD 5 knows where we are going and how long it will take to get there. We have DVDs and car games. We will stop for a dinner break and she will sleep most of the way there. Other DD will be 1 year old before we go. We will see how that goes, but..

We will save a lot of cash The least expensive round trip air for us was $951 round trip gas will only be $490 as calculated with http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/ Thats a savings of $461 and we need a rental minivan -they run about $800 for our 10 day stay which brings our savings to $1261

Now I know you are thinking "It only takes 2.5 hours to fly and 18 to drive" but it really doesn't. We live an hour from the airport - one of the busiest in the country so our flight would be delayed at least an hour and you need to be there two hours before your flight. so thats four hours and we haven't even left the ground. Add in 2.5 hours for the flight itself and now we are at 6.5 hours but wait we have to get our luggage-lets go wait an hour @ the baggage carousel, then on to the rental counter and forty five minutes later if we are lucky we will have our rental van and installed the two car seats and be on our way. It will take us another hour with traffic to arrive at our first destination so we can check into the hotel.

Thats over nine hours travel time if nothing goes wrong (every flight we have ever traveled has been delayed) with grumpy kids who would normally have three meals during that time or at least two and a snack. I would much rather have my kids drive 18 hours in the comfort of our own van, where if they are grumpy I don't have to worry about thier seatmate hating my guts , pack as much stuff as I want and take an extra 9 hours to drive.
Plus I think the savings is significant.

 

[vcgirl925]

Sorry i just realized i made a typo under my post! It takes us about 17 hours from NJ to Orlando. I put 12! Wow, that would be a great ride! Sorry for the confusion.