Budget for WDW: Can it really be this much?

[dhardawa]

We are a family of four (three adults, one child) staying at POFQ for 8 days. The total for my trip is $3500. That includes lodging, dining plan, airfare, tips, and park hopper tickets.

 

[Soarin_04]

More details needed but...

Re. rental car -- BTDT and it worked for us.

We have two older cars which -- when we went to Disney last year -- were in the 150K range; one is an SUV, so that was definitely out of the question re. gas.

Look around online for coupon codes for rental cars. We snagged one at Enterprise using a code and ours was around $300 for a week.

Do your homework re. pin codes, AAA, and other ways of saving and you can definitely do Disney way cheaper than that.

 

[DawnM]

We take all 5 of us to Disney for more than 50% off of your price.

That hotel bill is crazy high and you can stay for a fraction of that, even on site, depending on the number of people going.

 

[Bribrittmom]

Try bidding on a rental car on Priceline.I just won a bid of $184.00 tax and fees included,for April 19-27th.It was for a full size car w/unlimited miles from Avis.

 

[newdeal]

We are going for a week at the end of april, booked hotel and flight on jetblue as a package. Came to $750 round trip for three adults buffalo to orlando including all taxes and fees for flight and hotel. We will rent a car while we are there which we got from priceline for $150 for the week including tax for a full size car. Food will be expensive but we will eat dinner offsite most days so maybe $75 a day for food for 2 people (say 600 for food) and tickets are around $500. So in all a week will cost us $2000 all in. The jetblue package was for three but the other numbers are for two since my sister in law booked with us but will be paying for herself

 

[tzolkin]

How many people are you talking about? Why not drive your own car? Why not fly if you are going to pay $600 for a rental? Your hotel costs are very high and your food/tix/gas costs are low.

Much more information is needed to give you realistic help.

That's what I was thinking. The OP mentioned $500-600 for the rental plus gas that could easily be $800 for transportation.

Since it also says $400 for tickets I'm assuming there are only two people going (maybe not, since two 8day base tickets are $550+tax ) Two people can definitely fly for less than $800. We always drive (also from NY), but we are a family of 5 and take our own car so it's way cheaper than buying plane tickets for 5 people. If there were only two of us going I would definitely fly.

 

[Marionnette]

How many people are you talking about? Why not drive your own car? Why not fly if you are going to pay $600 for a rental? Your hotel costs are very high and your food/tix/gas costs are low.

Much more information is needed to give you realistic help.

That's what I was thinking. The OP mentioned $500-600 for the rental plus gas that could easily be $800 for transportation.

Since it also says $400 for tickets I'm assuming there are only two people going (maybe not, since two 8day base tickets are $550+tax ) Two people can definitely fly for less than $800. We always drive (also from NY), but we are a family of 5 and take our own car so it's way cheaper than buying plane tickets for 5 people. If there were only two of us going I would definitely fly.

Although I would tend to agree with you since I hate the drive down I-95, there are a number of reasons that someone would prefer to drive. One of them being a fear of flying. Another would be that they plan to be in Florida for additional destinations and would like a car while they are there. And finally, they might have places and people that they want to visit that are along their driving route.

But again, I don't think that the OP is really looking for assistance with trip planning. They aren't newbies and have done this trip multiple times. Notice that they have not returned to this thread to provide any kind of additional info.?

 

[Kellydelly]

It looks like this person has been trying to plan a trip to WDW for 3 yrs and still hasn't figured out the details .

 

[ceecee]

It looks like this person has been trying to plan a trip to WDW for 3 yrs and still hasn't figured out the details .

Might be the reason, they think Paris would be the same amount of $. Airfare to Paris (we checked overseas flights this yr) are a lot higher than that.

 

[FloridaPixie]

I also ditto what just about every previous poster has mentioned. I would like to suggest that the OP use Mapquest to help them with route planning, the AAA gas calculator to get an idea of gas averages, and to perhaps consider going cheaper on lodging costs if that is a big factor for her. If money is no object, go for it. We ususally stay at POP Century, and can do a week with Florida Resident Rates for around $79-109 per night, and our tickets are usually $99-$125 for 3-4 days utilizing a military rate (we do not like to go to a park everyday.)

We could splurge and upgrade to a moderate or deluxe, but we just prefer to save the money and really try to stretch our dollars during our trips, so that we can take addional trips to WDW or wherever throughout the year. That works for our family, not for everyone we understand.

I must add that I was sort of curious about possible additional posts the OP may have posted regarding their trip planning, and was surprised to see that they have been posting similar posts since 2009.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

It looks like this person has been trying to plan a trip to WDW for 3 yrs and still hasn't figured out the details .

I agree, take a look at OPs other recent posts, why hasn't he/she come back to any of their posts?

 

[fairytinkerbell]

Hello everyone and thank you for all of the informative responses.

I have issues with finding my previous posts. It took me a half an hour to find this one. I must have passed it on page 1. The other posts I cannot locate even when I search.

We have been unsure about going to WDW bec of my fear of flying and the thought of driving all the way from ny to fl. We tried driving to va 2 years ago and we got there - but it was a slowww drive on 13 and 113. We thought possibly I-95 would feel faster bec of speed limit is higher. I wouldn't want to book everything and then decide we didn't want to drive that far.

As for the hotel, I've wanted to stay at poly for 20 yrs and its our anniv. figured it would be nice to finally stay on monorail and in that setting.
All the other visits were off-site for $700 for the week, but we flew down and rented a car. I figured this time we could drive there w/ a rental w/ extra ins. (i figured if there are floods/hurricanes/tornadoes on the drive to or from).

We are only 2 ppl. We would like 5 day hopper tickets. I figure if we left on Sat am , would get there Sunday - so stay at hotel for 6 nites, check out followg Sat. We like finishg the nite w/ Magic Kingdom, hence 5 days.
We also want to do disney marktplc at nite, so maybe 5 days is too much? and universal for one day. Usually we'll do universal/disny marktplc at nite.

I come here to help get excited about committg ourselves to this type of trip vs. a less expnsive road trip that is calmer, etc.

 

[snowy76]

Hello everyone and thank you for all of the informative responses.

I have issues with finding my previous posts. It took me a half an hour to find this one. I must have passed it on page 1. The other posts I cannot locate even when I search.

We have been unsure about going to WDW bec of my fear of flying and the thought of driving all the way from ny to fl. We tried driving to va 2 years ago and we got there - but it was a slowww drive on 13 and 113. We thought possibly I-95 would feel faster bec of speed limit is higher. I wouldn't want to book everything and then decide we didn't want to drive that far.

As for the hotel, I've wanted to stay at poly for 20 yrs and its our anniv. figured it would be nice to finally stay on monorail and in that setting.
All the other visits were off-site for $700 for the week, but we flew down and rented a car. I figured this time we could drive there w/ a rental w/ extra ins. (i figured if there are floods/hurricanes/tornadoes on the drive to or from).

We are only 2 ppl. We would like 5 day hopper tickets. I figure if we left on Sat am , would get there Sunday - so stay at hotel for 6 nites, check out followg Sat. We like finishg the nite w/ Magic Kingdom, hence 5 days.
We also want to do disney marktplc at nite, so maybe 5 days is too much? and universal for one day. Usually we'll do universal/disny marktplc at nite.

I come here to help get excited about committg ourselves to this type of trip vs. a less expnsive road trip that is calmer, etc.

Welcome back to your thread!

Thanks for the details. I totally understand wanting to stay at the "dream hotel" - so, yes, your hotel budget is accurate for that. Some ideas:
If you haven't checked out the discounts for your time period, do so. You might be able to get a break on hotel costs. The Resort Board has all sort of info. You also might consider starting at a value or mod and switching to the Poly for the last couple of nights if you need to cut costs.

I would seriously reconsider car rental if it's just the two of you. I know you mentioned a fear of flying but it looks like you have flown to FL before? A direct flight from NY has you in the air for about two and a half hours. You can rent a car on Disney property for the day if you plan to visit Universal (though if you're looking to cut costs, I'd drop that portion and just add a day on at the parks at Disney).

Good luck with your planning!

 

[torinsmom]

OP, if you click on CP in the upper left corner, you should see any posts you have started or responded to. If you don't, you may have turned that feature off. I don't know how to turn it back on or change it. Mine is set to just check when I come to the website, but I think you can also get emails for posts as well.

If you want the trip the way you want it, you are probably going to spend that much money. When are you planning on going?(Sorry if I missed that) Maybe you could find a discount code or free dining for your trip. Also, it may not save you money, but would Amtrak be an option? That was you could do other things while you are traveling vs. sitting in the car realizing how slow you are moving. You would have to pay for transport to/from the station, but would have Disney transportation while you were there. Just doing a general quote, Amtrak would be around $500 for 2 adults. The trip would take 21-24 hours each way.

 

[BobbyBudnick]

I just got back from a 7 day Disney trip. 5 of us went. I spent about $700 total.

it was $168 each for 7 nights at Bonnet Creek
$75 each for gas
$120 for a 4 day park hopper off ebay/rest of them paid $50 each for hoppers from cast members off craigslist.
$300 on food

 

[taaren]

Not sure if you're thinking about Paris as your other option for your anniversary (since you mentioned it in your first post), but if you wanted to go to Paris and stay in something comparable to the Poly (ie a Deluxe hotel), you're probably going to pay more than 3K for the week with the current exchange rate.

Add to that airline costs, food, attraction tickets, and you'd end up well over 5K for a week long Paris trip.

I'd second the either flying or Amtrak ideas as a way of getting to Orlando.

The main problem is you seem to want a deluxe style trip and are surprised by the deluxe budget ... the only real way to reduce that budget is DVC, which doesn't have rooms at the Poly. If you'd be okay with Bay Lake or Beach Club and can plan far enough in advance to rent DVC points that might be an option, or if you can go during a time when Free Dining is an option or get a PIN code that might help too, but otherwise, yes, a deluxe trip really is that expensive.

 

[Tink-aholic]

I just got back from a 7 day Disney trip. 5 of us went. I spent about $700 total.

it was $168 each for 7 nights at Bonnet Creek
$75 each for gas
$120 for a 4 day park hopper off ebay/rest of them paid $50 each for hoppers from cast members off craigslist.
$300 on food

While the rest of this post might help you save money, this is not a good way to buy tickets. Try signing up for Mousesaver's newsletter and go to the Undercover Tourist link in there -- they are cheaper than what you pay at the gate and significantly more reliable (and legal!) more than ebay or craigslist.

Good luck.

 

[123Dis4Me]

I think that Amtrak could be a great way to go. It is about $500 roundtrip for 2 adults, $450 with AAA discount (the Orlando Magicard discount would be similar I think and you don't need to pay anything to be a member). You wouldn't need to stop at a hotel to sleep, wouldn't need to worry about the high/fluctuating gas prices, tired stressed drivers, and could just take a cab/car service to WDW from the train station. You could rely on Disney transportation at the resort (especially at a monorail resort!) or rent a car. There is an Alamo rental at/close to the station in Orlando. We have driven many times and we also took the train from upstate NY. We were very comfortable and relaxed on the train (compared to the drive) and are doing it again this summer.

Anyway you get there - have a great trip!

 

[gillenkl]

OP - I know you really want Poly but have you considered AK-Lodge or Grand Floridian using the room only discount - you'd still be staying deluxe. I would also forego park hoppers and Universal and get the meal plan since you're celebrating your anniversary - you could do some nice sit down meals.

We are driving from just south of Philadelphia and are expecting around $500 round trip for gas (hopefully if won't be more than that). Do you plan to drive straight-thru? If not, you'll want to add hotel into your budget. We leave our home around 3:30AM and arrive in Savannah, GA to spend the night, usually a Marriott that serves free hot breakfast.

 

[wide receiver]

I agree AKL is always good for the budget, WL is also. Very nice deluxe but less expensive. Doing a split stay a few nights at Poly and a few at AKL, WL or even Port Orleans. If you can go non peak times (like when the kiddos go back to school) you would get a great rate on your room and not have to deal with crowds.