Budget for WDW

[AckermanPartyof6]

Hello-

We are quickly approaching our first vacation to WDW! Our family consists of 4 sons ages: 4,8,15 and 16 and along with myself and DH. We flying into MCO, picking up a rental and staying off site arriving July 9th and departing on the 21st. 10 day hoppers

We have paid for our flights, hotel stay and tickets,but now must work on a budget for the rest of the expected expenses. Can you help me come up with a listing of things I will need to budget for? This is what I have so far:

Car Rental Fee and Gas
Food and Restaurant Tips while at WDW (plan to do one QS and TS per day)
Snacks at WDW
Walmart (breakfast food, water, snacks)
Souvenirs (intend to give each kid $100)
Parking
Hotel Tips

What else am I missing?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lumiere Lover]

You will also want to budget about $20 a day for incidentals (lost sunglasses, a hat, aspirin, etc) and cash for toll roads (should be minimal). Looks to me like you have thought of most of your costs.

Have a fantastic trip.

 

[Disneyliscious]

The one thing I forgot to budget for on our last trip was the ride photos. I knew they were there, but I totally blanked on adding it into our souvenir budget. We got one from Splash, Yeti, Dinosaur, and RnR. I "think" these start at around $10 each, but we got 8x10's in the Disney frame and they were $20 each so there was $80 unplanned right there. I always try to pad my souvenir budget heavily in case something pops up I didn't think about including things you may find yourself wanting to do since you are staying offsite.

 

[collegejunkie]

dbf and i usually do one TS and one QS as food each day, but we snack a lot, too. we budget $60 per day each for food. i made an excel sheet based on menus of the restaurants we picked, and they fit perfectly with that. of course, i can't anticipate what snacks and whatnot we'll want, but that seems reasonable.

parking is $14 per day, so if you're going to parks for 10 days, that's $140.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've found that most table service meals run $8-$10/pp. Depending on where you're eating you TS meals, those can vary, but usually $25-$40/pp. My mom and I were just there and for the two of us our TS bill came to between $70-$90 per day (we were on the DDP).

 

[GatorMama]

I looked up menu prices for all of the places we have ADRs at to get an idea of how much our meals will cost and then added in 20% tip and taxes and put those totals into my budget sheet. We made a deal with ourselves that we could schedule an ADR once for every meal we cooked in the resort. I've got a few crock pot meals that I will make so that I don't have to stay on my feet to prepare food after a long day at the parks. And on our off days (no parks), I'll make more time consuming meals... including a bigger/better breakfast than just cereal or bagels. Although... now that I have the prices in on our budget sheet... DH wants to take away one of our TS meals... which would bring us down to 3. :-( And I just don't think that's enough for a 10 day vacation. I know we might eat off-property a few times, but that will be half or less of a TS at a park or resort.

What about any items you'll want for the airplane ride? Any new gadgets? Batteries for said gadgets? An extra charger? New movies, games or toys? Special snacks for the plane? Funds for any meals you might need during days of travel? Photopass? Lockers? Carnival style games? Other activities/entertainment besides park tickets?

 

[tinkercat]

OMG I did a double take when I saw your screen name, because we too, are an Ackerman - Party of 6!!! DH and I have 4 little ones (DD8, DS6, DD4, and DD almost 2) and our last name is Ackerman. We are traveling to WDW July 9-17th and staying off site as well...small world, huh!!!

I think your budget looks pretty good. The only other thing I have in mine is the money for the BBB and Pirate's League for my little ones.

OH! I noticed that you have a 4 year old. Not sure what your plan is in regards to a stroller, but stroller rental may be something else to include in the budget. My 4 year old is a drama queen who I know will benefit, so we are renting a double.

 

[lauch]

I think you have done a pretty good job with planning so far. Are you on the DDP? If not, you should really consider. It will save you money. If you have AAA you may want to see what discounts they can offer you. I know they have preffered parking which is nice. If you have not gotten your tickets in hand you may want to redo with undercover tourist.com. They will save you quite a bit on park tickets on tax alone. It's probably too late, but I'd check out Disney YES programs if you want to mix in a little behind the seens magic with almost 50% off ticket prices. Your kids are the perfect ages for these programs (disney youth.com). Last bit of advice would be ADR's. Do you have them? If not you may have some frustration getting your choice of dining. I hope this helps for your trip. If not this trip, it will help on your second trip. Plan your next trip offseason if you can. No lines, cooler weather, Holiday Decor, Holiday Parties, etc. Good luck!!!! Remember, if you want it to be real it will be. Thats when the magic happens. Have a blast!!!!