Budget Help

[latheria]

I don't know how much time I have wasted trying to decide if we should stay on or offsite for our first (and only) visit to Florida. There seem to beso many pros and cons to both. We of course will do Disney but also want to see local things as well, maybe SeaWorld. Discovery Cove....

For those who have already been to Disney before could you tell me if this is a reasonable price?

We are travelling with 3 families and it would include:

2 weeks stay at Old Key West in a studio room (2, adults , 2 kids)
2 weeks stay in a 1 bedroom villa (4 adults, 2kids)
Dining plan (1 quick service, one table meal) for the 10 of us
14 day ultimate tickets for the 10 of us

The total price coming to a little less than 14000 so almost 5000 per family. We still need to add plane tickets from the Netherlands which will be another 3000 or so. And we haven't spent a dime there yet. I have no clue how to even begin to budget extras.

If I understand correctly I should have money for:

Breakfast, extra food
Tips???
Do you pay extra for certain activities
Souvenirs etc

Thanks in advance for your feedback. If we can finally make a decision then the fun planning would begin. But onsite or off site, which resort etc etc is driving me insane.

 

[kerplop]

You might look and see if there are any discounts during the time you're going. Free dining would save you a small fortune. I'm not sure how Europe works with the general public discounts Disney does, but it's worth a look.

 

[latheria]

This is apparently with free dining and discount but since I have never been I have no idea if it's a reasonable price.I don't need the best price as our dates are limited. Itried searching prices on the US website and chose December to try and compare as the 2013 prices are not out yet and come up with a much higher number than 5000 so it sounds good but then I hear people say their whole trip cost them less than 5000 with spending money included.

 

[sharadoc]

If you are quoting 5000 dollars US, then it's a very good price. That would break out to 2,500 per week with a villa, dining and tickets, which is about the price for a family of 4 to stay in a value hotel for that amount of time and with those amenities.

A villa can cost From 350 to 600 per night, so with a discount or free dining, you are still a better price.

You can get groceries delivered for breakfast or buy some basic in the gift shop at OKW, so maybe $100 for the week's supplies.

My concern is that you are putting 6 in a 1 BR villa. Max is 5, unless you have a child under 3.

I think an extra $1000 for everything else per family would be plenty.

 

[jojomoore]

I think 5000 per family for 2 weeks in a deluxe resort, 2 weeks of tickets, and dining sounds like a really good deal. We, a family of 4, usually spend around 4000 for 1week in a deluxe resort with tickets and dining and a discount(not including extras).

Water park admission is extra unless you have the water park option and more option included in your tickets.

We usually budget extra for breakfast, drinks, tips, souvinirs, water park tickets, christmas party, and mini-golf. Usually bring $1000.00 but dont necessarily spend it all. We like to keep it around 700 if we can. Water park and christmas tickets are a good portion of this. We dont buy a lot of souvinirs - just a key chain or something like that. And i bring bottled sodas from home as we drive. Usually i take the money that i normally spend on groceries at home for this week to pay for gas and fast food for the drive down and back.

An average table service meal for 4 people is between 80 and $160 and we pay 15 to 20 percent tip. Allears.net has examples of menus and prices at disney restaurant to help you get a ballpark figure.

 

[latheria]

Oops, should have said 2 person villa. I wanted the 1 person instead of studio room but the difference in price is to big.

Would you recommend having a car at Old Key West? Id there a resort that you think is better suited for travel with younger children (3,5,6 and 9).

The park tickets do include the waterparcs as well as park hopper. They also include entry to Disney Quest, preferred viewing for something, one round of mini golf, one round of actual golf and a 15 dollar certificate to planet Hollywood.

 

[GermanMom]

Maybe you should look at the Disney UK website. For european people they have good packages.
I booked our upcoming trip one year before and got a very good price for this trip.

Another option could be a villa for rent in the greater Orlando area. With a private pool, this would be much fun for the kids.

And a rental car is a must have, i think. For driving to the other parks, for shopping, for a small beacht trip...

 

[cjsm&d]

Honestly, if you are planning to spend time doing a couple of days at Sea World and a couple of days at Universal, I'd rent a house for 6 or 7 days while you do the off Disney stuff. You can get a 4 bedroom with a pool, spa and game room through VRBO or some other site for under $1000.

Then you could splurge a little bit on whichever Villa you want to stay in for 7 or 8 days. If you are planning on stying in a 1 bedroom with 6 people, Old key west is your best bet, just because they are the largest villas in Disney.

Just a thought. Good luck with whatever you choose!