Budget Question

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Ok, for tickets if they go with the 1-day unlimited express pass it'll be around $1395. I'd budget 1500 just to be safe for now. And 1890$ for 3-day hoppers (without Genie+ as who knows what system and price that'll be in 2 years), but I'd round up to 2k just to be safe... so $3500 for theme park tickets for them. That seems a good conservative starting point, and will help determine what kind of other 'extras' they want - possibly switching to 2-day hoppers and a hard ticket party, adding character meals like that princess breakfast, or keeping it simple and just enjoying the parks themselves.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I have two young kids and would reconsider driving from Anaheim. It took us an hour and a half (before rush hour) on Tuesday to drive from Universal to Anaheim. We stayed at the Hilton Universal two nights and then moved down to Anaheim. I can’t imagine driving 1.5 there in the morning and then 1.5 hours back to Anaheim after a long day. The Hilton was a nice close walk. I made sure to organize our luggage to make the move as easy as possible and am glad we did it that way. Just something to think about as LA traffic is nuts.

If it was my family, I would 100% do a split stay. But my friend used to live in LA and understands how crazy the traffic is, but still thinks staying in one spot makes more sense. We will see if he still feels that way as we get closer to making reservations . I suspect he will change his mind and see how useful a split stay can be!

 

[Malcon10t]

They might want to make use of online sites such as Grubhub, which (in the Anaheim / DL hotel area at least) do deliver to the hotels, down to bringing food to individual rooms. This can work out cheaper than using restaurants - and most of the restaurants are usefully included within those who do the deliveries. It's probably best if they can take a small laptop with them, to order the food online - although I'm sure they'll take telephone orders too. The range of food is also good - it isn't just burgers and pizzas either; the choices are widening quickly as time goes on.

I have used GrubHub/Door Dash/Postmates many times at while at DL, and while we enjoy it for specific things, I have not found it to be neccesarily cheaper. Add to it, I wouldn't want to be leaving the park just to eat. We do enjoy doing pool time and having Marri's deliver pizza.

 

[pokee99]

I have two young kids and would reconsider driving from Anaheim. It took us an hour and a half (before rush hour) on Tuesday to drive from Universal to Anaheim. We stayed at the Hilton Universal two nights and then moved down to Anaheim. I can’t imagine driving 1.5 there in the morning and then 1.5 hours back to Anaheim after a long day. The Hilton was a nice close walk. I made sure to organize our luggage to make the move as easy as possible and am glad we did it that way. Just something to think about as LA traffic is nuts.

I agree with this. You'll hit rush hour both times if you stay in Anaheim. We switched hotels to do Universal before flying out of LAX. We did a late checkout at the Westin Anaheim at 2pm, $60 Uber ride to the Sheraton Universal that took 45 mins, checked in right away and rested for a bit, took the shuttle to City Walk for a stroll and dinner. Got a good sleep and took the shuttle at 10am to Universal. Left at 6pm. Got dinner at City Walk again and took the shuttle back around 8pm.

I liked having the option of going back to the hotel if we needed to. We almost did (to change after getting soaked on the Jurassic World ride) but were dry within an hour, so we didn't bother. But it is something to consider.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

So something like first two nights near Universal - arrival day, day at Universal, and then checkout and checkin near Disney, DTD stuff or just hanging out at the pool. I'm pretty sure weather will be nice and hot for them whether they go September or October, as they'll be coming from Washington state which also has warm Septembers, but by October it is usually frosty in the morning and evening.

I can't remember DTD being really exciting for littles though - all the shopping is fun for us as adults and with my older kids, but it might be a pass for them.

 

[Malcon10t]

I am so back and forth on this... my granddaughter is such a picky eater, but would probably love the princesses, she's 9. I have a hard time paying $ 125 for her her to eat part of a waffle, a piece of bacon and some fruit. Maybe the sorbet or brownie dessert.or macn cheese ( for bfast?) But most of the rest of the rest she wouldn't touch. Even I wouldn't eat much of the non breakfast items, while I can eat breakfast for dinner anytime, I just don't think l want lobster rolls or short ribs at breakfast.

But, the experience would be great for her. Are they still offering warrior poses with Mulan? Has anyone done the experience recently? We are going in August.
Is it a difficult reservation to get?

We did it this year for my granddaughter's 10th birthday. She is our princess girlie girl. (Her sister is 9 mos older, and more into the Star Wars side.). Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. Food was great. So many options. My older granddaughter is very picky, and she left full. THAT SAID, it isn't about the food, it is about the Princesses. We got so much time with each princess. The girls and their mom geeked out, and the rest of us had fun laughing at them. The girls dressed up (younger wore her Cinderella outfit, older was Moana.).

As for the food, it is a brunch. Personally, I prefer the short rib to pancakes. And the short rib was FANTASTIC.

So, yes it is worth it. Now I was just asked by the daughter in law about the Princess Royal Tea on our upcoming cruise......

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I think the following is a decent target budget this far out - the aim is to be conservative/worst case kind of planning, so I rounded up on current prices so hopefully any price hikes are already taken care of.

Park Tickets (for Universal express and DLR 3-day hoppers): $4000
Souvenirs (for Universal and DLR): $1000 (they are huge HP fans, so I did $100/person/theme park)
Food (for 6 days): $2250 (went with 75/person/day since their younger children eat a lot less than my kids, but wanted some padding for potential special meals)
Hotel (for 6 nights): $1500 (used Tropicana Inn & Suites for pricing)

Total: $8750, not counting travel expenses.

With current prices, it would be roughly $1100 for them to fly, plus cost of a rental car, and that's challenging to price out right now. If they drive, they most likely need to break it up into 2 days, so that's another hotel room cost on the way down and home, plus gas - but again that is hard to anticipate right now with prices influx. It seems reasonable to target saving up $10k for their family of 5 and it should cover their expenses either way - might be a little tight if rental car prices are high for the week. I was hoping to get them closer to $8k, but this feels like a more realistic budget to get them all the experiences their family values most.

 

[CeCe0906]

Sounds like the princess breakfast will be a perfect start to our last day. From what I could see it runs Thurs - Mon. So that will work our last day is a Thursday. Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

[chezcurrie]

If it was my family, I would 100% do a split stay. But my friend used to live in LA and understands how crazy the traffic is, but still thinks staying in one spot makes more sense. We will see if he still feels that way as we get closer to making reservations . I suspect he will change his mind and see how useful a split stay can be!

I actually love split stays. We did 4 hotels on our 10-day Dec trip, LOL! I use packing cubes and we left half our luggage in the rental car first 2 nights, and swapped dirty clothes when we transitioned to the beach at the end of our trip. I found the “transit day” from LA/Universal to Disneyland a rather fun one as we did the Griffith Observatory and Tar Pits on our way to OC, and stopped at La Brea Bakery for lunch. It was a nice chill day vs Universal busyness.

Also on the Universal note, getting to Hogsmeade early is important. We rode Forbidden Journey back to back with no wait as it was a walk on first thing in the morning + had a child swap for my then 5 year old. Because they will have a 3 and 5 year old that likely wont be able to ride the eldest will get double duty on that ride. We repeated this in the evening (without express pass) and my eldest 2 were in heaven getting to ride it 4 times in one day.

That too is a consideration for express pass - what rides/how many will they utilize it on for the wee ones and is it worth it for that?

 

[chezcurrie]

I think the following is a decent target budget this far out - the aim is to be conservative/worst case kind of planning, so I rounded up on current prices so hopefully any price hikes are already taken care of.

Just want to say, you’re an awesome friend!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I actually love split stays. We did 4 hotels on our 10-day Dec trip, LOL! I use packing cubes and we left half our luggage in the rental car first 2 nights, and swapped dirty clothes when we transitioned to the beach at the end of our trip. I found the “transit day” from LA/Universal to Disneyland a rather fun one as we did the Griffith Observatory and Tar Pits on our way to OC, and stopped at La Brea Bakery for lunch. It was a nice chill day vs Universal busyness.

Also on the Universal note, getting to Hogsmeade early is important. We rode Forbidden Journey back to back with no wait as it was a walk on first thing in the morning + had a child swap for my then 5 year old. Because they will have a 3 and 5 year old that likely wont be able to ride the eldest will get double duty on that ride. We repeated this in the evening (without express pass) and my eldest 2 were in heaven getting to ride it 4 times in one day.

That too is a consideration for express pass - what rides/how many will they utilize it on for the wee ones and is it worth it for that?

That is a good point about the 2 littler ones, especially since the one who will be 5 is extremely small for her age (she is 3 right now, and the same size as the 18 month old). Maybe they don't need to spend so much on those tickets after all

I love the planning part and the budgeting/figuring out the tradeoffs. It is so much fun!