Budget Trip! I Lost it

[Andrea from PA]

I just need to vent. I started on a "budget" trip, but temptations have overwhelmed me.

OK,

1. Decided in 2005 that we'd do Orlando every 2 years.

2. Impatience set in -- On a mission to plan Orlando on Budget so we can go 2 years in a row

it started as a 7 nights for under $1500 for 5 --


3. April 2007 bought the 7 day tickets. Total $431.25

4. Then SkyAuction blow out sale -- 7 nights, 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, $179 total all fees included.

4. Then 1 free round trip air

5. And $130 car rental ($160 w. tax)

6. scored $55 air fare each way ($70 each way after taxes) for the remiaining 4 of us.

So -- We are doing great!

But I can't stop. Why? I have issues.

The we add:

HHN w/ express passes for 2

1 night of HRH (Hey - if 2 of us get HHN, the other 3 of us deserve HRH pool. Not to mention an easy walk home for the HHN guys).

BBB at DD (DD is actually paying for this, but we all know it just adds restaurant & shopping temptations)

BOMA for dinner 1 night - we aren't ready to fully give up WDW yet

Hey, did someone say NASCAR cafe? And the biggest HardRock Cafe? wait -- if I have to eat in those places then the kids have to let me eat at Bubba Gump. Oh, and Finnegan's sounds good --Um, why did I need the full kitchen?

It is DH's birthday & he'd love to go to KSC (add $270 for admission, food & gas) -- wait, I know it is the big 4-0, but didn't he get HHN as a birthday gift?

Well, $3,000 for 7 night vacation for 5 is good right?

After all the Jersey & MD beaches would cost us that much...I can rationalize everything but the checkbook.


For my 4-0 maybe I can sneak off for a solo trip & splurge... I'll be back before the family notices.

DONE VENTING

 

[macraven]

you don't want to hear how i drop $3300 for one to orlando..........
one reason to leave all other family members at home.

but last year my trip was for 15 days and i did cut back this years trip to 12

 

[Andrea from PA]

Oh, I want to go to Discovery Cove & eat at Emerils...I could easily top $3300 for 1 person.

Good thing I have restraint

 

[macraven]

last year i did 2 disney tours, did the dining plan, stayed 10 nights, did universal 5 nights on site, 4 nights of hhn with 3 of them bought epp, did rip tour, did the day tour, ate food, lots of candy.....plane, car service from my home to chgo ohare rt, car service for 3 legged trip in orlando, chainsaw wolf tees, tickets for disney, mnsshp 2 nights, ap at universal.....etc.

oh yea, i bought a lot of pins...........i mean a lot of pins........
can you say $800 in one day.....shhhhhhh, no one i live with knows that....

oh, and i saved a lot of money by buying my glow jewelry in advance at our local dollar store. i do love a bargain......


but i worked hard all year to save the money up for that trip as i have done for this year's trip.

 

[RAPstar]

last year i did 2 disney tours, did the dining plan, stayed 10 nights, did universal 5 nights on site, 4 nights of hhn with 3 of them bought epp, did rip tour, did the day tour, ate food, lots of candy.....plane, car service from my home to chgo ohare rt, car service for 3 legged trip in orlando, chainsaw wolf tees, tickets for disney, mnsshp 2 nights, ap at universal.....etc.

oh yea, i bought a lot of pins...........i mean a lot of pins........
can you say $800 in one day.....shhhhhhh, no one i live with knows that....

oh, and i saved a lot of money by buying my glow jewelry in advance at our local dollar store. i do love a bargain......


but i worked hard all year to save the money up for that trip as i have done for this year's trip.

Golly, and I thought I was bad at spending money.

 

[macraven]

Golly, and I thought I was bad at spending money.

why, did you buy more pins than i did?

have any hrc ones you wanna trade?

or a donald in your group??

 

[disneyfreakk]

3000 for a 7 night vacation is GREAT!



we wont get into what I spend....

 

[d4est]

Yeah it is! If my rate doesn't change (which I am sure it will...fingers crossed) I'll have $3248 in the hotel stay alone...and that's a big shhhh, don't tell Dh!

 

[Subi WRX]

People budget for vacations?

I'll have to look into that.

 

[Andrea from PA]

In my crazy spend to safe philosphy I convinced DH I should call local AAA and see if there are any more $79 7 day tickets left. If not then I should buy the $89 tix for some future trip...

My son thinks I totally lost it -- We haven't even visitied once yet. I already have the tickets for October & NOW I want to get tickets to save for the Wizard world openning in 2010?!

 

[disneyfreakk]

In my crazy spend to safe philosphy I convinced DH I should call local AAA and see if there are any more $79 7 day tickets left. If not then I should buy the $89 tix for some future trip...

My son thinks I totally lost it -- We haven't even visitied once yet. I already have the tickets for October & NOW I want to get tickets to save for the Wizard world openning in 2010?!

It sounds like you are on a pretty tight budget, why would you use almost $500 of your vacation budget to buy tickets that you may or may not use? I would just use that money on this years vacation.

If you were planning on going next year too, your best option would have been to get the preferred annual pass for at least one adult in your party! You could have gotten a discount on your HRH room, and your HHN event tickets would have cost you $29.99 per ticket (assuming you went sun-thurs). You would also have gotten discounts on shopping and dinning, plus APH holders get free parking at the parks.

 

[macraven]

It sounds like you are on a pretty tight budget, why would you use almost $500 of your vacation budget to buy tickets that you may or may not use? I would just use that money on this years vacation.

If you were planning on going next year too, your best option would have been to get the preferred annual pass for at least one adult in your party! You could have gotten a discount on your HRH room, and your HHN event tickets would have cost you $29.99 per ticket (assuming you went sun-thurs). You would also have gotten discounts on shopping and dinning, plus APH holders get free parking at the parks.

you know andrea is moaning right now while she is reading your post.....

she could have made out like a bandit...

 

[disneyfreakk]

you know andrea is moaning right now while she is reading your post.....

she could have made out like a bandit...

I know, I know.... I wasn't going to say anything at first, but I changed my mind in hopes that she would read my post BEFORE she got the tickets for another vacation!

Sorry Andrea! If it makes you feel any better, the first year I went to Universal (2003) I paid rack rate for everything : HRH club, HHN tickets, etc.! (I didn't know any about discounts, or the disboards!) And last year I paid full price for our blue man group tickets because I totally spaced on the fact that I could have gotten a APH discount on those! It is SO hard not to get all wrapped up in the excitement and planning that end up screwing yourself!

 

[Subi WRX]

It sounds like you are on a pretty tight budget, why would you use almost $500 of your vacation budget to buy tickets that you may or may not use? I would just use that money on this years vacation.

If you were planning on going next year too, your best option would have been to get the preferred annual pass for at least one adult in your party! You could have gotten a discount on your HRH room, and your HHN event tickets would have cost you $29.99 per ticket (assuming you went sun-thurs). You would also have gotten discounts on shopping and dinning, plus APH holders get free parking at the parks.

Or even if they went the first 3 weekends.

 

[Andrea from PA]

OK OK -- I said I have issues.

AP is out because I can't be certain we'd return within 12 months to get 2 trips out of it.

My budget is tight because I want to try to cram as many vacations as possible into our lives before my oldest goes off to college. I have a "vacation" fund to draw from & just am being greedy & want lots left over so one day I can swim with Dolphins!

Oh & I want to be able to post on the Budget Board -- which will only happen if I stick with the $1200 budget. Those folks have great restraint!


If I get the $89 tickets I planned on saving for 2010 and Harry Potter. But now I'm thinking of asking my Mom to buy them for us as a Christmas gift -- instead of the overpriced, underplayed video games.


You don't even want to see my house when toilet paper is on sale! It's like I'm preparing for the end of the world!

Can't wait for my 1st Universal trip!

 

[Tizzy_Meliss]

Well, $3,000 for 7 night vacation for 5 is good right?

After all the Jersey & MD beaches would cost us that much...I can rationalize everything but the checkbook.

$3000 for 7 days, for a group of 4, your getting off cheap! Two years ago we dropped double that at the HRH club, for 8 nights. But we really went all out, there wasn't a budget. This year we are going down for 5 nights at the Portofino. $1300 for the room (hey it is a suite), $600 for a minivan, gas to and from orlando, hotel room to stop over in the middle of the drive another $300 for two nights (to and from Orlando), $450 for tickets to US/IOA, and we have to eat, oh and my DD's have to have souveniers, the list goes on. Maybe I need to start making up a budget.

Oh and you are so right about MD and Jersey shore prices, we wanted to go down for Labor Day weekend and its looking like the room for 3 days will cost us over $600. That doesn't include the rides on the boardwalk, lunch and dinner out, or the gas it will cost us to get there.

 

[Mrs. D]

$3200 for a family of 4, 7 night vacation 3 nights in Myrtle Beach, 4 in Florida (3 @ RPR and 1 @ the Hampton Inn Convention Center)

I got the idea to spend the last night at the H.I. from this wonderful board since we'll have FOTL all day Friday after check out, and will be leaving Orlando first thing Sat. morning. Saved me about $175

 

[Kath2003]

I got a 4 night vacation for $72 on accommodation (sharing with a friend) and $80+tax for US tickets. Just got food ($30/day) to add onto that, bringing the whole thing in at $272 (ish).

Oh, and $1100 in air fare...

 

[macraven]

i started to clap for you and then saw the airfare.....................


i know it is bad to fly.
we are used to cheaper rates and now we are paying what others in the world have been paying..

 

[Catrinabeach]

I am so worse at a budget than you are. We started our trip saying we would only spend 6000.00 for 6 of us. It was supposed to only be Disney.

Then I wanted Universal so we booked 5 nights on site. Didn't change Disney at all just added more time to the trip.

Our 6000.00 trip ended up costing almost 18,000.00 for pete's sake.

Airfare doubled from the time we were planning to when we bought.

We ended up paying 3600.00 for 6 people for airfare, got the 79 tickets for 4 and AP's for 2 (400.00 but we got the buy one year get the second free that was on last year), needed 2 rooms because there were 6 of us, ( 1800.00 for cheapest room at RPR), shuttles for 3 legs 150.00, Food for the room 200.00 meals out of the room 300.00, souveniers we won't even go there I think lol

Disney rooms with tickets and dining were about 3000.00, Hotel on Seattle before and after flights, 200.00, ferry costs, 300.00 (we are from the Island)

Yep it was nuts. And we did this twice ! 2005 & 2007 !

You think we would of learned to keep to a budget.

BUT the good news is we are moving to Ontario and we will be closer and get cheaper trips. We are going for 5 nights the end of August and it should only be about 4000-5000.00 !