Budget??

[as90043]

I posted this on another site, but thought I would try here also.
This is our, DS 12 an my first WDW trip. Planned spur of the moment in late March. I did pay for hotel and air, but I dipped into our trip fund to purchase pre-trip items, etc. Now I am looking at only having about $1200 to spend for 7 full days. My main concern is I have PS at Boma for out first day breakfast, The Plaza !st din, Rainforest AK din, Coral Reef lun, O'Hana din, San Angel Inn din, and Planet Hwd, since we are getting UPH and get $25 towards a dinner there.

Question to WDW vets, can I make it on this budget ? Should I cut back on some of our dinning ideas and eat at less expensive places ? I will also be renting a car so I would be able to eat off prop. I just don't want to feel worried about having enough cash with me, nor do I want to take any money out of other acct. I want this to be a great vacation for me and my son since this is going to be our first time there. Souveniers aren't really that big a deal with us, so I can but them on the charge if need arises. O.K. I am rambling now.
Thank you in advance for any info you can send my way.

 

[mad4themouse]

How much is that rental car going to cost you? Will it be coming out of that $1200? In the long run, it may not be worth renting a car just to eat a few meals off property. The savings may not offset the cost of the car. Consider taking Mears Motorcoach transportation to your Disney hotel from the airport and using the Disney's transportation while on property. It may not be as convenient as having your own wheels but it will cost a lot less.

Otherwise, I think that $1200 for 2 people for 7 days seems like enough money to cover food and souvenirs. That's more than we've budgeted per day and we're a family of 4! (BTW, my DS is 12 also and I know how they can eat at this age!)

If you're really worried about stretching the money out, use the envelope method. Divide the money out by the days that you'll be there and you're expected expenses for those day. Naturally, some days will be more expensive than others because of the special meals you might have planned. When the money for that day is gone, you're done spending.

I think you'll be sine. Have a great time being on vacation with your son!

 

[RobinMarie]

JMHO ...

I had breakfast at BOMA and thought it was pretty good but it is an expensive breakfast. I don't think it's much more for dinner there and thought dinner was a better value.

If it's just the two of you, enjoy Downtown Disney and Planet Hollywood. If it's more, I'd skip this joint since it's your first trip you'll probably be spending time in the parks and there are better places to eat. None of us really thought the food was worth bragging/planning for when we went.

I think you are spending a lot of time dining and might want to spend more time touring. I know a lot of people love Coral Reef, but I've read a lot of reviews about how it was not worth the expense.

And since it's your first trip, I'd explore eating options more at Epcot - it's really a great place to dine. San Angel Inn is ok, but I'd probably recommend 'picking' from different carts and such around the countries for a full eating experience.

I'd keep the Ohana Plans - see if you can snag a seat by the window around time for Wishes. It's a great meal!

Whatever you choose, don't fret, you'll have a great time!

 

[jlw29]

For the RFC and the Coral Reef luch, check into the Vacation Kingdom Lunch vouchers (there's a link pinned to the tip of the page). We saved a bunch of $ using the vouchers at RFC. You can probably get one voucher for the 2 of you to share.

Also, you don't say if any of these reservations are for the same day. I can't imagine eating more than one sit down meal in the same day. It is just too filling and cuts too much into park time. (OOPS, just saw that RobinMarie said the same thing).

As long as you're conscious of what you're spending, you should be able to keep well within what you've budgeted. Have a great trip!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Originally posted by as90043
I posted this on another site, but thought I would try here also.
This is our, DS 12 an my first WDW trip. Planned spur of the moment in late March. I did pay for hotel and air, but I dipped into our trip fund to purchase pre-trip items, etc. Now I am looking at only having about $1200 to spend for 7 full days. My main concern is I have PS at Boma for out first day breakfast, The Plaza !st din, Rainforest AK din, Coral Reef lun, O'Hana din, San Angel Inn din, and Planet Hwd, since we are getting UPH and get $25 towards a dinner there.

Question to WDW vets, can I make it on this budget ? Should I cut back on some of our dinning ideas and eat at less expensive places ? I will also be renting a car so I would be able to eat off prop. I just don't want to feel worried about having enough cash with me, nor do I want to take any money out of other acct. I want this to be a great vacation for me and my son since this is going to be our first time there. Souveniers aren't really that big a deal with us, so I can but them on the charge if need arises. O.K. I am rambling now.
Thank you in advance for any info you can send my way.

Your $1200 breaks down to about $172 a day for 7 days. I think that is more than enough for the two of you since I've only budgeted $100 for DH and I on our next trip just for eating alone. We don't do souvees anymore, at least not for anyone else. I always pick me up something Tigger from the World of Disney, but it's a tradition and DH is okay with that.
Why don't you also visit DEB'S SITE to get an idea on what you'll be spending on food. She updates the menus regularly and they really are a big help.
I do hope I've helped.

Blessings,

Denise

 

[BRIANSMOM]

My son and I go everyother year to Disney. The first trip we stayed on site and had park hopper passes. We also did alot of Character meals and sit down meals. After the 1st couple of days we decided that the Character meals were all the same so we cut some of those out. The sit down meals were not what we expected so I would not do those again. We ate in the castle for supper and it was not that good, but at least we had the experience of eating at disney in the castle. I would not do all the meals, just to save money. I also found out that the menu for me, was more than I wanted to eat anyway and my son got the childrens menu and we could have gotten that anywhere. We also got to where we were sharing meals, back then he did not eat a lot. Since that trip I have found lots of ways to save money during the trip. I am a single/divorced mom of a 10 year old and we both love disney, so it is important for me to make the trip as cheap as possible. Now I have added one of his friends to our trips as of last year so going even cheaper helps. I have my son save his money through the year and that is what he buys his souveniors with. He doesn't spend that much when its his money. The past few times we went to disney we have stayed off site and since Magic Kingdom was our favorite we do not park hop, we buy a one day ticket and stay from opening until closing. We go to Universal, one of the parks for one day, and then we go to the beach, Kennedy Space Center and Daytona when we drive. When we fly, we do the sights around where we are staying and the parks. We have a great time just me and him and I hope he remembers it forever.

So if I were you I would do one Character Meal and maybe one sit down dinner. The best Character Meal we had was at Crystal Palace. As far as other restaurants for sit down meals, none that we did impressed me. Offsite we have eaten at the Racerock, Nascar Cafe, and did the Pirates Dinner Adventure. Those were all great and we have eaten at some of the Buffett Seafood Rest. Those were good too. Next month we will go for a little more than a week and visit all the places I mentioned. This time the only place I have on schedule to eat at is Joes Crab Shack. Not sure yet.
I know you and your son will have a great time that you will always remember.
Have Fun!

 

[MELSMICE]

$1200 should be more than enough for meals for 2 people for 7 days.

Someone said Boma is expensive - haven't tried it yet, but if you decide to try somewhere else for breakfast do the FW buffet at Pioneer Hall - the best value on property & great food!!!!! You can then get a boat over to the MK.

There are many chains offsite in the Crossroads area - there's Olive Garden, Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Chevy's, Pizza Hut. There is also a place called the Orlando Ale House, which has a very extensive menu, the food is great & the prices are reasonable. On our last trip we ate there 3X! We have never had a bad meal there.

Also wondering if your car is included in the $1200 budget?

 

[canwegosoon]

I'll second the FW breakfast / and the trail's end take out too.....great value. I was confused about your OP ....you are worried about 2 people eating 21 meals on $1200, no problem, you should come home with money. I know 12yo boys can eat a lot, but many of the meals are huge. I would just be sure to bring bottle water (I love the Brita Bottles) to keep hydrated, and cut down on the sodas. You could check out the menus at Allearsnet.com look for menus.

 

[as90043]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. No, the rental is not w/i
that budget. I will probably just have dessert at Coral Reef since neither are big on fish. San Angel Inn is actually a backup for Coral Reef because I'll be meeting friends and family @ Epcot that day and we think the kids will like the Coral Reef interior that I have heard so much about, but the menu is not highly regarded with them. I also read a recent review of SAI and it did not seem to fare too well either. So Epcot day might just turn out to be a snack around the world and dinner at another location.

I think we'll make out o.k. as long as I don't get carried away with buying souveniers and the like. I'm not very good when it comes to that!!! I will have to go around talking to myself to remind myself NOT TO BUY EVERYTHING I SEE...I can always use that as a excuse to go back, yeah, that sounds good. I'll say this was just a trial run, and that I need to plan my next trip once we return for a REAL vacation...
O.K. GOTTA GO TO START PLANNING NEXT TRIP