Budgeters ~ How Do You Afford a Disney Vacation?

[Carol97]

I've been to Disney twice in the last 10 years. Both times, my dh and I stayed at the WDW Value Resorts which cost about $99/night. When we went 2 years ago, we took our dd, age 3 at the time and decided to fly because it would take us 14 hours to drive (and that's with not stopping much!)

We are wanting to plan another trip in October 2012 but want to try and stay on a reasonable budget. This is going to be hard to do though with the cost of fuel, airfare, and food cost increasing. And, I've heard ticket prices have went up too.

My question is: What do you do to be able to afford the trip at a reasonable price? Are there any reward programs or ways of saving on park tickets or airfare tickets? Both times we've been, we stayed at the Value Resorts? Is it more affordable to stay off site at a hotel? If so, where do you stay? Did you book your hotel and purchase your park tickets from the WDW website or use a travel agency?

Thank you in advance for your responses!!!! I used this board obsessively for our last trip and had the most wonderful vacation ~ It was the perfect vacation thanks to all who helped me do my planning!!!!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

There are numerous hotels in Kissimmee (about 15 minutes from WDW) for much less than even a value resort. Many places are a little older, but they are safe and meet the need for a place to shower and sleep.

We eat cereal in our room for breakfast and do a counter service lunch. We bring food, snacks, and drinks inside the park. For dinner we either do another CS meal, or we eat out in Kissimmee.

If you can afford to take a little extra vacation time you could drive and save a bunch of money and also have your own car while in WDW.

The you might save a little here or there on tickets, but if you can keep the transportation and lodging bill low, it is really quite tolerable.

We have a credit card that pays us 2 percent on every single thing we buy. That also helps us save for our trips.

 

[disneydeal]

I'd check out sw airlines CC we're flying free after first purchase saving 700+ on airfare.. it's worth a glance... also you can get room only discounts that could be 30% off during curtain times.

 

[brymolmom]

If you drive (I WISH I was 14 hours away - you can get it all done in one day) and stay offsite, I would guess that you could likely go for LESS then when you flew down there. Here's an approximate budget for you:
Gas (guessing): $300
Offsite hotel with breakfast included and frig: $500
Groceries for room: $100 (includes drinks, snacks and a few lunches to bring onsite)
Onsite counter service: $200
Onsite sit downs (2 character meals): $200
Offsite dinners - 3 (Olive Garden, pizza pick-up, McDonald's):$150
Tickets: $780
parking: $105
TOTAL= about $2300

Doable, right??

You could stay onsite during free dining if possible - and it might end up being just as inexpensive (costs more for room - but less for food).

 

[laurafergie]

I just priced out if you went during free dining, with a 5 year old, 6 nights at ASM Is $1417.59
Gas (I increased it) 400
Cheap motel twice 100
Misc Food on the road 100

Total of 2017.59

You could cut further, staying offsite, etc

 

[Marionnette]

I've been to Disney twice in the last 10 years. Both times, my dh and I stayed at the WDW Value Resorts which cost about $99/night. When we went 2 years ago, we took our dd, age 3 at the time and decided to fly because it would take us 14 hours to drive (and that's with not stopping much!)

We are wanting to plan another trip in October 2012 but want to try and stay on a reasonable budget. This is going to be hard to do though with the cost of fuel, airfare, and food cost increasing. And, I've heard ticket prices have went up too.

My question is: What do you do to be able to afford the trip at a reasonable price? Are there any reward programs or ways of saving on park tickets or airfare tickets? Both times we've been, we stayed at the Value Resorts? Is it more affordable to stay off site at a hotel? If so, where do you stay? Did you book your hotel and purchase your park tickets from the WDW website or use a travel agency?

Thank you in advance for your responses!!!! I used this board obsessively for our last trip and had the most wonderful vacation ~ It was the perfect vacation thanks to all who helped me do my planning!!!!

What do you do to be able to afford the trip at a reasonable price?
Planning! Watching for every possible discount and jumping on it when the opportunity presents itself. That would include being willing to travel off-season or staying at my second-choice resort. If your child has a sports competition, or you belong to a professional organization or if you have a special interest that would hold a convention anywhere, check to see if they have anything going on at Disney. You can snag some pretty good room rates by doing this.

Are there any reward programs
Check quickrewards and sunshine for Disney gift cards, ebates for cash rebates and mypoints for restaurant GCs and Walmart GCs.

or ways of saving on park tickets
Sign up for the mousesavers.com newsletter and follow the link in it to discounted tickets at Undercovertourist. Check with human resources where you work to see if they have discounted tickets. AAA and the Entertainment Book also offer discounts. Consider doing a timeshare presentation for cheap or free passes. If you know a CM, they might be able to get some of your family into the park for free.

or airfare tickets?
Rewards credit cards where you can use your points to purchase airfare on any airline at any time. There are several out there but it could be debated all night as to which one is the best. We have the SWA Visa and it works for us when we want to travel domestically. We have a different card for when we want to travel internationally.

After saying all of that, I have to add that you're not going to make much on rewards programs or credit cards if you don't spend a lot. It can take over 6000 points to get a single, one-way ticket on SWA. That's the equivalent of $6000 in regular spending on the card. It takes $10,000 in spending on the Disney Visa to get $100 in Disney Dream Dollars. The rewards certainly help, but they are not going to pay the majority of your costs.

 

[Shagley]

Here is how I keep my trips affordable...

Plan my trips around the free dining offers (currently offered from Aug 25 - Sept 29) - this isn't always the best deal for everyone, but since I love the Value Resorts, it is a great deal for me.

Take advantage of Disney transportation instead of renting a car (this requires flying into MCO instead of other area airports, but it saves in transportation costs)

Take breakfast foods to eat in room. That way I don't spend any extra money out of pocket for food.

I don't buy many souvenirs, so that isn't a big expense for me

I always fly because I usually only go for 1 week, so I don't want to waste 2+ days of my trip being in the car. Also, if there are only 2 or 3 of us going, flying really doesn't cost much more than driving would.

 

[Belle599]

Hello fellow budgeters,
I incorporate vacation expenses, including WDW vacations into our household monthly budget. Our budget includes the following categories:

Grocery - 7%
Gas - 3%
Home Improvements/Furnishings/Decor - 9%
Mortgage/Utilities/Cable/Internet/Cell - 26%
Gifts - 1%
Beauty - 2%
Clothing - 7%
Entertainment/Restaurant - 2%
Car Repairs/Insurance - 4%
Vacation - 8%
Retirement Savings - 12%
Savings for next car - 8%
General/Rainy Day Savings - 11%

The total of all our monthly budgeted amounts is the total after-income earnings from our household. I have also included the relevant percentages that work for us.

By having a monthly set amount for Vacation, this monthly amount accumulates and carries forward each month. Once we have a sufficient amount accumulated, we go on a vacation.

I also go on short solo trips to WDW and this is funded by under-budget accumulations in the Beauty, Clothing and Grocery categories.

I have found that our household budget is most effective when the budgeted amounts are realistic and a bit generous, in case of the unexpected.


I truly hope that this helps someone! If you have questions please do not hesitate to ask!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

One way to save a big chunk of money is to stay off site at a resort that has free breakfast. We stayed at the Quality Suites Lake Beuna Vista which is about a 10 or 15 minute drive from WDW and about a 10 minute drive to US/IOA. It sleeps up to 6 and has a living room, bedroom and a full kitchen (no oven) If you sign up to be on their CHoice privileges member program (free to join) you get a much better rate on the rooms. You can get the one bedroom that sleeps 6 for between 75 and 95 a night in off peak times. They also have a 2 bedroom that sleeps 8 for around $130 a night.

That price includes a FREE HOT breakfast buffet in the mornings that includes Eggs, Sausage, Waffles and continental breakfast options like muffins and cereal.

There is a CiCis pizza on the same road as the hotel and you can take the family there for dinner for 6 per person buffet and drink. Cheap eats.

We take in our own drinks and snacks in a backpack I have that has an insulated cooler pouch built into the backpack to keep drinks cold all day. We each take one or two snacks in that we bought from our arrival day trip to walmart.

How we pay for it is mainly my husband's mid year and end of year bonuses.



I make a little side money myself and I usually pitch in about 30-40% of the cost of the trip so he usually just ends up having to pay a little over half the cost.

Our October 10 day 5 family members on site trip cost us around 7k.

My DH and I's January trip for 6 days with no kids with tickets, food and room was only about $1500 but we drove. That included AP's to SW and IOA.

link to the resort http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-orl...&nchild3=&nadult4=&nchild4=&nadult5=&nchild5=

 

[kvnchapman]

I've been to Disney twice in the last 10 years. Both times, my dh and I stayed at the WDW Value Resorts which cost about $99/night. When we went 2 years ago, we took our dd, age 3 at the time and decided to fly because it would take us 14 hours to drive (and that's with not stopping much!)

We are wanting to plan another trip in October 2012 but want to try and stay on a reasonable budget. This is going to be hard to do though with the cost of fuel, airfare, and food cost increasing. And, I've heard ticket prices have went up too.

My question is: What do you do to be able to afford the trip at a reasonable price? Are there any reward programs or ways of saving on park tickets or airfare tickets? Both times we've been, we stayed at the Value Resorts? Is it more affordable to stay off site at a hotel? If so, where do you stay? Did you book your hotel and purchase your park tickets from the WDW website or use a travel agency?

Thank you in advance for your responses!!!! I used this board obsessively for our last trip and had the most wonderful vacation ~ It was the perfect vacation thanks to all who helped me do my planning!!!!

i LOVE budgeting!! I'm kinda nerdy that way...
Assuming you want to stay for 1 week -
If your daughter is over 5, do the YES Program. Cool experience for her (3 hour behind the scenes educational opportunity) and BIG ticket discounts for all of you. Example = $200 per person for week's worth with hoppers ($600 total)
Lodging - 2BR/2BA villa at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (nextdoor to WDW's Caribbean Beach Resort), including free shuttle = $650-$675
All food except 3 special meals either eaten in villa's kitchen or packed in villa and brought to park = $0 (you would have had to buy the food at home anyway)
3 special meals and park treats = $250 total
waters and snacks = $0 (brought into park from villa)
You can skip the more expensive MNSSHP and opt for the Fort Wilderness Haunted Carriage Ride instead, then watch the Electrical Water Pageant anf fireworks from Fort's beach - $60 total
Souvenirs at your discretion (?$)
And either fly and airport transfers MCO= $ 1300 OR Drive with 2 nights in hotel ($600)
Total with flying - $2885
Total with driving - $2185

If you chose a less expensive YES ticket option, you would save about $150 total.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

We have 4 kids. We can't afford to fly. It's about an 18-hour drive that we do in 2 legs. We are DVC members. But this June we are going with only 3 kids (oldest is graduating and too busy this summer). We have enough DVC points for 5 nights in a 1-bedroom at OKW. But we are also doing 4 nights off site in a 3-bedroom condo at Windsor Hills. Less than $100/night!!! We also enroll our kids in the Disney Y.E.S. classes for SIGNIFICANT discount on park tickets!! Since we always have a kitchen, we do the majority of our meals in the villa/condo. Now, I don't do actual COOKING because I AM on vacation, after all. We usually hit up Costco for "ready to bake" type things, Panera for bagels for breakfasts, etc.

 

[ChisJo]

We fly from western Canada, and are lucky if we can get flights under $400 return (right now they are $600 return!), and driving is not an option for us. We save save save and save some more. We watch prices like a hawk. We buy all of our tickets before hand to help save some money for that (with undercovertourist.com). We budget for EVERYTHING, and purchase as much as we can before we go. We rent condos off property, eat in the condo or off property as much as possible, use our points for as much as we can. For our next trip, we are planning on eating in as much as we can. We check out restaurant.com before we go and we will use those for our nights out. Bring snacks to the park....the snacks in the parks are rudely overpriced. When we are ready for a break, usually around 1-2pm, we leave the park and head back to our condo and have lunch, take a swim, and will head back around 5-6pm. We will have a smaller supper when we return around 9pm. If we plan on staying for fireworks, we will go back later in the evening and have supper prior to going to the parks.

I have lately been watching dealgator for any groupon like deals that come out. I wish we could go more often, but we try to go every 2 years, and we start saving for the next one as soon as we get home, about $100 biweekly.

We rarely use our credit cards, so point cards don't work for us that way. But, we keep a tally of all of our purchases that are wants that we decided not to buy and we add that to our vacation fund...ie: today, I decided that I didn't need another pair of really pretty black shoes that were $50, so I put that instead to a vacation fund.

We are trying not to give into impulse shopping....yes, those cute little Mickey ornaments are awesome and they would look great in your house, but is it a need or a want??? We have Mickey ears from Disneyland and Disneyworld that are collecting dust in our house right now....I wish I wouldn't have bought them - this doesn't work for everyone, but just saying, if you have a souvenir budget, you might not buy stuff that is just going to collect dust when you get back. Also, before you buy anything in the World, make sure to check out the outlet store in the Outlet mall. They always have something that is nice for a fraction of the price.

If you are in the Auto club, make sure you check out what their discounts are in the Orlando area as well. For example, with a AAA card, you save 10% off anything and everything in Universal Studios (includes food and souvenirs).

There is a way to do trips for less - you just have to find what works for you and your family. I personally believe that if you have a plan and have a budget, most trips are affordable.

We also stick to a very stringent budget at home. We go without so that we can enjoy later. We do this because vacations to us are more important than other stuff or wants. Because we follow this budget, we are able to go on vacation 3-4 times a year, and to Disney every other year.

 

[2disneyboys]

Like other posters, our monthly budget as a category for vacations. We save up enough, and then we book something somewhere. I will say, for us, wdw trips are a better value then other trips. We can go to wdw cheaper then lots of other places. (our upcoming week in dc for spring break is a prime example of that!). Our last 2 trips to wdw cost approx 1500 each. Hotel alone and daily metro cards for the 4 of us in dc for a week over spring break is already at $1300. We still have to add in transportation and food. We don't budget for suvies kids earn money throughout the year and buy their own souvineers.

We are willing to give up stuff at home throughout the year to cover vacations. It works for us.

 

[Nayan]

I would drive, especially if you plan on staying offsite. Otherwise you'd have to both rely on the hotels transportation to the parks and cabs to get around to anywhere else. You could always rent a car but I would think that the cost of airfare plus the rental you'd either break even or spend a bit more.

 

[vivianmarie244]

Save!!! Seriously, we have $40 a month that we don't even see. Goes straight into our vacation savings account. I went ahead and did a spreadsheet of expected costs for the trip. Then figured out how many months between now and the vacation. Then figured out how much we needed to save a month to meet that budget. And I grossly overestimated the costs so we should have more than enough.

I also plan on getting our tickets through the mousesavers link to undercover tourist. Should save some money. Then I'm closely watching the ticket prices for our airlines. Our hotel is through our timeshare so that is already paid for.

I want to be able to go and enjoy without having to worry the whole trip about how much we are spending. It works for us!

 

[dhardawa]

Here are a few things I do.

1. I only go during free dining. Yeah, that means I have to pay the full rate for the room, but when you're staying at a value, the free dining is way better than the $20 - $30 a night a percentage off would gain you.

2. I stay onsite. I find the value resort to be cheaper than offsite because I don't have to rent a car from the airport, pay for gas when driving around Orlando, pay parking, etc.

3. I sign up for the Southwest Visa when they are offering good promotions. My daughter and I flew to Orlando last November for a total of $10 (some 911 fee that isn't included in their free tickets).

4. I only go off season. Not only is the weather usually better, the crowds are low, and it is cheaper.

5. I have a case of water delivered to the resort before I get there. This saves on buying drinks in the park and it is also just nice to have some water in the room.

6. I look for Disney gift card deals to pay off the trip. I just signed up for the Target Red Card the other day and have been buying gift cards there to save 5%. It isn't much, but on a $3,000 trip, that is $150 saved. Last time, I bought the gift cards from Sam's that had the $10 bonus Disney Store gift cards attached, but those aren't around anymore.

To actually save for the trip, I go into super saver mode! I'm there right now. I tend to spend a lot of money on things I don't need. I am also horrible about running somewhere like Target because I'm bored and leaving with $50 worth of "stuff". Is this stuff I need? Unlikely. I'm also really bad about buying things on Amazon at work because I'm bored and they are a good deal. Some of these are things I need (I bought Underjams the other day), but the vast majority are things that I just buy on impulse. So, I stop and ask myself, "Do I really need this or would I rather put that $XX.XX toward Disney?" That vast majority of the time, I don't really need what I'm buying.

 

[punkin]

Hello fellow budgeters,
I incorporate vacation expenses, including WDW vacations into our household monthly budget. Our budget includes the following categories:

Grocery - 7%
Gas - 3%
Home Improvements/Furnishings/Decor - 9%
Mortgage/Utilities/Cable/Internet/Cell - 26%
Gifts - 1%
Beauty - 2%
Clothing - 7%
Entertainment/Restaurant - 2%
Car Repairs/Insurance - 4%
Vacation - 8%
Retirement Savings - 12%
Savings for next car - 8%
General/Rainy Day Savings - 11%

The total of all our monthly budgeted amounts is the total after-income earnings from our household. I have also included the relevant percentages that work for us.

By having a monthly set amount for Vacation, this monthly amount accumulates and carries forward each month. Once we have a sufficient amount accumulated, we go on a vacation.

I also go on short solo trips to WDW and this is funded by under-budget accumulations in the Beauty, Clothing and Grocery categories.

I have found that our household budget is most effective when the budgeted amounts are realistic and a bit generous, in case of the unexpected.


I truly hope that this helps someone! If you have questions please do not hesitate to ask!

This is what we do. Sometimes, if I manage to get a great deal, we have money to roll over into our next vacation. Sometimes, when an emergency comes up, our budget is cut, but so far, we've been able to take vacations on a regular basis.

I do have to say that DH makes a comfortable (though not extravagant) living, so there is room to save for vacations.

 

[KELLY]

We stay in a value and go during FD dates. Airfare is our biggest budget buster. Last year we got 4 round trip tickets for 600.00. This year it was 1076.00. Here is our breakdown of our trip for August. Our trip is for 11 days.

Pop Century standard room for 9 nights with the free qsdp 7 day MYW with WP&M option
2322.00
POP Century Room only for 1 night before FD beginings 100.00
Airfare for 4 non stop southwest 1076.00 no bag or seat fees

Total for the trip 3498.00

We will bring a 1000.00 with us but we usually only spend around 600.00 of that more than likely. My kids will have some gift cards by then. We are also paying for 2 adr's OP.

 

[ReneeA]

Here are a few things I do.

1. I only go during free dining. Yeah, that means I have to pay the full rate for the room, but when you're staying at a value, the free dining is way better than the $20 - $30 a night a percentage off would gain you.

2. I stay onsite. I find the value resort to be cheaper than offsite because I don't have to rent a car from the airport, pay for gas when driving around Orlando, pay parking, etc.

3. I sign up for the Southwest Visa when they are offering good promotions. My daughter and I flew to Orlando last November for a total of $10 (some 911 fee that isn't included in their free tickets).

4. I only go off season. Not only is the weather usually better, the crowds are low, and it is cheaper.

5. I have a case of water delivered to the resort before I get there. This saves on buying drinks in the park and it is also just nice to have some water in the room.

6. I look for Disney gift card deals to pay off the trip. I just signed up for the Target Red Card the other day and have been buying gift cards there to save 5%. It isn't much, but on a $3,000 trip, that is $150 saved. Last time, I bought the gift cards from Sam's that had the $10 bonus Disney Store gift cards attached, but those aren't around anymore.

To actually save for the trip, I go into super saver mode! I'm there right now. I tend to spend a lot of money on things I don't need. I am also horrible about running somewhere like Target because I'm bored and leaving with $50 worth of "stuff". Is this stuff I need? Unlikely. I'm also really bad about buying things on Amazon at work because I'm bored and they are a good deal. Some of these are things I need (I bought Underjams the other day), but the vast majority are things that I just buy on impulse. So, I stop and ask myself, "Do I really need this or would I rather put that $XX.XX toward Disney?" That vast majority of the time, I don't really need what I'm buying.

This is almost to a tee what I do to save as well. Only go during free dining - I've ran the numbers a thousand times...that's the best discount code for our family to stay onsite. Next year, I am considering driving, staying offsite, and buying YES tickets in order to save some $$ and do Universal Studios to make it a different sort of trip.

We fly Spirit, and it's best to book them 3-4 months prior to the trip (prices are lowest then) and watch for a discount code to apply. We've never paid more than $575 round trip for the 4 of us to fly by watching the sales. We have a 19 hour drive, so it's about the same price (or cheaper!) to fly if you can get that kind of price.

I ship water in from Costco (don't have to be a member to buy from their website). It cost me $10 for 2 cases of water for our last trip. I also buy granola/breakfast items on sale, take them out of the boxes and put it in large ziploc bags...easier to pack, and the ziplocs come in handy for wet clothes, etc later in the trip.

I cut way back on the trips to Target/Meijer. I don't buy unneccessaries like I normally would. I started packing my lunch again for work and brewing my coffee at home (normally I spend $25 a week or so on food, etc at work). We normally go out to eat once a week (~$40), and I cut back on that. I have an extra savings account and every week that I cut back, I estimate the amount I've saved and transfer that much into that account. I can't access it via any card, etc...I have to go online to get it, so no easy access.

I know this doesn't work for everyone, but I work three 12 hour shifts a week (full time) as a RN. We are normally super short handed and it's easy to pick up OT. I schedule myself for an extra 8 hour shift almost every week in order to pile up some OT dollars. I do it either at night, or a 7-3 shift when kids are in school, so no one even misses me. Any extra $$ in my check also goes into that vacation account. If DH's check is more than usual, that money goes into the extra account.

 

[pershing]

If you're like me and flying is important (4 teenage boys this time-so not driving from Massachusetts to Florida with them), yes Southwest Visa but just as important is checking SW travel tools area to see what day they extend their schedule to include your dates. Then, being up at 5am or so in the morning on that day to book the second they open (can you say refresh). If flights go down in price, you can rebook for free with a SW credit. However, if you're from an area like mine that all goes on vacation the same week. You know they are not going down.

If you're children are young enough to take out of school, off peak WDW times are much cheaper. (Jan, Sep, first 2 weeks of Dec)

If you're renting a car, make a good priced reservation but keep checking for the cheapest rate and codes, right up until your vacation. Rebook, rebook, rebook! Even then, I check "name you own price" priceline at the last moment to see if I can get a better deal. (betterbidding or biddingfortravel dot com for help with that)

If on-site Disney Hotel is important to you (it is to us), try renting from a DVC owner. Interesting fact, there is no 13% Florida taxes added to renting DVC points like staying at a hotel would have-that saves alot! First read DVC Rent/Trade FAQ's thread. We've rented Animal Kingdom Villas Value Studio Jambo (cheapest DVC-parking lot view) for cheaper than what it would have cost for a value resort like All Star Sports. And we have a kitchenette with mini fridge, microwave, toaster etc. (You also get Magical Express for free and the ability to add Quick Service or Disney Dining Plan to a DVC rental-the latter I don't feel is a good deal unless you have a 'Let's eat here in the Park' Spouse.)

Other than that, I do what everyone else has already said:

1)Bring dry good for breakfast, sandwiches and snacks. (PB&J)
2)Buy drinks etc. grocery stop from airport to WDW.
3)Bring both those in the park. (Backpack!)
4)Eat dinner off-site at cheap eats ie Steak and Shake.
5)Don't buy souvenirs-bring the ones from prev. trips back.
6)Buy tickets before December or August if going later 'cause Disney tends to raise ticket prices then.

I'm a moderate couponer. The food bill is the easiest bill to lower in order to save $. I coupon instead of watching TV at night. (We turned off cable and kept Netflix) I visit coupon websites for match-ups in my area's grocery stores (Stop and SHop, Shaws) ie: Maven of Savin, For the Mommas, Couponing101. When I get cereal bars, cereal and other snacks for free or under $1 with coupons, I put in my WDW stockpile.

I also do swagbucks for Amazon GC's which I flip for restaurant GC's, and mypoints for same reason.

Honestly, I can't handle also doing Sunshine Rewards and Quickrewards on top of that. I tried, but had to give it up. Ebates and I never jelled either.

Hope this helps! Extreme WDW Vacation Planning is at epidemic proportions on these disboards. You need take all these ideas and do what works for you and your schedule.