Budgeting for Trip question for newbie

[MNmama]

hi! We have our first WDW trip planned and booked for the end of may. Now we are trying to save for what else we need. Here is what we have so far.. any tips or what YOU would pay ???? I know everyone is different, and that is ok, i just like to see what others have or would paid so I can plan.

Rental Car = 160.00 from Hot wire
Booster for car 10/day = 60.00
Gas= 80.00 ( we are not doing alot of driving.. just to and from parks and maybe to the beach one day)

Tipping??? We have 5 sit down character meals included in the DDP. Do they give you a total of what it WOULD have been if paid oop and then you base your tip on that? Or what have others one?

BBB ( middle package plus tip)
Souveniors - we are not a huge suvenior family, but plan to get mouse ears and then let dd pick something fun out.

Anything extra before, during and after the trip.

So with that in mind.... what would YOU budget for all that??!! I have a total in mind, but jsut want to see how it relates to others who have been there done that.

Thanks so much!

 

[mariacj]

Tipping at restaurants: there is an entire thread on the restaurant board about tipping.

Suggestion go to the menus on wdwinfo add up what you would potentially order and multiply by .15, .18 and .20. I did this on a spreadsheet and added up all the different columns. I then budget for the .20 (20% tip) and then I know that in case we get fabulous service... we can tip well.

If I am not mistaken they do suggest tips at the bottom of the receipts... but I am not sure.

I actually have a spreadsheet that has everything... room, tickets, souvie money, travel money, food moneys for the days not on dining plan, la nouba, TGM, Photopass, and now I need to add drinking around the world... $200!!! Sigh but now I have it down to the dollar on what I need to budget.

I also have each month on their and keep track of money that I have set aside. (I need to do this to make sure that I know how much was my sister and brothers moneys they gave to me as we are a group of four. )

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

The tips suggestions are on the bottom of the receipt, but I prefer to know ahead of time and I will take envelopes, write the Restaurant name, ADR # (never know when you might need that), and put the tip money in there. I usually pay for the meal on my room key or gift card, but prefer to leave a cash tip. I keep the enelopes in the room safe and put them in my bag the night before.

I usually try to think ahead of the places where we want to eat and budget for food accordingly. Pretty easy with most of the CS places in the parks, because most meals are similar in price.

We drive down and gas is roughly $150 round trip.

We don't have children, but DH and I love to shop. We don't have a set souvenier amount, just spend within reason. I have to hit the Caramel shop in Epcot, so worth dropping some big bucks in, and DH likes to have a couple of beers in Germany.

We are considering going down the early part of April and I have figured that we can go for about $600, that includes, gas, food, and hotel, and we still have a ticket left from Dec. I am sure we wil have to add a little more for souveniers.

Suzanne

 

[msmama]

Are you staying on site? If so, I'd say dump the rental car and save $200.

(If you decide on the beach, just rent for a day).

Also, there tend to be A LOT of extra charges when it comes to rental cars. And if you're driving in Fl, you'll hit toll roads.

 

[disneysmiles]

You and your family will a fantastic time!!! I highly recommend making a Walmart stop at the beginning of the trip to pick up granola bars, fruit snacks, beef jerky to hold kids over wif the lines for quick stop food places get too long.

We made a trip report blog of our trip we look May 2010 where we listed all our expenses. Hope this helps!

www.ourcheapdisneyvacation.com/p/home.html

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Are you staying on site? If so, I'd say dump the rental car and save $200.

(If you decide on the beach, just rent for a day).

Also, there tend to be A LOT of extra charges when it comes to rental cars. And if you're driving in Fl, you'll hit toll roads.

I agree with this. I would also try to fit a backless booster in my suitcase somewhere so I didn't have to spend money to rent one. I would be tempted to give it away when I left, too, so I had more room in my suitcase for souvenirs.

You can get a rental at the Car Care Center and I think near the Swan/Dolphin Resorts, also.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Are you staying on site? If so, I'd say dump the rental car and save $200.

Ditto this! Staying on property is fabulous...and Disney does transportation well (IMHO at least). No need to rent a car if you're staying on property. That's part of the magic and fun for me really. Besides, at the end of a busy day would you rather be waiting to get our of a parking lot or be back to your room knowing you're not one of those peopel still stuck int the parking lot trying to get out? Not to mention, you'll go through way more gas than you think just driving to the parks or beach. Plus, with gas prices going up, that $80 might not be quite enough...especially if you're wanting to head to a beach.

(If you decide on the beach, just rent for a day).

Talk to the front desk when you check in if you do decide to do a beach day...they can point you in the right direction to rent a car for the day. I believe there is someone on property that you can rent from.

 

[Andreas Mom]

child safety seats check for free on all airlines so that would save you $60 right there. It would probably even be small enough for one of your carry ons or under the seat if you were not checking luggage.

 

[high meadows]

hi! We have our first WDW trip planned and booked for the end of may. Now we are trying to save for what else we need. Here is what we have so far.. any tips or what YOU would pay ???? I know everyone is different, and that is ok, i just like to see what others have or would paid so I can plan.

Rental Car = 160.00 from Hot wire
Booster for car 10/day = 60.00
Gas= 80.00 ( we are not doing alot of driving.. just to and from parks and maybe to the beach one day)

Tipping??? We have 5 sit down character meals included in the DDP. Do they give you a total of what it WOULD have been if paid oop and then you base your tip on that? Or what have others one?

BBB ( middle package plus tip)
Souveniors - we are not a huge suvenior family, but plan to get mouse ears and then let dd pick something fun out.

Anything extra before, during and after the trip.

So with that in mind.... what would YOU budget for all that??!! I have a total in mind, but jsut want to see how it relates to others who have been there done that.

Thanks so much!

There is so much to see and do at WDW, stay on property or close to property and save the time you would spend driving, parking, hiking through the parking lots, parking again . . . . you get it! At least for a first trip, you probably won't want to go outside the park much.
Enjoy this great trip!

 

[pooh98378]

I definitely agree with others about dumping the rental car. If you are staying on property, you can take the Disney Magical Express for free to/from the airport. (Make sure you sign up in advance.) Then, just use the Disney transportation when you are on property. Like others said, just rent a car for the day if you go to the beach, etc.

 

[cdnmomof2]

I definitely agree with what the others have said about saving yourself the cost and hassle of a rental car. We did our first trip last year, with two boys ages 4 & 7. We LOVED staying on-site, esp for the ease of getting around. We're not "bus" people, only meaning that in the small town that we live we rely exclusively on our own car and don't ever take public transportation in our regular lives. And with that being said, we LOVED the Disney shuttle buses. Super easy... just walked out of the front of the hotel, picked the corresponding bus for the park we wanted to get to and that was it, the next thing you know we were at the front door of the park. No walking a mile from a parking spot, no parking fees,etc. And then when you are exhausted from the park you just hop on the right bus, and you're home. No stress about driving in a strange city. I think they were even airconditioned.

But you may be worried about getting from the airport to the hotel in the first place. We skipped the airport bus and had pre-arranged a town car (with car seat) from FL tours. He was right there when we got off the plane. He also made a 15 minute grocery stop where I grabbed a few snacks and necessities for the week. What I paid for the town car, was easily offset by the savings on restaurant breakfasts vs. groceries. (think 33cent juice boxes vs. $3 park drinks.) Never mind the convenience of the personal car waiting.

The town car.... always my best tip and my best "splurge" on a trip.
We just did the Disney parks for the week on our first trip. No regrets. More than enough to do.

One more tip... pack light. Do laundry once at the hotel and save yourself luggage fees on the plane, and a the headache of overpacking. 1 hour for laundry can be a nice break.

With airfare, food, souveniers etc, I budget about $1000 per person.

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

My first thought was "why pay for a booster"? It seems like a big amount to spend on something that you can often buy for $15 new. I'd buy a new one to bring with and give it away on the final day. Your dd can sit in the booster on the plane, so yes, you'll carry it, but then you don't have to try and pack it.

And, I definitely second (or third or tenth) the "ditch the rental car" if you are staying on WDW property. You so won't need it! The Disney transportation is very good.

Along the same lines as the booster: A few years ago we were going with our dd4. I looked into renting a WDW stroller and figured out that it would be cheaper to buy a nice but not expensive stroller for the trip. My intention was to then "pay it forward" to another family without a stroller when we left, but over the course of the week, it became my favorite stroller! And, it didn't look like MANY of the other strollers! We never questioned which one was ours. (Not sure if you're bringing a stroller, but just an fyi).

Good luck!