Can a family of 4 do Disney for under 3K?

[roadtripper]

Requesting help from the Budget Board experts! I pride myself on helping people plan for a cheap Disney trip, but I am having trouble coming in under budget (3K) for this teacher friend. Can anyone see ways to cut without changing the basics here (ie not driving down, camping, or staying off site)? Any help is appreciated!

Travel in August--flexible dates up to August 22nd; 6 or 7 days
Flying from Central MA (PVD, BDL, MHT, ORH, BOS) to MCO
On site value accommodations

I am getting PVD/MCO direct flights on JetBlue: 912
6 day MYW from UCT (3AD, 1 CH) 1214
All Star Movies standard room 7 nights 753

I'm at 2879 and they haven't eaten anything yet! I guess I'm a spoiled AP/DVC person who hasn't had to do this kind of planning for a long time--suffering sticker shock on their behalf.

I recommended the SW Visa promotion (50K miles after spending 2K in the first 3 months) but this is their 'we paid off our debt' trip, so they don't trust getting another card right now.

I did recommend waiting for SW dates to open up to see if we can get cheaper flights.

Any other tricks I should be trying? TIA!

 

[hpfan100]

Is that rack rate at the value room (full price)? If so you can assume that a discount for room only ressies will come out for those dates. It's usually 10-12 percent off. Then if you book through a third party and use an offer code that could be another 15-20 percent off.

Keep watching those flight prices as they may come down too.
Happy bargain hunting!

 

[luvmikids]

Don't they do a free dining pin in late august?

 

[cheshireqt]

Have them register for the planning DVD through the disney site. They may get a pin as a result. Although I am confident there will be either a 30% off or Free Dining available in August to the general public. I have already received 3 different pins with August dates.
Big regret of mine is that I did not know what I was doing on our first trip and paid rack rate with zero discount and no dining plan DURING free dining dates. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Would add that you should rerun the numbers depending on what discount you get. Moderate stays may be more advantageous in terms of discount or in order to get the dining plan (vice quick service only dining plan).

 

[roadtripper]

Thanks everyone! I actually had a weird experience when I first went to check the WDW rack rates. The dining plans for Aug 13-19 at first came up as no extra charge (possibly due to pending free dining?), then they came up as extra when I got to the next screen. What a tease.

I will definitely have them send for the planning DVD--thanks for the tip!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

We stayed at All Star Music this past August and the rooms there as well as at Sports were $10/night cheaper than Movies. That may lower the total a little. Also, there will probably be a 15% discount in Aug. for the values.

 

[pinoke]

If the child is old enough for a YES class, that can save some on the tickets. It wouldn't then be possible to get a room discount or FD though. But it would help if the other discounts aren't an option..

 

[dunningdisney]

aaa room discount? aaa ticket discount?

 

[Marionnette]

Requesting help from the Budget Board experts! I pride myself on helping people plan for a cheap Disney trip, but I am having trouble coming in under budget (3K) for this teacher friend. Can anyone see ways to cut without changing the basics here (ie not driving down, camping, or staying off site)? Any help is appreciated!

Travel in August--flexible dates up to August 22nd; 6 or 7 days
Flying from Central MA (PVD, BDL, MHT, ORH, BOS) to MCO
On site value accommodations

I am getting PVD/MCO direct flights on JetBlue: 912
6 day MYW from UCT (3AD, 1 CH) 1214
All Star Movies standard room 7 nights 753

I'm at 2879 and they haven't eaten anything yet! I guess I'm a spoiled AP/DVC person who hasn't had to do this kind of planning for a long time--suffering sticker shock on their behalf.

I recommended the SW Visa promotion (50K miles after spending 2K in the first 3 months) but this is their 'we paid off our debt' trip, so they don't trust getting another card right now.

I did recommend waiting for SW dates to open up to see if we can get cheaper flights.

Any other tricks I should be trying? TIA!

1. Drive instead of fly. It will add an additional day to each end of the trip and require an overnight stay at a hotel along the way. Alternatively, they can wait to see if airfare comes down. There are fare predictors on websites like Bing travel and kayak. They can help you decide when to pull the trigger on tickets.

2. Check to see if they can get reduced tickets through work. The rates that my brother gets blows UT away. Alternatively, go thru ebates and purchase tickets from Orbitz. Ebates offers 10% cash back per "activity reservation" and Disney tickets fall in that category. The ticket prices themselves are very close to UT's prices.

3. Stay offsite. It is usually much cheaper than the onsite resorts. If staying onsite is an absolute must-do, then wait until discounts for the late summer are announced. Room-only discounts for the value resorts will probably run in the 10%-15% range. Value season for the Value Resorts will be Aug. 2 - Sept. 12.

This will save your friend a few hundred dollars. It won't feed a family of 4 for a week but it will help bring the budget closer to $3K.