Can it be done?

[dkal95]

We were so excited for our trip and then the ball dropped.

DH's job was outsourced to India.

So here's our situation. We are going to be at CBR from 10/1-10/8, those going are: Me, DH, DD(6) and DD(17 months at the time).

Thankfully our plane tickets are paid for, our resort and hopper passes are paid for, we got the princess add on so that will cover 1 breakfast, and I have money put away for our rental car.

The problem is, I had only managed to save $1000 for food and any "extras" on the trip (souvenirs, tips, gas etc...)

Can we do it on $1000?

Help!

 

[robinb]

Oh, yes. You can do it on $1000 for 7 days if your airfare, passes and car rental are already paid for!

You may want to cut a few more corners since your DH may be out of a job by the time you go to WDW. Here are some suggestions:

* At rack rates you can save $45 per night by staying at a Value resort instead of a Moderate. As this is your first family trip, you won't miss being at the nicer resort.

* Rent a smaller car if you have a bigger one reserved or perhaps even skip the car and book a limo service instead. Make sure to have a grocery stop to pick up breakfast items, snacks and diapers on the way to your resort. Bring a cooler or just buy a styrofoam one when you get there.

* Schedule one or two character meals and do counter service or food court for the remaining. Pack in PB&J sandwiches for your older DD. If you have a car, plan on a couple of off-site meals to save $$.

It's a good thing you're such a good planner! I'm glad that so much is already paid for.

 

[pamluvsdisney]

If I am understanding you correctly, the $1000 is for mainly food and souveniors.

I think you can definitely do it!! A lot of people budget about $100/day for food for a family of 4. I think you can get by on a lot less. Eat breakfast in your room if you can bring snacks from home...take snacks and drinks to the parks. That will bring your food budget way down if you want to. Check out the menus with prices on Deb's site. I think it is wdwig.com maybe someone else can do a link...I don't know how.

Don't worry. You can do it! Enjoy!

 

[minnie1928]

Many of the airlines have decreased their prices in the past week, you may luck out and your flight prices may have fallen. This happened to me around April/May. I had already paid for tickets when SWA reduced their fares, so I called and got a $300 credit issued to my credit card.

Never hurts to look, Good Luck!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Yes, you should be able to buy food and souvenirs with $1000. We did the same (2 adults, then 8yo DD). I budgeted $100/day for meals and whatever was leftover carried over to the following day. We bought souvenirs at each park, but kept to a minimum. I think I allowed $25 total per day for gifts, again carrying over remaining balances to the following day or reducing the next day if we went over the budget.

Go to www.allearsnet.com and follow the Dining links. You will find menus for almost every establishment within WDW and then get a feel for how much meals will cost. Chances are you and DD8 could share meals (unless either of you has a big appetite). You can probably get by with two meals a day if you bring snacks or have breakfast in your room.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

$1000 should be plenty unless you plan to eat at incredibly expensive places and buy tons of souveniers.

minnie1928, not all airlines will issue the credit back to your credit card when fares decrease. Some airlines issue you a credit (in the form of a voucher) to use on a future flight.

 

[castleri]

Consider geting the trial membership to Hotwire Savings Club and buying a few of the quick and casual food vouchers. You can get some very good meals at beaches and cream or the pepper market at Coronado Springs as well as other locastions for about $12 per adult. Depending on how you use them you might be able to feed everyone with just 2 a meal plus the extra beverages for you older DD. Check out the thread at the beginning of this board about vouchers. With a car you also have the option of going out to the Crossroads area or along 192 for some meals. Buy a cheap cooler and get breakfast items at one of the local Publix or Super WalMarts. We have saved a lot that way and put the money not spent on breakfasts towards one or two nice meals a trip. Hope you have a super trip. You can definitely do it on what you are planning if you don't want to eat at all the fancy places. Hope it all works out for you and that your family has a great trip.

 

[cart-mom]

Welcome to the Dis dkal95!

You can definately do $1000 for a family of 4. If you do everything suggested - you'll have money to bring home. I'm coming down next month and staying at the Poly with DH, DS-9,DD-6,DS-4,DS-2 and that's all we're bringing.

We do breakfast in the room, dinner off site or late lunch then snacks instead of dinner (it's vacation!), pack your own water bottles and during the heat of the afternoon - splurge on a frozen lemonade. It's worth every penny!

Also, with Disney having an end of summer sale now - you might want to buy some stuff now and hide it away for your trip as a surprise.

 

[brivers222]

That REALLY sucks, I am very sorry. My company started doing that also. I have been such a stickler pointing out how bad India was and the quality of work they do is DIRECTLY related to the low pay the get, that our company decided to do more of the work in house instead of sending it over there. They still send it over there, but more and more is being kept in the USA!

You should be alright on $1000 for the week. Just try not to go overboard with the extras you may not need... especially those there sound good at the time but then end up pushed in the closet when you get home.

Originally posted by dkal95
We were so excited for our trip and then the ball dropped.

DH's job was outsourced to India.

So here's our situation. We are going to be at CBR from 10/1-10/8, those going are: Me, DH, DD(6) and DD(17 months at the time).

Thankfully our plane tickets are paid for, our resort and hopper passes are paid for, we got the princess add on so that will cover 1 breakfast, and I have money put away for our rental car.

The problem is, I had only managed to save $1000 for food and any "extras" on the trip (souvenirs, tips, gas etc...)

Can we do it on $1000?

Help!

 

[Leader of the Club]

Share meals! You will save a fortune just by sharing counter service meals. DH, DD 15, DS 7 and myself are always more than satisfied with 2 meals and just ask for extra cups to split the drinks. There is always more soda than we can drink anyhow.

We always purchase the Quick and Casual meal vouchers. They are good for an entree, side dish, dessert and drink.

Eat breakfast in your room. Donuts, danish, bagels, granola bars, cereal, fruit, yogurt, juice, milk. We bought bottles of water and Gatoraid to take into the park. We packed snack crackers, PBJ's and chips for snacking.

Your 6 y/o will want everything she sees. We always wait on those impulse "wants" and they end up not really wanting the item after all.

Oh, and don't forget to bring sunscreen, hats, diapers, film and batteries from home. That stuff will cost you $1000 in the parks! If you will need to do laundry while you are there, remember to pack zippy-bags with your laundry powder and dryer sheets.

Don't forget those "hidden" costs. Airport parking, airport food during your layover (we packed sandwiches!), tips, tolls.

What else, guys?

We went for 10 days in March with $800 and only spent $600. (DD had $125 of her own $$$).

 

[samsid99]

You can def. do it!!!!

We just returned from a 9 day trip. I had 300 in cash, 8 quick and casual meal vouchers, and charged 2 character meals one at cindy's castle for breakfast(50) and then the HOop (100), charged one e ride night, and 100 in souvenirs, and 40 dollars in splash mountain pictures and rockin roller coaster pictures. We also did breakfast in room, and pack snacks for park. It was so hot you will find that you don't eat as often as you think. We ate two meals off site, friendly's and pizza hut. And came home with 40 cash and 2 left over vouchers. have a great time

 

[tweetylori]

I agree...you can do it, no problem. One thing I always did with my small children before a vacation was give them (or tell them) how much they had for souveniers. When it's their decision how to spend their money, they don't spend it nearly as fast, and it eliminates the whining factor.