Celebrating my Un-Birthday Disney Style-April 2010-New 5/3 - The TR has started!

[mrsksomeday]

I enjoy your "looking back" pictures. The squirrel attack pictures are frightening yet make me smile .

We still haven't done the HDDR, I don't really know why either. It was great to have memories of "driving" the monorail since that isn't done anymore.

The boys are so handsome and getting so big. I can't wait to read more!

 

[MRYPPNS]

All caught up! Did anyone answer your valet parking question? In my experience that don't really care how long you are there if you are valet parking....

 

[DisMomAmy]

I enjoy your "looking back" pictures. The squirrel attack pictures are frightening yet make me smile .

We still haven't done the HDDR, I don't really know why either. It was great to have memories of "driving" the monorail since that isn't done anymore.

The boys are so handsome and getting so big. I can't wait to read more!

Thanks Tracy! I'm a little sad that we are skipping HDDR this year after originally planning to do it, but I'm happy with our ADRs & our schedule for this year.

All caught up! Did anyone answer your valet parking question? In my experience that don't really care how long you are there if you are valet parking....

Thanks Heidi! Jordan seemed to think we'd be OK parking at CR for the evening, but hearing it from a second person makes me feel even better about it!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

When you break down a trip individually the costs don't seem that high but when you add everything together-the price can be astounding. I think that price is pretty accurate with a family. We are going in October, just DH and I, and our total is $3200 (keeping fingers crossed for FD or a Room Discount to come out) with the basic dining plan. We are planning more TS meals than given and are going to pay OOP for them. We figure our trip come in right around $3500 after a discount is applied. I'm looking forward to your food budget! I love number crunching!

 

[DisMomAmy]

When you break down a trip individually the costs don't seem that high but when you add everything together-the price can be astounding. I think that price is pretty accurate with a family. We are going in October, just DH and I, and our total is $3200 (keeping fingers crossed for FD or a Room Discount to come out) with the basic dining plan. We are planning more TS meals than given and are going to pay OOP for them. We figure our trip come in right around $3500 after a discount is applied. I'm looking forward to your food budget! I love number crunching!

Over $5000 seems like so much money, but I agree, when you break it down it doesn't seem so bad. Having some of the big things, like airfare & lodging, paid for ahead of time helps too. And this year we actually have real money set aside to pay for most of the other stuff.

I'm glad you like to crunch numbers - I'm going to need help! I usually like to crunch too, but all the variables that come along with the food budget make my head spin!

 

[Happydog]

It is interesting to really contemplate what the cost for food really is if you pay OOP. I think so many of us just do dining b/c it has made sense (mostly) with what you get, but that is really deceiving since in "real life" you might not rack up that kind of bill anyway in all cases, since you probably don't order dessert, etc. with every meal you have. That being said, it does cover the holiday surcharge, and if you are paying a set amount a day, you really can work to get serious value, based on where you eat, etc. But I don't know that I like to "hunt" down the best restaurant to get the best deal for the DDP. KWIM? Frankly, the only meal OOP that we paid for this short trip in FEB that included all the components of the DDP (meaning Entree, dessert, non alc, drinks, in addition to what we often get as extras for the DDP, an appetizer or two and drinks, was Jiko's. Everything else we only got the entree, or opted for a bunch of apps and tried everything, never got dessert, basically did what we wanted, ate when we wanted. We only did a few QS meals, and definitely didn't get a "meal"... I alway bring stuff for the kids to snack on. I would say we mostly buy popcorn and ice cream at Disney, that is about it, but I bring cheddar bunnies, pirate booty, apples, fruit rollups, juice boxes and water for every park day and the boys eat these snacks, hence the # of snacks we probably purchase changes too. I like the DDP, we probably do it until DS7 is an "adult" because with kids I do think it gives you a deal. However, I don't know that the saving is what it used to be now that the $ has gone up.

All of this is so I can say I think your budgeted amount may be a little higher than you need, but better to be safe than sorry! I bet you will spend less.

 

[eandesmom]

OK here it is...

2010 Budget:
• Airfare: $1250 (paid)
• Rental Car: $550
• Condo exchange: $200 (charged)
• Condo annual maintenance fee/dues: $300 (paid)*
• Tickets: $1053 (1AP, 1 Adult 6 day PH, 2 Children's 6 day PH with tax)
• Waterpark tickets: $168
• Airport parking: $120
• Stroller: $100
• Gas for rental car: $150 (probably high but we have several hours of driving planned all over Florida on top of the day to day driving.)
• TIW card: $75
• Food: $1300+ (I need to take a closer look at this - it seems really high...)
• Spending money: $300?
• Total: $5566!!!!! (minus TIW savings)
• TIW Estimated savings: $120

*I don’t usually count the condo annual maintenance fees in my budget, since we have to pay it whether we use the condo or not, but technically it should be included in the cost so I did include it in this total.

So I'm curious to hear what you all think... I'll do another more detailed post about our food budget - I could use some help with that I think!

Well, our food budget is about 2K for 6 of us for 7 nights so.....for 4 that's about exactly where we are at.

On the spending money it all depends on what you'll be buying, if that includes souvies, adult drinks (or if they are in the food budget) or any "extra" activities like MSB or the like. I would be worried that it's not enough but I try to really pad that area so I'm not surprised at the end. I didn't realize you were doing a stroller.

 

[DisMomAmy]

It is interesting to really contemplate what the cost for food really is if you pay OOP. I think so many of us just do dining b/c it has made sense (mostly) with what you get, but that is really deceiving since in "real life" you might not rack up that kind of bill anyway in all cases, since you probably don't order dessert, etc. with every meal you have. That being said, it does cover the holiday surcharge, and if you are paying a set amount a day, you really can work to get serious value, based on where you eat, etc. But I don't know that I like to "hunt" down the best restaurant to get the best deal for the DDP. KWIM? Frankly, the only meal OOP that we paid for this short trip in FEB that included all the components of the DDP (meaning Entree, dessert, non alc, drinks, in addition to what we often get as extras for the DDP, an appetizer or two and drinks, was Jiko's. Everything else we only got the entree, or opted for a bunch of apps and tried everything, never got dessert, basically did what we wanted, ate when we wanted. We only did a few QS meals, and definitely didn't get a "meal"... I alway bring stuff for the kids to snack on. I would say we mostly buy popcorn and ice cream at Disney, that is about it, but I bring cheddar bunnies, pirate booty, apples, fruit rollups, juice boxes and water for every park day and the boys eat these snacks, hence the # of snacks we probably purchase changes too. I like the DDP, we probably do it until DS7 is an "adult" because with kids I do think it gives you a deal. However, I don't know that the saving is what it used to be now that the $ has gone up.

All of this is so I can say I think your budgeted amount may be a little higher than you need, but better to be safe than sorry! I bet you will spend less.

I wish we could do the DDP staying off-site... I think we got spoiled last year because we ate better on the plan than we probably would have otherwise... now I want to eat that well again this year!

But you're right, we won't always have dessert & especially with CS, we may share some meals. I'm planning to share some adult CS meals with Zach during the week.

Well, our food budget is about 2K for 6 of us for 7 nights so.....for 4 that's about exactly where we are at.

On the spending money it all depends on what you'll be buying, if that includes souvies, adult drinks (or if they are in the food budget) or any "extra" activities like MSB or the like. I would be worried that it's not enough but I try to really pad that area so I'm not surprised at the end. I didn't realize you were doing a stroller.

I'm glad to hear I'm on target, as scary as that is! We probably won't do too many of the extras. I did include a couple drinks in the budget with dinner meals which will probably be enough for us. I can't do the heat/drinking combo. I'll buy a bottle of wine for the condo... DH may want a drink or two at Epcot. Our kids don't do so well in stores so I suspect the majority of the souvenir budget will be spent on our visit to DTD on date night! The kids have some money that I'm going to put on Disney gift cards and that will be their spending money so that falls outside of the budget. The way things are right now we should be able to pay off anything we put on a credit card right when we get back. Anything extra we accumulate between now & then will be gravy to help pad that souvenir budget. And hopefully the taxes we owe won't be as much as I set aside once I get everything finalized. Which reminds me I need to get on that...

Zach used the stroller SO MUCH last year that we think he'll want it again this year. For him it was more of a sensory escape - he can easily get overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and heat of Disney! Alex, on the other hand, is a major sensory seeker. He hated the one day we tried to get him into a stroller last year. He used it to sit in while we waited for SpectroMagic and when we forced him to ride in it on our mad dash to Teppan Edo.

 

[jordanyosh]

The budget looks pretty good and pretty accurate.

Great pix....I like the one of your son passed on on the bus seats....classic sleeping pic!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Isn't the Disney vacation budget sort of scary when you put it out on paper like that? I think it looks pretty spot on though.

 

[DisMomAmy]

The budget looks pretty good and pretty accurate.

Great pix....I like the one of your son passed on on the bus seats....classic sleeping pic!

It doesn't surprise me that you'd enjoy the sleeping picture! I'll be posting the food budget shortly...

Isn't the Disney vacation budget sort of scary when you put it out on paper like that? I think it looks pretty spot on though.

Yes it is scary! But isn't our children's happiness priceless! And mine too...

 

[DisMomAmy]

2010 Food Budget (all assumed to have 18% tip, which is added on when TIW discount is used)
All TS meals, except Teppan Edo are eligible for the TIW discount. Flame Tree BBQ is the only CS that accepts the card. The prices included in the budget do not take off the TIW discount – I make that a separate line item on the budget – just in case we don’t end up getting the card for some reason… and I started this budget before I knew we’d be getting the TIW card.

Buffets (those are pretty easy to calculate):

H&V: $27/adult & $15/child = $104.58 (incl. $5.46 tax & $15.12 tip)
Chef Mickey’s: $30/adult & $15/child = $112.05 (incl. $5.85 tax & $16.20 tip)
Boma: $31/adult & $15/child & $20/drinks = $139.44 (incl. $7.28 & $20.16 tip)
Crystal Palace: $21/adult & $11/child = $79.68 (incl. $4.16 tax & $11.52 tip)

Other TS places (harder to figure out):

Teppan Edo: $29.95/adult & $10.75/child & $20/drinks = $126.24 (incl. $6.59 tax & $18.25 tip)
This is based on what we ate last year: Filet Mignon ($29.95), Asakusa ($29.95), Kids Tempura Combo ($9.50) and Kids Teppan/Tori ($12.00)

Shula’s: $125/food & $40/drinks = $205.43 (incl. $10.73 tax & 29.70 tip)
This is based on the menu & what I think we’ll probably get: Apps ($25), Filet Mignon ($39 & $43), sides ($16). I didn’t include dessert…

Le Cellier: $25.99/adult & $7.59/child & $50/drinks & desserts = $145.33 (incl. $8.06 tax & 22.31 tip)
This is based on what we ate last year: Filet Mignon ($25.99), Kids grilled steak ($10.99), plus a couple desserts!

Total for TS restaurants: $912.75

I suspect that DMIL may pick up the tab for our dinner at Boma since it’s the whole family, but I’m including it because it’s not definite. She will also be eating with us for H&V, Chef Mickey’s, Teppan Edo & Le Cellier. I did not include her meals because I’m not sure how we’ll work that out. We may pay for her meals at three of the places and then she will pay for everyone at one?? Or maybe she’ll just give us some money?? Not sure…

For counter service meals I estimated $35 per meal for our family of four. I figured two adult meals and one child’s meal (Zach & I will share an adult meal), two adult drinks and one extra kids drink (one drink included with the kids meal). I upped Flame Tree BBQ to $40 because that one always costs a little bit more. Our other CS meals will be: MK lunch (probably Columbia Harbour House), waterpark lunch & one more on our last day – it depends where we are when we’re hungry. We may also have an Epcot dinner CS meal depending which day we are there… otherwise that dinner will be at the condo/picking up something on our way back to the condo. (Condo also has a food court with A&W, Pizza Hut & something else.) Counter service total: $180

So far we’re at $180 CS plus $913 TS
The other food expense are:
Groceries for the condo: $100
Food while at Jeff’s: $100 (though we probably won’t spend a dime because Jeff loves to cook and will insist!)
Snacks: $100
Travel food: $50

Bringing us to a grand total of $1443 – TIW discounts of $135 (based on this budget) = $1308!!!

So what do you think?? Do I need to add anywhere... this figure is actually a little bit higher than it originally was... the closer I looked, the more I kept adding!

 

[jordanyosh]

The budget looks good. I would pad a little more with the CS meals just to give yourself a bit more wiggle room IMO, but I think you know your family a bit better than I do so you're probably good.

 

[eandesmom]

I echo padding CS. I know you'll have some kid meals in there but ours ran on average about $80 for the 6 of us last year. It will really depend on where you go and what you order. Now granted, that was on the DDP but even when we go out to eat at Quizno's we are at $40 in a heartbeat.

Your TS looks pretty good to me, very comparable with what I came up with.

 

[DisMomAmy]

The budget looks good. I would pad a little more with the CS meals just to give yourself a bit more wiggle room IMO, but I think you know your family a bit better than I do so you're probably good.

Thanks Jordan! I think I'll add a misc. fund to my budget.

I echo padding CS. I know you'll have some kid meals in there but ours ran on average about $80 for the 6 of us last year. It will really depend on where you go and what you order. Now granted, that was on the DDP but even when we go out to eat at Quizno's we are at $40 in a heartbeat.

Your TS looks pretty good to me, very comparable with what I came up with.

Thanks Cynthia! I'm sure we'll be over here & there so I'll probably up the CS budget just in case.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Six weeks from today we'll be on our plane heading to Florida!! Anybody wannna dance?

​

First I want to share a picture of something I just couldn't wait to get my hands on, so I ordered it & it arrived on Tuesday!!

I love it!! I immediately loaded it on my iphone & have been listening to it every time I'm in the car & even sometimes at home! It's getting me so excited for our trip! Did I mention it starts six weeks from today?

With only six weeks to go, it's time to start my six week to-do lists. Julie (mousescrapper) gave me this idea when she broke down her to-do list into smaller, weekly lists. It's a fun way for me to count down the weeks and a more manageable way to get everything done.

6 weeks to go: (The things in red are already done)
• Order Alex’s Guide to the Magic - DONE
• Update name tags
• Update Helping Me cards
• Find old/make new DIS tag
• Order TGM buttons?
• Order PhotoPass CD & start $ collection
• Start packing lists - DONE
• Start grocery list – limit items to necessities!
• List of carry-on bags/items – including kids - DONE
• Work on touring plans – in process
• Buy large Ziploc bags
• Purchase more sunscreen
• Decide on park bag(s)

It seems too early to be worrying about some of this stuff, but when I looked at the big list I tried to move the things that weren't time senstive as far back as possible.

So we'll see how I do!

PS - 6 weeks to go!!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Yay for only 6 weeks to go!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Woo hoo for Six Week Dancing!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Amy

I've been following along silently! Your planning looks great. Congrats on being at 6 weeks, that is so awesome!! We will not be doing the DDP on our next trip, so I have priced out meals just like you have. I am figuring we can eat for about $200+ less than the price of the DDP, now that DS is 10. But we will see. . . it will be interesting!

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

 

[Angies1274]

YAY for only 6 more weeks!!!!!