Cheapest Family Vacation

[tjkraz]

I'd like to hear about things people did to minimize the cost of a WDW vacation. What sort of deals did you get? Time of year? Where did you stay? How else did you cut corners?

And, most importantly, did you still HAVE FUN???

 

[palmtreegirl]

Go over to the Budget board, they're great over there!

http://http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=22

 

[snuggles]

I'll move your post to our Budget Board. I'm sure you will get some great ideas over there. Thanks for posting.

 

[mad4themouse]

There are so many tips that this could become a very long post. So, I'll try to keep it brief and you can ask for more details if you need them.

• Vacation during the Value Season.
• Do not buy a package.
• Book your room and the keep any eye out for room codes that will bring the price down.
• Purchase your passes in advance thru a reputable ticketbroker.
• Bring snacks, breakfast foods and bottled water with you.
• Share meals at counter service restaurants.
• Make lunch your main meal of the day.
• Do not rent a car unless you will be off-site or plan to make numerous trips off-site during your stay.
• Limit souvenir shopping to the last day of your trip.
• Make sure that you pack extra camera batteries, film, sunscreen, Advil (or Tylenol), bandaids & first aid creme, ladies' products and babies' stuff. These things will cost you dearly if you have to buy them in WDW.
• Use frequent flier points to book airfare.
• Get a rewards credit card and use the rewards to help fund your Disney trip.
• Check out the Dis Rewards Forum for ways to earn $$ and gift certificates for your trip thru online programs.
• Visit MouseSavers and make sure that you subscribe to their newsletter.

There are so many more that I'm sure I forgot to add but I know that others will. I hope this gives you an idea of where to start.

 

[goofyernmost]

I would add...

If you really want to save money get offsite accommodations. They are much cheaper and will enable you to rent a car, if you are flying in, and still be cheaper than staying on site without one.

Also if you can, drive there, expecially if your family is four or more people. It can be a long ride but can save a lot of money.

Eat off site when possible. There are so many restaurants on Rte 192 that you wouldn't believe it. Because of that they are very competative, especially the family restaurants. You can get a huge buffet breakfast for just $3.95 out there and that's for adults.

Avoid buying to many souveniers. They are very costly and take away from fun time money.

But whatever you do, and no matter how much you are trying to save always remember to have a Mickey Bar and a Dole Whip. Priceless! Remember you can't take it with you so enjoy it while you can.

 

[dandelion]

I love the tips mad4themouse posted and we've done the same for trips of 3 or 4 days.

This year we're going for longer, so we rented a pool home offsite. Driving down from NYS. The drive will be hard but worth it in airfare and car rental savings. I'm really looking forward to the rental home; putting the kids to bed in their own rooms, relaxing by our own pool, getting up in the morning for a quick, healthy breakfast then heading into the parks rested and ready to go. All for $80/nite approx.

My other tip, buy some of those "souvenirs" at home. I got glow sticks and glow necklaces at the dollar store. Gotta be cheaper than park prices and it will keep the kids just as happy while waiting for nighttime shows.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

You can still stay on site and stay with in a budget if staying on site is important to you. Going off season and using a AAA discount, you can get an All Star resort room for around 60.00 plus tax per night. Staying on site, you will not need a car if you fly. Driving however can be a great money saver if you are not too far away.don't forget however,to add the cost of hotels on the trip down and back if you will need them.
We also take breakfast foods and bottled water. If budget is very tight, sandwich making, or things for a quick supper in the room can help reduce cost. The all stars have a toaster and microwave in the food court that you can use to heat up something from home We had gotten a sandwich from the food court and added a drink and chips from our room to finish the meal. We have learned to cut way back on souvenirs too. They add up so fast and are often forgotten once back home. Making lunch the sit down meal for the day is also a winner and buffets can be a good deal if you are big eaters. All counter service is even cheaper if you are ok with this.
What we do is to decide how much we can spend that year and then make our vacaion fit with in that budget by choosing our resort, meals and ticket options that we can afford.
It's not how much money you spend it's how much magic you get from your money.

Have fun planning.


Jordans mom

 

[sln88]

If you want more than a hotel room, try skyauction for a condo rental(ready , set, go auction). Last year and this year, I got a 2 bedroom/3 bath condo for $250 for the whole week(taxes and fees included).
I have seen the Courtyard by Marriott for $20 mentioned on this board(but this did not fit in my vacation time)
Since we had the kitchen, I bought breakfast stuff that we ate before we left. Packed a bunch of snacks/pb sandwiches to take to the parks, so we did not really have to buy much there. Only meal out was fast food for dinner.
I got really lucky on flights and only paid $84 pp round trip from Milw(not including fees) and a cheap rental through Americar(not the greatest place in the world- I got what I paid for).
We skipped the souveniers, but this year I am prebuying some Disney stuff from my 99 cent store.
The only place you can't really save much money is on the park passes. If you know you will be back, buy the most days you can, and use up the rest next time. Maybe plan some pool days to save on the park admission.
Some people may think this is too much, but it did not bother us. I did not mind staying off site. I preferred the extra room over being cramped in an All stars(they won't even let you put in 5 people anyhow, and we have 3 kids). The kitchen at the condo was great- Disney charges $10 bucks a day just to rent a fridge! Driving from off-site did not take us very long- I think the busses would have driven me nuts. the downside to driving yourself is the parking fees.
You could drive to save airfare/car rental. We might do that next year after we get a new van.
Go off season if you can- cheaper rentals and you can see more in less time.
have a great time!

 

[rebbeca]

Two rooms for four nights at Courtyard By Marriott - $170.66

Four 4-day UMP (adults) - $907.38

16 breakfast vouchers for character breakfasts - $488

15 Vacation Kingdom vouchers (three vouchers/four people) for 12 lunches and 1 dinner at RFC - $457.50

4 Q&C (share for "snacks") - $44

Gas (driving from TN in VW diesel) - $40

Sourveniers (character warehouse) - $200

GRAND TOTAL - $2307.53 for four full days at WDW and all meals!!!

BTW, we're going the week after Labor Day.

 

[ticketwm35]

What are vacation kingdom vouchers.Where can I get these and how much do they cost? I have been reading about the meal voucher you can get from connections.Are the ones from vacation kingdom the same thing?

 

[rebbeca]

The Vacation Kingdom vouchers are the ones from Connections that are good for lunch (appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink = a ton of food). They are $30.50 each and perfect for sharing at the right places.

 

[dahess]

We got free airfare, thanks to BIL's miles. He had enough for 5 tickets & there is 5 in my family

We refinanced our home & cause my dh works at the certain insurance company, we received a "Free Driveaway Vacation" which includes 3 nights, $100.00 cash. We decided to drive to Clearwater Beach for our 3 free nights.

Discounted rate of $129.00 at the Dolphin, we decided to upgrade to Club Level for $20.00 extra a night, which includes breakfast, and hot snacks at night, pop & water.

Tickets for 5 days for 3 adults & 2 kids, 1 kid is 12 $1050.00
Food $1000.00 (I am hoping to not spend the whole amount)
Rental Car (Expedia) $160.00
Souvies (Kids have there own money $100.00 each kid) $500.00
5 Nights at the Dolphin @ $150.00 a night.


Total Vacation for 8 nights
$3460.00

I believe we over estimated a bit but we are prepared to spend $4000.00

 

[sln88]

These vouchers are $30.50 for one lunch? That seems like a lot. I have heard you get a lot of food, but..

 

[mad4themouse]

Originally posted by sln88
These vouchers are $30.50 for one lunch? That seems like a lot. I have heard you get a lot of food, but..

Yes, but that includes taxes (7%, I think) and gratuity (15%) as well as the menu price of the meal. Because you might consider splitting the appetizer and dessert between two people, you would only need to order another entree and beverage (at additional cost) in order for 2 people to dine. Overall, you could actually save a little money but it would depend on what you ordered. And remember, this is recommended as a substitute for eating a large meal at dinner, which could easily exceed $30 per person at the better sit-down restaurants.

 

[rebbeca]

Yes, $30.50 is a lot for one lunch. The best use is to share these. I used one a RFC in December. I split the meal with by 16-YO DS (very big eater). We split the chicken wings (about 20), surf and turf with stuffed lobster, chocolate cake, and a frozen drink. The total was over $85. I ordered a cup of soup (came with yummy bread) and drink and paid for that separately.

There will be four of us for our next trip in September. We plan on using three vouchers for the four of us. That amounts to $91 total, but divided by four is $22.75. each I don't think that is too bad with tax and tip. Plus we all get to try different items and have very nice lunches while being able to experience some of Disney's fine dining.

 

[disneywith6kids]

Here's my budget:

AP from last trip in Dec. so park passed = 0.00

Auto train for 8 with AAAs discount by one get 2 kids free with SUV 1200.00

Sheraton Safari 2 rooms 5 nights free(starwood points)

5bdrm villa at Windsor palms 860.00 8 nights

30 Q+C vouchers for lunches that will be split 333.00

Snacks will be brought from home and were purchased throughout the last month at half price.

100.00 for breakfast food to be eaten in room

300.00 for meals to be eaten in room(which is also our regular food budget so really I'm not counting that)

no need for rental car or parking fee thanks to AP

50 .34 pins bought at DS for trading 17.00

TOTAL for family of 8 for 2 weeks=$2510

considering we spent around 10 grand for 1 week the first time we ever went in 99 I think this isn't so bad

 

[debden]

HI,This is my first trip to WDW and staying onsite.Southwest Vacations is offering a special where the 2nd person flies for free thru August 9th.This only applies to WDW and their ONSITE hotels......Great deal so I snatched it up!!!

 

[dandelion]

Originally posted by disneywith6kids
Auto train for 8 with AAAs discount by one get 2 kids free with SUV 1200.00

Is that round-trip? I read your message to dh and now he's interested in doing the autotrain at least one way. TIA.

 

[1204]

Can you buy the vacation kingdom vouchers once you get to WDW? If so where? Also where can you use them? Thanks:

 

[zurgswife]

Dandlion...I also have ressis on the autotrain...for this Dec though for 2 adults, 4 kids and a minivan for a RT total of 1123. with AAA discount really isn't significant. Though ever other time I have priced autotrain or regular train it is way more then flying...This time I booked so far in advance we decided the saving and having our car for our 2 week trip was definatley worth it...