Christmas on a budget?

[Cyn]

Tell me if you think this is doable...2 adults/3 wish they were teens (13, 13, 12) onsite December 20-26 ...$1500 limit. What do you think? Is it too late to plan this or is the money just too tight?

cyn

 

[tar heel]

Does the money have to also buy tickets or do you have APs? If you don't already have tickets, I think it would be pretty hard. If you have tickets, you can do it.

Room discounts would be hard to come by, but you might get lucky. Cheapest option would probably be the Swan/Dolphin 99 special if you are lucky enough to get it. With the resort fee and tax, it would be over 700 for six nights. You can't get tickets for five people for five days for 800 and, of course, you need food, too. If you already have tickets, you can do this easily.

 

[Cyn]

No, we do not have tickets. I guess I need to look at staying offsite. I know there are some good deals offsite during this time. Will we be able to get into the parks staying offsite during that time? (Dec 20-26)

cyn

 

[MACUSER]

If you stay offsite and go when the parks ope you will get in but you may not be able to leave and then comeback if the park is closed . 1500 is a tight budget for a wdw trip if you do it let me know i can'get get ours under 2500 for 6 nights ticket and food for 5 ..

 

[JodyTG]

Well...I received an email just this morning that may be helpful to you from http://www.courtyardorlando.com. It's about a $59.00 SuperSaver price code TZOG that must be booked by Dec. 3 and will be good for your dates up until Dec. 25. You'd have to pay full price for one night but check it out! It may be the answer that you needed!!!

Good luck!
Jody

P.S. THis is the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Disney.

About the hotel...
Located in the DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Resort area of the Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando, the Courtyard by Marriott - Walt Disney World hotel offers complimentary transportation to Disney attractions and theme parks including, the Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcot®, Disney-MGM® Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach Water Parks, and Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island. And, just outside our doors are the exciting entertainment and shopping metropolises of Downtown Disney® Marketplace and Downtown Disney® West Side.

 

[TreeOfLife]

You might be able to barely squeeze it in... Maybe you'd have to cut your trip shorter.

Let's see: I'd definitely stay offsite. Select a hotel like Howard Johnson's, Comfort Inn, etc..., that offers free transportation to the parks and free continental breakfast. The transportation will be nothing like Disney's, you'll be annoyed by their schedule and how far from the entrance they drop you off, but at least you're at Disney! At breakfast time, grab extra fruits and goodies for snacks during the day.

I agree with Tar, without tickets you can do it but in tickets alone you'll spend most of your budget otherwise.

Are you driving? Can you camp nearby instead? A local site would charge you peanuts if you have a tent.

...On the other hand, if you just can't make it this year, do what we did: Start saving for next! It took us three years to save up for our vacation this holiday but our plane tickets are Delta rewards tickets, no expenses there. I bought our hoppers two years ago, at lower prices (they never expire if unused), that saved us some more moolah, the kids had the goal to travel all year so saved up money for souvenirs, etc., we paid off our resorts last month , had more time to scramble the bargains and all we have left are hte expenses of our stay. Food and stuff... A couple hundred dollars earned in rewards should give us a few free meals at the Rain Forest Cafe and Red Lobster.

The anxiety was worth dealing with at the end... Good luck

 

[swilphil]

I would do the Swan/Dolphin (maybe for fewer nights), and just buy 3 or 4 day park hopper passes. You probably wouldn't want to spend Christmas Day in the parks anyway. And you won't want to spend your first and last day in the parks. You might check the budget board for places to get cheaper tickets. It is going to be hard to meet your budget.

I would highly recommend staying on site during Christmas. It's so hard to get in and out of the parks with the traffic. The transportation to and from the parks is great at the S/D.

The S/D $99/night rate is a steal! I would book NOW to make sure you get it. It is a deluxe hotel, and right by the Boardwalk/MGM/Epcot. Your kids will probably love hanging out at the Boardwalk and the resort pool (very cool) one day. They have a beach area and a bball court. There's also an arcade and 24 hour food court at the Dolphin. You might be able to cut one more day off your park tickets and just get a 3 day pass. Those are a little harder to find. Ticketmania has them sometimes and you can always get them through the Alamo Car Rental program (even if you don't rent a car.) That number is on the mousesavers.com website, or if you click on the Disney icon on the alamo.com website.

The park hours will be extended while you are there, and if you are on site you will be able to take advantage of the Early Entry. That means you will be able to get more rides in during fewer days. Plus if you're at S/D you won't have to spend so much time traveling to and from the parks. Christmas Day might be a good time to check out some other resorts to see how they are decorated. You can check restaurant/budget boards to see where you can get some nice meals at a lower price.

When we stayed at the Dolphin, we didn't have to rent a car because everything was so close. I don't know if you're planning on flying or not.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I just spent $1500 for new tickets for me, my husband and 10 yr old son. I don't see how you can get tickets, lodging, food, tips and transportation out of $1500 for five people who are all considered adults at WDW. Tickets will surely be the biggest expense with lodging right behind. If you stay offsite, you will be at the mercy of that hotel's transportation unless you have a car. Then you are looking at $7/day to park on top of your other costs.

And if you don't take the hotel transportation, you may be stuck in traffic trying to get to the parks. Dec 25 will be the worst day for you staying offsite.

If you stay at S/D, you will need to get a rollaway at an extra cost per night.

Unless you plan to eat Bread and Red for the entire time, food will be a big expense, too, especially with three nearly teens.

 

[Local_Girl]

I ask because of the location listed with your user name. If you are military, you can get 4-day PHs for the 5 of you for $962.50 total from the Shades of Green ticket office at WDW. You may be able to find them for a little less on base at your local MWR office.

Anyway, if you purchased the above tickets, it would leave you with $537.50 from your budget. Since you are in Georgia, I'm assuming you're driving. You could use Priceline for a room for 6 nights, but you'd probably have to go with a 2.5 star or less. If you could keep that cost at $200 (not sure that you could, but supposing), that would leave you with $337.50 for everything else. Subtract 4 days of onsite parking at $7.00 per day ($28) and you are at $330.50. If you do most meals in your hotel room (cereal or pop tarts for breakfast, make and take sandwiches for most lunches), and do fast/cheap dinners, you could do it. Don't forget the cost of gas for the drive.

Perhaps you have family or friends who could give you and/or the kids money or Disney Dollars for Christmas. That would help a bit.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

*Edited to say I forgot you had 5 people when I recommended Priceline. It may not be possible to do Priceline for only one room with 5 of you...if you have to get a second room, it would really eat into the remainder of your budget.