Cost. Is my budget reasonable?

[Dizzy_Oz]

I was originally going to ask you to post the cost of your holiday from Australia to WDW but then I remembered my manners - it's never polite to discuss money

So, I'm curious. Am I under budgeting?

Will $15k get a family of 5 to WDW including fares, accom,, passes, dining and spending money?

Of course, if your brave you can post how much your trip cost.

 

[HappyFingers]

we are taking 15k just to spend

but we are doing 6 weeks in different locations and we have saved up for a long time now

could you do it with 15k
i guess you could

budget for 1500 for each return airfare (even though if you shop around you may get them cheaper)

you can get a deluxe suite with magic your way tickets for around $4500

so thats 12 thousand and 3 thousand left to feed everyone for a week

thats the best i can do

of course you could stay in cheaper accom etc.

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

Thanks for responding.

I was getting worried with all the views but nil replies.

I think we can. Of course we will have a card for emergencies, but WDW is so so so special that I think I could easily get carried away with spending the $$$$

 

[Kangarucci]

$1500 for airfare to Orlando is a fantastic price. I am looking at $2500-$3200 just to LAX in Jan'12 or Sept'11.

I'm waiting to pounce on an air deal.

 

[dabecs]

Kangarucci - I know what you mean, I was counting on $1500/each for air fares but there better be some good sales on because if I look at the dates (we want to go 2012 but if I look at 2011) we are planning the cheapest fares at the moment are over $2k!

Dizzy Oz - Air fares really do suck up a huge cost, if you can get 5 airfares at $1500 then that is $7500 (or half your budget) but if they are $2000 each then thats $10000 (2/3 of your budget!). What type of accommodation would you be aiming for and how long would you plan on going? That will affect the price a lot.

If you are willing to buy groceries over there and make your own breakfast etc then that will reduce costs. Have you had a look at the budget section of the Disboards?

I haven't drawn up an absolute budget yet and would be interested to hear from those who are going/have gone and how much they spent so I can be realistic when I set ours!

 

[HappyFingers]

we purchased our airfares during a travel expo

that seemed to help a lot
$900 to la return then $400 return to orlando if you take the midnight express

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

This being our entirely 1st trip O/S ever and with small kids DD7 + DD4 + DS13 we will be very active and really only use the WDWR to sleep and not for entertainment.

So Im going to look for accom that is best located to the parks. Plus we are total foodies and that needs to be considered. I really want all the characters too, regardles of DS13 eye rollig.

I'm hopeful for fares under $2k. And with our AUD on the up, that will help too.

So, I'm gonna head over to the budget area....start reading up.

 

[dabecs]

I'm sure you will find heaps of good advice on the budget pages I know ordering groceries online delivered to your resort is popular and not only can it save you time and money but you can order cereals etc we don't have here so it's still great fun for the kids.

If you managed to go during a free dining promotion that would be a big money saver - or at least try to go during low season so the room rates are lower.

If you go to the disney site you can try out different combinations of rooms/tickets/dining and it comes up with a price - might be a good place to start.

Good luck

edited to add: I just had a look and for 7 days in October, staying in a family suite at Pop and including magic your way (+ park hopper and water parks) as well as regular dining plan would cost $4300..

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

I'm sure you will find heaps of good advice on the budget pages I know ordering groceries online delivered to your resort is popular and not only can it save you time and money but you can order cereals etc we don't have here so it's still great fun for the kids.

If you managed to go during a free dining promotion that would be a big money saver - or at least try to go during low season so the room rates are lower.

If you go to the disney site you can try out different combinations of rooms/tickets/dining and it comes up with a price - might be a good place to start.

Good luck

edited to add: I just had a look and for 7 days in October, staying in a family suite at Pop and including magic your way (+ park hopper and water parks) as well as regular dining plan would cost $4300..

Cheers & beers. Did you find that quote on the disney site?

 

[dabecs]

yep, go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ and it will ask a series of questions about the trip and give you options for resorts, park tickets and dining and then it gives you a quote.

It's great fun trying out all the options

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

Oh nooooooooooo

Why O Why did I start.....

Now I need another $15k .

 

[shaz105]

I was in the same situation as you dizzy last year we were planning our holiday and my husband go the bad new two month before we were going he was not going to have a job when he returned they already owed us $8000 in wages. We though god how are we going to afford this lucky for us we got a good price on flights and have already paid for them.

If you can get the dinning plan this will be great we didn't and we regretted alot but we still had a good time.

If time we are planning well ahead my husband got some extra money last week and we went to Amex and exchange $3000 at a rate of $1.01 then today i exchange $500 at a rate of $1.04.

I also signed up to mousesavers they let you know all the deals and code that you can use to get discounts this saved us so much money.

Just remember that it doesn't matter how much money you have just as long as you have a good time.

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

I think I might just push it back a couple of months so we can assure we have the brilliant experience we want with all the extra add ons.

It will be all worth it.

So if I sign up to mousesavers it will tell me about the half price or BOGO free dining plans?

Looking at it, Im thinking we might do the Poly or one that is on the monorail and I read somewhere that a WDWR has views of the castle at night - now that would be spesh.

As we are looking at staying for 10 days on site we may even split the accom up.

The flights are scaring me, not so much the cost but the length. I looked on webjet and some flights are 40hrs

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I think I might just push it back a couple of months so we can assure we have the brilliant experience we want with all the extra add ons.

It will be all worth it.

So if I sign up to mousesavers it will tell me about the half price or BOGO free dining plans?

Looking at it, Im thinking we might do the Poly or one that is on the monorail and I read somewhere that a WDWR has views of the castle at night - now that would be spesh.

As we are looking at staying for 10 days on site we may even split the accom up.

The flights are scaring me, not so much the cost but the length. I looked on webjet and some flights are 40hrs

I definitely think you need to budget a little more. And if you are considering the Poly for 10 nights, yep you need to increase your budget. A split stay would be a great compromise. We stayed at WL for 5 nights then POP Century for 6 nights and it was great to experience the both. Since your budget is tight, you may want to consider going for a value or a moderate resort for the whole time as the Poly is quite expensive.

Not sure about the 40hrs for flights???? It's around 14 hours to fly to LA, then another 5-6 to get to Orlando. Last year from the time we left our home and then arrived in at our hotel in New York it was a total of 27 all up with waiting in airports, everything.

I've dealt with Bob Hill at Mousetales Travel in the US. They don't charge you anymore than if you booked your accom/tickets/food directly but they apply any specials that come along without you even having to ask. I was very impressed with his service.

I think it would be great if you could wait until free dining was being offered since as you say you are foodies. Your budget isn't going to allow you to really experience as much as you could with free dining.

You will have the most wonderful time, I'm really excited for your family.

 

[kylieh]

Return flights from Sydney on Qantas
Staying at POFQ.
2 rooms.
3A, 2C (1 as a 10 year old for free dining, one 7 year old)
Upgrade to Deluxe Dining

Just over $10k for 8 nights.

We got the really good deal on the flights, coming to just under $5k of the above.

Remaining essential $$$ are tips, two offsite meals, some cab fares to the shops. DH is taking a daytrip to Kennedy Space Centre.

Probably taking additional $5k spending for 2A and 1C, my SIL can pay her own!! Not expecting to spend anywhere near that.

ETA: This is our third trip to the US in recent times. You can do it very cheaply, but it's good to have spare $$$ so you don't need to worry.

 

[dabecs]

If you are thinking of staying at Poly or any of the deluxe resorts then accommodation, tickets and dining would probably come close to $10k without even thinking about airfares and spending money..

I really think the moderate or value resorts would be a better option to leave you more money for extras. And as Kylieh said don't forget to factor in tipping which can add up quickly..

Saving up for an extra few months sound like a good idea, and here hoping the AUD stays high!!

 

[Sugarglider]

I'm going for my 5th trip in 6 years and a big part of the reason for the frequency is because every year the special deal is slightly better than the previous! I've never paid rack rate.
I don't have kids so I can be very flexible about my dates and that is the most useful part about snagging a discount.
I keep my eyes on the airlines, the DIS Board Resorts Discounts and Code Board, mousesavers, complete orlando and a bunch of other Disney themed blogs and usually see most deals as they are released.
My personal view on the dining plans - they save you money if you eat a lot - so if you were planning on having lots of table service dinners and character breakfasts anyway - then you'll save. If you are not big eaters then perhaps don't bother - the servings are huge!
This upcoming trip I scored free dining and so I feel like it doesn't matter how much I do or don't eat.

 

[tapdancer]

We are a family of 5 and have budgeted $20,000 for our trip this September.

10 nights at Beach Club including free dining and park tickets $5000
Flights Sydney Orlando Return $8900 (4 of us are on adult fare)
Flights Hobart Sydney Return $1200
Tickets and Shuttle to Universal $700
Spending Money about $4-5000

We did originally hope for $15000 but flights were more expensive than what we were anticipating and we upgraded from All Star Movies to the Beach Club.

 

[Dizzy_Oz]

Thank you all for being honest.

Its made me have a hard look at what we want to experience.

The free dining would probably help , alot. Is there a particular month they are for offer or just random?

 

[Sugarglider]

Disney are pretty secretive about what they will offer and when, although in the last couple of years the discounts have been coming throughout the year. However every year the nature of the discount can be slightly different.
Have a look at mousesavers who have a table that shows the history of discounting.
http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#codetrends