Cost of Disney Family Vacation

[nadira36]

Another Western Canadian here - I haven't actually added it all up yet BUt I expect about $10 this trip. Last trip was about $6k. The trip before about $4000 the one before that was about $5k. But each trip was significantly different.

This trip is $1900 for airfare from Edmonton for a family of 4 plus an infant.
$5k for 8 days at the poly standard with DxDP, base ticket
BBB & PL ~$200
P&P cruise ~180
B-day cake ~$100
Souvenirs, tips etc $2000
$130 airport parking
snacks and meals for travel days - $200

about 10k

we're not sure if we'll make it next year - depends on the deals. We're looking at a value, OOP for meals, upgrading this years tickets to AP for the next trip, and having a bit less spending b/c we'd be doing CS vs TS so no tips. Which would bring the total to $7000 for 14 days.

But like other canuks have said - the shorter trips aren't really worth it, though in the past we've gone for as short as 5 days just due to cost. But we've decided those trips just aren't long enough to really relax and get the most out of our vacations so from now on it'll be at least 10 days each trip.

 

[chimo2u]

Another Western Canadian here - I haven't actually added it all up yet BUt I expect about $10 this trip. Last trip was about $6k. The trip before about $4000 the one before that was about $5k. But each trip was significantly different.

This trip is $1900 for airfare from Edmonton for a family of 4 plus an infant.
$5k for 8 days at the poly standard with DxDP, base ticket
BBB & PL ~$200
P&P cruise ~180
B-day cake ~$100
Souvenirs, tips etc $2000
$130 airport parking
snacks and meals for travel days - $200

about 10k

we're not sure if we'll make it next year - depends on the deals. We're looking at a value, OOP for meals, upgrading this years tickets to AP for the next trip, and having a bit less spending b/c we'd be doing CS vs TS so no tips. Which would bring the total to $7000 for 14 days.

But like other canuks have said - the shorter trips aren't really worth it, though in the past we've gone for as short as 5 days just due to cost. But we've decided those trips just aren't long enough to really relax and get the most out of our vacations so from now on it'll be at least 10 days each trip.

Hello fellow Edmontonian I am finding the most expensive portion of this trip to be figuring airfare from Edmonton! for the 3 of us (myself and my 2 boys age 19&15) is running around $2,400 for the West Jet flights.....I haven't plunged and bought yet, our trip is next Oct. I am going to hold out until the new year/ perhaps spring to see if they get lower than $369 per person per leg.

We are staying at the Boardwalk Inn deluxe room, there will be the 3 of us and my best friend who is currently living in Pennsylvania, and she will be joining us from the USA. Our Disney portion, with her on the tickets/ ressie is $5,200 with our free dining discount, 5 day PH, Sept 29-Oct 5. We are then going to switch to Universal for 3 days Oct 5-7. I bought tickets for myself and the boys....came to $466 for three day park to park for 3 tickets. Room at Hard Rock Hotel with club level DLX queen room, $159 x 3 nights, plus our food/ souvenir costs. I also want to do MNSShp at Disney, and maybe La Nouba and a Segway tour.....I think this trip will be close to 10k when all is said and done. It will probably be my last for awhile.....my youngest wants to go back in 2014 when he graduates HS with his gf, we shall see....they are saving, I think if we do go back, that trip will be my first mod, and try to keep it on the cheap as these trips are costing me a lot of money!
I think what I have spent on my 3 trips since 2008, I could have bought a new SUV! It's been close to 30k!
I don't want to think of it like that though....to me, the trips are worth it and have given me something to plan and happily save for, as well as many precious and happy memories.....I also look at it like we NEVER vacationed over the last 15 yrs while raising our kids/ except for the occasional trip to BC to visit family.....I like having a vacation in the works, it helps lessen the stress of the work yr. And gives me something to look forward too!
Disney isn't cheap , that's for sure, but the memories are priceless!

 

[Annal606]

We are a family of 5 from Canada (Pickering, Ontario). Last year we were able to go on our first Disney vacation for just under $5000. Mind you at the time my kids were 8, 3 & 2 so park tickets and airfare was free for one of them.

 

[The White Family]

THIS IS HOW OUR TRIP BROKE DOWN for my family of 6

WE LIVE IN LOUISIANA SO WE DROVE OVER WITH 1 NITE HOTEL&food $140
we rented a 4 bed room house for a week $600
we purchased 5 day MYW tickets no hopper $1100
food,drinks and snacks in park $550
food,gas,extras,souvenirs $800
trip home with stay and food $140

total $3280.00 plus or minus

 

[nadira36]

GirlDreamer - you got a great deal!

Hello fellow Edmontonian I am finding the most expensive portion of this trip to be figuring airfare from Edmonton! for the 3 of us (myself and my 2 boys age 19&15) is running around $2,400 for the West Jet flights.....I haven't plunged and bought yet, our trip is next Oct. I am going to hold out until the new year/ perhaps spring to see if they get lower than $369 per person per leg.

Flights are expensive - we buy from expedia (preferred) or travelocity the second is typically cheaper, but I like the 1st better. Flying out of cow town is cheaper - and if I get more than $500 off we book it since we'd figure in hotel and parking being more expensive there.

We fly coach - but for 4 seats the most we'd pay is $2k - last year was $1400 and the times are good too. We like to eat and go for a swim before bed on arrival and have a half day at WDW the day we leave. 6 mos out is cheapest followed by 2 mos to 3 mos. Flying on Tuesday is cheapest.

Growing up my parents drove 4 kids and a dog down every year - 6 days travel time (8 days when my sisters were really little) . My parents think were nuts for spending what we spend - but they also realize that the vacation we take is very different than the one they took - and we hate driving on vacation, we hate cooking or cleaning - whereas they did all of that. But I priced it out and with gas prices how they are we'd only save $500 by driving - and have to suffer through 3-6 days each way of children whining. No thanks!

 

[katibosch]

It seems to me that it can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. There are so many options!

It'll be my DD's first visit to WDW, my husband's first visit to pretty much everything, and my first visit except for when I was a CM in 1999. So I really wanted the on-property experience and benefits.

For the 3 of us we will spend about $4000 for 8 days in the parks and 9 nights at ASMo, including gas and other expenses of driving down there, food, souvenirs, etc. I don't think that's too bad. It's not something we'll be able to do every year, probably (how the heck do people afford to go multiple times a year, anyway?) but I was overall pleasantly surprised by how affordable it was.

 

[chinarider]

I live in Tucson and unfortunately , airfare is quite expensive so it really is not worth the cost to come out just for one week. However, right now it's about $1200 just for two and Phoenix isnt too much cheaper and it's 2 1/2 hours each way plus additional cost to get to and from. We have the June 9 cruise booked at a gonga ( 2500 and change ) so, it's hard to justify spending half that amount just for airfare. If we fly something other than SW, we have to pay for luggage . Want to do the parks for a week ( preferably before cruise but, will do after if need be )- still saying prayers for possible free dining. It all adds ups pretty quick. We've stayed at POFQ, CB and POP- thinking we probably will do POP or might go back to POFQ- depending.

 

[padawans]

I live in Tucson and unfortunately , airfare is quite expensive so it really is not worth the cost to come out just for one week. However, right now it's about $1200 just for two and Phoenix isnt too much cheaper and it's 2 1/2 hours each way plus additional cost to get to and from. We have the June 9 cruise booked at a gonga ( 2500 and change ) so, it's hard to justify spending half that amount just for airfare. If we fly something other than SW, we have to pay for luggage . Want to do the parks for a week ( preferably before cruise but, will do after if need be )- still saying prayers for possible free dining. It all adds ups pretty quick. We've stayed at POFQ, CB and POP- thinking we probably will do POP or might go back to POFQ- depending.

Southwest is offering 2 roundtrip tkts if you get their credit cards. I live in Phoenix we just returned from wdw and I got tkts on continental for 79.00 each way. I bought them in Feb. The year before I also got some cheap tickets in Feb. The only time I buy airline tickets is going to Orlando(very hard to fly standby into). We normally fly standby for free. I have always found cheap tickets, but for some reason airfare is way higher right now. Hopefully their will be some sales after the New Year. Good luck.

 

[chimo2u]

I live in Tucson and unfortunately , airfare is quite expensive so it really is not worth the cost to come out just for one week. However, right now it's about $1200 just for two and Phoenix isnt too much cheaper and it's 2 1/2 hours each way plus additional cost to get to and from. We have the June 9 cruise booked at a gonga ( 2500 and change ) so, it's hard to justify spending half that amount just for airfare. If we fly something other than SW, we have to pay for luggage . Want to do the parks for a week ( preferably before cruise but, will do after if need be )- still saying prayers for possible free dining. It all adds ups pretty quick. We've stayed at POFQ, CB and POP- thinking we probably will do POP or might go back to POFQ- depending.

I hear you on the airfare....right now we are looking at $2,400 for flights for 3 of us from Alberta, Canada.....hoping for better price perhaps In the new yr. Unfortunately, we can only go for a week due to school and work commitments, so while pricey, a Fri to following Sunday trip ( including travel days) is all we can spare.....

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

Our trips usually average out at $7,000'ish for two adults and two teens in a courtyard view room at the Wilderness Lodge, 7 day Park Hopper tickets, roundtrip airfare, dining plan, extra costs, souvenirs, etc.

We did take one trip a few years ago where the total price was somewhere in the $20,000 range, but that included a week long stay in an upgraded room at the Poly, 7 day Park Hoppers for 5 people, extravagant dinners, roundtrip airfare, limo transport, etc. We will not be doing that again.

We've recently become more comfortable in rented condos or houses than small hotel rooms, so we are saving a great deal doing that for most of our vacations, not just to Disney. Even with the rental car price factored in, it is still cheaper than two rooms at a deluxe resort.

 

[gokdog]

This is a great idea, going to read the whole thread when I am done. We are coming from Colorado Springs, CO, but flying through Denver for the cheaper flight.

We are coming December 13th to 23rd, 9 nights, 10 days in POFQ

6 People, DW, DD21, DD18, DS10, DS8 and me so two rooms (close hopefully)

4 Person Room was $ 2779
2 Person Room was $2243

Total rooms and 10 days of Magic Your Way with free dining with no hoppers or water park tickets:

$5,022

After scouring Southwest and multiple travel sights after making our reservations, I finally was able to book a non-stop flight on Southwest (Yay, no bag fees) from Denver to Orlando during the hours we were looking for (early arrival, Late departure) for:

$1,850

We pre-booked the photo pass for $100 already, and with the tips required on the dining plan, figure at least $400 more for gratuities. I estimate that we will will another $1,000 on miscellaneous items such as presents, extra snacks, drinks ect ect ect so I think we are easily blowing past $8,500.

People in my office are also blown away by the total, but the strange thing is I feel pretty good about our value. We originally were booking a Disneyland trip and were finding it difficult to stay on property, even though 4 of us are Annual Passholders at Disneyland, I think we would have spent close to $7,000 easily and spent 3 less days, crazy.

Thank you free dining, never would have convinced the wife to go for it without it.

Yikes, after reading a few post, I completely forgot we booked MVMCP for December 16th, add another $400 to the bill, but hey this is our Christmas present to the family!!!

 

[DarkwingDad]

Feb 2012
2 Adults, 2 "Adult" Children(>10 yrs)
CSR-7 nights/8 days/park hopper/free DP/trip Ins./ $3214.18
Airfare(Delta) $1287.60
Total=$4501.78

We pay for it in advance so we can only do Disney every other year because of our budget.

 

[marilyn23]

Hello there
I posted earlier today talking about the cost of a vacation to Disneyworld. Here is what I said.

Going 17-27 Dec, very soon can't wait. This is going to be our third Christmas in a row, it's what we do now instead of the traditional one. We live in Canada so the warmth is nice too.

YC Garden view room
Dining: Free dining plan
10 day park hopper pass
Cost; $6700
Our family consists of DH and I, as well as a DD 19, DS 15, DS 13.

We are flying from Halifax to Orlando International five people round trip on Continental airlines. The timings could be better but I really like the price. Our two previous years going at Christmas we were living in Manitoba so we drove to Minneapolis and got some amazing deals on airfare. All things considered we think we did good flying out of a Cdn airport.

Costs; $2300 including all taxes for airfare

We are happy with what we paid for Disney and the flights. We are going to allow another $1000 for Disney memoribilla, tips, and parking car at airport in Halifax.

Total Cost of Vacation: $10000

 

[denene914]

This past November, me and my daughter flew from Buffalo to Orlando and got a package deal with Southwest Vacations. Airfare for 2, 6 days at Pop Century, 5 day park hoppers included and free dining. We paid 1200.00 for 2 people for 6 days. You can get good deals from Southwest. You just have to be flexible with your dates. We usually leave on a Tuesday or Wednesday for cheaper rates and do it when they have deals for 250.00 off the package price.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

Not too surprised at these totals.

Last time I vacationed to Disney was in 2009 a month before we moved here.

We stayed Nov 27th to Dec 23 at the Sugarloaf Club at GF. Here was the breakdown:

26 Nights Hotel: $22,230
10 Meals at the CG: $4,500
4 AP's: $1,956
Counter Service Meals: $525
Table Service Meals: $3,500
Tips: $650
Souvenirs: $1,100

Total: $34,461

 

[hml12299]

Oh my gosh, I feel really cheap! I couldn't imagine spending that much on a Disney vacation.

We are a family of 5 and plan on going to WDW in January 2013. At the time of our trip our children will be 6,5, & 2.

For 4 nights at a value resort and 5 day magic your way base tickets - $1500

We are driving from Maryland and will be staying one night in South Carolina on the way down and on the way home so that hotel will be about $160 total.

I'm hoping they'll have free dining the week we go, don't know yet. Between the hotels, dining, souvenirs, and gas I hope to keep the vacation under $4000.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Ours when everything is done I guess it will be closet fifteen g's
About five of that is our four night cruise

 

[Mrs. PJ]

Feb 2012
2 Adults, 2 "Adult" Children(>10 yrs)
CSR-7 nights/8 days/park hopper/free DP/trip Ins./ $3214.18
Airfare(Delta) $1287.60
Total=$4501.78

We pay for it in advance so we can only do Disney every other year because of our budget.

Crazy expensive

 

[tsme]

I'm not surprised that a Disney vaca would be $10K. It all adds up so quickly. Just the flights alone are so expensive, it's crazy. For us flights are usually around $1850 for 3. Then add on travel gas to the airport & back, a hotel room before flight because the airport is so far from our house, parking charges for the week, the hotel at Disney (we usually stay deluxe), tickets with park hoppers, any party tickets, snacks & drinks from Garden Grocer, food at the parks or hotel, and of course souvenirs. And I'm sure I'm missing something else. By the time it's done, it would be very easy to reach $10K or close to it. Personally, I pay as much as possible before going & try not to think too much about how much the total is.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

I'm not surprised that a Disney vaca would be $10K.

And imagine -- these prices are from 2011! Mrs. PJ keeps digging up old posts and bumping them up on the forum.