Could I do this any cheaper? aka any discounts/codes available?

[LilMamiBella]

My family of 7 is going to WDW MAy26-June 2. We cannot change the dates as we'll be pretty busy this summer.
It will be dh, ds13, dd 10, dd 5, dd 2, dd 1, and myself.

This is what I have so far:

6 day tickets includes waterpark: $1,603 with the mousesavers/undercovertourist

Food: $300-500?
We plan to eat out probably twice. We love Chevy's! Other than that we plan to take a cooler in the park for lunches and have quick dinners at the condo.

Condo: $594.00 its at windsor palms. We've been there twice now and love it.

Souvenirs: $250 or less

Indoor Skydiving at iflyorlando: $270

Surfing lessons x3 at TL: $450

Gas: $300.. (includes cheap mcd's on the way)


Total: $3,967.00

So I do mypoints and swagbucks, ebates,etc but I'm not sure of any other way of bringing the cost down without canceling the extras.

 

[HayGan]

Given your dates, youaren't eligible for a YES class so UT is the best way to go for your tickets. Your food budget doesn't seem out of whack for a family of 7. Condo cost is reasonable and doubt you could really do any better. Gas costs are what they are and likely going to be higher rather than lower by the time you go.

So any extra savings is really going to have to come out of your extras. Personally, I would tell my kids they could pick between the skydiving or the surfing lesson but they can't have both. (I think both are really expensive for what you get.) I know that the indoor skydiving has been on the Orlando Groupons once or twice. Have you signed up to recieve notification of those? It might come up again. $720 is really a ton of money for something that only 3 or 4 out of your group will enjoy. If you plan on going back to Orlando tell them they can do the other one on another trip. Maybe consider a cheaper outing such as Gatorland for an afternoon or day.


have fun

 

[LilMamiBella]

I just found one week that would work to be able to use Disney Yes. I would have to change my condo reservation and it might go up by $20 per day= $120.
The other thing is my two year old turns 3 that week. So I don't know..

My ticket price would come out to $1,046 instead of $1603.

 

[HayGan]

I just found one week that would work to be able to use Disney Yes. I would have to change my condo reservation and it might go up by $20 per day= $120.
The other thing is my two year old turns 3 that week. So I don't know..

My ticket price would come out to $1,046 instead of $1603.

That is a really big savings and the YES classes might be something your kids really enjoy. I would switch if those dates work for you.

If your child turns three the week of your vacation, no worries. Disney counts their age as the age they are at at the start of your trip

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Unless you plan to hit a waterpark + a main park every day, you potentially have as much as 12 days' worth of tickets there if you have 6-day WPFM tickets. Can you knock a couple days off that & save a little?

 

[LilMamiBella]

Unless you plan to hit a waterpark + a main park every day, you potentially have as much as 12 days' worth of tickets there if you have 6-day WPFM tickets. Can you knock a couple days off that & save a little?

We've never been to the WDW waterparks so we were planning to do 5 days of parks and then Blizzard Beach.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Keep in mind the cooler you take into the park must be lunch box size. Any other size cooler are a NO NO..

 

[Mom23Disneybelievers]

Keep in mind the cooler you take into the park must be lunch box size. Any other size cooler are a NO NO..

There isn't a lunch box size restriction on coolers. The only cooler restriction that I have ever heard of is no wheels. For practicality, you wouldn't want to lug around a huge, heavy cooler all day. However, you can bring a cooler in.



OP, it sounds like you have a very budget friendly trip planned. As others have said, maybe you could make the YES tickets work for you or could have your family pick from the two extra activities planned. But, they are unique experiences that your family will probably enjoy.

Have fun!!!

 

[Tiger926]

Given your dates, youaren't eligible for a YES class so UT is the best way to go for your tickets. Your food budget doesn't seem out of whack for a family of 7. Condo cost is reasonable and doubt you could really do any better. Gas costs are what they are and likely going to be higher rather than lower by the time you go.

So any extra savings is really going to have to come out of your extras. Personally, I would tell my kids they could pick between the skydiving or the surfing lesson but they can't have both. (I think both are really expensive for what you get.) I know that the indoor skydiving has been on the Orlando Groupons once or twice. Have you signed up to recieve notification of those? It might come up again. $720 is really a ton of money for something that only 3 or 4 out of your group will enjoy. If you plan on going back to Orlando tell them they can do the other one on another trip. Maybe consider a cheaper outing such as Gatorland for an afternoon or day.


have fun

I totally agree! The cost of skydiving and surfing lessons is more than the cost of accommodations!

I also wouldn't spend $250.00 on souvenirs either. Disney stuff falls apart and is cheaply made, so a few shirts and toys that don't last, is not worth that cost for me either.

Which brings us back to tickets - that price is killing me! I know it's for 7 people, but to put that into perspective, our DVC Annual Passes are that cost for the 4 of us! Yikes! That being said, OP must have tickets, but I agree that those are fully packed tickets, and there is only 6 days. Water Parks are busy at that time of year, so they might spend time in line, or just enjoying the other activities, so to throw in paid surfing lessons, just adds more busy times to those 6 days. I would see about cutting down the tickets too - I know OP has been to WDW before, but I think that adding Water Parks to 6 days, will make for a busy vacation.

This seems like a very busy 6 days to me - off site accommodations, off site activity (skydiving), off site dining, water parks and theme parks. That is a heck of a lot to do in 6 days, so I would cut some stuff out as well, if the budget needs it. I just see the OP losing time with travel and too many activities - what about naps for the young ones?

I wish OP luck in finalizing her trip! Tiger

 

[LilMamiBella]

We took a big cooler back in November with no problems.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We've never been to the WDW waterparks so we were planning to do 5 days of parks and then Blizzard Beach.

A 6-day with WPFM option ticket is 6 park days PLUS 6 waterpark days though. Plus, if you're only planning 1 waterpark day, it's cheaper (slightly) to get base tickets and pay out of pocket for that 1 waterpark day.

 

[Tiger926]

A 6-day with WPFM option ticket is 6 park days PLUS 6 waterpark days though. Plus, if you're only planning 1 waterpark day, it's cheaper (slightly) to get base tickets and pay out of pocket for that 1 waterpark day.

Exactly what I was referring to! Plus, she wants to schedule a surfing lesson in there too, so she will be way overpaying for the tickets she currently is thinking about.

As I said, it seems like too many activities, and with tickets being at a premium price, I would just do the theme parks, with maybe 1 water park day, as some of us have mentioned, and leave it at that.

We go for 2 weeks each summer, and we don't even do that much stuff!

Tiger

 

[LilMamiBella]

Exactly what I was referring to! Plus, she wants to schedule a surfing lesson in there too, so she will be way overpaying for the tickets she currently is thinking about.

As I said, it seems like too many activities, and with tickets being at a premium price, I would just do the theme parks, with maybe 1 water park day, as some of us have mentioned, and leave it at that.

We go for 2 weeks each summer, and we don't even do that much stuff!

Tiger

If I do the Disney YES which I am trying to schedule now; will make the tickets $1046 and includes the waterpark. If I pay for Blizzard Beach by itself its like 80x5= 400 something. I don't know how else to get it cheaper as far as ticket prices go. It was my idea to do the indoor skydiving and the surfing. I was trying to come up with other things to do besides Disney World and that's what I came up with. We once did Discovery Cove and that cost us $1000 in addition to our trip and I thought it was well worth the price!

 

[happymommy]

If it were me, I'd just focus on having fun at the Disney parks. My kids have never been (yet) to a Disney waterpark, since the resorts we've stayed at have always had a nice fun pool to swim in during a quiet "down" day or the afternoon after a busy morning. A waterpark day to us is a busy day in itself.

So I'd drop the waterparks, the sky diving, and the surf lessons. There is so much to do and have fun at in the Disney parks already, that to us it's quite enough!

And, you know you can also leave a cooler (with ice) in your car as well. My DH and I did that on our first (and super budget) trip together. We just went out to retrieve it and had a little picnic. With kids maybe that's not too feasible, but you can also rent a locker too. Or, pack small cooler bags to carry with you for snacks or light meals.

One other thing I agree about - after many trips, we don't feel the need for souvenirs at all now. And $250 is a TON of money for them! I used to give my kids like $10 or $20 each.

I think you can definitely cut those things out and still have an amazing trip.

 

[Tiger926]

If I do the Disney YES which I am trying to schedule now; will make the tickets $1046 and includes the waterpark. If I pay for Blizzard Beach by itself its like 80x5= 400 something. I don't know how else to get it cheaper as far as ticket prices go. It was my idea to do the indoor skydiving and the surfing. I was trying to come up with other things to do besides Disney World and that's what I came up with. We once did Discovery Cove and that cost us $1000 in addition to our trip and I thought it was well worth the price!

I am just concerned that you have a fully packed 6 days, and with tickets being so expensive, as well as premium extra add-ons planned like surfing lessons and skydiving, you may not get your money's worth as you are running to complete multiple activities.

I wish you luck in working it out! I wish you a fun-filled and amazing trip!

If it were me, I'd just focus on having fun at the Disney parks. My kids have never been (yet) to a Disney waterpark, since the resorts we've stayed at have always had a nice fun pool to swim in during a quiet "down" day or the afternoon after a busy morning. A waterpark day to us is a busy day in itself.

So I'd drop the waterparks, the sky diving, and the surf lessons. There is so much to do and have fun at in the Disney parks already, that to us it's quite enough!

And, you know you can also leave a cooler (with ice) in your car as well. My DH and I did that on our first (and super budget) trip together. We just went out to retrieve it and had a little picnic. With kids maybe that's not too feasible, but you can also rent a locker too. Or, pack small cooler bags to carry with you for snacks or light meals.

One other thing I agree about - after many trips, we don't feel the need for souvenirs at all now. And $250 is a TON of money for them! I used to give my kids like $10 or $20 each.

I think you can definitely cut those things out and still have an amazing trip.

We focus on parks too, and we go for 2 weeks. With only 6 days, that is a lot of stuff to do. We are doing the water parks and Disney Quest for the first time ever in August ( will be going for the 6 days preceeding our cruise)and we are doing them because we aren't going into the parks at all.

It sounds like OP is planning a fully packed, fun-filled vacation for her family, and so I wish her a trip full of magic, no matter what she decides!!

Tiger

 

[ezootb]

HI,

I am new to disboards. I have never heard the term Disney Yes. Can someone enlighten me?
Thanks!

 

[torinsmom]

I wouldn't plan anything away from Disney for a 6 day trip. You have 6 days, right? and you said 5 days parks and 1 day waterpark. When are you doing the skydiving? I would cut that out, because it seems like it will only be for a few in your party. There is way too much at Disney to spend $700 somewhere else, when you already paid $1000-$1600 for park tickets. Just my only opinion, of course.

I also agree about the souvenir money. The little ones aren't going to need much and the older kids can bring their own money and get maybe $30 each from you. Easter is coming up too, so maybe a Disney gift card would be a good addition to an Easter basket.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

I have to agree with some previous posts to cut out either the surfing or skydiving. If it were me, I wouldn't do either but then again, my kids aren't interested in either of those. Also, $250 in souveniers is a lot of money. We spend between $40-$60 on souvies when we go because honestly, we just don't need more stuff. I hope you all have fun!!!

 

[gillenkl]

HI,

I am new to disboards. I have never heard the term Disney Yes. Can someone enlighten me?
Thanks!

Google "Disney individual yes program" or search on disboards. It's a Disney program for school aged kids that has a benefit of purchasing discount park tickets.

 

[gillenkl]

OP cancel the extras and save it for when you kids are older.