Crafts, spreadsheets and pixie dust... oh my! A PTR for May 2014

[MeeskaMomma]

Oh my goodness you had an exciting day yesterday! Woohoo, Disney planning!

Goose's bday looked awesome! How cool that he got to play with all the controls and buttons! And, how cute is he in his uniform?!?

I'm so impressed with your budget! I'm sure you'll find a room discount or free dining or something before your trip.

And--random smilie--

We had so much fun! And he loves is unirform (look at that it did just come up in conversation!)

I hope we get something good! Mr. Incredible looked at the budget last night and said it was probably too low, but I am determined to try and keep it under 5k at least!

And random smile

It looks like Goose had a wonderful birthday. I love that he had to stop and play with each toy he unwrapped.

Congratulations on your new nephew! Sending prayers that he continues to thrive in the NICU and his parents are doing well during this time.

It really was more fun with him unwrapping that way, but I wasn't sure we would make it through all the gifts in one day. I guess it would have been okay to stretch it out another day!

Thank you!! I got some pictures sent to me yesterday and he looks even better every day!

What a great Birthday! Looks like tons of fun! I also love John in the firefighter outfit!

I am so impressed with your spreadsheet! Looks great so far. I am sure a discount will come out before your trip. We even got one in July. It was room only but every little bit counts. That should help you stay in budget. We purchased gift cards for our entire trip at Target which helped us save a couple hundred. Every bit helps!

I thin we just may be a firefighter for Halloween. There goes my plan for one more year of furry animal costume cuteness! Also I have decided the fireman costume must be the boy version of a princess dress.

Please explain the target gift card thing! Every bit does count! Right now our gift cards have come to us through birthday presents etc. but if there is a discount for purchasing them through target that would help too!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Oh sure if you use a Target credit or debit card ( I use debit) you get 5% off of EVERYTHING! Even gift cards. So I figured out what we would spend ( including room, dining, tips, souvenirs, extra drinks etc.) and purchased enough gift cards to cover it all. So it was like an extra 5% off the entire trip.

The only hang up is that you can only get them in$50, so you have to buy a lot of them. I started buying a few every time we went to Target about 6 months out. Then when you pay off your trip you have to call in with all those cards, but they are really nice about it! When we were there we used the ones we had for spending money just like cash. It was so easy and saved us about $300 over all!

 

[amazingact21]

Airshows are so much fun. I grew up on them, and I can't think of a better way for a 3 year old boy to spend his birthday day!


Good to hear your nephew is doing well, and it's nice that you were able to see him for a bit while you were in town.



I hate when prices put you overbudget. You have to start moving things around and look out for deals and sicounts. It can be time consuming, but completely worth it. I hope the prices work out the way you want them to between now and May.

 

[kayemgi]

Haha it's so funny reading about "Goose" now because that is my cat's name! It looks like his birthday was a huge success, the photos are adorable.

You have a little ways to go on your trip, so I'm sure you will figure out ways to cut things down in your budget, especially if a room discount appears. Good luck!

 

[DMGeurts]

Oh sure if you use a Target credit or debit card ( I use debit) you get 5% off of EVERYTHING! Even gift cards. So I figured out what we would spend ( including room, dining, tips, souvenirs, extra drinks etc.) and purchased enough gift cards to cover it all. So it was like an extra 5% off the entire trip.

The only hang up is that you can only get them in$50, so you have to buy a lot of them. I started buying a few every time we went to Target about 6 months out. Then when you pay off your trip you have to call in with all those cards, but they are really nice about it! When we were there we used the ones we had for spending money just like cash. It was so easy and saved us about $300 over all!

Yup - I do this too... And don't forget - if you do Pharmacy Rewards with Target, you can earn a 5% off shopping pass day for every 10 prescriptions filled... If you plan your GC purchases right, you are eligible to stack those disounts - which works out to be a savings of approx 9.5%... Fortunately, I am a Target Team Member, as well, so I can stack my -10% (Team Member discount), -5% (Pharmacy Rewards) & -5% (Target Debit Card), which adds up to a nice chunk of savings on our trips - then when Disney offers Free Dining - well - who can pass that up?

D~

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Oh sure if you use a Target credit or debit card ( I use debit) you get 5% off of EVERYTHING! Even gift cards. So I figured out what we would spend ( including room, dining, tips, souvenirs, extra drinks etc.) and purchased enough gift cards to cover it all. So it was like an extra 5% off the entire trip.

The only hang up is that you can only get them in$50, so you have to buy a lot of them. I started buying a few every time we went to Target about 6 months out. Then when you pay off your trip you have to call in with all those cards, but they are really nice about it! When we were there we used the ones we had for spending money just like cash. It was so easy and saved us about $300 over all!

That sounds like some awesome savings magic. Sondsl like I should look into this target card.

Airshows are so much fun. I grew up on them, and I can't think of a better way for a 3 year old boy to spend his birthday day!

Good to hear your nephew is doing well, and it's nice that you were able to see him for a bit while you were in town.

I hate when prices put you overbudget. You have to start moving things around and look out for deals and sicounts. It can be time consuming, but completely worth it. I hope the prices work out the way you want them to between now and May.

This was my second airsho and I am hooed! I was amazed that after 3 hours Goose wasn't board at all or ready to go!

We have been doing some number crunching. Mr. Incredible's solution is to increase our budget. I thought since we were adding days and upgrading rooms our 4,750 number was a little low, but I would I would like to keep it under $5,000, which should be doable! Mr. Incredible is convinced the whole thing will cost closer to $7,000 but I am determined to do better!

Haha it's so funny reading about "Goose" now because that is my cat's name! It looks like his birthday was a huge success, the photos are adorable.

You have a little ways to go on your trip, so I'm sure you will figure out ways to cut things down in your budget, especially if a room discount appears. Good luck!

That is too funny. We have a cat we named "squirrel"!

I really think we will be able to get a room discount or something, I would just rather assume we aren't upfront.

Yup - I do this too... And don't forget - if you do Pharmacy Rewards with Target, you can earn a 5% off shopping pass day for every 10 prescriptions filled... If you plan your GC purchases right, you are eligible to stack those disounts - which works out to be a savings of approx 9.5%... Fortunately, I am a Target Team Member, as well, so I can stack my -10% (Team Member discount), -5% (Pharmacy Rewards) & -5% (Target Debit Card), which adds up to a nice chunk of savings on our trips - then when Disney offers Free Dining - well - who can pass that up?

D~

That is fantastic! I am not a fan of credit cards so I like that they have a debit option! Thanks for the help ladies. Any other magical savings tips would be appreciated

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Hello everyone!

This past weekend Mr. Incredible and I had a lot of Disney planning fun, but before I get to that...the May crowd calendar came out!

Here is the link: http://www.easywdw.com/news/preliminary-may-2014-disney-world-crowd-calendar/

Now back to our planning. Mr. Incredible worked on our favorite part of vacation planning... the food! Remember my lovely list of ADR plans? Well I printed all the menus, we made choices, and I ran the numbers.

This is what I ended up with:




Do you guys see that total circled in green? That's right $1,106 for 1 week of food. I love Disney, I love a big vacation splurge and I love food, but I just couldn't do it. So I ran the numbers for the Deluxe Dining plan that would give us the table credits we needed. Wow!! That was even more expensive, and my total includes alcohol and our travel day foods!

Then I remember that there are food booths at the flower and garden festival and suggested "Eating around the World" to Mr. Incredible. He LOVED the idea! But would it save us money?

I think this calls for another spreadsheet I found the menu for last year, and we looked at the QS offerings at the worldshowcase and we made our choices (understanding this years menu will be different, I just needed numbers)



The totals weren't looking too bad. Then we decided maybe we could eliminate one more TS and the dessert party. So we switched Sci-Fi since I have heard the food is average, and $17 is a lot to pay for a hamburger, for a QS. The result?



$931! Much better. We may end up adding the Dessert Party back, but I feel good about getting the total under $1,000.

Of course with all these changes, doesn't that make the normal Disney Dinning Plan work for us? Why yes it does. So I ran the numbers and .....
womp womp, it was still more than my total and wouldn't include the alcoholic drinks I have listed or our travel food. So we are sticking out of pocket unless an amazing deal comes up.

So that is where we are now. We did some editing, but I feel really good about it, and I am excited to Eat around the World.

 

[dismom9761]

love the spreadsheets. I am computer illiterate but I made my first spreadsheet for our trip and it took soo long.
Maybe a good deal will come your way. We are going with free dining for the fifth time and really enjoy all the eating.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Look at you go with all your spreadsheets and math! Impressed! I don't want to mess up your math or anything but I'm hoping free dining comes out for you guys. I'm all excited to see you come in way under budget!

Isn't it exciting when the crowd calendar for your month comes out?!?

 

[MeeskaMomma]

love the spreadsheets. I am computer illiterate but I made my first spreadsheet for our trip and it took soo long.
Maybe a good deal will come your way. We are going with free dining for the fifth time and really enjoy all the eating.

]

I get a little to giddy making spreadsheets. Free dining would be amazing!

Look at you go with all your spreadsheets and math! Impressed! I don't want to mess up your math or anything but I'm hoping free dining comes out for you guys. I'm all excited to see you come in way under budget!

Isn't it exciting when the crowd calendar for your month comes out?!?

I would welcome free dining messing up my math!!!! I am really starting to appreciate what great deal that is!!!

It is exciting! It makes the trip feel so much closer for some reason!

 

[kayemgi]

Haha I have almost the same spreadsheets! I calculated it all out, what we'd be mostly likely to eat, etc. I showed it to DH (who is sadly not into spreadsheets like your DH), and he was very concerned. "Does this mean I have to order this when we go there?" Haha, poor guy. I told him of course not, I just was trying to get an idea of our food costs. He thinks I'm crazy during the planning, but once we get there and we hardly spend any "real" money because we have Disney gift cards that we bought at Target (with 5% off!) he'll be happy!

I'm sure some kind of discount will come through for you guys, but I did the same, better to count on it NOT happening and be pleasantly surprised than to count on the discount and not be able to afford your vacation if they don't offer one! I see a surprising number of people on these boards doing the latter. Good for you for being smart!!

 

[amazingact21]

Disney food adds up quick...


In all honesty, though, if you don't think you'll order the most expensive item or dessert every time you eat, then paying out of pocket is a smarter decision. And, if you cange your mind, you can always add it on at a later date.

 

[ABCastillo]

So glad you posted your food spreadsheet! After working up mine I found that it was better to pay out of pocket too, and I think my Mom (aka Mimi) thought I was crazy. But before discounts I just kept coming up with better budgets when paying out of pocket. Now I don't feel so crazy.

 

[DMGeurts]

Great job on the spreadsheets... That's what I love about Disney - there are so many ways to do it to make it work for each family...

When ever I do the #'s... I usually come up about $50 cheaper for OOP vs. DDP, so we always do DDP - because my #'s don't normally include dessert... And even though we aren't big dessert eaters - we have gotten spoiled with Disney desserts. LOL

So happy you were able to make it fit with in your budget though - that's always such a big relief!

D~

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I am really impressed with all your spreadsheets! I always try to do that too, but my DH refuses to decide what he wants to eat before we get there! But I can usually guess. Ours came up with significant savings for the reg DP. We ended up with the deluxe plan which meant we had more meals than we really needed, but it was lots of fun!

I am sure your budget will work out! Looks like you have a good grip on it.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

Love the spreadsheets. I do the same thing when it comes to restaurants we are considering. I think your plan to eat around the world will be fun. We went during the F&W festival last year and spent a couple of evenings enjoying dinner by visiting several booths.

I think after reading how much your family enjoys The Plaza Restaurant we are going to give it a try this trip. The menu looks really good.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Haha I have almost the same spreadsheets! I calculated it all out, what we'd be mostly likely to eat, etc. I showed it to DH (who is sadly not into spreadsheets like your DH), and he was very concerned. "Does this mean I have to order this when we go there?" Haha, poor guy. I told him of course not, I just was trying to get an idea of our food costs. He thinks I'm crazy during the planning, but once we get there and we hardly spend any "real" money because we have Disney gift cards that we bought at Target (with 5% off!) he'll be happy! I'm sure some kind of discount will come through for you guys, but I did the same, better to count on it NOT happening and be pleasantly surprised than to count on the discount and not be able to afford your vacation if they don't offer one! I see a surprising number of people on these boards doing the latter. Good for you for being smart!!

Glad I am not the only one with crazy spreadsheets the funny thing is DH and I probably will order what we planned because our goal in dinning with a 3 year old is keep it under 30 min and knowing what you want ahead of time really helps!

Did you have your trip already? I am so behind on DIS! If so I hope to see a TR soon!

Disney food adds up quick... In all honesty, though, if you don't think you'll order the most expensive item or dessert every time you eat, then paying out of pocket is a smarter decision. And, if you cange your mind, you can always add it on at a later date.

That is what I am discovering! Some day we will have to try a trip during free dining!

So glad you posted your food spreadsheet! After working up mine I found that it was better to pay out of pocket too, and I think my Mom (aka Mimi) thought I was crazy. But before discounts I just kept coming up with better budgets when paying out of pocket. Now I don't feel so crazy.

Glad I am not the only one coming up with that answer! I tried several scenarios thinking there has to be one where DDP is more economical and just couldn't get there. I think others are right you have to get he most expensive thing on every menu and dessert and use all your snacks for it to save money.

Great job on the spreadsheets... That's what I love about Disney - there are so many ways to do it to make it work for each family... When ever I do the #'s... I usually come up about $50 cheaper for OOP vs. DDP, so we always do DDP - because my #'s don't normally include dessert... And even though we aren't big dessert eaters - we have gotten spoiled with Disney desserts. LOL So happy you were able to make it fit with in your budget though - that's always such a big relief! D~

I think if it was $50 cheaper we would soooo do the DDP. I kind I want to try it one year just to see if it makes things easier. I like the flexibility too! We talk a lot about how our trips will change as Goose gets older, but Disney is so versatile we can get a lot of good vacations in without it getting boring.

I am really impressed with all your spreadsheets! I always try to do that too, but my DH refuses to decide what he wants to eat before we get there! But I can usually guess. Ours came up with significant savings for the reg DP. We ended up with the deluxe plan which meant we had more meals than we really needed, but it was lots of fun! I am sure your budget will work out! Looks like you have a good grip on it.

The deluxe plan looks great! If we ever take a trip with just DH and I or when DS is old enough to enjoy dining out more, we want to do that, but only when we can really relax and relish all the dining experiences!

Love the spreadsheets. I do the same thing when it comes to restaurants we are considering. I think your plan to eat around the world will be fun. We went during the F&W festival last year and spent a couple of evenings enjoying dinner by visiting several booths. I think after reading how much your family enjoys The Plaza Restaurant we are going to give it a try this trip. The menu looks really good.

We do love the plaza! I have talked it up so much I hope it lives up to the high expectations I has created!

I am so exited to eat around the world! I think Goose will enjoy it too!

 

[LB1122]

Your spreadsheet is so awesome. Very cool way to look at it. The costs get high I know. Here hoping free dining comes you way???

Save even ore than?

Either way you will eat well and have a blast

 

[DMGeurts]

I think if it was $50 cheaper we would soooo do the DDP. I kind I want to try it one year just to see if it makes things easier. I like the flexibility too! We talk a lot about how our trips will change as Goose gets older, but Disney is so versatile we can get a lot of good vacations in without it getting boring.

Quite honestly - the thing I like most about DDP, is the fact that I can order whatever I want and I don't have to look at the prices. If we were paying OOP, then I would constantly be conscious of what we are spending... That, and now that the girls are older - they just go through the line and "pay" for their own meal - which is really handy in food court situations... It's no fun having to stand there with your tray and wait forever for everyone to get their meals and go through to pay at the same time.

But, honestly - when my girls were younger - ddp would not have been worth it.

I agree - a huge benefit to Disney is how it can grow and change as your family grows and changes - each trip is a new experience, because you are able to do and try new things.

D~

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Your spreadsheet is so awesome. Very cool way to look at it. The costs get high I know. Here hoping free dining comes you way???

Save even ore than?

Either way you will eat well and have a blast

Why thank you! Wouldn't free dining be nice! Does anyone know if it has ever happened in May?

Quite honestly - the thing I like most about DDP, is the fact that I can order whatever I want and I don't have to look at the prices. If we were paying OOP, then I would constantly be conscious of what we are spending... That, and now that the girls are older - they just go through the line and "pay" for their own meal - which is really handy in food court situations... It's no fun having to stand there with your tray and wait forever for everyone to get their meals and go through to pay at the same time.

But, honestly - when my girls were younger - ddp would not have been worth it.

I agree - a huge benefit to Disney is how it can grow and change as your family grows and changes - each trip is a new experience, because you are able to do and try new things.

D~

Oooo I like the idea of Goose being able to "pay" for his own meals when he is a little older. I am all about teaching him independence. I have already decided that getting him to help with Disney planning when he is older will teach him a lot of great life skills (budgeting, decision making, scheduling etc.)

It looks like your trips with your girls are so fun!