Disney family of 6 planning...

[HR85]

My head is literally spinning! I keep going back and forth over the budget and reservations (that's a whole other story) and no matter what I come back to the same conclusion... I simply just need to ask for advice! So here it goes, we are a family of 6 (youngest is 2yo). What would be a good number to aim for food, souvenirs and or other cost I might not be aware of? We will spend 4 days Disney (1 will be spent at MNSSHP) and 1 day Universal. I have tickets and hotel plus reservations (CP breakfast and BBB) taken care of so aside from those, what would be a good estimate of how much More I should plan on spending! Thanks and if you haven't guessed it by now yes I am a Disney newbie!

 

[720L]

Go to allears.net. The website has menus & pricing that could help you with food cost. We usually give the kids a Disney gift card for souveniers. I would say $25 is fine for 1 item-- stuffed animal etc. Tshirts are probably $30-$35.

 

[Aliceacc]

OK, some suggestions from a family of 5:
1. You could save a LOT of money by skipping that day at Universal. There's plenty at WDW to keep you occupied, and for the price of that day at Universal you could add a day or two, probably more, at WDW.

2. In terms of a resort, I imagine the cheapest options are, in no particular order:
- 2 hopefully connecting rooms at a value resort
- a family suite at All STar Music
- a suite at Art of Animation
- a cabin at Fort Wilderness
- a Deluxe that sleeps 5, with your youngest in a port a crib. Take a look at the Garden View rooms at the Contemporary.

3. If this is your first trip, your daughter will have no idea that BBB exists, and will have a wonderful trip without it. You can dress her up in her Halloween princess costume, put makeup on her face, glitter in her updo, and she'll think she's amazing!!

4. Take a look at the DDP. Depending on how many of your kids are under 10 years old, it may be a great bargain for you.

 

[happymommy]

I agree to skip Universal and add days to Disney as well. Also BBB is not a must do - it is very expensive (and honestly I'm not fond of the look).

I'd do two rooms, even at a value resort. That would give you more beds for sleeping and two bathrooms.

The night time parties are hit or miss. I've never done one, but my kids kept to their normal routines at Disney (so they were in bed in the evening, and I was honestly tired too).

We stick to mostly counter service meals, and they portions are so large that my DD and I often share a meal. Ice water is free anywhere that has fountain drinks, and we don't drink a lot of soda. So, we find we don't buy a lot of drinks.

You can order a box from Amazon Prime Pantry for drinks and snacks in the room (it's easier to me to eat something in the room while getting ready often). There's also Garden Grocer, but they have higher prices (but, they will deliver items that Prime Pantry doesn't like yogurt, cheese sticks, fresh fruit, milk, and beer & wine).

 

[pd1138]

We are six too and this will be our third trip as 6. I know that one day at universal will be very expensive as compared to adding one additional day at Disney which you can always do once you are there. As for dining it depends how much your kids eat. You can check out allears.net as pp mentioned as it has recent menus with prices so you will have a good idea of a food budget. We also bring non perishable snacks into the parks with us to keep the kids fed. We are actually a rare family that does well on the dining plan, but we have three big eaters!! As for souvenirs its up to what you are comfortable with. I go to the Disney store outlet by us and pick up a couple little gifts to give them. The employee there suggested the idea of "pillow gifts" to have waiting for them at the end or beginning of the day. We also do a game before we go the weeks leading up to the trip where the kids can win points that convert to cash so they can pick out their own souvenirs. That way I know before we go how much to bring for the gift shops.

 

[jvz82]

We are a family of 6 too and the youngest will be almost 2 on our trip in December. I'm not a Disney newbie but it does feel more daunting with more people!

We are staying at the Caribbean beach resort, which is the cheapest option for a big family. Getting the quick service dining plan (not for the youngest, he will share with me!). We plan to eat our own breakfast every day, so we will bring bananas and breakfast bars, those types of things. Then quick service meals for lunch and dinner at the parks. We are taking one day "off" from the parks in the middle of our trip, both to save money and to enjoy the hotel and/or Disney springs. We're also splurging on a character breakfast at a different resort on our day off.

My kids are constantly hungry so I will bring tons of granola bars and snacks for the parks. The only Disney treats I will let them have will be the one "snack" on our quick service plan everyday, otherwise they'll want treats all day long!

Each kid will get a certain amount of money to spend on souvenirs. I like the idea of giving them gift cards!

We aren't doing any other extras like BBB just because it's so hard with 4 kids to afford that stuff for everyone. I really want to bring my daughter for a princess breakfast at Epcot but again, high cost and takes up our time at the park! So hard to do everything you know?

 

[Aliceacc]

We are a family of 6 too and the youngest will be almost 2 on our trip in December.
We aren't doing any other extras like BBB just because it's so hard with 4 kids to afford that stuff for everyone. I really want to bring my daughter for a princess breakfast at Epcot but again, high cost and takes up our time at the park! So hard to do everything you know?

A cheaper alternative would be to FP a princess meet and greet.

Or of she has a birthday between now and then, you could do an IOU for that princess breakfast

 

[Sgt Mickey]

My daughter is now 16 and I am glad we did BBB when we did. We are also a family of 6 but I only have one girl.
We have never been huge on souvenirs so we save more in this area. I find what works best for us is giving the kids all a set amount on a disney gift card and that is their souvenir money. It saves on the I wants through the parks.
We have bought Mickey ears and tees through the years so it just depends on how much you want to spend and on what.
There are certain things we always buy in the park popcorn bucket, Mickey ice cream and dole whips. BUT we don't over spend by bringing our own water and other snacks. We also don't really eat in the park other than our planned meals.

 

[720L]

The Halloween party is awesome, so glad we did it once. BBB is also worth it if you can afford it. As others have mentioned, ordering water/snacks/breakfast from Prime Pantry or bringing it yourself saves a lot.

 

[roseaster]

We are a big family, too. How old are all your kids? That really makes a difference.

My kids loved MNSSHP, but we didn't get park tickets for that day. We hung out at the resort pool during the day and then went over to MK around 4 in the afternoon. They will let you in for the party at 4.

We always ordered water and snacks form Garden Grocer or Amazon. My kids eat like food will shortly be made illegal. We also saved on breakfast by ordering breakfast things (bagels, Pop Tarts, PB, cereal, Shelf stable milk, bananas) to eat in the room. Some of my kids aren't morning people, so corralling them all and getting them all to a breakfast ADR is a pain.

Are you on the dining plan? Are you staying on site or off?

Really Universal needs 2 days. My kids love Universal and the Harry Potter stuff is incredible.

BBB was a great experience when my girls were little.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Wow, a lot of People Like Me here. We are six, three sons, youngest is my only girl, age 2.
You mentioned that the youngest is 2, but not the others' ages. We made trips to DLR and are going to Universal for two days this December before we start our 10-day WDW stay despite people talking about how we should wait until all the kids are potty-trained, until they're all old enough to remember, etc. I reject that. My elder kids deserve to go when they are kids, while things are still really magical. So we did DLR as a family of five to see Radiator Springs when my eldest was about to turn 8 and still loved McQueen and Mater. Now we're going to WWHP as a family of six while he still thinks getting his letter from Hogwarts would be pretty cool.
So I totally understand why you're doing a day at Universal, despite the cost. The kids will lose their minds at MNSSHP with the trick or treating. It's really special when lots of people come in costumes and your ToTing with a castle in the background.
As for budget, I use the Dining Plan as my guide. We are going during a Free Dining period, but if we bought the plan, it would be about $240/day plus a ~$40 tip for our Table Service meal of the day. So, I think making room for $300/day gives wiggle room and helps with the ears and other merch you'll discover. I am giving each kid a $50 gift card, and we already know that we're spending that much on wands at Ollivander's.
Yes, of course, you can do the trip on less than that, but I like a generous number to give some padding, avoid unexpected debt when I return home, and allow the trip to feel like a nice vacation rather than a constant budget struggle trying to keep it on a shoestring and feel like I'm saying No 10,000 times each day.

 

[roseaster]

Wow, a lot of People Like Me here. We are six, three sons, youngest is my only girl, age 2.
You mentioned that the youngest is 2, but not the others' ages. We made trips to DLR and are going to Universal for two days this December before we start our 10-day WDW stay despite people talking about how we should wait until all the kids are potty-trained, until they're all old enough to remember, etc. I reject that. My elder kids deserve to go when they are kids, while things are still really magical. So we did DLR as a family of five to see Radiator Springs when my eldest was about to turn 8 and still loved McQueen and Mater. Now we're going to WWHP as a family of six while he still thinks getting his letter from Hogwarts would be pretty cool.
So I totally understand why you're doing a day at Universal, despite the cost. The kids will lose their minds at MNSSHP with the trick or treating. It's really special when lots of people come in costumes and your ToTing with a castle in the background.
As for budget, I use the Dining Plan as my guide. We are going during a Free Dining period, but if we bought the plan, it would be about $240/day plus a ~$40 tip for our Table Service meal of the day. So, I think making room for $300/day gives wiggle room and helps with the ears and other merch you'll discover. I am giving each kid a $50 gift card, and we already know that we're spending that much on wands at Ollivander's.
Yes, of course, you can do the trip on less than that, but I like a generous number to give some padding, avoid unexpected debt when I return home, and allow the trip to feel like a nice vacation rather than a constant budget struggle trying to keep it on a shoestring and feel like I'm saying No 10,000 times each day.

LOL. I have 5 girls and 1 boy. Needless to say, having more than one bathroom is always our priority. If we waited until everyone could remember it, I'm not sure when we would have ever gone. My son made his 1st visit at 6 weeks.

 

[pd1138]

LOL. I have 5 girls and 1 boy. Needless to say, having more than one bathroom is always our priority. If we waited until everyone could remember it, I'm not sure when we would have ever gone. My son made his 1st visit at 6 weeks.

I agree! This is our last go at a deluxe since our youngest is still under three. It's going to be tight for the bathroom. I think I'm already looking to our next trip AoA for the two bathrooms!!

 

[Lavitz]

Budget wise my advice would be this. Try to get in with free dining and book a room that accommodates 5, cheapest would be at a moderate resort (Caribbean Beach) that has a pull-down Murphy bed for the 5th person. Since you're at a moderate they will give you the regular dining plan with 1 table service and 1 quick service meal a day, plus snacks. That's saves you $50 per person per day, or $250 a day (you don't get a dining plan for the 2 y/o since they're free, also why they don't count towards the 5 person room occupancy). The $250 a day you are saving on food, use this for your souvenirs and other expenses. Free dining dates are:

• August 23 through October 1, 2016
• November 15 through 21, 2016
• November 26 through 28, 2016
• December 10 through 21, 2016

I'd also try and skip Universal. Like Disney you get much better prices the more days you go. I'd try to book a 3-4 day stay there one year instead.