dreaming

[4fordisney]

We are only getting 2 days at Disney because of time constraints on our trip in May. We've never been and I want longer. So here I am dreaming up another trip in October. Again there are time constraints (my husband has a hard time getting vacation time). We will have 4 days including traveling time. Here are the details....can you help me figure out a budget for which to aim?

Travelers:
Myself - 38
Dh - 41
DS- 10

Flying out of Chicago, IL on October 11th
Returning to Chicago. IL October 14th

We'll stay at any resort.

We'd like hoppers.

We'd like the dining package, but it isn't necessarily a must.

I came up with $1990.01. Can we do better than that?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Did you get your passes for May yet? I would suggest getting 7-day MYW Hoppers (non-expiry) from Ticketmania.com for $286 per adult pass (the 10yo will need an adult pass). The 7-day passes could then be used for both the May and October trips. This would be much more cost-efficient than puchasing 2-day passes and 4-day passes for the individual trips. Any unused days will not expire, so even if you do not use all 7 days on those 2 trips, you can always take advantage of them on a 3rd visit.

Of course, by purchasing the passes now for May, you would not be able to use a package in October. This would mean that you could not take advantage of the MYW dining, which would have cost you $105/night for your family. However, I think that you could certainly feed 2 adults & 1 junior on that amount on your own. We budget $125/day for 2 adults & 2 juniors.

October is regular season. A value resort will go for $99/night plus tax. With a AAA discount, you could get it for 15% off. So, you could realistically expect to spend $282 for the room for 3 nights.

In all, I think that it can be done for under $1600, excluding transportation costs. This would include the cost of your passes for both May & October.

 

[4fordisney]

We've already purchased our tickets for May.

Could there possibly be a better time than October? What month would be best for the lowest rates?

 

[d-man's mom]

Do you go camping? You can get a campsite at Ft Wilderness campground with electric & water for $38. That's the value season rate with no discounts, so you might be able to get it for even less than that.

If you go over to the Camping board here, there's a thread with how to pack your gear so that it fits the luggage requirements for the flight.

 

[4fordisney]

Nope, we're not campers. I am not totally opposed to it, but it doesn't come naturally to me.