Family on TIGHT budget, HELP!

[NancyIL]

Good luck. I will say this, Disney is not the be all to end all. Many families managed to raise happy, healthy children with hundreds of special memories with out Disney.

 

[Beezle2]

Off topic but - I grew up in Kalamazoo! I'll be back in July for my 40th HS reunion.

>>


Hi Kalamazoo is a great place to live! Love it here! What high school if you don't mind me asking?

 

[NancyIL]

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Hi Kalamazoo is a great place to live! Love it here! What high school if you don't mind me asking?

I graduated from Loy Norrix.

 

[crisi]

How much money you can make selling plasma depends on supply and demand at your center and your blood type. Around here, if you have a rare blood type and are willing to drive to a high paying center, its possible to make $4k. But if you have a common blood type at a center that doesn't have any problem filling its chairs, you may make less than $100 a month. Its still around $10 or more an hour, but it might not get you to Disney every year.

(I haven't sold plasma in twenty years, but I donate (as in let someone stick a needle in my arm in exchange for two cookies and an apple juice) blood regularly - you can't do both)

 

[DawnM]

Actually, we had a place in SoCal that would "pay" you in the form of theme park tickets. Each few weeks of donating equalled a free Disneyland park day (there were other places to choose from, but my friend chose DL.)

I am not able to donate plasma but it is a good resource if you are really wanting something and have no other means to make it happen.

Selling your plasma because you need money for a dire emergency...maybe.

Selling your plasma to afford a Disney trip?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I am not able to donate plasma but it is a good resource if you are really wanting something and have no other means to make it happen.

Assuming the OP is able to donate. A lot of people can't.

 

[DawnM]

I don't think so. I think she is saying she WANTED to take them a few years ago but hasn't been able to, back when her son was 5. Now he is possibly 8???? and she wants to go before he turns 9.

OP hasn't returned to comment so no way of knowing exactly.

Dawn

First, it's very hard to determine a budget because Op is evident talking 3 or 4 years from now and who knows what prices will be by then.

My suggestions.
1. Off-site. Sorry but with the budget you are talking about you should focus on the most bang for the buck. Please don't get hung up of adjectives like "magical", yada yada yada. You will have a magical time no matter what.

2) down time. I would get a 4 day ticket, one day for each park, the rest of the time do pool and DTD.

Good luck. I will say this, Disney is not the be all to end all. Many families managed to raise happy, healthy children with hundreds of special memories with out Disney.

 

[Julylady]

A lot of good suggestions have already been given. OP - I would scrutinize your budget and see if you have any wiggle room to save money. Are you buying Starbucks a couple of times a week? Pizza on Saturday nights? Spending $40 for a hair cut? Drinks with friends after work? Are you willing to cut down on these items to save for a trip? Only you know the answer to that. Every penny you save can be put in a vacation account.

If you find a good deal on airfare, then I would stay at a value resort. You can use Magical Express. If you end up driving, then I would definitely stay off-site since you will have a car anyway. Either way, you can plan to eat a lot of meals in the hotel as others have suggested.

Another piece of advice. After checking your budget, give yourself a realistic goal as to how much you should be able to save in the next 6 months. This could be $100, $300, $500. Then see if you can do it. Some people are not able to delay gratification. They may dream of a nice car or vacation, but when it comes right down to it, they will not be willing to make daily sacrifices to make it happen. For example, waiting to see Saving Mr. Banks as a $3 rental, rather than seeing it in the movie theatre. Cost - $3 vs. $50 (3 tickets and popcorn), putting $47 in the vacation account. Some people can do this and others can't. (And it doesn't make you "better" if you can!)

Birthdays/holidays are another great place to find money. Kids as young as yours don't understand how much things cost. So if you normally spend $20 for a birthday gift, spend $5 and put the remaining $15 in the vacation account. Check out local thrift stores for gently "used" gifts. Try to get the grandparents on board with this plan too if they are in the picture.

And last.....do not say anything to the kids until you are CERTAIN you are going.

If you are already doing all of these things and there just is no place to find $$ in your budget, then I think you need to be realisitic in that you just can't afford to think about a vacation like Disney. Only you can answer that question!
Good luck, OP. I really hope you find a way to go!

 

[JanaDee]

The OP stated that she wants to fly and that above all else, she wants to stay onsite. I don't care how you slice and dice it, those two factors alone are going to drive her costs way up and put it well within the $3K range once you add tickets and food. Those Disney resorts are not cheap and flying is expensive.

Yup. Tickets for 5 days alone are over $900. So once you add in plane tickets, lodging and food for 3 people, you're pretty close to that $3,000 mark.

 

[abmitch01]

One thing I do is get a zero percent interest credit card for 18mos just prior to our trip. I only do this because I know I can pay it off well before the interest kicks in. It's just a timesaver, I do not allow myself to spend more because I have it.

 

[abmitch01]

and if my budget was really tight, I would stay off site. This will be our first time onsite and I'm sure it will be great but all of our off site trips were great, too. We still had Disney magic and when we went in larger groups we saved a ton by renting a house. When just the two kids and I went, we did a condo right near the park, got a great deal on a car and had a great time. We saved a ton on food. Sometimes you can't get everything you want but you can still get in on the Disney magic. And I can't emphasize enough how nice some of the off site housing is and it's cheap. Many have boy and girl Disney decorated rooms. You have room to spread out. Pools with slides. Game rooms. I had to convince my DD to stay on site this year, lol.

 

[danygirl]

We stayed off site in a downtown Disney hotel. They had shuttles every half hour to the parks and it was super close. The hilton in Dtd even has extra magic hours. We stayed in the best western. They had a Disney store in the lobby and a Pizza Hut on site . Priced are lower than on site

Bring food for breakfast from home- saves a lot of time if you want to hit the parks early. Bring lunch and snacks into the parks - it is awesome to be able to feed kids the minute they are hungry ! We ate in line

By a water parks and more option in your ticket and spend a day at each water park. That means a five day ticket lasts 7 days

Ask for Disney gift cards for Christmas and save them to pay for your trip.

Look for all the ways you can save a little

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I'd consider staying off site also. You can book Windsor Hills for $400 for the week. Then you'd also be able to make breakfast in the room, pack lunches for the parks and potentially cook dinner in the room when you get back at night. You could also look into the Yes tickets depending on the ages of your kids. Cool experience at Disney and affordable tickets.

I would fly most likely for anything I can't do in one days time. While flying with two young kids is exhausting (I've done 24 hours of flying with my 2 alone multiple times) it is doable. When driving you often add in the need for more food, gas, and hotel expenses.

I hope you figure out a budget so you can afford to take them.

 

[abmitch01]

Windsor Hills is where we always stayed and i give it a huge thumbs up. You can search for properties right off their home page. It's so close to Disney. There's a Target close by to get snacks and such. Did I already mention Sweet Tomatoes? A soup and salad buffet place. Give them your email, they send tons of coupons. We got ones for 3 adults to eat for $20, can't beat that.

you can also pass on Photopass. We did it one year over Feb break. There were not enough photographers around to get the best shots we wanted. Other families will take your picture if you offer to take theirs. And the Disney photographers will use your camera to take a pic even if you're not doing Photopass.

If you're kids might enjoy pin trading, order a lot on Ebay. I didn't think my kids would have a lifelong obsession with collecting valuable pins so this was fine for us. They enjoyed trading with cast members. Inexpensive fun.

I think you can have Disney Magic and still be on a budget. Like my DD never did BippityBoppity whatever it is. She never even asked for it. You can't have it all but you can still have fun.

 

[robinb]

Aside from the PP who stated that it will run about $3K to get the kind of vacation the OP wants, I'm not seeing too many actual numbers being thrown out there.

Fact: 1 adult 5-day base ticket is $323.76 (with tax). The children's tickets are $302.46.

Suggestion: Buy from someone other than Disney to save a few dollars on each ticket.
Suggestion: 3-day base tickets would be $291.81 and $271.58, respectively. Save a few dollars and plan "down" days in between.
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Fact: Even during the slowest period, a Disney Value Resort is $96/night (plus the 12% hotel tax). This is the rack rate during the week, during "value" season in January.

Suggestion: Look for a discount rate, which will get you between 5%-15% off of the rack rate of a Value Resort.
Suggestion: Go during *free* dining so that even though you are paying the rack rate, your will get 2 meals per person per day included in that price.​

Fact: Airfare is expensive. No two ways about it. Expect to pay around $200+ per person.

Suggestion: Check the prices from more than one departing airport.
Suggestion: Use a price-tracking website like Kayak.com to determine if the price you are seeing is likely to go down.
Suggestion: Get a rewards credit card that gives you bonus miles for signing up so that you can get free flights. Not a good suggestion (IMO), given that the OP's income is so low that she is not likely to be able to meet the spending requirement to get those bonus miles, even if she were to qualify for the card.​

Fact: There are no discounts on Disney food unless you are a privileged member such as a DVC owner, FL resident who purchases a TiW card or an AP holder. Expect to spend about $10-$15 per adult CS meal and about $6 per child's meal.

Suggestion: Check the menu prices on allears.net to see what you can expect to pay for food.
Suggestion:Share meals. Ask for ice water at CS locations.
Suggestion: Pack non-perishable breakfast items in your luggage so that you can eat in your room.
Suggestion: Get a Target debit card and use it to buy Disney gift cards at a 5% discount so that all of your OOP cost for food is 5% less than the posted prices.
Suggestion: Go during *free* dining.
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Absolutely spot on advise!

I'd consider staying off site also. You can book Windsor Hills for $400 for the week. Then you'd also be able to make breakfast in the room, pack lunches for the parks and potentially cook dinner in the room when you get back at night. You could also look into the Yes tickets depending on the ages of your kids. Cool experience at Disney and affordable tickets.

Sadly, the YES promo tickets are not a great deal anymore . I too stayed in Windsor Hills in a 2-bedroom condo for $299 per week which was $420 after all taxes and fees. It was a great deal. That being said, if the OP can wrangle to go during Free Dining she would have 2 meals automatically paid for and she could take along stuff for breakfast. Counter Service meals are "worth" about $15 per meal these days and kids meals about $7. She would receive about $45 per day in meals which would offset the price of the room. I think it depends whether she drives and has a car or flies and has to add a car to the trip. In any case, I don't see her getting a 5-day trip a whole lot under $2000.

 

[mefordis]

I'd make a plan to go in 3 years. see where you can shave $100/month off your budget. Then you would have $3600 at the end of 3 years. Your son will be about 12, I'm guessing, and your daughter 7? Perfect ages for WDW.

You may even be able to save more, but imo $3600 should allow you to stay at a value and fly, not drive.

 

[sheetz]

Since your kids are really young you might consider just visiting MK for 2 days and skipping the other parks. Also, you might want to see if taking Amtrak could work for you, as children under 12 are half price. The train ride would probably be a fun adventure in itself, and you save money by sleeping on the train and bringing your own food.

If the train ride is 2 days in each direction, then add 3 nights for hotel and that's a week long vacation.

 

[GracieB]

Not everyone spends a week in Disney. I know families who do one day! Jet Blue sometimes has kids free to Disneyland, but not necessarily WDW. I would start with a budget of 2-3 park days, with budget hotels.

You need to watch the airfares once you have savings built up. I flew from CA to Orlando for $140 last year, round trip.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Hey everyone! So i am new to the site and although i have been to disney many times, this is my first time attempting to book for me and my own family on my own for the first time!

I have been dying to take my kids since my daughter turned 1 and my son turned 5, but its just not been doable. Im getting worried it may never happen, but I am DETERMINED to get there before my son turns 9!

I am a single mom and only make 350 a week with tons of bills to pay for!

I need all the help and advice I can get from where to purchase the cheapest tix, to include the dining plan or not to include it. To fly or drive (some may automatically say drive to decrease costs, but driving 3 days with 2 young kids in a very small car can be really expensive in other ways )...to purchase as a package deak or everything seperate? I just don't know where to begin.

All i do know is that we are going to stay on disney property, one of the value resorts of course.

From there, all other opinions are a go!

Ready, set, HELP!

Hello!!!! Here's my advice!
1. 3 days to drive!?!?! If it's going to take that ling don't drive lol. My boyfriend and I drive 20 hours straight (if we stopped we would only stop one night) and its about $225 or so in gas total.
2. We bring mostly all of our food. And heat dinners up in the microwaves there. We bring cereal for mornings and make sandwiches to bring to the parks. We ate out at disney maybe 3 times.
3. Either stay at a value (I'd recommend Pop Century or Art of Animation) and stay when they have free dining. Orrrr if you don't want to stay at a value, stay during a time they offer discounts in rooms! Its like 20-35% off!!
4. If you must fly...maybe try to get the flyer points with a credit card..that could save money.

 

[SEA333]

I have to agree. While I get it that you want to take your kids, I doubt it's doable for you in your situation.

Not particularly directed to you, PP, but unless something drastic changes with the OP, I'm going to guess that she will likely not be in a position any time soon to start thinking about stock portfolios, college funds, 4-bedroom/3 bath homes with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a 3 car attached garage with a built in pool.

A lot of the people on this board are much more well off, and especially on this Budget Board, it seems like a lot have some variation of the above.

The OP is thinking about surviving day to day as a single parent in a simple small home or apartment, week to week, month to month. I'd say that at least 50% or more Americans are in the same situation, and if they want to save for a one-time, lets-do-it-but-we-have-to-do-it-cheap Disney Vacation, I say go ahead and do it!! The grind of everyday life isn't going to stop happenng at $350/week...heck, DH and I make in the low six figures and feel like we can never get ahead. But even so, everyone deserves to take a vacation every once in a while. It's not like OP is going to underfund her retirement fund by going...I'm going to guess that she probably doesn't have one and probably won't get one any time soon. At $350/week, investments/retirement/college funds just are not on most people's radar or in their world. If OP wants to dream about Disney, and can save enough to take her little ones for the trip of a lifetime, I'm certainly not going to tell her that it's not "doable"!

OP, just start saving as much as you can every paycheck. Keep your living expenses low....recycle things you would normally throw away after a first use, learn how to sew hems and holes so you don't have to throw clothing away just because it gets a hole in it, talk to everyone you can to see if you can swap services or clothing for the kids, or toys, etc. Don't buy anything that isn't necessary. Eat at home - learn how to cook a whole chicken (it's SOOO easy) and you can have three meals from one chicken. Buy snacks in big boxes and divvy them up instead of buying snack packs or individual packs of stuff.

Keep the faith - not only rich people go to Disneyworld...you can do this! And THEN start saving for retirement! (or a house, or your kids' college, or a rainy day fund....) But your kids will only be kids once - take them at least when they are young - the other stuff can wait.