Final tally for our vacation last month

[FoxC63]

If she's not at Disney NOW, she cannot book a BB, even if it is available to SoG guests (which I do not believe it is). If she was staying in a Disney Resort, such as ASMu, on a military discount right now, then she would be able to. Once you check out, you cannot book a bounceback.

So, the BB offer is really not even a consideration in her case. She's not there. She would have to travel there again to qualify for a BB on a subsequent trip. She's not asking about two trips from now. She's asking about her next one.

As for stockpiling tickets for future trips, I find that to be a gamble that not everyone should take.

• You're tying up money - sometimes thousands of dollars! - that you cannot get back in the event of an emergency because tickets are non-refundable.
  
• Once you commit to buying your tickets ahead of time, you have excluded yourself from any package discounts that Disney will offer.

Marionnette, I'm not trying to be rude to you, I think we're both trying to help out.

Stockpiling is your term not mine. I never suggested she do that and even if she did, that's her call not yours or mine. And no it does NOT exclude you from obtaining discount packages. Just to be clear when you do purchase MYW Base Tickets in advance you do not HAVE to upload the digits into your MDE account right a way. And I don't believe you can purchase Military Salute tickets at Parksaver or Undercovertourist.

 

[milwaukeemommy]

Interesting about the BB, I never heard of that. We cannot stay at Shades of Green without my in laws, as the person who is in the military or retired from the military has to book & pay for the rooms. They do require military id.

I do hope we get to go again with my in laws. I love Shades of Green. However, they are older & I'm just thinking ahead to when they might not be able to go to Disney anymore or might not WANT to go to Disney anymore. It's a lot of walking & even this trip my MIL had to rent a scooter several days. I know SoG is probably the cheapest resort on Disney so just bracing myself for the day we have to stay somewhere else

 

[FoxC63]

Interesting about the BB, I never heard of that. We cannot stay at Shades of Green without my in laws, as the person who is in the military or retired from the military has to book & pay for the rooms. They do require military id.

I do hope we get to go again with my in laws. I love Shades of Green. However, they are older & I'm just thinking ahead to when they might not be able to go to Disney anymore or might not WANT to go to Disney anymore. It's a lot of walking & even this trip my MIL had to rent a scooter several days. I know SoG is probably the cheapest resort on Disney so just bracing myself for the day we have to stay somewhere else

So when you do go and you're actually there, before you check out, find out about the BB offer. It will either be Room Only discount or a package discount which may include free dinning & park tickets.

Here's the 2017 BB Offer link to help you further: http://www.disboards.com/threads/bounce-back-2017.3491542/

 

[milwaukeemommy]

Also SoG is funny ..... it's on Disney but military owned .... so we get the perks as far as going to parks early/ staying late, but I'm not aware of all the other discounts you're talking about. We probably wouldn't be able to get the BB but I will check it out next time.

 

[milwaukeemommy]

So when you do go and you're actually there, before you check out, find out about the BB offer. It will either be Room Only discount or a package discount which may include free dinning & park tickets.

I will

 

[FoxC63]

I will

Now if you decide to go with Room Only BB Offer, then try to purchase your base tickets before they increase, usually in February. There are several sites to choose from but be very careful. I use undercovertourist AND I go through ebates . com - this cash back site allows you to get up to $2.50 off per ORDER. Each ticket should be purchased separately to maximize your savings. I wish you and your family well and hope your future stay is amazing! °O°

 

[Marionnette]

Interesting about the BB, I never heard of that. We cannot stay at Shades of Green without my in laws, as the person who is in the military or retired from the military has to book & pay for the rooms. They do require military id.

I do hope we get to go again with my in laws. I love Shades of Green. However, they are older & I'm just thinking ahead to when they might not be able to go to Disney anymore or might not WANT to go to Disney anymore. It's a lot of walking & even this trip my MIL had to rent a scooter several days. I know SoG is probably the cheapest resort on Disney so just bracing myself for the day we have to stay somewhere else

If you want to get a feel for what a future vacation at Disney is going to cost you if you go without a military discount, I suggest going to the Disney website and playing around with resort stays, dates and different tickets. The number you get will be the most that you would pay in 2016/2017. barring a huge ticket increase in January. Beyond 2017, the prices for resorts, tickets and dining plans are too much of a wild card to predict. In the past, adding another 10% to cover increases for one year beyond the current booking window was a good rule of thumb but with the way that Disney has been increasing ticket prices in order to drive attendance down, I wouldn't rely on that anymore.

SoG is not always the most affordable resort on property but it is probably the best price you will see for the level of amenities you get. The Value Resorts, with a good discount code, can be less expensive than SoG. SoG rates are based on military rank and pay grade. It's hard to tell what you paid for your room because your food was factored into that rate. But you paid $239/night at SoG with food (assuming you stayed 7 nights). Even at Christmas time (2017) with no discount, ASMu runs $205/night with tax and no food included. Stay there during a "value season" and the rack rate is half that amount. IOW, ASMu and the other Value Resorts can actually be cheaper than staying at SoG. You just wouldn't get the large room and other amenities that you would expect from SoG.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Yes good deal but you did have military discount which is a HUGE savings..

 

[FoxC63]

Yes good deal but you did have military discount which is a HUGE savings..

No she doesn't - her in laws do.

 

[FoxC63]

Here's the link to undercovertourist . com showing when Disney increased their tickets on February and what you could potentially save when purchasing your tickets in advance should you need to:
https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/price-rise/
I purchased 5 day MYW base tickets for $322.95 and I went through ebates. They had a promotion saving me $2.50 off each ticket when I purchased them separately, plus I used my credit card which also is cash back based. These prices include 6.5% tax and free shipping.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I have no clue when it comes to vacation costs. Never went on one until my in laws took us to Disney 4 years ago - & they paid for everything. So I still had no clue.

We went with them again this year, but told them we would pay our own way. They paid for everything up front, then my MIL did all the math & just sent me all the costs. It was wayyy less than I thought it would be. What do you think?

Understand though, we stayed at Shades of Green which I know is way cheaper than all the other Disney resorts. That plan also included breakfast & lunch buffet so we only had to pay for lunch at the parks which was probably no more than $50 per day for 4 of us.

Flight for 4: $1035
Room & food for 4: $1673
Disney park hopper/ Universal 2 day passes for 4: $1050

for a GRAND TOTAL of $3758

They did pick up a few things like transport to & from the airport & such. Just curious how this compares to others vacations. So I guess I know for future visits IF we go with our in laws (since only military/ retired military can stay at Shades of Green) we should budget about $5000 for everything including meals. I dont think that's bad at all, for a whole week of the most fun ever

Yeah, military makes it ridiculously cheap - the tickets for you without the military discount (4 4 day hoppers at Disney and 4 2 day hoppers at Universal) would have been $1680 for the Disney ones and $1020 for the Universal ones for $2700. Just in tickets, you saved $1650...that's unbeatable for anyone who is not military or a Floridian...

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

For future trips without a military discount, consider renting DVC points. You can often stay at very nice resorts for a fraction of the regular cost. And if you can flexible with your vacation time, you can really get a good deal.

 

[crazylady]

If you want to get a feel for what a future vacation at Disney is going to cost you if you go without a military discount, I suggest going to the Disney website and playing around with resort stays, dates and different tickets. The number you get will be the most that you would pay in 2016/2017. barring a huge ticket increase in January. Beyond 2017, the prices for resorts, tickets and dining plans are too much of a wild card to predict. In the past, adding another 10% to cover increases for one year beyond the current booking window was a good rule of thumb but with the way that Disney has been increasing ticket prices in order to drive attendance down, I wouldn't rely on that anymore.

SoG is not always the most affordable resort on property but it is probably the best price you will see for the level of amenities you get. The Value Resorts, with a good discount code, can be less expensive than SoG. SoG rates are based on military rank and pay grade. It's hard to tell what you paid for your room because your food was factored into that rate. But you paid $239/night at SoG with food (assuming you stayed 7 nights). Even at Christmas time (2017) with no discount, ASMu runs $205/night with tax and no food included. Stay there during a "value season" and the rack rate is half that amount. IOW, ASMu and the other Value Resorts can actually be cheaper than staying at SoG. You just wouldn't get the large room and other amenities that you would expect from SoG.

Just for comparison purposes, the current rate for a regular room at SOG is $110-$150 depending on rank.

 

[Halle]

I have no clue when it comes to vacation costs. Never went on one until my in laws took us to Disney 4 years ago - & they paid for everything. So I still had no clue.

We went with them again this year, but told them we would pay our own way. They paid for everything up front, then my MIL did all the math & just sent me all the costs. It was wayyy less than I thought it would be. What do you think?

Understand though, we stayed at Shades of Green which I know is way cheaper than all the other Disney resorts. That plan also included breakfast & lunch buffet so we only had to pay for lunch at the parks which was probably no more than $50 per day for 4 of us.

Flight for 4: $1035
Room & food for 4: $1673
Disney park hopper/ Universal 2 day passes for 4: $1050

for a GRAND TOTAL of $3758

They did pick up a few things like transport to & from the airport & such. Just curious how this compares to others vacations. So I guess I know for future visits IF we go with our in laws (since only military/ retired military can stay at Shades of Green) we should budget about $5000 for everything including meals. I dont think that's bad at all, for a whole week of the most fun ever

You are so brave. We have been going since 1975 (honeymoon) and at least once a year since 1986, I save the receipts in an envelope to add them up.....never have pulled the trigger guess I want to keep going.