Future trip planning help

[annie1995]

Ok, this is for all you Disney travelers that go more than once a year. How do you do it? I have crunched numbers and cannot figure out how we could go any more than every other year. We make a pretty good living, we are not doctors or lawyers, I only work part time, and my husband works for the state, but it was hard saving up for one trip, let alone going more than once a year. It took alot of overtime and scrimping on other stuff. We are huge disney fans and would like to go some time sooner than two years down the road. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I'm not sure about everyone else but this is how we do it:

• We live on the East Coast. That makes it easier to drive to Orlando if we choose. If we fly, airfare can be quite cheap if you catch it at the right time. However, more often than not, I use frequent flier miles to get there.
• I look for the best possible room rate that I can get. Sometimes it's AAA, sometimes it's an AP rate. Lately the MYW packages w/free dining was really hard to pass on, but we did. We've only stayed offsite once and I really did not like it. A lot of people do like it and have found wonderful bargains at some beautiful resorts.
• I get my tickets for the lowest possible price I can find. Right now, there are great prices using the Mousesaver's newsletter link for MYW tickets. The 10-day Premium no-expiry is the cheapest I've seen anywhere and it could be used to cover 3 trips: 2 trips w/3 days in the parks, 1 w/ 4 days. We don't need more because we've "been there, done that".
• We don't buy a lot of souvenirs. Maybe a t-shirt or two, a couple of refrigerator magnets and ride photos. The real souvenirs are our memories.
• We eat breakfast in the room. I usually get bagels, cream cheese, jelly, juice and milk at a grocery stop. I make coffee and tea in the coffeemaker in the room.
• Lunch is usually our big meal of the day. Thelunch menu at most sitdown restaurants is usually the same as the dinner menu but with smaller portions and smaller prices. In the past, I used the meal vouchers but they've been difficult to get since May and the ones that are available are not a bargain. I did use the Disney Dining Experience card on our last visit and found it to be worth the $50 membership fee. It saved us 20% on quite a number of meals that were either not covered by the meal vouchers.
• We split meals at the counterservice restaurants. One combo meal and another sandwich feeds two people when you share the fries. Sometimes, we don't even order the extra sandwich.
• We bring Brita water bottles when we go, instead of bottled water. The filters work great to remove the sulphurous taste of Orlando's water. I fill them with ice before we leave the resort and refill them with ice water from the restaurants when we take a break. It is so much cheaper than buying water.
• We don't go crazy on souvenirs. We've been there, done that so many times that we don't feel compelled to buy Mickey ears again. More than anything, our photographs are our souvenirs.
• I use rewards credit cards during the year to help fund the Disney addiction. Since DH is self-employed, all overhead goes onto a rewards card. It helps to rack up the FF miles, restaurant GCs and Disney Rewards Dollars. I also do online rewards programs and surveys to add to the vacation coffers. Every little bit adds up.

Disney isn't a cheap vacation. When you add up all the major factors - lodging, tickets, transportation and food - it can be a budget breaker. The key is knowing how to make those numbers come out as low as possible.

 

[dizcrazy]

As usual, I completely agree with aka-mad4themouse.

I won't repeat her good advice (the idea of not buying too many souvenirs is such a money-saver) so I will just add:

Some people buy Disney Dollars from the DisneyStore, which is a nice idea for presents for kids and to help "earmark" money. And I think it would help kids learn to budget. For example, give them $25 as a birthday gift, and then tell them they can buy what they want. They will learn that $25 goes quickly at WDW!

We have a designated amount of money directly withdrawn and deposited into a vacation account. Even as little as $10 a week really adds up over time.

Travel during value season!

Shop around for packages - AAA, Costco. Keep checking these boards. In the past, having at least one person in your party have an annual pass really saved you money on your room. Not so much now, it seems.

Consider not doing as many days in the park. (although make sure you do the math on this - the Magic your way tickets make it cheaper to be in the parks longer.) If you plan on being at the park from Saturday-Saturday, you don't necessarily need or want passes on your travel days.

 

[lillygator]

We live in Florida which saves on airfare! I'm sure if we lived in another state we'd only be able to go once per year, but living here and having annual passes make it easy for us to go!

 

[HeatherC]

We stay offsite - for us this is better because I have 3 little kids and would most likely need two Disney rooms. We prefer a villa for the convenience and space. This way we don't all have to go to bed at the same time. We have stayed at beautiful places through SkyAuction (Orange Lake for example for about $250 for a week...including all the taxes. But...I totally understand wanting to only stay onsite. We just prefer it this way and I am lucky that it is usually much cheaper.

I also buy one ticket at a time and try to get a pass with as many days as I can afford at the time. That way the tickets are already bought for the next trip.

I book airfare as soon as I see a decent rate. Because I budget everything I can't wait till the end. If the airfare drops, I then have a credit for my trip already paid.

I also plan way in advance. This helps us budget and I can search out the discounts and codes.

We save all our change. Really adds up at vacation time.
We eat breakfast at our hotel/villa. With 5 people this saves a lot of money. Plus...my kids don't like getting up and getting dressed for breakfast. They are much calmer if they can just hang around and eat in their jammies.


Hope this helps.
Happy planning!
HeatherC

 

[annie1995]

Thanks for the suggestions, I am going through the Disney blues right now. Our next trip seems so far away. I appreciate all of your ideas!

 

[mickeysaver]

We can't make it any sooner than 15 mo typically. When we go this year, it will have been just about exactly 2 years since our last trip. We can't swing it any sooner because when we go, we want it to be for at least 6 nights and we want to know that we have plenty of money to spend so that we can completely enjoy ourselves guilt free.

I know how much it stinks to work like crazy and still not be able to afford the Mouse as much as you would like. But, it's ok.....I just tell myself that when I am meant to see the Mouse, that the money will be there. Until that day, I read the DIS and dream. Maggie