Gas/trip budget and spending money budget?

[heatherandken03]

We are driving for our first trip ever to WDW. We are approximatly 900 miles. Has anyone else made this trip and if so about how much money did u spend RT on the driving part of your trip. Also, how much money do you usually budget for spending while you are there. We are on the dinning plan and will have breakfast in our villa. So meals are not a paying concerne.

 

[MinMouse]

We have driven to Disney five times. It is about 1,000 mies each way for us. I would say each trip has varied based on fuel costs at the time. We drove in August when fuel was approaching $2.50 a gallon. With higher prices now I don't know that my figures would be helpful but this link may be helpful. It is a fuel cost calculator based on fuel prices, your vehicle and distance: http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/ Another way we try to save is to pack either breakfast or lunch for on the road. It saves time and money. We usually stop for dinner and stay overnight about 30 miles north of Disney. Hotel has free continental so in the morning we fill up and head right to our resort then on to the parks.

How much spending money you'll need based on the fact that you are on DDP and that cost is fixed really depends on your spending habits. Our kids save their own spending money and we don't buy that many souvenirs for ourselves (unless we're at the Disney Premier Outlet!)

Have a great trip!

 

[cobbler]

Last year I spent 364 for gas RT in October and 7 weeks later I spent 100 less because of gas prices. This year I am budgeting 480 RT. That would make gas 3.75 a gallon when we go.

Its about 1280 one way for us. We get about 20 miles to the gallon so we would need 128 gallons RT and at 3.75 that makes it 480.

It did hurt my budget just a bit but all it means is we will buy less in souvineers or not do as many sit downs.

Its still cheaper than flying, for the 4 of us it would cost 1600. So gas, food there and back (150) hotel one way (75 - stay with family on the way down in ATL) and toll road (6) we are coming out under half of airfare.

 

[Sammie]

Plan on at least $3 a gallon for gas, possibly more if you are coming during hurricane season. Gas is averaging close to $3 in the Southeast, if we have a hurricane it will go up.

 

[pbharris4]

We are budgeting $420 for gas RT this year. That's for 6 tanks (3 down/3 back) and it's for a minivan. If gas hits $3.50/gal that's about what it would cost us. We live 6 miles from I-95 and 50 miles south of Wash. D.C. so it's around 870 miles one way.

Hotels: last year and this year we have left on Friday around 5pm to Rocky Mount, NC., Saturday to Kingsland, GA and then it's only like 3 hrs to WDW on Sunday. So it's an extra night, but I have a 3 yo and it breaks it up more. (But it's the last year we'll do it) Coming back we only do 1 night in a hotel.

Hotels down: About $120/each (x2) =$240 w/ free breakfasts
Hotel back: About $100 w/ free breakfasts

Lunch/Dinners (down/back) for the road trip: Around $150-225 depending where we eat. i pack snacks for the road and take books or get a few magazines. Normally we take a big cooler, but this year we'll take the small one and just buy drinks to save some space.

Souveniers: $300 (plus DD takes her own $100) Rule is: we buy 1 tshirt for each girl and 1 souvenier anything else they have to buy..well that applies to the 10 yo..I still have to buy for the 3 yo) Our first trip we went waaaay overboard on the souveniers because we didn't think we'd be back for at least 5 yrs, but since we bought DVC we have really limited it.


Tips for valet, bellhop, etc: $25-50

Tickets: We bought 10 MYW Premium tickets (no expire, Park Hopper, and the extras) before Jan.1st. They will be stretched out over the next 4-7 yrs. We go to only 2 parks per year.) Buying those saved us a lot of money. It was $1412 total. (3adults/1 child)
HTH

Have a great trip!

Pam

 

[fishermouse]

We are driving for our first trip ever to WDW. We are approximatly 900 miles. Has anyone else made this trip and if so about how much money did u spend RT on the driving part of your trip. Also, how much money do you usually budget for spending while you are there. We are on the dinning plan and will have breakfast in our villa. So meals are not a paying concerne.

A lot depends on your type of vehicle, number in your party etc. You can really rack up some $ on the first trip in all the shops especially with a couple of kids. Disney is reasonable on most items no more then most other resort areas. We live a little over 1000 miles and generally stop on the way down around SC/GA border. Plenty of rooms in the $50-$75 range with free breakfast. I get around 20mpg in the SUV and figure around $300.+/- for gas. less if we take the car 27mpg $235. +/-. We eat cheap on the way down, usually pack subway $10. and eat lunch at a rest stop in Va. then it's always Cracker Barrel for dinner two can eat wee for $30. Comming home I usually drive straight through and eat light. The more you go the less stuff you have to buy T-shirts etc.
Since there is only 2 of us, if we shop around for cheap air fare it can actually cost less to fly. We're flying down next week, but I'll be driving down in the fall. I do enjoy the ride and sometimes take a day or more to wander off course, but that changes everything as far as budgeting goes. Nothing like swinging by Williamsburg Va. for a day or two.

 

[Tinky]

It is a fuel cost calculator based on fuel prices, your vehicle and distance: http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/
Have a great trip!

Thanks for the link!
It calculated around $350 RT which is a little less than what I had budgeted.
Its still a lot less than flying all of us down and I have nothing but time right now!