Hello - and question for all you experts

[Rainbow1/4horses]

Hello everyone...my sister (user name Chisjo) convinced me to go on these boards because she is trying to convince me to go on a Disney World trip with her in August 2006. It's two years away, but honestly, I am really worried that it will be far too expensive for me to go.
Can anybody give me some money saving advice, and then also convince me to go on this trip. I really do want to go, but do need some convincing....
Thank you!
R1/4H

 

[Debbie]

<marquee behavior=alternate> Welcome, Rainbow!</marquee>

Hmmmm. You need to be convinced to go? Or to save?

Going to Disney can be "expensive", but so is everything else. I would suggest that you start right now with a Disney jar. Decorate it (we had a musical one-it played "Small World" when my kiddos were little) and enjoy it. Put it somewhere prominent in your life. Mine is on my dresser where I can see it every day. Toss in your loonies, toonies, nickels and quarters at the end of every day. You'll be surprised how quickly it will grow.

Open a Disney account. I have an ING account which I add to each pay. I call it my Mickey Money, and because it is not "accessible", I am not tempted to raid the money. If you have the means, transfer a little bit every pay period. It might hurt the first few times, but before you know it, you are in the groove. Sell some of your "stuff" and put the proceeds into your Disney account.

When you have enough Disney money saved, buy your pass if you can. It is the most expensive thing, and if you can get it out of the way, you'll have a great lift off of your shoulders.

We rarely...the kids would say NEVER...go out to eat or drink. This all saves money-whether for Disney, or, in our case, university tuition. If YOU do, cut back once a week (or month) and put that money in the Disney jar/account.

Check out the websites! I don't know when I'll be going back with the kids, but I DO know where I'll be eating And I've already made choices for places to stay! Making some of these decisions helps to save the money.

This is just a start and I'm sure that everyone else can add to it. Stay tuned, and, again, Welcome to DIS!

 

[Scratch42]

Also,

Check out the Budget Board!

Open up a US Savings Account, that way when the $$ is doing well you convert and keep it in the account!

Also sign up for the other websites..........

mousesavers, allearsnet, car rental places, etc.

It can be expensive but if you have the info, you can save!

Scratch

 

[Susan--Ontario]

Welcome to the Canadian Boards!!

We are a fun bunch of people who do have a hard time when people ask us if they should go to Disney. I'm like, "why wouldn't you go??"

As I'm sure your sister will attest, it is the most awesome vacation destination there is. There have already been some great tips but the one I like to use to justify my vacation is that I take breakfast and lunch items and then I don't count that as vacation expense because if we were home then we would have to buy groceries. Try reducing your grocery budget by 10 or 20 dollars a week and in two years you'll have saved $1000 to $2000 dollars. My family has hot dogs and Kraft dinner on a regular basis and we only eat out in a restaurant when we go to Disney and fast food maybe once or twice a month. My DH and I both pack our lunches everyday instead of buying them and that will save you megabucks.

And, since I'm boycotting Tim Horton's tea because of their 150% increase I've saved over $100 in a few months by making my own tea here at work.

Just a few suggestions that aren't too painful once you get used to them.

Put your vacation as your highest priority and the rest will take care of itself.

Good Luck!! I say, "go, go, go"

 

[Sandyincanada]

Orlando is one of those trips that you can do reasonably or it will cost you an arm and a leg. We felt it was too expensive a few years ago (with the exchange) and did the all-inclusives in Cuba and Mexico but this year, Orlando is coming out much cheaper.

We are staying off-site in a 2br condo at Cypress point, got a fantastic deal with Hotelkingdom.com. We tend to eat a good breakfast, park all day (with snacks) until 7ish and then head off-site for supper and end up vegging in the pool or hot tub the rest of the evening or shopping. I get a few meals at www.ibidusa.com and the rest of our meals are good ones at steak houses, etc. We go in the winter so parks are closed at 7ish anyways.

We like to do it all, a few days at Disney, Universal/IOA and Busch so on-site doesn't make sense for us and those food costs turn me off. But ev1 has different opinions on this.

Your big costs coming from Edmonton will be airfare (a big ouch from Wpg too). If you keep away from the restaurants in the parks (another big ouch, lol) the cost isn't too bad for meals. The cost of a park hopper isn't bad when you consider it may be the only entertainment expense you have.

We get bonds through work, a forced savings account. After a few pay cheques, you hardly notice it anymore. If you can't do that, the bank will do it for you and put the money in a different account.

Disney is wonderful, something everyone should experience at least once.

 

[maryliz]

Welcome to the DIS ! ChrisJo is one of our very best friends here on the Cdn board Yes, you should go to Disney. And yes, you should start saving now! I agree with all of the above suggestions. There are also times when we say we're going to get take-out food, and then change our minds because we find something in the freezer. Because I had the "thought" of spending that $$$, I take it and put it in the Disney jar too

And buying your pass early is always a good thing, because you might be taking advantage of a cheaper price. My flights and hotel for my Jan trip is already paid for, but I still need to buy 4 annual passes. Where THAT money is coming from, I'm not sure just yet.

I truly believe that Disney is something that needs to be experienced at least once in your life. The danger to going is that it is quite likely (since it's in your family genes) that you will become a "freak" like the rest of us here. But hey, if I have to have a vice in life, I'm good with the one I chose.

Have fun with your new saving strategies. Come and visit us often, and again, WELCOME!

Mary-Liz

 

[riu girl]

Welcome to DIS!

Haven't been to WDW in over two decades so don't have too much too offer, except,

1. I shop mainly at thrift stores for my family. In the last month or so I have purchased (from value Village) 3 children's WDW sweatshirts (right from WDW, you can tell from the tag). In new condition for 4 $ each. I also have picked up a few t-shirts , also from Value Village, that are in very good condition that were originally purchased from the Disney Store. Also have purchased some nice kids WDW books (.49 each) and a couple of stuffed mickeys (with WDW tags). I am planning on hiding these items and giving them one by one to the kids while at WDW. Hopefully this will save us some $$ on souveniers. Now I know that this idea isn't for anyone and can respect that, but for me it will help our WDW budget.

2. We also aren't planning on visiting the theme parks each day. We will spend a half day at downtown Disney. Have read that there are two kids rides there for $2 each as well as a huge lego area. Also we want to spend some time on the monorail and checking out a few of the resorts (to see their Christmas decorations). Therefore, we won't have to buy WDW tickets for each day.

3. This won't pertaint o you, but perhaps others. We are driving down and each week I shop at No-Frills and pick up about $7 worth of food/snack/drinks that we will be taking with us. I watch their specials carefully and so far have purchased juice, jam, fruit cups, crackers, small bottles of water etc. We are staying on site in a value resort but am hoping to save some money this way.

Good luck with your planning.

Suzy V.

 

[talicskai]

We have stayed off-site for several trips and have often only gone to a park once during the week. It depends on the ages of your children. Mine are young and love the MK but would get no thing out of the other parks yet. (except maybe AK but I don't love it) Anyhow, we have gone every year since 1998 and spend a lot of time at DTD & Boardwalk. The Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista is a great budget hotel. You can get it in January for $55 Canadian per night and it includes breakfast! They are located 5 minutes (drive) from DTD and have two heated pools. They are definitely a budget property but clean and fun. We drive which costs us approx $600 roundtrip including meals and accommodation. We leave at 8pm and drive for 18 hours so our kids sleep the majority of the trip. When we stop we get a hotel with an indoor heated pool so the kids and I can swim while hubby sleeps. The next day we only have 5-6 hours to go and the kids don't mind it at all! I have lots of other tips if you would like to send me a PM.
Go and enjoy it.....your kids won't always want to go with you so take them while you can!
Teresa

 

[ChisJo]

Hey sis! So glad that you decided to come on board!

Here are some of my money saving tips:

I get $10 - $25 per week transfered out of chequing account into a savings account that I cannot touch with my bank card. The amount varies on how the financial sitruation is going.

I am also a cheap person! Knowing how well our dollar is doing right now, I am really tempted to take the money I have left and exchnage it, or purchase my disney tickets now, before they go up in price and before the dollar goes back to a lower exchange. A better option to buying the tickets right from Disney, like we did last time, is to buy them from wholesalers, like Ticketmania.com or CAA.

Another good idea is to get involved with the website mousesavers.com. Mary is amazing on the site. She provides information on great money saving tips, and ensures that she includes canadians in there as well. More often then not, you can get some great information on codes to decrease the cost of your trip significantly.

Another tip is to ensure that you purchase from off property areas. There are Disney outlet stores so close to Disney that I really saved so much money at. Of course, you know me, there are temptations that I just couldn't resist right in Disney. I wanted to splurge on one item, and you know which one that is.

Another one thing that you could do is the money jar. I honestly save all my change. Do you remember a couple of years ago when I counted the money and I had over $800! Nice little savings there.

Also, garage sale next year....it is amazing how much we really want to get rid of, and how much can be made.

With airfare....I looked at prices everyday for 4 months before I purchased the ones for my last trip. I ended up saving over $300 from being so patient.

I am also involved in many clubs (AMA, NWA, SWA, Blue chips, etc.) that will help with saving a little bit of money too.

Anyways, I hope that this has helped. Thank you to everyone who has answered and continue to see all of us here on DIS.

Jo