HELP! I think my eyes just popped out.....pricing Disney for first time in years and years!

[MouseTriper]

And in addition to transportation, hotel and “normal” tickets and meals (regardless of where you eat), add in MLL, LL plus anything you might need to buy for trip (cooling towels, snacks, autograph books and big pens, World Passport at EPCOT, new clothes, hand sanitizer, handi wipes, portable chargers for cell phones, are you renting stroller/ wheelchair, etc etc etc etc) Disney is $$$ beyond the basics.

Thank you. I do not believe I would purchase any of the lightning lanes (though I really know nothing about them, yet). I would definitely be packing enough hand sanitizer for all of us.

I haven’t read all of the replies but please go check out the Budget board.

For hotel: If you are a government employee (Fed, state or local and most times this includes school system employees) check for those rates. Also if you are AAA or AARP (you don’t need to be older to join) check those rates. Check out the Flamingo Crossings area for hotels. Extremely close to WDW “back entrance”.

If you work for a larger company or military (or retired with a CAC card) go to your local post/base to see about tix. You can also see about military discounts on hotels.

If you have points on any credit cards see if they can be turned in for anything towards the trip (I just turned in my SW points for $900.00 in Disney gift cards).

Thanks, I will check out the Budget board, as well. I am definitely looking into AAA, didn't realize that I didn't have to meet an age requirement. I am totally going to check out any points I may have on credit cards and whatnot. Thank you.

Me again. I’m a pest. I see where you are considering Swan/Dolphin with points. If you have Marriott points you can obtain Landrys gift cards. They have several restaurants on Disney property. Then spend the $25 to join the Landrys club annd they will put $25 in your account plus you get priority seating. Also-it’s much cheaper point wise to stay at Flamingo Crossings and you can stay at a suite or residence inn. If you don’t already have one obtain a Marriott credit card. Search the internet for one of those new enrollee deals (xxxx points if you spend xxx dollars in xxx time).

Not a pest at all, I appreciate all the information. And wow, I did not know that about Landry's gift cards. I am going to look up which restaurants they have at Disney. That is so cool they will take the giftcards, they probably don't take discounts though, I am guessing. I didn't know you could get the Landry cards with Marriott points though. That is super cool. I will definitely check out their credit card.

Since your kids are older, a value resort is probably not going to work unless you can share a bed with one of them. They do have slightly reasonable prices for the family suites at All Star Music (I think it's Music might be Movies). I'm assuming anywhere you stay unless you rent a condo. someone is going to have to share a bed. As far as renting DVC points, a 1 bedroom is still going to mean sharing a bed for someone, they have only one true bed then either a sofa bed or a pull down murphy bed. They do have a full kitchen but since you are flying you would have to order groceries and I'm not sure with the price of renting a DVC and buying groceries you would be saving that much. Sounds like an offsite might be your best option, although to be honest, I'd rather be cramped in a value, I like being in the bubble and not having to worry about transportation. Be warned, if you stay off site, unless you are close to DS you are either going to have use Uber (read more money) or rely on the hotel transportation that is not as frequent or easy as Disney transportation. If you are within walking distance to DS you could walk there and hop a Disney bus but you would need to factor in a lot of time for that. Lodging and tickets (not factoring in flying since no matter where you stay that is a must) are going to be your biggest expense.

I would look into Undercover tourist for the tickets and sometimes they even have resort discounts. Sometimes places like Orbitz, etc. will have a slight discount on rooms at actual Disney resorts. I'm not sure you are going to save enough to stay at Swan/Dolphin since they are pretty much the same price as a moderate if you are able to find a good discount.

Food is going to be where you can save the most. Others have mentioned eating breakfast in the room but again, if you are flying you are going to have to order groceries to be delivered since you aren't going to be flying with yogurt, etc. You can usually find something like a breakfast biscuit in the parks for not too expensive. I eat a lot of kid's meals since I don't eat large meals and have found most of the times, even the kids meals are too much food so I take the fruit and use it as an afternoon snack. I don't snack between meals and, thankfully, don't drink soft drinks. Just water and coffee for me and I drink the free coffee from the room. You can get free water in the parks, you can also carry a water bottle and refill it at any of the QS that have the soda fountains and there are water filling stations in each park. Even if you want to splurge every now and again on a table service meal, they are huge and easily shared or you can go with just ordering an appetizer or two and sharing that. I'd buy discount gift cards at Target or somewhere and use those to pay for meals. If you start now you should have a number of them to use. Just buy a $25 one here or there and they will add up.

I get it's expensive. I started taking my son when he was just shy of 3 and I was a single Mom, working as a secretary so not making a lot of money. I would have to save for two years for us to go, we shared a lot of happy meals at home for me to save the money. My son knew why we were saving and after the first trip, he was hooked and more than willing to not get expensive presents and pack PB&J sandwiches for trips to the park instead of movies. He is a 43 year old man now with a family of his own and still goes, they stay in value resorts, don't do park hoppers and share meals a lot.

A sample day meals at MK: Breakfast Westward Ho chicken, egg & pepper jack biscuit $7.49. Lunch: Pecos Bills Kid's Chicken Rice Bowl (comes with two sides and a small drink) $8.49. Supper Columbia Harbor House Trio Platter (battered shrimp, chicken and fish) served with French Fries (easily sharable) $14.29. Total (without tax) a tad over $30 and that is for two people sharing supper. You could probably come in around $25 per person with everyone eating kids meals and that was just a quick look at menus. You could easily share a meal at Pecos and while the grand total would be more, you would divide that by two for those two meals.

Thank you for all the information. My daughter and I have no problem sharing a bed. I would love to be in the Disney bubble too, that is kind of why I am looking in the Swan/Dolphin....plus you can't beat the location.

Oh I will check out Undercover Tourist too, I was hoping there was a way to purchase park tickets online and pay them off (like a vacation package, but I see that is not an option).

Yeah, I am a little worried about the dining. I can pack dry goods (like donuts, protein bars, cereal, crackers etc) but I think I would try and figure out a way to ship water and pop for the kids. Lots to think about. That is a great idea about buying Disney cards at Target and using them for food. I also like the idea of ordering some kids meals or meals to share. It just might be enough and if not, then we could buy something else. Thanks for the sample day of meals at MK. I definitely need to look online at some of the menus and get an idea of what I am looking at.

I bet those trips with your son are cherished memories for both of you. So cool that he continues the tradition on with his family.

you may be better off with universal .. your 20 and 16 year old will enjoy if more. Food is better / easier to find places to eat / plenty of sitting areas / tons of rides / a lot less strollers and entitled plate at and kids …. Disney lost the magic in my opinion ….. also I find the customer service overall much better and more authentic than dw.

Universal is definitely something I will keep in mind, hopefully for a later date. If I can swing it, then we all have our hearts set on Disney. My kids and I love all things Disney. They have been to Universal Studios in CA and they enjoyed it.

May I please ask why you feel like Disney has lost its magic?

FYI you can’t take a bus from Disney Springs to the parks. You would have to go to a resort andthen take their transportation to the parks. Plus the buses don’t start running until Disney Springsopen ( which is 9 or 10 am). From DS website

Bus​

Relax and enjoy the ride! We highly recommend using the Walt Disney World complimentary bus transportation.

• Bus service to Disney Resort hotels begins when Disney Springs opens and ends one hour after close.
• Bus service from theme parks to Disney Springs is not available

Ohhh I had no idea about these bus rules and times from Disney Springs. That is good to understand while I am considering hotels. Thank you so much!!

Costco and Sam’s are date-based ticket. I believe Disney only sells dated-based tickets now.

Renting points is really easy once you know your travel dates. On Friday, we just rented three nights at Boulder Ridge for 09/07-09/10. It was relatively inexpensive and we booked a room category that wasn’t available through Disney. We also have DVC but it’s just not enough .

Thank you. I really need to look into the park tickets and see what happens if I purchase them now and then have to change my plans. That is exciting you just book a trip using DVC, I need to look into this.

 

[MouseTriper]

I've never priced december, but it's also hard for me to compare the cost of previous trips because they aren't apples to apples comparisons.

2018 was 5 nights, 2 adults and an under 3
2022 was 8 nights, 2 adults, a disney kid and an under 3 (we had a refund for a 2020 trip we didn't get to take so the trip was upscaled)
2023 was 7 nights, 2 adults, a disney kid and an under 3.

The one thing to keep in mind is that if you're looking at one hotel room, you're getting the extra adult fee with your 20 year old.

We've moved over to the cruiseline because it's easier for us to cost contain and get the things we like (most importantly, we don't have to have the kids bed share on the cruise)

I hear ya, so hard to compare as there are so many variables. I do love that they are still free under three. That is a great perk. Looks like you had some good trips the past few years, that is awesome!

I have never been on a cruise in my life. Maybe one day. Hahaha.

When does the extra adult fee kick in?

I didn't realize this.

Lots of good info here but I'll chime in.

Used to do 4-6 weeks a year, this year cut to 3 weeks a year.

Don't get caught up in the you have to do everything extra, you have to eat table service, you have to stay on property, you have to get dining plan. The only thing you have to do Disney is buy tickets. You can stay where ever you want.

If you will have no car I would:
- Stay onsite
- Stay at Disney Springs
- Stay fairly close by and use Uber
And that will all depend on prices.

We are also adults only (Me and 1 or 2 adult DS) so our hotel is for sleeping & showering as we want to spend as much time as possible in parks. We stayed in Feb and returning in September to AllStar Sports for around $125 a night with a special offer. We've stayed at most the Disney Springs and stay often offsite, using points or finding great deals.

Drury is new or all new renovated at Disney Springs and a great option. Free Breakfast and the evening reception is food more than snacks. But I get the not returning to room thing. We do it in summer to change to fresh clothes and sometimes just to take a break, maybe eat something, then head right back.

View attachment 881064

One thing we have been doing lately is skipping all table service and just eat quick service. On top of that we look for places with refillable drinks and really good kid's meals.

This is the AK Satuli' Canteen hot dog in dough, comes with homemade chips, fruit, bottle of water. We each got one for around $8 each and then bought a coke to share. Filling

View attachment 881066

This is Epcot Regal Eagle (America pavilion) kids meal. Entree, TWO sides, bottle of water. Again we got coke because there is refillable.

DS got the Hamburger, Fries and Coleslaw, def adult sized. I got the Roasted Chicken Salad - way beyond what I had hoped for - french fries and garlic bread. I was more than full. Both around $8 each.

View attachment 881068
At DHS we actually split a Pizza Rizzo Meal. He keeps 3 slices, I take one and the caesar salad. At Pinocchio he orders the chicken fingers and I order a side salad. I eat the salad and one finger. He has the rest of his meal. More than enough food on many of the adult quick serve meals. THEN we have budget for some good snack options. Like Baseline Tap House the HUGE delicious soft pretzel with mustard dip and beer cheese for only $10.

All the great hints like FREE ice water at quick serve places help keep the "drink" cost down. You can have a great time without paying for all the add ons, spending crazy money in restaurants and looking at your hotel options.

Thank you for all the information and the pictures! I appreciate it. Yes, there are so many add-ons and options that one can make or not make. That is what I am going through now, to see what is and what isn't important to us and of course, to see what fits in within my budget. On-site DIsney hotel is out. Park hoppers are probably out. And MVMCP is most likely out too. I know my kids will just love that we can escape and have some fun at Disney.

And whoa. that Drury list of their "snacks" looks more like a dinner buffet to me. Haha. That is awesome and I appreciate you posting that.

Oh and I love the meal pics showing me how to get some decent counter service and not break the bank. That is perfect, thank you! That was very encouraging. I need to look at all the menus and build a food budget.

I could be wrong but I think it kicks in starting with the 3rd adult over age 18.

That is good, since we will only be 2 adults still. Phewww. What is the extra fee though, now I am curious.

Correct.

OP states "me and my two kids (ages 20 and 16) " so he shouldn't have to worry about it.

Yeahhhh, one less fee is always good in my book! LOL.

My brain didn't read that part.

LOL. Don't ya hate when that happens. Happens to me all the time. Haha.

It's splitting hairs but the extra cost kicks in at 18 years old, not over 18. Not that this matters to the OP given the ages of their kids. They will have 2 adults and one "under 18" child in the room.

Good to know, thank you so much. Do the downtown Disney hotels do this too, or the Swan and Dolphin, just curious for the future.

 

[MouseTriper]

And in 2017 a lot of people couldn't even afford to go once, much less three times in the same year.

Back when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, the idea of yearly Disney trips was an unattainable pipe dream for my single parent, middle class union family. When I was very young we either stayed with our retired military relatives in Tampa, or stayed in cheap places on I-Drive or in Kissimmee. When the Swan and Dolphin opened, my mom scrimped and saved and we did trips every 2-3 years or so at the Dolphin. But I never actually stayed on property in a Disney resort until I was an adult paying for my own trips. We didn't do table service meals either.

Yes, things have absolutely gotten much more expensive, outpacing a lot of other things in the same timeframe, but I think there's a fair bit of myopia on these boards and in Disney fan spaces in general about cost. There was a hilarious post making the rounds on twitter recently that said something like the real class system in the US is "never been to Disney, only been to Disney once, goes to Disney once or more a year" and like most funny jokes there's a kernel of truth to it. Even in my circumstances, I was very privileged compared to many of my peers who never even went once. Y'all are just feeling it now because now the prices are so comparatively outrageous that even you are the ones getting priced out. But many never even had their foot in the door to begin with, and I think that's what PPs have been trying to say. No shade or hate, just some perspective. Heck, if my partner and I had children our trips would look much, much different than they do, and I definitely wouldn't be an AP lol.

That said, to OP, if you can swing it...definitely look into Swan and Dolphin. A lot of people are down on them for not being ~magical~ but I can tell you first hand as someone who stayed at the Dolphin as a child that it was just as magical to me and I didn't know the difference lol. I mean, I was and am an introvert and didn't need Mickey in my face 24/7 even as a kid. But just being at Disney World was magical enough for me. And I think a lot of kids are the same way. You don't need all the fancy bells and whistles, and it makes me really sad to see families struggling and stressed out because they think they do in order to give their kids a great time and make core memories.

When I was a kid, I only remember going to Disneyland for a day since we lived in Southern California. We never stayed at a Disneyland hotel or anything like that, we just went for the day. And when I was like 9 we were in Floria and we went to the Magic Kingdom, again, just for a day, no hotels, one day. And yet, I have amazing memories (and pictures) of those days!

Making this post was just my way of expressing my shock after looking at Disney vacation packages. I had not priced one out in many years and it surprised me. I appreciate your perspective. I agree that the high costs have priced people out.

Oh and I am definitely looking into the Swan and Dolphin and a few other non-Disney hotels. I agree with you, we do not need all the bells and whistles. My kids will just be thrilled to be at Disney, they will be so appreciative.!!! They won't care what hotel we are in, they just want to go and have fun in the parks. I know whatever we do, we will find the magic and make core memories!!! The pixie dust will come. Smiles.

 

[sponica]

I have never been on a cruise in my life. Maybe one day. Hahaha.

We decided to go on one this year as I was theme parked out. It's not really an apples to apples comparison, but since we need at least 3 beds and we like having a patio/balcony, the pricing for the cruise works better for us. Especially since my younger kid is too short for a lot of rides, and we end up eating up time with rider swap.

It's also nice knowing that I'm not scrambling for surprise expenses, I have a rough idea of how much we'll spend in extra costs and can load up my cruise portfolio with onboard credit.


We'll circle back to the theme parks in 2026.

 

[MouseTriper]

We decided to go on one this year as I was theme parked out. It's not really an apples to apples comparison, but since we need at least 3 beds and we like having a patio/balcony, the pricing for the cruise works better for us. Especially since my younger kid is too short for a lot of rides, and we end up eating up time with rider swap.

It's also nice knowing that I'm not scrambling for surprise expenses, I have a rough idea of how much we'll spend in extra costs and can load up my cruise portfolio with onboard credit.


We'll circle back to the theme parks in 2026.

A cruise sounds exciting! I always thought the Disney cruises were more expensive than the parks. Hahah, what do I know. Lol. That’s cool that you can load up your cruise portfolio with onboard credit!!! I hate surprise expenses too. Lol

 

[zebrastreyepz]

NVM

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Good to know, thank you so much. Do the downtown Disney hotels do this too, or the Swan and Dolphin, just curious for the future.

I don't know about the Disney Springs hotels but I imagine that each one has its own policy. S/D charge $35/night per adult when there are more than 2 adults in the room. S/D also has a mandatory $35 + tax per night resort services package fee that gets automatically added to your bill. They also charge a nightly self parking fee if you have a car.

 

[MouseTriper]

I don't know about the Disney Springs hotels but I imagine that each one has its own policy. S/D charge $35/night per adult when there are more than 2 adults in the room. S/D also has a mandatory $35 + tax per night resort services package fee that gets automatically added to your bill. They also charge a nightly self parking fee if you have a car.

Thank you. Good thing I won’t have a car…lol. I knew about the resort fees but never really thought about the fees for when kids age out.

 

[leebee]

A couple of things:
If you fly into MCO you can take Mears bus to hotels and Disney resorts. People complain about waiting for the bus and multiple stops, but it's fine; we do it all the time now that rental cars are stupidly expensive. It's $16 per person from MCO-Disney hotel, or $32 round trip.

You can do a grocery order from Kroger and they will deliver it to your Disney resort for $6.99. DD and I always order breakfast stuff, water, half-n-half, drinks, snacks for the room. They charge their regular store prices.

I'm staying at AllStarMusic in November, 10th-14th. Disney is running a "special offer" right now; four nights with taxes cost me $662, or about $166 a night. Weekend nights cost more than weeknights, and rooms/resorts are limited. If you are on a budget, this is going to be one of your best bets, I think. If you are considering off-site hotels, remember that most in the Disney Springs area have daily resort fees (around $35 a night) and parking (if you rent a car... about $25 a day). However, if you take Mears to the hotel, most of the Disney Springs hotels run shuttle buses to the parks; you just have to be willing to work on their schedule in the morning. In the evening, you can take a bus to Disney Springs and walk back to the hotel.

It is cheaper to stay on 192 in Kissimmee, and there are some decent hotels. However, you'll more than likely need a rental car. I find my best rates through carrentalsavers.com or autoslash.com. Be aware that the prices are shockingly high; the pandemic devastated the car rental industry. DON'T be tempted to rent from an off-airport rental agency, regardless of how much more affordable they are. The horror stories are legend! Also, if you do rent a car, your personal auto policy should cover rental cars, and hopefully you have a credit card to rent the vehicle with that will provide secondary insurance.

I am a huge fan of credit cards; we have several branded cards that earn points for our travels. We charge everything we can, pay it all off every month, and the points "pay" for a large part of our travels. If you are good with credit cards and decide to postpone your trip, you could get a Disney card thru Chase and spend the year accumulating points. However, something else to consider: If you REALLY need to take this trip this year, if you have a Chase Disney VISA card, you get 6 months to pay Disney vacation balances without accumulating interest. I really don't know how this works, but it is available (they offer me the "cash saving balance" every time I book a room at Disney or buy tickets thru them). I'm not encouraging you to go into debt, but if you want to do the vacation and pay it over 6 months, a Disney VISA card will let you do this.

Park tickets are the killer here. About the best you can do is get a Target Red Card and use it to buy Disney gift cards (at a 5% savings) and then use those to buy your park tickets from Disney. Occasionally, Sam's will run a special sale at 10% off the price of a Disney gift card, but that's unpredictable and you have to be a Sam's member. I know you want to go to all 4 parks, but do you need 4 individual park days? (yeah, I know the answer to this is yes, but...) You could get 2 day park hoppers and spend part-days in the parks. I know.. easy for me to say after multiple trips to Disney. I just really really really hope you get to take this trip that you and your kids need.

 

[leebee]

Clearly I have more than a couple of things to say, but I just read your pre-trip report. Let's see... menus have just been updated at allears.net so if you look, you can get some idea of what dining might cost. If you have that Disney VISA I mentioned in my prior post, you can get a 10% food discount at many Disney restaurants: Citricos, Grand Floridian Cafe, Steakhouse 71, Kona Cafe, Olivia's (OKW seems out of the way but we LOVE Olivia's), Boma, Jiko, Biergarten are just a few. Look on the chase disney visa site for a complete list.

Tickets... what about a 2 day park hopper, use the two days for AK, Epcot, and the Studios, and then get MVMCP tickets? If you have a party ticket, even though the party doesn't start until 7, they let you into MK at 4pm. I think the party runs until midnight, so you get 8 full hours in MK. Not a full park day, but enough time to ride a lot of rides and still see the parade, decorations, and festivities of Mickey's Very Merry! I also wanted to add, we don't do Genie or LL or whatever iteration is happening. It's just more money, and you really CAN ride almost everything you want without the extra cost.


Not sure where you live or what your schedules are like, but could anyone pick up some extra money doing DoorDash (or something similar) before your trip? My SIL does this to supplement their income (they are closing on their first house tomorrow!) and he says it's really not bad. It's work, not just sitting around, but he makes a fair amount each weekend doing this. Not a ton, but every $200 helps, right?

 

[MouseTriper]

A couple of things:
If you fly into MCO you can take Mears bus to hotels and Disney resorts. People complain about waiting for the bus and multiple stops, but it's fine; we do it all the time now that rental cars are stupidly expensive. It's $16 per person from MCO-Disney hotel, or $32 round trip.

You can do a grocery order from Kroger and they will deliver it to your Disney resort for $6.99. DD and I always order breakfast stuff, water, half-n-half, drinks, snacks for the room. They charge their regular store prices.

I'm staying at AllStarMusic in November, 10th-14th. Disney is running a "special offer" right now; four nights with taxes cost me $662, or about $166 a night. Weekend nights cost more than weeknights, and rooms/resorts are limited. If you are on a budget, this is going to be one of your best bets, I think. If you are considering off-site hotels, remember that most in the Disney Springs area have daily resort fees (around $35 a night) and parking (if you rent a car... about $25 a day). However, if you take Mears to the hotel, most of the Disney Springs hotels run shuttle buses to the parks; you just have to be willing to work on their schedule in the morning. In the evening, you can take a bus to Disney Springs and walk back to the hotel.

It is cheaper to stay on 192 in Kissimmee, and there are some decent hotels. However, you'll more than likely need a rental car. I find my best rates through carrentalsavers.com or autoslash.com. Be aware that the prices are shockingly high; the pandemic devastated the car rental industry. DON'T be tempted to rent from an off-airport rental agency, regardless of how much more affordable they are. The horror stories are legend! Also, if you do rent a car, your personal auto policy should cover rental cars, and hopefully you have a credit card to rent the vehicle with that will provide secondary insurance.

I am a huge fan of credit cards; we have several branded cards that earn points for our travels. We charge everything we can, pay it all off every month, and the points "pay" for a large part of our travels. If you are good with credit cards and decide to postpone your trip, you could get a Disney card thru Chase and spend the year accumulating points. However, something else to consider: If you REALLY need to take this trip this year, if you have a Chase Disney VISA card, you get 6 months to pay Disney vacation balances without accumulating interest. I really don't know how this works, but it is available (they offer me the "cash saving balance" every time I book a room at Disney or buy tickets thru them). I'm not encouraging you to go into debt, but if you want to do the vacation and pay it over 6 months, a Disney VISA card will let you do this.

Park tickets are the killer here. About the best you can do is get a Target Red Card and use it to buy Disney gift cards (at a 5% savings) and then use those to buy your park tickets from Disney. Occasionally, Sam's will run a special sale at 10% off the price of a Disney gift card, but that's unpredictable and you have to be a Sam's member. I know you want to go to all 4 parks, but do you need 4 individual park days? (yeah, I know the answer to this is yes, but...) You could get 2 day park hoppers and spend part-days in the parks. I know.. easy for me to say after multiple trips to Disney. I just really really really hope you get to take this trip that you and your kids need.

Ohh thank you again for all the information!!!

The Mears bus sounds perfect for getting to my hotel. And a Kroger delivery sounds awesome too. I am definitely going to do that! I’m going to get water and drinks, milk & cereal and snacks, lots and lots of snacks. Haha. Do you have to be there at your hotel for them to make the deliver?

I am so happy you get to go in November, sounds like you got a great deal. I knew about the resort fees and the parking fees. I am not planning on renting a car, I think it would just add too much, plus I would rather just stay somewhere close that I could take busses to the parks. Good to know about the off-airport car rental agencies and their horror stories. I will remember that.

Oh my gosh!!! I really need to learn more about using credit cards to my advantage with regards to points and perks. I already pay off my card every month as I don’t want to incur debt. I did NOT know that one could take 6 months to pay off Disney park tickets if they used a Disney Visa card……did I read that right? That would be awesome!!!!! Where do I find out how to do that? This is actually very exciting to me because I was hoping to pay monthly toward the park tickets!

Yeah, the tickets are the kicker! I need to go buy some cards from Target and save the 5%. I could use the, toward the tickets or for food.

And thank you for your kind statement there at the end!!!! I really really hope we can take this escape, we desperately need it. It will be magic for our souls!

 

[leebee]

Oh my gosh!!! I really need to learn more about using credit cards to my advantage with regards to points and perks. I already pay off my card every month as I don’t want to incur debt. I did NOT know that one could take 6 months to pay off Disney park tickets if they used a Disney Visa card……did I read that right? That would be awesome!!!!! Where do I find out how to do that? This is actually very exciting to me because I was hoping to pay monthly toward the park tickets!

This link might help:
https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/disney/rewards

We have been going to Disney at least once a year from the northeast. I was fortunate for some of this: We traveled with my sister and 2 nieces (so split hotel and rental car costs), she owned Marriott timeshare (she'd call and say she could get the lockoff for $80 for the week, did I want to go to Disney??), my BIL was a flight attendant (buddy passes!! cheap roundtrip airfare!!) and a cast member at Disney for a few years (discounts!). For the last 15 years, we've not traveled with them (nothing bad, just things changed) so I've had to figure out how to do this on my own, as affordably as possible. I know that there are other credit cards with a better cash-back, but I like the Disney cards as the money is ear-marked (see what I did there?) for Disney. However, we also use Southwest cards to get frequent flyer miles. I just recently opened a card with a $69 fee, but with spending $3000 in 6 months, I'll get 60K rapid rewards points. That's 3 round trips from our home airport (PWM) to Orlando, for just the cost of taxes (about $6 per leg). Can't beat that. Sure, I have to be careful what flights I choose, but the sweet thing about Southwest is that if you cancel, you get your points back! You can also return your ticket and buy the same itinerary if the price goes down, to save points (or money). You HAVE to be good about credit, knowing how much you can afford to charge and pay off monthly, but if you are, you can save some decent money on travel. Good luck! I hope you can take that trip!!
ETA: I don't know about offsite hotels, but at Disney hotels, bell services will hold your order if you aren't there to pick up the delivery.

 

[sponica]

Oh my gosh!!! I really need to learn more about using credit cards to my advantage with regards to points and perks. I already pay off my card every month as I don’t want to incur debt. I did NOT know that one could take 6 months to pay off Disney park tickets if they used a Disney Visa card……did I read that right? That would be awesome!!!!! Where do I find out how to do that? This is actually very exciting to me because I was hoping to pay monthly toward the park tickets!

The 6 months at 0% is for packages, so resort + tickets. We tend to book packages anyway because my brain doesn't like to see how expensive all the components are, and the 200 dollar deposit is easier for me to deal with than a one night deposit.

 

[MouseTriper]

This link might help:
https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/disney/rewards

We have been going to Disney at least once a year from the northeast. I was fortunate for some of this: We traveled with my sister and 2 nieces (so split hotel and rental car costs), she owned Marriott timeshare (she'd call and say she could get the lockoff for $80 for the week, did I want to go to Disney??), my BIL was a flight attendant (buddy passes!! cheap roundtrip airfare!!) and a cast member at Disney for a few years (discounts!). For the last 15 years, we've not traveled with them (nothing bad, just things changed) so I've had to figure out how to do this on my own, as affordably as possible. I know that there are other credit cards with a better cash-back, but I like the Disney cards as the money is ear-marked (see what I did there?) for Disney. However, we also use Southwest cards to get frequent flyer miles. I just recently opened a card with a $69 fee, but with spending $3000 in 6 months, I'll get 60K rapid rewards points. That's 3 round trips from our home airport (PWM) to Orlando, for just the cost of taxes (about $6 per leg). Can't beat that. Sure, I have to be careful what flights I choose, but the sweet thing about Southwest is that if you cancel, you get your points back! You can also return your ticket and buy the same itinerary if the price goes down, to save points (or money). You HAVE to be good about credit, knowing how much you can afford to charge and pay off monthly, but if you are, you can save some decent money on travel. Good luck! I hope you can take that trip!!
ETA: I don't know about offsite hotels, but at Disney hotels, bell services will hold your order if you aren't there to pick up the delivery.

Thank you for the link. I will check that out for sure.

Sounds like you got some pretty good deals back in the day with your sister. I love when things like that happen! And wow, that is awesome you can get those 3 roundtrip flights with that CC offer. Oh and it is good to know you can turn Southwest points back in if you need to change them! Thanks!

The 6 months at 0% is for packages, so resort + tickets. We tend to book packages anyway because my brain doesn't like to see how expensive all the components are, and the 200 dollar deposit is easier for me to deal with than a one night deposit.

Aw, that is a bummer, I was really hoping it was for the tickets alone, too. I just hope the ticket prices don't go up before I can get them. LOL.

 

[Belle1962]

The budget board has at least 2 threads that might interest you one is on credit cards and one is on gift card deals

Even if you use points the S/D will still charge the daily resort fee. BTDT.

When considering hotels take time into consideration. Not all hotel buses/transportation run at convenient intervals and some hotels charge.

Disney is running a special offer

Save on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels This Fall and Holiday Season​

Have you considered driving? It might be cheaper than airfare for 3. My family loves road trips. The transportation board has lots of advice taking the road.

 

[MouseTriper]

The budget board has at least 2 threads that might interest you one is on credit cards and one is on gift card deals

Even if you use points the S/D will still charge the daily resort fee. BTDT.

When considering hotels take time into consideration. Not all hotel buses/transportation run at convenient intervals and some hotels charge.

Disney is running a special offer

Save on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels This Fall and Holiday Season​

Have you considered driving? It might be cheaper than airfare for 3. My family loves road trips. The transportation board has lots of advice taking the road.

Thank you. I will check out that info on the budget board. And thanks for the info on the daily resort fee, I saw that most hotels I am looking at have those fees.

Yes the transportation is a big decision factor for me. I want to be close to Disney or downtown Disney so I can hop on those busses and then maybe walk a short distance.

Unfortunately, we can not drive due to time restraints.

 

[NYCgrrl]

es the transportation is a big decision factor for me. I want to be close to Disney or downtown Disney so I can hop on those busses and then maybe walk a short distance.

Unfortunately, we can not drive due to time restraints.

Keep in mind that the following days are normally the least expensive for airline tickets:

Tue, Wed, followed by Sat and Mon. I think I read the same is true for hotel rooms.

 

[MouseTriper]

Keep in mind that the following days are normally the least expensive for airline tickets:

Tue, Wed, followed by Sat and Mon. I think I read the same is true for hotel rooms.

Ohhhh good to know, thank you!!!

 

[WhitneyBrock]

I feel the same way. I did that this week. Truly struggling to get on board with these prices especially with current inflation of cost of living items!!