Help! Low Budget Trip To Dw!

[WANDAMOORE94]

Advice please. My family and I have decided to try for a short trip (4days..3 nights) to DW beginning on December 22nd. We have a very small budget for the trip..to be exact, we can only spare about $1000. Is it crazy to think that we can have a successful trip for this small amount? I am very doubtful but my two kids, 6 and 7, really want to go. None of us have ever been there before. This trip really means alot to us all because we have been struggling financially for the last 5 years and are now just beginning to rebuild. Someone please tell me how I can make this trip happen for my kids and bring some much needed relief and happiness for my husband and I.(Note: We are driving from GA so gas prices are also a factor)

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Advice please. My family and I have decided to try for a short trip (4days..3 nights) to DW beginning on December 22nd. We have a very small budget for the trip..to be exact, we can only spare about $1000. Is it crazy to think that we can have a successful trip for this small amount? I am very doubtful but my two kids, 6 and 7, really want to go. None of us have ever been there before. This trip really means alot to us all because we have been struggling financially for the last 5 years and are now just beginning to rebuild. Someone please tell me how I can make this trip happen for my kids and bring some much needed relief and happiness for my husband and I.(Note: We are driving from GA so gas prices are also a factor)

HI! WELCOME TO THE DIS!!!

I think your budget of $1000 for 4 may be doable, but I'm not too sure. Hubby and I are just two and our next trip is somewhere in the $1500 area. We are however staying a little longer than you at 7 days and 6 nights.

You possibly may have to consider staying offsite instead of onsite. Disney hotel rates may be at holiday rates for the time of year you are going and even the value resorts can hit 3 digits. That would already be $342 of your money gone and you haven't purchased tickets yet nor thought about a food budget. That $342 does include the standard resort tax which often is anywhere between 11 or 12%. I went to www.ourlaughingplace.com to check this.

I just checked the Disney site and park hopper tickets for adults are $202 advance purchase, so that's $404 for you and hubby before tax and for your children it would be $162 each, so that's $324 before tax. On your tickets alone that's almost $800 for your family of four. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm trying to be realistic. So many other DISers are so good at budgeting trips with families of your size. It's hard for me as I only have to worry about hubby and I. Let's keep going though okay.

If you take the $800 for your tickets and we'll say $350 for your room...I rounded up, you already sit at $1150 and you haven't even gotten food yet. My numbers may be a little high and if another DISer has something better, please speak up!

I'm so happy you are trying to make this trip and glad to hear that after so long your financial situation is looking better after so many years.

I'm going to leave you some websites to visit, one of which has great codes, but at this time, I'm not sure they are still available for when you are traveling. Visit the site anyway, as she has great budgeting tips, okay?

I do hope I've helped. Let me know if you need anything else.

Blessings,

Denise

MOUSESAVERS
FOR DISCOUNTS AND GREAT TIPS

ALLEARS
FOR MENU PRICES....visit the other pages on her site for other great starter tips.

and finally.....

WWW.DISNEYWORLD.COM FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I get to be the first to welcome you to the Dis! You can find so many hlpful tips here.

Some questions to help us help you plan. Do you want to stay on-site? Are there any Character meals that you want to include? What tickets will work best for you? Since your dates are so close you may be pretty limited on what rooms are available. You can request Dreams here on the Dis to check for you or check on line yourself. Off site will be less expensive but then you will not have access to early morning hour and Disney transportation, both very helpful during the busy season. I think it is possible to go for $1000 maybe less since you only need 3 nights hotel. If you can wait you may be able to get a code to stretch your budget further and the parks will not be near as busy after the Christmas holiday. You are aware that the week of Christmas is the busiest week of the year? Do not plan to see everything, we have spent 10 days on site and still not seen it all in 1 trip! Good luck and hope this is helpful!

 

[Maliki2]

Advice please. My family and I have decided to try for a short trip (4days..3 nights) to DW beginning on December 22nd. We have a very small budget for the trip..to be exact, we can only spare about $1000. Is it crazy to think that we can have a successful trip for this small amount? I am very doubtful but my two kids, 6 and 7, really want to go. None of us have ever been there before. This trip really means alot to us all because we have been struggling financially for the last 5 years and are now just beginning to rebuild. Someone please tell me how I can make this trip happen for my kids and bring some much needed relief and happiness for my husband and I.(Note: We are driving from GA so gas prices are also a factor)

Just a couple quick suggestions....

1) 4 days and four nights...since you are on a limited budget, how about trying to cut down and only do one or two parks as opposed to getting a hopper. I think with your childrens ages, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom would keep their interest the most. This would save you on admission prices.
Maybe go to the beach or mini golf or something on the other days, Old Town is good to walk around at and look at the cars/shops etc.

2) Try Priceline.com You won't be staying at a Hilton or anything for the budget minded. But deals are had on Priceline, you can easily get a $18-$25 a night room. Days Inn/Holiday Inn/Ho Jos, type of hotel.

3) I'm going to DL with my wife in Feb and we have $1000 budegeted for the two of us for only 5 days. And I'm wondering if that will be enough. On $1000 you probably can do it, but you might need to cut and squeeze corners to get it to work. Gas isn't cheap and that will chew up a little of your cash as well.

4) Make your own lunches etc....sandwhich meat/cheese PB and J, I know those turkey legs look yummy but if you want to make it work, well like I said cut cut cut corner.

 

[westjones]

It will be tight, but there are things you can do.

Since your kids are so little, they will mostly want to see Magic Kingdom. If the park hopper tickets are out of range for your budget, you could just go for 1 or 2 days to the parks without hopping (we find that hopping can take up a lot of time, and frankly, if it is your first time there then one park will give you plenty to do and see).

Order ice water with any meals you get in the parks (that is free--not bottled water; just ice water).

We prefer staying at Disney, but if that is out of budget do look for some good specials. You are going at the most expensive time of the year, so it won't be easy. Go to the resort board, they usually post some good special or have good advice for where to stay. Last year we go the Swan for $99 a night at Christmas time based on something someone posted on the resorts board.

Take breakfast stuff with you for in the room, juice boxes and snacks in your backpack for in the parks.

Eat at counter service (and BTW, adults can order from the kid's menu at the counter service places--we are vegetarians, so I often order the mac and cheese for myself if there is nothing else I want on the menu).

If you cust back to 3 days, you could spend 2 days at the park with the day inbetween for Downtown Disney and Resort Hopping (the decorations are beautiful this time of year).

If you get the Travel Channel watch this show:


On Friday December 10, 2004 from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Travel Channel is

Walt Disney World Holidays
GREAT HOTEL's host Samantha Brown, heads to America's entertainment capital - Walt Disney World for a festive holiday getaway. From the beaches and sands of an island getaway to the sights and sounds of jolly old England, Disney has it all.

This show will repeat
Saturday December 11, 2004 from 00:00 AM to 01:00 AM
Sunday December 12, 2004 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

It was on last year and it really helped us plan what we wanted to do while at the parks during the holidays.

If you decide you want to use a 4 day park hopper ticket, you will have to adjust your budget. $1000 won't be enough for those tickets, resort, food, and misc. expenses.

We went last year for just 2 days (one at Magic Kingdom and one at Epcot). The parks were open late on those days, and we have plenty to do! We spent 1 day at Downtown Disney and going around checking out the resorts. So what I am suggesting to you is exactly what we did last year on our 3 day trip to WDW. And we had a great time!

DJ

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We are also doing a low budget trip but instead of December we moved it to January. We are going to surprise our kids (7yr old twins) with it Christmas morning with a box with a letter from Santa, Disney Dollars and plain white hats from Walmart with a Sharpee for autographs. Going in January it will hopefully be slower so if you do go you can maximize your enjoyment if the crowds are low.

Hopefully they're still available but I'm planning to get my tickets at Alamo.com - 3day PH x4@ $645. (The other thing you could do would be to order 2 day PHs @ $ 113 each I believe - [I could get you the exact info if you needed it] which include a ticket to Disney Quest) so you could do two park days and have fun at your hotel and around WDW the other day.

You may want to consider staying offsite so you can get your hotel as cheaply as possible. If not, one of the Value resorts would be your best bet using an AAA discount if you have it (codes are expired as of 12/1). Offsite if you could find something cheap that includes a fridge and/or microwave and has free breakfast or something would be helpful. Otherwise you should bring your own groceries as much as you can since your driving and have some meals in your room and definitely bring your own snacks and drinks.You can get cheap eats offsite and if you want to do a Character meal try the Ice Cream Social at the Garden Grill at Epcot which is about $10 per person including tip. If you can find a Walmart (I know there's one on 192) they have souveniers pretty cheap that say Florida instead of WDW but the kids probably won't notice it.

I think it'll be tight but you could do it. Also, try to find some more cash if you can now (change, drawers, car, ?sell something, etc...) and the other thing you could ask your family to do for you this year that would be very helpful (if you go in January) would be to give you and the kids Disney Dollars as gifts. We've given hypothetical situations to the kids re this idea and they understand if Santa's nice enough to do this for us he won't be able to give us much else and they're ok with it so we're saving that way too.

Good Luck and have a great trip!

 

[CheapMom]

I hate to be the discenter but I think you could have a much better trip if you waited until January or Feb. For 4 people- park passes are going to eat up a huge chunk of your budget. Since you are only going for 3 nights you could make long weekend. You could probably do 4 nights in Jan. for less than 3 during the xmas break.
I would try to save a little more $$. I think that $1200 would be doable but $1000 is awfully tight if you are including gas, lodging, food, park passes...

Quote:2 day PHs @ $ 113 each I believe - [I could get you the exact info if you needed it] which include a ticket to Disney Quest) so you could do two park days and have fun at your hotel and around WDW the other day.
This is a good money saving suggestion. 2 days at the parks and 1 day at downtown Disney and Disney Quest.

 

[zippehsmom]

Again Welcome to the DIS!

Checkout Mousesavers.com and look under her Trip Reports. She did a test case where a familywent to Disney 3 nights/4days for $1,000. Read that, it should help a lot.

zippehsmom

 

[TaurusSES_Sport]

I would say you can do it for $1250. Stay at a value resort and purchase your tickets from HotWireSavingsClub.com (4day+1) $208 for adults with tax included! You can do it!

Also you might wanna check on the Swan and Dolphin, i think that had holiday rates around $129 a night.

 

[TinkerPixxie]

I also think going non-holiday season would benefit you. And there is no reason you cant spend two days in parks and do one day at the pool or DTD, or even leave and go shopping at some of the outlet stores I keep hearing about. I do hope you figure out the best plan and have a blast.
Tink~

 

[westjones]

I agree that 'non holiday' time is cheaper, but OH! How Beautiful it is during the Holidays!

DJ

 

[WANDAMOORE94]

Thanks for all of the advice. The info on Mousesavers was very helpful. I think that we are going to try and follow that plan. Maybe we will still have a successful trip.

 

[WANDAMOORE94]

Update! We have just been confirmed on reservations at Westgate Lakes resort for the 4 days/3nights for $229 + tax and resort fees. We do have to sit through that 90 minute presentation but at the end of it we get 2 one day passes to any Disney park plus a free breakfast buffet for the whole family. I think it's a pretty good deal. It'll save us alot of money on the tickets and breakfast for a day. Does anyone have any feedback?

 

[CheapMom]

The good news is- you will be saving $ right of the bat since they had 3 adults and 1 child and you are 2 and 2. Also the one thing I would change that they did was I would not switch hotels. That will waste a lot of time during your already short trip. If you stay offsite you will have to use your hotels shuttle service or drive and pay for parking. I think parking is $8 per day. But considering the time involved to switch hotels I think the cost of parking would be worth it.
I often order a kids meal at lunchtime in the parks for myself and I find that it is
plenty. Also taking your own water bottles into the park is a BIG money saver.
Have a great trip!
Also- tell grandparents... that instead of a lot of x-mas gifts for your kids Disney Dollars or vacation $ would be beter this year.
ALSO look into dd resorts like the Grosvenor or Best Western LBV- they have rooms for $69 through the holidays and you would not have to pay for parking if you stayed there (somebody correct me if I am wrong)

 

[ebarj1098]

I went in 2002 from WI with the cheapest woman in the world, my mom. We stayed at the Ramada Southgate in a suite for $40/night do to a special my mom came up with on th internet. They have online coupons you can print and take. Also, I would think about two, maybe three days in the parks. Depending on where in GA you are coming from, you wouldn't want to waste a whole park ticket on half a day. Also, we had breakfast/dinner at the hotel or a cheaper restaurant, and ate counter service for lunch in the parks. Although I don't know from experience, I'm sure there is plenty to do in Downtown Disney! Once you get to the ticket center, you can get a 2-day pass. For two days in parks and 4 nights at a hotel like that you could pay about $600, then have the rest for food and gas and gifts. Just some thoughts.

 

[CheapMom]

Actually to get the 2 day UPH you have to stay on-site. I believe the DD Disney hotels will allow for this but I am not positve.
There are other outlets that people have discussed on this site for some type of 2 day pass- discountorlandovacations... you may want to investigate that. Also I wouldn't wait until you get to WDW to buy passes- usually you get an advance purchase savings.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Personally I wouldn't want to waste *any* of my short trip sitting through a high pressure Time Share presentation (read comments on this in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World book available in all bookstores or the library - I could even email you the page). Not worth it IMO; it would bum me out sitting there not to mention the fact the kids would be very antsy to get to the parks. Especially when you can get an inexpensive room and tickets without taking that route. What about Days Inn or somewhere like that? I once helped a single mother on a tight budget plan her trip and we were able to get that for $35/night. Orlando has more hotel rooms than anywhere else in the world - there are plenty of deals to be had, you just have to find them! You're not going to be there much anyway, probably just to sleep and shower and maybe a dip in the pool!

 

[jcemom]

With such a short trip I would not want to spend it listening to a timeshare pitch. That two hour presentation can quickly eat up four hours of your day, from what I've read/heard.

Must you absolutely go this month? It will be beautiful, but SO crowded. If you could go in January you would accomplish a lot more in your limited amount of time.

Otherwise, I would go with Priceline or Hotwire and see how low a price you can get on your hotel, like the MouseSavers family did. That could be a HUGE money saver!

I would also plan on off-site meals whenever possible. Otherwise, Disney's counter service food isn't too terribly high-priced, IMO.

Hmmm...
Gas 100.00
Tickets 587.00 (3 one-park, one-day tickets...164.28 adult, 129.13 child)
Hotel 120.00 (40.00/night x 3 nights)
Parking 24.00 (8.00/day x 3 days)
Meals 220.00 (55/day...breakfast in your room from things you can take with you--doughnuts, granola bars, pb&j, etc--one counter service meal onsite 30/day, one meal offsite--McDonald's or other inexpensive place 25/day)

That totals 1051.00...did I forget anything?

That would give you three park days, and one day for Downtown Disney, or Fort Wilderness or something...maybe touring resorts to see decorations, AKL to see the animals, etc. Keep in mind that anything additional, like mini golf, will be an added expense. Disney Quest would be great for kids the ages of yours, I think, but would cost 80.00 additional with tickets through TicketMania. As far as parks, I would do two days at Magic Kingdom, and the other day at MGM Studios, JMO, of course. I like AK, but they close earlier with no fireworks. Epcot is great also, but with limited time I would skip it. I think your kids would prefer SpectroMagic, Wishes, and Fantasmic to Illuminations. Again, JMO.

 

[crazelion]

I hope able to say no and be down right mean because. You just sign on do a Westgate Timeshare tour which is one of the most high pressure in Orlando.

If me and short on money. One the first things I would check into offsite hotels. A Good website to is hotelkingdom.com they have excellent deals. Second I would pick a hotel that serve free breakfeast. Third I pick 2 parks I won't go the most and use the other day to check out DTD and outlet malls. Eat meals offsite to save money. Orlando has a boat load of food places that serve cheap food. Be sure to stop the Florida welcome center to pick up coupons books Buy one get one coupons. That will save all money.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Update! We have just been confirmed on reservations at Westgate Lakes resort for the 4 days/3nights for $229 + tax and resort fees. We do have to sit through that 90 minute presentation but at the end of it we get 2 one day passes to any Disney park plus a free breakfast buffet for the whole family. I think it's a pretty good deal. It'll save us alot of money on the tickets and breakfast for a day. Does anyone have any feedback?

I'm going to keep it short and to the point....I wouldn't want to waste an hour and a half of my time on what can be a very high pressured sales pitch just for a free breakfast and two ONE day passes. You only have 4 days in Disney, don't waste one precious moment of it! Do you have anywhere else to pull money from?

Blessings again,

Denise