Help Me Plan First Trip Ever

[john6305]

Hi, my name is Doyle and I am 22. I am planning a Disney World trip for me, my mother, and my girlfriend. Its a gift to show them how much I appreciate them.

Ok, I'm trying to make this as cheap and affordable as possible.
I did the Magic Your Way with Park Hopper for 7 days (staying at Pop Century) via the disneyworld website.

Total without Insurance : 1577.00 (this is rounded off)

However, this does not take in to consideration the cost of food for those seven days. I added the Dining Plan and the price went to 2312.00 (rounded off)

Thats expensive in my opinion. There has to be a way to make this budget cheaper. Thats $735 for food for 7 days.

I've looked at options such as 3 Annual Passes and 7 days at the Resort, but it would not apply the discount to the Resort prices so I do not know the exact prices with the discount applied. I also know that the Annual Passes give discounts to a lot of other items at WDW, such as food, etc. so it seemed like a good deal if the prices are about the same. Plus, it has the added benefit of No Expiration (well, within 365 days). But it works out so that if we have to cancel for some reason, we can still go back this Summer or during Christmas.

I have also looked at getting an off-site Hotel, but that lacks Extra Magic Hours and the ease of transportation - plus it costs about the same, and my driving knowledge of Florida is nill. I tried finding meal vouchers on Ebay but those all expire on May 31st and I'm not too fond of Ebay. - Never been jipped, but never want to be, either.

Now I know its fully possible to just take the $1577 package deal and eat only when necessary and cheap meals, etc. like sandwiches. However, I wouldn't mind it if I were enabled to provide good meals to my GF and mom at a reasonable price. So please, please, if you can, help me find the most affordable package out there - and notify me of any other cost that I may be overlooking. Thanks in advance and sorry for the length of the post.

First Timer at WDW,
Doyle

Update: I'm thinking about going with the plan that comes out to be 1577 with 7 Days at WDW with Park Hopping at the Pop Cent Resort. However, I am thinking of purchasing 20 meal vouchers that expire 12/31/05. Each person in my party gets 1 voucher for the day, so we can eat a good meal, have a snack, etc. and mebbe eat a sandwich back at the hotel.

What do you guys think?

 

[lovemygoofy]

When are you planning your trip? If you can hold off until end of August or until September, you can go during value season which would save you some money. Dining is expensive at WDW. If ya'll like to eat things besides chicken strips or hamburgers or anything else that is fried and sold cheap then I would say that the dining plan is the way to go. I normally budget $75-100/day for just my dh and myself. Go to www.allearsnet.com/din/dining and look at menus and costs. That should help you decide about pricing and you will know if you and your family are big eaters or just snackers.

Please feel free to PM me with anymore questions but this board knows ALOT about being thrifty and could be a big resource.

Good luck planning your trip.

 

[JodyTG]

Okay, my first suggestion to sign up for the newsletter at Mousesavers.com right away! They send out a newsletter on the 15th of each month that may have a link for discounted tickets. Before I was a DVC member, I always bought everything separately. You can save at least a little bit of money that way. Are you a AAA member? Call 407-WDISNEY and see if they have any discounts for the dates that you're going. This can be substantial in some cases.

Next...the meals. The vouchers really aren't a way to save money at all. You'd have to buy the most expensive things on the menu and at most places you'd still just break even. My DD and I always shared meals. The portions are quite large. We'd order an appetizer and an entree and always had plenty of food. At the counter service places, you can order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun. Nothing wrong with that...just saving money .

This is all I can think of right now, but if you're interested let me know... I'm sure that we can get the price down on your trip.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

As far as the meal plan is concerned, ask yourself if your girlfriend and mother are going to want have at least one sit down meal per day, if yes, then definitely go with the meal plan, IMO, because they can become very expensive. But if you do, plan ahead and make priority seating arrangements BEFORE you go. If they are light eaters, or won't want to waste park time eating, then I would think your idea about a sandwich in the room my be better. But in either case, I would skip the vouchers unless you can get them dirt cheap (11-12 each) otherwise you are better off paying cash.

Consider buying at least one AP, for two reasons, 1) good discounts on the hotel and 2) enables you to buy the DDE card (if you don't go with the meal plan) which saves 20 percent on meals (including alcoholic beverages). If you guys like to have cocktails at dinners, this might be better than the meal plan.

Just my .02, Hope it helps!

 

[john6305]

Ok, well my total comes out to be 1577.00 with 3 at the Pop Cent resort for 7 days, 6 nights with park hopping. No meal plan. I am going to add Magic Plus, because I want to go to the water parks, etc.

You recommend I add an annual pass for at least one of us? Hmmm...how does that work out, since with the vacation package, I think it gives you discounts on the hotel for making a vacation package and staying a certain amount of time. However, you can't do the vacation package with an annual pass...so how do I make sure that I'm not paying more for the rooms, etc. because I have 1 less person in the vacation package???

Plus, how do I see what the discounts will be with for the AP?

We are leaving on the 31st of May and arriving on June 1st. I live in New Orleans, so we are driving. Its about a six - seven hour drive.


I'm like the idea of the AP because of all the discounts, but I don't see the actual discounts anywhere and I don't know how to apply them to my upfront cost...so it kinda puts me off on the idea.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Cyndo723]

John,
If you're driving from NO, it will take more than 6-7 hours. I live in Lafayette, and it takes me around 12. That would make it about 10 for you. The drive is pretty easy though. Interstate all the way, and no major traffic problems in any of the cities that you go through. Good luck, you don't have very long to get your plan together.

 

[Barqs]

We are leaving on the 31st of May and arriving on June 1st. I live in New Orleans, so we are driving. Its about a six - seven hour drive.

I am also from the New Orleans area.. it is actually about a 9-10 hour drive. We have always taken 10 hours and we do not stop very often.

I am planning a December trip. I joined AAA to get a room discount. I hear they have good package discounts also. There is a AAA office with a travel agent in Metairie on Causeway Blvd. You may want to give them a call and see what kind of deal they have. It may be worth the cost of joining.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[john6305]

Well, I'm looking at the AAA website and it looks like a pretty decent deal. However, how does this work? Can I join on the website, and if I do, do I just book the trip through them to receive the discounts? If I were to join AAA, what would be the exact steps that I would follow to ensure that I get the benefits by the time we plan on leaving???

And the reason that our trip is such short notice is that we had originally planned on going on a Carnival Cruise departing from New Orleans, but we weighed the prices of going during June (near 700$ for the value rooms) to the prices of going in December (near 400$ for the same room)... so we're going in December, and instead going to WDW for our Summer Vacation for more bang for the buck, so to speak..

Anyways, thanks again for all of your help.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I belong to Mid-Atlantic AAA and I received my membership number by email within a few hours of enrolling in the program. Once I had my membership ID #, I could begin using my benefits, including booking hotel rooms and vacation packages. I'm not sure if your AAA works the same way or not. You may want to call a local office and enroll by phone. That way, they can answer your specific questions.

 

[Barqs]

I just joined AAA over the internet and received my membership # within a few minutes. Then I called Disney and booked my rooms, I just gave them the number and they said to bring it with me, that I would have to show it upon check-in. The actual card came in within a week.

I am not exactly sure how the packages work, but I do know that you have to book them through the AAA office, not Disney. So maybe you can call the AAA office and get a price quote and if it is good, you can join then.

That AAA office in Metaire also sells 4 and 5 day park hoppers, so if you decided to book separately you could book the room with Disney and buy the tickets with AAA.

BTW.. I am not sure of the rack rate for Pop Century in May, but for my December trip the rack rate is $77 and with my AAA membership I was able to book for $61 a night.