Help! What to budget while staying in a villa?

[loribell]

As I have stated before we are doing a huge Magical Gathering. My uncle and cousins have been asking me what they should plan on it costing. I'm really not sure what to tell them and would love some input from everyone here. I haven't ever really budgeted a trip other than deciding what we want to do and knowing what that will cost. This time they will probably be eating in alot so I need help with this.

It will be my Aunt & Uncle in one group, my cousin & his wife with 2 teens in another group, and my cousin & his wife with a 9 & 7 year old in the last group.

We know what the ticket prices will be & the room is covered by me with the exception of the rooms for travel and the room on arrival night (thinking we will rent rooms at one of the value resorts). I have told them, and they agreed we will all do breakfast at Chef Mickey's together and my aunt wants to do one family dinner together. Other a lot of the meals will be in the rooms with some in the parks.

Can anyone give me some idea of what to tell them to plan? I'm really not sure what to say!

Thanks for your help,
Lori

Edited to include: I thought this might be more appropriate for the DVC board because of the amount of time eating in the rooms, but if it would be more appropriate for the budget board please move it there.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would have them make a list of what they expect to spend on extras in the park.

For meals, I would suggest what we have done when we have had a large group. We just returned late October from a GV visit with 12 guests. We had each family group plan and prepare one main meal. The planning can all be done ahead of time, and each family is responsible for buying the groceries for that meal. Then we had each family group buy their own breakfast items, since this is something that seems to be specific to each family. We pooled resources for some of the snack items. Does this help at all? BTW, that way of planning and executing meals was very easy!

 

[kweaver]

When we get together for a family vacation with DH's family (9 adults 9 kids), each of us plans a dinner one night. It works out great!

DMIL usually makes the first run to the store for the basics (breakfast items, coffee, drinks, sandwich fixings, chips, paper goods)...and we all pick things up throughout the week. She evens everything up at the end of the week...and if anyone still owes money...we pay up.

 

[tjkraz]

I think you first need to develop a framework for the locations of your meals. I know you said that many meals will be in-room, but think carefully about whether everyone is really going to want to make all of those trips back to the hotel. When you factor in walking time to the bus stop/parking lot, travel time, dining time and then the return trip to the park, realize that you will probably lose 2 hours for every return trip to the hotel. Trying to do that 2x per day is gonna get old quickly.

The families with small children may not have any choice if they are taking the kiddies back to the room for an afternoon nap. Then it's very easy to whip up some grub.

Assuming that your group won't be joined at the hip for the entire trip, I'd try to arrange a handful of group meals up front. Sounds like you've already done that with regard to Chef Mickey's.

Beyond that, let everyone know the pros and cons of different dining choices. In-room will be the cheapest, but they'll lose a lot of park time. Counter service meals are about $7-8 per adult. Table service meals start in the $25-30 range per person. You can find menus on allearsnet.com if you want to share some examples with everyone.

IMO, your biggest challenge will be deciding how much to buy at the grocery store. Probably best to guess low and make a second trip later in the week if you're running short of supplies.