Help with Oct. budget

[littlestix]

I thought I was doing pretty good with budget, then today I went through some things and it seems kind of high. I thought I would post what I have done so far and see what kind of advice I can get. Any thoughts are appreciated.

The family----- There will be 4 of us me,son (3),my mom,and my dad. I'm in charge of 90% planning.

arriving---Oct.1-11th

Plane fare for 4 $720.00
Airport parking $100.00
Car rental 11 days $200.00
House rental 9 nights $872.00
1 night pop (me) $ 87.00
1 night Daytona (parents) $ 95.00
7 day base tix (3 ad/1ch) $760.00
Seaworld (3 ad/1ch) $200.00
MNSSHP (3 ad/1ch) $120.00
Food $1,200.00
Disney Parking $ 60.00
Gas $ 50.00
Souviners $100.00

estimated TOTAL $4,564.00

Does this seem reasonable???

 

[Fridye]

A few suggestions -- If you stayed onsite, you might be able to get one of the value resorts for $55 -- All Stars or Pop Century. That's been the discount rate in the past during value season. As long as you check in by 10/4, you'd be in value season. If all of you could share a room, that would be very cheap. Also, you'd have transportation to the parks, no parking fee and Extra Magic Hours (EMH). Disney now has "Magical Express" where they'd pick you up from Orlando airport. Perhaps you wouldn't need a rental car for all those days.

 

[littlestix]

Thanks for the reply.I can't imagine sharing such a small place with my parents. I need some privacy as I'm sure they do too. We decided renting a house is perfect for us because it offers so much for just under $100 a night. We would get 2 full baths, 3 T.V.'s, private pool etc.....I'm going to use the magical express on our arrival day to stay in Pop for 1 night while they head to Daytona for a night.The rental car seems like a great price for 11 days. Maybe I'm not doing anythng wrong,just thought I would get some opinions.I guess we could save a few dollars and get my parents the 5 day tickets. The problem is that for just a few dollars more why not get 7 day? Perhaps we could eat less .

 

[missmulan]

As of today, $50 for 10 days worth of gas may not cut it....what do you think?

 

[Drewandwendi]

Is the $1200 for food for all 4 of you or just for yourself and DS? Your budget looks comfortable to me. I think the gas is fine. I'm sure your driving will be to and from WDW/house. I'm budgeting 1 tank while we are actually in Orlando. We will be there 7 days, so that's about $32-$36. You should be right on w/ the gas.

I dont know much about airfare, but that looks reasonable as well. I would definitely stay with the house. I couldn't imagine staying in a regular hotel room w/ my parents. Privacy and 2 bathrooms are a must with 3 adults-especially for the length of stay. Have you looked into the Multi day tix for Seaworld/US/IOA? Not sure what the real name is, but you may possible be better off doing Disney plus the other 3 parks. I havent actually priced this out, but I've seen some excellent prices on the 'net.

I'm no pro, but your budget looks right to me. Of course I'm struggling with my budget(as you know) too.

I'm sure you'll have a GREAT time!!

Wendi

 

[littlestix]

The $1200 for food is for all 4 us. My parents don't like to spend much on food and my son only eats a bite or 2 so I plna on sharing most meals with him. I may need a little more for gas since my parents are driving to Daytona but,yes most of our driving will be from the house to Disney.

They don't have any interest in the US/IOA thats why I just alloted 1 day for Seaworld.

I guess I'll quit worring about it .

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

To be honest, there is nothing is your budget that I find to be outrageously high. You'll be there for 11 days and that goes a long way to raising the cost. Other than cutting out some things (MNSSHP, SeaWorld, # days on the passes), I don't know if you can make that bottemline any less.

 

[HDJA]

If you stayed onsite, you might be able to get one of the value resorts for $55 -- All Stars or Pop Century. That's been the discount rate in the past during value season. As long as you check in by 10/4, you'd be in value season.

My family and I are checking in to All Stars Movies on 10/4 but our rates were $77/night. How can I get the discount for $55??

BTW-this is my first "real" post!! So glad to have found this site!!

 

[frannn]

We are going 10/7-10/17, with 2 adults, DD11 (will count as adult for food and tickets when we go, as she'll be 12), and DD2 (will count as child for food and tickets, as she will be 3). By WDW's standards, we are in exactly the same boat. Here is my budget so far:

Airfare (NY-Orlando) 542. (4 tickets-Song-135.40/person)
Hotel (All Stars) 1109. (99+/night-but hoping for AP discount)
Rental Car (Nat-full) 195. (Could use ME for free, but want car)
APs (3Ad, 1Child) 1600. (approx-will use for 2006 trip)
MNSSHP (3Ad, 1Child) 120. (approx-hoping for AP discount)
Food 1000. (approx)

Total 4566.

Please note that my total of 4566 does not include souveniers, which could be 300-900. There is definetly an AP discount for MNSSHP tickets, so I'm not sure what those will end up costing me. We have usually been able to snag some sort of discount on the room (except for once in Feb), so I'm hoping we get one this time, but won't deduct it from the budget until I'm sure. The bright spot in this budget is that the APs will be able to be used (hopefully) for next year's trip as well, so the actual ticket cost for this trip is more like 800. If the discounts with the APs come through, and we end up taking another trip with them next fall, the budget will be more like 3500. If my National rate goes down, that will lower my budget further. We usually do not spend 1000. on food, but we used vouchers on our last two trips, and DD11 was considered a child for dining purposes. I am looking to lower our souvenier budget as well. There should be an outlet tent sale while we are there (at Beltz), but that could be either a budget killer or saver, depending on what we spend. We will not have to pay for pkg since we are staying onsite, and will not have to rent a stroller since I will bring one (just bought a used beatup Kolcraft umbrella for 5. at my local flea market).
I think our budget is pretty decent, although it would have been at least 1000. less if we could have gone prior to Sept, when DD11's AP would still be active, and DD2 would still not require admission or dining). All the new stuff begins in May, though, then comes the summer (DH can't get enough time off), then DD11 starts 7th grade, so Oct it is! Don't know if my info helps you any, but it does give another perspective.
What do you think of my budget?

 

[littlestix]

Frann-----

LOL!! Our total is almost exactly the same. As I read over your estimates it looks GREAT. I'm also using National full size for my rental car. Don't forget about budgeting for gas. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get better airfare than what I estimated (180 p/p). It would also save me around $100.00 if I can find someone to take us to and from the airport. I've considered a taxi but decided it would be about the same cost.

I had thought of getting AP's for my son and I. I'm a little worried that we might not be able to make it back next year. How much are they for 1 adult and 1 child??

 

[frannn]

Adult 420.68 (age 10+)
Child 357.84 (age 3-9)

This works out best for us, since we stay longer than 8 days (used to be breakeven point), and use them for a second trip (most of the time). I'd love to get a discount on them, but I don't think it's going to happen.

 

[Fridye]

HDJA -- In the past, discount codes for the general public have given rates of $55 during "value season." Your check-in date of 10/4 would be "value season." See this page for the different seasons: http://www.mousesavers.com/seasondates2005.html

Also, AP holders got a rate of $49. You have to watch these boards and www.mousesavers.com for an announcement of the release of the codes -- usually a few months in advance. See this page for historical release dates: http://www.mousesavers.com/faq.html#codetrends

There's a lot to learn, but your time will save you lots of money!

 

[HDJA]

Thanks for the advice, Fridye! Every little penny helps. I'll be visiting mousesavers quite often!