hey this disney thing is expensive

[kblguy]

We are a Can. family, mom,dad and child, want to do disney, how can we save$??? My dad owns property in Flo. and has a florida licence(only for use in florida) does that make him a resident, can I become a resident???Any help or tips would be appreciated....thanks

 

[natmurr]

there are a lot of ways you can save at Disney without breaking the law (trying to be a resident when your not)

There is the 4/3 promo, there is the winter room only promo ($49) at values.

We are a family of 5 spending a week at Disney for $1200 (room & tickets). The $200 GC we got as part of the promo goes to food, and we are bringing along snacks and breakfast items we can have in our room.

 

[fan1080]

We are a family of 5 spending a week at Disney for $1200 (room & tickets).

WOW, that is a good deal. How many days and where are you staying? Where did you get such a good deal?

 

[wannago2disney]

The 4/3 is a great deal. depending on the age of you child and how much each of you eat, the quick service meal plan can be a big help to you as well. Last year we did a fridge swap and it worked out well. we were there for 8 days, and the swap only cost us $25US. -- would have been 80+ to rent from the resort.

if you have CAA and can go during value season, you can really save money too (Pop century reg. room cost us $55+tx per night in Jan/08)

if you are flying and only plan on doing disney, take advantage of Magic express...its free! We had a very good experience with this service.

if you are close to the US take advantage of the low fares for flying out of a US city. we flew out of detroit on spirit for $55+tx each way. just sign up for the email alerts and know what dates you want. We have flown spirit each time we have gone to Disney and it has been smooth sailing (and flying )

You can save by using a ticket broker too. we used undercovertourist.com last year and they were quick delivery and good to go when we arrived. (you get an extra discount if you sign up for mousesavers.com newsletter and use their link to undercover tourist site)

I didn't take the tickets out of their sealed package and when we arrived, we just went to the concierge desk and they put the park tickets right on our room card (key to the magic or whatever its called i forget) NO Problems at all. this way we only had to carry arround the one card.


We live in a border city so after crossing into the states we stopped and bought some cereal and snacks at wal mart....I think you can do this in Canada and cross with most things but it was just as easy for us to stop on the way to the airport. we just packed the stuff in our suitcases for flying. we bought milk at the resort (can get 1/2 gallon jugs right there) which is why we did the fridge swap. it was great with the kids!

our final total after room,flight,food,souveniers, parkhopper tickets for 6 days, and sleep/park/fly came to just under $3000.00 CND (remeber last yr this time money was at par)

There are all kinds of things to save on and I learned most right here on the Dis. it's a wealth of info!

 

[SandraC]

Since we like Florida and Disney and try to go often, I bought 10 day hopper plusses that don't expire about a year ago....when our dollar was excellent. We will use those tickets over 3-4 trips. I also have 3 or 4 water park days leftover from old tickets. I bought the Universal Studio $82 ticket deal at the same time. I think the total for all tickets for the four of us was about $2400. But that's over 4 trips...so the average cost is only $150 per person, per trip for all parks, water parks and a great Universal week. 10 Disney park days, 9 Disney water parks, 7 Universal Days [we will only go 4 days, maybe 5].

We like renting a car and scan Alamo all the time for the best rates. March trip is $240 for 10 days.

We are staying two nights at the beach = $220

$74 mousesavers code for March Break at POP.

We have done all the Disney restaurants that we wanted so we like trying new places off site and a few favs on site. We like doing grocery shopping too....nothing like creating your own veggie and cheese wrap poolside with fresh fruit and nuts for dessert! Breakky in room to save time and money.

Air fare in March only $660 out of Buffalo for four of us.

SO....

March Break Trip - 10 days, 4 people

Airfare $660
Car $220
Gas $ 20 [at most]
Accom $1000

TOTAL $1900

+ food, maybe about $700

S

 

[maxie]

www.mousesavers.com

Awesome website.

We use Airmiles for flights, Disney passes and Universal passes.

 

[mtmbyck]

SandraC - how the heck are you flying in March for $660 for 4 people?? I'm paying $400 each (granted it is direct and retunr is a Saturday). But still, I never say tickets for less than $200 tax incld.

Just curious who it is with and when did you book - so I can watch this for next year.

 

[natmurr]

WOW, that is a good deal. How many days and where are you staying? Where did you get such a good deal?

We are staying at POP Feb 8-14. Booked on the 4/3 deal with 7-day base tickets and a standard room. No meal plan. Our kids are 5, 3 and 1 - so the 1 yr old doesn't count.

Our package didn't include airfare as we are flying into Ft. Myers to my Mom's house first, but I booked an air/room/tickets for my in-laws for the same week we are there and it was $1250 US.

I also booked an additional room at Pop for 2 nights (my mom is coming up for Ft. Myers) for $49/night.

 

[mtmbyck]

I should also mention for those like me who usually book the value-moderate accommodations at Disney, you can rent DVC pts and stay for example Sun-Thurs for $100-$120 a night at a deluxe resort!! Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas or even the Concierge Club at AK. I am working on a 2 night stay this month and this is how I am stayng in a 2 bedroom at SSR in March! It's a wonderful deal!!

 

[SandraC]

I was having a hard time finding low SW airfare too. I watched and waited and finally decided to budget $1300 for the 4 of us. I waited until I saw $1116 for all 4 and booked it. THEN a Winter Seat Sale was published about three weeks ago! So I re-booked and have a nice credit for another trip later in the year! So my March Break airfare via SW is $660 for 4 of us. Monday departure for 10 days.

Mousesavers $74 is awesome for March Break, so we are doing great! S

 

[mtmbyck]

NICE! I booked Jet Blue and haven't seen any sales for March. I might have to call them and see what they say.......

 

[fan1080]

We are staying at POP Feb 8-14. Booked on the 4/3 deal with 7-day base tickets and a standard room. No meal plan. Our kids are 5, 3 and 1 - so the 1 yr old doesn't count.

Our package didn't include airfare as we are flying into Ft. Myers to my Mom's house first, but I booked an air/room/tickets for my in-laws for the same week we are there and it was $1250 US.

I also booked an additional room at Pop for 2 nights (my mom is coming up for Ft. Myers) for $49/night.

Ah, so it's really for 4 people, gotcha. Still a good deal though.

We are a family of five and I knew that sounded way too good a deal for 5.

 

[wannago2disney]

heads up for anyone interested in flying from Detroit to orlando, my brother in law got seats from spirit for $18 each way for their march trip.

 

[tricia]

SandraC - how the heck are you flying in March for $660 for 4 people?? I'm paying $400 each (granted it is direct and retunr is a Saturday). But still, I never say tickets for less than $200 tax incld.

Just curious who it is with and when did you book - so I can watch this for next year.

I am flying 4 of us from Buffalo for $760 and I thought that was a great deal. Way to go Sandra

Mine is on Delta and I booked it in Sept.

 

[tricia]

SandraC - how the heck are you flying in March for $660 for 4 people?? I'm paying $400 each (granted it is direct and retunr is a Saturday). But still, I never say tickets for less than $200 tax incld.

Just curious who it is with and when did you book - so I can watch this for next year.

Whoa,first time I ever get the famous dbl post. Too much

 

[tgropp]

We are a Can. family, mom,dad and child, want to do disney, how can we save$??? My dad owns property in Flo. and has a florida licence(only for use in florida) does that make him a resident, can I become a resident???Any help or tips would be appreciated....thanks

Believe it or not, a Disney vacation is usually out of the realm of most families. It can be very expensive. But there are ways to make it less expensive and many of the points have already been covered here. When you decide to go is a huge factor. Value season is the cheapest. Flying out of the U.S. and late afternoon flights usually result in better savings than a morning flight. When renting a car, check Mousesavers.com and the transportation board on DisBoards for the latest info (codes). Buying tickets through undercover tourist will usually save you $15-$20 per person on a 7 day ticket. Regarding hotel rooms, you can hope for a code from Disney during slow periods, you can look for codes from Mousesavers or mouseplanet at one of the Downtown Disney hotels or has been previously stated, try renting DVC points from someone. If it is in your budget, you can also purchase the meal plan as meals are expensive there. You could also stay offsite for $50 a night, but try and budget to stay on site, even for 3 or 4 nights if possible. Have a good trip

 

[Sheribo]

I see that the $74 a night for weeknight stays at the value resorts thru to the end of March on the Disney website now. I was hoping to get a Saturday night but that's twice the price.