How low *could* you go?

[spiderdust]

I'm having what is possibly an insane idea, but I'll run it by you guys and see if it's even a remote possibility.

For my 40th birthday in October, we had originally planned to go to Disneyland so we could see the Halloween decor and such, but my birthday is still early enough in the month that the crowds would be down. However, my parents and brother are planning a family gathering in June that we should go to... so that wipes out the budget for our October plans. We've planned a trip in December around Christmas time instead (more time to save $$), so that's easing our minds a little and still giving us a trip to look forward to. C is going to the D23 Expo in August and had planned to renew her AP, and that would pay for her visits to the park during the expo and would have paid for her park admission in October as well.

But... the dates that we've planned for December are black-out dates. We're discussing whether or not it would be a good idea for her to just get the premium AP so she can use it during the black-out days, especially since our budgeted price for the HoJo suite included the AP discount. We could make use of the restaurant and shopping discounts, and even joked that we could possibly squeeze in a bare-bones budget trip for a few of us sometime in the spring or summer while she still has the AP.

And here's where my brain started coming up with another scenario.

Would it be possible to do a one day bare-bones budget trip in SEPTEMBER?

1) Chickadee will be 2 until the last week of September, so she'd still be free as long as we went before her birthday.
2) M would likely not go to this one, so we'd just have to pay for Munchkin and me (or just me if Munchkin stayed home, but I can't see her going along with that).
3) We did a super cheap trip trip last May, and that worked pretty well. We took a cooler, ate only counter service (as far as I can remember, at least) in the park, and ate breakfast in our hotel room to maximize time in the park. We found a cheap and clean room really near the park entrance (thank you, AAA discount!) and that same hotel has rooms for ~$80/night for the weekend that we'd probably go.
4) We have a Prius (and since there'd be at most 4 of us, we'd all fit in the car comfortably) so gas expenses wouldn't be too bad.

Am I insane for even contemplating this? How cheaply could we make this work?

How low could you go before it wouldn't be worth taking the trip?

 

[Dobie]

Well, the Dobies' problem is that we plan a bare bones trip and then keep adding stuff...

So assuming that you will have more willpower than Dobies do.....GO FOR IT!!!

Your mileage would be neglible, and if you were buying annual passes ANYWAY, and if you were home you would have to eat ANYWAY, so all you are paying for is a couple of nights of motel????


I SAY GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[spiderdust]

We only have one annual pass... we'd still have to buy 2 adult one day-one park tickets ($76 times 2 = $152).

Let's see. $152 for park entrance, $160 for the room, probably ~$100 for gas. Just under $500 and we haven't had a bite to eat. Hmm...

 

[sonnyjane]

We only have one annual pass... we'd still have to buy 2 adult one day-one park tickets ($76 times 2 = $152).

Let's see. $152 for park entrance, $160 for the room, probably ~$100 for gas. Just under $500 and we haven't had a bite to eat. Hmm...

Can I just clarify - are you still going in December? If you are, then I'd probably just wait until then and use the extra $500 to do some extra special things (dinner at Blue Bayou, great souvenirs, etc.), but if your December trip is cancelled and this is your only opportunity then I guess you could go for it. I go for one-day trips a lot but I live in San Diego and have a Premium AP so all I'm paying for is gas and food. $500 for your one-day trip seems a bit steep...

 

[spiderdust]

Yeah, we're still going in December.

I think you're right... I'd rather put that $500 towards the December trip and have a better time then than risk having to skimp in December because we went in September.

It was fun thinking about for a day!

 

[Dobie]

We only have one annual pass... we'd still have to buy 2 adult one day-one park tickets ($76 times 2 = $152).

Let's see. $152 for park entrance, $160 for the room, probably ~$100 for gas. Just under $500 and we haven't had a bite to eat. Hmm...

So if you don't want to go, don't go. I, personally, would go to DL in a heartbeat if it was only going to cost $500 bucks. But that is me...different strokes.

 

[spiderdust]

So if you don't want to go, don't go. I, personally, would go to DL in a heartbeat if it was only going to cost $500 bucks. But that is me...different strokes.

If it were only $500 for 4 of us to go, I might do it. Heck, I probably would! But I think it might actually end up being more, which is why I'm thinking it may be a crazy idea after all.

But I'll still think it over and keep saving up... maybe it could work after all! I don't think I'll know for certain until May or so, and if it still doesn't look like it will work, that's more that we've saved towards the December trip.

 

[Mama Who]

I would save the money for the December trip, personally. We like to do Disney when we don't have to worry about money very much.

 

[AMouse&ADream]

We only have one annual pass... we'd still have to buy 2 adult one day-one park tickets ($76 times 2 = $152).

Let's see. $152 for park entrance, $160 for the room, probably ~$100 for gas. Just under $500 and we haven't had a bite to eat. Hmm...

My wife and I go all the time for four-day stretches, and $500 pays for our hotel, gas, and food (we have APs, so we don't pay for entry). For me, I would have difficulty justifying $500 for a single day in the park.

 

[spiderdust]

Perhaps. It's interesting though... everyone who's saying "Oh, I would never pay that much!" (and I'm not disagreeing with you) has APs, and already pre-paid admission. Does that mean that it's not worth going unless you're going for several days or already have APs?

We live 370 miles from Disneyland, so unless we know for sure that one or more of us is guaranteed to go there more than once during the year it generally isn't worth it for us to get APs. This year is one of those years.

After September, Chickadee won't be free anymore. Any trips from that point on are going to be higher (although the average per day may be less than that, depending on the number of days stayed).

Those of you who are able to do it for less (not counting the costs for purchasing APs), where are you staying? What are your tricks for spending so little, other than living nearby?

 

[Shimmer]

I'd rather go cheaply than not at all!

We usually go very inexpensively to DL. We usually only eat 1 meal out a day and take the rest of our food. We would have had to have those meals any way. And, I feel like if we were home we'd spend the cost of that 1 meal out either eating out, driving somewhere, going to Target, etc.

I'd say...GO!

 

[sonnyjane]

Perhaps. It's interesting though... everyone who's saying "Oh, I would never pay that much!" (and I'm not disagreeing with you) has APs, and already pre-paid admission. Does that mean that it's not worth going unless you're going for several days or already have APs?

The only reason I can afford an AP is because I do have the luxury of being able to go for day trips, so I don't have worry about hotels. I also go to Disneyland alone 90% of the time, so the expenses are for me and me alone. A one-day trip is fine for someone like me that tries to go once a month because I don't feel badly if I only accomplish a couple of rides. For someone like you that would be traveling farther and staying overnight, you might be more likely to feel disappointed if you show up and find that several rides are closed, or that crowds are heavy, etc. Generally speaking, one day at Disneyland is better than NO days at Disneyland, but there is a cut-off, in my opinion at least, where the cost doesn't justify the outcome. $500 for a single day at just one park (you mentioned not buying hoppers) is not something that is within reason for me and my personal budget.

Now, if you do change your mind and decide to go, I would suggest using sites like Hotwire and Priceline for hotels, but be prepared to pay for a shuttle if they are far away, or even to pay for parking if you have to drive to the parks. Also, use Expedia. I booked two nights at Clarion (across from the Toy Story Lot) in 2009 for $40 a night on Expedia. Parking was $12 a night at that time, but it was still really cheap!

 

[spiderdust]

Now, if you do change your mind and decide to go, I would suggest using sites like Hotwire and Priceline for hotels, but be prepared to pay for a shuttle if they are far away, or even to pay for parking if you have to drive to the parks. Also, use Expedia. I booked two nights at Clarion (across from the Toy Story Lot) in 2009 for $40 a night on Expedia. Parking was $12 a night at that time, but it was still really cheap!

Ah, that's a good point! Having not used the parking lots before, how quickly do they fill up? If she gets the premium AP, that pays for parking in the lots & we wouldn't have to worry about that additional expense.

If nothing else, this will help me to reduce costs for the December trip!

 

[AMouse&ADream]

Those of you who are able to do it for less (not counting the costs for purchasing APs), where are you staying? What are your tricks for spending so little, other than living nearby?

We actually live in Phoenix, so we're about the same distance from the park as you are. We have APs because we go so frequently, otherwise it'd cost a fortune. Our gas cost is usually about the same as yours, maybe $100. We usually find the hotel on Priceline and get something in the $50/night range. With taxes for three nights, that comes to about $200. So we're at $300, then food at about $50/day for the two of us gets us to about $500. Sometimes we splurge and spend another hundred or two on more expensive food or souvenirs, but overall it's usually pretty good for four days in the park.

The hotel we get is usually within a few miles of the park, but the AP gets us free parking, so driving to the park isn't a problem.

 

[AMouse&ADream]

Ah, that's a good point! Having not used the parking lots before, how quickly do they fill up? If she gets the premium AP, that pays for parking in the lots & we wouldn't have to worry about that additional expense.

If nothing else, this will help me to reduce costs for the December trip!

The Mickey & Friends parking structure is one of the largest in the world -- It doesn't fill up, at least not in my experience (we go for New Year's Eve). You might not find an ideal parking space, so it might take you 10-15 minutes to walk from your car to the tram just getting across the structure, but we've never been turned away because it was full, or otherwise unable to find a space.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've seen signs at peak time that M&F is closed to new vehicles, if that happens they send to an overflow lot and shuttle you in.
IMO if you're going to go more than one time in a calender year it is worth it to get APs....we are going next week and again right after Mem. Day in May, I'm pretty sure we are getting APs next week. We aren't 100% sure because we weren't sure we would go to DL in May but it's looking like we will so.... And yes, if I could do a trip for $500 I would be ALL over it....in fact we did a ton of trips for around that price, but we had APs.....