How much do you budget for Disney vacation?

[scotton]

I just booked our Windsor Hills 3 brdroom townhome which will cost us $665 (I'm not including deposit because we get that back.). I'm looking at renting a car while we're there.

Here's what I'm thinking it will cost us:

Airline Free (we're using frequent flyer miles.)
Townhome $665
Car $384 (if we get a minivan)
Tickets $1,120.44 (base tickets for 6 days) 2 adults 2 children
Gas $100
Food $200 (for meals at the Townhouse)
Character meals $200 (not sure how many we'll do so this is a total guess)
Photo cd $100 (already prepurchased it)
Souveniers $50 (I'm not big on souveniers so won't spend a lot here.)

So, total cost, I'm looking at $2,819.44 and I'd love to get that cost down. We're planning on bringing our own carseats with us and possibly a double stroller but I might consider buying a double stroller while I'm there if I can find a cheap one at a nearby consignment store.

Other than maybe having to pay a little for plane tickets or for the double stroller as another bag, what other costs am I overlooking?

I'm sure there's something I'm not thinking of and I need your help. We're planning on staying 7 days.

Also, suggestions on how to save $$$ are appreciated. I'm thinking maybe I need to find a smaller car to rent because that would be cheaper.

I'm looking at http://www.floridaticketstation.com/ for our Disney tickets but if anyone knows of a cheaper site please let me know.

TIA,

Sarah


http://www.**************/id/1336374007.png

 

[DawnM]

Are you planning to eat all your meals in the townhouse other than the 2 character meals? You may need to budget more for food.

With only 2 kids, we have used an economy car and been fine for a week. We now have 3 kids but we haven't rented a vehicle since we had our 3rd, so it hasn't been an issue.

We budget less, but we drive down.

Dawn

 

[deakam]

Your $200 for character dinners will get you one. I usually budget $1000.00 per person for our 7 night 8 day stay whether on or off property. This also covers flying or driving. Anything left over goes to the next trip.

 

[disneynut11]

Hi..
I think the food budget is low also. Depending on the ages of your kids, you can pay $40 or more for some character meals per person.
Also with children, souveniers are hard to pass. What worked for me is I gave my kid a Disney gift card with a set amount. When its gone, its gone. She then had to decide which souveniers were worth it.

I think also you can get by with a economy or midsize car and save there.

 

[BellandBeast]

A great money saver for souvenirs: if you have luggage space buy stuff at your local Disney Store to take with you without the kids knowing it. Then you have special surprises for them during the trip without paying the high costs at the park.

 

[m2zjj]

Using the mousesavers link to undercover tourist for 6 day base tickets for 2 adults and 2 children the total is 983.81 You can get the newsletter by signing up for it at mousesavers.com. on first glance it appears that the other site is cheaper but they do not have tax figured into the price listed on their page that is added later. Also they charge shipping unless you pick up the tickets, undercover tourist provides free shipping. I've used them several times and have always been happy with them.

 

[deuceswild10]

Yes, food budget is low, I would think. Other than the character meals, will you eat all meals at the townhouse? I would think at least you'd have to pay for lunches in the parks. But, staying at a home with a kitchen will save a ton!

 

[indimom]

Did you include parking somewhere? I think it's about $15/day to park. That's another $90.

Also, I have to agree with the other posters. I'm afraid your food budget might be low. Unless you are planning to pack sandwiches or snacks for the parks most days?? You can save alot by packing your own snacks and drinking free cups of ice water or filling water bottles at the fountains; but even with those tips, I think this budget is going to be tight.

The only thing in your budget that I think could be trimmed is the rental van. With a family of four you shouldn't have any problem managing with a smaller vehicle. We've always fit just fine in a standard sized car, even when we brought along a cooler and lots of extras.

Hope this helps and have a wonderful trip!

ETA: I just noticed you have a 3bedroom townhome. Any chance of downgrading to a two bedroom with the same amenities? (I have no idea if something like that is available or if you have the time left to make a change, but it's a thought.) That might trim a little off the budget. Unless your kids need separate rooms for sleep issues.

 

[scrapquitler]

I just booked our Windsor Hills 3 brdroom townhome which will cost us $665 (I'm not including deposit because we get that back.). I'm looking at renting a car while we're there.

Here's what I'm thinking it will cost us:

Airline Free (we're using frequent flyer miles.)
Townhome $665
Car $384 (if we get a minivan)
Tickets $1,120.44 (base tickets for 6 days) 2 adults 2 children
Gas $100
Food $200 (for meals at the Townhouse)
Character meals $200 (not sure how many we'll do so this is a total guess)
Photo cd $100 (already prepurchased it)
Souveniers $50 (I'm not big on souveniers so won't spend a lot here.)

So, total cost, I'm looking at $2,819.44 and I'd love to get that cost down. We're planning on bringing our own carseats with us and possibly a double stroller but I might consider buying a double stroller while I'm there if I can find a cheap one at a nearby consignment store.

Other than maybe having to pay a little for plane tickets or for the double stroller as another bag, what other costs am I overlooking?

I'm sure there's something I'm not thinking of and I need your help. We're planning on staying 7 days.

Also, suggestions on how to save $$$ are appreciated. I'm thinking maybe I need to find a smaller car to rent because that would be cheaper.

I'm looking at http://www.floridaticketstation.com/ for our Disney tickets but if anyone knows of a cheaper site please let me know.

TIA,

Sarah


http://www.**************/id/1336374007.png

food/water/snacks in the park
$$ Parking ($14 per day)
are you including tax in the condo rental and car rental??

 

[Belle83]

I would try to get a cheaper rental car. No reason to have a minivan for 4 people. You are also leaving out parking costs (airport parking, theme park parking, etc.), and checked luggage fees (which you typically still have to pay even when you use airline miles).

Park tickets can be purchased for less from undercovertourist.com

$200 is not enough for food (plus $200 for a character meal) for 2 adults/2 kids, even eating most meals at the townhouse. I would skip the character meal entirely, as you can see characters in the parks and the food at the character meals is not fantastic.

 

[GingerJay]

We normally budget ~ $50.00 for lunch & $100.00 for dinner (family of 5) if we're eating in park. I agree with the other PPs that you need to budget a little more for your food.

Have you checked out mousesavers.com? They have some codes and links for rental cars that may be able to help you. Along with the rental car- you definitely need to budget in parking @$14/ day (if that's still the price).

Luckily, Windsor Hills is not too far from WDW- so hopefully you won't use all of your gas budget

Anyway, hope you have fun! We stayed in WH in 2008 and LOVED it! Had an amazing time and will definitely be offsite from now on

 

[ValpoCory]

Here's what I'm thinking it will cost us:

Airline Free (we're using frequent flyer miles.)
Townhome $665
Car $384 (if we get a minivan)
Tickets $1,120.44 (base tickets for 6 days) 2 adults 2 children
Gas $100
Food $200 (for meals at the Townhouse)
Character meals $200 (not sure how many we'll do so this is a total guess)
Photo cd $100 (already prepurchased it)
Souveniers $50 (I'm not big on souveniers so won't spend a lot here.)

So, total cost, I'm looking at $2,819.44

Gas for driving to and from hometown airport.
Hometown Airport parking
Hometown Airport food
Hometown Airport tips for parking lot baggage handlers or renting those $4 luggage carts
Tips for people at Disneyworld/your hotel.
Orlando airport food when departing.

Oh, and I highly recommend Magic Strollers for renting strollers in Orlando.


But to answer your question on how much do I budget ... we stay onsite, renting DVC points. Last time total costs including non-stop airfare from Austin, TX was $525 per night for me, DW, DD5, DS1 staying at the BWV ($4200 for 8 night vacation). We only go once every 2-2.5 years, so we buy a lot of souvenirs (~$700 or so).

 

[ValpoCory]

Anyway, hope you have fun! We stayed in WH in 2008 and LOVED it! Had an amazing time and will definitely be offsite from now on

Why is offsite so much better that you have written off onsite lodging?

 

[DawnM]

I am not PP, but for us, it is the SPACE! We are a family of 5 and a hotel room just isn't comfortable anymore. we love having 2 full bedrooms and a full kitchen available.

Dawn

Why is offsite so much better that you have written off onsite lodging?

 

[nchulka]

If at least one of your kids is school age you can save a fortune in tickets by getting them through the Disney YES program. Check out disneyyouth.com and look under individual enrollment. There is also a whole thread about the YES program. Basically it's a Disney educational program. They have a list of several, it currently list programs through the end of the year. Next year's programs will be released later. You sign your child/children up for a 3 hour behind the scenes tour at one of the parks. A parent attends with the child. The class is free. By signing up for the class your entire family get very discounted tickets! They range from about 150 for basic 3 day tickets, to 208.00 for 8 day hoppers with water parks! The price is the same for adults and children. So you could all have 8 day hoppers with the water parks for only about 832.00 Of course you can choose less days, and drop the hopper and water parks to make it even cheaper.

 

[Planogirl]

Why is offsite so much better that you have written off onsite lodging?

It's mostly the space for us too. It's luxurious to spread out.

OP, you might want to plan for just one character meal and price them before you decide. I would go for a much smaller vehicle and shop around for that too. Definitely check Undercover Tourist for passes like a PP suggested. Note that tax and shipping are included in the UT prices and usually aren't when you check prices on other sites. Can you get transportation to the hometown airport? That might save a bit. In our area, if you book and pay for the airport parking in advance it costs less too.

 

[julie4423]

I just booked our Windsor Hills 3 brdroom townhome which will cost us $665 (I'm not including deposit because we get that back.). I'm looking at renting a car while we're there.

Here's what I'm thinking it will cost us:

Airline Free (we're using frequent flyer miles.)
Townhome $665
Car $384 (if we get a minivan)
Tickets $1,120.44 (base tickets for 6 days) 2 adults 2 children
Gas $100
Food $200 (for meals at the Townhouse)
Character meals $200 (not sure how many we'll do so this is a total guess)
Photo cd $100 (already prepurchased it)
Souveniers $50 (I'm not big on souveniers so won't spend a lot here.)

So, total cost, I'm looking at $2,819.44 and I'd love to get that cost down. We're planning on bringing our own carseats with us and possibly a double stroller but I might consider buying a double stroller while I'm there if I can find a cheap one at a nearby consignment store.

Other than maybe having to pay a little for plane tickets or for the double stroller as another bag, what other costs am I overlooking?

I'm sure there's something I'm not thinking of and I need your help. We're planning on staying 7 days.

Also, suggestions on how to save $$$ are appreciated. I'm thinking maybe I need to find a smaller car to rent because that would be cheaper.

I'm looking at http://www.floridaticketstation.com/ for our Disney tickets but if anyone knows of a cheaper site please let me know.

TIA,

Sarah


http://www.**************/id/1336374007.png

I have to agree on a couple points with PPs. Why would you need a minivan for 4 people? You could save quite a bit there. Also, I think the food budget is totally unrealistic unless you plan to leave the parks for every meal. Are you planning to carry snacks and drinks? These things add up like you wouldn't believe. You could always cut the character meals. Personally I would rather do that than drive back and forth to my house/hotel.

Have you looked into an onsite stay at all? Just for the sake of argument, let's say you book an onsite stay at a value. You eliminate the need for a car, gas, and parking fees. So, close to $600. A value runs from $100-150 a night rack rate I believe. Let's also say that you adjust your vacation time to fall into free dining. With 2 adults and 2 kids (I'm assuming they're disney kid ages), you save close to $100 a night almost eliminating the cost of your hotel. You could even upgrade this from QS to DDP. I could go on, but just check into it and see. As for me, I'll never stay offsite. I enjoy the convenience of no car, no driving, and no traffic headache far too much. I just have to be willing to travel during the times that I can get the best deal.

 

[Planogirl]

Some people enjoy having a car though. (Me, me! ) I would try to have a car no matter where I stayed.

I also want more space, extra amenities, the ability to go offsite and so on. There are no absolutes and the OP may just want some of this too.

 

[julie4423]

Well, we rented a car last trip thinking maybe it would be nice, but we only used it once. We only used it once because we felt like it would have been a waste if we didn't. LOL How sad is that?

Yes, everyone does WDW differently. We never have a desire to leave the property once we're there. That's just what works for us.

 

[disney_me]

Where do you live? We live in Delaware and we are going to drive to Fl. It's going to cost us about $300.00 in gas in your Ford Fusion. We will have to stop to sleep on the way down and back home. Thinking to spend about $100.00 per night for a hotel. My family and I are also staying off site!. We have never stayed onsite and this is our 7th trip. Our house is $900.00 for the week but I'm going with my 2 sisters and their families so it's only $300.00 per couple!

We will eat all breakfasts at home. Going to pack some lunches and only eating out for dinner 2 nights. My normal weekly grocery budget at home is $100.00, that's what my budget is going to be for our week in Disney.

I think if you really look at your budget again you can get your cost down!

You can find out how much gas is going to cost you at
http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/

And we get our tickets at undercover tourist.com

Have fun!