How much do you spend on your vacation?

[MnMomW3Boys]

We are a family of 5

Flight from Minneapolis to MCO ~ $832

No rental car - Mom and Dad live in Clarmont, Fl so they are loaning us one of theirs for the week.

Wal Mart run for groceries/Snacks for the week - $100

Tickets - 7 day $700?? (not sure of the exact amount, ds#3 is under 3)

Extras - we have budgeted $500

Food - Budgeted $300 (CM is our only ADR) we will eat a couple meals in the parks but mostly CS.

Total - a whole lot less then vacationing anyweher else.

We paid for the airline tickets months ago so I try to forget about that cost when I add up our trip.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Each trip, I budget around $2000 total for everything. That is a 2 week trip for us. We normally stay in a 1 bedroom or larger so our costs go way down for food and entertainment. We could make a trip out of just being away and enjoying the resort amenities, the waterparks and DisneyQuest. We do visit the parks but no more than twice a trip. We never feel at a loss for things to do or deprived. If we did, i would buy the AP's.

$400 each trip for park tix (we get a combination of tix), $600 each trip for food (combo groceries and TS/CS)

$400 for gas and oil change, $300 for kennel (new dog new expense), $100 for tips, and the rest for miscellaneous "whatever we want" We didnt set out with a strict budget but this is what we usually spend without trying either way.

Not to mention, if we are gone 2 weeks, my home expenses go way down. Our light bill and water are way less and my weekly grocery budget gets rolled into the trip grocery budget so net we spend about $1500 for a 2 week Christmas stay with all that WDW has to offer. I could spend that taking my kids to Chuck E Cheese/Great Wolf/Six Flags and Putt Putt and McDonalds over Christmas Break, so Im thrilled with the cost of our DVC vacations

On my solo trips, I budget $800-$1k for everything, because i fly and use DDP.

We spend 5-7 weeks at DVC a year.

 

[rutgers1]

I almost fell over when I jotted down our expenses for this trip. I totally didn't realize how much we were spending since we pay for things here and there.

Although we are going to drop a bundle this year with two trips, I think we'll wait at least a year, maybe more before going again. I think we'll let our points accumulate while taking a cruise (not a Disney cruise). My family can cruise for a week for somewhere around $2,000, which is a great savings since we don't have to pay for airfare (cruise ships leave from right near our home). That will help refill our bank account and prepare us for our next Disney trip!

 

[Tara]

Just BTW - the car rental prices are WAY WAY up for this year. I've been scouring the transportation boards for codes etc. I do not think you can find a car rental for a week for $100 these days. If we rent a "standard" or "midsize" car for 10 days this summer the best rate I've found is about $400.

FYI, we got a minivan for 7 days for $199 plus tax through Alamo for mid-May. (from their hot deals page) It's about $235 with taxes and fees and I imagine we'll spend about $25 in gas (that's about our average). That's $37 per day. I was able to snag a midsize SUV using my Sam's Club code for the same price, and I'm considering just sticking with that reservation since I've never in all my life driven a minivan and I choose midsize SUVs thru Alamo because I know I can get a Toyota or Nissan. (I still don't know what sort of minivans Alamo stocks. I'm guessing they don't have Hondas or Toyotas...)

Anyhow, obviously everyone's needs and experiences are different so I thought I'd give our "math."

Because we rent a car we can:
-- go directly to resorts for our dinner plans, be on our own schedule for getting to the parks.
-- go get our groceries at our leisure. I sometimes go in the evening of our first night because we're all excited to get there and it saves the hassle of storing groceries with bell services.
-- dine offsite, which isn't a must-do but it's a nice option. My son's favorite place to eat is Cracker Barrel, followed by McDonald's - there's only so many grilled cheese sandwiches we can scrounge up at WDW restaurants before he wants the only kind of cheeseburger he'll eat!
-- go get Chick-Fil-A, which is one of my favorite things that I only get when traveling since there aren't any where I live.
-- leave for the airport at a reasonable time for us, not on DME's crazy early schedule. We are in the Clear Registered Traveler Program which saves a lot of time, so we don't have to be there as early as the average traveler.

Funny, I used to be a hardcore never-leave-the-property person but as we've gone so many times, I've slowly loosened up.

 

[Anal Annie]

My kids are still young and we have spent several hours on more than one occasion just hanging out on various Disney transportation. My kids used to be obsessed with the monorail and we would ride that thing 5 or 6 times continuously around the MK loop just so they could get their fix. Cheap entertainment for them and a time for mom and dad to rest our feet. Sometimes even the simplest things are the most memorable. Our kids often talk about the time we got to sit in the front of the monorail and they got to "drive" but they can't remember which rides they rode last year (a consequence of our going so often I guess).

I am from a very small town in WV. (It finally got upgraded from a 2 - way stop sign intersection to a 4 -way!) Anyway, that reminds me that when I was a kid it would be a really BIG deal to "go to town" on a Saturday night to get a pizza or something...then we would go by the local airport to watch the planes take off!! I am talking about this dinky little airport where the Civil Air Patrol would have an airshow every year and they would have a "fly by" of like an Army C4 plane 'cuz it didn't have a big enough runway for it to actually land!! Well, technically they said it could land but it couldn't take off again! But boy oh boy did we think watching these little planes come & go was something way back in the 60's!!!

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I just got back: This is what we spent for 7 days at the BW with 2 adults and 2 kids.

passes: $752

BW room charge-- dinners, snacks etc-- $339

World of Disney shopping $200

Airfare (purchased in July for April trip ) $800

Groceries from Garden Grocer -$145 (included 2 cases of water-- savings)

=$2236

I had a Disney rewards card that had $256 on it that we also used.

We ate Breakfast in our room every day and we ate sandwiches in our room the 1st 2 days.

We ate at Germany (for lunch), Yak & Yeti(for lunch), Spoodles twice(dinner), Prime time for Dinner and Pizza 2 nights on the BW from Spoodles. We ate in various park for counter service for the rest of our meals and at the airport on Wednesday.

Kids spent about $100 in Disney $$ too.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

We are in the same boat . My DD turns 10 before our next trip but there is NO WAY she will eat adult food at WDW. She's a fussy vegetarian who would not touch most of the adult vegetarian meals at WDW with a 10-foot pole. The difference in park passes is fairly minimal from 9 to 10 but there is no reason for us to pay $40 per day for her on the DDP when she's still going to eat kid's meals! Thank goodness for the TiW card.

My DD is 11 and some restaurants let her eat off the kids menu. (spoodles and yak & Yeti) We didn't ask at the other restaurants as I didn't think we could. It was the hostess at Spoodles who offered it to us.

 

[christa112]

Where can I find info on TIW? Is it for AP holders? We won't be going every year, so AP's really won't work for us.

No, all people on the reservation must be on the dining plan. We tracked what we paid for all of our TS and CS meals on two trips and compared it to the DDP price. We even put in the 18% gratuity added on both with TIW and DDP. We came out more than $200 less for just the two of us paying OOP with the TIW discount!!! That's how I KNOW the DDP doesn't really save us any money, but actually costs us more.

 

[christa112]

If paying OPP what would it matter if your child is 11? I can understand not letting an adult eat of the kids menu, but an 11 is still a child in my eyes.

My DD is 11 and some restaurants let her eat off the kids menu. (spoodles and yak & Yeti) We didn't ask at the other restaurants as I didn't think we could. It was the hostess at Spoodles who offered it to us.

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

Airfare is the big one about $1200 in Canadian funds. Add another $70-90 for parking.
Tickets - we just find that we enjoy the trip more if we limit park days to about 2-3 only per trip. The no expiration ticket was the best thing we did.
Food- we usually bring some instant oatmeal , buy muffins, bars etc for inroom . The dinners have not been a major cost because we avoid expensive sit downs with kids anyways. The youngest wouldn't sit long enough.
Still we manage to spend approx, 3000-3500 per trip. The cruise is more like 6000. But, this is how I rationalize--- I don't smoke, party a lot through the year or treat myself to other misc. things throughout the year. Therfore, spending this on a trip yearly(a few times twice a year) is do-able.

 

[robinb]

My DD is 11 and some restaurants let her eat off the kids menu. (spoodles and yak & Yeti) We didn't ask at the other restaurants as I didn't think we could. It was the hostess at Spoodles who offered it to us.

I have heard that it's fine for "Juniors" to order off the kid's menu and that you just need to ask. Of course, we would pay adult pricing at the dinner shows and buffets.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

If you take your cost of your vacation, and divide it by the number of hours you are on vacation, that is basically your "hourly rate." Ours is about ($1200/(4*24)) = $12.50 per hour or $6.25 per person-hour.

That is once analysis I have never seen - the cost per person per hour of vacation time. Very interesting... Using this math, I have a vacation cost of $10.41 per person per hour. Although I am uncertain exactly what that means other than I spend too much money at wdw.

 

[jco_direwolf]

That is once analysis I have never seen - the cost per person per hour of vacation time. Very interesting... Using this math, I have a vacation cost of $10.41 per person per hour. Although I am uncertain exactly what that means other than I spend too much money at wdw.

I use it for time-cost. If something is at no cost, like DME, I can factor in how much it's costing me in time vs. renting a car. Because DME is NOT FREE, you simply don't pay cash to use it. But the extra time you spend waiting (for a bus, on the bus, getting to your resort...) is costing you time (based on my trips it's about 3+ extra hours, of course YMMV.) And not being able to jump in the car and drive between where you are staying and where you are dining costs you something, and not being able to stop at Target/Publix (also the extra hour you spend getting supplies you can add that in to the cost) is costing you something.

Should I take the DVC Tour? Well we'll get a $100 for it, so if it's takes less than about 10 person-hours of time they are paying you. 90 minutes, plus transport to and from it's about 2.5 hours, @10.41 per person-hour, for 2 people it's about $50, so they are paying you about 2x your vacation rate.

Should I spend an extra 45 minutes parking at DTD and walking over to SSR to take the bus? Well besides the you aren't suppose to do it. No because it's a false economy it's costing you more in time than you are saving in money, but it is better for 1 person to do it. 2 people you are up around $15-16 @10.41 per person-hour.


There is another number I've played with using but I've not been able to "quantify" as well. And that is Real Vacation Time. Down time sleeping and watching TV etc... things that happen even at WDW. I think that is a better number but keeping track of activities such that I know that number has been tricky. (maybe some sort of iPhone app)

johno

 

[Entropy]

When you calculated Disney's Magical Express' cost in terms of time do you give credit for minimum complexity and time spent planning? How many hours did you spend tracking down rental cars, codes and making reservations? How many brain cells did you kill worrying about getting and returning your rental car, planning, schedilng and executing trips. I think that all of that is significant.
The same thing goes for the Disney Dining Plan. It might not be a bargain but it's pretty easy to walk into a restaurant without having to worry about what everything costs. Just an occasional look at the tally on the receipt to make sure that you are on schedule is all thats needed. No negotiating with the kids, no sweating the cost. I do wish that they still payed the tip. They're making me do math.
In Realityland, I'm a construction project manager, I spend my working hours scheduling, planning, budgeting and getting others to execute the plan in order to deliver on time and under-budget. There is something VERY vacation-like to NOT have to spend mental and emotional energy to do those things while on vacation.

 

[jco_direwolf]

When you calculated Disney's Magical Express' cost in terms of time do you give credit for minimum complexity and time spent planning? How many hours did you spend tracking down rental cars, codes and making reservations? How many brain cells did you kill worrying about getting and returning your rental car, planning, schedilng and executing trips. I think that all of that is significant.

No more than I would have spent setting up DME. Like I said at this point, I've got it down to 2, national and avis. I'm a member of both clubs, so I just walk out and take a car. As for discount codes, It's quick enough, to try the different codes, normally I spend less than about 15 minutes booking the car. Returning the car is simple, drop the wife and luggage off at curbside check-in. Then I zoom around the corner and drop off the car.

The same thing goes for the Disney Dining Plan. It might not be a bargain but it's pretty easy to walk into a restaurant without having to worry about what everything costs. Just an occasional look at the tally on the receipt to make sure that you are on schedule is all thats needed. No negotiating with the kids, no sweating the cost. I do wish that they still payed the tip. They're making me do math.

The only time we use the DDP is when it's free, which isn't often now that we are DVC members. DDE fits our style better, this maybe because we don't have children...yet (first due 8 June, which is why we had to cancel our End of May trip.)

In Realityland, I'm a construction project manager, I spend my working hours scheduling, planning, budgeting and getting others to execute the plan in order to deliver on time and under-budget. There is something VERY vacation-like to NOT have to spend mental and emotional energy to do those things while on vacation.

To each there own. I'm a computer engineer, who works as a system admin, so I like keeping track of things.

johno

 

[Disneypirate85]

This year we are trying to cut back, we are driving instead of flying so will save us $850.00 airfare -$200 in fuel so there is $650.00
Renew AP's $700(Saving with DVC)
Kids Hoppers $592.00 (with mousesavers tip discount)
And just OOP for our meals, which breakfast will be in the room.
Spending 8 days in the World...@BWV
Our Christmas trip is already planned as well. Shawn

 

[tink'smom2B]

I am amazed that some get airfare for less than $200 each. We never see that here in Milwaukee. (At least I haven't seen it.) Flying out of Chicago may be our only option, but we have to drive 90 minutes to get there! I am also frustrated with paying for DD who never eats anything! She is always charged the child rate (she's 9 now), but next year as an adult, it will be a BIG problem. Any ideas on how to go to a character meal with a 10 y/o who won't eat a thing? Our character meals were $800 this last trip!

 

[FindTheMickeys]

Normal year for me (I'm single but always take a friend or 2): Airfare from Indy to Orlando roughly $200 (one year I actually got tix for $149 round trip). From Fort Wayne to Indy is approximately 2 hours but it is worth it to save the $$$ on airfare (tix out of Ft Wayne would be $200-300 more per person). Long Term parking for 6 days is $39. We rent a car for 1 day first day in the World and hit a grocery off property. Costs $38 for car, $100 for groceries and $4 to fill tank back up before returning car. Eat at 2 parks during our 5 days costs $25 and one meal at the Turf Club cost $25 but the rest of our meals are in the room (why have a kitchen if you aren't going to use it?) Total for me is around $340 per trip. This year, a friend and I are driving down so that will save more money because we can take most of our groceries. Yes there are 2 nights in a hotel, but it's still cheaper than flying (at least right now)...

 

[robinb]

I am amazed that some get airfare for less than $200 each. We never see that here in Milwaukee. (At least I haven't seen it.) Flying out of Chicago may be our only option, but we have to drive 90 minutes to get there!

We live in Madison and I have been able to fly out of MKE for about $200. You need to be flexible, though. We flew on Airtran last December for $604 for 3 people.

I am also frustrated with paying for DD who never eats anything! She is always charged the child rate (she's 9 now), but next year as an adult, it will be a BIG problem. Any ideas on how to go to a character meal with a 10 y/o who won't eat a thing? Our character meals were $800 this last trip!

Sorry, I am in the same boat. My DD will be 10 on our next trip and eats like a bird. We're just going to cut back on the buffets. Just a little vent ... if they had Junior pricing somewhere between the $29 for adults and $14 for children at Crystal Palace (for instance) I would be more willing to do to more buffet meals. It's no longer all about Character Meals for us, so Disney loses out with our family. We are cutting *way* back on TS meals in general now that my DD will be 10.

 

[starbox]

Sorry, I am in the same boat. My DD will be 10 on our next trip and eats like a bird. We're just going to cut back on the buffets. Just a little vent ... if they had Junior pricing somewhere between the $29 for adults and $14 for children at Crystal Palace (for instance) I would be more willing to do to more buffet meals. It's no longer all about Character Meals for us, so Disney loses out with our family. We are cutting *way* back on TS meals in general now that my DD will be 10.

ITA - I have a DS12 that could eat any adult under the table and a DD10 that picks at her food. When she was little she used to sing a little song about food that she made up that went "I like PLAIN, PLAIN, PLAIN!"

One nice thing is that TS restaurants (non-buffets) will gladly let them eat off the kids menu. The signature restaurants are even better about not pushing the adult mmenu on non-actual-adults.

Luckily, our kids reaching that "magical age" of Disney adulthood pretty much coincided with them losing interest in character dining - although we still do breakfasta every now and then.