How much is too much?

[joolz1910]

I have decided to start saving towards my dream trip to WDW. It will be me, DH and 3 kids. For 14 nights including flights, transfers (I don't want to drive) hotel and tickets in August, it looks like I won't get any change from £6-7000.

I have never spent this much on a holiday before. Is it worth it? Dumb question on here, I know! It's something I've always wanted to do but the cost is slightly scary.

So, how much is too much? What is your usual budget? How do I save that much?

 

[orangetiggs]

we are going in aug and my parents are coming with my sister, so 4 adults and 1 13 year old and with flights, car hire, ticketrs, free dining and pofq as our hotel its costing us £4500 so i think you could have change

 

[gemmybear83]

If your not looking to drive I would stay onsite at Disney - with 3 children you can stay at one of the All Star Music family suites or Port Orleans Riverside (some sleep up to 5), and then when you want to go to universal or sea world get a taxi or use a mears shuttle.

You pay per room at disney

To save money you could also fly indirect - the prices should be a bit lower during the summer holidays

 

[Macl1uk]

I have decided to start saving towards my dream trip to WDW. It will be me, DH and 3 kids. For 14 nights including flights, transfers (I don't want to drive) hotel and tickets in August, it looks like I won't get any change from £6-7000.

I have never spent this much on a holiday before. Is it worth it? Dumb question on here, I know! It's something I've always wanted to do but the cost is slightly scary.

So, how much is too much? What is your usual budget? How do I save that much?

Disneyworld is fantastic, it’s well worth it.

For the 3 of us we normally spend about £2,500 on a Mediterranean holiday in a four star hotel for 2 weeks, however when we go to Disneyworld we unashamedly book a deluxe hotel on site and the cost including flights, hotel, car hire and tickets the cost is usually around £6,000 to £6,500.

Animal Kingdom Lodge (where we stay):-
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...d=AnimalKingdomLodgeResortLandingPage&count=1

What you have got to remember that a holiday in the USA is going to cost a lot more than in Europe or the Mediterranean because the flight time is 9 hours compared to say 3 to 4 hours.

There are 3 different quality types of hotel on Disney, you could try and reduce your costs by dropping down a grade of hotel.

I have also found that changing the flight and/or day can have a big impact on the price. When I booked in February last year for April this year, the flight 2 hours earlier had a flight supplement of £100 per person, arriving at the hotel at say 6pm instead of 4pm saved us £300!

Avoiding a weekend flight can also save on the costs.

 

[joolz1910]

we are going in aug and my parents are coming with my sister, so 4 adults and 1 13 year old and with flights, car hire, ticketrs, free dining and pofq as our hotel its costing us £4500 so i think you could have change

Who did you book with? I could afford that price much more easily!

Disneyworld is fantastic, it’s well worth it.




I have also found that changing the flight and/or day can have a big impact on the price. When I booked in February last year for April this year, the flight 2 hours earlier had a flight supplement of £100 per person, arriving at the hotel at say 6pm instead of 4pm saved us £300!

Avoiding a weekend flight can also save on the costs.

That is worth knowing.

 

[wayneg]

Price is all down to booking at the right time, Our trip this August total 25 nights for 2 adults and 1 teen is Business class flights, 16 nights studio Old Key West with Free dining, 7 night Disney cruise, full size car with gold cover, 2 nights AKL, 21 day Disney tickets.
Paid under £6,000 booking at the right time, I re-priced a few week back and it would have cost me almost £12,000 for exactly same package.

Good luck not easy in August but deals do come up.

 

[joolz1910]

Price is all down to booking at the right time, Our trip this August total 25 nights for 2 adults and 1 teen is Business class flights, 16 nights studio Old Key West with Free dining, 7 night Disney cruise, full size car with gold cover, 2 nights AKL, 21 day Disney tickets.
Paid under £6,000 booking at the right time, I re-priced a few week back and it would have cost me almost £12,000 for exactly same package.

Good luck not easy in August but deals do come up.

Couldn't I just hand you a cheque and let you book for me? Wow, that is such an amazing deal but having read a lot of your posts, I know that you book separately and are clued up on what to look for. I am a complete novice and everything I do, I do as a package - mainly because I am very easily.

 

[Lizzybear]

I think you could definitely do flights, hotel, car hire and tickets for less than £6-7k. Obviously spending money could potentially bump it up to that but there are ways to cut back there too if need be. I know you said you don't want to drive but if you ever reconsider then a villa is often a much cheaper option for a family group, plus you have the facilities to prepare meals (handy for breakfast especially) I've always found it cheaper to book holiday components separately rather than as a package but it's worth checking both options.
As to how much is too much, I think that's relative.. To some staying onsite in a concierge room/flight upgrades/renting a luxury car are 100% worth it but to others they wouldn't be. I think it can be a matter of prioritising sometimes.. We're happy to stay in modest accomodation, fly economy and rent a basic car but like to eat out a lot and have tickets for everything we want to see and do rather than sacrificing something due to cost so we factor all of this into our budget/plan Our last WDW holiday was £2700 which included flights, hotel, car hire (with young driver surcharge), Disney tickets and free dining (therefore most of our food) and I would say my limit for flights, hotel and car hire only would be £2k (2 people) for 2 weeks (disregarding anything like free dining), £2.5k for 3. We save for holidays by cutting back for the rest of the year, they're good motivation

 

[wayneg]

Couldn't I just hand you a cheque and let you book for me? Wow, that is such an amazing deal but having read a lot of your posts, I know that you book separately and are clued up on what to look for. I am a complete novice and everything I do, I do as a package - mainly because I am very easily.

Booking a package in August is going to cost, I know 1st time doing DIY seems difficult but its not, Florida is probably the easiest place in the world to do a DIY holiday. Last August we got flights at £336pp, hotel at £20/night per room incl breakfast, it worked out about half the cost of a Virgin package.

 

[orangetiggs]

we booked direct with disney for the hotel, tickets and free dining last september as it was free dining for the following year

The flights we got direct with Virgin atlantic and the car was from usrentacar

This is the first time we have done it ourselves, we normally book a package but they are so expensive and we got so much more for our money.

I wish i had booked OKW or Saratoga springs as they were 44% off when i booked but decided against it! not sure why a moment of madness i think

 

[orangetiggs]

dont be afraid of booking it all seperatly, I did and this board is great for getting good deals and without everyone esp Wayneg I dont think we would ahve done it and wasted money on a package

 

[joolz1910]

You pay per room at disney

Perhaps that's why my online quotes are so high. They insist we need two rooms for most accommodation despite it saying that some rooms sleep 5.

I think you could definitely do flights, hotel, car hire and tickets for less than £6-7k. Obviously spending money could potentially bump it up to that but there are ways to cut back there too if need be. I know you said you don't want to drive but if you ever reconsider then a villa is often a much cheaper option for a family group, plus you have the facilities to prepare meals (handy for breakfast especially) I've always found it cheaper to book holiday components separately rather than as a package but it's worth checking both options.
As to how much is too much, I think that's relative.. To some staying onsite in a concierge room/flight upgrades/renting a luxury car are 100% worth it but to others they wouldn't be. I think it can be a matter of prioritising sometimes.. We're happy to stay in modest accomodation, fly economy and rent a basic car but like to eat out a lot and have tickets for everything we want to see and do rather than sacrificing something due to cost so we factor all of this into our budget/plan Our last WDW holiday was £2700 which included flights, hotel, car hire (with young driver surcharge), Disney tickets and free dining (therefore most of our food) and I would say my limit for flights, hotel and car hire only would be £2k (2 people) for 2 weeks (disregarding anything like free dining), £2.5k for 3. We save for holidays by cutting back for the rest of the year, they're good motivation

I think it will take me a couple of years to save. If I could get the trip for £5000, I would be happy to have a more 'budget' stay. I looked at Villas but they seems to want 4+ adults staying and it looked like there was more to pay if there was under-occupancy. I love my family with all my heart, but I can see potential tension if we were all in one room for two weeks. The kids can't stay in one room for two hours without bickering.

 

[joolz1910]

we booked direct with disney for the hotel, tickets and free dining last september as it was free dining for the following year

The flights we got direct with Virgin atlantic and the car was from usrentacar

This is the first time we have done it ourselves, we normally book a package but they are so expensive and we got so much more for our money.

I wish i had booked OKW or Saratoga springs as they were 44% off when i booked but decided against it! not sure why a moment of madness i think

I saw that offer - it was amazing, wasn't it? I would definitely look into booking separately as I'm a die-hard bargain hunter - but it just worries me that I would book accommodation and then not be able to get flights!

 

[orangetiggs]

there is always flights, we booked everything apart from flights till i got a good deal. It was around 2 months later and as I couldnt get the flight I wanted on the dates we extended our stay at disney so I could get the cheaper flights!

 

[joolz1910]

there is always flights, we booked everything apart from flights till i got a good deal. It was around 2 months later and as I couldnt get the flight I wanted on the dates we extended our stay at disney so I could get the cheaper flights!

A good excuse for more Disney!
I am determined to go as I love Disney, it's just money that is stopping me. It scared me because several months ago I was browsing the flight prices and they were between £600 (indirect) and £750 (direct).

How far in advance do you book? If I wanted to book for August (not this year!), when would be the best time to start booking stuff?

 

[gemmybear83]

Perhaps that's why my online quotes are so high. They insist we need two rooms for most accommodation despite it saying that some rooms sleep 5.

Thats why I said Port Orelans Riverside or an Allstars family suite as they fit 5 people . The allstars could be a good choice as they are basically mini apartments.

I would only go for a villa if you are driving - you would need a car to get around

 

[scottish mum]

We went last sept and stayed in the cabins at FW. we also have 3 kids and it cost us £5000 and we got the DDP free. If you are restricted to August the price is going to be dearer as the flights are so dear then. We have always done a package but for my next holiday I am going to price it out seperately and see what the difference is.
By the way the cabins are really really nice and the campground is just lovely. When we go back this is definately where we are staying. It was so nice to have a seperate living room and bedroom. Also with the kitchen we were able to have breakfast in there every morning. I had ordered cereal, snacks and drinks to be delivered so we saved some money there.

 

[joolz1910]

We went last sept and stayed in the cabins at FW. we also have 3 kids and it cost us £5000 and we got the DDP free. If you are restricted to August the price is going to be dearer as the flights are so dear then. We have always done a package but for my next holiday I am going to price it out seperately and see what the difference is.
By the way the cabins are really really nice and the campground is just lovely. When we go back this is definately where we are staying. It was so nice to have a seperate living room and bedroom. Also with the kitchen we were able to have breakfast in there every morning. I had ordered cereal, snacks and drinks to be delivered so we saved some money there.

I liked the look of the cabins and it would really appeal to my DH and kids as they are out-doorsy. The space would appeal to me. I am stuck with school holidays because I am a teacher. If I could book time off, I'd take my kids out of school and go in September/October.

 

[Lizzybear]

I think it will take me a couple of years to save. If I could get the trip for £5000, I would be happy to have a more 'budget' stay. I looked at Villas but they seems to want 4+ adults staying and it looked like there was more to pay if there was under-occupancy. I love my family with all my heart, but I can see potential tension if we were all in one room for two weeks. The kids can't stay in one room for two hours without bickering.

A compromise on the villa/hotel thing could be a suite type of thing, either onsite or an offsite one with park shuttles (many offer these) That way you'd still get the kitchen facilities and extra space but it'd be cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. Some hotel rooms say they fit 5 people but usually it's on a pull-out bed in already not very big hotel room so it may be a bit of a squash for 2 weeks.

 

[joolz1910]

A compromise on the villa/hotel thing could be a suite type of thing, either onsite or an offsite one with park shuttles (many offer these) That way you'd still get the kitchen facilities and extra space but it'd be cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. Some hotel rooms say they fit 5 people but usually it's on a pull-out bed in already not very big hotel room so it may be a bit of a squash for 2 weeks.

I like this idea - it's the best of both worlds. Could anyone recommend any suites? I looked at The Staybridge Suites LBV - they looked nice but the supplement for under-occupancy was £700 over 14 nights!