How much is your trip costing you?

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Last time we went to Disneyland we won the holiday as part of a prize. We're thinking of going in January but because we went as part of a prize we're not sure exactly how much it will cost to go again.

Can anyone give me a rough estimate of how much it is costing you? Are you going to DL or WDW, where are you staying, who are you flying with and how long are you going for?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DizOz]

We are travelling to DL (6 nights), NY (3 Nights), WDW (12 nights), DCL (4 Nights) and Universal (6 Nights).

We are staying at

Grand Californian (Standard Room)
The Muse NY (Deluxe Room)
Wilderness Lodge (With DDP)
A Suite on DCL (Muilt B/R suite)
Portofino (Dr Seuss Suite)

Flights are all economy and using points to upgrade to premium economy. flights with Qantas and American Airlines.

It is costing us around $33K for the trip including spending money.

Biggest factor is the hotels (could have cut $10K off the cost by staying at more moderate hotels.

Biggest hint is do not use Australian TA for Accomodation only use them for flights. We used Dreams Unlimited who are great and will automatically apply for any discounts that become available and they did all our dining reservations and tickets. There price was esactly what I could get by booking online with Disney. Australian TA's were a few thousand more with no additional service. (Please this is only my experience and has been the same on the last 3 trips. Others may find it different)

 

[kazbar]

We are 2 adults and 3 kids doing 6 nights HOJO kids suite, 4 nights in 2 rooms at Excalibur in Las Vegas and then another 6 nights back in Anaheim at the Fairfield Inn.

flights, attraction & show tickets, car hire etc is just under $10 000

 

[OzCath]

We are looking at going late this year, or early next. Have not booked anything yet. We are 2 adults and 2 kids. We are budgeting around $10,000 for everything. Return airfare, 7 nights at Hojo, park hoppers, 7 nights elsewhere accom, car hire for part of the trip, spending etc. It really depends on the type of accom you choose. January is off season so you should be able to get some good prices for accom.

 

[aussiegirls]

Our last trip went something like this :

Airfares + insurance = $3000
Accom Hojo = $800
Accom Sportsmens = $800
Tickets (14 day hoppers
2 day Universal & a
shopping tour) = $800
Limo transfers = $400
ANZ travelcard = $5000
Cash = $1000

That was all for 1 adult and 2 children. I also came home with $1500 still left on the travel card - obviously didn't shop hard enough.

xxxx

 

[ehsmum]

I don't want to know what it's costing us! I started doing up a budget but the numbers were getting so high I decided that I'd rather not know!

 

[queenie82]

I don't want to know what it's costing us! I started doing up a budget but the numbers were getting so high I decided that I'd rather not know!

My goal is always just to get good value in every step.
If you get a good value airfare, accommodation and car hire etc and you know that you haven't been 'ripped off' during these steps then that is the most important thing to me.

As you go you also make conscious decisions when you do 'splurge' etc.
It certainly adds up and can total more than you anticipated (just like when you go to a sale and grab a whole heap of bargains...and then look at the total at the register ) but as I say...just be aware of where you have paid 'extra' and where you have 'splurged' so if the total starts to get too high you can cut back in those places...

As DizOz demonstrates you can pay a LOT more for accommodation than you need to...but they have made a decision that it is worth it to them.
You can still have a great holiday without this...but it sure if fun to stay at the better places which is why I DVC.

 

[PrincessInOz]

In the US, I aim for an average of:

• long haul airfares: $1200 per person
• internal airfares: $100-$200 per person per leg (if possible!)
• accommodation: $120 - $150 per night
• food (B, L and D) for 3: $100 - $150 per day
• sightseeing (inc tickets, experiences) for 3: $150 per day
• car hire: $300 - $500 per week (inc CDW and 2nd driver)

These are my starting points and guides for my budget.
As Queenie has said, the goal should be good value for money. If something is of great value, then I do the "conscious splurge" and I also almost always trade-off..For example, I really wanted to stay at a beach front hotel in Miami Beach for my May trip. The cost is $220 per night. But I traded that off by choosing to staying at the Travelodge, Florida City near the Everglades the night before, at a rate of $75 per night. The Travelodge includes continental breakfast (and is highly rated on TripAdviser); and the Miami Beach hotel is just room only, no breakfast.
And in my opinion, both are value for money. It may not be anyone else's idea of value for money...but that's okay.
And the budget for accommodation will also differ depending on whether I'm heading to major cities or if I'm heading out to National parks/country. There is no way I would be able to find anything reasonably decent in NYC or Boston consistently for $120; so the budget increases accordingly.

I too never use an Australian TA for accommodation. We always book direct via the US website or by calling direct. Even when I see a good Expedia rate, I will call the hotel direct and see if they will price match. I've found that Expedia adds their additional charges e.g., extra person rate; at the check out stage and if I can get the hotel to price match, I just pay room only, no hidden extras.

We always take the equivalent budget to cover the sightseeing and food costs in a cash card; plus a 25% buffer. This way, we can manage the funds accordingly and know that we aren't using credit to pay for these things. And I do the trade-off on food and entertainment on 2 day average. If we overspend the budget or splurge on one day, then we cut back on the next. For the rest of the land costs, we prepay before we go.

Shopping budget? Well, that can be anywhere from zero to a ridiculous amount. I tend to go through my son's and my wardrobe the week before we leave and check what gaps we have or what I would like to replace. I then make a list and try to keep to the list. For me, I find that when I have a list of the gaps/replacements, I don't end up with too much impulse buying or buying stuff that I already have heaps of at home just because it was cheap.

 

[kylieh]

My budget for this trip was $21k for 3A, 1C. 16 days. I'm sitting in the hotel room putting off packing, we leave in 2 1/2 hours.. when i get home I'l break everything down, but we definitley have a bit of $$$$ left over.

 

[PrincessInOz]

My budget for this trip was $21k for 3A, 1C. 16 days. I'm sitting in the hotel room putting off packing, we leave in 2 1/2 hours.. when i get home I'l break everything down, but we definitley have a bit of $$$$ left over.

KylieH - Have a great holiday! And safe flying. Look forward to hearing all about it when you return.

 

[DizOz]

Must agree with Queenie. In the end of the day as long as you have a great time and don't feel like you have been ripped off then you have spent wisely.

Last trip we spent way more than I expected but we had such a great time we started planning the enxt trip as soon as we got back.

If you are on a budget research is king and you can save a lot of money.

 

[aussietravellers]

I'm too nervous to add it all up!

Three weeks at Beach Club and Animal Kingdom at WDW, Airfares, internal flights, New York Accommodation at Doubletree Times Square, Food, Tours/Entertainment (fireworks cruises etc), Taxis

It will probably be around the $35,000, maybe a little more. The accommodation is the main chunk of that (and also discounted business class airfares from Australia).

 

[heidispidi]

I'm flying to the US in January - 7 nights in Anaheim, followed by 6 nights in Hawaii. Me being me, I HAD to book my flighst straight away. So for my daughter and I, flights cost (eek) $5000 (Qantas). Staying at the Hojo, sharing with my sister, 7 nights will cost just over US$1000, split between us both. Hawaii accomm is a 1BR Oceanview room - almost US$2000 for 6 nights (includes breakfast). THAT is my biggest extravagance.

With DLR passes, a US day trip, a night/day in San Francisco, tours in San Fran and Hawaii, spending money and food...well, it's a LOT of money! Easily $13K, more likely to be closer to $15K.

However, it may be a once in a lifetime trip, so I"m going to make the most of it

 

[queenie82]

However, it may be a once in a lifetime trip, so I"m going to make the most of it

Famous last words

 

[lovintheland]

How true!! We are planning our third once in a lifetime trip

 

[zaccy]

I'm flying to the US in January - 7 nights in Anaheim, followed by 6 nights in Hawaii. Me being me, I HAD to book my flighst straight away. So for my daughter and I, flights cost (eek) $5000 (Qantas). Staying at the Hojo, sharing with my sister, 7 nights will cost just over US$1000, split between us both. Hawaii accomm is a 1BR Oceanview room - almost US$2000 for 6 nights (includes breakfast). THAT is my biggest extravagance.

With DLR passes, a US day trip, a night/day in San Francisco, tours in San Fran and Hawaii, spending money and food...well, it's a LOT of money! Easily $13K, more likely to be closer to $15K.

However, it may be a once in a lifetime trip, so I"m going to make the most of it

We have had 2 once in a life time trips to Hawaii hope you enjoy yours

 

[aussiegirls]

Yep, agree with the others. This is our 2nd once in a lifetime trip

xxx

 

[dollarmite]

I've had about 9 'once in a lifetime' visits to Disneyland now. Hopefully our 'once in a lifetime' visit to WDW last year will continue along the same path.

But back to the question at hand: Last year, DH, DS12, DS8 and I spent 6 weeks and went to New York, Washington DC, WDW (12 nights), Disneyland (15 nights) and it cost about $30,000.

I am a bargain hunter and used sites like Expedia ruthlessly. I refused to pay the outrageous prices for accommodation in NY and DC, so we stayed in neighbouring states! We spent US$84 total for the 4 us on a Greyhound bus from NJ to DC. Great way to see the countryside and no airport hassles.

Instead of NYC itself we stayed in New Jersey and commuted in via train each day. It only took about 15 minutes and cost approx $10/day for the 4 of us. The hotel we stayed in was lovely and only cost about $110 per night, including a delicious breakfast each morning.

Instead of staying in Washington DC we stayed in neighbouring Virgina (gorgeous!) in a beautiful hotel for around $90/night. It included a free transfer to the train station each day and the train trip only took about 15 minutes.

With the money we saved on those hotels I decided to splurge and stay at the Disneyland hotel for our final 4 nights. Our original price was about $1900AUD for a basic room with a view of the carpark. 2 days before checking in I rechecked the price on their website and managed to get it down to about $900. I can say, without a doubt, that the DL Hotel was/is one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in. Ugh! It wasn't even worth $100 a night. Never again!

I bought 14 day DL tickets from Expedia which cost about $900. Our Qantas airfares from Brisbane-NY-LAX-BNE were a bargain at $4564. We probably spent about another $800-$900 on internal airfares DC-Orlando-NY. We struck it lucky and got free dining at WDW, saving us about $2000.

We stayed at Paradise Pier because I got an Expedia special of about $129/night. It was an okay hotel. Our best Anaheim hotel was Desert Palms - free breakfast, great price, staff, room (suite), location. Will definitely stay there again.

The whole trip was worth every cent (well, except the DL hotel). I'm now scanning the internet looking for bargains in the hopes we can go to at least DL, if not WDW also, in December.

 

[PrincessInOz]

My first trip of a lifetime was in 1990....I haven't stopped my "lifetime trips" and have been 'making the most of it' ever since!

Heidispidi - I love your use of the word "MAY"

 

[heidispidi]

Well, after reading every board on here, I have a feeling it *may not* be the only trip. We are, after all, going with my sister, this will be her 2nd trip in 3 years (this time minus her kids!).

I'm already kind of planning how I can coerce my hubby into coming on our NEXT trip. My girl and I arrive home from our holiday on the 22nd Jan, it's our wedding anniversary on the 26th (Aust Day). Perhaps if I ply him with alcohol...and remember, he'll be alone for 2 weeks while we're away...there are ways I can make him agree to coming next time!