How much to save?

[Stryker]

Can someone help me figure out ballpark figure of how much money I will need to save for a trip in 2020?

Ideally, I'd go for 14 days but more realistically financially will be 7-10 days.

But, assuming I'd do 7 days at Disneyworld (not at water parks), 3 days at Universal Studios, plus a couple offsite days (maybe Kennedy Space Centre & a beach day or sightseeing day).

Would probably stay at a value hotel on DW property and am going with others so would only pay for half the room.

Maybe book 2 or 3 sit down meals, otherwise eating fast food on the go. Not sure if the hotels have continental breakfasts but I'm happy with a bowl of cereal or a muffin to start the day.

Minimal shopping, I'd maybe buy a shirt, coffee mug, and a hat for example.

Picking a random day, a return flight from my home city to Orlando was about $700 canadian. I know that can vary wildly but we would definitely be going in the off season. Summer, Xmas, and spring break are out of the question.

Would possibly rent a van but would split the cost 3 ways.

This will probably be a once in a lifetime trip for me. I'm single, no kids. Just trying to figure out how much money per month to set aside for this. I don't want to be too short of cash when everyone else is ready to go.

Thanks for any help I can get!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

This is a really tough question. Undoubtedly, WDW prices from motels to restaurants to tickets will rise within the next 3 years. The onsite "resorts" do not include a continental breakfast, but it's simple to bring easy breakfast foods for your room. Why don't you price the trip out as if you're going in 2017, and then realize you'll have to tack on more money due to price increases?

 

[afan]

Also consider that the exchange rate could go either way, more or less in you're favor.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Yes a very good suggestion stating above. Try to pick the cheapest time to go based on 2017 prices, and then save that per month and keep a track on the prices, upping your savings as needed. Some tips would be to avoid park hopper tickets and bring things like granola bars and trail mix from home. Definitely check out some Disney blogs as almost all of them have a TON of money savings tips (just make sure the info is still accurate as things change a lot)

 

[Stryker]

Ok thanks, does anyone know how much ticket prices usually go up? Do they increase every year based on inflation or do they just randomly jack the price up every once in a while?

 

[Stryker]

Ok I just priced out the things I'd like to do etc, not really going cheap in any particular category and came up with $4032 (canadian) which is a bit scary. That was based on 12 nights hotel and springing for extras like photopass, express pass at universal, preferred parking, etc. Will probably have to cut the trip down to 7 days and limit the extra things we want to pay for, might have to use the free shuttles instead of renting a van even though it seems kind of inconvenient. I could also drive to Vancouver instead of flying which would cut my flight costs almost in half (that's about a 10 hour drive for me though).

 

[Marionnette]

Ok thanks, does anyone know how much ticket prices usually go up? Do they increase every year based on inflation or do they just randomly jack the price up every once in a while?

Tickets go up every year. Not always at the same time from one year to the next but pretty much annually. The increases always far outpace the inflation rate. The rise in cost can be influenced by the type of ticket but has been anywhere between 5%-11% every year.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Would probably stay at a value hotel on DW property and am going with others so would only pay for half the room.

How many people are going? If you have several adults splitting the cost of a room you may want to look into renting dvc points and staying in a 1 or 2 bedroom villa. It would probably be around the same cost (depending on how many people are splitting the cost) and you would have a full kitchen which would help with the cost of meals.

 

[Marionnette]

How many people are going? If you have several adults splitting the cost of a room you may want to look into renting dvc points and staying in a 1 or 2 bedroom villa. It would probably be around the same cost (depending on how many people are splitting the cost) and you would have a full kitchen which would help with the cost of meals.

Not even close.

The least expensive 2-bedroom DVC unit at the lowest season (an AKV Value 2-bedroom during Adventure Season) would cost 25-30 points per night and would be almost impossible to acquire via rental. Given the prevailing rate of $15/point, that's $375-$450 per night. And the price for a 2-bedroom goes up from there, depending on time of year and specific resort. Compare that to two standard view rooms at a Value Resort during the same time ($129-$169 per room, per night - rack rate, taxes included). The Value Resort would likely have available discounts. The DVC unit would not. And while a 1-bedroom DVC unit might cost 1/3 less than the 2-bedroom, the maximum occupancy would be 5 people and doesn't guarantee a bed for the 5th person at some resorts.

 

[janicept]

I would recommend renting a house or condo through one of the vacation rental companies in Orlando. You can find them on Tripadvisor. You would need a rental car but you can get a place with a full kitchen and save on meals. The price for a 3 BR 2 BR condo is probably cheaper than you would spend on a standard value room on Disney property. I personally have a condo that's about 1150 spare feet so people can spread out unlike a 300 square foot hotel room.

If money is an issue I would not spend extra on things like preferred parking or express pass at Universal. Those two things probably cost about the same as adding a day to your ticket.

You can likely save a lot on your flight also. Not sure how much time you want to spend but it could save a ton of money. First you need to figure what time of year you want to go. If you're going with others ask them if they have some idea. If you would only go once I would go when the parks are decorated for Christmas. This is anytime after Thanksgiving (in US).

Once you've narrowed down some times of the year you would like to go start looking at ticket prices. Check prices each month for each time of the year you're looking at going. Try different days of the week to leave and return to get an idea of the difference. The year before your trip hopefully you will have narrowed down to only one time of year check prices for that time a year ahead to get any idea of updated prices for flights. Maybe 5 to 6 months out start checking prices each month to see the trends. I think in my case it was best to leave on a Wednesday and return on a Monday which would give you 12 nights.

When I was planning a trip to Europe I saved about $700 per ticket by signing up for http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/ The best price forever was about $1375 but I got an email of a deal and ended up getting each ticket for around $700. It was only available for one day so if I had not got that email I would have missed it. But I only knew it was the best price I would get since I had done all that other checking.

Good luck

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Not even close.

The least expensive 2-bedroom DVC unit at the lowest season (an AKV Value 2-bedroom during Adventure Season) would cost 25-30 points per night and would be almost impossible to acquire via rental. Given the prevailing rate of $15/point, that's $375-$450 per night. And the price for a 2-bedroom goes up from there, depending on time of year and specific resort. Compare that to two standard view rooms at a Value Resort during the same time ($129-$169 per room, per night - rack rate, taxes included). The Value Resort would likely have available discounts. The DVC unit would not. And while a 1-bedroom DVC unit might cost 1/3 less than the 2-bedroom, the maximum occupancy would be 5 people and doesn't guarantee a bed for the 5th person at some resorts.

Maybe I didn't write my thought out well. I meant the overall price meaning if they had a full kitchen they could save a ton of money on food my cooking some meals there. That is why I asked how many adults would be splitting the cost. I think $15 a point is on the high side unless you are talking about booking a premium resort at the 11 month mark. SSR isn't for everyone but we like it and we rented points there last march for $11.00 a point. I certainly wouldn't pay $15 a point for SSR when I can book the grand floridan at the 11 month mark for $16 a point through a broker

 

[Marionnette]

Maybe I didn't write my thought out well. I meant the overall price meaning if they had a full kitchen they could save a ton of money on food my cooking some meals there. That is why I asked how many adults would be splitting the cost. I think $15 a point is on the high side unless you are talking about booking a premium resort at the 11 month mark. SSR isn't for everyone but we like it and we rented points there last march for $11.00 a point. I certainly wouldn't pay $15 a point for SSR when I can book the grand floridan at the 11 month mark for $16 a point through a broker

$15 /pt. is the going rate for non-premium resorts when going thru a broker. Premium resorts command $1 more in the 7-11 month window and those prices will likely rise significantly over the coming years as demand for renting increases. Very few owners are going to settle for $11/pt. when dues alone are hovering around $7+/pt. annually and going up every year. And while you can book VGF AT $16/pt., you will also need more points per night in order to stay there (46-55 points per night for a 2-bedroom during Adventure Season -each DVC resort has its own points chart).

You mentioned SSR, so let's take a look at a 2-bedroom unit for the same time period that I used in my PP. The cost is 30-34 points per night for standard locations - much higher than the 25-30 points/night for the AKV Value 2-bedroom. At your rate of $11/pt, that's $330-$$374 per night which still comes to almost $75/night more than two Value Resort rooms. And the cost difference could be even greater if the $11/pt. rate is unattainable (very likely) and/or if there's any kind of discount available for the Value Resort (also very likely). Those prices are only comparing Adventure Season rates. The cost difference could be even greater during other seasons. I chose that Season for comparison because it's the lowest DVC cost in points per night of the entire year.

While I agree that you can save by cooking most meals in the villa, I really don't think that there's enough to be saved vs. dining in the restaurants once you factor in lost park time so that you can prepare those meals, the cost of groceries for those in-room meals and the increased price for the room compared to a Value Resort.

 

[ronandannette]

Ok I just priced out the things I'd like to do etc, not really going cheap in any particular category and came up with $4032 (canadian) which is a bit scary. That was based on 12 nights hotel and springing for extras like photopass, express pass at universal, preferred parking, etc. Will probably have to cut the trip down to 7 days and limit the extra things we want to pay for, might have to use the free shuttles instead of renting a van even though it seems kind of inconvenient. I could also drive to Vancouver instead of flying which would cut my flight costs almost in half (that's about a 10 hour drive for me though).

Not sure where you live that's so remote it's 10 hours from the nearest international airport, but at $700/pp the flight price seems pretty reasonable. I don't think I'd spend 20 hours on the road to save $350, and I'm not sure you'd find flights from YVR to MCO for that kind of price anyway.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Ok I just priced out the things I'd like to do etc, not really going cheap in any particular category and came up with $4032 (canadian) which is a bit scary. That was based on 12 nights hotel and springing for extras like photopass, express pass at universal, preferred parking, etc. Will probably have to cut the trip down to 7 days and limit the extra things we want to pay for, might have to use the free shuttles instead of renting a van even though it seems kind of inconvenient. I could also drive to Vancouver instead of flying which would cut my flight costs almost in half (that's about a 10 hour drive for me though).

Forget about things like preferred parking - total waste. The parking lot has trams to drive you to & from the entrance. If you don't want to pay for photopass, the same photopass photographers will take your pictures with your own camera - they do it all the time! Also, I would HIGHLY recommend looking into renting an offsite townhouse/condo/vacation home. Here is where you can save some big bucks!!! There are TONS of them right near the parks, nice & roomy instead of being cramped in a Value, most have beautiful pools, etc. It seriously won't take you any longer to get to the parks than using the WDW shuttle buses. Your vacation costs can be cut down significantly, & you could probably do the 12 nights or 2 weeks instead of 1 week!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would start setting aside $25 per week into a separate account starting now. In 3 solid years you would have $3900. And this way you won't even feel it out of your budget.

 

[Tattylou]

I would start setting aside $25 per week into a separate account starting now. In 3 solid years you would have $3900. And this way you won't even feel it out of your budget.

This is a good idea ^^^

I also have a Disney fanatic friend who buys Disney gift cards ($15 or 20) when she grocery shops and saves them. You can use them for food, park tickets, etc. It's an easy and relatively painless way to save. If you get them at Target and have a red card, it is 5% off too. I just started doing it myself.
I know on the Budget forum, there are threads about tips and tricks for saving for Disney. You could search for those.

 

[GPC0321]

Rather than cut your once-in-a-lifetime trip short, I'd look into ways to cut costs so that you can stay longer.
The biggest would be staying off-property. Since you mention doing Universal and perhaps Kennedy Space Center, why not pick a condo that will be much nicer than a value Disney resort AND much more affordable? You can rent a car with the money you save by not staying on Disney property.
Also, buy groceries to have some meals at the condo (cereal, milk, bagels, sandwich stuff, chips, snacks, etc.) that will be great for quick breakfasts before starting your day, easy lunches if you come back mid-day for a rest, and snacks for whenever. This will save a lot of money AND time!
Just doing these things will shave a substantial amount of money off of your trip. Now, if you rent a car, you will have to pay for parking at the parks. Another option could be to use Uber to get around? I'm not sure how that would compare to car rental and paid parking, but it seems like it might be less expensive.

 

[lilkitty819]

What I would be looking at is renting 2 studios from someone. Depending on where you stay each studio will hold 4-5 people. Keep looking on this board cause some people do rent out their points on their own, which you can get a better deal then going thru a broker. Studios if you can get them for $13.00 a point would cost you around $1100. American dollars a week. You would have a microwave and small fridge. Now when you figure out how long you plan on going buy your tickets, get them out of the way before the tickets go up again. Just be very careful when renting from someone, make sure they have been on which ever forum for several years.

 

[potterfanatic]

I am also saving for a similar trip in 2020 but with my family of 5. Like a few previous posters have stated there are a lot of great options for budgeting. I know a lot of Canadians from Quebec that drive down to upstate NY to fly to Orlando for much less than their local airports. I am planning to save $7,000 for our trip, so I would guess you're probably good with about $2,000.

 

[Marionnette]

This is a good idea ^^^

I also have a Disney fanatic friend who buys Disney gift cards ($15 or 20) when she grocery shops and saves them. You can use them for food, park tickets, etc. It's an easy and relatively painless way to save. If you get them at Target and have a red card, it is 5% off too. I just started doing it myself.
I know on the Budget forum, there are threads about tips and tricks for saving for Disney. You could search for those.

OP is Canadian, so the Target REDCard thing won't work for her. But even if it did work for Canadians, their exchange rate with the $USD is very poor right now ($1CDN = 75¢ USD). Buying Disney GC with Canadian money would lock her in at that lousy exchange rate. Better for her to do as @mi*vida*loca suggested and just set money aside until she's either ready to pay for her trip or the exchange rate improves.