I have a serious problem, please help

[la79al]

DH was demoted yesterday, taking a very small pay cut but has lost all faith in any kind of future at the company. He still wants our Disney trip to happen, mostly for me. He has even offered to send me and stepkids down for a few days so we can 'get a couple of playdays'. I told him I will absolutely not go without him. That being said, what do I give up in order to lower the cost? Or what do I do between now and then to save up as much as possible and lower costs? We are driving, spending 7 nights at ASMo, with 8 day hoppers and the dining plan. I don't really want to give any of that up, but I know in reality that would be the cheapest thing (hoppers or DDP). I am considering splitting our stay so we can do a few days of DDP and a few without but not sure if it would be worth it. Also considering shortening the trip. I really want to do this trip but I also know that it is not necessarily the smartest thing to do, considering the amount we are spending would pay for half of a cheap car or pay our bills for 2 months or pay for a semester of community college. I'm really torn on what to do here. Help?

 

[nextidiot]

Sorry to hear about your husband's misfortune.

I've said it before and I will say it again, even 4 days at WDW are better than 0. I would slice a day or two off your trip and make the most of your time. Enjoy the dining plan because I have researched it a plenty and in all likelihood, it will save you money if you eat in just a couple of nicer table service places.

 

[pezpam]

Assuming you do the trip - I'd drop the Hopper option first. I like having it a lot, but have gone without it and still had a good time. Of the options, I think it's the least necessary. Dropping the DDP may be a false savings unless you replace it with sandwiches you bring from home or you are willing to skip breakfast and split many of the other meals....... Shaving a day or two off would help, though I know that decision is painful.

You could also consider things at home, though you may already be doing that. Maybe one of you takes on extra hours at work or hours here and there through a temp agency? Maybe you Ebay a bunch of stuff. Whatever works for you.

Sorry this is an issue. I hope everything works out and DH finds an even better job.

 

[Tinkerbell63]

I agree with nextidiot. Don't give up the DDP. In the past we have spent the same amount of money on food without the DDP and without all those TS. I'm sure your husband will find something better. I'll be praying for you and your family.

 

[Elmo888]

Just a thought...DH was laid off in 2001 for over a year. We thought that we didn't have any money right after he was laid off, but after a year of being out of work, we had a different perspective. He STILL says that he wished that we went to WDW a month after he lost his job. The mental break would have been nice. We joked about it (it is good place to forget your problems), but didn't think that it was a good idea. In hindsight, it was a great idea. We wouldn't have been any worse off a year later if we had gone, but we would have had the memories and possibly a better outlook.

Take the trip! You are already going pretty inexpensively. Have you sold things on ebay? You could do this and save the money for your trip.

Also, you could probably go from 8 day hopper to 6 or 7 day hopper even if you aren't staying fewer nights. I did 8 day hopper for 7 nights, and we didn't go to the parks on the first day, and we probably could have hung out at the resort on another day, too. (We needed the rest!) Depending on when you leave on the last day, you might not go to a park that day, either. It might not save a lot of money, but it could help some.

If you split the stay and made 2 package reservations, you would be spending more money on tickets unless you did 1 package and 1 room only. With the package, I think that you can buy tickets for more days than you are staying (e.g., 4 night package with 8 day hoppers), but I would check on that before you did the split.

I agree with the other posters - drop hopper before DDP. Hopper is a nice to have, but DDP saves money if you are doing TS meals every day.

I feel like I would be irresponsible not to say this, and I don't want to offend you...It sounds like your DH already sees the writing on the wall, but if I were him, I would start looking for another job as soon as possible. I really hope everything works out.

Smart, schmart, just go and have a good time!

 

[Hannathy]

See I disagree I can eat a lot cheaper than the dining plan. Don't do sit downs. We went for yrs without doing sit down dinners. Have brkfst in the room even if you buy a box of donuts at the food court, take dry cereal and buy quart of milk and keep cold in the ice bucket. With all the variety of CS meals available you will not feel like all you are eating is burgers. If you have a car an off site meal or 2 will save even more.

 

[rie'smom]

I would:
Cut out hopping-we used them once.
No DDP- Eat counter service and maybe 1 table service meal on you trip. We've gone over 20 times and the table service restaurants are ok but if I was trying to save money,I could do w/out.We've never done the DDP because we like to experience the parks and not plan our day around food. Here are a few good CS:
MK - Casey's for hot dogs
Pecos Bills has great hamburgers
Columbia Harbor House has good food.
Epcot-Electric Umbrella
Boulangerie Patisserie
Cantina de San Angel
Liberty Inn
Lotus Blossom Cafe
Sommerfest
MGM-ABC Commissary
Catalina Eddie's
Flatbread Grill
AK- Pizzafari
Flame Tree BBQ
Tusker House

and I didn't list snack stands. As I was scrolling through these,I was figuring an adult could eat for about 20.00/day that's 17.99/day cheaper than the DDP-almost half the cost. If you'd like to see the restaurants and menus,go to:
http://www.allears.net/din/dining.htm
On the left you'll see Dining,the menus.

 

[kribit]

I'm sorry to hear of your husbands position change. You know what they say though "everything happens for a reason." I firmly believe that.

As far as the vacation, I wouldn't cancel. As the other posters stated, I would cut out the the hoppers and ddp. Since you are driving, you have the flexibility of bringing along some non-perishables like breakfast items (cereal, donuts, snacks, water). You will really have to budget, but cutting out the ddp can save you money. Personally, the only reason we're doing the dining plan this time is because we got a discounted room rate. I know we could save ourselves money if we weren't doing the ddp.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[mikesmom]

I would:
- Do the vacation
- drop the hopper, those parks are so large you an easily spend the whole day in one park and still not finish, plus "hopping" takes time to transport from place to place
- don't drop any days. The park tickets are set up so that the more days there are, the cheaper it gets. Day 5 and 6 are practically free.
- the DDP would need analysis of YOUR families eating habits. For my family it would be a waste. We simply don't do very much dining at Disney. It's too hot to have a huge appetite, and we don't like having our schedules built around meals. If your family consistently eats 3 meals a day and eats a lot, it may the right thing for you.

Good luck and things will get better.

 

[Princess Roo]

I agree on dropping the hopper. Especially with 8 days - you really don't need it, since you can get to each park twice or your favorite 3 times and least favorite once, etc. Or, keep hopper, but cut the days in the park back significantly down to 5 days and spend those extra days doing all the other fun stuff, like the pools, character meals, downtown Disney, checking out other resorts.

For us, not doing DDP is a lot cheaper, because we bring our breakfast and a lot of the snacks and don't eat many table service meals. But, if you are a family that really enjoys being able to go to a bunch of TS meals, then DDP is a great deal. I can see it being especially appealing so that you don't have to worry about money while you're there, on top of the job concerns...it's already included. Maybe cut back on meals out until the trip to make up for it? I know that's more work for you, though... Maybe have a couple breakfast-for-dinner nights when you would otherwise eat out? Or buy some frozen pizzas instead of ordering out? Of course, I don't know your typical eating habits!

I guess another option to *really* cut back is to switch to an off-site hotel, but that would be my last resort. (No pun intended.)

I hope your DH finds another wonderful job or that things get better at his current one!

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

I agree w/ a pp I do this frequently and am currently in a similar situation. I have been going through things that we don't use or need anymore I am having a garage sale and selling quite bit of things on ebay. We also have a large pepsi bank that I go through the house both vehicles and my purse to put all loose change in every time dh walks in the house any change in his pocket goes in. I also like to take no less than 5 dollars each week and put it in the bank. I have decided not to buy a park hopper ticket this trip but I am buying a 10 day base ticket to cover any park hopping we might want to do it was cheaper than buying a shorter park hopper. In regards to our change bank we on average collect around 200 dollars in just a couple of months. We don't stress to much b/c even though dh has taken a pay cut he is actually doing to branch off in a line of his work and will be moving up soon. We also have the option for dh to work extra weeks. He works offshore two weeks at a time so for his two free weeks he is able to do this. I wouldn't give up the ddp at two cs's per day you could easily spend 40 per adult per day. What about pushing your dates back some. Keep hoping for free dining and go then. Best of luck with your situation and I hope all works out for the best.

 

[pl'smama]

I agree with all the others. The DDP is great for some and not for others. I thought we would eat three squares plus snacks when we were there and we totally did not! I brought fruit cups, juice boxes, tea bags, cereal and even spoons from home and we just bought milk at the resort. That was breakfast. One day we got the Mickey shaped waffles for breakfast, but that was Counter Service so still inexpensive. We usually had two meals a day, plus some snacking, but not much. The heat does affect your eating habits and you will drink more water ( and I brought two refillable bottles for that!!). You can save a lot by not getting the dining plan.

Agree that the hopper is not necessary, especially if you don't decrease your number of days there.

Another tip is too hold off on any souvenirs until after a few days of being there. You can then decide what special item or two is really worth spending your money on and then get it before going home. I guarantee you will save money that way. To this day I occasionly think I could have saved a few bucks if I had stopped to think before buying something there.

I feel for you and your family, but hope things will improve. Take the trip and think of it as a new start. We went to WDW this past December, about nine months after my DH was let go from a company he worked at for 18 years. We had some severance and he now has a much better job. But best of all, we have our wonderful memories to cherish.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!!

 

[Schmeck]

I agree with the idea to drop the dining plan - as long as you bring breakfast, water and snacks with you. Bring soda too, if you're big soda drinkers. When we drive to WDW we bring lots of food, and a cooler. Of course, hauling a cooler through the lobby of AKL was a bit odd, but we did it.

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

I agree with what most everyone has said. Give up the hoppers, they aren't necessary. You can eat cheaper than the dining plan, whether you want to or not depends on you. This will be our first time on the dining plan and while I'm looking forward to it, I doubt we'll do it every time.
If you really want the dining plan, then a split stay isn't a bad idea at all. Or...can you switch when you go and either get a code or the free dining that everyone is talking about?

As far as your dh's job.... my husband had this come up last fall, he didn't get demoted, but they started to make things difficult for him at work and he strongly suspected that things may not work out there for him. So, he started looking and found a job doing the same thing, that he really loves, making more money with another agency. Like someone else said, some things happen for a reason. Best of luck to you!!!!

 

[Candid]

I think I'd maybe shorten stay by a day, no park hopper, and maybe shorten park passes from the 8 you have booked. If your kids are like my son, going to the parks everyday is just too much and he'd be just as happy playing at the resort pool maybe on day 3 and day 6 to recuperate a little.

 

[NU2WDW]

Probably not a popular option but something to consider -- since you're driving and won't need to rely on Disney transportation while you're there, could you consider staying off property? (Of course that takes DDP out of your options). It might be worth looking into. Also, why not start with regular base tickets and wait and see when you get there if you think you'll really need the hopper option. Then you can add it on if you need to.

Good luck, I hope you will still make the trip!

 

[Elmo888]

I just wanted to add that I agree with the other posters regarding the DDP. If you aren't doing TS meals every day, skip it. I would try to do one character meal simply because it is an easy way for the kids to see characters, but you could do breakfast at one of the less expensive places to accomplish this. Since you are driving, you could easily do breakfast in the room, bring snacks into the park, and buy one or two CS meals or one CS meal and a snack, depending on what type of eaters your family is.

Also, watch disneyshopping.com and disneyoutlet.com for deals (sign up if you haven't already), and you can pre-buy some souvenirs at a discount and pop them out as needed. It helps if you prepare the kids what to expect souvenir-wise. If you give them limits (money limit or item limit), they will be more likely to use their choice wisely.

I hope that everything works out, and you have a great trip!

 

[isla bonita]

I think the vaca is needed to put all of you in a better frame of mind.

With that said make it as easy on yourselves as possible.
Cut out the park hoppers
Cut out DDP

Think about off site seeing you have a car? May or may not be cheaper
10.00 to park per day and gas vs free transportation once there and 10.00 savings per day on parking?

 

[disneyjunkie]

Could you put the trip off to late August?

If so, you'll be able to book your resort at the value season rate and get free dining.

Touringplans has posted that free dining may will be released next month for August 26-September 22.

 

[kribit]

Could you put the trip off to late August?

If so, you'll be able to book your resort at the value season rate and get free dining.

Touringplans has posted that free dining may will be released next month for August 26-September 22.

This is a GREAT idea.