I'm stressing about the budget....can you help!?

[plummer925]

My DH and I are supposed to be in Disney in about 16 days....

We are staying at POR - bought theme park annual passes and have connections vouchers for some meals (6 Q&C and 6 Vacation Kingdom lunches).

We still have to pay for transfers (Tiffany Towncar) and remaining food - plus whatever we want to buy....

We're both starting to stress about this - we're going for 9 nights/10 days - we figured (after looking at Deb's site) that it would still cost us an average of $90 a day for food...

I'm ready to cancel the vacation at this point....

Can anyone give me an idea of a reasonable budget for 10 days for 2 adults? This is our first trip.....

Your help is much appreciated,

Crystal

 

[lfw]

Well, for starters, how about cancelling the expensive onsite reservations and taking advantage of the amazing offers at Courtyard by Marriot or Priceline's BW DTD? (From what I read on the Hotels board, Courtyard is fabulous) or you could consider splitting your time between onsite/offsite and save money that way. You could try the "entertain" code on the Dollar website, and rent a car for not much more than the towncar to and from the airport, and then you would have the flexibility of eating some meals offsite, which would probably more than cover the difference in the rental vs towncar. It would be a shame to cancel the whole trip rather than change the accomodation, I mean, are you going for the room or the parks?

 

[plummer925]

Unfortunately (well, fortuanatley really, but...) my mother paid for the upgrade to POR for us (we were booked in ASMu) for my b-day, and she would never forgive me for staying offsite!

I am considering switching the vacation down to 5 days and just taking the hit on my airfare (not much of a hit as the prices went down, so it offsets about 1/2 of the change fee)....

Thanks again,

Crystal

 

[cocacolamom]

One of the ways that we save $$ is that we eat breakfast in our room. Cereal, bagels, breakfast bars, etc. Whatever you like in the morning. We do have one character breakfast during our trip. I always try to book it about 10:00-10:15, then were still full at lunch time and just snack a little if need be.

Also, try to keep your sit-down meal times during the lunch hours. Book the last possible time that's considered "lunch time," then just eat at counter service during the expensive dinner time hours.

You sound like you've done some cost cutting with the meal vouchers. Keep plugging away at it I'm sure you find other ways to keep your Disney trip in your budget.

One last thing, would mom mind if you went back to the ASMu and have her pay part of your hotel stay there. I know for us, were never in our room that much, so a place to lay our worn out bodies is o.k. with us.

Enjoy your first trip!!!

Michelle

 

[tink2dw]

You will be fine!! Stop Stressing!! And Relax!! Don't change anything at this late date it will just cost you more than you will save! Here are some money saving Ideas!!

We budgeted a $100. per person for Disney Merchandise,but we saved a ton by going to the outlets in Orlando before we hit the parks.

We budgeted $100. a day for food for 2 Adults and a teen,Some days it was less and some Days more if we did a character breakfast and a dinner.

Plan to eat some breakfasts in your room,Bagels and creme cheese,Cereal and milk,Breakfast bars,Muffins and fruit and buy soda's to have in the room.

Carry snacks into the Parks each day,nuts,raisins,snack bars,hard candies.

Disney bottled water sells for $2.50 for 8 ozs,you can beat that!
You will need to save money on water,either Brita filtered Sports Bottles,or to buy bottled water not bottled in Fl. as their water tastes and smells like sulfer.

You can get great deals at food stands,like the Turkey Leg stand,or the fruit stands.

For counter service eat at ones that have Condiment bars,like Pecos Bills at MK,then you and Dh can share a double patty burger and each have an open face sandwich,and put the lettice tomatoes,and other stuff on the side and eat it like a salad.

AK has a Meal Deal with entree,drink,and ice cream.

Use 1 voucher at Beachs and Creme,the portions are huge and with the Kitchen Sink as dessert you have plenty to eat!!

We found that by evening we were too tired to eat at a sit down restaurant and we just wanted something quick we could eat in the room.

Instead of eating high priced Dinners make PS for the next to last or last Lunch seating,then you can eat some of the same items as Dinner but at Lunch prices.

At Epcot eat at the Electric Umbrella,we shared Chicken Strips and the Large Fruit bowl[pinapple,grapes,strawberries,kiwi and more],it was so much food but so yummy!!

You can pack a suitcase full of food ot ask if Tiffany will do a Grocery Stop so you can buy supplies for your room.

Trust me you will enjoy POR much much more, than you would have the motel 6 type rooms at the AsMu. We spend ten days there it was not an experiece I want to repeat any time ever! I was most disappoint about the room not having ANY themeing and it was soooo small.

Keep your Mothers very thoughtful gift!! And if you still need cost cutting ideas,just ask!! The here will help you!!

 

[kdibattista]

Put your mind at ease.... my hubby and I went last year for 10 days and did not spend nearly $90 a day in food. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up a disposable cooler ($3.99), a box of ziplock bags, bagels, cream cheese, soda, water, cereal, milk & snacks. Every morning fill up the ziplock bags with ice and pack it into the cooler. Put the cream cheese, butter, milk, etc into the cooler. It worked perfectly. Plus I must say that the Port Orleans food court has great food - at least my opinion. You can get a platter of eggs, sausage/bacon, and potatoes for about $6. For lunch or dinner they have pizza, burgers, other sandwiches, etc. Don't forget - if you get bored at the Riverside food court, it is a BEAUTIFUL walk to the French Quarter food court which is equally as wonderful. We also ate a late lunch (around 3:00 - 4:00) and were not hungry later. So, all in all, we spent maybe $50 per day for both of us. And we had a fabulous time. We had the money to spend more but it just worked out that way. Trust me.... it is well worth scrimping in other areas to enjoy the "magic" of staying at a Disney resort. You will regret it if you cancel.

 

[kdibattista]

I must also add that if you do rent a car instead of the towncar there are numerous restaurants offsite - TGI Fridays, Olive Garden... etc.

 

[DiznEeyore]

I also wanted to add that the portions at WDW are HUGE. I often either order a kid's meal (no problem at either counter service or sit-down places) or just split with dh. Dh is a big guy and I worried he wouldn't be full, but that was never a problem. In fact, on our last trip, he told me to budget less for food: "Honey, those meals are so huge, we can just split." Go and have a wonderful time!!!! Oh, and don't forget AP holders often get discounts on certain restaurants. Your passholder will list the bennies for you.

 

[Cindy B]

We just did a family of four for $50 per day food budget and had $150 left over...

Rent the car , and go offsite to eat! Go to the first offsite hotel you can find, and ask politely for their coupon book. The Hampton Inn I stayed at gave me one just for asking. Or look at the rack near grocery stores/Walmart, etc. Bost books have the same coupons in them.

There are so many coupons that justify this. There are tons of them. Some were free drinks, some were 50% off the second entree, some were buy one get one free, some were kids meal free (don't think that will apply)

And we used two vouchers for four people, and had a ton of left over food.

You feasibly could use one voucher for two adults.

 

[Mic]

If it is just 2 adults, then 6 Q&C vouchers are 6 dinners that you can share, and add a salad and extra drink to. The 6 Vac. Kingdom vouchers are for lunch, and can easily be shared! Again, adding a salad and drink would easily be enough food for 2. Eat breakfast in the room each day, and make lunch your big meal on most days(if you use the lunch vouchers you will be doing that anyway). Check out the menus of all the restarants, and plan to use the vouchers at the most expensive of these. On the days you will be paying for lunch, eat at places that are more reasonable(we found the lunch buffet in Norway to be reasonably priced, and it runs late). In the World Showcase in Epcot, 2 adults could eat a nice sit-down lunch for $25-30, including tip. When it was just my husband and I for our anniversary trip, we spent less than we budgeted, so I don't think you should shorten your trip. If possible, make sandwiches or order pizza to eat by the pool(my kids love doing this) one evening and just buy popcorn or dessert somewhere afterward.

 

[travelitis]

If you eat counter service meals, there is no reason to run up $90 per day for food. For instance, at Pecos Bills a 1/4 lb bacon cheeseburger is $6.30 and includes fries. If you're soda drinkers then take a couple with you in a small collapsible cooler to save $$.

Pay $10 a day for a frig in your room to keep sandwich fixings and drinks. Even when we stayed on site with no car rental we were able to take food with us. I froze the meat and packed it along with cheese in a small cooler that I put inside my carry-on. I also packed lots of snacks in a plastic shoebox to keep them from being crushed in my luggage. We also took pb, sodas, juice boxes, and individually packaged pudding, applesauce and fruit. We bought milk and bread at the resort. We had a mid-day break in our room for lunch.

Don't forget you can have pizza delivery from Pizza Hut or Dominoes rather than Disney pizza.

I would go for the car rental with such a long stay, though, because there are reasons other than cutting food costs that might arise. I'll never go without a car again.

Lunch at Epcot sit-down restaurants costs less than dinner, and the portions are huge. Split an entree, and if you're still a little hungry get dessert there or somewhere else.

 

[Tigger7570]

I agree with everyone else. Go to www.mousesavers.com site and get the discount codes for cars - Dollar usually has the best rates and since there are only two of you, you can probably get a great rate on a compact, etc. Check though, sometimes there's not a big difference in price between cars. I have used them several times and feel they have some of the best deals. You can ask for directions to Crossroads which is close by and easy to get to from POR. There is a McDonald's, Perkins (along the same prices as a Friendly's), Fridays, etc. Do not get groceries at Goodings, they are expensive. Right down the street from Crossroads is a new WinnDixie where you can buy a styrofoam cooler, drinks, like everyone said cereal, cream cheese, etc. You can also pick up some snacks. Eating at Disney can be expensive, but if you watch your money, you'll do fine. Also, I suggest buying souveniers at the end of the trip. Everyone has the impulse to buy when they first get there, then by the end of the trip you really know more of what you want and what you don't want. Almost everything that is in the parks can be found at Downtown Diseny and that way you don't have to carry packages around the park. Don't change your reservations, your mother gave you a great gift, enjoy it. I'll be waiting to hear about your trip when you return. Remember, you can always go back in the future and do and see more than. Don't dwell on what you can't do, but what you can do. Just enjoy the parks and have a wonderful trip. Most of us have been in the same situation as you in regard to money so listen to all the tips and you'll be fine.

 

[plummer925]

Thank you to everyone!!

I sat back down this morning (after a good nights sleep!) and re-looked at everything.

I think my problem is that I overbudgeted for some things (like $30 for breakfast on most days)....

I have enough money to stay within what I've budgeted...just not much for "extras" (like souveniers and stuff!!). I think its a great idea to wait until the last day to buy my souveniers - by that time I may be sick of seeing some of the things that I thought was exciting at first!!

Again, Thank you all for the encouraging words - it was just what I needed to hear!!

Crystal

 

[kdibattista]

I'm glad you feel better about it - just remember - your in Disney World - you will have a magical time no matter what you spend!!

 

[Mish]

Last year we had a budget of $200 per day for a family of 4. That was for everything. We had one PS everyday for lunch and breakfeast at our resort. We rented a car so we went off site for dinner. I let my children get almost everything they wanted DD (17) and DS (3). We were there for 10 days. We came home with almost $500.00. We also took the brita water bottles and ask for water at the counter to fill them. I also packed juice boxes for my DS in a little cooler and put it on the bottom of the stroller. I also got each of us the resort mug that you could refill it was worth the $30. Go and have a good time you will be fine. Things always work out. Michelle

 

[plummer925]

I have to look for those Brita water bottles today! I've read about them on a bunch of different posts here...what a great money saver!!

Thank you again everyone - I'm now excited about my trip again instead of aprehensive!!!

See you in Disney!!!

Crystal

 

[Hollymom1229]

If it helps my fiancee and I are going down in September for 9 days and we're bringing $150 a day in spending money. We're not really alcohol drinkers, sovenier buyers, or breakfast people so that saves us a ton of money. We'll be eating all but 2 breakfasts in our room, nutri-grain bars and such. We'll have one sit-down and one counter service a day. I've saved $50 in change which will be our tip money for bellman, towncar driver and cab driver. Total budget for this trip $1500. If we weren't doing V&A's this trip that total would be less.