Least Expensive vacation options...

[5disneykids]

So we have decided we are going to WDW in the beginning of December 2017! Yay!
There will be 10 travelers - 4 adults (me, husband & grandparents), 4 Disney adults (kids aged 10-15), 2 freebies (almost 3 and 1 Y/o).

I have priced our vacation 3 ways:
2 rooms at CSR + 5 day PH with the free dining plan
Renting DVC pts, value AK 2 bdrm (cheapest option of all the villas), purchasing the dining plan, 5 day base tickets
Staying off site, buying food, 5 day base tickets

I kept the dining plan & buying food the same at $3100, and added the same amount $ for tips, spending money, travel expenses, etc. I used mousesavers.com to price park tickets (discounted)

The 2 rooms at CSR with free dining was the least expensive by $600! Then off site, then the DVC rental (which was about $3000 more than CSR).
Does this sound right? I was surprised! Am I missing something?

At least now I know if the free dining isn't offered, we could stay at an AK value villa for about the same price.

 

[crazylady]

Sounds like a fun trip.

My initial thought is that you'll have to make your decision regarding 2 rooms at CSR vs renting DVC points before any information is released for free dining.

 

[Jedimom]

Disclaimer: I'm a huge proponent of off-site.

If you plan on eating all of your meals onsite even though staying off-site, then yeah that would be about right. But one of the best things about off-site, IMO, is food. Theme park food is expensive for what you get, not to mention mediocre in quality and a time-suck. When we stay off-site, we have a condo with kitchen. I'm able to make a simple breakfast (or we grab donuts from Dunkin' a morning or two), I stagger the kids eating times with them getting ready to head out, and it's done with. We're well fed by the time we get to the park.

We eat lunch at the park (prefer TS to QS). Dinner is either at the condo (something simple like burgers or spaghetti), take-out pizza (Flippers), or an off-site restaurant (tons to choose from). Not only is it much cheaper, but honestly when my kids were younger especially, they needed that break from having to go-go-go. By the end of the day, they get tired and cranky -- we all do -- and the thought of having to sit and wait at restaurant all well behaved, it's just going to lead to even more crankiness. What we all need at that point is to just "go home" (to the condo) and decompress. And for me personally, my stomach couldn't handle theme park food for any extended period of time.

 

[loves to dive]

Just as a heads up, there is no guarantee you will be able to rent at AKL so if that is the way you want to go, you might want to start on that now and understand most of the time that can't be cancelled. Also, have you priced out room only with a discount and skipping the dining plan? Some times you can come out cheaper that way since the dining plan isn't always the way some people want to eat and when it's included "free" it means you are paying rack rate for the room.

 

[crazylady]

Sorry. My phone was acting up last night and I couldn't finish my thought.

My second thought is that it is easy to save money with meals when you are off site so while I understand why you are using the 3100 figure for food, realistically you should come in under that if you are staying off site. Also, you could save even more offsite by looking at different lodging options so I'm not sure how accurate your offsite numbers are.

 

[robinb]

This is the way I would look at things. Everything is the same across your 3 options except meals and lodging. As discounts go, you really can't beat "free dining". I would work backwards from the cost of the other two options and compare them to 2 rooms at CSR @ rack rate during free dining.

According to Mousesavers, a rack rate room at CSR in "fall Season" is $215 m-f, and $244 s-s. If you normalize that over the whole week you get $223 per night plus tax = $252. I assume you're staying 5 nights, so that's $2520 for all 10 of you for 5 nights including meals (but not tips).

Looking at David's DVC By Request, I see that a 2BR Animal Kingdom Value Villa costs $1875 from 12/3-12/8. The difference between AKV no dining and CSR rack rate is $645. Can you feed your crew for $645 for 5 days? Nope.

Now let's look at staying offsite. I would look for a minimum of a 3 bedroom for your family. Luckily there are PLENTY of options. Wyndham Bonnet Creek is very popular on the DIS, but the cost of a 3BR is about the same as Animal Kingdom Villas. I did find a 4-bedroom pool home in the Formosa Gardens area (I stayed there, it is very close to WDW) for $867 for 12/3-12/8. You'll need to add car rental and parking to that. a full-sized car costs about $180 for a week (you'll need 2) and you'll pay $200 in parking. Add $560 to that and you get $1227 total. Now, subtract that from the CSR cost of $2520 and you get $1293. Can you feed your crew for 5 days for $1293? I think it's doable if you eat some meals at "home" instead of in the parks. BUT that just brings you even with CSR "free dining".

I've stayed offsite and I love it, but in your case I would choose CSR with free dining.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'd never depend on free dining - no guarantee that it will happen, or if it will be is some form you don't want, etc.

 

[robinb]

I'd never depend on free dining - no guarantee that it will happen, or if it will be is some form you don't want, etc.

There has been "free dining" in December for the past 4 years: https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends . ALTHOUGH it had been blacked for at least part of early December. The OP should know around April if it will be offered or not. If it's not, she can "punt" and choose offsite. She won't be able to choose a DVC resort though. Early December is one of the busiest times of year for DVC.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I would consider renting AKV value rooms a non-option. They are very difficult to get even for owners and are typically gone within a few days of the 11 month window, especially in December which is very busy for dvc. If you are going to price out dvc, be fair to yourself and choose a more expensive option that will surely be available like standard view AKV or garden view BWV or SSR or OKW.

 

[CarolynFH]

I would consider renting AKV value rooms a non-option. They are very difficult to get even for owners and are typically gone within a few days of the 11 month window, especially in December which is very busy for dvc. If you are going to price out dvc, be fair to yourself and choose a more expensive option that will surely be available like standard view AKV or garden view BWV or SSR or OKW.

I agree. AKV value rooms are exceedingly difficult to reserve even for owners. Budget for a more realistic (and expensive) villa - then you can hope for value but your plans won't be ruined if you don't get it.

You might want to read some on the DVC boards here to learn more about pros & cons of renting DVC.

 

[5disneykids]

Thanks for all the input...I had no idea the DVC AK value villas would be so hard to get! Honestly, I know next to nothing about DVC. I'm going to mark that off the list!

I guess bottom line is, wait for April (ish) and see if free dining is released. If it is - CSR, if not - off site.

We don't normally eat like we do in Disney (LOL).
At Disney, we love to go to table service restaurants, we use it as down time for the little kids & linger (we don't go back for a break, and go from sun up until fireworks!)
We typically do a TS once or even twice a day.
We are staying 6 nights, but will eat much lighter and out of pocket on travel days.
The DP is a great deal for our family, I really hope we can get the free dining this time (never have in the past!)

 

[brymolmom]

You should not keep Dining Plan and Buying Food to the same price (unless you really want to eat that way every single meal and it would ruin your vacation if you didn't). Offsite will likely end up being significantly less expensive than onsite if you want it to be. Figure buying a couple dozen bagels, some yogurts and bananas for breakfast for the whole crew vs. buying meals at food courts or using Dining credits. The dining plan, IMO is VERY EXPENSIVE, especially if any of your teenagers or adults are not big eaters normally. And you can, if willing, spend a LOT less on food. When we stay offsite, we always eat a BIG breakfast (we usually stay at a hotel that includes free breakfast cuz that works best for us) - have snacks for 'lunch' (sometimes buy ice cream at the park, bring PB&J and chips and granola bars and pretzels in our backpack)...And then buy one meal a day - usually dinner - let's say at a counter service that would be maybe $60 total for my family of 4...Add in maybe $20 for the snacks and if we stayed somewhere that breakfast wasn't 'free' - let's say another $10 per day for the makings for breakfast in our rental...That makes it $90 per day for my family...And the dining plan, I believe, would be at least 2.5 times that. Now we do SOME table service meals...maybe 2 or 3 per trip. But when we're offsite we will eat at an offsite place at least one of those to make it cheaper. So even on table service days, let's say we spend another $120 on food (we would never each get a dessert and drink - that alone saves a lot over the dining plan cost of table service)...we're still under the Dining Plan cost.

I'd say you could easily cut your foot budget by $1200 for staying in a rental offsite...then compare your costs accordingly.

This is assuming you are driving and will have a vehicle, if you don't need to rent car(s) for staying offsite.

 

[brymolmom]

If you are eating TS restaurants twice a day - don't forget to factor in the extra $$ spent on extra meals (over and above your allotted credits)...If you eat 2 extra TS meals for a family that large - You're looking at an extra $500 - $700 OOP.

 

[tcufrog]

Don't forget table service tips.

 

[Roobear77]

The other thing to consider is now that you are allowed to "treat" people who are not on the dining plan with your credits, price out what it would be to get the deluxe dining plan for the occupants of just 1 of the rooms. You could then use the credits for everyone.

 

[DisMommyTX]

With big parties we usually stay off site. We enjoy spreading out in nice house or condo with lots of bathrooms, private hot tub/pool (open whenever the kids want and being able enjoy a nice breakfast or late night snack in a full size kitchen/dining room. It is not about the price, but the quality of time spent together.

For a 7-10 day trip with a party of 9-12, we spend about $300 in groceries plus one big meal and one snack/ light meal per day. That being said, it is really tough to keep teenagers full. If you can get the dining plan free, go for it! Otherwise, plan for a lot of sandwiches, snacks, and extra meals (even an hour or two before and after scheduled meals)!!

 

[TwoMisfits]

So we have decided we are going to WDW in the beginning of December 2017! Yay!
There will be 10 travelers - 4 adults (me, husband & grandparents), 4 Disney adults (kids aged 10-15), 2 freebies (almost 3 and 1 Y/o).

I have priced our vacation 3 ways:
2 rooms at CSR + 5 day PH with the free dining plan
Renting DVC pts, value AK 2 bdrm (cheapest option of all the villas), purchasing the dining plan, 5 day base tickets
Staying off site, buying food, 5 day base tickets

I kept the dining plan & buying food the same at $3100, and added the same amount $ for tips, spending money, travel expenses, etc. I used mousesavers.com to price park tickets (discounted)

The 2 rooms at CSR with free dining was the least expensive by $600! Then off site, then the DVC rental (which was about $3000 more than CSR).
Does this sound right? I was surprised! Am I missing something?

At least now I know if the free dining isn't offered, we could stay at an AK value villa for about the same price.

I agree with the poster who said that offsite, you will not spend $3200+TIPS (so about $3600) for 6 days of dining for 10 people. And, having 2 tiny ones, you may enjoy not having to try to juggle getting 10 people ready before you can eat breakfast or having all 10 together to eat that TS you reserved every day. Experience talking - sometimes 1 and 3 year olds are just done, and they won't sit to eat even if Mickey, Pluto, Elsa, and every character under the sun is there to make them happy. And sometimes teens get hangry and grandparents just want to head out...

I'd always have breakfast, dessert, and simple meal options (even if just PBJ and fruit) in my room for a group that size...it will save you boatloads of money and stress.

 

[LaidBackDad]

So we have decided we are going to WDW in the beginning of December 2017! Yay!
There will be 10 travelers - 4 adults (me, husband & grandparents), 4 Disney adults (kids aged 10-15), 2 freebies (almost 3 and 1 Y/o).

I have priced our vacation 3 ways:
2 rooms at CSR + 5 day PH with the free dining plan
Renting DVC pts, value AK 2 bdrm (cheapest option of all the villas), purchasing the dining plan, 5 day base tickets
Staying off site, buying food, 5 day base tickets

I kept the dining plan & buying food the same at $3100, and added the same amount $ for tips, spending money, travel expenses, etc. I used mousesavers.com to price park tickets (discounted)

The 2 rooms at CSR with free dining was the least expensive by $600! Then off site, then the DVC rental (which was about $3000 more than CSR).
Does this sound right? I was surprised! Am I missing something?

At least now I know if the free dining isn't offered, we could stay at an AK value villa for about the same price.

The real question isn't "which is the least expensive option" the question is "How much effort do you want to put into saving money"?

1) Cheapest option: Stay on-site in a value resort like one of the All-stars with a room discount, possibly Art of Animation with a suite.

2) Under no circumstances consider any option which includes the Dining Plan. Even "free dining" is not free and with your group there is no way you can "save money". Without going into the nitty gritty of the DDP, there is entirely too much waste built into the strict requirements of the DDP for the demographics of your group. You will be much happier and save way more money if you just pre-purchase Disney gift cards for the amount of your food budget.

3) Bang for your buck: Rent DVC points without using a broker like David's. Searching DIS DVC Rental section for someone willing to rent their points to you directly will give you the best value. Consider cheaper options like Saratoga Springs or Old Key West. Renting from an owner directly requires a lot more work on your part and is scarier, but lots of people do it without any problems. At the end of the day and when you compare apples to apples, this option will cost you less than booking a moderate resort directly.

Hope this helps, good luck

 

[Jajone]

This is the way I would look at things. Everything is the same across your 3 options except meals and lodging. As discounts go, you really can't beat "free dining". I would work backwards from the cost of the other two options and compare them to 2 rooms at CSR @ rack rate during free dining.

According to Mousesavers, a rack rate room at CSR in "fall Season" is $215 m-f, and $244 s-s. If you normalize that over the whole week you get $223 per night plus tax = $252. I assume you're staying 5 nights, so that's $2520 for all 10 of you for 5 nights including meals (but not tips).

Looking at David's DVC By Request, I see that a 2BR Animal Kingdom Value Villa costs $1875 from 12/3-12/8. The difference between AKV no dining and CSR rack rate is $645. Can you feed your crew for $645 for 5 days? Nope.

Now let's look at staying offsite. I would look for a minimum of a 3 bedroom for your family. Luckily there are PLENTY of options. Wyndham Bonnet Creek is very popular on the DIS, but the cost of a 3BR is about the same as Animal Kingdom Villas. I did find a 4-bedroom pool home in the Formosa Gardens area (I stayed there, it is very close to WDW) for $867 for 12/3-12/8. You'll need to add car rental and parking to that. a full-sized car costs about $180 for a week (you'll need 2) and you'll pay $200 in parking. Add $560 to that and you get $1227 total. Now, subtract that from the CSR cost of $2520 and you get $1293. Can you feed your crew for 5 days for $1293? I think it's doable if you eat some meals at "home" instead of in the parks. BUT that just brings you even with CSR "free dining".

I've stayed offsite and I love it, but in your case I would choose CSR with free dining.

Having gone twice with a party this size, offsite is almost always the better option, not just for budget, but sanity. That many people in 2 little rooms is going to cause stress and really no down time for little ones. A restaurant may seem like downtime for adults, but it is still very stimulating for littles, especially at Disney. We usually rent at Windsor Hills a large house (I think it was 5-6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms) and everyone had their own personal space when it was needed much cheaper too.

 

[robinb]

Having gone twice with a party this size, offsite is almost always the better option, not just for budget, but sanity. That many people in 2 little rooms is going to cause stress and really no down time for little ones. A restaurant may seem like downtime for adults, but it is still very stimulating for littles, especially at Disney. We usually rent at Windsor Hills a large house (I think it was 5-6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms) and everyone had their own personal space when it was needed much cheaper too.

I agree that the accommodations are cheaper offsite. But if you look at my calculation you'll see that she'll have $1300 to feed 10 people for 6 nights. That would be fine if she wants to cook at 'home' ... spaghetti is cheap. However, $27 per person per day ('littles' excluded) doesn't go far at WDW. A CS meal (no dessert, no drink) runs $11-$14 these days. ONE character breakfast puts her back $272, an entire 20% of her budget.

Don't get me wrong. I love offsite *and* I'm not a huge fan of the DDP. But ... in this case I see little savings staying offsite. Plus, any savings comes at the cost of the OP planning and cooking meals in her condo/house. IMO, the 'free dining' promo is way too good of a discount to pass up.