Looking for Tips, Ticks, and lots of Disney Magic!

[johnaalexis]

Hello Everyone!!

Let me start of by saying thank you in advance for any help and advice given. Now, I am recently engaged (about a month ago) and my fiancé and I already know without a doubt we want a Disney honeymoon! My parents are paying for everything for the wedding and my fiancé and I have decided to pay for our honeymoon ourselves. We are also looking to purchase and new-to us home in the next 12 to 16 months. So, our budget is looking a little pinched (nothing super awful but still..) we are really trying to do Disney on a budget to have more house l=money (if that makes sense) and I am really looking for some tips on creating a Disney budget mostly for spending money and food. I have come up with a rough estimation of our hotel//ticket packages (Est. about 1500). As per my personality thought I like to at least have and estimations of everything so I can have too much of something rather than not enough.

Also, when we book our honeymoon (planning to do it in Oct. of 2015 so 1 year in advance) how much is the minimum to put down? I will be putting as much down as I can but I'd like to know what is the least I have to have so I can make sure I have that much.

Also! Feel free to list any "Honeymoon Must Do/Must Haves"

Below I will list some important details to our trip that could factor into the budget:

- Wedding date of Saturday Oct. 22nd, looking to go to Disney the following week.
- Planning to stay at the Pop Century Resort - we chose PCR for the money, good reviews, and we don't plan to spend a ton of time in our room (even if it is our honeymoon lol), We want to spend as much time in the parks.
- Deciding between 5 day tickets and 6 day tickets, yes we are getting the park hopper. My fiancé has never been to WDW (I have many times in my younger years) so I want us to experience as much as we can.
- Will be driving to Disney (about 13hours for us)
- Will be creating a Disney registry

One last thing, I have read many blogs and website (including this one) about Disney Vacation Club points, I have seen where many people pay the price of a value resort but get a moderate or high resort. Can some one maybe try to explain how this works for me? I have read blog posts etc. on it but I am still fuzzy on the concept. Would it benefit me in any way? Is it worth it?

In short:
Disney daily budget tips, booking tips, and any honeymoon must haves
Disney Vacation Club Help
Disney Registry tips

Thank you everyone, I do apologize if I overloaded on the information, I just wanted to make sure I didn't leave out an important detail.

 

[disneywarriorprincess]

Congrats on your engagement! Pop is a good choice for its colorful atmosphere and having its own bus compared to the all stars. Idk whether you'd be interested in a disney dining plan but it lets you not have to worry about paying at disney (excluding tips at table service restaurants). You'll be going when MNSSHP is wrapping up so you could go for that one day. Also food and wine festival will be going on so you can try all those new foods with your husband. Oh don't waste money on buying water because every counter service place will give you free ice water if you ask. Idk if you want restaurant suggestions but coral reef and biergarten are my top two picks for Epcot. Crystal palace (if you like character dining) and be our guest are my top twos for mk. Also, movies under the stars can be romantic if you bring a blanket and cuddle up. They're shown daily at about 7pm at the central pool at pop. If you want to relax and have a bit of extra cash, a couples massage or spa treatment at GF or SS spa could be nice. Downtown disney is fun at night with lots of shopping and live entertainment among tons of dining options. You could stop by Disney's Christmas Shoppe and get a Mickey ears Christmas ornament with your new married name, wedding date, or first disney trip as a married couple on it which would be cute since about a month later you could put it on your tree for your first xmas as husband/wife. One big budget tip, DO NOT link your magic band with your credit card because you may find yourself indulging more often in trinkets and purchases that will make you drop when you come home to see the bill. Have a good honeymoon!

 

[johnaalexis]

Questions! lol
What is "MNSSHP" ?
We have decided aginst the dining plan I think, because we are afraid it wont save us money or benefit us as much as it is intended, a lot of the time for breakfast, lunch, and snacks we like to share meals But do you think the dining plan would be worth it?
Also thanks for the restaurant recommendations! We really aren't picky when it comes to food! And the Christmas ornament is a wonderful idea!!!! We were already set on the Bride and Groom Ears but the ornament will be great too!

 

[tomatecerise]

Mickey Not So Scary Halloween Party

 

[disneywarriorprincess]

Questions! lol
What is "MNSSHP" ?
We have decided aginst the dining plan I think, because we are afraid it wont save us money or benefit us as much as it is intended, a lot of the time for breakfast, lunch, and snacks we like to share meals But do you think the dining plan would be worth it?
Also thanks for the restaurant recommendations! We really aren't picky when it comes to food! And the Christmas ornament is a wonderful idea!!!! We were already set on the Bride and Groom Ears but the ornament will be great too!

If you share a lot of meals than the dining plan probably won't save you money. Just prepare for the sticker shock when paying out of pocket. Also make sure to pick up a honeymoon or just married button for congratulations and possibly freebies. When making your reservations for the trip and dining mention that its your honeymoon. Cast members at pop may do something extra special in your room.

 

[johnaalexis]

Okay lol I will make sure to do those! So let me ask you this, if we did a dining plan which is the best? we are still considering it, I have looked at some prices, I just wish I knew if it would save us money if that makes sense

 

[disneywarriorprincess]

The standard dining plan is just fine. Each person on it gets a table service, quick service, and snack per night. But if you want to have 3 table service in one day or all snacks the next etc than you can. You can use them at most restaurants and snack carts around wdw. Only a few won't accept them. Some table service require 2 credits per person but mostly that's for signature dining like California grill or narcossee's.

 

[DisMommyTX]

Your dates would be during the free dining offer this fall. Dates may change, reduce, or be completely eliminated next year, but it is very likely that you could get some kind of discount during your travel dates. Mouse savers has a great page listing historical discounts, the dates they were released, and which dates were included in the offer.

One of the best things about Disney reservations is that they are completely changeable and refundable in advance. You only put down a $200 deposit, then if a discount offer becomes available for your dates, you call them to change your reservation.

My last tip is not directly Disney, but travel in general, look into the Chase Southwest Visa. $99 annual fee with a $2000 spend in the first few months can get you 50,000 points-- which is enough for two round trip flights, as long as you book in advance. Just a suggestion. Some people love the idea of driving 13 hours, but I find flying much more relaxing.

Be sure to check out the budget boards for lots of great tips to save money.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

We had a Disney wedding and spent 5 days at Disney afterward for the honeymoon. The bride and groom mickey ears are very cute and once you get into MK I would get them embroidered with your names and wedding date (nice souvenir). The other thing I will tell you to get are the old 'Just Married' pins that have Cinderella and Prince Charming on them. Disney does not have them anymore, they will give you some that have the carriage and say 'Happily Ever After,' but google them and I'm sure you'll be able to find some. They are a tad more pricey, but were completely worth it in my book. I feel like Disney is one of the only places where I really felt celebrated because everywhere we went with those hats and pins people said 'Congratulations' or we may have gotten some extra magic from Cast Members Also, you might get some special character interaction when taking pictures! During the parades at MK I got really into it and started waving at some characters and when they noticed me and my ears would directly say 'Congratulations.' Drizella even started yelling out at me during MSEP! All those little things just make it more special.

Do not be afraid to take PB&J ingredients with you to Disney! Saves us so much money when thinking about lunches. Someone pointed out that you can get free ice water which is great. We have a Camelbak and find that it saves us a lot of time and money on water as well. Our one outrageously expensive meal on our honeymoon was Cinderella's Royal Table, but we thought it was totally worth it because of the occasion. We had our rehearsal dinner at Ohana, but I would recommend that for good food and a nice experience.

All in all, my best advice is just to take in every experience you have at Disney while on your honeymoon (not necessarily talking about rides). Just the feeling of being in that place on your honeymoon is magical!

 

[dsnyfn1022]

I got married and had my honeymoon in Disney! It was an incredible experience. I agree that you'll want those buttons. Everyone will tell you congratulations which is just awesome. I also highly recommend watching IllumiNations and Wishes. We saw IllumiNations on our actual wedding night and every time I hear it, it makes me cry from the happiness and love I felt. It was just a magical ending to the day! Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

 

[MataHari22]

Okay lol I will make sure to do those! So let me ask you this, if we did a dining plan which is the best? we are still considering it, I have looked at some prices, I just wish I knew if it would save us money if that makes sense

Questions! lol
What is "MNSSHP" ?
We have decided aginst the dining plan I think, because we are afraid it wont save us money or benefit us as much as it is intended, a lot of the time for breakfast, lunch, and snacks we like to share meals But do you think the dining plan would be worth it?
Also thanks for the restaurant recommendations! We really aren't picky when it comes to food! And the Christmas ornament is a wonderful idea!!!! We were already set on the Bride and Groom Ears but the ornament will be great too!

If you guys aren't big eaters and like to split entrées, then the dining plan would probably not be worth it for you. I especially would not do the deluxe dining plan if you aren't big eaters. It is a lot of food, and a lot of time taken up with table service meals. That plan only makes sense if you're serious foodies and want to eat at signature restaurants and you eat a lot of food. Sometimes, they offer free dining in the fall, moderates category accommodations get the regular dining plan, which is one Table Service, one Quick Service and one snack per day. Value accommodations get 2QS and 1snack per day. You may want to run the numbers because for free dining you have to pay rack rate on the room. Sometimes, a room only discount can save you more money.

Also, you can look at this link to help you decide if the dining plan is worth it for you.

http://www.distripplanner.com

You can enter where you would like to eat and other pertinent information and it will calculate the cost of what it thinks you would save, or what you would end up paying out of pocket. This can also be a useful tool to estimate your food cost for the trip.

October is a wonderful time to go, most of my trips have been in October. Great weather and lower crowds.

 

[andiraye]

I can't remember if the values have refrigerators for free. If so, especially since you are driving you can bring some food with you - healthy snacks, cereal, milk, water.

I think it might be an extra $25 per night to rent a fridge. In which case you might want to look into the mods using the 30% off discount.

Re the DDP, it is something I would look into for my honeymoon. I don't know that you'll save money but you might break even and it is mentally nice it to worry about paying for food. You can make the DDP more economical if you use your snack credits for breakfast.

Also note that you are celebrating your honeymoon on your dining ressies!

 

[Accident]

Every disney branded resort has a fridge in the room as of last year.

 

[judeis]

As far as renting Disney Vacation Club points, my family has found that to be a great value. It has always given us the opportunity to experience a deluxe resort at a moderate (or sometimes even value) price. For these boards, check out DVC rentals. Owners there will be advertising what points they have to rent. Price per point varies, averaging out at about $13 per point. Also, there are agencies that specialize in renting DVC points. Definitely check it out! Have a wonderful honeymoon planning!