My sister family of seven needs help

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

She will be driving down sometime next year after schools out to disney. They are a family of 7 and need to save money the best that they can. I need info. that I can tell her.

She really needs to be under 2000 dollars for the whole trip.

Thank you in advance.

Kimberly

I know this is very early to be considering but she needs plenty of time to plan her budget.

 

[Belle5]

We are a family of 8 but pay like we are a family of 7 since we have a little guy under 3. You need to give a ton more details. If she's driving from Atlanta her gas costs will be minimal and she won't need two hotel rooms (connecting) on the way to WDW and on the way home. We need to know the ages of the children. Under three is basically free and if she will have a few of those it will help her with her very tight budget. OTOH, if she is like me-- 4 of our children are considered to be "adults" by WDW standards and therefore, each time we go to WDW it's like not only paying for you and your spouse, but treating 2 of your favorite "couples" and their little ones to a trip. So, more details needed...I've got to tell you though, $2,000 might have been doable 7-10 years ago---but now???? Oooh this is going to be difficult!

 

[JodyTG]

Staying under $2000 for the whole trip is going to be pretty hard (if not impossible) if this amount includes the hotel, tickets and food. How many days are they staying? The best hotel onsite would probably be two rooms at a value resort especially if she can get the AAA discount. Two rooms with a estimated AAA discount for 7 nights would be @ $950.00. That doesn't include tickets or food or anything. So, not possible.

She may want to look into an off-site hotel that includes breakfast. That's all that I can think of right now.

 

[becky7953]

You could check into renting a condo or townhouse. We stayed in a 3bdrm townhouse last trip. It was nice. We had our own small pool, adults could stay up after the kids went to bed with out disturbing them. Breakfasts fixed at there. We spent $675 for the week. The place we stayed was in Windsor Palms. Would stay there again (onsite is cool, but this is an awesome choice if you can't afford onsite hotel)

 

[Christy]

There are also little tricks to give to help save money between now and the trip...

-start a coin jar-we used a quart-sized canning jar, decorated it with Disney themed stickers and used clear packaging tape around the lid so that we couldn't break into it if we needed an extra quarter and had a rule of little to no pennies...we saved a total of $93.00 by throwing change into it throughout several months.

-suggest Disney Dollars for your children's birthdays or other special event-people always ask what your child wants/needs-suggest something that they can keep for the trip (I don't know about you, but we have more than our share of Polly Pockets, etc.!!)

-buy meal vouchers ahead of time if you're not getting a dining package-we bought some and they saved us around $10. per meal (for our family of 4). We also suggested that family members buy these-my sister gave us 4 vouchers for a charcter breakfast as all of our birthdays are within three-months time

Hope these ideas help...

 

[ktglads]

Also, tickets are only going to become more expensive, so if she is able to space out the buying of the tix, it might not hurt as much. Of course she would have to have a pretty good plan as to how many days to spend. Also, she would have to think if park hopping would be worth the extra money. $200 is a good helper to keeping to the budget. All the kids would have at least one birthday and a winter holiday to receive gifts so I would agree with telling realtives and asking for cash/disney dollars/gift certificates that can be used in Disney.

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

the 2000 does not included transportation only disney

2 adults
1 17 yr old
1 16 yr old
1 13 yr old
1 12 yr old
1 11 yr old

they are driving there own car from central illinios, only have 7 days vacation and can only be in orlando a max of 4 or 5 nights

If 2000 is not a big enough budget for disney they will need to look into other options like universal (which I know alot about) but they would like disney

 

[pearlieq]

Generally early June or late August are going to be a bit cheaper, especially for lodging.

Definitely look into a vacation home--they can bel cheaper for such a large family. I hear All Star Vacation homes are pretty good. Still, you're going to be paying about $800 - $1000 for a weeks lodging, at the minimum. Do they camp at all? They could rent/borrow a trailer or RV and enjoy low rates at Fort Wilderness. Or if they're adventurous they could try tent camping.

They could try Priceline for an offsite hotel. It's a risk, but they might get a good deal.

7 5-day adult tickets with park hopping would be about $1648.

Honestly, $2000 for a family of 7 is really, really pushing it. I'm not sure it could really be done, and if she did manage it, I'm not sure how much of a vacation it would really be. Maybe they could wait a year and save up more?

 

[polkadotladybug]

Not that I would encourage them to miss Disney, but isn't Universal doing some sort of special where you pay for 1 or 2 days and get the second or third for free? Their ticket pricing seems a bit lower with that deal (you don't have to stay as long).

Can the kids do odd jobs around the neighborhood - babysitting, cut grass, dog walking, or other types of p/t jobs to help earn their tickets?

Best of luck!

 

[Belle5]

The only way I think it would be possible for her to do WDW is if they choose 1 park and go in for one day. (That's actually a poor value for the use of the tickets--but what can you do? If you don't have it ($$), you don't have it!) The rest of the trip would have to be at other theme parks (non-Disney) that offer 2nd day free options. Maybe a couple of days to just relax and swim at the condo or hotel pool. For lodging, she probably should look into bidding on Skyauction.com-- but they won't offer her dates for a long time yet. (She can use the time to educate herself on how it works) She will definately need a kitchen because she will have to cook a lot of her meals. Probably the majority... I feel her pain on the costs. My kids are 18, 16, 14, 12 ,7 and 1.

 

[zulaya]

You definitely need to tell her that $2000 isn't a very realistic amount for 7 people. Like most people have said, lodging itself is going to eat up a good portion of that, even with an off-site location.

Based on her kids ages, all 7 of them would have to purchase Adult admission tickets.

If she stays offsite, then there's parking $8 every day.

And if her kids eat like my kids, then the food portion of the budget is going to be pretty large too, even if she's cooking, she'll need to get groceries.

3 day Magic Your Way Tickets, with no Park Hopping are $182.12. Now, you might be able to find a discounter, but from what I have seen, the discounts are maybe $1 or $2 and then sometimes you lost that savings in shipping. Just given those ticket prices, that's $1274.84.

I have never done Universal, but from what I have read, she may be able to luck into a ticket promotion, but in general, their basic prices and Disney's are around the same.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but she should do some homework, get online or get some guidebooks from the library so she can educate herself and get a better idea of what a realistic expectation is for the budget.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

As much as I love DIsney Universal tickets can sometimes be cheaper. RIght now they are running a special of $100 for 5 days (Universal bonus pass). The two year old wouldn't need a ticket so that would be $600 for 5 days admission for all 7 of them. I would see about renting off-site and bringing food to cook. $2,000 may not be realistic. Could they postpone another year and keep on saving?

 

[beth_cam]

You dont necessarily HAVE to pay the $8 parking if you are offsite. Many of the offsite places have free shuttles to the parks. but that CAN be a real hassel. I was looking at a cheaper option for my first and last nights and found a close hotel with suites for $55 a night cant figure out which one - and at that comparable price it might not be worth going to lol. you definitely could look at doing only a few days in the park but it seems those kind of packages are nearly as expensive as the 7 day.

 

[kdtwiss]

Where there is a will there is a way!
I would say check out what the AP discount is for the Fort Wilderness Cabins
I remember it being a really phenomenal discount - I want to say when I checked it was $166 a night. For 6 nights that would about $1200. BUT they would have their own kitchen and fridge. I am not exactly sure how many people are supposed to fit in a cabin but that may work. She would have to goeasy on the tickets then to the park tho.

Also if they want to camp in regular season it is only $54 a night. That saves mega money but they will have to buy most of their food at restaurants (unless they are good at the whole cooking at the campsite thing )
So say they camp (again I can not see how many people are supposed to stay at a campsite, but since there would be no fire code violation with extra people - if they don't mind being crowded - I do not see the harm. So that would be about $350 (with taxes for 6 nights)
add in 7 6 day passes at $196 each which would be about $1450.
That would only leave about $200 for food - but I would say IF she can get a campsite and is able to squeeze in all the family in one site - well she can do it.
OOPS- I had 7 days in my head! If they are only staying 4 nights it is even cheaper!! GO FOR IT! As long as they don't mind camping!!
Some people will say it is not much of a vacation when you have to scrimp and save and squeeze, but hey looking at the ages of her children - they are nearly to the point when they will no longer WANT to vaca w/ mom and dad. I say she should go for it. She will provide her family with beautiful memories that will last a lifetime. They probably will not remember the penny pinching - they will remember - THEY WENT TO DISNEY!!
Last year our only family vacation consisted of leaving on a Tuesday evening late at night after I got out of work. Me driving straight through the night to Hershey Park. Sleeping for 30 minutes in the am whiledh took the kids into Mcd's for breakfast,going to park all day untill close,staying at a cheap motel,getting upthe next morning doing the park ALL day again untill close,and driving through the night again to get home so I could work the next afternoon. Not exactly restful, but you know what - my kids had a ball - and I have precious memories of a great , though tiring "vacation".
Also - for an easy was for your sis to get about $200 toward the vaca - have her open ing accounts for everyone if she has not already. With an opening bonus of $25 each - plus $10 for her for each referral - she will come out with $235 for nothing but opening accounts. That will give her added $$ for the food budget.She can open them for as little as $1.00 each. I got about $170 so far myself. Just keeping it there untill right before our trip - not $ I counted on -so I am not missing it!!

Good luck to her - I think she can do it!! Especially if the kids will still eat PB&J!!!

 

[Goofy22]

I would look into staying in Lake Buena Vista The Radisson Resort on Palm Parkway is nice! They have three pools and one has a slide and I believe they have suites! I know for a room for 5 people it would cost us apprx $74 and they also have a Buffett there! You can goto to there website and pull it up! www.radisson resort.com! I don't think the hotle will be a problem if you stay in the LBV area you can get some good deals check out the resorts board they have offsite hotles and there ratings! And most offsite hotels also have free transportation via bus to the disney parks they would not have to take their vechile! And there are lots of fastfood places down there! We stayed in LBV quite a few times! There is also a Comfort INN which she could probably get for about $50 per night or so! I think the most expense will be the park tickets! If I were her I would decide how many days I'm staying for and check out Hopper tickets for the parks then worry about the Hotel! There are many nice afforadable hotels! Like another post said maybe if she randomly purchases Hoppers ahead of time that would help since the majority would be adult tickets! I now stay on site but we have gone many times on a limited budget! and we've done it you just have to keep checking we go apprx every 2 yrs! For the last 4 we have stayed onsite because my Father is in the Disney Vacation club! She may also look into renting points from a DVC member that may be afforable if she looks into that you can also gotothe dvc rent points board and look aaround to get an idea! It would definitely be a good idea since she has so many in the family! If it was in her price range! And they could purchase groceries and make there meals in there room! That would save money! I'm not sure what they rent points for or anything but it will tell you over on the rent trade points board under DVC! Hopefully this has helped some! I know what it's like to go on a fixed budget!

 

[MrsPete]

She really needs to be under 2000 dollars for the whole trip.

I have to agree with the others: this is not a realistic budget. We can suggest tips to save in certain areas, but when the budget is way off target, we have to tell the truth.

Going to Universal instead of Disney is a good idea. Judging from their ages, I think her kids will enjoy Universal more than Disney. Compare:

A Universal 14--day flex ticket that allows them to hit four different parks will cost 185 per person. They'll be able to do all the coasters and teen-stuff, and they'll have access to Wet-and-Wild.
A four-day Disney hopper pass will cost 236 per person. This doesn't give them access to any water parks.

Even if they go with the Universal tickets, they're still looking at 1295 for tickets alone -- that's over half their budget! (These costs came from ticketmania.com, an online discount ticket broker.)

Staying in a condo is probably their best housing option; however, I don't know how much they run.

I have one other housing option: a hostel. I've seen this one on the internet, and I'm planning to go by and check it out this summer when we're in Orlando (I'm considering it for a future scout trip to Discovery Cove). You can get a four-person room with a private bath for $14/person/day (they'd have to pay for 8 people). That'd be $784 plus taxes for two rooms for a week. The place has a pool and a community kitchen. As I said, I'm considering it for a future trip, and I have not seen it myself.
Here's a website: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/PalmLakefrontResortHostel-OrlandoFL-4949 .

What do they usually spend on groceries at home? Even if they plan to eat in the condo for all meals (which sounds unrealistic to me), I'd suggest that they multiply it times three. I always spend more on vacation food. Even with cook-it-yourself food, we tend to splurge a little more. We grill steaks more often and eat tuna casserole less often. They'll also need more bottled water and sodas than they need at home, and beverages are a significant amount of most food budgets.

So, they could buy Universal tickets for 1295, stay in the hostel for 784, and spend -- let's guess -- 500 for food. That brings them up to 2579, which sounds absolutely rock-bottom for a family of 7. And they have not yet parked their car, bought a single restaurant meal or souvenier, they have not yet bought sunscreen and film, etc. If they're willing to scrimp, they could probably do it for 3000, but 2000 isn't realistic.

 

[Goofy22]

I would look into staying in Lake Buena Vista The Radisson Resort on Palm Parkway is nice! They have three pools and one has a slide and I believe they have suites! I know for a room for 5 people it would cost us apprx $74 and they also have a Buffett there! You can goto to there website and pull it up! www.radisson resort.com! I don't think the hotle will be a problem if you stay in the LBV area you can get some good deals check out the resorts board they have offsite hotles and there ratings! And most offsite hotels also have free transportation via bus to the disney parks they would not have to take their vechile! And there are lots of fastfood places down there! We stayed in LBV quite a few times! There is also a Comfort INN which she could probably get for about $50 per night or so! I think the most expense will be the park tickets! If I were her I would decide how many days I'm staying for and check out Hopper tickets for the parks then worry about the Hotel! There are many nice afforadable hotels! Like another post said maybe if she randomly purchases Hoppers ahead of time that would help since the majority would be adult tickets! I now stay on site but we have gone many times on a limited budget! and we've done it you just have to keep checking we go apprx every 2 yrs! For the last 4 we have stayed onsite because my Father is in the Disney Vacation club! She may also look into renting points from a DVC member that may be afforable if she looks into that you can also gotothe dvc rent points board and look aaround to get an idea! It would definitely be a good idea since she has so many in the family! If it was in her price range! And they could purchase groceries and make there meals in there room! That would save money! I'm not sure what they rent points for or anything but it will tell you over on the rent trade points board under DVC! Hopefully this has helped some! I know what it's like to go on a fixed budget!

Also another idea for money saving! Any Birthdays or holidays where the children would get gifts or toys tell the Family to give them Disney Dollars they can be used anywhere on disney property! We do that everytime we go! And the kids love to use them!

 

[lilsonicfan]

Mary at Mousesavers.com has a great article on a budget trip - and you can probably even find ways to skimp. Condos would probably be your best bet... we've rented a 3 bedroom (max 8 ppl) for about $550 for the week.

I agree that Universal sounds like a better plan, only because the cost for the tickets is lower. If they really want to go to Disney, and she's willing to make an investment though, it may be worth it to buy 10 day non-expiring tickets and only use 4-5 of them for this trip. It does require a lot more cash up front, but the savings can be significant later on. For example, a 4 day adult, no park hopping, with expiry date ticket is about $194 on Ticketmania. A 10 day, no park hopping, no expiry is $318.

Hmm... food... I always think that it's totally a personal thing. For me, I don't like to spend a lot on food, especially at the parks, I find it to be rather a ripoff So a typical day for myself would be: breakfast - either skip, or have a muffin and a juice (bought from supermarket - say $2) Lunch - counter-service burger or other similar food - maybe $7 or so. Dinner - Pasta entree at Macaroni Grill (or similar) - around $15. Of course, multiply that by 7 and you're paying quite a bit per day... but there are ways to skimp if you are willing to do so. Packing sandwiches, going to cheaper restaurants, cooking, etc.

The ticket costs are really the prohibitive thing at this point since I think you can always find ways to tighten your housing and food budget - but those tix are fixed prices. Maybe talk to her some more and see what her vision of the trip is...

 

[jcemom]

Hmmm...when you're looking at $1400 for tickets alone...I'd say it really can't be done. That only leaves $600 for food and lodging. Well, I know I couldn't do it anyway, but then I'm not the best budgeter.

 

[Chris]

She will be driving down sometime next year after schools out to disney. They are a family of 7 and need to save money the best that they can. I need info. that I can tell her.

She really needs to be under 2000 dollars for the whole trip.

Thank you in advance.

Kimberly

I know this is very early to be considering but she needs plenty of time to plan her budget.

Honestly, there is not way I could imagine doing it all for 2000.00.
Our tickets into the park are roughly 1500.00 through Ticketmania, for the expiring ticket....Gas will cost us either about ormore then 500.00 for the drive <from MA>, then she has to add in lodging, food and extras?

Good luck though, I"ll be interested to read the threads on this.