Need help planning a trip for a friend

[lovezeuser]

Hi. I have a friend who is a single Mom of a 12 year old boy. She wants to take her son to Disney for the most awesome vacation he has ever had. Her budget is around $2000. How do I find her the best deal? She wants to stay on property and is very flexible on dates. When I do the vacation planner online, it seem so expensive for just two people? How can I find her the best deal?

 

[crash2000]

Hi. I have a friend who is a single Mom of a 12 year old boy. She wants to take her son to Disney for the most awesome vacation he has ever had. Her budget is around $2000. How do I find her the best deal? She wants to stay on property and is very flexible on dates. When I do the vacation planner online, it seem so expensive for just two people? How can I find her the best deal?

where are you traveling from ?

good luck with that budget, its not enough, maybe you can pitch in for this great freind of yours? or travel with her to eat some of the rooms cost?

make it a 5 day trip, do the major parks, skip the waterparks.

don't buy park hoppers
don't buy the water parks
buy the basic meal plan.
use value resorts ( others will say to stay off site, i disagree)
drive to florida?

 

[lovezeuser]

She lives in Southern Virginia. Really, $2000 isn't enough for two people to enjoy Disney? Yikes! What about all these deals you see on Disney's website for a family of 4? I figured she had enough for a trip with her son.

 

[DaisyLynn]

If she truly is flexible with dates, $2000 is doable.

For instance:

Thu, Mar 4 - Thu, Mar 11

Flights: direct flights, Richmond to Orlando on JetBlue - $358.40
Package: 5/2 offer, All Star Sports, 7 day base, QS dining plan - $1666.30

Total: $2024.70

Of course, that is a great price on flights and that price could go up at any time. And it is over budget by a bit...but this is also 7 nights. If she has AAA, she could check prices on a package for maybe 5 nights, and if she is flexible, she could find dates with the better deals on air.

You sounds like a great friend for helping her! Good luck!


Edited to add:

Jan 10 - Jan 16, 6 nights at Pop Century
Direct flights Richmond - Orlando
6 day Park Hopper
Quick Service dining plan

Total: $1798.37

I love pricing Disney vacations!

 

[crash2000]

If she truly is flexible with dates, $2000 is doable.

For instance:

Thu, Mar 4 - Thu, Mar 11

Flights: direct flights, Richmond to Orlando on JetBlue - $358.40
Package: 5/2 offer, All Star Sports, 7 day base, QS dining plan - $1666.30

Total: $2024.70

Of course, that is a great price on flights and that price could go up at any time. And it is over budget by a bit...but this is also 7 nights. If she has AAA, she could check prices on a package for maybe 5 nights, and if she is flexible, she could find dates with the better deals on air.

You sounds like a great friend for helping her! Good luck!


Edited to add:

Jan 10 - Jan 16, 6 nights at Pop Century
Direct flights Richmond - Orlando
6 day Park Hopper
Quick Service dining plan

Total: $1798.37

I love pricing Disney vacations!

you did good, i was getting around $1700 without the air...

 

[lovezeuser]

Wow! You guys are awesome! If I were to contribute $500, would that help? I had no idea it would be so expensive for two people to go to Disney. We have been a few times, but stayed at the Swan and Dolphin because they have a Federal Government rate. I enjoyed the Swan and Dolphin, but thought she might enjoy a Disney property more. It has taken her about five years to save this money, so I doubt they will be able to go again.

I tried looking at the "best times to visit" page on the Disney website but the calendar would not go past Dec. 2009.

Thanks so much for your help! Connie

 

[lovezeuser]

You sounds like a great friend for helping her! Good luck!

She is a very special person- she does elderly and hospice care. She took care of my Grandmother the last four months of her life when she lost her battle with breast cancer. And, she takes care of my kids during the summer breaks. She's awesome!

Thank you for your help!

 

[ajpa]

2K is enough.
Definitely pick a value season, even if it means the kid takes a few days off school.
How about schedule for Sept, since it is very likely WDW will offer free dining then (how many years in a row have they offered it now?).

Have you looked at mousesavers. com? An awesome site for figuring out how to go to wdw on a tight budget.

Driving will also save a lot of money if she is up to it -- it is roughly a 12 hour drive, I think.

Another idea for her to save money is if she can find someone (relative/close friend) who will go with them and is willing to split the resort & dining cost.

Oh, also why not contact a Travel Agent -- they can be very helpful in fitting a trip to your budget AND they don't cost extra.

 

[lovezeuser]

I have a PIN number that was emailed to me recently. I did a quote with using my PIN number and one without. It's a $500 difference. Can I book my friend a trip using my PIN number? Thank you for the help!

 

[ajpa]

I have a feeling the PIN is non-transferrable but you could call & ask.
That reminds me though -- tell your friend to register on the disney website and get a free planning dvd, and it will ask her when she wants to visit. There's a chance that she will get a pin for that month. Lately lots of people have been getting pin codes.

 

[Microcell]

Definately look at Mousesavers..

I live 20 hours away so driving would be out of the question, but might she be able to save some money driving from Virginia?

September is the best time to get free dining.. as a matter of fact, before my DD turned 11 our family of four did several trips during that time for under 2000.00 including airfare.

Think about shorter days to make for more money for shopping.

Hope they have lots of fun whenever they go!

 

[fsderek09]

Hi. I have a friend who is a single Mom of a 12 year old boy. She wants to take her son to Disney for the most awesome vacation he has ever had. Her budget is around $2000. How do I find her the best deal? She wants to stay on property and is very flexible on dates. When I do the vacation planner online, it seem so expensive for just two people? How can I find her the best deal?

Hi there, right now Hilton has special "Go For The Gold" rates on hotels when you visit www(.)hiltonhhonors(.)com(/)officialguest so that should save you some money.

There is a Hilton right across the street from Disneyland!

As a bonus, when you book your hotel through www(.)hiltonhhonors(.)com(/)officialguest you are automatically entered for a chance to become the Official Guest of Team USA. This prize includes a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

I'm working with Hilton to let people know about these deals so if you have any questions please let me know!

Sorry about the parentheses, I'm new here and I can't post links yet.

 

[duffy]

Don't forget that those Disney commercials are NOT including flights there and back.

 

[tzolkin]

We've gone the past two years at the end of May (not value season) with a family of 5 (one under 3) and paid around $2000 for our room and tickets. Our trips were 8 and 11 nights, so I would definitely think $2000 would be enough for two people if they're willing to keep to that budget.

We drove (23 hours each way), so that saved us on the plane tickets since we have so many people. We drove straight through, so our only expense there was gas and stopping to eat (we brought some snacks in the car).

Also, since we drove we were able to save quite a bit on food costs since we could go to the grocery store and bring a large cooler to use in the room. I didn't add up our receipts from our recent trip, but last year we spent under $400 total for food for 9 days for 5 people. We did not do any TS/character meals. We ate breakfast in the room, brought snacks into the parks, and snacked a bit when we returned for an afternoon break. We only drank water in the parks (we had hydration backpacks), but we had milk, juice, and soda in the room. We usually did about one CS meal per day (we actually often stopped twice, but only bought two or three meals to share between us) and we got pizza at the hotel in addition to this several nights.

There are specials that come out all the time, so just keep your eye open for those. We were not flexible with our dates, but I paid attention and called to apply codes as they came out. This year, we took advantage of the Buy4 Get3 deal for our first 7 nights at Pop Century. Then another deal came out that was a discount on moderate resorts, so we spent 4 nights at CSR for $100 per night.

Personally, I would rather do a longer budget-friendly trip. The tickets are about the same price whether you're getting 4 or 10 days. If you're able to be frugal about your food costs, you're really only paying whatever the hotel cost is for the extra days.


The dining plan would add quite an expense to your friend's budget. Since her son is an adult, that would be about $80 per night. If they really want the dining experience, it would probably be best to go during free dining. Otherwise they may only be able to afford a few days.

 

[ramsfootball92]

In 2007 and 2008 I rented points from a DVC owner. (I have since taken the plunge myself At that time, I was a very budget minded single mother of 3. We stayed in a studio room which includes a kitchenette. My vacation was in April (spring break) and we stayed Sun-Thurs nights as those are typically cheaper to rent. I purchased non-park hopping tickets and we ate predominately in the room.

I drove from Northern KY, bought groceries/snacks at a bread store and Sams club at home and then purchased milk 30 minutes outside WDW. I placed water bottles in the freezer area and they thawed nicely by midday at the parks. We had 2 character meals but honestly my kids were just excited to be there. That first trip was truly magical. That first trip totaled $1875 including the room, tickets, groceries and gas. The 2008 trip was $100-200 more.

There is a forum dedicated to renting DVC points. I want to caution you as with any purchase to research and check references but this may be another option for you to explore. It was the best decision for my family but may not be the best for your friend. At any rate, I'm certain that she will have a magical time!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Can she find another mom and kid to share the room?