New plan and budget

[umaangel00]

Ok just talk to DH and here is the new plan ( I can plan quick lol)

We are staying the same amount of time ( two weeks). We will not be going to Seaworld or Busch Gardens (who needs to when you have Animal Kingdom?). We are adding 2 more days to our disney tickets, giving us 7 full days in the World. We will be going 2 days to Universal, 1 day to Kennedy space center. Giving us the day we arrive and 2 other days off. We will have the magic plus for downtown disney as well. Here's the new budget

760 - condo
570.78 - disney tickets
220.00 - universal tickets
70.00 - kennedy space center
300 - gas
300 - food
200 - souvies
2420.79 - total

That is a savings of 215.83. Heres my plan for saving.

200.00 a month for 8 months is 1600.00
1000.00 for income taxes ( we normally get closer to 1300-2500)
450.00 from payout on DH's vacation pay

Total - 3050
extra left after vacation - 630.00

If I need more money. I have a HUGE cushion to fall back on. We should be all set now and DH is fine with this budget. Besides, I told him if we have money left over, it's goes towards buying him the electric guitar he has wanted for 2 years now. LOL.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I think $300 for food for two weeks for two adults is completely unrealistic unless you plan to eat breakfast in the condo, carry your lunch and then wait until you get back to the condo for dinner. In this case you will miss all the restaurants.

If you are staying off property the current daily parking rate at the parks is $8.00 and I think Universal and Sea World are about the same.

Also, where are you coming from and about how many miles per gallon do you get in your car?

 

[umaangel00]

Again, I do not plan to eat in the parks. Why would I when I have the condo? We ate this last time for 100-200 so I know I can do it again. My car get's 30 miles per gallon and we are coming from michigan. The last time, it didn't cost us more than 200 for gas. I know I didn't budget for parking but again, I have a 630 dollar leway from my budget to what I will have saved up.

 

[umaangel00]

I might have to up my gas budget that is for sure. If the prices don't start to drop....

 

[sk!mom]

We will have the magic plus for downtown disney as well.

Just wanted to comment that you don't need any kind of ticket for Downtown Disney. That plus could be used for a water park.

Your food budget seems very low to me but if you've done it before then you know that you can do it.

Happy savings!

 

[umaangel00]

I am getting the magic plus for the admission to DQ and any water park that might be open when we go. I will have 630 extra dollars when we go so if I need more money for food or gas, I should be covered.

 

[DisFlan]

Do you have a credit card in case anything "bad" happens? Like an illness or car trouble? When going to Disney World, I wouldn't call $600 a "huge" cushion. Everything in or near Orlando usually costs more than expected. I'd defintely budget more for food and gas. Don't forget parking at $8 a day.

Are you bringing your own water and snacks? Most people find it difficult not to eat at least something between meals during a day at the parks. You DO need to drink lots of water, and many people don't care for the taste of the free water in the parks.

Then there's the cooler issue. Many people bring them, but you have to be committed to your cooler! What do you do with it when you hop from park to park? Are you planning on leaving it in your car? Are you going to have to leave the park to get to it for lunch? Or are you taking it into the park with you? Do you want to haul it around with you all day? Who babysits the cooler when you're on a ride? If you get a locker for it everyday, that's another cost. Be prepared, you have to plan for it slowing you down at least a bit. You sound young. You (or your husband) may tire of the cooler commitment after a few days.

If you plan on doing the water parks, why not schedule 2 full, non-park days for those? Then you'd only need 5-day Magic Plus hopper tickets.

If you can do with less than $200 for souvies, I'd use the money for a few modest counter service meals in the evenings - then enjoy the fireworks and parades. You've PAID for that time in the parks. I wouldn't waste it driving back and forth to your condo every night for dinner. (And the gas to get back and forth isn't free.) If you were feeding a family of five, it might be different, but with just two of you, counter service wouldn't come to that much. Many meals are even large enough to be split between you.

I noticed your $570 for WDW tickets. Check ticket prices here on the DIS or at Ticketmania.com. I believe either one is cheaper than the figure you have listed. Ticketmania ships for free. The difference would probably be enough for a CS meal.


DisFlan

 

[EthansMom]

You may want to check ticket prices at a reputable discount seller like http://www.ticketmania.com. I, and may others here, have successfully used Ticketmania in the past. Here are the ticket prices for your tickets:

2 adult 7 day MYW expiry with park hopping and 5 plus visits $558
2 adult 2 day Universal tickets $212
2 adult Kennedy Space Center Standard Admission $56

Also, if you get 7 day MYW expiry tickets without the plusses, you could save $45 per ticket. Ticketmania sells tickets to Disney Quest for $24 per adult and tickets to Pleasure Island for $16 per adult. If you bought the MYW tickets without the plusses but didn't prebuy the DQ or PI tickets, you could always upgrade the tickets at Guest Relations to add the plusses by paying the difference between the tix with plusses and without.

I hope this helps!

 

[umaangel00]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. I will probably have closer to 1000 extra dollars for Disney when everything is said and done. I only budgeted 1000 for the tax return and we normally get 1300-2000 back. There is the extra money there. Also, we plan on eating at the parks for dinner at counter service and sharing meals when we can. I am a budgetting queen most of the time and for us 300 for 2 weeks is ALOT of food. I normally spend 60-150 a MONTH for food for us. I might beef up the gas budget though because gas prices are so HIGH. I hate it. LOL. We wanted the plusses for Disney Quest mainly. It's like 20-35 per person per visit for DQ. We will be going at least twice. The plusses are well worht it then. THe only thing I *might* get rid of is the park hopping. We didn't have the last time and I regretted it but maybe we can still go without it. We don't have credit cards anymore since we got into MAJOR trouble with them early in our marriage. I might try ticketmania but I am always afraid something will happen with the tickets. LOL. Call me a worry wart I guess.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Check Universal's website. They have 2 day/2 park tickets, with 3 free days after that for 99.95 each, Not a huge savings, but enough to cover parking for a day...

Have a good vacation

Jen

 

[umaangel00]

That's where I actually got my price from. It's 220 with tax and shipping.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Sorry, forgot about that. Gotta love living in a tax-free state, but it sure messes me up when we travel

Jen