Oh Boy...I dont have enough money for Disney

[DisneyQueen1320]

Don't worry you will have a good time. I'm not sure how much a rented stroller cost, but I would try and buy a cheap one from Wal-Mart. We did this a couple of years ago, got one for about $20.

 

[meriface11]

can you take the subway to Howard Beach and then the LIRR to JFK? kids under 5 ride free, so you would only have to pay for yourself (I assume you have a MetroCard for normally getting around the city).

 

[jessica52877]

I would think you would have enough money. We had $300 on my disney rewards card last October and spent a little over $100 on tips and snacks. 2 adults and 1 child, we didn't need a snack over and beyond what was included in the dining plan.

 

[meriface11]

I really dont want to skip a bill. I have the bills budgeted already . My ds's good stroller broke down ..literally fell apart a few weeks ago. Im really tall and i havent been able to find a replacement. My mom ordered a stroller for me. I got it and it was SO short. Im 6"2! I decided to rent a stroller for orlando stroller rentals...the one with the height adjustable bar so thats 85.60 (I budgeted that along with the bills) My ds just turned 3 and he doesnt use a stroller at all at home anymore so we only need it for Disney.

The suitcase full of juiceboxes/snacks is an AWESOME idea! I can pretty much go all day without eating a bite and be totally ok but the kids cannot so on our departure/final day i can just get the kids some kids meal and they should be fine until we get home.

I have a big duffel bag so I will fill it with caprisuns and their favorite snacks and just take a few out a day to the parks! That will save SO much on drinks/snacks . As for the snack credits..the kids love poptarts so i can use the snack credits to buy them some poptarts to munch on for breakfast...maybe muffins instead of poptarts!

My mom just called and said she will give me 50 bucks for the kids souvies! I decided im going to buy dd a princess crown and a mickey barrete and do an updo like the bibbidi bobbidi boutique so she's going to be THRILLED.

I think i will be able to pull this trip off! I sure hope i can...Is it true you can get a large pizza with counter service credits? That can be dinner one nite! We have 2 breakfast adrs scheduled so on the breakfast days we can use cs credits for pizza!

some good bang for your buck CS meals for your adult credits are Sunshine Seasons at pcot, wolfgang puck express at downtown disney, cosmic rays at MK. you could feed all three of you off of one adult CS credit.

 

[drgreene1096]

I agree with the DDP downgrade to QSDP. You get Mugs that will be your own so the kids have them as Souvenirs, Plus 2 quick Service meals and 2 snacks a day, Plenty for Breakfast (snack) Lunch, dinner and a treat. You get Dessert for Lunch and Dinner so you can also save those for treats or in some cases Breakfast. Use the money you get back for the switch and pick your favorite ADR and use that to pay for it. You then have all the money you saved for Tips to use for other things.

Pack some fun bags with a lunch for the kids to eat at the airport going there, include a treat or two to make it special. Way Cheaper!

Use a couple of snack credits towards treats your last day, the plane ride home etc...

Is there any public transportation you can take to the airport?

Anything you can sell, can you offer cleaning services to your friends? I know I would be more then happy to hire a friend to help with some cleaning or organizing if I had the cash.

I say Go and Have fun!

Since when do you get mugs on the dp? Either regular or QS? I've been on ddp the last 2 out of 3 years and never gotten a mug that I didn't have to pay for! I thought you had to be on deluxe dp to get the mugs included.

 

[chimo2u]

Since when do you get mugs on the dp? Either regular or QS? I've been on ddp the last 2 out of 3 years and never gotten a mug that I didn't have to pay for! I thought you had to be on deluxe dp to get the mugs included.

On the QSDP a refillable mug is included.

I thought the OP said the taxi money was for from her house to the airport and return after the trip? I think she stated she had booked ME for the Orlando Portion.

OP: there are many good suggestions here...I hope you find a way to still go on your trip and enjoy

 

[dougsmom98]

I want to wish the OP luck with her trip. Remember that even if you have to be frugal at Disney, it will be a ton of fun! Someday, I will eat at a TS restaurant in Disney, but so far we have been on 7 trips and haven't gone to a character breakfast or a table service restaurant yet, and we still have a ball! My kids have no expectations of going to a TS restaurant or character breakfast because we have never gone to one. Remember, if this is your first trip, you are setting the future expectations for your kids on future trips. My daughter has seen BBB, but she isn't disappointed that we don't do it, because we never have been able to. My kids don't ask for a lot of souvenirs because we have never made that a focus. The first few trips we went on, the kids didn't get souvenirs at all because we didn't have the money and they didn't even ask for anything. Now, my kids get one souvenir each and it has to be $25 or less. No matter what you do or don't do, it will be a great trip. Have fun!

 

[mercydisney]

GoogleMom you can make this trip happen. Disboards always have the best suggestions. 6yrs ago I went to Disney w/my 2kids. They were 9 and 4. I had just discovered Disboards. I had everything covered except for food and souveneirs. I took all the snack suggestions and ran w/them. I took $800. w/me I came home w/ $500.
I did $1/for souveneirs. They were aloud one souveneir for the whole trip becasue Tink would leave them a gift everyday when we would return to the room. They were able to decide on thier souveneir on the last day of the trip. This way it was exactly what they wanted and they couldn't change their mind the next day becasue we were home also "the anticipation" of this gift or souveneir was priceless.

Have you thought about getting the extensions for the handlebars on the stroller? I have seen these and DH wanted them because he is also very tall. I believe they are about $20.

You will have a great time. Some of the most memorable moments in life are those that we struggle the most for.

 

[Melisande]

Really like everyone is saying you can do this. You just gotta think. Think wise and think cheap. My parents did it when we were growing up and we mostly survived. There was this incident before they knew about my vascular illness where I think I beat up my brother for his sweatshirt in Epcot. Thats a topic for the DISabilities forum though. LOL.

My niece and I split a double cheeseburger yesterday. She is 15 so you know it was a decent size. Disney may be pricey on their meals but they give decent portions. I once had this turkey wrap at the place in tomorrow land. I was convinced it could have fed three people.

Also if you are going during free dining, you should know in years past they offered trade ins for people who wanted to use their ts credits for cs. I think I got a card for extra snack credit or a souvenir when I went two years ago. Might have been two snack credits. I was pregnant with twins and slightly looney so my memory is vague. In which case those snack credit cards can become super useful to you. So could the suvi credits if its something nice. It was blah that year and I went for the candy store with mines.

 

[Fierce Fairy]

You are so lucky to be going. I would agree with those who say go and do it on a shoe string budget. That was the only way we were able to go a few years ago. Each kid got one souviner at the end of the trip. Made oatmeal in the room each morning using coffee pot. And if you need to raise quick cash I would try selling some stuff. I know you can even get about $60 a week selling plasma. It takes 1 hour and you don't feel drained like you do with giving blood. YOU CAN DO THIS. I know we are sending you fairy dust so that this will happen.

 

[SandrA9810]

I would use some of your snack credits like souvenirs. I love going to the Main Street Confectionery, you can get all sorts of goodies, like the mickey head rice krispie treats or the rock candy on a mickey stick or the yummy marshmallow treats on the mickey straw.

Since you said you had ADRs, I'm assuming you're on the regular dining plan. I would change any dinner reservations to lunch or breakfast, this will save some money on the tip. And usually during the free dining, you can get a free gift if you change your sit down to a counter service meal. They've done it a few times in the past, but I don't know if they're doing it again this year.

 

[KELLY]

I might get flamed for this but I wouldn't spend $20 for mousekeeping if that is all you have. Save that and use it for your family.

Also, is it too late to change your DDP to the QSP? That would save you a lot of money, not only on the plan but on tips as well. We always take snacks with us. You can make do with snacks you bring in the airport and you can make breakfast out of stuff from home.

Even if you don't have enough to buy much there... you can still have a great time. Go and enjoy.

This I would call disney and see if you can go with the QSDP instead. That would save tips and a few extra dollars for the upgrade if you can get a nice cm that will wavie the 50.00 change fee.

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

I agree with using some snack credits as sovies. We got great big lollie pops that had micky and minnie on them and were a big hit. Also get a small notebook with charaters on them cheap with back to school stuff so they have autograph books and meet the charaters.

Also last week we could have taken a 1.5 hr Disney vacation Club tour and gotten a 15 Disney gift card for each person including the kids so a little extra money if you find the time. They will bring you back and forth also.

Also you can go to the counter service places and just ask for water. I know I did this several times last week and didn't even buy something at the time. Try and focus on what you can do that's already paid for and not on what your missing and you'll find that the money will streach more then you thought. Have loads of fun.

 

[summerrluvv]

I am not bringing a lot of spending money either and we are not on the dining plan. I packed an entire suitcase of snacks and breakfast food and put drinks into a soft side waterproof cooler bag (with a hard plastic insert) in a grocery bag and into my bag (that way if they leak it's in the zip cooler, not on the luggage).

I would take the air train. Pain, but better than paying for a cab.

I just got a new stroller, the Ignite, and it's made for taller people (I'm not tall at all). It's $59 at Walmart.com which is cheaper than renting. It's an umbrella, has a cup holder and is pretty nice for the price.

Had not read about the Mickey Mart bags, so that is great to know! I told my kids it's minimal money for souvies this time since we were just there in January and bought them way too much.

Have fun! I think you can def. make it work!

 

[m&m's mom]

If you were just there a few months ago, you should not need to buy any souvenirs. Nothing wrong at all telling kids (especially ones that were just there) that they can bring back their souvenirs frrom the last trip.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I think you can do it!! I took my DD when she was 9 a few years back. We only spent about $200 for the week, that included eating at the airport twice and having to buy medicine at the airport. Also, I wouldn't have spent even half that if I hadn't felt pressured by my sister-in-law to buy extras, because she was buying them for my nephew and I didn't want my daughter to feel bad. I also took my grocery money that I would have spent for that week. We have always only allowed our daughter one souvenir. But, I really like the idea of using the snack credit to buy something on Main Street at the candy store. We had snack credits left. Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[daisy2jae]

Check out a GPT website. It won't earn you tons of money but every little bit helps. We're going to WDW Sept 4-11. I started using Simple GPT in early June. I've earned/deposited into my paypal account $76.20. Even if you can only get $20 or so that's a little it extra to play with on the trip.

we also saved box tops and soup labels over the summer. We then sold them on ebay for apx $0.08-$0.09 a piece so for a lot of 50 we can usually make $4-$5 an auction. I know this doesn't make a lot but maybe you'd be able to find things in the closet you may be able to make a bunch...maybe DVD's, clothes, kids clothes, etc...

 

[mickey grandmom]

If you are on a weekly budget,don't forget the dollars you would have spent on food at home could go towards your vacation. That goes for gas dollars too.

 

[sunnyshari]

How about pins for souvenirs? You can buy some cheap on Ebay...remember they don't have to be that special as any of the cast members will trade pins with you. I believe you can get Cars or other Disney lanyards at Michael's for about a $1. My kids loved the pin trading as it felt like they were shopping, getting new stuff and not spending any money. I also second bringing glow sticks from the $1 store. I have even seen magic wand ones before. We even had extra to share w/a family beside us.

 

[NancyIL]

Just say "no" when the kids start with the "I wants"!

I wouldn't pack a suitcase full of food unless you can check it for free, and I would NOT pack drinks.

Most people feel the dining plan provides TOO much food, so you should have few OOP food expenses if you plan well and share some meals.

See if you can make do with the food in your pantry and freezer, supplemented by milk and fresh veggies, between now and your departure date.