Ok Budgeteers - Budget Trip Advice Needed.

[tangledbeauty]

I'd like to go to Disney in August, from 8/13 until 8/18.

I'll have three kids with me; at the time, one will be 8 (a girl), and then two boys aged 12 and 13. I think they'd like the YES program, so maybe we could do that and get tickets through the program as well (I'd like 5-day PH tickets). I personally have an AP from a previous trip that will expire right after this possible trip, so I don't need tickets. The kids are go go go commandos when we visit theme parks, but they've never been to Disney.

They've never been, so if we don't get to do everything (or stay at the Polynesian!) they'll never know.

I'll be leaving from the St. Louis area. I could possibly drive if need be, but would have to rent a car and drive on my own for the entire trip. We COULD stop on the way down and the way back up, but it would need to be built into the budget. Anyone done a drive this length on their own with kids and can attest to the difficulty? They're used to long drives, so I'm not too too concerned about them getting antsy. They visit with their grandparents several times every summer and it's a bit of a haul.

I'm open to staying off site, though I'd like to stay on property. I'm fine driving to the parks every day and I'm fine eating off site.

Any recommendations as to a cheap trip for my brood? General cost guidelines? This is a LOT of research, I'm not sure how some people just fork over thousands of dollars without going into it very closely.

Thank you.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We live about an hour West of STL and though it's been many years since I've driven to the Orlando area, we've been to Panama City Beach several times. Either destination, Chattanooga is ~ 1/2 way, and we usually stop there on night 1. My kids really love the aquarium there, and you can typically find a room for $100 or less. I prefer to go South of STL as we come up 44 - then 270 South, then 255 across the River to I64 East. Way faster than going through downtown if you're coming from this area.

I think it's a pretty leisurely 2-day drive for one person IMO, but I really don't mind driving. I know other folks who'd hate a trip like that. We did a 6-week, 7,500 mile trip one Summer in a 2-door car towing a popup camper with no AC, so I guess I've built up a tolerance for road travel LOL. You could go beyond 1/2 way the first day, but it might make for a rough day with just the 1 driver. If you had at least 2 drivers, it'd be no biggy.

You should be able to rent a mid-size car with unlimited miles for ~$200 (I just priced one at Enterprise for a trip I'm making this week), then figure ~$300-350 for gas round trip depending on what gas prices do this Summer. You're going to have to rent a car either way - rent one here, or fly down and rent one there if you're staying off site. So, the real price difference is just the gas and the extra night of hotel in each direction (plus any food or other expenses you consume on those travel days).

The Y.E.S. program is the way we went (we're going in June), but classes seem to be filling up FAST. We hadn't intended to make the commitment to go for another couple months, but we bit the bullet last night. I don't believe your AP will work, however. 99% sure you're required to purchase tickets for at least one adult. So, that's a bummer. On the plus side, 4 PH tickets through the Y.E.S. program will be cheaper than 3 PH tickets going the normal route. http://www.disneyyouth.com/individual-enrollment/catalog/


Food wise, we typically load up on a big breakfast at home, eat a picnic lunch at a rest area, and then fast food for Supper on travel day 1. Day 2 is donuts at the hotel (unless they have free breakfast), another picnic for lunch, and then Supper at our destination - typically pizza or fast food again. Once at the destination, whatever works best for you food wise. There are lots of fast food options between here & there, but not a ton of really interesting things between STL & Nashville. There's the occasional BBQ or pizza joint, but it's a lot of really small towns in IL & KY (well, Paducah has more options, but again most are chains. We like Rafferty's).

Hope some of this helps

 

[Marionnette]

I'd like to go to Disney in August, from 8/13 until 8/18.

I'll have three kids with me; at the time, one will be 8 (a girl), and then two boys aged 12 and 13. I think they'd like the YES program, so maybe we could do that and get tickets through the program as well (I'd like 5-day PH tickets). I personally have an AP from a previous trip that will expire right after this possible trip, so I don't need tickets. The kids are go go go commandos when we visit theme parks, but they've never been to Disney.

They've never been, so if we don't get to do everything (or stay at the Polynesian!) they'll never know.

I'll be leaving from the St. Louis area. I could possibly drive if need be, but would have to rent a car and drive on my own for the entire trip. We COULD stop on the way down and the way back up, but it would need to be built into the budget. Anyone done a drive this length on their own with kids and can attest to the difficulty? They're used to long drives, so I'm not too too concerned about them getting antsy. They visit with their grandparents several times every summer and it's a bit of a haul.

I'm open to staying off site, though I'd like to stay on property. I'm fine driving to the parks every day and I'm fine eating off site.

Any recommendations as to a cheap trip for my brood? General cost guidelines? This is a LOT of research, I'm not sure how some people just fork over thousands of dollars without going into it very closely.

Thank you.

Do you have a budget that you're trying to work within, or are you trying to price out the cheapest possible trip and then work backwards from there?

I mean, we can give you a lot of ideas as to where to stay cheaply, how to get cheaper tickets, how to dine on a shoestring and what kind of transportation makes more sense for you. But it generally helps if there's some kind of dollar amount that you want to stay under with your spending.

 

[tangledbeauty]

I don't have a budget, just looking to do it cheap. My ideal would be under $2k for all, excluding souvenirs.

My major categories are tickets, car, gas, food, and hotel.

With YES tickets - could I purchase three tickets but instead of using the adult one, have the 13 year old use it? I know he'd be paying adult prices at the parks. Are there names on those tickets?

With the AP, I could possibly end up with a decent hotel rate if I stay at Disney - I guesstimated at POR on a AP rate of 35% off and ended up with around $500 for the 5 nights. I tried to look at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and it was over a grand for those nights - and I have a AAA discount. What a difference! I also looked at renting points; same thing, a range of $600-$1000, and that for a studio. Off site is more attractive when you see the numbers, but... since they've never been to Disney, I'd love to be on property.

I think we could eat off site at dinner - even running to pick up a pizza and taking it back to our room. I know the kids wouldn't mind. But I'd like to eat some at the parks, too. Am I budgeting too low if I think that $500 could do us for the 5 nights there for food? This would include buying water, gatorade, some snacks, and some breakfast foods (cereal, milk) at Target. I'd say we'd probably spend around $100 at the store, and then the $400 left over would be around $20 per person per day - is that do-able?

Are the gas estimators usually accurate?

 

[Sagginit]

well i think you need to consider your family's personal habits. do you usually load up on souvenirs? do you like big meals or to snack? how long do you think you will last in the parks? do you mind doing all that driving in and out of disney if you stay offsite or is it easier to just spend the extra $ and stay onsite? i think the mistake people make when planning trips is they are not realistic, for example are you physically able to drive that long without stopping? i know i hit my limit at 3-4 hours and then need a break so if i was the only adult i would not be able to drive right thru.

 

[Aliceacc]

You're not, by any chance, a teacher, nurse, or member of the military, are you? The Swan and Dolphin offer an incredible discount for members of those professions.

 

[hsmamato2]

as far as the YES tix go,I think you might be able to use one for the 13 yo- he's disney 'adult'

 

[Gumbo4x4]

With YES tickets - could I purchase three tickets but instead of using the adult one, have the 13 year old use it? I know he'd be paying adult prices at the parks. Are there names on those tickets?

We had to enter names & ages when we did ours. You have to have a chaperone (sp?) with the children, so it would have to be someone 18 or older. Also, if you have nobody else to watch the kids besides you, you will need to find one of the programs that will accept all the ages of your crew (some will, some won't) so you can all do the Y.E.S. program together.

FWIW, our Y.E.S. tickets came out to $752.xx for 4 people. That's a 4-day premium ticket with water park and park hopping. Technically, we could stretch those tickets to a total of 8 days if we don't do any of the water parks on the same days we park hop at the "big" parks. We were going to do the 3-day premium ticket, but it was only $8 more (total) for the 4-day. You could save a little on that by going with a base ticket or park hopper minus the water parks. My family is full of water park junkies, so skipping that wasn't an option for us, and the only way to get the WP option with YES tickets is to also do the park hopper.

I think $2,000 will get you there & back, cover your tickets, and cover your room if you plan carefully. I'm afraid you'll go over with food though, depending on how long you stay of course.

 

[Marionnette]

I don't have a budget, just looking to do it cheap. My ideal would be under $2k for all, excluding souvenirs.

My major categories are tickets, car, gas, food, and hotel.

With YES tickets - could I purchase three tickets but instead of using the adult one, have the 13 year old use it? I know he'd be paying adult prices at the parks. Are there names on those tickets?

With the AP, I could possibly end up with a decent hotel rate if I stay at Disney - I guesstimated at POR on a AP rate of 35% off and ended up with around $500 for the 5 nights. I tried to look at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and it was over a grand for those nights - and I have a AAA discount. What a difference! I also looked at renting points; same thing, a range of $600-$1000, and that for a studio. Off site is more attractive when you see the numbers, but... since they've never been to Disney, I'd love to be on property.

I think we could eat off site at dinner - even running to pick up a pizza and taking it back to our room. I know the kids wouldn't mind. But I'd like to eat some at the parks, too. Am I budgeting too low if I think that $500 could do us for the 5 nights there for food? This would include buying water, gatorade, some snacks, and some breakfast foods (cereal, milk) at Target. I'd say we'd probably spend around $100 at the store, and then the $400 left over would be around $20 per person per day - is that do-able?

Are the gas estimators usually accurate?

Okay. That's a lot but I'll give it a try.

First, the YES tickets. Children under 13 need to have an adult chaperone. You can chaperone both of your younger kids if they take the same class. Luckily, there is a class that all three of your kids could take on 8/14. Wild by Nature is open to ages 7-14. If you sign a child up, you have to buy tickets for them. You must also buy a ticket for the adult chaperone. There's no getting around this. I suppose that the 13 year old could wait for you to finish the class with the younger kids and you could give your ticket to him. But I doubt that you would want to leave a kid that young alone at Disney World, especially since this is his first visit.

AP discounts are not a guarantee but I wouldn't doubt that they will offer something in August. I think that 35% off at a moderate is a little optimistic, although who know? But given that the rack rate in August at POR is $164/weeknight (before taxes), you would probably be looking at closer to $600 for 5 nights with a 35% discount.

Dining can be done cheaply, especially if you share meals, bring your own snacks and water, and eat breakfast in the room. $400 for 5 days is not unreasonable for 4 people. You should be fine.

The AAA driving calculator can be pretty spot on but you're looking at prices that are based on today's pump prices. I keep hearing about $5/gallon gasoline by the end of the summer. You might want to pad your fuel budget based on this projection.

 

[faindrops27]

Can you stay off property and buy the YES tickets?

 

[StephMK]

I think you would be ok for that food budget. We spent about $120 a day for 5 of us (not including a grocery trip for breakfast stuff & drinks) & DH is a tall guy who eats! We did breakfast in our room, fast food lunch in the park & usually off-site for dinner. We did a nice place 2x then places like Steak & Shake the other nights & pizza twice. The kids got one snack a day - usually ice cream - because it was so hot.

We brought water bottles & a few quick snacks. We're not big souvie people but I think the kids spent about $50 each and that made them happy. If you know anyone that would give you a timeshare week or let you use their week & pay the transfer rate, that is a cheap place to stay. We paid SIL $140 for the fee but we like offsite for the space.

I also drive 20 hrs alone w/kids and they are used to long drives. It's nice to have a car at Disney so you can bring stuff & go whereever.

Good luck!!

 

[Marionnette]

Can you stay off property and buy the YES tickets?

No need to be an onsite guest in order to buy YES tickets. You can be staying anywhere.

 

[Aliceacc]

Since you'll already have a car and are open to staying offsite, would you consider renting a condo?

http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/res/property.asp?ID=462

 

[DawnM]

YES tickets will run about $600-$700
Bonnet Creek runs about $800 for a 2 bedroom condo for the week and has shuttles to the parks (technically not on property, but very close)

Food you can spend as little or as much as you want. Bring your own food for no extra cost, or stick to a budget.

Are you including gas in your $2K?