OK! Here's my plan so far...will it work??

[Luannadanna]

Hi everyone!! I am very new to these boards, haven't been to WDW in 11 years. I have a chance to take 6 yr old ds, along with some friends of ours. We are driving and will split all gas, tolls, parking fees, etc.
We will be leaving on March 25 and returning April 2, 2004. I have come up with the following costs:
Gas, tolls, parking fees(please let me know if I am off) $200
Splitting a mutual friend's timeshare: 150
4 day Parkhopper Plus's for me and ds 355.64
6 Q & C meal vouchers 67.50
1 VKL Voucher(to be used with a $25 gift certificate) 30.50
1 Adult + 1 child to Arabian Knights Dinner + Show (70.00)(just found a pre-paid deal for $49 for both of us, so even less!)

Grand Total: $873.94
(with new Arabian Knights deal): ($852.94)

The majority of which will be paid for up front.I am bringing with us juice boxes, water bottles, fruit snacks, cereal bars, etc. to take with us to the parks. I am also bringing cereal, dried fruit, crackers, coffee, tea, etc. for breakfast in the condo, all of which will be taken out of my normal grocery budget, as I am buying these items now as they go on sale. I will also buy ds some disney souveniers at either the dollar store, or the disney store clearance sales, and surprise him with his "souveniers" over the week we are in Disney. I am hoping to save an additional $500-$1000 for food not covered by vouchers, souveniers, and miscellaneous.

Does this sound like a reasonable goal??

Thanks so much again for all your help!!

LU

 

[LIFERBABE]

Actually with the two of you, it sounds like a great plan! I think any additional money you save for the trip will be gravy. Some think that a budget trip is a trip without character meals, but we visited several times before we even knew they existed. You have built in Dinner theatre so that is a great!

The timeshare and snacks will be a great help to your budget for food, and one more tip the Pepper Market has carryout, so you could easily pick up a nice meal with your vouchers and take it with you.

The only drawback I see is one vehicle and staying offsite. You will have to coordinate with your friends. Are they purchasing vouchers also? You can use your vouchers in the park but will get better meals at the resorts.

If that's not an issue than have a great time!

 

[Luannadanna]

My friends have already purchased 6 meal vouchers, and we are in agreement to a dinner at RFC, my only advantage is I already have the GC, and will purchase one more VKL when I order my Q & C vouchers and park tickets! (I may order them 2 VKL vouchers as well, if they want to spend them at RFC, they have 2 daughters, so this may work out well for them) I also just found a great deal at ticketmania.com for Arabian Knights, so I will probably order tickets for all of us, as they seemed enthusiastic about going there for dinner one night!! Yes, we only have the one vehicle, but we are all very flexible and accomodating as to what each adult wants to do. They are just like me as far as finding the best deals for our money, that why we are trying to plan as much ahead of time as possible!!
I am so excited!
LU

 

[Lisa P.]

The 4 days' parking will be ~$28. 2,000 miles (R/T + sightseeing) at $1.50/gal and 20 mpg will cost about $150 for gas. Do you anticipate spending any money at the gas, rest & meal stops? Are you driving straight through, both ways, or getting a room if you hit bad weather or get sick or just very tired? We usually spend about $200 on gas and rest stops when driving from NC, under 12 hours w/breaks. It may be more for you, from further north.

That's a great deal you've gotten from your mutual friend on that timeshare week. The rest sounds reasonable to me. Enjoy!

 

[Luannadanna]

Hi Lisa! Thanks for your response! I was anticipating around $200 for my share of gas and tolls/parking round trip. Any other food stops/lodging are figured into my $500-$1000 souvenier/misc. budget(I am aiming for at least $1000) .We are planning on driving straight through(changing drivers)on the way down, but on the way home, we are counting on a one night's stay at a hotel. But that is figured into my cash budget mentioned beforehand, not the $200 budget for gas, tolls,etc. Does this sound reasonable, or do you think I should factor more into this area of my budget?
Thanks!
LU