One Year to Save 2013-2014 Edition

[ARAITHEL]

This is our first trip to Disney ever! It will also be my husbands first time to fly. We are going in October, 2014.


Food-$100 That seems like a minute amount but I am bringing a lot of stuff with us and going to get Milk and other things like that to keep in the refrigerator once we are there. We may eat out a couple times if we can swing it. To pay for those meals I am using My Points to get a Landry's Gift Card.



Tips:?? This is our grey area, we come a from a small southern town and are not certain how this tipping business works. So its going to take some time for us to estimate about how many tips we need for each of the services and come up with a savings plan for those.

I think I have covered everything here that we have planned thus far. If not I will update it soon. Excited about my trip and looking forward to reading others plans as well.

Keep your eyes open for free dining promotion next summer. Since you are buying a package at a value resort there might be a chance you can snag free quick service dining. Then you won't have to pack all of that food. The fall free dining offers usually show up around march every year.

Tipping:
Table service: I figure $8 per person per day if you are doing those.

Mouse keeping : $2 per person per day
Bell hop: $2 per bag

 

[tinkerbelle1987]

Keep your eyes open for free dining promotion next summer. Since you are buying a package at a value resort there might be a chance you can snag free quick service dining. Then you won't have to pack all of that food. The fall free dining offers usually show up around march every year.

Tipping:
Table service: I figure $8 per person per day if you are doing those.

Mouse keeping : $2 per person per day
Bell hop: $2 per bag

Thanks for the tips! (Pardon the Pun) If we have already booked we won't be able to add the Free Dining will we? Would we have to cancel and then rebook? That was actually what I was hoping for to be able to snag free dining.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks for the tips! (Pardon the Pun) If we have already booked we won't be able to add the Free Dining will we? Would we have to cancel and then rebook? That was actually what I was hoping for to be able to snag free dining.

I have read conflicting info. Some say if your resort/room is available when it is released, you can add the discount so long as you already had a package. I think if you had room only you would have to cancel and rebook a package. Others say you always have to cancel and rebook. Either way, you can get the promo, even if you have to switch resorts or rooms.

 

[ARAITHEL]

Thanks for the tips! (Pardon the Pun) If we have already booked we won't be able to add the Free Dining will we? Would we have to cancel and then rebook? That was actually what I was hoping for to be able to snag free dining.

When I see the discount posted, I call disney direct. Talk to a cast member and have it added. That's it! There is a possibility that you will have to change resorts, but they will always have a value resort for the promo.

For example, I am waiting on a special for January. I have already booked moderate resort, Port Orleans French Quarter. When I see the January pin/discount, I call booking with my confirmation number, ask for the discount. If POFQ is not in the promo and POR is, I just switch my ressie to POR. No canceling needed. Easy peazy.

Do not buy milk at your resort. Go to the Hess station at downtown disney to buy staples. Cheap as at home. Then hop the bus back to your resort.

Hey tinkerbelle1987, you and I are in the same part of the world, where do you live in missouri? Just spent 5 days at the missouri state fair last week.

 

[rnorwo1]

Can you explain this for me?? What 20% off gift card deal did Target have last year?

The last couple of years Target had a deal where you earn a $10 Target gift card for $50 spent.... I (and tons of people on these boards) used them to buy disney gift cards, then took all of the $10 gift cards and bought more disney cards, so it averages out to a 20% savings.

 

[tinkerbelle1987]

When I see the discount posted, I call disney direct. Talk to a cast member and have it added. That's it! There is a possibility that you will have to change resorts, but they will always have a value resort for the promo.

For example, I am waiting on a special for January. I have already booked moderate resort, Port Orleans French Quarter. When I see the January pin/discount, I call booking with my confirmation number, ask for the discount. If POFQ is not in the promo and POR is, I just switch my ressie to POR. No canceling needed. Easy peazy.

Do not buy milk at your resort. Go to the Hess station at downtown disney to buy staples. Cheap as at home. Then hop the bus back to your resort.

Hey tinkerbelle1987, you and I are in the same part of the world, where do you live in missouri? Just spent 5 days at the missouri state fair last week.

Thanks Ill try that when and if they release the Free Dining. Also do you have to purchase a package that includes like 7 days tickets in order to qualify? We were going for a week but only wanted 4 days worth of tickets, would this work or would I need to book tickets for the whole week? Just trying to plan in advance so that when and if it rolls around I'll qualify.

I live in Southeast Missouri about 3 hours south of St Louis.

 

[ARAITHEL]

Thanks Ill try that when and if they release the Free Dining. Also do you have to purchase a package that includes like 7 days tickets in order to qualify? We were going for a week but only wanted 4 days worth of tickets, would this work or would I need to book tickets for the whole week? Just trying to plan in advance so that when and if it rolls around I'll qualify.

I live in Southeast Missouri about 3 hours south of St Louis.

I think the free dining is for a " package" but depends on your nights stay not the tickets. So if you are staying for the minimum number of dates and are buying a package, you should qualify. Just google disney free dining and it will give you the details. If I'm wrong on this someone will certainly let me know.

We are in southeast nebraska 90 miles north of Kansas City.

 

[jenny105]

Count me in! We have a cruise coming up in October that is already paid for but we are planning on going back to WDW NOvember 2014. Just me and the boyfriend! We split everything so I'll be saving for my half. I'm a TA so I get some pretty sweet discounts!

Carib Beach 7 nights - $407
4 day hopper: free!
Spending money: I'm thinking $100/day should be more than ok so I'm shooting for $800
Wine & Dine 5K entry fee (the whole reason we are going!): $175
Airfare: $300
Car Rental: $100

Bottom line: $1782

I am a member of a bunch of reward and survey sites: Sunshine Rewards, I-Say, MySurvey, and MyPoints are the companies I use most frequently. I also sell things on E-Bay and the local flea markets. Once the cruise and holidays have passed I will crack down on saving and we will book the trip!

 

[tinkerbelle1987]

I think the free dining is for a " package" but depends on your nights stay not the tickets. So if you are staying for the minimum number of dates and are buying a package, you should qualify. Just google disney free dining and it will give you the details. If I'm wrong on this someone will certainly let me know.

We are in southeast nebraska 90 miles north of Kansas City.

Ok Great! I am def booking a package probably 6 nights, 7 days so hopefully that will work. Our anniversary is the day after we arrive so now I am looking into romantic things we can do, I would like to surprise my husband with a few things while there.

 

[tinkermom23]

 

[jrw118]

I would love to join.
Airfare to miami sw re points. We have over 80k points hoping it will cover all 4 of us but it is a school vacation. $0
Carnival cruise 4/13-4/20/14
$3134 cruise fees
$600 excursions
$300 gratuities
$90 rental car
$100 hotel night
$500 spending
$4724. Wow never put it all together before.

So far $1000 saved from atlantic city winnings. A lot more to go.

 

[bettyann29]

I'm in! I need a place that I can put my thoughts down and come back to with my progress to keep up with everything..

I'm looking at a solo trip currently for February 2014:

Room- currently looking at Pop Century for 7 nights: $780

Ticket- from Undercover Tourist- 7 day MYW- $318

Airfare- thru SW- normal airfare is about $250 RT

Food- $300-

snacks- $30

spending money- $100 (may change this)

____________________________

= $1778 (yikes- I may come back and fine tune the food budget if needed, as I padded this one.. I don't normally eat that much. I may need to go back and look at the menus)

**So far I have a $50 Disney Giftcard and a $50 Southwest Airlines Giftcard.. I just started getting back into Swagbucks and Mypoints and will look into some other things I can do to earn a little extra.

I am headed on a cruise in about 3 weeks, so once I get back I will figure out how much I need to start putting back each month/week and then will head down to the store each payday to get a giftcard to put back for the trip..

 

[momto1]

Count me in! We just returned last Monday but I need to plan my future trip. Most likely we will be back from Dec 26 - Jan 5 or March 20 - March 30 or both! I have no idea who I am going to swing this but will get cracking! First up - I need to do the budget!
Lori

 

[rnorwo1]

Total have so far:
$498 in Disney reward dollars
$520 in cash back on Capital One Card
$1300 in cash that I have been hoarding for years
Need $1240

Got an email from Capital One today that they credited my account with my rewards bonus, so we got an extra $117.73 I wasn't expecting, so now we need $1,122.27. I still haven't sold anything or cashed in change jars, need to get on that!

 

[sunflowerfields]

I am aiming for a DW trip Sept. 2014. I have enough money put away now for a trip, but don't want to use anymore of it than I absolutely have too. The little ways I am saving for my trip are to sell some things I don't need/use anymore like wall decor, wicker chair, nice clothing etc. on our local for sale site. I put all my change in a jar for the trip, and I have started price matching. What I save from that goes in my jar. So far it has been between $10 and $13 a week. I know these are minor things but it all adds up. So far that's all I got. Hope to find more ways here.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Ooooh! I'm in!

We are planning a Mediterranean cruise for July 2014 I am *hoping* to cruise on the DIsney Magic but at present it's nearly $4000 more than one DH found with a longer itinerary (although not BETTER IMO) with Norwegian, I think it was.

Anyway, at present we have $2500 in savings and will need to come up with about $7500 more within the next twelve months (we don't mind charging a wee bit and paying it off during the month of August, so long as it is less than $1000) to pay for DH's preferred cruise.

We are expecting about $4000 as next year's income tax refund, which means we need only find $3500 or so from our regular monthly expenditures to cover him. However, if I want my Disney cruise (unless I find some deep discounts) I'll need quite a bit more.

The plan is to just save as much as we possibly can, and then book a great deal in a few months when we have a better idea where we are.

But, keep your fingers crossed for MY cruise! I want my Disney fix!

Anyway, I'm too lazy to break it all down it terms of flights, cruise, excursions etc... but we need about $10,000 for his and about $14,000 for mine. His would be 12 days and mine 9.

The kicker is that we just relocated back to Ontario from British Columbia for DH's new job. And I have no idea right now how the budget is going to pan out...different pay, different deductions and different cost of living. We were saving about $400 a month...hoping to be able to keep that up in the months to come.

If we do the Disney cruise, I can cash in my quickrewards for Disney gift cards and put those towards onboard expenses. Right now I only have $25 but I'm sure I can increase that by quite a bit in the months to come. I also have another survey website that pays me through my paypal account. I have $25 banked for that one too and plan to grow it in the coming months.

We have 452 air miles...still looking into how many we would need for one ticket. MIght have to keep building and safe these for an Orlando flight in the future!

That's it for now!

As of August 22nd:

Savings: $2560
Change jar:$47.45
Quick Rewards:$30.94
I-say surveys:$27.85

 

[Marionnette]

I upgraded my iphone at Target a couple of weeks ago and I got a $25 Target GC for doing it. I just ordered another Disney GC on Target.com using the $25 GC and my Target REDCard. Total OOP for the $50 GC was $22.50. More savings on my DVC maintenance fees!

 

[rnorwo1]

Got an email from Capital One today that they credited my account with my rewards bonus, so we got an extra $117.73 I wasn't expecting, so now we need $1,122.27. I still haven't sold anything or cashed in change jars, need to get on that!

Finally cashed in coins. I used Coinstar for the first time... I first ran a little test with some counted change and it counted it correctly, then I added the rest of the nickles, dimes, and pennies I had and got an amazon gift card, so no fee. I'm going to use that for christmas gifts and transfer that amount from my gift category to vacation category. I rolled all of the quarters and took them to the bank for a total of $324. Not as much as I was hoping for, since I've been saving change for probably 6 years So now our new total needed is $798.27. Now, onto cleaning out the house and selling some old things...

 

[KalamityJane]

My people!

you all talk my language! Looking at a year with APs starting Dec 2014. I will get back on and update this once I get home but so excited!

 

[Ruthie5671]

So first of all, I apparently don't know how to count. The original plan for celebrating the big birthday's isn't until 2016 - not 2015. And I know that I cannot wait three years for any kind of vacation, so I've been re-thinking my thinking.

DH and I really enjoy the Orlando area that is not necessarily WDW (please don't hate me). He has never been to Sea World or Aquatica or even been to Cocoa Beach. So here is my new plan . . . . (suspense) . . .

Off site hotel - preferrably with a small kitchen so we can do lots of in room cooking (will need some recommendations please)

A ticket package for Sea World and Aquatica

A day trip to Cocoa Beach/Ron Jon Surf Shop/etc.

We would be driving, so of course that expense would be incurred.

Food, some out to eat (I love restaurant.com), and other expenses.

I cannot even begin to figure out the cost of this. My time to go would be September/October, 2014. So I have a year to save!