Poor College Kids Budget Help

[Darcy03231]

I would look into renting a condo at Bonnet Creek. They offer scheduled transportation to disney. That way you have enough room for 5, plus a full kitchen so you could eat meals in. Arrange for a shuttle service from the airport that includes a grocery stop.

 

[kymom99]

Disney figures its room rates based on 2 adults and the rest kids. If you have more adults, they charge extra for each one. In this case, they charge $15 per night.

I have never bought a package. Do room only and each person can get their own tickets, unless you want to buy them after they give you the money. If someone forgets park hopper, it can be added once the tickets are used once. Same price.

If you can swing onsite, I highly recommend it. Disney makes it so convenient.

 

[tzeitel]

Flights, room, tickets and food are the biggies. Check rates and discount codes on Orbitz. I have booked twice with them and it ended up being cheaper than booking directly through WDW. You can add the reservation to your Disney account and get all the benefits as if you booked directly through Disney.

Orbitz offers the same special discount rates Disney releases but every time I check they have a code for extra off (usually 15%) and most Disney resorts are included. So if Disney has 15% off values Orbitz offers that discount and you can stack their code on top of that.
If you want to save a few dollars more go to Ebates and use their Orbitz link. That will get you some money back.

Orbitz also sometimes has discounts on tickets. Right now they have buy 3 days get 2 free. I go through Ebates and get a little $ back on these as well - and Ebates sometimes has 20% cash back on tickets through Orbitz!

Where are you guys coming from? Check airlines that do not charge for luggage or make sure you know the charges - a great fare might not be so great when adding luggage and sometimes even carry-ons I love Southwest - 2 free bags, snacks, Disney automatically check you in your return flight. JetBlue is another good one depending on where you fly from.

For food I usually pack some Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, cookies, popcorn and a few other snacks (this is when those free bags come in very handy ). One year I even brought bagels! Some counter service places have huge portions so that could save you some $$. I do not cook while on vacation so we never book a place with a kitchen but if that is something you guys want you can make some super cheap meals - but that involves a trip to Publix or Walmart.

 

[kymom99]

Flights, room, tickets and food are the biggies. Check rates and discount codes on Orbitz. I have booked twice with them and it ended up being cheaper than booking directly through WDW. You can add the reservation to your Disney account and get all the benefits as if you booked directly through Disney.

Orbitz offers the same special discount rates Disney releases but every time I check they have a code for extra off (usually 15%) and most Disney resorts are included. So if Disney has 15% off values Orbitz offers that discount and you can stack their code on top of that.
If you want to save a few dollars more go to Ebates and use their Orbitz link. That will get you some money back.

Orbitz also sometimes has discounts on tickets. Right now they have buy 3 days get 2 free. I go through Ebates and get a little $ back on these as well - and Ebates sometimes has 20% cash back on tickets through Orbitz!

Where are you guys coming from? Check airlines that do not charge for luggage or make sure you know the charges - a great fare might not be so great when adding luggage and sometimes even carry-ons I love Southwest - 2 free bags, snacks, Disney automatically check you in your return flight. JetBlue is another good one depending on where you fly from.

For food I usually pack some Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, cookies, popcorn and a few other snacks (this is when those free bags come in very handy ). One year I even brought bagels! Some counter service places have huge portions so that could save you some $$. I do not cook while on vacation so we never book a place with a kitchen but if that is something you guys want you can make some super cheap meals - but that involves a trip to Publix or Walmart.

You can get a cab for a couple of you to do a grocery run, or order from garden grocer. They charge a fee, but it would still save money on food and drinks.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Disney figures its room rates based on 2 adults and the rest kids. If you have more adults, they charge extra for each one. In this case, they charge $15 per night.

I have never bought a package. Do room only and each person can get their own tickets, unless you want to buy them after they give you the money. If someone forgets park hopper, it can be added once the tickets are used once. Same price.

If you can swing onsite, I highly recommend it. Disney makes it so convenient.

Oh ok now it makes more sense. Thank you!

Ok that's a good point I just figured it'd be easier if we just got them all together but that works too I guess.

We really want to try and do on site I just wish Disney wasn't so much money. I never really understood what my parents were talking about until we started in this idea. Do you have any suggestions about dining? I already know that's going to be a challenge cause not everyone's going to want to eat the same thing.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Flights, room, tickets and food are the biggies. Check rates and discount codes on Orbitz. I have booked twice with them and it ended up being cheaper than booking directly through WDW. You can add the reservation to your Disney account and get all the benefits as if you booked directly through Disney.

Orbitz offers the same special discount rates Disney releases but every time I check they have a code for extra off (usually 15%) and most Disney resorts are included. So if Disney has 15% off values Orbitz offers that discount and you can stack their code on top of that.
If you want to save a few dollars more go to Ebates and use their Orbitz link. That will get you some money back.

Orbitz also sometimes has discounts on tickets. Right now they have buy 3 days get 2 free. I go through Ebates and get a little $ back on these as well - and Ebates sometimes has 20% cash back on tickets through Orbitz!

Where are you guys coming from? Check airlines that do not charge for luggage or make sure you know the charges - a great fare might not be so great when adding luggage and sometimes even carry-ons I love Southwest - 2 free bags, snacks, Disney automatically check you in your return flight. JetBlue is another good one depending on where you fly from.

For food I usually pack some Pop Tarts, breakfast bars, cookies, popcorn and a few other snacks (this is when those free bags come in very handy ). One year I even brought bagels! Some counter service places have huge portions so that could save you some $$. I do not cook while on vacation so we never book a place with a kitchen but if that is something you guys want you can make some super cheap meals - but that involves a trip to Publix or Walmart.

Oh those are some really great ideas! I'll go check that out! Thank You!

I'm not so sure cooking will be a thing but if I can pack a bag with a box or two of granola bars, and some munchies I think breakfast and snacks will be covered. We never really eat lunch to being with so I think if someone gets hungry they can probably do like a grab and go kind of thing. Dinner might prove to be a small challenge though. I know we said we wanted to do one nice like TS dinner. Which doesn't have to be fancy but we kind of want a nice like "Congratulations we graduated a year early" kind of thing.

 

[msmama]

I managed 2 disney trips while in college.

We ate big buffet breakfasts a few times and then just scrounged or shared food the rest of the day. Or, we starved ourselves and had big dinners. Essentially just one MEAL a day, everything else was snacks. (I wouldn't be able to do that now, but did it just fine at 20).

 

[ariel71]

I get the poor college student thing, but certain intangibles may be valuable to people in addition to price. Personally, depending on the price difference, I might prefer paying more for two rooms if it meant having my own bed and not having 5 adults use one bathroom. You may want to talk to the others to get their thoughts on things like that so you can price out some different scenarios.

 

[tzeitel]

Oh those are some really great ideas! I'll go check that out! Thank You!

I'm not so sure cooking will be a thing but if I can pack a bag with a box or two of granola bars, and some munchies I think breakfast and snacks will be covered. We never really eat lunch to being with so I think if someone gets hungry they can probably do like a grab and go kind of thing. Dinner might prove to be a small challenge though. I know we said we wanted to do one nice like TS dinner. Which doesn't have to be fancy but we kind of want a nice like "Congratulations we graduated a year early" kind of thing.

Check out the menus - allears.net. There you can see what is offered in each restaurant and the prices. If you want to do one big meal maybe plan a lunch buffet - Tusker House has a great lunch! - that will fill you up for the entire day.

Cheaper TS would be The Plaza at MK, Sci Fi at DHS - although 50's might be fun for your group especially if you are graduating early, the servers will probably make a huge deal about that. At Epcot you can try Via Napoli and split some pizzas - when you look at the menu the pizza is expensive but splitting it between a 2-3 people per pizza it is not that bad for a TS meal.

Sign up (closer to the trip) for Earl of Sandwich emails and you get a free sandwich Rainforest Café, TRex and Yak&Yeti at AK are the same company. Check out giftcardgranny (com) for discounted gift cards for those places (the parent co. is Landry's so you can get Landry's, RFC, TRex and any other Landry's restaurant cards and they all work). Starbucks is at MK and Epcot, check out discounted cards for that - they have breakfast items, sodas, snacks etc not just coffee. I have seen Starbucks cards for 15-20% off.

Landry's also has a loyalty program. You pay $25 but they give you a $25 reward right away so it is basically free. If you have someone whose birthday is on the month you will be there have them be the one to sign up, they give you a $25 reward on your birthday month (and a half, it is actually good for 45 days).

We travel on a budget too and every little bit helps

 

[maleficent32]

I thought you could still rent a car under 25, you just have to pay more than if you were older. It may be worth looking into to see, and see if the added fee would negate any savings that staying offsite would.
I see you said you would probably pay the same as flying, you probably wouldn't if you all split the gas and toll charges between the 4 of you. That is really if driving allows you to save money by staying off site. I think we could drive from here in NY for what it would cost for 1 RT ticket to Orlando.
You can save money by eating breakfast and lunch (or packing and taking to the parks) if your room has a mini fridge.
You can save on tickets by going through a 3rd party and not getting park hoppers.

 

[queenofthehive]

Staying on property will be the easiest way to go. Use Disney transportation to get around. It makes it easier if someone wants to sleep in or leave a park early. Try looking into staying at the family suites at All Star Music. It might be cheaper than the cabins but you will not have a full kitchen (it sounds like you won't use this anyway). This unit also has two bathrooms.
For meals, eat breakfast in the room. Bring snacks in the park like protein bars, nuts, trail mix etc and eat counter service at the parks. I would average about $35 to $40 per day on food.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Wait that just got kind of confusing if they sleep 6 and there's five why is there an extra adult fee?

Because they sleep 6, but Disney is planning on a couple with 4 kids. Even in rooms that sleep 5-6 people, there is still an additional charge for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th adult (these are calculated by age of majority, not your typical "Disney Adult" at 10).

 

[MOpGrad2013]

Because they sleep 6, but Disney is planning on a couple with 4 kids. Even in rooms that sleep 5-6 people, there is still an additional charge for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th adult (these are calculated by age of majority, not your typical "Disney Adult" at 10).

Yes this. The only time you won't incur the extra adult charge is Suite type rooms. If you check the room rates page at mousesavers, it breaks down each room type by time of year. Then, below the chart it explains the extra adult charges.

 

[donkeyandshrek]

Check the Caribbean Beach Resort as well. They have recently remodeled rooms that sleep 5 adults.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I'm not sure that the Cabins charge the extra-adult fee. I think that doesn't apply there. I just did a spot-check and the price for 2 adults/3 children was the same as 3 adults/3 children. I also checked Pop for 3/1 and 2/1 to see if the room rate changed and it did go up $10 when I added the 3rd adult.

I think the Cabins would be a great option, as long as 2 people don't mind sleeping in bunk beds and you can all share a single bathroom and still speak to one another at the end of the trip.

 

[njpyro]

I was in a similar situation in November. Not college students- all five of us have jobs, but we still wanted to keep things cheap. We wanted to run in the 5k and do the food and wine festival, and kept the trip to a long weekend (Wednesday night to Sunday). After pricing it out, it was cheaper to get two value rooms. This was the best decision we made all trip. Not having to share a bathroom with four other people and having my own bed made the trip ten times better. We stayed at Pop and the two rooms were cheaper than a family suite or port Orleans. If the two rooms cost more, I would still do it again for the personal space.

 

[DisneyDiana]

I also think two value rooms is a good choice. Two bathrooms would be great in your situation. Request connecting rooms and eat at the food court. Another option is to stay near DTD and use the buses from those resorts. When I was really broke during college, I stayed at the Clarion Lake Buena Vista. They had scheduled bus service to all the parks and Sea world. You are close to fast food and convenience stores as well. Good luck!

BTW, with two rooms, if a couple people back out you can just cancel one of them instead of your whole reservation.

 

[Sadie22]

Do the poor college kids have jobs for the summer related to their major fields of study? How do they know they will be able to all get the time off for the trip? The job experience and the contacts made can make such a big difference in what opportunities open up as graduation time nears. Experience and contacts can make the difference between the desired career and having to take any job to make ends meet, remaining not as well off as you want to be and/or not as satisfied with the job. That's my best budget tip for college students.

 

[Marionnette]

Do the poor college kids have jobs for the summer related to their major fields of study? How do they know they will be able to all get the time off for the trip? The job experience and the contacts made can make such a big difference in what opportunities open up as graduation time nears. Experience and contacts can make the difference between the desired career and having to take any job to make ends meet, remaining not as well off as you want to be and/or not as satisfied with the job. That's my best budget tip for college students.

Summer internships do not last the entire summer. They're generally 10 weeks long because they take into account that schools finish their spring semesters at different times and stagger the start of their fall semesters. It's not unusual for there to be 2-3 weeks of time between the end of school and the beginning of an internship and a week or so following its completion before classes resume. That's plenty of time to take a Disney trip if they want to and it won't condemn them to a lifetime of unsatisfying employment situations.

 

[Savikins]

Congratulations on undertaking the feat of planning a Disney vacation! You guys are going to have a BLAST!

I recommend checking into rooms at Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach (some rooms at each sleep 5). Also, possibly look into renting DVC points and staying in a 1 bedroom villa.

Eating offsite will save you tons and tons and tons of money. Even if you guys can't make it off site, you can get Papa John's pizza delivered to your room. Sooo much cheaper, and more filling, than most anything you can get at the quick service places.

Do the poor college kids have jobs for the summer related to their major fields of study? How do they know they will be able to all get the time off for the trip? The job experience and the contacts made can make such a big difference in what opportunities open up as graduation time nears. Experience and contacts can make the difference between the desired career and having to take any job to make ends meet, remaining not as well off as you want to be and/or not as satisfied with the job. That's my best budget tip for college students.

I'm a college student who has managed to take and/or find the time off for 3 cruises, multiple Disney trips, and a Europe trip in one year. It can be done.