Poor College Kids Budget Help

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Oh my goodness so many great tips thank you all so much for your help this is great! If anyone has any other advice please add it I'd love to hear it.

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.

Yes we all have jobs. However since we would be going very close to commencement it shouldn't be a problem. The nice thing about our majors is we make our own schedules and can work remotely if need be. We won't be working at McDonalds forever if we go away for one week. We are also in a field in which the summer is our off season which makes it easier for us to take that week off.

 

[tina.tina]

If you want to stay on site as cheaply as possible, camp at FW. You can even rent a tent from Disney.

 

[SharonZ]

I would check the rates for two value rooms as opposed to either POR, CBR. The moderate rooms that accommodate 5 people are really mean for families with children. Putting 5 adults, with luggage, and one bathroom will make it really tight.

 

[Julylady]

Hi OP:
You bring back some great memories. My first trip to WDW was as part of a college trip a long, long time ago. We "borrowed" a car to drive ourselves down since none of us had cars that would have made the trip (Someone's Mom let us borrow her 1 year old car).

We love the cabins at Ft. Wilderness but they are pretty remote. It doesn't feel like you are in the middle of a theme park. For us that's good! For you, maybe two values would be better. You are wise for getting the hotel money up front as my experience is also that many people will say they are going and drop out at the end (for good and not so good reasons). If you do stay in the cabin, you will be able to save significant food money if you utilize the kitchen. (Order in from Garden Grocer).

When I traveled with my college friends, we always said breakfast and lunch were "on our own." Some of us were bigger eaters than others. We were there for a whole week and only ate one TS meal that like yours, was considered a celebration.

I would seriously work on your Dad regarding those DVC points. It would certainly make your trip less expensive. Maybe there is a middle ground that you could both live with?

 

[christineann]

My daughter and I took a trip in December 2014, and we didn't spend much on food. If we weren't very hungry (or were too busy with the rides!) we would have a snack at lunch time or share a couple of appetizers at dinner - that was relatively inexpensive, and we tried many different foods. The World Showcase is a great place for snacks.

We have stayed at a DTD hotel and have relied upon the bus system - we don't like to drive on vacation. We stayed at Pop in December 2013, because it was the same price as the DTD hotel that we like. Sign up for the emails from the DTD hotels, and they will send you information about special rates.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Hi OP:
You bring back some great memories. My first trip to WDW was as part of a college trip a long, long time ago. We "borrowed" a car to drive ourselves down since none of us had cars that would have made the trip (Someone's Mom let us borrow her 1 year old car).

We love the cabins at Ft. Wilderness but they are pretty remote. It doesn't feel like you are in the middle of a theme park. For us that's good! For you, maybe two values would be better. You are wise for getting the hotel money up front as my experience is also that many people will say they are going and drop out at the end (for good and not so good reasons). If you do stay in the cabin, you will be able to save significant food money if you utilize the kitchen. (Order in from Garden Grocer).

When I traveled with my college friends, we always said breakfast and lunch were "on our own." Some of us were bigger eaters than others. We were there for a whole week and only ate one TS meal that like yours, was considered a celebration.

I would seriously work on your Dad regarding those DVC points. It would certainly make your trip less expensive. Maybe there is a middle ground that you could both live with?

Hey thanks so much for the advice! I'm trying to work it out with my dad. I just need to find something I can do for the points that is up to his standards.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

My daughter and I took a trip in December 2014, and we didn't spend much on food. If we weren't very hungry (or were too busy with the rides!) we would have a snack at lunch time or share a couple of appetizers at dinner - that was relatively inexpensive, and we tried many different foods. The World Showcase is a great place for snacks.

We have stayed at a DTD hotel and have relied upon the bus system - we don't like to drive on vacation. We stayed at Pop in December 2013, because it was the same price as the DTD hotel that we like. Sign up for the emails from the DTD hotels, and they will send you information about special rates.

Awesome thanks! Yeah I think if everyone just figures out eating on their own we can do it cheaply we don't really all need to eat together except for maybe dinner. Yeah I was thinking World Showcase from when we go to Epcot cause you can literally eat your way around the world.

Who ever mentioned camping. That is a great idea but us being the large group we are no one is really down for it but that's a really good idea if we were smaller.

Thank you all so much I keep writing all of this stuff down to share with everyone if anyone has anything else to add I would please do I'm so grateful for all of the help!

 

[sunshinehighway]

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.

Love bonnet creek but they don't have free park transportation anymore. I was there in December and there was a fee. I don't remember how much because I had a car.