Really Worried About Our Budget!! HELP!!

[mom25]

I have made budgeting envelopes to help with planning our expenses. I used the menues on allears to estimate the cost of each meal. I wrote the name of the restraunt, the date and time of the PS, and fill each envelope with the appropriate amount in Disney dollars.

 

[N.Bailey]

Originally posted by famfab5
We also have purchased filter water bottles which will save tons.

I always wanted to note that if you're taking the filtered water bottles, you could always take Tang, Minute Maid Lemonaide, instant iced tea, Kool-Aid or whatever your preferences are in the smaller zip lock bags and just add that to your water bottles.

If your kids are like mine, water doesn't cut it! LOL

 

[Disbug]

I'll throw my 2 cents in as well! If you are going to the Animal Kingdom, they have wonderful lunch vouchers that you can purchase right at the cash register. It is $11.99 for adults and $5.99 for children. They include an entree, a side dish, a drink. And you get 2 coupons for later to buy an ice cream (or popcorn) AND a bottled water (or soda). It's a REAL deal and can be found at TUSKER HOUSE or PIZZAFARI. Both of these restaurants have good food. And since they are considered counter service there is no tip involved.

I MUST second everyone's opinion about eating breakfast in your room. A sit down breakfast is not only expensive, it is time consuming unless you get up super early. Bring a cooler and if you don't have a fridge in your room, just ice down your milk and juice every morning before you head out to keep everything nice and cold. I bring disposable bowls, spoons, cups, etc.. for convenience. If you are staying offsite, consider eating at Perkins for a good hot breakfast for a reasonable price.

I have been Horseback riding at FW, and it is strictly a steady walk in a single file group for 45 minutes. The trail scenery was pretty, however. This may be just your children's speed, but didn't want you to be disappointed if your children are more experienced riders.

Hope you have a wonderful trip... we'll be down there Memorial Day weekend!

 

[MrsPete]

<<<<<I have only about 1500.00 for travel >>>>>

How about having a quick yard sale before you go? That could easily net you another $200-400 for a morning's work.

Hoop Dee Doo: If I were in your shoes, I'd cut this from the budget. It's an expensive meal, and the travel time to Fort Wilderness is not something to be underestimated -- especially with a 2-year old in tow.

Cinderella's Breakfast: Absolutely wonderful, keep this.

Ohana Dinner: This was my favorite! You can afford a few splurges on your budget, and I'd recommend that you keep this one in the plans!

Whispering Canyon: Okay, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge and it is a wonderful place. But Whispering Canyon is an awful lot of money for what you get.

Chef Mickey: This was my children's ultra-favorite meal. The characters and the atmosphere were wonderful. Though the meal is rather ho-hum, I would definately keep this one!

Pirate Cruise: My children have not done this, but my nieces loved it. This is something you really can't do elsewhere, and it might be a nice break from family togetherness.

Trail riding: This is pretty expensive, and I'm sure they have horses in Maine. I'd consider leaving this out of the budget. I'd consider replacing this with an afternoon of Mouseboat rides. The price isn't significantly different, but it's a more "Disney" activity -- one you're less likely to be able to repeat at home. My older daughter wants to go back to Disney when she's 12 for one reason and one reason only: she'll be old enough to drive a Mouse boat.

Counter Service meals: Order a double burger and share it with a child; this is less expensive than two singles. Order children's meals for everyone; the selection is poor but the quantity was fine for me and DH. Order water, which is more healthy anyway.

All meals: Skip alcoholic beverages. This can easily trim $10 minimum from your dinners.

Other notes: Pack carefully so that you don't have to buy sunscreen, asprin, film, etc. at Disney. Bring your own camera so you don't have to buy Disney's pictures at the character meals. No one ever complained about me using my own camera. Bring your own stroller for the two-year old. Bring water bottles and snacks and explain the "no purchased snacks" rule to the kids ahead of time.

Take advantage of all the free things around Disney: Ride the monorail, visit Downtown Disney, etc.

 

[famfab5]

Thank you for all your insight. Terrific gems of wisdom in this thread!

MrsPete-
The children and I are planning to have a yard sale before we leave but it all depends on when mud season is over and
it is true about horses in Maine...lol Another vote to cancel Whispering Canyon...hmmmmm it WOULD leave us more time in the parks. It must waste lots of time to travel by boat, have dinner then travel back to the park.

Disbug-
We will definately use the vouchers at Animal Kingdom. It IS a great deal and the menu for Tusker House sounds really yummy although I really like the menu at Flame Tree as well. Double Yum! I have heard that May is a wonderful time to go, we are really looking forward to it. We will be leaving Disney just before the Holiday weekend. (trying to get home before the crush of drivers on I-95)

Thanks again,

Elizabeth

 

[mikesmom]

If your kids have not been to WDW before, you really don't need al the extra activities. As a matter of fact, you may get grief from them over having to leave the parks when they don't want to! Believe me, WDW is BIG. Nine days will not give you you enough time to cover everything in every park. I know that sounds unbelievable, but it is true. When my DS was little, we would end up saying "OK, we have to come back next year so We can...." Besides racing from activity to activity can be very tiring.

Also might I suggest that in 9 days you also schedule at least one down day to relax in the hotel, hang out at the pool, etc. Basically that doesn't cost anything and you may find that it is one of the best days. You will all need the rest time.

 

[zurgswife]

How about having a quick yard sale before you go? That could easily net you another $200-400 for a morning's work.

Can I come to your neighborhood Mrs. Pete....I've had 3 yard sales and never made over $150 usually about $80....guess my junk isn't somebody elses treasure huh????

 

[kda]

$300 for travel?
Disney is about 1250 from New Haven, CT (2500 RT). Depending on where you are in Maine, are we talking about 3000 miles RT? How many mpg does your van get? 20? That's 150 gallons of gas x $1.75/gallon = $262 for gas.

 

[Microcell]

Same here. I left DH with the sale to check out activity at the neighborhood garage sales and saw twelve toddler beds in a six block radius!!!!! I did make $150 though. I also did not sell on Thursday, big mistake my neighbor across the street did and she made a bundle!

 

[famfab5]

Kda,

We are about 2800 miles round trip according to AAA and Mapquest. I have figured about 300.00 in gas alone. The hotels down and back are paid for but I DO need to add more in for incidentals for the trip. We are packing food in a cooler for the first days trip...

E.

 

[hellokitty]

keep the gas estimate high as the prices are going up daily around the country, did you see the $2.89 a gallon in California, WOW, better too much than too little



i would cut down the PS meals, i agree the kids are young
enough they wont really matter that much!! ride more rides
and catch the pooh characters at Ak.
we were not impressed
with the food at the Whispering Canyon or the Crystal Palace
for the money...not to say you wont be, but use your money
other places.

good luck.

P.s. I made $300 last year for my disneyland trip in one
saturday's garage sale. so go for it! you never know.

 

[crazelion]

A cheap meal try Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wildnress. Also they have a free petting zoo to.

 

[duchy]

Coming very late to a really interesting thread.
Don't forget to post and let us know how it all worked out when you get home
Have a great trip !

 

[tolookaa]

AAA has a gas calculator for you.
You put your car in Make, model, and year and it figures out about how much money in gas you will need. Remember it is an estimate as we never can tell what the gas prices will exactly be.
They do it on the high side though.
Here is the link
http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/TripGasPrice.aspx

Good luck

 

[leebee]

I'd double check my schedule, also. We've been to Disney alot, and we've learned to add in "down days". Two park days in a row are best for us...if we go that 3rd day, everyone's too tired and sore to do much walking (alright, we are kinda couch-potato-ish!). Since you'll have your vehicle, consider meals at places like Sizzler on the non-park days. Also, a non-park day DOESN'T have to be a non-Disney day. As long as you don't buy souveniers, head to Downtown Disney; kids can make computer-generated potato head postcards for free, ride the carousel fairly cheaply, etc. Servings at Wolfgang Puck's take-out are generous and can be split. Stroll the Boardwalk (just go to the Boardwalk Inn and walk right thru to the Boardwalk). There's often street entertainment (mime, one-man band, etc) and it's just fun to go walk around. At night you can watche the Electrical Water Pageant from any of the MK resort hotels, or get a long-distance view of Wishes from the balcony at the Contemporary. I'm guessing you probably have lenght-of-stay passes(or whatever they are calling them now) since room and passes are paid for? If so, you can split your days...daytime in the park, dinner off-site, or day and dinner off-site, then slide into a park for the evening fireworks shows at MGM, MK or Epcot. Don't forget that your resort will have a very cool pool, and yes, although it's hard to believe right now (notice I'm in Bangor!), it will be warm enough to swim! I'd skip hoop-de-doo and WC, but keep the Cindy's b'fast as they are IMPOSSIBLE to get and really a great time for the kids (even though you won't eat much!). Maybe skip trail ride? It's sooo expensive for what you get (I was very disappointed, plodding along, thinking about the $$$ I'd spent for THIS?!) You can order a bun for around $1 to go with a double burger so you can split some of the counter service meals and still feel like you're getting a "full" meal. Good luck, you'll have a great time with NO PS at all, trust me!

 

[famfab5]

Wow, this thread has really grown! Thanks for all your responses...

The trip is really getting close! We are all sooooo excited, even my DH is showing some enthusiasm which is a miracle! LOL

We have definately decided to cut down on sit-downs. We will not be doing Crystal Palace or Whispering Canyon. These new EMH times are really playing havoc with our plans so things may change even further.

I used the AAA mileage gas calculator and it worked great! I have budgeted more for gas just in case though!

Thanks again for all your help! Now hurry up May 15th!

Elizabeth

 

[weeyore33]

so many ideas and so much help! i love these boards!!!
We drove from Mass. 2 years ago with 2 boys, then 7&5 and we have a Plug in Cooler/refridgerator from walmart, it was about 70dollars. I do not know if you planned on a fridge when you were in WDW but they charge you about 12 dollars a day. This cooler worked AWESOME it has a plug for your room and it has a 12 volt plug for your car. I packed enough juice boxes, cold cuts, and jello snacks to last us the 2 day ride down, we stopped only for dinner/ sleep. We went to Winn Dixie when we arrived in Orlando and Bought replenished supplies- we have the filter water bottles, i brought crystal lite packets, water gets boring quick, did you know that at any counter sevice they will give you a cup of ice for free? we just kept adding ice and crystal lite and we had lemonade all day- we have been to disney 4 times in the last 5 years! i am always tight on money, we also leave the credit cards out- you can do it, and you will also find that once you are there you will be changing your plans to fit the kids, we had high hopes of all the sit down meals and character meals, but we ended up being too tired or too excited to eat-- Chef Mickeys is the best! we always start our vacation and finish it here! you will have a great time and no matter what, just enjoy the magic!

 

[Doodlebug939]

If I were in your shoes I would cancel the Hoop Dee Doo. I went last year and I really liked the show itself but the food was ok at best in my opinion. Also I dont believe you can just cancel that one without paying a penalty or loosing your deposit. So I would double check the cancellation policy.

As I said I like the food but my daughter wouldnt eat so much. She was 2 and was really figity. I did my best to keep her happy but it was harder for me to watch the show and keep her still. We had a good time dont get me wrong but if I had to do it again I would wait until she was a few years older and could enjoy the show.

Instead I would do the Trails End Buffet which it in the same building with pretty much the same food choice but a lower price. Then I would head over into the FW and do the Campfire thing where you can bring your own smores supplies or purchase them pretty inexpensively. Chip and Dale make and appearance and have a sing along followed by a Disney movie on an outdoor screen. They have seating or bring your own blanket like a neat sheet that fits easily in a tote bag. Best of all it is free!!!!!

 

[Buzzsgramma]

Definately would cancel some of the PS....counter service should be ok.. if you do eat at a sit down ,some portions are large enough to share with the little one....Before we had DVC we ALWAYS had a styrofoam cooler in our room and put water and milk and soft drinks in it....since you are driving down stop at a store and pick up snacks or cereal for the morn. dont forget the bowls and spoons...it takes so much time to order food in the morn and then get going....we have gone with 5 gr. kids and there parents and had 3 rms. and one of our fam had sooo much food in the rm...the kids can see the characters other places....one thing we always splurge on is a proffessional photo of all of us on Main St.at MK... spend a day at the pool... our gr. kids beg to go swimming....stop worrying so much....Your DH may actually get so much pixie dust on him HE will be the one whipping out the credit cards.......

 

[weeyore33]

famfab5 i do not know if you get mousesavers but this is an interesting page she has added.. check it out
http://mousesavers.com/freestuff.html






Has anyone seen my captain??? Searching for Captain jack and all the rum!