Saving For Disney

[dreamer03]

Our family would like to go to Disney sometime in 2010. Due to our ever changing budget, I am having a hard time saving money for out family of five to go. I have planned and cancelled at least 5 times this year already and I don't wnat to do that again. We are a family of five and our children are all under 7 years of age. I am loaded with questions so I will take any info I can get. I am thinking Nov. or Dec for vacation for four days of Disney. Is a hopper worth it with this age range? Which dining plan is best? I am thinking deluxe but I tend to be a super overacheiver when it comes to Disney. I havent been there in 15 years so it is apparent that my children have never been but neither has my anti-disney husband. How do I get him motivated to go? The kids are already geeked. We do have AAA so I plan on using that discount. I will take any advice given. He is the money maker in this family. His jobs takes him out of state often so we feel it is best that I am home with the children. Is there any hope for my dreams?

Another way I thought to save money was to start shopping at Aldis or Save-A-Lot. I am just not a creative can cook. I guess I need help all the way around. We spend $150.00 a week and grocery, gas, papergoods, and such. Can I cut back there and start stashing? Help me please!

 

[wdwfan16]

For a four day trip I would not do park hoppers or any dining plan other than the quick service dining plan.

You will spend too much time getting to the restaurant and eating. You will never see what you want to see in just four days. Eating sit down will just reduce the amount of time in the park.

Park hoppers are a waste of money for short first trips. Hopping eats up time getting from park to park.

With only 4 days you will need to decide which park you will not want to visit. With all of the kids under 7 you will need 2 days at the MK and then you have two more days. If they are into animals, then do the AK.

Remember WDW of today is huge and will reguire much walking.

What time in Nov/Dec will you be there? Avoid Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks. Both are very crowded.

 

[kimnvbva]

What we started doing when we booked our vacation was a "Disney Jar". Every couple of days I would clean out my purse and my husbands drawer where he keeps all of his stuff including his change and dump it into the jar. My kids would earn money and it would go right into the jar. The grandparents would give them money for grades and just being cute! My kids would run right up to the jar and dump it in. My FIL rolled up all of his coins and gave it to the kids for their Disney trip! He gave them over $40 bucks! I have been babysitting to save extra money.

We have booked our vacation with free dining so that will save us a lot of money too. I think it will help with spending too much extra on food we don't need! Hope this helps!

 

[cjnix29]

I agree with PPs. Also, do you have a CVS? Try reading up on how to use their rewards program to your advantage. I have gotten boatloads of beauty supplies, etc. for little to no cost. Huge money saver. Also, there is an art to couponing. Check out the website www.weusecoupons.com, for help on that. Especially good if you have stores that double coupons. As far as budget for the trip goes....what type of resort do you want to stay at? You can always find a room discount, but tickets and food are going to eat the biggest part of your budget. Check out mousesavers for the undercover tourist links to save some money on your tickets. Skip the hoppers. Are you flying or driving?

Also, for a family of five, finding a room to accomodate you is a challenge. I think it is POR that has room for 5, but no all stars, except the suites. Otherwise it is a deluxe. Unless you consider off site. As a first trip, probably not something I would recommend, but you may be able to extend your trip for the difference in cost. Plus, you could cut down on food expenses. If you will have to rent a car though, this may take a chunk out of the savings. although there are nice resorts in the DTD area that are really close and provide transportation. Likely though, you will not be in your room much if it is a first trip for a short amount of time.

There are many ways to do it. It just depends on what kind of vacation you want. Good luck! For me, planning is part of the fun!

 

[jimaok]

Start a Christmas Club account at your bank. Have them take out $20.00 a week (you won't miss it). In one year (52 weeks) you'll get a check from your bank for $1,040.00. Checks at my bank are mailed out in the middle of October. Rather than eat out a couple times a week, I put $80.00 into my Christmas club each week. In October, I get a check for $4,160.00 plus interest. Start small- only what you won't miss- then when you see how it's going, you can bump it up at any time. Good luck.

 

[dreamer03]

For a four day trip I would not do park hoppers or any dining plan other than the quick service dining plan.

You will spend too much time getting to the restaurant and eating. You will never see what you want to see in just four days. Eating sit down will just reduce the amount of time in the park.

Park hoppers are a waste of money for short first trips. Hopping eats up time getting from park to park.

With only 4 days you will need to decide which park you will not want to visit. With all of the kids under 7 you will need 2 days at the MK and then you have two more days. If they are into animals, then do the AK.

Remember WDW of today is huge and will reguire much walking.

What time in Nov/Dec will you be there? Avoid Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks. Both are very crowded.

We would be going the first week in December. I would rather not skip any parks but if we had to it would probably be The Animal Kingdom. My husbands only reason for going is food. He wants to experience all that he can in the cultural food aspect.

 

[dreamer03]

I agree with PPs. Also, do you have a CVS? Try reading up on how to use their rewards program to your advantage. I have gotten boatloads of beauty supplies, etc. for little to no cost. Huge money saver. Also, there is an art to couponing. Check out the website www.weusecoupons.com, for help on that. Especially good if you have stores that double coupons. As far as budget for the trip goes....what type of resort do you want to stay at? You can always find a room discount, but tickets and food are going to eat the biggest part of your budget. Check out mousesavers for the undercover tourist links to save some money on your tickets. Skip the hoppers. Are you flying or driving?

Also, for a family of five, finding a room to accomodate you is a challenge. I think it is POR that has room for 5, but no all stars, except the suites. Otherwise it is a deluxe. Unless you consider off site. As a first trip, probably not something I would recommend, but you may be able to extend your trip for the difference in cost. Plus, you could cut down on food expenses. If you will have to rent a car though, this may take a chunk out of the savings. although there are nice resorts in the DTD area that are really close and provide transportation. Likely though, you will not be in your room much if it is a first trip for a short amount of time.

There are many ways to do it. It just depends on what kind of vacation you want. Good luck! For me, planning is part of the fun!

We will be driving. I would also like to stay on property. I also forgot to add taht he has set a very strict $4,000.00 budget from home to return home.

 

[dreamer03]

Start a Christmas Club account at your bank. Have them take out $20.00 a week (you won't miss it). In one year (52 weeks) you'll get a check from your bank for $1,040.00. Checks at my bank are mailed out in the middle of October. Rather than eat out a couple times a week, I put $80.00 into my Christmas club each week. In October, I get a check for $4,160.00 plus interest. Start small- only what you won't miss- then when you see how it's going, you can bump it up at any time. Good luck.

Good Idea! I never thought about that.

 

[Pumbaa_]

i set up an ING account for this - i have a set amount taking each pay period. What I like about this is that I CAN get at the money if I need it, but it isn't as easy as taking it out of my atm account. Then I up the amount every so often until I get used to that amount and then again It does add up!!

Are any of your kids under 3 at the time of the trip? If so, you can stay in any room, not just those that take 5

Good luck!

 

[ccgirl]

$4,000 is a very doable budget for a 4 day trip!! I am like you in that I would rather "skip" Animal Kingdom than Epcot. Epcot is actually my DD6's favorite park! If your husband is into food, it is also a must ( in my opinion). Are you set on December?

The reason I ask it that you can attend the Food & Wine Festival during October as well as MNSSHP. You would have to buy special tickets for that but that kids would have so much fun dressing up and trick or treating. And, you could do Animal Kingdom in the park that morning and finish with the party at MK. This would give you 1 1/2 days of MK essentially. There is "usually" free dining offered during this period as well so you may get lucky. As a PP asked; what age are your children? If they are all over 3 then you may be limited as only a few places are set up for 5 people in a room. Again, your budget is very reasonable.

You could always book using a AAA discount then switch if free dining is offered. Good luck planning. It is one of my most favorite parts.

 

[dreamer03]

i set up an ING account for this - i have a set amount taking each pay period. What I like about this is that I CAN get at the money if I need it, but it isn't as easy as taking it out of my atm account. Then I up the amount every so often until I get used to that amount and then again It does add up!!

Are any of your kids under 3 at the time of the trip? If so, you can stay in any room, not just those that take 5

Good luck!

My youngest is 3. We have chosen POFQ with dining or the cabins without. I am not sure how cost effective it would be to cook our own meals. We even thought about staying at the values and renting two adjoining rooms but that would be more costly.

 

[dreamer03]

$4,000 is a very doable budget for a 4 day trip!! I am like you in that I would rather "skip" Animal Kingdom than Epcot. Epcot is actually my DD6's favorite park! If your husband is into food, it is also a must ( in my opinion). Are you set on December?

The reason I ask it that you can attend the Food & Wine Festival during October as well as MNSSHP. You would have to buy special tickets for that but that kids would have so much fun dressing up and trick or treating. And, you could do Animal Kingdom in the park that morning and finish with the party at MK. This would give you 1 1/2 days of MK essentially. There is "usually" free dining offered during this period as well so you may get lucky. As a PP asked; what age are your children? If they are all over 3 then you may be limited as only a few places are set up for 5 people in a room. Again, your budget is very reasonable.

You could always book using a AAA discount then switch if free dining is offered. Good luck planning. It is one of my most favorite parts.

I think Epcot would alot of fun for our family. My husband is Italian and I am a mix of many. So are you suggesting the hopper? Our first day we plan to visit DTD then hit the parks running the next morning and every one there after leaving on the sixth morning. Food and Wine festival would be very fun but is that included with the Mickey special halloween things? I guess what I mean are they all rolled into one ticket? He is completely including hotels on the road, food on the road, treasure to purchase, and gas. So are you sure $4,000.00 is still enough?

 

[MrsPete]

$4000 is very do-able for four days. Let's clarify though: Are you driving on day 1, seeing the parks for two days, then driving back on day 4 . . . or do you mean you have four whole days at Disney and you're excluding your driving days?

If you're pretty much locked into the first week of December, you need to realize that you're going at a time of year when the parks close early. You can find previous year's schedules online, but I'm thinking 6:30-7:00-ish. Also, fireworks and parades happen less often, so you want to be sure to note those times in your planning.

One way you can combat the early closing time is to plan your dinner after the park closes. You could finish up at the Magic Kingdom, watch the fireworks, then take the boat across the lake to one of the Deluxes, where you can have a character dinner. (Of course, everyone else will be doing the same thing.) Chef Mickey's is great for kids; I absolutely love the photographs I took of my girls there -- I knew at the time they were enjoying it, but the smiles in those photographs . . .

When you leave Epcot, Beaches & Cream is a great place to take kids for a casual dinner. Be sure to order the Kitchen Sink sundae, which is expensive but HUGE -- it's meant for the whole family to share. They flicker the lights and announce it to the whole restaurant as they deliver it to your table. My kids talked about that experience for more than a year.

In your situation, you should ignore all the "add ons" that people do at Disney. With limited time, you're hitting the rides and shows. Don't plan on first haircuts, fireworks cruises, etc. JUST the parks. You'll have more than you can possibly do anyway!

We've stayed in Port Orleans, and it's a good choice for a family of your size. One of the benefits of staying there is that in the evenings you can take the boat up to Pleasure Island, and that opens up lots of restaurants/shopping for you. The negative: Their food court is both awful and expensive, and with the parks closing early, you'll need hotel-based food choices.

Another good option is Wilderness Lodge. They're less expensive than the other Deluxes, and they have bunk beds. They're a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom. If you could luck into a good deal on the concierge floor, you'd have light meals and snacks provided for you; it could happen the first week of December.

At your time of year, I wouldn't rule out staying off-site. With the parks closing early (you can tell this is a major thing for me), you're not going to be able to come back mid-day for a rest. Do they offer the early entry in December? Really, though I love the onsite hotels, I think they're not quite the same great value year-round.

Once you settle on which tickets you want, order them ahead of time from Ticketmania (or a similar online dealer with a good reputation). You won't save much, but it'll be a few dollars. Given your situation, I wouldn't bother with the hopper option.

Okay, finally, the question of how to save. Decrease your monthly expenses in some way (skip meals out, skimp on grocery bills, buy fewer kids' clothes, etc.). Increase income (sell old kids' clothes on ebay, babysit, or similar). Put the savings away in an account where you can't reach it easily.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

So are you planning on five nights at Disney plus two travel nights? POR is $150 or $160 during December next year, depending on weekend vs. weekday. Total is about $860 including tax, not counting a AAA discount. Hotels on the road - about $240 for two nights - $1100 for lodging.

Tickets - two adults, three kids - 239.63 for adults, 204.48 for kids - 4 day base tickets - total 1092.70. If I were you, I'd get six day tickets for about $7 more per person and plan to go to a park the first night to catch a few rides and fireworks, then go to a park until noon your last day before starting your drive. It will cost you $35 extra total for your family over a 4-day ticket. Hoppers will add $55 per person, so that is $225 for your family.

Dining plan for 2010 is $42 per night for adults, $12 for kids and gives you one TS meal, one CS meal and one snack per person per night. I wouldn't do the deluxe plan as a first timer - it will take up too much time to eat three TS meals per day. For five nights, dining plan cost is $600. Take water and snacks in your car for some quick breakfasts.

So the Disney part is about $1100 (POR plus two night's hotel on the road) + $1150 (six day base tickets) + 600 (DDP) = $2850 with no discounts. Add in four days of food for travel days and gas and you should be well under $4000. Determine your souvenier budget once you see how close you are to $4000.

This is very simplistic, but it hits the big ticket items. It is more cost effective to add a day to your tickets even if it is just for a few hours than to add hopping. Hopping also takes a lot of time.

Hope this helps!

 

[MrsPete]

Food and Wine festival would be very fun but is that included with the Mickey special halloween things? I guess what I mean are they all rolled into one ticket? He is completely including hotels on the road, food on the road, treasure to purchase, and gas. So are you sure $4,000.00 is still enough?

I don't think the kids would be that into the Food & Wine festival. The Halloween thing, though, would be very good for you! It would give you some evening hours at the Magic Kingdom, evening hours with limited numbers of other guests. It's a separate ticket event

How far are you driving? I was assuming that you could drive in one day, but if you're going to need a hotel on the way, you should compare the cost of driving vs. flying. Orlando flights are often very cheap.

If you do fly, you won't need to check luggage -- not for a four-day trip -- that's a money-saver. If you fly, definitely stay on-property; that'll mean you don't need a rental car. IF you could get airline tickets for a decent price, you could stay under $4000.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Another good option is Wilderness Lodge. They're less expensive than the other Deluxes, and they have bunk beds. They're a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom. If you could luck into a good deal on the concierge floor, you'd have light meals and snacks provided for you; it could happen the first week of December.

Great tips, but I just wanted to point out that the OP can't do WL with a family of five (youngest is three now) unless she does a deluxe room.

Also, you can save a bit of money by buying tickets from a broker, but if you want the dining plan, you need to buy tickets through Disney (at least one-day for each person, so you might as well get them all through Disney - it works out cheaper).

 

[MrsPete]

Great tips, but I just wanted to point out that the OP can't do WL with a family of five (youngest is three now) unless she does a deluxe room.

Also, you can save a bit of money by buying tickets from a broker, but if you want the dining plan, you need to buy tickets through Disney (at least one-day for each person, so you might as well get them all through Disney - it works out cheaper).

I was assuming the addition of one roll-away, which wouldn't be a problem in a bunk-room (which has more floor space).

I forgot about the dining plan - ticket connection. My family's never personally used the dining plan. Because we go in the summer and don't want large meals in the heat, we tend to ALL eat kids' meals, which are less than $5 (and include a drink), and we can't justify the cost of the meal plan. If you're going to eat an adult meal for lunch and a character buffet for dinner (which I, personally, cannot do), the dining plan is a decent price; but it's not the cheapest option.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I was assuming the addition of one roll-away, which wouldn't be a problem in a bunk-room (which has more floor space).

I forgot about the dining plan - ticket connection. My family's never personally used the dining plan. Because we go in the summer and don't want large meals in the heat, we tend to ALL eat kids' meals, which are less than $5 (and include a drink), and we can't justify the cost of the meal plan. If you're going to eat an adult meal for lunch and a character buffet for dinner (which I, personally, cannot do), the dining plan is a decent price; but it's not the cheapest option.

I don't think Disney will allow the fifth person, regardless of space.

We have only done the DDP once, and that was during free dining. We generally do better without it, but we also don't necessarily eat a TS every day. The OP said her husband was in it for the food, though, so it might work for them. Since all their kids are under 9, it can be a good deal overall if you do a TS every day.

 

[HeatherC]

I am going to be the voice of dissent here and suggest staying offsite for a number of reasons.

First....$4000 is a TON of money for 4 days. We spend about that for a family of five for 12 days...no exaggeration. And...that includes airfare from the northeast in the winter.

But..we do stay offsite and I am not one to "budget" much when I'm on vacation. You can easily rent places for under $100 a night for a 3 bedroom condo including all the taxes.

If you are going in November or early December, you can rent a condo for a couple hundred dollars for a week...including all the taxes.

You will have your own car so you don't need a rental car.
You can pick up some quick breakfast/snack items to have on hand so you can have breakfast "at home" while you are all getting ready. Kids love being able to watch tv and hang out while they eat breakfast. They don't want to always sit in a restaurant to eat.

You can get a condo so close to Disney that you are practically onsite. (Bonnet Creek Resort is one example.)
Windsor Hills is another.

Unless it is Xmas time you won't have any traffic commuting to the parks. But you will have to pay the parking fee that's like 12 a day. No big deal when you are saving thousands on a room.

By saving money on the hotel, you will be able to concentrate more on saving for fun stuff like character meals, etc..

I would think you could cut that $4000 in half realistically and have a wonderful trip that you would not feel like you are skimping on.

Hopefully, you will get tons of great advice on these boards and will be able to have an awesome trip!!

Good luck to you!

 

[TDSAXX]

OP- You mentioned that your husband travels frequently for work. Does he belong to the hotel loyalty programs (ie. Marriott Rewards, Hilton Hhonors, etc.)? If so he can probably accumulate enough points for some free nights.