Solo budget

[GawrshImGoofy]

I am going to the great World of Disney next week without my family, this will be a first for me. I am newly divorced and broke but I need to have some fun, so off I go. My questions for single travelers are, excluding tickets and hotel fare what is your budget like? Has anyone ever been and still had a blast on a very minimal allowance?

 

[Bete]

If you have to eat at Disney World eat at quick service; that will be the cheapest. I would do breakfast at your resort food court and one other meal for the day. Don't get sucked into buying snacks. Tap water is free for the asking including ice.

If you can pack some goodies in your luggage like nuts, granola bars, and so forth that can help.

If you are driving then just go to the grocery store and stock up there and don't eat out. The food court has a microwave you can use.

Stay away from any extras like souvenirs.

 

[JustCor]

It's not too hard to do on a budget. As previously mentioned, snacks can get you through so you aren't spending all of your money on food. I try to bring a 12 pack of bottled water and a pack of Gatorade and a 6 pack of some kind of soda. A granola bar, some beef jerky, or some trail mix can get you through most of the day. I'll still splurge on a TS a day, but there are actually some semi-affordable options in park. The Plaza in MK is reasonably priced with good food. The AMC theater at DTD has a little counter service area where you can get good food for a surprisingly fair price without having to plunk down the money for a movie. A little planning can keep your expenses fairly low.

 

[GawrshImGoofy]

Thanks, I am driving so I planned on buying snacks and all that jazz for my trip. However every time I've been I had a stroller in tow which helped with carrying snacks. Seeing as it's just me I'd look rather silly pushing a stroller. Although it is October, I could claim I'm pushing around my invisible baby .

I don't want to have to carry food around all day long. Can anyone tell me how much a locker is for the day? Do you have to pay for one daily or can you rent one for the length of your stay?

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I have done things solo and didn't go crazy on food. I ate a yogurt in the morning in the room and grabbed a QS lunch at around 1 and a QS dinner for about $15 each. I don't know your budget but is $30 per day too much for food? If you can carry a refillable bottle you wouldn't have to lug around too many snacks and wouldn't need a large bag. I prefer just a wallet-type cross-body bag since I hate carrying anything.

 

[ludari]

Being a DVC owner and confirmed solo traveler one way I save money is to order groceries to my room. I've found having my own food saves me from eating out during my WDW visit. I've also found that I can have a good time just exploring DTD or visiting the various deluxe resort lobbies especially around the holidays when they resorts are decorated. Speaking of resorts a lot of them have activities such as presentations, movies, etc.

 

[kwdw]

Locker is $7 DAILY and you only have to pay once per day (Note - you get charged $12, but $5 is key deposit you get back). If you park hop - you can use the receipt at the next park to get another locker. (But, to save money, don't park hop in the first place) Since you are driving - food can be cheap solo. Eat breakfast in your room. I plan either lunch or dinner as a real meal - and the other one as a snack or in the room. So - for that one real meal - I plan on spending $15 - $40 per day - depending on if it's CS or a cheaper TS place.

Water prices kill me since I can't stand the taste of the water out of the tap in FL - so - bring a case of water with you. And you can get free ice water. But it's $2.75 for a 20 oz bottle....... I put one water bottle in a clip-on carrier on my waist and have another in hand to start the day.

This last solo trip - the thing that killed my budget was not setting a limit on souvenirs. I'm usually pretty good about that - but my self-control went on vacation, too, this time.

 

[Bete]

I would eat a big breakfast before going to the parks. You can use a back pack to carry whatever in the parks. Actually, we use a lunch bag to bring in the parks. It serves as my purse, too. You can carry a sandwich in your lunch bag. With a good breakfast we can go a long time without a meal at the parks.

With driving to the parks you can have a cooler set up in the car and have a picnic each day in the parking lot if you don't want to carry anything in the park. It's a little bit of a hassle going back and forth to the car, but it's still better than going back and forth to the car.

Finally, I think I would find a way to get more money for the trip like do a garage/yard sale or do some babysitting for someone or dog sitting, for example. Also, ask for some Disney gift cards for gifts, if possible. Then, you could have some meals at the park and enjoy that part of the experience.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with most of what has already been said, stay away from the souvenirs if you can. I drive down but hate, hate, hate to eat in my room or carry around food since I usually just carry a little cross body. I get a QS child's breakfast at the resort, QS child's lunch and then either a QS supper or a TS appy, salad and dessert. I'm a little person so don't eat a lot and find the kid's meals are more than enough food for me, plus you get a drink with them so I usually get a bottle of water. I don't carry a bottle around the parks, just go to any QS place and ask for a glass of water. I don't usually eat snacks during the day, just don't have room for them but I will get an ice cream cone at France in Epcot cause I'm an ice cream cone addict. You could really get away with around $20-$25 a day on food, eating in the parks and not starving and not eating PB&J or turkey sandwiches. You are going during F&W at Epcot so you could snack your way around there for both lunch and supper, I find after 2 or 3 booths I'm full, if you pick the less expensive items you should be o.k.

 

[lustergirl]

good luck

 

[lovedisneycruise]

Thanks, I am driving so I planned on buying snacks and all that jazz for my trip. However every time I've been I had a stroller in tow which helped with carrying snacks. Seeing as it's just me I'd look rather silly pushing a stroller. Although it is October, I could claim I'm pushing around my invisible baby .

I don't want to have to carry food around all day long. Can anyone tell me how much a locker is for the day? Do you have to pay for one daily or can you rent one for the length of your stay?

Hi I usually travel solo too and only carry a crossbody, but this last trip I bought a $20 nylon Mickey tote at the gift shop and I put my umbrella, rain jacket, snacks for the day and water bottle in it. The bag itself is light as a feather so it is easy to carry-- it's saved me the days it rained when I was there. I refill the water bottle throughout the day either at water fountains or at QS locations with a cup of ice cold water.

Also as far as budgeting, when trying to save a LOT, I stay at Pop Century. You can usually get a deal for around $100 a night and I find their and AOA's QS food (which you can walk to from there) to be inexpensive, healthier and delicious. (You can get a freshly made salad at either with shrimp or chicken )

 

[hamilkm]

This past trip I carried a small back pack. It was very light weight. I kept snacks in it along with my refillable water bottle. I brought a gallon sized bottle of spring water with me (they cost like $1.50) and filled my insulated bottle up before I left the room. Then I refilled with ice water from QS. This way I always had cold water. Then put snacks and an umbrella in your bag and you are set for a day in the parks. I have always carried a small cross body bag, but seemed to always end up having to buy something that wouldn't fit. I ended up really enjoying carrying a small, light weight back pack more. I even had my mom's re-fillable bottle and umbrella too and it didn't bother me at all!

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

You're probably already there so all I'll say is- HAVE FUN!!!!!!
I'm divorced and considering a solo trip- love that you up and went!

 

[Grumpy247365]

I always treat myself to a really nice meal, but for the most part I just spend money on food and the occasional beverage around the park. The hotel room is always the big expense. I always seems to spend more than I want.

 

[pipervali]

Even when I'm not solo, I tend to pay the bulk of the bill, so I'm probably not the best adviser on this one. Hotel for me is always the big one though. I'm heading down next week for the USWNT soccer game, and a couple days at Disney. I set myself a 2000 max limit. The hotel is going to be around 800 of that for 6 nights. And that's staying offsite. But I'm a bit of a hotel snob, I scour tripadvisor. My big saver is always eating offsite. I very rarely, if ever, eat a full meal in the parks. Every once in a while I'll do a quick counterservice at lunch time, especially in the MK, but other that, always somewhere outside the World.

Have fun on your first solo trip! I'm heading down in a week myself and hoping for a good first experience.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You'd be surprised at how many snacks you can fit into a messenger type purse. Such as granola bar, nuts/trail mix, piece of fruit. If you want to pack more, get a backpack instead. that might be better. that way you can carry 2 water/drink bottles with you too.

As far as eating QS, if you have a small appetite, you might be satsfied with a kids meals. Its cheaper! And totally fine to order, i've ordered kids meal for myself and never had any CM question it. They dont know if you have a kid waiting at a table for example...right?

 

[JennyDrake]

I have happily eaten CS for all 3 meals/day for $45/day (or even less) and that included an additional bottle of water during the day.

Stay away from souvenirs and alcohol and a budget trip isn't even much of an issue--and LOTS of fun!