Someone....Please tell me I am not nuts!!!!!

[kerry34]

Okay, I think my husband thinks I have gone off my rocker!! I have gone budget mad. I need someone to justify my insanity. I spent an hour tonight trying to figure out if it would be worth getting the meal vouchers for our trip (which, mind you, is not until April). Anyway, all my kids were settled down and i had some free time so, I planned out sample menus for our sit down meals and for counter service with appropriate tax and tip included without vouchers. Wrote them all down in my little disney budget book and brought it to show my husband. He was shocked. He couldnt believe that I actually sat down and did that! He didnt say it but....I think he has come to the conclusion that I am just a bit obsessive here. Probably true, but we have seven people to consider so I want to know what to expect. I have always been a spontaneous person traveling, but we are spending more than usual since we are staying at a resort!! Somebody please tell me that I am not the only one that has done this!!! In the back of my mind, I keep hearing a voice saying " GET A LIFE"!!!!

 

[MelodyMack]

I have done almost the same thing for our upcoming trip! Please don't think poorly of yourself. I think plannnig is half the fun, and if my obsessive compulsive planning can save a few bucks, then all the better! Afterall, the only thing that can make planning and going to Disney more exciting is saving some money on the way! It's nice to know that I am not the only one though!


* Also, if I second thought everything that my husband rolled his eyes about, trust me.....I'd be in a straight jacket in an insane asylum right now!

 

[kerry34]

Thanks for the words of comfort!!!! Good point about the husband thing too!!! Have fun on your trip.

 

[hockey mom]

Your not alone. I have a seperate book just for Disney and it sits right beside my couch because I am always working on my budget. My kids and hubby are used to seeing me scribbling away- but they know a great trip is in the works so no one says a word.

 

[dpayne1969]

sounds to me that you are doing a good job on your planning.
Have fun.

 

[disneysteve]

I figured I'd throw in an opinion from a non-planner. No offense or disrespect intended - I just simply can not comprehend how the planners can decide in September what they will want for lunch in April. I'm not sure what I'm having for lunch today . How do you know which park you will be in on the Tuesday of your vacation, for example? Maybe you will plan to be at EC and it rains that day so you go to MK instead. Maybe you'll go to AK and it will be really hot so you'll bag it and go back to the pool. Maybe you'll have a really filling breakfast and decide to skip lunch and just grab an early dinner. Maybe you'll all be pooped out and decide to skip the park one day and just take it easy.

As you can tell, we are a play-it-by-ear crew. We usually decide which park to hit each day the nite before and sometimes the morning of depending on how we feel, what the weather is and how the crowds are. We decide what to eat based on what we are all in the mood for when meal time approaches and what the choices are where we happen to be. I know lots of people here plan out every minute of their stay but I honestly don't know how you manage it.

 

[dana0069]

I think you've crossed the obbsessive line..I think just good common sense rules here, while making a food budget may be necessary..fine tuning it to that extent is a bad idea. no matter have much you planning you do. What i've done is estimated approx. how much to allow per person per meal per day, based on the individual in our party of 5. and go with that. Your getting hung up on something that you have only minimal control over.Eating off site-yes, using counter service-yes.thats my 2 cents worth anyway. for the record we are 5, 3 adults 2 kids, and i used an average of $12.00 per person per meal per day.

 

[kerry34]

Well maybe i wasnt clear enough. I wasnt planning exactly what we were eating in April, just bringing up a sample menu to see if the meal vouchers were worth my time. After all my figuring I came to the conclusion that the vouchers will probably not be worth it for me in the long run, so I am glad that I took the time to figure that out, otherwise i would have spent more money than we would have needed. The other thing is i have not done any of the character meals with five kids before, so i wanted to get a good idea of how much that would cost for the seven of us. The last time I did a character meal was with my two older girls, and my mom paid for one so it wasnt too bad on my wallet. This time around it is a little different.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by kerry34
After all my figuring I came to the conclusion that the vouchers will probably not be worth it for me in the long run, so I am glad that I took the time to figure that out, otherwise i would have spent more money than we would have needed.

There are 7 of you and you decided that the vouchers were not worth it? Hmmmm ... I made the opposite decision and there are only 3 of us.

We used character breakfast coupons for all of us. The savings for our DD wasn't much, but we saved a bit on the adults. We also bought some Vacation Lunch vouchers that we used at Rainforest Cafe at AKL and Le Cellier. We used the Q&C vouchers at Coronado Springs Pepper Market. I think the Pepper Market vouchers were the best savings. I had seared Tuna Steak ($15.95) and my DH had the steak special ($19.95), plus a drink plus dessert for the cost of $23.00 in vouchers.

FWIW, I don't think there is anything wrong with you running the numbers .

 

[kerry34]

Well the deal with the voucher thing is this, we are planning on doing a couple of sit down meals and pretty much counter service otherwise. I find with my younger kids that the kids meals are just right for them portion wise. None of us really are big on eating desserts right after lunch. My husband is definately not thrilled with the idea of splitting a meal because all he pretty much eats is burgers, which myself i would prefer a chicken sandwich or a salad. When i figured out the money it seemed that i came out even either way or in the kids case i would have spent more on the Q & C vouchers. None of us are really big breakfast eaters so we were just going to have cereal in the room. As far as my husband and myself, we are not big appetizer or dessert eaters really so when i figured out the cost for a meal it actually ended up a few dollars less w/ tax & tip. Unless i am missing something about these i figured I would just pay cash. My 3 youngest ones like the PBJ meals which are around 3.49 each so that is reasonable to me.

 

[carol9999]

i'm doing the same thing, but i still dont know what to do as far as how many Q&C and lunch vouchers we should get....sure they are a good deal in a lot of cases if you get ALL the food including dessert, but like you kerry34, i dont know if we will always want a dessert with our meals.....anyway, i do think i want the lunch vouchers for the RFC and Le Cellier for DH and myself and then get kids menu for 3 kids.... good luck and it is certainly not a bad thing to try to get the most out of your hard earned money!!! have fun!

 

[txaggie94gigem]

we are obviously married to the same man! every time I mention anything "disney" he rolls his eyes and tells me to get off of it! he just wants to show up and wing it!! we did that on our honeymoon and I realize now all the stuff we missed! I will keep planning and he will be thrilled to save so much when we get there!

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by kerry34
My 3 youngest ones like the PBJ meals which are around 3.49 each so that is reasonable to me.

Just so you know ... the PB&J meals are all Uncrustables, previously frozen PB&J sandwiches. We saved money by bringing a ziplock container (not bag) and making our own PB&Js since that's about all my DD ate on this last trip. She even turned her nose up at mac and cheese!

 

[mickeysaver]

You are not nuts. Being frugal and an educated consumer doesn't make you nuts. If you have the time to sit down and crunch some numbers to save yourself some money, then go for it.

We don't have any kids and when I crunched the numbers on the meal vouchers, we determined that it was a waste for us too. The only meal voucher that we used was the Animal Kingdom Meal Deal that they sell at the counter service restaurants there. It was perfect for us. We definately saved money with it.

Anyway, my honey thought I was crazy when I first started planning our Disney trips, but she has learned that I get a lot of bang for our bucks and we always have a great time. She has no complaints now. In fact, she tells all of her friends going to Disney to call me for tips. lol Maggie

 

[hockey mom]

We usually plan every trip and they go great. One time we decided to wing it and did not accopmplish nearly as much as previous trips. Way to much of "where do you want to eat", "where do you want to go tommorow", who wants to do this" alot of wasted time. We are not set in stone with our plans but it sure helps when I tell my family where we are going and not let it become a family debate. I just returned from a family of 14 trip and I had everything planned and my BIL raved to his whole family how smooth the trip went because I knew exactly what I was doing.

 

[2Disneybuggs]

I am doing the exact same thing! I love planning and budgeting, especially Disney trips! I don't think it is obsessive at all. It really helps seeing things in black and white. I was looking for my little Disney book now but i can't find it. Naturallly I don;t expect my family to eat accoding to my budget plan but I bet my kids and DH pick the meals I think they will!

 

[jenlovesdisney]

I think it is great that you are planning and budgeting ahead of time. This is what I have been doing for about a month or so. This way I am more prepared than if we just went cold turkey. I feel so much more relaxed now about the prices of things and I even have the inside track on some people!

 

[carol9999]

i am a planner and want the most for my money.... by DH is a wing it type of guy...so how do you have a happy medium? he probably will want to sleep in and get to the parks at his leisure when i want to get there with the kids before it opens to take full advantage of my day.... has anyone had to deal with this? we cant go separate because we have our own car unless he takes the shuttle bus from our offsite hotel...but i dont think he would like the idea of going separate..... also, he may also not like the planning of meals, advance PS's that i think are neccessary, planning days at which park, etc.....have any of you had this experience and how do you keep the peace for everyone....thanks (going mid oct with 3 boys 11,9, and 5)

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by carol9999
i am a planner and want the most for my money.... by DH is a wing it type of guy...so how do you have a happy medium? he probably will want to sleep in and get to the parks at his leisure when i want to get there with the kids before it opens to take full advantage of my day ...how do you keep the peace for everyone....thanks (going mid oct with 3 boys 11,9, and 5)

A couple of comments.
1) In mid-Oct, there is no need for PS's except for the very most popular places like CRT, Chef Mickey's and maybe one or two others. Everything else you can book when you get there. So you can compromise by just making a couple of hard to get reservations in advance and going with the flow the rest of the time. And by going with the flow, I don't mean you should be standing around at 11:55 deciding where to have lunch. But you can make a PS for lunch when you enter the park first thing in the morning.

2) I wouldn't compromise on the getting there early part. Even in the off-season, you will get so much more accomplished at a much more leisurely pace if you get to the parks when they open instead of arriving mid-morning. Do your best to explain that to your husband. One tip that people sometimes don't think about - if you get to EC, MGM or AK early, you don't need to wait for a parking tram because you will most likely park close enough to walk to the gate. Saves time on arrival and on departure.

Just remember - you are on vacation. To me, that means not following a regimented schedule and being open to whatever presents itself.

 

[kerry34]

I have been twice in mid-late october and found that making PS's for most things first thing in the morning worked for me. I don't expect you should have much trouble with that. I also agree that you cannot compromise when it comes to getting to the park early. I am sure if you explain to your husband that getting there late will slow you down, even in an october crowd. This has happened to me in the past when i was traveling with my extended family. I couldnt believe how much time we wasted and before i knew it the day was half gone (keep in mind also that the park sometimes closes earlier in October).

I dont know if you have plans for MNSSHP, but if not I would recommend that also. The day that we happened to get there late they were having it, we bought tickets that day and the kids had a ball trick or treating, and they went on their favorite rides several times. So even though we got there on the later side we ended up being able to stay until midnight anyway.