Spill your secrets on affording Disneyland!

[Saavy?]

OK... question here.
This is actually none of my business... nonetheless I am going to pry because I am intrigued as to how people afford their Disneyland trips (and cruises, and trips to WDW, etc.) MORE than 1 time per year.

Between paying for airfare,the Disneyland Hotel stay, Parkhopper tickets X 6 days, balcony seats for Fantasmic, Medieval Times, oober munchies, and a few souveniers... it takes me a year to save up for the trip. The minimum I have to save to pay for all this is $4000.
(now the above is our annual routine, our traditional things to enjoy, and absolutely non-negotiable).

And this is for only TWO people folks.

Have you worked for the same company for 20 years and have the option of 6 weeks of vacation time available? (I have to hoard mine all year in order to get my two weeks off in a row).
Do you charge it to your Disney card and pay it off monthly?
Are you in constant Disney debt?
HOW do you do it?

I get the feeling I am missing out on something important.
Actually, I feel like I am getting ripped BIG due to missing out on something important I should know.

Fill me in gang... I'm all ears...

 

[Master Mason]

It is all about your priorities, you say those things are non negotiable, but if you let them go a few times, you would have money for other things.

I live in the Bay area, I am going this weekend for a 2 day trip. I will drive down have a hotel for a single night, and drive back when we are ready to leave.

It will cost me $150 in gas in my gas hog car, 100 for a relatively cheap hotel close to the property, and since my older boy doesn't have an anual pass it will cost me a 2 day park hopper for him.

The hotel I am staying in has a free breakfast, waffles and such, and we will probably only eat once a day in the park, eat around 4 or so, then when we leave pick up a couple of burgers at a fast food place. So the food really won't cost any more than I would have spent at home if we went out to dinner somewhere.

Because we go often the need for souvineres is lessend greatly, often I get nothing at all, because I know I will be back in a month or 2 at the most.

To me this makes way more sense than a single elaborate vacation, I get the magic in small doses over the course of a year, I can be more spontanious, and don't feel like I have to do it all in my 6 days I am there so I can relax much more as well.

So while your way is great, if it fits your needs, it wouldn't fit mine. (I have never stayed in the DL hotel, because that was an extra hundred I could spend elsewhere, and really all I do in the hotel is sleep anyway so it isn't a big deal to me)

 

[DangerMouse]

Our family of 5 can go to DLR for 3 days for an average of $800.

I am a complete budget planner though. We only go during off-season and when there are hopper specials. We always stay at the HoJo where we get an ent. rate of $54 per night. We drive from Phx and bring most of our own food. We only budget one meal in the park per day and one item off an ODV cart (churro, popcorn, etc.). We know where to eat and how to order in the parks so our average meal price is $30 for our family.

I purchase discount Disney stuff at either the Dollar Store or clearance items from the Disney Store throughout the year and give the kids little gifts before our trip and bring some out each day during the trip. The kids are allowed one souvenir from the park and get to pick it out on their last day on our way out of the park.

We don't believe that being on a tight budget hinders our enjoyment of the parks at all. We prefer to be able to go a couple times a year on a budget than one time every couple years and splurge.

 

[jtoast]

Well, lets see....

1) I work from home and can work just as easily from the hotel so I really have no need to take any vacation time (although I am for our trip next week...we leave on Tuesday)

2) We don't have near the number of "absolutely non-negotiables" that you do. Our family of 6 (yes i said 6....ME, DW, and 4 kids) spend, on average, somewhere between $4,000-5,000 per trip. The variance consists of how many souviners we buy, whether or not I rent a car and what time of year we go. This includes plane tickets from Oklahoma, 7 days in a 2 room suite, 3 (sometimes 4 day) parkhoppers, usually seaworld, and whatever else we decide to do. I don't stay on site (savings of usually $150/night or more), I don't regularly buy balcony seats (We did it once ....it was nice...more is a waste of money imho) and since the suite comes with a full kitchen, we don't go crazy on food.

3) I have a budget that keeps track of our money down to the penny. I just figure out how much money I need by when, play with the numbers until I see what needs to be cut where to get there, and make the appropriate changes. it's not that hard. If we can't afford to go one year, we dont and end up somewhere closer instead (6 flags in Dallas for example.)

It's all just a question of priorities. I personally have better uses for my money than elaborate trips to disneyland. We go, we have a great time, we come back.

 

[Hound 109]

....We only budget one meal in the park per day and one item off an ODV cart (churro, popcorn, etc.). We know where to eat and how to order in the parks so our average meal price is $30 for our family.....

DangerMouse, as usual I agree with most everything that you say......but ONE SNACK A DAY !!!!!

That dog wouldn't hunt in the Hound family.

Churros, Dole Whip Floats, Tigger Tails, Root Beer Floats, fudge, those White chocolate/macadamia nut/coconut cookies the size of a 45 record....., slushees, corny dogs, mickey bars....etc....etc....


One reason i won't do concierge again is that it cut down on the snack grazing. Oh...& if on a budget, get the Dole Whip Float with two straws.


hound <----is thankful that all snacks in DLR have -0- calories and have the nutritional value of steamed brussel sprouts and lima beans.

 

[Carter'sMommy]

Between paying for airfare,the Disneyland Hotel stay, Parkhopper tickets X 6 days, balcony seats for Fantasmic, Medieval Times, oober munchies, and a few souveniers... it takes me a year to save up for the trip. The minimum I have to save to pay for all this is $4000.
(now the above is our annual routine, our traditional things to enjoy, and absolutely non-negotiable).

Well... this is how we do it for a family of 3. (Me 40 DH 37 and DS 6)

Airfare - DING! Need I say more on getting low airfare (we fly Houston to Orange Co. for +/- 215.00 pp) - there are bargains out there if you are willing to invest the time and research.

Hotel - Now...do you REALLY need ot stay at DLH!! We have stayed there and enjoyed it -- but when reality hits and you want to come back make concessions - DHL @ $300 per night is highway robbery in my eyes - Yes, it is nice and you get immersed in Disney but really... are you going to DL for the ROOM or the PARK??!!! The CCI or other Good Neighbor Hotels are just as close (or closer) to the park as the DLH and cost <$140 per night -- you could get 2+ nights for one! We are getting the HOJO (DL view) for $69.00 per night!!!

Park Hopper tickets -- If you go more than 5 days buy an AP!! The AP's are +/- 239.00 each. NOW you have a reason to go for the 2nd...3rd..4th...time!!!

Fantasmic Balcony Seats - Do it once maybe twice -- but EVERYTIME?? Make it a SPECIAL event! We eat at BB for our special treat everytime but it kills 2 birds with one stone - the expierence and the food.

Medieval Times - IMHO this is a WASTE of money if you have already done it once. What are you looking for here --- a different outcome of the jousts??!!

Souvies - Go to the Outlet on Harbor and save yourself a small fortune or limit yourself to 1 souvie per trip -- heck I would give up souvies entirely if I could go to DL more often, Oh wait -- I have!!!

Have you worked for the same company for 20 years and have the option of 6 weeks of vacation time available? (I have to hoard mine all year in order to get my two weeks off in a row).
Do you charge it to your Disney card and pay it off monthly?
Are you in constant Disney debt?
HOW do you do it?

Both my husband and I have worked for our companies for 4 years. We get 3 weeks of vacation for the year. We plan our vacations around (school) holidays so our son can go. We make our trips "long weekends" - Depart on Weds night (after work) and return on Sunday night. Yes... we are tired as heck when we get home but we feel DL is worth it!

We use AMEX cards and rack up points on EVERYTHING we purchase. Food, gas, clothes, groceries, drycleaning, cell phone, all utilities -- you get the point. We then cash in our miles for AMEX gift cards and use those to pay for stuff at the park or our hotel - 10k points = $100.00

I am proud to say we are not in CC debt and if we were, paying it off would be our FIRST PRIORITY - YES... even over Disney. The feeling that you get becoming debt free is nothing like I have ever expierenced

So... there you go. If you REALLY want to go to DL more than once per year then you should make concessions. Trust me it is worth every penny I save!

Our first trip cost us 3800.00
The 2nd cost us 2000.00
the 3rd $1500.00
and the 4th - besides buying AP - ZERO!

Now... I must confess. We do not do many frivilous things during the year - No $5.00 Starbucks - we eat out only 3 times a week (cheaper than buying food sometimes... and no it is not MCD's), our other "vacations" are to visit family so all we have is airfare, we do not go out to the movies/or rent them every week (maybe 6x a year), we just watch our pennies cause they add up to dollars!!!

Hope this helps!!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Sometimes I do save all year for a splurge trip (staying onsite ect..). There is only 3 of us though, so that does help (me, dh, and ds). We upgraded to AP's this last time, and will save us a bundle in not having to buy tickets on our next two trips.

We drive, since were only 8 hours away. With gas can be expensive, but never as expensive as plane tickets!

We stay offsite for some trips so we can go more often, and I research for days to find the best deal. I don't get tight though when it comes to food and fun money. For us that is an essential for being on vacation. I don't want to be cooking or putting together box lunches on vacation, and I like my disney shopping!

We'll usually do "two" big meals, rather then a bunch of Character meals, eating at the Blue Bayou, DTD ect.. We'll pick two that we feel we must do on our trip. This time it was Blue Bayou and the Rainforest. The rest of the time we'll do cheaper counter service or outside of the park (things like Mimi's and McDonalds even). When we stay offsite we make sure and find a place that serves free breakfast, that also saves us a bundle. We bring in our own water bottles starting this last trip, and also saved us a lot.

For our trip in Oct. we got a GREAT deal for the GCH. The whole trip, being in the parks for 4 days is going to cost us around $2000.

With lots of a planning and budgeting (and yes saving) it's possible to go more then once a year. Of course it does depend on your income and how many vacation days you get every year. There were many years where we just went once a year.

 

[DangerMouse]

DangerMouse, as usual I agree with most everything that you say......but ONE SNACK A DAY !!!!!

That dog wouldn't hunt in the Hound family.

Churros, Dole Whip Floats, Tigger Tails, Root Beer Floats, fudge, those White chocolate/macadamia nut/coconut cookies the size of a 45 record....., slushees, corny dogs, mickey bars....etc....etc....


One reason i won't do concierge again is that it cut down on the snack grazing. Oh...& if on a budget, get the Dole Whip Float with two straws.


hound <----is thankful that all snacks in DLR have -0- calories and have the nutritional value of steamed brussel sprouts and lima beans.

Ok, I'll admit it. There have been times I have allowed a churro AND a dole whip on the same day. I'm not a Disney snack nazi or anything!

No popcorn for you!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

the way im doing it is dvc im signing up for that and useing points for my lh stay. im getting a deal on tickets and dinning. Im also useing this trip as my bday and my sons. Fantasmic and midevil are bday special thinsg we are wanting to do
suviners 500-800 and i get money every year from dads 21 year airforce. i use that for my trips.

after this trip in nov then i will start saveing up for next years trip we do one a year and next year will be dcl-wdw.

 

[brenda1966]

Well, if those things are not negotiable, then you will likely only be able to afford one Disney trip a year -- a fancy one at that!

We generally take two vacations a year -- one week or less each. I don't like to blow all my vacation on one trip.

I don't stay at places anywhere near as nice as the disneyland hotel. I book the cheapest good neighbor I can get within walking distance. At WDW, I've only stayed in the value hotels (and split a room with another two-some).

I don't do sit down meals, except for one character meal and I consider this a splurge and something that could easily be cut. We eat counter food and we often split meals. We carry water bottles and snacks with us.

I don't do Fantasmic seating. We will squeeze into a spot to see the show and since we also go to WDW we can easily see the show there in the stadium.

I don't think there's anything really magical about affording multiple disney trips for us. It's a matter of prioritization. This is what I want to spend my money on. I don't live an extravagent life style.

 

[VWCat]

Well we went for the Nemo opening week and our budget was huge just because it was our very first trip together and we wanted to go all out. Our package cost with passes,airfare(flying from canada),disneyland hotel was about 3300.00. Then we both budgeted each about 1500.00 for food and souveniers. We bought a few extras like Fantasmic and Electrical parade seating beforehand.
First thing that helped us was Walt Disney Travel doesn't require you to pay upfront,all we had to put down was 350.00. Then we slowly paid it off over the next 5 months,600.00 a month or more when we had it. I suppose if you book it farther in advance you could pay less a month,not sure how far in advance you can book it though. Also our rent is cheap:550.00 a month. At the time I was making 16.00 an hour which helped in my money saving.
I forgot the most important reason why and how we are going back again so soon is,I was sick the whole time so I didn't spend any of my 1400.00 I had saved on my credit card! Our budget isn't the same this time either,4 nights instead of 7 nights,maybe one premium seating and one nice dinner,and less treats for people back home! My man is now a Disney fanatic so he is very happy to be paying out his cash to another trip with my credit card help as well Now I just have to get through the next 5 months without charging it up again

 

[DLR29]

Between paying for airfare,the Disneyland Hotel stay, Parkhopper tickets X 6 days, balcony seats for Fantasmic, Medieval Times, oober munchies, and a few souveniers... it takes me a year to save up for the trip. The minimum I have to save to pay for all this is $4000.
(now the above is our annual routine, our traditional things to enjoy, and absolutely non-negotiable).

Well we don't pay for airfare(drive 7 hours), have never stayed onsite (much cheaper hotels w/ same walking distance), only get 3 day Parkhopper tickets, and never do balcony seats for Fantasmic or Medieval times. This cuts off a lot, but we do travel with 4 people, not 2. For only 2 people, it would cut off way more.

I agree with other posters, maybe changing the set in stone schedule around will be a nice change and allow you to keep some $.

 

[Hound 109]

double post....sorry.

hound <-------still trying to get the hang of these internets.

 

[mystic_path]

My goal and it always works is that I dont pay for everything all at once. I do it in spurts when I can so it doesnt hurt me financially (Coming from a different country and the exchange rate is slightly different).

1) I get the idea in my head that I want to go to DL and so I start saving (I usually put a few hundred dollars away every check or keep a change pot) before I pick a date. Before I know it I have about $600

2) I pick a date, usually about 6 months in advance. I always try to go when there are lower crowds or from what I hear.


3) I generally book my trip through travelocity, or orbitz (As those are the cheapest sites I find) in the first few months of the year, usually March or April, as there usually seems to be some great flight and hotel packages for close off site hotels. The last 2 trips I paid for in Canadian funds with taxes was about $580 for 10 days at Disneyland and that includes the flight down there and back with added supershuttle round trip to and from the hotel to airport. (We never get a rental car cause there are so many ways of transportation down there thats easy to use, and it cuts down on parking costs etc)

4) Then maybe after a few more paychecks I look into park hopper passes which I always get from getawaytoday as they always have up to 8 day passes for a great deal of $209 per person. I cant beat that, and at the same time get my Universal studio passes for $60
which includes free shuttle.

5) I think of other things I would like to do such as a dinner out to Medieval times and so I start saving up for my food costs.

6) After a few more weeks of saving, I have enough money for food. I usually take $200 with me as I take advantage of continental breakfasts, grab fresh fruit from the park when im hungry, bring my own water in to drink and some granola bars, then have an early dinner and im good till the next morning. So I dont eat too much and cause over spending.

7) After the trip, park hopper passes, and meals are paid for, the rest of the money I save goes towards the souviners, and I usually take about $300

All in all I usually spend about $1200CDN per trip.

 

[Hound 109]

Ok, I'll admit it. There have been times I have allowed a churro AND a dole whip on the same day. I'm not a Disney snack nazi or anything!

No popcorn for you!

I knew you were just an ol' softy.

hound

 

[RuthieT]

If you dont need to stay in an on site hotel that will save alot of $$$. We are also going to be staying at HOJO in December for $54 a night and we will be there for 5 nights. We are considering flying which we add alot of cost to the total but driving 15 hours is kindof not a good idea with a 3.5 year old.. But as said before shop around and try to get the best deal with airfare, hotel, etc...

 

[AZMickeyfans]

hound, dangermouse as usual I'm crackin up.


We actually do without toilet paper to afford to go to Disneyland as often as we have in the past. Like they have said before it's in the priorities!!!



No I'm just teasing.....sort of......We dont go out to eat much at home or spend friviously and its amazing how much money adds up in the Disneyland fund. My kids hear a constant phrase when they start begging for toys in Target. "Do you want that power ranger or do you want to save the money and go to Disneyland again???" Works everytime!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we drove to wdw from az when my son was 3 goodness did we regreat it, gas it self was bad and car braking down and son needing changed and being cramped..no way im flying./.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

hound, dangermouse as usual I'm crackin up.


We actually do without toilet paper to afford to go to Disneyland as often as we have in the past. Like they have said before it's in the priorities!!!



No I'm just teasing.....sort of......We dont go out to eat much at home or spend friviously and its amazing how much money adds up in the Disneyland fund. My kids hear a constant phrase when they start begging for toys in Target. "Do you want that power ranger or do you want to save the money and go to Disneyland again???" Works everytime!

im in that mood now. my son wants evry toy he sees and its like no rt. you can pick one and then we will put more money away for dl..he gets mad but hay hes kinda to young to understand that but i get it. usely hed get two toys now im stric and say one..also im telling him no now becouse his bday is in few months and the littel party here will be nice and he will get alot of action figuers from family so he can wait..lol

I will save more and more for dl

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

we drove to wdw from az when my son was 3 goodness did we regreat it, gas it self was bad and car braking down and son needing changed and being cramped..no way im flying./.

Oh yeah I would totally fly to WDW too, that's way too far of a drive for us! To DL though we usually leave at 4 am, which was nice my son would sleep most of the way. He's 9 now though and unfortunately I sleep more in the car then he does! LOL Anymore then 8-10 hours drive and I'd probably fly!