Tips for Disney vacation under $3,000?

[kennedyrain]

Check out mousesavers.com, there is a section that shows the historical discounts and times they are offered as well as published, to give you an idea of how likely it is you will get a discount during your desired time and what it will be. When you book a trip on the Disney site or over the phone you will be required a $200 deposit, but you can make payments, in any amount, until 45 days prior to your trip when it must be paid in full (or you could change the dates at that time if you can't pay it off). You can also call and apply specials and savings as they come out. Many expert sites have also recommended Small World Vacations, but I have never personally used a travel agent, though there are many that specialize in Disney and can save you money (and they work free for you!).
In addition, you could stay off property, check out some houses/condos around Orlando with pools and amenities for amazing prices (some as low as $99 per night) on VRBO.com, which is vacation rentals by owner. This is one way you could make your own breakfast and lunch or dinner, depending on how much travel you want to do...but remember if you stay off site that you will need to pay $14 a day for parking.
If you do stay on site (which is what I do recommend to make your life easier), the Pop Century is wonderful and has good, fast bus service unlike some of the other value resorts. Check out mousesavers.com for the cheapest times of year and hope for free dining. Although lately I think the free dining is only offered when you stay at a moderate or deluxe hotel. Sometimes that upgrade is worth the savings, but sometimes its cheaper to take a deal like 30% off your room. You will need to do the math.
Have a great time! Even if you don't get to do Pirate extras, your little boy will be amazed, so don't feel pressured to get any extras!
Also, there are lots of fuel cost calculators out there where you can estimate your fuel costs by putting in the make and model of your car and miles to destination. Google fuel cost calculator. Have fun planning!

 

[puffkin]

Most of my family thinks we are nuts, but Disney is incredibly affordable. The reason I say that is once you buy your park ticket, there just aren't a lot of extras that you need to buy as the ticket pretty much covers everything.

Most people can eat MUCH cheaper than the dining plan/quick service dining plan (even when it is free). You really have to break down all the costs and know your food style. Look at the menus online to get ideas of prices.

We don't bring a ton of food, but we do bring drinks into the parks with us and that saves TONS of money. We are cereal/pop tart type people normally for breakfast, so we usually do that in Disney as well.

Look at some of the condos/rental homes nearby. Windsor Hills is awesome and very affordable. Some of their homes are more Disney than the Disney properties.

It may pay for one person to get an AP. That way you can get AP discount on rooms (if staying onsite) and free parking (if staying off). Doesn't hurt to price it out. Not to mention you can then get Tables In Wonderland and all the other AP discounts, especially the 10% merchandise discount. That really adds up!

I would skip a lot of the extras on the first trip. He will be so thrilled to be there that he won't miss what he doesn't know about. Trust me. My DS liked the Pirate League, but he LOVES getting a temp tattoo every trip. Costs about $6 and lasts a few weeks. Pirate League was TONS more and washed off that night.

 

[ETsmommy]

Have your son ask for Disney Gift Cards for Holidays and Bday. We bought a hat for each of our three kids but that was it. Anything else they wanted came out of their own money. It was nice spending about $60 total on souvenirs for the kids! We did do Pirate's League. For the two kids and the pictures it came out to be about $100 with tip. We did the picture because that was the only way they'd put the pictures on photopass. Oh, and research photopass before you go! We did the presale and saved there. That being said, Pirate's League was a fantastic experience that I would do again in a heartbeat. Even my cheapskate husband thought it was great. We bought costumes on ebay before we went. The costumes they sell there are so heavy. I looked for lightweight costumes. My 5 year old's costume came in long sleeves and pants and I just cut the arms and legs in a jagged way so they looked more piratey. I think I spent less than 30 on 4 costumes (my 3 year old was going to do it, but got sick, and I accidentally bought a 4th costume!).

I've thought about having him do that, but I think we're wanting to make it a surprise for him. I might put his 'spending money' on a gift card though and give it to him, he won't have to keep asking me for money and can get what he wants until it's gone. I was planning on doing the photopass, I have a niceish camera, but I like the special features that the photopass can do. Is that something that you have to ask for or is it automatically done? Thanks for the suggestions about buying costumes online before going, I didn't realize that you could bring your own in!!

we are a family of 4, we flew, stayed at pop, 10day tickets (2 adult, 1 child), free dining. total cost 1800.

flying from MN to Fl was waaayyy cheaper then the 24 hour drive. We flew 49.00 each way on Air Tran. (450.00)

park tickets (850)

Used magical express so no car rental.

pop room around 50.00 a night.

we were on the dining plan but I sent down a bunch of food and snacks ahead of time. (free)

We have done this this way twice. Once was in January and once in nov.

My best tip is create a separate email account just to sign up for travel deal websites. Then register on every one you can find.

I looked a little more into flying versus driving last night, and I'm thinking that in this case, it will be more expensive, but it will be worth it. Flights (right now) are about 360 / person, which is a little over $1,000 total. If I drive hubby car (which we would probably rent a car to drive, just to avoid putting that many miles on our car), it would cost at least $500 in gas, plus food, and rental car. I'm willing to spend an extra $500 to save a total of about 36 vacation hours (22 hour drive each way).

If you are willing to go any time of the year, that will help. April is usually one of the more crowded, more expensive times to go. We always go in September when they offer free dining. Our family of 4 is going in September for 7 nights, with Deluxe Dining, staying onsite in a moderate for around $2500. Since we live in GA, we drive down which helps with the cost.

I would rather go in April, because I think Ethan would LOVE going for his birthday, but it might be better to do September, both for price and also hubby's work schedule. I'll have to discuss with him and see what he thinks.

Most of my family thinks we are nuts, but Disney is incredibly affordable. The reason I say that is once you buy your park ticket, there just aren't a lot of extras that you need to buy as the ticket pretty much covers everything.

Most people can eat MUCH cheaper than the dining plan/quick service dining plan (even when it is free). You really have to break down all the costs and know your food style. Look at the menus online to get ideas of prices.

We don't bring a ton of food, but we do bring drinks into the parks with us and that saves TONS of money. We are cereal/pop tart type people normally for breakfast, so we usually do that in Disney as well.

Look at some of the condos/rental homes nearby. Windsor Hills is awesome and very affordable. Some of their homes are more Disney than the Disney properties.

It may pay for one person to get an AP. That way you can get AP discount on rooms (if staying onsite) and free parking (if staying off). Doesn't hurt to price it out. Not to mention you can then get Tables In Wonderland and all the other AP discounts, especially the 10% merchandise discount. That really adds up!

I would skip a lot of the extras on the first trip. He will be so thrilled to be there that he won't miss what he doesn't know about. Trust me. My DS liked the Pirate League, but he LOVES getting a temp tattoo every trip. Costs about $6 and lasts a few weeks. Pirate League was TONS more and washed off that night.

I think a lot of Disney is sticker shock when I look at everything. But, when I think about it that way, it does really make sense. That's a great idea about the temp tattoos, he loves those and would still have a blast with that!!

 

[3pletprincesses]

early May is nice too.

for a family of 5 a few months ago we spent less then $4000 for a 2 weeks vacation
$510 in gas (24 hours drive which took us 27 hours)
$2300 6 nights stay at POR with kids play free and deluxe meals
$400 tips and drinks
$530 for whyndham bonnet Creek 2 bedroom suite
$200 groceries for Bonnet Creek

Once at Bonnet Creek we took they bus and didn't have to pay for parking at Disney and we would go back to our condo for middle of the day break and had lunch there, then went back to Disney in the evening after dinner. We barely had any meals out.

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

I've been currently pricing out trips for our family of 3 also. I can get the free dining in September for 5 nights and 4 day Disney my way tickets staying at a preferred room in a value resort and 3 passes to MNSSHP plus roundtrip airfare from Pittsburgh to Orlando all for around $2500, so if you would add an extra night or 2 during that time, you'd still have a little left over. So I'd be looking for free dining deals, and try and go that way. We did the free dining last year, and we don't ever want to go back again, unless it's free dining, and we only did the quick service, but that was plenty fine for our family of 3. 2 quick service meals a day, plus 2 snacks a day - perfect. I don't think we spent any money at all on food, except our 1 character breakfast last year. Now that my daughter will be 8, she's not as into the character dining anymore, so we dont' have to do that, unless we have the extra money and want to do it.

 

[torinsmom]

The YES program will probably not work for you, unless you are going in January, February, June, July, August, September or October. This is when they have individual enrollment.

If you could go during free dining, that would be a big savings and you could do character meals for your son. I also think flying is worth a little extra money, b/c you will be saving time and your nerves. I think you could do a week at a value for $700 from mid-August to late September(value season) and if there is free dining, that would be included. Then you would have to do tickets through Disney, $850 for 7 day base or around $1025 for 7 day hoppers. You would be under $2000, with everything besides transportation, souvenirs and extra food.

Now, if you were to do mid April, you would be paying around $950 for a week at a value. There would be no free dining during that time. Tickets you could probably get through Undercover Tourist, so maybe $800 base or $975 hoppers. You would have to either pay for the dining plan(and pay regular price for tickets) at $48/day adult $13/day child. That would be around $770. You would still be under $3000, but would have less to play around with.

The other option is to stay offsite, which would save a lot if you were driving. If you are flying, having to rent a car would probably negate any savings.

 

[ETsmommy]

The YES program will probably not work for you, unless you are going in January, February, June, July, August, September or October. This is when they have individual enrollment. Can you do the YES program if you aren't homeschooling? I saw that, and just blew it off, thinking that we wouldn't be able to do that. Maybe I should look into it a little more.

If you could go during free dining, that would be a big savings and you could do character meals for your son. I also think flying is worth a little extra money, b/c you will be saving time and your nerves. I think you could do a week at a value for $700 from mid-August to late September(value season) and if there is free dining, that would be included. Then you would have to do tickets through Disney, $850 for 7 day base or around $1025 for 7 day hoppers. You would be under $2000, with everything besides transportation, souvenirs and extra food. I would rather go when I could get free dining. We are the type that we enjoy finding new places to go and eat at, and try new things. Is the dining that's included with the value just the quick service, and I'd have to pay extra to do the regular dining? What about the dining included with a moderate? I wonder if it would be better to pay the difference from quick service to regular dining or do a moderate if I get free regular dining!? So many options!!!

Now, if you were to do mid April, you would be paying around $950 for a week at a value. There would be no free dining during that time. Tickets you could probably get through Undercover Tourist, so maybe $800 base or $975 hoppers. You would have to either pay for the dining plan(and pay regular price for tickets) at $48/day adult $13/day child. That would be around $770. You would still be under $3000, but would have less to play around with.

The other option is to stay offsite, which would save a lot if you were driving. If you are flying, having to rent a car would probably negate any savings. I've talked to my hubby about possibly staying off-site and cooking some meals, but he's afraid that we just won't do it. And honestly, we probably won't. I don't mind doing breakfasts here and there, but I don't really want to have to cook on my vacation.

Thanks for the prices, it really helps to see numbers when I'm trying to figure this stuff out. I still really want to do April, but if I can get more for my money in September, I'm thinking that might be a better bet.

 

[charissemp]

You might watch for discounts in May, too. We've been during May the last 2 years, and we've been able to find great discounts.
We're also from Kansas, and we've found that flying is the best way for us to go. Last year, we flew for just over $600....family of 4.
Did you price out of Kansas City, or just Wichita? About 3 to 6 months out, we usually find that Southwest has GREAT flights out of Kansas City. We've found them well under $200 round trip per person. And no charge for bags!

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks for the prices, it really helps to see numbers when I'm trying to figure this stuff out. I still really want to do April, but if I can get more for my money in September, I'm thinking that might be a better bet.

Good point about the dining plan. With free dining, you have to pay extra for the regular plan if you are at a value. Might be worth it to do a moderate if that is the case.

The YES program was originally for homeschoolers and school groups and they still have those classes. A year or two ago, they started offering individual enrollment, where any child can attend. In exchange, the family gets discount tickets. My whole family is going this summer and for the 8 of us, 7 day hoppers were $1500. Without the YES discount, it would have been $2500, so it is a big discount. It might work for you if you got a room-only PIN and just paid for meals out of pocket. It would probably be the same savings at free dining though, so that would be something you'd have to look at.

With a small family, staying offsite doesn't save nearly as much money as if you need more than one room. We are renting a 5 bedroom pool home 3 miles from Disney for $700/week. 3 rooms(we have 3 teens, so 2 rooms would never have worked) would have been about $2100 for the week we like to spread out and I'm sure we'll enjoy the pool. We probably will not cook on the stove unless it is breakfast, but we will use the microwave and refrigerator. We tend to eat a lot of meals at offsite restaurants, which saves quite a bit.

No matter what, I think you can do this for under $3000. You might start saving change in a jar for souvenirs. We usually end up with $100 after saving 6-9 months.

 

[bjscheel]

Hang out on the Codes and Rates board which is a sub-forum of the Resorts board. You will be able to find out about the newest PINs and codes as they come out. Just know that you can either get free dining or a room discount, but not both. Aren't the dining plans getting pared down as to what you get next year?

Keep watching that airfare, trying different dates, carriers, and airports. It fluctuates so much. We have driven 3 hours to KC to get a great rate on a nonstop flight- total of $450 r/t for the four of us. Our flights last month from Des Moines were $200pp, which is pretty good for DM.

 

[ETsmommy]

You might watch for discounts in May, too. We've been during May the last 2 years, and we've been able to find great discounts.
We're also from Kansas, and we've found that flying is the best way for us to go. Last year, we flew for just over $600....family of 4.
Did you price out of Kansas City, or just Wichita? About 3 to 6 months out, we usually find that Southwest has GREAT flights out of Kansas City. We've found them well under $200 round trip per person. And no charge for bags!

I did look out of KC, but I always forget about SW, and never check them separately. I looked through my credit card, since I can use points, and looked from Wichita to MCO and Tampa, and well as from KC to MCO and Tampa and even OKC and Tulsa to both as well. It was cheapest from KC to Tampa, but then we'd have to rent a car to drive to Orlando, and I think that would negate the savings, as it was only about $140 cheaper total. I'll have to sign up for SW fares and see what I can find. I don't mind driving to KC if it means saving $50 - 100 / person!! I know SW bought out AirTran (which flies out of Wichita), so I'm hoping that SW will take over and start flying out of Wichita themselves.

 

[ETsmommy]

Hang out on the Codes and Rates board which is a sub-forum of the Resorts board. You will be able to find out about the newest PINs and codes as they come out. Just know that you can either get free dining or a room discount, but not both. Aren't the dining plans getting pared down as to what you get next year?

Keep watching that airfare, trying different dates, carriers, and airports. It fluctuates so much. We have driven 3 hours to KC to get a great rate on a nonstop flight- total of $450 r/t for the four of us. Our flights last month from Des Moines were $200pp, which is pretty good for DM.

I didn't realize the dining plans were changing from this year to next. Do you have a link that tells what they are doing and the differences?? I just know that my family would probably get tired of the counter service meals all the time. We like the variety and would probably like at least one table service meal, and will maybe do a character OOP or something. I'd like to do the Royal Castle one, but I doubt I can talk my guys into doing that!!

 

[DisneyScraps]

If you are trying to save money I would not April. I would also not suggest it to someone where it's a first trip. It's one of the most expensive times to go. It's terribly crowded and you don't get to do as much.

First tip pick a different time to go, i would go at the cheapest time which I believe in early December and January.

Is it really cheaper to drive to Florida than it is to fly? I would figure that out.

Which hotel are you looking at? I would go budget. I personally love the Pop Century.

You are going to want to have plenty of money for food and the snacks and extras in the parks.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

If you are trying to save money I would not April. I would also not suggest it to someone where it's a first trip. It's one of the most expensive times to go. It's terribly crowded and you don't get to do as much.

First tip pick a different time to go, i would go at the cheapest time which I believe in early December and January.

Is it really cheaper to drive to Florida than it is to fly? I would figure that out.

Which hotel are you looking at? I would go budget. I personally love the Pop Century.

You are going to want to have plenty of money for food and the snacks and extras in the parks.

I disagree. Late April/early May is a great time to go when Easter is Early April. It is regular pricing, not peak. If you like warm weather go with April, Sept, Oct and not January. Unless you don't mind if there is a cold snap with temps in the 30's.

 

[Nature Mom]

Are you more interested in having a vacation where everything is taken care of for you, or an adventure with your child? It may be nothing you are interested in but WDW has a lovely campground, Fort Wilderness, and we stayed there last September for a week for less than $300 with my AAA discount. I also bought our tickets and MNSSHP tickets from AAA and got 2 free days added to Park Hopper plus a discount too. We didn't take part in the dining plan but did eat out at the restaurants they wanted to eat at the most. None of my kids care about character dining and so that was never a concern for us. Our whole trip with travel, food, lodging and extras like 2 days at UO/IOA and a surprise BBB dress up for DD, I still spent less than $1600. My kids love the adventure of camping and they loved the extras that we get by saving money. Plus, we are nature people and much rather be in our own space than in a big hotel. To each his own, right?

I would definitely tell you to pay the $40 AAA membership, because the discounts are well worth it for so many different things. One day at Universal I saved more than membership fees...and I am still saving. (Plus they are faster at getting service to a stranded motorists than my insurance road-side does. )

This year, we are using Y.E.S. program, and staying for 10 days. If you can change your time to off season, I would do it. Plus, the crowds were so manageable. We only used Fastpass once the entire time, everything else we walked right up and rode. FABULOUS!!

That first visit is overwhelming. I had guides, print outs, had hung out on this board lurking for months and researched it like one who was going to Antartica for 6 months, lol but I was STILL overwhelmed. We missed so much. We never even got to World Showcase or the other side of UO/IOA (we had to leave a day 1/2 early and completely missed a full park day ). The imagineering is so amazing, the colors all so bright and vivid and the stories from the Disney we grew up on and loved weaved into this 'world' is so awesome. I know my DS told me to close my mouth about a dozen times. lol But that's okay, he's almost 20 and says it was his favorite vacation ever and we have taken that kid all over the world! lol That first visit magic will overtake you. I'm glad we missed so much, because it will still be all new when we go back (and even DS says he is wearing a costume for MNSSHP this year!). You'll have a great trip, whatever you decide.

 

[jsgrand0]

I think $3000 is very doable. Just watch for those discounts. We (2 adults, 2 kids and a baby) are going for 7 nights, 8 days and our total price Is $2131 which includes dining, value room and 8 day tickets.

Just keep watching for those discounts! Good luck!!

This is our package! lol

 

[southern_redhead]

We drive
Get Y.E.S. tickets
Stay off site in a condo
Eat some of our own food

I can do Disney for much less than $3,000

We did this, too. For us, we still spent close to $5000 (I haven't tallied it up yet, yikes!, but that is a pretty close figure.) Of course, that is six people vs 3 and two of our kids were "Disney adults". I will say that driving was cheaper than flying six people, however, I've priced four people and it's a break even for us. So, if I take the kids back alone, we will fly.

YES is a good program. Our class was a little monotonous but I think it's a great idea. I also see the benefit if you have an only child, your kid will get a full morning running around Disney with other kids. If they are at all outgoing that could be a lot of fun.

Staying offsite and cooking is cheaper on paper for us, but IRL it wasn't as much cheaper as I had thought. For one thing, I planned meals for all but 2 breakfasts and a supper. Then we ended up eating twice more on property (at CS locations) because it was just taking too long to leave the parks, drive to the condo, fix a meal, etc... It was nice to go back to the room and shower/change clothes but you can do that onsite and probably in less time. For this trip it still worked out cheaper to be offsite - six people with four of them being adult sized, one of them being a very tall adult, meant we would need 3 rooms in a value. Hello, can I get a cha-ching?! We rented a 3 bed/2 bath condo for the cost of one value room. Having 4 large beds and a couch with living room and two chairs probably saved everyone's sanity. There again, if I were to go back with just my 3 younger kids, we could share one room and would do so for the ease of being onsite. I will say that I can see where food selection could get tedious in Disney. I have never seen so few selections on a menu as I did at those CS locations. The food, itself, was fine but I can imagine that hot dog/pizza/chicken strip would get old quickly. If you have more adventurous eaters you might be able to attempt some foods in World Showcase.

ETA - I've seen the DDP 2012 listed out somewhere. Just google Disney Dining Plan 2012 and you should find it. From what I remember, cost went up and snacks went down from 2 to 1. Also, they are giving everyone a free mug instead of only doing it for QSDP and DxDDP people (which I thought was an odd thing to do, I'm glad they fixed that.) Also, it seemed you used to only have to have 1 day tickets and then got dining for the length of your resort stay but now must have 2 days? I guess too many people bought the day and then did something like YES for the remainder of their trip.