Trip cost these days?

[greenclan67]

We are here now. Flights out of Buf was $1392.00 cdn. Staying at Orange Lake, found a great owner that only wanted the cost of her points to pay her maintenance fees. $1042.00 for 14 nights in a 2 bdrm condo. Car rental for 2 weeks $452.00 cdn. We have platinum passes for the Seaworld/Busch Parks bought last year will expire end of this trip, and we used them in Williamsburg and xmas here so paid $540 cdn for them. We have been eating in our room most of the time. I think we will come in around $4000.00 cdn. I never count my groceries as i would buy them at home anyhow. Thats for 2 adults, and 2 teens.

 

[WeluvthePeterPanRide]

I am pricing out Disney now for the first week of December for 2 adults and 4 kids older than 10 (6 adults). All CND and tax and current exchange rate.

West jet out of Toronto $3400
Disney Swan 2 rooms, 7 days with CAA rate $5074
Park hopper tickets 7 days $3478
Food/souvenirs incedentals $2848

Grand total about $15,000

We have gone almost every year in the past 10 years and have stayed at Value, Moderate and off site. Never gone over $10,000 before. I've had free dining for every Disney trip - luck and planning. Of course the poor Canadian dollar has really impacted the budget. Probably no free dining for the week we want to go.

I have always wanted to stay in the Epcot area hotels which is why I priced it out. But once you see that total you start rethinking priorities maybe it's time to try something else like California or Hawaii.

I went on All Ears and priced out the restaurants we would go to with only one character buffet. Added Orlando sales tax at 6.5% and automatic 18% gratuity that groups of 6 or more always have to pay. We eat breakfast in room as girls like Nutella and bagels for breakfast. I assumed a treat everyday.

There is room to save for sure. This was what I priced out for what I want to do. If free dining comes out, I'll switch to a moderate. Looked into renting 2 bedroom villa with DVC as price similar to Swan but no refund once you commit and I never know with DH's work if we have to cancel last minute. With older kids, our dates aren't as flexible as when they were young.

 

[alc571]

Flights Victoria-Orlando $2700.00 (3 people)
DVC rental, 7 nights: $1500.00 (AKL)
6 day non-hoppers: $1400.00 (3 people, sadly at 10 our son is an adult!)
Food, souvenirs, etc.: $3000.00

Total: $8600.00

Holy heck, that is more than I thought.

I will never complain about paying $400/person for flights from Toronto again... lol

 

[Aladora]

I will never complain about paying $400/person for flights from Toronto again... lol

We went in December and $400/person would be barely enough to get us off the island and back. (seriously, I priced out Victoria-Seattle return and the best price was $389/person!)

I love living in Victoria but getting on and off this island is insane. I'm taking DS to Vancouver for a few days this Spring break and the ferry there and back is over $150.00.

 

[dis_guy]

There is room to save for sure. This was what I priced out for what I want to do.

For me this really sums it up. It really is a careful balancing act between what you can get by with and what you want. We went through the whole "we're doing this on a tight budget" process but at the end it is a vacation and we made a few choices that ended up costing us more. Not enough to cause financial stress but enough to ensure a great vacation. I can see our annual trip becoming our every 18-24 month trip.

We were going to book POP but in the end we're going back to CBR. We love the resort, know it well and are extremely comfortable with it. We were going to get super cheap flights but for our time (leaving Dec 31/16) there was just nothing offered in the budget range and little prospect of it changing, so we splurged on the Westjet nonstop flight for the same $ as United was offering with connections. No more TS every night but we will have some. Thankfully we're not big spenders on stuff while we're there so we'll just budget enough for our usual spending habits there. I booked everything just before the ticket prices went up. We may have spent more than absolutely necessary but it's done and we can begin our planning with some peace of mind.

So here's the nitty gritty for me and DW:

Nonstop flights on WS(YEG-MCO):$1600 CAD
7 nights CBR, 8 day hoppers: $3870 CAD
Dining with say 3 TS dinners: $800 CAD
Misc spending: $500 CAD

Total: $6770 CAD

 

[BLAZEY]

We went this past November. 2 adults, 1 child. 7 park days, 2 travel days
Flights Victoria- Orlando $2438CAD
AoA 8 nights $1735CAD
Tickets 7 day base - FREE AirMiles
Food and Souvenirs $1500 CAD (may have been less)
Total $5673

 

[BLAZEY]

We went in December and $400/person would be barely enough to get us off the island and back. (seriously, I priced out Victoria-Seattle return and the best price was $389/person!)

I love living in Victoria but getting on and off this island is insane. I'm taking DS to Vancouver for a few days this Spring break and the ferry there and back is over $150.00.

I know what you mean, I searched going from Vancouver or Bellingham, but with expense of getting off this rock it would save about $50, not to mention the time and hassle added. There are time I wish they would build a bridge, then I go to Vancouver and NOPE!

 

[Aladora]

I know what you mean, I searched going from Vancouver or Bellingham, but with expense of getting off this rock it would save about $50, not to mention the time and hassle added. There are time I wish they would build a bridge, then I go to Vancouver and NOPE!

If we had a bridge then it would be too easy for outsiders to come to our little slice of paradise!

 

[Stars In The Night]

For an August trip: Disney World $5,797.19, all inclusive, for our family of 3.
This includes:
- Flights from Saskatchewan (the price on those makes me want to cry!)
- 3 day Base tickets
- 1 Water park ticket
- 5 nights in a Little Mermaid Room at AoA
- Quick serve dining plan
- Pirates League Mermaid Makeover

 

[momof2gr8kids]

For our next trip I'm trying to keep it at a budget of $5000 Canadian for 4 of us.

Dec 29 - 3 nights POP & 5 nights AKV - $1115
Driving - approx. $1000 gas, hotels, food along way.
Tickets - approx. $500 if we add on WP&M & Hoppers & an extra day to our tickets. 5 day base tickets free with airmiles and aeroplan points.
Food - $1000 - Driving, so bringing or will pick up in Orlando lots of snacks, drinks, fruit, breakfast stuff and will have access to offsite dining and delis for days we want to eat something in room and chill at pool. With the studio villa we will have microwave & toaster so that will help save on food costs. Will get some starbucks gift cards with points as well to use in parks. Because of the time of year we are going we are planning anyways to leave parks during afternoon when it's crowded so heading back to resort and eating something there or offsite won't be such a huge burden anyways.

= 3615 US which is getting pretty close to $5000 Canadian so depending on what our dollar does will depend on what I add or cut out.

 

[sk8jdgca]

For those of you in GTA or southern Ontario, I'm not sure why you wouldn't fly Southwest out of Detroit or Buffalo. Even with exchange it is so much cheaper and you get two checked bags for free. For a late summer trip I got $95 down and 145 back ( labour day weekend) that is in US dollars but includes all taxes.

 

[Frank4202]

For those of you in GTA or southern Ontario, I'm not sure why you wouldn't fly Southwest out of Detroit or Buffalo. Even with exchange it is so much cheaper and you get two checked bags for free. For a late summer trip I got $95 down and 145 back ( labour day weekend) that is in US dollars but includes all taxes.

Exactly what I do. I think thats why my trip cost is down so much compared to some. We always fill 1 suitcase with clothes and bring a second thats empty which we fill with souvenirs.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

We went from January 26th to February 4th of this year. Myself, DW, DD12, DS9, DD5. Here is a breakdown of our costs (all converted to Canadian at $1.45 at the time):

Flights: $437.00 (Total was $2600, but used points for most of it)
Room 1: $10,725 (BWV, 1 bdr suite, dining plan, 10 day hopper tickets)
Room 2: $2,856 (throw away room at Pop Century, dining plan for 1, 10 day park hopper for 1)
Memory Maker: $216
Valet Parking: $225
Car Rental: $330 (mini van)
Groceries: $300
Spending Money: $2,900 ($2,000 USD)

Total: $17,989 CDN

Room 2 was not a total throw away. My in-laws ended up coming down and using the room, their costs are not included in the above.

Just for comparison sake - we did the same vacation last year, with an additional 5 nights at Trade Wind Island Grand in St. Pete Beach for less than the above total cost. The exchange rate really hit hard this year. Also, if the rate was about $1.30, the cost would drop about $2,000. At par the cost would be about $12,500.

We have already booked next year's vacation and have rented points for a 2 bdr villa at BWV for $4,400 USD. This should cut down on the costs for next year somewhat.

 

[DnA2010]

For our next trip I'm trying to keep it at a budget of $5000 Canadian for 4 of us.

Dec 29 - 3 nights POP & 5 nights AKV - $1115
Driving - approx. $1000 gas, hotels, food along way.
Tickets - approx. $500 if we add on WP&M & Hoppers & an extra day to our tickets. 5 day base tickets free with airmiles and aeroplan points.
Food - $1000 - Driving, so bringing or will pick up in Orlando lots of snacks, drinks, fruit, breakfast stuff and will have access to offsite dining and delis for days we want to eat something in room and chill at pool. With the studio villa we will have microwave & toaster so that will help save on food costs. Will get some starbucks gift cards with points as well to use in parks. Because of the time of year we are going we are planning anyways to leave parks during afternoon when it's crowded so heading back to resort and eating something there or offsite won't be such a huge burden anyways.

= 3615 US which is getting pretty close to $5000 Canadian so depending on what our dollar does will depend on what I add or cut out.

Wow your room costs are soo cheap! is that renting or using points?

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Wow your room costs are soo cheap! is that renting or using points?

Pop ressie was through an agency that gets convention rates ($133/nt). AKV was renting ($143/nt). Jan. 1 starts one of their lowest point times for DVC so I jumped on it as soon as I found out what the kids school schedule was going to look like.

 

[alc571]

We went in December and $400/person would be barely enough to get us off the island and back. (seriously, I priced out Victoria-Seattle return and the best price was $389/person!)

I love living in Victoria but getting on and off this island is insane. I'm taking DS to Vancouver for a few days this Spring break and the ferry there and back is over $150.00.

Wowzers!

 

[keaster]

We just came back from a week at AKL (2 adults/2 children). We are DVC owners, so I don't add in the cost of the room.

Flights for 4 - $1200 Canadian (booked early on Expedia out of Buffalo)

Food/Souvenirs - $1495 US or about $1900 with exchange rate right now.

 

[I Run Long]

Yeah - another Victorian here. We would always fly out of Seattle but now it really isn't worth it. I remember the cheapest flight I got from Seattle was in 2010 - Cdn$ 989.00 SEA to MCO return for 4 people!!! The last time we went was in Aug 2014, the same flight from Seattle to Orlando return was Cdn$1369.00 for 4 people. Now I would be extremely lucky to pay that rate for 2 - so essentially it has doubled. I love living on the island but we sure are penalized in terms of ferry costs or flights just to get off it. As a result we just don't leave the island anymore. We always went to DW every 2 years, I don't foresee us going until I retire in 5 years time. Haven't been to Vancouver in years - it's just insane.

 

[mshanson3121]

Our budget is $6000 CDN for 12 nights in Florida, with 6 days at MK and 1 day at LL.

$1450 6-day base MK tickets (family of four)
$150 Legoland tickets (with free entry for kids)
$850 for travel costs to/from (driving 28 hours, includes gas, meals, hotels, tolls)
$200 groceries
$100 Pirates League
$300 Spending
$250 for a special meal (whether we do a dining/ROL package, HDDR etc...)
$150 Parking

Total: $3450 US exchanged at $1.38 = $4761 CDN

$1200 CDN for off-site rental for 12 nights: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, games room and private 24' pool (and if my family goes with us, our cost will only be $600 for this)


Total: $5961

 

[Aladora]

Haven't been to Vancouver in years - it's just insane.

BC Ferries is having a spring break sale right now, 30% off the passenger fare on certain sailings. Still crazy expensive but slightly less so.

It's definitely the price we pay for living in paradise but it is one I am happy to put up with in exchange for winters that rarely go below 0.