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[aanthony03]

Lat night I told my husband to give me a figure on how much he wanted to spend for our WDW trip. I told him give me a price only for the room or rooms and tickets. Now there are 6 of us going (the two of us, my mother in law, and our 3 littles ones ages 6, 4, and 1), I told him to keep that in mind. Well, he looks at me, and says 2,000.00. Now, I'm good at budgeting clothes, long distance calls, shoes, all the trips we been on since we met. I'm good but gee not that good. Anway, I thought I'd give it a whirl just for some kicks.

Any ideas please feel free, I'd take any advice anyone can give me!


Christina
Wife to Andrew 02/07/98
Mother to Evangelia 01/21/99
Epiphania 02/14/01
Baby Harry 03/02/04

 

[barbnbrian]

Do you need to include transportation for 6 in that $2,000? Are you planning to drive or fly? What month would you be going and for how many days? We need more details to calculate better.

 

[pigget74]

I hope that is only for room only--I did a family of 4 for 1,200--that included room ASM and tickets. So it can be done--maybe. How many days are you going? At least the 1 year old is free. Is the MIL paying her way or is she in the figure as well? As far aws tickets go do you want park hoppers, no expiration?

 

[aanthony03]

Thank you for both responding. We want to stay 7 nights, that way we can do the parks 2 days each. I'm not sure but I think to see WDW you need to days, MGM I think could be done in 2 days}since we have 3 littles with us it could probably be done in one day since there is half children and half adult things to do. Epcot definetely would need two days. I'm thinking about buying just a plain 7 day ticket, because of the way we will be going to the parks. Transportation I think I will do separate. Unless, I see a good package deal for all. We are going to pay for the MIL, and she could pay for the extra's the the Poly Luau, Princess Tea Party she decides. MIL is suppose to call in the next couple of days to let us know when she is flying in from Sydney. For right now I would probably say June thru Aug. I would like to go at other times when it's value seasan, but I don't want to take a chance on them flunking my daughter because she missed school. My husband and I are already on their bad list for taking her to Sydney for the Holidays. My father in law passed away Oct 04' and we didn't want her to be alone, so we thought being with the grandchildren would cheer her up.

Pigget74 will you be pregnant when you go on your cruise? Congrat's by the way, may you have a safe and quick delivery. Somehow when you say it in greek it sounds better.

 

[pearlieq]

Well, you could do it, but there are some tradeoffs...

You all can squeeze into a trundle room at Port Orleans - Riverside (5 people plus the baby in the crib). If you can catch a code and get the room for $130 a night, your total would be $1,014.65 with 11.5% tax

Basic 7 day Magic Your Way tickets (no hopping, no plusses) would be $976.62 for the 6 of you--3 adults at $211.94, 2 kids at 170.40 and the baby is free.

Your total would be $1991.27, so it is doable, but there will be six of you in a room at a Mod with one bathroom--things will be tight. Also, there will be no park hopping, no water parks, etc. But, you'd still be at WDW!!!

 

[aanthony03]

Boy pearlieq you are good. That gives me somthing to work with. I think we will be ok with the one bathroom. I usually give the girls their bath together, so I can be finished. I'll try to price out some mod too. Thanks!

 

[BethR]

Welcome to the DIS, Christina!

Would you be willing to stay off site? There are some WONDERFUL spacious accomodations very close to Disney that are available. It would really help to bring down your costs. And would give you and your MIL some privacy!

Also, I know that the Luau, etc are not in the Budget that you have set up, but things of that nature really start to add up. You haven't even added in your costs for travel and food.

You may want to plan a day or two of down time- saving you the price of the park passes those days, to do things like the Luau.

Just things to think about.

Good Luck!

 

[pigget74]

I will be 3 mths preggo on my cruise in March. The trip was planned but the baby was a blessing. My kids are 10 and 7 now and we have done Disney many times and each time we were on budget. An idea would be to rent points from DVC on the rent trade board and try to get a 2 bedroom. Old Key West cost less points and it is very nice. You could stay on from Sunday and checkout Friday for cheaper than you could on the weekends. They have a full kitchen 2 bathrooms, and laundry. They are very nice. That is an idea. Would you oppose to getting 2 connecting rooms at the All Stars or Pop Century. That way you would have 2 bathrooms and 4 beds. Once you have your actual dates in mind will make things a little easier.

 

[aanthony03]

I thought about getting two connecting rooms, but I thought it would be more expensive. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks!

 

[MrsPete]

With three children so young, I don't think you'll want to go to the parks EVERY DAY. Even at a slow pace, it's more than they can handle, and you'll end up with melt-downs. When my kids were this young, their very favorite activity was swimming in the hotel pool -- I don't think they're alone in that assessment either! If you're staying a week, Here's what I'd suggest:

Sunday -- Drive or fly down, settle into hotel, swim, plan a special dinner -- there's no sense in "spending" a theme park ticket price on a day when you can't spend more than a few hours inside the parks
Monday -- Park day
Tuesday -- Park day
Wednesday -- Sleep late, do a character breakfast at a resort, Downtown Disney, swim, rent mouse boats, recharge everyone's batteries -- use this day for the Poly luau and the Princess Tea, which you mentioned -- no theme-park tickets needed for any of this
Thursday -- Park day
Friday -- Park day
Saturday -- Character breakfast at at resort, swim, head home -- again, there's no sense in using a theme park ticket day for the last day of your trip

With three small children, this is a realistic schedule, and it only requires four ticket days, which will slash your budget. You won't see everything in every park, but you won't be able to do that anyway. With this type of pace, the children will enjoy it.

As for rooms, I'd lean towards two connecting rooms at a value resort. Since you're traveling June-August, you'll want the benefits of the extra hour in the AM and/or the e-ticket nights. Also, with three adults, you'll appreciate Disney's transportation, which means that you don't have to stick together all the time.

 

[my3princes]

It looks like your ticket costs are fixed as pearlieq figured ($$976.62). You should definately consider staying offsite. We are planning on staying at Buena Vista Suites using the mousesavers discount it is $89/night. This includes 2 queen sized beds, and a full size sleeper sofa. You also get a microwave, fridge. It is a 2 room suite. They provide a breakfast buffet in the morning which is another big savings. They also provide complementary shuttles to the Disney Parks. 7 nights @ $89 = $623.00 (before tax) including 1 meal per day. Total for tickets and lodging is $1599.62 with taxes your still less than $1700. That could buy food to prepare in your suite. So tickets, accomodations and some food for under $2000 is very doable.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Hi aanthony03! Looks like you're already getting some good advise. I'll just add to it a little bit.

June thru August it "regular" season at the value resorts, but at the Home-Away-From-Home Resorts, it will be "value" season afetr July 4. If you can stall your vacation until July 5, you could get a Ft. Wilderness Cabin for $234/night plus tax (rack rate). Okay, that's $1826 for 7 nights when you factor in the taxes. It's still a little high but if you have AAA, that's another 15% off, so the price is closer to $1552. If you can find a code, the cost will probably come closer to $1100. The advantage is that the cabin sleeps 6, has a full kitchen and a separate bedroom. So, you'd have more space to spread out than a single room at POR and you'd also have that kitchen for quick breakfasts, snacks and possibly even a few home-cooked dinners.

For tickets, you will need 3 adult's and 2 children's passes. The 1yo won't need a ticket. Sign up for the MouseSavers.com Newsletter now. The February letter will come out around 2/15. There is almost always a link to discounted Ticketmania.com tickets in the newsletter. The cost for 3 "adult" and 2 "child" 7-day MYW base tickets (no hopping, no pluses, expires 14 days after 1st use) would be around $910.

So, I guess that my answer is that it could be done for your family for under $2000. It would take a lot of work to get the discounts and there's no guarantee that they'll even be available for your dates. Good luck!

 

[Local_Girl]

I believe that staying off site will give you more bang for your buck, if you can do without some of the on site perks ("magic", bus transport, etc.). We are staying at Cypress Pointe in April, in a 3 bdrm unit, for about $100 per night (through Hotelkingdom.com). My MIL will be with us too and it will be nice for her to have her own space. We are planning on eating at the resort a few times, and we'll also have a washer/dryer in the unit, which I find invaluable with kids. We are planning to purchase our tickets through Ticketmania. I agree with aka-mad...sign up for the Mousesavers newsletter! They have the best prices on the 10 day tickets (the child's 10 day ticket is cheaper than the 7 day!! ). Room and tickets only can definitely be done for under $2000 for 7 days. Good luck!

 

[poohj80]

If you can afford it, I HIGHLY recommend staying on-site. It will be more magical and you would be able to take advantage of the extra magic hours which might help lengthen your park time each day so you don't feel guilty about taking the afternoons off to rest, swim in the pool, etc.

Another option for the room is to rent points from a DVC member. DVC units come with a full kitchen and can be 1 or 2 BR (I would recommend the 2 BR). The cost will depend on your dates.

 

[FLORIDAFUNFAMILY]

if you stay off-site you almost need to rent a car for transpo, but with the kids you reallly should stay on-site if at all possible renting dvc points is a great way to get great rooms cheap (Buyer Beware) I have done this myself and it akways works out great. The idea of skipping a day here and there and filling with other activities works well . Remember lots of perks staying on-site, disney transportation is very nice a takes a lot of stress off Mom and Dad.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

You haven't said if you are driving or not, did you?? If you are driving, I'd consider off site because of the amount of people you have and the budget you are on.

I checked this place out on www.villadirect.com. We almost stayed here last trip(before I won an auction at Skyauction) and my friends have stayed at Windsor Palms and loved it. Make sure you click on "Location Tour" to see the pool and stuff. This place would be $860 plus tax for June and July and even cheaper in August. At the bottom of the page you can do all kinds of searches to see what you want.

http://www.villadirect.com/nvd_summ...2R3JhZGU9NiZhdk1heFJlc3VsdHM9MjA=#sumactiontp

Tickets would be $1,098.03 for advance tickets with Hopping option (I really like to park hop when we go to WDW. I've done it before where you have to stick to one park for the day and I didn't like it).

That's a total of $2,057..........not bad. And you would save on your food bill if you ate at the townhome for breakfast(bagels, cereal......you wouldn't even have to cook, but you would have some place to keep cold drinks and such)

Good luck in your planning.

 

[zippehsmom]

Don't forget that if you do decide to stay offsite and if you're not driving you'll need to rent a minivan. Make sure you factor that cost into whether you want to stay on or off site.

Good luck, it looks like you have gotten some good advice.

zippehsmom

 

[CheapMom]

If you are used to (and require) luxury accomodations you can't do it and stay onsite.
If you go with 5 day tix from ticketmania- tickets will be $912. (That is one park per day, no plus options, must be used within 14 days of 1st use)
If you get 2 rooms at a value resort at a good rate you will definately be under $2000. For example if you get a $69 rate and ad tax you will be paying about $1082 for the two rooms. $1082 + $912

If no codes or discounts come out you will probably end up paying around $77 per night plus taxes would come to around $1215.76. Add tickets and you are at $2127.00.

THE GOOD NEWS IS : It will only cost about $2 more per ticket to upgrade to 7 days!!! I just had to use 5 days in my hypotheotical to get you in under $2K.

If the rooms go down to $55 per night- you can have your cake and eat it too- 7 days at the parks and 2 rooms onsite for under $1800.

 

[disneymom3]

I always find it interesting when people say that you miss so much magic staying offsite and that staying onsite with little ones is a must. Somehow to me, those two things do not go hand in hand. Sleeping in one room with my children for a week holds NO magic for me whatsoever!! LOL!

Seriously, we have stayed on and we have stayed off and while I liked onsite for some things, we really enjoy offsite better. I honestly love the sight of driving under the gateway into the world each morning and I truly love the sight of our two bedroom, two bathroom with a living room and kitchen condo when we return at days end! It feels much more relaxing to me to be able to spread out and relax in a large well appointed villa than to try and keep things organized and semi neat to avoid taking over the whole space we are in with a hotel room.

Have those of you saying you MUST stay onsite done both? Not a criticism at all--just honestly wondering if you have tried both and why you have such a firm opinion about it. I am sure it doesn't help that we also hated the busing system.

 

[my3princes]

We have also stayed on and off site. I really have no preference as we are hardly ever in the room anyway. I agree though that with 3 kids one room just isn't enough. You can't get out of each others way. We like camping in our own camper at FW or staying in their cabins. Lots of room. Otherwise we prefer a hotel with a suite and Disneys are just too expensive for our budget. Off site can sometimes be the way to go. Just plan ahead for transportation.