What is the cheapest way for a family of 3 to go for a week?
- Thread starter ssatterly
- Start date
tzeitel
Toadi Acceleratio Semper Absurda
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2008
- Messages
- 3,354
It all depends on what your definition of "cheap" is 
Military families get discounts on tickets and accommodations at WDW, but I know some people prefer off-site for a budget vacation. It also depends if you are driving or flying, your dining habits etc.
Since you are planning for 2015 you have lots of time to figure out what you would like to do while at WDW and lots of time to save
What I like to do is go to the WDW site and price out vacations, that way I have an idea how much we would need to save. We are not water park people and we rarely (if ever) hop from park to park so that saves us on the ticket add-ons. We try to go during free dining since it works well for us (although it does not for everyone) and we love the Pop (although I would looove to stay at a monorail or Epcot area resort
). I would rather stay longer at a value than have a short stay at a mod.
We have a change jar, I have a tipped job (pooled so it is not as good as servers get) and all my tips I save for vacations. I am a member of some reward sites (Swagbucks, My Points, e-Rewards and e-Miles) that have airline miles/gift cards as rewards. Every little bit helps!
Military families get discounts on tickets and accommodations at WDW, but I know some people prefer off-site for a budget vacation. It also depends if you are driving or flying, your dining habits etc.Since you are planning for 2015 you have lots of time to figure out what you would like to do while at WDW and lots of time to save
What I like to do is go to the WDW site and price out vacations, that way I have an idea how much we would need to save. We are not water park people and we rarely (if ever) hop from park to park so that saves us on the ticket add-ons. We try to go during free dining since it works well for us (although it does not for everyone) and we love the Pop (although I would looove to stay at a monorail or Epcot area resort
). I would rather stay longer at a value than have a short stay at a mod.We have a change jar, I have a tipped job (pooled so it is not as good as servers get) and all my tips I save for vacations. I am a member of some reward sites (Swagbucks, My Points, e-Rewards and e-Miles) that have airline miles/gift cards as rewards. Every little bit helps!
MomofKatie
Dairy World? Fairy World! OH, DARN IT!!
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2004
- Messages
- 11,447
What we do (a family of 3) to save money on Disney vacations:
- drive to FL instead of fly, and bring food in the car to eat on the way so you won't be stopping for snacks all the time.
- pack the car full! I bring everything I can think of that we might possibly need, so I can avoid spending $$ on it in FL. I bring any and all cold meds, antacids, and any other drugstore stuff we might need. Sunscreen, bath products, etc all get packed. Lots of clothes, shoes, extras of everything "just in case". Doesn't cost any extra to really stuff the car!
- on the same note, we bring breakfast food and snacks with us so we won't spend $$ on it on the vacation. Bottled water, juices, and other drinks go in the cooler for the trip. We aren't drinkers, but if we were the type to want a beer or cocktail in the evenings, we would be bringing it with us instead of paying big bucks at a restaurant or bar.
- DH travels a good bit with his job, so we have quite a few hotel points built up. We can usually stay for a week free at a decent offsite hotel using hotel points. Being in the military, take advantage of any deals you can find!
- we also look for cheap hotels on Hotwire or Priceline when we don't use points.
- a note on hotels- it is easier to spend less as a small family, since we don't need a 2 bedroom villa or suite. We can be comfortable even in a small single room, since there are only 3 of us.
- I have DD use her own money for her souvenirs. She gets $$ for holidays from relatives, and she saves up her allowance. She is more judicious with her own money, and she doesn't ask me for every little thing we see in the parks. DH and I agree to a strict spending limit for our own souvenirs- neither of us is big on them, so we usually keep it to $50 or less (for the both of us) for the week.
- We sometimes get hoppers, sometimes not, but it would save $$ to plan carefully so you could avoid having to get them. Look for deals on military tickets- Disney has really good prices on a special Armed Forces ticket, I believe.
- we try to go at lower priced times of the year (Value or Regular seasons). We save money and time, since we can do more when it isn't crowded in the parks. When the lines at meet & greets are only a few minutes, you don't feel like you need to spend a lot of $$ for a character meal. When you can do everything you want in the parks in 5 days because there are no lines, you don't have to stay for 7-10 nights to "do it all".
- we did several trips when DD was younger than 10, so we could save $$ on her tickets. Once she turned 10, we stopped doing buffets and family style restaurants- it is NOT worth the price when your 10 to 12 year old barely eats anything, but you have to pay the steep adult price for them.
- most trips, we only do one or 2 TS meals, and we share appetizers/desserts, drink water, and research lower priced restaurants. We also try to eat at least a few lunches/dinners at offsite, inexpensive restaurants.
- speaking of water, every CS restaurant will give you a FREE large cup of ice water if you ask. And it is filtered, good tasting water. We usually drink only water when we go to WDW, and bring along Crystal Lite packets if we want to flavor it.
- biggest thing we do is make sure we save a little every pay period towards vacation so we don't have to use credit and rack up debt for a trip to WDW.
Some will say we are too skimpy and you are on vacation- live a little! But we have been able to go to WDW on average once a year for a week or so as a single income family. We are happy to be at the parks, and it is not a hardship at all to drink water, stay offsite, and cool it with the souvenirs. It works for us, but I know there are others who couldn't vacation the way we do, and that is OK.
Good luck with your trip planning!
- drive to FL instead of fly, and bring food in the car to eat on the way so you won't be stopping for snacks all the time.
- pack the car full! I bring everything I can think of that we might possibly need, so I can avoid spending $$ on it in FL. I bring any and all cold meds, antacids, and any other drugstore stuff we might need. Sunscreen, bath products, etc all get packed. Lots of clothes, shoes, extras of everything "just in case". Doesn't cost any extra to really stuff the car!
- on the same note, we bring breakfast food and snacks with us so we won't spend $$ on it on the vacation. Bottled water, juices, and other drinks go in the cooler for the trip. We aren't drinkers, but if we were the type to want a beer or cocktail in the evenings, we would be bringing it with us instead of paying big bucks at a restaurant or bar.
- DH travels a good bit with his job, so we have quite a few hotel points built up. We can usually stay for a week free at a decent offsite hotel using hotel points. Being in the military, take advantage of any deals you can find!
- we also look for cheap hotels on Hotwire or Priceline when we don't use points.
- a note on hotels- it is easier to spend less as a small family, since we don't need a 2 bedroom villa or suite. We can be comfortable even in a small single room, since there are only 3 of us.
- I have DD use her own money for her souvenirs. She gets $$ for holidays from relatives, and she saves up her allowance. She is more judicious with her own money, and she doesn't ask me for every little thing we see in the parks. DH and I agree to a strict spending limit for our own souvenirs- neither of us is big on them, so we usually keep it to $50 or less (for the both of us) for the week.
- We sometimes get hoppers, sometimes not, but it would save $$ to plan carefully so you could avoid having to get them. Look for deals on military tickets- Disney has really good prices on a special Armed Forces ticket, I believe.
- we try to go at lower priced times of the year (Value or Regular seasons). We save money and time, since we can do more when it isn't crowded in the parks. When the lines at meet & greets are only a few minutes, you don't feel like you need to spend a lot of $$ for a character meal. When you can do everything you want in the parks in 5 days because there are no lines, you don't have to stay for 7-10 nights to "do it all".
- we did several trips when DD was younger than 10, so we could save $$ on her tickets. Once she turned 10, we stopped doing buffets and family style restaurants- it is NOT worth the price when your 10 to 12 year old barely eats anything, but you have to pay the steep adult price for them.
- most trips, we only do one or 2 TS meals, and we share appetizers/desserts, drink water, and research lower priced restaurants. We also try to eat at least a few lunches/dinners at offsite, inexpensive restaurants.
- speaking of water, every CS restaurant will give you a FREE large cup of ice water if you ask. And it is filtered, good tasting water. We usually drink only water when we go to WDW, and bring along Crystal Lite packets if we want to flavor it.
- biggest thing we do is make sure we save a little every pay period towards vacation so we don't have to use credit and rack up debt for a trip to WDW.
Some will say we are too skimpy and you are on vacation- live a little! But we have been able to go to WDW on average once a year for a week or so as a single income family. We are happy to be at the parks, and it is not a hardship at all to drink water, stay offsite, and cool it with the souvenirs. It works for us, but I know there are others who couldn't vacation the way we do, and that is OK.
Good luck with your trip planning!
What we do (a family of 3) to save money on Disney vacations:
- drive to FL instead of fly, and bring food in the car to eat on the way so you won't be stopping for snacks all the time.
- pack the car full! I bring everything I can think of that we might possibly need, so I can avoid spending $$ on it in FL. I bring any and all cold meds, antacids, and any other drugstore stuff we might need. Sunscreen, bath products, etc all get packed. Lots of clothes, shoes, extras of everything "just in case". Doesn't cost any extra to really stuff the car!
- on the same note, we bring breakfast food and snacks with us so we won't spend $$ on it on the vacation. Bottled water, juices, and other drinks go in the cooler for the trip. We aren't drinkers, but if we were the type to want a beer or cocktail in the evenings, we would be bringing it with us instead of paying big bucks at a restaurant or bar.
- DH travels a good bit with his job, so we have quite a few hotel points built up. We can usually stay for a week free at a decent offsite hotel using hotel points. Being in the military, take advantage of any deals you can find!
- we also look for cheap hotels on Hotwire or Priceline when we don't use points.
- a note on hotels- it is easier to spend less as a small family, since we don't need a 2 bedroom villa or suite. We can be comfortable even in a small single room, since there are only 3 of us.
- I have DD use her own money for her souvenirs. She gets $$ for holidays from relatives, and she saves up her allowance. She is more judicious with her own money, and she doesn't ask me for every little thing we see in the parks. DH and I agree to a strict spending limit for our own souvenirs- neither of us is big on them, so we usually keep it to $50 or less (for the both of us) for the week.
- We sometimes get hoppers, sometimes not, but it would save $$ to plan carefully so you could avoid having to get them. Look for deals on military tickets- Disney has really good prices on a special Armed Forces ticket, I believe.
- we try to go at lower priced times of the year (Value or Regular seasons). We save money and time, since we can do more when it isn't crowded in the parks. When the lines at meet & greets are only a few minutes, you don't feel like you need to spend a lot of $$ for a character meal. When you can do everything you want in the parks in 5 days because there are no lines, you don't have to stay for 7-10 nights to "do it all".
- we did several trips when DD was younger than 10, so we could save $$ on her tickets. Once she turned 10, we stopped doing buffets and family style restaurants- it is NOT worth the price when your 10 to 12 year old barely eats anything, but you have to pay the steep adult price for them.
- most trips, we only do one or 2 TS meals, and we share appetizers/desserts, drink water, and research lower priced restaurants. We also try to eat at least a few lunches/dinners at offsite, inexpensive restaurants.
- speaking of water, every CS restaurant will give you a FREE large cup of ice water if you ask. And it is filtered, good tasting water. We usually drink only water when we go to WDW, and bring along Crystal Lite packets if we want to flavor it.
- biggest thing we do is make sure we save a little every pay period towards vacation so we don't have to use credit and rack up debt for a trip to WDW.
Some will say we are too skimpy and you are on vacation- live a little! But we have been able to go to WDW on average once a year for a week or so as a single income family. We are happy to be at the parks, and it is not a hardship at all to drink water, stay offsite, and cool it with the souvenirs. It works for us, but I know there are others who couldn't vacation the way we do, and that is OK.
Good luck with your trip planning!
Thank you for some great ideads
Marionnette
Children see magic because they look for it
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2009
- Messages
- 19,509
Well, there's "affordable" and then there's "cheap". As with anything else that has to do with money, my idea of "cheap" may differ greatly from yours.
There's are also many variables that it would be difficult to tell you exactly how to do your visit the cheapest way possible. For instance:
- How old is the child? Children 10 and older pay for adult tickets and eat off of the adult menus.
- When do you plan to go in 2015? Christmas is crazy expensive while September is very affordable when it comes to airfares and hotel rates.
- How long will you stay? Some package discounts have a minimum length of stay. And tickets are less expensive on a "per day" basis when you have more days on them.
- Will you fly or drive? Driving can be cheaper, especially when you have a lot of people. When it's just two or three, and you have a considerable distance to cover, it can actually be cheaper to fly. You have to take not only gas, but tolls and overnight hotels along the way, whereas when you fly you might only need to pay a friend to drive you to the airport and pick you up.
- Are you open to "eating cheap" when you're on vacation? By that, I mean doing a cold breakfast in your room, packing lunches for in the parks and then going back to the room for a dinner made with hot water from the coffeemaker. You can save a lot of money doing that but not everyone is willing to do it when they're on vacation.
We will be driving and DD will be 15 when we go. We are looking at September for our dates in 2015. We would love to at least go to one waterpark. Would love a dinning plan but if not then eat on our own. But being Miltary I don't know what would be a better value a dinning plan or the mitaary discounts ect. Can you do the water parks in Sept or is it to cold?
arihillfarm
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2009
- Messages
- 476
Water parks are do-able in September and the water is heated as well. The military current discounts run out the end of this September, so while I could outline a "cheap" (relative to Disney) trip for this September, those same discounts may not be available in 2015. For an inexpensive off-site stay, look into Armed Forces Vacation Club. During the off-season, you can get a week at a one or two bedroom condo for $279-$299 when they have their Space-A sales. We've used AFVC and gotten a nice 2 bedroom at a Wyndham property for $238 with taxes (this was June 2012). The current Disney military salute ticket offer has 4 day hopper tickets (you can also add 4 days at the water parks) for about 1/2 the gate price.
I wanted to add that with the current military specials you can add the dining plan to a military discounted room-only reservation and not have to add tickets, since you can get the special military salute tickets separately. If you stay off-property, you cannot get the dining plan.
-Astrid
What resorts do ofer a military discount on the rooms? Also can you add a dinning plan to shades of green?
JavArmy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 759
No dining plan at shades of green
right now the discounts are for all on property resorts. 20% for values, 30% for moderates and 40% for deluxe. We are military as well and the 4 day passes they are selling are a great deal, but they usually come out with a new deal that starts in September. The new deal is usually very similar to the old deal 
there are military boards if you have questions, check them out!
tzeitel
Toadi Acceleratio Semper Absurda
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2008
- Messages
- 3,354
Military discounts -
http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....romotionCode=fy13military&market=fy13military
Shades of Green -
http://www.shadesofgreen.org/
Found this site while looking around
-http://www.militarydisneytips.com/
robinb
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Aug 29, 1999
- Messages
- 44,697
The absolute cheapest way for the to do WDW would be to say off-site in a cheap condo, eat breakfast at their condo, pack in lunches and cook back at the condo for dinner. Remember to count your weekly at-home food budget! Tickets are currently cheapest through the Armed Forces Salute, but you are limited to only 4 days in the parks.
IF you were to do it this September (I used 9/14-9/21 as my sample dates), a trip to WDW would cost you about:
$350 - condo
$552 - 184 x 3 AFS park hopper tickets with water parks and more
$200 - rental car (if needed)
$64 - parking for 4 park days
Total without food = $1166
A room at the All Star Music with a 7-day basic ticket (no park hopping or water parks) with free QS dining is $1750.
So, it looks like it's $585 more for the QS meal plan (if you're not driving to WDW and you have to rent a car if staying offsite), so that's $195 per person for a week's worth of food (but you're probably still have to pay for breakfast).
Given those numbers, I would probably go with a week at the All Stars even though it would cost a bit more than a bare bones off-site vacation.
Of course, you will have to run your own numbers when the discounts are released in 2015. If you are driving down and won't have to rent a car, I think the condo becomes more attractive. Plus, WDW has been cutting back on Free Dining and we don't even know if it will be offered in September 2015.
IF you were to do it this September (I used 9/14-9/21 as my sample dates), a trip to WDW would cost you about:
$350 - condo
$552 - 184 x 3 AFS park hopper tickets with water parks and more
$200 - rental car (if needed)
$64 - parking for 4 park days
Total without food = $1166
A room at the All Star Music with a 7-day basic ticket (no park hopping or water parks) with free QS dining is $1750.
So, it looks like it's $585 more for the QS meal plan (if you're not driving to WDW and you have to rent a car if staying offsite), so that's $195 per person for a week's worth of food (but you're probably still have to pay for breakfast).
Given those numbers, I would probably go with a week at the All Stars even though it would cost a bit more than a bare bones off-site vacation.
Of course, you will have to run your own numbers when the discounts are released in 2015. If you are driving down and won't have to rent a car, I think the condo becomes more attractive. Plus, WDW has been cutting back on Free Dining and we don't even know if it will be offered in September 2015.
That sounds like a great program! People also get full weeks in timeshare properties (with full kitchen) for fairly cheap over on Sky Auction.
-
Overlooked Disney Parks Planning Steps You Might Have Missed
-
Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Returns to Magic Kingdom
-
New Disneyland 70th Soundscape for Your Next Planning Sesh
-
10 Years Later, Is the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Still a Must See Show?
-
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Map 2025
-
Disney's Boo-To-You Halloween Parade 2025 Opening Night & Tips
-
Disney Debate: Why Don't the US Parks Embrace Drone Shows?
Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE
