Whats the cheapest you have ever done Disney?

[bohemian74]

We did 8 days/7 nights at Pop Century for two adults, 1 kid for 2k after all was said adn done. It was the week after Thanksgiving. We had DDP free, spent about $300 in tips, other meals and souvenirs (that's included in the 2k). It was our first trip and I went overboard on buying DD stuff because I only got a couple things as a kid. My mistake, my two things I received meant so much more then her getting something everywhere we went.

 

[Marionnette]

Are you talking about per person or as a family?

I have no idea how many are in your family.

Our trips are typically around $2,000 including everything for a family of 5 for a week. If we go for two weeks, the cost is only minimally more (still under $2,500.)

That includes lodging, food, gas to get there, and tickets.

Dawn

That's really a great price for 2 weeks! How much of that is for park tickets? Aside from accommodations and food, tickets seem to be the biggest cost for most people. I wonder how big of a percentage of your budget is dedicated to paying for just park admission?

 

[bugsmama11]

My DH and I went in the end of March 2009 and I was able to book airfare (STL to MCO), room, and 7 day park hoppers for under $1500!

They were offering the stay 4 nights, get 3 free and also get a $250 gift card upon check in (man packages like that aren't around anymore). Then I had $150 on my Disney Rewards card, so there was $400 to spend on food and souvenirs, before we had to open our wallets! At most I think we may have spent another $150? We don't do any table service meals and the only reservation we had was at FW at Trails End for the breakfast buffet, bc it was the cheapest we could find on property.

I'm a budget girl and usually carry a small notebook and write down everything we spend as the day goes along, or at least at the end of the night back at the resort. That way I can keep a good tally as to where we are at and if I can afford to splurge on anything that may catch my eye! This upcoming trip for us in May, I really want a Vera Bradley bag, but since they are in high demand, I'm not counting on actually being able to get one...

 

[runsandjumps]

The only way I have done Disney cheaply was when I lived an 1.2 hours away. Since then my coat has gone up from around $200 including souvenirs to about $5k.

The last time it was cheap to travel there was in about 2007 and we only had a baby who barely ate. Good times.

 

[worm761]

I think the cheapest was a 3 day trip for 3 Disney adults for $700. We had Seasonal passes so didn't have to purchase a ticket, room was discounted almost 50%, then just gas and counter service meals. We had a blast.

I always get a little sad when I don't have a trip in the works. But you do have one so no reason to be sad. It is a ways away. But there are more places to visit than just Disney. I have a short 2 day trip this year that is costing a fortune. And I am planning a longer trip next May meeting my best friend and her family. We are both working towards saving for that trip already. Swagbucks, MyPoints, and any extra cash we can find are going towards it. We don't get to see each other very often so when we do, we work our butts off to make it happen. Have you considered starting a money jar? See how much you can save for Disney and deposit it each month.

 

[irishdancemomma]

I feel like our upcoming trip is pretty budget wise.

This is for 2 adults and a toddler:

Room - 8 nights at ASSp - $656 through cheap tickets

Disney tickets - 5 day base ticket - $443 through orbitz and ebates (after 20% rebate) with buy 3 get 5 and before price increase (we MAY upgrade these to 7 day depending on how difficult price bridging becomes)

Universal tickets - 1 day base ticket (just want to see Harry potter) - $200 through undercover tourist (haven't ordered these yet, considering getting 3 day tix for $80 more and just skipping upgrading the disney tix)

Cost of gas - driving my grandma's honda civic hybrid from Oklahoma City - $200

Cost of hotels for trip down and back - $100 booked through priceline

Food - $700 budgeted

We don't really do souvenirs, but my son has $40 in his piggy bank that we will bring in case he wants something.

Total cost for 8 nights before upgrading disney or universal tickets and not including sons piggy bank money $2300. After upgrade and with piggy bank closer to $2400.

 

[wiigirl]

Cheapest was a value resort during value season. No car rental and I packed a lot of food from home.

Same here....

 

[DreamIsaWish]

My DH and I went in the end of March 2009 and I was able to book airfare (STL to MCO), room, and 7 day park hoppers for under $1500!

They were offering the stay 4 nights, get 3 free and also get a $250 gift card upon check in (man packages like that aren't around anymore). Then I had $150 on my Disney Rewards card, so there was $400 to spend on food and souvenirs, before we had to open our wallets! At most I think we may have spent another $150? We don't do any table service meals and the only reservation we had was at FW at Trails End for the breakfast buffet, bc it was the cheapest we could find on property.

I'm a budget girl and usually carry a small notebook and write down everything we spend as the day goes along, or at least at the end of the night back at the resort. That way I can keep a good tally as to where we are at and if I can afford to splurge on anything that may catch my eye! This upcoming trip for us in May, I really want a Vera Bradley bag, but since they are in high demand, I'm not counting on actually being able to get one...

That was our best deal, too, in February 2009. There was like one week where the "buy 4 get 3" promo overlapped with the gift card promo so of course that was the week we strategically chose. We had two adults and one child, 7 nights at Pop Century, tickets (not park hopper, I think) for less than $1500 including airfare. On top of that we got the $200 gift card to pay for a decent portion of our meals. Not "free dining" but better deal overall. We had to wear hats and gloves in the evenings, but the parks were deserted and it was still way warmer than at home. Still love that trip!

 

[DawnM]

We do the Homeschool days if we can and when I say 2 weeks, that isn't 14 days of tickets. We typically get the 8 day hopper with water parks and more offered on the homeschool tickets (the only ones that still let adults get the YES pricing.)

It was just under $250 pp for tickets. I will check our last year's CC bill for the exact amount. Ticket prices keep increasing!

SkyAUction condo for $250/wk.

We do eat most of our own food and carry lunch into the parks. It isn't just about money. We start feeling sick if we eat out a lot. However, we usually eat out every other day or so while there.

Dawn

That's really a great price for 2 weeks! How much of that is for park tickets? Aside from accommodations and food, tickets seem to be the biggest cost for most people. I wonder how big of a percentage of your budget is dedicated to paying for just park admission?

 

[Katy Belle]

We just got back yesterday, so I am sad with you!

We have never done a Disney trip cheaply. The first one was the cheapest, and it was $4,000. It was in 2004. We all fit in one room then, and two of my kids, maybe all 3, were considered kids, by Disney.

This trip, the airfare was more than $4,000.

I think if you stayed off site and stayed only a couple of days, you could do it very cheaply...unless airfare costs you $4,000...

 

[4mracles]

I never really post--I usually just stalk everybody else's posts. But this time I couldn't resist. We have a family of seven (2 adults, 5 kids--ages 3, 7, 10, 13, and 14). Three of our children are now at the age where we have to pay adult prices, so it's critical to be as thrifty as possible. Two years ago was the MOST we have ever spent on a Disney vacation. I pride myself in finding the best prices! Here is the breakdown:


8-night trip, family of seven: $3200
7-day premium park tickets for everyone through Disney YES program: $1300
4-bedroom house rental at Windsor Hills $900
Food $600 (We buy groceries once we arrive (using coupons, of course), pack our lunches, and eat dinner at the house. We splurge on a snack item in the park each day so that the kids get a little "taste" of Mickey. We are also flexible if we want a special meal inside the park.)
Transportation: $400 (we always drive, saving us a ton of money on airfare.)

We are very strict on our budget for any extras, such as souvenirs or character meals, and we usually pay for this out of any extra money we earn throughout the year, found money, or gifted money. The YES program really made the trip affordable for us, and it was a worthwhile experience for three of the kids. Now that they have raised the rates for non-participating kids/adults, I'm not sure we could swing it.

For a large family, I always recommend staying offsite in a vacation home rental. The kids love having a pool to themselves, and I am thankful for larger space for the kids to run around and have fun (we're a loud bunch). It also saves a ton of money on food.

I'm itching to go back so badly, but with the new ticket price increase and such a large family, I'll need to get really creative on our budget!! Often people at work criticize me or make snide comments about going to Disney with such a large family every few years ("Wow--you must have a lot of money..."), but I usually am able to go for half of what other people pay!! You just have to do a little research and be prepared to give up a few things! Even doing so, we have memories of a lifetime.

 

[kkmcan]

We've done a couple of 3-4 night trips to Disneyland when we had AP's for under $500 total for our family.

I don't know the actual cost of using the AP for that particular trip but we stayed in the in-laws Wyndham timeshare for free. Gas for our car $150 and we used $200 or so of our Disney Reward Dollars earned from the Disney Visa to pay for food. Brought our own snacks, water and breakfast. Kids used their own money for souvies.

 

[SEA333]

$3100 out the door. This included 4 night/5 day at POR, 3 day park tickets, free DDP, round-trip airfare for 5, plus one check luggage (60" rolling suitcase) and one 16x14" personal bag each, car rental for the 5 days, limousine transportation to the airport the morning we left (BIL picked up up after the trip), $50 giftcard for each of three kids, souveniers for DH and I, children's advil at the Poly one night when DS7 came down with one of his migraines before Ohana, and a quick trip to Walmart for Benedryl (and hotelroom snacks/breakfast items) for same kid when he woke up with hives from the detergent in the sheets. (sigh).

I thought we did pretty good! We could have shaved about $200 from that by taking DME and busses, and having BIL drive us to the airport instead of the limo, but the limo was part of the surprise for the kids. DH works in the corporate office of a major car rental company, so he gets an employee discount which gave us a full size sedan for $92/week.

 

[TanyaS]

The cheapest I did Disney was a trip during college (and didn't have kids!). I don't remember any exact figures, but we stayed off-site. For breakfast we ate cereal (brought from home) in our hotel room with milk purchased from the nearby gas station.

Park tickets were the single-park tickets - no hoppers.

For meals I always chose the fruit option and milk to drink - trying to maximize the nutrition per dollar. Or had soup, also filling for cheap. Only counter service, no table service. Ate the pineapple spears because they were (at the time - 20 years ago) the cheapest healthy snack in the park.

I bought exactly one souvenir - a coffee mug I still use.

We live within a days drive, which definitely helps. I am pricing some other vacations (the kids are dying to go to London) and airfare is a killer.

I haven't traveled to WDW that cheaply in a longgggg time, but I think about it whenever I see the ridiculously titled "Disney on a Dime" show on TV.

Hope you get another trip planned soon!

 

[AquaDame]

We regularly do DL for pretty cheap:
$530 for 4 day park hopper tickets
$360 for plane tickets
Hotel for $120 a night
__________________
$1250 + food. We usually pick hotels with included breakfast and do quick service, maybe one table service each time, and once at Trader Sams (if we can get in) Now that you mention it that is a lot for 4 days...! With the clear winner being the park tickets themselves...

I think the cheapest cheapest was my first in 2008. Split the cost of All Star Sports with my brother, had a free airline ticket using points through Alaska, and just paid for my own food (no high end sit downs - and ordered off the kids menu at a few places). Cost me maybe $800 for 5 nights.

 

[soar2014]

Are you really seriously depressed? Is planning a Disney trip the only thing that is going to bring you joy?

If that is the case, you need to see a doctor - not plan a trip. Your mental health is really important and vacations to adjust your mental health is a nice way to do things (that's why we have vacations), but if you live from one vacation to the next, that isn't healthy.

If you are exaggerating, then never mind.

DON"T WORRY, we here on the Dis understand. If anyone does, it's us!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Not counting single day trips, $3,100 for four of us in June of 2012. That included the cost of the drive (with a hotel stay in each direction), food, 8 nights off-site and 4-day premium YES tickets (we did 4 "park" days and 3 water park days). We also bought a few trinkets and had one character meal. The rest of our food was CS or cooked/purchased outside the parks.

No points or other major discounts save for the YES tickets (which would be much higher now).

 

[indimom]

Our cheapest trip was last July 2013. I was starting Nursing School in August and we wanted a vacation because we knew we wouldn't be able to manage one during the next two years. We also wanted to make it a budget vacation since I was changing my job, cutting my hours and my pay, and investing in my education.

I used Disney rewards we had accrued over two years.
It was enough to pay for 5 nights at Ft. Wilderness .We tent camp so we were in the cheapest sites they have. (Before you panic, yes, we brought a window A/C unit to cool the tent. But, we ended up not even using it, the nights were perfect, lol).
The rewards also covered 2-day tickets with water parks and more (so four park days), and $160 left over for spending cash (which we used to snack around World Showcase in Epcot and for some lunches at the water parks, if memory serves).

We bought groceries at Walmart on arrival in Orlando which ran about $160.
Plus gas for the drive from Indiana to Orlando and back. I honestly can't remember how much that was, but we drove an Impala so our mileage was decent. We also boated at Ft. Wilderness which was maybe $40??

So, around $400 for a family of four (including two teens). The kids did bring spending money of their own to pay for some souvenirs.


I know this isn't some people's idea of a fun way to vacation, but we LOVED it. The Ft. was awesome and the trip was so relaxing. A much different feel than our two prior trips to the world (10 days in 2005 and 14 days in 2010).




Technically, we did have three more days at Universal staying at the Royal Pacific during that trip. This added quite a bit more to the total cost, but I wanted to break the Disney portion down since that was what the OP wanted to know.


We paid $600 for 3-day park-to-park tickets at Universal.
The two nights at the Royal Pacific was covered by Blue Sky rewards.
We finished off our groceries there, but still bought a couple snacks and meals inside the parks and city walk. Some of that was also covered by rewards card/gift cards we had received before the trip (I had been saving them for a while).
That part of the trip probably added $800 to the total trip price.

So, around $1,200. Family of Four. 7 park days. 5 nights camping and 2 nights at a luxury resort. Gas. Meals. Entertainment. Not to shabby!

Just wanted to provide "full disclosure." lol.

 

[Marionnette]

Our cheapest trip was last July 2013. I was starting Nursing School in August and we wanted a vacation because we knew we wouldn't be able to manage one during the next two years. We also wanted to make it a budget vacation since I was changing my job, cutting my hours and my pay, and investing in my education.<snipped>

That's amazing! I love how you used your rewards to pay for so much of your trip. How much did you have in Disney Rewards? It must have been a lot to have $160 left over after paying for tickets and your campsite. I don't think I ever got more than $100 over a 2-year period!

 

[indimom]

That's amazing! I love how you used your rewards to pay for so much of your trip. How much did you have in Disney Rewards? It must have been a lot to have $160 left over after paying for tickets and your campsite. I don't think I ever got more than $100 over a 2-year period!

I'll have to dig up the paperwork to tell you exactly, but it was quite a lot. We paid the regular price for the campsite and tickets, no discounts.

We did put a LOT on the card during that two years, some were very large single purchases like braces for both kids, and some big medical bills. Plus, all of our regular monthly bills that allow a credit card for payment. I also booked the trip with our cc and paid it off before I transfered the rewards onto the reward card. If I could have found a way to put the mortgage through there, I'd have done that too. lol.