What is a realistic number to budget for a trip to Disney? More specifically, if we're doing things on the cheap. I've just started budgeting, and I want to make sure we save enough to be able to afford it. We probably won't be staying in the park unless we can find a great deal, and Sadie will get into the park for free.
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Never been but following! We would like to do this sometime, on a small budget!
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@photojane: when were you thinking about going?
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We went for 10 days, stayed at one of the value resorts, had a meal plan, and flights for $3500. We had a 9 day park hopper.
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I'm not a good one to ask about travel since we live in FL.
But for money in the park I think we do it pretty cheap:
1) breakfast at hotel (free with hotel or cereal while driving to park)
2) pack one lunch or dinner and some snacks. You can bring food into the park!
3) purchase a meal at the park. There are great blogs about where to get your bang for your buck. I would typically avoid the big restaurants. Lots of ways to split meals and things like that.
4) buy souvineers before going to the park. All stores carry Disney merchandise, don't pay the park mark up.With those tips we spent less than $50 in the park on "spending money".
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Have you tried pretending to book a trip on their website? When we went I found it to be a helpful starting point. I can't really remember what we budgeted but I know we were able to do the trip for a reasonable price.
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@MrsTal: Beginning or middle of next March. Is there a cheaper time to go?
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Our 4night/3 day on property trip cost us 1800$, not including meals or airfare. I looked at cheaper options and found many hotels that were reasonably priced, and we could have spent probably 1200$ if we had stayed off property, including a rental car. The main cost are the tickets; those in itself were 600$. It's definitely a better deal the longer you can stay!
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For the two of us to go last September for 7 nights was $3200. We stayed at a moderate level hotel and got the meal plan for free. If you go in September/October they usually offer free dining. It makes a big difference when you go. Look to go in the off season if you can, the hotels can be nearly half price what they are during peak season. Sometimes upgrading the hotel is worth a little extra if you get the upgraded meal plan for free (so instead of two counter service meals and a snack, you get one table service, one counter service and a snack)
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@photojane: Check when spring break is for most colleges and schools cuz they tend to jack up prices for those times.
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@photojane: We went in March, it was a nice time to go because it was cool. But, it was pretty crowded because of Spring Break, even on a weekday!
We only went for a day trip while we were in FL visiting friends. I would recommend eating at least one meal before you get to the park (lines are long and food is $$).
Next time we go, I think we'll buy a 5 day ticket, and visit each park one day (2 days for Magic Kingdom). There's just so much to do... we didn't even see all of the Magic Kingdom in the one day we were there. I couldn't imagine spending extra for a park hopper pass, knowing how much there is to see in one day! You definitely get more for your money when you stay longer, it seems.
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I find fall to generally be the cheapest because that's when they offer their free dining. For me staying in the parks is a must-have though, it's just so much easier having Disney's transportation available, especially when you're travelling with young ones - they are going to absolutely need a break at some point mid-day, and I like the easiness in getting to and from my hotel.
I'm going to their site and pricing things out...to keep it cheap, I'm saying September (free dining) at a value resort for a full week. Looks like I could do a full package at Pop Century (my personal fave for value resorts) for $1614 or All Star Sports for $1534. So I'm doing the math here - if you didn't stay with Disney, you would spend $690 on 7 day tickets for two adults. Subtract that from the total package price at All Star Sports and divide it up per day, and that leaves you spending $120 a day beyond the price of the theme park tickets. I think that's a pretty good deal considering that it covers your hotel, all transportation, and 2 meals plus 1 snack per day. There's also other benefits to doing the package, like 2 vouchers for Disneyquest tickets, an arcade game card with 100 points pre-loaded on it for the hotel arcade, mini golf, etc.
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If you have a Costco membership, check there for packages...when we went last September, we were able to book airfare (with 3 seats), a 2 bed/2 bath condo with kitchen, rental car for the week and 3 days of park tickets (options for park hopper and more days are available) for a ridiculously cheap amount. It was less than what we would have booked for the same package with Disney using their free dining and staying on site at Animal Kingdom.
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We always stay at a time share and I always buy my park tickets from Undercovertourist.com They have the cheapest prices for park tickets and you usually get a day free!.
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Can you go when they have their free dining plan? That is an incredible savings.
Also the Value resorts typically have really good rates (under $100 a night) certain times of the year . I've stayed at Pop Century and while it isn't my favourite resort, the rooms are clean (albeit small), the themeing is great for kids , fun pools , and you are right in the middle of the magic. Then you can also save on transportation costs by not needing to rent a car or pay for parking.
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Well, we are Florida residents and go to Disney a lot, so the way we do it won't be applicable for everyone, but here's our tips...
- You almost always save money by NOT booking a vacation package with Disney (which is room + tickets + possibly dining).
- Look for room only discounts through Disney if you are interested in staying on-site. They run regular seasonal discounts depending on when you go of 20-30% off. Depending on when you go, you could probably get a room at one of their "value resorts" for $110/night... or less.- Dining plan is not a good value. It is more food than most people can eat - especially if you're walking around in the heat. And it's not "all included." Tips for the sit down meals (1 of those per day in the plan) are NOT INCLUDED, and for a family of 3 or 4 you are looking at $100-$150 per sit down meal - the tips add up. Sit down meals every day also eat up a lot of park time if you have a short trip.
Also, keep in mind if you are getting the "free dining plan" deal (where you book a room + tickets package through Disney and get the plan for free), you are paying rack rate (top dollar) for your Disney hotel room. You may find that you can get a BETTER deal and save more $$ with a room-only discount deal.
- There is a great, great website we love - touringplans dot com (can I say that here? if not, sorry!). They have a least expensive ticket calculator that will tell you the cheapest vendor to buy your tickets from, and all the vendors are legit.
- Another website to look at hotel discounts is mousesavers dot com. They list all the Disney hotel room rack rates and various discounts during each "season" (summer, value, fall, holiday, etc.). So you can compare prices.
- We prefer to stay on-site because (1) parking at the parks is included (otherwise, it's an extra $15/day); (2) it's fairly easy to get to and from your resort and it's MUCH faster to get to Magic Kingdom taking Disney bus transit; (3) we find it more fun and magical; (4) we get Florida resident prices so we can stay at Disney values for what we'd pay outside Disney, unless we were staying at a roach motel.
- That being said... it's just me and DH right now. If I had kids, I would seriously consider renting a vacation condo/house. There are tons right around the parks and I've heard you can get a really nice 2br condo with living room, kitchen, 2 baths, etc. for like $150 a night. The Disney value rooms (where we usually stay) are fine for us but it would be REALLY crowded for a family of 4.
- The biggest one is do your research. There are literally tons of amazing Disney websites with tons of data and information to help you plan. It is overwhelming, but I think you get more value out of your trip if you know what to expect, you know how to plan your time in the parks most efficiently to see the most and avoid waiting in lines, where to eat, etc.
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@MrsADS: Fellow central Floridian here and you've hit the nail on the head. Renting a vacation home is so much easier, especially when the weather can be foul unexpectedly or in case anyone runs into unexpected illness. Dealing with any sickness on vacation is a lot easier to do in a home environment than in a hotel where it's not so easy to cook your own meals.
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