NSBR - Is is possible to go to DISNEY WORLD...

[Julie Johnson]

for a family of 6 (4 kids and 2 adults) for $2100'ish dollars? We are thinking of using our rebate money but I don't think it is near enough money. I kind of expected to need around 5k for a week.

* Edited to add - we live in Atlanta so we will be able to drive there so airfare is not a factor :)

[Gina.Maria]

I think the cost of getting there might be a consideration...

[maggie965]

I don't know if it's doable for that amount, however you CAN do Disney inexpensively. It all depends on how you will get there, where you will stay, and how many days/parks you plan on doing. There is so much to see that I would not worry about making it to all of the parks, just pick one or two. If you are driving, bring a cooler with snacks (remember ice is FREE) or stop at a grocery store and get inexpensive snacks and cereal, juice boxes, things like that. Better yet get an efficiency room and you will be able to cook small meals in the room. I dont' know about 2100 but if you can stretch it another 1000 or so you may be able to.

ETA: It also depends on the ages of the kids.

[TaraLyn]

We just came back...we are a family of 3 (2 adults, 1 child). We stayed on Disney property and, including airfare, hotel (cheapest Disney one) and park tickets (park hopper for 4 main parks) it was just under $2300.

Now I have heard that you can get cheaper rates at non-Disney hotels. Also, you might be able to get cheaper airfare if you book further ahead. We received a monetary gift from a relative that was getting ready to pass on and were trying to go before she passed so we could share the photos with her (sadly she passed the week before we left) so we booked 3 weeks ahead. Not conductive to cheap airfare.

Also, watch how you purchase park tix. If you book through the Disney site, it is no cheaper for the tickets BUT they require a park ticket for every day of your trip. Depending on arrival and departure times, this could waste 1-2 days tickets. KWIM? We were "there" for 6 days, but we arrived after 10 pm and left by noon on the departure date---we could never have used tix on those days. Booking through a site like Expedia or buying park tickets 1) at the park or 2) at the Disney store will likely cost the same, but allow you to buy for only the days you need them.

With a family your size, I'm not sure you can do it for that price but if you are willing to plan far enough ahead to get good airfare and really do your homework you might be able to swing it.

Good luck!!!!

Also....if you can't, have you thought about opening an account just to put that $$ in. No ATM card or checks so your are less likely to use it. Keep it 'til next year and add next years check and you should be good. I know...easier said than done...lol

[TaraLyn]

Oh, I almost forgot...are you sure you want a full week? Think about the ages of your kids and how they do on disrupted sleep.

We are keep DD (5) on a pretty regular bedtime schedule. She is also one who needs ALOT of sleep. This kids sleeps for 10+ hours avg. each night and would still sleep another hour if we let her (we can't b/c of school/work). We are usually careful to make sure she gets at least 9.5-10 hrs. After a few days of messing with her sleep she gets increasingly moody/whiny.

We did 4 days in the parks and that was plenty. Even with the best of intensions, she was to bed late every night (2 hrs past bedtime at least) and up early each day. We meant to come back to the room for naps, but never managed it. Another day or so of that and she'd have been a mess.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go for a week, but think about if would work for your kids. It's another way to cut $$$.

Though keep in mind you usually pack the same activities into the trip no matter how many days.. :lol So a longer stay might mean a slower (not slow, just not as hectic) pace for you all.

[Lena Brandenburg]

I think absolutely...I'm the queen of cheap! Now...the last time we went we didn't pay for room (my family lives 45 minutes away) and we drove there.

If you can get there cheap (like not flying) and can stay cheap (non-disney hotel) and can avoid the shops with expensive souvenirs, I think it's totally doable. :)

[ccubed]

Also, you should look at condo rental so you have the option of cooking and eating-in! I don't think there is a way you would be able to swing eating out even 2 meals a day for that many days on your budget.

I hope you can make it work for you. :) Good luck!

[thumper6423]

I'd check for "off season" times too. There may not be as many people who go in say July and August becuase it's so freakin hot. So if you're willing to brave it out, you could get a deal. Or September becuase hurricane season has started.

[emskubie]

One of my friends goes every year, and she says that one of the best ways that she has found to save money for her DH and herself is to buy the meal option. It seems like a lot $35 a day, but it includes a ton of food and 4 meals a day. You can only go to certain restaurants though. They apparently save about $100 a day that way, and can have some really nice restaurant meals.

[maggie965]

I'd check for "off season" times too. There may not be as many people who go in say July and August becuase it's so freakin hot. So if you're willing to brave it out, you could get a deal. Or September becuase hurricane season has started.

Great point, that's why we are going in August! And keep an eye out for the discount codes as well, they should be out next month for July August and September.

[Deena]

Julie, I have looked into this big time :) We really want to goto disney, and there are 7 of us, so only 1 more. And quite frankly, I don't think it is doable, unless you really want to skimp. For us we decided to wait until we had more money, because we wanted to make sure the kids had a great time, and we did not have to stress about money as much.

[Neverland Scraps]

Check your AAA card, my sister got huge deals through them instead of going through Disney or a travel agent.

Another way to cut down the cost is to look into the condos around the area. Another friend of mine got a 4 or 5 bedroom house (it had a washer, dryer, fridge, etc) with a heated pool for only 1100 dollars for the week.

So not only would you have the kitchen where you wouldn't have to eat in the park or at fast food places, you'd have a washer and dryer cutting down on luggage for your larger family.

I wish you luck.

We are heading to Disney when DH gets home from Iraq. I dont even want to think how much its going to cost us! :D

[TeresaP]

you can get the prices at disneyworld.com their prices were exactly what the travel agent quoted us and we went straight through them.

We went 2 kids and 2 adults and it was $2200 for room and park tickets and the park tickets are the expensive part so you may be close but check on their site and see. :)

[Audrey77]

You can do it... You just have to go at the right times! Use AAA or other deals... Check the www.passporter.com (http://www.passporter.com) forums for budgeting ideas (there's a whole section in the forums).

Also, If you start saving now... you'll have even more...

We're driving from Atlanta next month too :-)

BTW- are you by any chance military? You can save a boatload that way.

[tuneskids]

as for accommodations ... we are a travel agents nightmare (we have been looking into this for a while ourselves, and are also a family of 6)!! They can not get hotel/motel rooms for 6 people, most have max. capacity of 5. So we have started looking into renting a condo or going with another family and renting a house for our stay.

[missys_bits]

There are TONS of condos/houses for rent in the Orlando area that are reasonable if you shop around. Also, Holiday inn has a club you could look into. We saved a fair amount of money on our last trip to the beach through it. Its free to join and you get points towards future travel. Shop around for tix also. If you stay in orlando you can do Disney for a day or two then hop over to seaworld or Universal for a change of scene. The Disney parks really are the most expensive and Seaworld has some cute rides for the little guys. Last summer they had Elmo there all summer and it was fantastic!

[Melanie Colosimo (lemonyr)]

I think it's doable. If you rent a house and go off season, you can get it for the whole week for between $600-700. AND you have multiple bedrooms/living area/full kitchen/private pool/hot tub...well worth the money to stay off site. Especially if you are already driving there and don't need a rental car. You DO have to pay parking though (I think it was $10 a day?).

That gives you cooked meals for when you are home, breakfast each morning, and a nice big house to spread out in. I know that a lot of people feel it's "not Disney" if you are offsite, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Our little ones go to bed around 8:30/9:00 pm and DH and I didn't want to have to sit in a hotel room just watching TV while they slept. PLUS naptimes during the day. While they slept, we took our old baby monitors and went swimming in the pool or hot tub. It was seriously so nice! :)

Also, you can take snacks/drinks into the park with you. We had a stroller, so we loaded up. We even took sandwiches/chips for lunch! That way we only bought one meal a day at the parks and a special snack. Definitely go "off peak" if you can too. This will save you a ton of money, the weather will be nicer, and the crowds not as bad.

We went for a week, stayed in a rental house (10 minutes from WDW), went to 3 parks on 3 days, ate, airfare for 3 (DD was under the age of 2 at the time, so her airfare and park tixs were free), and had a BLAST for about $2,000 the last time we went. AND...we didn't feel like we missed out on anything! We still bought some souveniers, some food at the parks, etc... Totally, totally doable! :D

All that being said...have fun, sweetie! If you do your research, you can definitely make this work!

[Melanie Colosimo (lemonyr)]

Oh, and check out the DIS boards (http://www.disboards.com). There is so much information there to help you make your trip special and to save money!! ;)

[Melissa Bennett (lissab)]

If you are into camping, Disney also has a campground you can stay at for a fraction of the hotel prices.

[Audrey77]

One of my friends goes every year, and she says that one of the best ways that she has found to save money for her DH and herself is to buy the meal option. It seems like a lot $35 a day, but it includes a ton of food and 4 meals a day. You can only go to certain restaurants though. They apparently save about $100 a day that way, and can have some really nice restaurant meals.

FYI- they changed the dining plan this year.... it's not as good as it was in the past :-(

[Fontologie (islandmom)]

For inexpensive places to stay, I would look on Ebay for peoples timeshare weeks that they are renting out. There are some very reputable companies that sell weeks on ebay, we have got great deals that way. The Sheraton Vistana is super close to (like 2 minutes) Disney properties and very nice if you get a newly renovated unit. With the economy the way it is right now, you should be able to get some great deals. We usually stay on property, but will be doing something like this for our next visit.

On a side note... we were there in Feb 2007 with the family and then my dh and just went back again a couple weeks ago. We stayed onsite (for work) although we didn't go into the parks themselves, we were shocked at how less crowded the restaurants (had to go back to Boma and a couple others) and Downtown Disney was compared to last year. We decided it must be the economy. :(

DO visit all of the sites people have suggested though to get some good info.!

[jflynn]

Julie -

I just sent you a PM. We just got back from Orlando and I'd love to share my deals with you.

Jessica in Utah

[Scorpiosue1102]

It is very doable. My ex and I went with his whole family three years ago (8 adults and four kids) and rented a house about five minutes from Animal Kingdom. We paid $777 for the week(for everyone) with a heated pool, pool table and air hockey. If you investigate you can get a great house cheap. Also, with having a house you can stock up on groceries. Having two or all your meals at the house is great. Plus, with kids they have their own bedroom no worries of being quiet.

[Trina]

Julie -

I just sent you a PM. We just got back from Orlando and I'd love to share my deals with you.

Jessica in Utah

Jessica: Would you mind sending me the PM, also? I'm taking my graduating HS DD to DisneyWorld (just the 2 of us) the first week of June. Thanks!

[Trina]

Absolutely, you can do it!

*Make any meals possible.
*You can stay on site but at one of the "value" rated hotels, not moderate or luxury.
*The main thing I'm finding (we're going in June) is that to add the ParkHopper option is where you start running into money, especially for that many tickets. Limit yourselves to *1* park per day, and it will help.

Have fun!

[Neverland Scraps]

BTW- are you by any chance military? You can save a boatload that way.

Tell me more---we are military. I already know about the Greens and Sea World---but what else should I know?

[cush464]

Don't even think about the meal plan because you can't get it unless you room at a Disney hotel (which is expensive) and you have to buy a plan for each days you're there. The price actually went down in 2008 by $2 to a little under $38 but that is because they deleted the appetizers from the plan. It actually is a great deal for 2 adults on there own who want to try out the fantastic restaurants in Disney like the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian, but I don't think it's a good idea for young children - they just don't eat that much.

We found the best thing when we had the kids was to find a rental for the week and make sure we got the Hopper pass tickets. That way we could come and go as we pleased. Food costs were kept to a minumum by eating breakfast and dinner at the rental (we did nothing fancy). Then everyone could get lunch in the park.

[Audrey77]

Tell me more---we are military. I already know about the Greens and Sea World---but what else should I know?

Well.. yeah... Shades of Green, the discount and sometimes free tickets at SOG... the Heroes program at th Anehuser-Busch parks... etc.

And of course- the MWR site links for great deals on timeshares/condos/houses! Plus the Armed Forces Vacation Club website...

[Kauanoe]

Tourguide Mike is an invaluable resource when spending time at the parks especially with children. The price for his online info is pretty reasonable too. Under $20. You can locate him and other oddles of valuable information at the DISboards. My husband and I went when we were stationed at Fort Benning (6 hour drive) and spent 5 nights 6 days for just under $1100. We brought a lot of our own snacks though for the park. We also used our own personal hydration packs and had no problems on any of the rides. We stayed on site for $85/night at the Contemporary Resort. Cheaper for us then Shades of Green @ $100/night. Recommend buying your park tickets at Shades of Green though, you will get the addition of both of the water parks and downtown Disney with park hopper option for about the same cost of just a park hopper option if you buy the ticket at Disney or before. Best of Luck and have a great time! :yahoo

[4guysandme]

as for accommodations ... we are a travel agents nightmare (we have been looking into this for a while ourselves, and are also a family of 6)!! They can not get hotel/motel rooms for 6 people, most have max. capacity of 5. So we have started looking into renting a condo or going with another family and renting a house for our stay.

actually the all stars resort has family suites that sleep more than 6! We're 5 and we were going to bring MIL with us, they didn't even flinch! I think it sleeps up to 8.

[swimmom]

I have used AAA and mousesavers.com to get good prices.

[MelissaDaniel]

How long of a stay are you planning and how many days and parks are you planning to go to?

Another site to check is allears.net for info. They even have the prices of the food listed there. :) I find a lot of info there I can't find elsewhere.

Since you are driving, you could stop at the outlet mall in St. Augustine. They actually have a Disney Outlet there, so souvenirs are much cheaper. I usually just stop by Walmart when I know we are going.

Bring your own poncho, snacks, and bottles of water. There are plenty of water fountains throughout the park to refill your own bottle instead of paying the outrageous prices the park charges. Also, if you don't care for water, nowadays you can buy those little packets to flavor the water.

I've heard wonderful things about Disney value resorts, however, with a family of 6, we couldn't book there because they only allow 4 in a room. So, we usually stay off site if we aren't driving back. There is one place you might want to check out that we have stayed at several times called "Tropical Palm Resorts". We stayed in the two bedroom cottage. They look really tiny, but we fit 9 people comfortably in ours. It had a kitchen, a loft, dining area, bath, and two bedrooms. They also have a laundry area, pool, and you can camp if you would like, so those are some other options.

Good luck! I hope you can find a way to do it. We are thinking of possibly doing the same thing with our tax rebate as well, especially with the specials they have been having for Floridians.

[RelocatedDixieGirl]

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh We do Disney every year. There's 6 of us that go. We need to talk. lol If it's cheap or free, my hubby can find it. Add me to Hello, we need to talk!!!! MsKari on Hello & relocateddixiegirl on yahoo.

[mrswresh]

Growing up I lived in South Florida and went to Disney World a lot...anytime we had visitors. I think my sisters and I were actually SICK of it at some point!

We stayed off property at the Motel 6. It is just minutes away. My mom would run us through McDonalds (right next door to Motel 6) for an inexpensive breakfast before heading to the park.

We all had a snack allowance each day and when it was gone it was gone. We would also share snacks since sometimes you just want a "taste"

We would always have a nice meal at the park in the late afternoon...Epcot has many nice restaurants. Only one meal a day in the park though.

Then in the evenings when we returned she had snacks and stuff in the room for us.

Order water instead of pop to drink at your meals. You will save a ton.

Also - send your husband to one of the hundreds of touristy shops to buy some small Disney souvenirs/toys to have in your bag. The cost much less and when little ones want a toy you can whip it out and be a hero (for less of course)

If your kids are small enough that you are taking a stroller I would recommend taking a large blanket made of thin material. We always take on when we go to amusement parks with our kids. You can lay them out under a tree for breaks and they are nice to layout on the ground when the parades are underway.

We find places for our family before the parades start. Then one parent stays and saves the space with the blanket while another goes with the kids to do a ride or for bathroom breaks. Having the blanket helps keep other park guests away from the space you are saving.

Have fun!

[LindsayLou]

I think it's doable. If you rent a house and go off season, you can get it for the whole week for between $600-700. AND you have multiple bedrooms/living area/full kitchen/private pool/hot tub...well worth the money to stay off site. Especially if you are already driving there and don't need a rental car. You DO have to pay parking though (I think it was $10 a day?).

That gives you cooked meals for when you are home, breakfast each morning, and a nice big house to spread out in. I know that a lot of people feel it's "not Disney" if you are offsite, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Our little ones go to bed around 8:30/9:00 pm and DH and I didn't want to have to sit in a hotel room just watching TV while they slept. PLUS naptimes during the day. While they slept, we took our old baby monitors and went swimming in the pool or hot tub. It was seriously so nice! :)

Also, you can take snacks/drinks into the park with you. We had a stroller, so we loaded up. We even took sandwiches/chips for lunch! That way we only bought one meal a day at the parks and a special snack. Definitely go "off peak" if you can too. This will save you a ton of money, the weather will be nicer, and the crowds not as bad.

We went for a week, stayed in a rental house (10 minutes from WDW), went to 3 parks on 3 days, ate, airfare for 3 (DD was under the age of 2 at the time, so her airfare and park tixs were free), and had a BLAST for about $2,000 the last time we went. AND...we didn't feel like we missed out on anything! We still bought some souveniers, some food at the parks, etc... Totally, totally doable! :D

All that being said...have fun, sweetie! If you do your research, you can definitely make this work!

Melanie, do you recall who/what agency you rented your condo from?

[jflynn]

Julie -

I want to second other people's advice to pack food to bring in to the park if you have accommodations with a kitchen. We did this for our trip 2 weeks ago by packing a little soft-sided cooler each day filled with basic sandwiches, string cheese, goldfish,grapes, etc. The kids (ages 7 and 4) didn't mind a bit and it saved a ton of money. That with eating breakfast in the condo each morning will shave off tons of expense from your trip.

When my DH first suggested this idea for our trip I was a bit put off as I wanted a "vacation" too from cooking and packing lunches and all, but the cost savings was just too good to pass up. It wasn't that much extra work and for a huge payoff. I never did cook a dinner in the condo. That was where I drew the line, LOL!

Jessica in Utah

[bjwebster]

We have a timeshare in Orlando and we will be there for 2 weeks in June. One way we save money is by eating cheap. No character meals or table service. You can look at the menus for the restaurants at the parks here (http://www.allears.net/din/dining.htm).

I bring my recipe book, my crock pot, and as much non-perishable food as I can. Then we hit the Super Wal-Mart for the meat and other food we need. Every day we go to a park, we eat breakfast at the hotel, have a cheap lunch at the park, and have dinner that I put in the crock pot before we left in the morning. It saves a lot of money not eating dinner out.

I second Tour Guide Mike (http://www.tourguidemike.com) for some great Disney tips. I just subscribed this week and I'm so excited to use all of the great info. I'm such a planner. :)

[maggie965]

Julie -

I just sent you a PM. We just got back from Orlando and I'd love to share my deals with you.

Jessica in Utah

Is it info you can post? We are going in August and we have some discounts but are always looking for more!!

[StarryNight]

Driving will help save money also as others have suggested staying at a non-Disney hotel or even renting a house for the week will help stretch money. If you go to the Disney website they have a trip planner that will help give you the cheapest options.