another Disney question: budget

[Anonymous]

We were there in May last year, with a 2 year old and 5.5 year old. We were there for 6 park days/nights.

We stayed offsite, at a suite property, and would be hard pressed to do it another way with young kids. We spent 5-6 hours each day at a park, and then headed back for nap time (or vice versa). When we weren't at the parks, we spent time resting, at the myriad of pools, or heading out to eat at a nearby restaurant. Our suite was around $200/night.

By getting to the parks before rope drop/after 4 pm, we were able to get parking spots close to the front. We thought we were going to park hop, but no way. We were all exhausted. No meal plan - ate breakfast back at the room, packed some small snacks, and grabbed what we wanted where we wanted.

We typically spend good $$$ on vacations, so not bargain hunters by any stretch. But we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked staying off site and coming and going as we liked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were there in May last year, with a 2 year old and 5.5 year old. We were there for 6 park days/nights.

We stayed offsite, at a suite property, and would be hard pressed to do it another way with young kids. We spent 5-6 hours each day at a park, and then headed back for nap time (or vice versa). When we weren't at the parks, we spent time resting, at the myriad of pools, or heading out to eat at a nearby restaurant. Our suite was around $200/night.

By getting to the parks before rope drop/after 4 pm, we were able to get parking spots close to the front. We thought we were going to park hop, but no way. We were all exhausted. No meal plan - ate breakfast back at the room, packed some small snacks, and grabbed what we wanted where we wanted.

We typically spend good $$$ on vacations, so not bargain hunters by any stretch. But we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked staying off site and coming and going as we liked.

did you stay at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek?

[Anonymous]

You will not be going to be bed at 7:30pm in Disney. That means you would have to leave the parks by 6:45pm It is vacation, come on now! You will miss fireworks, parades, seeing the castle at night and so forth.

I have been taking kids as young as 18 months and I think the earliest we have ever left the park is 8pm and in bed by 9pm. And when one goes to bed, we are all almost ready for bed. In May, your best bet is to leave during 1-4pm and do pool/naps and come back refreshed. It is so much easier to do this for the kids too. You will see melting kids at 6pm and you are all ready to go again.

That said, if you really think you need a suite and utilizing it, I would consider renting DVC points. Bay Lake Towers with tickets and the meal plan is one of the most expensive plans.

And if you are going to have a suite with a fridge, why would you also pay for the meal plan? Why not get groceries delivered? Not food to cook but cereal, milk, fruit, bottled water, snacks, cheese sticks, granola, sandwich stuff etc.. You are allowed to bring food/drinks in any Disney park and if you have a soft pack cooler and a bringing a stroller, it is a no brainer.

If you want to a plan, I would do:

Art of Animation with non-hopper tickers, no meal plan. Also, don't overspend on tickets. Don't get them for the day you leave/return. You can add days if you want while you are there (for the same discount) but you can't take them away.

We are like you and our family (including our 12yr old) loved Art of Animation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We usually pay about $3000 for 5 days at a deluxe, including park hoppers.

We are probably like you -- I like the Marriott comparison! We do choose to stay deluxe because of proximity to parks, which is nice for our style of touring (we aren't dawn-to-dusk park people). But I've heard nice things about the moderate resortsm (Port Orleans in particular), which would bring costs down considerably without sacrificing the Disney experience.

Bay Lake Towers is going to be one of the pricer deluxe resorts because of its top location, plus I believe it's all suites. You could probably pay a little less at the Contemporary, which is right next door and a more traditional hotel. Value is even better in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary, which still gives you the benefits of a deluxe and the Contemporary's great location at a lower price point.

You can get the Deluxe experience for less at the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, both of which are gorgeous properties but a little farther away from the parks. But we really like the Epcot area resorts, which are walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Again, we pay a little more for the convenience and the nice setting.

I don't recommend the dining plan because it really ties you to reservations too much. Unless everyone in your group is a big foodie or loves to eat, spring for a couple of nice sit-down meals then stick to quick service for everything else.

We would be described similarly - not Ritz, but not Best Western. We spent about $4000 for family of four. We went through AAA with a package. We got a free Dining Plan (you just have to be on the look out for deals - but AAA does that for you) and we drove down spent the night in Savannah on the way down, and took the auto train back. We stayed onsite at the newly renovated Port Orleans - lovely hotel - and we had park hopper passes.

[Anonymous]

For a family of three a suite in less you can comfortably afford it, is too much. Your three year old may not want to be alone in a strange room. We are three. We got two beds and my husband and son slept in one and they were out. I had my tablet and head phones. It was no big deal. He would not sleep in a bed alone and never sleeps with us at home.

We are the $3000 family. I think 11 days. Went last month $500 or so on flights, $200 on car rental, $400 tickets - got one for free, about $1400 hotel at a moderate and the rest food and stuff. There are two disney outlets for cheaper stuff if you have a car. We did not do fanc meals though as we did not care. Our days varied but we did do some later nights. We did not care about fancy. I would rather go twice for $6000 than once.

[Anonymous]

Bay Lake Towers is the Ritz. Spend some time education yourself about the resorts so you can speak with your agent intelligently. Or find another agent because she is trying to get you to stay at the Ritz. Any Disney property will be more expensive than any comparable property outside of Walt Disney World. So, you can get a "moderate priced" resort in the Walt Disney World Complex and it will cost the same as a pretty luxurious place off property. You have to decide if the premium is worth it. Staying in a Disney property does enable you to a few things that are not available if you stay off property (unless you stay at Swan & Dolphin--it is a hybrid). You can park for free at the parks and use the disney dining plan if you stay at a Disney property. That may be very worth it to you. If you want a "condo-like" property, you have off property options out the wazoo and you can get a lot of space for cheap (Blue Heron Resort). On property, condo-like properties are Disney Vacation Club properties and they are the absolute most expensive (again depending on the resort).

So again, you agent recommended a Disney Luxury resort on the Monorail. Truly, that is like booking you at the Ritz in Georgetown or the Willard. There is a wealth of information for free so read up and be more clear with your agent or fire her. Or even go direct to Disney and see what they can do. Or, look at Costco packages (if you are amember).

We are DVC members and love it. Loved Art of Animation and our kids loved it and still talk about staying at the cozy cone.

[Anonymous]

PP here. To clarify, Bay Lake Towers is the condo Disney Vacation Club (DVC) portion of the Contemporary Resort. It is super expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoa!

I've stayed at Orlando hotels about 30 minutes from Disney for business travel, and they seem to include breakfast and dinner in their hotel rates. What about renting a car and staying further out?

The issue with that is usually timing. It depends on the ages of the kids. For younger kids, the most pleasant way to do disney is to visit the park in the morning, take a rest break for lunch that could include naps and pool, and then head back to the park in the late afternoon. If your hotel is 30 min away and your parking in the Disney lots to be shuttled in and out, that easily can add an hour and a half to each trip. Now your spending 3 hours a day for travel to and from the parks. If the kids are older and don't need a break in the middle of the day, your plan is great.

Thanks - this is good to know! We are still in the land of naps for our smaller kid, so will probably wait a few more years until disney is more worth it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We usually pay about $3000 for 5 days at a deluxe, including park hoppers.

We are probably like you -- I like the Marriott comparison! We do choose to stay deluxe because of proximity to parks, which is nice for our style of touring (we aren't dawn-to-dusk park people). But I've heard nice things about the moderate resortsm (Port Orleans in particular), which would bring costs down considerably without sacrificing the Disney experience.

Bay Lake Towers is going to be one of the pricer deluxe resorts because of its top location, plus I believe it's all suites. You could probably pay a little less at the Contemporary, which is right next door and a more traditional hotel. Value is even better in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary, which still gives you the benefits of a deluxe and the Contemporary's great location at a lower price point.

You can get the Deluxe experience for less at the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, both of which are gorgeous properties but a little farther away from the parks. But we really like the Epcot area resorts, which are walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Again, we pay a little more for the convenience and the nice setting.

I don't recommend the dining plan because it really ties you to reservations too much. Unless everyone in your group is a big foodie or loves to eat, spring for a couple of nice sit-down meals then stick to quick service for everything else.

This is OP. Thanks, this is helpful. What time of year do you go that you pay $3000? That seems like a good price. Is that just lodging and tickets... with food costs on top of that?

We want a suite to avoid the 7:30 pm family bedtime... we like to be able to put DS to bed and have somewhere to hang out.

I am going to look at the Boardwalk area resorts too - I really like that area with walking around the lake, lots of restaurants, etc. Seems like the prices at the Beach Club are similar to Wilderness Lodge.

In searching around it also looks like the 15-30% room-only discounts will eventually come out for our travel times...

I'm the PP. Join the Mousesavers newsletter, check out the Disboards, and if possible sign up for the Chase Disney Visa. You'll get advance notice of discounts, and in the Disney Visa case, first crack at them before they're opened to the general public. We have always been able to apply codes, which is how we manage to keep it to $3K for 5 days in deluxe resorts.

I agree with another PP about the BLT being almost the Ritz. In the Disney world, suites are so much more expensive than the deluxe hotel rooms that they're out of reach for almost everyone unless you rent points from a DVC owner. I suggest a deluxe resort with a balcony room so you and your husband can have a place for down time. Remember, Disney is outrageously priced all-around. You get used to the Disney math after a while but it still means we find ourselves not blinking at paying $500/night for a standard hotel room when in real life we'd be looking at a nice Marriott suite for half that. I agree with another PP that it's really hard to keep to a 7:30 bedtime. The parks are so nice at night -- crowds are lower, lines are shorter. Then depending on what resort you're staying at, you can be putting your kid to sleep and then all of a sudden the electrical water pageant out your window, or fireworks begin and sleep just doesn't happen.

From one Marriott type to another, choose the location you like best, spring for a regular deluxe, make sure to request a balcony. Even without a code you should be able to cut your costs quite a bit that way and I promise your experience won't be diminished in any way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We usually pay about $3000 for 5 days at a deluxe, including park hoppers.

We are probably like you -- I like the Marriott comparison! We do choose to stay deluxe because of proximity to parks, which is nice for our style of touring (we aren't dawn-to-dusk park people). But I've heard nice things about the moderate resortsm (Port Orleans in particular), which would bring costs down considerably without sacrificing the Disney experience.

Bay Lake Towers is going to be one of the pricer deluxe resorts because of its top location, plus I believe it's all suites. You could probably pay a little less at the Contemporary, which is right next door and a more traditional hotel. Value is even better in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary, which still gives you the benefits of a deluxe and the Contemporary's great location at a lower price point.

You can get the Deluxe experience for less at the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, both of which are gorgeous properties but a little farther away from the parks. But we really like the Epcot area resorts, which are walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Again, we pay a little more for the convenience and the nice setting.

I don't recommend the dining plan because it really ties you to reservations too much. Unless everyone in your group is a big foodie or loves to eat, spring for a couple of nice sit-down meals then stick to quick service for everything else.

This is OP. Thanks, this is helpful. What time of year do you go that you pay $3000? That seems like a good price. Is that just lodging and tickets... with food costs on top of that?

We want a suite to avoid the 7:30 pm family bedtime... we like to be able to put DS to bed and have somewhere to hang out.

I am going to look at the Boardwalk area resorts too - I really like that area with walking around the lake, lots of restaurants, etc. Seems like the prices at the Beach Club are similar to Wilderness Lodge.

In searching around it also looks like the 15-30% room-only discounts will eventually come out for our travel times...

I'm the PP. Join the Mousesavers newsletter, check out the Disboards, and if possible sign up for the Chase Disney Visa. You'll get advance notice of discounts, and in the Disney Visa case, first crack at them before they're opened to the general public. We have always been able to apply codes, which is how we manage to keep it to $3K for 5 days in deluxe resorts.

I agree with another PP about the BLT being almost the Ritz. In the Disney world, suites are so much more expensive than the deluxe hotel rooms that they're out of reach for almost everyone unless you rent points from a DVC owner. I suggest a deluxe resort with a balcony room so you and your husband can have a place for down time. Remember, Disney is outrageously priced all-around. You get used to the Disney math after a while but it still means we find ourselves not blinking at paying $500/night for a standard hotel room when in real life we'd be looking at a nice Marriott suite for half that. I agree with another PP that it's really hard to keep to a 7:30 bedtime. The parks are so nice at night -- crowds are lower, lines are shorter. Then depending on what resort you're staying at, you can be putting your kid to sleep and then all of a sudden the electrical water pageant out your window, or fireworks begin and sleep just doesn't happen.

From one Marriott type to another, choose the location you like best, spring for a regular deluxe, make sure to request a balcony. Even without a code you should be able to cut your costs quite a bit that way and I promise your experience won't be diminished in any way.

PP again. We usually go in early August, and that's the price for hotel and 5-day park hopper tickets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were there in May last year, with a 2 year old and 5.5 year old. We were there for 6 park days/nights.

We stayed offsite, at a suite property, and would be hard pressed to do it another way with young kids. We spent 5-6 hours each day at a park, and then headed back for nap time (or vice versa). When we weren't at the parks, we spent time resting, at the myriad of pools, or heading out to eat at a nearby restaurant. Our suite was around $200/night.

By getting to the parks before rope drop/after 4 pm, we were able to get parking spots close to the front. We thought we were going to park hop, but no way. We were all exhausted. No meal plan - ate breakfast back at the room, packed some small snacks, and grabbed what we wanted where we wanted.

We typically spend good $$$ on vacations, so not bargain hunters by any stretch. But we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked staying off site and coming and going as we liked.

did you stay at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek?

No, that was unfortunately sold out when we went. We wound up at one of the Wyndham properties nearby. 2 bedroom suite, tons of pools. Worked for us. We also went in the mindset we wouldn't be able to do it all, and we will come back at some point in the future. Took a lot of the stress off of us.

[Anonymous]

http://wdwprepschool.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-go-to-disney-world/

Totally depends, as you can see from the above article. Could be $2000 or it could be $10,000.

FWIW, we probably spent $3000 on our last week long trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. To clarify, Bay Lake Towers is the condo Disney Vacation Club (DVC) portion of the Contemporary Resort. It is super expensive.

Hi this is OP. in the travel agents defense - I asked about Bay Lake Towers because I know two people that stayed there recently and recommended it. I did not realize quite how expensive it was.

Also, I equate Disney Deluxe with Marriott, not Ritz. Perhaps it's more like Marriott style at Ritz prices.

Now i'm thinking about the Wyndham Bonnet Creek anyhow - $700 for a 2 br condo...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. To clarify, Bay Lake Towers is the condo Disney Vacation Club (DVC) portion of the Contemporary Resort. It is super expensive.

Hi this is OP. in the travel agents defense - I asked about Bay Lake Towers because I know two people that stayed there recently and recommended it. I did not realize quite how expensive it was.

Also, I equate Disney Deluxe with Marriott, not Ritz. Perhaps it's more like Marriott style at Ritz prices.

Now i'm thinking about the Wyndham Bonnet anyhow - $700 for a 2 br condo...

Fwiw, if you choose Bonnet Creek (any non Disney hotel), you will not get to use the parks' (extra magic hours.) We've always found them to help tremendously, especially the morning ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going with or family of 6 - need tickets only for 5 as one is young. All in, easily $7500 with airfare, hotel, tickets, food. Disney will be one of our more expensive vacations. We too are Mariott/not Ritz/not Holiday Inn, but Disney is just not going to be cheap.

it astounds me that ppl spend this kind of money on disney. so sad.