I was hoping to get a little cost info. We went to Disney last year and LOVED it! My in-laws gave us their time share to use, which, was awesome. But it wasn't a Disney resort, and we want to stay in one to get the full experience. Last year, we paid for tickets and groceries and that's it . Our place had a kitchen, and we took a cooler with food to the park. So other than a few character and special meals, we ate our own food. So, my question is, about how much does it cost to go for a week and stay in Disney? We are a family of four with a 3 and 5 year old. Before I start researching resorts, I though I'd ask what kind of budget other moms had for a trip like this. I'm hoping it's not too expensive, but I'm thinking it propably is. Thanks!
If you haven't already, pick up the latest edition of Unofficial Guide to Disney World. They come out with a new one every year and we always find it essential whenever we go. As for costs, it really depends on so many factors - where you stay, how big of a room you get, when you go, etc.
probably expensive, but so worth it. :) Check into the Disney Vacation Club if you plan on keeping it an anual thing. They have time shares at some of the better resorts and some of our friends have it even though we only live 40 minutes away. :) They have them at the Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and Contemporary for sure. I'm thinking they are probably at others. The contemporary is the one that the monorail goes through it's very cool, if you stay at the Polyensian, Grand Floridian, or COntemporary the monorail will pick you up right there to go to Epcot or Magic Kingdom. It's pretty cool. All other hotels have boats or busses to all parks so you won't need a car while you are there at all, unless you plan on doing grocery shopping on your own. :)
We went last December and stayed on site at Coronado Springs-a step above the value resorts. We (two adults, two children-age 9)stayed one week and it was a little over $2800. That was the hotel, tickets, and dining package (one nice dinner and two quick service meals and a snack each a day). The Coronado had a very nice restaurant and their quick service meals were great-some of the others were more like a McDonalds meal.
We have a Diney Chase credit card that gives Disney dollars and I had over $1800 on that-was saving for a long time so that took a big chunk out of it-it worked really nice.
We did rent a car even though we wouldn't have had to. We did a few things off grounds-like swimming with the manatees and indoor sky diving because my husband gets theme parked out pretty quick and it worked out really well.
The convenience of staying right on the grounds is really nice and definitely worth the eatra dollars in my opinion.
The credit card may be worth looking into if you are one of those pay it off right away people. It was a way for me to save specifically for Disney where as if it was just cash back, it would have got spend on something else.
I would check out their web-site. They always run specials. Now that it is the off season you should get some really good deals. I live about 10 minutes from the park and when we would come here on vacation we always rented a house or condo. We found it was cheaper to buy our own food and you could take a break from the parks and go swimming if the rental has a pool.
The resorts have different prices, it depends on how close to the parks and if you want a higher end hotel. They all offer busses to the parks.
Have fun!!
PS: if you decide to stay outside the parks send me a message and I can let you know what the areas are like.
I think if you go during off peak times, you can find a package 2000. That will be at a value resort. As you go up in resort quality, your price increases. The below poster is talking about a hotel on the monorail, and all of those are deluxe resorts (the most expensive).
Depends on when you go. Peak season the value hotels run about $110 a
night. Off peak around $77. Park passes would probably run somewhere
between $825 to $1000 (not sure if you pay for the 3 year old).I think with little ones you would not want the hopper pass. More money too. The dining
plan is worth every penny. Not sure of the cost. So I would say you
are looking at $3,000 to $4000. On the dining plan you get a table meal (dinner) a quick service (we used for lunch or you can use for bkfst) and a
snack. Every day. So you might have to buy breakfast. Hope that helps.
We took the kids last December and I can't stress this enough... GET THE MEAL PLAN! We chose the one that includes 3 meals and two snacks per person, per day. It was about $295 a person extra for the week we were there. But the first night we ate at a themed restaurant, the bill was $185 for 4 of us. So it payed for itself quickly and gives you extreme freedom.
Also, dinner reservations need to be made about a year out, yes a YEAR.
We flew from Dallas, stayed 8 days, 7 nights and it ran about $4500. We also payed for the Christmas Parade and Mickey's Backyard BBQ
A friend of mine just told me...they are going in 12 days , 5 night stay at some hotel right in Disney(a train or something like that comes right through the 3rd floor, so they would not even need a car), it's them and 2 boys, a package was $8000.
We did not skimp and stayed at one of the New Orleans themed resorts.
It ran us about $5000 for 4 days, this included gas to get there and the hotel coming home, all souvenirs and a character dinner. We ate all our meals on Disney, either at the hotel or the parks.
Check the disney website you can get 65$ a night deals in the value hotels.
Without tickets we spent about 2000 , including souvenirs.
Week at Disney. Without the meal plan
We stayed at Fort Wilderness (the camp ground) when I was little... it was fabulous, and a great way to save money. You can cook your own breakfast and dinner, and pack a lunch. Camp sites range from $46-$76 in the value season. Cabins run about $300.
Fort WIlderness is a vacation in and of itself... you could spend a week there and never leave and be happy. Check it out...
I don't know exactly when you're planning to go, but I think they are running some kind of special right now where you get a free meal plan. Go on to their website and check into it. They are also offering some discounts on their resorts for the off season. Disney has a website where you can plan everything out, including the dining plan and compare resorts, etc. I will warn you, it is pricey. Hope you don't get sticker shock! Good luck!
