I have 2 trips next year...a trip to Hershey Park/Pittsburgh/Columbus (12 nights) and a trip to Florida to help my sick mom and take the kids to a theme park of two (could be 7-14 days, depending how many we do in Melbourne at my sister's house which will have very little cost beyond travel and entertainment there, b/c we'd have her house and supplies). I think I'm gonna have a vacation budget of $8-9K for 6, which is gonna be very tight to do both, but I do have the hotels booked for the 1st trip (with great rates), my timeshare available for the 2nd trip (so no direct cost - aka, not needed to fit in the $9K), and 6 1 day any time MK tickets and $350 reward dollars from Chase that are expiring (so bonuses to the budget), so they need to get used up and will "add" to the budget...
I'm gonna start working on budgets to make things happen. We do have kitchens available everywhere, and I have a dairy allergy, so we eat in a lot and plan special meals to enjoy (that won't take me down for vacation)...and this makes our grocery and eat out budgets very close (since I splurge on the groceries and alcohol b/c I can trust them
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Okay, so even though my Disney rewards dollars are expiring, I'm gonna roll them to a card for 2021. Real life has intruded in good and bad ways, through funerals where I'll be seeing family that I didn't expect to see, negating the need to see them in FL. Plus, the funerals have taken work time from my spouse, and we were already committed to our long Hershey Trip...so, we're taking our timeshare points and reallocating them to celebrate our delayed anniversary for last year and going to NYC for 4 nights this summer (vs the 10-12 nights we'd have stayed in FL). I have the Wyndham 45 Manhattan in a presidential 2 bedroom for the cost of valet parking and my points...and in way better news, I stumbled on Broadway.com on 6 tickets together last night to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for $29/each ($40/each after fees for $240...I didn't think I'd get tickets to 1 real show on Broadway for that, let alone 6). So, now to plan my 1st trip to NYC for me in decades...and for my kids ever
. We agreed we need to try the bagels, the kosher delis, and the pizza (okay, I have to skip that)...and possibly Morimoto's new ramen place (that would be for me - I LOVE his restaurant concepts...and for NYC, it's cheap
. This vacation will be designated our "cheaper" one so I'll be looking at attraction passes to supplement our fun, and we are planning on included buses and our 2 feet to get around (vs the subway)...time to make sure we get walking in this summer (and not just swimming), so the fam is ready
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Editing my post to get into budget specifics to keep me accountable b/c I could go crazy in NYC if I don't
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So far, I think I'm running with $3K (separate from my timeshare points) for our 5 day/4 night trip to NYC, breaking the budget into $1K travel/hotel, $1K entertainment/attractions, and $1K food...So far, this is my booked plans...
Hotel/Travel
Timeshare Wyndham Midtown 45 2 bedroom - $240 parking (3 nights)/$0 cost (expiring timeshare pts)
Embassy Suites Meadowlands - $0 parking (1 night)/$248 cost
Gas and Tolls $80
Uber XLs NYC $250
Subway $100 (we plan to rely on our feet and XLs over the subway, but willing to do a trip or 2)
Attractions
6 Tickets to Phantom of the Opera $240
6 Greenwich Village "Free" Tour on Foot Food Tour $60 (already paid) plus planned extra $60 tip (got a lot of tripadvisor advice that $10/hour is the going tip rate for tours if you like them...so I'm planning to like this - food costs are separate, but will be in food costs
6 Big Apple Greeter Tours of Central Manhattan or Chinatown (requested - may fall through) - this tour is free, but they request donations and don't let you know if you get one til a few weeks before...so, I'm planning to save $100 for this and if this falls through, I'll do something else
6 Studio at 30 Rock TV Studio Tours $202 (not gonna buy yet b/c there's lot of availability and I want to find a deal, but it's a must do)
Other attraction plans are the NY Fed (free), Times Square (free), and Central Park (technically free, but we may book a tour) - I've got about $400 to play with, and I'm thinking of another show or a trip to the Empire State Building...or Top of the Rock b/c we'll be at the studio...but I'll choose later...we also may go to the Dream Mall in NJ for a few hours, so I might save a little money for fun there...
Food
Groceries (brought by me) $75 - we have a kitchen, so I'm bringing my dairy free stuff, water, some coffee, and some fresh produce
Food Tour Food $90 - figure this is too high b/c they suggest $8-15/person for the tour, but the tour guide might accomodate me, so I might spend it
Morimoto's Ramen House Lunch $150
Chinatown Lunch or Dinner $150
Food Market Meal $100
Jewish Deli Meal $150
Buffer money
...about $300 extra...probably won't be fancy, but will be around for use
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