Hello! New here....Need som BIG help with budgeting!

[Bridgett]

Hello! I just came across this site...What a lot of great information!

We have been considering our first trip to Disney World. Neither my husband or I have ever been. We are planning to go with a big group and we really need to save every way we can so that we can truly aford to go. We are trying to stay very low budget, yet still have a good time. We will have Four adults going, and Seven children, three of which are under four.

We were thinking of renting a big place to stay (maybe three bedrooms) and sharing the cost of it. We also will need passes for all four parks for most of us. There is so much info out there about discounts, I really don't know what is the best deal. ANYTHING you can pass on would be very much appreciated!

Bridgett

 

[kejoda]

Welcome to the Dis Bridgett! You could try mousesavers.com. If the search funtion was working you could use that . This wll might yourjob a little harder. It might help to give more info so everyone here will have a better idea.

Onsite or off
amenities
hotel or rental home
days there
month going
things like that. You'll find that the people here are very knowledgeable and you will get plenty of info. have fun planning(have the fun) and a fun trip.

 

[bobcat]

A way to save on tickets is to have one person in your party become a Disney Club member. You can save 10% on your tickets. The membership is $39 a year but you can get it for $29 through your workplace, credit union, professional unions. You will save that much on just a couple of tickets.

 

[crusoe2]

Welcome - you definitely came to the right place. This sight is wonderful. If you are thinking of staying off-site be sure to check out the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board. You can get some great info there on rental homes, the best routes to the parks, off-site restaurants, etc. As kejoda mentioned, the search function on this site isn't working right now or we would recommend doing a search for info on specific things like saving on hotels, saving on tickets, etc. The mousesavers website is a great place to start, tho. And feel free to post the specifics about your trip, like kejoda mentioned. That way everyone can give you advice that is more likely to work for you rather than bombarding you with a lot of extra info that won't work for your group. Hope this helps and have fun planning your trip.

 

[josierac]

Tickets - start buying them now, this will cut down on what the trip would cost you all at once.

Look into renting a 4-5 bedroom house, it will be cheaper than staying at a hotel plus you will have your own pool and a full kitchen, washer and dryer. Helpful with the little ones.

 

[Bryn]

If you rent a place with a kitchen, not only can you save on breakfast, but whoever goes back with the kids for naptime can give them lunch there too.

For dinner, skip the table service restaurants (esp. if the kids are like mine) and buy from the counter-service restaurants. Less expensive, less time consuming and less stress trying to keep the kids under control!!

Are you a member of any online rewards programs, i.e Mypoints or Milesource? Those points can be used to get gift certificates for restaurants (outside the parks, of course).

You didn't mention what time of year you are planning on going - pick Value Season, if possible.

If there are any gift-giving occassions between now and your trip, ask for Disney Dollars. For adults and kids!!

We found mousesavers.com to be very helpful for car rental discounts. I can't vouch for the hotel discounts because we are using a family timeshare.

The Disney Club membership gives tons of discounts - passes, merchandise, restaurants. Well worth the cost.

Not really a money saver but a definite time saver is to use one of the WDW planning books - I've used Birnbaums Disney Without Kids and the Unoffical Guide 2002.

Good luck - it will be well worth the cost!!