Planning a Trip in 2019? Let's Share Our Budgets!

September 24-30 6 nights 7 days 2 adults four kids (9,8,5,1) at CBR

Flights-? Hoping to use points still working this one out.
Parking- $75

5 day hoppers and free dinning. - 4065

Extras $200


Have currently $1400 saved in cash.
Goal is to earn from eBay, kids consignment sales, gift cards credit card rewards.
 
We're going to Disney World in Late Spring for 10 nights (split stay at 2 Disney resorts) - 2 adults, 2 kids (5 and 2)
  • Airfare - $167 (using miles and a discount voucher)
  • 3 x 7-day Park Hopper Plus tickets - $1390
  • 5 nights @ Caribbean Beach - $898
  • 5 nights @ Pop Century - $725
    • Total: $3180
  • We expect to spent about $1000 on food and souvenirs since none of us are big eaters.
 
A little update to the budget, when SW released their flights for my travel time I realized I could make good use of some points I had saved up from business travel!

Priceline Express Deal on All Star Music (Aug 30-Sept 3) - $227 after PL discount code of 12% and Ebates rebate of 11%

Booked package under the free dining promotion:
All Star Music 8/26-8/30 (the 2 room reservations are linked, hopefully we can stay in the same room the entire time)
7 day parkhoppers (these will cover both legs of our reservations)
Upgrade to DDP to get the TS credit each day of the package reservation
Total $2973.19 Will be using GC purchased with Target Red card to pay this off, so final cost will be $2824.50

Planned food spending OOP $800 (700 will be on Disney GC bought with Target redcard), final cost $765
includes groceries for 2nd half of trip, and in-park/resort dining on 2nd half of trip. We will probably be well under that and I'll adjust that budget once I nail down ADRs and actual grocery supplies we will need)

Parking at the resort $104 don't need this now that we're flying

Gas and tolls for drive there and back $300 don't need this now that we're flying

Hotel for one night on the way home the day before check-in and the day after check-out, close to airport $0 (Hilton Honors points) - the Hilton Garden Inn close to the airport offers a free shuttle that runs 24hrs day to and from the airport!

Delta flight Boston-Orlando on 8/25 $354
Southwest flight Orlando-Boston on 9/4 $108 (used a combination of cash + SW points)


Total for now $4320 4278.50

This now allows us to use DME to get to and from the airport, and use the free hotel shuttle to get between the airport and the hotel on arrival and departure day!

Kinda glad we didn't buy the delta tickets yet - I just went back on the Delta website and the cost of our one-way flights DROPPED by $20. Not a huge difference but I am going to book now before they bounce back up again!
 
February 17-March 8th
Driving down from Michigan ($200gas, actually less than I spend while home)
Hyatt Place on points 1 night (work credit card)
Residence Inn on points 1 night (work credit card)
3 nights at Convention Center (Hardware Distributors Spring show)
1 week Old Key West 2 bedroom (DVC Points)
1 week Grand Floridian 2 bedroom (DVC)
Hyatt on points

I'd have to count points, but probably $2500 in DVC dues.

No parks

No souvenirs

A few meals out, but no more than when we are home

2 Adults, 5 kids

So figure about $2700-3000 for almost 3 weeks
 


Dec 20, 2019- Jan 4, 2020- 16 days
2 Adult 1 teen
Fly Southwest- $650 plus points
Offsite house- $1400 includes pool heat
5 day base tickets x3- $1185
Parking- $125
Groceries- $250
Eat Out- $800
Total= $4,410

Not bad at all considering we go at the most expensive time u can go, week of xmas and week of new year.
 
Y'all have some of the cheapest dog sitting fees I've ever seen. I'm going to have to board my cat and dog, I fully expect it to cost more than our personal housing cost for the trip!
I hear you..... sometimes we get lucky and my sister will do it for cheap....other times we have to pay the 'real' sitter and it's soooooo pricey(we have quite a crew here)
 
February 17-March 8th
Driving down from Michigan ($200gas, actually less than I spend while home)
Hyatt Place on points 1 night (work credit card)
Residence Inn on points 1 night (work credit card)
3 nights at Convention Center (Hardware Distributors Spring show)
1 week Old Key West 2 bedroom (DVC Points)
1 week Grand Floridian 2 bedroom (DVC)
Hyatt on points

I'd have to count points, but probably $2500 in DVC dues.

No parks

No souvenirs

A few meals out, but no more than when we are home

2 Adults, 5 kids

So figure about $2700-3000 for almost 3 weeks


Curious here. Why no parks? Why go to FL for such a long trip and not do any parks? Are you doing something else?
 


Curious here. Why no parks? Why go to FL for such a long trip and not do any parks? Are you doing something else?

A few reasons actually.

#1 We have been DVC members since the mid 90's and have been going to Disney 3-4x's a year ever since. I wouldnt say we are "burned out" but we just dont need park time to enjoy our trips. My work consumes HUGE amounts of time and energy when we are home, so we tend to take multiple LONG trips each year. It's how I get away from the 24hr on call 7 days a week. With our DVC membership, we can spend 2-3 weeks at Disney for much cheaper than we can at a comparable resort anywhere else. Also, no time zone change. So for us, our kids have grown up spending lots of time at the DVC resorts and pools and community hall. It works great for us. We will do side trips to the beach, or take a few days and go to the keys. When you cut out parks, Disney is actually a very easy and inexpensive trip.

#2 My personality is such, if we pay for a day in the parks I want to get MAX time so we end up going at rope drop and staying until they close. We dont find that to be relaxing or enjoyable and tend to want to leave for the afternoon...but then my wife and I feel guilty about spending the $$ for a park day. Just kind of our own way of doing things. Annual passes would make this better, but we would rather spend $6000 on more trips.

#3 We save park days for anytime its rainy and or cold and the kids are getting restless. We did Animal Kingdom in December on a 40 degree day and had a great time, but honestly the kids would rather spend any nice weather day at a pool (or bike riding, or golf carts at FW, or many other things)

#4 We do an "adventure" trip every year as well. 2 weeks usually late summer. Mountains for hiking and biking, Oregon Coast, National Parks, Europe, something along those lines. So we dont need to do that non-stop go go go type of trip at Disney
 
LBHouse, that makes perfect sense. I guess if we were DVC members, we would likely do trips without parks too after so many years of going. You have a lot of vacation time which is also nice. My dh only gets two weeks a year so we're limited. I've been at my job for 24 years so I get 5 weeks off a year but I do staycations or just take a few Fridays off a year to burn up my leave.
 
I wasn't going to go again until Sept. 2019 (we're going in late Sept. of this year), but my daughter has been hinting that she would like to get back to Disney before she and her friend do their "we're all turning 30" trip in 2020. So, I said I would look into a trip for the two of us in the spring. As luck would have it, I was able to book 2 nights in an AKV CL studio in April. I added on 4 nights in a BWV boardwalk view studio. It's as if the stars had aligned and the heavens were telling me to take this extra trip!

So, for the details:
  1. Ground transportation to/from our home airport provided by one or both of our husbands. We're 20 minutes away and it's almost all highway. No parking fees nor tolls and little in the way of gas. $0
  2. Airfare RT to MCO using Southwest RR points. $15 pp EBCI for each direction + 9/11 fees. $83
  3. 4 nights BWV + 2 nights AKV paid for with our DVC points. It's a sunk cost at this point, so $0 OOP for the trip.
  4. Tickets. 1 PAP for myself, to be activated in Sept. 2018 + 6-day PH for daughter that I've had for a couple of years (another sunk cost that I have no idea what I paid for since I believe it had been part of a 2016 *free* dining package I had done with my sister when I already had an AP). $0 OOP for this trip only because I had factored in the price of the AP over the two F&W trips I have planned for 2018 & 2019.
  5. Food, oh goodness! I figure that we will each pay our own share. She's a vegetarian who rarely eats breakfast and is fine with just one complete meal each day. One restaurant that she has requested is Tiffins and I may book a ROL dining package since ROL was dark when she went two years ago. I'm going to budget $300 apiece and adjust accordingly if I manage to put more aside.
  6. Shopping/souvenirs is completely negotiable. I don't tend to buy a lot. With DVC, we go often enough that I don't need, nor do I want, Mickey ears, autograph books or t-shirts. I usually buy an ornament or two and then have them shipped home. So, $100 maximum for shopping.
  7. Extras may end up being the biggest expense.
  • Since we're going to be staying Club Level for 2 nights, we can get the 3 extra FP+ and night-time reserved viewing if it's still offered next spring. The current price is $50 pp/day (not per night!) with a minimum of 3 days. That's $300 for the two of us. This is something I will only book if I can accrue enough free Disney GCs via rewards programs.
  • I may book one fireworks dessert party for us, depending on what our schedule looks like. That would be $140 (or more come spring). I'm on the fence as to whether it's worth that price tag. It's nice not to have to stake out a viewing spot well ahead of the show, but the desserts and beverages are not anything spectacular.
Total OOP = ~$925

Now, I freely admit that the DVC purchase price and annual dues (or at least the rental income on the points), the amortized price-per-day cost of my AP and the value of the 6-day park hopper that is gathering dust could (and probably should) be factored in. But the new puppy has me sleep-deprived and running those numbers just isn't in me right now.
WOW!!!
If we could do that price from here in the UK it would be amazing..
Great budgeting, would be interesting to see the DVC costs & park hopper factored in. I still think those factored in it would be a low cost break.
 
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We are Flying out 31st July - 13th August.

Our break is during the UK Summer holiday's so prices are high.
The Holiday we have booked is a package one.
We are flying with Virgin Premium Economy.
Our Park tickets & the standard dining plan is included.
We are using The Magical Express to transfer from the Airport & to The Airport.
Our Main Holiday is 14 NIGHTS at POR.
But we have also booked 2 nights during our stay at the Contemporary for our 30th Wedding Anniversary.

The total Cost for the Vacation is £7475 & at today's Exchange rates is about $9640.( not cheap at all)
That is only for 2 of us & is probably an average cost for this type of package at WDW from the main Travel agents in the UK over the summer period.

I know there are a lot lower cost packages you can get & if you want there are cheaper off site hotels & flights with transfers that are cheaper.

But we enjoy staying on property & Virgin Offer a great in flight service.
We don't have to worry about our food or getting to & from the parks.

Friends of ours went in January for 2 week's & paid all in £3650 for 2 of them staying at Pop Century.($4700)
This did not include the dining plan, but they did have Car hire & Park Tickets.
 
WOW!!!
If we could do that price from here in the UK it would be amazing..
Great budgeting, would be interesting to see the DVC costs & park hopper factored in. I still think those factored in it would be a low cost break.
I agree that the numbers are a bit fudged due to sunk costs (DVC membership, PAP costs). Plus, I've revised the plans since posting in May, 2018. The trip is still scheduled for April with some changes.

So, for the NEW details:
  1. Ground transportation to/from our home airport provided by one or both of our husbands. We're 20 minutes away and it's almost all highway. No parking fees nor tolls and little in the way of gas. $0
  2. Airfare RT to MCO using Southwest RR points. $15 pp EBCI for each direction + 9/11 fees. $83
  3. 5 nights Adjusted OOP cost = $640.98(72 points @ $7.1722/pt.) + 3 nights AKV (162 points @7.4355/pt.) paid for with our DVC points. Adjusted OOP cost = $1720.95
  4. Tickets. 1 PAP for myself ($595.34, paid for with Disney GCs earned thru rewards programs in 2017) activated in Sept. 2018 and I will get at least 22 park days out of it before it expires. Cost per day = $27.06, or $189.42 for this trip. 6-day PH for daughter that I've had for a couple of years (another sunk cost that I have no idea what I actually paid for since I believe it had been part of a 2016 *free* dining package I had done with my sister when I already had an AP). The price of a 6-day hopper in 2016 was $451.56 Adjusted OOP cost = $640.98
  5. Food, oh goodness! I figure that we will each pay our own share. She's a vegetarian who rarely eats breakfast and is fine with just one complete meal each day. One restaurant that she has requested is Tiffins and I may book a ROL dining package since ROL was dark when she went two years ago. I'm going to budget $300 apiece and adjust accordingly if I manage to put more aside.
  6. Shopping/souvenirs is completely negotiable. I don't tend to buy a lot. With DVC, we go often enough that I don't need, nor do I want, Mickey ears, autograph books or t-shirts. I usually buy an ornament or two and then have them shipped home. I got a $90 Visa GC from a rebate on my dog's medicine. So, $90 maximum for shopping.
  7. Extras:
  • Since we're going to be staying Club Level for 3 nights, we can get the 3 extra FP+. The night-time reserved viewing was removed from the deal. The current price is STILL $50 pp/day (not per night!) with a minimum of 3 days. That's would have been $300 for the two of us. However, I decided to book the MK and HS DAH nights that are offered during our visit. The Passholder price is $95/person plus tax. The cost was $404.70. So it ended up costing over $100 more than originally budgeted but I think they were a better value than a few extra FPs.
  • I booked one fireworks dessert party for us at the MK. That was $138 . I was on the fence as to whether it's worth that price tag. I pulled the trigger because the crowd calendars are showing crowd levels between 8-9 during our trip. The desserts are so-so but having a reserved spot will be worth the price. Neither of us has seen HEA yet.
Adjusted OOP Total when including DVC dues, amortized PAP, cost of older ticket = $3377.63
Total OOP when not factoring in DVC, AP, old ticket (sunk costs) = ~$1027.70


So much of these costs have been paid for using rewards that it's difficult to go back and calculate how much, if anything, was actually paid for with cash from my paycheck. I used Disney GCs accrued via rewards programs. In 2018, I earned over $900 from one program, $800 from another and around $200 from a combination of other programs. Most of that was PayPal cash that was then used to purchase Disney GCs at a discount of 15%-20%.
 
ODS and I are going to Europe May 8-20. Berlin, Paris (with one day in Normandy) and London.

All costs are in Canadian, OOP.

Flights (TO to Berlin, London to TO) - $1250
Flights (Berlin to Paris) - $100
Eurostar (Paris to London) - $200
Hotel - Berlin (4 nights) - $45 (taxes, used AM) - includes breakfast
- London (3 nights) - $450 (used cc rewards to offset the rest of the cost) - includes breakfast
- London Gatwick hotel - $20 (taxes, used AM) - includes breakfast
AirBnB (Paris, 3 nights) - $600 (estimated)
Tour of Juno Beach + train tickets to Bayeux - $300
Food - $800 (estimate)
Eiffel Tower, museums, walking tours, etc - $500 (estimate)

Approximately $4000CDN ($3000USD) for 11 nights in Europe for 2 people.
 
I agree that the numbers are a bit fudged due to sunk costs (DVC membership, PAP costs). Plus, I've revised the plans since posting in May, 2018. The trip is still scheduled for April with some changes.

So, for the NEW details:
  1. Ground transportation to/from our home airport provided by one or both of our husbands. We're 20 minutes away and it's almost all highway. No parking fees nor tolls and little in the way of gas. $0
  2. Airfare RT to MCO using Southwest RR points. $15 pp EBCI for each direction + 9/11 fees. $83
  3. 5 nights Adjusted OOP cost = $640.98(72 points @ $7.1722/pt.) + 3 nights AKV (162 points @7.4355/pt.) paid for with our DVC points. Adjusted OOP cost = $1720.95
  4. Tickets. 1 PAP for myself ($595.34, paid for with Disney GCs earned thru rewards programs in 2017) activated in Sept. 2018 and I will get at least 22 park days out of it before it expires. Cost per day = $27.06, or $189.42 for this trip. 6-day PH for daughter that I've had for a couple of years (another sunk cost that I have no idea what I actually paid for since I believe it had been part of a 2016 *free* dining package I had done with my sister when I already had an AP). The price of a 6-day hopper in 2016 was $451.56 Adjusted OOP cost = $640.98
  5. Food, oh goodness! I figure that we will each pay our own share. She's a vegetarian who rarely eats breakfast and is fine with just one complete meal each day. One restaurant that she has requested is Tiffins and I may book a ROL dining package since ROL was dark when she went two years ago. I'm going to budget $300 apiece and adjust accordingly if I manage to put more aside.
  6. Shopping/souvenirs is completely negotiable. I don't tend to buy a lot. With DVC, we go often enough that I don't need, nor do I want, Mickey ears, autograph books or t-shirts. I usually buy an ornament or two and then have them shipped home. I got a $90 Visa GC from a rebate on my dog's medicine. So, $90 maximum for shopping.
  7. Extras:
  • Since we're going to be staying Club Level for 3 nights, we can get the 3 extra FP+. The night-time reserved viewing was removed from the deal. The current price is STILL $50 pp/day (not per night!) with a minimum of 3 days. That's would have been $300 for the two of us. However, I decided to book the MK and HS DAH nights that are offered during our visit. The Passholder price is $95/person plus tax. The cost was $404.70. So it ended up costing over $100 more than originally budgeted but I think they were a better value than a few extra FPs.
  • I booked one fireworks dessert party for us at the MK. That was $138 . I was on the fence as to whether it's worth that price tag. I pulled the trigger because the crowd calendars are showing crowd levels between 8-9 during our trip. The desserts are so-so but having a reserved spot will be worth the price. Neither of us has seen HEA yet.
Adjusted OOP Total when including DVC dues, amortized PAP, cost of older ticket = $3377.63
Total OOP when not factoring in DVC, AP, old ticket (sunk costs) = ~$1027.70


So much of these costs have been paid for using rewards that it's difficult to go back and calculate how much, if anything, was actually paid for with cash from my paycheck. I used Disney GCs accrued via rewards programs. In 2018, I earned over $900 from one program, $800 from another and around $200 from a combination of other programs. Most of that was PayPal cash that was then used to purchase Disney GCs at a discount of 15%-20%.
We did the dessert party for my DH's bday last December 21st. I was on the fence. Same high crowd levels and first HEA viewing for us too. Worth it! :) No crowds to contend with, no wasting time for a spot, no one stepping in front of my 6 year old kiddo at last minute. :) Excellent choice!
 
UPDATES...
Lodging...well...*I* am not paying OOP for anything:thumbsup2. The plan is that my dad has lined up a DVC member who will be transferring 122 BWV points into my account. I will be using 167 of my AKV points to book a standard 2BR at AKV Kidani for 5 nights (Fri-Tu) and then we will use the 122 BWV points to book a P/G 2BR for Wed-Fr nights. My dad and my sister are splitting the cost of the BWV points.

My sister and my parents have decided to arrive on Thursday night and so they have booked a room at POR. My sister said she wants to make Friday a "full" park day. Instead of trying to get an early flight to Orlando on Friday, they just decided to arrive Thursday night instead. Our local airport typically has more late flights than early flights. In fact, right now, there is only one flight that arrives BEFORE 7pm...and it arrives at 1:30pm, which still wouldn't leave a lot of time in a park. My girls and I are still planning to arrive Friday. We don't want to arrive too late, though, so if we can't get a flight that lands mid-afternoon, we will also take an evening flight on Thursday night. That means I will need to add a room at a value resort to my budget. Since it would just be for the night, we would probably opt for the cheapest, which is currently All-Star Music at about $150 total.

ADD $150

That brings me to airfare...that's a little simpler. Back in 2016, Dad decided to sign up for the SWA Visa card and get the 50,000 bonus miles. Since then, he's put EVERYTHING on that card (paying it off every month, of course). They even recently remodeled their condo and added another 10K points! Dad thinks that by the time we need to buy our tickets, he will have over 110,000 points in his account...and they never go anywhere! He said that since I am using so many of my DVC points, he will use his RR points to buy his tickets and then he will use whatever is leftover to buy tickets for me and my girls. He said he will get 2 for me and then if there is still enough, he will get one for my sister. So, the way I am figuring it, I should only need to pay for one R/T airfare:thumbsup2. I always buy EBCI for the trip home and I have just found that it is easier to add it both ways, especially when booking with points, so I will budget $500 for airfare, just to be safe.

Well, guess what? It looks like that, between dad, my sister and myself, we will have enough SWA points to cover ALL of the tickets! My dad said that he has almost 130K, my sister has 45K and I have a measly 13K, but we are hoping that we can get flights for under 11K each way, per person. Right now, there are several options that are under 10K so we have a chance, but we won't know until March 14 when SWA releases their schedule. This means that my "transportation" budget (which was $750 for airfare and $150 for luggage/EBCI) just got dropped down to only the $150 for EBCI:teeth:

Subtract $750

That means the only major expenses that I need to cover are food and entertainment. We do not use the dining plan since I will have my TIW card from my 2018 trip that will still be valid. My food budget is usually around $1500 but I will have to tweak that when we sit down and decide what TS restaurants we want to try. I also said that my dad WILL be going to the Halloween party, even if it means I have to pay for it so I'm adding $500 to the budget for (5) tickets.

That brings my overall budget to $3300. For now, I will be splitting that into $1800 for the cash budget and $1500 for the gift card budget. I know that the airfare will almost certainly be a cash expense. The food and the party tickets ($2000) could both be paid with gift cards, but I am not sure I can come up with $2000 in "free" money in the next 17 months...that's a pretty lofty goal. The only other thing I will add to the budget is about $300 in random expenses like tips and my portion of the groceries that we will have delivered to the resort.

OVERALL BUDGET: $3500
CASH: $1750
GIFT CARDS: $1750
^^^Updates above are in BOLD^^

I thought I would do a little updating since I'm coming up on the 7-month mark for our trip.

My gift card earnings were cruising right along. I am currently sitting on $1005 in Disney gift cards and another $72 in Amazon gift cards for a total of $1077. Unfortunately, with Best Buy shutting down the rewards -> GC route, it is going to be very hard for me to earn the gift cards at the same pace. I can still earn my gift cards for "free", but I have to add a step. Since I have my cash earned already (with more coming every two weeks), I am going to use some of the "free" cash that I've earned through Dosh, cashback CC, SB, etc, and use that to "purchase" gift cards. Even though I will be buying the gift cards, I will be using free money to do it. On top of that, I will do it at Best Buy in $50 or $100 increments so that I can earn the bonus through SB. I'll also use my credit card that earns another 1% on top of that so I can earn "bonus" cash too.

So, if I shift my "free cash" over to my gift card budget, this is where I am currently sitting with my budget:

GIFT CARDS: $1525.19 (available and pending) out of $1750 needed (87%)
CASH: $1676.46 out of $1750 still budgeted (95%)
...but that is going to change in about 2 weeks *IF* our airfare budget drops as expected...
**PENDING UPDATED CASH BUDGET IS $1200** in which case, I have a cash surplus, as planned:teacher:

That means I really only need to earn a little over $200 in gift cards over the next 7 months. That's totally doable. All of the FREE MONEY (gift cards AND cash) that I have earned so far has all been accumulated since I returned from my last trip in October. That's just over 5 months of earnings and I've earned over $1500 in that short of time:banana:. I have to keep reminding myself that every little bit helps:goodvibes. (Side note: We are in the early stages of looking for a new car and I got an e-mail offer to test drive a Subaru Outback and in return, I'd receive a $50 Visa gift card. I am interested in a Forester, but I decided to test out the Outback and I got the gift card the next day! That was a super-easy $50 into the Disney fund...and the Outback is a great car! I can't wait to drive the Forester:thumbsup2)
 
Aaaaaand we are no longer planning an extended trip. Grandparents aren't in the best of health overall, so we are just going to do the cruise and Kennedy Space Center. We'll probably also try to work out a long weekend trip and do Uni and Disney with them.

So for now:

June 2019
2 days at Kennedy Space Center, 5 night cruise

  • Flights: $664 - Current pricing for June, I expect it will drop a bit in a few months; I have SW points to cover this Cash OOP $22
  • Cruise: $4520 - This includes the fare, gratuities, and Palo (updated price). We had a placeholder discount discount (10%) + $100 credit, and I budgeted for an excursion we thought about doing on our honeymoon but it booked up before I added it ($172); besides our $812 deposit the rest is being paid with discounted/earned gift cards Remaining $3708
  • Hotels: $180 - 2-3 nights near KSC/port Cash OOP $0 (using points/free hotel nights from credit cards)
  • KSC Tickets: $164 - this is for two day tickets, will probably add a tour also which will add $25pp
  • Food: $??? - I need to figure this out again and plan where we'll be eating
  • Transportation: $150 - Also need to rework this based on the non-extended trip, might just cover with credit card points
  • Miscellaneous: $??? - this will be gas, parking, souvenirs maybe... need to estimate it
Goal: $336+food+misc in cash+$3708 in Disney GCs+souvenir money in Disney GCs = $4856+$???? total
Currently:
$417 cash + $4793 Disney GCs (cost of $2647) + $812 paid (deposit) = $6022 total

I had an oops I realized this weekend, I was missing a $525 gift card from my goal - d'oh! So between that and removing the Disney portion currently, I'm way over on my GC goal :o unless I plan to spend $1100 in souvenirs :laughing:

Another update... Had a reverse oops and realized that the $525 gift card was actually go go towards ILs cruise :oops: So that's fixed now...

Right now we are planning a week long trip, so everything is based on that, but DH and I may go down a few days early so we kept our 3 night Pop reservation for now. I will have to add back in more food costs if we do go early.

Updates in bold:
  • Flights: $664 - Current pricing for June, I expect it will drop a bit in a few months; I have SW points to cover this Cash OOP $22
  • Cruise: $4520 - This includes the fare, gratuities, and Palo (updated price). We had a placeholder discount discount (10%) + $100 credit, and I budgeted for an excursion we thought about doing on our honeymoon but it booked up before I added it ($172); besides our $812 deposit the rest is being paid with discounted/earned gift cards Remaining $3708 - paid $2664 for $3708 in gift cards
  • Hotels: 1 night near KSC/port Cash OOP $0 (using points/free hotel nights from credit cards)
  • Hotels: 3 nights at Pop Century Cash OOP $0 (used discounted gift cards and then cashed out credit card rewards to cover their cost)
  • KSC Tickets: $204 - this is for two day tickets, plus a tour also which is $25pp
  • Transportation: $75 - gas, tolls, parking, part of a rental car, remainder of rental car costs covered with credit card points
  • Food: $430 - $200 Disney GCs to try and cover a meal for everyone in DS, $230 for other food spending
  • Miscellaneous: $400 - souvenirs maybe... probably a beverage stop on the way to port... on board spending... we'll say $100 cash, $300 Disney GCs
Goal: $609 in cash+$812 deposit+$3708 in Disney GCs (cruise)+$500 in Disney GCs (food/misc) = $5629 total
Currently:
$259 cash + $4169 Disney GCs (cost of $2647) + $812 paid (deposit) = $5240 total
 
Things have changed some more as we’re beginning to finalize plans.

Where: June 2019 - 6 nights, standard room at AKL $1860

Tickets
: Tickets have been purchased through UT (3 - 5 day tickets & 1 - 4 day tickets, no PH) $1691

Transportation:
Flights on SW $17 (service fee for flights down using points, return flights are covered with husband’s “travel eraser” credit card)

Parking fee at airport: $98

Food:
estimate using Disney Dining Calculator $1600

Memory Maker: $169

Souvenirs: $200
(I also have a small amount of Disney gift cards & 2 Disney popcorn buckets filled with change that I have earmarked for souvenirs. Those amounts are just extra bonuses so I’m not counting them in my budget totals.)

New goal of $5482. I have $4633 in the account. I’ve already paid the $200 room deposit & $402 for HDDR (we’re paying for my parents also). I need $247 to reach my current goal. (We just adopted a rescue dog last weekend, so the budget will go up some when I get a boarding/pet sitter estimate.)

Update...
Goal of $5482, $4885 in vacation savings + $602 already paid. I am $5 over my goal :earsboy:, but I’m going to keep putting money in the savings. I still don’t have an estimate for the boarding/pet sitter. I also would love to have extra money for Disney! Anything we don’t spend at Disney can go towards the week-long baseball tournament my sons have in Gatlinburg.
 
Solo trip in November with 5 day PH; 6 nights in mid-November at Pop Century (My sister may join me and if so, the fun will definitely increase and room cost will be cut in half!!!)

  • $92 --- Flights on SW for $342 RT but mostly covered by income from sale of a photo
  • $729 ---6 nights at Pop Century incl. taxes
  • $467 ---5 day PH purchased in 9/18 from ParkSavers before date-based tickets were introduced
  • $300 ---estimated food and drink
Total Estimated Cost = $1588

------------------------------------

Trip Expenses already covered so far:
  • Room Deposit paid = $121.50 ($607.50 left to pay in October)
  • Disney gift card already purchased for remaining room cost = $600
  • Disney gift card already purchased for food/drink = $200
  • reward program $$$ earned in the coming months will cover small amounts not listed as covered above.
I plan to deposit an additional $200 in the next few months to cover remainder of food/drink cost.

My flight leaves late on my last day so I may use an old 1 day PH for that day.
 
Last edited:
Not even sure where my original post was, but as usual with any trip I take, it always gets more elaborate! LOL. So what was meant to be a quick mostly resort and Halloween party trip got uprooted by Galaxy's Edge. We still aren't sure if we're gonna chance it but we had a discussion and decided that we just couldn't be down there and not go to Epcot, plus we missed a lot of stuff in DAK last trip too that my husband wants to see. And then after we finally made up our mind to buy 3 day tickets, the prices went up. Luckily I still had my Mousesavers newsletter and got the older rates.
So anyway, here's where we are, trip for 2 adults in mid September 2019:

Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani, 1 night, Studio Savanna view, points rental: $252
Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House, 2 nights, Studio, Priceline Express Deal: $396.98
Tickets for 2: 3 day passes (1 park, 1 day) plus MNSSHP tickets: $737.06
Airfare estimate: DH has enough miles on American to get one ticket, so price estimate is based on yesterday's check on the airfare for Main Cabin on the flight I want: $413
Transport from home to airport: $126
Transport to Disney World from airport: Probably Magical Express, though I might call an Uber, that's up in the air
Food Estimate Goal: $500

Total: $2425.04 (1464.40 to go).
 
First comment and first trip. I’m in the beginning stages of planning.

Who: Me, hubs, dd14, dd11.

When: 11/19. We homeschool so dates are very flexible. We want to stay for 8 nights.

Where: Pop Century (we camp a lot in a pop up camper with no bathroom and the girls share a bed, so one room at Pop will be a luxury simply because we won’t have to walk across the campground to go to the bathroom).

Budget:

Tickets $450 x 4 for 6 day base ticket = $1800
Hotel $125 x 8 nights = $1000
Food $200 x 9 days = $1800
Tips $25 x 9 days = $225
Souvenirs = $200
Behind the seeds = $120
Caring for Giants = $120
Flights $0 (yay SW points!)
Total ~5500

Does this seem like a reasonable budget? Am I missing anything?

Thanks for any insight!
If you are willing to spend $1,800 for food, why not get the QS meal plan for 4 for 9 nights? That would be $1,890 so slightly more but you each would get a refillable mug and 2 meals a day....plus each would get 2 snacks per day, one of which could be a sweet roll or muffin type snack for breakfast. You wouldn't have to worry about carrying cash or worry about "how much have we charged on the card so far". Also, (I'm not a big drinker) but it was nice to have the meal plan and have a late dinner and sip on a mixed drink for a while. They were about $10 each but were included with the meal plan. Have a great vacation!! We will be there in July!!
 

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