How much should I save for a trip in three years?

Amyleigh

Member
I would like to start saving for a June 2017 trip. I'd like the saving to be as painless as possible since I am a public school teacher and don't make a ton of money. One child, one adult. I'd like to stay 4 nights at a value resort. Park Hopper would be nice, but optional. No water parks. I'd like to do the dining plan, too. Airfare needs to be included with my savings. If I save $20/week for 3 years, is that enough? I have no idea what the trends are in Disney price increases. Thank you for your help!
 

Disnee4Me

Well-Known Member
Use a Disney Visa or Discover card to earn $$$, but charge responsibly, so you pay off your bill each month and don't accrue interest. Also with a Target card at Target, you can purchase a $100 Disney Gift Card for $95, so maybe if you can swing one of those each month that would be great!!
 
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PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
I think so. I would just aim for $100 a month or maybe if you get a tax refund or some other kid of extra cash, and put that towards the trip. I think you could.

$20 a week is roughly $1120 a year... so $3,360 savings.

I don't know where you are flying from but for me, our flight prices haven't changed in the last 4 years.

Right now using a standard room at POP Century,
5 days/4 nights in June with the DDP for an Adult & child under 10 with 4 days park hoppers is $1,698.52 W/O ANY DISCOUNTS.
7 days/6 nights
in August with the DDP for an Adult & child under 10 with 4 day hoppers is $1927.24 W/O ANY DISCOUNTS.
7 days/6 nights in August with the DDP for an Adult & child under 10 with 4 day hoppers is $1807.59 WITH A DISCOUNT.

I don't see prices jumping too high, probably give yourself an extra $300 to cover price changes.
August is definitely cheaper and less crowded than June. You can go for a week in August for about $100-$150 more than 5 days in June.
 
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RScottyL

Well-Known Member
The 2015 prices are releasing today, so you can go ahead and just "price" what it would be for the hotel and the tickets, as if you were going to visit in 2015.

Prices go up about $4/year on the tickets, so figure that in as well.

I think for summer, they usually offer dining plans, so that may help you out.

Unfortunately, since all of the kids are out of school, summer is the busiest time to go. Since you are staying 4 nights in the hotel, are you go to the parks for 4 days or 3 days? If 4 days, you can spend a day in each park and not even bother with the hopper tickets with your limited time! That would add unnecessary expense!
 
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Amyleigh

Member
Original Poster
The 2015 prices are releasing today, so you can go ahead and just "price" what it would be for the hotel and the tickets, as if you were going to visit in 2015.

Prices go up about $4/year on the tickets, so figure that in as well.

I think for summer, they usually offer dining plans, so that may help you out.

Unfortunately, since all of the kids are out of school, summer is the busiest time to go. Since you are staying 4 nights in the hotel, are you go to the parks for 4 days or 3 days? If 4 days, you can spend a day in each park and not even bother with the hopper tickets with your limited time! That would add unnecessary expense!

I wondered about the Park Hopper. I would probably want to do two days at MK and one each at HS and AK. My daughter wasn't too thrilled with Epcot when we went last month as a whole family. My son liked it but he doesn't want to go again, which is why I'm planning a mother/daughter trip for next time! Thank you for your help!
 
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dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Well, rule of thumb seems to be adding in about 5% of increase to the hotel costs each year. @KevinYee did an article on increases on another site last year an found that over a 10 year period, All Star went up 61%, while CS went up 85% and Poly went up 88%. Now this was only for a single selected date, but the idea still holds. So look at what current costs are, and tack on 15% or so to be safe. Then save accordingly.
 
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Baldy

Well-Known Member
I would think that the 2015 rack rates would be approximately what the discounted rate would be in three years (assuming about 15% discount - which is what we generally get at a Value resort in Aug.). If you would like to save money, I would skip the park hopping altogether. Four nights would give you five days. I would do two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at each of the other parks.

In three years, you should have saved just over $3000.
If I look up 2015 rates for packages the second week of Aug. I get:
$1549.66 with the full Dining Plan or $1462.26 for Quick Service plus $127.80 of you want Park Hoppers
I'm not sure where you would be flying from, but it leaves you about $1500 for your flight & souvenirs.
Sounds doable to me.
Can you tell - I love the planning almost as much as I enjoy the trip. :happy:
SEE YOU THERE! (I'm a teacher too, so we always go the second or third week of Aug. just before I go back to work).

EDIT: I forgot to mention- The prices I quoted were for 4 nights (5 days) with 5 days of theme park tickets. Also, keep in mind that value pricing begins around the second week of Aug.
 
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DisneyMomD

Member
Our family of 4 (two kids, two adults) stayed 4 nights at Art of Animation, did the parks for 4 days (no park hopper) and the Disney Dining plan for $2500. You should be fine!
 
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SuprDav

Active Member
My suggestion would be to go to the website and use the booking process as if you were planning a trip for this summer. When you make the selections of resort, dining, park hopper, etc at the price for now, add 20% for a trip that's 2 years away. That should put you pretty close or hopefully above what you will pay then. If you have money left over, that's a bonus.
 
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dadddio

Well-Known Member
I wondered about the Park Hopper. I would probably want to do two days at MK and one each at HS and AK. My daughter wasn't too thrilled with Epcot when we went last month as a whole family. My son liked it but he doesn't want to go again, which is why I'm planning a mother/daughter trip for next time! Thank you for your help!
I agree with everyone else's advice, but would recommend that you save as if your son is going. Three years is a long time. It's not unlikely that he'll change his mind a couple hundred times between now and then.
 
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jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
I would say about $ 2200 for one week value in June/July or August with 6 or 7 day park hoppers and the regular dining plan so you can do some character meals. Then you still need spending money and what it costs you to travel to the Orlando area, so yes $ 20/week for 3 years would probably pay your trip
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
If airfare will be a large chunk of the cost and your credit rating is good, I suggest getting a credit card that builds up miles. I have a JetBlue Amex that I use for absolutely everything I buy -- gas, groceries, etc. It has a $40 annual fee, but I pay off the balance in full every month so I'm never paying a penny in interest. My monthly charges aren't huge, but I still earn enough points for a free roundtrip flight to Orlando from Syracuse, NY every year. Since we go to WDW every 2 years, that means that two of us fly for free -- a savings of $600 or more each time. Even if you subtract the $80 we've paid in annual fees during the two-year period, it's still saving us over $500.
 
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Amyleigh

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for all the great advice! My daughter and I will have a great mother/daughter trip in three years! I'm already planning!!
 
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