Your perfect $5000 dollar vacation

[slappy magoo]

I thought I'd try to create a thread that would appeal to both wide-eyed dreamers and bottom-line accountants.

Imagine you've been given $5000 to spend, with the only stipulation being that you have to spend every penny of it at WDW. The only outside expense allowed is a rental car. Meaning, getting there is your responsibility (drive, fly, take the train, hop, etc.) You have to stay somewhere on-site (including Hotel Plaza Blvd.), and no eating outside meals (not even @ Crossroads).

Obviously you can't take into account absolutely every penny you'd spend, but try to roughly itemize as best as you can (we all know allearsnet.com can give us a good idea as to resort & ticket prices, as well as the cost of meals).

Would you go for the Grand Floridian? Or spend more time on site at a moderate or value. Or pitch a tent @ Fort Wilderness & stay for a month? And of course, the time you decide to go will affect how much you have to spend too. How many of the fanciest meals would you eat? Would you hit the dinner shows? Cirque? Behind the Scenes tours? Richard Petty Driving Experience? Parasailing? Golf? Spas? There's not much you can't do with that kind of scratch, but some amenities will mean you might not be able to do others.

And you have to factor in who's coming with you. You might already have a spouse and kids. You might want to bring faily or friends (oh, anyone who comes with you, YOU'RE paying for their tickets, room, food, etc.). You might want to rent a grand villa...or you might want to hideout solo and be a greedy little SOB until every last penny is spent.

So what would be your idea of the perfect $5000 Disney vacation?

 

[captcanada]

Ironically.....my May 2004 trip cost me about $5000 when all was said and done. That included flight too though. But...that trip did fallow all your rules. And, I didn't use a rental car. It was at port orleans riverside for 9 or 10 days.
But....the bottom line was, I had $5000 to spend, and I did it.
Not hard to do when you put your mind to it....trust me.

Oh...wait....that was $5000 canadian, so really, that would be about $4000 american. I could have spent another $1000 though, if I really tried

(oh, in fairness....I paid for me AND my girlfriend at the time. does that count?)

 

[TiggerificChick]

Can you go in an RV as long as you have one and it doesn't use your $5000?

 

[bellarosemarie]

Well, my husband and I did just that last October. We stayed 8 days, 7 nights (18th-25th) , on the concierge floor of the Yacht Club. We got the gold plan so we wouldn't have to worry about any meals, and even got to go to Cirque Du Soleil ,we loved it!
But guess what, it was our Honeymoon !!!!!! We had the best time, and made some great memories! We saved for a really long time, and probabaly are never going to afford that kind of vacation again. This September (3rd-10th) we're staying at the ASM, like usual - that's home for us! (And we can't wait! :sohappy: )

 

[Laura]

Well, my upcoming trip is going to cost almost exactly $5,000 so this is an easy question to answer! Here's what our trip entails....

6 nights at Wilderness Lodge - Courtyard view
3 nights at Polynesian - Lagoon view
Mini Golf
Boat Rental on 7 Seas Lagoon
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
2 days in MGM
2 days in Epcot
2 days in Animal Kingdom
3 days in Magic Kingdom
1 day in Blizzard Beach
17 counter service meals
10 sit down meals
Dinner at Chef Mickeys
Dinner at Whispering Canyon
Dinner at Beaches & Cream
Breakfast at Boma
Breakfast at Trail's End
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner at 'Ohana
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
Breakfast at Kona Cafe
Breakfast at 'Ohana

Although a few hundred of my $5,000 budget includes gas, lodging, and meals on the drive, but then again I have an additional $500 (on top of our $5,000 budget) that we are bringing for spending money so that evens it out.

And I'm proud to say I'm funding 100% of this trip all by myself, not using a penny of my husband's income. I just work from home a couple hours a day and I was able to save it all up in just a few months!

 

[monorail_driver]

And I'm proud to say I'm funding 100% of this trip all by myself, not using a penny of my husband's income. I just work from home a couple hours a day and I was able to save it all up in just a few months!

I want your job! So, what exactly do you do to make $5,000 in a few months? :king: And define "a few".

 

[crazydaveh]

While others have dropped or are going to drop that kind of money, I've never come close on my trips! We always look for the Florida resident rates so we can stay on property... but If I were to come across the $5K... Here's how I'll depart with it:

I'll invite my close friends from Atlanta down and we'll share a 2 Bedroom Villa at Saratoga Springs during the Value season... with the Florida resident discount for five nights... Avg $375/night = $1875

We will have the maxed out park hoppers for three days =$1254

We will eat most of our meals in our suite, afterall, it has a kitchen! We will be sure to eat breakfast at Cindy's one day and work in a character dinner one night. = $850 for both

Three of us will play a round of golf= $400
Three of us will get the full spa treatment = $900

And I'm out of money! Man does Mickey like to take it! I could save by staying at a lesser resort, but it's not my money!

I'd still like to go water skiing or to a tour... but we'd have to hit the lotto again for that!

 

[daveemtdave]

I have never spent $5,000 on any vacation and I have two adult children. I could never afford that and I work two jobs, my wife works and so do my girls. The most I have spent on our Disney vacation was $2400 and that included ALL expenses - going and coming home.

 

[STITCHRULES]

Well, if I was just given the $, didn't have to earn it or anything, I think I would blow it all for a few (2) nights in the Presidential Suite at Animal Kingdom Lodge and if there was any $ left over maybe a dinner at Jiko!

 

[meatloafsfan]

Package Deal WL $3075 (5 nights with 6 day tickets w/hopping and dining plan)

1 N Pop Century $0100 (arrival night)

Extra Food $0300 (to cover anything not covered by DP and travel days)

Gas $0250 (for car home and back)

Travel Hotels $0120 (1 night on the way down and 1 on the way back)

Shopping $0700 (this includes all souvenier money)

MVMCP tickets $0170 (for 1 party for 4 people)

Total $4715 US

Gee, I guess I could add in maybe a boat rental and what the heck a character breakfast to make it up to $5000.

This is my actual financial plan for my trip at the end of November/early December (I have not included any discount but I am hoping that there will be one for the package).

It is for Me (31), my Mom (52) and my Dad (turns 57 a week before we go) and my Goddaughter (11).

 

[McArcDes]

Ok, here is our trip from Oct 28, 2005 to Nov. 5, 2005 including 3 standard rooms at All Star Movies, 9 day park hopper passes for 4 Adults and 6 kids (14, 12, 9, 7, 5, 5) not including air fare, rental car or gas to drive from Massachusetts, food , spending money etc. etc. etc. $4920.39 and then another 395.70 for the MNSSHP on Halloween. I am footing the bill for all of this....taking 10 people...

 

[Laura]

I want your job! So, what exactly do you do to make $5,000 in a few months? :king: And define "a few".

I don't want to tell you - it will make you sick!!

I run my own business (www.photogreetingsgalore.com) and I seem to have struck gold with it because I have done very well and this is only my first year with it. (Not to get religious, but I don't attribute any of my ideas or success to myself - I feel that it is nothing but a blessing straight from God.) I started saving in March. About 80% of my profit goes in my Disney account.

I still have meals and my husband and son's tickets left to save for, but I still have 2 months left to save. I also will have a little bit of a balance to pay on the rooms after we get back because I had to use $600 of my money for this trip to pay for airfare for my November trip, so I kind of flip-flopped those expenses.

But yeah, I love my job! Work whenever I feel like it, give 10% back to God, give 15% to the IRS, and give all the rest to Disney LOL!!

 

[jazzzz]

Whenever my wife and I go to the world, we like to have lots of spending money. This year we're going with $250 a day. Our meals do come out of that money. Another reason for having so much spending money for our trip in January is we'll be bringing our son who will be turning on the week before we leave. So we're going to be buying plenty of souveniers.
The rest of the money goes towards 9 nights and POFQ @ $950. 3 roundtrip flights from Beantown @ 500. And my AP and my wife's 10 day MYW 10 day ticket w/park hopping @ $675. Put together with the $2500 spending and meal money that comes to $4625 so I guess there's still a little bit of wiggle room there.

 

[bjlc57]

Our meal money is $60 per day for a family of 4 adults. We eat before and after we go to the park. But by the time we pay for gas, four, 4 day adult tickets, hotel, and some small spending money, we still spend $3000. Yes we do use a rent a car to come to Disney, and now we would not have that expense, but its a two day trip down and two days back. figure gas for 3000 miles. its quite a deal. I am amazed by those who can afford $5000 two or three times a year to do WDW. Its a lot of money from Wisconsin.

 

[jazzzz]

2 or 3 times a year would be a lot of money anywhere.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

If you stay 7 days & 7 nights in on of the Deluxe Disney Resorts they can cost any were from $199-$780 a night. I would end up spending it all on a really nice hotel & then using my own money for everything else.

 

[Debbie]

7 nites at the Polynesian
4 adult park hoppers
MVMCP for 4
Richard Petty Experience for my husband
Miniature Golf
Disney Quest
A couple of nice dinners


If I ever won the lottery; I would spend 4 nites at all of the resorts that we have never tried.