Broke-______ college kid thinks he can plan a WDW trip--questions inside!

[hammysammy59]

My girlfriend and a friend and I are considering to saving up for a trip to WDW. This would mark my first trip not planned and funded by the fam', so I obviously have a lot of questions.

Thanks to this fine board, I'm looking at September of '07, mainly for the near non-existent crowd and the free dining(!?!?). Is the heat and humidity as bad as I've heard? No crowds and free food make hammysammy (and his wallet) extremely happy, but unbearable heat and mugginess will make hammysammy sweaty, gross and sad.

Obviously I want to stay on-site, to take advantage of the bus system, as well as the Magical Express and Extended Magic Hours. The poll on this board pretty much said that between the two value resorts, Pop Century is where it's at. And with uninterrupted bussing to the 'World, I'm going to have to agree... unless it's substantially more expensive than the All-Stars. The last time my family went, we stayed at All-Star Music, and it was very suitable for what we needed: a place to put our stuff, sleep and get ready in the morning... this is pretty much all I need this time around as well.

So let's say I was planning on having 4-5 days in the 'World (parkhoppers of course), arriving by plane from Michigan, staying at a Value resort, partaking in the free dining(!?!?) and keeping souveneir [sic?] and impulse buying under control (i.e. avoiding it all together), can someone give me a price estimate?

And if this is a totally bad idea, or I need to rethink my basic strategy, or if you have any tips or anything for a first timer, please post away! As of now this is still kind of a pipe-dream, but I'd like to see just what kind of price a trip of this magnitude would come out to, and of course get good info from seasoned WDW veterans.

 

[Captain Hank]

Well, I can't really give you an estimate, but I do know that Pop Century is usually a few dollars cheaper than the All-Stars because it is in a different county with different taxes.

 

[Floridasunshine]

Well, just keep in mind free dining is not a 'given' for 2007. But I think I can help somewhat IF they offer free dining...

My daughter, her boyfriend and my mother are sharing a room at Pop Century in Sept 2006 with the free dining.

Their room + 1 day base ticket for 4 nights was $599+
It appears making their 1 day base ticket into park hoppers for 3 days will add approx $160 more per person ($480);
They may have to pay 1 meal out of pocket (approx $80).
I would estimate $40 a day (on a budget) each for a couple of soveniers, tips, incidentals, etc.

Grand total for room, tickets, free dining, + incidentals for 3 folks this year= $1279;

I would add about $100 per person for inflation next year, so my guess would be about $1579 for 4 nights IF they offer free dining. If not, then you would tack on an additional $456 at todays prices for 3 adults for 4 nights, bringing your total near $2035.

Keep in mind, none of this includes airfare as I am not sure I could even predict it this far away from Michigan.

 

[Nansafan]

Since you are talking about going in 2007, something we like to do for spending money is hit our local Disney store and purchase Disney dollars, say like $20 every couple of weeks. If you do this even every other week for one year you will have $520 in Disney dollars (aka spending money) that you can use at the parks as your WAM (walking around money). This works pretty well since you can only use the money at Disney. You won't be able to spend it on something dumb like groceries. Throwing a $20 into an envelope in the drawer doesn't always work as well since it it too convenient to use for a pizza emergency.

 

[Victoria]

Since you are talking about going in 2007, something we like to do for spending money is hit our local Disney store and purchase Disney dollars, say like $20 every couple of weeks. If you do this even every other week for one year you will have $520 in Disney dollars (aka spending money) that you can use at the parks as your WAM (walking around money). This works pretty well since you can only use the money at Disney. You won't be able to spend it on something dumb like groceries. Throwing a $20 into an envelope in the drawer doesn't always work as well since it it too convenient to use for a pizza emergency.

I agree. Spending Disney money on groceries is dumb. Atleast I lose weight if I dont food shop.
Glad to see I am not the only one who has pizza emergencies. I also sometimes have Chinese emergencies too.

As to the OPs question, I would imagine you should be able to go to WDW comfortably for about $1500.

Check out airfare regulalry and jump on the first available flight that is at a reasonable price. I know this goes against all common sense, but with the way gas prices are, air fares arent dropping anymore. (maybe by Sept 2007 thigns will be straightened out) They are just going up up up. I took the 'wait and see' approach for an upcoming trip to Chicago and ended up passing on $150 rt tix and had to pay $270 for the same damn flight. :brick: :hammer: :fork:

Also, I don't know what your FICO credit score looks like but I would consider getting the Disney VIsa credit card if you dont already have one. You can use the card to pay for lots of random stuff and in the meantime earn Reward Dollars to spend in WDW. It's like free money! (well not really but thats what it feels like when you are spending your Reward money all over the World)

 

[MicheleK]

I agree that your trip (w/o air) should only be around $1500. If the free dining plan isn't available, you might want to stop by the grocery store and pick up a cheap stirophone (sp??) cooler and some of your favorite foods. We always get plenty of water, soda, juice, tuna, pb&j, and snacks. This way when we get back to our room and the kids (or husband) are "starving" we have plenty to eat right here in the room. Less trips to the food court. Hope you're able to make it and have a wonderful time. :wave:

 

[Jason21783]

You can also stop by www.Disneyworld.com and use thier trip planner. Of course it only lets you spec out a trip in 06, but if you just use the date if it were 06, round the same time, it can give you a rough idea. You can put in your resort, number of days, type of tickets and dinning plan. Of course for next year, you'll have to add inflation, but it can give you a good idea.

I'm also planning my first fully funded trip w/out the family with my girlfriend, and I've been using this to help give us an estimate until the 2007 rates come out.

Starting a savings jar also helps. I have a pimp monorail piggy bank I use. If I can maintain my $20 a week until next Aug, I'll have grand to use. Good luck.

 

[shoppingnut]

I am booked at Pop Century for 4 nights with a one day base ticket for 2 adults and the price for the room is $486.42. When you have a third adult in a room it I believe $15 more per night and you have to figure the additional price of the ticket. We were able to get air for $230 r/t each from Newark.

Also if I buy no souveniers and have my refillable mug I can go to disney and not pay out of pocket for anything some days, since the dining plan covers my snacks.

 

[CommandoDisney]

well i dont know about your trip, but i can tell you about a trip i planned, for reference at least. my g/f, two of my roomates and i wanted to go to wdw for spring break last feb, and i had planned a trip that was going to cost us about $500 each. we were going to drive down, and split the gas money which was cheaper than flying (i know coming from michigan thats probably not worth it) and we were going to stay offsite. we picked the base ticket with the hopper option for 5 days. i dont have the numbers around, but ill be honest it didnt leave much money for food and stuff, but being poor college students we knew how to eat cheap, plus we planned on brining out our food. we ended up not going becuase the car we thought we were going to take ended up not being able to make the trip. it was dissappointing. but yeah i calculated it out as $500 per person. so just letting you know there are other options.

 

[tink81]

OK, here is what my upcoming trip will cost:

Sept 23 to Oct 2, 2006

8 nights at POP
8 day MYW w/ Hopper
Dining Plan (free)
Airfare (Southwest.com)

About $1400

I booked through AAA (I work there, so I get a slight discount) but even without the discount, I saved about $120 off what I quoted on Disneyworld.com. Are you a AAA member? You might want to go to a travel agent and price it out, that service is free. Also contact Kingdom Konsultants on here, they can get you some pretty good deals as well!

 

[whizGoofy]

My girlfriend and a friend and I are considering to saving up for a trip to WDW. This would mark my first trip not planned and funded by the fam', so I obviously have a lot of questions.

Congrats first of all, it is exciting to plan your first non-parent funded trip. I have done it like 6 times and it is worth it each time.

Thanks to this fine board, I'm looking at September of '07, mainly for the near non-existent crowd and the free dining(!?!?). Is the heat and humidity as bad as I've heard? No crowds and free food make hammysammy (and his wallet) extremely happy, but unbearable heat and mugginess will make hammysammy sweaty, gross and sad.

The wether is not too bad towards the end of September (that is when I am going this year. I too hate the hot and humid wether. Never go in June or July or August then!! The crowds are not too bad. Most schools are in school by then so you do not have as many kids and families.

So let's say I was planning on having 4-5 days in the 'World (parkhoppers of course), arriving by plane from Michigan, staying at a Value resort, partaking in the free dining(!?!?) and keeping souveneir [sic?] and impulse buying under control (i.e. avoiding it all together), can someone give me a price estimate?

I too live in Michigan, and depending on where you are flying out of, you can save money. I normally fly out of Chicago because it is cheaper, however this year I found that flying out of Detroit was far cheaper than Chicago. Chicago=$900 for 2 adults Detroit=$400 for 2 Adults!! Better deal!

And if this is a totally bad idea, or I need to rethink my basic strategy, or if you have any tips or anything for a first timer, please post away! As of now this is still kind of a pipe-dream, but I'd like to see just what kind of price a trip of this magnitude would come out to, and of course get good info from seasoned WDW veterans.

I would say use this years numbers (Around $1000 with Free dining & $1500 without) to plan your trip. But make sure that you remember things will only go up. Plan on them going up. I would stay at any of the Value resorts, they are all grreat values and they do exactly what you need them to do...a place to sleep at night and take a shower in the morning!

Good luck with your first trip, I hope it is great!!

 

[Clark Griswold]

If I was in your spot, I would stay at one of the value resorts like one of the All Stars. The weather is pretty nice in January and February, so it won't be hot and humid. Also, there aren't very big crowds so you would be able to experience a ton of attractions.



Goin' Back to the World! July 31-August 6

 

[Floridasunshine]

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[Floridasunshine]

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[Floridasunshine]

I am booked at Pop Century for 4 nights with a one day base ticket for 2 adults and the price for the room is $486.42. When you have a third adult in a room it I believe $15 more per night and you have to figure the additional price of the ticket.

Yes, that is exactly what i was quoted for pop for 4 nights for my daughter and her boyfriend with 1 base ticket. I later added my mother into their room (lucky them! ) and it came to $599+ to add her for the $15 plus her 1 day base ticket + taxes..... not bad for 3 people, room & food & 1 day ticket for 4 nights/5 days.

we will add parkhopper days to the tickets after we get there.

 

[eroyee]

:wave: We live in Michigan and we always drive down, but Allegiant Air has rates nonstop from Lansing for $99 one way. there should be specials around if you search. We love Pop Century the best. No sharing busses with other resorts. no matter where, you will have a great trip. :sohappy:

 

[Miss Bell]

If you pay off your credit cards in full every month, you may also want to think about getting a Disney Visa. You get 1% back of your purchases in Disney Dollars. This is only a benefit if you don't carry a balance, so you don't rack up interest. I easily can get three to four hundred dollars in a year, cause I put everything I can on the card. This is how we pay for a number of our meals on the trip.

 

[Rantybaby]

Thanks Nansafan,

For the disney dollars tips. I though I was the only one with food emergencies (Mine is fried chicken). I start picking up some DiDo this payperiod!!!

 

[hammysammy59]

Thanks for all the responses, everybody! I've got a couple new questions though:

When should I have my tickets and reservations made/bought if I'm aiming for next mid-September? Is it something I'd need to get done ASAP, or do I have a couple months yet? (you know, to actually get the money to do such a trip)

Also, I really want to to see and do as much as possible without taking a TON of time away from reality (though if I could afford it I would) I'm thinking a maximum of five days, but would we be able to comfortably enjoy the majority of attractions at WDW's four main parks in four days? I'd prefer to do five, but if we can get everything in in four days without being exhausted, it'd be cool to save a few bucks. Any thoughts?

Do the parks close substantially earlier in September than they do in April? I was especially happy with their hours on my April trip (Magic Kingdom till 2 am? HELL YES!), and would hope to get a comparable amount of time in the parks. More bang for our buck and all.

Again, thanks for the input, everybody!

 

[tink81]

Here's what I would do hammy, I would book the trip with a travel agent, put down the minimum payment and make monthly payments until your trip is payed off. I am not sure if you can book packages for the second half of 2007 yet, might have to wait until Nov of Dec, but you can bookas early as you like. I am going the end of Sept this year and Ii looks like the parks will be open until about 8 or 9 plus EMHs. Not too shabby. I hope this helps!