How much is to much?

[s&k'smom]

For us we spent around 5,000 this includes a week at the GF (at airline discount), 4 passes (5 day park hopper) but with a Disney employee discount, airfare which last time was I believe 1,300 and then food and a few souvenirs. Most of this comes not from our daily budget but from an "under the table" job I have. Without the discounts we would'nt be staying at the GF so we are very blessed. But I will add we go about every other year and like to stay at deluxe resorts so we are willing to put off a trip for a year to save.

 

[allgiggles]

I can't wait for our kids to hit 18......at which point the Mrs. And I will be traveling much much cheaper....or upgrading accommodations.

You and me both. We plan on our Disney trips being $1,000/person (with no discounts) for a 6 or 7 night stay at a value resort with QSDP (or similar budget for food) and about $500 for souvenirs. We have 5 children (they don't all travel with us every trip as the older boys are now 23 & 26). I can't wait for the middle kids and caboose baby to hit 18 so DH & I can take a trip to Disney without them (10 more years). We will seriously upgrade our accommodations...or stay for a month.

To answer the original question -- If the cost is going to be more than $6,000 (no discounts) for the 5 of us, I'd probably postpone the trip for a little while or suck it up and book a moderate that could accommodate all of us in one room rather than 2 rooms at a value (the thought of only having one bathroom for the 5 of us keeps me awake at night). I'd rather wait longer between trips than make our trip shorter or stay at a resort I don't think we'll be happy at.

 

[goherdibg]

On our 8 night trip to the GF last December we spent somewhere in the range of $10,000. We were 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 child who was 11 and paid adult prices (painfulllllll).

I will add that putting the package on the Disney Visa and getting 6 months no interest definitely helps!

 

[Weather_Lady]

For a 5-night/6-day stay for our family of 4, our maximum budget is around $4,000: $3500 for airfare/tickets/accommodations/food, plus another $300-$500 in dining gratuities, housekeeping tips, souvenirs, airport parking, meals-in-transit, etc. I won't go over $1000 for air travel (from upstate NY), $750 for resort room (unless staying during a peak season), and $600 for food. There's no appreciable wiggle room on the cost of park tickets, which will run over $1,200 for 2 adults and 2 children, 6 days, w/ park hopper.

That being said, that amount of money is no small potatoes for my family -- or any typical family. Although my husband and I are full-time working professionals with good salaries, who live frugally, drive used cars, buy our furniture and much of our family's clothing second-hand, etc., $4,000 is still a ton of money for us, and a Disney World vacation is not something we could afford to do more than once every couple of years. Frankly, I don't know how any family living on a median-or-less income could afford it without major sacrifice. It's really too bad. When I was little and ticket and resort prices were far lower, my parents were able to take our family to WDW on a shoestring -- driving down, staying in the campground, and preparing all of our own meals. Now, the campground costs as much as a hotel room and the ticket prices for my family's 6-day stay are higher than our monthly mortgage payment!

 

[BrittanyRose428]

My roommate and I are staying at Port Orleans in August 2013 for $2300 total, including hotel for 5 nights, dining plan and park hoppers. This is the first time I've booked any kind of a vacation on my own, I'm only 20, haha, so I really have no idea if it was a good deal or not. I'd like to think that Disney will come out with some kind of a room discount for the week we're going like they did this year. But this was really the top of the budget for us, actually its a little over what we would have wanted to spend, but we're broke college students anyways, I'd rather all my money go to paying for a Disney trip than fast food or something, haha.

 

[SleepingMonk]

When spending a weekend at fake EPCOT countries begins to cost as much as a weekend at the real thing.

Disney just isn't the value for us it once was, the resident discounts on tickets/rooms/dining have all but vanished.

 

[wiigirl]

When spending a weekend at fake EPCOT countries begins to cost as much as a weekend at the real thing.

Disney just isn't the value for us it once was, the resident discounts on tickets/rooms/dining have all but vanished.

I agree Disney is getting quite pricey. With a bit of deal hunting and/or a good TA, you can still find some great deals and save some serious $$$.

 

[captainkidd]

What I just spent is too much. Just finished paying off resorts today. For 7 nights at the Hard Rock and 11 nights at the Beach Club next July, I dropped $7,000.
I still haven't purchased park tickets to Disney, Universal or Busch Gardens or airfare for 5 people. That'll add on another $6,000.
Oh yeah - We don't do the dining plan, so I need to save spending money for 18 days. That's another $8,000.

Yeah, no problem. $20K for vacation.

 

[Luvmydisney]

Holy cow! If my husband would have seen these totals there is no way he'd ever let me book a trip! More power to all of you that can stay for long vacations and stay at deluxe resorts. One day....
As for our family of 5, with an infant who doesn't cost anything just yet, we have spent under $2000 for the MYW package with free dining for 7 nights at a value resort. Our flights have cost a total around $800. So if we get anywhere over $3000, I am stressed! I just looked at trips for next September and it looks like our MYW package will be a little over $2000 and that bothered me! I've never seen a number in the $2000 range for our trip (usually 1700-1900). Oh well! Counting down the days and starting to save!

 

[SleepingMonk]

I agree Disney is getting quite pricey. With a bit of deal hunting and/or a good TA, you can still find some great deals and save some serious $$$.

We work the Florida resident deals, off season deals, promos etc...but really what it comes down to is value for our dollar.

We've done Disney and everything in it a million times, we would go because it's close and it's relatively cheap.

But when we realized we could fly somewhere new and do something we've never done for the same price....Disney lost quite a bit of it's appeal.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Holy cow! If my husband would have seen these totals there is no way he'd ever let me book a trip! More power to all of you that can stay for long vacations and stay at deluxe resorts. One day....
As for our family of 5, with an infant who doesn't cost anything just yet, we have spent under $2000 for the MYW package with free dining for 7 nights at a value resort. Our flights have cost a total around $800. So if we get anywhere over $3000, I am stressed! I just looked at trips for next September and it looks like our MYW package will be a little over $2000 and that bothered me! I've never seen a number in the $2000 range for our trip (usually 1700-1900). Oh well! Counting down the days and starting to save!

You're also "shopping smart" by staying at WDW at an inexpensive time of year. If you were traveling during a regular school break (e.g., Easter, Christmas, etc.), the cost would be exponentially more. I priced our October vacation out to see what it would have cost if we'd gone at Easter, instead -- the cost for airfare and accommodations (even off-site) would have doubled! Yikes!

 

[SleepingMonk]

What I just spent is too much. Just finished paying off resorts today. For 7 nights at the Hard Rock and 11 nights at the Beach Club next July, I dropped $7,000.
I still haven't purchased park tickets to Disney, Universal or Busch Gardens or airfare for 5 people. That'll add on another $6,000.
Oh yeah - We don't do the dining plan, so I need to save spending money for 18 days. That's another $8,000.

Yeah, no problem. $20K for vacation.

This is a great example.

We would rather spend $20k for 10 days in Europe instead of $20k for 20 days at Disney.

 

[Luvmydisney]

You're also "shopping smart" by staying at WDW at an inexpensive time of year. If you were traveling during a regular school break (e.g., Easter, Christmas, etc.), the cost would be exponentially more. I priced our October vacation out to see what it would have cost if we'd gone at Easter, instead -- the cost for airfare and accommodations (even off-site) would have doubled! Yikes!

So true! My oldest is in first grade and the school said they would no longer excuse absences during the school year for vacations. Guess we'll have to look at those more expensive times of year soon!

 

[captainkidd]

This is a great example.

We would rather spend $20k for 10 days in Europe instead of $20k for 20 days at Disney.

I don't think my kids would enjoy Europe too much at 5 years old.

 

[KCheatle]

We typically got for 8 days, 7 nights and try to get free dining when possible. We like to stay at the WL. That means I'm usually looking at the $4000 figure. If it gets higher $4500 then I start cutting back on things because I want spending money too. If I can keep it right around the $4000 figure then I'm happy. The nice thing for my family is that we don't ever spend money on flights. Each year for my birthday and Christmas I ask my mom, who is a Delta platinum member, to give me and my family plane tickets with her miles. She has so many miles it's no sweat off her back. And, since she's a platinum member, we each get 2 free checked bags. So, that eliminates a large chunk of money (~$1400) for us that we can then put back into a nicer hotel.

 

[Sofiesmom]

How on EARTH do you get those prices for that many days?? Im getting $2293 for 4 days!

(Granted, Im buying for 2 adults and 3 kids, does that mean anything in your prices??)

I buy for 2 adults and one child. I also go during slow time.

 

[ctosh]

We are looking at 4k for our 2013 trip... Thats tickets, dining, gas( we are driving) and spending money. Now we are DVC members do I gues we could add our dues onto it so 5k for 2 weeks... Its not bad because we sent over 2k at the beach in August for a week. I think It is all a personal choice.

 

[SleepingMonk]

I don't think my kids would enjoy Europe too much at 5 years old.

Maybe, maybe not.

But every trip doesn't have to cater to the kids.

A week at Disney and a week in France would make the whole family much happier here.

 

[captainkidd]

Maybe, maybe not.

But every trip doesn't have to cater to the kids.

A week at Disney and a week in France would make the whole family much happier here.

We'll have plenty of time to take our own vacations in a few years. Right now, it's all about what our kids want.

 

[dopeylover]

We'll have plenty of time to take our own vacations in a few years. Right now, it's all about what our kids want.

Totally agree. I would LOVE to go to Europe! My husband and I were dirt poor when starting our careers, and once we got comfortable, we had a child, and that changes your perspective on life itself, let alone vacations! While I am a firm believer that the universe should not revolve around your child, with your vacation I believe it should. We're planning a European vacation when my daughter is old enough to appreciate she is being taken to Europe. For now, I cannot imagine taking her. She'd be bored out of her mind, and in turn drive us completely crazy, making the trip a mess. So I agree, until they're a little older, I think your vacations should revolve around your kids, this way you know you will ALL be appreciating the time and money spent.

That being said, if I go over $4000 total for our trip (hotel, dining, airfare, spending), I get nervous. Last year we went a little crazy because we brought family with us, but I still only went up to $4500. It's all about the time of year you go. That being said, I dread the day my DDs school says she can't leave during the school year. She's only in pre-school now, and we plan on taking her out for a week next year, but I know once she reaches a certain age, we'll only be able to go at the most expensive times of year.