Is it possible to do Disney for cheap?!

[kimberlymautz]

Good evening everyone! It's been a while since I've been on here (I just got a brand new laptop, whoo!) and we're getting ready to plan our next trip to WDW. In December, my boyfriend Angel and I had the pleasure of heading down to visit our friend Nick for a week. We stayed at Pop, which was nice, but REALLY busy with everyone down for Pop Warner (Great week to visit, I knowww!).

Well, while our last trip was really nice, we were rushing around the whole week. Boyfriend wasn't much of a Disney person so he just complained about wanting to find rides and since Nick works as a lifeguard at the Poly (If you see him, make sure you wave!) he knows his way around everything. Therefore, this caused a trip of running instead of taking it easy.

Luckily, we're planning another trip, and this time our two year old will be coming along! She just turned two on Friday, and is OBSESSED with Mickey. And the next best part?! My best friend and her girls will be coming along too! So this upcoming trip will be me, Angel, our daughter Allyson, my best friend Jillian, and her girls Riley (2) and MacKenzie (1). Her boyfriend, Colin, may also be coming, though we aren't sure if he'll be able to yet. We may even get to add in some other friends too depending on what choices we make about our stay.

We know that we want to go down late January / Early February. It's the least busy time for the parks (Major Plus!) and it gives us plenty of time to save up. Either way, we just want to be home by February 12th for Riley's 3rd Birthday!

So far, all we know is that we're going, and we're really excited about it.

Here's where I need your help.
For 6 people minimum (it could go as high as nine people), should we consider staying at a resort? Or should we just skip it and get a rental house? We're trying to save as much money as possible, but I'm sure you can tell how difficult that is.
We also know that we want to stay at LEAST seven nights, so we can have four days for Disney parks, and one day for Universal, and still have at least one or two extra days to just relax.

What is the lowest amount you've ever spent on a Disney vacation? How'd you do it?

 

[DisneyJoe]

Will you have a car?

 

[luv]

About five years ago, we got a four bedroom condo that had two master suites for $99/night. It was nice, too!

I think that if money and privacy are issues, you should absolutely start investigating offsite condos and houses!! You'll get MUCH more for so much less off the Disney property.

Good luck planning!

 

[Nemo14]

Check with VRBO for a rental home. They are very affordable, especially if you're splitting the cost with another family, and you'll have a lot more room and privacy.

 

[stevehousse]

With that many people th suites can be pricey if you are looking to save money! Go with a vacation home instead, most 4-5 bedrooms with a pool go for around 99 and up! We have rented 3 times now from Villa Direct and have had great success with them! All te houses we have stayed at, a different one each time, was about a 5-10 minute ride from the park!

I would suggest that if you do go the vacation home route, do your research and use google maps to make sure you locate the house you are staying at and how close it is too te parks! Some of the vacation sites are misleading and can be further away from the parks than really advertised.

I have not run into this at villa direct, but then again, I researched to make sure we had a good house and a good location!

 

[RedDad]

I would agree that with that many people on a budget a rental home or condo off site is going to be much cheaper. The cheapest we have ever done WDW was about $2,000 for a 5 day trip. That included 2 adults and 1 child (+ 1 free child under 3) staying at Pop on a pin code ($67/night), no dining plan, no air fare. It can be done, but wdw on the cheap takes a lot of planning.

 

[kimberlymautz]

I'm trying my best! We'll probably be driving down as it's usually cheaper, though we're also looking into flying or taking the train (just incase!). When we went in December we got all kinds of crazy discounts because my friend works as a lifeguard at the Poly, but I don't want to assume we'll have him to help cut the costs down since it's pretty far away.

I've found quite a few beautiful and reasonably priced vacation homes, so I'm going to keep searching!

Let me know if you can think of anything else to keep it as cost efficient as possible.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Weather_Lady]

The lowest amount we've ever spent is... well, more than we COULD have spent, so I'll give you what I think is the best scenario:

The cheapest option is probably the one my parents always did when we were kids: we drove down in our big old conversion van (in which we'd stop to sleep at least once during the 21-hour drive -- no hotels for us!) towing our secondhand pop-up camper. We stayed in the cheapest spots in the Fort Wilderness Campground, brought all of our own food and beverages and spent nothing on souvenirs. (If my sister and I wanted something, we could bring our own Christmas/allowance money to spend.) In other words, Mom and Dad were paying for: (1) gas/tolls to drive down; (2) camping spot rental; (3) basic park tickets (no hard ticket events, no waterparks, no add-ons and no complaints!); and (4) groceries to bring along. Given the price of Disney food, bringing our own probably saved at least as much money as driving (vs. flying) did! And let me tell ya: even a cheap bologna sandwich tastes like fine cuisine when you're eating it at the happiest place on earth!

 

[bubbles1812]

Going off site is almost always going to be cheaper than staying in one of the Disney hotels. If you feel you absolutely need to be onsite DO NOT book thru the Disney website. Seriously. As much as I like WDW, Disney likes to rob people blind. Go thru price-line, book-it, or another travel website.

 

[RedDad]

If you are going to stay offsite then I would definitely drive. You won't have the free disney transportation for the most part, and avoid needing to rent a car to get around.

 

[Zman-ks]

Check with VRBO for a rental home. They are very affordable, especially if you're splitting the cost with another family, and you'll have a lot more room and privacy.

Good advice!

 

[Emyli Mouse]

We always try to do Disney cheap so we can go more often! One way that we've saved money in the long run is to buy 10 day passes with no expiration. When we did that in 2010, my husband and I bought 10 day park hopper passes with the Water park + added in. We used the park tickets for three different trips and still have some plus days left (how do you use 10 water park days? it's been awesome! Free mini golf for everyone!) Anyway, at that time, it was about $1100 for the both of us, which is ridiculous, until you divide it out and it's only $27.50 per person per park or water park day (and those are hoppers!). We have had so much fun on the last three trips and have seen no money coming out of our pockets for park tickets.

Renting a house is far superior too, especially if you're already going to have a car. 12 of us are going the second week of June and are staying in a 7 bedroom, 5 bath house for a week for $1200. You save money on lodging, have your own pool and hot tub (sometimes), and have a full kitchen to save on meals. We also always bring lunch and snacks into the parks so we only have to eat one meal out per day. We bring Crystal Light packets and get glasses of water from QS restaurants. If you drive or fly, you can bring non-perishable items for the room, like popcorn, PB and J, granola bars, anything!

It seems like we are just really cheap, but this is how my parents did it and we were able to enjoy many family trips there throughout the years. The memories are priceless! Have fun planning no matter what you decide!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Two 2 years old and a 1 year old.... At first I would have suggested staying off property to reduce cost but with kids that young, you have to wonder about meltdowns.... which makes staying on property a better idea.
Definitely drive! Because if you fly, then you will need a rental car which can run 30 - 40 a day and if your under 25, those surcharges get out of control.

The cheapest trip for me was actually my upcoming trip in Sept. $800 ea. (3 of us so 2400) total, includes plane tickets, 10 days/ 9 nights at Coronado springs pref. room, 5 day park tickets, 1 day water park tickets, 2 day univ tickets, and the disney dining plan.

Last year me and my boyfriend went and it cost us 1700 for a week at coronado, pref. room. Not the cheapest but I though it was good for us!

 

[luv]

Rent a house and car, hit the grocery store, don't go into stores and don't look around when you must exit a ride through a store.

Get your water at Publix and refill the bottles in the park. The large bottles at Publix are less than half of what Disney charges for small ones.

All Star Vacation Homes sometimes runs a deal where you get a free rental car with the house. Might want to check on that.

 

[pixiesteno]

The lowest amount we've ever spent is... well, more than we COULD have spent, so I'll give you what I think is the best scenario:

The cheapest option is probably the one my parents always did when we were kids: we drove down in our big old conversion van (in which we'd stop to sleep at least once during the 21-hour drive -- no hotels for us!) towing our secondhand pop-up camper. We stayed in the cheapest spots in the Fort Wilderness Campground, brought all of our own food and beverages and spent nothing on souvenirs. (If my sister and I wanted something, we could bring our own Christmas/allowance money to spend.) In other words, Mom and Dad were paying for: (1) gas/tolls to drive down; (2) camping spot rental; (3) basic park tickets (no hard ticket events, no waterparks, no add-ons and no complaints!); and (4) groceries to bring along. Given the price of Disney food, bringing our own probably saved at least as much money as driving (vs. flying) did! And let me tell ya: even a cheap bologna sandwich tastes like fine cuisine when you're eating it at the happiest place on earth!

See above! You can have up to 10 people on a campsite at Fort Wilderness. You can also bring tents up to two per site, sleeping bags, etc. If you don't have access to a camper they can be rented from local companies and set up at Fort Wilderness for you. Camping at the fort is wonderful.

 

[bethymouse]

Back in 2007, 4 adults and 2 kids age 3 stayed @All Star Music Suite 5 nights 6 days no discounts for $ 3, 800. I think it's more now of course! But All Star or POP are a good value. Good luck!

 

[Susan Savia]

To go cheap, drive down and stay offsite. Visit Publix for snacks for the parks. Eat offsite.
We have never stayed onsite and have APs and have been doing it for 30 years. It's probably why we are able to go each year and stay for two weeks.

 

[dreamfinder]

Almost definitely offsite will be cheapest for you. But with the small kids, you may want to consider looking into DVC point rentals. The fact you could get to BLT faster than your car from the MK for a mid afternoon nap could be worth alot more than saving a few bucks. If you are driving down, then you could plan on spending the $300 per adult for park tickets, probably something similar if you stay at a rental house. Bringing your own food would help as well.

 

[SMS55]

If you want to stay on site stay at a value resort. If money is real tight, then stay off site. You will save much more. However, to stay offsite you need a car, so that is the first thing we need answered because that will help you. Another thing we do is we bring snacks. We will make sandwitches for the day at the park. Sometimes we'll have a good breakfast, have our sandwitches for lunch and eat off property on our way back to the hotel. It's cheap to eat at one of the hundreds of places on 192. For us the dining plan just isn't worth it.

 

[kimberlymautz]

I'm thinking that this is the main game plan, let me know what you all think.

• We will be driving down. Either we'll borrow my friend's 12 person van, or I'll attempt to switch with my aunt for the week and take her regular van down.
• If by some miracle Disney is offering the free dining in January, we will stay on site, just at one of the value resorts. If they aren't, we'll be staying off site. When we went in December we always got more than enough food.
• I'm looking into different hotels to compare prices, but it definitely seems cheaper to rent a house. (I'm covering all my bases!)
• Either way we'd make a stop at Walmart or Publix on the way to where ever we're staying so after we get there we can relax for the rest of the day.
• I've already sent several e-mails out on vacation places. I'm hoping we can stay for a little over a week, though I'm not getting my hopes up.
• We will be planning for 4 days in Disney and 1 day for Universal.

Here's some other questions I was curious of:

1. How many of you brought your little ones down? How did they handle the characters?
2. Is there anything you wish you'd brought along, but didn't think of it?
3. What rides did your kids loveee?!