Need help planning magical trip for 9 on very tight budget

[SqlMickey]

Hi everyone,

First, a little on our situation. My sister has brain cancer and is having surgery on May 13th. The surgery is as serious and as risky as it gets. When I asked her what's the top thing on her "bucket list," she responded that she really wants to take the kids to Disneyworld. The kicker: my sister has 6 kids (it's not as crazy as it sounds: she had 2, then unexpectedly had twins, then 2 by marriage).

My plan is to fly to Florida on May 4th and take my sister and her family to Disneyworld for a full day of much-needed magic at The Magic Kingdom.

However, because of my sister's health situation, she is not able to financially contribute to the trip, nor would I ask her to. But that means that I am trying to find some way to take 9 people to Disneyworld for under $1,000. And, given the cost of tickets, it looks like I'll be spending most of that on the tickets themselves!

In case anyone knows of a better price for local residents, my sister's family does live in Florida (although not in Orlando), but it sounds like Florida residents only get a better deal if they're buying a season pass or multiple days. I did talk with two different "cast members," but quite frankly, while they were very friendly, they weren't very helpful. They didn't seem to understand the situation and kept trying to offer me "deals" to stay in a resort or "get the 5th day free when you buy 4 days." I mentioned the $1,000 budget but I guess they must've thought that was per day or something. :/

But, back to the point of this post. I've never been to Disneyworld, so I'm not sure what to expect, and I have a few questions:

- Is there a "best" weekday to go on?
- Are we able to pack lunches and bring them into the park? Or are we able to leave the park to eat in our car, then return to the same park the same day?
- Is there a "cheap" dining experience that's worth having?
- I imagine May in Florida is probably pretty hot. Are there water fountains in the parks?
- Am I able to rent a wheelchair at Disneyworld?
- Is there a list of "gentle" rides that people in frail health can still ride?

Also, any tips to save money on tickets or having a frugal day at Disneyworld would be very, very much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

Hi everyone,

First, a little on our situation. My sister has brain cancer and is having surgery on May 13th. The surgery is as serious and as risky as it gets. When I asked her what's the top thing on her "bucket list," she responded that she really wants to take the kids to Disneyworld. The kicker: my sister has 6 kids (it's not as crazy as it sounds: she had 2, then unexpectedly had twins, then 2 by marriage).

My plan is to fly to Florida on May 4th and take my sister and her family to Disneyworld for a full day of much-needed magic at The Magic Kingdom.

However, because of my sister's health situation, she is not able to financially contribute to the trip, nor would I ask her to. But that means that I am trying to find some way to take 9 people to Disneyworld for under $1,000. And, given the cost of tickets, it looks like I'll be spending most of that on the tickets themselves!

In case anyone knows of a better price for local residents, my sister's family does live in Florida (although not in Orlando), but it sounds like Florida residents only get a better deal if they're buying a season pass or multiple days. I did talk with two different "cast members," but quite frankly, while they were very friendly, they weren't very helpful. They didn't seem to understand the situation and kept trying to offer me "deals" to stay in a resort or "get the 5th day free when you buy 4 days." I mentioned the $1,000 budget but I guess they must've thought that was per day or something. :/

But, back to the point of this post. I've never been to Disneyworld, so I'm not sure what to expect, and I have a few questions:

- Is there a "best" weekday to go on? Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
- Are we able to pack lunches and bring them into the park? Or are we able to leave the park to eat in our car, then return to the same park the same day? You can bring food into the parks.
- Is there a "cheap" dining experience that's worth having?
- I imagine May in Florida is probably pretty hot. Are there water fountains in the parks? You can ask for free cups of ice water at any of the quick service restaurants.
- Am I able to rent a wheelchair at Disneyworld? Yes. The price is on the Disneyworld website.
- Is there a list of "gentle" rides that people in frail health can still ride? Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Under the Sea, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Carousel of Progress, Jungle Cruise, The Laugh Floor, Philarmagic and Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. There are a couple more.

Also, any tips to save money on tickets or having a frugal day at Disneyworld would be very, very much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[CheshireCat12]

I think what you want to do for your sister is really nice. If you are only going for one day, and only to MK, you are looking at $100 per person, not counting any snacks/food/souvenirs. Children age 3-9 are a little cheaper. Maybe you could pack lunches in backpacks and spend a little on Mickey Bars for a treat, or popcorn. Restaurants that sell fountain soda will give you free ice water in regular size soda cups. If you can swing a little more than the 1K you mentioned, you could get everyone a small souvenir. Be sure to take plenty of pictures, as they will be priceless memories. I hope you get to do it!
To answer some of your questions:
1. Yes you can rent a wheelchair at Guest Services. Not sure if there is a fee.
2. Gentle rides- TTA, Jungle Cruise, Pirates all come to mind. Also Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion, Liberty Belle boat, Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, of course watching Celebrate the Magic and Wishes if you find a comfy place to sit- I recommend the tables on the path near the ice cream parlor.
3. "Cheap" dining- that depends on your definition of cheap. I would just get the ice cream or Dole Whip. If you want to eat at MK, get hot dogs at Casey's.
Good luck with your plans!

 

[Dwarful]

You can bring in food. You might call your local AAA and ask if they know of any discount tickets available. How old are the kids? If you do have a quick service meal I'd suggest buying adult meals and sharing them. Any place that sells fountain sodas will give you cups of ice water for free. You might want to bring along the kool aide packets or lemonade mix to add to the water if the kids balk at ice water for drinking. Someone else mentioned souvenirs...you might want to go to the outlets before hand and buy tshirts for everyone to wear. Then when the trip is over make shutterfly books for each child to have. Then if your budget allows you can splurge for ice cream or other treat. Also you might want to bring along some dollar store glow sticks for the night time parade. Kids love that glow stuff and at Disney its not cheap.

 

[SqlMickey]

Thank you so much for the replies, ratherbeinwdw, CheshireCat12, and Dwarful!

All of the tips are very helpful! When I was looking through the menus, I wasn't sure how I could make it all work, so just knowing I can bring food in is a huge relief for me!

I'm glad to hear there's plenty of gentle rides available so that my sister can join her children on some of the rides. The Mickey Bars, ice water, drink mix, t-shirts, light sticks, etc. are all wonderful ideas that I wouldn't have thought of, which will make the trip all that much nicer for the family without making the children feel like they're missing out on ALL of the "extra" stuff.

The children are ages 15 (girl), 14 (boy), 9 (girl), 7 (boy and girl), and 4 (girl).

Thank you again!!!

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

In my $1 section at target they recently had a bunch of princess crown/headbands etc. The younger girls might like that.

 

[SqlMickey]

Great idea, HRHPrincessAriel! Thank you, I'll check out my local Target!

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

Oh! And I'm not sure where you are from but in Houston we have this huge area that sells costume jewelry, shirts etc. I found sequin minnie/daisy headbands for $2 each. I bet you could find similar on etsy.

I have one with minnie ears as well hut can't find pic

 

[SteveW]

If your a member of a SAMs club, you can buy $150 worth of Disney gift cards for $142.xx. Then you could use them to buy your park tickets, assuming you buy them on site. Not a huge savings, but it could be a round of Mickey bars. Or as Dwarful mentioned, check with AAA about discounted tickets there. I bought my tickets the last time through the local Nebraska AAA for a discounted price.

Another idea to control spending would be load Disney gift cards for each kid to spend how they want. I know you can get them at Walgreens and load them with $15 - $500.

 

[olinecoach61]

I think what your doing is great, just know that while you can bring food I don't think you can bring a big cooler so plan accordingly. If your. Doing one day I would figure out what big rides people want to do so you can get fast passes right away and maximize the rest of your time in MK. I hope everything works out for you and your family.

 

[dreamfinder]

If you are looking to only buy 1 day tickets, you usually won't find them cheaper than direct from Disney. Any of the resellers that stock them either sell them at face, or higher so they can still make a profit. As mentioned, you can usually save a few % by buying Disney gift cards at Sams/Costco/BJ's/etc. Also, I believe that if you have a Target red card, you can use that to save 5% on them at Target as they get classified as entertainment or some such? If you buy the cards in some similar manner, you can then use those to buy the tickets, either at a local Disney Store or when you get to the parks.

You can definitely being in food, but no glass containers or coolers on wheels. So sticking a soft sided cooler in a backpack is fine. Going back to the car will take a while as you need to walk to the front of the park, then take the monorail or ferry back to the parking lot, and then the tram to your car.

Cheap dining and WDW don't go together unfortunately. Most of the dining prices are listed online, but outside of some of the already mentioned snacks, most of the food in park outside of some of the more expensive sit down restaurants that offer things like characters is normal food.

You can rent wheelchairs at the main entrance, there is a cost of $12 for the rental. They only rent them at the gate, so it may be a trek back to get one if needed, so plan accordingly.

I'd suggest grabbing a guidebook from your local library to at least get the lay of the land before you get there. The unofficial guide offers input on the roughness of the rides, but even one of the official guides lets you know what you are getting into before you get there. Having some sort of game plan can really help to get more done instead of standing around asking what everyone wants to do.

 

[Mks95]

Call guest services and see if you qualify for group rate. Ask lots of questions and info as they will not offer specials usually unless you hit on it. Also sometimes florida hospitals or schools can get discount. Has she contacted make wish ? Bring snacks. Walmart often has tshirts for $3-5. Have fun and take lots of photos! Hope surgery goes well.

 

[buseegal]

one thing to remember is that parking for MK means a ferry or monorail ride to the park. you can not drop off at the park and then go park. you can bring food in but you can not get it heated up if needed. if staying for nighttime parade or fireworks bring with you lightup toys and/or glow stick type things a lot cheaper

 

[Bocko57]

This site might help the budget on food. http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...ney-world-meal-snack-drink-discounts-coupons/

 

[got2lovedisney]

Have breakfast before coming in to the park or bring granola bars, pop tarts, cereal, fruit. I used to have each kid carry a backpack with breakfast, snack and a bottle of water/gatorade. Once they drink what they brought, the empty bottle gets filled with water from a QS restaurant or a water fountain.

When looking at the quick service menus, most items are presented as a "basket" (burger & fires, hot dog & fries). You can opt to hold the fries and save a couple of dollars. Maybe get 2 baskets & 3 without and then share the fries between the kids. Also, if you see a double cheeseburger on the menu, you can get an extra bun for like $.60, then just separate the double into 2 singles. At Columbia Harbour House, they have a chicken & fish basket. We get one and share it between my DD and I (I get the fish, DD gets the chicken and we share the fries.)

Also note, MK ticket costs more than the other 3 parks.($105.44 adult/$99.05 child 3-9 vs $100.11 adult/$93.12 child). You could save $45.04 by NOT going to Magic Kingdom.(These prices are for NON-Park hopping.)

Remember to factor in parking fees which are currently $17 per vehicle.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

You need to read up on fastpass +. If you buy the tickets before you go, then you can reserve fastpasses for rides so that you don't have to wait in such long lines in advance. You will need to sign-up for a My Disney Experience account on the Disney World website. It's easy and free. Once you do that, you will be able to link your tickets to the account and then make fastpass reservations for the rides. Also, if you get there at park opening, you will be able to ride many more things than if you get there even an hour or two later.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Thank you so much for the replies, ratherbeinwdw, CheshireCat12, and Dwarful!

All of the tips are very helpful! When I was looking through the menus, I wasn't sure how I could make it all work, so just knowing I can bring food in is a huge relief for me!

I'm glad to hear there's plenty of gentle rides available so that my sister can join her children on some of the rides. The Mickey Bars, ice water, drink mix, t-shirts, light sticks, etc. are all wonderful ideas that I wouldn't have thought of, which will make the trip all that much nicer for the family without making the children feel like they're missing out on ALL of the "extra" stuff.

The children are ages 15 (girl), 14 (boy), 9 (girl), 7 (boy and girl), and 4 (girl).

Thank you again!!!

It's going to be tight, but you can do it!! What a wonderful thing you are doing!!! If you packed lunch, you can leave the park and re-enter all day long, just so you know. That way you don't have to carry around your food all day long! You can run out to the car and eat there (plus you can have whatever drinks you want in a cooler or whatnot) Everyone else answered all your questions with the same answers I would have had Best of luck!!!

 

[buseegal]

going to the car at MK requires a ferry or monorail ride to get to car

 

[DisneyFreak23]

Hi SqlMickey,
We'll be traveling as 9 in May also. That's wonderful that you are making your sister's wish come true in the most magical place on earth!
I agree with all the above suggestions. Mousesavers and undercover tourist are great places to get savings tips and discounted tickets. But for one day, the park tickets are pretty much set. You can make up ground in cost savings by backpacking snacks and sandwiches in. We use soft coolers with frozen water bottles to keep things cool. Frogg Togg towels also can keep your sister cool on a hot day. Maybe eat dinner outside the park or at some small eateries like Casey's.
All the rides in New Fantasyland should be good for her and the kids to go on. Maybe the new seven dwarves mine train will be open just in time for you if your lucky! Aladden's magic carpets and the jungle cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean should be good in Adventureland. Splash mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are exciting but a little rough. I recommend you get there early and head to New Fantasyland first.
Have a wonderful and blessed time!

 

[cw1982]

Have you thought about inviting some of her closer friends and maybe other family to contribute? I think what you're planning is doable, but if you haven't tried yet, you may find that others in her circle of loved ones would love the opportunity to support her in such a special way. You could get their email addresses and then send out a blanket email that outlines what you're doing and gives them an idea of how they could go about donating if they want to do so. That way there's no awkwardness if they can't help, but you may be pleasantly surprised.

Either way, you are awesome for planning such an awesome day for them!