Our family of four went to Disney in 2009 for seven days for less than $2,500.00. How did we do it? Let's break it down. First, let me disclose that I am very "Type A" and spent lots of time researching, but I knew that this was going to be a huge trip for us and that we wouldn't be going back anytime soon, so I spent more time than I usually would researching for the best deals out there.
TICKETS:
Can't get in without tickets! Luckily I had a good resource here....my secret weapon if you will! My cousin Christie was instrumental (she's going to like that I used that specific word) in giving me a "heads up" on the best deal out there due to the fact that her and her sister and parents had gone on a Disney vacation ahead of me. So she did the leg work for me and found a great website that allowed us to buy four days and get the fifth day FREE! (my favorite word). So follow this link: http://www.officialticketcenter.com/
Next Up...
A PLACE TO STAY!:
After much research and consideration we decided to go with renting a condo for the time we were going to be visiting "The Sunshine State." We did this by going through www.vrbo.com. We ended up getting a three bedroom, two bath condo for six nights and seven days for $530.88. We were only 10 minutes from all the attractions in Davenport, FL.
I would also like to mention that we stayed in Tennessee on the way home to break up the long drive. So this was an extra expense of $98.00 for the night.
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| View from Balcony at Condo |
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| Condo Living Room |
DRIVING vs FLYING:
We made the decision to drive. Mostly due to cost and we like road trips, but driving isn't for everyone and of course, flying is going to make your trip more expensive. We used the website Road Trip America to calculate our gas expense in driving there. It ended up being $240.00 roundtrip. Now, of course, this was three years ago and it is going to depend on the current gas prices.
PARKING:
Now this will not be an expense for you if you fly and/or stay on Disney property when choosing your accommodations. At the time parking was $14.00/day, so we ended up paying $70.00 total in parking costs. You would need to check the Disney website for current parking prices.
FOOD:
My favorite part! I'm a "Foodie"...what can I say?! We set aside $200 for food for the week. Since we were staying in the condo we ate breakfast there every morning before heading to the park. All but one night we ate dinner out after we left Disney for the night. We brought bottled water for each of us and trail mix into the park daily (which is allowed) and we bought snacks each day. Eating breakfast at the condo, just having snacks inside the park and eating dinner outside of Disney after we left the park for the night saved us big money in the food department. We even ordered pizza to our condo the last night we were there. I need to mention that my kids were troopers. They didn't want to stop to eat, so the snacks we bought along the way and the trail mix worked just fine for us, but all families are different.
A DAY AT THE BEACH:
FREE! And...PRICELESS! Watching my kids run on the beach and seeing the ocean for the first time was indeed priceless. We made this stop on our way out of town to collect some last minute rays and warmth and some FREE souvenirs from nature itself - shells!
Fun Stuff and Souvenirs:
(because I want to add it ALL up)...We took $500 in spending money with us. Some of the best souvenirs and fun things they did to celebrate their time at Disney was to get their hair done at the Disney Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom and getting Passports in Epcot. They loved searching each country for the designated person(s) to stamp their passport. Each person they found also wrote personal notes to each of them from their country. It added so much fun to their experience at Epcot. They also got their faces painted when we went to Animal Kingdom. This was a lot of fun for them too and provided us with some fun pics!
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| Disney Barber Shop Hair! (they might even sing to you while they do your hair!!!) |
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| Disney Hair! |
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| Hidden Mickey! |
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| Passport Stop in Another Country |
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| Stopping in Another Country to Get Their Passports Stamped and Signed |
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| Passport Stop |
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| Another Passport Stop |
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| Face Painting at Animal Kingdom |
Let's Add It All Up....
Lodging $530.88
Tickets $820.00
Gas $240.00
Food $200.00
Parking $ 70.00
Hotel $ 98.00
Spending Money: $500.00
TOTAL: $2,458.88
Bottom Line....We had tons of fun, we didn't feel like we lost out on any experiences (and we have over 700 pictures to prove it!) and we have a lifetime of memories. Remember: Spend Moments, Not Money.
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