$4,000?

[SanFranciscan]

My husband is planning our next trip to Walt Disney World, which he pretty much starting doing as soon as we returned from WDW in October. He was asking me last week how much of my pay that I thought that I could set aside since we now have over a year to save. He asked me how much of a Disney package that I thought that we could get for $4,000, which is the sum which he hopes that we could save by February of 2009.

I thought that question a little odd since we can't know what airline fares are going to be over a year from now, and airlines can't know what their fuel costs are going to be over a year from now. Nevertheless, it is an intriguing question. Those of you who go to WDW on a regular basis are perhaps in a better position to answer it for him. What do you think? We would be going from the West Coast.

 

[spiceycat]

flying from West coast is pretty high in cost - isn't it?

do you want to go before spring break (which starts in Feb) or once spring break has started (very, very expensive)

budget trips if you don't have kids - better months are May, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan -

is it just you and him - or are their kids - if kids what are their ages (disney always asked - besides you get a break if under 3, 9, 17) (different breaks)

 

[SanFranciscan]

Thanks for getting back to me. My husband is one of the blessed ones in the private sector who gets vacation pay, practically unheard of in the private sector it seems so no wonder everybody wants a government job. He gets his vacation pay in January so he is thinking February is best for us. We were previously thinking of January 2009 or the end of 2008.

We definately don't want to be there over Spring Break. That sounds like too much ruckus. There is just the two of us. His birthday is on February 22nd. It would be nice to be there then.

 

[LindaR]

DD18 and I usually go once a year. We have gone during spring break (madhouse, very little discounts), end of May (warm, discounts, our preferred time to go), early Sept (hot, humid, height of hurricane season, low crowds), and early Dec (xmas decorations, managable crowds). Our average cost is approx $3500. We tend to have alot of sit down meals (don't care for fast food) which costs more. We prefer to stay in moderates (never values - don't like) and have stayed deluxe a couple of times. Other than AP discounts, I am not a "budget" kind of person. I like nice things. I don't eat in the room (unless its room service), I don't carry my own water (we constantly buy bottled water in the parks, drink it, throw bottle away til next time).......we like pampering. So this is an "idea" of how we vacation at WDW and what I spend. Hope it helps!

 

[DeterminedOne]

Our last trip to Disney (two adults) was a little over $5000. Half of the cost was due to the resort. We stayed at Poly for nine nights. The other part was the package itself (Premium) and airfare. If it's just the two of you - you can do a lot with $4000. Sounds exciting!

 

[Blisskitty]

My family's trip (4 adults) is just about $4600- we're staying in a moderate resort and have the DDP, along with all the "extras" a ticket can have, except for the non expiration .

 

[LittleBoPeep]

I bought my trip for May 2008 through the Disneyworld.com website. For my mom and I to stay at the All Star Movies for 7 nights/8 days with Park Hopper Tickets and Dining Plan, we're paying $2150 (we don't need the waterpark & more option). We're waiting for a code to come up... hopefully soon.
For you and your DH, I looked for mid-February (9th through 15th) of 2008, and for a 6 night/7 day stay at Port Orleans French Quarter with Park Hopper and Water Parks & More Tickets with the Dining Plan, it will run you $2300. I looked for the same kind of package but with a stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah view, and that will run you $2960. Granted, the price in early 2009 will be a little more expensive because of the yearly rate increase, but you should be more than fine with the $4000 allotment. (Above prices don't include the optional travel insurance, which for the both of you should be about $135).
Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[LittleBoPeep]

Sorry, I didn't address the airfare in my above post. With price in mind, Southwest is usually pretty good from the Bay Area (I used to live there), but you can only book 6 months out. Roundtrip usually costs in the neighborhood of $350 per person to Orlando with 1 or 2 stops. But if you download Ding and keep an eye on it, you can get some AMAZING fares.
Frontier is next best ($350-$400), which usually has only one stop in Denver.
And then there's United ($400+), and my suggestion if you use them out of San Francisco is to buy Red-Eye tickets (which is usually SFO to LAX, then LAX to Orlando). You get some shut-eye on the plane and get there early in the morning, ready to tackle WDW!
Hope this helps!

 

[Huff]

My wife and I spent 10 days at WDW during the last free dining period. Flew from Phoenix and stayed at POP. Total cost was about $2000 including airfare, food, park tickets etc. but not including shopping expenses.

 

[kileybeth]

My DH flys for buisness to LA a couple times of year. due to budgetary restraints I can only go with him if I can come up with airfare for myself!

I keep SW ding on my computer and I see some really great rates come through ($200 round trip) and usually right at the 6 month mark is the best deal (and if you see a better deal later SW will credit the difference)

I also keep an eye on San Fransico as it is a cruise port and I'm waiting on some flight prices and cruise prices to come together there. oh yes, and some spare money here! LOL.

as for Disney, I highly recommend going deluxe if you want to get maximum enjoyment out of your time. Consider club level if you can. so nice and relaxing. watch for codes end of Jan/beginning of Feb is a good off season time and prices are lower and temps are so very nice that time of year.

You should be able to do a lot with a $4000 budget and only 2 people.

have fun planning.

 

[Maraena]

My DFi and I really enjoyed Pop. I was a bit concerned about a Value since I've only stayed moderate and deluxe but I really enjoyed it. (Considering how little time we spent in the room, a value was perfect.)

We were there for 6 days/5 nights and had the base tickets and the DDP. (The Hoppers were a little bit extra but we figured we wouldn't use them since there's more than enough to do in all the parks. We were right and didn't miss them a bit.) The Disney side of our trip was $1189. We got our flights via Southwest for $69 one way so all total we spent about $1500. We went light on souveneirs and extras. All told, we spent right around $1575 and had a great time.

Personally, I don't really see the draw of the deluxes any longer. They're really pretty to look at and have some nice perks, but if you're planning more park time than resort time, they just don't make fiscal sense. If I were to do a monorail deluxe, it'd definitely be Poly. Otherwise I'll just choose WL or AKL.

For our purposes, Pop will be just fine although the hot tub and fridge at the moderates would've been nice too.