Budget Honeymoon - Is there such a thing?

johnaalexis

Live Long and Prosper
Joined
Jun 21, 2015
Hello Everyone!

*First off, if a thread like this is already out there please point me in the direction of it, Thanks!*

I'm currently in the beginning stages of planning our honeymoon next fall, (Oct. 27th - Nov. 3rd, 2018 travel dates) and while we are also planning for our wedding and trying to save for a home among typical life expences, we are running a tight ship! So I'm on the hunt for ideas or anything really to make our Disney Honeymoon dreams come true w/o racking up bills. :scared:

That being said, I'm really wondering what everyone does to "cut corners" without cutting major corners (I hope that makes sense!) We are planning to stay a Pop Century, but are open to the All Star resorts too. While it is our HMoon we are theme park people and we are planning to spend the majority of our time at the parks and not in the room. So a grand hotel, while nice, just isn't important to us. This will be my then hubbies first trip to WDW and he is leaving all the planning to me. I want to make it memorable, relaxing and fun for both of us but not bank breaking.

In Short... Here's what I'd REALLY like to know!

- Fun Resturants/Dinning that delicious but not Victoria & Albert level $$$, we do 1 splurg meal on our vacays

- Disney things that everyone swears you need / need to do but really aren't worth it (It being price, time, etc.)

- Is the dinning plan really worth the extra money? I know it cost more now but will it really save the two of us, What's your experience?

- Best Character Breakfast? I've heard breakfast is cheaper and I'd like to do at least one

- MNSSHP, is it worth the extra $200 - $250?

- Those making $$ off survey sites, I'm not having much luck with swagbucks, what other ones do you use? (Another suggestions in the side money theme are encouraged and welcome!)

- Lastly, If you have any other words of wisdom, things we NEED to do or we DONT need to do, Please Tell Me!! I'm all Ears :earboy2:
 
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Congrats on the upcoming wedding!

I think you are setting yourselves up for good things in your future if you're thinking budget wise already. You will have a lifetime of having to make tradeoffs and compromise on where to allocate your hard earned money, so if you're already considering ongoing bills and making good choices for your honeymoon, then you're on the right track! Realizing that you can have a great time on your honeymoon without breaking the bank is awesome :)

I don't have a lot of input on things you NEED to do - to each his own is my thought on that. I will say that we did some fun non-park things when we went for our anniversary - took mouseboats out onto the lake, did a segway tour at Ft Wilderness, rode bikes around the Fort. The only character meal we ever did was Chef Mickeys for breakfast - it was fun and we did that on the same day we took sea racers out since we were right there at the lake anyway.

Enjoy your planning
 
Congrats on the upcoming wedding!

I think you are setting yourselves up for good things in your future if you're thinking budget wise already. You will have a lifetime of having to make tradeoffs and compromise on where to allocate your hard earned money, so if you're already considering ongoing bills and making good choices for your honeymoon, then you're on the right track! Realizing that you can have a great time on your honeymoon without breaking the bank is awesome :)

I don't have a lot of input on things you NEED to do - to each his own is my thought on that. I will say that we did some fun non-park things when we went for our anniversary - took mouseboats out onto the lake, did a segway tour at Ft Wilderness, rode bikes around the Fort. The only character meal we ever did was Chef Mickeys for breakfast - it was fun and we did that on the same day we took sea racers out since we were right there at the lake anyway.

Enjoy your planning

:thanks:Thanks for those ideas! We are still far out from travel but I like to plan/book at least a year out to give us more time to pay. As for the "NEED to do" things, lots of people have told me things like "You have to go to Victoria & Albert's." "You have to eat at Be Our Guest" "You have to stay at Grand Floridian" "You have to do..." The list goes on. I have decided on a few we do want for sure, like Memory Maker & Park Hopper passes, so I'm trying to sift thru what's really worth it and what we can live without. A lot of those ideas you gave sound like fun and that's really what I'm going for, so thanks! I'll be adding them to my list of things to look into :wizard:

Only 439 days till W-Day so I've got awhile to think 8-)
 
As far as a fun splurge meal, it could be fun to eat in EPCOT and have a view of Illuminations. I know La Hacienda has views, I don't know who else.

Character Breakfasts: I have done 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and it was good. I've also heard good things about Tusker House, so I'm planning to get an ADR there for our next trip. I'm hoping to get a later breakfast time so we might be able to try some of the lunch foods too.

I think a lot people swear you need the dining plan. We're not big eaters ( I usually order kids meals at CS places) so it would be a waste for us. It is recommended to look at menus of places you want to dine at and price out what you would buy (don't forget drinks if you're not BYO) and then compare it to the dining plan. I like allears.com menus because they indicate what would be considered a snack, and that might be a meal to you (like bagels from the Boardwalk Bakery).

Don't get forget to get buttons that show you're honeymoon!
 


Bring your own snacks to the parks. Amazing how those "little" things add up in the parks, this way you only purchase an extra snack if it's something special, not just because you're hungry.

Skip the party. You can have lots of fun in another park that evening. On a budget trip that's one of the first things I'd cut as it's definitely not worth $$$ when I'm counting every penny.

There are LOTS of restaurants below V&A price level. Basically every other restaurant at WDW :) For a nice evening there's CA grill, Citricos, Narcoossees, the AKL restaurants if you're adventurous & most of the Epcot restaurants. Check the menus, they'll give you an idea of pricing at each restaurant. (And for Mickey's sake, you do NOT "need" any of those expensive things people are telling you! I'm glad you see that and are doing your own research! You can have an AWESOME trip even on the tightest of budgets.)
 
"Need to do" is so relative....we took our kids 4 times while they were growing up. Never did a character meal with them, never visited the Boutique for the girls. Since the kids didn't know about those things, they didn't miss them! Look at the restaurant menus, see what appeals to you, and go there, even if it's not on everyone's 'must do' list. There are a bazillion folks out there who do WDW and probably a bazillion variations on what you 'must do'. Certainly there are favorites, but also remember that people are at different stages in life - what was my favorite when I was in my 20s might not be now, and vice versa. Or what was my favorite when I was on a tight budget might be different than when I felt I had more financial options.

As always, get info from others, but follow your good instincts on what will work for you :)

(Hahaha, you can tell I'm a mom of young adults. I spend a lot of time telling them to find their own course and not follow what everyone else is doing!)
 
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:thanks:Thanks for those ideas! We are still far out from travel but I like to plan/book at least a year out to give us more time to pay. As for the "NEED to do" things, lots of people have told me things like "You have to go to Victoria & Albert's." "You have to eat at Be Our Guest" "You have to stay at Grand Floridian" "You have to do..." The list goes on. I have decided on a few we do want for sure, like Memory Maker & Park Hopper passes, so I'm trying to sift thru what's really worth it and what we can live without. A lot of those ideas you gave sound like fun and that's really what I'm going for, so thanks! I'll be adding them to my list of things to look into :wizard:

Only 439 days till W-Day so I've got awhile to think 8-)

Let folks know you'd love gifts for your honeymoon...they'd be more than happy to try to help you have a lovely one (I know way back in the day, when I was married, the only thing I asked for my wedding was cash to help pay my honeymoon in London - my mom paid for the hotel week as her gift and my spouse's mom bought the airline tickets as her gift, and we pulled off the rest with wedding money:)...you could easily ask for Disney cards, direct Disney purchases like tickets, party tickets, dessert parties, etc to help have a very nice honeymoon...
 


As far as a fun splurge meal, it could be fun to eat in EPCOT and have a view of Illuminations. I know La Hacienda has views, I don't know who else.

Character Breakfasts: I have done 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and it was good. I've also heard good things about Tusker House, so I'm planning to get an ADR there for our next trip. I'm hoping to get a later breakfast time so we might be able to try some of the lunch foods too.

I think a lot people swear you need the dining plan. We're not big eaters ( I usually order kids meals at CS places) so it would be a waste for us. It is recommended to look at menus of places you want to dine at and price out what you would buy (don't forget drinks if you're not BYO) and then compare it to the dining plan. I like allears.com menus because they indicate what would be considered a snack, and that might be a meal to you (like bagels from the Boardwalk Bakery).

Don't get forget to get buttons that show you're honeymoon!

Awesome! Thanks! We have been told we need the dining plan, the Fiancé likes to eat and will usually finish his meal and for me it usually only eat about half of what I order. Or we could so the complete opposite and order an appetizer to share and a soup or salad and be fine. It's really just depend for us. I'm currently read restaurant review and picking my top 10 in CS & Sit downs to decide my must eats. After that I will for sure do a price comparison! Thanks for the advice!
 
Let folks know you'd love gifts for your honeymoon...they'd be more than happy to try to help you have a lovely one (I know way back in the day, when I was married, the only thing I asked for my wedding was cash to help pay my honeymoon in London - my mom paid for the hotel week as her gift and my spouse's mom bought the airline tickets as her gift, and we pulled off the rest with wedding money:)...you could easily ask for Disney cards, direct Disney purchases like tickets, party tickets, dessert parties, etc to help have a very nice honeymoon...

This is a great idea! If you register at a place that sells Disney GCs, I would add them to your registry. Couldn't hurt!
 
Bring your own snacks to the parks. Amazing how those "little" things add up in the parks, this way you only purchase an extra snack if it's something special, not just because you're hungry.

Skip the party. You can have lots of fun in another park that evening. On a budget trip that's one of the first things I'd cut as it's definitely not worth $$$ when I'm counting every penny.

There are LOTS of restaurants below V&A price level. Basically every other restaurant at WDW :) For a nice evening there's CA grill, Citricos, Narcoossees, the AKL restaurants if you're adventurous & most of the Epcot restaurants. Check the menus, they'll give you an idea of pricing at each restaurant. (And for Mickey's sake, you do NOT "need" any of those expensive things people are telling you! I'm glad you see that and are doing your own research! You can have an AWESOME trip even on the tightest of budgets.)

Thanks! Rsearching restaurants right now! So far I have a few but haven't settled on any "Musts" for the time being. Our "splurge" meal is something we started doing on our first trip away together about 4 years ago, and it's just a tradition, with that being said yeah I don't want to go V&A level but something nice we have to somewhat "dress up" for. Also, I've cut out lots of "needs" other have told me about but the park hopper I'm sticking too, I like the option of being able to bounce from park to park if we want or if one park closes early and another is open late. Memory Maker is important to me too because it's out Honeymoon and I want as many pictures to remember it by, so it seems like a smart move (I think) As for bring snacks to the park, I've done this on other trips and sometimes we eat them other times we don't but I'll probably bring some snack bars etc. in my luggage and then throw them in my park bag later. I saw one tip that suggested getting sharable snacks and this seems like a good thought too.
 
This is a great idea! If you register at a place that sells Disney GCs, I would add them to your registry. Couldn't hurt!

That's a great idea!! Thanks!!! I am working with a close family friend who is our AAA agent/Travel Agent and If we don't register where Disney GCs are available, I may be able to tack on her information or a web link to purchase DGCs. I'm building our Wedding Website and there is an area where you can link you registries for out of town guest. So I will totally plan on doing this!
 
Another easy way to save a little $ is to sign up for as Target Red Card. I have the debit card, no credit card required and Disney Gift cards are 5% off. Other option is $100 Disney Gift cards ordering from BJs online, no membership required.

One really nice meal I have my list if I ever get a kid free trip is brunch at Cali Grill. Gets great reviews and food pictures look awesome.
 
Let folks know you'd love gifts for your honeymoon...they'd be more than happy to try to help you have a lovely one (I know way back in the day, when I was married, the only thing I asked for my wedding was cash to help pay my honeymoon in London - my mom paid for the hotel week as her gift and my spouse's mom bought the airline tickets as her gift, and we pulled off the rest with wedding money:)...you could easily ask for Disney cards, direct Disney purchases like tickets, party tickets, dessert parties, etc to help have a very nice honeymoon...

Thanks for the awesome idea! Party tickets would be awesome as a wedding gift! Does Disney have a page where you can create a registry? If they don't they need one :scratchin
 
Another easy way to save a little $ is to sign up for as Target Red Card. I have the debit card, no credit card required and Disney Gift cards are 5% off. Other option is $100 Disney Gift cards ordering from BJs online, no membership required.

One really nice meal I have my list if I ever get a kid free trip is brunch at Cali Grill. Gets great reviews and food pictures look awesome.

Awesome! I will keep this in mind that you! Our closest target is 45 min away (#Lifeinruralkentucky) so shopping online is an option but I often forget about target since it's not on my immediate radar however... that could change. :cool2:

I keep hear/seeing Cali Grill... our wedding is Friday with travel on Saturday so Cali Grill may be a great Sunday Brunch option, it'd for sure going on my research list! :thanks:
 
Thanks! Rsearching restaurants right now! So far I have a few but haven't settled on any "Musts" for the time being. Our "splurge" meal is something we started doing on our first trip away together about 4 years ago, and it's just a tradition, with that being said yeah I don't want to go V&A level but something nice we have to somewhat "dress up" for. Also, I've cut out lots of "needs" other have told me about but the park hopper I'm sticking too, I like the option of being able to bounce from park to park if we want or if one park closes early and another is open late. Memory Maker is important to me too because it's out Honeymoon and I want as many pictures to remember it by, so it seems like a smart move (I think) As for bring snacks to the park, I've done this on other trips and sometimes we eat them other times we don't but I'll probably bring some snack bars etc. in my luggage and then throw them in my park bag later. I saw one tip that suggested getting sharable snacks and this seems like a good thought too.
You've totally got this trip planning down fwiw! Seriously your planning is top notch already, you'll have a great time :)
 
You've totally got this trip planning down fwiw! Seriously your planning is top notch already, you'll have a great time :)
Well Thank You! Being a middle school teacher I typically plan for everything :thumbsup2 I'm one of those planner people with my big happy planer then a smaller notebook / date book with wedding information and then a small notebook of honeymoon stuff, and budget planners etc... I'm a little crazy lol :hyper:
 

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