Planning a Trip in 2019? Let's Share Our Budgets!

[Marionnette]

We've had a thread going for 2018 for a while now and I noticed more and more posts by people who will be traveling in 2019. So, I thought it might be time to start a separate thread for 2019.

Let's share our plans, our budgets and how we intend to make those dreams come true!

 

[yesdnil]

Following along! We're going November 2019 and staying at CCV using DVC points. Much different trip than usual because for the first time in a long time we aren't buying park hoppers OR a dining plan.

Haven't begun hammering out any details, but we're looking at budgeting for:
- airfare
- park tickets
- groceries
- 5-6 table service meals
- snacks & treats
- spending money
- incidentals

I started a PTR if anyone's interested in other planning details

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

We will NOT be doing Disney next year for the first time in a LONG time! Nothing particularly against Disney, I'd just like to venture elsewhere.

We have two tentative trips. One will be South Dakota/Rapid City/Mt. Rushmore/Black Hills. DH's grandmother moved out there recently and she's 89 years old. I have a feeling it will be our last trip to South Dakota (we usually visit the Sioux Falls area so this will be a nice change). We will have to pay for flights or we may do a road trip depending on how much time off we have. We will use Marriott points for hotels needed along the way if we drive. We will stay at DH's uncle's home which has a view of Mt. Rushmore. Transportation costs will range from $500 for gas to $1,500 for flights That would be the bulk of our costs though as I don't count food as a cost (ok, maybe an extra $25 a day or about $250 total for a trip) and I'd imagine activities to stay under $300. So $1,000 up to $2,000.

Our second trip we have on our list is a 7 night Royal Caribbean Cruise out of Florida. This would be our big one. Haven't booked it yet as we're still finishing paying off our November trip. We're looking at about $5,500 for the cruise itself. Marriott points for a hotel the night before. No more than $1,200 for flights. I expect plenty of onboard credit but will plan for an additional $300. Transportation to/from the port about $200. No more than $7,500 for this trip.

We always visit family in the Bay but we stay with family. We don't spend much money but for gas so each time we go we're looking at $300 max. We do this 2-3 times a year.

I'm not sure how to really save money on the cruise aspect as RCL is all new to me. Flights I will work on miles but we have slim pickings to Rapid City so may have to suck it up and pay cash.

 

[Marionnette]

I wasn't going to go again until Sept. 2019 (we're going in late Sept. of this year), but my daughter has been hinting that she would like to get back to Disney before she and her friend do their "we're all turning 30" trip in 2020. So, I said I would look into a trip for the two of us in the spring. As luck would have it, I was able to book 2 nights in an AKV CL studio in April. I added on 4 nights in a BWV boardwalk view studio. It's as if the stars had aligned and the heavens were telling me to take this extra trip!

So, for the details:

1. Ground transportation to/from our home airport provided by one or both of our husbands. We're 20 minutes away and it's almost all highway. No parking fees nor tolls and little in the way of gas. $0
2. Airfare RT to MCO using Southwest RR points. $15 pp EBCI for each direction + 9/11 fees. $83
3. 4 nights BWV + 2 nights AKV paid for with our DVC points. It's a sunk cost at this point, so $0 OOP for the trip.
4. Tickets. 1 PAP for myself, to be activated in Sept. 2018 + 6-day PH for daughter that I've had for a couple of years (another sunk cost that I have no idea what I paid for since I believe it had been part of a 2016 *free* dining package I had done with my sister when I already had an AP). $0 OOP for this trip only because I had factored in the price of the AP over the two F&W trips I have planned for 2018 & 2019.
5. Food, oh goodness! I figure that we will each pay our own share. She's a vegetarian who rarely eats breakfast and is fine with just one complete meal each day. One restaurant that she has requested is Tiffins and I may book a ROL dining package since ROL was dark when she went two years ago. I'm going to budget $300 apiece and adjust accordingly if I manage to put more aside.
6. Shopping/souvenirs is completely negotiable. I don't tend to buy a lot. With DVC, we go often enough that I don't need, nor do I want, Mickey ears, autograph books or t-shirts. I usually buy an ornament or two and then have them shipped home. So, $100 maximum for shopping.
7. Extras may end up being the biggest expense.

• Since we're going to be staying Club Level for 2 nights, we can get the 3 extra FP+ and night-time reserved viewing if it's still offered next spring. The current price is $50 pp/day (not per night!) with a minimum of 3 days. That's $300 for the two of us. This is something I will only book if I can accrue enough free Disney GCs via rewards programs.
• I may book one fireworks dessert party for us, depending on what our schedule looks like. That would be $140 (or more come spring). I'm on the fence as to whether it's worth that price tag. It's nice not to have to stake out a viewing spot well ahead of the show, but the desserts and beverages are not anything spectacular.

Total OOP = ~$925

Now, I freely admit that the DVC purchase price and annual dues (or at least the rental income on the points), the amortized price-per-day cost of my AP and the value of the 6-day park hopper that is gathering dust could (and probably should) be factored in. But the new puppy has me sleep-deprived and running those numbers just isn't in me right now.

 

[ashleyr409]

Following.

We are planning our very first Disney trip June 2019. Party will be me, DH, DS15, DD12, DS6. We are so very excited.
So far we have dates plan.June 1-June 8. We are waiting for the packages to come out to see if we are staying at POR or Disney Spring B Resort.
We will be driving 12-13 hours there. Flying is way to expensive for us.
I know we will have base tickets since this is our first trip. We probably will not do the dining plan if we stay onsite.
I have budget $6000.00 total for this trip.
I have already saved $1000.00, plus i am doing the 52 week challenge and have $163.00(only on week 6. I am randomly drawing the amounts.) We also have a Disney Jar that we keep for change at the end of the week.
Thanks for starting this thread, cant wait to see all the budgets and ideas.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Following along! DH and I are planning to take my mom, both of his parents, and his brother to WDW in September 2019 for a week. I will be using credit cards points with Chase to cover most, if not all, of the cost of this trip. I'll put in some legit dollar amounts though

Who: 6 Disney adults

Where: One of the moderate resorts. Preferably POR, but it will just depend on the availability of discounts. I am planning to book three rooms- one for me and DH, one for my mom, and one for in-laws. The only thing that could change here is if my mom brings her camper instead and stays at FW.

When: Late September 2019

Tickets: Probably 6 day parkhoppers. Maybe less days for MIL and FIL.

Food: Tentative dining plan. Will depend on availability of discounts and credit card points. I will actually come out cheaper if I book the dining plan on points instead of paying OOP for meals. Regardless, DH and I plan to pay for meals for everyone.

Transportation: Maybe rent a van and drive everyone down. If we do this, I will cover it with points- cash rate from Costco is about $700. If we fly (unlikely) then we may ask everyone to pay their own way for that. If we do fly, we will use DME and will not rent a car.

Souvenirs: Everyone is on their own for these! BIL will buy a lot but I doubt my mom, MIL, or FIL will buy much. DH and I enjoy pin collecting, so we will purchase those.

I would budget about $10,000 cash for this. Thanks to credit card points, I already have enough saved for one room with tickets, dining plan, etc. for 2 people! I expect to pay for the rest on points, or perhaps a very small cash outlay. I can't wait for this trip!! I've wanted to take my mom to Disney for a long time since she hasn't been in 13 years!

 

[winnieofpooh]

Following! My fiance and I are starting to look at taking a Disneymoon after we get married next year and I've started some preliminary budgeting!

When: Most likely late August 2019
Where: Hoping to splurge on a Deluxe (renting DVC), but also would love to stay at POFQ/POR if the discounts are better than the DVC prices. Hoping to stay under $1,500 for 7 days/6 nights.
Tickets: Either 4 or 5 day hopper tickets. Still trying to decide if hoppers are worth the extra price for us. We've been twice before (Feb and Mar) and didn't use hoppers, but might be worth the splurge. Should be around $800 without hoppers.
Food: Trying to keep in under $700 for both of us.
Transportation: We'll fly down. Looks to be around $600 for both of us
Souvenirs: Maybe $75 total? We aren't huge shoppers but may pick up a sweatshirt or mug. We contemplated getting massages at one of the spas, so that would really blow our budget if we opt to do that.

In a perfectly ideal world, I'd love to stay under $3,500 total. Looks like with the budgeted breakdown we'll be at $3,700. We'll also start using credit cards for everything (thank you, paying for a wedding!) as well as getting gift cards for Christmas/birthdays which should drop the prices for us. We could also stay off-site for free using his parent's timeshare, but not sure if either of us really want to do that.

 

[hsmamato2]

Hmmmm... 2019? Well, I am avoiding Disney for the next year or so (parks that is) so I am thinking an anniversary trip for our fam of 4 to Arizona might be fun.... I think I can get us all there in SWA points,so only taxes and fees for that (like 11.00 pp)
So far I have 5 nights booked at a Hilton property in Page,AZ so we can explore the slot canyons etc around the area (love the red rocks and sand so much) So that's $0....
Probably book a couple extra nights using my IHG points on either end of our 5 nights in Page ,closer to airport for ease of travel so that's $0....
I probably will spend some $$$ on tours into the canyon options,and possibly another Parks pass ($80) but haven't yet figured those costs out.
That's my tentative plan,but not sure it's going to happen yet.

 

[kristenrice]

Perfect timing...Since I'm only about $60 short of my goal for 2018's trip, it is time to start looking at 2019.

I have 2 budgets...Cash and Gift Cards. My gift card budget is all 100% free money because all of my gift cards are acquired through rewards programs. I never "buy" a gift card. My cash budget comes mostly from donating plasma but I also have $75 deducted from my paycheck every 2 weeks.

This budget is a little convoluted and confusing but I will try to keep it simple...

First, the backstory...

The trip is October 18-26, 2019. The travel party will be myself and my 2 daughters (16 and 14), my sister and her daughters (11 and 7) and our parents (71 and 68...well, we come home the day before mom's 68th birthday). We all took a trip together (with my DH and DBiL) in Oct 2016 and the husbands did not have much fun. They were a hot mess about two days into the trip and so my sister and I decided that we would like to take another trip with just our girls and leave the boys at home...they were 100% fine with that decision...but of course, Dad has to come. So the dates were set back in 2016.

Now, here is where the budget story starts. As soon as we set our dates, we bought our tickets! We bought 7-day park-hoppers from UCT and I bought them only for my girls. For this trip, I will be using what is remaining of my Gold AP. (*How I ended up with that is an even longer story) So for my budgeting purposes, the tickets are not included since they were paid for back in January of 2017.

Lodging...well...*I* am not paying OOP for anything. The plan is that my dad has lined up a DVC member who will be transferring 122 BWV points into my account. I will be using 167 of my AKV points to book a standard 2BR at AKV Kidani for 5 nights (Fri-Tu) and then we will use the 122 BWV points to book a P/G 2BR for Wed-Fr nights. My dad and my sister are splitting the cost of the BWV points.

That brings me to airfare...that's a little simpler. Back in 2016, Dad decided to sign up for the SWA Visa card and get the 50,000 bonus miles. Since then, he's put EVERYTHING on that card (paying it off every month, of course). They even recently remodeled their condo and added another 10K points! Dad thinks that by the time we need to buy our tickets, he will have over 110,000 points in his account...and they never go anywhere! He said that since I am using so many of my DVC points, he will use his RR points to buy his tickets and then he will use whatever is leftover to buy tickets for me and my girls. He said he will get 2 for me and then if there is still enough, he will get one for my sister. So, the way I am figuring it, I should only need to pay for one R/T airfare. I always buy EBCI for the trip home and I have just found that it is easier to add it both ways, especially when booking with points, so I will budget $500 for airfare, just to be safe.

That means the only major expenses that I need to cover are food and entertainment. We do not use the dining plan since I will have my TIW card from my 2018 trip that will still be valid. My food budget is usually around $1500 but I will have to tweak that when we sit down and decide what TS restaurants we want to try. I also said that my dad WILL be going to the Halloween party, even if it means I have to pay for it so I'm adding $500 to the budget for (5) tickets.

That brings my overall budget to $3300. For now, I will be splitting that into $1800 for the cash budget and $1500 for the gift card budget. I know that the airfare will almost certainly be a cash expense. The food and the party tickets ($2000) could both be paid with gift cards, but I am not sure I can come up with $2000 in "free" money in the next 17 months...that's a pretty lofty goal. The only other thing I will add to the budget is about $300 in random expenses like tips and my portion of the groceries that we will have delivered to the resort.

OVERALL BUDGET: $3500
CASH: $1750
GIFT CARDS: $1750

 

[pigletto]

* see post later in thread for revised plan

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Next year we are looking at doing a Disney Cruise like we are this year using OBB, just since DS will still be so little (~18 mo by then) and I feel like the cruise will be a little better for us at that age. Right now, we're looking at one of these:

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Halloween on the High Seas on the Fantasy ($3466 if we booked today)

7 Night Western Caribbean Halloween on the High Seas on the Fantasy ($3811 if we booked today)

3 Night Bahamian on the Wonder ($1769 if booked today)

I'll probably have some points from either a credit card or a hotel rewards program by then to cover a hotel the night before, and then I'll just need gas and a little food while driving to and from FL. Might have to stop at the character warehouse beforehand too. Maybe I'll budget about $300 for all of that, not sure yet.

We may end up doing a long weekend to WDW in August with some extended family, but that depends on them. I don't think it will be too much- we'll likely get 4 day non hoppers, stay offsite at my mom's timeshare, and then it's just food and a little shopping. I don't have any hard numbers for this yet since it's not even 100% happening, but I'll come back and edit if it becomes a reality.

To pay for it all:

-Disney Visa Rewards: about $260 as of my next statement. This will go towards the deposit for next year's cruise when we do OBB this year.

-Vacation account from Ibotta, Ebates, etc and putting in $25-50 every month already has almost $200 for next year.

-I have a good bit of cc rewards saved up on other cards as well, but those are all allocated for things for this year's trips. However, if I earn at roughly the same rate next year as I did this year, I'll probably have about another $300-$400 in rewards to use by next year, but I won't factor it in until it's actually earned.

So since I'm not sure which cruise we'll end up doing, I'll factor as though we chose the the mid range cruise. We'd need $3466, we currently have ~ $460, so we'll need $3406 roughly by next year.

In the last year I became a SAHM and we have learned how to live entirely on DH's paycheck. I'm planning on getting some weekend and weekday evening part time work in July after we move next month (probably just retail, nothing fancy) but DH and I have decided to use that as a vacation fund for now. Even if I only work 10 hours a week making 7.25 an hour (absolute worst case scenario), I'd gross 3,770 a year, and after taxes and everything I'd still have us a good way toward our goal without touching DH's check, cc rewards, or income tax.

Good luck everyone! Looking forward to seeing everyone else's 2019 travel goals and budgets!

 

[NKHarris329]

Updated in new post

We are planning for Spring 2019, dates still up in the air. Traveling with 5 people (3 adults and 2 kids), 7 nights.

Flights - 5 x $250 = $1250**
Hotel - 7 nights x $700 = $4900
Park Tickets - 5 x 7 day tickets w/ PH = $2400
Food Budget = $1500*
Souvenirs = $500*

Dog Boarding = $400
Airport Parking = $75
Supplies and extras = $50


Total expense - $11075
**Savings from miles - $1250
*Projected Savings from SB - $2300

Total out of pocket - $7525

 

[knkmom]

We've been home from WDW for about 3 weeks and the plan is to not go back until May 2020 but......if I can really buckle down and save save save I might be able to talk the Mr. into going back in 2019!!

 

[neatokimmo]

I love these threads!

I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough to go to Disney next year.

If the dates work out, we hope to take her to camp at Simone’s gym in TX. My estimates are...
$650 camp
$300 Tx Airbnb (5 nights about $60)
$150 St George campsite (5 nights about $30)
$45 Crater of Diamonds Park
$60 tickets to dig site
——
$1200
Plus gas, food, and misc expenses I’ll add as I go. We hope to loop from TN to FL, to TX, to AR, back to TN.

Also I am a TA so if carnival posts a great off season rate for us we will cruise.

 

[Sadeesmom]

I don’t post very often because we’ve only been on one trip, but I have to join in hoping it’ll keep me motivated!
Back story: was planning on a 10 day Disney/Universal trip in November 2019 for my daughter & me (~$5,863), but already had a monkey wrench thrown in there-she will most likely be offered the chance to go on her school trip next June. My vacation budget can’t afford both, so new plan....

Estimates for past school trips show it should be about $2000, so goal is $2000 cash for that.

However, because I’m the jealous type and want a vacation too, I’m thinking about a Sunday-Thursday Disney trip for my mom, daughter, and me in December 2019.
Plan: $2,260 for MYW package. This is the hotel, tickets, & dining plan, but I will likely just put the dining plan costs on a gift card instead of actually getting the dining plan. We really prefer 2 sit down meals per day and one snack. Since there isn’t a dining plan that matches that, this seems easier. I’ve gone over menus online and calculated costs and it comes out to about the cost of the DDP (mine is just a bit lower), so I’m just using these numbers.
$560 for flights from STL to MCO for 3 and airport parking.
$250 for tips/gratuities.
$300 for souvenirs ($100 each), but I don’t really think we’ll spend it all.

Comes to $2560 is Disney gift cards and $810 cash.

Bonus is I’m using rewards programs hoping for extras ($252 for dessert party and/or $300 for Christmas party), but I am NOT counting these in my goals-these are just possible bonuses to make our trip extra special.

 

[Sadeesmom]

Estimates for past school trips show it should be about $2000, so goal is $2000 cash for that.

Comes to $2560 is Disney gift cards and $810 cash.

So far, I have $1050 in Disney gift cards, and $500 cash, but the Disney trip will be on hold until the school trip is paid in full, so mentally transferring the $500 gets me 25% of the way to goal one! ($500 of the $2000) and 31% of the way to goal two ($1050 of the $3370).

 

[HHMcG]

We are planning to head back in 2019! We will be taking our first cruise ever, a 3-day Bahamian. Then hit the world to see all the new-to-us lands. In my spreadsheet this is listed as our "Post-Toy Story Land / Pre-Galaxy's Edge" Trip. Our last trip was April 2017 (and Aug 2017 but just for MNSSHP) so we will need to see Pandora and Toy Story Land. The trip is mainly for the cruise so we will only be going to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and I can't miss the Magic Kingdom, so no EPCOT this trip.

Who: There are 5 of us (ages at time of trip) - me, DH, DD(13), DS(11), DS(7), so 4 Disney adults and 1 child

When: Trip is tentatively planned for Jan or March over weekends when the kids have an extra day off from school. (Though I am consider Nov noW too, if I new exactly when GE is going to open. I definitely want to go before it opens and I think things could be a little slow 2 months out or so.) March date might win out of FIL decides to come with us as a 80th birthday trip. If not I'll go with Jan to save $.


Costs:
Flight: $56 - Hoping to use all miles and just pay fees/taxes. (I won't be that lucky and will have to pay more for one of the flights.)
Baggage fee: $150
Park Tickets: $1508 - 3-day base ticket (though I may add a day depending on the flights we get and I can't resist another day at MK)
Room: TBD - Still undecided - Wilderness Lodge if FIL comes so we can put one of the kids in his room (with a party of 5 we never get to stay there)
Food: TBD
Cruise: $3671/4267 (depending on which date)
On board expenses: $500 - a few beverages for DH and I, a mother/daughter massage as a birthday present for DD, maybe DD and I will get our hair done one evening and souvenirs (may need to bump it up more for that)
Excursion: $200 (I plan to stay on the ship in Bahamas to get more ship time. So just something small at Castaway Cay.)


Planning this trip has taken a back seat to our BIG summer trip out west. Once air fare opens for the dates I'm considering I can move on it and book the cruise too. Hopefully that is before 2019 rates open up. Then I can compare rates and decide on a resort. After that i won't work on this trip until Sept when our other trip is over.

 

[virge]

Who & When: Hoping to coordinate a June 2019 trip with my family (4 Disney adults), my sister’s family, & my parents. Coordinating my family’s schedule with my sister’s family is going to be tricky so we probably won’t be able to book until January or February. Right now I’m just dreaming and saving. Each family is paying for their own portion of the trip so my budget amounts only reflect my family’s amount.

Where: We will likely stay on property for 6 nights/7days. Using current rates, I’ve priced everything from Pop to AKL. For budgeting purposes, I’m going with $1800 (room & parking).

Tickets: In the past, we’ve done base tickets, but I think we’d like to try Park Hoppers for our next trip. 5 day Park hopper tickets $2000.

Food/Souvenirs/Memory Maker: $1700 (This is much higher than we spent on our last few trips, but it will be the 1st trip for my sister’s family and I don’t know if we’ll have more sit down meals.)

Transportation: $200 (driving)

Looks like my current goal is $5700. That is more than we’ve ever spent at Disney and looking at it takes my breath away but I prefer to over estimate my budget.

In addition to squirreling away money from various sources (Ibotta, selling things on eBay, etc.), I’m also doing the 52 week money challenge. I currently have $1600 in my vacation savings account. Looks like I need to put a lot more away in the next year!

 

[bapcap]

In the beginning of planning a trip April 11-20 for 5 adults, 1 child (9). I realize this is during Spring Break, but 2 of the adults are teachers and this is the best time for them. Since we are coming from CA, we don’t want to travel over the summer due to the humidity. (I would be the most unpleasant traveler if we went in the summer)
The only decisions so far are the dates, hotel (POR-FQ or Pop Century), 6 day park hopper with 1 all day at Blizzard Beach Water Park. I don’t think we are getting a rental car, just using Disney Transportation.
I have contacted Small World Vacations and they will let me know when Disney releases their 2019 package prices.
If any he has any tips for traveling at Spring Break, other than DON’T DO IT, let me know.

 

[2TxAgs]

If any he has any tips for traveling at Spring Break, other than DON’T DO IT, let me know.

Looks like you've been a member here for years ... I'm guessing the tips will be pretty standard. Lots of pool time, early mornings to the park, build in some breaks for ice cream. Take a smile and a positive attitude Not sure if you're one family or two or maybe with grandparents - don't think you have to be together ALL THE TIME. If some part of the group wants to head back early, no worries, meet again for dinner. If older kids want to stay for another ride and you just want to sit, arrange a meet up and let them. Flexibility will be key.