'Budget' Disney Recap

[bunch]

Yes, we're only halfway though, but the kids have been in bed before 8 and I don't know what to do with myself!

Prepaid trip cost: 2300 for 6 nights, 6 days in a POP Century preferred double room with 6 day park passes and the standard meal plan for 5 days.

Our plan was to leave Sunday morning the second that the kids woke up, but around 4 pm Saturday it occurred to me that it would be much more pleasant to split the drive and go ahead and leave, so that’s what we did. We drove 5 hrs Sat night, stayed in a hotel and then did the remaining 4ish Sunday morning. We got to our hotel, Pop Century, by 1:30 and our room was ready. I was concerned that the room would be too small, but a quick rearrange of the furniture made it much more spacious than CB where we stayed last year. I’ll take a pic before we leave. OOP $70 for the hotel outside of Savannah and an iced coffee at McDs.

We explored a bit, played on the playground, attempted (and failed) at a nap and then headed to Disney Springs. The girls had fun browsing a few stores and watching a dance troupe perform. We ended up with Wolfgang Puck Express pizza, samosas from a food truck and a giant sundae from Ghirardelli. We got back to the hotel by 6:30 and the girls were asleep just before 8. Thank goodness. OOP- $40ish for dinner

Monday we hit rope drop at Hollywood Studios. We walked onto Toy Story, hugged Buzz and Woody, saw the first showing of The Little Mermaid, saw Doc, used a FP and rider switch for Star Tours (DD2 and DH did Muppets), ate lunch at Starring Rolls (amazing desserts), used a FP for Indiana Jones, used a FB for TS again, walked on Rockin’ Coaster with the single rider line, used a FP and rider swap for ToT, watched Beauty and the Beast, walked on Star Tours, caught the Muppets again, ate at Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic package (last seating which was 4:05), caught the final ride of The Great Movie Ride and then ran to Fantasmic and got a great FP seat 3 mins before the show started. Highs- we never once waited in a line, DD1 ate her Wheaties and hit 40.01 in and was able to do ST and TOT and both kids thought Fantasmic was the most amazing thing ever. Lows- DD2 refused to nap, dinner took 2.5 hrs so we missed the Frozen Sing Along and the dance party and DD2 was scared to death of Indiana Jones. All in all a really awesome first day. OOP- $45 for tip, a glass of wine and a beer at MM

Tuesday: We caught rope drop just in time again. We walked on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash Mtn and Thunder Mtn RR (x2 with RS). We ran for our 10:50 BOG res and made it in time. The food was great, quick and we sat right next to the rose in the WW. From there we FP Ariel and Dumbo, DH and DD1 rode Barnstormer and then we took the train around the park twice in an attempt to get devil child dd2 to nap (ha!). We gave up and FP WtP and then caught FoF from the upper MS train station. We caught the bus back after that, played in the POP splash pool, got surprisingly good food ct food to go and then caught the MK fireworks from the bridge that links AoA. Great day but MAJOR tantrums all around. OOP-$0

Interlude: DD2 pukes 10x from 9pm until 2am. Dh stepped in and slept with her and the vomit. She woke up ready to take on the day, he woke up covered in stomach contents. We received a midnight linen drop and left big tip to the kind person in charge of our room. On to Epcot!

Rope drop again! It was crazy how easy making it is with kids who wake at 6 am on the dot!
We walked onto Nemo, Figment (and wtf was this waste of epcot space?!?) and the movie shorts show. We FP character spot and then got to our Akershus res at 10:50. The girls had an amazing time with the princesses and dh and I were pleasantly surprised with the food. From there we did a sloooow lap around the world showcase while dd2 slept in the carrier and dd1 faked us out. Big hits were the boat tour of Mexico, randomly happening upon Pluto, Chip and Dale, Pooh, Stitch and Mickey with no lines, the Sound Machine outside the US, drummers in Japan and the video tour of Canada (why didn’t you guys mention it is so big!) We grabbed tea laced smoothies in China and then rider swapped through Mission Space and Test Track. We then rode Spaceship Earth (with a looooooong delay with lights on at the very top) and Legends of the Land before a great res at Coral Reef. Kids are asleep now at 7:45. Victory! Highs: we took everything fairly slow and both kids were in such good moods considering the cirumstances. No lines anywhere. Lows: Nothing really. Great day. OOP: $42 in tips, $18 for 2 beers in Germany.

[countthestars]

Wow you are seeing so much!! Sounds like an awesome trip. Poor L and mr bunch . I'm glad she was able to rally!

[Deleted]

Yes the Canada IMAX is awesome.  Was today your first time to the World Showcase?

Sounds like a great trip (minus the puke!).

[suzubell]

Sounds fun! I am impressed you got all of that for $2300.

[bbonanza]

OMG, your poor DD and DH! But it sounds like an amazing time

[ryry]

So fun! I am amazed at the cost. Good job!

[jeaniebueller]

My DS was terrified of Indiana jones too. But he was 5 and could not understand that the stunts were pretend. Lol. Glad you are having a good trip.

[zarapipe]

Poor baby and the puking! I'm so glad she woke up feeling better. Remind me how old your kids are. That's a fantastic price. How did you get it?

[CloudBee]

Fun trip! Keep posting updates!

[cincodemayo]

Sounds so fun! We just got back from pop century on Monday and our trip sounds very similar! My 2.5 YO wouldn't nap either which made it interesting at times.

[carolinagirl831]

Sounds fun! Glad the puking did the ruin anything long term!

[bronxgirl]

It sounds really fun! I'm glad to hear form another budget traveler.

[Deleted]

Oh no your poor dh and daughter. My son got sick at our weekend at Disneyland last spring. I think it was combo food he wasn't used to eating and the pool. Hope for a smooth rest of the trip.

[sent]

A little jealous you are there! Enjoy the rest of your trip. I enjoyed reading your report.

[arch01]

Sounds great! I'm following this closely-we want to do 5 days for under $2500, but it'll be right before Christmas (probably). We'll see.

[Deleted]

Sounds like a good trip ( minus the puke)

[bunch]

Thursday was MK day two. We ran from rope drop as quickly as we could toward A&E. We had a FP, but not until 7:20pm so we wanted to knock it out. We ended up with a 25 min wait, which was no big deal except we were sandwiched between two line police assholes who taunted anyone trying to jump in and meet up with their families. Anyway, Elsa and Anna were perfect and the girls were totally star struck. From there we did Small World, BOG breakfast, FP 7 dwarfs, tea cups, haunted mansion, the carousel and a long tour of Tom Sawyer island. After that we walked until dd2 finnnnally fell asleep. I took off for a FP on Space Mtn and dh managed to get dd1 to fall asleep on the ground behind the Speedway. The girls slept for almost an hour and then we hit the people mover, speedway and stitch. We took the monorail to a 4pm dinner res at 1900. The food was good enough, the character involvement was the best (stepmom and stepsisters), but the decor and ambiance was distractingly bad. We went back to MK in time to ride the magic carpets and thunder mtn just as the rain that had been threatening all day started to fall. We watched a slightly delayed and wet Main Street Electrical Parade and then finally made it back to the hotel. OOP $40 for 2 beer and tip

Friday we headed to AK. We rode Dinosaur and the dino version of dumbo, watched Bug, rode Everest, FP Primeval Whirl, dug around in the Bone Yard, ate Flame Tree, ran and got some of the last seats at 12pm Lion King, FP Safari and then made it back to our hotel. Kids napped and we headed to Saana at AKL. It was the best meal of the week by far. OOP $43 for 1 beer, naan sampler and tip

Saturday we went back to HS and did Star Tours twice, Frozen, met Jake and Minnie and then ate at Rosies before hitting the road. We made it home at 10 last night. OOP $6 for 2 holographic postcards

Total bill for OOP charges was $190.

Budget tips: Our whole family easily shares 2 QS meals since they include dessert You can also sometimes sub a side for the dessert. This allowed us to use 6 QS credits for 3 full meals.

The frozen drinks at various QS locations cost a snack credit and are amazing with vodka.

We at brunch at 10-11 most days and then dinner around 5. The girls ate a quick breakfast in the room each morning, so we only needed to worry about 2 meals out.


I’m so glad that we went because it might be too much to try with a 4 mo old next year

[Ashley&Scott]

Sounds like a great trip. And CONGRATS on your pregnancy!

[Deleted]

Wait did I just see an announcement?? Congrats!!

[humpforfree]

STOP IT! Congratulations! (On the announcement and budget trip )

[Deleted]

Feb 7, 2016 8:40:43 GMT -5 bunch said:

I’m so glad that we went because it might be too much to try with a 4 mo old next year

OMG @starry get in here!

[cincodemayo]

Awwww, what a fantastic trip! And congrats!

[countthestars]

Ahhh congrats!!

[zarapipe]

Sounds like such a good time! I'm amazed at your older daughter napping on the ground, seriously impressed. A nap for both girls without leaving the park!

[ribollita]

Sounds like a great trip!

That naan sampler is really out of this world. I'm sad we have only made it to Sanaa once.

[Deleted]

And congrats, best souvenir ever!  

[redheadk]

I'm impressed with your trip cost and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Very sneaky

[cherry1111]

Congrats! BFP Friday morning? Suddenly 2 beers turned to 1.

[ryry]

Ahhh! Congratulations!!!

[namasteak]

Thank you for posting this! I thought I was going to have to save almost 10k to take the kids to Disney!