Budget question

[sugarbear]

I've never been to a Disney park. We'll be going next summer. Our kids will be 7 and 4. We'd like to stay in a place that's convenient, but I don't know that we need to be IN the park (should we)? 

What should we budget, excluding airfare, for ~3 days?

(Do we need more days? Fewer?)

[Poeticxpassion]

Are you going to Disney World or Disney Land?

What kind of meals do you normally eat- quick service or table service?

Are you going to parks all 3 days?

What kind of hotel do you think you'd want? I know you said a place that is convenient, but is that a 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, suite, etc?

Budget can vary so much depending on what kind of trip you are wanting.

[sugarbear]

Apr 17, 2016 21:31:42 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

World? Land?

The answers are very different based on where you're going.

And Poeticxpassion , sorry! I knew I was forgetting something.

Disneyland.

We are super easy for breakfast and lunch. Would sit down for dinner, but it doesn't need to be nice. We would like to do a 2-bedroom hotel, if possible.

I assume we would do the park for at least 2 days, but honestly, I know nothing. We are just starting to plan. 

[wannabe]

Disneyland is far easier to plan than WDW. There are 3 Disney owned hotels, but there are tons of other hotels with free shuttles or even within walking distance. The Disney properties are quite expensive and honestly aren't worth the money, although they offer you a bonus hour before the park opens to the public.

Do you plan to visit other areas during your trip, or just DL?

[thejen626]

Budget varies so much depending on what you like to do. You could rent a budget hotel room, a suite, or a condo. Quick service meals or sit down meals.

A few prices off the top of my head from our trip last week. Me, DH, and our kids are 7 and 3.5 (the 3.5 year old was offered the free "baby meals" at the sit down restaurants because she looks so young. She didn't eat the food anyway so I didn't feel guilty about that lol!)

3 bedroom condo for 7 nights: $2000
Minivan rental for 7 days: $650
Blue Bayou dinner & parade vip: $185 (including tip)
Ariel's Grotto lunch: $160 (including tip and 2 cocktails)
Cucina Cucomomga lunch for 4 of us $65
Two corn dogs, a coke, and a water $25
Flo's Cafe lunch for 5 people $60
Two sweatshirts, two Minnie ears $150
Two light sabers $65

I highly recommend the book "the unofficial guide to Disneyland 2016", it has tons of great info and you'll feel like an expert!

[thejen626]

Apr 17, 2016 22:46:43 GMT -5 sugarbear said:

Apr 17, 2016 21:31:42 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

World? Land?

The answers are very different based on where you're going.

And Poeticxpassion , sorry! I knew I was forgetting something.

Disneyland.

We are super easy for breakfast and lunch. Would sit down for dinner, but it doesn't need to be nice. We would like to do a 2-bedroom hotel, if possible.

I assume we would do the park for at least 2 days, but honestly, I know nothing. We are just starting to plan. 

As far as suites go, we've stayed at the Hyatt in Garden Grove and loved it. There's a new Marriott Courtyard with a water park that we also looked at for our trip last week. However, both of those would have been $2600 for 7 nights. So I went on airbnb and found some really cute condos. We stayed at "storybook villa 1" and it was perfect for us. Right behind the Disneyland Hotel, a 10 minute walk to the park, a cute older condo, full kitchen to make a few meals, etc. We paid $2k for 7 nights.

www.storybookvilla.com/vacation-rentals/storybook-villa-1/

[alleinesein]

Stay off property for Disneyland. It was much cheaper. I very rarely stay off property when I go to DLR because I use my DVC points but I was up there 2 weeks ago with a friend and we stayed at the Castle Inn. The room was $138 a night and they bumped us into a 1 bedroom suite at no extra charge. The hotel was just a few minutes walk from the maingate.

4 park hopper tickets (2 day ticket) will run just under $1000 for 2 adults and 2 kids.

Some hotels in the area will include breakfast in the price of the room (Best Western main gate, some of the Marriott properties, etc). That can save some $ since breakfast in the park can be pricey. There is a Denny's and McDonalds across from the maingate if you want to be bad and eat bad but oh so yummy stuff.

Budget around $120-$150 for a character meal and another $50-$100 for the rest of the meals. Quick service food isnt that much cheaper than a full service restaurant (prices tend to be $2-$3 more for full service) so you can sit down and be waited on for a few more $$ and have a more pleasant experience. Some food locations have meals that can easily feed 2 people (the past options at Pizza Port are huge).

Budget about $200 for souvenirs if that is something you want to get for the kids. Mouse ears have gone up in price and they now charge for name embroidery. So allow for $40-$50 for 2 pairs of ears, $50 for toys and another $100 for t-shirts, etc. For adult souvenirs....rob a bank!! If either of you are a Star Wars fan you can easily go broke buying stuff. My last 2 trips resulted in $200+ for new SW swag.

$2000-$2500 is a good budget that would get you park hopper tickets, 3 nights hotel, food, souvenirs, etc. You can book a package with Disney for around $2100 for 3 nights at the Paradise Pier in a standard room, 2 day park hoppers, 1 character meal experience and you will get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hour.

[sugarbear]

This is all great information. Thanks!

I was hoping to budget $6k-7k for the whole trip, which is starting to seem reasonable.

[alleinesein]

Apr 19, 2016 1:31:33 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

On another note, if you plan on doing two trips of more than 6 days total (I think that was the math last I checked) to Disneyland in one year, it might be worth getting an annual pass.

They jacked up the AP prices last October. My AP is now $849 a year and has the last 15+ days of the year blocked out. The level above mine with no block out dates is $1049.  The deluxe AP is $599 and has a bunch of block out dates.  You used to be able to break even in 4 visits but now it is 6-10 visits depending on the pass. 

[sugarbear]

Apr 19, 2016 0:29:19 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Omg I'm a dork but ran some searches LOL. I assumed three nights during the week and ran for this July. 

Three nights HoJo: $800
Three days park tickets for 4: $950 
Air for 4: $750
Car for 3 days: $129

Total: $2620

So, you could spend $1500 on food and souvenirs and such and still get away with way less than your budgeted amount. If you got a condo or suite, costs would be higher but still pretty reasonable.

You are the best!
Unfortunately we aren't going until NEXT summer (I know, I'm a little ahead of myself). Hawaii, this summer. 

But my in-laws are coming to town and I know my MIL will want to start planning. I like being armed with information.

[sugarbear]

Apr 19, 2016 23:34:07 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Apr 19, 2016 13:16:43 GMT -5 sugarbear said:

You are the best!
Unfortunately we aren't going until NEXT summer (I know, I'm a little ahead of myself). Hawaii, this summer. 

But my in-laws are coming to town and I know my MIL will want to start planning. I like being armed with information.

I did catch that but figured this year's numbers would be a decent estimate for next year. I think booking too far in advance can cost more. We have been doing similar family trips! The boys will love Hawaii. 

We're not going anywhere fun this summer since we're getting a puppy (eeeek), so I will live vicariously through you!

I totally want to go this summer, now, and am considering trying to talk H into it.

Puppy!!! Better you than me. Wyatt keeps asking.