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How Low Can You Go?A Shoestring Budget Trip to Walt Disney World For a Family of FourAS OF MAY 2008 What's the lowest budget possible for a family of four (two adults, two kids under 10) who want to visit all four Disney theme parks? Read the article below to find out! Jump to:
A Little BackgroundThis is actually the third version of the "How Low Can You Go?" article. Back in late 2003, a discussion with fellow Disney fans got me wondering if an "average" family of four (two adults, two kids under 10) could actually go to Walt Disney World and visit all four theme parks for just $1000. After lots of calculating and juggling sample itineraries and budgets, I published an article explaining how a family could do just that, assuming they lived within about 350 miles of Orlando and were willing to drive. The article was published in January 2004. The budget included 3 nights' hotel (including one night at a Disney hotel), 2 days of unlimited admission to the Disney theme parks, visiting 2 parks per day with early entry to the parks, one fast-food meal on the road, bottled water, 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snacks per person. It even included an afternoon ice cream snack with live Disney characters and $80 for souvenirs. It also included $100 for gasoline, which at that time would buy about 50 gallons. My sister-in-law and her family tested out the original 2003-2004 "How Low Can You Go?" plan. Their conclusion was that such a trip was completely possible but not ideal. As repeat visitors to Walt Disney World, they had a fun, but exhausting time on their 3-night/2-day vacation, but they felt such a plan would be pretty tough for first-time visitors who don't know their way around the theme parks. In July 2005 I rewrote the article and concluded, "it is now very difficult to do a $1000 trip to Disney World." To keep within that amount, I had to remove quite a few things that were included in the original budget. The main problem was that as of January 2005, Disney had completely revamped its ticket structure. The Ultimate Park Hopper tickets used in the original scenario no longer existed, and the new Magic Your Way tickets were much more expensive for short visits, particularly if you wanted to hop between parks. Also, the inexpensive "ice cream social" with characters had been discontinued. Hotel room rates had gone up quite a bit since the original article was published. Meal prices at Disney's counter service restaurants had stayed pretty stable, and gas prices had gone up only about 10%. So in 2005, it was barely (just barely) possible to stay under $1000 if you planned a truly bare-bones vacation. How Low Can You Go in 2008?Well, here we are in May 2008. The time is long overdue for an update of my "How Low Can You Go?" plan. So is it still possible for a family of four (two adults, two kids under 10) to vacation at Disney World and visit all four theme parks on a budget of just $1000? No. I had to increase the budget to $1250. And that only works if you live within about 350 miles of Orlando and you're willing to drive. If you live further away, you'll have to add on the cost of additional gasoline, or airfare and ground transportation, which will add significantly to the bottom line. The biggest problem is the theme park tickets, which were expensive to start with, and now cost over 20% more than they did in 2005. In order to visit all four theme parks in just two days (and thus eliminate a lot of the hotel and meal expenses associated with a longer stay), you'll need to buy 2-day Magic Your Way tickets with the Park Hopper option. Unfortunately there aren't any discounts for 2-day tickets. Theme park admission will eat up nearly 60% of your $1250 budget. Other expenses have also increased: the price of gas has nearly doubled, food is more expensive, hotels in the area are higher-priced and even parking has gone up. With very careful planning, a budget of $1250 covers 3 hotel nights, 2 days of admission to the Disney theme parks with "hopping" privileges (which will allow you to visit 2 parks per day), 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snacks per person, bottled water, and about 50 gallons of gasoline at current prices. The budget does not allow for meals on the road or souvenirs. The $1250 Disney World Vacation Budget
The PlanFirst Night Depending on your driving time, you will need to bring a packed lunch and/or dinner (not included in vacation budget) to eat during your drive to Walt Disney World. Before you leave, stop at a supermarket and purchase groceries for three days' worth of breakfasts, and enough bottled water for your two days in the theme parks. The easiest approach is to buy breakfast foods that don't require refrigeration, such as peanut butter, bread, donuts, pastries, fruit, granola bars and/or cereal. If you have a cooler, you can bring a few refrigerated items to eat on the way, and possibly milk for your cereal. (You can use the hotel ice machine to restock the ice in your cooler during your vacation.) Your total grocery budget is $35. Spend your first night at a hotel in Orlando, booked through
Priceline's If you get to Orlando early enough on this first night, there are many things you can do for FREE that don't require park admission. Day 1 Eat breakfast in your room. After breakfast, head over to Animal Kingdom, arriving in time for opening so that you can maximize your time in the park. Enjoy Animal Kingdom all morning and eat lunch in the park. After lunch, drive to Epcot, where you'll spend the afternoon and evening. Be sure to stay for IllumiNations, the fireworks, music and light show in World Showcase. Eat lunch and dinner at counter service restaurants. Your budget for the two meals is $57 total. Here are some examples of what you could buy for that much money:
You also have a budget of $12 for in-park snacks, which is sufficient to buy one popcorn, order of churros or bag of chips per person. Take your prepurchased bottled water (which you can chill on ice in your hotel) with you into the parks, so that you won't have to buy it at $2.50 a bottle. At park closing, head back to the hotel you booked through
Priceline Day 2 Get up bright and early and eat breakfast in your room. After breakfast, head straight to Disney's Hollywood Studios and arrive in time for opening. Visit Disney's Hollywood Studios all morning, then take a lunch break in the park. After lunch, drive to the Magic Kingdom, where you'll spend the afternoon and evening. Be sure to stay for the "Wishes" fireworks. Your budget for counter service lunch and dinner today is $57 total. Sample menus:
You also have a budget of $12 for snacks, which is sufficient to buy one popcorn, order of churros or bag of chips per person. Take your prepurchased bottled water (which you can chill on ice in your hotel) with you into the parks, so that you won't have to buy it at $2.50 a bottle. At park closing, head back to the hotel you booked through
Priceline Day 3 Eat breakfast in your room. Drive home. Cost of meals on the road is not included in budget. NotesBe aware that when you bid on Priceline This itinerary is designed to maximize the available theme park hours for your short visit. You'll want to enter the theme parks early, and stay late. I have deliberately scheduled you to enter Animal Kingdom early because the animals are most active in the morning. Also, Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios close earlier than the other two parks, so it makes sense to visit them early in the day. Epcot's World Showcase stays open until 9:00 every night of the week, so it doesn't matter which night you go there. Magic Kingdom's hours vary greatly, but it is almost always open latest on Saturday nights, and the fireworks are almost always shown on Saturdays (but not always on other nights). The trade-off is that Saturday is the busiest day for the Magic Kingdom. Be prepared for crowds. Is it possible to go even lower? Yes. For instance:
Will this plan work for everyone? Absolutely not. When it comes to vacations, people have very different needs and desires. In all honesty I doubt I'd have the stamina to follow this plan. I definitely do not consider it an optimal way to tour Walt Disney World - just a cheap way! It would especially challenging if you have never been to Disney World before, because you'll have to cram so much into each day. If you don't know your way around already, you'll have a tough time seeing many of the major attractions in such a short time. (Be sure to visit the Time is Money page for some hints on how to maximize your time in the parks.) This would be a difficult plan for anyone with preschool age children. Trying to drag kids under 6 years old through two parks a day would be very tough. Anyone trying to "do" Disney World in two days with small children would be smart to focus on just two parks. (I recommend Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, the two parks most appropriate for little ones.) This would also reduce your costs, because you wouldn't have to purchase the Park Hopper option. Most people will find this plan to be far too bare-bones. Personally I'd much rather save up my money and enjoy a few luxuries on vacation. But if the only way you can go to Disney World is on an absolute shoestring, this plan might work for you. Other OptionsYou can do a lot more with your $1250 if you spend your time at Universal Orlando. That's because Universal's admission tickets are much cheaper than Disney's. In fact, for the same money you can enjoy a 5-night/5-day vacation at Universal! Click here to see a sample plan. If you can scrape together $1700, you can have a much nicer (and longer) Disney World vacation. (Again, this assumes you live within about 350 miles of Orlando and are willing to drive.) On that budget you can afford 5 hotel nights, 5 full days in the Disney theme parks and a character breakfast in addition to the other meals. Click here to see the $1700 plan. Back to top MouseSavers.com® is not an official site of The Walt Disney Company or of Universal Studios. Content of MouseSavers.com is © MouseSavers, Inc. 2001-2010. Website content may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of MouseSavers, Inc. Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions of Use - Marketing Disclosure |
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