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  1. #1
    maydaymommy is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Default Estimated cost & logistics of WDW?

    Hi! I would love to go to WDW in early May. I am curious about how much people end up spending on a trip with a family of 4, not including airfare.

    (ETA: would it be remarkably more affordable to go at another time??)

    DS1 will be turning 11 and DS2 will be 8.
    We've only been once with them, when they were 2 & 4. Considering that we haven't been since, I regret that we didn't wait, until they were a bit older. We stayed in a big suite at one of the official affiliated hotels, by what used to be called Downtown Disney. My parents went also, and paid for most of what we did. We had a rental car and that worked out fine. My impression is that there are more advantages now to staying at a WDW resort.

    I want them to get that "Disney Magic" feeling, but I am sure they'll be clamoring for the Harry Potter stuff at Universal. I guess we'd have to stay a week to fit enough in? I'm not sure if that will be possible! We're not a get-up-and-go early morning family and I know we'd have to be for this!

    I know there is a huge range of what families spend, from more budget friendly through extravagant. DH would not want to take extreme measures to try to do it less expensively. Of course, the less costly it would be, the more possible it may be to actually get there.

    Thanks for any guidance!



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    Last edited by maydaymommy; 08-23-2017 at 11:47 AM. Reason: Question
    Big Brother 5/07
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  2. #2
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    Default

    This is not crazy early to start planning. You can go on the WDW website, plug in dates and level of hotel you want, and get the price for how much your room and tickets will cost. No need to guess. I'd also put in a dining plan. Even if you don't use it, it gives you an idea of how much you will spend on food (it's not like it will be hundreds of dollars difference.)
    Mommy to my wonderful, HEALTHY twin girls
    6/08 - Preemies no more!

  3. #3
    klwa is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I agree with TwinFoxes. Go to the website & run your numbers for costs. Only you know what amenities are must have for your family. For us, we like staying at All Star Music in the family suites. We're not willing to give up the extra space. But others want the nicer pools at a moderate or deluxe. I hadn't considered checking with the dining plan added to get an idea, but TF is right. We've gotten it in the past, and generally came out just barely ahead of where we would have without it. However, without it, we wouldn't have gotten desserts at every meal, etc. So that should really give you a pretty good idea.

    If you're wanting low price, the cheapest places to stay are going to be a standard room at one of the All Stars, followed by standard room at Pop.

    http://www.easywdw.com/easy/disneybe...eather-events/ is a slightly outdated look at the best times of year to go. Early May is actually a good time: not quite as cheap as value season, but not the peak season, either.

    https://www.mousesavers.com/historic...ort-discounts/ Also, keep in mind that you may be able to get a discounted rate later for your room. This site shows what discounts have traditionally been offered and when those discounts come up. Just so you have an idea.
    -Kris
    DS (9/05)
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  4. #4
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    We went at that time last year (I think our dates were May 13-20). It was busier and hotter than I expected but we still had a good time.
    We stayed at a townhouse in Windsor Hills. We paid $539 total for 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and our own splash pool. For us, the value of having our own space much outweighs the value of staying on property.
    The total cost of our trip was roughly $4000 for 3 of us (my mom came with us but paid for her own tickets so she isn't included in that). 5 day park hopper plus waterparks passes, RT airfare from Detroit, modest meals - at least half of them off property. We did breakfast and coffee at the house everyday. We saved a lot of money by bringing in our own water and soda every day. We took a stroller that DS only really used at the end of the day, but we put a cooler in the bottom and were able to stash our stuff in it all day. We also did one day at legoland and one day at Kennedy Space Center.

  5. #5
    jren is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Default Estimated cost & logistics of WDW?

    We went over spring break. Kids are 8 and 13, and as much into Universal as Disney, so we did a split stay. Stayed on-site at a Universal hotel that gives the express pass, and then stayed at Disney Animal Kingdom for second half of trip. We did three park days in each place with a non-park day in between when we switched hotels and hung out at the pool. We also didn't go to the parks on arrival or departure days. Our total with hotels, food, tickets, etc. was around $8,000. When we've stayed at just Disney for a week in the past, it's been closer to $6,000. The consensus of our whole family is that we preferred Universal, so I'm glad we did both.


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  6. #6
    bigsis is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    We went the summer before last. At the time, the kids were 12 and 10. We stayed at Pop Century for 5 days with the dining plan. I think it was around $2700. I would check with Small Worlds Vacations. I tried booking it myself, but they were really able to find the best deal for me. We didn't have a rental car, but in your case, I'd probably rent a car for the day or two you'd spend at Universal. Or you can always Uber.
    Lea

    Mom to:
    DD 8/2003
    DS 11/2005

  7. #7
    kdeunc is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    We have been several times and I always took care of the planning but we stayed off-site. We did a WDW-Disney Cruise trip 18 months ago and used a local Disney travel agent and she was fantastic! I highly recommend using an agent. She took care of all of the planning, scheduling fast passes, getting up at midnight to book things for us when our window opened, troubleshooting any issues and had great suggestions, all at no cost to us. I am happy to recommend the agency we used (I have no connection to her or the agency other than they did a great job for us) or I am sure there are Disney agents near you.
    Kelly

    DS 1 12-02
    DS 2 12-04
    DD 07-08

  8. #8
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    FYI some of the non Disney hotels by Disney Springs are going to provide the ability to book fast passes at 60 days soon. As of now, if you aren’t in an official Disney hotel you can only book 30 days out- that means a lot of people have the jump on you and the best rides. I assume onsite guests will get some new perk to offset that loss but who knows.


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