Step 1 - Budgeting

Welcome readers!

If you are here, it is most likely because you are considering a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Lets start by remembering - Disney is a for profit business. Responsibilities include

• Making money to pay salaries for their cast members.
• Making money to pay their share holders.
• Making money to refurbish and add new attractions for you, the guest.

Because of this, a trip to Disney is not going to be cheap. Some very basic estimates are listed below, however as this blog grows, I will include information about ways to save money on your trip, without sacrificing quality, and also how to stretch your dollar the most you can.

HOTELS

Disney has 3 levels of hotels on property, and the price ranges are listed below (per night) depending on where you are interested in staying.

Value Resorts - $82 to $160 per night (up to 4 people) $184 to $327 (up to 6 people)
Moderate Resorts - $149 to $274 per night (standard rooms) $255 to $1,290 per night (club level and suites)
Deluxe Resorts - Ranging from just over $200 per night to almost $3,000 per night

So even at the Value resort, for a 5 day trip, you are looking to spend about $600 on average - for up to 4 people in the room - if you are bringing more than 4 people on your trip, and just want one room - you will need to stay at a resort that will allow it!

TICKETS

If you are staying on property, chances are yo are going to want to visit the parks. Disney wants one of two things - to either get you there for a day, and make a lot of money, or keep you there for a longer time, and hope that you spend more money in the parks.

With tax, these are the standard rates for guests age 10 and up.

1 Day - $84.14
2 Days - $166.14
3 Days - $233.24
4 Days - $239.63
5 Days - $242.82
6 Days - $246.02
7 Days - $249.21
8 Days - $252.41
9 Days - $255.60
10 Days - $258.80

As you can see, if you are able to stay longer than 3 days, the cost for additional days drops DRAMATICALLY.

Transportation to the World

Costs for getting to Orlando will vary dramatically, and as such I can't possibly put down all the possibilities in one blog. I do recommend taking a look at discount travel sites (Orbitz, Hotwire, Expedia) and also looking directly at the airlines sites when it comes to pricing. You may find a better deal on one than you could get on another. Also, driving is certainly a possibility, and Amtrak is an option depending on how far away you are, and how much time you have to devote to getting there.

Bottom Line

As we can see from above, a trip for one with a 6 day park ticket, and a 5 night value hotel stay would be about $850. A trip for 2 adults at the same hotel would run about $1,092. If you add 2 kids to the equation you can get slightly ceaper park tickets, but are still looking at about $1,500 dollars ---- and none of those rates include transportation, food or souvenirs. Only you know how much you would spend on those items, but in my future posts, I will be posting some information on prices and Disney menus to give you a better of idea of what might be out there.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and let me know what you would like to see here on on this blog! I look forward to hearing from you soon!