Saving for a 2010 Disney Trip

[SoaringDisney]

My family along with many other families are planning to go during spring of 2010. Depending on what's done of course but on average for a family of five, how much does ALL of it cost and what is the longest that anyone has ever saved for a trip to Disney?

[BMan62]

There is a lot that needs to be determined to answer that question:

1) How long are you going to be staying
2) Which level or resort are you going to be staying at - Deluxe, Moderate, Value, off site, etc.
3) What options, if any do you want on your park tickets - base, park hopper, water parks & more?

There will probably be at least one ticket price increase before 2010 (probably two) and two room rate increases (2009 & 2010.)

For a family of 5, value resorts are probably out of the question, unless you want a family suite at one of the All Stars resorts (I don't remember off hand which one has them.)

If you look all this up you can get a ballpark figure of costs. Add about 15% to cover increases, plus transportation costs.

[Sophie's Mommy]

Hubby & I decided on our honeymoon at DW that we'd return for our 10th anniversary without any kids we may have by then. We've been saving for 10 years! The past 15 months or so have been the major savings period. It's been easy to avoid unnecessary purchases by saying "I'd rather spend that $3 on a soda at Disney" etc. It's very relaxing to know that our whole trip is paid for before we go! We gave ourselves a generous spending budget for the trip, and any leftover money will go toward our next trip (with our daughter). We have a special separate savings account for our DW spending money.

We're leaving in 4 days!!!! (I'm climbing the walls!)

As far as your cost, maybe try deciding how much you WANT to spend first, then use that to decide what level of resort, length of stay etc.

[irish1967]

Realistically, there are too many variables beyond "family of 5" for 2010 to give you an estimate.

I would start by determining how long you plan to stay and go from there. You can utilize the current information to help you make those decisions suggested by BMAN62and then tack on an additional 20% to be safe.

Almost every single financial decision we make is based on our next trip to Disney. I can't tell you the number of times I have accepted a job on a day that I really don't want to accept it (I substitute teach) simply because it will mean that the Disney Fund will have more money at the end of the day.

Good luck!

[Tick-Tock]

other things to factor in for a trip --

Food (dining plan? pay out of pocket? bring breakfast items and snacks?)
Transportation to WDW (airline fares (plus car parking at the airport), gas/motels/food if driving)
Special treats (Illuminations cruise? Behind-the-scenes tours? Bibbity Bobbity Boutique?)
Souvenirs
Miscellaneous (tips for skycaps, shuttle drivers, bell services, mousekeeping; $$ for items you forget or lose; PhotoPass?)
Any costs for taking care of stuff at home (like petsitting)

[DDuck66]

We are also great planners and budgeters. We always save up enough money so that the trip is paid for by the time we actually take it. Fortunatly we are DINKs (Double Income No Kids) so it does not take us as long to save up. I would start off with a plan on where you want to stay and for how long...once you get the room and tickets figured out, you need to look at the cost of food. We do a lot of character dining and TS restaurants so we usually alot about $125/day for food (for 2). Take a look at all the menus and decide on what type of food you want to eat. Probably the last thing is to figure out how much you need for souvenirs. The good thing is that the planning is almost as fun as the trip itself.