All things Disney

[Atleastonce]

Steady, we spent $250 per day on average, that included spending money and meals. This did not include car hire, accommodation or flights, but did include fuel, did not include disney tickets or other tickets such as NFL that were purchased from Australia. That was for 5 adults, which was me, my wife and 3 teenage kids (15-19 years old).

 

[Steady]

Steady, I visited with 3 teenagers twice in the past 4 years. I have a number of spreadsheets form each visit with daily spends and where spend was, including meals etc.... Send me a message and I can send you specific details. I will post general figures when I get home today and have access to my spreadsheets.

Thanks Atleastonce, I will send a pm with my email address.

 

[Quickstatus]

My favourite tips for US bound travellers.

Tip1: VRBO.com
Tip2: consider Tip1

My best VRBO experience:


Trip to DisneyWorld Orlando

7 nights Dec 20-26 2011 (that means winter in the US and many flock to the warmer climes of Florida, and its Christmas crowds

VRBO 2 bedroom condo in Kissimmee Florida. 1.6km from Disneyworld carpark
Gated estate
Fully furnished
Clubhouse with lifeguard on duty at poolside.
Accommodation for 2 ad and 3 kids (place sleeps 6). 1600sqf. 2 bathrooms. dedicated parking spot. Internal laundry. Free internet. Cable TV

How much do you think I paid for the 7 nights accommodation? Any guesses?

 

[Warks]

Okay I'll bite. $1400?

 

[serfty]

Us$550 ... ?

 

[harvyk]

So for someone who has never been or done any research on going - what sort of money (ballpark) would a visit to the Disney world in Anaheim cost for a family of 5 (teenage kids) from Oz if on a budget*?
*Assuming it is booked in advance - budget accommodation and park entry fees etc.

How long should be allowed for a first visit? What else would be considered as a "must do" while in that neck of the woods?

Is there a best time of year for someone on a budget?

Whilst I can't specifically state for teenagers, after tickets are brought, I'd allow $50 per person per day. That allows a few drinks / ice creams, some lunch, some souvenirs. That's what we did with our kids. Also we tried very hard to have some discipline about opening said wallet. Yes it's a holiday, and yes it's suppose to be fun, but unless you have serious dollars in the bank you can burn through your whole holidays funds in a very short amount of time.

We also visited downtown Disney the night before and hit up the souvenir stores, that way we wouldn't need to lug a whole lot of stuff around the park on the day.

I'd recommend the character breakfasts. We went to goofies kitchen. Hardly fine dining experience, that said quite a few of the characters will make their way around and you can get those all important signatures without having to mob around the characters in the park itself.


Finally, just relax... On the days there Mrs Harvyk stressed out so much about missing out on things, we slowed the pace down on day 2 and 3 and had a much better time. Pick the things that are you absolutely must do's and do them first, beyond that, just have fun.

 

[Quickstatus]

Vrbo accomodation $800 for 7 nights

 

[Timtammi]

Vrbo accomodation $800 for 7 nights

Nice tip quickstatus. If we go again I would definitely look into this, can save some serious coinage. we stayed at a deluxe resort onsite at WDW but it was exxy. We wanted our youngest to get the full disney experience, before she was too old to appreciate it. It was fantastic staying onsite and the hotel was very good with fantastic resort amenities but you do pay for it.

 

[straitman]

Vrbo accomodation $800 for 7 nights

Nice tip quickstatus. If we go again I would definitely look into this, can save some serious coinage. we stayed at a deluxe resort onsite at WDW but it was exxy. We wanted our youngest to get the full disney experience, before she was too old to appreciate it. It was fantastic staying onsite and the hotel was very good with fantastic resort amenities but you do pay for it.

As a balance their are advantages to staying at Disney itself. It really depends upon what one wants.

Staying at Disney gives a huge advantage IF you want to do the Disney dining experiences as you get sorted out days before they are available to the general public. As I mentioned IF booked via the UK targeted market there are considerable saving to be made that way. Opening hours can be different if staying on site and I believe (I'll ask #1 daughter) but the latest version gives onsite people extra fastpass options.

It really is a horses for courses exercise. I have stayed in a variety of different places both on and off site.

Another option is if you have timeshare availability then you can do very well as there are so many timeshares in Orlando it becomes embarrassing.

*All my comments relate to Orlando as I've been there quite a few times.

 

[Quickstatus]

Further to VRBO savings, I was looking at Grand Wailea Ho-olei Villas in Hawaii for September

3 bedroom villa at Grand Wailea would have cost me $1500 US approx

Similar villa but through VRBO $1000 USD.

Im still checking if there are any catches.

but there are some really nice places on VRBO.


Anyway back to Disney. The only character you will never see (or extremely rarely) is Mickey Mouse roaming the resort. Sometimes the only time you will see him is at Mickey's Fantasia light and fireworks show.

 

[Jimmy124]

If anyone has any information on Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea that I can benefit from, I would be grateful, If anyone would like to know anything about Disneyland in Anaheim for visits with children or what is appealing to adults, please let me know.

Did you stay at a Disney property or travel to and from, and if so, is it ok to stay until close. We are staying in Tokyo in a rental apartment so will have a reasonable trip back at night on the trains..

We were there early August with Miss Jimmy124 (3yo) - as has been mentioned, definitely designate the rides with the long waits you would prioritise and get Fastpass where possible. One thing that surprised me was how reasonable the food and drink from within the park were. Considering a few weeks prior, Miss J went to a Disney show in Sydney and the equivalent of a McD value meal was $25. Also, a major frenzy was the souvenir stores - they were shoulder-to-shoulder, again with the merchandise relatively cheap - with a licenced t-shirt around $15-20.

We arrived into Narita and took the train in - I booked Intercon Tokyo Bay, not realising it was on the other side of Tokyo Bay from Disneyland. Trains worked very well for us, again very cheap - only a couple of dollars. Our second night we were there til close (Miss had a power nap while we were waiting for the light parade, and then, recharged came to life again), walked back to the train station and then trained it back to the hotel.

Stay away from taxis where possible. We only took one - from one side of the bay to the other and it was around $80. On departure we flew out of Haneda, so just took the monorail and we were at the airport in about 20 mins.

 

[Atleastonce]

As a balance their are advantages to staying at Disney itself. It really depends upon what one wants.

Staying at Disney gives a huge advantage IF you want to do the Disney dining experiences as you get sorted out days before they are available to the general public. As I mentioned IF booked via the UK targeted market there are considerable saving to be made that way. Opening hours can be different if staying on site and I believe (I'll ask #1 daughter) but the latest version gives onsite people extra fastpass options.

It really is a horses for courses exercise. I have stayed in a variety of different places both on and off site.

Another option is if you have timeshare availability then you can do very well as there are so many timeshares in Orlando it becomes embarrassing.

*All my comments relate to Orlando as I've been there quite a few times.

When we were in Disneyworld Orlando last November they were trialling the magic bands when if you were staying at a Disney resort you could pre book fast pass before getting to the park. I think this is now active and working after the trial.

 

[UP4014]

MiceChat.com is Disney and Theme park news, tips, planning and more the forum for all things Disney.


Matt

 

[amaroo]

A Q for the brains trust. If you had to pick one? Hong Kong-mid Dec or Paris-mid Jan.

We'll be enjoying both cities over the xmas break, kids are aged 14 and 12 and have only visited Anaheim. Who knows, we might squeeze in both .... which one would you definitely put in the itinerary?

 

[Cynicor]

A Q for the brains trust. If you had to pick one? Hong Kong-mid Dec or Paris-mid Jan.

We'll be enjoying both cities over the xmas break, kids are aged 14 and 12 and have only visited Anaheim. Who knows, we might squeeze in both .... which one would you definitely put in the itinerary?

Paris with those ages. HKG is targeted towards the younger kids and has fewer teenager rides. I haven't been to either, BTW. This is what I have heard on multiple occasions however.

 

[Atleastonce]

Definitely Paris. Bigger parks and in my mind the second best Disney parks behind Anaheim.

 

[sausagefingers]

When we were in Disneyworld Orlando last November they were trialling the magic bands when if you were staying at a Disney resort you could pre book fast pass before getting to the park. I think this is now active and working after the trial.

Sure is, we did 7 days at Disneyworld last October/November and the Magic Bands are fully functional as Fastpass+.
We were able to book 3-4 Fastpasses 30 days in advance or 60 if you're staying at a Disney hotel.
Some of the most popular attractions were already unavailable 30days in advance ( meeting Anna & Elsa, 7 Dwarves mine train etc)
we still managed to get everything done at each of the 4 parks and we did a rest day as well (managed to catch a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral)

We're going in march to do Disneyland, most likely booking 5 day park hopper tickets.
kids are already excited.

 

[Atleastonce]

We will be in Disneyland on 2 November for my daughters 21st. That's all she wanted to do was go back to Disneyland for her 21st birthday.

 

[sausagefingers]

We will be in Disneyland on 2 November for my daughters 21st. That's all she wanted to do was go back to Disneyland for her 21st birthday.

then off to Vegas ?

 

[Kangarucci]

Just at LAX heading home to Melbourne. Spent 7 days coming and going to Disneyland. We bought a 10 day Hopper pass in Aus for $440 (not much more expensive than a 5 day pass). Weather has been unbearably hot, so we went early morning and went back to hotel for a rest then back in the evening.