A testimony from Kiersten who blogs at The Aspiring Mom
My husband and I have two children, ages 4 and 6. We have longed to take them to Disneyland for years now. However, vacations haven’t been a possibility due to mismanaged money.
In January of 2012, my husband and I decided to change the way we spend money: we started a budget! We used Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” program and it has revolutionized our finances!
When planning this vacation we came up with a budget amount that included gas, tickets, fun money, treats, eating out, hotel, parking, and so on. We found tickets for two days for $99/person and, because my mom was going to come with us and help cover some of the parking and hotel expenses, we estimated a total round trip cost of $850 for our family.
We only had about $200 saved for this trip in January. We wanted to go in March, so we knew we would have to come up with something clever!
We decided to go through our home and garage to find things to sell. The smaller items we sold at our local Swap Meet. We listed the larger, more valuable items on Craigslist.
Believe it or not, we made $300 at the Swap Meet in just one day. We came up with the remaining trip money by setting aside our blow money from our budget and selling items on Craigslist.
I’ll be honest, it wasn’t as magical as it may sound. In fact, it was a lot of hard work, posting and re-posting items, scheduling with people, and so forth. But it was worth it!
At Disneyland, we paid cash for everything! We planned our meals wisely: eating breakfast at the hotel, bringing pre-made snacks, and eating dinner at Disneyland. (I had made sandwiches for lunches, but accidentally left them left them at home! However, we managed to eat lunch and dinner in the park while staying within our budget!
We had all of our trip expenses divided into separate spending envelopes: Parking money, food money, fun money, and coffee money. The kids also each had three envelopes of their own: $7 for a treat, $15 for a toy/accessory, and $20 for a toy/accessory. They had two days at the park and only this amount of money to spend.
They were so happy to have their own money and buy their items. They spent a lot of time looking and deciding what they would like the best, and trust me, those items are precious to them! I was impressed with their decisions and how this cured the “give me” attitude.
My husband and I are so pleased with our new lifestyle! It’s liberating to take such an amazing trip without incurring a penny of debt or financial burden!
Kiersten is a wife and stay-at-home-mom of two beautiful kids, ages 6 and 4. She is also a Masseuse who loves running trails, hanging out at the beach, and taking in the beauty around her! She blogs at The Aspiring Mom.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Just as well you waited – 4 and 6 are perfect ages for Disneyland/Disneyworld. At a younger age they’re too young to appreciate everything and the Magic Kingdom is meant for them! Glad you had a great debt-free time!
We are planning a Disney vacation next Feb. and I’m curious as to where one can purchase discount Disney tickets? Your article said that you paid $99 for a two day pass, which is the time we would like to spend there but the tickets are $158 online for 2 days. Thanks for your story!
A trip to Disney will set you back, no matter what. The author mentioned that her mother paid part of the expenses, so I would think that the entire trip for a family of 5 was quite a bit more than $850. Tickets and kids spending money was $480 alone.
That said, great that they were able to pay cash, and kudo’s to them for doing the work to make that happen. That’s inspiring.
I took my daughter to Disneyland over Thanksgiving week a while ago. I’m a single mother and it’s just the two of us. My budget was $1000 (including airfare) for 4 nights, with three days in the parks. Went slightly over, but the thing that tipped me over was the approx. $100 for the photo CD. SO worth it though, as we love having the photos are they are better than what I managed to take.
Airfare — keep your dates open and look for promotions. Southwest has “kids fly free” promos every now and then. I love SW because it is so easy to change your flights if your schedule changes, and they do not charge a penalty for that, just the difference in rates where applicable.
Hotel — we stayed at a nearby “good neighbor” hotel. I found an internet buy 3 get 1 night free deal with a sale price of $52/night, so around $200 for the trip including taxes, an excellent deal. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean, comfortable, and quiet, and within walking distance of the park although we did opt for the shuttle busses ($2/day) at times when we got tired of walking.
Meals — We had only two major meals out — dinner at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney on the evening we arrived, and a character breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen. And I planned for one snack-type item per day in the parks so we could get an ice cream or hot chocolatae or something. Breakfast was in the hotel, and we took a few snacks along in case we got hungry. Mid afternoon we’d return to the hotel for a break and to take a swim, and dinner was poolside from the hotel restaurant — very cheap during happy hour. Pizza or nachos for under $10, less than pizza for us on any given day.
Souvenirs — limit it. I bought a souvenir autograph book for the kiddo for around $7, which to this day is one of my daughter’s most prized possessions. She selected a Mickey flashlight and a small stuffed Minnie with her budget, and that was it! I communicated this with my daughter beforehand so she knew what she could expect, and she didn’t whine or beg for anything then entire trip.
It is possible to get a good deal on a souvenir in the park if you keep your eyes peeled. I bought a nice woven throw blanket for only $10. We used it for parade watching when it got chilly in the evenings. To this day we use it regularly — it’s home is over the back our living room couch. It’s pretty and has a vintage Mickey design but doesn’t scream “DISNEY”.
We travel quite a bit — two or three times per year. I take a look at various options whenever I plan at trip, and I’ve never found a package deal that was less expensive than ala cart as long as you’re flexible.
See we tried to look into a trip to Disney this year for 3 days but after hotel, food etc it came out to around $2000 for the trip not counting in the wear and tear and gas for the 16 hour drive down there. 🙁 We will keep looking for tickets. It’s not that we couldn’t say ‘plop’ here’s the money the point is I can’t imagine paying that much. I’ve never been to Disney my husband has so he’s pushing for the trip I really don’t see what the big deal is. But we’ll keep looking for cheaper deals.
Thanks for sharing! We discovered Dave Ramsey and Money Saving Mom in 2010 and they have revolutionized our finances and changed our lives for the better too. I love hearing the inspiring stories of how people like us are paying off debt and buying things with cash. Great work!
There are many ways to do Disney cheaper. We just went in March with 3 kids ages 5 and 15months. We had a motorhome so lodging was cheap for us. We stayed 10minutes away at a campground for $160, with full sewer and electric hookups. The bath houses were clean and showers were FREE!! We packed lunches, snacks, and drinks. Also, we did not buy souvniers in Disney. There are several Walmarts close to Disney with a whole section for Disney souvniers!! They are the same manufactures for Disney but sell to Walmart at a fraction of the cost. One thing that really helped was having a Dollar Tree too. I bought a spray bottle there for misting us in the heat ($18 at Disney), Glow sticks for night time, and other things. The main cost of our trip was gas and tickets to Disney. It’s so nice to have a vacation and not worry about the cost later.
We have Disney annual passes since we are close. We go a lot but always on a budget. we pick 3-4 star hotels on hotwire or pricdline and pay anywhere between 70-150 for the entire hotel stay for anywhere between 2-6 days, depending. We pack lunches , we bring water and sodas into the parks and we brig snacks. We eat dinners out and use coupons ( there are tons ) it usually coats us 120 in gas round trip. It can be done. We have Disney clothing but it was all bought outside Disney or made and then we bring toys so there is always something to distract from buying all the cute stuff .
Good for you! Family vacations are important! I love the spending money envelope idea for the kids.
We were at Disney almost a year ago. We paid cash too! It was so nice to not have a bill to come home to, only the photos and memories 🙂
I’m a single mom and I have been wanting to take my daughter on a Disney vacation. I was thinking I wanted to take her in January for her birthday or take her in April during Spring Break. I have been looking at trips which is averaging about $1400, but if I can get it for half of that I most definitely would.
Your post has inspired me to look into this trip at a cheaper value. I think I can drive. I live in Atlanta and Orlando is 6-7 hours away. I have no problem driving that by myself. I drive to my original home, DC which is 10 hours away about 4-5 times a year.
Im excited now to start planning this. I will work on a budget for this asap and plan accordingly.
Just a little note to help you toward your goals…if you’re looking for more affordable, plan your visits during the off seasons. Ticket prices rise during Spring break and the more popular times (ie Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc). There are easy ways to cut costs and it is mostly in clever planning! This post really helped me in my planning: http://momadvice.com/blog/2011/12/tips-tricks-for-your-next-disney-magic-kingdom-trip
Happy travels!!!
Renee, I’d suggest January for her birthday. I’m not sure about Disney World, but Disneyland has a deal if you go on your birthday, or at least they used to. Worth checking into.
Also, it’s always crowded, but spring break time is crazy crowded! If your child is younger and missing school isn’t an issue, I’d try to go during off season when it’s a little less crowded and a little less expensive.
You can do it!! Way to go looking for methods to save $$ and still have fun. You and your daughter will have so much more fun if you save and pay cash. I know you can do this!
We are just starting the planning process for Disney!!! Awesome work on doing such a great trip on a great budget.
i’m thinking of buying the disneyland annual passes (delux) since i live pretty close to disneyland (30 mins). I want the delux because i work weekdays and only get weekends off and this pass works best with my schedule. Does anyone know any good deals or saving tips while visiting disneyland and california adventure? can you bring your own food into the park?
Yes, you can bring your own food and drinks, (just no glass containers) the annual pass gives you 10% off food too!
Good for you!! We’re longing to take our kids, also ages 4 & 6, too! My kids are well used to seeing the envelopes, so I love your idea of giving them their own.
i just today was looking into how much a disney world vacay would cost. we have one 2 year old and we live in cleveland ohio, so we wont be driving to FL. i’m going to be conservative and guess for the 3 of us for 4 days including round trip air fare and meals it would be at least $4000.00. anyone done this scenario for cheaper then that?
Claire, driving is do-able. We live in Columbus, OH and drive to Florida on a yearly basis. We make a drive to Texas yearly as well. 3 kids, 2 adults (or 3 if we bring my mom!) in a minivan. I won’t say it’s easy but if you find a fun stopping point like Atlanta, make it a part of your vacation. We save a lot by driving and honestly, it’s easier than flying to us. Pack a cooler for the car and stay just outside Disney to save even more. We like to spend a lot of time in Downtown Disney where there is a lot for the kids to do and most of it is free. Our boys could spend a whole day in the Lego store if we let them!
We are hoping for a week in orlando when we go. We are coming from WI. We are going to rent a home on VRBO.com and split the cost with family members. This way our overall lodging for 1 week will be less than 500$. We will have an actual home to relax in at night with our own pool. We are planning to eat breakfast and most dinners at the house. We will do a combo of packing lunch/eating at Disney for lunches. I think you could do it for less than 4,000. I think driving is going to be annoying, but so nice to have the flexibility when we are down there for saving costs on food etc…
I’m inspired by your accomplishment, but am amazed at how little money you were able to do it on. You’re lucky to live within reasonable driving distance( I’m assuming!) and not have to buy plane tickets. I live in Houston. My grandchildren are ages 10 months and three. I have opened an Ing savings account nicknamed “Disney”, and a certain amount of money is automatically debited from my checking account each payday. We are aiming for the trip to happen when they are 3 & 5. But, we will have to fly, and it will be Disney World in Florida. I try not to be discouraged when I see there’s only $300 in the account so far, but you have to start somewhere!!
We too are doing the Dave Ramsey program…and we are down to a few more payments on my car and our house. No credit card payments, and we are saving to pay cash for my husband’s next vehicle. I love this program! And p.s., we went to Disney World a few years ago. I made the reservations through Disney in January, with plans to go in December. We made payments every paycheck, and by the time December rolled around, it was all paid for! No interest, and no credit needed. It was awesome!