Doing a Disney vacation this Summer?

Lucky you! I’m glad you are planning such an amazing and memorable Disney vacation this Summer for yourself, your significant other, and possibly your family! Taking friends along? Extended family? All sounds awesome to me. There is nothing quite like a theme park vacation—even if it’s Universal or Sea World or Six Flags. The extensive planning involved, followed by more walking, waiting, paying and stress than a regular beach vacation is definitely up my alley! There are multiple things to consider before you board the plane or jump into the car, and my intention is NOT to make your plans, but to make sure your plans match your budget!

Which coast…or beyond?

I’m in Nevada, so Disneyland is a no-brainer, right? NO WAY!!! It’s all about the length of time for me once I’ve sorted out the budget. While I can drive to Disneyland in four hours, it is actually more expensive for me to go there for a weekend instead of five days at Disneyworld in Orlando, FL. Crazy, isn’t it???

• Enough Southwest Airlines points means I don’t pay for flights very often. 
• I am a Disney Vacation Club member, so I stay in the Disney timeshare in WDW.
• I buy a WDW annual pass every year at a tremendous discount, so I can go anytime.

Are those considerations possible for Disneyland? Some of them:

• I could fly Southwest and save on gas and wear and tear on the car
• There is a DVC timeshare resort at Disneyland, but it’s nearly impossible to book 
• There is no discount on annual passes for DVC like we have in Florida

Disney Vacation With A Cruise This Summer?

How about a Disney Cruise Line vacation? Yes, please!

An expensive proposition, but definitely one I LOVE and will write about in a future blog. Only you can say if it is worth the money, but I know for sure it is worthy of your consideration! Particularly if you are driving distance to one of the ports they use (the Disney Wonder is in California—yay me!), you can offset some of the costs right off the bat. 

Going international Disney this summer? That’s fantastic, and something I have not yet had the opportunity to do. Please comment below to tell us all about it—I’m dying to hear!

Let’s get back to Disneyworld and Disneyland!

Hotel considerations

What’s your feeling about “The Bubble”? That is the common way to refer to staying onsite at Disney. Once you enter the “Disney Bubble,” you have no reason to leave, as everything you need is close enough that Disney will transport you around the resort. 

Disneyland Bubble:

The Disneyland Resort is across a six-lane road from civilization, with a McDonalds, Mimi’s and multiple mid-grade hotels within walking distance. With the least expensive Disneyland Hotel further from the theme parks, and about triple the price, we have been perfectly happy outside of the Disneyland Bubble. We can park the car and not need it, and can even leave the bubble to get less expensive food options. 

WDW Bubble:

WDW is 43 square miles. It includes over a dozen hotels of varying costs, and literally hundreds of restaurants. Once we enter the bubble, Disney will transport us to any of the hotels, any of the restaurants or miniature golf courses and, of course, to the theme parks. We don’t leave. So, to stay outside of the bubble, the hotel will be several to many miles from the action, forcing us to use the car extensively each day.

Is that a problem? That depends on you. You can stay at a mid-grade hotel significantly cheaper than the least expensive Disney hotel, that’s for sure. You can rent a condo or even a whole house with a pool very inexpensively, which will give you some respite from the relentless Disney in the bubble. This could be a great alternative if not everyone in your party is the same level of Disney fan as you and I. 

Minimizing food costs

Stay offsite. There, I said it. You can eat much less expensively if you are staying offsite, and drive yourself to the theme parks each day. You will go past every type and price point of restaurants in the world driving within 20 miles of Disneyworld or Disneyland. 

What about during your touring day? There are absolutely ways to save money! Check it out:

Breakfast

Always in our hotel room whether onsite or not. We are not huge breakfast eaters, but everyone needs something to get them going first thing.

In The Theme Park

We usually have one big meal in the theme park. This runs about $15 per person at a counter service restaurant. Research in advance which ones provide the heartiest food at this price point, and make your plans accordingly.

Outside The Theme Park

We will leave the theme park for one meal per day, usually. This is usually when we leave the theme park midday for a pool and nap break. We will eat at an off-site restaurant, back at the hotel, or in our condo. 

Snacks

Here is where the unexpected budget item hits! Disney Resorts are notorious for interesting and tasty snack foods. My best advice is for you to make a plan and stick to it. When the kids were little, Sweet Husband and I snacked out of the backpack, or shared a sweet treat with the kids, so we weren’t buying five of everything.

Backpack

Our kids used to ask “are we eating backpack snacks today?” which was code for snacks and beverages we carry into the park. YES—we always snacked out of the backpack. One of my biggest money-saving tips is NEVER pay for a drink. We carry in water bottles to refill, and my VitaRain drinks. 

How do I make all this happen? It’s simple: Order groceries.

There are numerous online delivery services in addition to going yourself. For our upcoming Disney trip, we will hit Publix (local food store) on our way to the resort, and will spend about $300 to keep the six of us in beverages and snacks for the week. We intend to cook in the condo several times, as well. It’s not fancy or particularly pretty, but backpack water is free, while a bottle in the parks is now $4.50. Do the math—it’s the best alternative. 

Splurging food costs

I don’t eat every meal out of the backpack!!! I’m a big fan of food, and we like to enjoy ourselves and immerse ourselves in the theme park experience.

Nobody does themed dining as well as Disney. Don’t miss Goofy’s Kitchen at Disneyland or Be Our Guest at WDW, just to name two of the dozens of themed restaurants. You can dine with characters, or dine in the Castle, or dine in a 1950’s kitchen! Do not deny yourself these opportunities! One of my closest friends plans a sit-down, themed meal every day of her vacation. We plan one every two days for our crew. Some people save and splurge on a really fancy one per week.

What’s best for you? I have no idea! This is where extensive research is necessary for you. Since these tend to be “splurge” meals for most people, you want the most bang for the buck. This summer, for example, we are revisiting the Sci-Fi Diner in Florida, where you eat your lunch in a 1950’s convertible with a drive-in movie screen playing movie clips. My adult kids are all super excited for this experience, and that’s what makes it worth it for us to splurge. 

Are souvies worth it?

Also not my call. Your mileage varies greatly on this topic. I tend to buy one thing per vacation at the most, but I’m there a lot. When we had little kids, we definitely splurged for the occasional light-up wand or bubble maker, that’s for sure. Now my souvie dollars are usually spent in the Confectionary!!!

Did I mention tickets For you Disney Vacation this Summer?

I saved the most expensive item for last. In true Disney style, I’ve lured you in with information about how absolutely fabulous this vacation can be, and at the end I’m hitting you in the pocketbook! You need tickets.

The best thing I can say about this big ticket item is that you can buy them as far in advance as you want. This makes tickets more budget-friendly, because once these are purchased, you can focus all of your energy and budget on the experience itself.

No mistake about it, at about $140 a day, tickets are an enormous expense for any family. Based on the intense crowds in the theme parks right now, it is obvious vacationers find there to be great value for the dollar in this type of vacation. The best thing I can advise for you is to be realistic: Will you really go six days in a row without taking a day off? Can you really see yourself doing the morning in one park and running to another park for the evening? How much heat and crowds can your significant other really tolerate?

Have I excited you for this trip, or scared you off? Whichever way you are leaning, fall into that feeling! A summer theme park experience might be just too much for your group, and that’s okay! We will continue to discuss different vacation alternatives on the blog until we find something perfect for you. 

As for me…I’ll be posting from my Disney vacation this summer ~

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Thank you for reading all about what to expect for your Disney vacation this summer!!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other tips, like how to get on a cruise, here, or how to travel on a budget, here! Or, check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

Please leave a COMMENT about any tips you may have!! Or comment with YOUR story! What are your next steps in eldercare? Let me know!

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