Funding Tips for Disney Trips
As a Disney fanatic, I often find myself dreaming of being able to take my 3 boys back to the Magic Kingdom; but of course as a single parent, money is always tight and other things usually take priority.
Large, medium and small Florida Devos
So what can you do if, like me, you long to take your little, or not so little ones, on a trip to that magical destination? Well, I’ve come up with a few ways to sock some extra dough away, stay motivated and will revisit some tips for saving money while there. As always (our Disney Travel Specialist), Patricia, would be happy to assist you with planning as well.
The first thing I always do is price out a trip. Airfare, hotel, food, Disney tickets etc. Although it’s good to know the total, you should break it down into sections too: Airfare, total $2496 – $624.00 per person. Hotel, 7 nights – $1050.00, etc. Doing this helps you set and achieve smaller goals as you save. For example, you might find that after 8 weeks you’ve saved the amount for the hotel and will feel a a sense of satisfying progress as you cross it off the list…the excitement then begins to build!
So where is this money going to come from?
Step 1: Open a savings account that has no bank card attached to it. This will force you to think twice before pulling any money out of the account, and make it less convenient to do so. And Disney has just made this easier for US residents! https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/
Step 2: Replace your credit cards with a travel reward version. The fee might be a little higher for this type of card, but a lot of them offer promotions where you get double miles or points for the first 6 months or a lump sum of travel miles just for signing up. If you use your card for everyday purchases that you’d make anyway, like groceries and gas, and put the money set aside for those expenses onto your card right away, that way you won’t run a balance and you’re earning points towards a ticket or 2.
Step 3: Every little bit counts. I created a Disney Themed tin to throw coins into. This is super easy to do if you live in Canada where our 1 and 2 dollar currency is in the form of coins; it adds up really fast!
Spare change tin, Disneyfied
Step 4: Set up a savings plan. Even a modest amount every week can add up quickly. For example; instead of eating out a few times a week, pack a lunch or cut down to take out once a week. Figure out what you were spending on those meals and put it into the savings account every week. $7 dollar lunches every day would add up to over $1700.00 in one year. Cutting back from 2 to 1 Starbucks a day could save you over $1400.00. These amounts alone could pay for Disney tickets for a family of 4 for a week and cover your food expenses for the trip.
Step 5: Check the Sofa cushions. Well, actually what I mean is, look for things you take for granted where extra money might be sitting. Take bottles back and add the proceeds to your Disney Dollars tin, clean out the garage or basement and have a yard sale, put things you no longer need or use up on Kijiji or Ebay and add the cash to your growing total. Coupons, if you can use them, do it! Whatever the difference is that you would have spent on the item, put in the Disney tin or savings account.
Step 6: Unexpected windfalls. A tax refund, if you’re so lucky, or a rebate from other purchases can help the cause as well.
So lets put it all together then.
Spare change could easily add up to at least $500 in a year. Credit card travel points could cover at least one airfare, so let’s say $600.
WestJet’s Disney Magic Plane Photo courtesy of WestJet
Cutting back on take-out could save at least $1200 a year. Just having one cup of joe each morning instead of two could mean $1400 in your pocket and brown bagging it for just one person in your family could save $1700. Let’s estimate $500 saved in couponing, $500 in bottle returns and a measly $300 for a tax refund. Clearing out the clutter of your home could easily net another $500. So just by doing these simple things has unearthed a total of $7200.00 in just one year. Now I know that I could take my family of 4 on a 9 day trip to my favorite place on earth for this amount from our home in Western Canada; and that would even cover a car rental, gas and souvenir money!
So what can you do once there to ensure your efforts cover your costs and you have a great trip?
Budget each day, know how much you’re allotting each member of the family for souvenirs and snacks that day and leave the rest in the hotel safe. Have breakfast at the hotel before you go (I even bought cereal, milk, fruit and disposable bowls and spoons at a nearby grocery store, although a lot of hotels now offer a complimentary breakfast.) Lunch and a few snacks can be prepared or purchased ahead of time and packed in a back pack. Take a water bottle that you can refill throughout the day and plan for one meal at the park with a special treat for snack at some point.
You won’t remember your breakfast at i-Hop, so why spend that kind of cash when it can be used for extras? Extras like a character breakfast one morning, that will make your trip more magical.
Medium, small and large Florida Devos having brekkie with the original Donald
Book a couple of special dinners or lunches at a favorite resort or at the parks to highlight the trip, but really the memories you make by spending time together are far more important than a sit down meal with service every day.
If you rent a car, you can even purchase a Styrofoam cooler and pack a picnic lunch to keep in the trunk. Heading back to the car mid-day to sit in the air-conditioning can be a refreshing and economical way to have lunch. It saves you from lugging lunch around all day in a back pack and the cool interior of the car beats the shade of a tree, if you can even find it, on a 90 degree day.
If you like a challenge that the whole family can get involved in and that has a fabulous reward at the end for all to enjoy, I encourage you to give these tips a try. So have fun and start planning your magical getaway!
Please do! Thanks! 🙂
Thanks Kimberly, and thanks for reading! – Florida Diva 🙂