Disney on a Budget - Part 2

Hello there!!

So you think Disney is too expensive?  You just know that you won't be able to afford to go.  Well I am here to show you how Disney can be affordable to everyone!!

Last week we covered - using a vacation planner (hopefully since you are here that will be me!), meal plans and planning your meals well.  If you didn't read it check it out here - Disney on a Budget - Part 1

Here we are going to cover - resort categories, the different seasons of Disney, age of your kids.

1.) Age of your kids.  I am starting here since well, for some of you this might not even really be an option.  Your kids are what they are age wise and if you are just now considering a Disney trip and they are all 10 and above then this tip will do nothing for you!  However, if you have younger kids, especially a child under 3 consider getting there asap!  Children UNDER 3 are FREE.  That means that if they are 2 years 51 weeks and 6 days old the day you get to Disney they are considered under 3 for the whole trip.  Being under 3 is huge in so many ways - not only is the park pass free, but they eat free at the buffets!  This September will be the first trip that I have to pay for both kids...yikes!  Luckily I got in on a great promo - Kids Stay and Play for free (it's over) and I am at least getting free basic park passes.  I hear parents all the time say that under a certain age is too young to go to Disney.  Rather than rehash my opinions on that I will link you to this post...How Young is Too Young???  For me I don't think there is a too young, but read for yourself and know that it is always great to get that first trip in to make your memories before your little prince or princess turns 3, trust me it is truly MAGICAL!

2.) Resort Options.  There are so many different levels of price at Disney.  I know many people that stay off site because they think this is money saving and they get more space.  Me I will never stay off site, so if you are looking for info on that, well I am not the one with those answers.  (Some of the reasons I love Staying on site are covered here.)  But back to how to make the categories work to your budget.  Disney has something for every budget.  For instance - my parents are paying $69 a night to stay at the Pop Century!  Not a bad price at all when you think of all the benefits you get by staying on property.  Now this is with a discount that was previously offered, but there are almost always discounts, which is why I recommend booking with me!  :-)  So for those that think the lodging is out of control expensive I am here to tell you - it doesn't have to be!  Is the Grand Floridian beautiful and well...Grand?  Yes, but is it insanely expensive - yes!  I have stayed at some deluxes, but this is one I haven't because I just cannot bring myself to spend that kind of money!

3.) Know the Seasons. No I am not talking about Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.  Although those do slightly coordinate with Disney's seasons.  With Disney you get - value, regular, peak, and holiday season - in that order.  Value of course being the least expensive and Holiday being the most expensive.  Recently the implemented even increasing pricing on dining during holiday and extremely high peak seasons.  The seasons for the resorts are also dictated by the level resort you are in.  Here is the 2011 Breakdown on the Resort Seasons!

• Disney Value Resorts & Disney Moderate Resorts 
• Value Season:      Jan 2-5; Jan 9 - Jan 13; Jan 17 - Feb 16; Aug 14 - Sept 29
  
• Marathon Rate:     Jan 6 -8
  
• Regular Season:   Feb 27 - March 10;  May 1 - June 2;  Sept 30 - Oct 6;  Oct 10 - Nov 18; Nov 26 - Dec 22
  
• Summer Season:   June 3 - June 30,  July 4 - Aug 13
  
• Peak Season:        Feb 17;  Feb 21 - 26;  March 11 - April 16
  
• Holiday Season:    Jan 1;  Jan 14-16;  Feb 18-20;  April 17 - April 30; July 1-3;  Oct 7-9;   Nov 19-25; Dec 23 -31   
  

• Disney Deluxe Resorts: 
• Value Season:      Jan 2-5; Jan 9 - Jan 13; Jan 17 - Feb 16; July 17 - Sept 29 
• Marathon Rate:     Jan 6 -8 
• Regular Season:   Feb 27 - March 10;  May 1 - June 30;  July 4-16; Sept 30 - Oct 6;  Oct 10 - Nov 21; Nov 26 - Dec 22
  
• Peak Season:        Feb 17;  Feb 21 - 26;  March 11 - April 16
  
• Holiday Season:    Jan 1;  Jan 14-16;  Feb 18-20;  April 17-30;  July 1-3;  Oct 7-9;  Nov 22-25; Dec 23 -31   
  

• Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts: 
• Value Season:      Jan 2-5; Jan 9 - Feb 16; July 17 - Sept 29
  
• Marathon Rate:     Jan 6 -8
  
• Regular Season:   Feb 27 - March 10;  May 1 - June 30;  July 4-16; Sept 30 - Nov 21;    Nov 26 - Dec 22
  
• Peak Season:        Feb 17-26;  March 11 - April 30
  
• Holiday Season:    Jan 1;  July 1-3;  Nov 22-25;  Dec 23 -31  
  

• Disney Campsites for Fort Wilderness: 
• Value Season:      Jan 2-5; Jan 9 - Jan 13; Jan 17 - Feb 17; Aug 7 - Oct 6; Oct 10 - Nov 17 
• Marathon Rate:     Jan 6 -8 
• Regular Season:   May 1 - June 30;  July 4 - Aug 6 
• Peak Season:       Feb 21 - April 16 
• Pre-Holiday:          Nov 18;  Nov 26 - Dec 15 
• Holiday Season:    Jan 1;  Jan 14-16;  Feb 18-20;  April 17 - April 30; July 1-3;  Oct 7-9;  Nov 19-25; Dec 16 -31   
  

• Disney Cabins for Fort Wilderness 
• Value Season:      Jan 2-5; Jan 9 - Jan 13; Jan 17 - Feb 16; July 17 - Sept 29 
• Marathon Rate:     Jan 6 -8 
• Regular Season:   Feb 27 - March 10;  May 1 - June 30;  July 4-16; Sept 30 - Oct 6;  Oct 23 - Nov 21;  Nov 26 - Dec 22
  
• Peak Season:        Feb 17;  Feb 21 - 26;  March 11 - April 16
  
• Holiday Season:    Jan 1;  Jan 14-16;  Feb 18-20;  April 17 - April 30; July 1-3;  Oct 7-9;   Nov 22-25; Dec 23 -31

Overwhelming I know!!  That is what I am for though!  :-)  Now go look at those dates and figure out when you want to go for the least amount of money!  This is why we are going the last week of September and not the first week of October!!

Tuesday's Tip

Hey there Disney Lovers!

On Facebook I posted my tip of the day, but they don't leave much room to get into all the fun details!!

So my tip of the day is...Stay On Site!!

There is nothing more magical than staying on Disney Property! You get to be surrounded by the magic of Disney from the time you wake up until you go to bed. Even your wake up call is magical!! :-) But if that isn't reason enough, here are some of the top reasons I think staying on site is where it's at!!

1.) Free Parking! We drive to Disney, so we have a car there. We like to drive about and sometimes drive to the parks. Well if you are off site and not an Annual Passholder, then you have to pay $12 a day to park!! So if you will have a car there and plan to use it, then factor this cost into your budget, or just stay on site!!

2.) Free Transportation! Yup that's right, if you are onsite you get a easy boat, bus, or monorail ride to and from your resort! This makes it VERY easy to take that midday break with the kids or just for yourself. It is very relaxing to let someone else do the driving.

3.) Extra Magic Hours! Now while the other two may have been ehhh to you, this is where it's at! Extra Magic Hours are for resort guests only. A certain park will open either 1 hour early or stay open 3 hours later than regular hours. So lets say Animal Kingdom is having morning extra magic hours (EMH for short) and their normal hours are 9 am to 5 pm. That means that if you are a resort guest you can enter the park at 8 am. Great for early birds. That I am not, so I LOVE evening EMH. In this case take Animal Kingdom again open from 9 am to 5pm and with evening EMH they will stay open til 8pm. Even better is when Epcot stays open til midnight! The crowds really thing down as the night goes on! We have even taken advantage of staying at Magic Kingdom til 2am!!

So there are a few of the reasons I LOVE being on site at Walt Disney World!!

Comment here at let us know why you love it!