First timer - how is this for a budget?

[NatashaAudrey]

I haven't been myself yet as my trip is in September 2019 however just in doing research over the last 6 months I can see how much of a minefield it all is. To get the most value for your money you need to have an idea on what you are getting yourself into. From what I can gather the parks are huge and you will need to factor in travelling time to and from your hotel to the parks. If you are staying onsite at Disney you will also need to book dining and fast passes in advance so that is something to consider. We are going for 2 weeks and I have been filling my vacation planner in on here and I feel like I don't have enough time for what we have booked. (Disney, Universal and NASA) so I'm not sure how you would it all in with just a week. Especially with young children. I went to Disneyland Paris in September and with the early starts and late nights, plus all the walking we were shattered. Remember this is your holiday and is supposed to be fun!

[princess allie]

We have been a few times and are considering going for a week next May. We will only do Universal. This will be an additional trip to our main August holiday. I agree with all the other posters and think you should probably just pick one set of parks and I would also think that Universal would probably be the best bet. Disney is fabulous and my all time favourite, but a week for first timers will just not do it justice. Obviously I have no idea why your husband doesn’t want to go for longer in the summer holidays, but if he fancies a beach holiday, could you incorporate a couple of days at one of Florida’s lovely beaches in to a longer trip?

[Shooby doo]

£5k do-able..maybe, hotel no villa maybe. Direct though I think that you would be really lucky to get good prices for Easter. We expect to pay around £450 from Glasgow through London with BA but that's Sept/Oct, price wise if you could get close to £2500 for you flights then that would be a bargain but your passes - 3 day Disney Base plus a 2 day Park to Park (you need P2P for Hogwart's Express) you're not getting any change out of £2k. You are then looking at a Villa during a peak time plus a car (?) then your budget is blown. Not trying to be "Debbie Downer" but £5k for a weeks holiday
You are sort of stuck between "a rock & a hard place" though, for a week Universal is the better value but not much there for the 2 year old & no Potter at Disney for the older ones!
As other's my advice would be to wait & possibly go for longer, probably not much more price wise either!
SD

[scoobydooby]

OP. Have you decided what you’re going to do?

[Burgmeister]

Originally Posted by NatashaAudrey

If you are staying onsite at Disney you will also need to book dining and fast passes in advance so that is something to consider.

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You only need to book dining if you are planning on doing any particular table service meals.

We are on QSDP and the only meals I have so far booked are a couple of breakfasts at BoG and a Pizzafari family dining meal. There is still some contention around whether the Pizzafari meal can still be done on a QSDP credit so this will be cancelled if I can't use a credit.

[Sandra & co]

A week isn’t very long for such a long flight, it can be done but will be exhausting. If you go at the end of August, Prices go down. You could have 10 or 14 days, 14 days and visit all the parks plus a few days in Clearwater, The Disney water parks are such fun. TYphoon Lagoon is our kids favourite, we go every holiday sometimes twice x

[NatashaAudrey]

Originally Posted by Burgmeister

You only need to book dining if you are planning on doing any particular table service meals.

We are on QSDP and the only meals I have so far booked are a couple of breakfasts at BoG and a Pizzafari family dining meal. There is still some contention around whether the Pizzafari meal can still be done on a QSDP credit so this will be cancelled if I can't use a credit.

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Yes you are right sorry! I forgot to mention I am on the DDP in my original post

[Burgmeister]

I think the OP may have lost interest in this thread now!

[Pinkie1983]

For comparison we are hopefully going 27/12/20-7/1/21 so 11 nights over New Year. Only 2 of us, only doing Disney and our budget for flights, hotel and tickets is £4000 and I am a little worried that won't be enough!

[jasminej]

Thank you for all your replies. Lots of food for thought.