Hi Hannah!
Welcome back to planDisney! Wow. You win the award for advanced planning!
Like you, planning helps me to budget. When we start planning and are unsure about the time of year we want to visit, I will check prices for different seasons to get a sense of which time of year might be more affordable. Use the
online search tool to check
vacation package pricing. We tend to visit in July, August, or December. Since prices can fluctuate, I hesitate to say which season might be least expensive, but I will suggest that you check the
Special Offers to see which ones might apply for the time of year you wish to travel.
Once I get that initial estimate, I have an idea of how much to save. Given how far out your trip is, I do suggest that you check at least once per year to see how the prices may have changed. Since we normally fly, I also check flight prices. Be careful to do so because sometimes the vacation package might be cheaper but then the flights are more expensive. Also note that current children's ticket prices apply to children ages 3-9. So, price tickets using the ages your kids would be in five years when you take the trip. If they will be at a different price point by then, it may be worth pushing your visit up a year or two.
Since we estimate the total cost of our trip, we also always weigh the costs of flying versus driving. We stay about nine hours away and when we drive, we will spend the night in a hotel, so we have to factor in that cost as well. One year, we took the train and purchased two roomettes for the overnight ride. The experience was lovely, but the cost was about the same as the flights. And we had to factor in the cost of transportation from the train station. Since you have some time to plan, I also suggest that you take some time to review restaurant menus. Just check the
dining list, filter by location, and click on the menu link from the home page of the restaurant. One of our favorite restaurants is
Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera. Check out their
breakfast menu. The character dining at breakfast is simply delightful.
Over the years, prices have fluctuated. But I will consider different resort hotel categories to get a better deal. Click on the
resort hotel list and filter by category. My favorite value resort hotels are Disney's Art of Animation and Disney's Pop Century Resorts. My favorite moderate resort hotel is Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside. And my family's favorite deluxe resort hotels are Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and Disney's Contemporary Resort.
Hannah, as you save for the trip, remember to get your little ones into the savings as well. For our girls' first trip, we let them decorate a jar and then they put their extra change in that jar for the year leading up to the trip. The money they saved was set aside for their souvenirs!
Magic and memories,
Donyell