Is it possible to do WDW at Christmas on a budget?

[HironsBirons]

As title. Getting married next year but during hurricane season so thought about a European minimoon then a Disneymoon over Christmas. Can't think of anywhere else we'd like to go. But we'd need to do it on a budget. Is this possible? As cheap as we can really. What are must see/do's? All the Disney/universal etc parks? Do we need a car when we get there? I'm pretty terrified of driving on the other side! Thanks :)

It depends on your budget!

Christmas is the busiest time of the whole year for Disneyworld. Parks often have to shut the gates at about lunchtime over the Christmas period as the parks are at capacity. That said, if you can go before the US schools break up, it may not be too bad.

Hotels are more expensive at that time of year, it may be worth staying off site to keep prices down a bit. Flights are generally quite expensive too, but if you shop around for indirect flights, they may not be too bad.

You don't necessarily need a car, über is very good in Orlando, and then saves on car parking fees

It isn't a cheap holiday or a cheap destination. What is your budget?

I know it's not cheap, but I can't think of anywhere else I'd like to go. Sitting on a beach in the sun sounds like the dullest thing in the world to us!

I think we'd have a budget of £3-4K in total, that won't be enough will it?

Depends on how many people that amount is supposed to pay for.

That will be plenty if it is just for two people. There are ways to avoid over spending, but I was surprised at how expensive it was last year.

You can make savings by staying in a villa rather than on site in a Disney hotel or villa. airbnb, owners direct etc all have plenty in the area. the further away you are from Disney the cheaper they will be so again if you have a car and don't mind 45 - 1hr drive each way then it will be a real saving. driving in Orlando is straightforward and having a car gives you much more flexibility to eat in the cheaper places off of site and stay in cheaper places to so whilst you might not want to do it it would really help your budget. £3-4K for 2 of you is doable but how big is your family? if its 2 + 2 then it will be really tough.

Just the two of us! Might have a look into some hotels slightly further away, and villas. I'll drive if I have to, but it really does give me the fear!

This is the cost of Disney/Universal tickets for next year. There is more ticket options available, check out Attractions Tickets Direct for a rough price so you know how much the parks cost.

I went at Christmas last year and stayed in a villa away from Disney and I would say it's impossible to do it for that price, as it cost is £10k for 4... and two of those are children. (But happy to be corrected!)

Second budgiegirl's point. At peak times the parks will shut to non-resort guests. And Christmas is a very peak time. I usually go in October but this year we went in February (the week after the UK half term) and it was flippin' heaving ; the parks were at 80% capacity, apparently, so heaven knows what 100% is like.

It is possible to save money at times on a trip to Disneyworld, but at Christmas it will be a £££ experience. You will also need to book restaurants in advance and ride times (it's all very complicated now!) and you get early booking priority as a resort guest. There is some talk of resort guests getting priority full stop, which is a little sad as I think all should be equal once through the gates.

Is there any chance of your going in October/November? Weather great (least rainy time of the year) and not as hot as summer and parks much quieter.

In any case, your immediate priority should be ordering
www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-Guide-Disney-World-Guides/dp/1628090677?tag=mumsnetforum-21

which has been our bible for about ten trips...

Do you particularly want to go to disneyland or just not go and lie on a beach? Cos there's loads of other alternatives, including other major theme parks

Atlantic We really want to go to Florida for WDW but may be open to looking at other suggestions if it's not possible/too expensive. We get married in September & would prefer to honeymoon then but it's hurricane season which we obviously want to avoid!

If you are not restricted by school holidays, I'd go late November/early December. It's a quiet time to go, hurricane season is finished, Christmas decorations will be up.

Flights will be much cheaper than at Christmas, as will hotels. You should easily be able to do it for 4k

That's a good point about the decorations. The Magic Kingdom decorates for Christmas on November 2nd, I believe!

Just had a quick look, and for 2 weeks in early Dec, you should be able to get flights, hotel with breakfast, and tickets to all parks for around £2k for two adults, which gives you another £2k for spending, which should be plenty.

Where are you seeing flights, hotel, breakfast And all park tickets for 2 for 2k???

Where are you seeing flights, hotel, breakfast And all park tickets for 2 for 2k???

I've based it on Dec this year, as flights and hotels aren't available for next year yet, but you can fly with Norwegian to Orlando for £660 for two adults, 14 day Disney/water parks is £660 for two, and hotels on International Drive start from around £550 with breakfast for two for a fortnight on booking.com.

Sorry, that should say Disney tickets are £740, but that's still under £2k. It's a few hundred more if you add Universal tickets, but it still would leave plenty of spending money for a 4K budget.

We went the other year in the first two weeks of Dec and it was blissful! Perfect weather, decent crowd levels, lovely and festive.
We've been in Feb, may, June, august and September before and the Dec one was definitely my favourite. Are you tied to school holidays? If not, first two weeks of Dec would be a fab time to go.
As it's your first time I would really avoid the peak business times if I were you. It will take a little bit of the shine off it, battling those crowds.

Does it have to be September or December? Personally I've been three times in September (most recently 2015) and five times in August and never had issues with weather bar one tropical storm which cleared the parks out quite nicely anyway.

In December flights can be done for £600-900 per person depending on your flexibility around indirect flights and airports. We just did Disney one year when we had a slightly smaller budget than usual and skipped Universal so that saved us about £300. We also always stay onsite with the dining plan to avoid transportation costs and issues, and so that our food budget is already sorted. I like having everything paid for in advance.

Dont worry about the driving. Roads are generally straight, lots of traffic lights that give everybody a go ( no need to nip round when the lights are changing) and they don't have many roundabouts on the roads ( they have them in the theme parks). A car is vital. Nobody walks anywhere, and there are so many wonderful places to go to. Also, it's cheap to eat out so you will want to eat out every night ( u nless you go in a villa). Look at Kissimee for hotels, we loved it there, found it better than International drive. Tons of hotels and eating places, also eating places that the locals go to ( which is always a good sign, i-drive is all tourist places) - Sonnys pit BBQ springs to mind!
You can do it in your budget, just get looking at flights now and get things booked. But I have to say, if you can , go the beginning of December when everything is Christmassy but the parks are less crowded. Because it's no fun queueing for two hours at a time. Enjoy yourself!!

I highly recommend getting a sat nav with a car. I managed last year, and I hadn't driven in the US since 1990.

I go to Orlando 2/3 times a year due to FIL having property over there & have friends who work for Disney. 2018 is going to be the cheapest time to get Disney packages main reason... so much of the parks are shut for huge renovations & expansions, hence all the sales on virgin holidays!! If you wait until all the new attractions open in 2019, it will be mega money !! My SIL is going next year on a 10 day package staying onsite, with Disney dinning package and free car rental for around £800.

The biggest expense of orlando is bloomin' Universal Studios - worth it though and discovery cove is mega money!!

Universal prices are absurd these days. I remember paying £80 for two week tickets in 2010. Harry Potter opens and suddenly they're over £200

Thanks for all your help guys! Lots to think about now. Not necessarily tied to school holidays so will look at our options and see what we can do. I'm beginning to think staying offsite and hiring a car may be a good option - driving sounds terrifying but I'm sure after a day or two I won't know what I was worried about. I'm liking the sound of the first 2 week in December, I love Christmas so it's be nice to see it all decorated. Universal is extortionate but it's my dp's only request so I suppose I better let him