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View Full Version : our seven nights at the Swan--a trip overview


madge
03-23-2001, 07:26 AM
I can't see any reason to call this a trip report. I have been reading this site for 2-3 years and there are plenty of gifted writers out there that have perfected trip reports to an art form. Once upon a time I was an English major n college and could write a pretty darn good descriptive narrative. That disappeared after I began the mommy thing (I can't even tell a decent bedtime tale. it's very sad, but I have learned to live with it :) ).

anyway, here's the necessary info:

who we are: the Hearne family (of KY :)): dad, mom (and hearne-to-be age 15 weeks in utero), and our boys that are 5 & 11.

This is our 5th WDW vacation since October 1998--we have stayed at: shades of green (twice), Wilderness Lodge, Dixie Landings, Dolphin, and the Swan. We usually plan our main vacation to be the first week of October (we have done that 3 times) but due to the impending arrival of Hearne #3 we had to reschedule this year's trip. Thank goodness for pointclick (RIP) and the almost-free Annual Passes :)

The dates of this trip: 13-20 March, 2001. Tues-Tues, I know it's a little strange, but that's just the way the flights worked out. We flew Southwest and after this flight probably won't fly with anyone else. Especially since I am guaranteed another 5 years of pre-boarding with baby #3. :rolleyes:

Estimated cost of the trip: not quite $1600, the cheapest/longest trip we have taken to date. we have AP's, only needed to purchase 1 plane ticket, and got a great rate at the swan. we also aren't fancy-schmancy eaters which helps on the food costs. our average cost per day for food/misc expenses ended up being about $100.

This has gotten a little wordier than I would like, so I'll do a separate post about our thoughts on the crowds, hotel, food, etc.

madge

:D

snuggles
03-23-2001, 08:11 AM
A great beginning..cant wait to hear more!

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nutz4dzny
03-23-2001, 02:20 PM
Good start. Thanks for Posting!

SunniB
03-23-2001, 03:56 PM
I am interested in the total cost of your trip- how did you do it for $1600?

madge
03-24-2001, 07:32 AM
here's the breakdown:

park passes: we are annual passholders, but this year I got the tickets virtually free from an internet rewards program (it doesn't exist anymore, sorry) final cost: $0


transportation: used airline vouchers, but had to pay for DH. cost for us: $150. the rental car cost us $146. for the week through national.
final cost: $296

hotel: a friend in the industry got us an excellent rate for the week at the Swan.
final cost: $537

food/misc. expenses: we are not big eaters, nor are we fancy eaters. our biggest splurge was Chef Mickey's for dinner ($75 including tip). we averaged $100 a day. we also had club level privleges which cut our food costs down a little bit.
final cost: $800

grand total: $1600

we were lucky this trip, with the AP's and airline vouchers as well as the excellent room rate. we have taken other trips similar in length that cost roughly the same, I enjoy the challenge of a budget.

hope this helps!

kathymc
03-26-2001, 12:23 PM
thanks for posting

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