have you regretted any of your $ savings actions?

[christmaslady]

Hi, I'm been reading this board to get ideas to save money on our fall trip to WDW and this is my first post

Have you tried anything to save money that made your vacation LESS enjoyable -- things that just weren't worth the effort -- or you felt like you had sacrificed?

I'm afraid that I'm getting to obsessed with saving $ and that is going to hurt our trip.
:scared: :scared:

[pilgrimage]

I once booked an ultra-early flight to get the lowest fares. It meant getting up at 4 am.... never again!!!!!

[Blueberry]

We tried to save money and stayed at a cheaper resort than what we like on one trip and were sorry we did that...but that is about it...

[QuickGold]

Whenever I go for the cheapest hotel I can find, I usually find a nicer hotel that I wish I booked for a few more dollars a night.

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by christmaslady
Have you tried anything to save money that made your vacation LESS enjoyable -- things that just weren't worth the effort -- or you felt like you had sacrificed?

WELCOME to the boards christmas lady. I thought quite a bit about your question and finally remembered one trip that was somewhat spoiled. When my wife was pregnant, we realized we wouldn't be able to take our usual trip in September because that's when she was due. So in February, we booked a Delta DreamFlight package. It was cheap and included air, hotel and rental car. Unfortunately, rental car was with Alamo which was not in the terminal at the time. Getting to and from their off-terminal location was horrendous, and dealing with them once we did get there was even worse. Every trip before that and since, we have always gotten our rental car from Dollar in the terminal even if an off-site company had better rates. We've also never booked another package deal. I like the flexibility of doing everything myself.

Steve

[hockey mom]

Bringing snacks into the parks. Bottom line is my kids want the Mickey ice cream bars and popcorn and what was I hoping to save-$50. Not worth it.

[FonFon]

We regretted moving into a Holiday Inn after staying on property, for the Universal Studios "leg" of our trip...it's such a "culture shock"! I wish we had just spent the extra $$ and gotten a nice hotel.

[InstImpres]

Renting my car from L&M. The $55 savings was gone once they added all the extras they became more money. Good thing I hadn't cancelled with National yet - just moved over 1 counter.

I also second the offsite car rental. I will not do that anywhere unles noone is on site.

Sandy

[hercamore]

Hi,

This is a good thread, btw.

I would have to say, renting a small compact car for 3 people and teenage girl's luggage, LOL.

So not worth it.

Now we spend a little more and rent a fullsize so we are all comfortable.

herc.

[kapica3]

Here is my regret:

We drove down from NJ and we were to arrive in Orlando around midnight. I thought I was being thrifty to not "waste" money on a Disney Hotel for that first night as we would only be sleeping. I found a $32 rate somewhere on line for a Howard Johnson at 2323 192, I believe was the address. I booked the hotel for our first night. Oh! My! God! - in a word DIRTY! unchanged bedding, (evidence to prove it) - dirty tissues. When we asked for the bed to be cleaned we waited over an hour and was handed a stack of sheets. Not to mention the clientel of the hotel was scary. Drunk and disorderly. We had to keep looking outside to make sure our car was still there.

We slept that night in our clothes on towels (which appeared to be clean) on top of that bed. Yuck, NEVER AGAIN!! From now on its Disney or Nothin. The only money-saving hotel-hopping I will do is to stay at a Disney Value resort the first night and then relocate to my final resort. I refuse to have my trip start out that way again - especially after driving straight through 25 hours due to traffic.

[Lisa P.]

Wow, kapica3, based on ONE bad experience at ONE crummy motel, you've decided it's not good to stay at ANY of the hundreds of offsite hotels???? :scratchin

We stayed at a bad Travelodge in Kissimmee for the first half of our first family trip, then moved to FW Homes onsite. It was a mistake to accept the AAA rate and savings on that particular motel without getting good reviews from others first. And it was a mistake to disregard the warnings about the long waits and transfers for Disney buses at FW. Now we always seek firsthand reviews before accepting any Orlando area resort.

Since that trip, we've stayed at several different onsite and offsite hotels and timeshare resorts. Our favorites have been onsite DVC timeshare condos, Epcot hotels and offsite luxury timeshare resorts with a festive atmosphere and very nice accommodations. We've saved money whenever possible and not regretted it!

We've never regretted avoiding a lot of souvenir buying, nor skipping some sitdown meals and having snacks or a light counter service meal or even taking in our own snacks or drinks. We've never regretted going to offsite restaurants or cooking in our condo. We've never regretted spending as much on film as we wanted - the photos are great memory makers.

Plan and try to be budget conscious but keep a little padding in your budget so you can be flexible if something really fun presents itself. Then relax and have a fun trip!
:cool1:

[Efastpitch]

Originally posted by christmaslady
Hi, I'm been reading this board to get ideas to save money on our fall trip to WDW and this is my first post

Have you tried anything to save money that made your vacation LESS enjoyable -- things that just weren't worth the effort -- or you felt like you had sacrificed?

I'm afraid that I'm getting to obsessed with saving $ and that is going to hurt our trip.
:scared: :scared:

We will never stay off property again. We saved money by booking a hotel room off property and hated it. Never again. I save money somewhere else.:sunny:

[BedKnobbery2]

I have to say, I haven't regretted any $ saving decisions I've made re: disney trips because they all were necessary in order to make the trip. My bigger regret would be spending $ I really don't have. I plan my trip based on my budget, and so far, I've been really lucky to get max bang for my buck.

[disneysteve]

Sorry to stray off-topic, but I just had to respond to kapica3 and Efastpitch. You folks stayed off-site once and had a bad experience and it sounds like as a result you are never willing to stay off-site again.

Off-site hotels are not all roach-infested lousy service establishments. They range from Knights Inn (or worse) to J.W. Marriott ultra-luxury resorts. You can even rent a 4-bedroom, 3-bath house with a private pool and large screen HDTV for less than the cost of a Disney moderate.

I just think that if your goal is saving money and, more importantly, getting good value for your accomodation dollar, it is far easier to do that offsite than onsite.

I've stayed offsite many times at many different places and have never regretted the decision. There are many tremendous bargains to be found in the area if you keep an open mind and do your homework before booking.

Steve

[Doodlebug939]

On my past trip to Disney I bid on hotels at Priceline. I got good deals I might add for a hotel about two hours away from Disney so that we could stop and rest and then hit disney the next day refreshed. The hotel was only like $50 or so but for the trip down and back so total it was $100. Anyway by the time we got so close to Disney we just wanted to keep going. Why stop when we can have an extra night in Orlando. So it wasnt a big mistake but I feel that next time I will just keep going because we are so excited to get there that another two hours is not a big deal after all.

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by kapica3
Here is my regret:

We drove down from NJ and we were to arrive in Orlando around midnight. I thought I was being thrifty to not "waste" money on a Disney Hotel for that first night as we would only be sleeping. I found a $32 rate somewhere on line for a Howard Johnson at 2323 192, I believe was the address. I booked the hotel for our first night. Oh! My! God! - in a word DIRTY! unchanged bedding, (evidence to prove it) - dirty tissues. When we asked for the bed to be cleaned we waited over an hour and was handed a stack of sheets. Not to mention the clientel of the hotel was scary. Drunk and disorderly. We had to keep looking outside to make sure our car was still there.

We slept that night in our clothes on towels (which appeared to be clean) on top of that bed. Yuck, NEVER AGAIN!! From now on its Disney or Nothin. The only money-saving hotel-hopping I will do is to stay at a Disney Value resort the first night and then relocate to my final resort. I refuse to have my trip start out that way again - especially after driving straight through 25 hours due to traffic. This is a total side note and it's NOMB, but I have to ask... Why on earth did you stay there? I guess if it were Christmas Eve and every other hotel in town was completely booked, I could understand it, but otherwise? No honking way. Yuck!!

[mad4themouse]

Great threader starter, Christmaslady, and welcome to the DIS.

I also regretted staying off-property (sorry, disneysteve). I guess it's case of "once bitten, twice shy". After the hotel we stayed at offsite, we were all shaking our heads and saying "for a few dollars more, it's worth it to stay at Disney." At least I know what to expect from Disney.

We stayed at a hotel on I-drive that was one of two hotels chosen by the World Tang Soo Do Association for their World Championships at the Orange County Convention Center. We had several friends who stayed at the other hotel. While both hotels were nicely landscaped, the rooms were run down and smelled of mildew. The carpets were dirty and thread-bare. The bathrooms were mildew-stained. The pools lacked any ambiance and the clientel preferred to stay up later into the night. The front desk would not answer their phone and they had the nerve to tack a "resort" charge of $10 per night on to the price I had paid at Expedia. It was not a pleasant stay and none of us have any desire to return to the I-drive area for anything other than this summer's tournament. We will, however, stay at Disney and commute to the Convention Center for the two days of competition.

Now, I know that there are some marvelous, budget-priced resorts in the Orlando area. But once you've had a really horrible experience with one, you have a difficult time getting that bad taste out of your mouth. In time, it may go away. But I wouldn't condemn anyone who has had a negative experience offsite for choosing to stay onsite in the future.

Another regret was similar to Disneysteve's experience with a Delta package and Alamo. No direct flights from Philly to Orlando, less-than-desireable flight times and long layovers. Exceptionally poor service from Alamo. As a result, I'll never rent from Alamo again. I'll never book a package and I'll never allow a TA to book my flights for any vacation.

[dolphincrazy]

Originally posted by disneysteve
Sorry to stray off-topic, but I just had to respond to kapica3 and Efastpitch. You folks stayed off-site once and had a bad experience and it sounds like as a result you are never willing to stay off-site again.

Off-site hotels are not all roach-infested lousy service establishments. They range from Knights Inn (or worse) to J.W. Marriott ultra-luxury resorts. You can even rent a 4-bedroom, 3-bath house with a private pool and large screen HDTV for less than the cost of a Disney moderate.

I just think that if your goal is saving money and, more importantly, getting good value for your accomodation dollar, it is far easier to do that offsite than onsite.

I've stayed offsite many times at many different places and have never regretted the decision. There are many tremendous bargains to be found in the area if you keep an open mind and do your homework before booking.

Steve

Disneysteve or anyone, I have a reservation to stay at Knights Inn is this a bad choice?
Thanks, Maryann :)

[allforpooh]

Welcome to the Dis, this is a great question...

I agree with several of the posters, early airline flights and rental cars not on site in the airport would be my top things. We never use shuttles anymore either only a rental car or towncar rental.

Tickets are also an issue, we hate to mess with the plus passes etc, we like the Ultimate or Annual pass that way we can do whatever we want whenever we want.

I think everyone is very different in what they like, since we want it to be a relaxing vacation we are willing to spend more when we go even if it means going less times.

We also do not bring snacks into the park, we do bring water. No one ever ate any of the snacks and then I just had to carry them around all day. Each trip my bag gets smaller and lighter.

There are things that we do that does help, we save all change, and bottle return slips. The kids always get some disney dollars for birthdays or Christmas. We rarely buy anything other than food and pins while were there. We have also had alot of luck (before DVC) with buying the styrafoam cooler and keeping pop/juice/water in the room that we bought at the grocery store.

Denise

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by dolphincrazy
Disneysteve or anyone, I have a reservation to stay at Knights Inn is this a bad choice?
Thanks, Maryann :)

Maryann, I haven't stayed there but I haven't heard good things about the place. I'd suggest posting your question to the Orlando Hotels board. You should get plenty of responses there.

Steve

[tar heel]

We regret staying at All Stars last summer. I got such a good deal ($59 AP rate) and we were trying to make the trip cheaper than usual. I just didn't realize how important an element the resort was for our family -- I mistakenly thought it was just a place to sleep. We were used to a better location, a hot tub and a pool slide. A moderate would have been okay -- we actually did that for the last two nights -- but value was too far a step down.

We have stayed at the Hampton Inn our first night and were perfectly happy with it.

[roadtripper]

We always stay offsite the first nite through Priceline and have had great experiences. I guess this is more of a tip than a regret, but I would suggest that you be prepared to treat yourself to something unexpected that may cost a little more than what you've budgeted (this is my travel mantra anyway). For example, on our first super budget trip, as we were heading from Epcot back to our OKW studio for lunch (to stick frozen mozzarella sticks in the toaster oven I had brought from home on the 24 hour drive), it occurred to me that we could actually eat lunch in Epcot. We went to Le Cellier, and the rest is history. It is now one of our favorites, and one of my favorite memories. One thing I NEVER regret is buying Disney souvenirs at the Dollar store before we leave and giving them to the kids while we're at WDW--save a bundle that way, and they are thrilled! Welcome to the DIS-- great thread!

[HaleyB]

This was not really a way to save I regret, it was just a huge WASTE of money (and time). We rented a car outside of the airport. I might not have minded the 2 hours it took to pick up the car and do all the paper work, except we never needed a car. We used it one time (in a week) to go to grocery store, just to use it. I happen to be a fan of not having to drive while in WDW.

One money saving thing I see people do that makes me wonder is the bringing in lots of bottled water. Sure the bottled water is pricey, but they will give you tap water on ice for free. Better than lugging around 10 pounds of water any day (if you really can't stand the taste, Tang or Lemonade powder is much easier to carry about). Less is more when it comes to what you have to carry in the parks!

[frannn]

I agree with no offsite rental car, no offsite room. I budget by bringing snacks and doing a grocery stop. Somehow, I always bring/buy too much. Then I have to either leave the stuff or lug it home, after lugging it all the way there on the plane. Hmmmm....I actually brought less stuff my last trip and still had too much! The other thing I am guilty of is over-outlet shopping. I go to at least two-three of the outlet Disney World stores, 2X per trip, and bring home LOTS. Last trip I had it shipped. We got several boxes on several different days after our trip, which was nice, but where do I put it? I can't bear to part with any of it, of course.
Then I obsess over the rental car and AP room discounts, calling and checking on the web twice a day before a trip. I bring coupons, vouchers for food, and DH is more of a "food court" person. Hates to drive to save a $1. So some of that went to waste, or we could have saved more, or we could have had better meals. I need to realize that my time (and space) is valuable also. A bargain is great if I don't spend forever stressing over it.

[4greatboys]

Normally we dont do major cost cutting around the house or on our trip for our trip. We do look for all the good discounts, we do use some food vouchers. We are also DVC members now which I consider a savings for our family of 6. Our dues are way less that what we would have to pay per night to stay at one of the villas. For example we are staying at a 2 bedroom that would cost us $700 per night regular season--Ouch.
We do take early morning flights--but not at 4am, lol. 6am has been the earliest. We have stayed off site before to save money. Our hotel was okay but we really prefer to be on site. And if you dont plan to leave Disney you dont need a rental.

[vhoffman]

The worst thing I ever did budget wise was not for a Disney trip but I think it pertains to this discussion. We went to Hawaii last year and I decided to use Priceline for our hotel. Big mistake! We got what was supposed to be a 3 star hotel, but it wouldn't even rate a minus 3! We were simply appalled at "our" hotel. It was in a seamy area of town. The lobby looked like a welfare hotel. The staff was surly and unhelpful. The parking garage was a block away and we had to walk and carry our bags since there was no shuttle. The room was beyond filthy! The beds weren't even made up and had dirty sheets from the last customer. The floor wasn't carpeted in the room or hallway and the noise was terrible. Not to mention the street noise. We just checked out and went to a Hilton. Fortuantely we were able to get a fairly decent rate although if I had booked there in advance it would have cost less. This is a good example of how less can cost more. Don't ever make "blind" reservations. It just isn't worth the chance you take. BTW, that also applies to package tours. Many years ago we took a package tour to Mexico. The package promised a five star hotel, and gave some names as examples. Well, when we got there we had a horrible place and checked out and paid the difference for a decent hotel. The package got away with it because their fine print says "or equilivant;" Well, obviously that's a matter of opinion. KNOW YOUR HOTEL!

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by vhoffman
Don't ever make "blind" reservations. It just isn't worth the chance you take. KNOW YOUR HOTEL!

I know a lot of folks around here swear by Priceline but this is exactly why I'll never use it. I want to know exactly where I'm staying before I book. I want to see photos/video, a list of amenities, a map of the immediate area, read the reviews, etc. Thanks to the Internet, I think you can get some tremendous deals if you do your homework and are persistent without having the unknown factor of Priceline.

Steve

[w8ting4pooh]

I regret two things from our trip last year.

1) I was too stingy with the kids. I planned in advance to let them buy lots of things. Once we got there, I got cheap and said no to just about everything they asked for. Once we got home, I wished that I had just let them get what they wanted. :( :( :(

2) We stayed at a moderate when I really wanted a deluxe. We thought we'd be happy at the Coronado. It was ok but the first time that we saw the Grand Floridian "live in person" I felt sad that we didn't book it. We could have done it but chose not to. Fortunately, hubby promised me right then and there that next time, we could stay at the GF.
:D

[HappyMommy2]

Great thread!

I regret not doing a character meal on our first family trip, which was last summer. I thought it was just too expensive. The kids would have loved it, though, and it would have been a nice change from the counter service fare we ate all week. I already have $$ earmarked for a character meal for our next trip!

I also regret trying to save a lot of money by buying lots of food at our grocery stop. It turned out I bought way more than we actually ate during the week and so much went to waste--next time I'll be more judicious about what I get at the grocery stop.

[solotraveler]

Very interesting thread!

I think there are two things that I regretted about my first few trips on the cheap:

1. I realized that I MUCH prefer to stay onsite and do feel it detracts from my trip when I do. I felt like I to sigh everytime I went back to my hotel. Not that staying offsite is bad, just not for me.

2. Secondly, I didn't budget for any sitdown meals during the trip. Big regret for two reasons. First, Disney has some excellent dining locations that are worth a splurge. Second, there's only so much counter service I can take at a stretch. Disney counter service is better than most, but 7 day in a row starts to wear on me a little. So even for my less extravagant trips I now budget for at least 1 or 2 sitdown meals.

Solotraveler:earsboy:

[Mom2Ben02]

Originally posted by HappyMommy2
Great thread!

I regret not doing a character meal on our first family trip, which was last summer. I thought it was just too expensive. The kids would have loved it, though, and it would have been a nice change from the counter service fare we ate all week. I already have $$ earmarked for a character meal for our next trip!


Happymommy2, I just got back last night, and we did three! I did my PS's for 10:30, not first thing am, so it was breakfast and lunch!

I wish I hadn't scrapped the rental car - we would have been happier without the disney transportation!

[djm99]

Originally posted by pilgrimage
I once booked an ultra-early flight to get the lowest fares. It meant getting up at 4 am.... never again!!!!!

I always book a VERY EARLY flight, but i usually forget that early check in is not always available. This leads me to just sitting around sometimes. But going to Disney, I will continue to book early, because I'm usually too excited to wait!!!!!

[JC Butterfly]

You've come to a great place to research your trip and find all kinds of tips to help you save money in ways that WON'T make your vacation less fun.

On top of all of these wonderful tips, I would like to invite you to ask yourself some questions:

Is this your first trip to Disney? Is it "once in a Lifetime" or is it possible you will return again in a year or two?

This might influence the type of lodging experience you want to have.

How long of a trip is it?

What type of accomodations do you normally stay in when you travel?

How often do you travel?

If you are used to 4 or 5 star hotels, it probably won't feel that great to be stuck in a "budget" location.

Do you normally rent a car when you travel?

As has been stated, you don't *need* a car while at Disney if it is your only destination. Having one adds some flexibility to what you do, but if you've never been, you'll probably discover that Disney transportation can more than meet your needs.

What kind of food are you used to eating? Is going on vacation generally an excuse to "splurge" for you?

I think all of these reasons are why there are so many opinions on what sacrifices are "worth" it versus not.

For example, I LOVE to eat out. It is a treat to not have to prepare a meal for myself. I love having someone "serve" me. So it is important to me to have at least one sit-down meal per day at Disney. I'm not a fast-food fan.

So even though I would LOVE to stay at the Polynesian, I stay in a Value or a Moderate so that I can afford a "nice" dinner each night.

I've been to Disney lots of times, sometimes just for a long weekend. My next trip will be 2 weeks long. In order to make that happen, I had to invite more people to come with me and that necessatated moving off-site. I LOVE staying on-site and I know I will miss it. But at the same time I am excited to be able to go back to Disney so soon and for so long so that sacrifice is worth it.

YOU make the magic of Disney happen with the help of all the wonderful cast members so I believe there is no decision you can make that would ruin your trip.

Happy Planning,
Brenda

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by disneysteve
Sorry to stray off-topic, but I just had to respond to kapica3 and Efastpitch. You folks stayed off-site once and had a bad experience and it sounds like as a result you are never willing to stay off-site again.

Off-site hotels are not all roach-infested lousy service establishments. They range from Knights Inn (or worse) to J.W. Marriott ultra-luxury resorts. You can even rent a 4-bedroom, 3-bath house with a private pool and large screen HDTV for less than the cost of a Disney moderate.

I just think that if your goal is saving money and, more importantly, getting good value for your accomodation dollar, it is far easier to do that offsite than onsite.

I've stayed offsite many times at many different places and have never regretted the decision. There are many tremendous bargains to be found in the area if you keep an open mind and do your homework before booking.

Steve

I have to say that I too will never stay offsite again! We used to stay offsite because it was cheaper. That is why everyone stays offsite isn't it? So we went along for years saving all that $$$ and had NO problems with the places we chose. We always stayed in beautiful and spacious condos with every amenity there is. Everything except being surrounded by WDW! Once we tried staying onsite we will never go back to offsite. While there are lovely properties offsite they cannot compare to WDW resorts because of location and just being in the Disney magic. It just isn't worth the money to stay elsewhere.

[teachingmykids]

It seems I'm going against the tide here, but I don't regret staying offsite. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge (and loved it) the first time we took the kids. Ever since, we've stayed offsite (no bad experiences) because all they want is to hit the roller coasters and couldn't care less where they sleep.
So I guess it depends on the age and previous experiences as to what's important.
I don't regret spending money on WDW, we have so little time with our kids. This is what they'll remember, not the fact that we ate beans for a while to afford it.

;)

~~g.

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by skiwee1
We used to stay offsite because it was cheaper. That is why everyone stays offsite isn't it?

Price is one reason, but certainly not the only one.

We prefer offsite because we like our daughter to have her own room and my wife and I to have our own room. We like to have a kitchen with a regular refrigerator/freezer. We like to have more than 1 tv so DD can watch cartoons while we watch something else. We like to be able to put her to sleep and still stay up in our room with the lights and tv on. In the morning, we like for DD to be able to wake before us and read or play GameBoy in her room without disturbing us. We like having our own private pool at a rental home and not having to deal with screaming children or inconsiderate guests. We like NOT being in the center of the action when we're trying to kick back and relax. You just can't do all of that onsite at any price.

By the way, my 8 onsite stays have included Fort Wilderness, value, moderate and deluxe hotels so I'm not just comparing to the budget places.

Steve

[shelleybell]

Before the trip, when saving $, I sometimes regret the things I pass up now in order to have more fun then. We have cut out many extras as Disney is a strecth to my budget(well worth it)

I regret my very last minute trip last year with nothing saved and booked the All Stars. Lord knows I am not a wealthy person, but after staying at POR my first trip, I could tell a big difference. I also looked at it as just a place to sleep. This year we are saving hard for WL for the entire trip or at least 1/2 the trip.

I regret not doing many character meals as my DS is getting older and wont enjoy them anymore.
I always take the first flight out.....getting to WDW early is top priority for us!

shelleybell

[ariden]

This year I regret that BF booked us with a Ramada Plaza Resort vacation package. That is gonna suck big time. BUT- at least it gets us to WDW for 9 days! Last trip we stayed with my cousin and her family and it worked out great. We've never stayed onsite but that will be the plan for the next trip. I rented from Enterprise offsite last trip and have no complaints but this year went with Alamo. I guess I don't really have any $ saving regrets. I just love WDW and don't care how I get there!

[kfeuer]

Originally posted by disneysteve
I know a lot of folks around here swear by Priceline but this is exactly why I'll never use it. I want to know exactly where I'm staying before I book. I want to see photos/video, a list of amenities, a map of the immediate area, read the reviews, etc. Thanks to the Internet, I think you can get some tremendous deals if you do your homework and are persistent without having the unknown factor of Priceline.

Steve

Just this week Clark Howard (consumer advocate) was talking on his show about how Priceline, Travelocity, and other like sites don't personally inspect hotels to give them a rating. Clark uses those kinds of sites all the time and apparently has been burned himself a couple times. I'm sure most of the time people are happy with Priceline, etc. (or they wouldn't stay in business), but personally I couldn't afford to pay for another hotel if the first one was a dump so it's a risk I can't afford to take.

OP, to answer your question the only budgeting I've regretted is staying offsite. I hate driving to Disney, I find it stressful and completely not fun. I like to get to my vacation destination and let someone else do the navigating (which is also why I love cruises :D )

Ironically though, my biggest regret of all time was how much we spent on food our last trip. It was a special trip (10th anniversary, first trip for our kids) and we budgeted for nice meals, but after being so frugal for so long it killed me to spend $70 or more on one meal (some of which weren't even that great). Next trip, we're going to cut back and only have a few expensive meals...better for our wallet and our waistline (I gained 7 pounds in a week, and that's with tons of walking, no snacks and I made a point of only getting one plate at buffets :eek: )

[disneyjunkie]

I regret buying a park hopper plus pass instead of the UPH. It drove me nuts not to be able to go where we wanted, when we wanted.

Also I brought shirts from a shop outside of disney instead of getting some at the parks. It saved money but we don't have any that say WDW, Magic Kingdom...

I won't waste money again buying snacks to eat in the parks. I would pack the snacks before we left for the parks, then unpack them when we got back to the room. With all the good food you can get in the parks, who wants to eat granola bars? There's no way I could tell my son no when he wants popcorn or some other snacks. I'd rather eat candy from the candy shop than eat the candy I picked up at Wal Mart.
I'll use the snacks to have in the room at night and when we're taking a break.

I also regret not buying more of the ride photos, we only got the one from Splash Mountain. We rode Test Track about 5 times trying to get a good picture, but each time the bar was covering my son's face. When we go in April I plan to buy tons of pictures.

[jgates]

What DO I regret?

1. Putting my son off for several years after his sister was born. We waited until she was 7, when I had promised him we would go about 7 years before that! I regret breaking that promise because of $$$$.

2. Not going to the Crystal Palace in '00. Then last trip it started a remodel in the midst of our trip b4 we got to go. I wanted to take DD to the character meal there but the other gal I was with indicated I would be wasting just too much $$ and I let her influence me.

3. Waiting this trip to try to get lower airfare - it has gone up SIGNIFICANTLY the last few days. It is going to really hurt me now and it is all my fault for trying to wait for it to go cheaper.

What WILL I regret soon?

Booking an early morning flight and offering to take a bump for a free flight from NWA so we can go back again sooner. (I'll take along extra batteries for DD's gameboy! - I don't think she is going to appreciate this!). One couple we know ended up with 6 free tickets one day because they booked the earliest flight and came home on the latest! Wasted a day of time but they now have 3 free RT tickets for both. :teeth: That's a pretty good per hour wage for that day!

[sk!mom]

My one real regret was the one time that we stayed off-site. Not because our off-site hotel wasn't nice (it was), but we just love being immersed in Disney for the whole trip. We won't stay off-site again.

Money savers that weren't really regrets, but didn't work out:
1. Renting a compact car for a family of four. I thought that it would be fine since we were on-site and wouldn't be driving much. I forgot to consider the small trunk space and all the luggage.

2. Taking a late night flight that got us in at midnight. We started the vacation tired.

[patsal]

Great thread and welcome Christmas Lady! I have only regrets that seem to be recurrant on this thread. Saving money by crashing off-site is one of MY regrets. At least staying Budget onsite will allow you to have a room and be ready to start enjoying hte vacation sooner. I have stayed off-site a few times and have never been happy iwththe whole experience. really for about $30.00 in savings I could have just cut the groceries by a few dollars per week for five weeks or something!
I also don't like hopper passes. I can't predict the weather, etc. so not having the flexibility of the PAP or Length of stay just doesn't work well for us.
The snack and souveneer thing was solved easily--I don't regret not buying for the kids, they can save their own money and I will treat a few times, but we go so often that I don't feel they need every little thing.
When I don't have a rental car I always wish I had one, so I will not be without one unless the trip is really short! (though usually with a code I can rent a compact car for less than a towncar for the 4-6 day trip).
I cut restaurants and fast food from the weekly budget six months prior to a trip so that I can put that money away and have it on vacation. if there is a real excess of cash I will put it away for the next trip or book a great restaurant as a treat.

[Lisa P.]

One regret that I've only seen alluded to once here but which I've read many times on other forums... not vacationing soon enough or often enough with one's family. When we were kids, we only camped a couple times per year due to very limited finances. When our children were small, we found camping to be too much work. While we took them on tons of very brief trips, we rarely went anywhere for more than a day or two.

When the youngest were 5, we finally started to take family vacations. First, we camped in a pop-up; later, we added timeshare vacations and some hotel stays. Now that they're teens, we're finally going through our family photos for scrapbooking. What great trips we've taken!

Our first Disney trip was a total splurge for us. Lots of character meals and extras. But the truth is, we were so exhausted during and after that trip! Later trips (WDW & elsewhere) have been much more budget conscious. Yet, they've been more fun for us, as a family.

On other forums, I've read many regrets, some sorrowful, for the missed opportunities to travel as a family. Some folks have lost family members, even children, and they soooo appreciated their family vacation memories. Despite this, there are a lot of people who put off travel until they can "do it right" or stay in the better places, eat at the better restaurants, enjoy the finer luxuries.

I say, do it however you can without going into debt. Enjoy your time together and what you can afford. Don't regret, don't second-guess yourself, don't look back like that. It's not about what others can do or can afford. In the end, it's about your family. Enjoy the blessings. :)

[vhoffman]

"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?"

By using it. Go for it! Disney, or whatever makes you happy! Many years ago I had a friend who won 10 million dollars in the lottery. You would think that would make her the happiest girl in the world. Well, she was a sour pickle puss before she won her millions, and she continues to be so to this day. She hasn't really done anything with her money to make her happy. True, she's financially secure, has a relatively modest home and car paid for, but she just doesn't seem to know how to enjoy life. She never married, has few friends, still works because she says it gives her an outlet, but she just doesn't know how to have fun. She never travels or just does something for fun. True, she does give a lot to charities and worthy causes. She once saw on the news a story about a teenager who was dying for want of a liver transplant. His insurance didn't cover it and they didn't have the $200,000 necessary for the procedure. she made arrangements to pay all his medical bills. That's what I'd do if I were sitting on a pot of gold. However, just once in a while, she should do something for herself and have fun--like go to Disney!!

[HunnyPots]

My regret is being too stingy with the food budget. DH really hates spending money on food whenever we go anywhere so I was trying to appease him by limiting snack food and eating mostly counter service; it was SO not worth it!

Another thing we tried was doing a couple of late buffet breakfasts with the hope of not needing to have lunch, but my 12 yo DS was still starving three hours afterwards, no matter how much bacon and eggs and pancakes he ate.

This year, I have already informed DH that we will stop and get food whenever and wherever we want! We will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus snacks, everyday. NO ONE will go hungry!

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Lisa P.
I say, do it however you can without going into debt. Enjoy your time together and what you can afford. Don't regret, don't second-guess yourself, don't look back like that. It's not about what others can do or can afford. In the end, it's about your family. Enjoy the blessings. :)

I agree 100%!!

I think there are those who take trips to WDW (and elsewhere) that they truly can't really afford, and I don't support that. But there are a lot more people who make the trips more expensive than they need to be and, as a result, don't travel as often as they would like. You can get great accomodations offsite for very little. There are tons of ways to limit your food spending. What matters is that you get away from work and spend time with your family. Its not about which hotel you stay in or which restaurant you eat in. No one ever was on their deathbed saying, "I really wish I had spent more time at work." Save for the future, but don't forget to live for today. Citibank had a great slogan a couple of years ago. It said something like, "Build a nest egg but don't forget to have a few omelets along the way."

Steve

[MELSMICE]

disneysteve - I love the slogan about the nest egg & omelettes! :D

As far as regretting saving money or cutting corners on things I would say the following things:

--We rented from an off-site car company once & only once. It wasn't worth the hassle of getting the car or returning it. We are now FASTLANE members of Dollar & always go through them. No hassle!

--I would rather pay a little more on-site than stay off-site. Again, we don't like to deal with the traffic & love to immerse ourselves in the Magic. JMO.

--I wouldn't skip a meal at an expensive restaurant just to save a few $'s if I really wanted to try the restaurant. You may love it or may not enjoy it at all, but I would not take those things out of my budget. On the other hand, we enjoy eating off-site for dinners & don't regret not having every meal on Disney. This can save quite a bit of money if you are doing sit down dinners.

Honestly, the best advice, especially for a 1st-timer (& I think someone mentioned this prior) just save, save, save & save more than you think you'll need. Anything you have left you can use for the next vacation you take.

BTW - there are ways to save extra money before you go so you can have "just a little extra". Save all your change. Save all your single $'s & turn them into Disney $'s - you can only spend these at WDW. Charge yourself $1 each time you do a bank transaction - put it in the "change fund". If you save money on coupons, take the money & put it in the "change fund" also. Save bottle return money - put it in the "change fund". Soon, this "change fund" will be pretty hefty!

Don't go overboard on a WDW vacation, but don't be too much of a penny pincher so it hinders your good time. :sunny:

[toystoryduo]

Lisa P~ That was very well said and I agree with you 100%. It is about family and the time that you share with them.

disneysteve~ I agree with you too! I loved the Citibank slogan~ Looking forward to those Disney "omelettes". They probably go well with those Mickey waffles!!!:teeth:

Last year, we went to WDW twice (10 days each trip) for around $2000. Since I am a SAHM, we had to do a lot of budgeting in order to go to WDW in the first place. That was okay because no one felt cheated by not spending tons of money. We had a great time just being together.

I think that the only "regret" I have is on our first trip, I booked a smaller car at National to save $50. Mind you, we had an Oldsmobile Alero with DH, DD age 2, and DD age 1, and me. We really packed that car! With two car seats in the backseat, there wasn't much space for anything else. It wasn't too bad until we ended up with an extra passenger on our way home. My aunt, who lives in Florida, asked if she could drive home to Ohio with us so she could surprise my Grandma for Mother's Day. Eighteen hours with 3 adults, 2 children in car seats, and a trunk filled with luggage, a double stroller, a Pack n Play, diapers, diaper bags, formula, and souvenirs makes for a very, very long ride in an Oldsmobile Alero. :crazy: It was a great car, though!

[djm99]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
I regret buying a park hopper plus pass instead of the UPH. It drove me nuts not to be able to go where we wanted, when we wanted.

I am just the opposite, UPH for me has been nothing but a waste of money. The first day, last day, and the one to two days we end up at Universal/IOA, has made the UPH a waste for me. It was after reading on this board that I learned that I should book a basic rate for those days that I actually will not use the UPH.

Hugs and Kisses!!!!:sunny:

[lodgelady]

I regret packing every item we might possibly need so we wouldn't need to buy it there and pay those high resort prices. I think that after a week on site we may have saved $10. Not worth lugging around all of those heavy bags for. This trip I am going to pack MUCH lighter! Ditto on the groceries. Spending in the grocery store to save at the parks only works if your family actually EATS the cheaper grocery store food!! :p

[jaross]

The only thing that comes close to regret was using mears transport. There are four of us. It's not alot more to just get a taxi from the airport and go straight to the hotel with no stops, no waiting and they are never late to pick us up.

I LOVE staying on Disney property. For me, it's part of the magic. I was really worried the first time I stayed at all stars. It wasn't bad. It wasn't as nice as wilderness lodge, but it was half the price. Do check mousesavers.com for discount codes. I've stayed at Animal kingdom lodge with a savanah view for $109 a month with one of their codes. That was definately worth the $30 difference over all stars.

We tend to go cheap on the meals. We have counter service for breakfast and dinner. We sit down for lunch, it's cheaper than dinner. And, we ask for water at all the meals. Even counter service is happy to oblige.

Have fun and follow your instinct about what's worth the saving and what's not.

Chris

[capegirl]

When our children were younger we visited Disney many times, and I always passed up buying the pictures that they take of you on the rides, and various locations in the parks. Now I'm sorry I don't have them. On our last trip we bought every picture along the way. They are wonderful memories, and will be fun to look at in the years to come. Even if you look bad, buy them anyway!!:) ::MinnieMo

[jeankeri]

We loved getting the ride photos, and while I'm tempted to cross it off the budget list to save $ next trip- I will definately get 'em if my DS is in the picture.
disneyjunkie- we rode Test Track many times- my DS6 & DS8 only showed up if they rode in front! In the back- the bar was always in the way!

[w8ting4pooh]

We had to ride TestTrack THREE times to get the ride photo just right. Each time we switched seats to make sure we could get everyone in it.

The funny thing - after the third time, we don't even look like we're having fun because we rode it three times in one day! I bought it anyway just to remember how hard we worked to get a good picture.:crazy: Well, and so I wouldn't have to ride it AGAIN!

[vald1977]

:D What a good thread.

I would have to say that I regret packing SO many groceries. We drove so I figured I should bring what I can from home. We didn't end up needing half of what I brought so I ended up lugging it all back home. Next trip I will bring a few snacks, water, and some Easy Mac and that's it.

I don't regret spending money on the character meals. IMO, they are worth every penny. Trying to save up so we can go to even more this time around.

I don't regret staying off-site. I would probably never stay furthur off-site than 1 mile though. There are many place within that radius that offer much roomier accomadations plus extras like free breakfast for much cheaper than I could stay on-site. If you do your homework, staying off-site can be a great money-saver.

Last year, we went to WDW twice (10 days each trip) for around $2000. Since I am a SAHM, we had to do a lot of budgeting in order to go to WDW in the first place. That was okay because no one felt cheated by not spending tons of money. We had a great time just being together.

:D Wow! I'd love to hear how you made it for that $ with four. That's really great.

[Mad4Dizne]

I might be alone in this regret...but...I regret buying vouchers, I felt they were not a great deal, as what I spent on food was around the same cost as the voucher; and it "forced" us to get dessert when we truely could of gone without it. We will stick to putting away Disney Dollars, more flexibility.

Flo

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Mad4Dizne
I might be alone in this regret...but...I regret buying vouchers, I felt they were not a great deal, as what I spent on food was around the same cost as the voucher; and it "forced" us to get dessert when we truely could of gone without it. We will stick to putting away Disney Dollars, more flexibility.

Flo

I agree. I've read all about vouchers and they just wouldn't work for my family. If you know you will use everything the voucher includes, then they certainly save you money. But if you will end up getting things you could do without, then they aren't for you. For us, as for you, its cheaper without the vouchers.

Steve

[toystoryduo]

Vald1977~
It was pretty easy to save money for us because we own a timeshare, and both of my DDs were under 3 at the time so they were free!

Here's a breakdown of both of our trips:

Trip1:
* Rental Car: $280
* Gas: $200
* Timeshare: Free (not including maintenance fees)
* Tickets: DH and I had hoppers left from our honeymoon in 1996 and kids were under three= Free!
* Souvenirs: $50 (We put together Disney bags for kids before the trip. The souvenirs we bought in WDW were for Grandparents.)
* Food: $400 (We ate breakfast in the room, had popcorn for a snack, and ate a nice dinner. Plus, we had $75 in Red Lobster/Olive Garden/Bahama Breeze GCs because we attended an update meeting at our timeshare.)

TOTAL= $930 (10 days in Orlando + 2 days travel time)

Trip 2:
* Rental Car: $360
* Gas: $200
* Hotel: $250 (Courtyard DTD; $20.03)
* Tickets: $350 (2 Three Day Hoppers from Alamo; Kids were still free!)
* Souvenirs: $150 ($75 of which was from a Horizons timeshare promotion we did)
* Food:$100 (We received $300 in Disney Dollars as a gift and we spent time with DH's family who insisted on paying for several of our meals. Who am I to argue???:teeth: The $100 we spent on food was on the drive down and on the drive back.)

TOTAL= $1235 (8 days in Orlando, 2 days in St.Petersburg, 2 days travel time)


For both trips, we spent around $2170 total. For this year's trips, we won't be saving as much money because DD is 3 and we will be buying APs. Plus, both trips will be with extended family so the budgeting and saving is a little different.:crazy:

[EthansMom]

My regrets from our last trip include staying at a CHEAP hotel just to save a few bucks. For another $15 a night we could have stayed somewhere much nicer and cleaner.

Also, traveling off-site for meals. What a waste of time! I prefer to stay at WDW and have a quick counter-service meal or fork out the dough for something sit-down than to spend 1-2 hours in transit to save $20 on dinner. But we were there with extended family who pretty much refused to eat at Disney (go figure).

Also, using the "Free" transportation of the Downtown Disney hotels. Sure, you don't have to spend any money on parking, but it takes a couple hours a day to get to/from the parks. Luckily, after a few days we wised up and forked over the money for parking.

As opposed to other posters, I found renting a car from an off-site rental company to be relatively painless. Our car was small and not in great repair, but it cost us less than any other method of transportation (including Mears or towncar) and we had the use of the car for the entire stay.

Also, I found taking our own bottled water and snacks to be affordable and convenient, but I didn't go overboard and we did purchase snacks if there was something we wanted. (Plus, we had a stroller, so was easy enough to just stuff a small bag of snacks in the the bottom of the stroller.)

In the future, I'll consider staying at a nicer offsite and we'll definitely pay for parking each day. Plus, I'll make PS's for more sit down meals.

EthansMom

[vald1977]

:D Thanks Toystoryduo. You gotta love the under 3 free thing. Last time we took ds he was 2 and a half. He had such a great time and he was free into all the parks and even got to eat at the character meals for free. This time around he will be five so I guess we have to pay ;) !

[toystoryduo]

vald1977~
You are welcome! Wouldn't it be nice if Disney allowed children to be free in the parks until they are say... 18?!!?!!:teeth:

It looks lilke we will be at WDW around the same time that you are! We're trying for a trip in the first week of December with 15 of DH's family members. Getting that many people organized and on the same page is a real challenge, but it is a challenge that DH and I are up for...... I think.:crazy:

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by toystoryduo
Wouldn't it be nice if Disney allowed children to be free in the parks until they are say... 18?!!?!!:teeth:

I think that's asking a bit much, but it would be nice if they didn't consider you an adult at age 9. How ridiculous is that? Only in Disney World is a 9-year-old considered an adult.

And it hasn't always been that way. It used to be Child was under 12. Junior was 12-17 and Adult was 18 and over. Just another way they've quietly made the experience more expensive.

Steve

[vald1977]

Originally posted by toystoryduo
It looks lilke we will be at WDW around the same time that you are! We're trying for a trip in the first week of December with 15 of DH's family members. Getting that many people organized and on the same page is a real challenge, but it is a challenge that DH and I are up for...... I think.:crazy:

:scared1: 15 extra family members?! You guys are very brave!Just kidding :D! Hope you guys have a wonderful trip ::yes:: !

[vhoffman]

We just came back from a six-day trip to WDW. Our biggest regret budget-wise was buying the meal vouchers. Don't get me wrong, they're a great value for the money and were readily accepted. Its just that we found ourselves planning our days around when and where to eat to maximize the vouchers. The quick and casual vouchers don't really save you enough to be worth the hassle. But the Vacation Kingdom lunch vouchers were very difficult to plan around. Since they were only good for lunch, that meant planning a sit-down meal in the middle of the day when we'd rather be doing the parks. We used them once at the Rainforest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom, but only because it was raining and we couldn't continue on in the park. The value was great--our total bill was $143 and our vouchers paid for it completely. However, I came home with several vouchers because we couldn't find the time to utilize them. Maybe I can sell them on Ebay. Overall, I found we wasted money with the vouchers because they were too difficult to utilize.

[topgumm]

disneysteve,
I am very curious about your off-site experience from further up the thread. My husband and I feel exactly like you about the separate rooms, the extra TV, the ability to have the kids get up without us-like they do at home, etc., etc. Where have you stayed off-site that has this kind of facilities? My kids are sooo used to their own room for quiet sleep, that I am very worried about the resort we are booked in for our Feb. trip. (that is water under the bridge for this visit!) But I hope to go back next year and have a very comfortable set-up for sleep.

Your in-put would be much appreciated!

[crisi]

A couple of years ago I didn't make PSs. There were a few reasons - traveling with little kids for the first time and I didn't know how they'd handle restaurants night after night was the biggest, but at least a little of it was I was being cheap.

Got so sick of counter service and chicken fingers. And with no PSs and two little kids, it was hard to walk in anyplace.

I know a lot of people don't do much sit down - it isn't cheap, but for me, one meal a day where I sit and a waitperson brings me my food is a requirement for a happy vacation.

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by topgumm
disneysteve,
I am very curious about your off-site experience from further up the thread. My husband and I feel exactly like you about the separate rooms, the extra TV, the ability to have the kids get up without us-like they do at home, etc., etc. Where have you stayed off-site that has this kind of facilities? My kids are sooo used to their own room for quiet sleep, that I am very worried about the resort we are booked in for our Feb. trip. (that is water under the bridge for this visit!) But I hope to go back next year and have a very comfortable set-up for sleep.

Your in-put would be much appreciated!

The Disney area is great because there are choices that met those requirements to meet every budget. We've stayed at the Days Suites at Old Town for $39.95/nite. We had a large living room with Murphy bed and TV where our daughter slept, a full kitchen and a separate bedroom where my wife and I slept. Next door to that is the Quality Suites which was a bit nicer. We had a 2-bedroom suite there as there were 3 adults and 1 child. I think we paid about $100/nite for that and it included breakfast.

There is a Residence Inn in LBV that is nice. We haven't stayed at that location, but we've stayed at other Residence Inns and they are all pretty similar.

But my top recommendation would be to rent a condo or house. For example, in November we had a 3-bedroom condo at Windsor Palms http://www.windsor-palms-resort.com/. We paid $90/nite for that. The condo had 3 TV's, nice living room/dining room, full kitchen, ceiling fans in each room, stereo, dvd player, 2 bathrooms and more. The complex also has 2-bedroom condos that would be perfect for you. They start around $60-70/nite. The complex has a nice pool and clubhouse with game room, exercise room, etc.

We've also rented single houses with private pools. That is the ultimate way to go, though it runs at least $100/nite. But you get tons of space and amenities. Its well worth the price if it is in your budget.

Be happy to answer any other questions. You can post or PM me.

Steve

[vhoffman]

Well, having just come back from a six-day trip at WDW with two six year olds and one hotel room, my vote is for a suite, or at least connecting rooms. You just don't realize how much you're used to your "space" until you have to share it. At least we had roll away cots so we didn't have to share our beds as well! I love my family, but there's times you just need to get away and shut the door. Especially I like to read for about an hour before going to sleep and I can't do so in a room with other people and keep them awake. My conclusion--a hotel room is ok only for a few nights. Anything longer than 3 nights and you need at least two rooms. Save up and pay the difference, its trip insurance. Also, I agree with DisneySteve, there's accomodations for every budget at WDW area. I've also heard good things about Buena Vista Suites, HIFS, or the special at the Radisson Parkway--buy one room, get the connecting room for 50% off. You're routine's been changed enough with the trip, give yourself (and everyone) their space.

[GoofItUp]

My biggest regret is taking time out of my vacation to listen to a timeshare pitch. The timeshare group did not schedule me for the day I had requested, and I actually lost a day in the parks because I had to go on a different day. We got a discount on our hotel room, but I decided that in the future my TIME was more valuable on vacation than the MONEY I had saved!

[LIFERBABE]

I second not taking time out for a timeshare presentation. So not worth the lost time or the pressure they put you under on YOUR vacation. NEVER EVER AGAIN! Even low pressure is pressure.
I purchased DVC over the phone and did my own research and they are as low pressure as it gets. I agree once bitten twice shy!

Leaving the parks to eat a meal. If we are taking a break that's fine, but if it's only to eat, then it is not worth the time, effort or savings to leave the parks/resort area. WDW is huge and nothing is a really quick hop from the parks when you are making a round trip plus meal time.

That said, purchasing a coupon book for other than hotel discounts. I wasted money on Entertainment book, as we never left WDW to eat. Used our military rate to stay at CR. Left the Book for the next guest.

Not looking into DVC sooner. The 2 times we stayed offsite could have helped finance our DVC purchase. We liked all the space
of offsite, but liked the interaction for the kids onsite, so DVC was a great compromise for us.

I would rather drive 1200 miles and stay in a deluxe, then fly and stay in a value or 3 star. That is just my personal preference. It just hurts me physically to go on vacation and not have all the amenities. 1200 miles is bearable when I know Im staying in luxury for a week.
I do agree with Steve that WP is a great vacation home community and the only place I will stay if we ever stay offsite again.

We also don't carry as much to the parks, but have found that snacks are greater timesavers than moneysavers as small snacks keep us going until our next meal time.

[ScottOKW2K]

Originally posted by jaross


I LOVE staying on Disney property. For me, it's part of the magic. I was really worried the first time I stayed at all stars. It wasn't bad. It wasn't as nice as wilderness lodge, but it was half the price. Do check mousesavers.com for discount codes. I've stayed at Animal kingdom lodge with a savanah view for $109 a month with one of their codes. That was definately worth the $30 difference over all stars.


Chris

Animal Kingdom Lodge savannah view for $109 a month !!! Man, I want to know what code that was !

Just kidding ..... shucks .

[jaross]

Yes, that $109 AKL was my best Disney Deal. It was just dumb luck. I had the code and it looks like I had the right day. It was a few months after 9/11. I'm guessing they were desperate just to get people in the rooms.

At that time, the parks were completely empty. At MGM, we were the ONLY ones on NY street. There were only 50 people or so on Main St in MK. It was a great trip!

Jaross
Chris

[ksoehrlein]

Originally posted by disneysteve
I think that's asking a bit much, but it would be nice if they didn't consider you an adult at age 9.
Small difference, I know, but actually 3-9 (inclusive) is considered "child" while ages 10+ are "adult." And under 3 is free! I took DD 4 times before she turned 3.

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by ScottOKW2K
Animal Kingdom Lodge savannah view for $109 a month !!! Man, I want to know what code that was !

Just kidding ..... shucks .

Wow - I would stay at any Disney resort for $109 for one MONTH!!!

Someone let me know when that deal becomes available again. I'll rent my house for the month & go to Disney! :bounce:

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by ksoehrlein
Small difference, I know, but actually 3-9 (inclusive) is considered "child" while ages 10+ are "adult." And under 3 is free! I took DD 4 times before she turned 3.

Yes, our DD also took 4 trips by the time she was 3. Of course she is now 8, so that adult ticket price is looming. Thanks for clarifying though. I thought adult started at 9, not 10. Still not as good as it used to be when adult started at 18.

Steve

[arminnie]

Originally posted by MELSMICE
Wow - I would stay at any Disney resort for $109 for one MONTH!!!


I just got home yesterday (2/4) from a week's stay at AKL on an AP rate for $109. I was upgraded to a wonderful savannah view (end unit), but I had only reserved a standard view. From what I've read, room upgrades are fairly common at AKL if it is not too busy.

It was just wonderful. I use Priceline a lot and often get a $25 to $35 room very close. I don't regret spending the extra for AKL one bit, but I also don't regret staying off site for the other trips as that allowed me to stay at AKL on this visit.

[jenr812]

I love this thread :) It is really helping me as I plan our first family trip to WDW! Thanks!!!!


Just a clarification, you stayed at AKL for $109 a night? WOW!!! That's awesome!

[arminnie]

Yes, the AP rate for AKL was $109 a night for a standard room (although I was upgraded to a savannah view). I think the dates on this were from early Jan. to mid Feb. so it's not out there now, but I think this has been offered before during low season.

Boy was it worth it!!

[ScottOKW2K]

Actually, it was offered last year for Holiday season too ! I know, because that was the rate I paid to stay at AKL over New Years Eve. we even were lucky enough to be upgraded from standard to deluxe savannah. Disney gave us some major pixie dust that trip !

[Lilly's Dad]

We've determined we've wasted approx $100 using this equation. We've wasted time sifting thru dozens of coupon /travel coupon newspapers in Orlando. Also, we've wasted time getting an Orlando Entertainment book. FIGURE IT THIS WAY: A week vacation including 4 airfair, hotel, car, parkpasses, food costs around $4000, which equals around $40 per hour (which you are awake). HOW MANY OF THESE $40 HOURS DO YOU WANT TO WASTE ?:(

[vhoffman]

I agree with Lily's Dad. Last trip we tried to go on a budget and ended up wasting so much time fooling around with coupons, etc. The Connections meal vouchers are discussed to death on this board and I felt like we really needed to get some, we'd save big bucks. Well, what are you trying to do, save money or have a vacation? If you really want to save money and that's your primary goal, stay home! Just accept the fact that vacations cost money and go with it. The vouchers did save us a lot of money the one time we used them, that was at Rainforest Cafe in AK. The total bill came to $143 and we used 2 $30 vacation kingdom vouchers, so a great savings. However, the VK vouchers are only good during lunch and we really didn't want to take the time for a sit-down meal during the day and cut into park time. We found ourselves planning our day around the Rainforest Cafe, which isn't that great. Also, twice I drug my family to places we could use the Q&C vouchers only to be disappointed big time. Beaches & Cream is talked about so much in connection with those vouchers I felt we had to go there. Quite a hike since its not located central to anything, and when we got there we were dismayed to find its just a little snack bar, nothing special. Its inside the Yacht Club and you have to wander the hotel just to find it. Then, when we finally arrived at this marvel, we found they were out of the prime rib sandwich which is such a bargain with the vouchers. Everything else cost less than what we paid for the vouchers! Then one day I left those precious vouchers in the hotel room. Well, we could eat where we wanted and that should have been great, however, I wound up in a lousy mood because I'd forgotten them. Bottom line--coupons, vouchers, etc. create too much stress for the money they save. We did save big time by using our FF miles for free airfrare and rent car. That should have been enough, bu no, I had to try to save even more and it became almost an obsession with me to the point where we didn't enjoy the trip half as much as we could have. I had a great rate for Animal Kingdom Lodge, $119 a night. But then I read here about how many people were getting the Holiday Inn DTD for $35 night on Hotwire so I took a chance and bid for it. I was estatic when I got it. Six nights came to $246 total. Well, you do get what you pay for. It was an ok hotel, except for the mold problem in the first room we had. They moved us to another room but that's a lot of time ($40 an hour?) and stress when you're trying to enjoy yourself. Oh, and I got a "free" rental car with my FF miles, so I thought why spend the money for a towncar to and from the airport like last time? Well, that turned into major stress because we kept getting lost. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to the hotel. Major stress. What I've learned from this trip--do it right or don't go. Its not worth it. Next trip we're already booked at the Contemporary concierge for the MVMCP and will take a towncar from the airport. Someone else worries about the driving and we just step onto the monorail for the MK and the party. And no more carrying around coupons! Oh, BTW, we are flying free with ff miles again, but that's not the stress these other money-saving ideas generate.

[Lilly's Dad]

I've also regretted lugging around bottled water in backpack in the parks..........found out the concession stands will all cheerfully give you a cup of water for FREE!:rolleyes: