Broke College Kids

[cammer55]

Me and a few of my friends are hoping to get in a trip to Orlando from January 27 - Feburary 2. I'm sure you were all, or still are, in college and know how tight we are with our funds. We are hoping to fly out of Minneapolis, MN or Omaha, NE. I have looked on the Disney resorts webpage for packages and also expedia and have found descent prices. I would love any help in keeping this a cheap trip yet enjoyable for all.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Hi cammer55! to the DISboards!

You've chosen a very affordable time to go to WDW! It's still value season, so the resort rates will be at their lowest. If you plan to stay onsite, POP is probably the cheapest followed by any of the AllStar resorts. With your stay, you would get free transportation from the airport & back, which could add up if you had to use a limo or shuttle service or rental car.

I would recommend keeping any eye out for discount codes for that time period. Since it's a slow time, Disney might offer deep room or package discounts in order to boost attendance. If any of you is a AAA member, you can get a 20% discount off of the rack rate of the room, which means a value resort room would run $66/night plus tax instead of $82/night. You don't have to book thru AAA to get the discount, calling Disney's CRO and asking for the AAA rate is good enough. You just need to show your card at check in.

For tickets, you might want to consider purchasing from a discount broker. There are a number of reputable ones available online. Depending on the type of ticket that you're purchasing, you can save anywhere from a few dollars to $45 off the price Disney would charge you at the gate.

For food, you can have groceries delivered to your resort using a service like GardenGrocer.com . Buy breakfast foods and snack stuff. If you want to really economize, get instant soups and oatmeal that can be prepared using water from the coffeemaker.

The value resorts do not have fridges in the room. It costs an additional $10/night to have one. Some DISers have used collapsible coolers (brought in their luggage) and ice from the icemakers to keep perishables cold. This requires a trip to the icemaker every morning and again in the evening. But if you're on s shoestring budget, you make do.

Counterservice meals are probably a good choice for hungry college-age guys. You can load up on the carb-dense foods without guilt. Some of the combo meals are enough for light eaters to share. I've seen the recommendation to buy a double chesseburger at a CS location and then and extra bun for 80¢. Voila! Two cheeseburgers!

Another little-known trick is to get a cup of ice water for no charge at a CS restaurant. It's healthier than soda pop and much cheaper. Bring an insulated water bottle and refill it using the ice water and you won't need to buy bottled water at $2.50 each.

There's probably a ton of tips that I've forgotten. You might want to stop by the Budget Board and post your question. You can find a link to it my signature. We've got a lot of enthusiastic budget-minded people who can help you out.

 

[cammer55]

wow, that was more of a response then i was thinking id get. Thanks millions!

 

[nowellsl]

My daughter is a broke college student and you could do what she does - go with Mom

Seriously though, Jan. is a great time to go. Keep an eye out for codes and specials. There are tons of posts on these boards to help you keep costs down, especially on the Budget board. Value resorts are a great way to save money. Luckily we don't have to fly and we have seasonal passes, so our trips are pretty inexpensive. Sorry I can't help you more but I hope you find a way to go!

 

[IHeartTink04]

Thanks I'm a broke college kid as well.