OVERwhelmed , please help!

[alysaryn2]

Hi all

I have three children and we have never been to Disney.
We have extremly limited income, and are hoping to go to Disney with our tax refund (should be getting it back by the first or second week of Feb.)
Even with the refund, can probably only afford one to two days at Disney.
So here is what I am asking...WHAT is the best deal anyone here knows of that would include a nice hotel (prefer one that has lots of kid amenities like pool with water slide, etc etc). Does not need to be within WDW park, since that price is probably out of reach for us!
I have searched quite a few Disney specials websites, and I am OVERWHELMED lol. Cannot decide if I should go with a hotel that includes passes to WDW, or get a hotel and buy tickets separately. Also trying to go with a hotel that includes free meals , such as Holiday Inn. We really cannot afford to spend more than $500 or $600 ....(Don't laugh!), so I am asking you, CAN IT BE DONE?
I doubt we will have the time or money to go to Disney anytime in the next few years,,,so I HAVE to find a way ! (kids are 4, 8, and 12).
Thanks for putting up with my rambling! I really want to try and make this happen for my kids.,.who have had a rough few years.

*BTW, thankfully we do not need airline tickets , as we will be driving!

 

[ceecee]

Since you only want to go to WDW for one or two days. You will just have to buy daily tickets...........Maybe you could do other non-Disney things on a day. If you don't care where you stay, you could try priceline or hotwire. Sometimes they have some really good specials and since you will have your car that won't be an issue. You can also take food and cooking things (hot pot, etc) to save $ on meals. Go to the library and check out some books on Disney. Don't try for a package, just do it on your own...it's usually much cheaper that way.

 

[Ellester]

If you haven't already, check out www.mousesavers.com . There are lots of hints there for saving money. There are links to places to get discount tickets (including a 3-day hopper that is not available at the gate). I agree that getting things separately is probably best, unless a really great deal comes out (like the kids free deal that they had last year). I would definitely plan on eating breakfast in your room before the parks. We bring breakfast bars and juice boxes or milk and cereal (bringing our own cooler). At least your two youngest still count as children by Disney standards! Good luck!

~Ellen

 

[westjones]

You may want to check out the Resort Board:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=12

When you have more than 4 in a room, it can make it more difficult to choose a room.

There is a special for $169 a night at the cabins at Fort Wilderness (check the special at this site: http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html#codes ).

There are also some other specials at these resorts:
Ask for Code CTN or Code CPC and get special discounted rates at select Walt Disney World resorts for check-ins 2/12/04-4/17/04. Some sample rates:

Value Resorts (All Stars and Pop Century) - $79 standard, $89 preferred
Moderates - $114 standard
Wilderness Lodge - $189 standard, $224 courtyard view, $290 concierge
Animal Kingdom Lodge - $189 standard
Polynesian - $265 garden view
Contemporary - $204 standard garden wing, $239 garden view
Boardwalk Villas - $260 studio
Old Key West - $309 one-bedroom villa
Other resorts, room types and views should be available at varying prices!

The "Moderate" resort Port Orleans has rooms that fit 5 with a trundle bed that pulls out:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl24.jpg

We have stayed here, but are considering it for the future. The value resorts do not have slides at the pool, but we just LOVED the Pop Century Resort (stayed there last month).

The offsite option that we have tried that I would recommend is the Holiday Inn Family Suites:

http://www.hifamilysuites.com/

or

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/HI/hd/disfs

But spend some time over on the resorts board. They were a BIG help to us when we were planning our trip this past December.

Have a great trip!
DJ

 

[bobcat]

Where there's a will there's a way! As far as hotel priceline might be an option. Check out this link for bidding strategies http://pub210.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding

If you do your homework priceline can be a good option.

Also check out the Orlando Hotel and Attraction page on this site for offsite hotels. http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=15

Passes you don't have a lot of options. For one or two days you will pay the gate price, no discounts.

Food is where you can save a ton. Since you are driving bring food from home. Eat breakfast in your room, take snacks to the park with you, and if you are visiting at a time when the parks close early eat off site. Food in the parks can get expensive but read this board for help. You can share a lot of meals and the kids meals are only around $4. Take a water bottle to the parks so you aren't tempted to buy it at the parks.

You might want to check out the timeshare option if you can handle the sales pitch.

Good luck and keep reading the boards for lots of ideas.

 

[Sarahsmom85]

Hotwire has Holiday Inn in WDW for $36 a night. Kids eat free.
If you wanted to do a little extra Universal has a deal using your mastercard you can get 5 day consecutive days passes buy 4 get one free for only $89. Since you are off site you could do off site resturants and pizza, fast food too. Your vacation is what you make it. You can still have a good vacation on $650 if you do not expect 1st class. You don't have to have lower class either. Plan ahead and cut where you can, and go with an open mind.
The largest expense is the Disney tickets.

 

[mrsheppo]

When do you plan on going? Your best bet for lodging would be the Holiday Inn
Family Suites. Right now the going rate is $134.00 + tax for a 2 bedroom kidsuite. This also includes a free all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast for each family member plus kids under 12 eat free for lunch and dinner. As for park tickets, single day park tickets might be an option for you. These are NOT park hopper tickets, these are 1 park, one day. Adult prices are $52.00 + tax PP and $42.00 + tax PP for children 9 and under. With your children, your best bets might be the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

For 2 days, your total price is around $700.00.

HTH and Good Luck

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by mrsheppo
Your best bet for lodging would be the Holiday Inn
Family Suites. Right now the going rate is $134.00 + tax for a 2 bedroom kidsuite.

Barbara - While HIFS is a very nice place, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for someone on a really tight budget. While 5 people in a hotel room is kind of tight in my book, people do it all the time. You can easily get a decent hotel room near Disney for $40/nite, possibly one including breakfast. True that HIFS would include food for lunch and dinner for the kids, at least one of those meals they'd probably be at the park so that's no savings. Plus I don't think they'd spend $100/day on food elsewhere, so the cost of the room would outweigh the "free" food.

I'd check a place like Days Suites (www.thhotels.com). We got a 1-bedroom suite there last year for $39.95. No free breakfast, but it had a full kitchen and the suite is huge, so putting 4 or 5 people in there wouldn't be tight at all.

Steve

 

[Local_Girl]

Wow, Alysaryn2! You've presented quite the challenge for the Budget board...but we're always up for a good challenge!! You didn't mention if there are actually 5 of you, or if it's just you and the kids. Assuming it's just you and the kids, the 12 year old must pay the adult ticket price...per Mousesavers, you could do the 2 day 1-park passes (no hopping, so you'd have to choose your parks carefully) for 2 adults, 2 kids for $374.90. If you start with $600, that would only leave you with $225.10.

I agree with Disneysteve, the best thing you could do would be to find an inexpensive suite-type hotel where you could do meals in the room. If you're driving, you could bring food with you. If you watch this board, the Orlando resorts board, and do a bit of other research, you should be able to find a good deal.

Don't forget to budget in miscellaneous expenses like parking costs and gas for the drive (you don't mention how far you're traveling, or even if you'll need to stop for the night along the way). Good luck to you and your family! I hope you can make it happen!!

 

[4disneyfans]

We also have stayed at Days Suites on a tight budget and considering the full kitchen { freeze water bottles alone can save a bundle} It is not anywhere near luxury but alway has been clean the 3 times we have been there.And there is Old Town next door which has a Checkers for cheap burgers and hot dogs etc. Warning....Take all the utencils etc. that you would need because they are not included in price per night.We went down to Super Walmart and bought paper plates, cups etc. No oven so take a toaster to save money. We have stayed in high end hotels as well but was still satisfied with this place for a tight budget vacation.We would rather spend the extra money on our kids and doing more on vacation. The site DisneySteve mentioned will allowed you to pull up pictures I believe.We now live 30 miles away so no hotel needed!!!! Good Luck...It can be done...You came to the right place for budget info!

 

[disneysteve]

Here are some pictures we took at Days Suites in November 2002.

http://members.aol.com/sgitler/dayssuites.html

Besides the Checkers that 4disneyfans mentioned, Old Town also has Flippers pizza which has very good pizza, sandwiches and Italian food.

Steve

 

[crazelion]

Also check hotelkingdom.com for cheap hotels they have some excellent prices. Also some these hotels offer breakfeast include in the price. Also another good site to tripadvsior.com for hotel reviews.

Take a snack lunch to the parks to cut for cost. It could a simple sandwich, chips and soda.

Eat offsite for dinner. Examples:Golden Corral, Ci Ci Pizza, M'Donalds, Burger King, Wendy's , Shoenys.

Don't buy soviers at the parks. Go a place that sell t-shirts 5 for 10.00 get everyone a t-shirt for a cheap price.

Do something like miniture golf on the first night or my favorite thing to is going to the outlet malls and flea markets and walk around and window shop.

Buy one day tickets for the parks. The park I would visit if I was on a budget is Majic Kingdom because it has alot of rides.

I am about to get flame here so goes my suggust go US or IOA because they have more discounts then WDW do. IOA has the most rides.

The way visit the other Orlando parks to. IOA you just steps away from International Drive that every chain fast food and family restuart that there is.

This what I do if on a budget. I done this many times and have cut cost alot. Do a weekend trip. Example

Thursday :Leave house at 7:00 a.m. driving to Orando and arrive that night hotel.

Friday : Majic Kingdom

Saturday : IOA

Sunday : Leaving going home form Orlando 7:00 am. and arrive home Sunday night.

This way you only need 3 nights in a hotel room. That will cut your hotels expense in half. If found a hotel that offer a continel breakfeast that even better.

Do along weekend trip and will cut cost in half.

I have done this 3 times and it has work to keep cost down. I can go work that Monday morning to work.

My long trip this year Thursday July 1 to July 5 Monday.

 

[Sonny76]

Last year we found a Bonanza all you can eat breakfast buffet for $2.99. It was super and the food was excellent with many many choices. We ate there every morning. You can stop at a store for sodas instead of paying hotel prices-buy a case and either fill up a sink or use a cheap cooler with hotel ice in it. Bread keeps in the room and other snacks from the store like chips etc. Cheese for sandwiches can stay in the cooler if you do not have a fridge. Late afternoon was had our other big meal-getting chicken, pizza, anything hot you can eat in your room if you choose or go to McDonalds. You can do all kinds of things to save money. Another idea about souveniers, for example, we liked the little fans we saw at the parks you can fill with water and blow cool mist on yourself but they were $17.00 in the park. We went to a Walmart and found the same thing 2 for $5.00. Walmart had a huge Disney section with really nice shirts etc. that were dirt cheap. We bought shirts for less than $5.00. Stay with the big name stores like Walmart and look for a Disney section. The stuff was even cheaper than the tourist places on I Drive. Another idea is cold water at the park. The restaurants gave us cups with ice for free and icewater. I did that trick after paying $2.50 for a bottle of water. Watch signs for specials on eating like we did. We are not wealthy but love going to Disney. You can save bucks if you use your head. Have a great time!!!!

 

[alysaryn2]

Wow , thanks everyone so much for your help and ideas !!! :0)

While I am normally a true pro when it comes to getting freebies, saving money on clothes and food, etc ... I have never been to Disney , so it really is new for me . I was unsure if we would be allowed to bring any food or drinks into the park...but normally when we go to an amusement park (Six Flags or Busch Gardens), I will jam drinks,snack bars etc into my purse LOL

Thank you for the souvenier Ideas , will keep that in mind.

To those who asked: Yes there are 5 of us to sleep in one room !
Also, we are driving from Georgia, and will probably drive straight through.
I found several deals, but was unsure which was best to go with.
Some are hotel only, some have park hopper, some have free food, etc etc .
Also, will probably be going the second or third week in February.

I will check out the links you all provided, definitly, and thanks again SO much!

I have been leaning toward some of the Holiday Inn properties because they offer kids eat free..PLUS I had found one that included a $50 room credit that can be used toward meals and drinks.(While we will be eating snacks and some meals homemade,we would still like to eat out a little, since we usually do not get to!)
I will post more when I have a chance to check the links out that everyone here has provided
*Steve thank you for the photos of Days Inn! I am glad to get to see the inside. Looks like a good sized little kitchen :0)

 

[jgates]

Days Inn has run the gamut from good ratings to bad ratings. Those photos look really pretty good but I have heard horror stories too. Make sure if you stay there you check your room - if you are not happy then demand a new room. My preference would be the Fairfield Inn or Springhill Suites by Marriott. They are very close - just outside of the DownTownDisney hotel area across the interstate. Both have continental breakfast (Springhills is usually nicer) and a pool (I don't think a slide). If you have AAA or gov't you should be able to get a discount too. I like the consistency of Marriott properties. It is easier to get to than going out on 192's traffic nightmare. www.marriott.com and look under Lake Buena Vista. (The Holiday Inn Family Suites is great too -but you are starting with a higher $). I didn't catch your dates but these 2 properties on 6/11, 12 & 13 as a sample run:

54 to 85 for the Fairfield
69 to 99 for the Springhill - don't forget tax! (Springhill should be able to get you 2 doubles plus a fold out too).

When eating at Ponderosa, etc. check the coupon books right inside the door - we pulled out $1 off coupons from the books inside the door while everyone else ignored them! HELLO PEOPLE!!!! Pay attention!!! Also - some of the mini-golf courses are listed in these too. So grab one and look before you go! If you are driving, some of the stops on the I might have them and you could read thru them b4 you get there.

Check for any ways that you can increase your funding - recycle pop cans? .05 deposit on them? (our state doesn't do that but a lot do). All those little bits and pieces can add a bunch to your budget. All that change in your pockets, ashtray, the sofa cushions, etc. Depending on when you are going it may be too late to start eBaying but you never know. Is there a 2nd hand clothing store or a book store that takes items on commission? This may sound crude (sorry!!!), but do the college kid thing and sell plasma/blood. Certain centers end up paying $20 to $30 bucks a time and in different places you can donate up to 2x per week. I waitressed with a young man a year or two ago that pulled in an extra $150 or so per month by himself just doing this!!! If you and DH both did it - Wow!!! $$$$ and you would be helping others too!!! (I've been after my son to do it at college but he has a deathly fear of needles - yet I stick myself 4x per day with my diabetes!!! - probably where he got the fear from).

Did you do your tax refund already? Most were supposed to be higher this year because of extra credits for kids, and a decrease in tax rates.

PS - we got our tshirts at WM too - big selection.

Also - put a little in your budget for film - you don't want to miss those memories - even if you don't have the $ to get them developed right away! If you don't have a nice camera I think those upper-line Kodak single use cameras are pretty good - they were rated well.

 

[swilshire]

If you have camping equipment, tent camping in Fort Wilderness is terrific with a family. It's been a few years since we've gone that route, but the facilities are terrific. They have the cleanest restrooms I've ever seen in a campground. There are all sorts of things to do there for the kids, and you get the benefits of staying on-site. It isn't cheap for a campground, but it should be affordable.

Sheila

 

[mad4themouse]

Congratulations on the sizable refund. We usually end up owing a little bit or else we put any refund towards the next quarter's payment (we're self-employed).

I'm sorry say this but I'm going to be one of the few who tells you that for a family of 5, you can't spend under $600 for 2 days in the Disney Parks. You need 3 adult passes and 2 child passes. Each day will cost you $255.60 ($511.20 for 2 days). That leaves very little for a hotel room and food.

In order to get the most from your park days, you would need to stay 3 nights. With only $90 to spend, you would have to find a place that sleeps 5 for under $30 per night, taxes (11.5% hotel tax rate) and resort fees included.

And that leaves no money for food, let alone gasoline, tolls, parking ($7 per day), souvenirs.... Well, you get the picture.

If you were to cut your visit down to one full day in the Magic Kingdom, you would at least have $255 to use for food and whatnot. There are a lot of "free" or inexpensive things that you can do in WDW. Follow this Mousesavers Cheap & Free Things to Do in WDW Link . The Boardwalk area is a lot of fun in the evening. So is the campfire and movie at Fort Wilderness. You may be able to stretch your 1 day in the MK into 3 days visiting the WDW area.

So, I guess that my point is: You cannot realistically take 3 "adults" and 2 "children" to WDW for 2 park days for under $600. But if you're willing to cut it back to a single day in a park with the remaining days spend touring the rest that Disney has to offer, you can probably manage.

Good luck planning your trip! Please remember to let us know how it went. You may be able to find some bargains that no one here has heard about yet!

 

[westjones]

We tent camped at FW in 2002 and had a GREAT time! That is a wonderful park. It is more expensive than most campgrounds, but you can often get discounts.

There is a great DIS board for camping at WDW:

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=24

There are some discounts going on there as well:

http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html#codes

I would love to do this again, but it won't happen this year.

DJ

 

[disneysteve]

Unfortunately, I think mad4themouse is correct. If your total budget for 5 people is $600 for this trip, park admission would eat up almost all of that. But I also agree that since you don't live terribly far away, it might be worth the trip to do one day in the park and spend the rest of your time taking in all the non-park activities and sites Disney offers.

We love to go hotel-hopping and visit the various resorts and shops. For example, we'll park at Poly and wander through there, then ride the monorail to GF and Contemp to see them. We'll usually eat lunch at Poly or Contemp during that time. Last trip, my DD and I rented a water mouse boat at Poly while my DW and MIL shopped. It was a fun day and just as memorable as time spent in the parks.

Or go over to Beach Club and have lunch or dinner at Beaches and Cream (YUM), then stroll around the lagoon to Boardwalk and back.

Spend some time at Downtown Disney browsing the shops.

Lots to do on property that doesn't have to cost a lot.

Totally OT comment - Why do so many folks seem to consider a big tax refund a good thing? All that means is that you've spent the last year overpaying your taxes rather than taking the money home with you each paycheck. You've generously given the government an interest-free loan for over a year. I wouldn't mind finding someone to give me free money.

Steve

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I agree with what disneysteve and mad4themouse have posted about the theme park costs. As disneysteve said, "it might be worth the trip to do one day in the park and spend the rest of your time taking in all the non-park activities and sites Disney offers".

If you are at all comfortable with using priceline, you can get a 3* motel for under $30 per night. Just as an example, some bidders have gotten the pl 2* La Quinta at 7769 Irlo Bronson Hwy. for $18. It is a 3 diamond AAA motel. But, you MUST look through biddingfortravel.com extensively to understand how to use the system to your advantage. Also look at www.hotelkingdom.com and www.hotelmartusa.com to comparison shop.

For food take advantage of the coupons that are everywhere to get 10% or $1 off for the all-you-can-eat breakfasts at Bonanza, Ponderosa, or Western Sizzlin.

If you have camping equipment or can borrow it, the Fort Wilderness rates will allow you to use all of the the Disney Transportation system to explore WDW.

The key is not expecting more than one day at WDW. But, what the heck, one day especially if you go when the hours are extended, such as a Friday or Saturday will let you have the experience.

Good luck and keep checking back.