17 Days, Family O' 6, $3160.00 Budget**TRIP REPORT on pg 26**@Now with Pics!@

[madge]

I'd love to hear more about Summer Bay--it's on our list of places to try

 

[TNKBELL]

I'll try to answer all the questions:
Celebration Liquidation Sale, they had a ton of Angel Fire clothing all for 4.00 each including jackets, all the 2004 Disney stuff, lots of stationary items, pens, erasers, pencils, paper, trading cards, disney trivia handheld electronic game, stuffed characters,lots of cute clothes but even with 70% off these in my opinion weren't a great deal,garden stuff, candles, folding stools cheerleader themed stuff, antenna toppers, princess screen saver discs, I thought it was strange that they were selling non disney items but they were ABC stuff like from ALIAS, I know there were many other things but my memory is fading....

Summer Bay I absolutely loved this resort it was very pretty and reminded me of OKW, the condo was spacious and well laid out, a huge master bath!!! THey had a really neat kids waterpark and several pools,miniature golf course,playgrounds,tennis courts, and an activity schedule with a few free things, which we did most of ;face painting,scavenger hunt,free miniature golf) One of the coolest things was that when we checked in each of the kids received a goody bag filled with samples of cereal, cookie stix, toothpaste, soap, lots of medicine samples, and coupons. And waiting in the kitchen was a free bottle of wine. In the bathrooms there were Mango scented Summer Bay logo soaps and lotion and shampoo/conditioner sooo cute!!! (I saved these for gifts and used the toiletries I bought at the .99 cent store in Perry, Ga.)

Orbit One The Dks loved this resort because of its efficient layout, right out of our screened in back patio was the courtyard that contained a picinic area, shuffleboard court, putting green, basketball court, pool, and playground,(equipment could be checked out for free for the basketball court,tennis courts,putting green and shuffleboard) the Dks could just go outside and we could watch them from the patio or living room. Just a short walk away was the main pool with 2 short volcano themed water slides and spa, it looks like there is a baby pool but they had yellow tape around it and it had been drained, and an arcade and raquetball court as well as the club house where they serve free donuts, coffee and juice Mon-Fri. The units lack the polish of Summer Bay and Disney but they are very spacious and have updated furnishings. You might want to bring earplugs for when you do laundry, the washer sounds like it's about to liftoff!! I noticed that they are updating unit 8 in the Apollo building and it will be very nice, they are also starting to paint the exterior and they should look like new when they are done.
I could post some pics if I could figure it out, I'm not very good at computer stuff!!

 

[bigsis1970]

Wow - sounds like you did all you set out to -- have a great vacation and not break the bank !!!! I am amazed !! what a wonderful vacation you will have memories about for years !Michelle

 

[gigi1313]

woohoo for an amazing fun family vacation... kudos to you

i'll admit i did not read all 29 pages, but skipped to the highlighted ones... i remember reading that you were planning on ten day non-expiry park hoppers for disney... but didn't see it in the final tally... did that decision go by the wayside in favor of all the other awesome places you visited instead? *WHO KNEW* florida had more to offer than wdw

glad you had a wonderful trip... i loved reading about it and how efficiently you were able to travel... thanks for sharing... God Bless you and your family...

 

[CdnMom2]

Thank you for your quick answers & great description.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your budget and trip report! I'm so glad you had a good time. I checked out the Summer Bay Resort, and it looks great but without that government discount, it's too pricey for us! Glad you got to go!

 

[TNKBELL]

Could anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?? I'm trying to upload photos to the community photo page but I can't get them on!! Do I have to put something in the URL box?

Also in response, changing our 10 day passes to 1 day was a difficult decision but due to the cost of gas, we had to trim somewhere and that was the only place I could find. I think this was a blessing in disguise though, because I truley feel with the ages of our Dks this worked better for us and we didn't have to try to fit in 10 days of parks.

 

[bengalbelle]

Could anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?? I'm trying to upload photos to the community photo page but I can't get them on!! Do I have to put something in the URL box?

Also in response, changing our 10 day passes to 1 day was a difficult decision but due to the cost of gas, we had to trim somewhere and that was the only place I could find. I think this was a blessing in disguise though, because I truley feel with the ages of our Dks this worked better for us and we didn't have to try to fit in 10 days of parks.

I have to resize all of my photos before I can upload into the community photo page. Then I click on browse and then put in the url.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

You are truly a budget queen! Way to go on saving so much and doing such a long vacation with an entire family (with kids) for such an economical price! That is awesome!!!!

Did you really only go to Epcot one day and MK one day and evening? That's it??? It sounds like you had a great trip but lord have mercy I couldn't go there for 2wks and only spend 2 days in the parks! That would kill me! LOL

Fantastic Plastics at Innoventions.. We all made free robots that were really cute and colorful and all the pieces are interchangeable so my lego fanatic Ds' were in heaven!!

ahhhhhh How did I miss this? We were in Innoventions for a long time and I never saw anything like this. *pout* I'm not going to tell the kids what we missed. LOL I wonder if that's an every day all the time type of deal or if you just lucked out like you apparently did with many other things during your trip?
Your trip does sound like it was magical! And I'm in awe with how much you saved! Our first trip (family of 5) was spur of the moment and I didn't know a thing about discounts that were Disney related. We drove, stayed offsite, only spent 4 days at Disney parks and 3 days at US/IOA and our total cost was about $3500 if that. It can be done... you just have to do some planning, and make some sacrifices (for instance driving instead of flying, staying offsite instead of onsite, etc.). You stayed twice as long as us and spent half as much! You rock!

 

[MEM]

Quote (re: Robots at Fantastic Plastic)
ahhhhhh How did I miss this? We were in Innoventions for a long time and I never saw anything like this. *pout* I'm not going to tell the kids what we missed. LOL I wonder if that's an every day all the time type of deal or if you just lucked out like you apparently did with many other things during your trip? End Quote

I'm not the OP but just wanted to chime in here -- this attraction was not well-advertised. We were there August 18-26 and I saw quite a few kids wandering around Epcot with these robots. I figured they had to be a freebie so I consulted my park map and headed to Innoventions. First you participate in building a virtual robot and race against other families. Then you get to build your robot, ala Mr. Potato Head. The colors are jewel-tones and quite a nice souvenir. DH built his using MIT colors of crimson and gray.

 

[TNKBELL]

I have to resize all of my photos before I can upload into the community photo page. Then I click on browse and then put in the url.

Ok, now you can put a face to our budget!!! Thanks, the only thing I did wrong was to push enter before I had labled the pics, Oh well, at least now you can see them!!

 

[bengalbelle]

Ok, now you can put a face to our budget!!! Thanks, the only thing I did wrong was to push enter before I had labled the pics, Oh well, at least now you can see them!!

You have a GREAT looking family!!

I really enjoyed reading about your trip. You did so many things that were unique and memorable and that truly is the best vacation!!

I really need to learn your budgeting techniques. We are always looking for ways to save money. You are the Queen

 

[TNKBELL]

I have also been really curious about how it all worked out for you. I also have 2 other families watching this thread. I'm trying to convince them that they too can go to WDW & that it is so worth it. Maybe they'll come out of lurking after reading all the helpful people here.

I also am dying to hear any details about Orbit One & The Liki Tiki waterpark area. We're staying at Orbit One in December. Some of the family will have the WaterPark features with their WDW tix, but some will not so we may try it out, if possible, in December.

Tips about either Orbit One or that waterpark would be greatly appreciated.

The Orlando Science Centre (we also have reciprocal admission) -- any tips to give?

& the POR parade -- though I see you did answer that 1 already. Is this Celebration sale a one-time thing. I missed that on these boards.

More, more. We want to know more.

So glad to hear it all turned out so well for you, even with the unexpected challenges. from reading your responses on this thread, I KNEW you could do it!

I forgot to add some things...
Liki Tiki Waterpark
Not a big park but it has a wave pool and a mushroom, Octopus swing, 2 or 3 long slides and 2 short slides, the night we went was very crowded and they were having Kareoke(spell?) and you could make a cd of your song. I wouldn't pay for this waterpark but the 5.30 parking fee was worth it. The resort around Liki Tiki looked very nice.
Celebration Sale... I believe it is held every year to benefit Celebration school. I saw it posted on the dis(of course )
Orlando Science Center... LOVED THIS ONE!!! Definately we will go back next time! Much better than MOSI!! They have a nature world complete with small alligators and turtles and fish and a kid's town with a unique and clever orange orchard that lets you participate in the process,and a cool aviation section with a manual luggage belt and wooden airplanes to load and play in, We had the daily special for lunch which was steak fajitas...Excellent!! They also had a magic school bus display with lots of fun activities. Highly Recommended!!