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[Tomandtammy]

You all are gonna get sick of me soon. I have a few questions.....but first here is our situation.......
My mom called and said we are going to take you guys (our family of 4) to WDW we got a condo off property from my work for a week its only 110 for the week, all we have to save for is food and tickets. Sounds great right. LOL Well my mother is a control freak and well vacationing with her isnt always fun. Not to mention she took my son 2 years ago and I was crushed I wanted to be there for his first trip BUT i let her cause I knew he would love it I was just being selfish. So inturn since I am sooo selfish and cant tell my mother no (I know I am an adult you dont have to tell me! ROFL), I have decided that I want to be there for my daughters first time, our best time to go would be this October, which is also our 5 yr anniversary. Money is an issue so I was thinking maybe camping would save us money and annual passes too because both trips are within 6 months I know that would save us all money! BUT heres the questions
1. Is camping the right way to go with 2 kids ages 3 and 6. we already have the tent and the vehicle to drive there :0)
2. IS there any other way to save money???
3. Can anyone give me useful ideas? I am stumped, hubby wants to bag the trip altogether BUT I am a wdw fanatic! And I have considered offsite but I love onsite. I havent been there in 10 years but whenever I went it was onsite.

Help me!
Love Tomandtammy

[]

Tammy

 

[idontknow]

There are many ways to save money at WDW, reading this board will help ALOT!!! LOL

If you want to camp, then go for it. If you want to be ON SITE as cheaply as possible, then camping is your cheapest bet. You could probably find a reasonable hotel in the area for about the same price. Keep reading these boards to see how people are getting such cheap rates.

OR, you could camp for the days that you will be going to the parks. That way you can still get all of the perks of onsite, but not spend too much money. Then for the last few days you could stay offsite. Just lay around the pool or do the free things WDW has to offer. (Monorail rides, campfire at the campground, check out the other resorts, so on and so on) No one says that you have to stay onsite to enjoy WDW.

You can check out this site just to see how cheap you can stay off site:
orlando 2000???

 

[KLL]

When our children were young (they are now 30 and 28) we camped at Fort Wilderness because it was the only way we could afford to visit WDW at the time. The experience was great! and affordable! We had a popup camper. With a tent, I am not sure if you are restricted to the tenting area or if you can put a tent on a regular site. I think you would be able to get a regular site with water, electric, and sewer. Check it out. Our children still talk about those trips. In fact, our son plans on doing the same thing with his children in the near future.

 

[deannal]

Some people may really scoff at this, but this is what I would do if I were in your shoes. Make the trip shorter whatever you can allow in your budget. If I were planning a trip for my DD first time, I would spend all my days in the Magic Kingdom, relax in the resort of my choice and maybe move over to MGM one day because she !!loves!! the shows.
You could do a 3 day trip.
You do not have to get caught up in the "MUST SEE IT ALL" The magic happens when you slow down and let it come to you.
I remember our fist trip with our 2 yo. We only did the things that would interest her. It was really a magical and a honeymoon experience for our new family.
You will not be missing out on "all the parks" because you do get to go back in 6 months.

Deanna

It is just another thought.

Deanna

 

[zurgswife]

Go twice but don't demand to stay on site. I'm all for staying on site but if it's not in your budget it would be much more worth it to go twice --once without mom and stay off site both times.

1. If you stayed at the campgrounds you would be 1.4 miles from MK. Price would be approx. $47 per night for a total of about $365 including tax. But remember no beds, community potties(I imagine), no luxuries, yet you can get in the parks 1.5 hrs earlier in the morning.

2. If you stayed at the Holiday Inn Maingate East you would be 3.0 miles from MK. Price would be approx. $49 per night for a total of about $385 including tax (If you book through DIS travel) But remember two double beds, microwave, mini-frig, coffeemaker, color tv, lots of luxuries, yet you can't get in to the parks 1.5 hrs early.

3. Park pass are
hopper 5 day adult $230, kid $183
hopper plus 6 day adult $294, kif $235
hopper plus 7 day adult $325, kid 261

Annual pass adult $370, kid 315

4. If you went twice the food cost probably could run $75 a day if your careful for 4 people,
Annual pass, off site hotel w/o mom, off site condo w/mom.
14 days food costs $1050
7 days hotel 385
Annual passes 4 1370
Grand Total $2805

5. You would get 14 days at WDW for $200 per day

I'd do it save and scrimp. Park passes would be the hardest cost to take at one time. The food costs would be spread over two trips.

Good Luck!!!



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Zurg, Barbie, Buzz, Buzz, Jessie & Tinkerbell
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[Disneydenise]

Some times they offer $59.00 a night rates at the AS resorts. If you are going twice in a 6months time span you should get an AP. One of the perks of the AP is free parking around the disney parks. I would seriously consider staying at the HIFS. Do a search on these boards they get great reviews. If you don't mind camping I would go for that. I can't stand it but to each his own. I can't figure out how you can get a good night of sleep on the ground and then run around the next day and make dinner and use a public bathroom for several days and call it fun. However if that is the only way you can do it and you want to you should. Your family vacations are a time to reconect as a unit. The kids grow too quickly and children need to learn how special family time is and a good way to do it is by everyone going together and having a great time.

 

[Biyanna]

#1 My biggest and most important suggestion is PLEASE don't bother hubby with all the unimportant details. Like the conflict w/your Mom, cost , etc.. If he's anything like my hubby he gets overwhelmed w/ too many details and will just say forget it. I tell my hubby when and how much(only after I bargained and squeezed every penny), and that's it. He doesn't know how hard it was to get breakfast at Cindy's or to get the rate at the all-stars, etc, etc... If he did he might have said lets hold off until next year. LOL
#2 Make up a chart for each expense. For example lodging, compare the rates with the AP on site, camping on and off site, lodging off site with and without Priceline. (We got the Omni Rosen for 2 days at 26.00 then we checked into the AS Sports) Check out TravelSheryl's board http://pub4.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding.html for info. on what rates others are getting, bonus money opportunites and strategy suggestion.
#3 I also have to agree with Deannal about the length of the trip. Unless you're going to stay a full 14 days , you're not going to see it all. A 3 day trip can be just as great as a 5 or 6 day trip. No matter how long you stay , you're not going to want to leave. Our 1st trip to Disney was a 3 day trip. It was a package through AAA. It was cheaper to book the all inclusive package than to try ala carte. You may want to compare the price of what you can do on your own and what a package would cost. A small 3 day package may be worth it considering it includes tickets to all the parks and Pleasure Island, lodging, and 2 meals a day at any Disney owned restaurant (character meals included).
Good luck and remeber you CAN do this! Having more time than money is always a bonus. You have time to hunt down those bargains! GO FOR IT!!!!

Biyanna
AS Sports 1/98'
AS Sports 1/99'
AS Sports 1/01'
AS Sports 1/02'
Will hubby ever let us stay anywhere else?

 

[macymichelle]

WE ARE GOING IN SEPTEMBER. WE GOT OUR ROOMS FOR 64.00 A NIGHT AT THE MOVIE RESORT. I AGREE YOU HANDLE THE DETAILS AND THEN TELL YOUR DH.

denise

 

[wdwpixie]

I just want to say how impressed I was that you took the time to come up with some actual numbers for her!! I know my mind gets boggled trying to figure this stuff out and I just tackle each step as it comes, going for cheap, cheaper, and cheapest each time...I think it's terrific you took the time (and/or had the knowledge) to put together those numbers for anyone checking out this post!! <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz">

 

[Tomandtammy]

You all have been soo helpful. I am not telling hubby til I have everything done! :0) and I am considering a 3 or 4 day trip. BUt thanks for all that info I was shocked to see waht everyone has come up with! You all are swell! :0) I am gonna be on this board alot! Thanks again and keep the ideas coming.

Oh and we plan on our whole trip in oct, the one w/o my mother to be jsut for kids ie, MK and maybe mgm. Wooo Hoo Its fun to plan even if our plans fall thru we know we are still going in March of 2002! So we are still scrimping and saving to try for october! Thanks again!
Tam

[]

Tammy

 

[disney4mykids]

Is anyone a member of the military or the reserves? You can get disounts at SOG on rooms and tickets.