TwoMisfits
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2002
- Messages
- 6,364
So, with plan after plan eliminated this year, and our timeshare points needing to be used (b/c they were old pooled points, and wouldn't roll to 2021), we somehow actually completed a 6 day/5 night Williamsburg, VA trip in a 3 bedroom condo at Governor's Green this week. And with almost no planning, somehow we also stayed really in budget, while also exceeding my spouse's expectations (he came home jazzed and happy, when he went into the event not expecting much)....
It helped that it was both homeschool week and we are veterans...I wouldn't have thought to ask for a veteran's discount, but the nice Yankee Candle person told me that almost everyone offered it, so I asked
.
Start to finish, for 6 people on a driving vacation, with the "free" timeshare, I spent less than 2K (even with about $100 in "souvenir" candles, jellies, and hot sauce) - I think my final total will be $1700ish, but I have to still tally my Groupons into my total. We had a beach day at Yorktown's free beach (who even knew Yorktown had a beach?), spent 3 days at the historic sites at Jamestown and Yorktown, went on an evening ghost tour in Colonial Williamsburg, ran Go Karts, watched Tenet on the cheap Tuesday big screen with popcorn, hit Ripley's for 4d movie fun and a museum tour (only ones there b/c we went at open), went bouncing at a bounce house on homeschool day (again, we went dinner hour, so this was also very empty, but not as empty as Ripley's), and got 4 lunches (Cracker Barrel twice, Fat Tuna, and Sushiya - lunch is how to play Williamsburg b/c prices were a steal and portions were enormous - a few nights, they were 1/2 of dinner, too) and 1 dinner out (Food for Thought) (and ate "expensively" from the Fresh Market, since I spent $196 there, and then $90 more at Publix) - and I became the dairy-free french toast with new fruit sauce of the day queen), went shopping at the outlets and Yankee Candle, did swimming and mini golf at our room, and generally had a great time.
With my health, we broke the days in 2 or 3 parts, and would take a pre-planned break for an hour at the condo for me to rest. The kids loved that b/c they got the "e-time" they wanted while mom had green tea and took shoes off and laid down. And I felt great start to finish, which was a big thing.
If you haven't taken a vacation, and just need to get out...find the "less crowded" places and see if you can't enjoy a short, mostly outdoor, cheap trip this fall (even if you do "2nd tier" attractions - they can be as much, if not more fun than the "big ticket" ones). For travel-related news, the Yankee Candle lady also told me that the area's tourists just fell off the cliff this week (the week we were there). I told her that might have been weather-related, since 1 day was a washout (indoor stuff only all day), and a 2nd almost was (but we found the dry windows that day b/c we were planning in "parts")...and that couldn't have helped bring tourists for that week.
EDIT TO ADD: Final Spend was way better than I thought - I was under $2K, even counting my timeshare yearly fees - dang, and I said yes to everything!...
Attractions
Yorktown Beach - Free
Yorktown/Jamestown Homeschool Tickets - 6 - $78
Go Karts Plus $75
Bounce House 4 for homeschool day $20
Colonial Williamsburg AxWild Ghost Tour (Groupon) - $44
Movie Tavern Cheap Tuesday Tickets and Popcorn $42
Ripley's Veteran's Deal with 1 Movie - 6 - $120
Total Attractions - $379 (for 6 people)
Food (22-25% tips pre-tax left)
Fresh Market Groceries $196
Public Groceries $87
Cracker Barrel (x2) (did use a MyPoints $50 card) - $19+$36 = $55
Food for Thought Dinner $125
Fat Tuna Lunch $83
Sushiya Lunch $78
Total Food - $624
Souvenirs
Yankee Candle $82
Outlets $15
Total Souvies $97
Gas, Tolls and Parking
Parking Free
Tolls None
Gas $40
Hotel/Condo Free (Yearly Maintenance $800, so this could be cost)
Total OOP Cost - $1140 / Total REAL Cost (with condo) - $1940 (for 6 days/5 nights)
It helped that it was both homeschool week and we are veterans...I wouldn't have thought to ask for a veteran's discount, but the nice Yankee Candle person told me that almost everyone offered it, so I asked
.Start to finish, for 6 people on a driving vacation, with the "free" timeshare, I spent less than 2K (even with about $100 in "souvenir" candles, jellies, and hot sauce) - I think my final total will be $1700ish, but I have to still tally my Groupons into my total
. We had a beach day at Yorktown's free beach (who even knew Yorktown had a beach?), spent 3 days at the historic sites at Jamestown and Yorktown, went on an evening ghost tour in Colonial Williamsburg, ran Go Karts, watched Tenet on the cheap Tuesday big screen with popcorn, hit Ripley's for 4d movie fun and a museum tour (only ones there b/c we went at open), went bouncing at a bounce house on homeschool day (again, we went dinner hour, so this was also very empty, but not as empty as Ripley's), and got 4 lunches (Cracker Barrel twice, Fat Tuna, and Sushiya - lunch is how to play Williamsburg b/c prices were a steal and portions were enormous - a few nights, they were 1/2 of dinner, too) and 1 dinner out (Food for Thought) (and ate "expensively" from the Fresh Market, since I spent $196 there, and then $90 more at Publix) - and I became the dairy-free french toast with new fruit sauce of the day queen), went shopping at the outlets and Yankee Candle, did swimming and mini golf at our room, and generally had a great time.With my health, we broke the days in 2 or 3 parts, and would take a pre-planned break for an hour at the condo for me to rest. The kids loved that b/c they got the "e-time" they wanted while mom had green tea and took shoes off and laid down. And I felt great start to finish, which was a big thing.
If you haven't taken a vacation, and just need to get out...find the "less crowded" places and see if you can't enjoy a short, mostly outdoor, cheap trip this fall (even if you do "2nd tier" attractions - they can be as much, if not more fun than the "big ticket" ones
). For travel-related news, the Yankee Candle lady also told me that the area's tourists just fell off the cliff this week (the week we were there). I told her that might have been weather-related, since 1 day was a washout (indoor stuff only all day), and a 2nd almost was (but we found the dry windows that day b/c we were planning in "parts")...and that couldn't have helped bring tourists for that week.EDIT TO ADD: Final Spend was way better than I thought - I was under $2K, even counting my timeshare yearly fees - dang, and I said yes to everything!
...Attractions
Yorktown Beach - Free
Yorktown/Jamestown Homeschool Tickets - 6 - $78
Go Karts Plus $75
Bounce House 4 for homeschool day $20
Colonial Williamsburg AxWild Ghost Tour (Groupon) - $44
Movie Tavern Cheap Tuesday Tickets and Popcorn $42
Ripley's Veteran's Deal with 1 Movie - 6 - $120
Total Attractions - $379 (for 6 people
)Food (22-25% tips pre-tax left)
Fresh Market Groceries $196
Public Groceries $87
Cracker Barrel (x2) (did use a MyPoints $50 card) - $19+$36 = $55
Food for Thought Dinner $125
Fat Tuna Lunch $83
Sushiya Lunch $78
Total Food - $624
Souvenirs
Yankee Candle $82
Outlets $15
Total Souvies $97
Gas, Tolls and Parking
Parking Free
Tolls None
Gas $40
Hotel/Condo Free (Yearly Maintenance $800, so this could be cost
)Total OOP Cost - $1140 / Total REAL Cost (with condo) - $1940 (for 6 days/5 nights)
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so...
