Budget trip help!! where to stay?

[zippy99]

Ok, so DH has managed to get the last two weeks of August off and we are planning a surprise trip for the kids.

We are obviously too late for free dining and flights are not as cheap as we would like so we are planning to stay off site in one of the hotels there - have seen the rooms for as little as £300 for the fortnight. I wondered if anyone could give any recommendations.

I must confess having just renovated our living room we are short of cash so we cannot opt for our usual luxuries on holiday - but still - 2 weeks in Florida is worth it!

Look forward to some assistance

 

[Tarzan]

The US site currently has free dining for the end of August, not sure if that will be of interest to you.

 

[disneyholic family]

oh Wayne......king of the discount hotel offers.....where are you?.

i'm sure Wayne will have good suggestions for you..
he always manages to find incredibly good hotel rates!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

i just played with some dates on expedia and found incredibly cheap rates (as in $26/ night)
but i'm not famliar with the properties to know which hotel is good or not.

you could go into expedia and play around.

But Wayne will know if it's a good hotel or not.

 

[disneyholic family]

or better yet, look at kayak - it compares among different sites.
and you can filter on number of stars etc.

i just tried the last two weeks of august in kayak and got lots of interestingly low prices.

 

[Giddy Kipper]

Try Travelocity Top Secret Rooms.

 

[Kath2003]

Ok, so DH has managed to get the last two weeks of August off and we are planning a surprise trip for the kids.

We are obviously too late for free dining and flights are not as cheap as we would like so we are planning to stay off site in one of the hotels there - have seen the rooms for as little as £300 for the fortnight. I wondered if anyone could give any recommendations.

I must confess having just renovated our living room we are short of cash so we cannot opt for our usual luxuries on holiday - but still - 2 weeks in Florida is worth it!

Look forward to some assistance

I travel on a budget in the school holidays. And by budget I mean less than £100 per adult per day all inclusive. Even including the petrol to/from the airport!

The best ways to save a bucketload of money are to:
A) don't do Disney. Stick to Universal, Islands, SW etc. 3 parks + 2 water parks for 14 days is around £50 per person cheaper than Disney's 4 parks + 2 water parks. (We sometimes do a character breakfast in one of the Disney hotels for fun, though. And you can visit Downtown Disney etc.)
B) stay on I-Drive and don't rent a car (but I don't have kids so don't know about the practicalities with little children) - this is really where all the savings are. $14 dollars a day in parking is over £100 alone!

If you rent a car and don't care about where your hotel is located, you can get some great deals. Try t riva go.c o.uk.

Run all hotels through tripadvisor.com before choosing. It won't let you down.

I've stayed in hotels from less than £20 per room and never had anywhere that I wouldn't return to. Typically we pay £30-40 for a room. I don't think I could be convinced to pay more than £50/night given that we literally spend 9 hours a day in the room, 8 of which are sleeping!

 

[zippy99]

Just seen the free dining on US site works out as

If we stayed at a moderate it's about £2100 for 9 days (including food & park tickets with hopper) Considering we would spend £940 on Disney tickets and around £600 on food and £100 on parking... that works out around £500 - seen we can get a holiday inn with free breakfast for the first 5 nights by universal for £120 - so not looking to bad now...

Car hire £240 and universal tickets £340ish so we are at £2800 for accommodation and park tickets and 9 days food! Can eat cheap the first 5 days - just need to book the flights..

 

[coinneach]

Last year we spent 4 nights at the Parc Corniche hotel on International Drive for around £40 a night. This was for a 1 bedroom suite, kitchen and balcony to sit out and relax. For us the extra room from having a suite is wonderful and the added bonus of the balcony is really appreciated. Breakfast is also free although not the greatest of choices it does the job.
They are upgrading the rooms and I believe they will finish this sometime this year? Our room was tired, but clean and surprisingly the bed was probably the largest and most comfortable we've ever slept in...

 

[zippy99]

Thanks for responses - I had a couple of $100 on my Fairfx card so have booked CBR for 9 days 25th Aug to 3rd Sept. It worked out at just over £2000 including park tickets and full DDP.

Now we are on the hunt for flights and will find a cheapy hotel for the other days as required.

DH does not want to tell the kids until we got (they are 14 & 12) - I think I may burst before then!

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks for responses - I had a couple of $100 on my Fairfx card so have booked CBR for 9 days 25th Aug to 3rd Sept. It worked out at just over £2000 including park tickets and full DDP.

Now we are on the hunt for flights and will find a cheapy hotel for the other days as required.

DH does not want to tell the kids until we got (they are 14 & 12) - I think I may burst before then!

so you upgraded the quick service dining plan to the regular dining plan?

 

[zippy99]

We booked through the US site - they give DDP with moderates and got a 'Magic Your Way with Dining' package (they offer the QSDP on values)

 

[wayneg]

oh Wayne......king of the discount hotel offers.....where are you?.

It was Mothers day here today. Been working 16 hours a day since Wednesday, close to 100 hours work over the week All over for another year

Thanks for responses - I had a couple of $100 on my Fairfx card so have booked CBR for 9 days 25th Aug to 3rd Sept. It worked out at just over £2000 including park tickets and full DDP.

Now we are on the hunt for flights and will find a cheapy hotel for the other days as required.

DH does not want to tell the kids until we got (they are 14 & 12) - I think I may burst before then!

Glad you found something you were happy with, good luck with your flight search.