Can you help with some discount magic so I can get the best value for my trip?

[fairy8i8]

My husband and I stayed one night in the Animal Kingdom Lodge while visiting Florida for a graduation. We also stopped and ate at Landscape of Flavors at AoA, mostly so that DS could see the life size Cars characters afterward, and I realized part of what I love about Disney so much. You see, while I grew up in the New England and most of my friends went at least every other year to Disney, my family only took one vacation to Disney when I was 10. However, we did it in style. We stayed for 2 weeks at the Polynesian Resort, ate at Victoria and Alberts, the Lily Riverboat, and a bunch of other fancy restaurants, and spent 10 full days in the parks plus a day at Universal Studios (the first year it was open) and a day at Sea World. It is a vacation I have never forgotten, and it has fueled my Disney obsession.

I love luxury Disney, but it's expensive. My wonderful hubby has come to terms with this, and we are planning to save up for a vacation where I will be left satisfied for several years instead of wanting to return multiple times a year. However, while I want a luxury trip, I definitely want to save AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE on what I am purchasing, thereby maximizing my value. Are you willing to pitch in thoughts on how to do this? I'd love feedback!

My Thoughts:
8 nights renting DVC points during January or September (low season)
*either AKL Savannah the entire time, or 4 nights AKL Savannah and 4 nights Grand Floridian Lake View (if possible) to have less commute to MK and because I have always wanted to stay there.

8 day basic tickets, unless Homeschool Days Event allows us to sign up for their All Ages event with just a 4 year old (we do a homeschool co-op preschool) - then we will get premium passes
*If I get the 8 Day Basic, I will try to get Disney Gift Cards from the December deal at Target stacked with buying Target Gift Cards at Giant Eagle for FuelPerks when they have their double Fuelperks deal on GC, otherwise I will check out the Orbitz and ebates deal on this board.

Flights - estimated $488 on Spirit Airlines for 3 people nonstop roundtrip, plus $30 bag check fee.

8 night Rental Car - Because we are staying at AKL, I want a car because I am worried about whether or not bus service will be convenient (especially because it is possible that we will have at least one other child, probably under 2, with us).
So far, $297 for 8 nights is the best from the Orlando Airport that I have found. We will see if that gets better. We will also go to church on Sunday off property, so I at least need a car that day.

FOOD - here is where I really am not sure what to do. We are foodies. I plan every vacation largely around where we will eat. I like character dining and want to try a lot of the Signature restaurants. I have used the dining excel sheet going around and also picked dishes individually off of allears to get an estimate of pricing. Sooo, the spreadsheet says that OOP and DXDP are neck and neck (getting an annual pass and TIW is more expensive). I figured for the way we usually eat: an appetizer, entree, dessert at the fancier restaurants, we are going to lots of buffets, and then a bunch of counter service and a few days just eating breakfast or leftovers in the room. We rarely get anything to drink besides water, so I figured that in as well. HOWEVER, with the DXDP, we would get drinks at every meal as well as 2 snacks a day, creating a savings for choosing the plan. It is just so close, I don't quite know which way to go. When we get there, we could change our minds, but it's not like it will be easy to change our reservations, so I figure we will actually be eating at those restaurants instead of counter service. Also, with the DXDP, we could eat at a few extra table service restaurants with only incurring the cost of the tip. Should I bag the DXDP and just pay OOP, or should I get it and get extras for no additional cost?

I am figuring $2100 for food, but ideally, I hope to get this down with some Disney Gift Card Magic (I can use GC to pay for both the DXDP and OOP, so there it is a wash). Food is the single biggest expense for the trip, but I just know I won't love counter service again and again (I have brought sandwiches, etc. from our condo in the past, but for me and bodybuilder hubby, we need a lot of calories to keep our blood sugar up and it wasn't enough), and I want this to be a special vacation. I have never done CRT or HDDR and really want to do these (yes, according to my calculations, using 2 credits for a lot of these meals is still as good a value as paying OOP, which even I wasn't expecting). And because I left some breakfasts and lunches free (figuring we wouldn't be hungry or could get a snack after a buffet and before a sit down dinner), it came out to no overages on dining credits without me even trying to tweak things at all.

What kind of hack and slash of prices can you come up with for this trip? TIA!

 

[hsmamato2]

Just watch for room only discounts if you want to do the homeschool days

 

[tzeitel]

September usually brings free dining offers, maybe do the math on the difference between renting points and paying OOP for food or paying for a room and getting FD.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

I would skip the rental car. We stayed AKL in November 2012 and actually thought the bus service was great. We had thought about renting a car but were very glad we didn't, especially with the added convenience of DME and RAC (Spirit is not an RAC airline though).

 

[Marionnette]

My Thoughts:
8 nights renting DVC points during January or September (low season)
*either AKL Savannah the entire time, or 4 nights AKL Savannah and 4 nights Grand Floridian Lake View (if possible) to have less commute to MK and because I have always wanted to stay there.

VGF is going to be tough to book for September since it doesn't open until late October. Right now, reservations are only available to DVC members who actually own at VGF. Other members can begin to book reservations on 6/23//13 and they can only book thru 12/31/2013. You would need to find a VGF owner who is willing to rent their VGF points in order to get a reservation in January. You can always try but you're more likely to get the 8 nights at AKV.

8 day basic tickets, unless Homeschool Days Event allows us to sign up for their All Ages event with just a 4 year old (we do a homeschool co-op preschool) - then we will get premium passes
*If I get the 8 Day Basic, I will try to get Disney Gift Cards from the December deal at Target stacked with buying Target Gift Cards at Giant Eagle for FuelPerks when they have their double Fuelperks deal on GC, otherwise I will check out the Orbitz and ebates deal on this board.

I believe that Homeschool Days are Oct. 9th this year and are restricted to ages 5-17. They're pretty strict about ages.

Watch your ticket discounts. Right now, Undercovertourist is selling many tickets at the same prices they sold them at before the ticket price hike. The discounts on many of them exceed 10% of the gate price, which makes buying them from UT a better deal than using GCs bought at Target. The only drawback is that the UT deep discounts will only last as long as they have inventory of the older tickets. You can't put off buying them until it's more convenient to your budget.

Flights - estimated $488 on Spirit Airlines for 3 people nonstop roundtrip, plus $30 bag check fee.

Keep an eye on kayak.com or bing.com's airfare price predictor to see if the fares you are seeing are expected to go down, up or stay the same. When you see a price that you can live with, just buy the tickets and don't look back. You'll give yourself an ulcer over getting the best rates.

8 night Rental Car - Because we are staying at AKL, I want a car because I am worried about whether or not bus service will be convenient (especially because it is possible that we will have at least one other child, probably under 2, with us).
So far, $297 for 8 nights is the best from the Orlando Airport that I have found. We will see if that gets better. We will also go to church on Sunday off property, so I at least need a car that day.

Take Magic Express to and from your Disney resort. Rent your car at the Car Care Center or at the Dolphin resort. The rates are cheaper there than at the airport.

Go to mousesavers.com and look for rate codes and coupon codes to drop your price further.

FOOD - here is where I really am not sure what to do. We are foodies. I plan every vacation largely around where we will eat. I like character dining and want to try a lot of the Signature restaurants. I have used the dining excel sheet going around and also picked dishes individually off of allears to get an estimate of pricing. Sooo, the spreadsheet says that OOP and DXDP are neck and neck (getting an annual pass and TIW is more expensive). I figured for the way we usually eat: an appetizer, entree, dessert at the fancier restaurants, we are going to lots of buffets, and then a bunch of counter service and a few days just eating breakfast or leftovers in the room. We rarely get anything to drink besides water, so I figured that in as well. HOWEVER, with the DXDP, we would get drinks at every meal as well as 2 snacks a day, creating a savings for choosing the plan. It is just so close, I don't quite know which way to go. When we get there, we could change our minds, but it's not like it will be easy to change our reservations, so I figure we will actually be eating at those restaurants instead of counter service. Also, with the DXDP, we could eat at a few extra table service restaurants with only incurring the cost of the tip. Should I bag the DXDP and just pay OOP, or should I get it and get extras for no additional cost?

If the DxDP and OOP are neck and neck, I recommend going OOP. It will give you more flexibility and you won't need to concern yourself with unused credits should something come up and you can't make all of your ADRs.

I am figuring $2100 for food, but ideally, I hope to get this down with some Disney Gift Card Magic (I can use GC to pay for both the DXDP and OOP, so there it is a wash). Food is the single biggest expense for the trip, but I just know I won't love counter service again and again (I have brought sandwiches, etc. from our condo in the past, but for me and bodybuilder hubby, we need a lot of calories to keep our blood sugar up and it wasn't enough), and I want this to be a special vacation. I have never done CRT or HDDR and really want to do these (yes, according to my calculations, using 2 credits for a lot of these meals is still as good a value as paying OOP, which even I wasn't expecting). And because I left some breakfasts and lunches free (figuring we wouldn't be hungry or could get a snack after a buffet and before a sit down dinner), it came out to no overages on dining credits without me even trying to tweak things at all.

What kind of hack and slash of prices can you come up with for this trip? TIA!

If you're renting points, you would have to have an owner who is willing to add the dining plan by paying with GCs. Not everyone is willing to go through the hassle of reading off multiple GCs to member services for a renter. The third-party vacation rental websites may or may not be willing to act as your go-between for something like that. They pretty much expect that you will pay cash for the dining plans if you want to add them to a DVC rental.

That's all that I can come up. The best way to hack and slash is to lower your expectations. The next best way would be to find the absolute best prices that you can for each and every line item for your trip. It looks like you already have a feel for how to do it.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Great ideas have already been shared, but I just wanted to add my own

We're two adults (31 & 36) and we always pay OOP for food. We do two TS meals a day and with snacks/tips/extras it costs us about $800 for a week trip, but that's usually overbudgeting 'cause some meals I just want an appetizer and dessert or sometimes I get a snack in the afternoon and I don't want much for dinner.

We opened a Southwest card during the 50,000 points promo last year and put everything we can on that card and pay it off every month. We also have a Disney Visa, but we don't use it much anymore. I like being able to use the flight points for other things (like if we have to travel for a funeral or wedding or on other vacations). We usually fly at least once a year so the $69 annual fee gets us at least two roundtrip flights a year (although, right now we have enough points for many flights).

We rent points (we're staying at BLT this September). If you're going during a busy DVC use season (like Food and Wine Festival or early December), you might want to try to find someone who can book wherever you prefer to stay at the 11 month window. We did two studio reservations for BLT at the 11 month window and one of them had to be waitlisted.

Other than that, I buy our tickets from Undercover tourist using the mousesavers discount. If you're set on not doing a package (which requires you to buy tickets), I would buy the tickets as soon as you can afford to. WDW usually raises ticket prices once a year (sometimes two or three times in a year).

You may also want to price out (depending on how long you're staying) an annual pass for one of you. If you go with a room only discount, an annual pass discount generally gets you a 5-10% better discount than the general public discount and you could then purchase a Tables in Wonderland card.

I stock up on Disney gift cards using my Target Red Card for 5% off. When we're not renting points, we pay for the balance of our room upon check-in with gift cards, we bought my annual pass and Tables in Wonderland card with gift cards, all of our meals/snacks with gift cards, etc. You can even buy special events tickets (Halloween party and Christmas party tickets) with gift cards and pre-order a Photopass CD with gift cards.

We've rented a car from the place on Disney property at the gas station right next to Magic Kingdom. A shuttle will pick you up from the resort and take you there to pick up your car. Car rentals are pretty cheap in Orlando. I rented a compact car for a week in September 2010 for $130 from the airport (I can't remember if it was Thrifty or Dollar. I researched money saving tips from mousesavers.com for the car).

Hope this helps!

 

[Sleepy425]

We rented points through David's Vacation Club Rental, and they never said anything when I sent an email with a list of GC to pay for the dining plan last year. They just took care of it, no indication that it was an issue.

 

[fairy8i8]

VGF is going to be tough to book for September since it doesn't open until late October. Right now, reservations are only available to DVC members who actually own at VGF. Other members can begin to book reservations on 6/23//13 and they can only book thru 12/31/2013. You would need to find a VGF owner who is willing to rent their VGF points in order to get a reservation in January. You can always try but you're more likely to get the 8 nights at AKV.

Sorry not to be clear. I am looking at January or September 2014. Don't know if VGF would work out because it's new so a lot of DVC owners will want to try it out, but I figured I might have a shot if we decide to go Sept 2014 as it is slow season.

I believe that Homeschool Days are Oct. 9th this year and are restricted to ages 5-17. They're pretty strict about ages.

Good to know about the age thing. The actual homeschool event that you have to buy says ALL AGES are welcome- basically the entire family, but I was also thinking that you had to have at least one child 5-17. This year they had an event in January, so I was just hoping for an event in Jan. of 2014. For Fall 2014, October would mean higher room prices, so the savings on the tickets from doing Homeschool Days then (my son will be 5 and in kindergarten then) would probably be a wash cost-wise.

Take Magic Express to and from your Disney resort. Rent your car at the Car Care Center or at the Dolphin resort. The rates are cheaper there than at the airport.

Go to mousesavers.com and look for rate codes and coupon codes to drop your price further.

Really? I'll have to check it out! Unofficial Guide said that Dolphin and Car Center were more expensive, so I didn't look.

If you're renting points, you would have to have an owner who is willing to add the dining plan by paying with GCs. Not everyone is willing to go through the hassle of reading off multiple GCs to member services for a renter. The third-party vacation rental websites may or may not be willing to act as your go-between for something like that. They pretty much expect that you will pay cash for the dining plans if you want to add them to a DVC rental.

That's all that I can come up. The best way to hack and slash is to lower your expectations. The next best way would be to find the absolute best prices that you can for each and every line item for your trip. It looks like you already have a feel for how to do it.

Thanks! I would combine any GC to 2 $1000 ones, so hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. THe only other option when renting is to give a CC number to the member, so DVC request said if you weren't comfortable with that, you could do GC. However, I figure if I'm not comfortable giving my CC # to someone, I probably shouldn't be renting from them either!

 

[fairy8i8]

September usually brings free dining offers, maybe do the math on the difference between renting points and paying OOP for food or paying for a room and getting FD.

I'll have to run the numbers. I would like a savannah view, preferably Arusha, and I don't know if they are included in the FD offer. I got 60% off the room price when we stayed in May, so I don't know if I can beat that with FD or a room discount. I will have to see. If I used a LOT of GC, maybe...

We rented points through David's Vacation Club Rental, and they never said anything when I sent an email with a list of GC to pay for the dining plan last year. They just took care of it, no indication that it was an issue.

Thanks for letting me know!

We're two adults (31 & 36) and we always pay OOP for food. We do two TS meals a day and with snacks/tips/extras it costs us about $800 for a week trip, but that's usually overbudgeting 'cause some meals I just want an appetizer and dessert or sometimes I get a snack in the afternoon and I don't want much for dinner.

That sounds reasonable. However, we are doing Boma, lots of character breakfasts, and I typically get something other than chicken when we travel because I cook it a lot at home, so my entrees are on the high end. I know whichever way I decide, I'm going to be eyeing the bills to see if it would have been better the other way.

We opened a Southwest card during the 50,000 points promo last year and put everything we can on that card and pay it off every month. We also have a Disney Visa, but we don't use it much anymore. I like being able to use the flight points for other things (like if we have to travel for a funeral or wedding or on other vacations). We usually fly at least once a year so the $69 annual fee gets us at least two roundtrip flights a year (although, right now we have enough points for many flights).

We are looking into a better credit card for points, but we want a flexible one, so haven't decided if we should do an airline one, or just straight up points/cashback.

You may also want to price out (depending on how long you're staying) an annual pass for one of you. If you go with a room only discount, an annual pass discount generally gets you a 5-10% better discount than the general public discount and you could then purchase a Tables in Wonderland card.

I stock up on Disney gift cards using my Target Red Card for 5% off. When we're not renting points, we pay for the balance of our room upon check-in with gift cards, we bought my annual pass and Tables in Wonderland card with gift cards, all of our meals/snacks with gift cards, etc. You can even buy special events tickets (Halloween party and Christmas party tickets) with gift cards and pre-order a Photopass CD with gift cards.

We've rented a car from the place on Disney property at the gas station right next to Magic Kingdom. A shuttle will pick you up from the resort and take you there to pick up your car. Car rentals are pretty cheap in Orlando. I rented a compact car for a week in September 2010 for $130 from the airport (I can't remember if it was Thrifty or Dollar. I researched money saving tips from mousesavers.com for the car).

Hope this helps!

Thanks! It helps a lot! I'll have to look for car deals a little closer, as I have only looked for January, and I think it's too early to get a really good rate on the car.

 

[sarah4770]

As far as cars, I have rented at OIA for a day or two and then returned at both the dolphin and car care center, you just have to play with the dates as your trip gets closer.
Food... depending on what time of year you go, DDP might be a bit much in the heat. One tip, do not do a character buffet before a park day, people tend to overeat at the breakfast buffets(especially when you are paying forty bucks per person for breakfast, who is just going to have toast and coffee) and it makes you feel sluggish for the rest of the morning.

 

[MickeyManiac]

Just an FYI on the car. We just rented 7 nights (5/29-6/5) for $98.00 total. We used Costco and the rental was from Budget. I love having my own car so it was well it.

 

[fairy8i8]

Just an FYI on the car. We just rented 7 nights (5/29-6/5) for $98.00 total. We used Costco and the rental was from Budget. I love having my own car so it was well it.

Sweet! I will totally have to look into the car rental deals more!

 

[2TxAgs]

Just an FYI on the car. We just rented 7 nights (5/29-6/5) for $98.00 total. We used Costco and the rental was from Budget. I love having my own car so it was well it.

THANK YOU! I thought I had a great deal at $210 for the 6 days we're in town, but I checked Costco and got $95!!!! The difference pays for our Costco membership this year!

Many, many thanks for this info.

 

[travelitis]

We found that character meals were best utilized on park days. It kept people, especially hubby and kids, full so they had the fuel to tackle our ambitious touring. I liked walking off the buffet around the parks. We did late breakfasts so they counted as lunch or a late lunch for a midday break. That really worked for the kids! We didn't have to wait in long character lines, and we all were refreshed by the break. I wouldn't want to do the super early times, as that is prime park time. There are shorter lines first thing in the morning.

Disney has released late summer discount rates. Did you price those to compare to renting from a DVC member? If you would like to consider all options, you could book during the free dining promotion and price AKL rather than booking a villa accomodation. Another thing would be the view. I've stayed at both Kidani and AKL with Arusha view and pool view. The upgraded view is only worthwhile if you are going to be in your room during daylight hours. If you plan to spend long days in the parks, you won't get to enjoy your view that costs several hundred dollars extra. All along the hallways there are viewing spaces. Downgrading the view would be a way to compensate for the extra cost of booking a villa, if you really didn't want to stay in a hotel room. (I get that, but at AKL Jambo House is so much more impressive than Kidani) I suggest comparing AKL and Kidani (AKL villas). If the view is the big thing, then look at AKL Savannah or Arusha view compared to Kidani. You can get a room at Jambo house that has bunk beds for the kids. As for the car, for that length of stay, I have always preferred access to a car, especially with kids. Also, I can drive to the resort from Epcot faster than some of those buses can. I was there for Memorial Day, and the bus took over half an hour to go from Epcot to AKL. It should not take that long. I could have driven to an off site hotel. I wondered if the driver made a wrong turn, seriously.


In the end, getting your exact plan may be more important than the money, and that's OK. Good luck figuring it out!

 

[tigger51276]

I've been staying at AKV now for the last few years and I would never think of renting a car while staying on property again unless I had a bunch of off site travel to do. I travel by myself with my two DD's and we never have any problem with the buses. I rented a car the first year I took my DD9 when she was 7 months old and it just sat in the parking lot the whole time. The longest you will wait is about 20 mins for the bus which is still quicker than driving yourself as the buses drop you off pretty close to the gates and if you drive not only do you have to figure out the quickest way to get there, wait in line to pay to park (even though you are staying on property you still have to wait in line for those that do have to pay), and then you have to get a parking space, wait for the trolley and then depending on which park you are visiting you either can walk to the gate or wait for the tram to bring you to the front (and if Magic Kingdom take either the ferry or monorail to the front). I much prefer the one shot deal of the buses and not needing to worry about where I parked my car, do I need gas, etc.
If you do rent a car, I would not rent it on property, the prices are way higher! You will get a much better deal at the airport.

 

[Mary Anne]

Take Magic Express to and from your Disney resort. Rent your car at the Car Care Center or at the Dolphin resort. The rates are cheaper there than at the airport.

Go to mousesavers.com and look for rate codes and coupon codes to drop your price further.
Really? I'll have to check it out! Unofficial Guide said that Dolphin and Car Center were more expensive, so I didn't look.

Last trip we found the cheapest option was to rent the car from the airport and DROP it off at the S&D. Play with a lot of different options, you just never know.