Cheap Cheap Cheap! Disney on a dime PTR *Concluded

[Rubygoose]

Hi All... sorry I've left this PTR for quite a while now. If you've followed along on the August thread, you'll know I had some health issues at the end of June. I was in a lot of pain and it turned out that I had an 8mm kidney stone! I have no idea how long it takes to get to that size, but it was causing so much pressure that I had to get it removed. I ended up with an emergency surgery (mainly because my doctor got me in for an ultrasound on a Friday, and they didn't want me to wait until Monday to book me an appointment.) It's been a couple weeks now, and I'm feeling ok, but I have a stent in, which is a little tube, which is uncomfortable and makes it so that I can't walk very far or very fast. I get it out next week and I can't wait to get back to my normal self. I sure am glad that this all happened at the end of June and didn't wait until August. Hopefully I'll have a bit more stamina by then. I joked to DH that maybe we should get me an ECV instead of renting a stroller for DS! Anyways, 43 days to go until the big trip!

 

[kaoden39]

Ouch! I am sorry to hear about that. I hope that you have a quick recovery and are in tip top shape in time for your vacation!!

 

[Rubygoose]

We have most of the trip all paid for, except for the HOJO and a little bit of the DLH. One more cost that we'll have that we can't pay in advance is the upgrade to APs for DH and the kids 5 day park hoppers from Airmiles. So, seeing as I've done a LOT of spending (and saving!) I thought this would be a good time to write up a summary of all of my savings strategies.

Airfare:
DH and I had Alaska Airlines Master Cards - we canceled these and still got to keep the points we accumulated because the miles are separate from the credit card. Then, a few months later we decided to get the cards again and we each got 25,000 bonus miles! Annie and I are traveling using a companion fare, while Bryan and Gavin are traveling on "miles" one way and "miles and money" the other way. Our round trip flight for 4 from Victoria to SNA is cost $825 plus $150 for two credit cards in annual fees.

Park tickets:
We accumulated enough Air Miles by shopping at safeway and getting Air Miles AMEX cards at the right time to get bonus miles. We had enough miles for 1 adult 5 day PH and 2 child 5 day PHs. We will upgrade these to APs at the gates when we arrive - then we're set for tickets for next year when we go in July (hopefully.)

I bought my AP through way.com before the ticket prices went up. I had to phone them because I'm Canadian. I got my Deluxe AP for $475, a savings of $25 at the time, but now that the prices have gone up, it turned into a savings of $49.

We got our Legoland tickets online using 2 different codes for "buy adult ticket, get child ticket free". We decided to just do the regular park and not the water park.

Transportation:
We're renting a car at the airport and returning it to DTD. There's no way I'd pay the cash price to do this, which is about $200 a day! So I used Air Miles and had enough miles to get a little car for 4 days. If it's too small, hopefully I can pay cash to upgrade it.

For our return trip to the airport, I'm just planning to get a flat rate taxi voucher from the DLH. I think it's about $35 to SNA.

Hotel:
Although we REALLY wanted to stay at the DLH the whole time, our budget just didn't allow it. So, instead, we're starting off at HOJO for the first 3 nights and then switching to DLH on the Sunday when the rates drop significantly. I was able to get an AP rate at both hotels.

Misc:
We NEED extended medical when we travel to the U.S. It's NOT optional for our family, and came in handy when Annie needed stitches on our 2012 trip. Best $30 I ever spent! This year, I noticed that I can get a year of travel medical for slightly less than buying it twice (kind of like an AP for insurance) so I did that. This will also come in handy if we go to Seattle any time within the year.

Although we REALLY wanted to do the dessert seating for Fantasmic and get a babysitter, DH and I have decided that it's just not in the budget. So, instead, we're going to make the kids stay up late and sit on the ground with us and watch it. I'll probably splurge and get them each a cute popcorn bucket while we're waiting for Fantasmic to start.

Ok, that's all I can think of right now. 41 days until our big trip!

 

[Rubygoose]

I'm doing a happy dance right now because HOJO just gave me $120!

Well, they didn't GIVE me the money, but I got an e-mail this morning with new dates for the "Super Family" 50% off rates, and my dates were on there. So, I called right away and waited on hold for 10 minutes or longer. The woman said the rate was still available for 2 of my 3 nights, so I still get the 20% off with the AP discount for that night, but my other 2 nights are only $99 for a queen bed and bunks. When I first made the reservation, I was bummed that they didn't have the kids suit available, but that wouldn't have been eligible for the discount, so I'm glad we got the queen and bunk bed instead of the suite.

Feeling really good now about our decision to do a split stay between HOJO and DLH. 31 days to go!

 

[Rubygoose]

I was pretty excited to save $120 on Hojo, and now I've managed to save $140 on DLH plus we're getting a better room category! They're offering a 25% off AP promotion for the onsite hotels so I called to see if they had our dates available. They didn't have any standard rooms left but they had Deluxe for less than what I was going to pay for standard.


28 days to go! DH and I have started a packing list!

 

[pepe3penelope]

I was pretty excited to save $120 on Hojo, and now I've managed to save $140 on DLH plus we're getting a better room category! They're offering a 25% off AP promotion for the onsite hotels so I called to see if they had our dates available. They didn't have any standard rooms left but they had Deluxe for less than what I was going to pay for standard. 28 days to go! DH and I have started a packing list!

Congratulations! That's awesome!!! Happy planning!

 

[Rubygoose]

I just submitted my final assignment for my course! Now I can send my books back to the library and start thinking about our trip in 9 days!

 

[Rubygoose]

2 more days until our trip! Doing laundry today and getting the kids stuff packed. Turns out we'll need to take a taxi from our house to the airport, since our relatives who usually drive are away on holidays. To make up for the cost, we've decided not to take any checked bags, since Alaska Air charges for them.

I have all of our dining reservations figured out and the first couple of park days roughly planned. We'll arrive at 2:30pm on Thursday, then stop in at a grocery store along the way to HOJO. After we check in, we'll stop in at the ticket booths to pick up my AP and upgrade our 3 free 5day passes to APs for Bryan and the kids. Then we'll head into Disneyland and grab some dinner at Jolly Holiday or Plaza Inn. After dinner we need to pick up our PP+ and I want to find somewhere to get Anniversary buttons for DH and I. If the lines aren't too bad, we'll do a couple Fantasyland rides and then head back to HOJO for a play in the water park and then off to bed.

On Friday we're heading into DL for rope drop at 9am, since it's EE at DCA and because we always like to start our first morning at DL. We'll head straight to Peter Pan's Flight and then Dumbo, Alice and whatever other Fantasyland rides we can fit in before our breakfast with Minnie at 10:30. After breakfast we'll head over to splash (our all time favourite). We need to ride Haunted Mansion that day since it'll be down on Monday. We've never been on the canoes or over to the island, so we'll want to do that. If the kids are getting tired, we'll head over to HOJO for a break and then start walking back to the park at 3:00 to get a spot for the 4:00 parade. We have a dinner reservation at Cafe Orleans at 5:00 and then we might stay for Fantasmic if the kids aren't too tired.

On Saturday we're heading to Legoland. I've left the planning up to DH for this one, since I don't know anything about Legoland.

Sunday is a tricky day because that's when we switch from HOJO to DLH. It's also the only day of our trip where the parks open at 8am instead of 9am! We want to make it to EE at DCA, so the plan is to check in to DLH at 6am to get our room keys, drop our luggage and return the rental car to DTD before getting to EE at 7am. Now, I don't think this is very realistic, but as long as we get to EE before 8am we can get ahead of the "regular" folks . I haven't planned too much for this day, since we'll be pretty tired and we'll be waiting around for our room to be ready. I think we'll probably grab a FP for RSR and get breakfast at Flo's and just enjoy DCA. Annie might be just barely tall enough for Screamin' so she really wants to try it. It's one of my favourites, so I hope she likes it too! We'll probably hit the pools in the afternoon when the room is ready and then we have Goofy's Kitchen dinner at 5:00pm. If we didn't see Fantasmic on Friday, this is our last chance to see it on this trip. It might work if we get a nap in, but probably not, since we'll have all been up since 6am!

Monday is EE at DCA and we're going to attempt wide right to RSR again. It worked for us last summer when we had a double stroller, but not sure if the kids will be able to fight the crowd this time or not. Gavin walks way faster than me, so who knows . Then we have a late breakfast reservation at Rainforest Cafe and I have a coupon for $5 off breakfast. I wasn't thrilled with dinner there last year, Bryan and the kids like it there. In the afternoon, we'll hop over to DL to watch the Jedi show and hopefully Annie and Gavin will get picked. Annie did it last year, but Gavin was too young.

Tuesday is MM at DL and we're going to brave the Anna and Elsa line. This makes me a little nervous, since I've read a lot of posts about confrontational dads in the lineup! After frozen, we'll head over to Toon Town before they open up at 10am and spend an hour or so in there. Then we'll take the train around to NOS as we have a lunch reservation at Blue Bayou at 11:30. After that, we'll head back to DLH for a pool break and then hop to DCA for the 5:15 pixar parade.

I haven't planned anything for Wednesday or Thursday morning yet, but I'd like to sneak in a lunch or dinner at Storytellers, maybe on Wednesday.

 

[Rubygoose]

We leave tomorrow morning! I can't wait! I've packed up everything except toothpaste and chargers for phones etc. I checked us in for our flights, now we just have to wait.

I'm planning to post some live updates on here, but I won't be able to add photos very easily. I'll be posting photos on instagram, and you can find me on there as KatiDidDisney.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

I think you have a really great plan mapped out!

We love going over to Tom Sawyer's Island and watching all the little ones have so much fun, running around and exploring. There are some really beautiful, shady spots to sit and relax---you almost feel like you are nowhere near a theme park!

We have still never managed to do the Canoes---although they look really fun. If you are able to get on those, I'd love to hear about your experience!

Have a wonderful and safe trip!!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Wow that time passed quickly! Have a great trip! I am following you now on Instagram and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures!

 

[pepe3penelope]

Enjoy your vacation!!!!!

 

[Rubygoose]

Sitting in the Victoria airport. Still 1 hr and 15 mins before we board. Then 3hrs in Seattle. We'll get in to SNA at 2:30.

 

[Melgar541]

I am so jealous!! It's going to be great! Enjoy your trip!

 

[kaoden39]

Well, you should be at the hotel by now. How an amazing time!

 

[Rubygoose]

We made it! Our flight took off 30 mins late and then when we arrived we had to wait around before we could get in. When we arrived they had lost one of our booster seats but after a bit of asking they located it.

We stopped for groceries then checked in to Hojo. We walked to the parks and waited about 25 minutes to upgrade to APs. Then we had dinner at Jolly Holiday and watched the parade from our table.

After that we rode Buzz then Matterhorn (banged up my ankle!) And now the kids are enjoying the water park at Hojo. Rope drop at 9am tomorrow!

 

[kaoden39]

We made it! Our flight took off 30 mins late and then when we arrived we had to wait around before we could get in. When we arrived they had lost one of our booster seats but after a bit of asking they located it.

We stopped for groceries then checked in to Hojo. We walked to the parks and waited about 25 minutes to upgrade to APs. Then we had dinner at Jolly Holiday and watched the parade from our table.

After that we rode Buzz then Matterhorn (banged up my ankle!) And now the kids are enjoying the water park at Hojo. Rope drop at 9am tomorrow!

Bummer about the late take off. I'm glad they found your booster. I have heard the Matterhorn is a rougher ride than it used to be. Have fun!

 

[Rubygoose]

We had an amazing day yesterday at DL! Got there at 8:15 for 9am rope drop, took an afternoon break then had dinner at cafe orleans and the kids managed to stay up for rantasmic. We went to Legoland today but got bored and drove back at 2:30. We went to Storytellers for an early dinner then went into DCA and rode soarin and GRR. Then I packed up so we can switch hotels tomorrow in time for EE.

 

[DenaRox]

loving being able to follow along.

 

[JCricketismyfav]

Hi Ruby Goose,

I just wanted to thank you for all your information. That info saved us $600. I'm on the Air Miles site often and didn't think you could still get Park Hopper passes. I always look under the Travel section and its not there. It's under the Parks & Attractions section.

I also liked the reminder about birthdays. We're going in November and its our DD birthday. I'm not sure what exactly to sign up for but I'm checking into it.

I didn't realize a PTR would be so helpful.

Thanks.