Cheap Disney: Does it exist?

[Ctsplaysinrain]

It might make more sense of looking into a Rental house.. I have heard that some are available for less than 100.00 a night.. Then, you would have more bathroom space and full kitchens so you can cook and eat many meals there. That would save a bunch....

 

[VAN]

Regarding ticket cost .... it doesn't matter what amusement/theme park you go to, it's going to cost you big time!! Check out the prices for Universal, Sea World, etc. WOW!

Right now the lodging offered by WDW is great ... believe me, it is a big hassle to stay off-site. What if you do save a few $$ and stay off-site. It makes it much more difficult if someone wants to sleep in and the rest want to head for the parks. If you are on WDW property, it makes it much easier to come-and-go individually. I know I just HATE it when I want to leave and my "ride" wants to stay! Ugh!

Staying on-site will give each of you the freedom to come and go using Disney transportation.

Believe me, that alone will save the vacation (and maybe the friendship!) and I really think will be the most economical!

 

[Razor Roman]

I was looking on one of the name your price sites... not priceline... I forget which, and I was able to find a hotel room right near Vista Way (where I lived when I was a Disney CP) for $29 a night... I ended up not being able to take the trip for other reasons, so I don't recall all the specifics, but it was a "name" hotel and looked pretty decent from the website.

While I am generally "all for" staying on Property, sometimes in terms of pure dollars and cents (not factoring in "value for your time" etc, which sometimes you just can't afford to do..believe me I know) it can save you a decent chunk of money to stay off property. And if you plan on doing anything "non Disney" then it works out even better.

 

[ggorter]

I found out a few months ago that I had to take 2 weeks off work by years end or lose that time. I decided instead of sitting around in cold New England that I would make a trip somewhere - preferably warm.

I would be traveling alone. I decided on Disney World but didn't want to spend a fortune.

I flew down on Dec 2nd and back on Dec 11th. That gave me 8 solid days in the parks.

Air fare RT was $150 plus tax etc.

I bought an 8 day park pass (without the park hopper option it saved me $ and I opted against the water park option - I figured if I decided to go to the water parks I could upgrade the ticket while at the park). The 8 day pass is almost the same cost as a 4 day pass. After like 4 days each additional day is only around $5 more.

I stayed off site (for $30/night plus tax etc). I know staying on-site is more fun and convenient but a value resort would have cost me almost 3 times as much. I didn't have a rental car so that saved me money (as well as not having to pay parking at the parks). My hotel offered a shuttle that went only to EPCOT at Disney (which I used twice) but mostly I used the very fast and reliable (seriously) Orlando public bus system. My hotel was across from the stop for Lynx route 56 and the buses run from very early morning to 10 pm every half hour (and were never late) and took me from my hotel to the monorail station in just over 20 minutes for $1.75. My hotel was right next to the Old Town Orlando carnival and shopping area - you can't miss it - it has the 20 story high neon bungee slingshot ride.

I packed a bunch of breakfast bars and such snacks in my luggage and ate them on the way to Disney. Also - my hotel offered a $4 all you can eat breakfast buffet (several local places seemed to offer the same deal). Then I would generally be at the parks for the rope drop and hit as many rides as possible until the park started to get busy and then eat lunch (to save even more money you can pack food in such as sandwiches etc).

Also - any counter service restaurant will give you a free cup of water if you ask. And for free soda nothing beats Ice Station Cool at Epcot! I even enjoyed the Beverly (try it if you get the chance).

Also - I got a Disney Visa card that not only gave me a $40 credit just for joining but I also saved money on some park tours I took ("Keys to the Kingdom" and "Behind the seeds" - both were definitely worth while). Charge your whole trip on it and you earn credits towards future Disney purchases etc.

Avoid buying too many souvenirs and instead order from the Disney Store web page sale site. I checked out the big off site gift shops and didn't really find them to be such bargains - unless you want really cheap "Orlando 2008" shot glasses and key chains.

To top it off - on my way home I volunteered to be bumped from my flight and got a credit for a free flight good for the next year (and they flew me home first class and I was home less then an hour later then I otherwise would have been). Also - if you fly AirTran they will offer you a credit card application during the flight - if you get their credit card you get a credit towards a free flight after the first time you use the card (I haven't used my card yet - was only just approved - but it seems like a sweet deal).

Most importantly - I had a really good time! I went in the off season of early December and did and saw everything I wanted to do with minimal waits and excellent weather!

Enjoy!

Gene

 

[jpeppers]

If there are just a couple of you with no transportation I would do as others have suggested and stay in a value resort but if you have transportation and there are quite a few of you and you really want to do it on a budget I would look at Cypress Point on Hotel kingdom.com. You usually can get a 3 BR for about $130-140 (or a 2 BR for around $100) and with that you get 2 master BR's plus a Br with 2 beds plus 2 pull out couches in the 2 living rooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 full kitchens, 2 decks, washer and dryer. You can eat meals in the rooms and save a ton of money plus you have 3 pools on site with hot tubs and your are right outside of the Disney gate about a mile from downtown Disney. The only problem with it is no transportation to the parks but you can walk to many local eateries and stores. It is a beautiful complex. I think staying on site is great but I know if I was going with a few people I could save a ton of money here.

 

[BradyBz12]

Unfortunately when it comes to ticket prices, you're not going to find a lot of legitimate deals out there that are going to save you a ton. Tix prices are pretty tightly controlled. Unless you go when WDW has a promo in place like the 4/3 deal. If you can plan your schedule so that you don't need park hopping, you'll save $50.

When it comes to lodging it sounds like a lot of good options/suggestions have already been made there. My only other suggestion would be to camp at Fort Wilderness - but that only works if you're campers.

You can put up to 10 people on a site, and get a tent site for pretty darned cheap - especially splitting it 4 ways or more. You could borrow or chip in on a tent - they have some really nice, big ones these days that are very reasonable. If you end up buying one, you can always sell it after your trip and recupe some of your $.

If you camp and cook some of your meals, that's a big plus. Actually DH and found that our biggest savings this year was when it came to food. We ate breakfast, some lunches and a lot of our snacks at our campsite and had one "real" meal out each day. The days we stuck with counter service or lite meals at DTD, we managed to only spend about $25-$30 for both of us. Puck's Express at the DTD Marketplace is a great place to get a good, hot meal fairly fast, relatively inexpensively ...and without an ADR!

Epcot is another great place to do CS and get good food fairly cheaply. Also if you peruse the menus ahead of time, you'll find that many restaurants are cheaper at lunch for the same menu, and some have generous appetizers, salads that could easily make a meal for much less.

Bringing your own snacks/water into the parks can be a big savings over time. If you have your own bottled water, you can refill it at any water fountain, and many park CS locations will give you a free cup of ice/water if you ask.

Good luck with your planning and I hope you all have a great trip!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Cheap Disney: Does it exist? . . .

Cheap Disney is a wish your heart makes.