Costs - am I kidding myself?

[CityBlue]

Wow, just priced up a trip to Florida for 2 adults and 1 child for Easter next year and the cheapest is a hotel on International Drive for £2,844 (flight, room only and car hire (which I don't really want but is included)). Is this a typical cost? I've never been before so have no idea. On top of this cost I would have to add tickets for Disney Parks, Universal Studios etc, spending money and food.

Think I need a lie down!!!!

 

[wayneg]

I find Easter one of the most expensive times to go.

You have also left it a little late, prices have risen now for Easter 2012.
If you can be flexible you might find indirect flights reasonable, for example I just checked MAN~MCO going Sat 31st Mar for 14 nights £950pp for the cheapest, go 2 days before on Thursday 29th Mar and same flights drop drastically, 2 ad & 1 ch = £1,602
Add a hotel, Hotelopia have econolodge Idrive for £312.09, Total £1914.

Possibly cheaper on different dates or searching more sites for better prices, possible cashback.

If you are only willing to go direct and only stick to school holiday dates then you will pay a high price.
Good luck.

 

[Kath2003]

I've been to Orlando at Easter, recently - 2009 and 2010.

We do DIY. This was our spending on the last trip (2010) for 2 adults for 10 nights:

Flights £340
Hotel (Four Points on I-Drive) £210
Food, drinks etc. £200
Transport £20
Petrol to/from the airport £40
Universal passes £70
Insurance £20

Total cost: £900 per adult (£90/night all-in)

This year, it's getting a bit more expensive. We've only booked flights and insurance so far but for the 11 nights it's looking like...

Flights £420
Hotels £330
Food, drinks etc. £250
Transport £20
Petrol to/from the airport £40
Universal passes £95
Insurance £25

Total cost £1180 per adult (£108/night all in)

What you're paying does seem rather excessive since you're only getting two of the elements above, which we paid £550 per adult for in 2010 and £700 for in 2011.

The best ways to cut costs (we have found) are:
- fly indirect, it's about half the price
- fly strange days (we find Monday and Thursday to be the cheapest, Tuesdays are also good) and strange times to get the cheapest flights. Our logic is that you're exhausted and fed up no matter what time you get there
- Book separately
- Fly to MCO, use the public buses - saves SO much money
- Be realistic about the food budget. We budget £25/day now and that includes the alcohol budget. We simply cannot eat more than one "major" meal a day in the Orlando sun, so we grab a $4 slice of pizza for lunch and grab a few bits from Walgreens (snacks, water). We also don't buy soda in the parks which adds up a surprising amount
- Don't do Disney (It's VERY expensive, but then I've done it plenty of times so I don't feel the same need to go do it all over again).

 

[dixonsontour]

Does it have to be Easter?

It is very very busy and you are booking at pretty short notice for Florida.

Are you tied to school hols? If you are late August or October seem to be the popular times to go - parks are a lot quieter than Easter.

The price sounds like a package deal which is usually dearer.

See what priice you can get flights for - they are the dearest bit. Look at indirect flights and like other poster said odd days not just Sat to Sat.

Hotels if you want budget I Drive - maybe £400 for 14 nights.

Not over easter but for alot of the year disney is offering free dining. Yes it costs more but if you factor in all fodd is inc, transport from airport and all transport at disney it can work out cheaper than I drive.

Work out what you must see - too many people overbuy tickets. You can't do it all in 2 weeks.

Also if the package includes a car be aware you will have to pay for insurance on top may add another £300 to the price. Can be cheaper to sort your own hire car if you want one.

 

[CityBlue]

Thanks everyone. can I ask - how do you get your hotel budget so low? I've looked direct on some hotels web sites on I Drive and it's still coming up in excess of $2,000 for all 3 of us.

Any hotels on I Drive that you'd recommend??

I'm not planning on Easter next year, it will be the year after at the earliest, but alot of people have said how busy Easter is so maybe I'll look at the last 2 weeks of August.

As I've never been before I have priced up packages and I don't want to be overwhelmed with having to sort everything out!!

Any other advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[vivkemp]

Hi

If you have a choice i would rather go in October than August.

We have been both times and here are some comments, make your own choice.

August
Very very hot
possible hurricanes (we landed just before hurricane charlie hit)
Very very busy
October
Lovely warm not too hot weather
Halloween extra activities and theming
Less busy parks

We will be going around half term in October this year, extending the 7 days by an extra 3! Thurs and Fri before half term and the Monday after.

I will let you know how it goes.
Viv

 

[wayneg]

Thanks everyone. can I ask - how do you get your hotel budget so low? I've looked direct on some hotels web sites on I Drive and it's still coming up in excess of $2,000 for all 3 of us.

Any hotels on I Drive that you'd recommend??

I'm not planning on Easter next year, it will be the year after at the earliest, but alot of people have said how busy Easter is so maybe I'll look at the last 2 weeks of August.

As I've never been before I have priced up packages and I don't want to be overwhelmed with having to sort everything out!!

Any other advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Booking a room directly with a hotel is rarely the cheapest option
For Easter next year Hotelopia.com have the econolodge at:
Double or twin guest room Room only £22.55/nt £315.71/2 weeks
Less 6% using Quidco means cost to you £296.77
Same hotel direct would be $936.97(£597) More than double using a UK agent.
Hotelopia is part of the Tui group (same as Thomsons)

Personally I don't like Idrive so I don't know many hotels on there, I just know someone who stayed at this one recently.
I would not stick to looking for any 1 hotel, when you are ready for booking see what are the best deals around, I stayed at the Holiday Inn express this Feb for about £35/nt, next month its £60/nt so I won't be staying there. Offers change all the time.

Your choice if you do a package or DIY but you are usually paying a company to sell you the flights and hotel together, sometimes this can be just a small amount other times massive, I have just booked for 24 nights next summer, Virgin holidays quote £9,500(economy seats & only 21 nights), DIY(using some airmiles) £4,600 (Premium economy seats & 24 nights)

 

[Kath2003]

Thanks everyone. can I ask - how do you get your hotel budget so low? I've looked direct on some hotels web sites on I Drive and it's still coming up in excess of $2,000 for all 3 of us.

Any hotels on I Drive that you'd recommend??

I'm not planning on Easter next year, it will be the year after at the earliest, but alot of people have said how busy Easter is so maybe I'll look at the last 2 weeks of August.

As I've never been before I have priced up packages and I don't want to be overwhelmed with having to sort everything out!!

Any other advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

As Wayne said, it's rarely cheaper to book direct with the hotel. I think I've only ever done it once. You can save a lot by using comparison websites too, like Trivago.

There are LOTS of hotels on I-Drive. Use tripadvisor. Most are decent enough. I've stayed in the Econolodge that Wayne mentions but that was about 5 years ago when it was still a Best Western. It was fine: no frills, great location, perfectly clean.

If you don't want a car, public transport is cheap and efficient but you'll almost certainly need to be on I-Drive to make good use of it.

Easter is busy, but if you arrive early at the parks you won't have to wait for anything. The end of August is significantly hotter and in the middle of hurricane season. As you can see, I've done both - we tend to go for Easter now, because it's a bit cooler (30 degrees rather than verging on 40) and we find it to be cheaper.

Again, as Wayne said, you'll pay a premium to book a package. We've found, at Easter, that booking through a package costs anything from 20% to 60% more If it's peace of mind you want, go for it (although they can still mess up!) but we take the money instead

 

[dixonsontour]

We stayed 4 nights at the Rosen Inn pointe orlando I drive (used to be quality inn plaza)

It was the best of the 'motel' type hotels we have stayed in and would stay there again no problem.

Rooms have wifi, microwave/fridge. Location is good for a non driver - think the hotel does shuttles but the I drive trolley stops outside. Walgreens is opposite for snacks/drinks etc.

Lots of decent eating within walking distance.

We booked through a special on US travelzoo.com. I know when i priced it for this trip it was coming in under £400 for 14 nights - think with hoteldiscount.com.

Again accomodation will be dearer at Easter - supply and demand.

 

[Kath2003]

We stayed 4 nights at the Rosen Inn plaza I drive (used to be quality inn plaza)

It was the best of the 'motel' type hotels we have stayed in and would stay there again no problem.

Rooms have wifi, microwave/fridge. Location is good for a non driver - think the hotel does shuttles but the I drive trolley stops outside. Walgreens is opposite for snacks/drinks etc.

Lots of decent eating within walking distance.

We booked through a special on US travelzoo.com. I know when i priced it for this trip it was coming in under £400 for 14 nights - think with hoteldiscount.com.

We've just booked this hotel for 10 nights in the Easter holidays for £35/night (potentially down to £31/night with Quidco). Whilst it wasn't our first choice of hotel, the price gap between the hotels we really wanted and this one seemed insane (at least double the price) so we decided to go for the cheaper hotel and enjoy ourselves more when we're there

So, CityBlue, this brings our total for flights + hotel to £1215 for 2 adults. With a budget for food and drinks of £500, plus Universal passes at about £190, local transport at £40, petrol at £50 and insurance at £50, the whole trip comes in at £2045 (£1027.50 per adult).

So yes, I do think you're paying significantly over the odds. You're paying £2844 for three people (if you ignore the fact that one is a child!) which is £948 per person - we're paying £608 for the same thing. That extra £340 PER PERSON is the premium for booking a package holiday. This is why we DIY.

So I guess the question is: is it worth £1000 for the convenience of booking a package? Only you can figure that one out

 

[tinkerpea]

Hi all I'm desperately having the same problem we are a family of 3 adults me my hubby and my mum and 3 kids under 10 I would like to do a 2 or 3 wk stay at a Disney hotel with the ddp next September/October but every travel agency even for pop century is coming up at 9500 for 3 wks totally gutted as we did 3 wks last yr same time at AkL for £500 more!!! Does anybody think I could get it much cheaper by doing it DIY ??? I wanted to be on site due to the boys and having the ddp but even willing to do 2 wks on site and 1 wk international drive at a cheapest I can get hotel whilst we do universal etc ..... You guys on here seem to know so much about doing it for the best price also if I went non direct would the flight be long enough to have seat back tvs I have an autistic child the loves those tvs lol thanks for any help in advance

 

[Kath2003]

Hi all I'm desperately having the same problem we are a family of 3 adults me my hubby and my mum and 3 kids under 10 I would like to do a 2 or 3 wk stay at a Disney hotel with the ddp next September/October but every travel agency even for pop century is coming up at 9500 for 3 wks totally gutted as we did 3 wks last yr same time at AkL for £500 more!!! Does anybody think I could get it much cheaper by doing it DIY ??? I wanted to be on site due to the boys and having the ddp but even willing to do 2 wks on site and 1 wk international drive at a cheapest I can get hotel whilst we do universal etc ..... You guys on here seem to know so much about doing it for the best price also if I went non direct would the flight be long enough to have seat back tvs I have an autistic child the loves those tvs lol thanks for any help in advance

Can't help you wish the Disney side of things (we don't do Disney as we feel it's hugely overpriced). I do know that usually it's significantly cheaper to do DIY BUT you can get some good package deals with the free dining. Wayneg or someone else here will be more help than me!

I can tell you, however, that you'll almost certainly get a seat back TV on all transatlantic flights these days. I've flown to the states 12 times and only once have I been without a seatback TV - after the volcanic ash disruption, when the airlines were using every plane they had to ferry us back! Even then there were cabin TVs which were perfectly good. After 10 days of being stuck waiting for a flight home, we didn't care anyway.

I've done a 14 hour flight (not to the US) without seatback TVs and only subtitled teeny-tiny cabin TVs. No big deal. I read lots of books instead

 

[wayneg]

Is £9500 incl 21 day Ultimate tickets?

Just priced 21 days at OKW with free DDP & 6 x 21 day tix, £6,410.85 less 3% Quidco £6218.52 plus you get $150 to spend.

Pop wasn't showing so I also prices AllStars Music & 6 x 21 day tix £4,356.00 less 3% = £4225.32 (No DDP or gift card)

Taking into account the gift card you are paying £1,890 to upgrade from Value to Deluxe and getting all your food for 21 nights. Break that down to £90/night, to me worth every penny but I am not a fan of the value resorts.

Flights, who knows what you can get them for? would you consider indirect? Delta/Airfrance are doing offpeak flights from £289pp just now(London~MCO with 1 stop)

If you take the £9500, knock off £4225 for the value room your agent is charging you £5,275 for flights or £879pp, even for direct that is too high for Sept/Oct.

Another option for a family of 6 is a log cabin at Fort Wilderness, not everyones cup of tea but thought I would put the price in £5,772.45 less 3% & $150 gift card but only QSDDP with this offer.

Post again if you need more help.

Hi all I'm desperately having the same problem we are a family of 3 adults me my hubby and my mum and 3 kids under 10 I would like to do a 2 or 3 wk stay at a Disney hotel with the ddp next September/October but every travel agency even for pop century is coming up at 9500 for 3 wks totally gutted as we did 3 wks last yr same time at AkL for £500 more!!! Does anybody think I could get it much cheaper by doing it DIY ??? I wanted to be on site due to the boys and having the ddp but even willing to do 2 wks on site and 1 wk international drive at a cheapest I can get hotel whilst we do universal etc ..... You guys on here seem to know so much about doing it for the best price also if I went non direct would the flight be long enough to have seat back tvs I have an autistic child the loves those tvs lol thanks for any help in advance

 

[tinkerpea]

Thankyou so much Wayne for your speedy reply you have really owned ip
My eye to the world of DIY holidays I cannot believe the price difference! Haven just spoken to my dh and Dm they have both said if it cuts the cost enough then we would def consider the non direct Option of flying so I was hoping you could help answer a few questions on that? Do I still get seat back tvs doing it this way as with 3 boys even with there nintendos will still want them and I have to say it's the part of the journey I love too lol... Another is I seen one journey that took 18 hours from start to finish is that the norm with non directs? And when priced does that include the flight from the first airport stop to Orlando? Or is that separate sorry if these seem dumb obvious it's just I'm not good at stuff like this eek!!!! And yes it did include the tickets but was actually for 2 wks!!!! I miss read it was just over 10 for 3, I've not seen many posts on OKW so I'm trying to look for pics and info on the resort thanks again

 

[Kath2003]

Haven just spoken to my dh and Dm they have both said if it cuts the cost enough then we would def consider the non direct Option of flying so I was hoping you could help answer a few questions on that? Do I still get seat back tvs doing it this way as with 3 boys even with there nintendos will still want them and I have to say it's the part of the journey I love too lol...

I can tell you, however, that you'll almost certainly get a seat back TV on all transatlantic flights these days. I've flown to the states 12 times and only once have I been without a seatback TV - after the volcanic ash disruption, when the airlines were using every plane they had to ferry us back!

On the domestic leg (within the US between your first city and Orlando) it depends - sometimes there are TVs, othertimes not. This flight will, however, be much shorter, usually 2-3 hours, depending on where you connect.

Another is I seen one journey that took 18 hours from start to finish is that the norm with non directs?

18 hours is a LONG indirect flight. Usually they are between 12 and 14 hours, so you must have a long wait at your connection airport. I would suggest 2 hours is a good length for connection, but you can do it in less at certain airports.

However, the duration of the flight being 3-5 hours longer in each way is somewhat negated by the fact that you clear US immigration at your FIRST stop. This can take anything from 10 minutes to 1.5 hours, but once you land in Orlando you then just walk out of the airport. This then reduces the "extra" time you spend by flying indirect.

Another bonus, for us, is that indirect flights go from Heathrow from Gatwick. This saves us another hour in each direction. So, even though flying indirect adds an average of 8 hours to our total journey time, it actually only adds 5 because we save 2 hours in travelling to/from the airport in the UK and an hour clearing immigration. We typically save £50-100 per extra hour we add to our flight by flying indirect, so we feel it is worth it. Some feel it isn't.

You can do overnight stopovers - we're doing that this year. We land in our first city in the evening, our connection flight is first thing the next morning. This saved us an extra £150 per person - the cost of the hotel was £30 each so a total saving of £120. Because of the jet-lag we don't intend to do anything on the first night anyway, so we will just go to the airport hotel, sleep and be in Orlando by 10am the next day having slept off the worst of the jet-lag. We haven't done this before but I'm thinking it'll be good - and it's saved us £120 each!

And when priced does that include the flight from the first airport stop to Orlando?

Yes.

 

[wayneg]

And yes it did include the tickets but was actually for 2 wks!!!! I miss read it was just over 10 for 3, I've not seen many posts on OKW so I'm trying to look for pics and info on the resort thanks again

I think most of your questions have been answered above but post again if you want more info.
Adding the extra week to tickets only adds about £37-38pp if I remember correctly, well worth it when you are doing the Dining plan, gives you a lot more flexibility for the meals.
OKW, we will be staying there for the 4th year in a row next summer, I would say at least 95% of people enjoy their holidays there, very few don't, its a great laid back resort, it was the 1st DVC resort and the rooms are the largest available, a 2 bed villa is massive at 1,395 sq ft Have a look at All Ears fact sheet, lots of info on there incl photos.
http://allears.net/acc/faq_okw.htm

 

[tinkerpea]

Hi Kathy2003 thankyou for taking the time to give me the information, it's been just what I needed, I totally do not mind adding the extra few hours on to the travel time if it knocks of the £££s and when it comes to the shorter flight having no tvs is no problem it was just the longer one. I think we will def do DIY now as it makes financial sense our boys are still at the age where Disney is a big priority to them and I must admit it's a passion for me and now hubby too ( since I convinced him to go 6 yrs ago with me) and we also got married there 3 yes ago in September....I'm just gutted the prices keep on rocketing thanks again now we must save harder as I'm guessing unlike package deals you have to pay the flights in full when you book them?? Is that correct? And also when booking hotels is that a pay upfront at time of booking as well? I guessed if I book through ringing Disney themselves we just put a deposit but can any body tell me if I book through quidco (not sure if that's the right name) or any thing like that then we pay in full when booking?

 

[wayneg]

I'm guessing unlike package deals you have to pay the flights in full when you book them?? Is that correct? And also when booking hotels is that a pay upfront at time of booking as well? I guessed if I book through ringing Disney themselves we just put a deposit but can any body tell me if I book through quidco (not sure if that's the right name) or any thing like that then we pay in full when booking?

General rule is you pay for flights in full when you book, there are exceptions by booking a fly drive or using an agent thast allows deposit only but I find cheapest way is usually paying upfront for flight only.
Hotels, depends who you book with, some are pay upfront others are deposit with balance 2 month before you travel, Disney.co.uk is a deposit.

Quidco, you don't actually book with them, all you do is have an account with them and go via that account to buy from other companies, ie you would go thru this link(after logging into Quidco) http://www.quidco.com/disney-florida-holidays/?ac to book with Disney, the transaction would be tracked and your account credited 3% of the transaction, takes 2-3 months before you can claim your money.

Its not just holidays you should be buying thru Quidco, they give you money for just about anything online, yesterday I did a search for some insurance, not actually bought, just searched, compare.com gave me £1.50, confused.com 40p. if I buy home insurance then I get upto £75 cashback or for travel insurance upto 25% cashback. I bought AA roadside cover recently at £134 for 2 cars, they gave me £60 cashback.
Over the years I have had over £1,000 back now, you get great discounts.

 

[Kath2003]

Now we must save harder as I'm guessing unlike package deals you have to pay the flights in full when you book them?? Is that correct? And also when booking hotels is that a pay upfront at time of booking as well? I guessed if I book through ringing Disney themselves we just put a deposit but can any body tell me if I book through quidco (not sure if that's the right name) or any thing like that then we pay in full when booking?

As wayneg said, it's likely that you'll have to pay for most things upfront. Flights - almost certainly, especially if you're getting the cheapest fares (non-refundable, pay up front). You can often save another 5-20% on hotels by paying up front (non-refundable).

Quidco, as wayneg said, is wonderful BUT don't be lured in by cashback - sometimes you can get cheaper rates (even after cashback) by using sites that don't offer Quidco cashback. Plus, again, you have to pay the money upfront.

We're not going for over 6 months but I've just "paid off" the bulk of our holiday. Now all we need to pay for is food, park tickets and local transport.

 

[melsean3326]

Hi Kathy2003 thankyou for taking the time to give me the information, it's been just what I needed, I totally do not mind adding the extra few hours on to the travel time if it knocks of the £££s and when it comes to the shorter flight having no tvs is no problem it was just the longer one. I think we will def do DIY now as it makes financial sense our boys are still at the age where Disney is a big priority to them and I must admit it's a passion for me and now hubby too ( since I convinced him to go 6 yrs ago with me) and we also got married there 3 yes ago in September....I'm just gutted the prices keep on rocketing thanks again now we must save harder as I'm guessing unlike package deals you have to pay the flights in full when you book them?? Is that correct? And also when booking hotels is that a pay upfront at time of booking as well? I guessed if I book through ringing Disney themselves we just put a deposit but can any body tell me if I book through quidco (not sure if that's the right name) or any thing like that then we pay in full when booking?

Look at booking through someone like Dial a flight as they can package together flights and acomadation that you want and you can just pay off each month upto 12 weeks before you travel. This is how we have booked ours and we fly with virgin and are staying in disney to use free dining on 25th Oct. Remember staying on site saves parking costs and the free dining makes the cost comparable to offsite and you can always go back for pool time in the middle of the day whilst using the extra disney hours for onsite guests.