Extremely budget trip ~ anyone else?

[Kay1]

For souvies, what always worked for me was to give my son a specific amount and tell him to make his own choices. Also, I think budget trips can be a blast.

 

[TwoGirlsandDisney]

We are going in February, and plan on telling the grandparents that the kids can use Disney Dollars for Christmas. That way they have there money for souvies. Defintely check out reataurant.com. I got an e-mail this morning for 80% off. You can get a $25 gift certificate for $2. You can't beat that. Code "taste"

 

[stacy347]

Wow, thanks for all of the great ideas!

Simba22 ~ they will be 11, 13, 15 and 17 on our next trip so I can't trick them with souvenirs, LOL! They will have their own money though, so that part is OK.

bgdiznee ~ The campfire is a great idea, I hadn't thought to add that in!

englishteacha ~ We will definitely take some Kool-Aid packets.

momejay ~ that is great that you guys had such a good time on a budget trip...I love hearing that! We will be bringing lots of water and snacks, too.

cjnix29 ~ I'll be looking for a good deal on the Orlando Entertainment Book now, thank you! And yes, the hotel does have a free shuttle to the main parks so I will use that on our MK day to save on the parking fee. The other places on property we will be visiting are free parking (Blizzard Beach, DisneyQuest, an afternoon on the Boardwalk and resort hopping).

wdwfan16 ~ The hotel that we're looking at is east of DTD (looks like it is very close to Medieval Times and Jungleland on the map)...now I'm worried, is it really bad down that way?

TwoGirlsandDisney ~ Thanks for the restaurant.com code!


We will be doing a CS lunch at MK and the Plaza for dinner so those are taken care of but for the days we'll be doing other things, I'll be using all of the suggestions you guys offered, thanks so much!

 

[bbangel]

I always do budget trips and find it fun to get creative. Some of the pp have great ideas!

I also do Sunshine Rewards to have extras. I cash out for Disney gift cards but you can cash out to PayPal if you have off site expenses you want to cover.

I'll be taking $300 in December and many people make much more

 

[wdwfan16]

wdwfan16 ~ The hotel that we're looking at is east of DTD (looks like it is very close to Medieval Times and Jungleland on the map)...now I'm worried, is it really bad down that way?

I would not stay in that area. Jungleland is now abandoned.

 

[starann]

We use resturants.com here and I have gotten some GREAT deals out of it. Just make sure you read the fine print. Also, see what places are on there, and ask on one of the boards if the place is any good. There are enough people who live in the Orlando area who will be able to give feedback!

 

[stacy347]

I would not stay in that area. Jungleland is now abandoned.

Oh

Well, I think we'll be looking at other options and thank you for the heads up!
Do you think I'd be better off sticking to I-4 or is 192 OK as long as it's closer to WDW? This is the one part of the trip I am worried about since we've never stayed offsite.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that many areas of 192 are fine and I also like International Drive (heavy traffic though!). There are many nice places to stay but don't expect a Disney atmosphere. You can still get that just in smaller doses.

We stayed for almost free at a budget hotel on our last trip because of earned points. It was fine to be offsite, as a matter of fact one of our best evenings was eating at Cici's and then playing mini-golf at one of the Pirates golf courses. It was simple and relaxing.

 

[wdwfan16]

Oh

Well, I think we'll be looking at other options and thank you for the heads up!
Do you think I'd be better off sticking to I-4 or is 192 OK as long as it's closer to WDW? This is the one part of the trip I am worried about since we've never stayed offsite.

The part of 192 around WDW is very nice. International drive is nice too. It can be really packed and take a while to get to WDW.

 

[cjnix29]

I would just keep checking travelzoo for good deals on hotels. They always have something good, especially if you keep checking. Good luck! Oh, and sunshine rewards ROCKS!! Hoping to have a nice little giftcard for our trip in December by using them.

 

[HunnyPots]

I would post on the Orlando Hotels board. You will get great info regarding offsite properties. And there are great deals to be had. Last summer, we rented a 4 br house less than 10 minutes from the parks for under $600 for the week! And I've seen plenty of condos and townhomes that go for even less.

I agree about the east 192 area. Pretty seedy looking. Even if you're just there to sleep and shower you want something clean I'm sure.

Can you not use your HHonors points for a hotel in Orlando and maybe priceline for your hotels on the road? Just a thought.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We just stayed off-site for half our last trip (June-July), and had a blast. There are tons--literally, hundreds of places to eat, most of them cheaper than Disney dining. Do some research before you go--maybe let each child pick a restaurant, if that's in your budget.

My main suggestion is, take the girls to the flea market on 192, early on in the trip. It's fun to poke around in--DD14 bought herself a pretty purse, and I got her a belly-dancing scarf (she's a dancer, but hasn't tried belly-dancing yet). More importantly, after seeing stall after stall of $3-5 t-shirts, DD was completely unimpressed by Disney prices! It really opened her eyes. For example, that scarf was $20, but would have been $45 in Epcot. Identical scarf--I checked. The hour or so DD and I spent in the flea market was priceless in terms of her attitude towards souvenirs.

 

[stacy347]

Can you not use your HHonors points for a hotel in Orlando and maybe priceline for your hotels on the road? Just a thought.

No, I only have enough HHonors points for 2 nights (one night each way on the road) and Priceline is too tricky for 5 people as they will only guarantee a room for 2.

I will keep checking Travelzoo though and I love the suggestion of the flea market, thank you!

I have quite a list of tips going in my notebook now thanks to this thread ~ you guys are great!

 

[edandcolleen1995]

Honest question though..

To get all that free food points, don't you have spend a ton at the location to earn them?

I mean, if you are eating out that often to earn that many points, why do you need a budget vacation? Again, not trying to be snotty. Maybe I don't understand how you earn the points and stuff.

 

[stacy347]

Honest question though..

To get all that free food points, don't you have spend a ton at the location to earn them?

I mean, if you are eating out that often to earn that many points, why do you need a budget vacation? Again, not trying to be snotty. Maybe I don't understand how you earn the points and stuff.

To which food points would you be referring? Snotty or not, I'm not sure what you're getting at.
The points that I am currently earning are MyPoints, e-rewards, Disney Visa rewards (I use it to pay bills) and now I'm doing Sunshine Rewards thanks to this board (none of which I have to buy anything to earn, other than the Visa of course).

I don't know where you got that we eat out often ~ that is certainly not the case for us.

 

[edandcolleen1995]

I was talking about posters that said they used various chain restaurant points to cash in for free meals/apps etc while on their budget vacation.

I thought it took a ton of meals to generate those types of rewards (sort of like having to fly 10+ times to get sky miles or such)

If (again not sure how it works) you are eating out that often, why would you be focusing on such a budget trip? The reverse of eating out less, saving up and then getting a nice hotel near or in WDW, would seem a more sensible path.

 

[Planogirl]

I was talking about posters that said they used various chain restaurant points to cash in for free meals/apps etc while on their budget vacation.

I thought it took a ton of meals to generate those types of rewards (sort of like having to fly 10+ times to get sky miles or such)

If (again not sure how it works) you are eating out that often, why would you be focusing on such a budget trip? The reverse of eating out less, saving up and then getting a nice hotel near or in WDW, would seem a more sensible path.

We earn our points because DH travels extensively and gets to keep his own points. We don't do food but we accumulate hotel stays, rental car nights and airline miles. Maybe some of the others do the same?

Plus eating out can mean one meal out a week. Maybe it takes time to accumulate these points?

 

[FayeW]

Thank you, I will sign up for that! I remember reading about it but I haven't tried that one yet. I also do Mypoints and I will have enough for a $25 GC before we go so that will help, too (I just have to decide which one to get now).

BrettS ~ I agree about any WDW trip being a good one! This will be very different from our other trips but it will be great just to get away for a week. The kids said they'd be happy just staying at a hotel for week and swimming so anything we get to do on top of that is awesome!

Well, if the kids would be fine with just staying in a hotel and swimming, why don't you skip WDW this trip, and do US/IOA instead? Those tickets are much, much cheaper than WDW tickets (usually $100 for 7 days, good for both parks, but they often have a special for $79 or $89.)

You said it would be a different trip than you are used to, so it might be a good opportunity to try something really different. We love US & IOA, actually prefer them to the Disney parks. You could still tour the resorts, do the campfire at FW as someone else suggested, maybe do Disney Quest (my kids love DQ!) or a waterpark to get your Disney fix.

 

[pixieamazon]

have you tries the lake buena vista hotels with your hhonors rewards? I have points from my checking account with chase that is getting me a good deal at the marriot at christmas! Just a thought

 

[stacy347]

FayeW ~ that is actually something I've considered since the new HP attraction will be open by then ~ the only problem is that there are only about 5 attractions at each Universal park that we are interested in (we're still thinking about it though) .

The current plan is to get 1 day base tickets (MK) with the 2 plus options (Blizzard Beach and DisneyQuest) which will be Christmas gifts so it comes out of the Christmas budget. It is actually a pretty good deal getting them this way ($131 each and that takes care of 3 days).

The HP attraction is a big draw for us though as we are huge fans!

Decisions, decisions, LOL!