frequent 1 night trips-moving to FL

[coastiewifern]

We are moving to FL and will be about 2.5 hours from WDW. We plan to get the AP and because we have kids in school do monthly overnight trips to WDW. We will be using all our DVC points on a extended trip in Nov. So we are looking to find out the best way to spend the night cheaply near the world. We are going from 2 incomes to 1 in FL so budget is important. All tips are appreciated!!!! Let me hear them.

 

[Upatnoon]

We are moving to FL and will be about 2.5 hours from WDW. We plan to get the AP and because we have kids in school do monthly overnight trips to WDW. We will be using all our DVC points on a extended trip in Nov. So we are looking to find out the best way to spend the night cheaply near the world. We are going from 2 incomes to 1 in FL so budget is important. All tips are appreciated!!!! Let me hear them.

1. Priceline.com and hotwire.com
2. Check ebay and other sites for people dumping timeshares (including DVC) at the last second.
3. Disney has Florida resident rates and specials to watch for. You can also compare them to the annual pass rates.
3. I've found the best way to enjoy annual passes is to make 3-4 longer trips a year (usually 5 nights) rather than lots of short, little ones and to stay offsite. Just something to consider.
4. Depending on the annual passes you get, be wary of blackout dates.
5. Don't burn yourself out! Keep it special!

 

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

We live abour 45 minutes from the world and due to our FL res status we get $38 nights at Seralago...we stay there for one nighters all year round and for our 2 week long trips each year as well...

 

[miasmomma]

We live abour 45 minutes from the world and due to our FL res status we get $38 nights at Seralago...we stay there for one nighters all year round and for our 2 week long trips each year as well...

I was able to get rooms at the Seralago last summer on Priceline for $25 a night.

 

[coastiewifern]

We live abour 45 minutes from the world and due to our FL res status we get $38 nights at Seralago...we stay there for one nighters all year round and for our 2 week long trips each year as well...

this sounds really good. Is the parking free? Just looking for a clean place near the world. Do you just tell them you are a FL resident to get that rate?

 

[StephSalyer]

Congratulations on your upcoming move!

We moved from the Detroit, MI area 9 years ago and we LOVE it here!

We grew up vacationing at WDW and wanted our children to have it be as special for them as it was for us as kids, but keep them from "burning" out on it.

When we first moved we made frequent trips to the parks but then we started going for long week-ends and just enjoyed the area and did not step foot into a park. Those have been some of our best trips ever! There is so much to see and do and explore! We have stayed on-site and off-site and enjoy them both.

You can almost always find excellent deals for off-site. Try travelzoo, Buena Vista suites and some of the timeshare resorts. The timeshare resorts can have some excellent deals with no tour required. Some of our favorites are Orange Lake resort, The Fountains and Bonnet Creek.

Feel free to pm me with any questions!

 

[JimMIA]

Check the Florida-resident Disney ticket options carefully, because there are all sorts of great deals for Florida residents. We currently have the Seasonal weekday passes, which are about $100 less than the DVC Annual passes and work fine for us. There are also Epcot After 4 PM AP's, and a Waterpark After ? (2 PM, maybe) and lots of others.

Some of the annual passes give you free parking at the theme parks and others don't (but sometimes work). That's helpful when you're staying offsite, so be sure you know what you're getting and what you're not.

There are also Florida-resident ticket discounts other than APs...something you don't get with DVC.

And there are also frequent big resident discounts at Universal and Sea World.

 

[coastiewifern]

Great info! I will be sure to check out the options carefully. I think we will need to pay more for the ticket that offers more flexibility. With our kids in school and sports schedules get difficult. I hear you on not burning out on Disney. But we may only be in FL for 1-2 years so we do want to take advantage of our time there.

 

[3floridarays]

Another vote for travelzoo.com. We are about 2.5 hours from WDW as well (Jax Beach) and we have the AP's with parkhoppers, no blackout dates. We usually head down on a Friday after school gets out and come back Sunday afternoon.

 

[DOOM1001]

I'm 4 hours away and up until 3-4 years ago I would go to the parks an average of once every 2-3 weeks and at certain times in the year as much as once a week like during October for Food and Wine and for the Halloween events like Halloween Horror Nights.Many of these were 2-3 day trips and even some trips just for the day which I don't do anymore because I realized they were insane.I've cut back the trips to once every 6-8 weeks but try to do longer stays.As someone said Hotwire and Priceline are your friends,over the years I've probably stayed in 70% of the hotels in the International Drive area for as little as $25,even more expensive hotels that would go for $200 plus a night I've gotten them for $50-$60.I have the Disney seasonal pass that this year with the Give a day get a day promotion I'm paying only $13 a month with the monthly payment plan.I also have the Sea World/Busch platinum passes on the monthly EZ Pay with my Universal preferred pass being the only one I pay in full yearly.