Going on super-budget for 4 days

[punkin]

My husband just decided that he absolutely had to be at Epcot to ride Mission Space for the AP holders preview, so we're going down! Since this trip was NOT in our budget, I need to keep it under $1000. Here's what I have so far:
Hotel: $138
Car:$123
Airfare:$430
Tickets:APs-already paid for
This comes out to about $670.
This leaves about $300 for food for the 3 of us 2 adults and a 4 yr old).

The way we usually eat, this would only be enough for 2 dinners! Can anyone recomend some REALLY good restaurants off property and other money-saving ideas. We like to eat a big breakfast; we have the Orlando Entertainment book (any good places in there?); and we are very adventurous eaters.

Any and all suggestions welcome!

 

[cinamin27]

for a big breakfast, try a Golden Corral buffet that includes made to order omlettes, maybe $6 for adults. does your 4yr old eat alot? maybe instead of getting her/him their own kids meal while at the parks or at sit down restaurants that are not buffets, you can share some of your's or a combo of sharing some of yours & your hubbys. My daughter (then 8 & 9) & I would always share meals at the Disney parks as there was plenty of food for the both of us (example: Cosmic Rays gives alot of rotissiere chicken & mashed potatoes, then buy an order of fries, give some of your hamburger & a coupla fries to your child, share a couple of the huge turkey legs + a couple orders of fries)

For restaurants in Orlando, try restaurant.com where you can purchase $25 gift certificates for only $12.50 or try their site on ebay where you can bid on the certificates for much less or even get 50% off your total bill certificates fot just a few dollars, just this past Sunday I won auctions for a restaurant in Kissimmee off of Hwy 192 called the Argentine Steakhouse, a $25 certificate for only $2.25! also a $25 certificate for the Club Car (located at HIFS) for only $3.00! heres a link to the site on ebay, click on florida & then scroll for restaurants in Kissimmee, Orlando & Lake Buena Vista, be sure to read the restaurant specific terms as some of them require 4 people in your party http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/restaurant.com/

 

[Cindy B]

We did a 14 day trip for a budget of $50 per day.. (including breakfast, lunch and dinner) and Guess what?


We had money left over! Not just 5 or 10 dollars but $150!


We got tons of coupons, and used them. There are Free Mcdonalds meal coupons floating around, we got lucky in the USA Today there was a Popeyes coupon.. for 99 cents meal, got four of those... and it was dinner.. for $4.


Money saving tips.


1) Drink only water.. its better for you than sodas
2) Don't order alcoholic bevarages.. if you want them, buy them at a store and bring them to your room.

3) Utilize the microwave... either in the room or the food court. We used it for Budget Gourmets, Hot Pockets and Breakfast things.

4) Pizza Delivery can be cheaper than All Stars!

5) Mc Donalds is right across the street from All Star Sports.

6) Split meals... and DONT ORDER APPETIZER!

7) Find offiste restaurant that offer a "free" appetizer. For example Don Pablos' has chips and salsa, same with Chi Chi's.


8) There are tons of coupons available for offsite restauarants, but remember some local coupons are good there as well. WE used a 99 cent child meal from Friendly's coupon AND a 2 can dine for 14.99 coupon from Pizzeria UNO which came from our local paper (Philadelphia Inquirer).


9) Don't do snacks in the park, but do a big one when you are done for the day...

10) You can get food cheaper at the grocery store and eat it.. (ie, hoagies, wings, chicken, salads). One night we got some Chinese food, wraps and drinks and desserts all for less than $15. (This was at Goodings as well for four people)


11) Play the coupon game... .don't go there to eat unless you have a coupon... comparison shop the Free publications to see if there are any "better" coupons... (ie, Free appetizer up to $7.00 sounds good, but maybe "2 free kid meals " up to $10 is better for your needs.... We grabbed about three different publications and decided which ones were better.


12) Consider the Connections Vouchers (if you want to eat good for less) or the AK Meal Vouchers ... those could be a good alternative as well.

13) I use reward points, and survey money and Ebay profits (I sell, not buy) for "extra" money. If you sold some things, you could possibly make a nice profit. Garage sale things if you want to.

You can easily do $300 for what 3 days... thats a piece of cake. We did $50 per day for four.

 

[lilsonicfan]

i've said this before, but i'll say it again - you MUST try Sweet Tomatoes! It will cost you about $25 for dinner for the three of you ($8.50 per adult, and about $5 or less for your child) Sweet Tomatoes is a very good buffet restaurant, everything is super fresh and delicious. you start with a giant salad bar, then move on to the hot foods (soup made from scratch, fresh breads/muffins/pastries, pasta) Then of course there is dessert! the waitresses are so friendly, and my favourite part was receiving a freshly baked cookie partway through my meal. best part - you can see what they'll be serving on the date you'll be there: look at www.sweettomatoes.com . It's located on I-drive and SR535/Kirkman Rd.

 

[Cindy B]

I loved Sweet Tomatoes... We're not big buffet eaters, but this was fresh good salad type ... not too much of the greasy junk.


The lunch prices were even better than the dinner prices.. I think we paid less than $20 for the four of us for lunch.

 

[Cindy B]

As for off site deals..


I remember Houlihans on I drive (near the FAO Schwartz) was a great deal.. we found free kids dinner coupons, so it wasn't too bad.

The Friendly's coupons from home worked well also. That Friendly was also on I Drive.


There is a Cracker Barrel and a Ponderosa not too far from the Downtown Disney area. I remembe we got lost going a back way and found them both.

 

[punkin]

Thanks so much for all your great suggestions. We'll try sweet tomatoes and I will look thru the entertainment book for coupons for the other meals. I can share meals with my daughter, but my husband is a very big eater and usually ends up finishing DD's meal as well as his own so we tend to order for all of us. I figure we can keep water cold in a small cooler (I have one that folds so it shouldn't be too bad for packing).

I'm also going to try not to eat in the parks at all (maybe get an Ice cream) and take an afternoon break for lunch and swim in the hotel. That should save some money.

We did decide to have one splurge (maybe?) Arthur 27 has a coupon in the entertainment book for a buy one get one free entree. I heard the food was fabulous, so we're going to try it one night for dinner.

My husband also wants to have at least one character meal on property, so thats $50 or so for one meal on one day. I told him we'll do it on the last day IF we have money left over from the other meals. You can tell who's the budget breaker in this family

 

[Straitlover]

Does the character meal have to be an actual meal? If not, try the ice cream social at Epcot. it's 6.99 for adults, not sure for kids. I hear you get this BIG sundae in a waffle bowl that's attached to a big cookie!

Since you will have a car, stop at a grocery store and buy all your snacks for the room and to take into the parks.

If you don't mind sharing the same bottle, you can buy one Brita bottle for $6.99 at WalMart. It filters your water, so you won't have to buy bottled water or lug them around; you can just use tap water!

In the Entertainmbent book, there is a coupon for Baskervilles. I have read that they have a charater breakfast, too, and that the coupon IS good for it even though it doesn't specifically mention it. I would call and verify that myself. It is only on certain days, so you need to check on that, too, to see if it's going on while you're there.

Have fun!

 

[safetymom]

We did a spur of the moment trip one year for Christmas. We spent less than $200 for the week for 3 of us. I had a cooler in the room and we did sandwiches, microwaved a few thing in the food courts. We did have money for some meals at the food court or park. My two kids and I loved it. They asked if we could do it that way again the next time we went.

 

[MouseLover]

The price is the same for adults and children. The ice cream is very good & plenty of it. When we did this, there were only a few people there and we had LOTS of interaction with all the characters -- Mickey, Pluto, Chip, & Dale.

 

[punkin]

What a great idea about the ice cream social. I completely forgot about it. Will definately have to try this!

One more question...has anyone eaten at bahama breeze is it reasonably priced?

 

[safetymom]

I have eaten at Bahama Breeze several times. The food is great. I wouldn't call it a budget restaurant though.

 

[punkin]

Thanks safetymom. That's my problem: I reasearch and research and still tend to pick the most expensive choices! Food is my downfall OK, I guess we'll pass on this trip. Maybe next time.

 

[safetymom]

I am sure you can find ways to cut costs and still take the trip.

 

[punkin]

Oh, I'm definately going. It's just a question of where to eat cheaply when you have caviar tastes.

 

[safetymom]

I just remind myself that I am in Disney and I can sacrifice caviar tastes because I got to take this extra trip.

Think of it as a dining adventure.

 

[disneymom3]

Don't forget Pizzaria Uno on 192. (Near marker 10) They have the kids pay what they weigh deal. Then you and DH could split a pizza and the left overs could be lunch the next day, if you have a fridge.

 

[punkin]

Thanks so much for all your ideas. My food budget has goten slashed even lower since I forgot to figure in paying for an e-night while we're there (that's about $40 for the 3 of us), so I guess your suggestions are going to be even more important. I WILL do this thrip for under$1000 (and enjoy it). This is kind of fun, trying to plan a different kind of vacation.

 

[Bonny544]

Could someone please tell me what this is at EPCOT? Where is it? It's been awhile since I've been with little ones and there is a trip planned for Aug. which we need to keep on the budget side. Thanks!!!

 

[Straitlover]

It's at the Garden Grill. Think it's around 3:30 each afternoon? Believe the characters are Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto?