Has anyone priced a bare bones trip?

Well - bare bones for me was this February . I got a free dining pin and booked a spur of the moment trip . I paid 1700.00 for 6 nights at all star sports for my family of 4 - all considered adults . This is the cheapest trip to disney we have ever taken . We drive , so there is no airfare , just cost of gas . ( it was actually cheaper when I booked it - but added another night . But 1700 is still cheap to me )
 
Where can you take dogs?

I don't think I want my dogs on the trip anyway, but I am curious.

Thanks,

Dawn

We've gone twice for 2 weeks for under 3,000 each trip. We drive, one time stayed at a private condo with pool offiste with our dogs. One time in our RV at the Fort. Although I sometimes plan a budget trip, alot of ours naturally end up being "budget" trips. we homeschool so we don't have time restrictions, and I like the drive and stop along the way. Because we are vegetarians, I don't want to eat the same junk over and over and I don't really enjoy eating out somewhere fancy with the little kids, I tend to make food. I tend to like the more space you can get offsite, (even our rv feels like more room than some onsite places, because we have a private queen sized bedroom, and each kid has their own bunk and space for their stuff) and want a kitchen too since I'm cooking. I think if I were going with just the hubs, or when trips are shorter due to kids being back in school, I may feel different. I've have also determined that my crew does better when I take a day or two off from the parks every few days and just enjoy the pools etc. explore the hotels etc. so we get cheaper tickets... I certainly don't feel deprived by our less costly experience, we try to do one special experience each time and if there was something we wanted to do , I would make sure it was in the budget, but for me getting there or wherever we are going and having fun and making memories with the kids is the important part. We just got back from a trip to san antonio where we went to six flags, the zoo, the alamo, a wildlife ranch etc and I asked my kids what was the best part. The three year old said "the elevator" , the 8 year old said eating a picnic on the floor, and my 11 year old liked just playing in the pool (the kids swim so they aren't used to just playing in a pool) in the hotel and taking pictures of a REAL cactus. For me it was just being together without a big to do list, and my dh was just happy to have us there, if we had skipped all the other stuff we all would have still had our favorite memory from the trip.
 
We did a pretty bare bones trip last year by driving, using YES tickets (new pricing structure ruined that option), offsite and only one TS meal in the park. Still the most expensive trip we've taken :lmao:
 
We went in August. 30%off room pin used at POP for six nights. YES PH & WPM tickets for the 4 who needed tickets. Youngest was 2 so she was free. Last night at CP, other meals shared QS or snacks fron hotel. Great time!!! Our total minus gas tp get there and souvenirs (we used gift cards got with change throughout summer) was just over 1,000
 

Where can you take dogs?

I don't think I want my dogs on the trip anyway, but I am curious.

Thanks,

Dawn

we found a ton of places - i think we just searched for dog friendly private vacation homes - we liked the place we stayed at because it had a fenced in yard, pool, and 4 bedrooms- it had a kissimeee address but was VERY close to the parks. Just a few minutes away. 2 years ago we stayed in the off season and it was under a $100 a night, which I don't think you can beat for what at the time was 8 of us and three dogs. Ft wilderness also allows dogs but not in the cabins-

I agree for most trips I wouldn't want to bring the dogs, but when we stay longer and are in a home type situation it is nice to have them around and is a nice treat for them too!
 
I would actually love to hear more about peoples "bare boned" trips! Thanks for some of the sites! I am curious what the cheapest price is and where people have booked for bonnet creek??
 
Priced a bare bones trip? I've gone on one! Right after DH and I were married and after all the wedding and honeymoon expenses, but since we had the flight tickets, we went ahead and did it.

$180 JetBlue fly a buddy free special nonstop Boston to Orlando

$99 Timeshare presentation special 3 nights condo stay and car rental included. Actually slept 4th night IN the airport because we had an early flight the next day and this was as bare bones as it got!

FREE 1 day park tickets for 2- different Timeshare presentation. Spent the rest of the time visiting Downtown Disney and some resorts.

$20 for food- loaf of bread, some canned soups, pb and jelly, cereal, milk, bananas, and some Ricaroni. Filled up 2 morning at the timeshare breakfast buffets.

Total after taxes and resort fees was about $360 for 4 days.

THEN, after sleeping in the airport, we are delayed for 4 hours, a customer starts throwing punches at the gate agent at the next gate (NYC) that was also delayed. Come to find out that because of a NE storm, all the JetBlue pilots had maxed their allowed flight hours and they didn't have any pilots in Orlando who could fly the planes. So we got 4 nights in a hotel by SeaWorld with meal vouchers until they could fly us out. So really $360 for 8 days courtesy of JetBlue.

Not the type of family vacation you want to take your kids on, but a fun adventure for a couple 20 somethings and shows you what is possible for bare bones.

It really depends on what your family is used to doing and what they are willing to give up in order to reduce the price. Just staying at a value on property is a big price cut from a deluxe resort. Off property condos can be great deals and still have a more luxurious feel than a value. Depending on ages and interests, kids can enroll in the YES program, or there is a thread here about using EBates with Orbitz to get very discounted tickets. Also, time of year makes a huge difference if your family is willing to take kids out of school. The hardest thing would be meals. Do you usually all get a meal plan and eat together? Some family members may not want to miss out on meals with the family, but don't love the high cost. Food choices make a big difference in your budget. Offsite guests really need a car, so that and parking can increase costs. Good luck!
 
Priced a bare bones trip? I've gone on one! Right after DH and I were married and after all the wedding and honeymoon expenses, but since we had the flight tickets, we went ahead and did it.

$180 JetBlue fly a buddy free special nonstop Boston to Orlando

$99 Timeshare presentation special 3 nights condo stay and car rental included. Actually slept 4th night IN the airport because we had an early flight the next day and this was as bare bones as it got!

FREE 1 day park tickets for 2- different Timeshare presentation. Spent the rest of the time visiting Downtown Disney and some resorts.

$20 for food- loaf of bread, some canned soups, pb and jelly, cereal, milk, bananas, and some Ricaroni. Filled up 2 morning at the timeshare breakfast buffets.

Total after taxes and resort fees was about $360 for 4 days.

THEN, after sleeping in the airport, we are delayed for 4 hours, a customer starts throwing punches at the gate agent at the next gate (NYC) that was also delayed. Come to find out that because of a NE storm, all the JetBlue pilots had maxed their allowed flight hours and they didn't have any pilots in Orlando who could fly the planes. So we got 4 nights in a hotel by SeaWorld with meal vouchers until they could fly us out. So really $360 for 8 days courtesy of JetBlue.

Not the type of family vacation you want to take your kids on, but a fun adventure for a couple 20 somethings and shows you what is possible for bare bones.

It really depends on what your family is used to doing and what they are willing to give up in order to reduce the price. Just staying at a value on property is a big price cut from a deluxe resort. Off property condos can be great deals and still have a more luxurious feel than a value. Depending on ages and interests, kids can enroll in the YES program, or there is a thread here about using EBates with Orbitz to get very discounted tickets. Also, time of year makes a huge difference if your family is willing to take kids out of school. The hardest thing would be meals. Do you usually all get a meal plan and eat together? Some family members may not want to miss out on meals with the family, but don't love the high cost. Food choices make a big difference in your budget. Offsite guests really need a car, so that and parking can increase costs. Good luck!

That sounds like such an adventure! Travel as a twenty something is sooo different. Your tale reminded me of backpacking through Europe in my early twenties. We slept on park benches a night or two, or would take night trains, a loaf of bread, cheese, and a bag of tomatoes from the market could feed us for a day or two. I hitch hiked in the Alps with one if my friends. oh how things change! I can't imagine traveling like that with children. Enjoy those adventures while you can!
 
I would actually love to hear more about peoples "bare boned" trips! Thanks for some of the sites! I am curious what the cheapest price is and where people have booked for bonnet creek??

I used vacation strategy last year for my stay at bonnet creek.
 
I would actually love to hear more about peoples "bare boned" trips! Thanks for some of the sites! I am curious what the cheapest price is and where people have booked for bonnet creek??

We stayed at Bonnet Creek last month (May 10th-20th). We booked through Vacation Strategies and paid $895.00 for the ten nights. I'm going back to Bonnet Creek Sept 14th-22nd and got a quote for $595.00 for the eight nights through a renter at myresorts.com. I also got a quote for our Dec 6th-16th trip. For those ten nights the price ranged from $600.00-$1100.00.

I got quotes from a couple of renters on myresorts.com, Vacation Strategy, Vacation Upgrades, Farrells Vacations, and a seller on ebay. The prices just depend on the season, what inventory each renter has, and just their personal pricing policies. Get quotes from multiple renters, because their prices do vary greatly. Just like one offered me ten nights in mid Dec (6th-16th) for $600.00, but another was asking $1100.00 for the exact same ten nights. These quotes were all for one bedroom Deluxe villas. A two bedroom is about a $100.00 higher for the week.
 
I dont know if you would consider it a bare bones pricing, BUT what I did was....


First of all let me tell you that yes we have been in financial crisis for the last year or so. But we still find a way to go to Disney because we love it so and the kids do too.

My daughter did the college program at disney last fall and made alot of friends over there. Many of them still work there and we were able to get a Friends and Family discount on the room . That came to about a %40 discount which I thought beat any other price out there. Trust me I did the research.

So we booked the room for 9 Nights at CBR and it cost us about $1500
This is for Aug 2nd through Aug 11th. So being peak season the prices were higher as it is. The discount was welcome.

before we booked the room though we did a search of airfare for days corrisponding to the dates we wanted to travel. I basically tried every day the week of July28th-Aug 4th as our departure day. And eventually booked Aug 2nd as the departure day because it was the cheapest airfare.

So that being said The airfare cost us $1275.00

So that got us to Florida and into a room for $2775.


Now Tickets are a little harder to find discounts on.

The friends and family discount through a Cast Member is not that great and it has limitations, so The Undercover Tourist is the way to go and to get a 7 day park hopper with WaterParks and More after discounts and alot of tricks etc. I am able to get tickets for the family for $1470


That brings the barebones cost of the trip to: $4245 before food.

Wow I didnt realize it was this much. I am gonna do a search on the disney website and see what the whole package would cost through them.

I will let you all know shortly how much I saved!!!
 
I just priced the whole trip from my post above on the Disney website and it cost with Airfare: $5574.28

So After all of my budgeting it cost me $4245 and subtract that from $5574.28
and I get a savings of $1329.28


So I would say that is Barebones and we are currently coming up with plans for food and any discounts and reservations that we can to save money.

y Daughter beeing a former cast member has a few coupons and we are planning a couple of meals with the CM who set us up with the friends and Family Discount on the room. (Thats the least we can do is buy her a meal or 2) but by taking her out we will be able to get her discount on the entire meal and we will be eating alot of cereal and assorted other items that we can store in our mini fridge to save any way we can on food.


We will be shipping a case or 2 of water to our room. We drink alot of water and not sure but I would think that the bottles are at least $2 each

So that is $48 a case and it cost us $4.99 plus I can ship it for free from my work. So I will be sending a few packages from my work.


If anybody has any food ideas please chime in, or if you know a place on the Disney Property that has decent deals let me know.


I hear that the Earl of Sandwich in DTYD can get you a lunch for a relatively cheap price.

Thanks
 
I've done 4 days for less than $1,000 for everything(gas, food, souvenirs) for 5 people but that was as cheap as I could possibly do it and that didn't count tickets (they were no expire from a previous trip so pre-paid by other trips) And one time we did it with the salute tickets, that was a few years ago though when they were cheaper.

If you do not have any military discounts, want to go for a week and take 11 people, even bare bones is going to be expensive.
 












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