Help! Low Budget Trip To Dw!

[CheapMom]

I have done these timeshare presentations for free stuff (never at Disney) and I just have to give you a bit of advice- check your watch when they call your name. Early in the presentation tell your tourguide that you have no more than 90 minutes to spare and that you need to leave at XX:00 because you have a commitment. 15 minutes before go time say- we have to leave in 15 minutes- is there any wrap up work or paperwork we need to sign to get our gifts because we should get started on that. You have to be very tough and firm with these people. It is stressfull. They will eat up half of your day before you know it. It could take several hours if you are not really direct with the people.

 

[westjones]

I agree, these things are awful! But I do have friends who do these things all the time to get free stuff and it doesn't bother them. It would just ruin the 'tone' of our trip to use up our time and energy on one of these things.

Good Luck in whatever you decide.
DJ

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I was just looking at www.Hotelkingdom.com and they have several hotel choices. If I had a choice I would not choose to spend the time at a timeshare presentation. With only 4 days during holiday season you will want every possible moment in the parks, also the timeshare will most likely be in the morning and that is the best time to get into the parks before the crowds. I am sure you will have a great time whatever you choose to do.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We got duped into a timeshare presentation at Westgate once. It was our 1st and only timeshare presentation. We easily spent half a day there, and ended up booking a 7 night stay for the next year, just to get out of there. We told them we didn't make impulse buys, and they were very insistent that we book a stay, which cost us $1,000, to see how we couldn't afford not to buy in. Unless you have the ability to get downright nasty with them, stay away from Westgate. Please, don't let that discourage you. You should be able to find an offsite hotel for less than what you're paying, and you could purchase the 2 day hoppers w/ Disney Quest. You can combine DTD with DQ. If you purchase in advance, and get your passes at a discount, there won't be that much difference in the price of tickets, than if you get the 2 free tickets, and supplement them with single day tickets. Saving money takes alot of time and research, but it's definitely worth it in the long run. I hope everything works out, and you have a magical trip.

 

[sweet maxine]

Easyclicktravel.com has quite a few listings for places with rooms starting around $39. The Clarion Maingate is listed and for a very good price. I think this hotel has pretty good ratings according to tripadvisor. I agree about trying to book a room that comes with a breakfast. You could at least grab a few bagels, donuts, yogurt or cereal before heading out the door. Also check the hotels in the DTD area such as the Hampton Inn Lake Buena Vista. They have been offering Home for the Holidays rates for as low as $59/night. I also think the bounce-back ticket or daily one park ticket is a good idea.

There are so many things to do in the area, and not all of them are pricey. Old Town is fun, and don't forget about the I-Ride Trolley with the Festival of Lights. Also I think it snows every night in the downtown of Celebration, which is just next to Kissimmee. Downtown Disney is so neat of a place to see, and it should be wonderful with all the lights during the holidays. Buy a few trinkets for the kids as cheapie "happys" (that's what we call them here in Mississippi), such as glow necklaces at the Dollar Tree if there's one where you live. I enjoy eating at the Golden Corral close to DTD in Lake Buena Vista. There are coupons in the tourist magazines for 10% off there. You can really get a nice meal for a fraction of the cost of eating onsite, and I think it's worth taking a break from the parks just for a little "quiet".

I think it's doable. I just think you have to be willing to cut corners where you can, and be happy with what you can do. I think your kids will treasure just having the experience of "being there", and only you will know what you had to give up to make the trip possible. Kids don't generally know about everything there is to do, so just give them the "short-cut" version of a trip. They won't really know the difference, and your family will have a trip to treasure and remember.

Good luck with your planning! There are so many knowledgeable people here on the DISboards, and I'm sure someone has just the help your looking for.

Oops! I forgot to add.....my husband and I went through one of those "timeshare presentations" years ago. It was the most excruciatingly painful 2 hours I've ever spent! Don't do it unless you have to!

 

[WANDAMOORE94]

Okay, check this out. Westgate offered us the $29/night package, no tickets included. With room taxes added we would spend only $98 for the 4 days/3nights. Then we could spend $400 on food, $400 on tickets and $100 on gas(very do-able with our car). I know that the tour is an inconvenience but it would save us alot.

 

[cinamin27]

Update! We have just been confirmed on reservations at Westgate Lakes resort for the 4 days/3nights for $229 + tax and resort fees. We do have to sit through that 90 minute presentation but at the end of it we get 2 one day passes to any Disney park plus a free breakfast buffet for the whole family. I think it's a pretty good deal. It'll save us alot of money on the tickets and breakfast for a day. Does anyone have any feedback?

westgate has a reputation for not taking no for an answer. your 90 presentation may exceed just that. my suggestion would be not to waste your 2 one day passes the day you do your tour. wait till the next day to use your passes for the entire day. maybe the first day can be used to explore the World (resorts, downtown disney, etc)

 

[Maliki2]

Personally I wouldn't want to waste *any* of my short trip sitting through a high pressure Time Share presentation (read comments on this in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World book available in all bookstores or the library - I could even email you the page). Not worth it IMO; it would bum me out sitting there not to mention the fact the kids would be very antsy to get to the parks. Especially when you can get an inexpensive room and tickets without taking that route. What about Days Inn or somewhere like that? I once helped a single mother on a tight budget plan her trip and we were able to get that for $35/night. Orlando has more hotel rooms than anywhere else in the world - there are plenty of deals to be had, you just have to find them! You're not going to be there much anyway, probably just to sleep and shower and maybe a dip in the pool!

Agreed...I don't really get why they wouldn't use Priceline. It would save them a ton of cash on a hotel and be rid of these timeshare presentations. The money you'd save would more than make up for the tickets and time you get to spend with the children.

 

[jcemom]

Okay, check this out. Westgate offered us the $29/night package, no tickets included. With room taxes added we would spend only $98 for the 4 days/3nights. Then we could spend $400 on food, $400 on tickets and $100 on gas(very do-able with our car). I know that the tour is an inconvenience but it would save us alot.

I still think you can find another place to stay for the same amount of money, or close to it, and not have to sit through that presentation. JMO of course. Maybe you won't mind it, I would. The stress would ruin my trip, but that's just how I am. I absolutely detest pressure from salespeople. I would sooner pitch a tent and stay in it than endure a timeshare pitch from a place I had no intention of buying into. Heck, a tent would be fine actually, LOL.

 

[westjones]

I still think you can find another place to stay for the same amount of money, or close to it, and not have to sit through that presentation. JMO of course. Maybe you won't mind it, I would. The stress would ruin my trip, but that's just how I am. I absolutely detest pressure from salespeople. I would sooner pitch a tent and stay in it than endure a timeshare pitch from a place I had no intention of buying into. Heck, a tent would be fine actually, LOL.

I'm the same way. Actually I HAVE pitched a tent at Fort Wilderness! It is a fun place to stay!
DJ

 

[TammyAlphabet]

check out www.expedia.com they are having a holiday hotel sale going on right now. Hope this helps.

 

[jcemom]

I'm the same way. Actually I HAVE pitched a tent at Fort Wilderness! It is a fun place to stay!
DJ

A bit OT, but I'll be visiting FW this trip, it does look like lots of fun! There seems to be so much to do there!

 

[westjones]

It is fun to bike around the campground. The only thing we didn't like too much was having to take buses to get to buses. BUT it was fun staying at the campground. It was a lot cheaper than staying in one of the resorts (we were on a tight budget, and needed to watch our pennies on that trip very closely).

You should visit the Disney Camping board before your go. They can tell you where to request your site and other advice.

I hope to stay in a cabin sometime in the future...BUT the funny thing is after taking our kids tent camping in their early years (what I call the 'cheap' years when we had NO money but still wanted to travel) they only remember tent camping at FW! All our other tent camping trips they were too young to remember I guess (now we have a pop up camper).

Have fun!
DJ

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Okay I editted my two posts because I was rambling...

#1. Don't do Westgate. Money isn't everything. I own Westgate, I like it but for $29 who knows where they will put you plus the presentation WILL last at least 3 hours. If you were staying a week I'd say go for it. Four days...not worth it...they will try every unpleasant trick they can to get you to buy and that'll color your vacation. I got a good deal & a pleasant sales guy but that is not the norm...in the end resale would still have been cheaper.

#2. Devious budget trick. You have to eat every day anyway so you can add half your normal food budget for a week into your total.

#3. If you go with a DTD hotel you can get Ultimate Pass Hoppers (UPH). Right now a night at a value resort is available at $128 per night. You can stay at Wyndham Palace for $84. I looked these up. An example of another available package is the Grosvenor which has a 2 night, 2 full breakfasts and 3 days of UPH for a bit over $800. The advantage of UPH is that you can go into ANY park including Disney Quest for the length of your stay (you get it for both check in day and check out day). That means you could easily explore EPCOT and Magic Kingdom without entirely exhausting the kids. And you could get to Animal Kingdom one morning if you wanted to. This is useful because MK is open to 11PM or Midnight during your stay. MGM is open until 8 and EPCOT 9:30.

The Grosvenor number is probably a bit out of reach for you but Mousesavers gave these numbers for UPHs:

1 night/2 days (price at resort) - $137.39 Adults (10 and older); $110.76 Children (3-9)
1 night/2 days (advance purchase price) - $126.74 Adults (10 and older); $102.24 Children (3-9)

2 nights/3 days (price at resort) - $187.44 Adults (10 and older); $150.17 Children (3-9)
2 nights/3 days (advance purchase price) - $171.47 Adults (10 and older); $137.39 Children (3-9)

If you split your stay so that you have one night and two nights you'd have
$252 for three nights total. $618 in tickets associated with the two night stay for a total of $870. That leaves $130 for you to drive and eat on. If you bring food supplies for dinner you might be able to do this...provided you have a fuel efficient vehicle. If you check with these resorts you might be able to do better. I didn't look very hard. Better could mean $84 and a full meal as well as meaning cheaper.

If going for any of these I'd try the www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com website...I just found the Best Western had a rate of $69 through them. Aren't they a sponsor of these boards? Give them a call, explain what you want to do and see if they'll work with you.

DTD hotels are as follows:
www.orlandoresorthotel.com (Best Western) 1-800-348-3765
www.courtyardorlando.com (Courtyard) 1-800-321-2211
www.doubletreeguestsuites.com (Doubletree) 1-800-222-8733
www.grosvenorresort.com (Grosvenor) 1-800-624-4109
(Hilton) 1-800-445-8667
www.royalplaza.com (Hotel Royal Plaza...closed due to Hurricane Damage)
www.wyndham.com/PalaceResort/ 1-800-327-2990

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

editted

 

[tricky1]

Me and my dw,and 2 kids went to days inn lakeside,the rooms are clean and neat they have a all you can eat breakfast buffett,kids eat free,three swimming pools ,mcdonalds across the street. free trans. to disney and the room with 2 doulble beds is $27.95 per night with coupon available at www.roomsaver.com when on a tight budget you cant beat it for the money.
Its located close to international drive on sand lake road.
hope this helps.

 

[adisneymama]

I just wanted to mention that since you are on a budget you might want to check into rates at the Comfort Inn on Palm Pkwy. It is right outside the gates to DTD and very conveinant. We stay there the night before our package begins at Disney since we drive down. Another thing about the Comfort Inn is that all the rooms have a fridge and microwave. There is also a grocery store about 5 minutes away. This would help save money for you on food. You could eat breakfast and dinner in your room and make sandwiches to take to the parks. Also, the Comfort Inn does room/ticket packages and are much cheaper than package rates at a Disney resort. They also have a free shuttle service to and from the parks and also have free continental breakfast onsite as well as a buffet breakfast at an additional charge. There are also McDonalds and such that have normal prices because they are not on Disney property. You might want to check online, but also look into using a AAA travel agent. You do not have to have a membership to book using a AAA rate thru their agency.


We did this for my MIL, FIL & SIL in May. It worked out great and ended up only being about $200 each for a 3 day hopper pass and the room. The minimum requirement is 3 days.

I think if you were to stay here (very conveinant to drive your own vehicle too)the $1000 budget just might work.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Edited to say: Just checked the Comfort Inn site, they have rooms at the Palm Pkwy location for $49.50 a night. I would definitely check into their packages.