Help me get this "driving to Orlando" budget down, please!

[torinsmom]

You can get nice hotels through Priceline too; just bid on 3.5* or better. Betterbidding.com has lists of probable hotels in each star category in different cities/zones.

As far as the car rental insurance, definitely check with your car insurance agent as to your coverage. My dad is an insurance agent and my insurance includes rental coverage. You may be able to add it if you don't have it. Also, you can use AAA WITH a rental car, since it follows the person, not the car.

I'd definitely check into flying. It would probably save you money, and would DEFINITELY save you the time, aggravation and stress of driving for so many hours.

Marsha

 

[JB2K]

That is a lot of money to drive. 5 days of travel...

One of those extra travel days is by the OP's choice. Otherwise, from Central Kentucky, 4 works, just fine (or she was a "hard-charger", it could be done in 2).

As for air service, she would have to drive a great deal just to get near a major airport (Louisville/Cincinnati/Nashville).

What about taking a train or Autotrain to Florida? You could drive to Lorton, VA and get the autotrain there. It's not cheap, but probably cheaper than driving the whole way, getting hotels and quicker too.

But to get to the DC area from KY, one must go through mountainous West Virginia, which in terms of driving, can be a challenge, in itself...

 

[ekatiel]

I just looked online, and I don't know where in south-central Kentucky you are, but AirTran is currently offering roundtrip airfare in January and February from Knoxville to Orlando for $109 each -- that would be $327 for all three of you. Non-stop flights that are only an hour and 40 minutes.

I found it doing a flexible date search on Travelocity.

Holy Cow, that's cheap!! I'd book it and call the doc for some anti-anxiety meds! --Katie

 

[disney1990]

We drove to Disney on Tuesday, June 2nd from Maryland -- about 950 miles. We took the Auto Train back home.

We spent:

$110.00 on gasoline.

$419.22 for 6 nights at the Hawthorn Suites (which included breakfast). We had booked a room with 2 king beds, but were upgraded to a suite.

We left our house at 6:30 am and arrived at Disney at 8:30 pm the same day --- no extra hotel expenses.

The only thing we bought on the road was a $5.00 sub from Subway. We carried a cooler with drinks and snacks.

 

[gk90]

I agree that that AirTran rate sounds wonderful! My DH used to be the worst flyer--on our honeymoon flight he was in a cold sweat and turned all green and clammy. Thanks to a combination of relaxation techniques and medication he was able to work through it and now doesn't need the meds any more.
Whatever you decide, have a good trip!

 

[ceecee]

I would really reconsider the flying, especially with a child. We drove to FL once from Ohio and were wiped out for the day after we arrived and the day after we got home. DD would go crazy for that long in a car. Plus you loose valuable "park time"
Flying is great, less than two hours and you're there. Magical Express waiting to take you to the hotel where you have no hot car issues, parking, traffic jams, risk of accidents, etc. Flying is safer than driving.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We drive from the Lexington, KY area and budget around $300 for travel expenses.

90 gallons of fuel @2.40/gallon=$215. That is in an SUV. We build up Speedway rewards points and will have a $50 gas card plus maybe .50 off per gallon for 1 fillup. We may have the Kroger .10 discount too for down the road.

Breakfast is either Cracker Barrel or Chick Fil A. Lunch is packed. Dinner is whatever we see. We have the same going back.
If we stay during the trip, it is pricelined for less than $50. We drive straight through, 865 miles. It took less than 13 hours last trip.

A couple of observations:
-Your rental car costs way too much, if taking 65, why not drive to Nashville and park at the airport for a week. You should easily get a week for under $200 for a good sized car.
-$50 max for a hotel.
-If 3 people travelling, budget 20-25 for a meal. Drink water instead of soda. Don't be afraid to pack a lunch. Kroger has ham and cheese on sale cheap this week, I can make 8 sandwiches for less than $3.
-Map out likely gas stops, it can save a bundle. Several fuel chains have their prices posted on the web. I have a Pilot Travel Center 4 miles from here at 2.57, I knew the one in Corbin KY was 2.39 today. Guess where I filled up while in southern KY?

 

[mpbest]

Check out some of the discount or name your own price sites for a rental car. We have done this several times and it is always ALOT less than going directly with the company. We usually get lucky and get a free car upgrade. The last time it was two upgrades and we ended up with a small SUV! Also, I never purchase the insurance through the car rental agency, to me it's a waste of money. Especially since my personal ins. would cover the car rental. JMO

 

[jlima]

On the rental car thing, I have thought about just getting my car (2004 model) "travel-ready".

ITA with this. We just drove our 5 yr old Mazda mini van 1,300 miles in 9 days on our California vacation. Think of the $$ you'll save.

 

[kellydizfan]

O.k. problems with renting cars to travel. If you do not buy the insurance, the rental car company will put the cost of the vehicle on your credit card you use to rent it and any money they loose while the vehicle is out of commission. This could tie your credit card up for months. Especially if you only have one credit card. Some credit cards have rental coverage built in - you may want to ck on that. O.k. they mentioned insurance, I am going by NY State - not sure about KY. NY insurance, covers the rental vehicle under liability - not comprehensive & collision so there is no deductible that comes into play if you rent a vehicle, just the issues above as they will not wait for your insurance company to make up its mind. This is for personal insurance covering a personal vehicle. I would ck with your insurance agent, on KY rules. We are driving in a month and driving actually further than you are. We are planning $100 a day expenses. We will have our cooler with food and drinks in it. There will be 5 of us. We have AAA. We will be eating off property most nights for dinner - this will be our break. We will get milk, etc. when we get down there for cereal in the morning, pop-tarts, muffins, etc. for breakfast. Lunches will be bagels, sandwiches, which we will take in the parks with us. We will have a small fridge in the room plus the large cooler to store stuff. There are ways around the price. Oh, I will also do most of the driving over the 2 weeks we are gone. Our vehicle will also be serviced prior to leaving by our mechanic that does all our work on my vehicle. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Disneyliscious]

Ok.....yes this can be doen MUCH cheaper. Im not a flyer either so Im not even gonna go that route with you....

I, like you, have an older car that I dont want to take. For me, a rental is added security. If it tears up...I gt another one. If Im driving mine and it tears up....Im stuck spending $$ and waiing on repairs.

Where in South Central KY are you? How far from Nashville? You can rent a mini-van in Nashville for $280 a week. I booked mine a month ago and just checked it again at CarRentals.com. Its through Enterprise. You could get a much better rate as you dont need the space of a mini-van. You should easily be able to get an intermediate car for $150-$200.

If you cant drive to Nashville, or have no where to park your car.....

Rent the smallest car possible for ONE day at your local Enterprise - a one way rental. Then, drive to Nashville and rent one of the weekly specials I mentioned above (you may consider minivan so your daughter has room to stretch out). When returning, return to the Nashville Enterprise and then get a one day rental from Nashville back to your local dealer.

Next, your budget for food is way too high. Pack a cooler with lunch meat and sandwich stuff. Take chips, lunchables, etc. Eat from the cooler instead of eating at restaurants.

Also, 2 days down, 2 days back. Its about an 11 hour drive for us from Nashville. We do it all in one day. We always leave around 10PM at night....no traffic and its cooler so you use less gas. We arrive in Orlando about 11AM the next day.....shop for our groceries and then we're able to check into hte condo/house/hotel. If you can do it in 13 hours.....drive it in one day and use the extra day(s) for your vacation. If you must stop.....stay at a Super 8 as someone else suggested. If your mother has to have "pricey" then let her pay for "pricey".....not you.

My entire 6 day trip in October, including gas, is running about $1500 (groceries an souvenirs are extra). Thats for 4 people with 2 nights of MNSSHP, a condo, a mini-van, the Pirates Dinner Show, and going to Gatorland.

You just have to get creative...but yes.....you should be able to save a LOT more than you are planning on spending.

 

[AnnaS]

Since the Autotrain and Amtrak are out of the question, I would really consider flying. My daughter and I hate/are afraid of flying but we still do it. I book it and when the time comes, I have no choice. We do make ourselves a bit sick before it though.

My daughter hates it so much, she got off the plane three years ago right before the doors were closing. That's another story. Our luggage flew without us but I was able to convince her to get on the next flight.

The doctor told us to take Benadryl right before flying (we bought the strips so we did not have to worry about liquid or my daughter swallowing pills. She is almost 17 and still cannot swallow them. She has flown since then but it's not our preference/choice of transportation. I would rather take Amtrak/Autotrain.

I am not sure I would feel comfortable with an older car and three women getting stuck in the middle of no where - but you know your car.

 

[wishtdream]

http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/TripGasPrice.aspx

We use this site to budget for our driving costs. I don't live anywhere near the op but we do a 17 hour drive. We use our own van and Our kids 6 and 2 this year are fine.