Help Planning Trip

[happymommy2008]

Okay here is what we are wanting to do and I need to know the best way to do it. I have researched and looked and pulled all of my hair out. Yet I still can not make a decision. Please Help!!

We are going to Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld......
There are 5 of us ages 32,32,21,11,and 11

This is the first trip for 4/5
We want to go to:
Disney 7/3 - 7/6
Universal 7/7-7/8
Sea-world 7/9

Should we stay at a Disney resort or off site?
Disney Dining or pay for each meal?
My problems:
I do not want to waste half a day switching hotels from Disney to another.
I do not want to pay for 7 day dining plan and only use it 4 days.
I also don't want to pay for 7 days and try to use them all in 4 days.
Transportation to all attractions - Parking seems hectic and expensive but I don't want to stay on a bus for 2 hours stopping at tons of parks and other hotels.
I know we are trying to pack a lot of into one week, but it is our only chance of going for a while.

PLEASE HELP!!

 

[disneymayz]

No reason why you would waste a half day switching hotels from Disney to another if you had a car. That is what I would do. I would also have a car which I would drive to new hotel early and check in knowing my room would not be ready. After spending the day at Universal I would get my new room. This way I would be able to get 4day meal plan if I wanted.

 

[Marionnette]

Okay here is what we are wanting to do and I need to know the best way to do it. I have researched and looked and pulled all of my hair out. Yet I still can not make a decision. Please Help!!

We are going to Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld......
There are 5 of us ages 32,32,21,11,and 11

This is the first trip for 4/5
We want to go to:
Disney 7/3 - 7/6
Universal 7/7-7/8
Sea-world 7/9

Should we stay at a Disney resort or off site?
Disney Dining or pay for each meal?
My problems:
I do not want to waste half a day switching hotels from Disney to another.
I do not want to pay for 7 day dining plan and only use it 4 days.
I also don't want to pay for 7 days and try to use them all in 4 days.
Transportation to all attractions - Parking seems hectic and expensive but I don't want to stay on a bus for 2 hours stopping at tons of parks and other hotels.
I know we are trying to pack a lot of into one week, but it is our only chance of going for a while.

PLEASE HELP!!

Given what you want to do, I wouldn't recommend staying at a Disney resort. Almost half of your visit to Orlando is not going to be in Disney parks, so the advantage of stay on site are diminished.

That would mean no Disney dining plan since you have to be staying onsite in order to purchase it. Have no fear, there are plenty of offsite dining options to make up for it.

There are beautiful offsite resorts that are affordable or you might want to consider a vacation home rental. You might want to explore those options.

Transportation can be arranged with Mears or you can get taxis from wherever you are staying. It will be more expensive than renting a vehicle and paying for parking but you will not have the parking headache or have to deal with traffic on unfamiliar roads.

I'm not sure if all of this fits into your budget. The tickets for all of those parks will be a real killer. Keep your eyes open for any discounts you can find.

 

[Tjaleks]

Personally, with the different venues I would rent a house and car. Add parking and gas into your budget and you are still likely to come out ahead.

We rented a 5 bed room 3 bath w/ private pool in Dec 2011 for around 1100 for a week. Having a washer/dryer allowed us to only bring a min. amount of clothing and we ate several meals there reducing our costs.

 

[danygirl]

I agree with the other posters. Staying onsite is probably a budget buster for this trip. You have a lot of top priorities. You might want to rank then to see which is really the most important.

MY DH loves a big breakfast too, but I convinced him that eating in our room made sense. Why? first money, duh, but second - it cut down on stress. We had four people using one bathroom and shower, so that meant it took a long time for everyone to get ready in the am. Eating in the room meant we could still get an early start on our day. I brought oatmeal to microwave, plus all our favorite cereals and fruit. It was basically like eating at home. If the hot meal is really important you might want to find a hotel with a complementary breakfast buffet.

We brought our lunches too. Years ago a friend who had a lot of money told me they always brought lunch so that each person could eat when they got hungry. IT cut down on the crankies with the kids, plus, if you eat your sandwich in line you don't miss anything! I made sure to buy some awesome snacks and candy bars, so no one felt deprived.

I don't know how much it costs to rent a scooter, but since you are driving down you might want to think of just buying one. My dad bought his at costco, he can use it lots of places. Might cost a little more but save you in the long run.

If you really don't want to give up eating out, park hopping and staying on site, maybe you need to find a way to save more money before you go. go see Kristen at couponingtodisney.