Here is my quote from Disney. Can I do this cheaper?

[Brewcitygirl]

Disney says: With hotel, flight and no transfers.
$1,706.95

Here are the details:

Want to go in Oct. roughly the 16 to the 22
Stay at a All Stars- Want Movies
Flying in from WI

Me and DS age 12

Thanks!

A few more questions?

Can I find a rate on mousesavers and lock in now
I will bring food and drink (make a grocery stop there or ship)
Do not need lots of souvienors to bring home?
What type of food budget should I prepare?

It would be his 6th grade graduation present and my 36th birthday present.

I really want to do this. I have been talking for years that I am going to do a trip with him. Now I HAVE TOO!!!

Thanks

 

[CarolMN]

I think you can do a lot better by booking air and hotel yourself - if you are willing to put in the time and effort and do your homework (so to speak, LOL). If park tickets aren't included in the quote, you are paying way too much for airfare.

Rack rate per night (including 12% tax) at the All Stars in October is just under $111. If you are staying 6 nights, that's $666. You may be able to get a "code" discount on the room at a later time. You'd need to check mousesavers every dso often and call as soon as you see they've come out.

All Star Rack Rates for 2003

$1707-$666 means airfare from Milwaukee to Orlando is costing you $1041 or $520 each - TOO MUCH! If you watch the prices, you should be able to do lots better than that, especially since you are flying mid-week. A quick check right now at www.orbitz.com is showing non stop flights for your dates (depart 10/16 and return 10/22) for $203 each on Midwest Express. If you are willing/able to make one connection, you can go for as low as $170 each. My advice is to snag one of those low fares now before they disappear if you are sure you are going.

Good luck!

 

[mark & sandra]

Hi Brewcitygirl- Are park tickets included? Does Southwest Airlines fly from your destination? We watch for when SW opens up flights for our timeframe. If your diligent and check all the time you can get their special fares, usually around 59.00 one way, they only have limited seats at these prices and you'll be competing with other vacationers and travel companys for these prized rates. The All-Stars can be had for about 55.00 per night. So by my estimation, 2 people round trip @ 59.00 = 236.00 per + fees. Hotel @ 55.00 x 7 days = 385.00 + tax. So far it's 621.00. Granted it's based on getting the really good discounts that are hard to get, but you can usually beat the package deal prices with a little effort on your part.

 

[jgates]

I think you need to go to Chicago Midway to go out on Southwest. I would check parking costs there and I bet you still could come out sweet by going on Southwest. Also check Madison airport for decent prices on Northwest or another carrier. I think Madison is $8 per day parking.

Our plans are to drive to Milwaukee - have my aunt drive us to Chicago Midway and fly out on Southwest if rates are decent. If nothing bargain, we'll drive to Madison and park there and fly out from there.

 

[Brewcitygirl]

Tickets are included. Not hopper so I can't go from park to park.

I have to fly out of Milwaukee, I don't have a car and am not taking the greyhound to Chicago. NO WAY!

So when can I book my hotel. Can I do it now and use a code later? Or when should I start looking.

Thanks for all of your help.


Brew

 

[Luv2Roam]

Yes, you can (and should) book now. (I recommend using Dreams Unlimited.)
IF a discount code is available later, it can be applied to your room only rate. You need to make a deposit, but at least you will have your room ressie set. Discount rates are not guaranteed though. (But likely.)
Also sign up for Farewatcher through Travelocity.

You MAY save money in the long run by buying an AP. It depends on how many days you are actually going to be in the park. And maybe the AP will get you a good room rate.
We are staying at ASMu soon for $55 a night (incl tax).

For Columbus Day weekend (October), our ASMu room rate (preferred) was $84 a night. Our folio lists Mickey Monitor rate. And I think that refers to the AP rate.
The AP rate saved us $11.20 a night. But consider that $84 a night was with the *preferred* view. So $74 a night wouldn't have been too bad.

Lately, Movies has not been offering discounts like ASMu & ASSp has.

 

[mark & sandra]

If I'm not mistaken, your tickets should allow you to park hop, even if they're called something else. Only 1 day tickets usually restrict you from park hopping. From past experiences,my whole vacation is based on the airlines. I reserve the rental cars as far out in advance as I can (usually no deposit needed), I book my rooms very early too. Yes you can always alter your ressie to include new codes if they become available for you to use after you book. They won't automatically inform you of the extra available savings, but you can request them when you call back. Being a Disney Club member sure helped on all our phone calls, the DC gives you a toll free # to call disney. Since the airlines are usually the last to open up dates for our trip, I've had to change my dates twice in the past, either 1 day sooner or later due to flight availability. That sets a chain of changes in motion(car rental and hotel room changes)

 

[jwwi]

I went to WDW this past Oct. We flew out of Milw-$188RT on Midwest Express. Sale fare, but of course the best way to fly, this airline is so nice. Non stop is the way to go if you can find it. We stayed at POR, about $100/night with a code from mousesavers. I think AS resorts were about $65 during the same time. You can always book your room, then watch for codes, and try to switch reservations, or cancel and make a new one. Definately ask what the cancellation policy is, try to get it as close to check in as possible. It doesn't look like your dates are during the teacher conference, that can effect availability for airfare. Park tickets can be purchased several ways, some with discounts. Check the Mousesaver web site. Have fun planning your trip. These boards are great for gathering information.

 

[karin037]

Here's what I found:

Flights on Midwest Express: total for 2 rt tickets for 10/16, 8:40am out of Milwaukee, returning 10/22 5:10pm out of Orlando-total $406 (for 2 rt tickets). These are non-stop flights. I believe that if you book through Disney, you will only get a connecting flight out of Milwaukee. www.midwestexpress.com

All Star Movies, room only reservation, booked through www.disneyworld.com(10/16-10/22) - $665.25 total (including taxes). If a code comes out for October, you can save even more.

Two 5-day park hopper plus tickets from Paramount International $238 each (including tax), for a total of $491(includes tax and $15 shipping). You can park hop for 5 days, and go to the water parks for 2 days with the pluses. http://www.paramountinternationaltravel.com/orderTickets.asp

Total for flights, room, and tickets: 1562.25. This is a savings of $144, and you get direct non-stop flights.

 

[kayeandjim00]

I agree with everyone else here that you can do much better by yourself. We also fly out of Milwaukee and are going in May. We prefer to fly Midwest Express but we found a non stop flight on Air Tran for only $165.00 which was a good bit cheaper than Midwest Express for our dates. The convience of not having to go to Chicago is worth the little extra you may pay to fly out of Milwaukee. I suggest going ahead and reserving the room you only have to make a deposit when you make the reservation. I also make the car reservation early, I did it this week in fact and that usually helps you to get the best rate possible. All in all you will probably come out much cheaper if you reserve things individually yourself.