How do Canucks save on your Disney Trip!

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Unfortunatlly driving from Halifax you dont have a choice on routes you can take. With us when we go down in the winter we have a couple of options just in case for weather. If you can keep a window open for a couple extra days before you arrive and after then if needed you can leave for the south a day or 2 early to get ahead of any storm. Then a couple days after just incase you get trapped coming home.

 

[peigirl]

I take 5 weeks off work and we plan for a month trip which allows us extra days incase of bad weather.

It takes about 31 hours of driving time. We usually get to New Jersey the first night and Florida the second night but the last trip we hit freezing rain just outside of St John, NB so spent 2 nights in hotels on the way down. We took the I95 down and had good weather.

On the way back, we took the 95-77-26-81-84(I think) to the 95. We slept in Virginia the first night and awoke to slushy roads but made it to PEI the second night, well early the next morning actually.

In December 2006, the weather was perfect all the way down and back.

I am the only driver in the car as DH does not like traffic lol

Paula

 

[peigirl]

Ted - congrats on the new car but if you take it to Florida, don't put snow tires on it. I have read several places that the tires will be no good after driving on the heated pavement.

Paula

 

[aristocat65]

We also fly out of the US to save $. I just can't justify paying $500-700 per person out of Vancouver. If I had to do that, I wouldn't go. I prefer to put my dollars toward staying at a deluxe hotel onsite.

We travel in low season when Disney hotels are cheapest and when they offer free dining.

We take advantage of Magical Express, and just rent a car for a few days while we are onsite. I usually get a 5 day weekly rate. I check mousesavers.com for coupons and codes, and keep checking even after I book as the prices go up and down like a yoyo. I sometimes cancel and rebook about 5 times before I'm done

I guess my best way of saving money is BEFORE the vacation. We live within our means, almost never go out (we are just homebodies), Don't smoke or drink and almost never eat out. I much prefer eating healthy home cooked food than spending $75-100 to take the family to Applebees for mediocre food. As a result, our vacations have become our splurges. Once we are there I don't really worry about the $'s. As long as I know I have gotten the best price available for the vacation I have chosen I'm happy

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Ted - congrats on the new car but if you take it to Florida, don't put snow tires on it. I have read several places that the tires will be no good after driving on the heated pavement.

Paula

I second this. Just make sure you have a good all seasonal tire. Aggressive tread if posible.

 

[2busy4life]

I second this. Just make sure you have a good all seasonal tire. Aggressive tread if posible.

Ok my mechanic told us to put on our snows as usual drive down and then return and that the heat would not effect them. I have very expensive snows and cannot afford for them to by ruined by the heat.

Can anyone clarify what they have done previously?

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

No snows for our drive south here. They come off and all seasonals go on.
My nephew kept his snows on his car into aug and he had rubber all inside his wheel wells and on the doors of his car. His were new last year and he will need new ones again this winter. Granted he drove on them daily all summer around southern ontario. The rubber is alot softer and cannot handle the hot roads that well.

 

[peigirl]

Actually DH did not believe me about the tires so he asked our car dealer who confirmed this. It was a real Ï told you so moment" but I gloated inwardly lol.

We use good all season tires year round on PEI so that is what we stuck with to go south.

Paula

 

[aristocat65]

I totally agree. Everything we read when selecting our new winter tires said they should not be used when the temp is above 9 Celsius as the rubber is very soft for better traction, but will start to wear very fast driving in warmer temperatures.

We never know quite when to take them off out here on the west coast as our weather is SO variable.

 

[Dale7]

Which US airports do folks from Halifax fly from? And how long is the drive?

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Personally, I like Portland Maine (PWM) because of the number of airlines there. Some People have found Bangor (BGR) good.

Manchester NH is also an option. I fly out of there next month.

So it terms of proximity to Halifax, its BGR PWM MHT.

How long is the drive? BGR is 7 to 8 hours, PWM is 9 to 10 hours, MHT is 11 to 12 hours

 

[coastgirl]

Dale, we drive to Manchester, NH. It takes us about 10 hours, but we have kids and we have "real" meal stops. Manchester has Southwest Air, which we love. (Cheap, and still have no bag fees.) We have also gotten a good park and fly rate at one of the Holiday Inns there. I have a co worker who flew from Portland this weekend, lucky girl. Some fly from Bangor, which is probably 7 hrs from Hfx, but it doesn''t have as many carriers. (Portland is in between the two.)

 

[visitingapril09]

1. Watch for seat sales and or use cc points to pay for flights.
2. Buy tickets from UT through MS link.
3. Travel off season
5. Take advantage of park promos eg: (pins, fd room, only rate etc) if a good deal.
Household related
6. Don't take summer holidays
7. Only buy what is necessary.
8. Drive used vehicles.
9. Have a budget and meal plan.

Can you explain number 2 please??

 

[aristocat65]

Can you explain number 2 please??

Hi There, not the poster, but I can help you. UT is Undercover Tourist and MS is mousesavers. Go to Mousesavers.com and sign up for their newsletter. It comes out on the 15th of every month and has a link to special prices from UndercoverTourist (better than you would otherwise get). There was actually a bonus newletter today with a special link in it.

 

[visitingapril09]

Hi There, not the poster, but I can help you. UT is Unofficial Tourist and MS is mousesavers. Go to Mousesavers.com and sign up for their newsletter. It comes out on the 15th of every month and has a link to special prices from Unofficial Tourist (better than you would otherwise get). There was actually a bonus newletter today with a special link in it.

Thank you~!!

 

[PanamaMike]

Any cents off gas savings that can be had are more than offset by the high cost of groceries at Sobey's.
Try shopping at a less expensive grocery store and pocket the savings that way.

Here's my Canuck saving tips.

3) In my Area Sobeys gives a few cents off Gas when you buy groceries. I save these to fill the car for the drive to the US.

 

[aristocat65]

Thank you~!!

You're welcome. Sorry, but it is "Undercover Tourist"- I corrected previous post. Too early

 

[Disney-Chick]

Paula, you drive in Dec? How long does it take you? We have driven from Halifax to NH a number of times for cheap airfare, but we had one trip through Maine in Feb that was hair-raising. (Three other winter trips were fine, but that one definitely stands out!|)

I am from Halifax also and we have been driving to Disney for the last 3 years and go in Dec. We do the drive in 2 days. We use to take 3 but cut back to 2. I believe the drive is around 33-36 hours. We have hit some bad weather but nothing that made us stop. I have Canada Saving Bonds that come out every pay and that will pay for our trip down and back. I think we may pay $700 which includes gas, food, hotel etc.

 

[irisesareblue]

Hi there - we're from Manitoba and here are my tips for saving:

1. We've used www.homeaway.com to book a house - we love to have the private pool and the kitchen facilities to cook our meals. We were 30 minutes away from the park our last trip in August and loved being away from the Disney busy-ness and really enjoyed it - IF we stay at hotels, we've used priceline. It's awesome! I've never spent more than $90.00/night on a Disney trip - ever (but I've never stayed onsite!) The one awesome thing about Disney is that they don't differentiate between on-site guests and off-site guests - you get the same treatment either way.
2. We shop at Walmart once we arrive and buy groceries and bottled water for the week. (I love Wal-mart!)
3. We take snacks and water to the parks with us - we freeze the bottles of water and take them to the parks with us - as the ice melts, we fill the bottles with water from the water fountains at the parks - the ice left in the bottles keeps the water cold and fresh tasting. We also bring Crystal Light or Kool Aid singles to help with the water taste as well.
4. We often don't eat meals at the parks - only Dole Whips and other "Disney" treats - we bring our lunches too (non-perishable items of course). If we do eat at a Disney restaurant, it is only two or three times for the week we are at Disney and they are considered "special meals" (like character meals).
5. I buy an annual pass for myself as I tend to go more often than my hubby does (I go with friends or other family members) - with the one annual pass, we still get the free parking and discounts at the World of Disney store and that can make a big difference. When we do purchase tickets, we only buy Magic Your Way base tickets - one park per day is often enough and we buy through the Mousesaver newsletter link at www.undercovertourist.com
6. We often book our plane tickets from a US location rather than flying from winnipeg - we often leave from Fargo (5 hour drive from home) or travel the 9 hours and leave from Minneapolis - depends on how many of us are travelling and how much we save for each hour of driving.
7. If we rent a car, we often reserve a compact, even if it's for 4 of us - it's cheaper and we often get upgraded - the rental car companies don't carry that many compacts in their inventory, so we get upgraded without charge. I also have a credit card (American Express) that has insurance built in. We often use enterprise because they don't charge for the additional drive (if it's your spouse).

I guess that's it - thanks folks - I needed to add some magic in my day and thinking about being in Disney again has lightened my heart.

 

[Shir Kahn]

The one awesome thing about Disney is that they don't differentiate between on-site guests and off-site guests - you get the same treatment either way.

Not entirely true, you don't get Extra Magic Hours when you stay off-site. We absolutely love EMH, especially the late night hours, you seem to be able to ride a lot more during them. We also love leaving the Magic Kingdom at 3am sometimes. There's just something amazing about the park after midnight.

We're from Winnipeg and if we're just going on a short trip of 5-7 days, we fly out of Fargo or Grand Forks. The also flew out of Minneapolis once, using the park'n'fly option at a hotel there. But with trips of two weeks or more, we love to drive down. Amazingly enough, it's 32 hours driving from Winnipeg to WDW and 31 hours to drive to Disneyland! (doing the speed limit that is ) There's tons to look at on the way and we stop at Cracker Barrel as often as we can! We save a good amount of money driving too!