How much can we do it for?

[sbpebbles]

I am having to reschedule my trip to FL which was suppose to be November 4-14..Instead my friend and I will be going, alone with no kids, for 6-7 days but are having a hard time deciding the best time to go...Also we plan to either stay with friends down there or find a cheap hotel..i'm wondering how much we could do a trip to FL from Milwaukee on including tickets to either Disney or Universal since we've never been to them...I do have $70 in credit from the airline for my ticket and her ticket will be bought for by a friend of ours..If you could give me a ballpark figure so I know how much we'll need I'd appreciate it..Also recommend a great time for us to go, we're both in our mid 20s if that helps..TIA

 

[fofinia]

I just priced out a trip on Disney's website for the stay 5 get 2 days free at a value.

Value resort at All Star Music 7 nights 1/22-1/28/2010

7 day park hopper tickets for 2 adults. No dining. For $1190.04.

That can give you a ball park figure to go off of. Universal may have some better deals on tickets. And lots of people find great deals offsite. I just don't have any thing for reference. Hope that helps.

By the way, I'm an Aunt Jennie!!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

So much of budgeting is predicated on when you will be going, how long you will be staying and what kind of accommodations you will need. Instead of giving you an approximate number that would probably be dead wrong, I'll just give you some advice on what to keep in mind while you create your own budget.

Since you have an airline credit, you will pretty much be limited to their flights. Try airfare search engines like sidestep.com or kayak.com to research airfares. Both can give you an idea of the prices to expect and kayak will also let you know whether fares are expected to drop or rise.

I would avoid any "spring break" dates for travel not only because the parks and resorts will be more crowded but also because the prices will be higher for rooms and airfare. So anytime from President's Weekend until the week after Easter would not be a good idea. I was in WDW last year from Jan. 3-10 and it really was a great time to visit. It's value season, the parks are relatively uncrowded and the holiday decorations were still up for the first few days of my visit. The weather was very nice; warm but not hot and very little precipitation. The lone drawback is that the parks close earlier but since they weren't too crowded, we were able to do everything we wanted to do.

Are you planning to rent a car? If you're under 25, it could be very expensive. Car rental agencies do not like the under-25 crowd and they charge a hefty premium. If you're going to need a car, I recommend using hotwire or priceline to bid for one. If you're going to borrow your friend's car (or if they are going to be your chauffeur), you should offer to chip in for gasoline and pay the parking fees ($14/day at either Disney or Universal).

Choosing between Disney or Universal is really a matter of preference. Disney will be more expensive but has more to see. Universal has a 2-park pass that is good for 7 consecutive days. It runs less than $110 w/tax on some ticket reseller websites. A 7-day MYW adult base pass at Disney is more than twice that amount and wouldn't let you hop. But if you sign up on the Disney website to do volunteer work you can earn a free 1-day ticket for the park of your choice. I would recommend doing this if you want a day in Disney on top of some time spent in Universal. The drawback is that Disey doesn't have all their ducks in a row for this one yet and you would have to wait until later in the year to do your volunteer service and receive your free ticket certificate.

Then there's the issue of food. Staying with friends means that you will at least have access to a kitchen but you'll probably want to chip in for groceries. If you're getting a hotel room, you might still want to keep a few groceries in the room for a quick breakfast or may a snack when you get back to the room in the evening. You'll also probably want to plan for a couple of meals out and perhaps some bar hopping or clubbing.

 

[sbpebbles]

We are both over 25 and I was considering renting a car since I know our friends will have to work when we are there..We were thinking about going down in the middle of February but i'm not sure if that's a crazy busy time or not...since it's an adults only trip that's why i was thinking Universal since it'll save us some money and have more things for us to do...i'm not sure if we're staying with our friends or getting a hotel yet..we need to figure that out ASAP i guess lol..thanks for the help so far

 

[Thumper_Man]

I'll offer a little more advice. Best advice I can offer at the moment is to see how much of a budget you will have and take it from there. Pick a date and see if your budget would allow you to go at this time. If the date doesn't work out, you can always push the date back to allow you more time to save.

Take the time and do some research on the parks, and see which ones you would like to see. You can also start a spreadsheet and keep track of all the prices you've seen for flights, rental cars, tickets, food, etc.. Once you have all your information, you can total it up and get a ballpark figure of what you'll need. I do this for DW and myself before we go on vacation. It helps us determine if we can afford to go or not; and how much we need to save.