I would start by figuring out how your freebies can be applied to the trip. You have one free airfare but what about the other 3? Is there a way to pay for any of the other 3 using some sort of freebie (credit card points, free companion tickets, etc.)?
Staying onsite is nice but there's no way that you can get cheaper than free. If your DH's hotel points are with Marriott, then you won't be able to use them onsite. A split stay would be nice but it would entail renting a car or paying for a taxi to move between resorts. If I were trying to do this as inexpensively as possible, I would opt for the offsite resort. If his rewards points are flexible (like AmEx or Diner's Club points), then you might be able to use them for a stay at the Swan or Dolphin by transferring points into a Starwood Preferred Guest account.
If you get started with rewards programs, you might be able to add to your freebies by getting Marriott Cheques to pay for meals or room charges at a Marriott resort.
MyPoints.com is a pretty reliable program that's been around for years. They offer a $25 Marriott Cheque for 3250 pts. You can check their redemption area to see all of the other rewards that they offer, like Rainforest Café GCs.
CreationsRewards.net is another one that is very reliable and sends their rewards quickly. Disney Dollars are among the various rewards that they offer. You can redeem for as little as $5.00 on Disney Dollars for 1100 pts. Hey, every little bit helps! Another rewards site that is catching on is
Sunshinerewards.com. They also offer Disney Dollars as a redemption option but you need to earn $20 before you can cash out. And don't forget
UPromise.com! You don't have to use it for college savings and you don't have to shop thru their site to earn cash. Just register your frequent buyer cards and your credit cards. Whenever you shop and use the registered cards at participating stores, your account gets credited accordingly. Painlessly easy to do and the pennies add up over time.
If you have the time to waste, there are always free tickets to be had just by sitting thru a timeshare presentation. It's not something that I would prefer to do while on vacation but if it meant the difference between going or not going, I'd do it. Another possibility is to use those Marriott Rewards points to get passes. Right now, it takes 50,000 for a child's 4-day hopper (a $213 value) and 55,000 for an adult 4-day hopper (a $250 value). Otherwise, you best ticket prices would be thru one of the reputable online ticketbrokers.
And don't forget to start a change jar! That change jar can yield quite a bit of money if you're disciplined about feeding it. You can designate those funds to help pay for meals, souvenirs or anything else in your budget.
Have fun trying to figure out how to maximize those rewards into a Disney vacation. I think that it can be done. You may not go for free but you can certainly cut the costs dramatically!
