I am new here, How did I do on a budget?

[megnsamsgrace]

Okay, I am totally new to this board, and my trip is pretty much all set. Just want some opinions on how I did. This whole trip is last minute so we weren't able to save for it (we were planning on going next October). My dad has friends that own a house in Venice FL but my dad was too afraid to fly. So we offered to drive him (CT to FL) and then we would go to Disney. Then it turns out that he is flying and it was soo cheap for us to fly. So off we go! I booked airline tickets with Southwest, B1G1free... $454 for 4 tickets, taxes and everything included. Then I went to priceline.com and entered $20 a night for a hotel (since we were planning on getting a rental car we didn't mind driving to the park). I got a Fairfield Inn near Universal (their website says the rooms are $99 a night) so that is $226 with taxes (we are staying 9d, 8n). Then we got a mid size rental car through avis for $20 a day, $210 with all taxes. So how is that? I have 5 days worth of free tickets into the Disney parks. (I have a friend who works at Disney that is giving us 1 days tickets, then a friend works at ESPN and has 18 tickets for me). We are doing one character dinner (we have free breakfast at the hotel so might as well take advantage of that) at Crystal Palace, is Chef Mickey better? Well any tips on great buffet restaurants would be great... I am on a special diet (losing weight) so I want to be able to pick and choose. We leave 6/7... BTW, we have a 5 1/2 year old, an almost 4 y/o and a 13 month old. Thank you everyone for help! Stephanie

 

[QuickGold]

Pretty darn good! You can't beat flying from Hartford to Orlando with the Friends Fly Free program Southwest has! Make sure you budget out things like how much $$$ for food, souvenirs, etc per day you want to spend. That's a big way you can come home with huge bills waiting for you.

 

[NancyIL]

Welcome to the DIS! It looks like you did a great job of planning a budget trip to WDW! Let us know when you return how it went.

 

[mickey'sbud]

Sounds great. If you haven't already, I'd post the question to see if anyone knows anything about the "Fairfield Inn near Universal". Just make sure it's up to your expectations. I don't know anything about it. Your rate sounds absolutely great! Good luck and hope you have a great time.

 

[iwannago!!]

I need more friends.. do your Disney and ESPN friends want to be my friend?

You did awesome! It is great that your dad decided to fly afterall, SW has such a great deal with the FFF promo!

Have fun! We will be there right before you 5/31-6/7.

 

[antnee]

you could bring crystal light in small cannisters and use them in a glass of water instead of buying diet sodas

 

[zoey452]

You did fantastic!
Can't improve a thing. I could help you a little with the diet plan, since you asked.

Here's what I do:
Make sure you eat 5-6 meals instead of 3 larger ones. For example, a small amount of protein and a good carb at each meal: eggs + oatmeal, chicken salad + fruit, meat + potato. But small portions! Snacks: protein bars with about 20 gr. protein & 20 gr. carb are good, as is string cheese & fruit. Try to make everything as low fat as possible.
This is very doable at Disney. Just make sure you don't get too hungry between meals. Eat every 3 hours, very important.

Have fun!

 

[BethR]

Hi megnsamsgrace! Welcome to the DIS!!!

Looks like you have done a TERRIFIC job planning a lower cost Disney Vacation! We have done Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace in 1999 and, at that time, I definately preferred the CP. But you will hear varying opinions on that. There are a couple of thing to consider when choosing between the two. One is the characters that you want to see - Pooh and Friends or Mickey and Friends. And do you want to use a park day to go to the CP? If you go to CMs then you can skip the park that day if you are looking for a "non-park day" activity.
About the food, you will find plenty of choices at either one (just cannot guarantee low fat/ low calorie ).
Good Luck! I am sure that you will have a wonderful time!