I need help planning a really cheap trip.

[Halbleib1]

If you can move your trip to Sept 20-26 you can get free dining for your whole stay.

 

[HM]

Forget the Free Dining, it will not save you, a single person, money. What you want is a room-only discount and paying for food oop.

 

[justlook3]

Is your friend having a Wishes event at WDW? Then she should have a room block of discounted rooms. Check with her. I know people say offsite, but really if your flight is free, I would stay on site because you won't have to rent a car and your friend is likely providing transport to her events. I would only stay around the wedding itself. That's the most important thing.

 

[ellochka]

See if anybody else is staying offsite. This way you can get free piggyback transportation.

 

[njmom47]

Do you work?
I know my place of employment belongs to a couple different programs for discounted park tickets and hotels. IIRC, the park tickets were actually a bit cheaper than UT and the last email we got showed 40% off rooms (although I can't speak for exactly which rooms or availability).
Mousesavers newsletters may also help. If you are interested, someone here probably has the link.
I second packing any food you could bring from home, especially if you're not a big eater.

Too bad you can't room with someone...that seems like it would help ALOT.
ETA When is the actual ceremony? Weekend nights the room rates go up. Do you have to stay that
Friday night?

https://www.disneyweddings.com/florida/wishes/faq/
According to this, the bridal party can block off rooms at a discount. Did yours do that?
Also, it seems there is a discount for park tickets when you are attending a DW wedding.

 

[North of Mouse]

Is staying at FW in a tent a consideration? Know it might be awkward, but it would definitely be the cheapest way to go without sharing. Just a thought!

 

[Glenn]

It would be a shame to not do some of the parks. Have you checked out mousesavers.com?. She usually has discount codes from some hotels including the ones around downtown disney. Their bus service is pretty good but do let you off a little further into the parking lot. Also check expedia for the fun of it. I actually have had luck there when disney said all the discounts had been taken. One thing about the Halloween party to check. One time you used to be able to get into the park at 4pm with that ticket. So you could go for that day if timing works out.
Last thing but will be controversial to some out here. Do you have a cc with no balance? You say your saving at least $75 a week. So when you go you might be able to spend 150-225 on your card, save 2 or 3 wks when your back & not pay any interest. I wouldnt do this for a fancy dinner but basic like staying another day or 2.
Good luck hope the bride checks out the disney wedding discounts.

 

[Nztara]

Many offsite hotels offer complimentary transportation to Disney.

Shorten your stay.

Would any of the families with kids like to have the kids share a room with you, or maybe just one kid if they have three?

To save more before you go: use coupons like crazy and put the extra savings towards your trip. If extra shifts aren't available, how about babysitting, yard work, house cleaning, dog walking or another outside way to earn a few dollars?

Finally, have you discussed the financial burden with the bride? If she I wants you there, surely she can reach out to the Disney wedding planners to find out about any special discounts that may be available for guests or at least ask for a few insider tips to help.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Don't hire a car and get staples for breakfast, snacks and water for the parks for a website like Garden Grocer (I use them, they are so good) Value are great places to stay and the poster who mentioned kids meals is right, I've done it and they are a decent size, plus you get a drink and a small desert. However, the only offer with Values is a free breakfast, not a full DDP (at least in the UK, it may be different over there, if you can get it then that is worth going for, but, don't buy it otherwise if you want to budget)It's fine if you can find someone to share off site with and have a car, but, you would have to be on the same page with going to the parks or one of you will be doing extra travelling if you park at Epcot and one of you wants to go to MK, plus the cost of parking too. I would stick to being on site, even if sharing.
I hope it all works out, I did the 'see if you can do it on a budget trip' in May and it was brilliant, I used my Virgin Atlantic points for the flights ( I had to pay $350 in taxes grrr, but, the flights were free) stayed at Pop Century and bought a load of groceries from Garden Grocer, I made sandwiches for the park everyday for lunch with chips and things like boxes of Craisens for snacks (I still had my ice cream treats, so I didn't do without)and my own water which I had in the fridge so kept everything cool as they were like little ice packs and saved so much money.
Just keep doing the homework and look at sites like Expedia and use those cashback and reward sites, I used one for my hotel and got £120 back as a cash reward and I did this just 8 weeks out, so you have plenty of time to plan. Good luck!

 

[kkmcan]

I know you didn't want to cut your trip short but what we usually do if we only have a weekend and want to get as much time as possible is to leave on earliest flight available (6am)and head home on latest flight on checkout day (10pm or redeye) so we can tack on 2 whole days without the extra hotel night on the last day.

 

[christineann]

You can usually find a hotel at DTD for less than the values, and you won't need a car. Their bus transportation to the parks is very reliable. Maybe another wedding guest can pick you up and take you to the wedding. We aren't big breakfast eaters, so we just have coffee/hot tea and granola bars in the room when we are getting ready to go to the parks.

 

[HM]

OP, are you reading? Are any of these replies helping you make some decisions?

 

[erinmarie2224]

Orbitz has 15% off hotels with promo code Outtahere that you can use ontop of Disney's RO but could also be used for off site hotels.

ASM was around $560 for the week using this discount.

If you buy thru ebates you likely won't save anymore but you might get a small cash % back.

 

[ddm26358]

OP, are you reading? Are any of these replies helping you make some decisions?

I am reading, thanks everyone, I'm keeping up! It's just a little tough because I'm at work a lot. I'll check in tonight hopefully with more details, but my family has decided to step in. They're loaning me the money so I can do the whole trip. I'm still looking to keep things on the cheap side so I don't have to borrow much, but they know how much this friend means to me. I might have a roommate too, I should know tonight!

Thanks everyone,
Lisa

 

[Lewisc]

You can check the DTD hotels. DME is free if you stay at a WDW resort. Mears will charge $36 R/T for shared shuttle service to other hotels. Make sure you include the resort fee in the cost of the room. Check travelzoo. They currently have the B hotel in DTD available for $99 (resort fee and parking fee are waived) My guess is you'll wind up saving less then $50 total compared with the cost of a Disney value. Small savings for a better hotel but not as convenient.

See if the wedding party has a block of rooms. Do you have very close friends going? Maybe a family would like the opportunity to have a room for the parents and let you share (and split the cost) of a room for the kids.

Forget about free dining.

 

[justlook3]

That's so great that your family is helping OP! I hope you can find some tips to keep everything down.

 

[DisneyEater]

Here are some food suggestions for buying food when there. You could probably keep food costs under $25 a day.

MK
Sleepy Hollow Waffle Sandwich - $7.19, super filling and delish
Gaston's Tavern Cinnamon Roll - $3.99, huge
Casey's Corner Corn Dog Nuggets - $4.99


DHS
Fairfax Fare Fairfax Salad - $7.99
Writer's Stop Carrot Cake Cookie - $3.95
Herbie's Drive-In has a $4.29 corn dog and $5.99 nachos
Brown Derby's famous Cobb salad - $9.00
Anaheim Produce has cheap fruit, veggies, and trail mix

AK
Yak and Yeti local foods you can get fried rice and an eggroll from the sides for $6.48
Mr. Kamal's wings - $7.59
Pizzafari Bread sticks - $4.99
Harambe Fruit Market fruit and cheese - $5.49

Epcot
So many I can't list them all, but here are some favorites
Joy of Tea Stand Lucky Combo - $9.98, good assortment
Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie has a ton of stuff for under $5 including a ham and cheese croissant.
Kringla Bakeri og Kafe Vege Torte - $5.99
Lotus Blossom Café Pot Stickers - $4.99 or Sesame Chicken Salad $6.99
Sommerfest Nudel Gratin - $3.49 or a dog or brat for $6.99
Yorkshire County Fish Shop Fish & Chips - $8.99
Split some pizza with friends at Via Napoli


Also check out sides at various CS restaurants for soup/chili, usually around $5. A soft pretzel can also be quick, cheap and filling. Here in Philly, it is always an acceptable meal substitute.

If I have time, I will come back and throw some DTD and Resort deals out there as well.

Also, if your birthday is the month you are going, you can get a few freebies.

 

[w84no1]

I just put in your dates and use the promo code HOTEL10 on orbitz, ALL Star Music standard room is $505.57.

$505.57 Hotel
$309.99 Tix
____________
$815.56

It might be doable.

 

[Mama Steph]

I just purchased tickets through USSSA.com and it was a huge savings. Not sure if they have your dates yet but worth checking out.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[vleeth]

You may also want to consider getting 1 day less on your ticket and using that day to sleep in, & relax. We like to have an off day on any disney trip, but I would imagine you'd need it even more with the wedding.