I think I may be clinically insane... offsite help please

[pigletto]

O.k. offsite lovers... here's the deal. I am all set for free dining in September at CSR. 10 days, park hoppers, flights... all is paid for the four of us for our first time as a family to Disney (I went many times as a kid..dd has been with relatives).

Now for the insane part
The trip is in 3 months and I am already planning the next one
For a few reasons... one being it will give me lots of time to save. Two being I will be less depressed leaving vacation one if I can look forward to vacation two the next year. Do people do that? Is their a name for us?

Anyway.. here's where you come in. I can convince DH of another trip to Florida a year later if it costs substantially less.
I like the sounds of an offsite trip... visit some other parks like Universal, get a vacation home and cook in alot.. drive down.. maybe have dd bring a friend.
So.. is it possible to do 10 days (maybe 3 at disney, 2 at Universal) driving (the trip down and back in a car would be about 650) for less than the 3700 that this trip has cost?? (alot of it was a gift which was a wonderful surprise)
Because thats the only way I will do it.
Also do vacation homes rent a year in advance?
Tell me it can be done Any tips are appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[asmit4]

How old are your kids? It will help budget Also what month would you like to go?

 

[pigletto]

My kids are 4 and 11 currently.
I am thinking October 2009 probably.

 

[asmit4]

216*3 for 3 day base tickets at DW.
182*1 for 3 day base tickets for DW for 4yo.
89*4 for 6 days entrance unlimited to universal parks.
Tickets total = roughly 1186

Cost of driving = 650

House:Just as an example of what you can find.
http://www.windsorhills5starvilla.com/index.iml/rates

105/night for 10 nights plus tax- roughly 1186


Total 3022.
***You can buy groceries and cook lots of meals at home, hang at your own pool for a few days...my #s might be slightly off as my calculator on my computer stinks- but overall, I think you can do it for under 3700 for 10 nights. I also think there are cheaper places, like condos (you don't need a 5 bedroom villa).

 

[pigletto]

Thank you so much!
I think I will start looking for a property to rent now and pay it off way ahead of time so that we have a year to save towards tickets and gas e.t.c.
Dh only gets worried about big payments at once ... but stashing away over time is fine. It's also great incentive for skipping meals out and fast food
And I have no aversion to a condo.. it would be just fine for the four of us.
Thank you for your help

 

[Wendaeh]

In terms of park passes -- do you have an annual pass for this upcoming trip? If you plan your 2nd trip within the next year you can minimize park passes for Disney....

Wendy

 

[dougsmom98]

Yes, I think you can definitely do it. There are many homes out there to rent at reasonable prices. Check out www.vrbo.com. That is where I like to research for homes. Kissimmee rentals will be the closest to the parks, but don't be afraid to stay further out in Davenport. It takes 10 minutes longer to get to the parks, but you can get some less expensive homes in that area. We have stayed in Davenport and paid between $925-$1300 for six bedroom homes. That includes pool heat and taxes.
Good luck!

 

[FayeW]

216*3 for 3 day base tickets at DW.
182*1 for 3 day base tickets for DW for 4yo.
89*4 for 6 days entrance unlimited to universal parks.
Tickets total = roughly 1186

Cost of driving = 650

House:Just as an example of what you can find.
http://www.windsorhills5starvilla.com/index.iml/rates

105/night for 10 nights plus tax- roughly 1186


Total 3022.
***You can buy groceries and cook lots of meals at home, hang at your own pool for a few days...my #s might be slightly off as my calculator on my computer stinks- but overall, I think you can do it for under 3700 for 10 nights. I also think there are cheaper places, like condos (you don't need a 5 bedroom villa).

I have an interesting idea about how you can save money on the above quote...but you might not like it!

You could budget the 10 day park hoppers you have as part of the package for your current trip and use only 7 days. You would have 3 days left, and you could add the "non-expiry" feature to your tickets (I think it is about $100 per ticket). If you upgrade to add the "Plus" features as well, that should cost about $45. per ticket, and that would give you some other options (water parks, disney quest, etc) for the 3 days that you would have used park admission for. That total would come to $145 per ticket (I think) so that would give you 3 days park admission with hoppers and plus features for your next trip. I don't know how much additional it costs to add non expiry and plus to a child's ticket, but you will save about $240 off the quote that asmit4 gave you.

We are renting a condo at Windsor Hills this year. It is 3 bdrm, and the total is $762 for 9 nights. There are lots of 2 and 3 bdrm condos for $79-$89 per night, so you could save another couple of hundred dollars there.

I think you could do this trip for about $2500-$2800.

 

[disneynovic]

We are staying at this vacation home http://www.vrbo.com/4793. We are going in Nov. and it will cost $740 including pool heating. There will be 7 of us, and I figure we can get by on this vacation for $3100. I am using airmiles and aeroplan for free hotel on the way down and back home, and one free day for all of us at Universal. I always include a higher daily amount for food, so that if we want a special dinner, we don't have to worry about money.

 

[dzorn]

I would consider adding water parks and no expiration to your tickets for this up comming trip and saving a few days for the next trip. We are still using WP options from this for the last three trips. If you plan to come back in less than a year you may want to consider upgrading to an AP.

Denise in MI