I'm stressed out and really need some encouragement, please

[jgates]

As an afterthought. WM is quite a drive if you take 192. Get a city map or local area map & use the roads that come out of DTD hotel plaza drive or between MGM & DTD. They will come in about 1 mile west of WM. Saves a ton of time.

Or go to the ?Publix that is on the I drive South side of the outlet mall I was giving you directions too. There is a brand new grocery store there.

 

[undertheradar]

Several ideas here

1) Your driving down, so bringing snack items and juice bags, soda, etc. will save a bundle

2) Go to the major hotel brand web sites and get directions from DTD to the outlets. All you will need is the outlet address. Get directions back to the DTD hotels, as the signage around WDW can be tricky.

3) Eating a meal away from WDW will save you money, as almost every major eatery has a location nearby.

 

[SeaWitch]

Hallie

I think everyone else has pretty much covered all the things I was thinking of.. but just wanted to say Have a WONDERFUL trip... what an amazing thing you are doing for your family. And to keep it a secret from them all - WOW! Thank goodness for these boards or you might have burst!

Don't stress out... the time to spring the surprise is fast approaching. And these will be memories that will last you a lifetime! ENJOY!

 

[hallie]

jgates- I actually know the way your talking about, thanks for reminding me about it!

familyoffive- Thank you for the tips!! W love Steak-n-Shake right outside Downtown Disney, it's yummy and saves a lot of money! I plan on eating there the first day, then we'll be checking into our Disney hotel and will be using the Connections vouchers I bought. I'm going to wal-mart today to buy a cooler for the car!

SeaWitch- Oh, I couldn't have done this without the boards!! I'm getting so excited, I can't stand the suspense! When I was little my Dad surprised me with a trip and I've never forgotten it, that's what inspired me to do this. Thank you for your post!!!

 

[sm4987]

Don't be stressed. We drove to Florida from Texas and filled up three times going and three times coming back. We had an ice chest for the kids. We also took things like cereal bars, honeybuns, the kids favorite cookies, bottled water, and juices with us. This way the kids could eat while they were on the road, and we could save some money on breakfast when we got there. It can be done. I think we spend 650 and we stayed 10 nights. You can do it. Just think about the magical time you will have and don't worry too much about the money. Constant worrying will take away from your vacation.

 

[lovingthemouse]

Just wanted to say that i am so impressed with your organization for this surprise trip. Hope that you all have a most wonderful time. We did this many yrs ago when the girls were little - told them the day before we left, i think we could have waited til that day but i was the one who was more excited and blew it!!! It was a magical trip too. Have fun.

 

[Snow Brite]

HAVE FUN! What you eat will be the last thing yours kids are thinking about when they are at WDW!

I though of a couple tips I haven't seen posted. Most of the quick food options at WDW have "meals", in particular the kids meals. These can actually be bought as just an entree and is a lot cheaper. So instead of a PB&J meal, with chips and soda you can get just the PB&J and use the juice box you brought with you. Another "el cheapo" trick is to split sodas. My depression-era Grandma taught me this. Buy one large soda, no ice. Then ask for two small cups with just ice. Split the soda between the two cups of ice when you get to the table and voila! you have two small sodas for the price of one large.

I think however that you will do fine with the budget you have. You should take advantage of driving down by taking food with you. You probably have things in your cupboard that you could take without having to buy anything. Instant oatmeal, cereal (take some and put it in a ziploc to save space), chips, crackers, peanuts, raisins, leftover Halloween candy, granola bars, peanut butter, jam, coffee/sugar/creamer, juice, stuff you put in kids lunches for school, etc. Also throw in any tylenol, imodium type stuff that you already have as that is REALLY expensie to buy on vacation! Ziploc bags, napkins, paper towels, plastic cups. I did better at my own grocery store with sales and coupons (and we have the highest grocery prices in the US) than at the SuperWalmart. And if it is already at your house, all the better as you won't need any of your budget for it.

I LOVE surprise trips! They are the best as no one has any expectations. It all seems good as they were excpecting just a regular old week and now they are at WDW!

Have a BLAST! You are an awesome mom to do this and I have NO DOUBT your kids will remember this as well as you remember your surprise trip!


Jennifer

 

[sm4987]

Another tip stemming from Snow Brite's message is to buy the refillable mug. Buy one or two depending on your families needs. It's great to have when you are thirsty at the resorts just to have drinks for free and you can take them in the parks to fill up with water. My husband puts all his drinks in without ice. If you do this, once you get to the parks, if the drink is warm or hot, go to a counter and ask for ice, and then you still have a drink that you got for free.

 

[hallie]

sm4987- Thank you so much for the tips!! It gives me great hope that you managed on 650.00, thanks so much for sharing. We'll definitely have to buy the refillable mug when we get there, great tip about the ice.

lovingthemouse-Thank you so much! I think I'm going to burst from the excitement! I'm even having trouble getting to sleep-lol!

Jennifer- thank you so much for taking the time to post all that!!! You gave me a ton of great tips, that I'm definitely going to use. I'm going to pack a cooler full of stuff and then also get some cans of soda for the room too. I didn't even think about bringing PB&J, what a great idea! Thanks again!!!

Thank you again to everyone that helped me out in this thread, you guys are the best!!!!!

 

[SC Minnie]

We have had a fridge in the room for both of our trips to the world so we usually bring cereal with us and buy some milk when we get down there. If your room doesn't have a fridge use the cooler. We bring all of our snacks from home. DD has some spending $ of her own and if she wants something extra in the park in comes from that. Needless to say she doesn't want anything THAT bad . We have a fairly big fanny pack with two water bottle holders. We fill the pack up with snacks for that day and drink water all day. We always pack a lunch for the drive down and either eat in the car or stop at a rest stop. That saves over $20 right there. The only real souvies we buy are from the outlets. We try to hit them BEFORE we check in to the hotel. If DD already has something she is less whiney about wanting things.

Have fun. BTW when are telling your family??? Are you getting them up in the morning with the car already packed and saying we're going to WDW!!!!!!

 

[hallie]

Have fun. BTW when are telling your family??? Are you getting them up in the morning with the car already packed and saying we're going to WDW!!!!!!

They think that we're going to my parents house for the week-hehehe. I'm not going to tell them until we get in the car, I'll be sure to post when we get back and tell you how it went. I'm so excited!!!

Thanks for the tips!!!!!

 

[simonmunro]

What a great time to plan a trip! We went one year at Thanksgiving 1989 I think and there were eleven of us. It was great fun. I didn't read page 3 so this may have been addressed already but tell more about your voucher plan of action? Which kinds do you have and do you plan to share with hubby? How many do you plan to use a day, etc. If you've each got your own you could maybe share with your children? I don't know how you come into Orlando but on our way in there's a Sam's club right near that big Welcome Center. We had a good stretch, shopped for snacks and then we were only about 60 miles away! Somebody here will surely know exactly where this is I'm talking about. Did you already post where you're staying? That might give someone else here a brainstorm about saving ideas but it sounds like you have plenty of money to me. Did you say 650.00 for 6 days? (Probobly only 600.00 now if you're like me and forgot to write down a bill then rememberit). I make up detailed lists and make myself sick only to go down there and I really don't spend much we're so busy in the parks. So happy for you going so soon!

 

[hallie]

simonmunro- Thanks for your post! I bought all Quick and casual vouchers, 4 for each day. I figured we'll eat breakfast in the room. 2 days we're going to character breakfasts and I bought vouchers for those too. Those days I scheduled our breakfasts late so that way we can skip lunch to save $$. Now with the Q&C vouchers do you think we'll be able to get enough food for the 4 of us? 2 adults and 2 kids. Our youngest doesn't eat much at all, so I was planning on purchasing 1 kids meal for them to split for each meal, we did that the last trip and it worked out well. Plus I probably won't eat all my fod so they could always have some of that too. Do you think that will work? The only meals we're eating without vouchers are dinner at Boatwrights, probably just a bunch of appetizers and Thanksgiving dinner in Epcot.

I've actually managed NOT to spend any of the money I saved, I have no clue how I've done this-lol!

Thanks again for your post!!

 

[simonmunro]

Others can offer advice here but I think each adult could share with a child and be very full! I would look on deb's menu's at each place I wanted to go and "imagine" I was about to order and share. That would give you an idea if it would be enough. You'll be so busy and you're talking about breakfast sometimes and then two other meals, I think you'll have plenty. If you have left over towards the end you can REALLY pig-out. OR, like I did tuck the remaining vouchers away and plan a "girls only" vacation with cousins and aunts!!!

 

[hallie]

Thanks simonmunro!!!

 

[PinMan]

surprise trips are awsum, we woke our kids (13 & 12 ) up monday morning at 4 am and told them we were going to disney,boy were they surprised, i don't think they will ever forget that surprise . we had a great time and were on a budget too.we ended up buying into dvc too when we returned home , old key west last year, this year wl the week before christmas we can't wait.....we still have to purchase tickets and rent a car, looking for deals on them.