Last Minute Disney Trips On A Dime

[dakotix]

We just got back a couple of weeks ago and i must say I have major Disney withdrawal! I think it stems from the fact that I was sick while we were there and on top of that, we were there during that super cold week. We still had a blast but things obviously weren't as magical as I had hoped. So I want a do over!

But i don't want it to be a week-long do-over. That would be too much as far as money and you know what they say as far as too much of a good thing.

I am thinking more of a three day last minute trip. Is there such a thing?

 

[Marionnette]

We just got back a couple of weeks ago and i must say I have major Disney withdrawal! I think it stems from the fact that I was sick while we were there and on top of that, we were there during that super cold week. We still had a blast but things obviously weren't as magical as I had hoped. So I want a do over!

But i don't want it to be a week-long do-over. That would be too much as far as money and you know what they say as far as too much of a good thing.

I am thinking more of a three day last minute trip. Is there such a thing?

People do 3-day trips all of the time. It's not something I would do because my first and last days are "traveling" days and that means only one full day in the parks if I were to go for 3 days.

You also miss a lot when you choose to take a brief trip. Evening parades and night-time shows are less frequent in the winter and may not occur on the nights that you are there. You often have to skip a park, a favorite restaurant or an activity that you would otherwise enjoy on a longer trip.

And then there are the travel costs, which remain the same whether you go for 3 days or 30. Ticket costs are front-loaded so that the first 3 days are the most expensive. Those two factors combined make a 3-day trip cost much more than half of a 7-day trip.

If none of those negatives is a factor for you, then go for it. A little Disney is better than no Disney at all. If you can afford it then do it.

 

[danygirl]

I have been thinking of a short trip too. I think I would need a very early am flight on the day in and a late one on the way out. On site stay so magical express to/from airport.
Maybe only one day park ticket for the Middle day and spend the other days at the pool or resort hopping play min golf shop see the fireworks from the beach first night and maybe the electric water parade. Do a character meal at a resort to get the character magic.....

Or else buy a no expire ticket and do parks

 

[hsmamato2]

usually last minute and discount are in opposition to each other...as are 'short' trips- You can look, but it's much harder to get those things together,esp.as tix in park get cheaper per day with longer stays. YOu could always watch for a cheap airfare, grab a cheap room,and visit just one park...

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Depending on where you are traveling from a short trip on a dime will cost you a dollar if you get my drift.
By the time you spend the time and money to travel there, spend about 1 whole day at WDW then turn around and leave the next day, you will have invested a small fortune.

Its better to save your $$ and invest in a longer vacation where you can actually get your money's worth.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

OP, do you live close enough to get there easily/cheaply?

If transportation costs are low, then I think a 3 day trip is very doable. But if you are coming from a long way and have to spend a good deal of time and money traveling, I would wait and take a longer trip.

 

[Belle612]

I typically do a 3 day trip at least once a year in between my longer trips. The last one I did was this past October, and I stayed at the Doubletree Suites in DTD to save money, and we loved it there. We also got a great deal on a rental car, so we saved a ton of time not having to deal with ME or Disney busses. I would HIGHLY recommend renting a car for a short trip if you can find a good deal.

We flew in to MCO very late Thursday eve, and departed Sun eve and had 3 almost full days in the parks. Since we had a car, we left for the airport on Sunday right from Epcot - our flight departed at 7:30PM, and we left the park at 5PM - we were at our gate by 6PM, no joke. It was amazing. If we had been doing ME, we would have had to leave Epcot probably around 3:30 or so. Our flight to MCO is about 2.5 hours, sometimes a little less, and we live 10 minutes from our local airport, so a short long weekend trip for us is very doable. If you also have a short flight, I would definitely recommend it. We had an amazing time!

 

[Bree]

Last minute trips can get expensive. Discounts may be sold out so you could be paying rack rate for a room on property. If you don't live within a close driving distance there are travel costs each way which will be the same whether you are there for 2 days or 10 days.

To save money though.....

- buy disney gift cards at target with your redcard
- eat breakfast in your room
- order kid meals or share adult meals from counter service
- no souvenirs
- no table service meals

 

[HHMcG]

I am currently planning a 'last minute budget Disney trip'. By last minute I mean booked 4 months out. And budget is subjective. But our planned trip is about 60% the cost of our last trip. I choose cheapest season, shorter stay, less expensive accommodation, no park hopper and no dining plan (we will eat in room more and counter service more). I also utilized alot of budget tips I found here.

Here is a sample price for you:
I assumed 4 nights with 3 day tickets for 2 adults
A quick search on Orbitz for the end of Feb - got a room at POP for $517
3 day park hoppers for $654
Approx dining coast (4 days of counter service) $350
Transportation ????

Only you can decide if that is budget for you.

I'll also add that I am feeling much less stressed with this last minute trip. It is a bonus trip, so I don't feel the need to do everything and plan everything out.

 

[worm761]

The only time I have ever done a last minute trip I had an AP. I found a great room discount about a month out. Ran some numbers and figured out I could do a long weekend at Disney for $500 for the three of us not including travel. We live 8 hours away and it costs $200 in gas round trip. So $700 for three Disney adults (me, DH, DS) for 4 nights/3 days. Not sure you can get discounts like that anymore. But we had a blast!

How far out are you wanting to book a trip? Last minute sort of means different things to different people. As does budget. What are you willing to give up to make it happen? Do you eat out a lot a home? Are you willing to stop those luxuries to reallocate the money? Are you willing to eat breakfast in the room? What about lunch? Are you willing to pack it instead of eating in restaurants?

Is a last minute trip in the budget? Or maybe making a Disney inspired dinner/dessert and watching YouTube videos and planning your next trip a better idea? Is there a way you can get a bit of a Disney fix at home? I will get mine in a few weeks. I get to go to a Disney Store. It is an almost 3 hour drive so we don't do it often but will be in the area for something else so we will stop by.

 

[HM]

All of our recent trip have been 3-5 days. We can no longer spend the amount of money at WDW that a week's trip entails. We can do everything we want in the shorter time period, no problem. We live 9 1/2 hours away, drive down and then home each in a day. We can usually do a park the night we get there and spend the morning in a park the day we leave. We do three full days in between (so four nights). Hoppers are key unless you skip a park.

 

[Marionnette]

All of our recent trip have been 3-5 days. We can no longer spend the amount of money at WDW that a week's trip entails. We can do everything we want in the shorter time period, no problem. We live 9 1/2 hours away, drive down and then home each in a day. We can usually do a park the night we get there and spend the morning in a park the day we leave. We do three full days in between (so four nights). Hoppers are key unless you skip a park.

I think that the ability to come and go on your own timetable is the key to making a short trip work. For someone like me, who is flying and using DME, it is a much less appealing. Even an early-morning flight from Philly won't get me into my resort much before noon on arrival day. And if I catch the last flight out of MCO for Philly, I need to be back at my resort around 3 PM for a 6 PM flight. Sometimes, I get lucky and can stay as late as 6 PM. but that "gotta make it back to the resort in time for DME" really puts a damper on enjoying the last day. I did a 3-night "budget" trip last spring and, while I enjoyed my time there, it felt hurried.

 

[Disney845]

we were there during that super cold week.

I live in Central Florida, you will have to tell me when this super cold week was because I must have missed it!

You didn't really provide enough information to say if this is a good idea for you or not.

How close do you live? Do you have to fly or drive? If you fly do you need to rent a car, or pay for parking at your home airport? If you drive how long will it take? What are your estimated gas costs? Do you need new tires, an alignment, etc that will make getting your car ready a costly endeavor? Do you already have park tickets left from your last trip? Do you want to stay on-site or off? Do you need to eat 3 table service meals a day or can you do counter service?

We live less than 1.5 hrs drive from WDW and usually have seasonal APs, so it is very common for us to go for long weekends. While we enjoy staying on-site, I often book last minute deals on websites like Hotwire or Bookit for off-site hotels. I would say the last 20+ times we have been to WDW was for long weekends only, which is what we like at this point because it saves our vacation time (SO has weeks, but I have a hard time getting away from work) for other destinations.

 

[dakotix]

I typically do a 3 day trip at least once a year in between my longer trips. The last one I did was this past October, and I stayed at the Doubletree Suites in DTD to save money, and we loved it there. We also got a great deal on a rental car, so we saved a ton of time not having to deal with ME or Disney busses. I would HIGHLY recommend renting a car for a short trip if you can find a good deal.

We flew in to MCO very late Thursday eve, and departed Sun eve and had 3 almost full days in the parks. Since we had a car, we left for the airport on Sunday right from Epcot - our flight departed at 7:30PM, and we left the park at 5PM - we were at our gate by 6PM, no joke. It was amazing. If we had been doing ME, we would have had to leave Epcot probably around 3:30 or so. Our flight to MCO is about 2.5 hours, sometimes a little less, and we live 10 minutes from our local airport, so a short long weekend trip for us is very doable. If you also have a short flight, I would definitely recommend it. We had an amazing time!

The way you did it was sort of what I was thinking. We love staying onsite but it's just not practical on short trips. This would be more about getting a quick disney fix between trips. Get a one day park-hop and then spend the rest of our time doing the pool and/or DTD. We were just there for 10 days and can you believe we never got around to going to DTD? It was just too cold to enjoy that kind of thing. We're planning our first trip to Paris so we wont be getting back to the magic for at least 3 years maybe 4. Thanks for the tip on renting a car, that makes a lot of sense.