Last Minute Trip, Leaving Fri - HELP!

[my3princes]

My cousin called me today looking for help with a last minute vacation. They are driving to Florida for two weeks and leave on friday. I would like to give them great info on tickets, accomodations etc, but there is no time to have tickets shipped now. They will be staying with family for part of their trip, but would like to spend 3 to 4 days at disney and another couple at Sea World. I gave them the number for alamo, but we don't have one around here so they are renting a car from Enterprise for the trip. Alamo only offers discount tickets if you rent from them. Any suggestions as to 3 or 4 day park hopper (plus if possible) would be great. Also any discount codes for Disney resorts would be helpful. I have check allearsnet and mousesavers, but they are not AP holders, no AAA, no Disney Visa. I couldn't find any current codes that they could use. They are willing to stay offsite, but want a good hotel for the price. I do not have the last mousesavers newsletter so I'm not sure if anything there would have helped. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
THANKS

 

[zurgswife]

I do believe any codes for this coming week are already expired (meaning you had to book by a certain date).

depending on the days they want to be in Disney. I would 1)call CRO and see if they can find any available discounts. 2) use hotelkingdom.com and get something there. But seeing that this is a holiday week (both Easter and Passover) finding a hotel room might get tricky.


Good luck

 

[Mic]

Gee, are you and I related? MY cousin called me 2 weeks ago for Disney advice, and she was leaving in 2 HOURS!! I quickly e-mailed her driving directions and where to get gas, park tips, and a few food hints...I could have helped more with a little notice. For your cousin, I would suggest they spend the LAST part of their trip at Disney. There is currently a summer resort offer on the website for check-ins beginning April 18, and they can book and pay for this online before they leave. I would suggest they try to get the Alamo 3-day hopper and do the "will call" pick-up at a ticket window. Several people on the board were able to get these hoppers without renting from Alamo, so I would definitely try it. There really is not ime to have them shipped, so picking them up at WDW should work out. Finding a reasonably-priced hotel near Seaworld should not be too difficult, even the week of/after Easter. I-Drive has lots of lodging choices. If your cousin belongs to any chain clubs(like Hilton Honors or Marriott Rewards), I would suggest trying to find something at one of those hotels. For Seaworld tickets, I would suggest purchasing them online before they leave at the Seaworld Orlando website. I believe you can save 10% that way. If getting Disney hoppers through Alamo fail, I would definitely purchase the 4-day hoppers from the disney store before leaving for Florida...the gate price is higher. Anything they can book/buy before leaving would likely save money, and definitely save time. When I find out that someone I know is going to Disney World, I print off a copy of the park hours from the Disney site for the days they will be there, and give the kids some Disney Dollars to spend. Your cousin would probably find the park hours helpful in planning. Since they are planning to spend only a few days at Disney(and they are going at a very busy time), I would highly reccommend that someone put a little thought into a basic itinerary for each park. Otherwise, they may end up like friends of ours that had no plan, and came home early, vowing never to go to Orlando again.

 

[my3princes]

Thanks for your advice. I had already told her to give Alamo a try, and given her as much info as I could print yesterday. I gave her hours, gate prices, hotel rates, etc. She has really never done a family vacation and is admittedly disorganized. We went over park maps and must sees as well as child swap and fast pass. I gave her several items that we take into the parks daily as she is also travelling with small kids. Her dh has relatives that live an hour outside of orlando, I suggested having them research any ticket deals that they may be able to find there. I didn't hear from her today, but I know that she is feeling excited and overwhelmed. I'll be sure to call her on Thursday with any last minute advice that I can come up with.

 

[Mic]

I just received an e-mail from Travelzoo. Hotel Royal Plaza has discounted rooms beginning today(not after Easter), and the other Downtown Disney Hotels may be offering a similar discount for the same time-frame.

 

[Disney Debbie]

Originally posted by my3princes
They are willing to stay offsite, but want a good hotel for the price.
THANKS

Lord have mercy - did you want to slap them!!!


Ticketmania has an office that you can pick up your tickets in Orlando. I believe they are also offering some sort of bonus for doing that like a prepaid phone card or something. Have them check their web-site - they have always had the best prices I could find.

As suggested they can go ahead and buy on-line at Seaworld because you print your own ticket at home. Unless they have very young children that will slow them down, Seaworld can easily be done in one day IMO. But if they do really want 2 days, tell them to be sure and check if they're still offering the 2nd Day free - it seems like they always are. You just take your ticket to the window in the park before you leave to do that.

 

[bedogged]

Originally posted by my3princes
My cousin called me today looking for help with a last minute vacation. They are driving to Florida for two weeks and leave on friday. I would like to give them great info on tickets, accomodations etc, but there is no time to have tickets shipped now. They will be staying with family for part of their trip, but would like to spend 3 to 4 days at disney and another couple at Sea World.

For Sea World tickets: Join Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program. It is free and you print the card off the Internet. Takes about five minutes and gives you 20% off tickets purchased at the gate.

http://www.southwest.com/hotfares/rr_promotions.html#seaworld

 

[my3princes]

I just spoke to my cousin and gave her all the info I have. I think they are just going to go and hope for the best. My DH says that he can already see them coming back complaining about what an awful experience they had since the really did no prep. He can't understand why people think that you can do Disney with no prep. Oh well if they do I know that we did our best to prepare them and it is their own fault that their vacation didn't live up to expectations.
Thanks for your help