Looking for a cheap and quick trip

[Alex Dock]

I'm trying to plan a trip to Disney with my girlfriend and I. We want to see at least 3 out of the 4 parks. Has anyone done a Disney vacation under 2,000 and how much can you get? We wanted to go sometime in September but anytime through the year with the best deals will work as well!

Edit: Sorry, I should've been WAY more specific haha. But we wanted to fly out of Kansas City and stay on-site using their free transportation. We arent picky eaters either so we were thinking about just bringing our own money to eat unless the dining option is really worth it. We also don't want to stay to long due to having a daughter, so would it be smarter to stay for 2 full days (3 nights) and use the park hopper or stay for an additional day and skip out on a park? However much I can save will just be going towards our next trip with our daughter, too!

 

[Marionnette]

I'm trying to plan a trip to Disney with my girlfriend and I. We want to see at least 3 out of the 4 parks. Has anyone done a Disney vacation under 2,000 and how much can you get? We wanted to go sometime in September but anytime through the year with the best deals will work as well!

Does that $2K budget include transportation, or are you taking into account only room/tickets/food? How long would you stay? Are you willing to stay offsite?

At current prices, 2 3-day non-hopping MYW adult passes will cost you about $600. There aren't too many discounts out there for tickets with only a couple of days on them. Deduct the price of tickets from your budget and then see if you can work around it with the remaining funds.

I've done trips for 2 for less than that OOP but the costs were reduced considerably by credit card points and other rewards.

 

[Vernie822]

We generally try to squeeze in a "budget" trip each year. Not sure exactly where you're coming from, how you plan to get there, etc., but here are a few things we look for when trying to save money.

We like to stay onsite. I know you can save a lot staying off-site, but for us it's also just the two of us, so renting a car and paying parking prices is unnecessary for us. We let Disney do the driving. Magical Express picks you up at the airport and takes you to your resort free of charge. You can take the Disney buses for free as well.

We fly Southwest - round trip we usually spend $200-250 per person. Keep an eye out for their sales, they have them often. 2 bags checked for free for each person which is nice. Consider also looking at other airports within an hour or two driving distance. We live in Erie PA so we have Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all within 2 hours of us, so it gives us options when we are looking for flights.

We usually stay at Pop Century when we are trying to save money. The other Value Resorts at Disney include the All Stars (Music, Movies, Sports), and Art of Animation. Disney usually has some type of Room discount out, we generally snag the Annual Passholder rates but there is also usually a room only discount everyone can take advantage of. Keep an eye out for those here and on Disney's website under "Special Offers".

We went in September 2 years ago and we were able to get the "Free Dining" promotion. It was released in May and we traveled in September. Value resorts get the quick service plan for free each night of their stay, with a minimum ticket purchase requirement. Moderates and Deluxes get the regular dining plan for free also with ticket requirements. I don't really follow much Free Dining news but there are probably LOTS of threads on Disboards that will follow this promotion if they release it again this year. It is very popular and I spent a good hour or two on the phone to book it when it was released.

We bring stuff from home for breakfasts - bagels and peanut butter, you can pick up cream cheese in the resort food court for cheap, water bottles, granola bars, etc. This serves great as a quick breakfast.

 

[Vernie822]

So I just plugged in some dates in September. I threw in the 16-20th just for kicks. That's 4 nights.

I chose Pop Century because it was the first to pop up.

For a Standard Room on these dates, 3 day base ticket (no park hopper), the total was $1,160.08. 4 day ticket = $1,223.98.

If you add the regular dining plan of 1 sit down, 1 quick service, 1 snack per day + 1 refillable mug per person, at ~$60 per night of your stay, that's $480 for food. So if you add that to the 3 day total, that's $1,640. To the 4 day total, that's $1,703.98.

Certainly you can save more money once a room discount comes out (the prices up right now are "rack rates" since promotions have not yet been released for the fall). And you can save money by NOT doing the dining plan - just depends on what you're looking for. Dining plan is totally not necessary but I just added it to give you a ballpark idea. We did a 4 day trip last summer, stayed at Pop, paid cash (well, we used Disney gift cards) for our food, and probably spent less than $1200 (keeping in mind we didn't buy tickets because we have Annual Passes).

 

[Alex Dock]

Does that $2K budget include transportation, or are you taking into account only room/tickets/food? How long would you stay?

I did include transportation which would be airline tickets and staying onsite. I figured since its only two people it would be a bit much to rent a car for only 3 or 4 days. But thank you for such a quick reply!

 

[Marionnette]

I did include transportation which would be airline tickets and staying onsite. I figured since its only two people it would be a bit much to rent a car for only 3 or 4 days. But thank you for such a quick reply!

There's currently a Summer Meal Offer available. I checked rates and used Aug. 12-15 for my search. A standard room at ASMu with 3-day base tickets for 2 adults would cost $1072. That would leave you with over $900 for airfare and additional food, plus souvenirs.

The details:

Book Through
February 29, 2016

Valid Travel Dates
For arrivals most nights May 29 through June 30, 2016 and July 5 through August 13, 2016

Important Details

• The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
• Advance reservations required.
• Minimum 3-night length of stay is required.
• Minimum 2-day Magic Your Way base ticket purchase is required.
• Includes complimentary Disney Quick-Service Meal for each Guest ages 3 or older per room, per night of your stay at a Disney Value Resort hotel.

Offer Restrictions

• Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
• Offer excludes campsites and Disney’s Art of Animation – The Little Mermaid Standard Rooms.
• Excludes alcoholic beverages and gratuities.
• Children ages 3 to 9 must choose from the children’s menu, if available.

 

[JWigs]

Sept is a cheap time to fly into MCO and also for rooms. Even under DVC there are rooms open and available for the holiday weekend. $2K is totally doable but like others said you need to decide if that's with air, are you staying on site or off and meals.

 

[rer1972]

Big thing is where you are flying from. Cheapest way to go is using Allegiant flying into Sanford. Just a quick check flying out of Bloomington, IL (as an example) on a Sunday returning on a Thursday (four nights three full days), adding a room at a 2-3.5 star hotel 6 miles away (Kissimmee, FL), and adding an Alamo economy rental comes to $905 total for two adults (including tax). Three day park tickets will run you around $590 (including tax). That leaves you around $500 for gas/transportation (plenty for an economy), and food (pizza and burgers ).

Seriously, did this many times when I was single and young.

 

[Alex Dock]

Does that $2K budget include transportation, or are you taking into account only room/tickets/food? How long would you stay?

I did include transportation which would be airline tickets and staying onsite. I figured since its only two people it would be a bit much to rent a car for only 3 or 4 days. But thank you for such a quick reply!

We generally try to squeeze in a "budget" trip each year. Not sure exactly where you're coming from, how you plan to get there, etc., but here are a few things we look for when trying to save money.

We like to stay onsite. I know you can save a lot staying off-site, but for us it's also just the two of us, so renting a car and paying parking prices is unnecessary for us. We let Disney do the driving. Magical Express picks you up at the airport and takes you to your resort free of charge. You can take the Disney buses for free as well.

We fly Southwest - round trip we usually spend $200-250 per person. Keep an eye out for their sales, they have them often. 2 bags checked for free for each person which is nice. Consider also looking at other airports within an hour or two driving distance. We live in Erie PA so we have Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all within 2 hours of us, so it gives us options when we are looking for flights.

We usually stay at Pop Century when we are trying to save money. The other Value Resorts at Disney include the All Stars (Music, Movies, Sports), and Art of Animation. Disney usually has some type of Room discount out, we generally snag the Annual Passholder rates but there is also usually a room only discount everyone can take advantage of. Keep an eye out for those here and on Disney's website under "Special Offers".

We went in September 2 years ago and we were able to get the "Free Dining" promotion. It was released in May and we traveled in September. Value resorts get the quick service plan for free each night of their stay, with a minimum ticket purchase requirement. Moderates and Deluxes get the regular dining plan for free also with ticket requirements. I don't really follow much Free Dining news but there are probably LOTS of threads on Disboards that will follow this promotion if they release it again this year. It is very popular and I spent a good hour or two on the phone to book it when it was released.

We bring stuff from home for breakfasts - bagels and peanut butter, you can pick up cream cheese in the resort food court for cheap, water bottles, granola bars, etc. This serves great as a quick breakfast.

The part about traveling Southwest (which has been the only airline I've really been on and love) would you still get the same benefits if you were to book the airline tickets with the package? I'm a little confused with that

 

[Adam6952]

Disney's website does not allow you to book travel. however, after you do book travel and have your flight information, you can input that data onto their website and it will help you with organizing our itinerary on their website which is completely optional. My girlfriend and I frequent Disney about twice a year an of course we try to do it in a cost effective way based around what we like to do. So far some of the best tips I can give you are as follows.

Try to find cheap flights around the times your able to go. Remember the more flexible you are about going the less you'll pay for flights. Generally flying out in the middle of the week is cheaper, make sure to check the flexible dates option on south west's website. In addition to that, Often South West will offer 50,000 flight points for getting their Visa. This is huge, it's about $650 in flight points and we were able to get there back from Buffalo for about 29k points.

Allegaint charges an arm and a leg for luggage, steer clear, they do not fly into Orlando and you can't use the magical express.

Try to utilizing their promotions/special offers for cheaper rooms. It's generally an automatic thing when your researching rooms during your cheap flight times. You'll see the discounted pricing.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

Staying on site eliminates the need for any vehicle rental because of the magical express to and from MCO and also Disney busing will take you to and from any Disney location.

If it's just two of you, don't bother with the meal plan unless your plan on not eating appetizers, having adult beverages, and want a bunch of deserts. Generally we know at this point where and what we like to eat so we have figured out the the meal plan is actually a little more expensive for us based on what we like to do! Generally we will Snack all day and have a sit down dinner. No need for Huge breakfasts for quick service meals that fill you up before a late or early dinner. Do so research and check out how much the dining plan is for you and if it viable based on what your going to eat. Remember the dining plan is only good for the number of nights your staying. If your stretching out your last day, your food wont be covered on your last day unless you have some leftover unused credits.

Mail yourself food don't pay for a 5th bag if you want to save on flight and food costs. Once you know where your staying, mail yourself something ahead of time and you can pick it up at the lobby of your resort.

Don't use park hoppers. Do a park a day because your fast pass+ attraction reservations are only good for one park per day. You cannot book across parks in advance in the same day.

Don't try to experience everything in one trip it's not going to happen. have an idea about what you want to see during this trip. Riding Rides, Seeing Parades, Trying Cuisine, Seeing Fireworks, Visiting Resorts. Found out what you want to do it's all exciting!

 

[hsmamato2]

easily.... lots of deals out of KC airport, you should be able to keep that 500 or under for 2-stay onsite at a value resort(free transport) buy3-4 day base tix- Eat oop, no plans(unless there's a 'free' offer that makes the discount bigger than buying separately) and eat counter service only- you can share,etc buy snacks.

 

[Vernie822]

The part about traveling Southwest (which has been the only airline I've really been on and love) would you still get the same benefits if you were to book the airline tickets with the package? I'm a little confused with that

We booked our air through Disney once. It was the first trip we took and neither of us were familiar with flying so we just figured, let Disney do it. We probably paid a little extra, I'm not really sure, the prices seemed comparable to what we found online. There is really no reason to have Disney book your airfare. I like booking it myself, especially because with Southwest you can watch it and see if the price goes down, if it does, you can rebook your flight and they'll refund you the difference in the form of a credit. Plus like a previous poster mentioned, we have the SW credit card and we like to earn points for free flights. You can also call and add the Magical Express stuff or you can do it yourself online - so again no real advantage to having Disney do it.

 

[HHMcG]

2k for 2 - easy. You just need to be flexible with dates. I ran a quick sample (I love pricing out Disney trips)
April 5-9
Frontier Air has a sale today. Those dates were $100 each roundtrip. They have lots of sales. Spirit also flies out of KC and they have lots of sales too. But even non-sale averages around $200. Need to add another $30 or so on for a checked bag. = $230 (People will bash Spirit or Frontier, I have no problem with them if you go in informed.)
4 nights at an All Star booked thru Orbitz with the 15% off code = $467
3 day park tickets thru park savers . com (or whichever discount retailer has the best deal) = $580
Which leaves $700+ for meals and souveigners or upgrading tickets to park hoppers, ect.

My last 'budget trip' was for my family of 5 and my goal was to keep it under 3k (not including food). Managed to do that. So 2 under 2k isn't even really budget.

 

[megsters]

Stalk the Southwest page for MCI-MCO deals when they post September flights! I find it super useful to plug in potential dates, and then look at the calendar that gives you the lowest prices by the month. We live in Omaha, but I much prefer to fly out of Kansas City. Even after I purchased our flights at a price I was comfortable with, they dropped a bit more. I'm pretty excited I was able to score $88pp nonstop down to Orlando, and $99pp nonstop back to Kansas City for our next trip.

I love Southwest and the flexibility that comes with it. Plus, I was able to get Southwest flights for less than Spirit and Frontier once you add in the a la carte charges that you would need.

Long story short, I think between checking the Southwest flights, and checking on kayak and google flights for the other carriers, you'll totally be able to find something that will work for you.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Budget tip....pay out of pocket for food, don't buy the dining plan!

 

[hsmamato2]

2k for 2 - easy. You just need to be flexible with dates. I ran a quick sample (I love pricing out Disney trips)
April 5-9
Frontier Air has a sale today. Those dates were $100 each roundtrip. They have lots of sales. Spirit also flies out of KC and they have lots of sales too. But even non-sale averages around $200. Need to add another $30 or so on for a checked bag. = $230 (People will bash Spirit or Frontier, I have no problem with them if you go in informed.)
4 nights at an All Star booked thru Orbitz with the 15% off code = $467
3 day park tickets thru park savers . com (or whichever discount retailer has the best deal) = $580
Which leaves $700+ for meals and souveigners or upgrading tickets to park hoppers, ect.

My last 'budget trip' was for my family of 5 and my goal was to keep it under 3k (not including food). Managed to do that. So 2 under 2k isn't even really budget.

....Nice.... even better.... it's a short trip,just carry a duffel bag with you and save the checked bag fee!

 

[Vernie822]

Stalk the Southwest page for MCI-MCO deals when they post September flights! I find it super useful to plug in potential dates, and then look at the calendar that gives you the lowest prices by the month. We live in Omaha, but I much prefer to fly out of Kansas City. Even after I purchased our flights at a price I was comfortable with, they dropped a bit more. I'm pretty excited I was able to score $88pp nonstop down to Orlando, and $99pp nonstop back to Kansas City for our next trip.

I love Southwest and the flexibility that comes with it. Plus, I was able to get Southwest flights for less than Spirit and Frontier once you add in the a la carte charges that you would need.

Long story short, I think between checking the Southwest flights, and checking on kayak and google flights for the other carriers, you'll totally be able to find something that will work for you.

This.

If you have flexible dates, this makes it so easy to save money. We generally have pretty flexible dates so we'll look at the calendar for the entire month and choose that way.

Something that we also like to do is fly in super early (leaving at like 6:30/7 AM and usually landing by 9). We head to a park and have pretty much a full day. Yes we're tired that first day but you're young, you can handle it! We then fly out as late as possible on our last day, giving us at least 1/2 of a day at a park. That way we're not worrying about tacking travel days on to the end of our schedules. Less vacation days taken the better!