Here's how my expenses have stacked up so far for my spring escape to WDW. I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to save more money or increase value. Kudos appreciated as well!
I'm leaving in a week and have shopped around extensively, trying to get the best deals and best value for what I want which was to stay at least 3 nites in the Epcot area. A tough challenge on a budget!
Airfare from cincinnati: $160 roundtrip incl. tax on USAir, purchased through hotwire.com. My departing flight is at 6 am!
And I have one connection each way. But the other flight times are good.
Hotel: Hilton WDW for first three nites @$61/nite ($76/nite with tax and resort fee)
through Priceline. First time I've tried Priceline! I did a lot of research first at biddingfortravel.com. I would have preferred to stay on site, and always have before, but I wanted an Epcot resort for the final three nites and I had to bring the total hotel cost down somehow. The Hilton is a nice alternative to All Stars, I hope.
Also, I wanted a gym available.
Final three nites: Swan at $169 Entertainment rate ($196 w/tax and resort fee) booked through DIS. I first booked Beach Club at the Passholder rate of $244, but I didn't really want to buy an annual pass. And I wanted to pay much less. So I kept researching, at mousesavers.com and on this Budget board. I did check the Swan & Dolphin rates at DIS several times, but there were no discounted rooms available. Finally, two days ago I checked again, and found that discounted rooms had become available. Yipppeee!
By the way, I could have stayed at a moderate resort for $154/incl. tax with AAA discount, which would have been $150 more than the hotels I finally did book. And I get to stay at a Epcot hotel.
Tickets: I'm going with the 5-day Hopper Plus. $261.84
Food Budget: $30/day. (I don't do big restaurant meals). I'm bringing along some snacks, energy bars, etc. and will eat fruit. Also, I always travel with my hand blender and some packets of protein meal replacements for breakfast before or after my morning workout.
Misc: Mears shuttle: $35 round trip?
Total for 6-day Escape
Air: $ 160
Hilton 228
Swan 588
Hopper 261
meals 180
shuttle 35
aiport pkig 36
____________
$ 1452
I'm leaving in a week and have shopped around extensively, trying to get the best deals and best value for what I want which was to stay at least 3 nites in the Epcot area. A tough challenge on a budget!
Airfare from cincinnati: $160 roundtrip incl. tax on USAir, purchased through hotwire.com. My departing flight is at 6 am!
And I have one connection each way. But the other flight times are good.Hotel: Hilton WDW for first three nites @$61/nite ($76/nite with tax and resort fee)
through Priceline. First time I've tried Priceline! I did a lot of research first at biddingfortravel.com. I would have preferred to stay on site, and always have before, but I wanted an Epcot resort for the final three nites and I had to bring the total hotel cost down somehow. The Hilton is a nice alternative to All Stars, I hope.
Also, I wanted a gym available. Final three nites: Swan at $169 Entertainment rate ($196 w/tax and resort fee) booked through DIS. I first booked Beach Club at the Passholder rate of $244, but I didn't really want to buy an annual pass. And I wanted to pay much less. So I kept researching, at mousesavers.com and on this Budget board. I did check the Swan & Dolphin rates at DIS several times, but there were no discounted rooms available. Finally, two days ago I checked again, and found that discounted rooms had become available. Yipppeee!
By the way, I could have stayed at a moderate resort for $154/incl. tax with AAA discount, which would have been $150 more than the hotels I finally did book. And I get to stay at a Epcot hotel.
Tickets: I'm going with the 5-day Hopper Plus. $261.84
Food Budget: $30/day. (I don't do big restaurant meals). I'm bringing along some snacks, energy bars, etc. and will eat fruit. Also, I always travel with my hand blender and some packets of protein meal replacements for breakfast before or after my morning workout.
Misc: Mears shuttle: $35 round trip?
Total for 6-day Escape
Air: $ 160
Hilton 228
Swan 588
Hopper 261
meals 180
shuttle 35
aiport pkig 36
____________
$ 1452
