Need help planning October SURPRISE trip -on a budget with 4 kids....

[PrincessasMommy]

DD #1 will turn 12 in October and we would LOVE to surprise her by driving to the airport for WDW that day - how convenient it's a Friday!

There will be DH & I, and 4 kids, ages 12, 4, 3 & 4 months. Last time we stayed in a vacation home and rented a SUV (have to as the minivan did not fit 3 kids, big double jogger and all the luggage) and did 3 days at WDW and visited family the other days. We LOVED it!!

This time I am trying to plan this on as little $$ as possible as it's really not in the budget for 2007 but I am hoping to sqeeze it in. I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

Thx.

 

[A&CsMom]

We rented a vacation home in April this year and are doing the same in April/May 2007 (same owners, different house) and they seem to me to have very reasonable rates. They have 4, 5 and 6 bedroom homes. PM me is you want more info. Also, as you probably know, flying out of Buffalo, or your closest US city, will be much cheaper, plus you won't have the cost of getting passports for everyone, unless you want to, of course. Have fun planning!

 

[NancyK]

Last year, we booked Cypress Pointe through hotelkingdom.com It was a three bedroom condo that sleeps up to 8 people. There is a full kitchen, 3 baths, several televisions, and a washer/dryer in the unit. The rate this year seems to be about $141/night. It's only about 1 mile from Downtown Disney and is very close to supermarkets, restaurants etc. It's a nice alternative to the expense of staying on site.

 

[hockey mom]

Fly out of buffalo

If you are staying on site use magical express and save the cost of a rental

If you are staying off site use skyauction and get a 2 bedroom condo for around 270 us for the week.

If you can leave a week or 2 earlier you might be able to take advantage of free dining. We used it last year and we are hoping in April the promotion will be offered again.

 

[dlcharbonneau]

Definitely fly out of Buffalo to save money - it is costing us about a third of what it costs at Pearson

 

[PrincessasMommy]

I appreciate the advice. I have a couple questions....

I have been looking on SWA for flights from Buffalo and looks like most dates are $159 each way - that's not much cheaper - what's the trick?

Also, I went on skyauction and saw a 2 bd. condo at the Vistana Resort for the $270 you mentioned - is that for real - are there additional/hidden charges, is that a reputable company or more like an ebay type site - I don't want to send my $$ somewhere I haven't heard of before.

Free Dining??? With this many of us that sounds amazing and i sure could change my dates if that was the reason. How soon can I find out about that and do I have to stay on-site?

I am really grateful for the tips!

 

[cdnmickeylover]

For Southwest download their Ding program and sign up for the weekly emails. That's how you get the lower fares.

For free dining - if it's offered you would have to stay on site. If you stayed on site I'd recommend the Family Suites at All Star Music (I think it's Music anyway). They sleep 6 and are essentially two rooms but they do have a little kitchenette as well. Haven't stayed there but have seen pictures.

Have fun planning.

 

[cab0899]

If you collect airmiles, they can be redeemed for Disney 5 or 7 day passes, and Seaworld passes as well as flights. Also if you're a CAA member, you can get a discount on Disney hotel rooms.

 

[ferris198]

I believe Pop Century opened up a section with family suites that have small kitchenettes in them.

 

[hockey mom]

Southwest has not opened up the schedule yet to include October and when the dates are first released you can usually get the flight for alot cheaper but most of my great rates are from ding. I have a family of 5 and never pay over $600 for all of us.

With Skyauction you want a "Ready set go" auction. You can usually win the auction for around $50 then you have about $210 in fees after that. I have used it 3x for myself, once for my sister and just helped my brother in law's family in October. They couldn't believe the deal and loved the resort(Silver Lake)

If free dining comes out again(fingers crossed) we will know by April. The dated will most likely be Aug. 5th to Sept 29th. You can check in on the last day and spend 7 days after that and still get the promotion. Yes you do have to stay on site but I don't think they will let you stay in the suites at the all star resorts. We get 2 rooms with our family of 5.