Need help working the numbers for a cheap trip

[dhardawa]

I'm taking the kids on a cruise in June and was planning Disney for the winter. It just dawned on me that Orlando is only a few hours north of Ft. Lauderdale and my daughter gets out of school a week before the cruise so I might be able to add a week and do Disney and not pay for airfare twice. If free dining were being offered, I'd book it and call it a day, but since there is no free dining, I'm looking for cheap alternatives. Our dates would be May 26/27 to June 2. There are no YES program tickets available at that time and the current 30% off is negligible when looking at value resorts. So, any suggestions on how I can do this cheap?

 

[Marionnette]

I'm taking the kids on a cruise in June and was planning Disney for the winter. It just dawned on me that Orlando is only a few hours north of Ft. Lauderdale and my daughter gets out of school a week before the cruise so I might be able to add a week and do Disney and not pay for airfare twice. If free dining were being offered, I'd book it and call it a day, but since there is no free dining, I'm looking for cheap alternatives. Our dates would be May 26/27 to June 2. There are no YES program tickets available at that time and the current 30% off is negligible when looking at value resorts. So, any suggestions on how I can do this cheap?

How much is your budget? "cheap" is a relative term.

Do you want to stay in a Disney resort or offsite somewhere?

Would you be willing to cook some meals if you had a kitchen? Or pack a picnic lunch rather than buy food in the parks? If you eat in the parks or hotels, would you do character meals, tableservice or counterservice meals?

Would you be willing to skip the waterparks, DQ and hopping and just do the parks in order to save money on tickets?

How will you get from Disney to Ft. Lauderdale? Will you rent a car? One way rentals can be pricey. Plus you'll need ground transportation to the port from the rental drop-off and again to FLL airport.

Give us an idea of what your needs and expectations are and we can help you a little bit better.

 

[dhardawa]

How much is your budget? "cheap" is a relative term.

Do you want to stay in a Disney resort or offsite somewhere? I love being onsite, but if it would be cheaper to be offsite, I'm open to that. I have considered some of the non-Disney hotels that provide transportation too.

Would you be willing to cook some meals if you had a kitchen? Or pack a picnic lunch rather than buy food in the parks? If you eat in the parks or hotels, would you do character meals, tableservice or counterservice meals? I would be fine with packing some lunches, but we would probably do a couple character breakfasts too.

Would you be willing to skip the waterparks, DQ and hopping and just do the parks in order to save money on tickets? Yes, we always do this. We'll be following up with a cruise and also have a day in Ft. Lauderdale at the beach so they can swim then.

How will you get from Disney to Ft. Lauderdale? Will you rent a car? One way rentals can be pricey. Plus you'll need ground transportation to the port from the rental drop-off and again to FLL airport. I assume I would have to rent a car. I already have the transportation to and from the port setup.

Give us an idea of what your needs and expectations are and we can help you a little bit better.

As far as "what is cheap", I'd just like to keep the cost as low as possible. I guess I'm looking more for advice on ticket savings (although I know there are very limited options for that) and lodging. I'm not sure I'd really save that much staying offsite when I figure in things like parking, transportation to and from the airport, etc. I'm also just fine with a value resort or doing no more than 3-4 days.

 

[Marionnette]

I love being onsite, but if it would be cheaper to be offsite, I'm open to that. I have considered some of the non-Disney hotels that provide transportation too.

I would be fine with packing some lunches, but we would probably do a couple character breakfasts too.

Yes, we always do this. We'll be following up with a cruise and also have a day in Ft. Lauderdale at the beach so they can swim then.

I assume I would have to rent a car. I already have the transportation to and from the port setup.

As far as "what is cheap", I'd just like to keep the cost as low as possible. I guess I'm looking more for advice on ticket savings (although I know there are very limited options for that) and lodging. I'm not sure I'd really save that much staying offsite when I figure in things like parking, transportation to and from the airport, etc. I'm also just fine with a value resort or doing no more than 3-4 days.

I don't expect Disney to come out with another promotion for late May/early June. The 30% discount is for deluxe and villa rooms. The value resort discount is more like 15%-20% off the rack rate. If that isn't working for you, try the condo/townhouse auctions on skyauction or LMT. Or look at the Downtown Disney area hotels for rooms. Follow them on FB or Twitter for deals. If you find a place with complimentary transportation to the parks, you'll save the cost of renting a car during that time plus the cost of daily parking.

Ticket prices are pretty much fixed and if you cannot do a YES program, then one of your best prices will be thru the Mousesavers newsletter link to Undercovertourist. You're not going to save a bundle. More like a couple of dollars per ticket when purchasing 3 or 4 day base tickets. That's going to cost you close to $1K for 2 adults and 2 kids and I really don't know of a way to work around that.

Check the transportation board for codes for your car rental. Make sure that you rent from an agency that has a location near the port where you will be sailing from. If they offer complimentary transportation from the drop-off to the cruise terminal, that would be even better. You might want to check the cruisecritic forums to see if they tell you about the Ft. Lauderdale terminal area.

 

[englishteacha]

Every time we've traveled in June, it's been cheaper to stay offsite and rent a car, and pay for parking than it has been to stay onsite at a value resort.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Check out the Children's Hospital of Florida for tickets. There are several different options, but there might be one that will work for you. I added the link below.

http://www.floridahospitalforchildren.com/donate/donate-tickets