Need tips for planning a trip!!

[belle9589]

Hey! I am trying to plan a trip for my for my boyfriend and I around May 2014 after we graduate college. This will be his first ever trip to the world and I want to make it memorable but also save as much money as we can. Are any tips to save money for this trip and what I should do to make it a memorable trip on a budget?

 

[sjc011]

Hooray! Congrats on going- and even more congrats on graduating!

I love going to WDW, and my now-husband and I have saved money by doing some things that others may or may not agree with.

1) Go camping. The weather's nice, Ft. Wilderness is on property, and it's a 1/3 of the price of any value resort on property. And it's not very rugged, so if you're not used to camping, you will find yourself very comfortable. The camping board on this forum is super helpful...

2) If you aren't going camping, you could stay on I-drive. I would recommend being prepared to wake up early and drive to the TTC each day since the buses from the hotel aren't always free, and the schedules kind of suck. But I-drive is really fun, and walking around Universal's boardwalk was super fun too! Although, I-drive has insane traffic, just a fair warning. lol

3) Pack a lunch. Drink water from your own waterbottle. Treat yourself to one nice dinner, and only buy snacks/desserts/drinks when you really feel you must indulge yourself. By waiting until our last EPCOT night to treat ourselves, packing lunches, and making our own dinner and breakfast, my husband and I saved hundreds of dollars (and still enjoyed a jalapeno pretzel & an adult beverage). I know it's not the best thing in the world, but every dollar counts!

3b) Souvenirs, while not food, are really nice to have- even if you don't need them. Our strategy was to decide what souvenirs we wanted ahead of time, and focused on finding them. This time we wanted to get a magnet of each park, a Tree of Life statue (couldn't find!), and a set of shotglasses (because we're classy like that). I always end up buying a t-shirt, but I could live without it. By knowing what we want ahead of time, we don't overbuy and we don't feel so overwhelmed that we don't buy ANYTHING. Which would be AWFUL.

4) I've never been to Seaworld or Universal, so I can't comment on their value. But I found that it was easier to save money buy getting parkhoppers at WDW. For our Disneymoon, which we spent under $2 grand (this is including buying some new camping supplies plus our groceries for the week), we spent 3 days at the parks but used park hoppers. Or we could have not paid for parkhoppers but stayed for 4 or 5 days instead. We got a better value by parkhopping, of course! And we got back in time to finish our graduate degrees. ^_^ What I'm trying to say, is more is less, sometimes! DISCLAIMER: My honey bunches and I are not rollercoaster/fast ride people. We didn't get everything done that we wanted to, but we just enjoyed the parks, the atmosphere, and most importantly, each other. Don't go commando. Just plan smartly. And you'll enjoy yourself if you relax and take breaks.


GAH SO MUCH ADVICE
Hope this helps!

 

[sjc011]

Okay, I thought I'd add some other things for a fellow poor college student (or soon to be a poor college graduate lol) to do at Disney...

1) Take lots of pictures, and have the photopass people take pictures of you and your bf in front of the icons. We did this at the Tree of Life and Spaceship Earth at night and our pictures turned out better than theirs! Still, Photopass is free, and it's a great way to get a picture of the two of you in the best possible angle.

2) If you see something with no line, go to it. We ended up at Figment, a character greeting, and all of Tomorrowland and had an awesome time! Yeah, Figment might be childish, but it's now my husband's favorite ride.

3) Get an app. Don't use your phone (unless you're like my husband who has to check in to four square at every attraction ) except for the apps and the camera function. I have Undercover Tourist for line & show waits, and it also list parade times and park hours. Pretty handy to avoid the crowds and surprises!

4) How about having a date night in World Showcase? You could take the Friendship boat over, but it's just as romantic to wander at twilight through the countries. One chilly February night, we took a blanket into the park, found a seat near Italy, and sat on the blanket until Illuminations started. How romantic!

5) Go looking for all the animals in the Tree of Life. You don't have to go Bug's Life, but it's so amazing looking at all the handiwork.

6) Universal's boardwalk is free, and I recommend the valet if you won't be there all day.

7) Also, Fort Wilderness is free to explore, and I think most of their activities are free too, or it's a small rental fee.

8) Actually, why not go resort hopping? Or take the boats and monorails to different areas?

9) I'm sure I'll think of more...

 

[belle9589]

We were thinking about possibly staying at a value resort, probably an all star just because I want to be able to stay on site and am not the biggest fan of camping!

 

[g8torphan]

• Go to the budget board, there are some really good ideas there.
  
• Check Mousesavers.com they have deals at numerous off site hotels that are very close.
  
• Split a chicken dinner at Cosmic Rays (should be big enough for the both of you).
  
• If you want a sit down meal, make it a lunch, it'll be cheaper, but the same food.
  
• Depending on when you go in May Epcot may still be doing F&G Fest; last year they had food booths there were fairly cheap and very good.
  
• If you want to be close and have just a bit more room than an All-Star I'd suggest Caribe Royal or Buena Vista Suites (the are sister properties next to each other) BVS has free breakfast.