Our Nearly-Free Trip

keenercam

Loves Mickey!
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Messages
10,466
I am just realizing how much money we are saving this romantic adults-only trip and how we could never have gone if lots of things had not come together:
1. We are using DVC pts from an add on we did to stay 3 nights at VWL and 3 nights at BCV. The rack room rate would have been $1704 for those 6 nights. The CM had told us we could not bank the points because we bought them too late in our use year, but I had written down the name of the person and date of call when I had asked the question before the purchase and that CM had told me yes, so MS had to honor that. If I had not kept good notes and had not fought it, we would have lost 100 add-on points, so the use of them for this year seems FREE.

2. We had dividend miles on Delta that we were going to donate because we could never get flights when we wanted them. By changing our vacation dates and being willing to change planes in Atlanta going and in Cincinnati coming back, we were able to get flights, but we had to fly FIRST-CLASS:D which we have never done and will likely never do again. It just so happened that we had just enough points. Our first class flights would have cost $2013.00. More likely, though we would have flown the cheapest way we could have, which would have cost about $400. Instead we are paying $20 -- $10 post 9/11 security fee for each ticket. Savings $380 and flying first-class!

3. We were going to buy annual passes in August for the 8/23 family trip that we would have then used again in April (our daughter's band is performing for disney days) and for mid-July 2004 before our cruise. Instead we are getting them late this month and they will still cover those two other trips. So there is $0 marginal cost!!!! We would have otherwise bought 5 day park hoppers at the advance cost of $231.12 each. Savings of $462.24!!

4. The car rental was $169 base, but someone gave us a code to save some $$, so we are paying $139 base. Savings at least $30!

5. We have $190 in Disney rewards dollars from our visa, so all our meals should be covered, I would think (we are bringing breakfast foods for our villas and snacks for in the parks and bought a brita fill 'n go water bottle so we don't have to lug bottled water to the parks.
6. Saved 15% on Backstage Magic Tour for our birthday gifts to each other, savings of almost $60.

So, here is how I think this trip is costing us:
Airfare -- $20
Accomodations -- $0 (I know some would say to figure out the maintenance costs on those points, but I would have paid that no matter what, and almost lost use of points for this year)
Car rental $139 + taxes, taking it to about $175
Park Admissions $0
Backstage Magic $338.30
Miscellaneous Food $100
Total $633.30
Of course, without the Backstage magic tour, we would have been looking at about $300!!! And we will probably do a night at Pleasure Island, but even that is discounted with APs or DVC

Geez, I am way tooo excited.:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
 
Wow! Great Job! That's more reasonable than a long weekend!

It's amazing what having DVC and frequent flyer miles can do for a "budget" trip to WDW.

Enjoy your trip!

Kelly
 
This is an amazing price to pay for your Dis vacation! Great planning.

I have a question. I've been very disappointed with the points (or lack thereof) that we are earning on our Disney Visa. Were your Disney Dollars earned on the Disney Visa? If I am calculating correctly, based on what I have seen on our statements, you would have to spend about $19,000 to earn $190. Is this accurate, or am I missing some way to earn points?

Thanks and have a wonderful trip!
 
Very nice! Our October trip will not be free, mainly because we have already paid for most of the expenses, but how's this for a cheap out-of-pocket trip:

*We are staying on points, so no OOP (out-of-pocket) costs there.

*We have annual passes that we bought last December and have already more than paid for themselves. No OOP costs there.

*My in-laws are coming and we are driving in their van. Since we are providing the room, they have offered to pay all travel expenses (gas, snacks,...etc). NO OOP costs there.

*My in-laws have also offered to pay for at least one nice meal at an upscale restaurant. We will have to pay for all our other meals. Minimal OOP costs there.

When it all adds up, all we are paying for is our daily meals, souvenirs and miscellaneous entertainment. Of course, I know we have already paid for this stuff in advance, but it just feels nice to only have to fork out a couple hundred bucks during the trip itself.
 

SalandJeff: The Disney Dollars are from the Disney Rewards Visa and we have in fact run $19000 through the card since early March. Here is what I posted on another thread:

And I have used it for absolutely everything, including a digital camera, 4 park hoppers for the GRANDS for our family trip, our son's tuition installment, every single grocery store and merchandise purchase, etc. etc. in an effort to run up disney dollars! We have run over $19,000 through the card on all sorts of stuff we would have paid cash for, charged on another card, or financed, and have $190 in Disney Dollars to pay for all our meals on our romantic getaway later this month! How cool is that? I just keep sending them checks or doing on-line payments whenever I have some cash that I would have been spending on stuff that I ended up putting on the card.

I have also put our kids' camp payments on it as well as doctors' bills and all 8 airfares for the august trip w/kids & grandparents. Of course, these spending trends will not continue, so this was an opportunity to maximize on the dollars in time for our trip this month.

Chadm: Congratulations! Your trip sounds even less expensive than ours. Isnt' that awesome?

Hey, I just figured out another way to save $$ -- go to the two member meetings each week to save on 2 breakfasts! Just kidding. Isn't that funny, though?
 
Wow, nice job, keenercam! You put a lot of effort into making your special trip happen as inexpensively as possible. Hey, the cheaper the better, right? ;)

Have a wonderful time! :D
 
What is a brita water fill and go???? We leave in a 7 hours and all my girls and DH drink is water. I get stuck lugging the water bottles in my backpack!!

Can I get one at Publix or somewhere near WDW??

Thanks
 
Wow! That is wonderful!! Don't you just love getting a great deal?! Have a great trip!:jester:
 
rbuzzota--
The brita fill n go water bottle holds about 24 oz, I think. You put the water in there and it is filtered before it comes out of the spout. I think they sell them at most bed bath & beyond and other places, but I couldn't put my hands on one, so I ordered it on amazon. It cost 6.99 or 7.99. I just figured it was one way to carry less, otherwise I'd need enough bottles of water to get through the day. I'll freeze it overnight and keep refilling it at the water fountains as the ice melts all day, since I have heard that Orlando water is not that delicious. hope that helps. I actually got the tip off the theme parks attractions and strategies board and the disney tips board.
Have an awesome trip!
 
"Great job" on maximising your FF miles and your credit card. We always charge everything also on our Continental Master Card. We also just flew to Orlando (VB) for free 2 weeks ago, and also flew to San Antonio ,Tx in June on FF miles from charging.When we flew to Vegas(early June), we also upgraded to 1st class using FF miles. We bought the Vegas airline tx for $220(non-stop)and used FF miles to upgrade to 1st class.

We also had $200 in Disney Dollars from a referral for DVC to use at VB. As long as you pay your credit card balance in full every month, you might as well take advantage of what you can get for free.
biggthumpup.gif


Here is a thread below about FF miles and credit cards on the Transportation board that may help.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=407042
 
We are going around the same time and we are looking for a good rate. If you are willing to share the code I'm sure we would all appreciate it


Thanks:p
 
Keenercam

We had much the same experience as you except we came from the UK for a long weekend.

Shuttle down to London - airmiles, pay for the tax only

Night in the Meridian at London Gatwick - thro internet £ 90

Flights with Virgin London to Orlando - virgin miles, pay tax only

4 nights at VWL - dvc

..... and car hire thro internet

Around £ 350 or $ 475 for 4 nights at WDW - not to bad :D

David :D
 
WOW!!! Way to go!!! You make me look like a rank amateur!!! I am so impressed. With airfare being such a big chunk of our trip cost, I am hellbent & determined that I will use whatever card I can for whatever I can from now on just to earn FF miles. Without having to spend $850-1000 on airfare, it will be so much easier to get to WDW (now if I could just find a way to take 4-6 weeks of vacation each year!) ;)
 
I love when you get "free" Disney trips! I have one this Sept. It is not "free" but pretty darn cheap, LOL!
2 weeks in WDW:
Week 1: first 4 days business so WDW resort room being pd by employer, cost = 0; last 3 days being pd by me =$294.00 for 3 nts at a moderate resort w/discount and including tax.
Week 2: BCV on DVC pts from recent add on, cost= 0
Rental car for 1 week, cost = 0, car being pd by employer; car is needed for 4 days of business and it was cheaper to rent the car by the week!
AP cost = 0, I bought my AP during my last WDW trip and it is good till May 20, 2004!
Airfare cost = $136.00, I had gift certifcate for $50.00
So for a 2 week trip my cost is $430.00 plus the cost of meals, but I have to eat no matter where I am!! I am psyched! :Pinkbounc
I have another cheap trip coming up in Nov at WDW but not as good as Sept's trip. Nov's trip is solely for pleasure, no business so the cost of a rental car, if I get one, is on me and I don't have airline gift certificates but it will be 6 nights at BWV with already pre paid DVC pts and pre paid park admission with my AP so it will still be pretty cheap!!! I love it, and with DVC pts, APs and looking for deals with airfare and rental cars, WDW can be very reasonable!
 
We put all our charges on AMEX and then use those points for free cars. Our 7 day van rental (National) in Orlando only cost us $50 this past week. A similar van rental (Hertz) in AZ last month cost us $300 in taxes and insurance....but otherwise would have cost us $600+. It's one of the only places we seem to be able to save $$$$.
 
In regards to rental car savings, you might want to check out www.rentalcars.com for even more competitive rates. Sometimes I check the 'codes' that I get from my credit cards or advertisements and then compare them with the ones that I get from rentalcars.com and I've always found a better rate at rentalcars.com.

So, always look at all of your options to see if there is an even better deal out there!
 













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