Please help, our trip might not work out

[lolobug]

We found a place over the summer through vrbo.com for about $1000/week. The owner is really responsive and his unit has a lot of good reviews (something I look for in vrbo). https://www.vrbo.com/552651

I feel your pain with the prime time travel time!

Checking into this... thanks!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Priceline also has some express deals for condos in the downtown disney area that are less than $100/night. I am a big proponent of staying offsite to save $$ l. The disney resorts are far overpriced for what you get.s

 

[Shanti]

Hello dis-lovers!
Long story short, we had to wait until now to try and plan an April vacation. We would LOVE to go but are limited to a set week due to my job (teacher). We are available to travel April 15- April 24; flights are astronomical ($2000-$4000!) We were planning on staying at the Wilderness Lodge BUT if I can come up with a way to save $$$ at a great resort with a car than we will do it.
Suggestions, please! (Resorts/ car deals)
Wilderness Lodge w tickets for 7 days: $3777
Flight: $1800 (not yet booked... Any deals out there??)

The Bonnet Creek Hilton is on Disney property, relatively new, and is very well-reviewed. It has a lazy river that your family should really enjoy in April. It is near the parks, and would be less expensive than a moderate or deluxe Disney resort (Wilderness Lodge is "deluxe", but do not expect luxury from Disney.) Bonnet Creek Hilton will also give a teacher discount. Reserve it in advance & bring your ID- click "government rate" on their reservations tool to find the teacher discount.

Waldorf Astoria Orlando is pricier than Hilton (although still cheaper than Wilderness Lodge, & it's a true luxury hotel) but also has a significant teacher discount.

Just note when comparing rates that Hilton & Waldorf will charge a daily resort fee of $25-$30, & will also charge you for parking if you choose to bring a car. Both the Hilton & Waldorf have their own free shuttles to each of the Disney parks. You may also be able to arrange shuttle or town car service to & from the airport through them.

 

[lolobug]

The Bonnet Creek Hilton is on Disney property, relatively new, and is very well-reviewed. It has a lazy river that your family should really enjoy in April. It is near the parks, and would be less expensive than a moderate or deluxe Disney resort (Wilderness Lodge is "deluxe", but do not expect luxury from Disney.) Bonnet Creek Hilton will also give a teacher discount. Reserve it in advance & bring your ID- click "government rate" on their reservations tool to find the teacher discount.

Waldorf Astoria Orlando is pricier than Hilton (although still cheaper than Wilderness Lodge, & it's a true luxury hotel) but also has a significant teacher discount.

Just note when comparing rates that Hilton & Waldorf will charge a daily resort fee of $25-$30, & will also charge you for parking if you choose to bring a car. Both the Hilton & Waldorf have their own free shuttles to each of the Disney parks. You may also be able to arrange shuttle or town car service to & from the airport through them.

thank you!
Now I'm looking for cheap flights!

 

[cmarsh31]

What airline? Where did you see this? Thanks!

Southwest. It's all we fly out of Albany really. Everything else is always double.

 

[csmom2015]

Some thing to think about when choosing a resort is that a lot of off site hotels charge a resort fee per day, some add parking per day, and you will need parking per day at Disney parks. We have stayed off site before and the additional cost to stay there made it actually close to the same if not more (depending on which disney property you look at.) Just make sure you add all of that per-day cost to the per night hotel fee when you compare.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

According to Vacation Strategy's listing on VRBO for Wyndham Bonnet Creek, that time in April is their value season. If there's availability, you could get a two bedroom deluxe for about $100/nite.1 bdr less. We booked through them our last stay. Was wonderful - and no issues with Vacation Strategy either.

 

[writerguyfl]

If you are definitively renting a car, you may want to check airfare and car rental out of Tampa.

The distance from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to the arbitrarily chosen destination of Disney Springs is about 18 miles or 23 minutes. The trip from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is 77 miles or 1 hour 15 minutes.

That extra 50 minutes each way might be worth it if you can save money. Also, remember that the trip from MCO to Disney involves tolls. There are no tolls from TPA to Disney.

If you're considering Tampa, you should try pricing open-jaw flights. That's where you fly from A to B and then return from C to A. (i.e. Albany to Tampa returning Orlando to Albany) Most rental car companies will let you return a car to a different Florida location without any additional fees. It gets a bit more complicated, but you may stumble on a deal that way.

 

[lolobug]

If you are definitively renting a car, you may want to check airfare and car rental out of Tampa.

The distance from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to the arbitrarily chosen destination of Disney Springs is about 18 miles or 23 minutes. The trip from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is 77 miles or 1 hour 15 minutes.

That extra 50 minutes each way might be worth it if you can save money. Also, remember that the trip from MCO to Disney involves tolls. There are no tolls from TPA to Disney.

If you're considering Tampa, you should try pricing open-jaw flights. That's where you fly from A to B and then return from C to A. (i.e. Albany to Tampa returning Orlando to Albany) Most rental car companies will let you return a car to a different Florida location without any additional fees. It gets a bit more complicated, but you may stumble on a deal that way.

Thank you!

 

[KristinU]

Have you thought about flying out of Providence or Manchester, NH?

We live in the Hartford area and are traveling the 8th-16th of April. Bradley prices were nuts, but we found some good rates out of TF Green. We do have a little flexibility and are pulling DS (and his friend) out of school for that Friday, that saved a bit as well.

This will be our second stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek using Vacation Upgrades. We loved it last November and can't wait to return. We had a great experience using Vacation Upgrades as well. We've stayed all over on property and owned DVC for several years, and I have to say that WBC is our new go-to favorite if we're not in our RV at Fort Wilderness. We realllllly liked it!

 

[lizzygreen]

I live in Hartford and also planned late this time. I too, am a teacher and I normally plan way in advance and buy my flights the moment they are released by Southwest. My break is the week before yours, and I just booked the flights, car and room 2 weeks ago.

Look into flying out of ISP on Southwest (Islip, Long Island) I got decent flights and prices. (BDL, PVD, BOS were all priced high). I am using Vacation Strategy to book a 2 bedroom Deluxe at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Time Share (not the Wyndham Grand Hotel - both are on the same property but one is time share condos and the other is a hotel. I have stayed at the time share condos a few times but never in the hotel rooms at the Grand.) With my repeat customer discount, the 7 nights in the 2 bedroom are costing me $680. I don't think the repeat discount is that much. I can typically get a 2 bedroom in April for around $100 a night We love the resort, its ammenities and its location. Good Luck!

 

[chekhovgirl]

Hello dis-lovers!
Long story short, we had to wait until now to try and plan an April vacation. We would LOVE to go but are limited to a set week due to my job (teacher). We are available to travel April 15- April 24; flights are astronomical ($2000-$4000!) We were planning on staying at the Wilderness Lodge BUT if I can come up with a way to save $$$ at a great resort with a car than we will do it.
Suggestions, please! (Resorts/ car deals)
Wilderness Lodge w tickets for 7 days: $3777
Flight: $1800 (not yet booked... Any deals out there??)

Fellow MA Resident here! It's ROUGH to try and get an affordable flight down there during that time. I don't teach anymore, so we're going 4/20-4/26 and taking the kids out of school for two days. Even then, I booked flights on SW in October right when they went on sale and we're paying $800 for three of us.

I agree 100% about staying at Bonnet Creek. We booked with Vacation Strategy for only $108 a night for a 2 bedroom deluxe. My kids look forward to going to Bonnet Creek more than Disney. Seriously. I asked my son what he wanted to do when we went to Florida and he said , "Wyndham!" And if you stay there, make sure to build in a resort day where you just enjoy the resort. Free mini golf, two lazy rivers, lots of slides, and many hot tubs! We've stayed onsite at moderates and will never go back, we love staying at WBC!

As for the flighs, I would try bidding on some through Priceline. You can't control what time of day you'll arrive or depart, but you guarantee your day. I've done it many times when getting an affordable flight is looking grim.

Good luck!

 

[chekhovgirl]

Oh, and here are some discount codes to use for rental cars through Alamo!

Coupon Code: AU5059ODT (Edvantage Upgrade)
Contract ID: 7016427 (Vegas Brazil)

 

[chekhovgirl]

Looks like the best flight option is through SW at $400 a ticket. If you're saving money by going offsite, pay the money and don't drive

 

[njmousefest]

Did you try flights into Tampa?

 

[Vernie822]

If you are looking at Southwest, try neighboring airports - from home and MCO. Even if you have to drive an hour or two to get to an airport near your home, it may be worth it to save a couple hundred dollars. Like an above person said try Tampa or Sanford airport as well - though you'd have to rent a car or find a way to get to Disney property.

Also on Southwest's website, once you put your dates in and the flights pop up, try clicking on the 'Flexible Dates' calendar and it will show the lowest price for each day that month. Helps if there are some dates w/ really cheap flights.

Also consider Frontier and Spirit airlines. They're super cheap but they do have silly fees like to pick your seat, check a bag, etc. Worth looking into, though we've never flown with them. We really just like Southwest and have good luck with them.

 

[lolobug]

Fellow MA Resident here! It's ROUGH to try and get an affordable flight down there during that time. I don't teach anymore, so we're going 4/20-4/26 and taking the kids out of school for two days. Even then, I booked flights on SW in October right when they went on sale and we're paying $800 for three of us.

I agree 100% about staying at Bonnet Creek. We booked with Vacation Strategy for only $108 a night for a 2 bedroom deluxe. My kids look forward to going to Bonnet Creek more than Disney. Seriously. I asked my son what he wanted to do when we went to Florida and he said , "Wyndham!" And if you stay there, make sure to build in a resort day where you just enjoy the resort. Free mini golf, two lazy rivers, lots of slides, and many hot tubs! We've stayed onsite at moderates and will never go back, we love staying at WBC!

As for the flighs, I would try bidding on some through Priceline. You can't control what time of day you'll arrive or depart, but you guarantee your day. I've done it many times when getting an affordable flight is looking grim.

Good luck!

Do you stay at the timeshare or hotel?

 

[chekhovgirl]

Do you stay at the timeshare or hotel?

The timeshare. We rent through Vacation Strategy (http://vacationstrategy.com/) and have been 100% satisfied with them. Getting an entire 2 bedroom condo for less than the price of the hotel is such a perk. The kids can have their own bedroom and bathroom, master suite has a huge whirlpool tub, every unit has a balcony or patio, and you have your own kitchen and laundry, should you choose to use them.

Don't let the timeshare thing scare you off. Here's the tip: do not go pick up the parking pass that they tell you you need to get once you check in. It's the timeshare desk. You don't need a parking pass. Just tell them you're a guest or show your key at the gate when coming back in to the resort. Then, once you get to your room, either ignore or unplug your phones. We have never talked to anybody about any timeshare, nor have we had problems with parking.

Prior to staying at WBC, we would stay onsite at a moderate. We tried WBC because my parents came with us and we needed more room, and we could get a 2 bed at WBC for the price of one room at Port Orleans, so we figured we'd try it. In addition to having more space, we loved being able to make our own food when we wanted (we tire of Disney food easily) and having access to laundry- less stuff to pack and boy was it a lifesaver when we had to deal with a sick child on vacation! Now I look at vacationing down there in a whole new light. It's affordable, versatile, and we just love the resort. I LOVE hot tubs and I love having one nearby wherever the kids are swimming

You surely don't have to cook, etc. on your vacation, you could just treat it as a very large hotel room! We'll be there around the same time as you and, as I said, are paying $108 a night.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[chekhovgirl]

Oh, a couple of things that you'd have to do staying offsite vs. on: get MagicBands if you don't already have them, and then purchase your tickets (we get them at a discount from our local AAA office). You can link your tickets to your MagicBands online.

 

[lolobug]

Oh, a couple of things that you'd have to do staying offsite vs. on: get MagicBands if you don't already have them, and then purchase your tickets (we get them at a discount from our local AAA office). You can link your tickets to your MagicBands online.

How do we buy magic bands?
We took the plunge and booked with bonnet creek, I'm just hoping that it is every bit as magical.