Proposing to girlfriend and need your help!

[JRG12]

I have been searching nonstop for two days now on how to make this surprise engagement work and I have gotten nowhere. I need the expert advice of this site!
I will be flying alone from Michigan into the SW Florida airport. From there I need to rent a car to pick her up, without her knowledge , in Sanibel Island and driving from there to Disney World.
We will be flying out of the Orlando airport back to Michigan.

My question is what is the most affordable way to fly myself there, rent a car, and stay in the Disney area? After purchasing the ring (YIKES) and the cost of the upcoming wedding, I need to do this as budget minded as possible. However, I do not want to stay in a cheap place.

Do I need to have a rental car while there? Or can I drop it off when we get to Disney?
Since I am flying into the SW Florida airport it does not seem like I can arrange any package deals in Disney. Is this correct?

I will be flying into Florida on Sat, April 15th and will be leaving on Tues, April 18th.

She absolutely loves Disney but I know nothing about the park and what to look for. Any help is MUCH appreciated!

 

[melmel]

First off congratulations!!!!

Second, post or search on the transportation boards for cheap airfair and car rental options. Disney has great bus/boat/monorail service so you wont need to have a rental car once you arrive. And you can take magical express back to the airport for your trip home, so no problems there.

For cheap hotels, you can stay at a value resort (Pop Centrury, All Star Sports, Movies, or Music) they are all very nice, and affordable. If you have AAA you can probably get a discount on the room. Make sure you ask about that when you call Disney reservations. (800-828-0228) You can also book your tickets through them. The number of days you'll be in the parks will determine which tickets you'll want to get. If you go over to www.allearsnet.com they have a TON of information, as well as ticekt prices and options. They also have info on parks, rides, resturants, etc...

How do you want to ask, over dinner, in a park, at the resort, etc... If you tell us that we could probably give you a better idea of where to do it. I will suggest though that if you're planning on in or near your room you splerge for a better room. Disney has some wonderful resorts to help with the romantic feel. But the price goes up by the catagory. If you can do a moderate room that would add more to the romance level, there slightly more expensive then the values but they have a much more resorty feel.

Several of the hotels have beaches, if you want a beach proposal. There are some lovely spots in the MK if you want a park proposal, and there are some truley wonderful romantic resturants if you want to do it over dinner. Basically the sky's the limit. If you decide to go the resturant route you may want to post over on the resturant board. The people over there are experts on the best resturant for everything.

Good luck.

Melissa

 

[JRG12]

Thank you for the advice. I will look into the transportation tips now.

I will be taking her to dinner at the resturant in the castle and hope to propose to her in the rose garden before the firework show.

 

[engagedatWDW]

First of I want to say congrats and good luck! If you stay on Disney property you really don't need a rental car - aside from getting there of course. You can get to all the resorts and parks with the buses and boats. I believe there is a a rental car pick-up/drop-off at the Transportation Ticket Center by the Poly, so you could drop the car off there. The Magical Express service only works at MCO Airport. If you want to be on property, the most cost effective way to go is to stay at one of the 4 Value Resorts: Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies, and Sports. For April 15-18 the rate is $115 for a regular room and $127 for a preferred room (normally meaning, slightly larger and closer to the main building) per night. You get a few benefits for staying on site - extra hours at the park, dining plan and free transportation. Off site hotels might be less expensive, but you don't get all the benefits and transportation alone can add up.

Are you planning to propose at Disney or before you get here? My fiance proposed over dinner at Cinderella's Castle and it was trully wonderful. There is some sort of package that you get - the ring was brought out to me in a personalized glass sliper with rose petals and there was someone on hand to take pictures of everything. They also served us champagne in special Disney flutes. Most restuarants are accomodating and have special desserts or presentations for the ring.

If you haven't done so I would highly recommend checking out allearsnet.com. It has every bit of info on parks, transportation, hotels and restaurants, (sometimes with pics!) that you'd need so you don't have to be constantly on the phone with Disney.

 

[engagedatWDW]

Melissa - you must be a faster typer than me