suggestion for a budget trip please

[dolphincrazy]

Hello everyone
I need help, trying to take a trip for less than $3,000
we are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children ages 6 and 9)
we want to fly out out Hartford CT. or Providence, RI
june 18-27 stay at an offsite BUDGET hotel/motel close
to Disney preferably with a kids eat free or at least a continental breakfast and laundry facilities, a midsize rental car 5 day park hoppers and 4 park flex tickets does this sound unreasonable?
I'm pricing thru a few travel agents and the best price I got so far is $2, 672.81 but, she wanted to put me in a hotel 18 miles
from Disney Best Value in Winter park I think I don't want to sound real cheap but, we're only sleeping at the hotel/motel
as long as there are no bugs yuck and it has running water
for showers and such I'm happy. open to suggestions.
Thanks, Maryann

 

[mudnuri]

Well, your looking at at least 1K just in flights and car....that's too much for me to spend...We live north of you in Vermont, and drive to Florida.

Look into www.tropicalpalms.com These are modular cabins if you will. They range in price from 59-89 a night depending on your dates. You can get a 1 room- or a 2 bedroom (this is what we're doing I think)....they have a big pool, lots of activities etc... they are located just behind Old Town. C.Ann a member on here has stayed there, and gave me info regarding it. They come with all linens, pots pans etc.. full kitchen.

If your kids are anything like mine they have a hard time sleeping in the same room you and DH are sitting in I know at the end of our days on vacation, DH and I sit down and go over our budget, what we want to do the next day etc... well with the DD's we have to sit in darkness QUIETLY until they are asleep. This will eliminate this problem as they will be in a seperate room

As for tickets- I think I'm going to get mine from ticketmania, though there may be cheaper places, like paramount etc...I've heard some negative comments too..

You might want to read the thread about food vouchers, I dont think I'm going those, though for some people they work great. You've just gotta plan where to ues them to make sure you get your money's worth.

If you stay at a place such as tropical palms, you can eat breakfast there, also you can stop at a grocery store and have lunch there if your going to 1/2 day a park, rest, then repark...I think you could save a bit of money this way.

HTH

Brandy

 

[kilee]

I usually do my trips for my family of 3 under $2500.00 for a week, so I think you'll have no problem. The biggest thing is try doing everything yourself. Try this sites for hotel rooms and suites at a great price www.go2orlando.com or www.orlandoescape.com also frequently check Travelocity, expedia and orbitz. However, I find these other sites to be better. Remember to check the hotels own sites too. Some guarantee the lowest price. It takes alittle research. But you can find a nice hotel for under $50.00 a night thats minutes from Disney. Next, prebuy your park passes. They are cheaper that way. Then try booking your rental car and airfare online. Rental cars are almost always 20-30% cheaper online. Keep checking back too. For my last trip (10/03). I changed my rental car reservation 5 times, because the company I rented from kept posting lower rates!! Last, with the airfare. For our last trip I bought 3 RT tickets online-- my total $331.00 (w/ tax and all). My aunt and uncle bought 2 RT tickets on the same flights asa me 2 weeks later via the phone--- their total $575.00. My sister bought 2 tickets the same week as my aunt online and got the same fare pp I did. Also, remember places like Southwest and Jetblue don't come up on Travelocity, Orbitz, or Expedia. You have to go directly to their sites. THey tend to have the better fares, if they fly by you. My only question is, you have a lot of days worth of tickets you want to buy??? HOw many days are you going for?? Remember to schedule down time. Personally we never do more than 3 consecutive park days before a day off. We find it to be too much overload, and we stop enjoying ourselves by the last couple days.

 

[dolphincrazy]

Hi Kilee,
we're planning on 10 days thats why we have so much for park tickets lol. The 4 park flex ticket is good for 14 consecutive days
seems to be the best deal as far as Universal,IOA and Seaworld.
I'm thinking it's cheaper to book ourselves but, we were just seeing what the travel "experts" could come up with.
Maryann

 

[Tigger1]

Someone posted on the budget board that they got a great deal on hotel and ait tickets threw travelocity.com. I put some dates in and it comes up with several hotel air packages. Some in Disney or adjaent to Disney.

We travel with up to 7, so we take two minivans. These saves alot of $$$ but is a long drive. We stop in Destin for two nights on the way and one night on the way back. If we ever fly we will really miss the drive. Its nice to not have to find a way to the aiport, wait for the plane to take off, get the rental car, ect.

Our first trip we stayed off site. The first few days at Quality Suites. I think I got a deal for $69.00 per night for 2 bedrms, mini kitchen/living room. Actually I think we had 3 bdrooms. It also came with breakfast by the pool which consisted of, packaged ice, donuts boxed cereal, milk and coffee. I would pick the items up for everyone in our group, what we did not use that morning we used latter. This place was alright. It was a few miles from Disney. by the way, dishes can be rented for the price of cheap new dishes.

We also stayed at Parkway International resort. It is a just a mile or two to Disney. I think they had donuts on wekdays with coffee. We had aq 2 bdroom, large living room and full kitchen.
We used a coupon to get this resort for around $89.00. We felt this was a much better deal than Quality suites. We had full linins, dishes and even a full washer and dryer. The resort was a jungle theme. The walking path to the pool was like walking in a jungle with jungle music.

I found the coupons in a Kissimee-st cloud hotel/motel vistitors guide. I thik the phone number used to be 1-800-333-kiss

It has been a few years since 1997 though. We now stay on site as vacation club members.

There are alot of resorts that will offer lower rates if you ask. Homewood suites usually has some good prices and offers a full breakfast.

Tigger

 

[floridagirrl2]

You might try www.hotelkingdom.com--the next time DH and I go, we are planning to book a suite with a full kitchen at Mainstay Suites through Hotel Kingdom. Mainstay Suites has gotten good reviews from Disboard members. It has a free continental breakfast too, but DH is low-carbing so we figure we will cook/eat breakfast in the suite (saving us the 20 bucks, including tip, that we would spend on breakfast at Denny's!).

Also depending on the time of year you go, you might prefer to rent a house near Disney--many 3-4 bedroom homes with private pools are available for a reasonable fee (less in low season, more in high season). Here are a couple of links:
http:www.rentalo.com
http://www.1st4floridahomes.com/
http://www.closesttodisney.com/houguidu/houguid.html

 

[disneysteve]

Definitely forget the traditional travel agent. Years ago, you could get a good deal going that route because they received commissions from the airlines and hotels. That's no longer true. It is now cheaper to book on your own.

For airfare, check travelocity, expedia, orbitz and the airlines own website.

For rental car, same thing.

For hotels, 18 miles is ridiculously far away. You can get a standard hotel room within 5 miles of Disney for under $50, and usually under $40.

I agree completely with mudnuri - the trip will be far better if you have seperate rooms for the kids. Consider a 2-bedroom condo at Windsor Palms.
http://www.windsor-palms-resort.com/
They start at about $55/nite. Breakfast won't be included, but you'll have a full kitchen, fridge/freezer, oven, microwave etc. so throwing together a quick breakfast is pretty simple. Buy a gallon of milk and a box of cereal and your good to go.

I've stayed at Quality Suites and it was just fine. if you can get a good rate there, that's worth considering. That does include free breakfast so count that in.

Rental houses are fantastic, but pricier. A 3-bedroom usually goes for about $100/nite and sounds like more than what you are looking for.

Steve

 

[sln88]

If you can, get a condo off Skyauction for around $265 for a week for a 2 beroom. Or, use Priceline for a room. Hotelkingdom also has good rates. Also Travelzoo.

There was a special for those Universal tix through mastercard. I think if you bought 4 you get one free. I know you don't need it, but maybe you could sell it or give it to a friend. Check the Universal board for details on that.

For car rental, check for tips on the transportation board and on the mousesaver website. There are lots of codes posted there.

Airfare. You have to watch(sign up for Travelocity's farewatcher), the websites. Tuesdays seem to be a sale day. If you see it on Travelocity, check it out on the airlines website to avoid Travelocity's booking fee. Sign up with the airlines that fly out of your airport, and they will send you sale notices.

If you want to do just Disney, the FITS pass is a good deal.

 

[Lisa P.]

june 18-27 stay at an offsite BUDGET hotel/motel close
to Disney preferably with a kids eat free or at least a continental breakfast and laundry facilities, a midsize rental car 5 day park hoppers and 4 park flex tickets does this sound unreasonable?

I don't know. Those park tix are pricy and it seems like overkill to me. The 4 park FLEX pass is $180/$150. This would be ~$660 for your family. Do you need all that, 14 days?

The Bonus Pass is 5 days (for the price of 2) at both Universal parks for only $90pp. This would be only ~$360 for your family.

Adding a day at Sea World is $49/$41 if puchased online would be ~$180. Normally, it allows for a 2nd day free within 7 days if validated at Guest Services inside the park too.

5 Day Park Hopper Plus passes are $240/$190 at Paramount online. That will include 2 water park days for ~$860 for your family.

Together, these could give you:
5 days Disney theme parks
2-5 days Universal theme parks
2 days Sea World (optional or save $180)
2 days Disney water parks
-----------------
11-14 days of activity, without a rest - whew! You may opt to skip Sea World and save $180 or save some days on your Disney tix for a future visit.

I'd put the cost of air & car at ~$1,000. Look online at Orbitz or Expedia. Get the flight number of your best fare quote, then call the airline's 800# and book it directly. Discount deals on car rentals are sometimes posted on the Transportation forum. Occasionally, the airlines offer a fly-drive option that's little more than the cost of the air along so ask when you call the airline of choice.

SkyAuction.com, HotelKingdom.com and 11thHourVacations.com are all good sources for cheap hotels and weekly timeshare rentals. You ought to be able to get very comfortable lodging for your family near the theme parks, at a place with a nice pool for ~$600-$800 for the 10 nights.

..$360 Universal
..$180 Sea World
..$860 Disney theme & water parks
$1000 transportation
..$600 lodging
----------------
$3000 not including food, gas, parking or shopping

Personally, I would choose one theme park venue and hold off on the other for a future trip. Bringing 3 young children through that much park touring in one trip would be exhausting for the entire family!

If you only use a 6 day Park Hopper Plus, you could enjoy 6 days at the Disney parks and 3 days at the water parks. Include some rest and pool time at your hotel. You may be able to afford a nicer place to stay, either a lovely resort (think 2BR condo at a luxury resort with kids' activities from SkyAuction!) offsite or an onsite themed value hotel. According to Mousesavers.com, Paramount sometimes even gives a free character breakfast with each 6 day park hopper plus pass.

If you only use a 14 day FLEX pass, you could enjoy plenty of time at the Universal parks, Sea World & Wet N Wild., plus pool time at your resort. If you upgrade to a 5 park pass, you could spend a week in Orlando then a couple of nights in Tampa by the beach, with a day or 2 at Busch Gardens.

By trying to put so much into a 10 day trip, you may be spending much more than you need to, and end up with less quality time, enjoying your family at a reasonable pace. Remember that the thing most kids ask for repeatedly during a summer visit to Orlando is more fun time at the hotel pool or water parks! Just some food for thought.

 

[BrerMama]

I'll agree with Lisa in that you probably need to choose one or the other if you're really trying to make this a budget trip. We used Hotel Kingdom and the process has been very easy and has gotten us a very nice, roomy suite for only $60/night. We have decided to only do Disney on our 9 day trip. We'll get 6 day park hoppers, use a Plus on a water park and then not go to parks on our arrival and departure days. Our airfare was decent from our hometown at $200/person, but with taxes that bumped us up to $1200 for 5 tickets. Our rental car will be $225. We're not going to hit close to $3000 but plan to spend another $1000 on food and souvenirs. It's just not cheap to do Disney properly.