Two guys on a budget - what would you recommend?

[maxiv]

Hey folks,

I'm not exactly sure where to post it so I'll post this in the "Budget Board" and "Orlando Hotels and Attractions". Thank you for understanding

Well I was quite active on the disboards until about 2-3 years ago. I was a cast member at the German Pavillion at EPCOT from 2007 - 2008 and haven't been back to disney since.

I'm planning to change that and I want to go with friend from December 10 - 24 (those dates are not very much flexible).

We're on a pretty tight budget so we won't be staying at a Disney hotel (allthough I really wish we would). Since I still know some people working for Disney I guess i will be able to get free into the parks for about....hm, let's say 8 of the 14 days (I hope!).

So we need a flight, a place to stay, probably a rental car (We're both 23) and restaurants....i'd like to go to some nice places occasionally (hollywood brown derby, ohanas and so on) but we will probably also go shopping to walmart and take care of our selves.

What else is there to say....I don't know...

Anyway, can u guys please recommend the best for us regarding least expensive hotel near Disney and how to handle the park-entrance-fees for the days that we won't get in for free? I guess we could spend some time with resort-hopping on some days but if we would like to go to the parks - is there a certain deal that we should take advantage of?

Thank you in advance for helping me

Max

 

[Suz D]

Check into the free dining promotion they have going on right now. Stay at a value hotel onsite so you don't have to rent a car (use Magical Express, it's free). Your hotel will cost you a tiny bit more than a super cheap one off-site, but with two counter service meals & two snacks per person per day, plus a refillable resort mug for each person, you'll likely end up ahead. Then just get a 6 day MYW base pass for each of you for the other days you won't have free passes. The system will try to give you more days worth of passes, but just change it so you only have 6. If you don't end up having enough free days from friends, you can always add additional days for less than $5 per person per day.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I agree with the PP....free dining at a value! In addition to your food and transportation being free...you'll also save on parking too...$14 a day!

For 2 people I really think you'll come ahead going with this plan.

 

[maxiv]

would you guys mind showing me an example? when i go to disneyworld.com and configure for example the POP, it comes out with about $1800 for 14 nights for 2 people including dining plan but NO park tickets.

could you guys show me and do the math for me?

i really appreciate your help!

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Okay you need to click on the special offers in the lower righthand corner....

Here's the breakdown for your trip....

Dec. 10-24
Pop Century standard view room
10 day base ticket
quick service dining...2 counter service meals, 2 snacks per day/per person...1 refillable mug per person

Total: $2,290.68

You can upgrade to table service dining for another $12 or so per person. You can also add the park hopper onto your pass as well...I believe it's around $54

For a 2 week trip for 2 people...including your lodging, dining, park tickets, transportation....I think that's a really good deal!

 

[Suz D]

I come up with $2265 including room, dining and 6 days park tickets.

Part of the reason it's so expensive is because part of your stay is in value season and part is in Holiday Season. From December 17th-24th your room is costing about $140.00 night plus tax. You might consider a split stay with the first part being onsite with the free dining (Dec 10-16th) and then the other part 17th-24th being offsite at a less expensive hotel. You can rent a car right at Disney and you are able to buy 10 day tickets with your package even if you're only staying 7 nights.

It's just a really expensive time of year to come to Florida. If your schedule was at all flexible, you could knock a good chunk off that amount by coming in January.

 

[Suz D]

You can upgrade to table service dining for another $12 or so per person. You can also add the park hopper onto your pass as well...I believe it's around $54

For a 2 week trip for 2 people...including your lodging, dining, park tickets, transportation....I think that's a really good deal!

Remember that the upgrade to table service is $12 per person per day. You will also have gratuities on top of that so be sure to factor that in.

I agree that 14 days at WDW for two people for that price is a great value.

 

[Belle5]

You could take the above mentioned price down by reducing to a 2 day base pass (the minimum to get the free meal plan) since you say you should be able to get into the parks for free most days anyways...

 

[HS3kids]

I could be wrong but wouldnt you subtract the amount for the dining plan from your package, if its a free dining promotion? That might help with the numbers.

Edited to add: my bad- that was probably already done... went to disney website... for Dec 10-24 @ All star Sports, free dining and 4 day base tickets= $2252.34... thats about what others were posting... should have done my homework first!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Rental cars have been very expensive the last few years, rental companies have smaller fleets and are raising the rates... Plus you are under 25, nearly every company has a daily surcharge anywhere from $15 to $50 a day. I think Hertz is the only one that doesn't have a surchage, but they tend to be the most expensive to rent from.

http://www.bnm.com/uage2.htm

I would really try for on property with free dining!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Personally I would look into offsite. I think you can do better then the pricing you are being quoted, have more space and eat at some better places.


What's your expected Luxury Level. I just found the Clarion Lake Buena VIsta (formerly the Comfort Inn) for $60 a night. That's two double beds, coffee maker, fridge, microwave, etc. (none of which you are getting at that Disney value! )
A couple of thoughts Look into the various rental homes. That would give you a lot of space, but may be more then you want to spend.


Since you are in Germany do some reseach with local travel companies. YOu might try posting this on the Orlando board on TripAdvisor.com Lots of English visitors there who might be able to point you to a reputable tour broker where you can get a deal on the car/hotel/airfare. That can get you around the underage driver issue and will add the insurance you need. Airfare may be a deal breaker... its high this year. A tour company might be able to help with that too!

 

[cbg1027]

I think it would actually be cheaper for you to stay in a Disney hotel. Then you wouldn't need to worry about the expense of renting a car, and paying the $14 a day to park it! Also, it is even more expensive to rent a car when you're under 25. They add more charges for being a young driver, so renting a car would be very expensive.

I have stayed off and on site in the past year, and on site is a much better way to go, I think. I hated having to drive so much further, even though my hotel was very close to Disney. It added a LOT of transportation time to my day.

Check out the value resorts. There is a 25% discount available to the general public you could use on the price of the room.

Before you consider the free dining promotions, I would look at how you eat. You lived in the states for a while ...... so you know the amount of food is a LOT more than what is served in Europe. No point in paying for food you might not eat.

Do the math and see how much you would spend booking a value resort at 25% off and paying for your food as you go.

Then see how much the cost of the free dining package is. Depending on how much you want to eat, one discount might work better for you than the other.

 

[mousermerf]

You need to read up on some of the better bargain hunting websites and you have to put the effort into looking for pricing trends yourself - it's not something anyone else wil be willing to spend the time on doing for you. Hotels, airfare, rental cars - it all fluctuates.

You have to know when it's rock bottom and when to pounce.

I spent a month in Paris and got a DLP AP for less then your original price for the hotel.

 

[jpeppers]

If you are going to rent a car stay off site in a condo like Cypress Pt, you will save on meals with the full kitchen plus if you are going to be there for a couple of weeks the Washer/Dryer would be great to have plus 3 pools. I would also consider some of the other parks for the days that you can't get into Disney for free, a few days at Universal is a lot cheaper than Disney or Seaworld has the extra free day with your 1 day ticket and I would bet in December you could even get a very good rate at Discovery Cove and with that you would get 14 day passes to SW, Aquatica or Busch Gardens. If I was going on a budget to orlando I would definitely look at the other options available in Orlando. I am taking my daughter in February and we are staying at the BWV but outside of 1 day at the Magic Kingdom and a day at Typhoon Lagoon (because she has never been there) we are going to do most of the rest of our time at Universal because it is a huge savings. Love being at Disney but there is definitely alot more out there.

 

[klynn]

If you decide to stay off-site, you can get 1BR-2BR condos with full kitchens and washer/dryer for under $100/night. Here is a link:
http://www.wyndham-vacations.com

 

[brymolmom]

Check out travelzoo.com for deals -

I know the Hampton Inn Florida Mall has a deal (not sure when it ends though) going for $35 a night - this includes a big breakfast. Even though you'll have to rent a car (small for just 2 of you) I think that the savings here would be greater than staying onsite. If you have a car - you can grab some groceries from the store - have a nice big free breakfast, bring a sandwich to the park for lunch - and grab a quick CS meal for dinner ($8 - $10) OR stop offsite on your way back to hotel and grab a pizza to share or other takeout for cheap. This way - you're only buying one meal per day.