Vacationing with a tight wallet...Our First trip to Universal

[avic77]

i think it is a sickness..........

I think so too

I have read in a few places that you haven't received your free ticket to UO yet.

call them and get the voucher number.
write it down.
when you go, use the outside the park guest service window and pick up your ticket then.

you will sleep better at night if you know your ticket is waiting for you there.

Im going to call Monday about my ticket. I want to give it till the end of the week but my heart does drop everytime I check the mail and it isnt there

 

[avic77]

I got my free ticket voucher in todays mail . I am getting so excited about this vacation .
For some reason Universal has more of an air of mystery to it. You don't have hundreds of threads telling you every little detail like there is with Disney World. I feel like there is more for us to "discover" own our own. We will also be forced to explore more of the Orlando outside vast Theme park properties. Since will be staying in an offsite condo and Universal closes at such an early hour (6pm ) we will be forced to go in search of food in the wild expanses of Orlando. I am sure DH will not enjoy manuvering strange streets but my MIL will be with us and she has been to Orlando quite a bit.

 

[WDWMaiselFamilyWDW]

Enjoying your PTR! I am thinking our next WDW visit may include off-site accomodations and some time at Universal and IOA so I am reading with that in mind. My husband has been itching to check them out. I'm of course afraid that he won't want to go to Disney anymore (or stay on property) after Univ/IOA!

Keep up the good work!

 

[avic77]

I measured the Darling Children today....
DD 15 has grown a 1/2 inch since last summer and is now a full inch taller then me She is 5'9"
DD 9 hasnt grown any since I measured her in January. She is still 53" However last summer she was 50" so she has grown alot.
DS 6 has grown a solid inch since january! He is now 45" but still too short for Mummy

I might measure them again a couple weeks before we leave just so I have their ID tags completely accurate.

I am trying to figure out "after pthe park closes" entertainment. US and IOA close at 6pm (5pm for us CST folks) which is pretty early IMO. I am figuring dinner will take a good hour of that time each evening and one night my MIL will take the kids back to the condo while DH and I go to City Walk. One night we would like to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner at TRex and shopping but that still leaves us 3 nights open to do something.

 

[xmattodx]

I've enjoyed reading your pre-trip report. I hope that you all have a wonderful stress free time!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

It is indeed possible to go to Orlando and not break the bank!

There have been some great budget ideas posted on this thread, and OP I can tell you are enjoying your lack of "heavy" prep for this trip. Here's another fun free thing to do (ok, it's fun for me) -- you can take the boats at CityWalk to the 3 resort hotels and check them out. You can't swim in the pools, but it is nice to see what they have to offer and get an idea if you would like to stay there for a future trip. The boat ride is quick, no matter which resort you are headed to. If you go to PBH, you can stop at the Emack and Bolio's for an ice cream treat (not really budget, but yummy!).

We are headed to US/IOA in August, so I'm eager to hear all your details!

Maria

 

[Darcy03231]

I am trying to figure out "after pthe park closes" entertainment. US and IOA close at 6pm (5pm for us CST folks) which is pretty early IMO. I am figuring dinner will take a good hour of that time each evening and one night my MIL will take the kids back to the condo while DH and I go to City Walk. One night we would like to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner at TRex and shopping but that still leaves us 3 nights open to do something.

I posted about this a while back (we're there the same week you are) and a bunch of helpful DISers suggested mini-golf out on I-Drive, Funspot, or the movies (there's a big movie theater right in Citywalk).

 

[avic77]

The days are ticking by and I have nothing to do to speed them along! What am I going to do to pass this time .

Yes I am enjoying a more laid back planning period. I have stopped myself many times from looking for a different hotel just becuase I am bored (though I think the Nick Hotel looks like a tone of fun and wish I would have picked it but it's not exactly "budget")

We have just 31 more days to go

 

[macraven]

Emack and Bolio's is at hrh ground floor.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Whoops! macraven -- any other not to miss fun things at the hotels? I know you know!

Maria

 

[macraven]

Whoops! macraven -- any other not to miss fun things at the hotels? I know you know!

Maria

it's just that i know my ice cream and snacks...........

and where the best fudge and cheesecake can be bought.....

 

[avic77]

and where the best fudge and cheesecake can be bought.....

Whats that I hear....Cheesecake, Fudge???
Ok Chickie, you gotta spill the details... this girl Cheesecake and Fudge

 

[Jakemeister]

There are some really fun things that you can do after park hours on I-Drive, Celebration/Kissimmee and Downtown Orlando.

I-Drive has lots of things to see some tacky others not. Some include the World's Largest McDonald's, Fun Spot(Mini Amusement Park w/ Go Carts and some attractions), Festival Bay Mall(Awesome shopping and really cool mall), Congo River Golf(An Orlando Putt Putt staple), and one of my favorites WonderWorks(although kinda gimmicky they have a awesome Laser Tag Arena, and a really cool walk through exhibit."

Kissimmee/Celebration might be kind of out of the way if your staying close to Orlando. There is one thing I love in this area alot. It's an amusement park called Old Town. Parking and admission is free and there is a bunch of little things to check out here. Medieval Times is also over here.

Downtown Orlando is a fun place to explore on a weekNIGHT. I kind of avoid it on weekends. It's really crowded and has a party atmosphere those nights. If you have a few hours to kill though it really is a fun place to explore and has a beautiful park(Lake Eola).

 

[cannonballer]

Hello all
I thought i would make a pre trip report to channel some of my excitement about our up coming vacation to Universal and Islands of Adventure. Last year my husband myself and the 3 kids went on our first family vacation ever to WDW! It was a wonderful trip and we really broke the bank going all out with staying onsite, dining etc. That 7 days in Disney ran us about 5k .
This year after I started getting all these special offers I started hinting that we should go again. My wonderful Dh gently told me that right now with the economy in the condition its in along with the uncertainty surrounding his occupation he could not see spending 3k (the amount a WDW special would have cost) on a vacation . However he understood that haveing a family vacation is important and good for all of us so he would let me have $1200 from the income tax return for vacation .
I immediatly set to work looking for a fun family getaway . I wanted to actually GO somewhere not the typical day trips we had been doing for years the local touristy places. In my researching i discovered that we could get Universal tickets for 1/2 the price of WDW tickets and there are always deals on hotels in orlando . So i narrowed our options down to 2 places both about 8 hours drive : Gatlinburg Tn with 6 nights in a cabin with white water rafting, horseback riding, a cavern tour, gem mining, and a few local attractions ( no Dollywood) or 6 nights in a 2 bedroom condo in Orlando with the unlimited 7 days 2 parks Universal and Islands of Adventure tickets.
A family meeting was called and I went over the options. The kids voted and it was settled: We are going to Universal

Next up the cast & crew and the budget

I wouldve picked Gatlinburg but hey I am biased! lol
I love gatlinburg and hey if it gets too hot in gatlinburg you could always do the 1/2 hike to clingmans dome where it is a cool 40 degrees in the middle of july! Theres just more to do there! you have the mountains adn the theme parks plus a WHOLE lot more! P.S> the best fudge is in the smokies! Because of the atmosphere!

 

[avic77]

So we are just 12 days away from the Budget Vacation of the year and Dh got laid of work last week

But I have prepaid everything except food so there is really no point in canceling the trip, the kids would be crushed. Dh has serverance pay till July so we are still going . Honestly I think we all need a little fun and relaxation after the past couple months on the bad economy and unemployment roller coaster.

Of course we are 12 days from vacation and I can't get my head in the game. I should be pulling out suitcases and picking up travel products but instead i am looking at job listings and houses in far away states

 

[poeticdiabetic]

I was unemployed one time while at Disney. It was a great move on my part, too. Best decision ever.

Why? Because I went and just had the best fun I could even think about. I brought my phone, but didn't even keep it with me. I left it in a safe and didn't check it until I came back to the hotel.

Oh, and my wife did something really cool. She actually did it again this last trip. She went to the bank and took out the money that we were to spend and put it in little envelopes marked "Gas" or "Food" or "Parking." That way, we didn't worry about the budget while there because we worried all about it when before we left. So all we did was just have fun and hang out!

But when I got back, I was totally refreshed and ready to tackle the problem of being unemployed. Oh, and your kids' laughter and merriment will take a lot of the worries of dealing with financial issues away.

So if I was you, I would mark a point before you go on your way to not talk about your issues. Ours is always when we get in the car after our late-night, pre-trip Walmart run. When we get back in that car, our issues are left in the parking lot.

 

[cjnix29]

We will be there the same time you will be! Sorry to hear about the job loss. That really sucks, but hope you can still have a great time! I am learning from your budgeting, hoping to make this a budget trip for us too. We are sandwiching our trip to Universal with Disney. We have never stayed off site before, and never been to Universal. Looking forward to it! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!! Have a great one!

 

[Lucky'sMom]

I'm enjoying your pre-trip report, and so sorry about your DH getting laid off. I am "thinking" of asking my DH about a US/IOA trip this summer...a budget trip as well. We are going to WDW for Thanksgiving week, and I hate to lose any days by trying to cram US/IOA in for just a day or two. We won the free Super Bowl ticket, but I have 5 kids so that's still alot of tickets to buy. I'm a Marriott associate, so I can get a great rate at a Marriott Vacation Club property. But...I've only done US/IOA with on-site privileges, so I worry about trying to visit in the summer w/o it. I haven't asked DH yet, I guess I'm worried that he'll think I'm crazy. I priced it out, though, and with driving, it's actually cheaper than going to Williamsburg or a beach destination. Wish me luck!

 

[stacy347]

I have also been enjoying your report so far!

Sorry to hear about the layoff, but you are probably right about going ahead with the plans since you've already budgeted everything anyway.

Hope you guys have a great time and can't wait to hear how it went!!

 

[avic77]

3 days till our Budget trip to Universal!
I have all the suitcases packed (except toiletries which I will pack Sunday morning) . The house is clean, can't go on vacation with a dirty house!

All thats left is the last minute things you have to do right before leaving.

When I get back I will dish out all the fun details for you guys!