kristenhh
Why can't we go to DL for EVERY vacation?
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
We had a few goals for this trip:
1. Celebrate my husband’s Birthday and help him forget he is turning the big 50 on this trip.
2. Enjoy time with our cast member daughter who lives here.
3. Do it for practically nothing!
We did pretty good on all of them. Let’s start with #3. How can we do it for practically nothing you ask? Well you really need to have a cast member family member. She could get the 3 of us (Me, Husband, 17 y/o son) into the parks for free.
We could have stayed at her apartment for free, but her roommates might not like that, so my husband started looking at paying for a hotel with points we had accrued. We found a great deal at the WDW Dolphin Hotel. We have never stayed here, but have always wanted to stay in the Epcot resort area, so we were very excited. We had to make 2 reservations using 2 sources for points, but we were able to get a room totally covered by points.
Now for flights. We had done a deal to get a Southwest credit card, which gave us a lot of points, and a companion pass for a year, so one of us can always fly free. We have one child still at home, and even though it will be the beginning of the school year, we decided to pull him out and take him with us. Southwest actually started a direct flight from our home town to Orlando- which is the best thing ever- and I was able to cover two flights, with the third one free with the points I had. So the flights are free – and a direct flight!
So really, the only big cost left is food. Again, we are lucky to have a CM daughter, who just happened to save her Holiday discount coupons from last Christmas, and they are still good. These are coupons that are good for 50%, 40%, and 30% off at most table service restaurants. AND there is a whole list of restaurants that she always gets a 40% discount at. So we tried to plan all of our meals at discount places, or where she could use a coupon. We had a great plan, but then the season changed, and the places she could get 40% off changed, and then they shortened the places she could use her coupons. So we had to make some adjustments. The worst was Le Cellier had to be cut. I know not everyone loves Le Cellier, but I do. I have always had an outstanding meal there. It is my favorite restaurant in the world. Not Disneyworld – THE WORLD. But we would have to pay full price, and this trip is about bargains. And it’s not my Birthday.
Here's all the places we ate:
Wolfgang Puck Express
Trail’s End Brunch
Backlot Express
Boma (dinner)
Kona Café (lunch)
Flying Fish
F&W Festival (lunch)
La Cantina de San Angel (dinner)
Be Our Guest (lunch)
Jiko
Coral Reef
F&W (dinner)
Beaches & Cream (dessert)
Skipper’s Canteen
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner)
Satuli
Yak & Yeti
I will concentrate on the food, with some trip details and some pictures thrown in.
1. Celebrate my husband’s Birthday and help him forget he is turning the big 50 on this trip.
2. Enjoy time with our cast member daughter who lives here.
3. Do it for practically nothing!
We did pretty good on all of them. Let’s start with #3. How can we do it for practically nothing you ask? Well you really need to have a cast member family member. She could get the 3 of us (Me, Husband, 17 y/o son) into the parks for free.
We could have stayed at her apartment for free, but her roommates might not like that, so my husband started looking at paying for a hotel with points we had accrued. We found a great deal at the WDW Dolphin Hotel. We have never stayed here, but have always wanted to stay in the Epcot resort area, so we were very excited. We had to make 2 reservations using 2 sources for points, but we were able to get a room totally covered by points.
Now for flights. We had done a deal to get a Southwest credit card, which gave us a lot of points, and a companion pass for a year, so one of us can always fly free. We have one child still at home, and even though it will be the beginning of the school year, we decided to pull him out and take him with us. Southwest actually started a direct flight from our home town to Orlando- which is the best thing ever- and I was able to cover two flights, with the third one free with the points I had. So the flights are free – and a direct flight!
So really, the only big cost left is food. Again, we are lucky to have a CM daughter, who just happened to save her Holiday discount coupons from last Christmas, and they are still good. These are coupons that are good for 50%, 40%, and 30% off at most table service restaurants. AND there is a whole list of restaurants that she always gets a 40% discount at. So we tried to plan all of our meals at discount places, or where she could use a coupon. We had a great plan, but then the season changed, and the places she could get 40% off changed, and then they shortened the places she could use her coupons. So we had to make some adjustments. The worst was Le Cellier had to be cut. I know not everyone loves Le Cellier, but I do. I have always had an outstanding meal there. It is my favorite restaurant in the world. Not Disneyworld – THE WORLD. But we would have to pay full price, and this trip is about bargains. And it’s not my Birthday.
Here's all the places we ate:
Wolfgang Puck Express
Trail’s End Brunch
Backlot Express
Boma (dinner)
Kona Café (lunch)
Flying Fish
F&W Festival (lunch)
La Cantina de San Angel (dinner)
Be Our Guest (lunch)
Jiko
Coral Reef
F&W (dinner)
Beaches & Cream (dessert)
Skipper’s Canteen
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner)
Satuli
Yak & Yeti
I will concentrate on the food, with some trip details and some pictures thrown in.