Who wants to help me plan our trip?

[neatokimmo]

We are volunteering! We are going to Disney for a day! yay! lol

Actually, we are going for the shuttle launch. But a free Disney ticket doesn't hurt at all

I need help making this trip cheaper without stealing or being murdered in my motel lol

Here is the itinerary:

• Saturday May 8th - driving to Orlando.
• Sunday 9th- we are buying the 3 park Sea World Pass. It slays me that DDs ticket is $109 too - yikes - welcome to three year old land huh? Is $109 the least expensive option?
• Monday - MAGIC KINGDOM! I have enough rewards points to pay for DDs ticket and for one of our meals.
• Tuesday - Sea World Stuff
• Wednesday - More Sea World stuff
• Thursday - leave for the beach. Any beach. on the East coast. Not too far from the launch site.
• Friday - Launch
• Saturday - Kennedy Space Center (I did send an email to my Senator for tickets, I've not heard back. Are there coupons for this?)
• Sun - beach
• Mon - beach
• Tues - drive home

I need 5 Orlando nights and 5 beach nights. I need suggestions on how to eat cheap. I am not against packing food because we are driving. Can I take food into Sea World? I know parking charges everywhere are crazy, is there anyway to save there? Where would you stay off property in Orlando? Can I get a room for us in the $50 range without it being gross? Recommendations for the beach? I need a pool and it needs to be ocean front.

My budget for 2010 vacation was $400. Ha ha ha

Help please!

 

[reginaastralis]

I live in the area ... but I really don't know anything about hotels. However, I was going to mention Cocoa Beach. It's right by Kennedy Space Center, and it's where they launch the cruise ships. It's so NEAT to watch the Disney cruise ships take off ... I'll be honest, I can't remember what day they do it.

I am thinking about going then as well. I know it will be PACKED!

 

[neatokimmo]

I've always wanted to see a shuttle launch up close and I've read this is the last year! Is that true?

When I lived in Orlando, I could see it from my front yard with binoculars. It was about 2 inches tall lol

Any hints for launch day? I figured traffic would be horrible. And we don't need to be right on it, Natalie might wig out.

I totally forgot about the cruise ships! I'll check the schedule and add it to our free fun

 

[reginaastralis]

I'll be honest, we live on the east coast ... so I don't know names of beaches or parks or anything like that. My gma lives in Titusville, so that's how I know anything about it.

There is a park that a lot of people, tourist, not locals go to watch the shuttle launches. It's across the water, so it's not super close. Which is good, honestly. I canNOT remember what it's called, but I will ask my mom about it in the morning.

I thought that was the "last" launch of the shuttle program, but maybe I am wrong about that. I swear the news said the one that is going off this week was the second to last. This launch is going to be a night one, and I would kill to be there for it ... but it's at 4am ... and my dd is NOT a morning person.

But, yeah, I am planning a disney vacation for May now as well, lol.

 

[Mickey527]

I have always wanted to see a shuttle launch up close too but every time I planned around a launch it was scrubbed and went on after I had left FL.
I really doubt that you will find anything for $400 total though. good luck on that one.
One of the best places I stayed for a scrubbed launch was at Melbourne Beach. I got a fantastic room that had a small kitchenette, a living area with a couch that opened to a queen bed, and two queen beds in the bedroom. the bedroom had a patio that looked out to the beach and toward the launce. With binoculars you could see the launch site. I remember that all the rooms looked out to the beach, there were no rooms opposite.
I can't remember the name of the hotel, this was way back when my boys were around 6,8 and 10, they are now 27, 30, and 32.
If you do a search for Melbourne Beach hotels alot come up. Try and find one in your price range. Maybe once you find one do a search for discounts or packages. But you might want to book early because the priced might go up around launch time.
I also do remember that Melbourne was an island, or inlet so there is a bit of driving (20-30 min) to get to the main land but we had lots of choices for take out. We like to try the fast foods that we don't have up here in CT so we had a blast finding new places.
This might not be in your budget but you might want to try and save for a Orlando flex ticket. It is around $220 for 5 parks, 7 days at Universal, Sea World, Wet and Wild, Aquatica and I think Busch Gardens. This would be more fun than 3 days at Sea World, I don't think I could spend 3 days at Sea World without getting bored. I am not beyond doing a time share tour for a free ticket or two. Send me a pm for info, I do them all the time but get slammed on boards for "wasting my time.
when I go down to Orlando one of the places I stay alot is Comfort Inn. Notbecaue the hotel is great, it is just average, but you can find some really great rates if you look around. I usually pay between $29 and $39 a night for two beds, a microwave and a small fridge. I have never used the pools but alot of people do seem to have fun there.

 

[neatokimmo]

Someone told my Mom of a time share group that offered a reduced stay if you did their presentation. Does that ring a bell with anyone?

So far cost wise, we are up to:
Disney, my ticket is free, the kiddo's will be paid for with points. I think I have enough points to get CS meals too.
Sea World / Aquatica pass - $99 X 2. She is too little for Bush Gardens. But they offer a shuttle so I'm not ruling it out since it is just $10 more.
Kennedy Space Center - we'll only go if the passes come in. My Mom doesn't want to pay $35 to go.
Launch - free!
Gas - about $150 (I'll split this with my Mom)

So $250 plus half of 10 nights of the motel and our food. I guess my goal is to keep to $750ish.

 

[neatokimmo]

I have always wanted to see a shuttle launch up close too but every time I planned around a launch it was scrubbed and went on after I had left FL.

That is another reason we are going in May, not Sept. That way if we miss it, we'll have another shot.

 

[SandrA9810]

I thought sea world tickets were cheaper than that, and they do the 2nd day free thing too. So one adult ticket should only be 75 dollars for two days. You can also check on the sea world board, lots of people know the prices and how to get discounts for that. I'd definatly book early for the shuttle launch. With the countdown to the last few ever, there's going to be a lot of people. And it's good you'll be here for a few days afterwards, if they must scrub the launch.
I'm not to fimiliar with the east coast hotels, but there's plenty of good hotels near sea world for cheap. And you'll be close to I-drive so you can pick anything you want for dining. Just remember, sea word food is more than disney, you might want to leave and come back for dinner. But don't miss shamu rocks. If you stay along i-drive, you can use the trolley that'lll take you to the gates a lot cheaper than parking fee.

And that orlando flex ticket, gives you free parking at all the parks, so it might be worth it.

Don't have much more advise on the top of my head at the moment. But check out the sea world board for better info..

 

[neatokimmo]

The ticket we are getting is for Seaworld and Aquatica, unlimited access for 14 days. I figure with a 3 yr old, we can take our time

 

[SandrA9810]

how much is the orlando flex ticket??

But i guess if you get bored at the beach, you can come back to sea world, as long as the shuttle goes off when it's supposed to. I think it's that time of year when we get a lot of rip currents, which you wouldn't want to go out into the water further than your ankles. Although with a 3yr old i can't imagine you going that much further.

I know there's a lot of new hotels popping up on the south side of sea world. A family friend stayed in one of those condo style places, and it was really nice, but her parents were part of a time share. So i don't know the cost. It was like a 5min drive from the gate. If you would prefer to cook your own meals, then maybe you could go for one of these with a kitchen, then you'd be able to take it as slow as your little one wants.

Sea world can easily be taken in, in a day or two. But there's a lot of fun hands on experiences that she probably won't get tired of.