WWYD - Plans seriously downsized

[siren0119]

I know this one is a hard pill to swallow, but I would likely postpone the vacation. Yes, I would eat the cost of the flights. But I would rather have that disappointment then doing 1 or 2 abbreviated park days and then trying to find things to do on the cheap using public transportation. I think you will find it more frustrating and stressful from the moment you leave your house. And I only see that ending badly.

Yes the kids will be disappointed. But they will get over it and WDW is not going anywhere.

I hear you - we decided to keep the trip knowing that we will be going back in 2021 and for *my* brain I couldn't swallow canceling and flushing away the spent money - my kids don't even know we're going yet so I can definitely present any final plans to them in a way that will keep them excited about going on vacation. As far as the Public transport goes, I really only mentioned it as an option if we could get to something outside of the Disney area and it made sense - it's not really the pivot point for us. We are staying within walking distance of Disney Springs, so getting anywhere in Disney is covered. We have taken trips to NYC and DC where we entirely relied on public transport, and we have a limited public bus system in my town that my kids are very comfortable using.

 

[siren0119]

I would do an after hours event. Not only are they WAY less crowded, and you can do more, but they also include all of the popcorn, soda, and mickey bars you want! That might help alleviate the ask for treats later. I would also choose a Water Park. Cheaper than MNSSHP and it will be hot enough clear through November. Mini golf is great. If you can make it to the outlets, the Character Warehouse has Disney Parks products for 50% off +
Also, check Groupon for cheap tickets to Aquatica. I saw them for like $30 recently. We also got the Aerophile hot air balloon ride at the Springs from Groupon

Some other free DISNEY events I recommend checking out:
Chip and Dale Campfire sing along at the Fort
Free tour and food tasting at Boma and Jiko
Spending the afternoon at AKL. You can see the animals, decorate cookies, get face painting, and more.
Ride the monorail/boats/skyliner

Enjoy your trip!

I totally forgot that the DAH events included drinks and treats! I have been checking LivingSocial and Groupon for the Aerophile experience, I'll add Aquatica to my search too. We definitely planned to do at least one afternoon at Fort Wilderness including the campfire, but I didn't realize there was that much to do at AKL as well - thank you for the ideas!

One other thing to do that is fun and free is see the Yee Haw Bob show at Port Orleans. It takes place in the evenings at the River Rooster Lounge and it loads of fun and family friendly. You can get a whole pizza at the quick serve at POR for dinner and then catch the show. Look him up on You Tube there are a lot of video's of him

This is perfect!!!

Since money is so tight and you need to keep track of costs, don't forget the parking fees at disney.

As of now we don't plan on getting a car - but that's definitely in the back of my mind as I add things up, if we get to a point where transportation costs would come close to rental + parking I'd probably swing in favor of having my own car. We would have parking costs at our hotel too if we rented, so it's definitely on the radar.

 

[stephk1981]

The lynx bus system WILL get you where you need to go.....however, as someone who used to live in Orlando.....be prepared to wait, as long as you add on an hour to whatever time you need to be somewhere then you should be fine. I always found it safe, and only about 1 percent of the time does a bus just not show up at all. I have had buses come early by a couple of minutes though! I'm sorry the vacation you all planned for isn't happening, but this is still a family trip that I know you all will enjoy! Have a great time

 

[Random Ninja]

Definitely look up free/cheap things to do in the Orlando area and Disney. There’s really so much to do besides the theme parks. Not sure how long you are going but make a plan. I would do MNSSHP since it’s a family favorite and put it towards the end of your trip so there is something to look forward to. Take a look at Groupon/Living Social/Go City for discounts like the Fun Spot Sampler, Crayola Experience, Ripley’s, Madame Tussades, Florida Aquarium, Coco Key water park, and Aquatica.

If you’re staying for more than a couple days, you’ll want a plan to from the bored expenses; the “what are we doing next”. Again, no idea how long you’re staying but here’s a sample of what’s possible.

Day One:
Arrival, check in
Grocery delivery
Swim in the pool
Dinner at Disney Springs

Day Two:
Breakfast in room
Uber/Lyft to off site activity
Return for lunch in room
Pool time
Dinner at CR or Poly with fireworks viewing

Day Three:
Breakfast in room
Transportation card hunt-go on as many forms of Disney transportation and ask CMs for cards
End up in the Crescent Lake area for a QS lunch/Explore resorts
Walk over to Fantasia Gardens for mini golf
Return to hotel for pool time
Take water taxi from DS to POR for Yee Ha Bob’s show & dinner

Day Four:
Breakfast in room
Explore DS
Lunch in DS or room
MNSSHP

Day Five:
Sleep in
Brunch in room
Pool time
Collect transportation cards on the way to Fort Wilderness
Early dinner at Trails End or take out
Wagon ride around to look at Halloween decorations (around $8-$10 pp)
Chip&Dale sing a long

Day Six:
Breakfast in room
Pack up/pool time
DS lunch if time
Return to airport, fly home

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

If you go to fort wilderness you might want to check out the carriage ride. I think it’s about $50.

Our next trip I’m hoping to see the horses at Firt Wilderness, then take the sleigh ride... & then do the Chip & Dake sing along right afterwards & Then take the boat back to MK.

I’m really looking forward to that afternoon in December ( we’ve already booked the sleigh ride)

If the weather is pretty I’d like to check into the kayaks you can rent there too as I love kayaking & it sounds fun.

Could be a fun afternoon on the cheap side.

 

[Coloradomom]

Another coat effective idea. Combine a nice meal at Trails End at Fort Wilderness (reasonable price, good food, fun atmosphere) and then enjoy the free activities at Fort Wilderness. Just walking the trails is lots of fun and the aforementioned movies at night, you van grab a bus from Disney Springs to get there and back.
Wilderness Lodge also does a free tour.

 

[MrsPete]

1. Use the Dis GC for tickets to MNSSHP (one of our favorite things to do) and one DAH event - that would about eat up the full amount, but would give us 2 park visits while we're there.

I hear you when you say the after-hours activities are your favorites ... but they're only a couple hours vs. a whole day with a regular ticket. I think I'd rather have the whole day.

Have you considered doing a timeshare presentation at the beginning of the week? My parents were the king and queen of timeshare presentations, and the gift is usually a couple tickets. Study up on them ahead of time, and you'll find out what to expect. This could stretch your budget. When we were kids, no one had in-home video game systems, and we actually liked being "dropped off" in the babysitting area, which was full of free video games.

Some other free DISNEY events I recommend checking out:
Chip and Dale Campfire sing along at the Fort
Free tour and food tasting at Boma and Jiko
Spending the afternoon at AKL. You can see the animals, decorate cookies, get face painting, and more.
Ride the monorail/boats/skyliner

These are excellent ideas.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but why doesn't one parent take the kids to the Halloween event, then the other take them to the DAH event. I know the whole family isn't at either, but you would save the two adult ticket prices for another entire family event somewhere. And a parent gets to relax one evening on their own.

While this fits under the title of "Sometimes being an adult sucks", it's not a bad idea!

Resort hopping ...

The resorts offer SO MUCH along the lines of free entertainment.

Last thought: With money being in short supply, pack VERY CAREFULLY ... small things like Tylenol, bandaids, sunscreen cost so little at home /so much in Orlando.

Real last thought: Be sure to pack your glass-is-half-full attitude. I think you're well on your way already, but be sure to keep focusing on what you CAN do ... not what you CAN'T do.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Another coat effective idea. Combine a nice meal at Trails End at Fort Wilderness (reasonable price, good food, fun atmosphere) and then enjoy the free activities at Fort Wilderness. Just walking the trails is lots of fun and the aforementioned movies at night, you van grab a bus from Disney Springs to get there and back.
Wilderness Lodge also does a free tour.

Might be out of their price range at $35 per person to eat at Trails End But they could get a to go order and eat at a picnic table.
Fried Chicken 8-piece Meal Served with cornbread and your choice of two sides. Coleslaw, Cowboy Beans, Macaroni & Cheese or Mashed potatoes with gravy; serves 2-4
$23.49

 

[siren0119]

If you go to fort wilderness you might want to check out the carriage ride. I think it’s about $50.

If the weather is pretty I’d like to check into the kayaks you can rent there too as I love kayaking & it sounds fun.

Fort Wilderness is definitely high on my list! There's so much to see and do in that area, with all the fun of being in the bubble but no or little cost. I knew about carriage rides at Port orleans, but I'll look into FW too!

The kayaks are a GREAT idea. We do some kayaking near our house, but it'd be special to do it in the lagoon!

Another coat effective idea. Combine a nice meal at Trails End at Fort Wilderness (reasonable price, good food, fun atmosphere) and then enjoy the free activities at Fort Wilderness. Just walking the trails is lots of fun and the aforementioned movies at night, you van grab a bus from Disney Springs to get there and back.
Wilderness Lodge also does a free tour.

good to know about trail's end! We could absolutely make a full day/more than one day out of visiting that whole area. I think someone else already mentioned that WL/CC have hidden mickey hunts within the resort and my kids love a good scavenger hunt!

Have you considered doing a timeshare presentation at the beginning of the week? My parents were the king and queen of timeshare presentations, and the gift is usually a couple tickets. Study up on them ahead of time, and you'll find out what to expect. This could stretch your budget. When we were kids, no one had in-home video game systems, and we actually liked being "dropped off" in the babysitting area, which was full of free video games. These are excellent ideas.

Last thought: With money being in short supply, pack VERY CAREFULLY ... small things like Tylenol, bandaids, sunscreen cost so little at home /so much in Orlando.

Real last thought: Be sure to pack your glass-is-half-full attitude. I think you're well on your way already, but be sure to keep focusing on what you CAN do ... not what you CAN'T do.

I haven't but that's not a bad idea - we've already talked about possibly buying into Wyndham down the road a bit when we're in a better spot, because we do like to travel and I think we'd get more flexibility out of a major chain timeshare than DVC. I'll poke around and see if any of them have known offers that involve park tickets! We can be super flexible with our time and we also leave all electronics at home during vacation so they'd appreciate some game time lol.

I'm definitely an optimist! I'm grateful we can still get away at all, and there have been so many good ideas on here to keep us busy without breaking the bank and experience things we can't at home I'm sad we can't fulfill the plans we had this time around but the way I see it, now I have a lot of the hard work done for when we CAN do a big trip again!

Might be out of their price range at $35 per person to eat at Trails End But they could get a to go order and eat at a picnic table.
Fried Chicken 8-piece Meal Served with cornbread and your choice of two sides. Coleslaw, Cowboy Beans, Macaroni & Cheese or Mashed potatoes with gravy; serves 2-4
$23.49

I like that idea, especially if the weather is nice and not sweltering! IIRC there's a decent playground near the hall too, and the beach right there.

Thank you so much for the suggestions!

 

[verleniahall]

I LOVE Random Ninja's outline - lots of fun things and still some park time as well

 

[LizGirl]

I'm with you - I wouldn't eat the airfare. You can have a great trip without park tickets. We just did Spring Break at Saratoga Springs and did not visit the 4 major parks. We did spend a day at Blizzard Beach because we'd never been there before.

You can have so much fun resort hopping! Animal viewing at Animal Kingdom lodge is always a favorite for us. If you go around dinner time, they roast marshmallows around the fire out near the animal viewing areas.

I'm on the "rent a car" bandwagon. I love having the freedom to get off property and explore. The food options are so much more affordable. Personally, I'd find a hotel with free parking and just drive to DS when the mood strikes. Parking is free there and is free at the Disney Resorts if you are not staying overnight. That also gives you flexibility to visit CityWalk at Universal (free parking after 6) and/or Kennedy Space Center if it's in the budget. Also, non-Disney mini golf is so much more affordable.

 

[hsmamato2]

I'd use the gc to go to the two events....and eat your own food while onsite except for a treat or two to share among the family....(like $6 for a plate of beignets before you go see the yeeha Bob show) there is SO much to do onsite,boats,buses(disney ones) monorail rides, pool fun, wandering Disney Springs in the evening to watch all the free entertainment, visiting lobbies of onsite hotels,etc etc etc. I've done it before and we had a great time. On a budget (strange but true ) space out your two park days among all of that and your kids won't be missing anything. A $6.00 plate of shared fries at the poutine place (after a simple sandwich at the hotel) can be lots of fun for kids too!

 

[hsmamato2]

Another coat effective idea. Combine a nice meal at Trails End at Fort Wilderness (reasonable price, good food, fun atmosphere) and then enjoy the free activities at Fort Wilderness. Just walking the trails is lots of fun and the aforementioned movies at night, you van grab a bus from Disney Springs to get there and back.
Wilderness Lodge also does a free tour.

Trails End is great....you can go even cheaper at the takeout window and get a fried chicken meal(mmm) and eat at one of the picnic tables nearby..... Fort Wilderness is fun with walking trails, animals to see,the campfire,a boatride for free back to MK area....

 

[siren0119]

I just had another thought - depending on where our budget lands I noticed that Legoland still has the Buy 1 adult get 1 child free deal when you do the 1 day + waterpark ticket. My 12 year old would still count as a child ticket there, and he's asked recently if we might be able to visit the Legoland Florida location sometime (they still don't know we're going at all, so it'd be easy to make it a special surprise!). That would still be cheaper than 4 one day tickets at Disney and would give us a full theme park day somewhere! Something to add to the "possibilities" list

 

[BarlowFamily]

Don't be discouraged! You've received some great feedback that I agree with! We camped at the Fort earlier this year and even with a full "Fort Day" we have new things at the Fort to try next year! Kayaks or boats, the wagon ride, horses at the stable, playground, campfire, movie...so much fun to be had!

AKL is another great resort day. I've tried to attach an activities guide from a few years ago. We'll see if that works. Once you get to the Lodge, just ask at the front desk for the recreation guide. You're never too old to decorate cookies. The culinary tours are fantastic and there is so much animal viewing!

If your DS10 and DS12 spend less than an hour playing with Legos in DS please let me know. They could honestly open some kind of drop off program for momma to get a Starbucks break. (Side note: I did NOT leave my DS behind so I could sip coffee alone. It's a joke people) We hadn't been to DS since it was Downtown Disney, and yet again, we have more to do next time. We have always loved Earl of Sandwich and we also liked Chicken Guy this trip. Trying an interesting international tray of sodas at the Coca Cola roof top lounge is also an inexpensive good time. We'd like to take the boats to other resorts next trip too.

There are a few Resorts that pipe in the music for the fireworks and you can watch from the beach (Poly, Fort, GF...?)

The waterparks are great! If you decide to splurge on a day there, don't be discouraged by afternoon peak crowds - get your moneys worth! Those boys can ride all the slides they want in the first few/last few hours. We save the lazy rive and wave pool for the crowded afternoon hours.

Legoland or Aquatica would be so fun! I hope you can get good deals!! We also really enjoyed Disney mini golf, but it was included in a package. Not sure we'd pay out of pocket for that.

I think you'll be surprised at the great family time you'll have without worrying about FP+ or standby times. Just think, this is your last Orlando trip without a teenager ::insert grimace face when I figure that out:: Enjoy! And do a Trip Report to shock us with all the fun to be had without giving Disney all our money.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Lots of videos on free stuff to do at Disney World on YouTube.
DFB Guide, TimTracker to name a few.

 

[siren0119]

So we told the kids about the trip this morning, and explained that we have some options in terms of getting into the parks even a little.

They were 100% in agreement on the Halloween party, as I expected. So that's going to be a definite.

We presented a couple of options for the rest of what's on the gift card:
1. After Hours event
2. One single day in any park (I can't believe I didn't think of it before, but four one-day tickets in our timeframe are about $75 cheaper than four DAH tickets).
3. Water park day
4. Skip having another day in the park and use the remaining funds for one or two character meals at the resorts and possibly a couple of souvenirs.

They immediately nixed the water parks, and are currently weighing a full park day vs a DAH event. In the meantime I'm starting to formulate a rough plan for the other days and scouring Groupon and LivingSocial thanks to all the great suggestions here! They're excited to be going away and getting some time in Florida, there was a moment of "oh we can't visit all the parks" that immediately turned into a discussion about which park and which plan they would have the most fun with.

Definitely glad we opted to keep the trip, and if there are any hidden gems or suggestions that haven't come up yet, please share them!!

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Looking for some suggestions that we may not have thought of, or if this would be worth the $$.

We had big plans for a Disney vacation that got derailed by several life events - long story short we didn't have the money to take the trip we wanted, but we had already paid for the flights and were able to get hotels arranged for much less money than our onsite stay. So we're still going to Orlando, but we have some decisions to make on what to do with our time. We know that we can resort-hop and take part in any free events that don't require guest access. We will be at a hotel near DS and will have access to a pool and a character breakfast (that's a lot less expensive than the onsite resort meals!)

We also have $900 that was already tied up in a Disney Gift card. That money was spent and accounted for, and we know we can find ways to make good use of it while we are there even if it's not in the parks.

Some of the options we came up with:
1. Use the Dis GC for tickets to MNSSHP (one of our favorite things to do) and one DAH event - that would about eat up the full amount, but would give us 2 park visits while we're there.

2. Use the DIS GC for one or the other (MNSSHP or DAH) and use the rest for dining at the resorts and in DS

3. Skip the parks all together. (some things that came to mind would be mini golf at Fantasia, character meals at the resorts, waterpark pass)

What would you do in our case - knowing that outside of the GC spending would be limited? We are a family of 4 (me, DH, DS12 and DS10). We are keeping an eye on Groupon for nearby things to do in Orlando as well, and have no problem using public transportation to get around so we won't be spending a ton on Uber/Lyft costs. If you had $900 in dedicated Disney dollars to stretch on a family vacation, what would be your must-dos?

Hi,
I think you should consider postponing but I am guessing that this trip is what you are using as a salve to heal from the 'life events" you mentioned. So I get it may not be that easy for you to give it up and I am not here to judge you. I've been there way back when as a single mother who once went on a financially ill advised trip planned 7 days out to deal with something my father had done to me in front of my children and a yard full of strangers.

Anyway, back to your situation. If you must go - can you find some short money? Anything for Craig's List? Mow lawns? You need to earn the price of a few tickets ideally. Can you babysit a few weekend nights between now and then. Sure it'll be uncomfortable but it's not forever. Overtime at work? Have you filed for outstanding
medical reimbursements on an FSA card or AFLAC check-ups?

My next thought is to reach out to the grandparents (before I am flamed), those with means who regularly buy costly gifts for your children on birthdays and holidays (Christmas is coming?) and ask them if they would help?
BUT
1. If your children are expecting/hoping they are getting a cool ZXY toy that they would prefer over this trip and the Disney ticket takes its place, you have to think carefully if it is fair or right. My parents were awful to me but they would contribute to their grandchildren's trips. If I had asked them to buy a ticket, I am sure they would - especially close to a birthday or Christmas.

2. The Great or Grands may expect you to swallow the pill with a spoonful of sugar.

3. Some children are blessed with very generous aunts and uncles - you can always ask. My children were the 'onlys' on both sides - not always that way in every family.

4. Please don't ask anyone for whom it would be a hardship or who doesn't regularly buy your children 'large' gifts.

5. I don't know your story so don't be offended...is there an ex? My children's father never took them on vacation and we were divorced when they were 3/5 so he would often contribute by giving them decent spending money which really helped.

6. Be gracious if they say, "no".

Do you have credit cards with points? I was stunned last year to see that I had enough for $100 Target gift card - might not be useful for your trip but you could do your grocery shopping at home and pocket that $$ for the trip.

I wish you luck. My heart aches for you but my brain knows you should cancel and wait for the 2021 trip. I hope at least one of these are helpful to you. In the end, it will be okay.

 

[siren0119]

Hi,
I think you should consider postponing but I am guessing that this trip is what you are using as a salve to heal from the 'life events" you mentioned. So I get it may not be that easy for you to give it up and I am not here to judge you. I've been there way back when as a single mother who once went on a financially ill advised trip planned 7 days out to deal with something my father had done to me in front of my children and a yard full of strangers.

Anyway, back to your situation. If you must go - can you find some short money? Anything for Craig's List? Mow lawns? You need to earn the price of a few tickets ideally. Can you babysit a few weekend nights between now and then. Sure it'll be uncomfortable but it's not forever. Overtime at work? Have you filed for outstanding
medical reimbursements on an FSA card or AFLAC check-ups?

My next thought is to reach out to the grandparents (before I am flamed), those with means who regularly buy costly gifts for your children on birthdays and holidays (Christmas is coming?) and ask them if they would help?
BUT
1. If your children are expecting/hoping they are getting a cool ZXY toy that they would prefer over this trip and the Disney ticket takes its place, you have to think carefully if it is fair or right. My parents were awful to me but they would contribute to their grandchildren's trips. If I had asked them to buy a ticket, I am sure they would - especially close to a birthday or Christmas.

2. The Great or Grands may expect you to swallow the pill with a spoonful of sugar.

3. Some children are blessed with very generous aunts and uncles - you can always ask. My children were the 'onlys' on both sides - not always that way in every family.

4. Please don't ask anyone for whom it would be a hardship or who doesn't regularly buy your children 'large' gifts.

5. I don't know your story so don't be offended...is there an ex? My children's father never took them on vacation and we were divorced when they were 3/5 so he would often contribute by giving them decent spending money which really helped.

6. Be gracious if they say, "no".

Do you have credit cards with points? I was stunned last year to see that I had enough for $100 Target gift card - might not be useful for your trip but you could do your grocery shopping at home and pocket that $$ for the trip.

I wish you luck. My heart aches for you but my brain knows you should cancel and wait for the 2021 trip. I hope at least one of these are helpful to you. In the end, it will be okay.

I appreciate your response, and totally get if you are speaking from experience. Our situation isn't totally dire, but we did need to be realistic about spending $5k vs $3K on our vacation - and with $1800 already sunk in (between the hotel, airfare and the money on the Disney gift card) it just didn't make sense to cancel at this point. Plus we needed some dedicated family time away. Hubby and I are definitely looking at other ways to generate some fast cash (he is trying to pick up some freelance graphic design work, I may have a couple of opportunities to do odd jobs and proctor some SAT exams - we are also pushing some stuff on Letgo/Craigslist that we really don't need to keep anymore). Grandparents - they are wonderful but also not rolling in the cash, they are aware of our situation and I truly believe if they were truly able to help (and felt it was important) they would - but they tend to be like me and know that the fact we can go away at all is a luxury, so there's not really a need to make it *more* luxurious. They also know I'm resourceful and will make the trip fun regardless of what we are able to do or not do

My kids are now totally on board with helping plan our two days in the parks and are excited to get away regardless of what we're doing - I'm so proud of them for being willing to roll with the punches!

 

[Elephantay]

This trip we are doing something I heard of here on the boards- doing our own dessert party and watching the fireworks. We plan to get several fun treats and enjoy them together while watching- for a fraction of the cost of the expensive parties. You could watch the MK fireworks from the Poly beach, they have the music.