Trying to Plan Disney on a very tight Budget. Help! Vacation Planning Tips & Tricks Discuss Trying to Plan Disney on a very tight Budget. Help! in the Vacation Planning forums; My wife and I are trying to plan a Disney World trip in May 2010. Our anniversary is the week of Memorial Day. We would like to go that week, ...

[Figment071]

My wife and I are trying to plan a Disney World trip in May 2010. Our anniversary is the week of Memorial Day. We would like to go that week, but anytime in May would be ok. We would like to get to Disney before things start closing for the new Fantasyland and Toontown is gone, so May works well for us.

It is almost the end of January and we don't have alot of time to plan or money to spend. We will be driving from Ohio and hoping to spend 6 days in the parks. Prefer Parkhopper, but is it necessary? I like to be able to go from park to park. Also, if we stay off-site, can anyone recommend any clean, cheap hotels. I have stayed in some pretty bad hotels on Irlo Bronson and really don't want to go through that again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We would like to make this dream come true this year. Hopefully, if we make it, it is during a Meet so we can meet some other Disney Nuts like us.

Thanks

[zippitydoodah]

Originally Posted by Figment071

My wife and I are trying to plan a Disney World trip in May 2010. Our anniversary is the week of Memorial Day. We would like to go that week, but anytime in May would be ok. We would like to get to Disney before things start closing for the new Fantasyland and Toontown is gone, so May works well for us.

It is almost the end of January and we don't have alot of time to plan or money to spend. We will be driving from Ohio and hoping to spend 6 days in the parks. Prefer Parkhopper, but is it necessary? I like to be able to go from park to park. Also, if we stay off-site, can anyone recommend any clean, cheap hotels. I have stayed in some pretty bad hotels on Irlo Bronson and really don't want to go through that again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We would like to make this dream come true this year. Hopefully, if we make it, it is during a Meet so we can meet some other Disney Nuts like us.

Thanks

If you really like going around from park to park then a hopper would be a good idea. I prefer not to have one... just because I don't like wasting so much of the day traveling around and I can for sure spend full days at each of the parks. If I had 6 days I would do one of each, and then do the Magic Kingdom and Epcot again each (but that's just me). I have gone with friends and had hopper passes before, and it was fun to go around but its quite a bit of an expense to add it on and we would waste hours of our day traveling, which, when I'm spending that much money on a Disney vacation, I want to make GOOD use of my time! Also, that's with Disney buses so it shouldn't be as bad if you're driving from park to park I guess.

I'm not sure about a good hotel (we stay off property, but in condos with multiple families, so they're a little pricier for just one family), but I would recommend that you stay somewhere with a kitchenette. Being able to eat breakfast before you go and pack a lunch (as well as snacks) will save you a lot of money on the park days!

You could also try to do the Get a Day Give a Day program with your family... you're allowed to add days onto the ticket that you get (to save you some money). However, I personally have had NO luck with the program, but maybe you'll be able to find some good opportunities where you live. AAA sometimes has ticket discounts as well if you're a member, you could check out their website.

Hope some (any) of that helps!

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i dont really need hopper.. if your going to be there that many days.. i just do one park per day.. there again i dont like to spend my time traveling from place to place. as far as cheap hotels.. hotwire and stuff book it.com have alot of good deals.. as well as get on there list for cheap flights.. they can email you when cheap hotels or flights get listed for the time your thinking of going. and alot of the hotels have free cont. breakfast deals.. somewhere to save a buck

[TTAfanatic]

I would suggest contacting Mousefan travel to help you get the best deal for the money, and I would also pick up the Unofficial Guide, it is a must have in trip planning. I've never stayed off-site, so can't really comment on that, but I like having the park hopping option, because I like to take a break mid day to relax, grab a shower or dip in the pool or whatever, and then hit another park in the evening.

[zippitydoodah]

Originally Posted by TTAfanatic

I would suggest contacting Mousefan travel to help you get the best deal for the money, and I would also pick up the Unofficial Guide, it is a must have in trip planning. I've never stayed off-site, so can't really comment on that, but I like having the park hopping option, because I like to take a break mid day to relax, grab a shower or dip in the pool or whatever, and then hit another park in the evening.

Does mousefan travel book off-property resorts? While I would for sure use them, the only reason I haven't so far is because I can't afford a Disney Resort. I plan on using them for my honeymoon which will be all Disney. I think that hotwire.com and sites like that are probably better when you're on such a tight budget.

As for taking a break mid day to relax, I know that as someone who is always on trips that are on a budget this is another thing that I would never waste my precious park days doing. If I were able to afford to go more often then I probably would, but when I'm spending ALL the spare money I have to go, then I'm spending every last minute of that day at the park since I put so much money into it. This is especially true when you're staying off property because it might be a bit of a hike to get back to your resort. This is something that I find that a lot of the people who don't have such a big issue with budget tend to forget! But that's just me... I like to get as much bang out of my buck as I can!

[FritzTiki]

If you are going during non peak time of year then I believe the Value resorts are $82-$85 a night. I would imagine the slight amount of money you would save staying off property would be gobbled up by gas and parking fees. I would recommend staying on property if you can only for sheer convenience. The Disney buses work pretty well and if you stay at POP CENTURY then they have their own dedicated buses ( All Star Movies and Music share buses). As far as breakfast goes there are cheaper ways to do it if you do stay on property, a banana or muffin and a cup of coffee/orange juice aren't pricey at all. Good luck and have fun, I'm jealous!

[zippitydoodah]

Originally Posted by FritzTiki

If you are going during non peak time of year then I believe the Value resorts are $82-$85 a night. I would imagine the slight amount of money you would save staying off property would be gobbled up by gas and parking fees. I would recommend staying on property if you can only for sheer convenience. The Disney buses work pretty well and if you stay at POP CENTURY then they have their own dedicated buses ( All Star Movies and Music share buses). As far as breakfast goes there are cheaper ways to do it if you do stay on property, a banana or muffin and a cup of coffee/orange juice aren't pricey at all. Good luck and have fun, I'm jealous!

Make sure you do your research! I stayed at Pop once as my splurge once in a lifetime grad trip!
My parents and cousins go every March, and they pay $600 a week for a place that sleeps 10 (we usually do 8 of us), and it has a full kitchen, two bathrooms, and a full living room.That's $600 TOTAL for all the people. That's with my cousin doing a LOT of research beforehand to get a good place though, (and they now only do timeshares or I would recommend it for sure). Cereal for breakfast (its what, $2-$3 a box), buy a loaf of bread and sandwich stuff, and granola bars.... WAY cheaper than any breakfast/lunch at Pop. We were averaging $30-40 a day EACH by eating at Pop and the parks for food. That may not be a lot for some people... but its definitely not a SLIGHT amount of money more to stay at Pop than an equal place off property when you count food and hotel costs. Plus, if you have a car with you I would drive to the parks anyways (even if you're staying on property) because the amount of time you waste on those Disney buses is ridiculous. I loved Pop, don't get me wrong, but if you're on a VERY tight budget then definitely off-property is the way to go.

[zippitydoodah]

Anyways, I'm a student (in my 6th year of university) so maybe your budget isn't quite as low as mine usually are anyway haha.... if you can afford to stay/eat at Disney than for sure do that!

[pigletfan]

One other thing to consider about staying on property is Extra magic hours! You can get even more theme park time with this benefit.
My tip would be to bring food/snacks from home with you. Eat in your room, and bring some into the parks with you as well.

[zippitydoodah]

Originally Posted by pigletfan

One other thing to consider about staying on property is Extra magic hours! You can get even more theme park time with this benefit.
My tip would be to bring food/snacks from home with you. Eat in your room, and bring some into the parks with you as well.

Just remember that it's $10 a day if you need a fridge at a value resort... in case you want milk for your cereal, cold drinks for the day, lunch meats/cheeses for sandwiches, etc.
I feel like I'm the official anti-disney hotel person in this thread haha. I love the Disney hotels... and always spend at least a day on my trips traveling around to as many of them as possible and longing for the day when I have enough money to stay at them. I just think that if you're planning a Disney trip on a very tight budget as it says in the title, then you shouldn't really be thinking of Disney resorts. Especially with the price of a 6 day park pass already in the mix. I'll shut my yap now haha, but if you have specifically asked for recommedations for off-property resorts then I'll assume you already realize the cost difference of staying there. I wish I had a recommendation... does no one else stay off property on this site

Oh, and I checked now and its $105 a night at Pop Century in May... not $85.

[zippitydoodah]

Oh, and on Friday's it goes up to $120 a night. That's for a standard room. Weird how JUST Friday's are so much more? Hm....

[tizzo]

I'm not sure how cheap is cheap for your situation, but my wife and I stayed at the Best Western on Hotel Plaza Blvd, on short notice during a relatively busy time of year, for something like $70/night. The point being that there are several hotels there and there are deals to be found.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the hotels there are considered "on property" and some are not. My sister was staying at the Doubletree right across the street at the same time, for example, and they were on-property, giving them access to for example EMH, while we were not. So definitely look to see what's available in that area.

Also as a money-saving tip I'd advise eating off-property at least some of the time. There's a shopping plaza called The Crossroads at the end of Hotel Plaza Blvd. that has several restaurants, including McDonald's, Perkins, Fuddruckers, and Sweet Tomatoes. Since you're from Ohio, you may not be familiar with Sweet Tomatoes, but it's a chain of salad buffet restaurants. It's not just, or even mostly, salad though, they have a selection of soups, pastas, and breads (included under "breads" are a couple of varieties of focacia, which they way they prepare it is essentially pizza), as well as a wide array of deserts, all of which are buffet style and all you care to eat. It's under $10 per adult for dinner, and cheaper for lunch or for children, and they almost always have B1G1F coupons on their web site. It's on of our favorite places to eat. And if you have a coupon it's an extremely good value.

Good luck planning your trip, I hope everything works out for you.

Tony

[tizzo]

Also, a general tip I learned when booking chain hotels is to get rates from various sources. A Hilton or Best Western or anything like that will quote rates and let you book online, by phone at a central 800 number, and by phone with the local hotel (which in an area like this probably also has an 800 number). Often the rates will vary depending on which method you use to book, so try all three. And when you speak to someone at the local hotel, no matter what rate they quote initially ask if there's a "manager's special" or any other kind of way that they can do better.

Also, when dealing with any of the hotels on or near property ask about free parking. The Doubletree I mentioned my sister had been staying in charged them something like $8/day for parking and didn't tell them about it until they'd arrived. Parking had been free there just a year earlier, so things do change.

[karebear23]

I hope I'm not to late! We do stay off property. I wish I could stay on but it's not economical for us.

Normally if we do stay it's with my parents marriott timeshare.

Luckily we now only live about an hour away...so we don't stay overnight very often.

On place we did stay the end of January was
Royale Parc Suites - A Quality Suites Luxury Hotel in Kissimmee
It was fairly priced...they are always having "sales" on the rates.
Nothing too fancy but it was nice that the room had a kitchenette. That might help out with saving some $$.

They also have free breakfast...eggs, bacon/sausage, waffles, toast, coffee, cereal, juice.
It wasn't bad....not the best breakfast ever. I think if I were staying 6 days I would eat something else a couple of days.

We always bring tons of snacks and stuff for PBJ...poptarts, oatmeal...etc

Bring snacks, bottled water to the park. They will give you a cup of ice if you ask. Sometimes we even bring PBJ for lunch.

I have some friends who rented from here
Royale Parc Suites - A Quality Suites Luxury Hotel in Kissimmee and they were happy. We might try it next time.

As for tickets...I would probably skip the park hopper. Since you will be there for awhile...

Also don't forget that parking is $14 a day now! That will eat away at your budget too!

I hope this helps you out! We might see you in May....going for my DD 4th Bday !

[sezzell]

You can find great deals at cyberrentals.com. You rent from the owners but can look at pictures of the places, so you know what you're getting into. Also, if you have your local Entertainment Book (you can buy on line for any zip code) there are hotel deals in there. Last summer I saved half off a rate in Anaheim for Disneyland. Other than that, I agree with what the other posters have said about eating before you get to the parks.

If you do stay at a value resort you can get a free fridge if you have a medical condition (rather than pay $10 per day). Staying on site also saves you the parking fee. Hope this helps!!