mickey916
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2009
Background: My DH and I were fortunate to be able to retire during 2022 at the age of 55. During that year we visited in April as part of my DH’s final business trip, in May with our two adult sons as a make-up trip from 2020, and then in December as our first ever visit for the holidays. In April of 2023 we took a month-long road trip through Florida, spending only a couple days in Orlando. Trip reports for those trips are in my signature.
Our next scheduled visit to Orlando is for eight days as part of another Florida road trip in April 2024. However, in September I discovered that Southwest Airlines was offering discounted flights for late November/early December. With leftover flight credits and the discount, non-stop roundtrip flights for both of us were only a total of $155.72. I suggested to my DH another trip to see the holiday decorations. It took a little patience on my part but eventually he agreed and said “Merry Christmas…this is our gift to each other.”
Since this was a bonus trip, we decided to stay off site. My goal was to keep the entire trip under $5000. I booked the Residence Inn, Flamingo Crossings through Undercover Tourist for eight nights at $923. I purchased 3 day tickets for my DH through Undercover Tourist and ordered a Budget rental car through them as well using their 50% deal. I converted my four day tickets I had already purchased through UT for April 2024 to an annual pass to save on parking and dining. I also started stalking the gift card thread to purchase enough discounted gift cards to cover our anticipated dining and LL costs.
We were 62 days away from our trip when we purchased our tickets so I had to put together quickly a list of ADRs which included a few favorites and some new places.
I hope you join me as we explore the holiday decorations and eat some fantastic food (and some not so great).
Our next scheduled visit to Orlando is for eight days as part of another Florida road trip in April 2024. However, in September I discovered that Southwest Airlines was offering discounted flights for late November/early December. With leftover flight credits and the discount, non-stop roundtrip flights for both of us were only a total of $155.72. I suggested to my DH another trip to see the holiday decorations. It took a little patience on my part but eventually he agreed and said “Merry Christmas…this is our gift to each other.”
Since this was a bonus trip, we decided to stay off site. My goal was to keep the entire trip under $5000. I booked the Residence Inn, Flamingo Crossings through Undercover Tourist for eight nights at $923. I purchased 3 day tickets for my DH through Undercover Tourist and ordered a Budget rental car through them as well using their 50% deal. I converted my four day tickets I had already purchased through UT for April 2024 to an annual pass to save on parking and dining. I also started stalking the gift card thread to purchase enough discounted gift cards to cover our anticipated dining and LL costs.
We were 62 days away from our trip when we purchased our tickets so I had to put together quickly a list of ADRs which included a few favorites and some new places.
I hope you join me as we explore the holiday decorations and eat some fantastic food (and some not so great).