The ultimate budget trip to WDW!! Pre-trip report for May 2010

[Southerndisney]

Sending best wishes for your trip. Your daughter might see Stich at the Poly. You could call the Poly the day you are touring resorts and see what times Stich will be there. When you are touring the resorts know that it is much quicker to take your own car. Just tell the guard at the resort that you want to see the resort and they will let you park. The trip to and from DTD can be a long time, including waiting for a bus and the trip always goes by Blizzard Beach.

 

[stacy347]

Southerndisney ~ thank you for the good wishes and advice! Always appreciated!


I have tweaked the itinerary yet again, LOL! After much consideration and taking into account that we have such a mix of people in our group, we have decided to use our GAD tickets at Magic Kingdom instead of Epcot. While there are quite a few things we haven't done at Epcot yet, Magic Kingdom is really the best fit for this trip and we all love it, so everyone is happy.

We are also likely going to be taking our own van instead of renting a car. I just don't see all 4 girls being comfortable in a car for 2 days each way and the prices on minivan rentals are just outrageous! DH is going to go over everything in the van to be sure it looks OK for a roadtrip...should be fine.

I have decided to add on one little side trip while we are down there ~ I was looking through the book that comes with the Orlando Magicard and saw an ad for Wordspring Discovery Center. This place looks amazing! They have interactive exhibits showing the history of the Bible and how it has affected each region of the world. They have shows, activities, all sorts of fun looking (and educational, SHHH) stuff.
There is also a coupon on their website that is good through June which is going to allow me to get all 5 of us in for only $26 total!

Pretty much everything has fallen into place now, which is a little scary, LOL!
Fingers crossed that nothing crazy happens in the next 30 days ~ whoohoo ~ I'm so excited, LOL!!

 

[TokyoDina]

Southerndisney ~ thank you for the good wishes and advice! Always appreciated!


I have tweaked the itinerary yet again, LOL! After much consideration and taking into account that we have such a mix of people in our group, we have decided to use our GAD tickets at Magic Kingdom instead of Epcot. While there are quite a few things we haven't done at Epcot yet, Magic Kingdom is really the best fit for this trip and we all love it, so everyone is happy.

We are also likely going to be taking our own van instead of renting a car. I just don't see all 4 girls being comfortable in a car for 2 days each way and the prices on minivan rentals are just outrageous! DH is going to go over everything in the van to be sure it looks OK for a roadtrip...should be fine.

I have decided to add on one little side trip while we are down there ~ I was looking through the book that comes with the Orlando Magicard and saw an ad for Wordspring Discovery Center. This place looks amazing! They have interactive exhibits showing the history of the Bible and how it has affected each region of the world. They have shows, activities, all sorts of fun looking (and educational, SHHH) stuff.
There is also a coupon on their website that is good through June which is going to allow me to get all 5 of us in for only $26 total!

Pretty much everything has fallen into place now, which is a little scary, LOL!
Fingers crossed that nothing crazy happens in the next 30 days ~ whoohoo ~ I'm so excited, LOL!!

I think your golden! I don't think anything will happen in 30 days! Wow can you believe it! We are almost there!!! I can't wait!!!!

 

[stacy347]

I think your golden! I don't think anything will happen in 30 days! Wow can you believe it! We are almost there!!! I can't wait!!!!

I know, it's really close now!! All of a sudden the days seem to be flying by!

 

[RachelNinja]

Good thinking with the van! We had a packed Honda CRV with the 5 of us, and I really missed having our minivan! And to think, we were technically 4 adults with only 1 child! Oy, never again!

I looked at the WordSpring site, and it looks really interesting! I like the admission fee too, haha. I'll be keeping that for a future trip. I think it'll just be a reminder of how widespread the Bible is and how much more it can be. It's a great way to open up our world. I did, however, think the video was really funny when the narrator says, ""A huge basket you can sit in" and then "Mushroom." Haha.

 

[stacy347]

We were all cracking up at the "mushroom" line!

 

[TokyoDina]

Are you getting packed? I am! I told DH to pull out the suitcase! I've got all the outfits I want to ear and then some picked out already! We are almost there just 7 days left! I can't wait! I hope this week flies by but knowing my luck it'll be super slow! I have a ton of things to do before I go!

 

[stacy347]

Yep, I am almost ready now, too! This last week is going to be filled with anxiety I'm sure ~ but at least it will be the good kind, right?

So, a couple of new updates:

**I was able to get yet another discount on our Seralago ressie. They ran a 1-day special on Facebook and I was all over it, LOL! So, we now have a 7 day, 6 night ressie for $239 total with taxes!

**It is really looking like my van may not be road trip ready by next week. DH found out what was making the noise we've been hearing and it is a huge job to fix, and of course, he has no time to do it this week with work and everything. So, I may very well be piling all of us into his Taurus. Luckily, we will be meeting up with my sister 3 hours into the trip and one or two of the girls can hop into her van for the remaining time. It won't be a fun start but hey, it's still a trip to WDW, right? Totally worth it!!
On the plus side, I should save a good amount on gas with the smaller vehicle! Gotta stay positive!!

Only 6 days to go now ~ honestly, it is starting to feel a little surreal now and I keep feeling like, is this really happening? Am I really getting to go back? Even with as much of a budget trip as this is, I feel very blessed that we are able to do this! Can't wait to come back and start the actual TR!!

"Talk" to all of you soon!!

 

[RachelNinja]

YAY for the 1-day Facebook deal! What a great opportunity that was and for you to snag it when you could!

If it's really that squished in the car, have your kids take pictures of it! It'll be some good memories in the future. "Remember when we were so squished at first?!?" Gotta have fun with the squished situations. I think that's the only way that Weird and I were able to last that long in the car. It was terrible on my back, but we were just silly the entire way down!

I think the budget thing will still be really fun. Although Weird and I are not yet engaged, I've started doing some small "planning" in terms of research for how we can save money. We don't have much now and we'll have even less then when we have to get a place and all that, so budget wedding is a must. But it will be done and I'm determined to make it extremely fun! All in the attitude, right? I'm inspired by your budget vacation! People can still have fun if you choose to have fun!

So excited for you!

 

[akayek31]

I did a similar trip last May with the budget. We stayed at a value and I got a advance pay special for the hotel after WDW. I am trying to figure out how to go again this year. I tried to do the budget ADR but still ended up spending a lot more than I expected. I am doing mypoints also and have over 5000 pts trying to get that $50 GC for Rainforest or Trex. I am going to try the GC visa now that we moved and I only shop at Kroger now. Have a wonderful trip. Wish I was going also.

 

[TokyoDina]

Well it will only suck for a hot minute and your girls will remember being squashed in the Taurus and then laugh about it one day. I'm sure it's totally worth it in the end and will be forgotten by the time you get there. I'm so excited for you! I hope we bump into each other some time! Any changes of plans? I know you said your going to EPCOT and WDW is that right? I can't remember if you said your going to the other parks or not.

 

[stacy347]

If it's really that squished in the car, have your kids take pictures of it! It'll be some good memories in the future. "Remember when we were so squished at first?!?" Gotta have fun with the squished situations. I think that's the only way that Weird and I were able to last that long in the car. It was terrible on my back, but we were just silly the entire way down!
So excited for you!

That is a great idea ~ it's always best to try to make lemonade out of lemons, right?

I did a similar trip last May with the budget. We stayed at a value and I got a advance pay special for the hotel after WDW. I am trying to figure out how to go again this year. I tried to do the budget ADR but still ended up spending a lot more than I expected. I am doing mypoints also and have over 5000 pts trying to get that $50 GC for Rainforest or Trex. I am going to try the GC visa now that we moved and I only shop at Kroger now. Have a wonderful trip. Wish I was going also.

Hopefully you'll be able to come up with a great budget for a trip as well ~ this one has been a bit more work than I anticipated, but it will be so worth it!!

Well it will only suck for a hot minute and your girls will remember being squashed in the Taurus and then laugh about it one day. I'm sure it's totally worth it in the end and will be forgotten by the time you get there. I'm so excited for you! I hope we bump into each other some time! Any changes of plans? I know you said your going to EPCOT and WDW is that right? I can't remember if you said your going to the other parks or not.

I have a final itinerary that is a bit different than the original (I knew I would change things, LOL, I can't help it). Epcot is out, MK is in now.

Sun ~ we arrive and go grocery shopping, swimming
Mon ~ Magic Kingdom
Tues ~ hopping around (DTD, AKL and the Boardwalk in the evening)
Wed ~ DisneyQuest
Thurs ~ possibly the Wordspring Bible Center, some downtime at the resort, heading over to the Poly in the evening
Fri ~ Blizzard Beach
Sat ~ Having our free lunch at Applebee's and maybe going to the outlets before we get on the road

I'm ready to go now! Hopefully these next 5 days really fly by!!

 

[TokyoDina]

That is a great idea ~ it's always best to try to make lemonade out of lemons, right?



Hopefully you'll be able to come up with a great budget for a trip as well ~ this one has been a bit more work than I anticipated, but it will be so worth it!!



I have a final itinerary that is a bit different than the original (I knew I would change things, LOL, I can't help it). Epcot is out, MK is in now.

Sun ~ we arrive and go grocery shopping, swimming
Mon ~ Magic Kingdom
Tues ~ hopping around (DTD, AKL and the Boardwalk in the evening)
Wed ~ DisneyQuest
Thurs ~ possibly the Wordspring Bible Center, some downtime at the resort, heading over to the Poly in the evening
Fri ~ Blizzard Beach
Sat ~ Having our free lunch at Applebee's and maybe going to the outlets before we get on the road

I'm ready to go now! Hopefully these next 5 days really fly by!!

Well tell your girls to look out at MK for someone with Stitch ears on their head. It appears we are going the same day!

I tried DQ one time and I don't think I could go back. The lines were really long and I kept getting motion sick on the simulated rides.

I'm ready to go too! I can't wait! This week is going by pretty fast!

 

[mommyof3grlz]

How did you get free lunch at Applebee's. I too got motion sick at DQ. I sat in a booth all day and drank coke.

 

[stacy347]

How did you get free lunch at Applebee's. I too got motion sick at DQ. I sat in a booth all day and drank coke.

That stinks that you guys couldn't enjoy DQ! Simulators are actually some of my favorite types of rides so I'm really looking forward to it!

Our free lunch at Applebee's will be from GCs that we've collected ~ my sister and I each got a $25 GC from MyPoints and my DD got one for Christmas and added it to the envelope.

We are also having a free lunch at Steak n Shake with GCs from MyPoints ~ sometimes I get annoyed going through all of those emails to keep up with the points, but it is definitely worth it!

4 more days!!

 

[IndianaRRT]

Hooray for your deals! (And the fact that you're a Michigan girl. My mom is from Belleville. I love Michigan!) I, too, am a deal-seeker, and I've learned so much from your PTR.

I will be praying for you all during this trip and also hoping that your gang will get heavy doses of pixie dust everywhere you go!

 

[stacy347]

Hooray for your deals! (And the fact that you're a Michigan girl. My mom is from Belleville. I love Michigan!) I, too, am a deal-seeker, and I've learned so much from your PTR.

I will be praying for you all during this trip and also hoping that your gang will get heavy doses of pixie dust everywhere you go!

Thank you so much!! And what a small world ~ I actually went to Belleville High during my junior year (many moons ago, LOL) and we don't live too far from there now!

 

[stacy347]

I'm so excited ~ my DSis sent me a text last night telling me to make ressies for 'Ohana ~ their treat!

It is their anniversary on the 16th and I was going to keep the all the kids for a day so they could have some alone time, but she really loves 'Ohana and they want us all to go out to dinner together! This was totally unexpected, so how cool is that? We haven't even gotten to WDW yet, and the magic has begun!!

I got the reservation for the night we arrive ~ I still can't believe I was able to book 'Ohana on such short notice!!

3 more days!!

 

[nessz79]

Looks like we'll be there around the same time! DH and I are doing an adults only trip to WDW this weekend. We are Fl residents so taking advantage of discounts. I can't wait to see your trip report! I grew up with wonderful parents, but we often didn't have money. However, my mom and grandma would take us to Disney every few years (on a budget, of course) and they were the best memories! Have a great time!!!

 

[stacy347]

Looks like we'll be there around the same time! DH and I are doing an adults only trip to WDW this weekend. We are Fl residents so taking advantage of discounts. I can't wait to see your trip report! I grew up with wonderful parents, but we often didn't have money. However, my mom and grandma would take us to Disney every few years (on a budget, of course) and they were the best memories! Have a great time!!!

Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I get to pack the car tomorrow ~ I can not believe it is actually time to go!