DisneyDreamer08
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone here can contribute to my on going list of money saving ideas. A bit of back story, in recent years, I traveled to Disney in 2007, 2008, 2009 and Disney Land in 2010. At the end of 2010, our 1st daughter was born. Due to obvious new expenses, travel was put on hold. We were finally able to take her on her first trip this past Nov/Dec 2014 (the week after Thanksgiving). She was a few weeks shy of her 4th birthday. We all had an amazing time and my daughter still talks about Disney non stop and constantly asks when we are going back. I would love to go back sometime in 2016. I am currently pregnant with #2, due this Sept, and I think a trip would be better before she is mobile I am aiming for May 2016. Like our last trip, staying on a budget is an absolute must. I thought I would run through some things we did last time and see if anyone here has any further tips!
Flight- I checked several airlines, websites, etc and for our previous trip, we found Southwest to be the best deal. We booked directly through their website. Jet Blue, as well as sites like Expedia were always much higher. For our departure, we left at 6am because that was by far the cheapest flight of the day. It worked out great because we got to enjoy a half day at MK. I have since looked into Southwests rewards program but it looks like each person would have to take about 6 flights before earning a free flight. Any great rewards programs out there you use specifically for flights? The one mistake we did make was traveling Sat-Sun. Next time we will try to travel mid week to mid week as I've learned those flights are much cheaper.
Hotel- With budget in mind this past trip we stayed at Pop Century and we LOVED it. I am 99% sure we will stay there again. Too many positives to list and my daughter still talks about the Hippy Dippy Pool However, I recently came across a blog by someone who took out a Starwood Preferred Guest credit card specifically to earn points redeemable at the Swan and Dolphin. He was able to earn 4 free nights pretty quickly. Has anyone used this? Any opinions? I'm pretty sure I want to stay on property. There are just so many added benefits, I think its worth it in the long run. If you stay off property, sure it can be cheaper, but once you add in the cost of a rental car, parking each day etc, is it still really cheaper?
Tickets- better to buy a package through Disney or buy everything separately? We went the Disney route last time but I've heard it can be cheaper to say, buy your tickets through triple a and your hotel through Expedia. Has anyone done this? This just makes me nervous because if Disney offers a deal, I know you have to jump on it right away. If I hesitate to run various numbers, I worry I will miss out on a great deal.
Any other tips specifically for pre trip planning? I will hold off for on now for tips on spending less once you get there We used quite a few last time that worked wonderful for us. I am more concerned right now with what I should be doing ahead of time. Ideally, I am aiming for early May 2016. We want to check out the Flower and Garden Festival and hopefully miss the spring break crowds. Thanks so much!!!!
Flight- I checked several airlines, websites, etc and for our previous trip, we found Southwest to be the best deal. We booked directly through their website. Jet Blue, as well as sites like Expedia were always much higher. For our departure, we left at 6am because that was by far the cheapest flight of the day. It worked out great because we got to enjoy a half day at MK. I have since looked into Southwests rewards program but it looks like each person would have to take about 6 flights before earning a free flight. Any great rewards programs out there you use specifically for flights? The one mistake we did make was traveling Sat-Sun. Next time we will try to travel mid week to mid week as I've learned those flights are much cheaper.
Hotel- With budget in mind this past trip we stayed at Pop Century and we LOVED it. I am 99% sure we will stay there again. Too many positives to list and my daughter still talks about the Hippy Dippy Pool However, I recently came across a blog by someone who took out a Starwood Preferred Guest credit card specifically to earn points redeemable at the Swan and Dolphin. He was able to earn 4 free nights pretty quickly. Has anyone used this? Any opinions? I'm pretty sure I want to stay on property. There are just so many added benefits, I think its worth it in the long run. If you stay off property, sure it can be cheaper, but once you add in the cost of a rental car, parking each day etc, is it still really cheaper?
Tickets- better to buy a package through Disney or buy everything separately? We went the Disney route last time but I've heard it can be cheaper to say, buy your tickets through triple a and your hotel through Expedia. Has anyone done this? This just makes me nervous because if Disney offers a deal, I know you have to jump on it right away. If I hesitate to run various numbers, I worry I will miss out on a great deal.
Any other tips specifically for pre trip planning? I will hold off for on now for tips on spending less once you get there We used quite a few last time that worked wonderful for us. I am more concerned right now with what I should be doing ahead of time. Ideally, I am aiming for early May 2016. We want to check out the Flower and Garden Festival and hopefully miss the spring break crowds. Thanks so much!!!!
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