Can someone help me with my Disney trip... PLEASE?

[JimmyDUIC]

My girlfriend and I are trying to head down over March. WE are only able to pay for hotel and car and plane tickets. Disney tickets are waaay to expensive. I just graduated college, and have not yet goten a job, I know, that stinks.

Anyway, is there anyone out there that has one or two extra passes. I do not care how many days they have. I want to bring her on a magical trip that she has never had. She is a great girl and she deserves it. If anyone has any ideas or any way to help, I would greatly appreciate it.

I am willing to pay for the tickets if you would rather me do that than to just give them to me, just let me know a price. My email address is jimmyduic@hotmail.com...

Please help us out. Thank you...


Jim

 

[Nicole]

Do the free stuff if you can't afford tickets. Go to Downtown Disney. Ride the monorail. Swim in your hotel pool. Visit the resorts. Hang out at the Boardwalk or go watch animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Tom]

Thank GOD for Credit Cards! June 2006 - here we come!

Buying used tickets is A) illegal and 2) a risky decision. Sure, MOST of us on here probably wouldn't screw ya, but there are MANY who will. The tickets are non-transferable now, anyway - and if any ticket has been used with the new finger-scan feature, the tickets will be of no use to you. You probably won't get used tickets for TOO much cheaper than the retail price, unless you're lucky (or getting screwed).

I suggest the free stuff, or buying a few 1-day, 1-park tickets once you get there. Or you could try discount tickets thru travel agents, like AAA.

Good luck.

 

[KrazyKemp]

Big Brother is Watching

He's right about those used tickets...

Even if we did have used tickets with 2-3 days left on them, Disney has this new biometric information thingy on all of their tickets.

When you use your Disney ticket for the first time, you place your hand in a counter and it measures your biometric information, so no one else can use it.

When did they start doing this, anyway?

 

[retroeric]

WE are only able to pay for hotel and car and plane tickets.

Why rent a car? Just about every hotel and motel in the area has free shuttle service. Assuming you were planning on having the car for 4 days, that's probably almost $200 when you figure taxes and gas. That $200 would almost be enough for 2 days into the parks for both of you.

2 park days, and then the rest of your stay in free areas like Downtown Disney, Disney Boardwalk, browsing the Disney hotels (not really encouraged if you're not a guest there) would complete your budget trip. Speaking of which, there are numerous "Disney on a budget" type books you can peruse at the bookstores.

 

[yoda_5729]

I can't help you as I don't have any tickets or anything...and they do do that finger thingy others were talking of, but I do hope you and your girlfriend are able to get some tickets and have a good time. There is a lot of free stuff you can do there though, or stuff with minimal charge. I'd go check books in the local book store as well as check out helpful cites that talk about how to save money.....There are lots out there....best of luck, and have a great trip

 

[CThaddeus]

First, I would never forego the rental car. It's just my opinion, but I cannot stand being on someone else's schedule when going to Disneyland or Disney World. Granted, it is a somewhat large expense, but it more than pays for itself if you don't have to eat every single meal on Disney property or room service at whatever hotel you might be at. Additionally, you can go to Target or other such places, again a great way to save money if you want snacks, or need to buy a pair of pants, etc. Then, of course, if you decide to do something away from Disney property for a day, like Universal (why would you want to, though?) again, you control your own destiny. After spending well over an hour on a shuttle once just to get to the Magic Kingdom, I know I will never do it again if I can avoid it.
Here's my best way for saving the money for the extra ticket - each day, if you're planning on eating a meal out, take that money and sock it away and make something inexpensive like a sandwich instead. For a college student, maybe take beer money, or whatever the current favorite money-waster is, and put it in a jar. It's amazing how much you can build up in a very short time. I've been putting aside a few dollars a week in a Spaceship Earth model. I now have enough to pay for a lot of souvenirs when I go in May.

 

[retroeric]

First, I would never forego the rental car. It's just my opinion, but I cannot stand being on someone else's schedule when going to Disneyland or Disney World. Granted, it is a somewhat large expense, but it more than pays for itself if you don't have to eat every single meal on Disney property or room service at whatever hotel you might be at. Additionally, you can go to Target or other such places, again a great way to save money if you want snacks, or need to buy a pair of pants, etc. Then, of course, if you decide to do something away from Disney property for a day, like Universal (why would you want to, though?) again, you control your own destiny. After spending well over an hour on a shuttle once just to get to the Magic Kingdom, I know I will never do it again if I can avoid it.
Here's my best way for saving the money for the extra ticket - each day, if you're planning on eating a meal out, take that money and sock it away and make something inexpensive like a sandwich instead. For a college student, maybe take beer money, or whatever the current favorite money-waster is, and put it in a jar. It's amazing how much you can build up in a very short time. I've been putting aside a few dollars a week in a Spaceship Earth model. I now have enough to pay for a lot of souvenirs when I go in May.

You make good points, but if it's an "either-or" as far as money for tickets or money for car rental, it's a no brainer. You can't come to WDW without going through at least one of the four gates, no matter how many free things one can come up with on property.

I'm sure he'd maximize his time here much better with a rental car, but considering his limited budget it doesn't sound like that's a great way spend his money.

As for food, I say stuff yourself with the free motel continental breakfast, have lunch at a Disney restaurant, and eat a late dinner when you get back to the hotel (assuming US-192 or I-drive, all kinds of affordable restaurants within walking distance).

 

[RedFoxRunner]

I guess it depends on how limited you are financially with this trip. My friend & I are going to WDW/USF in March & with plane, hotel, & tickets its around $900. We could've gotten cheaper flights from further away airports or lowered our days to 4 or 5 instead of 7. Personally, I like staying at the Disney resorts. Everything is guaranteed - transportation.. safety.. quick access to food & pool. Depending on where you live (for the flight), you could be able to go for $600 to $700. Magical Express is free & easy, as opposed to paying for a rental car & gas, plus the hassle of pick up/drop off. Just seems like more work.

-Bryant

 

[Floridasunshine]

I would try to see about getting a package deal instead... a lot of the discount sites like skyauction, cheaptickets, and vacationstogo have inexpensive packages.

For example, the package below is now being "auctioned", but last week I saw the same package as a "buy-me-now-" package (meaning, no bidding) for $225 per person + $125 taxes/service fees per person... $350 each. For 7 days in hotel & airfare from over 100 cities at no extra cost, it seemed like a good deal (and not even a timeshare speil).

http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/1101733

Of course, you could get even cheaper packages by sitting thru time share sales pitches at some of the condos and resorts down there .....

A lot of times you can find packages with air, hotel, AND tickets for very cheap through a travel agent....

 

[Nemo14]

I think that the bottom line here is, well, the bottom line. If you can't afford to do Disney, then don't do Disney. There are plenty of othere vacations you could do that you could probably afford right now. Sure, WDW is the ideal vacation, but if that girl is as great as you think, she wouldn't want you to go on a trip that you clearly can't afford! My suggestion would be to discuss this with her, make plans to go next year, then start a fund that you both contribute to that would be exclusively for that trip.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Contact me and I will see what we can do as far as the cheapest way to go. I can get discounted park passes for you also. E-mail me your information and I will see what can be done.

Pam
pam@kingdomkonsultant.com

 

[Ralphlaw]

Get the money

Why rent a car? Just about every hotel and motel in the area has free shuttle service. Assuming you were planning on having the car for 4 days, that's probably almost $200 when you figure taxes and gas. That $200 would almost be enough for 2 days into the parks for both of you.

2 park days, and then the rest of your stay in free areas like Downtown Disney, Disney Boardwalk, browsing the Disney hotels (not really encouraged if you're not a guest there) would complete your budget trip. Speaking of which, there are numerous "Disney on a budget" type books you can peruse at the bookstores.

Yes, dump the car, and get a little extra money somewhere. I am sure you could pick up a little extra money in the next month by flipping burgers, serving beer, or doing odd jobs like shoveling snow or cleaning yards if you were willing to find them. Calll your Job Service(s) to find a little extra money.

All honest work is honorable, and it may lead to some unforeseen benefits. For example, Colin Powell writes in his autobiography that his career got a small push because someone in power saw how well he did some part-time janitorial work. Maybe someone is giving you a push to do something extra, and Disney is being used as the impetus to do that extra thing.

Also, the "Disney on a budget" type books are great, and you might be able to find them for free at your local library.

Good luck. Have fun. Use this as a great opportunity to propel forward.

 

[bferrara16]

Not sure if anyone has suggested this, but another option would be to get a Disney Visa and put the vacation on the charge card. It depends on how you feel about carrying a balance and all, but the benefit to this would be that you pay 0% apr for either 6 mos. or a year (not sure what it is) - so, although this wouldn't save money, it would be a good way to spread it out over a longer period of time to make it more affordable.

I mean, who has enough money in their pocket to pay for a disney vacation in cash anyway, right?

 

[tink81]

I dunno how far away you live, but driving there is an option. Then you could cut out airfare and rental car. You would however have to budget for gas. The roadtrip there would be a great bonding experience for you and your honey as well. Also, go to AAA and price out vacation pkgs with an off property hotel. AAA offers pkgs with "Good Neighbor" hotels that have shuttle services and you can buy tix in the lobby. Then maybe go to Orbitz, Expedia, etc. and compare prices. You may have to shorten your stay, but I am sad to say that there is NO point in going to Disney World vacinity and not going into the parks. It sounds like the worst possible kind of torture to me.

Are YOU paying for the 2 of you to go on this vacay or is she chipping in? May want to re-think that. Also, if you know anyone who owns a timeshare like through RCI, see if you can get a reservation through them and sit through one of those sales pitches.

I would agree with others here and say that if you can't afford to go on this trip, DON'T GO!!! Wait until you get a full-time job and can afford vacations like this!

 

[JimboJones123]

Can I get free tix too?