March Trip

[Arbok]

I have pretty much decided at this point that I'm going to take someone to Orlando for their birthday in early March. The question right now is if it will be Disneyworld or Universal, depending on their preference.

That question aside, though, I must preface that I'm utterly without experience when it comes to the area and planning a trip there in general. Is there any well known advice I should do to cut down on expenses... package deals I should look into? We would, at most, spend two days at the parks... so I'm assuming like Disneyland that forgoes a lot of the savings, but we will be flying there and in need of a hotel.

If there is any advice someone could give, no matter how rudimentary, I would be grateful.

 

[JillC LI]

We're going in early March to Disney World as well. The first week of March shouldn't bee too crowded, but once Spring Breaks kick in, it may be difficult to get much done in two days at Disney World due to crowds and long lines. If you want to visit more than 2 Disney parks, make sure you get Park Hopper tickets. As for packages, they are available if you stay on Disney property. They include free bus service to and from the airport. We find them useful, especially during Free Dining promos, but I don't think that you will be able to get Free Dining for staying 1 night only. You may be able to get a % off your resort - check mousesavers.com for discounts.

As for Universal, we were there in October 2009, and 2 days is the perfect amount of time to comfortably visit both US and IoA, including the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I adore Disney, but Universal was a fun place to visit too with more thrill rides for the rest of my family (I'm a chicken), and I'm dying to check out the WWOHP. So it's really up to you and your guest whether to visit WDW or Universal.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

There is a % off promotion going on right now - you have to book by Feb 13th I believe.

I was going to send DD and her boyfriend to Universal, but when I got the pin for the % off, it actually was cheaper for 4 days/3nights at Disney. Plus I feel better with then not having to take a taxi from the airport, and I was able to get them the QS dining, which means they won't have to carry around a lot of money.

 

[Arbok]

Thanks for the advice! Mousesavers is a great website, so thank you so much for pointing that out to me.

At the moment, it sounds like we might be going to Universal through Expedia though (Hotel + Flight) and then buying the tickets to Universal online to save $10 (-convenience fee). That seems to be the cheapest way from what I have done, as it will keep the cost just barely below a grand for two people.