An "Almost Free" Trip to Orlando: What would YOU do???

[NinaBella]

• It's not a "Disney" trip - we'd only be going to EPCOT on one day for Food and Wine; other day would be Universal and one day for down time (I would likely go to Disney Springs and do some resort hopping in the afternoon to soak in as much Disney as I can!)
• This $125 trip will be more like $1800 when all is said and done. Between flights (mine is free w/ points, but have DH's), airport parking, rental car, $125 for the room, theme park tickets (a whopping $520 for 2 people at Universal and 2 people at EPCOT), parking at the parks, the inevitable tab of "drinking around the world" at Food and Wine, and the meals and my always enormous tab at Once Upon a Christmas and The World of Disney, I'm bracing for the $1500 - $1800

I WOULD:

Have a friend drop me off at the airport or take an Uber. No need to pay for airport parking.

Skip the rental car and use Uber or resort transportation. No need to pay parking fees or rental car fees.

Skip Universal and make those pool days or resort hopping days while my friends went to Universal. Maybe meet them in CityWalk for dinner.

Thus making it a more relaxing vacation with hubby.

 

[DaisyJ]

Another thing, any time my husband wants to get away with just him and I (no kids), I will jump on the chance, no matter how much it cost.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Another thing, any time my husband wants to get away with just him and I (no kids), I will jump on the chance, no matter how much it cost.

Awww!! That's so sweet!

 

[kydisneyfans]

I would make it a cheap trip by cutting costs. No shopping, maybe skip one or both parks. Are you close enough to drive instead of fly? We've done a bare bones under 1K trip with a child as we had learned of a job loss just before departure, so we chopped a ton off the trip. That included driving, using old Disney tickets with days left on them up, condo meals, etc.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

OP, I would go but I would add a few days to the front or back of the trip without your friends (and maybe without DH if he didn't want to go), book a couple of nights at a value resort, use magical express to get there, and upgrade your tickets for more days. And as much as I love Universal and Disney, it would definitely be cheaper to do one or the other.

 

[viaggiamo]

OP, I would go but I would add a few days to the front or back of the trip without your friends (and maybe without DH if he didn't want to go), book a couple of nights at a value resort, use magical express to get there, and upgrade your tickets for more days. And as much as I love Universal and Disney, it would definitely be cheaper to do one or the other.

I was coming in to suggest this too. Can you add an extra week as you have already paid for the flights and you could make the WDW tickets into a longer pass to get more value. Would you have a relative to fly down with your son as well and join you?
There are many options you could configure into this trip, but I would reluctant to spend that much money on a trip I wasn't entirely happy with, or risk delaying a family trip due to $$$.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Thank you all for your thoughts! After lots of consideration (and the fact that we have FOUR long weekend trips planned between now and mid-September), we told our friends that we appreciated the offer but couldn't take them up on it. When I told DH that I was on the fence he said "Do whatever you want. I only suggested it because I know you like Disney." Sweet of him - but he could care less LOL!

Also what crisi said:

And there is this. I also dislike taking my time and money to do a vacation, then spending my time and money doing a bunch of things I don't want to do because I'm are along for someone else's ride. Making vacation compromises for my own spouse/children is plenty. And if what I want to do is spend time with friends, there are a lot cheaper vacations to hang out together.

Universal really isn't on my list, and thinking about spending $300 to go (which our friends REALLY wanted us to do) was tough to swallow.

Plus - I can say it on the Boards, because no one knows me here - we found out yesterday that we are expecting our second child! I wish we would have waited to tell our friends "no" until after that announcement is public, because then we wouldn't look ungrateful!

 

[Amanda999]

Mid-Sep., sharing accommodations, $1,800, saving up for family vacation? (Did you include cost of a 24/7 babysitter in that?) No way.
If you want a Disney fix, you could just fly down alone (or with DH if you have a relative watching the child free), stay at a value onsite for 3 night weekend, buy MYW hopper, and it would be way less than $1,800. And no risk of having to sit through a timeshare presentation (I bet that's a possibility, where your friends say they 'won' accommodations at a timeshare). Mid-Sep is low crowd, low cost at onsite resorts. I'd plan a mom-cation in late Jan/early Feb to get great weather (IMO), and low prices. HTH!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Congratulations!! I'm sure when your friends find out about the baby, they will guess that is why you declined, and will completely understand.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Thank you all for your thoughts! After lots of consideration (and the fact that we have FOUR long weekend trips planned between now and mid-September), we told our friends that we appreciated the offer but couldn't take them up on it. When I told DH that I was on the fence he said "Do whatever you want. I only suggested it because I know you like Disney." Sweet of him - but he could care less LOL!

Also what crisi said:



Universal really isn't on my list, and thinking about spending $300 to go (which our friends REALLY wanted us to do) was tough to swallow.

Plus - I can say it on the Boards, because no one knows me here - we found out yesterday that we are expecting our second child! I wish we would have waited to tell our friends "no" until after that announcement is public, because then we wouldn't look ungrateful!

I'd actually tell the friends now and just tell them to keep it to themselves...then there's definitely no hard feelings or weirdness at all...and congrats!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I'd actually tell the friends now and just tell them to keep it to themselves...then there's definitely no hard feelings or weirdness at all...and congrats!

If they want to keep it a secret for now, I wouldn't tell anyone. I told one of my best friends the gender of our baby and now everyone in that circle of friends knows. People talk.

 

[mdsouth]

Thank you all for your thoughts! After lots of consideration (and the fact that we have FOUR long weekend trips planned between now and mid-September), we told our friends that we appreciated the offer but couldn't take them up on it. When I told DH that I was on the fence he said "Do whatever you want. I only suggested it because I know you like Disney." Sweet of him - but he could care less LOL!

Also what crisi said:



Universal really isn't on my list, and thinking about spending $300 to go (which our friends REALLY wanted us to do) was tough to swallow.

Plus - I can say it on the Boards, because no one knows me here - we found out yesterday that we are expecting our second child! I wish we would have waited to tell our friends "no" until after that announcement is public, because then we wouldn't look ungrateful!

Congratulations! I think you made a good decision. I know how hard it must have been for you to decline the trip since you do not go often and really want to go. But this way, when you are ready to go with your family you can spend the money for a great trip that you get to plan for an extended amount of time. It will be worth the wait.

Congratulations!! I'm sure when your friends find out about the baby, they will guess that is why you declined, and will completely understand.

Exactly this! When you do make your announcement, your friends will totally understand why you turned them down for September.

 

[crisi]

Thank you all for your thoughts! After lots of consideration (and the fact that we have FOUR long weekend trips planned between now and mid-September), we told our friends that we appreciated the offer but couldn't take them up on it. When I told DH that I was on the fence he said "Do whatever you want. I only suggested it because I know you like Disney." Sweet of him - but he could care less LOL!

Also what crisi said:



Universal really isn't on my list, and thinking about spending $300 to go (which our friends REALLY wanted us to do) was tough to swallow.

Plus - I can say it on the Boards, because no one knows me here - we found out yesterday that we are expecting our second child! I wish we would have waited to tell our friends "no" until after that announcement is public, because then we wouldn't look ungrateful!

Congrats. When you tell them about your pregnancy you can tell them you knew when you said no, but it was too early to say anything. If they think you are ungrateful (and they probably don't) it will melt away in pregnancy good will.

 

[hsmamato2]

honestly,I might do it..... a couple of days at Disney would be fun! However, the reality is it's not almost free...the cheapest part of an Orlando trip is ALWAYS the hotel room! It's the other stuff that costs $$$ (That's how they getcha!) It's basically a real 5 day trip you're going on, but saving a small amount by staying with friends. If it were me,I'd go, and rent a car to go to Disney for 3 days,instead of splitting tickets at Uni. That's a better deal. And enjoy dinner with your friends or something while sharing a condo.
(But You're talking to a person who tacks on a day in Disney if there' a park within 200 miles of any vacation lol)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Regardless of how long you stay, 1-2 days in 2 parks will be expensive. Multi-day tickets end up costing less per day. If you stick with just Disney parks or just Universal, you wont spend as much.
How old is your son now? Is he not invited?
It sounds like the itinerary was not really planned by you. Do you not have the freedom to plan your own days?
Keep in mind that even if you decide to hold off until 2019, all of those "other" costs such as food, tickets, transportation will still be there, then add accommodations.

It might be easier to look at this offer not as an "almost free trip to Orlando" but more as a "heavily discount accommodations offer". That is a big difference since it's not a free trip at all.

A place to stay is just one piece of the pie. Only you can decide if that discount is worth it.

 

[kathy884]

I personally love the short Orlando trip. Yes it's expensive when you consider cost per day, but I these days never want to be in Orlando for more than four nights / three days. Gets old to me after that. Maybe I've just been down to much -- parents started taking me there back in 71 when they opened. // With all the other weekend trips you have I can see your decision to skip it making a lot of sense. // If I travel too much and too close to other trips, I just don't appreciate it that much. Like having some time at home to balance things.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Congrats on the new addition! I think you absolutely made the right decision.