Orlando on a budget

[Ciano]

Hi and welcome to the Dibb!

I always tell 1st timers it's addictive so be prepared to want to return ASAP!

Great advise above. We love a villa holiday. We have 2 children and have been going since they were small. The thoughts of the 4 of us cramped into a hotel room was always a nightmare to us. We love a villa and having our own pool is the ultimate treat.

We can guide you on different estates and areas if you decide to look at them.

Aer Lingus for May should cost between €500 and €600 pp. I just had a look there now and they are €800. That's mental. Check the prices regularly. You can pay a deposit with AL transatlantic and pay balance 8 weeks b4 travel. Also flying during the week will be cheaper.

We are in Kildare. If you need a hand with anything just shout.

The planning is great fun but takes a bit of work.

[Shkyler]

Hi and welcome too! Another Irish dibber.
So we’re flying on a Thursday because it’s cheaper, maybe have a look at that if you can. I’d definitely price up a villa and maybe Uber if you don’t want car hire, with prices and parking it could work out the same, maybe even cheaper.
Wait until Black Friday to buy your park tickets, we got adults at kid prices which saves a little bit.
Eat offsite as much as possible, lovely restaurants and deals and definitely buy your own food, make breakfasts/ rolls, sandwiches etc.
Flights/ car hire/ accommodation/ park tickets are your big outlays.
Also check out American sky.ie gave me loads of ideas and tips, with the prices etc

Good luck!

[Keegan]

As mentioned above on property at WDW will be expensive for 5 of you, however you do then have the benefit of free transportation to all the parks and can avoid ever having to leave the Disney Bubble if you choose to do that.

Other options as previously mentioned are the Disney partner hotels or a villa & car which would be my personal preference as a larger family. Much more freedom and your own pool though account for fuel & parking charges at Disney.

If you want to be off site but near WDW you could stay by Disney Springs or up near Animal Kingdom. Plenty of hotel options and all close to numerous restaurants & supermarkets. Examples such as Rosen Inn LBV or Westgate Resort.

Another alternative and a popular option if you want to be in the main tourist area and between both Disney & Universal is a hotel along International Drive. Examples such as Enclave Suites, Rosen Inn, Wyndham Resort.

If you get a room that is a suite, you'll have the benefit of a small kitchen area so you can save money by having breakfast/quick lunch in the room. Some resorts offer park transfers too, or you could either hire a car or uber but again with 5 of you using Taxis is fairly limiting but not completely.

Do pay attention to possible parking charges & resort fees when staying in hotels though.

[porridge]

I would stay in lake Buenavista vista area, in a Disney partner hotel - so you get some Disney benefits, but with lower prices.
I’d just get Disney tickets and do universal another time. The tickets are the most expensive part of the holiday.
Hire a car, then if you want a break from Disney, you could drive to Clearwater for the day, or do nasa, visit a state park, etc. You can also then drive to cheaper restaurants for dinner, or to the supermarket, or mall.
Remember Disney isn’t just theme parks - you get water parks included with your ticket, minigolf (1 round a day each before 4pm), and a ‘proper’ golf course (oak trail I think it might be called).

[Joshie1]

Another Irish Dibber here.
We’ve stayed in a villa on nearly every trip - works out better value than staying in a hotel if you are a family of 5. The alternative would be a “suite” which is an apartment in hotel what would give you two bedrooms, kitchen area, living area and kitchen facilities as well washing machine and dryer. This will help if your budget it limited as you won’t have to eat out for every meal. (Just saw Keegan’s reply so bit of a double post)
Flights for next year seem to be very expensive- if you fly direct from Dublin you won’t have the queues at the other end to get through customs and immigration- however you might find cheaper alternatives if you fly via the U.K. British Airways are currently allowing an option of flying direct from Dublin codesharing with Aer Lingus and then flying back via Gatwick which would work out a bit cheaper than booking both legs with Aer Lingus direct.
Car hire is a must for us but if you are comfortable with Lyft or Uber they are an option. For car hire we’ve used autoeurope.ie for our recent trips and can’t fault them. The car hire prices at the moment are in a state of flux but look like they could be settling down for next year. Andy here in DFCH gives good deals but his prices are in GBP whereas autoeurope will be prices in euro so you know exactly what you are paying and won’t have to factor in possible currency fluctuations.
This is a great place to ask questions and get advice.

[Pupbelly]

Welcome aboard!
A villa is the way to go for overall value. You get your own space and can have some downtime by the pool when not doing Disney. Try villa owners on here or we use Debbie’s Villas who offer superb villas at sensible prices.
Car hire through Andy at Discount Florida Car Hire is your best route, again gives you independence to go where you want when you want.
Eat in the villa for breakfast, and take packed lunches some days to keep the food costs down. Lots of exciting different food choices at the supermarkets out there to keep it novel for the kids. Equally lots of restaurants to choose from but around Disney and on the main highway 192 the restaurant prices will be high so a short drive away from these areas brings the prices down.
Disney park tickets are what they are so it’s a case of dig deep and accept it’s a big chunk of the holiday budget. Flights are a lottery and I have no experience with Ireland so can’t really help.

It’s not that scary really but you should have a budget in mind and try work to it as best you can. It’s very easy to be tempted to add extras here and there which soon become sizeable budget busters!

Good luck - do it though, you won’t be disappointed

[Picalily]

If you stay at one of the hotels on Palm Parkway you can use the local bus service to Disney. It's the Lynx number 50 and goes to Disney Springs first, then on to the Disney transport and ticket centre where you can access all the Disney free transport. You can buy a weekly ticket for the Lynx and it is really cheap, less than $20. kids are free, and they run to a half hourly timetable. We used them a lot and they are very safe. the journey takes around half an hour. Also the Rosen hotel does free shuttles to and from the park.

[jrm]

Hi, we are planning on a May 22 trip so I’ve been watching the flight prices from Dublin, for our dates Aer Lingus is still around the €760 which is high. Would you consider going indirect? The United airlines flight prices for us have now dropped to around £387 for economy and £634 for the premium economy. It would be a decent saving if you think the children could manage travelling indirect, happy to be corrected if I’m wrong but because you clear customs/ immigration in Dublin your bags should go straight through and you would just have to go to your next gate. Our DD will be 4.5yrs by May so if the Aer Lingus price stays high I think will will definitely opt for one of the United options, good luck

[Ciano]

Originally Posted by jrm

Hi, we are planning on a May 22 trip so I’ve been watching the flight prices from Dublin, for our dates Aer Lingus is still around the €760 which is high. Would you consider going indirect? The United airlines flight prices for us have now dropped to around £387 for economy and £634 for the premium economy. It would be a decent saving if you think the children could manage travelling indirect, happy to be corrected if I’m wrong but because you clear customs/ immigration in Dublin your bags should go straight through and you would just have to go to your next gate. Our DD will be 4.5yrs by May so if the Aer Lingus price stays high I think will will definitely opt for one of the United options, good luck

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Yes once you are travelling from Dublin to an airport in the US you will clear here and bags will go straight thru.

Does the £387 with United include bags and seat selection?

€760 is v high for AL for May. I would have thought more around €600 is the norm.

We are going June returning July and I would be expecting to pay around €700.

We have done both direct and indirect but imo there is no beating direct with AL. The day is so long even at that and more so again if your travelling with young children.

[jrm]

Originally Posted by Ciano

Yes once you are travelling from Dublin to an airport in the US you will clear here and bags will go straight thru.

Does the £387 with United include bags and seat selection?

€760 is v high for AL for May. I would have thought more around €600 is the norm.

We are going June returning July and I would be expecting to pay around €700.

We have done both direct and indirect but imo there is no beating direct with AL. The day is so long even at that and more so again if your travelling with young children.

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Yes the £387 was for the economy ticket that includes a 23kg bag and seat selection, the basic economy ticket was £305, I think we will just keep watching and weigh up the options vs the cost, hubby is tall so he would appreciate the extra room in the premium economy…decisions decisions