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Old 21 Oct 18, 08:39 PM  
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#231
sheluk
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All caught up. Wow you’re doing so well on your budget.

It got me thinking about how much we waste on snacks and booze... although they are usually very much enjoyed. It’s a great thread to show how it is possible to get by with a minimum budget and still enjoy your trip.

It sounds like your wee one is having the most fabulous time.
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Old 21 Oct 18, 11:48 PM  
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#232
joeym
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Originally Posted by M3ben05 View Post
I really like having a car while I'm there to be honest. I like the freedom to be in and out of the parks when I please and as we have free parking with our annual passes I think it's money well spend even on such a tight budget.

We're flying into Sanford too so getting to/from the airport would cost almost as much as car hire.
We have often flown into Sanford and done our own transfers and done Uber instead of car hire and it’s saved us loads
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Old 22 Oct 18, 02:49 AM  
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M3ben05
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Originally Posted by joeym View Post
We have often flown into Sanford and done our own transfers and done Uber instead of car hire and it’s saved us loads
Each to their own of course, but I honestly can’t see how it could be cheaper using Uber. Car hire was £139 for the week including a tank of fuel. Let’s say Uber to and from the airport costs £80, that leaves £59 to pay for 4x Disney transfers each day (twice there, twice back). Not to mention shopping trips, meals out x2 each day etc. There’s also the need for a car seat to take into account in my situation. Airlines carry these for free so I brought one from home but if I didn’t have a car I don’t know how I’d go about it.
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Old 22 Oct 18, 06:01 AM  
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#234
BirdsluvDisney
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Really loving this post, Loving reading about your adventures with your little man.
Not only are you giving us some great ideas on how cheap we could do Florida, I feel you have bought the sense of adventure back (for me anyways)
I remember back in the day 20 odd years ago taking my Four girls off to Disney working hard and booking into the cheapest motel on ID, Then going off to Ponderosa to fill myself and my girls up for the day.
I didn't drive so use to get the motel bus, Gosh I made some memories with my girls.
I also done this as a One parent. Our adventures were amazing.

Now they are all grown and I am remarried and I splash out on Disney staying on site, DDP and so on. Your post has got me thinking back to those days, Making those memories 4 little girls with the biggest smiles. Do you know I think those are the Disney trips I have loved the most.
Not the luxury ones, The ones I worked so hard to safe for, The ones I counted every penny. My girls still talk about their wonderful holidays to see Mickey Mouse. They themselves are now Disney lovers as adults.
Thank you so so much for this post. I will carry on following with interest. Enjoy the rest of your memory making jollies.
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Old 22 Oct 18, 09:37 AM  
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#235
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Birdsluvdisney, want a lovely post. I read it and then read it to my husband. I'm sure the memories you made with your four girls are priceless. We visited for the first time in 1983 with our three boys. Motel,Ponderosa, hard earned strict budget. We forget sometimes that it's all about the magic, thanks for reminding me xx
Sorry, forgot to add, to the OP, your adventures with your little man have brightened my days

Edited at 09:42 AM.
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Old 22 Oct 18, 10:26 AM  
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#236
Segdude
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Originally Posted by Bestbubba View Post
Birdsluvdisney, want a lovely post. I read it and then read it to my husband. I'm sure the memories you made with your four girls are priceless. We visited for the first time in 1983 with our three boys. Motel,Ponderosa, hard earned strict budget. We forget sometimes that it's all about the magic, thanks for reminding me xx
Sorry, forgot to add, to the OP, your adventures with your little man have brightened my days
I don't want to derail this thread as I love it, but you are absolutely right, we do forget the simpler things/times sometime. DW and I both drive so called prestige cars, yet we fight for the keys to our daughters Fiat 500 as it's fun to drive. So stupid really.
I'm planning on a DW and I only trip in 2020 and am getting inspiration from this thread.
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Old 22 Oct 18, 11:22 AM  
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M3ben05
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Originally Posted by BirdsluvDisney View Post
Really loving this post, Loving reading about your adventures with your little man.
Not only are you giving us some great ideas on how cheap we could do Florida, I feel you have bought the sense of adventure back (for me anyways)
I remember back in the day 20 odd years ago taking my Four girls off to Disney working hard and booking into the cheapest motel on ID, Then going off to Ponderosa to fill myself and my girls up for the day.
I didn't drive so use to get the motel bus, Gosh I made some memories with my girls.
I also done this as a One parent. Our adventures were amazing.

Now they are all grown and I am remarried and I splash out on Disney staying on site, DDP and so on. Your post has got me thinking back to those days, Making those memories 4 little girls with the biggest smiles. Do you know I think those are the Disney trips I have loved the most.
Not the luxury ones, The ones I worked so hard to safe for, The ones I counted every penny. My girls still talk about their wonderful holidays to see Mickey Mouse. They themselves are now Disney lovers as adults.
Thank you so so much for this post. I will carry on following with interest. Enjoy the rest of your memory making jollies.
This is a really lovely post, thanks for sharing. This trip has definitely reminded me that time and fun are so much more important than the amount of money being spent. Although this trip can be looked at as an edge case in terms of how cheaply it can be done there’s definitely going to be a lot of aspects of it we’ll do again in all our future visits.

You also 100% deserve a medal for doing those trips solo with 4 girls!
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Old 22 Oct 18, 11:49 AM  
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#238
Cocobean121
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Just catching up with your adventures, sounds like an amazing holiday regardless of how cheap you’ve done, that’s an added bonus! Your little man sounds like he’s a real treasure and just goes with the flow, what a little star!

Enjoy yourself and continue making fabulous memories!
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Old 22 Oct 18, 11:51 AM  
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MrsH070707
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I agree with all the other posters - this thread is actually quite inspirational. I remember my folks taking my brother and I on a tough budget when we were 8 or 9 - we stayed in motels like Days Inn and fought over adventures such as going to the end of the row to fill up the ice bucket, all-you-can-eat donuts at the free continental breakfast and collecting as many paper coupon books from reception as we could carry... we ate at Dennys, Shoneys, Ponderosa... they couldn't stretch to the extortionate gift shops at disney but they took us to the crappy souvenir shops on the 192 (my favourite places ever) where we bought shell money boxes and magnets and god-knows-what-else for a fraction of the price. We did lesser known attractions like Boardwalk and Baseball and Gatorland and Don Garletts drag racing museum and shared 1 giant ice cream between 4 at old town (we never knew it was budget related, they just said wouldn't it be awesome if we had one big one to share)... these things built my love for Florida; above all the bells and whistles, this place brings a sense of family like no other. Don't get me wrong; I love the treats and the VIP stuff but its true to say you don't really need it
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Old 22 Oct 18, 11:57 AM  
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As usual the little man woke at around 4pm yesterday. What was unusual was that he wasn’t hungry so we decided to head straight to Epcot. While he was napping I managed to get some Frozen FPs so that was to be our first stop.

As expected, it was mega busy because of the food and wine festival. The locals love it and I can totally understand why - if I was lucky enough to live over here I’m not sure I’d eat anywhere else while it’s on!

We were a bit early for our FP so instead of going straight there we took a detour to living with the land (a geeky favourite of mine) and then another ride on nemo. Both were pretty much walk on. Frozen had an 85 minute wait by the time we arrived so I took great pleasure in using the FP I’d booked only an hour before

Another thing to mention, and a definite plus point is that we’ve been given front row seats for every single ride other than one on this trip! I can’t believe it’s coincidence so I guess the cast members are instructed to do this for small parties with little people?

Anyway, it was starting to get dark by the time we came off the ride. I think Epcot at night is probably my favourite part of Disney- the atmosphere in the world showcase is just fantastic. As it was a cooler evening we decided do a lap of the lake, pick up some dinner on the way round and then watch the fireworks from the FP area, which I’d bagged while waiting for Frozen. Tip - as soon as you’ve scanned in for your 3rd FP you’re free to choose another.

Everything was going well until we saw it. Possibly the most exciting thing a 3 year old could see. I’m talking of course about the model village near the Germany pavilion. Trust me when I say that literally nothing is more interesting to a 3 year old boy than a model railway! We spent almost an hour. Yes a a whole hour watching this before I could persuade him that we should move on. It was great to see him so engaged with it though, so I didn’t mind one bit.

The smells coming from the Morocco pavilion we’re too good to just walk past so we stopped to eat there. We shared a Chicken Shawarma and some chips (£11.89 spent) and then a caramel apple from the Werthers store in Germany ( £3 spent and you need to have one if you’ve not tried! )

There was now no chance of getting back round to the FP area in time so we cancelled the FP and continued our stroll round the lake, watching the fireworks from France before making our way slowly back to the exit.

Another 10 minutes watching the diggers when we got back was the final action of another fun day

This morning we actually have more Epcot FP’s booked - bad planning on my part but little man is currently still sleeping so we’ll see what he fancies doing when he wakes up.

As always, thanks for reading.
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