Orlando on a budget...

[greekgranny]

Don't feel you have to have a soda etc. just ask for water with a meal lots of locals do.

[teamsingo134]

Originally Posted by sam7

if you really want to save visit CiCi Pizza at least once

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Once!

On our 2020 budget trip we saved a fortune at cicis for late after park evening meals.

Only planned one or two trips, but the kids were happy every time we went as they could get a bit or as much as they wanted, and the wife and I were happy enough with the quality and variety on offer. Think we went 5-6 times haha.

With 2x kids eat free cards it was around 20 dollars a pop which was on par with eating in the room etc.

We looked at just doing universal that time, so only one set of 14 day tickets with a black Friday special, day ticket to seaworld. Stayed on I drive and had a morning shuttle to citywalk, although some days we had a pool morning and did afternoons at the parks and uber/lyft were under 10 dollars each way so going there and back was less than a day's parking/fuel. I drive trolleys for other rides about and to seaworld (just don't attempt to get on with your freshly purchased dunkin coffee as the driver made me throw mine away grr). Saved a good few hundred quid on hire car and parking by foregoing a car.

Other than that I would say biggest saver was travelling to Gatwick. Saved over a grand for a 5 hour drive down south over a 2 hour drive west to Manchester. This was my first trip down there and it was so easy I booked to fly from there for this year's summer holiday to Turkey and saved over £1,500 for a family of 4. Just need to hope we can go now having 2 previous holidays cancelled since May 20

[greekgranny]

Originally Posted by teamsingo134

Once!

On our 2020 budget trip we saved a fortune at cicis for late after park evening meals.

Only planned one or two trips, but the kids were happy every time we went as they could get a bit or as much as they wanted, and the wife and I were happy enough with the quality and variety on offer. Think we went 5-6 times haha.

With 2x kids eat free cards it was around 20 dollars a pop which was on par with eating in the room etc.

We looked at just doing universal that time, so only one set of 14 day tickets with a black Friday special, day ticket to seaworld. Stayed on I drive and had a morning shuttle to citywalk, although some days we had a pool morning and did afternoons at the parks and uber/lyft were under 10 dollars each way so going there and back was less than a day's parking/fuel. I drive trolleys for other rides about and to seaworld (just don't attempt to get on with your freshly purchased dunkin coffee as the driver made me throw mine away grr). Saved a good few hundred quid on hire car and parking by foregoing a car.

Other than that I would say biggest saver was travelling to Gatwick. Saved over a grand for a 5 hour drive down south over a 2 hour drive west to Manchester. This was my first trip down there and it was so easy I booked to fly from there for this year's summer holiday to Turkey and saved over £1,500 for a family of 4. Just need to hope we can go now having 2 previous holidays cancelled since May 20

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Groupon usually have good offers on Cici's

[TinselAngel]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

1.We stayed a night at the Ramada on IDrive and close to Universal last August.. £60 for the night including breakfast. It was clean, basic and absolutely fine. For us, it was a preposition prior to going to the Royal Pacific next morning, but it would have been perfectly acceptable for a longer stay. I believe that it also had complimentary shuttles, although I would still opt for a car.

2. Flights. Write off the parochial ‘we live near Manchester so we fly from Manchester’ attitude and be prepared to fly from wherever is cheapest.. generally Heathrow. Even with a drive (5hrs 30 in our case and a night in the Prem Inn), It saves a fortune direct and with indirects, can save you even more.

3. Food and time management. Take in a packed lunch to the parks and leave early in order to have your evening meal in a happy hour period at an IDrive or LBV restaurant. You often get free starters and/or $5 cocktails. Do your research, join their Mail list if necessary and take advantage. Bahama Breeze is a good one.

4. If going to Disney, use the complimentary shuttle.
If visiting Seaworld, Aquatica then use the I Trolley to save on parking (or better still by a Discovery Ultimate non swim at around £160. It gives you a day with free food and drink at D.C., 14 days at SW, AQ and BG ... and with free parking).
If using Universal, arrive after 1800 and take advantage of free parking.

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Some good points there CFB, but just a word of caution if you’re planning to fly from LHR instead of MAN - you can easily get a budget hotel room the night before your trip but it’s not so easy coming back. We did a five hour drive back from Gatwick after a 7 hour return flight once - we won’t do it again. A better option is choosing to fly indirect and/or mid-week to save on flight costs.

Taking your own snacks/sandwiches into the parks works well to avoid theme park pricing though you need to be aware of the weather if you have stuff that will spoil in the heat. We took sandwiches on a December trip but wouldn’t do it in August. Have a large early breakfast somewhere cheap, skip lunch and manage with snacks, then eat your evening meal away from the parks - PeiWei and Tijuana Flats are great low cost options for us while still being a holiday treat. Sometimes we just go to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts (don’t judge - were on holiday )

[duchy]

If you go fairly often do Disney one year and all the others the next trip . When doing “others” consider if you are spending the majority of your time on I Drive , do you really need a car or would I Trolley and or Uber work for you (it halves our transportation budget even with a couple of days car hire for “beyond Orlando” days.)

Eat early, lots of places have an early bird menu.

Travelodge has comfy beds and good showers and is closer than a lot of the more expensive Gatwick hotels. They even had an egg hunt for the kids when we stayed at Gatwick at Easter.

MyLounge at Gatwick is only £13 with tastecard and includes fast track so is usually cheaper than buying breakfast in the terminal (even more so if you enjoy a predeparture tipple)

[Tinkerbell]

Some great tips here. Keep them coming

[vampiress88]

I found that if I had a budget for everything everyday I then ended up spending less than I thought I would.

We used a lot of the email discounts sent to us and the days that were discounted. We were in a villa so pretty easy for breakfast etc. We also shared snacks in the parks until we knew we liked something. Also had water in the parks a few times.

God I wish I was planning to go back. I love my itineraries, budgets and all this stuff.

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by duchy

If you go fairly often do Disney one year and all the others the next trip . When doing “others” consider if you are spending the majority of your time on I Drive , do you really need a car or would I Trolley and or Uber work for you (it halves our transportation budget even with a couple of days car hire for “beyond Orlando” days.)

Eat early, lots of places have an early bird menu.

Travelodge has comfy beds and good showers and is closer than a lot of the more expensive Gatwick hotels. They even had an egg hunt for the kids when we stayed at Gatwick at Easter.

MyLounge at Gatwick is only £13 with tastecard and includes fast track so is usually cheaper than buying breakfast in the terminal (even more so if you enjoy a predeparture tipple)

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Thanks. I’ve decided against Disney for the 13th odd time! Sticking to Universal... seaworld and possibly a Busch gardens trip

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by TinselAngel

Some good points there CFB, but just a word of caution if you’re planning to fly from LHR instead of MAN - you can easily get a budget hotel room the night before your trip but it’s not so easy coming back. We did a five hour drive back from Gatwick after a 7 hour return flight once - we won’t do it again. A better option is choosing to fly indirect and/or mid-week to save on flight costs.

Taking your own snacks/sandwiches into the parks works well to avoid theme park pricing though you need to be aware of the weather if you have stuff that will spoil in the heat. We took sandwiches on a December trip but wouldn’t do it in August. Have a large early breakfast somewhere cheap, skip lunch and manage with snacks, then eat your evening meal away from the parks - PeiWei and Tijuana Flats are great low cost options for us while still being a holiday treat. Sometimes we just go to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts (don’t judge - were on holiday )

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We do packed meals in August. We pack a bottle of drink (preferably frozen) up each side and have the sandwich boxes up the middle. Fruit above, the crisps on top. We have never yet had an overheat’.

Coming home from LHR? We just ‘tough it out’. Remember that where I live (Falmouth), I have no choice with just overpriced Bristol to Orlando between my home and LHR (and my US vacations don’t necessarily involve Orlando).Sometimes, such as returning from the West Coast, we book a prem inn on return before making for home the next day.

[babbymint]

I made this list a while ago - sorry if it's repeating anything - it might help someone. We don't have a huge annual income, but we manage to save and budget to go most years and this is how we do it:

1. Fly to regional airports or book an indirect flight. We have really enjoyed spending time in Fort Myers, Cocoa Beach and Fort Lauderdale. We have to go in the summer hols, and I set a budget of £500 each. Three years ago, we used an indirect through WestJet and decided to do the layover for 3 days in Toronto – had a super trip with the highlights being lunch at too of CN Tower and a trip to Niagara. These flights were £400 each!
2. Play around with dates as it can really make a difference.
3. Book flights when you find the right price – they don’t hang around for long.
4. Travel light – this can save a fortune if you are booking directly with airline. If you are staying in Disney or a villa you will have access to a washer dryer. We tend to take one large case and then carry ons only – we tend to wear the same thing over and over (washing of course!). We don’t tend to frequent the sort of restaurants with a formal dress code, but I always chuck in a nice dress that won’t wrinkle just in case! We do a shop when we can for essentials rather than taking it all – dollar tree is great for toiletries and, strangely, only a dollar each!
5. If not booking a fly drive, shop around for car hire – they vary a lot.
6. If using a villa, think about what you actually need – our one must is a private pool. That said, we can get anything from less than £500 per week to four times this. For us, we would rather have more basic accommodation and more trips, than all singing all dancing and less trips – but that’s us!
7. We also self-cater a lot when in a villa. Part of our fun, is trying new stuff. We always do our own version of Joe’s Crab Shack – buy a load of crab legs and claws, corn on the cob etc, and do it in the villa. Cost about $40 as opposed to $200.
8. We make the effort to travel to Aldi too as like here you can save a lot – worth the 20 minutes or so drive.
9. Use free dining if you can and want to do on-site, we really get value for money out of it – turn unused credits into sweets to bring home.
10. When in the parks, reuse water bottles and fill them up in fountains (by every restroom). Better for you than soda and free!
11. Try hotwire (there are others). We have only used them in Florida for quick one nighters, but in Amsterdam we got a simply fabulous designer hotel that sold at £300+ per night for £90 per night!
12. Don’t use a car while in Disney – you don’t need it. Do a hire from either Disney car care or pick it up in Kissimmee.
13. If you go every year, work out your dates to use an annual pass at universal – saves us about £800.
14. Use Tesco reward vouchers if you have them for a night at a universal hotel.
15. Get a Landry’s Card (I assume this still is possible). It costs $25. Put your birthday down as the month you are visiting, and they will give you $25 birthday gift. You then get this and the original outlay back when you visit. Their restaurants include Bubba Gumps (our favourite) also T Rex, Rainforest and others. It means you get priority seating too – nothing like queue jumping 😊
16. If you plan alternative trips, look out on Groupon. We’ve had great prices on boat trips, wildlife parks and restaurants. It also means we get to try new things each trip.
17. If you want something different and cheap – visit the natural springs for canoeing, swimming and tubing (like Kelly brook).
18. The drive-in cinema is fantastic and a low budget trip out. We try to do it each trip now – and take deck chairs/cushion to sit outside.
19. Take T bags with you if you cant do without – they are not the same and silly expensive.
20. Finally, when you get home, make your own dole whip by blending vanilla ice cream with canned pineapple – wont save you any money, but a good substitute!