My family is planning a vacation to Orlando late July, or early August. Can anyone help us do Disney and such cheap? Is there such a thing?
Call the Orlando/Kissimmee Visitor's Center (you'll see them advertised in the back of ladies magazines, check your public library) and tell them you are planning a vacation and would like a packet of discount info. They will mail you more stuff than you could ever use! Also -- the closer you stay to Disney World, the more outrageous the price. It might be cheaper to stay farther away and rent a car!
Becki
If you know someone in AAA, they can get tickets at a discount. Also, AAA has a great coupon book for hotels. Don't ever pay full price for a room. Coupons are out there. Check your local restaurants for coupon books, too.
Debra
Disney World has a great camp ground (the only place I would willingly go camping). It's clean and safe, approx. $60 per night. It is considered one of the Disney resorts so you are able to take advantage of the early entrance to different parks available only to resort guests. Plus you won't need a car to go from the resort to any of the parks. For the Magic Kingdom you just walk down to the lagoon and take the (free) boat over. There are bus stops throughout the camp ground with buses going to all the parks (also free). You can pretty much spend the amount of time at the camp ground you want. We stayed at the camp ground one full day enjoying the beach, petting zoo and just relaxing (doing laundry). I hate camping but the next trip to Disney World I would camp, we tried staying in a motel on our second trip and it wasn't anywhere near as enjoyable.
April
I live in Florida and just took my family to Disney in March. DO NOT STAY IN ORLANDO! Stay in a hotel/motel in Kissimmee (which is right outside of Orlando). It is much cheaper. Another idea is to bring in a cooler/sandwiches and rent a locker inside the park. Bottled water is something like $5 inside the park. Also, buy Disney T-shirts and gifts at one of the T-shirt/gift shops in Kissimmee before you go to Disney. The T-shirts are like 3-$10 at a store in Kissimmee instead of $20 for 1 at Disney. Always bring your own camera and film and never have it developed there. It is very expensive. Also, another tip: To avoid staying in lines forever - go during the week instead of the weekend and if a line is busy, then get a ticket that lets you come back at a specific time to ride the ride. They just started doing that and you avoid the 1 1/2 wait in line. You can go ride something else and come back at whatever time they specify on the ticket. I forget the exact name of it, but you will see them at the major rides. Good luck!
Kim - Florida
Order an Orlando Magic card at 1-800-643-9492 it will offer you discounts throughout the Orlando area. Also a Magic Kingdom card will give you a 10% discount on Disney tickets. Renting a home in Kissimmee, Florida is sometimes less expensive than a hotel room especially if you are able to share the cost with family or friends. A 3 BR 2 BA with an in ground pool is around $700 per week, peak season even less off season. Renting a home or condo also saves on dining out, a big plus. We found one on Vacationspot.com Good Luck!
Wendy
Kissimmee is less pricy than Orlando. Contact a time-share office, (there are so many), that handle new sales, resales and "rentals." Remember lots of people buy time-shares and don't use their time, so rent them. Check out the motels that have a refrigerator and microwave. This saves on cost of snacks, and it is nice to have a cup of coffee and juice in your room in the morning.
Use the internet to search small motels not listed with 800 numbers. Suggest doing your homework well in advance of your scheduled trip. Check with travel agents, they handle airline travel as well as book motel rooms and car rentals; they can look up accommodations that are reasonable to fit your needs. When you have a reservation, you can call the provider's direct and see if you could get a better rate yourself. Sometimes you can! Then negotiate.
TIP: Remember travel agents make their living booking reservations & providing service; don't try to undercut them.
I made a reservation for two @ $49.00 per night, recommended by a friend, (not a chain but had an 800 number) on my own and when I checked in asked the clerk if there was a better rate. She was kind enough to advise that they had a coupon in one of those "famous coupon booklets" at most businesses and motels. When I brought the coupon back that day, the room rate was reduced $20.00 per day. We lucked out since the motel had a refrigerator and microwave; we stayed there the whole time using that as our base! This was located on US l92, W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, considered main gate, in Kissimmee. The motel was located next to a water slide park. This was January l997 but this "same strategy has worked for me since then."
Ms. Syd Barr - Dunkirk, MD
Check out www.wdwinfo.com (the message boards are especially good here)
I got tons of great ideas and tips here before we went in March 2000. Have fun!
Sue in Wisconsin
WWW.CHEAPTICKETS.COM
Lowest prices on airfare & Rental Cars.
Call 1800 Phone# for Days Inn and ask for the DAY LIGHT SAVING SPECIAL 34.99 Weekdays 39.99 Weekends staying right in Orlando!
I have been visiting a lot of web sites about how to get a cheap trip to Orlando. One of the web site http://www.findcheapmotel.com helped me a lot. Please give it a try.
We live in Florida, too--as so many others here have already said, do yourselves a favor and stay in Kissimmee; the hotels and motels are much cheaper and there are tons of restaurants that aren't as pricey--and it's still just down the road.
You'll also pay less for gas; the closer to WDW, the higher it gets. The same goes if you're venturing east to the beaches at all; stay at least two miles west of the beaches and gas up and eat there, too.
Off-season ( late June through November--with the best likely being September and October, when hurricane season is most active down here!) is also when you can find better deals in the hotels.
We usually go from the Fort Lauderdale area to Key West in early October for our anniversary, and the hotels are usually trying to throw you deals to stay an extra couple of days, then. It seems to be the same all over Florida in that time frame.
Just a suggestion, though: if you're brave enough to book during the peak of hurricane season, get travel insurance. The cost is really minimal and in the rare event your vacation coincides with a storm--you're not out anything!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What to do, see, and eat in Orlando when celebrating my wife's 30th birthday?
Bonus info 1: We are not from the US, but traveling there in October.
By Ajes
Go to your local book store and visit the travel section. They usually have books on travel destinations such as Florida. Look up the section on Orlando. Orlando is famous for Disneyland and all their attractions, Universal City, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center, and many other attractions for adults and kids.
Tripadvisor.com is a great website for any travel info you will need. I am using it for my Honeymoon plans and am wondering how people did this kind of travel without the net!
I am looking for information for cheap and exciting vacations in Orlando.
By kumaran from Orlando
Good luck with that! If you live in Orlando, you know the theme parks are expensive. However, there are so many nature-oriented things to do in Florida; beaches, nature preserves with trails, parks for picnics, etc. The theme parks often have special discounts also.
I agree with Kelly about the Space Coast, I work at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.
A lot of people don't take advantage of the fact that the regular tickets to the Kennedy Space Center are actually two day tickets. Just have your ticket validated as you leave and you have 7 days to come back for another full day of fun! The parking is FREE too! Also included in the admission price is entrance to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which is located 6 miles west of the Space Center. (On the very same road!). The regular bus tour, to all three tour stops is also included. A really good value.
You can usually get discount coupons at McDonald's too! Or check on line. It is a wonderful place to visit, really makes you proud to be an American! Katie
I am traveling to Orlando with my sister, my mom and Aunts (ages from 35 to 82). Does anyone know of things we can do while there?
Audrey from Canada
if you go to a Book Store they have books that are about the size of National Geographic they have everything you can possibly want to do.The nice thing if you stay at one of the Motels at the resort is the fact they have busses and the tram and boats to get you where ever you want to go which is the greatest thing.You do not have to worry about anything they get you where you want to go and back again.My husband and I loved West downtown Orlando.Planet Hollywood is there. Among other things to do.MGM studio's, Universal studios,and Epcot are the best places for you to go for adults.Also the best thing we found out was to go through a Travel Agency,They have special deals as well as helping you figure out what you want to do,Also some places require reservation's in advance to go to so they would be very helpfull for you.The one thing I found I loved the most were the fireworks as well as the Electric Light Parade at Disney world after dark.When you go to leave though we found out the boat's were the best way to go back to our Hotel as everyone under the sun wanted to ride the Tram.The reason I suggested the places I did was due to the fact that these places are for the more mature and they are just not based on rides.I wish I were going with you I loved every minute of it!!Good Luck have as much fun as you can.Take care, dar
There are LOADS of things for adults to do in Orlando! Not only can you have a lot of fun at Disney (even without children!), but there is also a lot of things on International Drive that might interest you. There is Wonderworks, 3 really nice malls, Arabian Knights, Medival Times, SeaWorld, a couple nice outlet malls, Kennedy Space Center (about 30-45 minutes east of Orlando International Airport) and the beach!
God Bless,
Sheila in Titusville, FL
Check out these photos.
At the museum, Nate becomes "distracted" and misplaces himself. Fortunately, he is so enthralled he keeps his head together and does not panic. It was a fun vacation for all!
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I am going to Orlando, Florida and would like some info on free or discounted/cheap ideas for things to do. I plan to go to the theme park one day.
My husband hails from Orlando so we go there for every summer vacation. Before his dad retired from Universal Studios, one of his perks was free tickets to give to his family.
