Planning a trip to WDW in February / March on a budget. Please help.

[OogieBoogie]

My wife and I are finally looking at taking the honeymoon that we didn't get, and we are thinking of taking it to WDW sometime in late February or early March. Does anyone have any advice on where we can get the best deals? We saw an ad that some of the hotels on the Disney property are going for $50 a night, but we go to make a reservation, they are much higher. We're looking to stay 3 , maybe 4 days and have a tight budget on the amount of money we can spend. Any advice?

[TDLFAN]

The hotels on property will only drop prices for APers... as I do not think they offer rates as low as $50 for non-AP guests. Maybe if you know a CM who can get you a discount.. Or take advantage of a deal like the recent free nights for X numbers of nights paid.
However, you can find cheaper hotels just outside WDW on 192, or even on the road 535 side of the property. Save further on passes by not opting to add hopping benefits, etc.. Eat for cheaps in the counter places and avoid the overpriced sitdown options.
Buy Disney souvenirs at their Outlet Mall shops. Some of it may be a bit old merchandise but this is the place to shop if you want to bring WDW souvenirs home for family and friends.
I am sure many more ideas from more seasoned 'out of towners' will be forthcoming below.

[OogieBoogie]

Thanks. We have looked at some off site hotels, but we were suprised to hear that there is only 1 shuttle that goes from the hotels to the parks. That shuttle is shared with several other hotels and it doesn't run that frequently. That kind of made us worry about staying at a off property hotel.

[Speedway]

Thanks. We have looked at some off site hotels, but we were suprised to hear that there is only 1 shuttle that goes from the hotels to the parks. That shuttle is shared with several other hotels and it doesn't run that frequently. That kind of made us worry about staying at a off property hotel.

We solve that problem by hiring a car. Yeah it's a tiny setback but it will be WAY MORE cheaper then paying for shuttles.

[OogieBoogie]

How much do the shuttles cost? Do they go to all the parks or just the Magic Kingdom? How much is Parking?

[Speedway]

How much do the shuttles cost? Do they go to all the parks or just the Magic Kingdom? How much is Parking?

Well we only found out today (I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my plane home) just by interest looking at a leaflet in our hotel room; our shuttle had to be planned a few days in advance, had fairly rigid times, and was $18 return per person. Which I think is pretty expensive.

To park at a theme park is $12 per car, which is a lot cheaper (though I can remember when it was $6 and I'm only 18!). To park at water parks and Downtown Disney is free.

[dlx07]

Are you planning to spend most of your time in the parks? If so, I agree with TDLFAN. Stay in a budget hotel off the property. There are some ridiculously low prices out there. Yeah the staff probably sucks and the room smells like old shoes. Buy some Lysol spray and you'll be fine. Some of the cheap places still offer continental breakfast too.

Forget shuttles. Rent a cheap compact car and try to get a weekly rate. You can go where you want, when you want! After the parks close you can walk around Downtown Disney or catch a movie.

With the money you saved on the hotel you could probably afford tickets to La Nouba!

[aimster]

I've stayed at the Comfort Inn over on 535 near Downtown Disney (it's approx a mile from the DTD/Hotel Plaza Blvd entrance) and it's not too bad. Dirt cheap rates (especially if you book through hotels.com). The room was clean, bed was squeaky but ok enough to sleep in. Staff was friendly. Lines for the free continental breakfast were insane, but I don't eat breakfast so I skipped that. I just used my own car to drive over to the parks. But I agree in looking into a cheap rental car and get a weekly rate. I prefer the counter service places at the parks and there's plenty of cheap chain restaurants over on 535.

[Pacha]

I don't know if these dates would be good for you, but here is an offer from Disney for their value resorts for $49-74 per night:
Walt Disney World Resort - Detecting Browser Properties . . .

Select Disney Value Resorts - Standard Room
For stays most Sunday through Thursday nights during the travel dates below:
$49 per night, plus tax 01/04-01/15/09 and 01/19-02/12/09
$74 per night, plus tax 02/16-04/02/09

Could do something like that and use Magical Express, which is a free shuttle service from Orlando airport to WDW, and then use the free Disney buses to get around. Definitely more time consuming than driving a rental car from place to place, but it could end up cheaper in the long run.

Here's a page with all of the current WDW special offers:
Walt Disney World Resort - Detecting Browser Properties . . .

I would price out what Disney has to offer using their website, and then compare that to the options listed above by other Micechatters.

Personally, I prefer to stay on Disney grounds and use the Dining Plan for food, but that's just my preference and not necessarily the best way to go for everyone.

Another great website I use for planning is:
Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Vacation Information Guide - WDW Planning Guide - Walt Disney World

Hope all this helps!

[TDLFAN]

Yeah the staff probably sucks and the room smells like old shoes. Buy some Lysol spray and you'll be fine.

I think it was WDW1974 who ranted on the same problems you mentioned above when he stayed at the All Star Music/Sports.

Forget shuttles. Rent a cheap compact car and try to get a weekly rate. You can go where you want, when you want! After the parks close you can walk around Downtown Disney or catch a movie.

Very good idea. Having your own car is great IF you plan to move from one park to the next, or staying off property, or visiting other worthy theme parks in the area like IOA or Sea World.

With the money you saved on the hotel you could probably afford tickets to La Nouba!

I would skip LaNouba too...unless you can get a dirt cheap discounted ticket rate. Think of it.. for the same price of admission.. what would you rather do? Spend an entire day at any of the theme parks, or spend 2 hrs watching an overproduced acrobatic show? Granted WDW1974 loves this show and would recommend it.

[dlx07]

I would skip LaNouba too...unless you can get a dirt cheap discounted ticket rate. Think of it.. for the same price of admission.. what would you rather do? Spend an entire day at any of the theme parks, or spend 2 hrs watching an overproduced acrobatic show?

I would only recommend La Nouba IN ADDITION TO a day at the parks. If you have to choose between the two then you should definitely go to the parks, not the circus.

"Overproduced acrobatic show?" That's a little harsh. Sounds like it just isn't your cup of tea.

Tea?! Clean cup! Move down!

[VeganPrincess]

I would only recommend La Nouba IN ADDITION TO a day at the parks. If you have to choose between the two then you should definitely go to the parks, not the circus.

"Overproduced acrobatic show?" That's a little harsh. Sounds like it just isn't your cup of tea.

Tea?! Clean cup! Move down!

I'm not a La Nouba fan either. I believe it's greatly over hyped. No doubt that the performers are amazingly talented and leave you with a feeling of "how did they do that?" but...the storyline (if there even is one) makes absolutely no sense. I was confused for the majority of the show.