Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer: an August Trip Report (Complete!)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

For anyone interested, here's how the cost of this year's trip boiled down:

Candlewood Suites Syracuse $ 40.00
Syracuse 8 nights extra parking $ 40.00
Jetblue Getaways Package $ 2027.00 (flight + resort)
Jetblue “Even More Space” upgrades $ 210.00
Car rental (Standard SUV, Alamo) $ 290.00
Fuel for rental car $ 100.00
Toll charges and valet $ 27.00
Food, tips and misc. supplies $ 930.00
Disney waterpark annual passes $ 320.00
Lounger and locker rentals (2 parks) $ 100.00
Showcase of Citrus admission $ 20.00
Congo River mini golf (2 courses) $ 40.00
Bingo at the Vistana $ 10.00

Travel insurance was free (provided under my credit card benefits). And the gift card for the cat sitter was also free via my Visa reward points.

GRAND TOTAL: $ 3,944.00 or $131.46 per person, per day, 9 nights/10 days

 

[dancin Disney style]

For anyone interested, here's how the cost of this year's trip boiled down:

Candlewood Suites Syracuse $ 40.00
Syracuse 8 nights extra parking $ 40.00
Jetblue Getaways Package $ 2027.00 (flight + resort)
Jetblue “Even More Space” upgrades $ 210.00
Car rental (Standard SUV, Alamo) $ 290.00
Fuel for rental car $ 100.00
Toll charges and valet $ 27.00
Food, tips and misc. supplies $ 930.00
Disney waterpark annual passes $ 320.00
Lounger and locker rentals (2 parks) $ 100.00
Showcase of Citrus admission $ 20.00
Congo River mini golf (2 courses) $ 40.00
Bingo at the Vistana $ 10.00

Travel insurance was free (provided under my credit card benefits). And the gift card for the cat sitter was also free via my Visa reward points.

GRAND TOTAL: $ 3,944.00 or $131.46 per person, per day, 9 nights/10 days

Holy cow sister....our 15 day trip was only $2800 including bringing home $700 worth of stuff. If we had flown down I would add about $600-$700 to that but no more. Granted we did not buy any WDW passes.

 

[Lynne G]

I know what you mean for schedules opening! I am patiently waiting for SW's to open for the end of August. I think I booked this past August in January 2013. I couldn't believe how early I had done that. First time, but I was glad I did, as the rate never went down and went up quite a bit by the time we went.

I promised my DD we would not leave or come on her birthday this coming year, as she gave me the royal stink eye when we came home from CA this past summer on HER birthday.

I have never done 2 weeks. Most of my trips are 10 to 12 days. I'm thinking 10 this August, but I may see if leaving one or two days ealier than I am thinking of leaving is cheaper, it might turn into 11 or 12. We need at least 3 days in USO, as we all want to see the new HP area, and my AP expires on 8/22.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Holy cow sister....our 15 day trip was only $2800 including bringing home $700 worth of stuff. If we had flown down I would add about $600-$700 to that but no more. Granted we did not buy any WDW passes.

lol, I know......we splurged in several places this trip. Upgrades to our flight (to the Even More Space seats each way). An upgrade on our rental to the Jeep Grand Cherokee (which sucked back a lot more gas than we are used to paying....but the boys LOVED that vehicle). And we had some substantial meals along the way (lots of steak for the big guy and our very pricey character breakfast at Ohana) which kept our dining budget fairly up there.

We are not very good at doing a "budget" trip . We like to splurge too much when we are on vacation. But we may just reign ourselves in for the next couple of trips to see how much fun we can still have while pinching the pennies a little more.

I am currently exploring a whole whack of ticket options for 2014....and wow, what a difference! A 5 day Disney ticket with waterpark & more will be $1050 through Undercover Tourist for the three of us . Discovery Cove, which includes the length of stay admission to SW and Aquatica, would be under $600. That extra $450 can go a long way elsewhere and is hard to ignore : .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I know what you mean for schedules opening! I am patiently waiting for SW's to open for the end of August. I think I booked this past August in January 2013. I couldn't believe how early I had done that. First time, but I was glad I did, as the rate never went down and went up quite a bit by the time we went.

I promised my DD we would not leave or come on her birthday this coming year, as she gave me the royal stink eye when we came home from CA this past summer on HER birthday.

I have never done 2 weeks. Most of my trips are 10 to 12 days. I'm thinking 10 this August, but I may see if leaving one or two days ealier than I am thinking of leaving is cheaper, it might turn into 11 or 12. We need at least 3 days in USO, as we all want to see the new HP area, and my AP expires on 8/22.

Flights for our two August trips have both been booked in January as well....but never right when flights opened up. So this year, I have vowed to be ready and set to go when those flights are first released. I want to have it all wrapped up (pardon the pun!) before the holidays. Wish me luck .

We have never tried Southwest yet (though we have flown Airtran once). Its an option for us if we fly from Buffalo. But DH and DS fear the open seating.....which always leads us back to Jetblue.

 

[pigletto]

You do not even want to know what this Christmas trip is costing us
In fairness, it's a more pricey season for Disney for hotels and food and our flights were a bit more than usual. It's all the little extras I keep adding because I've been dreaming of a Christmas trip for so long. Extra meals, Wishes Dessert Party, Christmas Party tickets, I.C.E. tickets... the list goes on. I usually do really well with our trips, and will be going back to budget planning for the next one though.
Anyway, your trip totals look great to me and more in line with what I usually spend!

Dh and I have decided our next Florida trip after this one will likely be October. We'll be using the cottage in the summer. We want to go for Food and Wine at Epcot next year, and see all of the new Harry Potter stuff over at Universal, so that's the plan for now

 

[Sparkly]

Just so you are aware, the Sheraton Vistana Resort and the Sheraton Vistana Villages are two different properties (the names are so close, sometimes people think they are the same resort). The Resort is closer to the Disney parks and the Villages is closer to the SeaWorld parks, but really they are not very far apart from each other (maybe a couple of miles). The Resort, where we stayed, is very close to Downtown Disney.

We paid $120 per night, taxes included, for our two bed, two bath villa which was a steal IMHO. Our accommodations were booked as a package along with our flight through JetBlue Getaways, and the rate included daily housekeeping. You can also rent:

- direct from Sheraton http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=5608

- through a third party like Expedia

- directly from an owner via a site like Ebay http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_kw=SHERATON+VISTANA+RESORT+2BR+DISNEY+VACATION+TIMESHARE

- direct from an owner via the Timeshare Users Group, or TUG as it is better known http://tug2.com/rnr/TabResortClassi...sortGUID=943c564c-e9f4-4acd-9880-3894626cf481 ).

I believe that the sponsor of this board, Dreams Unlimited, also offers a discount at the Vistana, which you can access by clicking here: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/sheraton/vistana/svr-res.cfm .

bankr63 has a great thread running that is all about the Sheraton Vistana Resort. You might want to pop over and check it out! Here is the link to take you directly there:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3148502

Hope that helps!!! Have fun planning your trip!

Thank you! I'll keep it in mind

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

You do not even want to know what this Christmas trip is costing us
In fairness, it's a more pricey season for Disney for hotels and food and our flights were a bit more than usual. It's all the little extras I keep adding because I've been dreaming of a Christmas trip for so long. Extra meals, Wishes Dessert Party, Christmas Party tickets, I.C.E. tickets... the list goes on. I usually do really well with our trips, and will be going back to budget planning for the next one though.
Anyway, your trip totals look great to me and more in line with what I usually spend!

Dh and I have decided our next Florida trip after this one will likely be October. We'll be using the cottage in the summer. We want to go for Food and Wine at Epcot next year, and see all of the new Harry Potter stuff over at Universal, so that's the plan for now

Our Christmas trip was quite a bit more expensive as well....just over $5100. But like you, we added on some of those special Christmas touches that really would have been a shame to miss (just in case we never get back for another holiday season). And considering we had no other Christmas gifts to buy, that helped offset the added costs as well. I don't regret a cent of it . It was worth it and more.

I also include every single expense in my final budget total. From the time we leave home until the time we walk back in the door, right down to insurance and airport parking and cat care. So that sometimes makes it seem higher as well.....or at least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it .

October is on my list of must-do's some day. I want to see the parks decorated for Halloween and do MNSSHP. And hopefully it won't be *quite* as hot!!! !

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I am currently exploring a whole whack of ticket options for 2014....and wow, what a difference! A 5 day Disney ticket with waterpark & more will be $1050 through Undercover Tourist for the three of us . Discovery Cove, which includes the length of stay admission to SW and Aquatica, would be under $600. That extra $450 can go a long way elsewhere and is hard to ignore : .

Hi Gina

This trip in October we have bought the DC with Busch, SW and Aquatica and have not purchased WDW tickets (well apart from a night at MNSSHP)

We were there at Christmas for 3 weeks so thought we would save a few pounds on the tickets as it soon adds up. If you plan on going a few times an AP might be an option to save on the parking fees.

Happy planning

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If you plan on going a few times an AP might be an option to save on the parking fees.

That's what we were thinking too .

For 2014, I think we have it narrowed down to two options.....

If we are going to do one, two-week trip, then we'll purchase Discovery Cove admission (which includes SW & AQ for 14 days) and add on the length of stay parking pass. That will only be $600 with tax for the three of us.

If we are splitting our two weeks into two separate vacations, then we'll probably opt for the Super Grover passes (which will get us into SW, AQ, BG, AI on BOTH trips and include free parking). This option should be just over $500 if we can get in on a Black Friday 25% off deal. But then I miss out on my beloved DC....boo :-( .

DH is hoping for the two-week August trip. DS wants to split it August & Christmas. I want two weeks in August and a week at Christmas .

 

[dancin Disney style]

lol, I know......we splurged in several places this trip. Upgrades to our flight (to the Even More Space seats each way). An upgrade on our rental to the Jeep Grand Cherokee (which sucked back a lot more gas than we are used to paying....but the boys LOVED that vehicle). And we had some substantial meals along the way (lots of steak for the big guy and our very pricey character breakfast at Ohana) which kept our dining budget fairly up there.

We are not very good at doing a "budget" trip . We like to splurge too much when we are on vacation. But we may just reign ourselves in for the next couple of trips to see how much fun we can still have while pinching the pennies a little more.

I am currently exploring a whole whack of ticket options for 2014....and wow, what a difference! A 5 day Disney ticket with waterpark & more will be $1050 through Undercover Tourist for the three of us . Discovery Cove, which includes the length of stay admission to SW and Aquatica, would be under $600. That extra $450 can go a long way elsewhere and is hard to ignore : .

I'm all about splurging while on vacay but maybe I just have a knack for finding all the deals This last trip really did have to be done on the cheap since it was not planned I really had no budget to speak of. I had about a month to scrape up some cash.....almost made it too. I was a bit short but it's paid off now.

As far as tickets go....I haven't bought tickets in about 5 years. I use my airmiles. There are lots of ways to make the trips less expensive but still the same. My friends have declared me the Vacation Deal Queen. I rarely pay full price for anything vacay related. Example....last summers car rental...13 days(through the July 4th holiday) full size car $138 including all taxes and fees.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm all about splurging while on vacay but maybe I just have a knack for finding all the deals This last trip really did have to be done on the cheap since it was not planned I really had no budget to speak of. I had about a month to scrape up some cash.....almost made it too. I was a bit short but it's paid off now.

As far as tickets go....I haven't bought tickets in about 5 years. I use my airmiles. There are lots of ways to make the trips less expensive but still the same. My friends have declared me the Vacation Deal Queen. I rarely pay full price for anything vacay related. Example....last summers car rental...13 days(through the July 4th holiday) full size car $138 including all taxes and fees.

I am not an Airmiles girl. I have a card....just most of the stores around here don't offer miles on purchases (except Metro, which is super over-priced on groceries to feed my hungry guys). So I accumulate VERY slowly. I will be retired before I get something free from my airmiles card .

I don't think we did badly on the overall cost....room-only for a two bedroom, two bathroom villa at a Disney resort would have been more than the entire cost of our vacation . Under $4 for a 10-day trip was very acceptable for us. We could easily have cut out another $1000 by going with a full size car, nixing the airline seating upgrades, downgrading to a one-bedroom villa at SVR, and skipping some of the extras like the lounger rentals at the waterparks. But those are the little things we did that helped make the trip extra special .

As Jake would say.....YOLO!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

DH is hoping for the two-week August trip. DS wants to split it August & Christmas. I want two weeks in August and a week at Christmas .

I'm with you on this

 

[dancin Disney style]

I am not an Airmiles girl. I have a card....just most of the stores around here don't offer miles on purchases (except Metro, which is super over-priced on groceries to feed my hungry guys). So I accumulate VERY slowly. I will be retired before I get something free from my airmiles card .

I don't think we did badly on the overall cost....room-only for a two bedroom, two bathroom villa at a Disney resort would have been more than the entire cost of our vacation . Under $4 for a 10-day trip was very acceptable for us. We could easily have cut out another $1000 by going with a full size car, nixing the airline seating upgrades, downgrading to a one-bedroom villa at SVR, and skipping some of the extras like the lounger rentals at the waterparks. But those are the little things we did that helped make the trip extra special .

As Jake would say.....YOLO!

With college/university tuition coming up get yourself an Airmiles mastercard. I've easily earned enough miles from a few years of post secondary to cover 2 WDW passes. This time around our oldest is paying her own way through university (we paid for the first go) but she's using my CC to pay for things online so that I still get the miles. It's a brilliant plan

Ya...metro sucks! I don't shop there much unless something is on sale or there is a great airmiles bonus offer. The best way to manipulate Airmiles in your favour is to watch the website and sign up for anything that you can. Example....I opened a BMO chequing account and only make one $30 transaction per month. After 3 months I'll earn 1000 airmiles. Once I have the 1000 AM I'll close the account. I did the same thing 2 years ago but that time I only had to open a savings account and let some money sit there for a few months.

Every time I hear someone say YOLO I think of the reality TV show about the 3 senior sisters. They have to be at least 75-80 and one of them learned the expression YOLO then proceeded to use it constantly but wouldn't tell her sisters what it meant. She would even yell it out the car window at people.

 

[Lynne G]

I'm with you on this

That's my idea too! However, DH said 2 vacations?!!! I said, well, only this year. He he!

I am using my SG this year, but not sure I will buy it next year. We may do USO and WDW, but I have to work the kids on the Disney idea. When we were at our last day in DL, my teen said, I think we are done Disney. Sniff! If no good deals come out, I can still do a military rate, and the BC may be the carrot to entice them to do Disney. We have to see what happens after the holidays.

Will have to see if our August dates cross. Planning is half the fun!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

August flight prices are soooo expensive. To fly direct at he minute is around $1500 each, you have to be on the look out for a good deal

 

[LadyBeBop]

Gina, have you ever thought about driving? Yeah, I know it's longer, but you save a ton of money. If you have the time, you could take maybe three days down and two to three days coming home. I know how you like to go off the beaten path. By driving down, you can spend time sightseeing around the route. Wish you crossed the border at Windsor, and not Eastern Ontario. I can show you how to roadtrip down I-75. (I live ten minutes from I-75...close to the Creation Museum, Big Bone Lick State Park and the Florence Y'all watertower.)

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Every time I hear someone say YOLO I think of the reality TV show about the 3 senior sisters. They have to be at least 75-80 and one of them learned the expression YOLO then proceeded to use it constantly but wouldn't tell her sisters what it meant. She would even yell it out the car window at people.

OMG, I saw that preview and just about peed myself. It was awesome!!!!

And ya know, I had no idea you had an older kiddo. I thought you just had the little DD who was the dancer. So I learned something new about you today!

Will have to see if our August dates cross. Planning is half the fun!: beach:

Amen!!!

August flight prices are soooo expensive. To fly direct at he minute is around $1500 each, you have to be on the look out for a good deal

Lord almighty that is unbelievable!!!

Our flights for last August were $300 return, non-stop both directions and including our luggage and seat selection. And here we thought THAT was kind of high!

Gina, have you ever thought about driving? Yeah, I know it's longer, but you save a ton of money. If you have the time, you could take maybe three days down and two to three days coming home. I know how you like to go off the beaten path. By driving down, you can spend time sightseeing around the route. Wish you crossed the border at Windsor, and not Eastern Ontario. I can show you how to roadtrip down I-75. (I live ten minutes from I-75...close to the Creation Museum, Big Bone Lick State Park and the Florence Y'all watertower.)

We have thought about it.....but as much as we're not fans of flying, we're also not fans of taking so long to get where we're going (fussy little snots, arent we? ). We drove from SE Ontario to Wisconsin Dells during the summer of 2010, and it was a neat experience...........but if I ever see another Trivial Pursuit question, it will be too soon . The scenery was incredible, we stopped at some rather neat places along the way, and it really did offer a whole different overall experience vs. flying to our destination.....but we determined that spending a couple of days each way with our fannies in the car just wasn't our ideal vacation. If we can fly for under $1000 (round trip) from Syracuse or Buffalo, then its well worth it for us.

Happily, I am seem to be developing more tolerance for flying and the transporation part of our trips is getting far less stressful. No airsickness on either our Christmas voyage nor our most recent August trip....so that's 5 flights in a row where I was A-OK (including our flight home from MCO in August 2012. I still hate to even think about the flight there ). I have the Gravol timing down pat and I am getting pretty good at staring my "I'm being hurtled through the air 40,000 feet above the ground in a metal tube at high rates of speed" fear in the face and coming out a better person for it. Not to say I look forward to the flights any longer, but at least I finally don't dread them. So there's progress .

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Lord almighty that is unbelievable!!!

Our flights for last August were $300 return, non-stop both directions and including our luggage and seat selection. And here we thought THAT was kind of high! : .

Our October flights were half that price each, but we are having to fly indirect. I think that's why we like to go for 2 to 3 weeks because the extra cost of accommodation for another week isn't that much in the scheme of things. This may be our last trip for a year or two as I don't think I will take DD out of school as she will be in her last couple of years at school.

 

[dancin Disney style]

OMG, I saw that preview and just about peed myself. It was awesome!!!!

And ya know, I had no idea you had an older kiddo. I thought you just had the little DD who was the dancer. So I learned something new about you today!






We have thought about it.....but as much as we're not fans of flying, we're also not fans of taking so long to get where we're going (fussy little snots, arent we? ). We drove from SE Ontario to Wisconsin Dells during the summer of 2010, and it was a neat experience...........but if I ever see another Trivial Pursuit question, it will be too soon . The scenery was incredible, we stopped at some rather neat places along the way, and it really did offer a whole different overall experience vs. flying to our destination.....but we determined that spending a couple of days each way with our fannies in the car just wasn't our ideal vacation. If we can fly for under $1000 (round trip) from Syracuse or Buffalo, then its well worth it for us.
.

Yep...much older DD. 23 to be exact. She also was a dancer in her younger days. Equally as accomplished as her younger sister has become but in a totally different style.

I totally do not get the 'I love to drive' thing. Cause I hate it. Unless you have 4 or more people in the car you're really not saving any money driving to FL. We spent $420 on gas driving my Xtrail and then you have to add in food and hotels. For most people they would also have to add in service before and after the drive....for us it's free. Also, factor in the wear to your car. With all that added together you're around $800-$900.

When we make a long drive somewhere it's all about how fast can we get there....no site seeing or delays aloud, says me. Many, many times I've been in the car on a road trip and all I do is watch the clock and think about how far I could have flown in that same time period. It's not at all my idea of a fun way to start my vacay. Plus, all the little things that my DH does that normally are a minor irritation launch me completely into the red zone. It's amazing that by the time we reach our destination I still have a tongue attached from all the biting I do.