@OlafsDad I totally understand trying to save $100 here and there. It will all add up. Everyone has a budget. I’m a firm believer in the philosophy that just because you HAVE the $$ doesn’t mean you should SPEND the money 
I’m trying to get DH to eat PBJ in the parks a day or two (it will save us $30-$50 per meal) and instead put that $$ towards EMM (we haven’t done and I really want to!).
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We did it Last year. Last year’s trip was just dd13, DW, and I. It was a trip of firsts for us. 1st time just the 3 of us, 1st time staying on property, 1st time using a magic band or having memory maker, and 1st time doing EMM.
The 3 of us have all agreed it was a trip that will never be outdone. We had such a fantastic time and I owe much of it to our final day, which was MK and the fact that I purchased EMM on a whim. We rode 7dmt 10x if not more. Most times we had the entire car to ourselves. The pictures we took were priceless. We kept coming up with new poses for the camera. This one is my favorite. We all agreed to look bored but DW forgot what we were supposed to do. I do hope you get to do it. We are not big coaster fans but that ride is so much fun
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This one was priceless. Don’t ask what kind of pose I was going for here. Its a cross between being scared, praying, and making a stupid face…
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When we got home and showed the rest of the family they laughed for days. In fact they blew it up and gave it to me for father’s day. We still laugh today when we look at it hanging on the fridge.
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Love the pictures and the shirts!!!
Thanks. Picked shirts up at Souvenier shop on i-drive as a goof. But we really enjoyed the pictures that were taken that day with them on.
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Your 7 Dwarves pictures are fantastic!
LOVE the pictures!!
So we purchased our tickets through Visit Orlando during their black Friday sale. They had a buy 4 days get 5th free ( which was actually only slightly cheaper than the standard 5 day ticket, I think it was $5-6 savings at most if I recall) but they offered a 15% discount on top of that. We opted for base tix, no hopping, and no water Park. This group is best slated for 1 park per day and only 4 of us are water park fans and with a 5th park day we won’t have time.
At the time there was only 8 of us so purchased 8 sets of 5 day base tix and with the 15% savings we ended up paying $2680 total. So broken down it’s $335pp or $67 per park per person.
So we got the rental van booked currently under 4 separate reservations. Res#1 for 1 day from home to airport, Res#2 for 1 day from airport to home, Res#3&4 are for while we are in Florida. One from MCO and return to MCO, and the other from CCC and return to MCO ( this one is $275 cheaper than the MCO>MCO)
We got the Tickets at the best possible price at the time. I linked em all to our MDE account and they are all set. Was a little worried but a few Liners also purchased and vouched for V.O. expiration dates are food til 12/18.
Renting the house was an experience like no other. I am a procrastinator. It takes me an hour to pick out a birthday card at the hallmark store. I look at tons of cards but usually end up buying the first one I picked out.
Each time I found a house I liked, I ended up finding something wrong with it. Its so darn addicting looking at those houses. They are all so beaitiful with covered lanais, and built in pools, and themed bedrooms, garages turned into game rooms, beautiful kitchens with granite and stainless everywhere. I searched nearly everyday for 2 solid months. Ended up picking one of the first ones I actually looked at (similar to my hallmark card experiences) but becaise i procrastinated my dates were no longer available. So went with choice #2 an 8 bedroom in Champions Gate, newer home, no reviews which scares me a bit, but had everything else we wanted and more. Custom built games room with pool table, air hockey, 2 classic video game machines, and multiple tv’s with ps4 and xbox1, a.movie theater room with 100" projection screen and leather reclining movie theater seating, beautiful kitchen large dining area, and it’s close to the clubhouse which has tons more of amenities
We searched homes using multiple apps. & websites : VRBO, Homeaway, Hometogo, Airbnb, MVH, etc… Most have same homes available at different prices and some sites have higher fees than others. We opted to go with Magical Vacation Homes as they had a 15% off promotion going on which saved us a good deal. In the end we are paying appx. $2,100 for 8 days/7nights for 9 people.
So I am up to appx. $5,800 and that’s without airfare , meals, and the extras I’m planning. But I’m still happy with the amounts I’ve saved thus far. Could have been well over $7,000 if not for the discounts I got from shopping around. And points will come in handy when airfare opens up for our dates.
edit I forgot to mention a factor in why we decided to book through Magical Vacation Homes ( other than the 15% discount offered ) when you click on a home to view the photos it gives you the date in which the photos were taken or updated. This was important to me personally as some of the homes look beautiful in the pictures but when you notice the photos were last updated in 2013 you have to wonder if it still looks as beautiful today.
Also, if you do choose to reserve through Magical Vacation Homes and they are not currently offering a promotion, check out their website thoroughly for discounts offered. They offer military, repeat, as well as a few other discounts.
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@olfasdad thanks for sharing your plans and tips. Sounds like you are planning a wonderful vacation. I also plan for large family trips usually at Easter but don’t have to worry about little ones (at least not yet, hopeful for grandchildren some day). I print out TPs for the group also so they get with the program. We choose to rent off site for the first time. There are 9 of us, thanks for the tips on van rental, I found a good rate with Undercover Tourtist since we needed tickets for some in the group. I am with you about looking at homes, I spent hours back and forth. You got a great rate! Getting extra FPP for those returning in the afternoon is perfect, but don’t also forget about rider swap with the little one, that should help also. Enjoy your trip, can’t wait to read the report.
Thanks @faulkh I definitely need to brush up on rider swap and how it works and for which rides. I’m hearing conflicting reports about rides give you 3 to ride and others 1, also some expire same day and some do not.
The child swap pass allows 3 people to ride and expires the end of the month in which the pass was given.
A caveat. Some people have reported receiving rider switches for FoP, for example, that needed to be used the same day. Probably to prevent people selling them on eBay, which has happened apparently!
Oh wow, that must be new. Ours expires the end of the month when we were there in December.
Tickets, House, rental van,… check, check and check.
Now to work on flights.
I have about 45-50,000 points on JetBlue and Southwest thanks to sign on bonuses. So I’m going to attempt to pay a majority of the tix using points.
A few problems…1. I’ve never booked using points. 2. I’ve never booked through Southwest and this whole boarding process has me going bananas. 3. Both sites (JetBlue & SW) won’t allow me to book 9 people. SW let’s me book 8, while JetBlue only let’s me book 7 via their apps. I guess I’ll have to call to book.
JetBlue has already opened up it’s dates into Oct so I am already tracking their rates. I know I’d like to spend about 6,000 points per person or less. It won’t cover the 9 of us but it should cover 8 and I’ll pay o.o.p. for the 9th.
I have 2 home airports as options to fly in and out of (Boston and Providence) I also have 2 destination airports i can fly in and out of, either MCO or Tampa. So im tracking multiple sets of flight options for JetBlue.
From home these are my options.
BOS>MCO, PVD>MCO, BOS>TB, (JETBLUE does not fly from PVD>TB so no 4th option there)
Return flight options are: MCO>BOS, MCO>PVD, TB>BOS
Best current option for departing from home airport via Jetblue is BOS>TB @6,600Pts., ( both BOS>MCO & PVD>MCO are currently @ 9,200 pts.)
For return flights via JetBlue, best current option is MCO or TB > BOS @6,600 pts. each, w/ MCO>PVD @ 10,700 pts.
Southwest dates open up March 8th and I’ll be able to see what they have to offer. But just going by current dates they have available, I’ve calculated that I should be able to get a SW flight PVD>MCO @ just under 6,000pts. So my best option may be using SW points to book our flight to WDW and using my JetBlue points for the return flight home.
I think the best case scenario I’ve calculated, based soley on averages is as follows:
Use SW points, PVD>MCO @5,700pts each x 8 people = 45,600 pts. And pay o.o.p. for the 9th person.
Use JB points, MCO>BOS @6,600pts each x 7 people = 46,200 pts. And pay o.o.p. for the 8th and 9th person.
I really have to play the wait and see game. Especially until SW opens up my dates. I already know 5,600 pts is where I’d like to be based on avgs. I’ve been able to research.
With the possibility of flying in and out of 4 airports, I’ve already made van reservations for all 4 just in case. Best deal while we are in WDW still remains picking up at CCC and returning to MCO @ $400 for the week. Any other combination including MCO>MCO, TB>MCO, MCO>TB, & TB>TB and tje prices range from $675 up to $1,000 per week so i will have to factor those prices into the airlines i chose.
For now best scenario remains fly into MCO, shuttle to CCC, and return van via MCO. So best airline options still remain use SW for PVD>MCO, and JB for MCO>BOS.
So much friggin planning…
Uber is an excellent option for those that want to peel off from the main group. I wouldn’t offer to chauffeur everyone every time who wants to split away from your agenda. Let them Uber! I would emphasize to the oldest and/or the most whiny grown-ups that they are welcome to cut out for a full morning or full evening or even 2 and chillax instead. They can look at agenda and let you know in advance, or tell you ASAP during trip. But just to please to let you know 24 hours in advance (or whatever it is) or you pay a fee for any ADRs.
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