Do you have any tips about how to save on hotels when traveling?
We were considering making a trip to Florida from Kansas. As we were trying to figure out what it would cost we discovered, with our family of six, that we would have to have two hotel rooms for our family, which would significantly increase the cost. As we were checking rates, almost every hotel said that we could legally only have four people per room. The only exceptions were for large suites which would be even more expensive.
We’ve also been trying to decide whether it would be better to drive or fly if we go. It looks like no matter how we figure it, driving is less expensive, would allow us to stop at a couple places along the way and would save us from having to rent a car when we get there. Most of our vacations since we’ve had kids have been trips to visit family that live one day away, so this is new to us!
If you have any good tips about how to save when traveling, post them in the comments section below!
Tawra
Ask the manager to reduce your fee while you stay
Get AAA they offer discounts
If your in the Miltary they offer discounts
Bring your own food and drinks in a big cooler keep meals cost down
Most hotel offer free breakfast So you only need to cover two meals a day
Go online to hotel discounter site to compare prices
Check with a travel agent on package deals like with amtrak or with rental cars etc with hotel packages
Have you checked into renting a house or condo? They often are cheaper and sleep more. Florida has many of these depending on where you go, of course.
Of course going in the off season is best, and depending on what part of Florida you are talking about, you may be able to rent a condo for a reasonable amount. Another added advantage is a kitchen to keep food expenses lower!
This September my husband and I are traveling to Maine for a week. We plan on staying in a lodging facility that has a kitchenette so we will not be forced to eat out every day. I plan on cooking simple meals and of course we will be able to refrigerate snacks, drinks so much easier than staying in a basic hotel room. I am hoping this will cut down the cost of our trip. If you are willing to stop into a grocery store a couple of times it has to be cheaper than eating out in restaurants!
I found this facility by just doing a search on the computer for places that have kitchenettes in the city we are staying in. It was really easy to locate them. What would we do without the internet?
Last time my Father joined us for a driving trip out west, we had 6, also. Several hotels offered suites for way less than two rooms. Good luck!
We took our family of 8 to Florida from Nashville last summer. It ended up being a 14 hour drive so we left at 5:00 in the afternoon and drove all night. I had to do some energy drinks to keep going, but all of the kids slept. We swapped driving and sleeping between myself and my husband. I found a condo for rent for the entire week for $600. It had 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a full kitchen, satellite tv, high speed internet, and a couple of pools. We saved sooooooo much money by going this route. We would have had to get 2 hotel rooms per night otherwise – at a cost of over $250 per night — and we would have had to buy all of our meals in restaurants. This was much more relaxing. We went through vacationrentals.com. They have a lot of great last minute deals. You really have to search though.
Rent a house, this is cheaper, can cook at home saving costs on eating out, we do this every year when we head to the beach. Houses come in all price ranges, and depending type of year maybe cheaper, stay at cheaper hotels with suite that will fit the entire family on the way to Florida have done this also. Good Luck
Annette W
Check out Homewood Suites & see if they have places where you will be traveling. I have friends with 8 children, who were honest about the # of children they have, but were still allowed a suite for all of them. The nice thing about Homewood is, besides the free breakfast (non-optional, IMO, when traveling with children especially!) during the week, they have an afternoon snack, which according to my friend, is plentiful enough for a full dinner! They also have, I believe, a small kitchen area incl. refrig. so you can keep snacks & lunch items cold.
Also, many, many families I know – much larger than yours – talk directly to the hotel & tell them their children are not young enough to be left in a room alone & they will often let them sleep on the floor in sleeping bags, etc. I think it helps to speak directly with the hotel manager, rather than getting info on-line.
Have fun planning! Oh – there is also a website that lists large-family friendly hotels … let me go find it …http://sixsuitcasetravel.com/ That should help!
~ Carrie in MI
We have 6 people in our family also. We have found that if we can find a suite for around $100 we are doing well (it’s hard to do in some states). A place that has FREE continental breakfast is a must for our family along with an indoor swimming pool. Comfort Suites, Days Inn and Hotel 8 are some we check before leaving on vacation.
I’m interested in the average price others are used to paying for families with 5 or more :).
Friends of mine rented a house while down here last time and they saved a lot of money. There were seven of them and they rented a 4 bedroom, 2 bath place with a pool for about what a hotel would have cost for 2 or 3 nights I believe. I don’t remember all of the numbers. Also, are you AAA memebers? I believe they give lots of discounts at hotel, motels for memebers. Have you all thought of renting (or borrowing) a RV (or smaller camper) for the trip, over all it might be cheaper? Do you have people you know down here you can stay with? If I had room, I would say come on but we have this tiny house cheap to rent and run but not great for company!
For that many people, stay at a Residence Inn by Marriott and get a two room suite, you can all stay in the same room….and you all get free breakfast in the morning.
i traveled to Fl with 3 kids, we would take a picnic lunch, stop at a roadside park and eat. slso take snacks and drinks.we would stop for the night and eat a low budget meal. if you fly you may want to see if there are any specials. if you drive you have your car to explore other areas you want to see and not have a rent car, if two drivers it is extra, and i know you would want to have insurance added,reason is i didn’t once and i had an accident, i had to pay the deductible. i budgeted and we had a great time. my children are grown now and one lived in Fl for years and she did not see how we did this every year.
just saying if you drive you have gas, food, lodging, but paing for 6 people to fly i think it would be an awful big expense.
Tqwra,
I have found that calling a hotel directly and making reservations can get you a better rate than Expedia or Travelocity. First, they don’t charge your room until you arrive. The online travel sites bill you immediately and it takes forever to get your refund if you cancel your room. At a direct booking, the hotel often says you only need a 24 hour cancel period.
Also, depending on the time of year, the hotel has some flexibility with room rates that the online travel groups do not. I have found that a suite with a queen sleep sofa and 2 queen beds in the bedroom part is only a fraction of the cost of a second room. These rooms sleep 6 and lets you have the kids in the same space as you are. Look for reservations at the smaller chains – like Red Roof Inn – rather than the large chains for a greater discount. Also, check with AAA for rates and planning. My sister is visiting here in the Wash metro area and saved $150 by having AAA book her flight. Have a wonderful trip.
We also are a family of 6. We can usually find a suite for around $100 (including tax) at Comfort Inn and Suites, Quality Inn and Suites or the Clarion. They also offer a free warm breakfast.
Priceline your hotel rooms. I never pay full price for a room. You can get two rooms for the same bid price as well. Always bid low, and review the prices and hotels on travelocity as well.
Consider staying at a camping resort. My family of 7 stay in our tent for less than $35 a night. Many resorts cater to kid (Jellystone) and we have a blast.
We stay in cabins at state parks. They generally allow for more people (there are 5 of us) and cost considerably less.
Growing up in a family of 6, we would always find ourselves in the same boat with hotel rooms and expenses. Usually we were in our hotel rooms only to sleep. Because of that, we would then get one hotel room (yes, probably illegal) and 2 of us would take turns or volunteer to sleep on the floor. We would take our own sleeping bags and pillows as well.
We would also stop at grocery stores along the way to buy food items. Usually the cost of 1 meal eating out for all of us was about the same for the grocery bill to feed us for a few days.
There were also plenty of snacks that were enjoyed by both kids and adults. That decreased the temptation of wanting something when stopping for gas or a potty break.
If you are a AAA member, you can often get hotel rooms at a discount as well. I have also seen a few commercials lately that talk about staying so many nights with a chain, you get a night or 2 free. You might want to check those out as well.
Have plenty of games and activities for the kids. And each kid should pack a bag for themselves with things to keep them busy, that they don’t necessarily have to share. With the use of digital or flip cameras, the kids could have a fun time documenting their trip as well.
Happy trails to you and your family!
My son advised me to use Priceline.com or one of the other such websites to book hotels. True, it seems strange to book only 1 or 2 nights in advance but there are good deals available. I booked a room 24 hrs in advance in Charleston last fall, and ended up in a 4 star hotel next to the market in the downtown sector for $75. Last month, I stayed in the Triangle Research Park are near Raleigh for $65, also a 4 star resort. Both did not include breakfast, but were close to fast food and restaurants, but I am sure you would be bringing a cooler with milk and cereal bowls, plus fruit. You put it what you are willing to pay, and it comes up with surplus rooms. They will also allow you to extend your visit for the same rate if you book it within 24 hours of your acceptance of the rate. Happy Travels.
For savings when you travel, check out a KOA membership. It is usually $14 per year, and gives you a 10-15% discount on Kabins at KOA’s across the country. They give you a book that lists all the KOA’s across the United States. Their kabins are clean and have air conditioning. They usually have a pool that you can use as well as nice showers. Sometimes they offer free continental breakfasts, or very low cost Ice cream socials that are a lot of fun. We have stayed at KOA’s several times and were very happy with them.
Also, several state parks have yurts that are very low cost , but they usually need reservations, so some advanced planning is needed for them.
Another thing you can look into is Hostelling. They are a bit more expensive I think than KOA but can provide you with a place that is clean and much cheaper than a hotel/motel.
Also keep in mind that if you have AAA, or are a member or AARP, you can usually get hotel/motel rooms at quite a discount, usually 10-sometimes 20% off.
Hope this helps.
looking for koa campground somewhere around disneyland 5 in family need price to join and price to stay for 4 nights
Hi !
I have a son who swims at the the competetive level, so we are either travelling with him or sending him team travel….team travel is expensive and therefore I prefer to travel with him when we can.
What I have found works for us is booking into a motel off the usual track of hotels , these are not 4 or 5 star motels , are usually dated , but as long as they are clean I am fine. I also try to book a suite with a kitchenette ,that way I can bring and make our own meals. Booking a suite is not always the cheaper option but when I factor in the price of a regular room for a 3 or 4 day swim meet, plus all 3 meals for 3 or 4 days I usually always come out ahead, and also booking lower rated motels I have found to be cheaper . Motels are cheaper than Hotels for some reason.
What about camping along the way?
How to save on hotels? Don’t use them. When we travel, we map our route and find state parks and rec areas where we can camp for the night. The cost is usually $16 or less for the night. Some grounds even have showers, so it doesn’t feel so much like roughing it (if you really don’t like the thought of roughing it). The cost of a decent tent and four sleeping bags might cost you as much as a night or two in hotels, depending on where you shop, but it’s an investment you can take with you and use over and over again. Plus, our family’s best memories have been made at camp sites all over the country. Now that we’ve done it so many times, I don’t think I could justify spending money on a hotel.
Tawra,
You know the saying “been there, done that”? Guess what – my husband and I just made this trip from Michigan to Florida with our two teenage boys, my 81 year old mother and 79 year old uncle! Two long days on the road down and back! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which is very clean and usually decent priced. The thing I really liked though is that they provide your breakfast and it was a decent breakfast – not just sweet rolls and coffee. My tip for shopping for a place to stay would be near the highway (less time involved in getting there and taking off in the morning) and a place that the breakfast is included (less time in the morning not having to stop for breakfast at a restaurant). With a family of your size you will really save not having to go to a restaurant. The first day of our trip each way we also saved money by taking a cooler with all our salads and sandwich meats and had a picnic for lunch. Enjoyable and less lost time on the road.
I hope you all have a wonderful trip. Keep us all posted. Thanks for the great website. Love it!!
Deb
Hi, I traveled all over the country with 4 kids in one room. i think only one time they told me i had to have 2 rooms. I learned this though that if you make a reservation they will make you get 2 rooms but if you just show up for the night it’s usually no big deal. you won’t believe this but now I have 6 kids and we just finished moving and stayed in 2 different hotels, and we all slept in one room LOL not something I like doing but the little ones were fine with sleeping on the floor on a sleeping bag or blanket. So my suggestion is to just drive until you have to stop then pull into a place and tell them you want a room with dbl beds. Sometimes they don’t even ask how many kids you have. Happy traveling.
We are making the trip from Michigan to Florida once a year now. As soon as we cross a state border we stop at the welcome center and look for the coupon booklet in a rack near the door. These booklets have kept our costs down to $50 or less per night and include motels with suites in their name (meaning I think more people allowed per room). We travel with a medium size cooler and fix our breakfast of fruit, milk and cereal from that. Lunch is the meal we eat out, partly to break up the trip and partly because lunch out is lots cheaper than dinner out. Dinner can be sandwiches from the cooler and if a microwave is available can include soup. We travel with a plastic dishpan with two cups, bowls, plates, spoons, forks, knives, salt and pepper, small bottle dish wash soap, can opener, one sharp knife and a roll of paper towels.
We have 4 children and have stayed in one hotel room. We usually bring a couple of sleeping bags and occasionally borrow cots from a friend.
Drury Inn is VERY family friendly. Having 6 in the room was no problem. PLUS they have a free breakfast that is very generous with lots of options, so you save on the cost of at least one meal. They recently started serving a free supper buffet that we aren’t quite as excited about. It’s more like a large snack and I didn’t care for the taste of some of the foods. The Nachos are good and my children were thrilled with the soda machine. They also have a basic pool and hot tub that make a trip more fun. I don’t know if they have Drury Inn’s in Florida. Maybe there is another company that is family friendly. We have had great experiences with Drury Inn.
If you are traveling by car the price of 1 1/2 to 2 meals being included in your hotel bill really makes the price more reasonable, especially when you have lots of hungry kids.
Hi Tawra,
Our family plus my parents (total 3 kids and 4 adults) went to Florida a couple of years ago. We rented a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. It was the first time we had ever done that and we will never stay in a hotel again! Even with the discounted prices at hotels at the time of year that we went, it was far cheaper and much more comfortable to stay in the house. Just having separate bedrooms, living room and kitchen was so convenient. And since my kids like to eat all the time – or so it seems – we didn’t have to go to restaurants. One or two trips to the grocery store was all we needed.
We are planning another trip this winter and will drive this year to save money. It takes us about 24 hours of driving but flying and then renting a vehicle is just not worth the added expense.
Brenda in Ontario, Canada
PS I love your website and my copy of Dining on a Dime! Keep up the great work.
When we travelled to Florida for a holiday from the UK a few years ago we had 2 teenage sons and a pre teen daughter. We needed 2 rooms in a hotel at least – very expensive. Instead we rented a holiday home and ended up with a lovely 4 bed home with pool so everyone had their own space and comfort. Best holiday for all ages.
We have nine kids and we travel for either business or pleasure every two to three months. We usually stay at a hotel and use only one room. We simply make the reservation and show up. I’ve never had a hotel charge me extra for the extra bodies or refuse to rent me just one room. My husband and I check in (leaving the kids waiting in the car) and then we all head up to the room.
Camping is also a good choice this time of year since the campgrounds are emptying with school back in session and, yet, the weather is still nice enough to be comfortable.
Check for motels with efficiency apts – usually one room, but sometimes you can sleep 6 in them. They may not be chains, though. They also have a small fridge and stove so you can minimize meal costs. If you plan your stopovers for areas which are more “touristy”, you may be able to find this type of room more easily.
When our children were 4 and 9,we went to Florida (Disney) and my Mom went along, too. We rented an apartment for the week rather than a hotel – it was convenient to the park, had a pool, and was quiet in the evenings. And it had 2 bedrooms! I think we rented it through a travel agent, and I don’t remember if it was cheaper than a hotel, but we had easy access to stores and saved a lot of money by buying food and drinks and carrying them along with us, and by eating breakfast “in” while everyone was getting ready for the park.
I stay in hostels when I travel. They cost $20 nightly in Peru vs $200 for a hotel. Yes they have them in the U.S. Also driving you can stop by McDonalds or have that that crockpot you referred to bringing simmering away while you drive as long as you purchase an adapter to power it to the cigarette lighter. look on hostels.com. by the way, mine in cosco, peru had free internet, hot showers, would laundry my clothes for a free, and I had a single room. i recommend paying your most competent child a percentage of the savings to research this for you.
however as a single when i travel i back package deals to paris, london, etc. during lent and travel in september when its 20% cheaper, the kids are back in school, holidays are over, lines are shorter, no coats are needed, etc. i stay in the cheapest hotel (from now on hostels) possible, and eat from markets or where the locals do. it is my intention to interact with them rather than recreate the u.s. overseas anyway.
Our family rarely stays in a hotel (we’re a family of 6 as well). But when we do, I use www.hotwire.com to find the cheapest hotel. Love this site (no, I have nothng to gain by telling you that!).
You don’t know the actual name of the hotel until after you book it, but it tells you what the star rating is, the general area, amenities that come with the hotel/room, etc.
We had to stay in a hotel 2x this summer (wedding and a family reunion). I used that site both times and savd me quite a bit.
Good luck!
Join AAA. You can get so many discounts that one night’s stay usually pays for the membership — plus you have the peace of mind that if you needed to call for help someone would come.
AAA also has many not highly advertised discounts. For instance, they usually give a pretty big discount at Lens Crafters for people who do not have eye insurance.
Hello
This is what we have doen in the past. I say the past because looking after my 95 year old mom for the last fifteen years has left no time for traveling. We used to schedule our traveling time during university summer breaks and for very little money we would have a room or suite and depending on what you need and what we really liked about it you can have your meals at their cafeteria which is open all year for very little. Their meals are excellent. The accamadations are not five stars but the grounds are beautiful and it’s only for a short time. We are Canadian but I’m sure they must do the same in the States. It’s worth a phone call to find out.
Hope this helps.
god bless
Carmelle from Nova Scotia
First & foremost, the obvious, would be finding a decent hotel with a decent price. We usually scope out the area on the path and do a little research on pricing & ammenties such as breakfast or any meal provisions onsite that are included in the pricing. Also, microfridge is a NECESSARY for us. The lowest price:decent arrangement we’ve seen is in the MICROTELS. BUT…they (& like you found with others) require two rooms for 6 people. HOWEVER, If you do some research on the Drury Inn & Suites you’ll be pleasantly pleased to sometimes find rates under $100 before tax, or very close, per night. It sounds like a lot; but when you are facing buying two rooms from other hotels, you’ll see my point. In Morrow, Ga. for example, the room is at that price for a TWO-ROOM suite, complete with living room and bedroom. They do allow 6 people in the room. The bedroom has 2 doubles or 2 queens (I don’t remember) + a pullout sofa in the living room, plus free fast WI-FI. They offer free full breakfast buffet. At 5:30 they have KICKBACK, which is free drinks (3 adult drinks apiece for adults, plus milk, coffee, soda, water, etc.)…AND…free hot food! Here is the menu: (cut & paste) https://wwws.druryhotels.com/content/assets/530_kickback_menu.pdf It’s very good and we never have to go out to dinner or fix it in our room. They also don’t appear to mind if you take a little something back up to the room (for example, a couple chicken tenders and some meatballs can be made into a couple of killer sandwiches the next day if you have some bread and cheese in the fridge!). The soda & coffee are free all day from 3p-10p, along with popcorn. We literally spend NOTHING on food when we stay there.
Once the hotel is secured, if it’s not one that provides meals, we normally will pack a lot of precooked (easily microwaved) foods, a jar of peanut butter, saltines & cheese, peanuts, for snacks…you know the drill on that one. We also bring eggs and bacon and even frozen pancakes that can be warmed in the microwave for breakfast. We usually only eat out once a day, at dinner. Drinks are frozen the night before and used to keep foods cool, plus as they melt they are soooo good on the road.
When we traveled with our three sons, we always had one room, two king or queen beds, where the boys would all sleep in one bed. When they got older, we asked for a roll away bed to be brought in. We never had any problems.
There are six of us (incl. 2 teenage boys). We have found that hotels that offer suites are the best bet for us. We have paid anywhere from $60-110. a night for a suite that includes 2 queen beds and a full fold out sofa. We also look for an indoor heated pool and a free breakfast. Hampton Suites (an affiliate of Hilton) is our favorite and can be found in any state. Every one we’ve been in has been very clean and smoke-free. Breakfasts are great!
Go to wyndham-vacations.com and click on last minute vacations, look for the area in Florida you are going to. There are several nice resorts for instance in the Orlando area. These are studio, one bedroom and two bedroom resorts with kitchens, very nice. These look like timeshare cancellations. Wyndham now owns RCI. I own several timeshares and I book through RCI every year. I have been very happy with them. You can also check out reviews for the resorts. We just got back from an RCI exchange vacation in Branson two weeks ago and had a wonderful time. The resort was VERY nice, roomy, clean wonderful large full kitchen for cooking, large jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom, beautiful balcony overlooking the beautiful grounds, lots of activities at the resort for the family. No I don’t sell timeshares, I am just a mom that uses my timeshare to the fullest extent every year. I have told other friends about this website. It certainly has helped them with saving money to do other fun things on their vacation. I hope this helps.Becky
If you stop at Welcome Centers for each state, they have coupon books that give a pretty good discount on hotel rooms. The books are usually available at gas stations and sometimes at McDonalds.
We have both flown and drove to Disney World from Wisconsin, and we thought as well that it would be cheaper to drive. As it turns out, it’s about the same in cost. (That’s without figuring in car rental, because we’ve never needed a car at Disney).
If you are traveling to Florida to visit Walt Disney World, I would suggest these two websites as very valuable planning resources: Mousesavers and DISboards. You can sign up for free newsletters from both sites as well. The newsletters will alert you to discounts, most often hotel discounts.
I have not been to Florida in 20 years, but I used these resources a LOT when planning our trips to Disneyland in California.
On one trip we had 6 people going and were able to find an awesome family suite at Residence Inn, which also had a full kitchen (and a grocery delivery service) so we saved a lot of money by cooking our own food and only eating one expensive meal at a restaurant the whole trip. The hotel room itself was more money than 2 standard rooms at a cheaper hotel but I calculated how much we would have to spend eating out every meal for a week if we had a cheap, standard hotel room without a kitchen and we came out ahead financially by getting the family suite with a kitchen. The important thing there was to actually do the math (hotel + all food) to fairly compare all options and see which one actually came out to be cheaper when all costs were factored in.
I know that in California, Howard Johnson’s has family suites that are less expensive than Residence Inn and while they don’t have a full kitchen with a stove, they do have microwaves and refrigerators.
On DISboards, you can browse travel questions that others have asked and post your own questions. People do ask travel questions about vacations other than Disney too. For example, the California board also has sections about San Diego, the coast, Hollywood, and other areas. So, you might find a lot of useful information on DISboards. Plus, they are generally nice people and I’ve found quite a few experienced travelers who are willing to share tips.
Hi Tawra,
I have two suggestions that are unique to your situation.
1. Contact a hotel and/or its affiliated hotels you are considering that can be found from Florida to Kansas. Explain what you do and that you are seeking a way to travel that mirrors your mission….saving money! Maybe they will exchange or reduce your cost if you agree to use their hotel each time you need to stop and “report” your experience to all your faithful readers. Who knows, maybe you can get them to link your site on theirs too! Everyone should have the opportunity to have access to your wealth of information (pun intended)!
2. At this time of year, there are companies that need drivers to return RV’s back to certain locations. I believe “RV America” has a program like this and since you want to stop and share some sights, this might be a great alternative to using your own vehicle for all those miles.
Good Luck and Be Safe!
Rhonda
I would look into staying at KOA Kabins. I don’t think you’d have a problem having your kids in with you. They are always Less than a hotel room, have electricity, some have heat and /or AC depending on the part of the country. They have two room Kabins at various Koa that have a separated space with another door and I’m pretty sure those sleep about 8. You have to bring your own bedding( we usually just take flat sheets and light blankets then there are no problems fitting the sheets to the bed, and everyone gets a set of sheets for the trip) pillows of course. If we’re going for a long trip we take a blow up airmattress to add to our bed since we both have back problems. You could find info about locations at KOA.com and no I don’t work for them…just use them alot when traveling cuz it ALWAYS saves us money. They also have playgrounds, and usually pools and are located in every state. We have a Value Kard which saves us 10% on every stay…It’s a yearly card and I only sign up on years which we will be travelling and using it…again on the website. We stayed at 6 KOAS this summer and every one was nice, clean and we got exactly what we had been promised. Hope this helps! You should take a trip with your kids…the memories are irreplaceable! Hugs, Roberta
I don’t know how you feel about camping but I love it. The Kampgrounds of America(KOA)have nice grounds and they also have Kamping Kabins with 2 rooms. There is a double bed in the front room and 2 sets of bunkbeds in the second room. There is electricity and either a heater or a/c if needed..but you do have to go to a separate building to shower and use the bathroom. Check out their website though. If youre travelinf with kids its nice to be able to let them run around when you’re done driving for the day.
Here’s my tip for traveling and staying in hotels: Try booking your hotel room by skipping the 1 800 # and calling the hotel directly instead. You can often get a better deal on your room by doing so. You also usually have a knowledgeable person who can tell you if it is possible to bring your own air mattress for “extra” :) kids. We are a family of 5 so this is what we do. Many hotels allow you to bring the mattress free of charge. Others charge a small fee to do so or will rent you a cot for the night for a minimal charge. Some will not accomodate you at all and require the two rooms but it never hurts to ask! Have fun on your vacation!
I would go to westgateresorts.com and book a room through them for your florida stay. You have to listen to a 90 minute sales pitch but it is worth it. I stayed in Historic Williamsburg during July for only $130. for a week for a 2 room suite. Traveling with 8 people.. They offer lots of discounts.
Try renting a motor home. Bring your own food. Or if you stay in a motel or hotel, they usually have cots or couches that open up into a bed. If you have air beds, they can be used on a trip. Some motels have kitchnettes with microwave and fridge. Bring a hot plate or a George Forman grill to cook with. Stop at welcome centers for books with coupons in them and plus some welcome centers off free orange juice in Florida. The booklets have a lot of coupons in them for food or motel stays. If you are driving, do camping with tents. Good luck.
When we travel, our family usually camps. Prices for camp sites are quite inexpensive at State Parks, and reasonable at Nat’l Parks. There are also many private camp grounds. If you don’t like camping in a tent, try staying at a KOA Kabin. It’s less expensive than a hotel, and many of them will house up to 6-8 people. The shower/bathroom facilities are usually pretty nice at KOAs. Depending on the ages of your kids, you may wish to investigate Youth Hostels.
Happy travels!
What about camping along the way? Plus the kids would love it. That would save a lot of money!
I recently had to stay in a motel with my family. I got a decent price from priceline.com, though if I had made my reservation about a week or more earlier i would have gotten a far better deal on the room.
Good luck to you!
Try state parks with an Inn. My cousin and his family came to visit us last month and were going to stay with their 4 children at a Super 8 hotel. For $10 more than one room at the Super 8, they got a suite at the Inn where they could all sleep, had a kitchen and 2 bathrooms.
Sometimes a motel’s website will give the best price, sometimes a phone call directly to that motel’s front desk will give you the best price. www.tripadvisor.com has customer ratings (so you don’t end up in an unsafe dump with bedbegs) and links to expedia and other discount websites that come up without lots of time spent searching. Usually a link comes up for the motel’s website if is is a chain motel.
Many chains have suites or junior suites that will sleep more than a regular room allows. They are most often cheaper than 2 rooms. Check out if they offer free breakfast.
It may be cheaper or the same amount of money to fly.
buy and entertainment book at entertainment.com
travel during the week–alot cheaper
join AAA
We traveled with a baby this summer, bringing our family to 8. We stayed at a Residence Inn on the way and a Drury Inn on the way home. The Residence Inn had a “Social” the night we stayed (read ‘free dinner’) and free breakfast. Our room had 2 bedrooms with king size beds, a pull out couch, kitchenette, and 2 baths. We booked it online for $180. The Drury also had free dinner and breakfast, bedroom with with 2 queen beds, 1 bath, small kitchen area, and pullout couch and recliner in the sitting room. We booked it from the road about an hour away and paid $117. Both rooms were great, and well worth the money to be in 1 room together (rather than getting 2 rooms) and having space to breathe (rather than squeezing 8 people in a room!).
We have a the same dilemma and often stay at suite hotels that provide a bedroom and living room or space with pull out sofa beds AND free breakfast. We search the web for specials and deals and usually get one at a great price. And AAA has a lot of deals worth checking out.
I found a great deal when we traveled to Flordia in the Southern Living Magazine. In small print on some ads it will give you a code or a plan to ask for. We got a suite that slept 6 for $25 per night in Orlando (even had children eat free dinners). Every hotel along the way we ask about discounts and if they offered free breakfest and dinners for children. Have fun and always ask.
make sure that the hotel offers breakfast, and some hotels offer “wine and cheese hours” which is usually cheese, crackers, bar mix and some wines and apple cider. It also helps if you sign up for the hotel rewards cards. i did that and earlier this year was offered a $50.00 card for a future stay. i used it to go see the newest grandchild.
Check out this website, which lists large-family-friendly hotel options. Perhaps you will have success finding places to let you stay all together in one room. http://sixsuitcasetravel.com/index.html . good luck on your trip planning.
BTW – we now have eight kids, but even when we had six kids and two adults, we never got two rooms. We always felt the liability for the hotel was kind of high, putting children in a room alone. We never told them just how many people we would have together, and put kids in sleeping bags on the floor. We would rather all squish together in a room than run the risk of putting kids alone in a room together.
Good luck!
Use the “Name Your Price” option through Priceline. I travel a lot all over the country and have not paid more than $60.00 for a hotel room in a couple of years and usually stay in really nice places 3 1/2 or 4 star hotels. Also you could call and ask hotels if they will give you a deal on suites. Look for large hotels that usually host conventions. If they are not having a convention chances are those huge sweets are sitting empty which means no revenue for the hotel.
We have had the greatest fun visiting relatives when we travel. (Now, we DO both have large families, and that helps!) So we consider who lives where when we travel, and ask if we can spend the night, or a few days….and work out the details. It seems that particularly our older relatives who don’t/can’t travel so much seem to really enjoy our visits. And then, we take pictures & share photos with the rest of the family, share anecdotes; go to church with them, etc. Almost a throwback to “days of old”….and I know it won’t always work for various reasons, but certainly an idea to consider. And…(you know, the way the Lord works :))…we have found one couple may want to visit US in the future, since OUR home is close to somewhere THEY want to visit!!!
I have been taking my 4 kids from RI to Fla to disney for the last 27 years alone as a working mother. I have so many answers for your trip that I can’t print them all here. I will tell you that you can go to ALLEARs.net and they have great ways to save.
Some of the hotels will let you have all your kids which I think is 4? in one room. mailing a box to your hotel in disney with things you can use to keep your food costs down. your toaster, a small coffee pot food like cereal, snacks, and other take along things for the baby. Also if you eat a later breakfast you won’t have to eat as big a lunch and only eat supper. Also the buffets are the better buys with children as there is also entertainment like the characters. Germany in Epcot has a umpa band that also entertains.. Morroco is a little older entertainment but very educational. if you stay on disney this all works for you.. but also there won’t be a need to use your car. you park it and leave it as they have all the transportion you will need. they take you to the parks and to the water parks. Also when you hit a state they have booklets of places to stay cheaply. Florida exspecially. Staying off disney property is totally up to you, but then you figure in gas and wear and tear on your car. Also parking at the park each day. If you need help with this I am more then willing to give you a hand. you have my e-mail.
Catherine
PS there is so much more I know I will think of.
I agree with priceline- as long as you have the flexibility in your travel plans to stay within a certain city/zipcode- we booked a 5 star suite for $40- it included breakfast too! Can’t beat that!
I was able to stay in a very nice three bedroom condo in Orlando because I agreed to a sit through a time share pitch. We had several pools, hot tubs, game rooms and etc on the property. The condo had two baths and a full kitchen with w/d.
Yes, the 3 hours was a pain BUT…we did get the condo for three nights for $99, two free park tickets and free breakfast..it was well worth the pain of the time share ordeal.
We drove from Colorado to Texas last Christmas with 6 people – 3 kids, 3 adults. I came across the same problem as you, with the websites not letting you book a room for 6 people. So, after I had found a room at a good price online, I called the hotel directly and told them what I was trying to do. They told me to book the room with the max allowed, and then call with our reservation number and they could put a rolling bed in our room. It was just a few dollars more, but it saved us so much money.
Over the years we have found that there are several way to save on motels. First, if either you or your husband have a commercial truck drivers lisence you can get a discount. Have you tried going through something such as AAA. Also, if you go in the “off season” the rates are alot cheaper. Going mid-week also helps alot. Stay with ones such as Motel 6 or even Motel 8 sometimes has specials.
We just stayed at a Hampton and opted for a suite to accommodate more people and it was only $10 more a night, well worth the cost for the savings of a second room. If you are doing Disney and your kids are young, think about doing a day in the parks, then a day off, then another day in the parks. It’s so hard on those little legs that a day to rest and play in the pool worked really well when our kids were young. Also, one of the travel books recommended doing any Disney shopping at the Disney areas not in the parks so you don’t waste your park hours looking for hats with funny ears. We went to Downtown Disney or whatever it’s called the night before we went to the park and the kids got something to wear the next day. It was much better use of time. And of course take a backpack with your own water and snacks…
I agree with those that mention AAA. We’ve had a membership for years, originally because we were living away from family and my husband traveled often for work. I wanted the AAA in case I needed emergency road service while he was out of town. Over the years it has more than paid for itself in hotel savings. I have gotten lower rates using the AAA rate than through expedia, etc. Also, I can’t recommend tripadvisor.com highly enough. The hotel reviews have been incredibly helpful in helping us find decent lodging and avoiding the horrible ones!
As for multiple hotel rooms, we have three kids. When they were younger they all slept together in one bed. Now that they’re teenagers we tend to stick to suites, or at least rooms that offer a couch. We’ve still never booked separate rooms for the kids, even at their age.
We have 3 kids that do a lot of traveling for sports, so any given weekend we were having to pay for hotels and food. We found a travel trailer for $500. We fixed it up with paint, carpet, linoleum, etc that we already had or received free. We ended up selling it for a lot more and used that money to get a nicer on with full kitchen and bathroom and enough beds for everyone. Now we only pay $8 to $16 to stay at an RV park and are able to cook all of our own meals which saves a TON versus eating out. It has already paid for itself!
Depending on ages of children, there’s nothing wrong with doing “boys and girls” (dad sleeps with boy(s), mom sleeps with girl(s)) on a trip. It depends on who makes a good bedmate, of course, but no law says mom and dad have to sleep in the same bed in a motel room. It is stealing if the motel asks how many in the room (most do ask) and to keep that information from them. If your family is that large, and everyone needs supervision, what about a boys room and girls room? Very little children could stay with whichever parent copes best.
Yes, we had thought of doing that if we need too.
Thanks for all the tips! I have to say this is more than a little overwhelming!
I went to the Disney site to see what it would cost through them and it was around $6,000-$8,000 just for the 7 days? That seems awful high but maybe I’m too big of a tightwad.
We will have to check this out. Thanks! Tawra
Ok, now I have to say I’m very overwhelmed! How in the world does a person figure out how to have a Disney World vacation? There are (what feels like)hundreds of options!
We live in Alabama and Florida is only about 4 hours away at its nearest point, so we’ve been there lots over the years. What area are you considering visiting? The west side of FL (panhandle) has beautiful white beaches (or it used to–not sure how oil spill may have changed things). The east side of FL has coarser sand, but the waves are bigger and more fun to play in. We’ve stayed at Days Inn Maingate West in Kissimmee twice, in 2000 & 2007. It only cost $34.95 a night for the 4 of us (through DaysInn.com) in 2007, and we stayed for 3 nights. It’s not fancy, but is within 5-10 minutes of Disney World. I couldn’t bring myself to NOT drive those few miles for the hundreds of dollars we were saving by staying at a non-disney hotel. MouseSavers.com seems to have some good deals, though we only spent 2 days at disney so didn’t save as much (or spend as much! :) ). Please contact me via e-mail if I can help you.
We were thinking of spending 5-7 days at Disney World the first week of Oct. and then we also wanted to go to Ft. Lauderdale to our visit our church.
I have to say I am sitting right now trying to figure this out and I don’t want to go just from the work it looks like it’s going to be to try and figure it out! How in the world do “normal” people take vacations? :-)
Terrie is right, MouseSavers is a great site. Don’t stay on Disney property. There are plenty of other properties nearby that will offer a free shuttle to the parks. That way you don’t have to worry about parking expenses at the Disney. We stayed at one of the Disney value resorts and they didn’t even have a coffee maker in the room. That was $3 in the food court. We went way over budget on food with that trip.
One inexpensive Disney experience that I always recommend to our visitors (we live just 45 min from Disney) is spending a day/evening at Fort Wilderness. It is free too! They have a campfire sing-a-long with Chip and Dale, complete with photo opportunities for everyone there. From the beach at the campground you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach, complete with the music. We always like to take a boat ride from the beach over to the Contemporary or the Wilderness Lodge just to walk around and see the properties. There is a horse stable and pony rides for little ones for $5. The pretty little white ponies are Cinderellas. :) Oh and Fort Wilderness is really decorated at Halloween time!
We have stayed at the Residence Inn at a couple different locations. They have a two bedroom suite with kitchen that worked well for our larger family. In one location, the kitchen/dining room/couch TV was in the middle with a bedrooom on each side. Another location had a bedroom/bathroom upstairs, kitchen, dining, TV couch area and a bedroom downstairs. The cost was a bit high, but in both cases less than renting 2 rooms, plus kept the whole family together. Also, you can “eat in”, saving on restuarants costs. Resident Inn often offers free breakfast, and on weeknights a social hour which in one case offered enough food to fill us for dinner – thus saving a meal cost. They also had a pool and a basketball court – good for running off some energy after a long car ride.
Plus as far as lots of people in a hotel room – the reason we have been given at other times why we couldn’t bring in a rollaway (and I assume why there is a per room limit of people) is for fire codes. Hotels are not the same as a house, if there’s a problem there are a LOT of people all trying to get out at the same time. And, hotel management needs to be able to tell first responders how many people to account for. I’m not an expert, but I would guess that IF a tragedy happened and it turned out extra people were sneaked into the room, there would be significant insurance issues all around. Best to be honest and pay extra money.
As far as affording the vacation itself – are there CityPasses for the Orlando area? We used that in Chicago and in Southern California. Other ideas would be to book a package through AAA as it may offer reduced prices for children. Or even buy a couple of “annual” passes sold to the locals – they often include “bring a guest” coupons that can be used for others in the family. Yes, it takes a lot of work but figure if you spend the equivalent of three working days scouring out the bargains, you have saved a significant amount of money, more than most jobs can pay for those three days. Good luck and keep us posted!
Try vrbo.com. It will list condos and houses for rent in whatever area you go to. Many are reasonably priced, and with room for everyone and a place to cook you end up saving a bundle.
I also agree with the person who mentioned state parks. There are quite a few in Florida (some are even on the beach) and if you plan your trip right there should be a park you can stay at along the way as well. Most have cabins and if you don’t mind the heat, almost all of them allow tent camping.
We have a family of 6, and the way we save on hotels when we travel is to look for suite hotels. Most regular hotels have a few suites that don’t show up on the internet, and we have a few favorites like Clarion that advertise suites. You have to do some planning before you leave, but it pays off. The cost is generally much less than for 2 separate rooms.
Have you tried searching for a condo or rental house. There are specials going on now that include 1 night free, and discount rates go into effect after the holiday. We are going to GulF Shores at the end of September, and found a great rate through a rental company we have used in the past. If you google for rental companies in the area you want to visit, there are usually reviews from past guest that have stayed there. Good luck, and hope you find what your looking for (and also have a great time).
$6,000 or $7,000 is incredibly steep! You could take the family to Europe for that!!!! I’d say look on TripAdvisor.com as some others have said and find out what deals they have. It is time consuming planning the best, most cost effective trip. Especially when you have more than two going (We’re empty nesters so it’s easy to take off on shorter trips without much preparation). For anything more than a quick weekender, I start planning at least 6 months out just because of the research it requires these days. It’s well worth the time & energy…so stick with it! :)
I live in Ft. Lauderdale and if you need some info on the area, let me know, I’ll be glad to help. There are lots of things to do with spending alot of money. Send me an email if I can help.
Oh, also, the church isn’t near the beach, but out west and there are places to stay out in the area that are ALOT cheaper then at the beach. But there are some areas near the church that are not a good idea to stay, not too safe.
I love mousesavers.com. They have a good planning section and saved my family bundles on multiple trips to WDW and DL. Be sure to check out her non-Disney preferred hotels, she has some good deals there. Also, my kids LOVED the character meals. We did Chef Mickey at the Contemporary, but their favorite was the Hoop-de-doo!! Good luck!
Thanks! I will check it out but it’s looking like we aren’t going to be able to afford it. Now I understand how people are in hawk up to their eyeballs spending so much on vacations! Wow, those things are expensive.
I would suggest you check with the mobile/trailer parks or apartments in the communities around where you want to stay and see if they have short term rentals. I live in an area where there are several places that have short term rentals for a week to 6 months. It might be $1000 a week but you would have a kitchen and bedrooms (utility’s included).
If you or your husband travel like mine does stay at Red Roof Inns and sign up for the member perks card. For every 10 stays you earn a free night. The only catch is they expire in one year and the members name on the card must be present. Over the past 4 years my husband has earned 10-14 free nights a year and it covers the cost of our vacation rooms.
5-7 days at Disney World is a LOT of days. Just from having CFS alone, you will be too tired to do that. 2-3 days and maybe one at a water park (I love the Disney water parks) is much cheaper and more feasible.
Try vrbo.com for a cheap condo in the area with a pool where you can make your own dinners. With my CFS, even if I wanted to eat at restaurants after a day out at Disney I couldn’t, so being able to eat an easy dinner from a supermarket is much better for me.
Go to homeaway.com. People (alot of British) buy houses in FL & rent them out. If you’re doing the theme parks, stay in the Davenport area. MUCH cheaper & only 5-10 minute drive. We stayed in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home the past 3 years for $500 for the ENTIRE week. No cleaning fees, no taxes nothing!!! You’ll be overwhelmed at first w/ the # of houses that come up. We wanted a HOUSE, not a condo, not an apartment etc. With a house, you get your OWN pool, don’t have to share anything! Good luck!
Try EBay for vacation rentals that are close to your destination. Just make sure you’re renting a set reservation from someone who rents a lot by looking at their feedback. If you’re going in October you can probably get a good deal if you watch. We scored a 2 BDR 2 summers ago for 4 nights at $240 total! You can do breakfast in your condo and have a nice place to relax on any days you stay in (plus laundry). I agree, Mousesavers.com is an excellent starting place. We took 3 girls to Disney in 2005. We flew and rented a van once we got there (back in the 2 income days). I don’t remember how much the flight was(to tampa), but we spent 300 on the van rental through mousesavers, 250 on our condo, ate light lunches in the park by splitting two meals between all of us about $15. We’d eat dinner at the condo with easy meals like ham with mac and cheese or a pizza, or eat fast food. After a break we’d go back to the parks for a light night. We got our souvenirs at the outlets and not in the parks. We spent an entire day at Downtown Disney (free) playing with legos and potato heads, eating free samples and seeing all the characters and entertainers. All told we spent about 9 condo and van, food, gas, and souvenirs. That’s pretty reasonable for 7 days in Orlando for 5 people!
oops, that’s 900 for condo, van, food, gas, and souvenirs.
Check out www.freemangroupsolutions.com. You can get paid to stay at hotels along your route. This would cover the cost of one of the rooms and help defray the cost of the other. I did this this summer on our trip to Orlando and stayed 3 different places, 2 on the way there and 1 on the way back. With some planning and changing locales every day, you could almost have one every night.
The best priced hotel that we have found in the Disney area is here:
http://www.daysinn.com/DaysInn/control/home?variant=&cid=DIban8831&iataNumber=05619843&client_account2=1000006593&afsrc=1
plus if you are in the Wyndham rewards you also gets points towards another stay. It is also cheaper if you have more than 3 days and even less( I think) if you pay ahead of time. The family and i are heading to Disney in just a few days for 3 night s and 2 days for the Night of Joy event. We are spending less than $80 for 2 days at the hotel and were lucky enough to get in on the Give a Day get a Day and score some tickets form a Disney friend so we will be able to do 3 days including the concert for under $1,00 including food, hotel, gas and everything. We are a family of 5. Just did a quick check and looks like they dont allow over 5 but rooms start at $25 s night depending on the season so it may work there.
Wow, thanks! I will have to check into that!
We are going to Disney World in November. We are getting the dining plan free. The total cost for 4 people is $1,950. That is for 5 nights at a Moderate hotel, 6 days at park and the dining plan free. This is for my husband and I and our 14 year old and 11 year old children. We don’t get the park hopper because it is extra money and we are not interested in going to more than one park in one day. Also, it doesn’t include water park option either. 4 parks are enough for me on a visit. I will at some point go to the water parks but it is alot to take in for the parks without adding the water parks. You can get a great deal by booking online yourself. We travel by car about 12 hours. We get up early drive to Orlando and stay in a cheaper hotel the first night. Then we go check in and go to parks. You do have to be flexible with the dates you travel to get the best deals. Hope this helps someone wanting to go to Disney World. It is a blast.
we stayed at lake eve resort both in may and november of 2009. it’s a condo building but not a timeshare! brand new beautiful spacious rooms with a full kitchen, dining room, living room with flat screen tv, washer and dryer – large pool area and within about 10 mins of disney. we rented a 2 bedroom that sleeps 8 for $90 per night including taxes. best place I’ve stayed and now the only place i’ll stay!! highly recommend!!!
Love your site! This is my first comment.
You can definitely do Disney for that length of time for less than $6,000-$7,000! Don’t let all the variables get to you. Here’s the simple rule of thumb: staying on-premises is generally more expensive and more convenient. Staying off-premises is generally cheaper, more spacious, and less convenient.
The cheapest way to stay on-premises for a family of your size is probably to get a suite or two rooms at one of the Value Resorts during a time period when Disney is offering the free dining promotion, and to book everything through AAA (the membership will more than pay for itself). If you do this, you won’t have to pay for food, as the dining plan provides plenty. Just water and souvenirs (and limit these; Disney souvenirs are expensive and fairly easy to find secondhand). If you fly and stay on Disney property, you won’t need to rent a car during the time period you’re just doing the parks. If you fly and stay off-property, you will need to rent a car. If you drive and stay on Disney property, I believe they may comp or discount your parking at the parks? If you drive and stay off-property, they will charge you to park at the parks.
Just get basic tickets; you don’t need Park Hopper or Water Parks, etc. If it’s your first time, I recommend sticking to just the four main parks. A day of touring the parks is very taxing; you might want to consider taking one or more days off just to relax, hang by the pool, etc.
Why not try searching the Disney website to see what the room rates and park tickets would be at a Value Resort during the free dining period (it’s been extended into 2011), and see if you can stand it? (Don’t forget to factor in your approximate transportation costs to Florida and back.) Then, you can book with AAA and get the AAA discount. Also, definitely check out Mousesavers.com and Allears.com for discounts and other promotions. If it seems too expensive, you can start researching all the off-property options. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions; I took my two-year-old twins last winter and did tons of research. I hope you have fun, whatever kind of vacation you choose!
We just returned from Orlando. We found a 4 bed/3bath house WITH pool for $550 for 9 nights. That included the TAXES, cleaning fees, and pool heat. It was supposed to be for 7, but he thru in the adjoining weekend for free. We found it on vacationrentals.com. We were able to cook and do the laundry. Plus, the kids could use the pool at any time. There were two large master suites with attached baths. The other two bedrooms each had a set of twin beds. Lots of closet /storage space and a one-car garage.
I think staying on property is very high. We always stay off property and drive our own car. (we live in missouri)
I wait to purchase theme park tickets once we get to Orlando. I usually go to DW Tickets (yes, they have a website) in order to save a few bucks.
I agree with the other posts about Trip Advisor. Great source of information.
My sister has 5 kids and stayed in a suite hotel. Not much more than regular.
In October you can look for a condo too. We stay usually in a Sleep or choice hotel(brand of hotel)Motell super 8 is nice too. They have breakfast before you go. Silver Dollar City is great when we went. Family fun! Enjoy!
not sure if they do this all over but when my son came home for vacation with his wife from China they had to stay in the city for a few days. She wanted to see the night life of Canada and we definetly live in the sticks.
They went online and looked up hostels which were very reasonable.
The place they decided on wasn’t a hostel but an old hotel that some people bought to turn into residence rooms for university students. $40 a night with a kitchenette and 2 bedrooms.
So if you want to check that out through web sites in the cities you travel through it could be well worth it.
They only do this during the summer when the students are all gone for the summer break.
Have you considered using a hostel if they are available where you are going? Some of them are kid- and family-friendly and tend to cost much less than a hotel. You could simply google “Florida Hostels” to find some in the area in which you will be staying.
In addition to finding lodging with free breakfast, you may want to find restaurants in your area where kids eat free. This could save you a considerable amount of money as well.
Have a great trip and may you make many happy memories with your family!
I would use a matrix to compare cost of flying 5, versus the cost of driving 5 plus extra hotel and food expenses minus time missed visiting parks because you traveled by car.
Then I would look to rent a house/condo/etc because it would be cheaper to stay there and cook your own food than staying in a hotel and you could get your own pool and sleep in a room without your kids.
I would bring jarred spaghetti sauce, frozen chili, meatloaf, cooked pasta, etc. to heat in the crockpot that I brought so I have a hot meal as soon as I return to my rental. Also bring frozen pancakes, waffles, bagels, etc. Consider paper plates. I pack bags of cooking nuts from Sams club as snacks as well as Sam’s dried fruit. Both get put into baggies that go into each person’s backpack so they can snack as they please until 1 hour before lunch so they eat their purchased meal. Each person gets a water bottle with their name on it to reuse.
I would look up Orlando’s average temperature and compare it with my home town and pack accordingly. For example 60 degrees is April/May weather meaning bring a sweater and wind breaker even if its June. Check the prediction at weather.com the week before you go. Don’t forget sunscreen and hats.
I would pick a maximum of one park a day. You waste time traveling back and forth. It may be a good idea to stay home alternative days or visit downtown Disney so your don’t become exhausted.
I would also use a matrix to compare ticket deals.
Fill up your tires with air before you leave as this reduces how much gas you will use. Also fill up your gas tank before leaving for the trip.Only take what you need because it saves on your gas consumption.