We have traveled from Canada to Florida a few times now, and each trip has been a little different. We have found what works for us, and we use this information when planning future trips. If you're looking to travel to Florida and you are on a budget, then these tips may work out well for you.
Set a realistic budget.
Travel is expensive. So, plan ahead - research where you want to go, what you can expect to pay to get there and how much you will need to do the activities that you want to do while on vacation. Start putting away funds ahead of time to cover the costs of the trip. When planing for Florida we add the price that we anticipate for flights, park tickets, food and shopping.
Choose your traveling time wisely.
The price of flights fluctuate quite frequently. When planning we have seen flights pop up with hundreds of dollars in the difference. So, do your research, fly during the low (or off) season when possible, and set up flight price monitoring so that you will receive notifications of price drops. Flights are cheaper when they are not in high demand. Typically, when we fly to Florida we don't pay more that $500 Canadian (taxes and other charges included) round trip. Our trips are non-direct because they cost more.
Another option is that you can use reward points to pay for flights. AirMiles offers deals where you can travel for 3000 points or so (per round trip) to Florida during off season (depending on where your leaving from). And some credit cards have point rewards that can be used for travel. Traveling with points can be stressful. For instance, for us on this trip, the points deal for the time we wanted to travel was offered ONE WEEK after we purchased our tickets. We had been watching for a month or more and nothing was available. Then, when the sale went up through the airline we had to make a call. Oh well, we did use the AirMiles for another purchase as I will get into below.
The WDW Prep School offers this crowd chart for the 2017-2018 school year. It runs from July 2017-July 2018. While we are past this time frame it will give you a solid idea of when the high and low seasons are for Disney (applicable to Universal as well). August is not listed because it's the height of summer, and I would imagine that the parks are on wheels all month long. When we traveled May we were at Islands of Adventure the same time as a few school's Grad Bash's and there were large numbers of jr. high students everywhere. The other side, Universal Studio, was much better on the second Universal park day.
Where to stay.
If you are not renting a car, it is best to stay at a hotel that is close and offers free shuttles to and from the park. Staying on the resorts in the park are more expensive - even the budget resorts. It is possible to secure accommodations for less than $100 per night with free shuttle to and from the parks. These shuttles work on a schedule and you can pick one of those up when checking in.
If you are renting a car, then renting a house may be more in your budget. We rented from VRBO and we secured a two bedroom, two full bathroom condo with parking and access to a pool for so much cheaper than any hotel could offer us. The condo was clean, spacious and we would definitely rent on this site again.
Car Rental.
Rental prices also fluctuate. Shop around for deals and before you book read the reviews for the company itself. It is possible to get a decent sized car without breaking the bank. My hubby is tall and the compact cars are not an option for us. Other years we have paid for the rental. But for our last trip, we used points on a credit card that we had saved to cover the car rental. So, this cost was covered.
A good thing to note that if you are driving. There are toll roads, so keep cash on you or stay off of those roads. Google Maps has an option in the settings to find routes around the toll roads. And it's about $20-30 per day to park at the parks.
Park Tickets.
Shop around for deals. On this trip we used AirMiles for our two day park hopper tickets for Universal Studios. And we purchased the Disney park tickets through one of our employer's deals sites - working for a large company does pay off from time to time :D. If you do not have access to company deals then note that the more days that you buy the cheaper the tickets will be (on a day-to-day bases). Disney park tickets are more costly than Universal park tickets. And, if you are planing on attending an event, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, that is a separate park ticket and not the same everyday park ticket.
If you are planning on visiting Disney and Universal I recommend downloading the park apps. They are great for planning your visit.
We have not been to Busch Gardens because it is in Tampa and that isn't the area where we frequent.
Food.
Inside the parks the food is mostly expensive - more than we would pay anywhere else on the trip. Outside the parks the food is either on par or cheaper than what we would pay for fast food at home.
You do have the option to bring in food, but then it's something to carry or store throughout the day. There are food carts for fast service that are more cost efficient. We tend not to eat too much at the park due to the heat and excitement of it all. But I do like to sit inside for meals to give my legs a break and enjoy cooling off. So, checking the park app for the food options is a good idea because it will tell you the $ range that you can expect.
The price of drinks is more than what you would pay at a convenience store, so plan for that. The refillable cups are a great idea and they have covers. You can request cups of tap water from concessions that have water access for free. And you can also bring in reusable water bottles and get water from fountains throughout the parks for free.
Shopping.
Not everyone likes to shop, and sometimes the deals are just not that great at the outlet malls or parks. It's hard to give advice here because everyone has a different tendency. Speaking for myself, I've gone on trips and haven't bought much at all. And I've gone on other trips, like this last one, and I spent more than I had in the other years that I've gone to Florida. But, we planned for shopping and even though I purchased more, we didn't go over what we had allotted.
And that is it. These are the tips that keeps or trips on budget friendly. If you have Florida park tips, please share them in the comments. I'd love to add more tips to our trip planning.
Later Days,
Jen
Set a realistic budget.
Travel is expensive. So, plan ahead - research where you want to go, what you can expect to pay to get there and how much you will need to do the activities that you want to do while on vacation. Start putting away funds ahead of time to cover the costs of the trip. When planing for Florida we add the price that we anticipate for flights, park tickets, food and shopping.
Choose your traveling time wisely.
The price of flights fluctuate quite frequently. When planning we have seen flights pop up with hundreds of dollars in the difference. So, do your research, fly during the low (or off) season when possible, and set up flight price monitoring so that you will receive notifications of price drops. Flights are cheaper when they are not in high demand. Typically, when we fly to Florida we don't pay more that $500 Canadian (taxes and other charges included) round trip. Our trips are non-direct because they cost more.
Another option is that you can use reward points to pay for flights. AirMiles offers deals where you can travel for 3000 points or so (per round trip) to Florida during off season (depending on where your leaving from). And some credit cards have point rewards that can be used for travel. Traveling with points can be stressful. For instance, for us on this trip, the points deal for the time we wanted to travel was offered ONE WEEK after we purchased our tickets. We had been watching for a month or more and nothing was available. Then, when the sale went up through the airline we had to make a call. Oh well, we did use the AirMiles for another purchase as I will get into below.
The WDW Prep School offers this crowd chart for the 2017-2018 school year. It runs from July 2017-July 2018. While we are past this time frame it will give you a solid idea of when the high and low seasons are for Disney (applicable to Universal as well). August is not listed because it's the height of summer, and I would imagine that the parks are on wheels all month long. When we traveled May we were at Islands of Adventure the same time as a few school's Grad Bash's and there were large numbers of jr. high students everywhere. The other side, Universal Studio, was much better on the second Universal park day.
Where to stay.
If you are not renting a car, it is best to stay at a hotel that is close and offers free shuttles to and from the park. Staying on the resorts in the park are more expensive - even the budget resorts. It is possible to secure accommodations for less than $100 per night with free shuttle to and from the parks. These shuttles work on a schedule and you can pick one of those up when checking in.
If you are renting a car, then renting a house may be more in your budget. We rented from VRBO and we secured a two bedroom, two full bathroom condo with parking and access to a pool for so much cheaper than any hotel could offer us. The condo was clean, spacious and we would definitely rent on this site again.
Car Rental.
Rental prices also fluctuate. Shop around for deals and before you book read the reviews for the company itself. It is possible to get a decent sized car without breaking the bank. My hubby is tall and the compact cars are not an option for us. Other years we have paid for the rental. But for our last trip, we used points on a credit card that we had saved to cover the car rental. So, this cost was covered.
A good thing to note that if you are driving. There are toll roads, so keep cash on you or stay off of those roads. Google Maps has an option in the settings to find routes around the toll roads. And it's about $20-30 per day to park at the parks.
Park Tickets.
Shop around for deals. On this trip we used AirMiles for our two day park hopper tickets for Universal Studios. And we purchased the Disney park tickets through one of our employer's deals sites - working for a large company does pay off from time to time :D. If you do not have access to company deals then note that the more days that you buy the cheaper the tickets will be (on a day-to-day bases). Disney park tickets are more costly than Universal park tickets. And, if you are planing on attending an event, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, that is a separate park ticket and not the same everyday park ticket.
If you are planning on visiting Disney and Universal I recommend downloading the park apps. They are great for planning your visit.
We have not been to Busch Gardens because it is in Tampa and that isn't the area where we frequent.
Food.
Inside the parks the food is mostly expensive - more than we would pay anywhere else on the trip. Outside the parks the food is either on par or cheaper than what we would pay for fast food at home.
You do have the option to bring in food, but then it's something to carry or store throughout the day. There are food carts for fast service that are more cost efficient. We tend not to eat too much at the park due to the heat and excitement of it all. But I do like to sit inside for meals to give my legs a break and enjoy cooling off. So, checking the park app for the food options is a good idea because it will tell you the $ range that you can expect.
The price of drinks is more than what you would pay at a convenience store, so plan for that. The refillable cups are a great idea and they have covers. You can request cups of tap water from concessions that have water access for free. And you can also bring in reusable water bottles and get water from fountains throughout the parks for free.
Shopping.
Not everyone likes to shop, and sometimes the deals are just not that great at the outlet malls or parks. It's hard to give advice here because everyone has a different tendency. Speaking for myself, I've gone on trips and haven't bought much at all. And I've gone on other trips, like this last one, and I spent more than I had in the other years that I've gone to Florida. But, we planned for shopping and even though I purchased more, we didn't go over what we had allotted.
And that is it. These are the tips that keeps or trips on budget friendly. If you have Florida park tips, please share them in the comments. I'd love to add more tips to our trip planning.
Later Days,
Jen
Comments
Post a Comment