Could anyone please help me?
I have 2 week holiday booked to Orlando in March 2008. I am a single mum travelling with my 2 boys aged 13 and 10. I am very worried about the amount of money I will need to bring with me. We are on a very limited budget, I have just about blown myself out paying for the holiday! I have read the previous posts about the amount of money other people have taken with them and I can%26#39;t afford anywhere near that amount. My minimum amount that I can take will be 拢700 but I hope to save a bit more before we go.
Am I being totally unrealistic about being able to get by on that amount? The parks will all be paid for before we go and we are booked into self-catering accommodation so we can cook if need be. I don%26#39;t drive so I will need to rely on transportation to get around, but we are staying on International Drive.
My boys are quite good and won%26#39;t expect lots of stuff bought for them, although I had hoped to bring back a few souvenirs.
I realise that more money would be better but if I only took 拢700, would I be left begging on the streets for scraps by the end of the holiday?!
Anybodys help would be much appreciated. Never posted on any forum before, I hope I have done it right.
Spending Money
Please detail what is already paid for. Airfare, park tickets, etc... is the money for these items coming out of the 拢700?
If 拢700 ($1439 U.S. Dollars) is you have available for dining and general spending, I%26#39;d say that you%26#39;ll be able to vacation rather handsomely and would not worry, just be prudent.
You%26#39;ll essentially have $100 per day to spend. Inexpensive breakfast restaurants are plentiful in the area. You could pack a lunch and snacks to eat at the parks (put a small cooler in a locker), dine at a modest restaurant for dinner, and still have money left to spend.
I%26#39;ve found that the biggest expense in Orlando (after airfare and hotel) can be eating at the parks and general shopping. (Many souvenir shops can be found on route 192 in Kissimmee selling Disney goods.) If you can avoid these two items to a great degree, 拢700 should be enough.
I hope this helped.
Spending Money
Thank you for your help.
I find it very reassuring to know that you think I will be able to get by ok.
Everything is paid for, the flights, accommodation, etc. It is just eating and travelling to and from the parks that I need to worry about.
I haven%26#39;t bought tickets to Universal yet. Where is cheapest place to buy this, and should I wait until closer to the time of the holiday to buy it, in case they do any special offers?
TinyTrina
As the last person said you should have no problem. My advice is hit the buffets. Cheap as chips!
Make sure you have a big breakfast at some where like Golden Corral, probably about $3-4 each. Eat as much as possible as this will save you loads during the day.
Avoid Ponderosa at night as it%26#39;s pritty naf. We often go to Golden Corral at night and at less than $15 a head can be a life saver if you are running out of dosh. I%26#39;m sure you will find plenty of places on your budget on ID.
Does your hotel run a free shuttle to any of the parks? This will save a lot also you can shop at the outlets for things for the kids and items to bring back. The prices are very cheap.
I don%26#39;t know where you are staying, but if you have a fridge in your room, that will be how to save. Even f there is a small charge for it. Buy drinks, snacks, things to make sandwiches. Bring a small back pack with a bottle of water etc in it plus a few snacks for the parks.
As said above, if your tics and everything are paid for $1400 will probably be plenty. But if you can save more, do it.
my sister was also worried about spending money and thought he would be on a tight budget.
she divided her money between the 14 days and only took that amount out each day, that way if she was tempted to buy something a little dearer she couldn%26#39;t. any money she had left at the end of the day she put aside then at the end of the holiday she used any money left over to buy her souveniers and bits for her daughter.
$100 should be fine. we eat at ponderosa for brekkie, so cheap and you really can fill up enough that we don%26#39;t usually have lunch, maybe grab a cake or something little to snack on then just have dinner. and there are plenty of places to eat cheaply, but still good food.
you have the usual fast food places that are cheaper han they are over here, plus there are some pizza and chinese buffets along with places like perkins, also places like tgi%26#39;s or outback are not too dear that for a treat one night they would be great too.
plus with the self catering option, some nights you may be so tired you may want to jst whack a pizza in the oven, walmart and publix have great food really cheap.
hope you have agreat time!!!!!
My only qualm, not addressed by the others is what the position will be with transport. If you%26#39;ve got shuttles, that%26#39;s fine and you%26#39;ll have no problem with $100/day. But if you had extensive travel costs this could take up a substantial slice.
I%26#39;m sure someone would be able to clue you in about transport costs, but you might find that the cheapest solution for chunky transport costs would be to hire a car - which would give you easier access to the Walmarts and Publix%26#39;s of this world.
you should be fine, as long as you don%26#39;t go mad.
most hotels have free shuttle to the parks, as long as you have your park tickets before you%26#39;ll have a great timeand it shouldn%26#39;t cost that much either.
orlando can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. if your on a budget then buffets are cheap and there%26#39;s plenty of choice there too. try a few differant one%26#39;s and see which one%26#39;s you like, some are good and some are nasty, this differs from person to person. i like the golden coral myself and there%26#39;s one on i-drive and if you like pizza ther%26#39;s also a pizza buffet on i-drive too.
another thing some people do is to eat a big breakfast buffet and then bring some sandwiches and snacks (not to much though) into the parks as its a lot more expensive to eat lunch inside than outsidet he parks. after a couple of days you%26#39;ll know what your doing and you should be fine....
hope this helps
Do your boys get pocket/paper round money ? If so get them to save some every week and then they can buy souveniers with that making your money go a bit further.My 7 and 11 year old saved 拢75
each for our holiday in November and their $150 went a long way and they loved being able to do what they wanted with their own money !
... and whatever you do on that tight budget of yours tiny DONT waste money on any GRATUITIES.
Spend the money on your own kids and have good time.
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