Doing Disney on a Budget 11.21.12

Today, I’d like to talk about getting the most out of your money on your Disneyland adventure, making the most of your time in the parks and share with you some rockin’ deals to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Even though I know Disneyland the best, I can’t fault anyone for choosing WDW, with their massive amounts of parks and new variety of rides, shows and parades. Please keep your arms, legs and hands inside the blog at all times. Remain seated until the blog comes to a complete stop. Thank you.

Disneyland may not be a huge entity in size, but it makes up for it in awesomeness. With over 50 rides and attractions between Disneyland and California Adventure, there’s no shortage of things to hold your attention for several days at a time. It’s also great that they are within throwing distance of one another and if you feel yourself dying of hunger on that long 100 yard walk between the two, you can veer into Downtown Disney to sit and refresh before journeying on.

This photo of Disneyland Paris is courtesy of TripAdvisor

As far as acreage goes, Disneyland Paris (formerly known as EuroDisney) is very similar to Disneyland in California. They have some different rides and different takes on the same rides, like Space Mountain: Mission 2 where you actually go upside down. You get Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, which is also converted into a roller coaster (and awesome!) and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which is mostly the same, except for the giant animatronic dragon that breathes fire in the dungeon!

This photo of Walt Disney Studios Park is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Instead of California Adventure and Downtown Disney, they have equivalents called Walt Disney Studios Park and Disney Village. Walt Disney Studios is more “Hollywood” themed and is closer to the feel of Hollywood Studios in Orlando. The rides and shows are a mash-up between Hollywood Studios and California Adventure and are enough to keep you entertained for most, if not all, of the day.

This photo of Disneyland Paris is courtesy of TripAdvisor

We weren’t sure if we would get the same experience at Disneyland Paris, but I will say that we were pleasantly surprised. I do wish we had more time, so we plan a return trip in the future, where we will stay at one of the Disney resorts that offers a great package plan and includes shuttle service throughout the day. In fact, the packages they offer are hard to pass up, because in between the hotel locations, free transportation to and from the parks and discount by bundling the hotel and park tickets together, you would be LOSING money if you stayed in Paris and took the Metro in each day, even if you had a rockin’ deal at a hotel in the city. Normally, I’m not one to jump on the Disney hotel package bandwagon, but Disneyland Paris is really the exception. The exchange rate doesn’t impede on the bargain either and, since most resort rooms are equipped with bunk beds, it’s even better if you go as a family.  Now, if only Disney properties in the States could figure out how to make their rates work to our advantage…It probably helps that Disneyland Paris is located in a town in the French countryside, a 30 minute train ride outside of Paris, called Marne-Le-Vallee.

This photo of Disney World is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Walt Disney World is a city unto itself. It claims to reside in Orlando, but in reality, Walt bought a plot of land so large that all of the resorts and theme parks belong to a “city” called Lake Buena Vista. It is virtually impossible to get around between the different parks and any non-Disney-owned hotels without a car here. I wish it wasn’t true, but I’ve now done Orlando both with a car and without and without was a right nightmare. While there are free shuttles to the parks from each outlying hotel, they aren’t hotel operated and they only travel from each hotel once (or maybe) twice a day and come back the same amount. Once you get to the parks, you can use Disney transportation to go in between the parks and it is very easy. Now, I don’t know if the shuttles operate more frequently in the on-season (namely: Summer), but any other time, when it is cheaper to travel and less crowded, you are stuck to the schedule of each shuttle…and don’t get me started on the city bus trying to go anywhere off the main street. If you plan to leave before each park opens each morning and spend the entire day there and then leave right after closing, then the shuttles will work for you. If you have something else planned, or are planning on visiting any of the Orlando theme parks that aren’t Disney, get a rental car. It will also end up saving you money over the cab/shuttle fee to and from the airport in the end.

So, how else can you save besides getting a rental car and buying a Paris package?

·        Purchase a park-hopper ticket. These can save you money over buying individual day tickets and you can use the same one over the course of your visit. They just scan your fingerprint now, instead of the old school way they did it before where you needed to sign the back of the ticket and present ID each day. Much quicker. You still need your ticket for them to swipe and also to be able to use the FastPASS machines.

·        Save time by buying your tickets ahead of time. Don’t waste time in the ticket queue, when you can go straight to the gate queue! Like you really want to wait in one more line anyway. You can save money by buying your tickets online at various locations. Search online for promo codes, too. I prefer to buy my tickets through the local AAA travel store, because I find they have the best deals, but you can also get Disneyland park hopper tickets through Costco and many credit unions sell discounted ones as well.

·        Use FastPASS. This can also save you much time and get you on more rides. We generally get one for Big Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Rock’n Roller Coaster, Midway Mania or Buzz Lightyear. These are the big rides that always have a line. Go first thing when you enter the park and get a FastPASS, even if there isn’t a line, for any of these attractions (I recommend Midway Mania or Space Mountain, because the FastPASSes go quickly). If there isn’t a line, get on the ride, go do some other rides and then come back at your designated FastPASS time and do it again. If there IS a long line, go off and do some less packed stuff and then come back. This works awesome with rides like Big Thunder Railroad in the middle of the day, because even though the line isn’t humungous, there are a bunch of other rides to do that normally have shorter lines, and you can get to three other ones, come back and get right onto BTR and then head to another part of the park.

·        Get to the parks thirty minutes before opening. What’s the point? Well, there won’t be hoards of people waiting to get in yet and you’ll get first pick of the big rides when the gates open, freeing you up to do less popular rides in the middle of the day.

·        Make food reservations. While this won’t save you any money, it WILL save you time waiting in line somewhere. Disney has a designated dining reservation number for each park (or you can do it online) to book a table anywhere that has waited tables. You can book up to 90 days in advance. This is especially important if you are dying to eat a specific restaurant, because reserved tables get served before walk-ins, which means if you want to eat at Blue Bayou without waiting 45-50 minutes (when you could be doing other park activities), it’s best to make a reservation ahead of time. Try to book your dining a little earlier than regular dining times, like lunch between 11-12 and dinner between 5-6. This will help you avoid the crowds, both while waiting to be seated and when you finish dining, because everyone will have realized they are hungry, too, and flee to a dining establishment. Woohoo! Shorter lines for you!

·        Carry snacks. You know I always recommend bringing snacks everywhere you go. Disney doesn’t mind. As long as whatever you bring isn’t in a glass container or alcohol, it’s okay by them. Bring in your own bottled water, too, and save $9 by not having to buy their souvenir cups.

·        Use public transportation. Obviously, I mean for Disneyland only. Their shuttle busses are great and are much cheaper than the $12-14 it now costs to park in the Disney parking lot. Unless you have four or more people in your group, save the cash and gas. The shuttles leave every 15 minutes throughout the day until at least an hour before the park closes. There’s also the option of just walking, since there are so many hotels right across the street from the parks and main gate.

·        Avoid “Extra Magic Hour”. In Orlando, guests staying at a Disney resort are entitled to the EMH each day at different designated parks. They get in an hour before the park officially opens to the public or get to stay and extra hour after the park closes to the public. With a bit of planning, you can avoid these days and go to other parks instead and avoid the massive crowds at the EMH parks. This worked wonderful for us and we found that each park we hit up that day was almost empty until around noon time. I don’t know how that will work in the on-peak season, but in the fall, it was spectacular and we barely waited in line for anything for the first four hours we were in each park. You can find the EMH parks listed on the online Disney schedules or invest in a membership to TourGuideMike, which will give you all these tips and more well ahead of the actual online schedule.

·         Go in the middle of the week. There will be fewer parades and you'll have to schedule your day around things like Fantasmic, that only play on certain weekday nights, but Disney will certainly be less crowded during the week than on the weekends and you'll have shorter lines and be able to do more.

·         Bring your own souvenirs. Yes, I know this sounds weird, but if you have little ones, they are going to want toys and shirts and balloons and candy. You can try to evade some of these costs by stopping at one of the grocery or discount stores around Disney and stock up on some inexpensive souvenirs (many of which you will find at the parks for much more) and dole out a bit each day before you leave. Or keep them in your bag until the kids are getting restless and cranky. You're sure to make some happy faces.

What are your favorite money-saving tips for Disney?

Get Paid to Shop and Travel 11.17.12

I am positive you think that I'm making this up and you can't possibly get paid to do either of these things, but it's totally true! If you haven't heard me talk about Ebates before, you'll want to know about it. If you have, perhaps you'll learn something new today. I never buy or book anything without first checking Ebates. So, what IS Ebates? It's a fantastic - and free! - site that offers you cash back for purchasing from online merchants. If you plan to make a purchase anyway, you might as well get something for being a loyal customer (or even a new customer). 

Here's how it works: Sign up is quick and easy, then you're ready to shop! When you have a hankering to buy something, say, at Sephora, go to Ebates, sign in, click on Sephora and it takes you straight to the main website. You must go through Ebates, so they can track your purchase. At checkout, make sure you use the same email address you used to sign up on Ebates and within a few days, your purchase will show up in your account. You can track your cash back total to see how much you saved and then every quarter, Ebates sends you a Big Fat Check (if you choose that method) or a Big Fat Payment via Paypal. You even get $5 just for signing up! Who else does that? If there are coupon codes available or special sales, Ebates will show them to you, helping you save even MORE!

 

 

I like to use my cash back as a travel savings supplement. Each time I make a purchase, I rack up cash and then it gets deposited right to my Paypal account. I use that money to purchase travel stuffs, like Groupons, clothing, tours and more! If I can get more cash back with it, even better! Of course, you can use it for whatever you want. 

 

Stores you can shop at: Ebates has, literally, hundreds of online merchants you can choose from, including a long list of travel merchants. Just a sampling of those include: TravelSmith, Holiday Inn, Avis, Alaska Airlines, Camping World, Orbitz, Air France, Delta Airlines, HomeAway and even SkyMall! Keep your eyes out for the Daily Double. Each day one awesome merchant offers double cash back on your purchases for the day.

If you're already a member of Ebates, do you love saving so much money?

How to Get Free Airfare 11.14.12

Win awesome travel prizes in the BEST OF THE BEST HOLIDAY TRAVEL GIVEAWAY!

Free and Travel are not often two words one can put together. It’s like the Holy Grail for vacationers, though almost none of us seem to know how to achieve such a thing – besides have a job that involves traveling that your company pays for, though that doesn’t usually involve actual “vacationing”. I came across an article the other day that was written by a frequent flyer that is lucky enough to have the funds to fly a couple of times a month just to rack up frequent flyer miles. While I surely can’t follow in his footsteps, and you probably can’t either, I learned a few things about how I do travel and what I can do in order to score some free airfare, hotel and dining vouchers. These can be used on your current trip to save you money now or on a future trip to save you money in the later. It involves a fairly simple technique, too.

Everyone has heard the term “bumped”. If you haven’t – or if you have and are not sure what it means – it is the term given to a person who has the misfortune to get to the airport too late (read: after almost all the other passengers) to check in for their overbooked flight and loses their seat. They are “bumped” from the flight. With the amount of overall flights being reduced, there are now more people who want to fly on those that are available most days. There are a certain number of no-shows or ticketed passengers that miss their flights each day. The airlines have always planned for this, but in these tough economic times they also want to fill their seats on the limited flights they have, so they overbook. (This was always a common thing on their most popular flights before the recession.) Sometimes everyone shows up and that leaves around 3-5 people without an actual seat. The airlines will rebook them on the next available flight, but will also always ask if others are willing to be bumped instead. This is how you get comped free travel/hotel/food.

Tip: Ask for a credit voucher instead of a free flight voucher. This works like a gift certificate for the airline and allows you more freedom when booking your flight with it (i.e. you can use it for international airfare if you wish or to buy more than one cheap ticket).

When you get to the gate, you will normally see on the monitor at the check-in desk if there is a list of passengers. These people are already on the “waiting” list. They may have checked in after everyone else or were able to be put on stand-by. If someone else doesn’t show up, or someone gives up their seat willingly, they get to board that flight. If you aren’t in a hurry to get to your destination, then maybe you wouldn’t mind volunteering to hang out until the next flight. The more people on the list, the more willing the airline will be to work with you in giving up your seat. Go up to the airline employee and ask if they need volunteers to be bumped. If so, ask what you will be compensated. Usually, because you have been helpful and friendly (this is certainly key in any customer/customer service conversation), they will give you a voucher for a free flight or credit to use at a later date. You’ll, of course, not have to pay extra for being rebooked on a new flight.

Depending on how long of a wait it will be until your next flight, you might also be able to negotiate a free hotel room and/or dining vouchers for the airport while you hang around and wait for the next flight to come in. While you end up with a free flight (and probably more), the airline doesn’t really lose any money by giving you these things in exchange for your seat. They will be flying that future flight anyway and your seat was already paid for by the passenger who will be filling your seat when they purposely oversold the flight. You get all the perks for just being nice (even if it was selfish) and you might have made someone’s day by letting them take your place. This is a great way to be able to stretch your dollars and be able to vacation more throughout the year. You’ll also get more frequent flyer miles added to your account (if you are compensated with a voucher for a dollar figure and not a free flight)!

Tip: If the airline pays for you to stay in a hotel overnight, they must also pay for your transportation to that accommodation.

Want to avoid getting bumped? Make sure you get to the airport early instead of the last minute. It just takes that one person to get there before you for the flight to be full. I always suggest getting to the airport at least one hour early for domestic and at least two hours early for international. Of course, I get excited for any travel I do and want to allow time for anything that might delay me (traffic, long security lines, etc.), so we tend to get to the airport two hours ahead of any flight. We use the extra time to browse shops, watch people and eat. It’s always nice to be able to sit down and have a decent meal, instead of grabbing fast food right before you get on the flight. It gives you time to relax if you stress right before you travel. It also boosts your energy and helps reduce jet lag. Make sure you drink lots of water, too. I always buy a big bottle of water after security to take with me on the flight, since I am often thirsty, flying dehydrates you and I don’t always want to wait 45 minutes to an hour before they bring around the drink cart.

Tip: Want to finally get into the fancy schmancy airline lounge? Ask for a pass to use it if you’re bumped and have to wait a few extra hours.

More tips on getting “bumped”:

• If you want to get bumped, it helps to get to the airport early as well. Get your name on the list of volunteers before anyone else.
• Book on a flight that is likely to be overbooked (holidays, afternoon flights, early evening flights, last flight of the day, red eye, etc.)
• Be polite. Don’t demand higher compensation than what they are offering you. If you know they are desperate, you can use it to your advantage, but negotiate in a polite manner.
• Know the flight schedule. This can be just as useful to you and your travel plans as it is to the airline employee rebooking you.
• Make sure you’re booking on an airline that does overbook flights. Some airlines do not. (Of course, this information is also helpful in not getting bumped.)
• Be willing to fly on a different airline or a different route. This makes it easier to rebook you as well.
• Pack light. While this doesn’t really help you to get booked, it does ensure that you keep all your belongings with you and the airline doesn’t have to figure out how to reroute your bags in addition to you (and your travel companions).
• Fly through busy airports when possible. Obviously, these airports have more passengers flying everyday and have more overbooked flights than smaller airports.

I never really thought about postponing my flight a few hours to “invest” in my future vacationing, but with all this talk about how I can do it and it seeming to be so easy, I might just start thinking about how a few hours won’t really effect my travel plans and offer to give up my seat from now on. If it can help me budget a trip for cheaper the next time I travel, then it’s totally worth it. What about you? Have you ever purposely volunteered to be “bumped” in order to receive free travel?