This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Kissimmee Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine.
So Brad and I are planning a trip to the Orlando/Kissimmee area in mid-to-late October. The last time that we were there, Thomas was 18 months old (fun fact: he got his first ear infection on that trip. Imagine the fun of changing him in a Wendy's parking lot off I-95 and having him turn his head and seeing green pus running out of his ear. Of course, since he never had one before, the pediatrician wouldn't give a prescription for antibiotics, so I ended up at an Urgent Care in Orlando at 11:00pm! After 9 years and 3 kids and about 50 ear infections, I just have to call the Pediatrician and say "yeah - one of the kids has an ear infection" and he just asks me at which pharmacy I want to pick up the prescription)
Hennyway...
So we are planning a 7-10 day trip to Central Florida for October and of course, Disney and All Things The Mouse are on the agenda (4-year old daughter.princesses.enough said). But we are considerably more frugal than the last time we went to the Orlando/Kissimmee area, so we are looking for some other things to do that won't kill our budget.
Enter the "Off Property World"....
The first thing I want to do is take the kids to Gatorland. When I was in New York this past fall, I actually met some of the PR people from Gatorland and took a picture of me holding a gator. ME...the one who gets freaked out when a lighting bug flies in my hair. Holding a gator. Don't let his small size and taped mouth fool you. He was ready to POUNCE!
Of course, Brad is looking forward to taking the boys fishing a day. I have a choice of sitting in the boat and squicking out over the worms, or Elizabeth and I can hit the outlets. She may only be four years old, but she loves to shop! The boys can have a ball...we're hitting the LOFT outlet (WHY don't they make clothes for toddlers?).
I'm still trying to decide if we are going to hit Universal Orlando. The last time I was there was about 10 years ago and I remember it being an "edgier" Disney. Different types of rides, different crowds. With my children being only 4, 7 and 9, I wonder if most of the park is still "too old" for them. Then again, they DO have some awesome restaurants on Citywalk, so we may have to check those out. What do you think? Will we get the full value out of our (not cheap) ticket to Universal, considering the ages of my children?
As for dining out? There are a TON of options that don't include paying $18 for a burger to The Mouse. The last time I was in Orlando, I remember having an absolutely AMAZING Po' Boy at the House Of Blues....and the show was great too. Best of all, since it was 10 years ago and we were there with my sister (who at that time had children roughly the same age as mine are now), I remember it being a very family-friendly place, with great music.
So help me out...when else can we go while we are in the Orlando/Kissimmee are that won't break the bank? (although I will concede that Elizabeth and I shopping the outlets MIGHT break the bank!)
Sarah P
We LOVED Gatorland when we went (I was 8 months pregnant with my first)...definitely family friendly/cost friendly.
Sea World is a great pick that everyone seems to enjoy, and it's not nearly as much as Disney...still a bit pricey, but totally worth the money, in my opinion. There's always Ripley's, as well.
We also did two different day trips--one to the Clearwater/Tampa area (Busch Gardens) and then to Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach.
Patty
I just got back on Aug. 1st from Orlando. We stayed with my brother so that helped with the budget! Some of the parks have 1/2 price admission after 5 PM. when weent to Gatorland two years ago, that's what we did. My son was 2 at the time so it worked well. Its not that big so you could see it all going later in the day.
The Disney parks let you bring in food and beverages, so bring a cooler and pack a lunch. Definately a budget saver.
Downtown Disney was fun. The kids can play for free at the Lego Store. that was a fun and frugal evening.
Wet and Wild has a special after 5 PM and if you buy a full price ticket, it is good for the rest of the season. So you could go back there several times. Wet and Wild is right accross from Universal Studios on International Drive.
We did not go to Universal, but my sister in law said there is quite a bit for the younger kids. There was a Curious George water area. the crowds have been crazy because of the Harry Potter opening. People have waited hours just to get into the Harry Potter section of the park then they waited for rides. The crowds will likely be down becasue you wont be there in the height of summer.
Have a fabulous time! We spent a morning at the immediate care center with strep infection! Hope you will only have to vacation, not be at the doctors this time around!
April
We live about 15 min from Disney and there are lots of other things besides the 'mouse' here. If you are up for a short drive (an hour depending on where you are staying) there are fresh Springs that only cost about $5 per carload and you can bring a picnic, rent/bring tubes, enjoy the springs, go hiking all for under $10!! There is Kelly Park and Wekiwa Springs which is about an hour drive. Need more ideas? Just ask. The previous comment mentioned downtown disney. We go there a lot. The Rainforest Cafe, and Dinosour restaurants are great to walk through and the T-Rex even has a 'dig-site' for the kids to play in (free). Just walk through the gift shop and enjoy! Lego land has legos so the kids can build stuff and race their cars. A new place opened up down there (forgot the name) kinda like 'build-a-bear' except it's remote cars/trucks. You can put them together (probably pricey) or they have a little area inside where you can play/race there models.
Tracie
The car place is called Ridemakerz....not sure on the spelling.My 10 year old is super excited to build his own car ...check out their website.
jill
You can great a great deal on a place to stay on Ebay. My family and I have gotten great deals for 2 bedroom condos. Look up Bonnet Creek on ebay its Awesome and you can get it really cheap depending on when your going.
meagan
I would highly recommend Sea World in lieu of Universal! It is a great park with A LOT to offer. It has a screaming roller coaster called the manta and a great section for your 4 year old. They have a 3 story cargo net. You can take her in there and climb up all three levels. They have small roller coasters for the young ones. There is also an all day meal plan there that is fairly reasonable if you intend to spend the whole day there. I believe it is 28 for adults and 14 for kids but you get to eat the entire day at many places! We have passes and have an amazing time at Sea World every time we go. Depending on when in October you go you can also do Aquatica which is Sea World's water park. They have been doing a promotion where if you buy Sea World admission you get the water park free. =)
Tracie
We visit Florida at least three times a year for two weeks at a shot.....honestly to many great ideas to mention! Disney is not cheap bargains,deals,and coupons are few and far between!However there are a few and hopefully these will help.
Our family does most of what the "mouse" has to offer.Disney has extended their free dining plan into the Fall.It's lovely and well worth it.We like to enjoy good healthy meals without lugging a cooler around.I like to save money but that is not a place to lug a cooler...unless your with a stroller then maybe I would consider it.I'm beyond strollers with a 12 and 10 year old.We might freeze a water bottle the night before to take that along to the park but other than that go with the dining plan if your staying on property and it's free.We figured it out a few times and the value is there...we love the food at Disney....where else can you get such a variety of meals?World Showcase has so many different countries to eat at it's like taking a trip around the world...yum...now I made myself hungry.
Only buy Universal tickets online...they're just cheaper,don't pay the extra to go from park to park it's to much of a rat race to run around both in one day...especially with children.Parks are great fun for all ages Watering Hole is very nice...they serve cocktails there...it's my favorite!I'd just get a two day ticket for $120.00pp and enjoy both parks one per day.
SeaWorld is offering a $5.00 childs ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket....which is about $60.00 or so savings.They consider children to be 12 and under which is better than Disney who will charge you adult prices for meals,tickets ets for 9 and over.Budweiser used to offer free beer samples...although someone has told me they have stopped it....but worth while checking it out.
Last but not least.... Restaraunt.com vouchers ....are available at Disney's Swan And Dolphin Resort restaraunts.....I actually called them and verified that the restaraunts such as Shula's Steaks,Garden Grove,Kimono's,Todd Englishe's Bluezoo took them.They told me they do because they are not owned by Disney they are just located on Disney property.Also someone mentioned House of Blues that one is also included on the list.We'll be heading South in a few weeks...and I'm very excited to be able to use these vouchers.There are two nights that we're not using our timeshare and the meal plan so these will come in handy.Oh,and the Garden Grove is a character buffet which is really nice for people who aren't visiting the parks.
Too many more things to mention....
Enjoy....any q's I might be able to help...the other posts were great as well!
Tracie....aka a future cast member to the Mouse...lol
SophieMae
If there are any birthdays in the family around that time, you can sign up for a free with purchase meal/show at Medieval Times. And I would definitely recommend taking in Old Town. We always went for the carousel, but there's so much more... and no entrance or parking fee!
.-= SophieMae´s last blog ..SOS sick of shysters! =-.
Pam H
We go 1-2 times a year every year for the last 10 yrs. Don't know if you need lodging tips, but you can rent from a DVC member and stay in bigger rooms, rent a house at windsor hills villas, or check Disney for discounts. Some really good sites if you aren't aware of them are: Mousesavers.com (sign up for their newsletter and you'll get a special link to UndercoverTourist.com..specials for discount tickets. Very reputable & I bought 10 day Park Hopper, Water Park & More from them.) http://www.WDWInfo.com and http://www.DISboards.com and http://www.allearsnet.com
Downtown Disney is always fun & cheap. They have a carousel & kiddie train ride (not free) they also have a Stage & sometimes they have a guy (DJ, I guess) who does fun dancing contests, kids, teens, and parents get into and it's free. We've been doing that for the last 5 yrs. I don't know if he has a scheduled day or not. Also the water fountain at DTD..bring extra clothes in big ziplocs though. Sign Up for Sweet Tomatoes email club thing and you'll get monthly coupons. It's right there at the Goodings shopping center across from DTD entrance in the back. YUMMY all you can eat food..all different salads, baked potatoes, soup, pizzas, ice cream, etc. The coupon is usually a BOGO..if you have 2 emails sign both up and use 2 coupons. Surveys...I do them and get Dining Gift Cards to use in Disney..Panera, Carrabas, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse are all close by.
We also did House of Blues using a Restaurant.com cert. it was pretty good. But never having been there before I didn't know how big portions were. 2 of us could have shared and brought the tab down a little bit.
Wonder Works has coupons as well. Haven't done it yet, but will next time. There's also a few mini golf places 2 on WDW property & another right next to Sweet Tomatoes. Another thing to do at DTD is get a Caricture of your 3 kids. If you do it in black & white it's cheaper than doing individually.
There's a Wonderland Tea Party at the Grand Floridian (I think it's $28-$40). There's also another Tea Party with Sleeping Beauty. Me & My 2 girls did this and it was OK, but set me back at least $250 or more!! That's all I can think of right now, but those sites I mentioned have a ton of tips!!
Monique
We went to Disney in June and had a blast...we rented a house 20 minutes from Disney! It was relatively inexpensive...FloridaSpiritVacations.com! The house was awesome with its own pool. We also brought out 70lb and 80lb chocolate labs who got to swim in the pool...we didnt eat out except once for breakfast one day and lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table! The kitchen was stocked with all the essential cooking tools. My kids loved Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum! Very cool! Good Luck!
Laura
We go to Orlando twice every year for 7-10 days. We go over Christmas and over Memorial day week. We always stay off property in a condo that has a full kitchen, washer/dryer, a huge jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom and awesome pools all over the property.
My kids are 4, 6, 7, and 8. We went to Universal a few years back as a change and because it was cheaper than Disney. I was not impressed at all and will not bring my kids back there until they are all in their teens. IMO there is just not much for littler ones to do there.
Laura
I forgot to mention that if you are thinking of eating at the Rainforest Cafe, sometimes Ebay has kids meals on sale pretty cheap! My kids were terrified at this restaurant but yours may enjoy it.
Liz
I hope you all have a great vacation. My family & I were just in Orlando last month. Seaworld is definitely a place to go. They not only have stuff for kids, but they have different shows for the kids. They even have one with trained cats & dogs called Pets Ahoy, it's really cute. Make sure to get the map & check the back for the schedule of the shows. Make sure the order the tickets online in order to get the kids in for $5. When you do this, you can get 2 free adult tickets for a second day, the only thing is that you won't get the kids tickets for $5. Downtown Disney is a great place to take the kids & in the evenings there are free music & you won't be in the sun. Don't go to DisneyQuest, it's too expensive & half of the video games were broken. Universal, Island of Adventures has areas for kids but not really for toddlers & the Harry Potter area sucks, too small & too many people trying to buy wands, ridiculous. The second park Universal Studies has a Jimmy Neutron ride, Shrek 3D this one has seats that move a little, They do have kiddies area where they can get wet, so you might want to have them wear their bathing suits. Definitely take comfy shoes for the kids, hats, sunglasses & sunblock. We didn't carry coolers or food to the park because too hot to be carrying so much. We bought the souvenir cups at Seaworld & Universal & you get refills for I think a $1. I hope this helps. Have an awesome time & take lots of pictures.
Lara
Christy at Thrifty and Thriving has a whole series of posts about how to Disney on a budget. Check out her post here (http://www.thriftyandthriving.com/2010/02/disney-on-a-budget-credit-gift-cards/) about how you can get a $100 gift card just for signing up for a credit card and using it once. The best part about the gift card is you can use it for anything - anywhere Disney (food in the parks, souveniers, Downtown Disney, etc). We were able to buy lego sets for our boys at the lego store and because it was in Downtown Disney we could pay for them with the gift card... which was free to us! She has some other great tips as well!
kathleen
when i was a baby my dad took me about 2 and my brother about 4 to disney world by himself and drove all the way. my grandparents lived down there so we were meeting them for a vacation. we both got the chicken poxs, somehow . imagine riding 24 hours with 2 small kids with chicken pox. wow i dont know how he did it. the drivingf was not a problem he was a trucker and use to driving for long periods. but to do it with screaming sick kids, yikes!