Originally Posted By Disney_or_bust We flew out of Portland to SNA last Spring, and paid just barely over $600 for a complete 3 nt/4 day package, staying at HoJo's. This year, I'm wanting to add a day and night to the itinerary, so of course, it'll cost more, but how much more was a shock. After a couple of weeks on the phone and internet, checking different dates throughout the next 9 months or so, different hotels, and various packages - the lowest prices coming up are well over $1000 for the two of us. Ack! My mission now is to learn the ins and outs of bidding for travel (I'm checking out the ezboard site, but am so far still slightly dumbfounded) and hoping I can build a vacation for less that way. Yes, I'm cheap. We're po' folks, but need to indulge our Disney obsession! Anyone think I can realistically do a trip this year for less than a grand, flying out of Oregon??
Originally Posted By oakfan If you are talking the total package for 2 people 4nt/5dy with flight, hotel, car/shuttle and park tickets you can expect to pay over a grand. I would guess the best price for flights would be around $150-200 pp. It seems all of the hotels around DL are $100/nt and up. A rental car would put you over the top for sure. You can save some $$$ by taking the shuttle. Then with two 5 day Park Hoppers you are over $1000 before you know it.
Originally Posted By Disney Joy disney or bust ~ another Oregonian here. I am surprised you got such a good deal last year. For two that was a great deal - especially flying. You must have really booked in advance. I haven't really budgeted my August trip yet.I'm planning to take 3 grands and one 19 year old (if he doesn't change his mind again like last year) With such a crew - we will be doing the I-5 drive. I usually do the AAA tickets for the park. I will be watching here for any shortcuts. I am also a bargain hunter and shopper. If you are on a real budget the Red Rood INN is nice, clean, one long block away - no frills. I stayed there with my grands our last trip and it was great. We did have the van so we drove to the park - with AAA you get free parking. On my solo trip I stay at CCI and do the shuttle stuff - and then I get to fly. GOOD LUCK.
Originally Posted By Disney Joy OH i guess I should have asked is it Portlad Oregon or Portland Maine. Hope I didn't do all that rambling on for nothing. LOL
Originally Posted By Ursula Keep up at biddingfortravel.com as they have allowed me to have some fantastic deals on hotel rooms all over Southern California for our weekend getaways. Once you learn how it works (read, read, and read again the FAQ and watch what others do), it's easier to get what you want for a price that is good.
Originally Posted By serendipityaey Is driving completely out of the question? We haven't flown in a couple years, it's just way too expensive, so we drive down from Salem. I think it's fun, usually takes about 14/15 hours, sometimes we stop overnight, sometimes we drive straight there. I search kayak.com for hotels, got the BWPPI for Feb. $81 a night, and park hoppers from AAA. Bidding is probably cheaper, but I haven't worked up the courage to try it yet
Originally Posted By dizmomof3 Good luck on the airfare. I paid just under $300 to fly to San Francisco from Seattle in early December. I think that the West Coast airfares are up. We are planning a trip for May and the air is around $300 pp. It makes the kids fly free deal a good one. Of course that won't work for you.
Originally Posted By pitapan16 You can do it for less than a grand with 4 or less Im sure....My dad and I flew from Sacramento to Florida and spent 9days in Miami, the Keys, and DisneyWorld for less than a grand....Just depends on how you do it. Good luck to you..
Originally Posted By Disney_or_bust Thanks everyone for the input. I did figure that last trip was a bargain (even though it wasn't booked more than a few months in advance, and I had a random travel agent do it for me). Probably the fact that my daughter was only 9 then helped, as she still qualified for the fly/play free deal. Now she only qualifies for the free flight with Alaska, and the higher cost of my plane ticket at the regular price kind of cancels out any discount in the end. Just got a travel site update about airfares for Southwest and Jet Blue dropping for the northwest/Cali markets, so it's back to work I go! Check them out, Dizmomof3. Maybe the airline price wars are on again. Bidding for travel's FAQs are kind of tedious, with all the linking to previous posts they do to get you started, and all the comments on each factor included in the FAQ threads, but it looks worth the trouble to figure it out. It helps to know it works for others, so thanks for the encouragement. Scary thought, getting stuck in a nasty, out of the way location, but with a little research, maybe it'll seem less risky ?? Driving down wouldn't bother me until we got in to the LA area, where I'd be all discombobulated (sp!) and exhausted. It's something I'll consider if I can't get a break on airfare, and if the price of gas doesn't run back up to the highs we saw this year. I'm a Cali native, but So Cal driving always freaked me out. <G> Thanks again, and hi to all my fellow Oregonians! If it rains much longer, I'm leaving for Anaheim if I have to get there on foot. Sunshine......I need to know the glowing ball of light still glows brightly in the sky.....
Originally Posted By dizmomof3 The southwest deal is pretty nice which runs about $200 pp. We are a party of 2 adults and 2 kids, so the kids fly free promo from Alaska is the best deal for us, our air is running at about $600 for the 4 of us. I don't think that you can find air for $150 pp. to LAX area.
