With all the recent posts about my Disney trip I decided to post about how I took my daughter a few years ago for less than $1,000. I hope it helps you plan a trip for you and your kids too. Now is the time to start planning and paying your way to Disney. You won’t regret it.
In 2004 my daughter and I took a trip to Disney World. I had just graduated from college and gave myself this gift to reward myself for all the hard work. It was also an opportunity to take my daughter to Disney World for the first time.
I planned the trip a few months ahead of time but didn’t go all out like I see many families do. I was a college student, a mom, and a part-time intern. My money at the time would only stretch so far. But I made it work by using my research skills to sniff out deals.
Planning a trip to Disney typically starts at around $1,500. I didn’t have that kind of money to spend so I scoured the Disney websites and boards to get tips on how to get there with less than $1,000. I needed airfare for me and my daughter, a nice place to stay, food and transportation. I also needed tickets to the parks.
How to Get Discount Disney Park Hopper Tickets
The first thing I did was buy the park tickets. I worked on a military base at the time so I had access to their discount tickets because I was a government employee. I could buy park hopper tickets at a discount of about 35% or so. My daughter’s ticket was less because I could get the child rate. The tickets didn’t have an expiration date on them so I could go at any time I could schedule the trip. That was important and gave me a lot of flexibility.
Tip: If you work on a military base get your Disney tickets from MWR office. If you know someone who works on a military base or government facility ask them to purchase tickets for you.
Plan in Advance to Get Cheap Airline Tickets to Disney
The next thing I did was look for airline tickets. The earlier I booked them the cheaper they were. This was during the time when airfare was a lot less expensive. If I remember correctly, I was able to purchase round-trip tickets for about $150 or less each. So that was about $300 for our tickets to fly to Orlando, Florida.
Tip: Plan your trip at least three months ahead of time and buy your airline tickets weeks in advance. You will get a much better price at least two weeks in advance. You can try bidding sites as well but your mileage may vary.
In the next post I’ll share how I found a hotel on Disney Property for only $25 per night!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
When you have a lot of desires and wants, it is hard to tell what you really need and really want. T.V., Internet, society and our loved ones most times blur the lines of necessity and luxury for us. This in turn makes luxuries a necessity, while more important needs are shoved to the back. If you are able to narrow down your wants and focus on your needs, you will be able to save more money!
First step towards recognizing your needs more is to separate your wants and needs on a piece of paper. Having a visual can help you see unnecessary spending and help you plan better. The second step is to plan your purchases more carefully. If you want something (or need something) in particular, it is better that you plan for it. Third, research the things on your list so you will be able to save the money for the purchase and purchase it smartly.
In retrospect, the only things we really need is air, water, food, and shelter (and sometimes clothes too). For all the other items that don’t fall into the basic needs category, they should be considered as optional purchases. When you have all your affairs in order, make that wanted item on your list a reward for your efforts completing challenging tasks that you may have put off.
I scored 92 points to win the bowling game my kids and I played at Splitsville Luxury Lanes the other day. It’s not a spectacular score but I did get two strikes after getting off to a terrible start. You’ve seen the posts I’ve shared with you about our trip to Disney World. Splitsville is one of the stops we made during the preview and grand opening of the New Fantasyland.
Goofy stopped by to get things started in grand style, then we were invited into the Rock and Bowl party.
My kids and I were a part of the preview so we were able to sample the delicious food. Have you ever heard of a bowling center that had sushi on the menu? Yeah, we hadn’t either, but Splitsville has it and it was quite tasty. The ingredients were fresh and there was no imitation anything in sight. There was pizza, including the a very delicious barbeque chicken pizza. Yum!!!
The service was done in usual Disney style. The servers were attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. The music was loud and thumping just like it should be in a bowling lane.
There are two floors with a total of 30 bowling lanes, three pool tables, two sushi bars, and four bars for your favorite drink (including non-alcoholic beverages).
Here are 10 facts about Splitsville:
Opening: Early December, 2012 in Downtown Disney West Side at Walt Disney World Resort.
Square Footage: 50,000. Largest Splitsville ever built.
Number of lanes: 30. Nearly twice as many as any other Splitsville.
Lane configuration: 20 lanes second-level, 10 ground-level. First two-level Splitsville of its kind.
Number of bars: Five, featuring the famous Splitsville frozen schooner of beer, specialty cocktails and a wide selection of frozen specialty drinks.
Featured menu items: Hand-cut steaks, mahi mahi with Voodoo shrimp, fresh-rolled sushi, filet sliders, hand-tossed pizza and classic hamburgers made with Splitsville’s special blend of certified angus brisket, short rib and ground chuck.
Number of sushi bars: Two – one on each level where customers can watch chefs roll their hand-made creations and belly-up for a Volcano Roll, Super Tuna or any of the fresh selections.
Other unique features: Lane concierge responsible for delivering shoes and bowling balls to your lanes prior to your arrival; outdoor patio dining on both floors; billiards tables; live music seven nights a week; more than 60 flat screen TVs.
First location: Tampa, Fla. (opened December 2003)
Other Splitsville locations: Tampa; Miami; Fairview, Texas and Fredericksburg, Va.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
I love fast cars and motorcycle rides. I bet you didn’t know that about me did you? This means the Chevrolet Test Track ride at Epcot Center was right up my alley. An exhilarating ride! That is how I describe Chevrolet Test Track at Disney.
I didn’t know how fast we would go at the beginning of the ride so it was a pleasant surprise at the end. I won’t give it all away, but I’ll start from the beginning and give you the highlights.
Start with designing your own car in one of two design centers. You can do a quick design or take your time and design the car of your dreams right down to the chrome wheels.
Next you get in the queue to test the design. The test station is a 6-car ride that takes you through several tests to determine if your design will hold up to slippery rides, bad weather, or unexpected road hazards in a simulation. The last leg of the test is where the exhilaration comes.
According to Disney:
“The sleek new “Chevrolet Design Center” invites guests to create their own virtual custom-concept vehicle.
“Car designer wannabes get to shape their own virtual car, truck or crossover and learn how their choices perform against four important performance attributes that guide Chevrolet designers:
Capability – design your car to handle the roughest roads or most extreme weather conditions
Efficiency – create a car that saves on fuel, reduces your environmental footprint, cuts down on emissions or even uses recycled parts
Responsiveness – choose elements that will give you easy maneuverability through the tightest of turns
Power – choose the gear you need to make your car a racer or a hauler
“At design kiosks, rows of touch screens become canvasses for guests to try their hand at automotive design. They can design alone or collaborate on their design with family and friends. Even choose from six different languages.”
If you love fast cars you will love this part! Your test car speeds up to 60+ miles an hour on an outdoor track that curves and dips then screeched to a halt at the end. Your design is rated at the end and you can see how it ranked against other designs.
If you love fast cars or just love going fast in general you will love this ride. At the end you get to check out the new Chevrolet cars. Taking pictures by them was not too good because of the lighting but you can see my kids were enjoying them anyway.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
The thing about blogging is my family and I get invited to really cool trips to cover events that families like yours will like. This time we were invited to Disney to cover the grand opening of the New Fantasyland. It’s an exciting time for us. I remember Fantasyland from when I was a little girl back in the 70s. What a wonderful place to be.
Fantasyland had been closed for a while undergoing renovations New attractions have been added to expand on the growing family of modern day Disney princesses. Now Ariel has her Grotto, Belle has her village, and in 2013 a new Hall of Princesses will be unveiled.
The kids and I got a preview of the Under the Sea attraction and Tales with Belle. I enjoyed both experiences. Here are a few pictures below:
Cinderella’s Castle turned into an ice castle with all the lights!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
