As a Floridian, sometimes we want a weekend at Disney too.
Here is our breakdown of how we accomplished it on the cheep.
Passes: Annual Passholders.
This gave us the upper hand in two ways. Free parking (Which is now $20) and 10-20% off most dining in the park,at the resorts and at Disney Springs. This saved us a lot of money in the long run, especially by planning our dining around the discounts. This discount excludes alcohol, so picking a place to get a drink based on the discount isn't worth it.
Hotel: IHG (Holiday Inn Disney Springs)
We used a Chase Anniversary certificate (Free night for having the IHG Chase credit card for one year...can be used anywhere as long as "reward nights" are available.) for our first night, and paid cash for the second. We had our $100 IHG gift certificate from our Holiday Inn Resort tour that we redeemed for that second night. The certificate is only for a Holiday Inn property, not express, not resort. Other wise we would have booked at Orange Lake. The certificate has to be mailed in, with the receipt from your stay. (Since initially drafting this post, we did receive the check as promised)
This made booking a little complex because it had to be two separate reservations. Because we requested a specific balcony view at that hotel, we had a bit of a confusing check-in. But everything was worked out and we had a lovely room on the 11th floor with a great view.
The plus side to this was our "Welcome amenity points". I always choose this on check in, over the drink voucher. And because it was two reservations we received 300 points per night.
Out of pocket we spent less than $100 for our two nights.
The hotel restaurant seemed a bit over priced, so we opted to eat in the parks.
The do offer a park shuttle, but with reservations for breakfast, we were able to park at the Grand Floridian and take Disney transportation the rest of the day.
Parking was an additional cost at the Holliday Inn. I think $12 a day and valet was $18-20. I wish things like this were waved for higher ranking IHG members.
We had two meals at the Grand Floridian. First, Breakfast was at the cafe, which we had reservations for. Excellent meal, and we had a great view by the window. Also had an outlet next to the table so I could charge the tech hahaha!
I would come back for a nice anniversary brunch here anytime.
Our second meal was a late lunch at the quick-serve. We really like most of the resort quick serve options. And they almost always qualify for the pass holder discount.
Sometimes new we tried and really liked was using a tablet for our Disney app. Phone batteries die so quickly in the park, and the Disney app is really essential for an efficient day. We both have smaller tablets, so it was super easy to have them in our backpack. In case you were wondering, there is open WiFi throughout the property.
By the bridge into Avatar land is a great place called Tiffins. Expect the higher end of in park dining when you eat here. We opted for the lounge with super comfy outdoor seating and a nice set of drinks. This was before Avatar was open and so this end of the park was QUIET and EMPTY.
We also found an outlet by our table here, and it was great timing mid afternoon. Phones were dying fast.
We had a couple "splurge moments".
One was wine and tapas with a fireworks view at Epcot. This was at Spice Road Table in Morocco. I am not sure if any of the other countries has such prime dining placement for fireworks. Its hard to beat a romantic table on the water with such a great view.
The drink portions were generous. The food...not so much.
Still, what a view. We arrived early to request an outside table on the water and they had no problem accommodating that request. If you're not sitting in the first or second row of tables by the water, your view is really blocked.
Just a few tidbits from our weekend away. We have since let our passes expire but I look forward to a repeat trip once we circle back to Disney.
(Bought this on Etsy in case you were wondering. He got a TON of compliments on it.)
Coming up on the blog......
Orange Lake Resort trip report AND Blue Apron breakdown.
