First time staying offsite...?s

[jkh1978]

I'd suggest following the suggestions to get downtown or Boardwalk or resorts... somewhere away from the parks. Experience new things if you've been to the parks before, or save that for a future trip.

My last trip with my wife was back in December. Big goal was to hit the deluxe resorts to see the Christmas decorations. There was lots of romantic, quiet places along the way and it was fun just walking around. Especially around the boardwalk or the polynesian.

 

[DOOM1001]

They won't kick you out if you have dinner reservations shortly before EMH starts as far as I know. I don't know about the shopping. You won't be allowed on any rides without the wristbands obviously, but if you make ADRs for 7:00 and eat until after EMH starts at 8:00, for example, I don't think they'd have much of an issue with it. I would probably check on the dining board to be sure, however.

What I might suggest doing is taking the monorail to one of the resorts after EMH and eating at one of their restaurants, however, so you wouldn't have to worry about that at all. We ate at Kona last trip and it was fantastic.

I also wouldn't rely on the shuttle from the timeshare. I think you might end up spending as much in taxis as you hoped to save from not renting a car. I would definitely look into whether AAA has any discounts, though, since I'd be really surprised if they didn't.

Disney hasn't done the wristband thing for a while now,they don't kick you out of night EMH's but you have to show your room key to get on the rides.I think your best option for getting to and coming from the parks since a rental car would be so much is to use the shuttle to AK in the morning then take Disney transportation to park hop as well as taking a taxi at night,maybe when you leave a park at night grab the bus for Animal Kingdom lodge,eat at one of their restaurants and grab a taxi to your hotel from there.

 

[momof2n2]

Congrats on your marriage!

Do you have a BJs or Sam's Club membership? THey often have good deals on cars.
I also like Dollar care rental. They have some pretty good deals most of the time.

Or - take the shuttle in to AK each day, like someone else mentioned, and cab out...

 

[crazycatlady]

There is a free newsletter put out by Undercover Tourist (just google it) that has lots of great ideas for saving money. Last year when we were getting very discouraged about rental car prices, I found a discount code on that site from Mastercard that gave me a significant discount if I used my Mastercard to book. The code took a large percentage off the amount and also let me use a coupon code in addition, which was also listed on the same site. We ended up getting a compact car for 10 nights for just over $200.

We have stayed in timeshares for all but one of our trips (my boss let me use his for cheap or free) and we had a great time even though we were off-site. You will have a wonderful time!!

Congratulations!

 

[hugApug]

DBF and I got a great week-long deal on a compact car(about 12$/day plus tax) by naming our own price on Priceline. I'm not 100% certain how they deal with those under 25, but it's worth looking into.

Not sure if you or your fiance are working, but another option is that some companies have agreements with car rental agencies to rent out at normal price to all employees, regardless of age. (for instance, I'm under 25, but can rent from Hertz at the same rate as DBF, who is 29).

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Never never been]

It's a good thing OP has some time to plan because it looks like there's a bit of info to gather. One thing I noticed is that even the smallest accommodations at the resort have fully equipped kitchens. I strongly recommend fully stocking that kitchen with a weeks worth of groceries and eating nearly every meal at the resort. Make a couple of sub sandwiches and pack in Pringles, fruit and something sweet, too. Heck, if your up to it, bring your own water at $3.00 for 24 at Walmart as opposed to $2.50 PER BOTTLE at the parks. There are sooo may ways to save when you have a kitchen at your disposal. I would do anything I could to get a car, though. OP, could one of you get an AP? Then you get park hopping, free parking, and as many days as you want. It's one more thing to think about and number to crunch.

 

[Cinderella94]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

But honestly, the thought of all this makes my head hurt so much that I'd bite the bullet and stay on-site. How were you planning to swing it before the timeshare was offered?

 

[imthatgirl]

Thanks for those who posted about the EMH. I guess I ruffled some peoples' feathers. I'm more looking for it in the mindset of making dinner reservations, as we eat pretty late, typically 7-8:30 at night...and I don't necessarily want to make reservations and then have to cancel because I'm not allowed in. If I had it my way, I'd have enough money to stay on Disney property and not have to worry about this, but since I do, I thought I'd ask. I'd also love to stay later and do some shopping.

No, you won't be allowed in and no there is no way around that.

Yes you can hang around inside the park after it closer, but don't expect to be let in after it closes.

 

[beeplaysbass]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

But honestly, the thought of all this makes my head hurt so much that I'd bite the bullet and stay on-site. How were you planning to swing it before the timeshare was offered?

Before the timeshare, we weren't going to go on a honeymoon unfortunately. We were thinking of going after our grad school programs are done, which is at least 4 years from now. Not fun, but also something we're honestly considering.

Annual passes are too far out of our budget right now. We could try to move things around, but basically our budget that we can honestly work with is $1500 for plane and park tickets, parking, and possible rental car.

 

[Cinderella94]

Before the timeshare, we weren't going to go on a honeymoon unfortunately. We were thinking of going after our grad school programs are done, which is at least 4 years from now. Not fun, but also something we're honestly considering.

Ohhh, gotcha.

If you absolutely have to use their shuttle, you could find a way to make it work and still have a great time. FWIW, our plan is always hit the parks at rope drop, go back to the resort at 12:00 or so, and swim or nap until dinner, where we go to another park or an ADR. Maybe try that time frame for day 1 and see how you like it, tweaking as you go?

 

[beeplaysbass]

My brother just started up a job at Enterprise, so I'm thinking I could get a pretty good discount through him on rentals.

Thanks everybody for your help. I'll have to do a lot more thinking!

 

[Kidztheater]

Thanks for all the prompt replies! You guys are a big help!

All the estimates I've seen of rental cars are $500+ for the amount of time we wanted. We definitely can't drive (we live near Canada in Northern NY, which would be a 21 hour drive at least, and my mother said she'd kill me if we did that) so I guess we'll have to look in to renting further. I am a AAA member, so maybe they offer a discount through there. Again, I'm going into this blind...I hate to turn down a wonderful gift like a free stay at a resort, but it's looking to be a bit of a hassle, and if $500 extra for a rental car is going to be the case, we're better off staying on Disney property.

Thanks for those who posted about the EMH. I guess I ruffled some peoples' feathers. I'm more looking for it in the mindset of making dinner reservations, as we eat pretty late, typically 7-8:30 at night...and I don't necessarily want to make reservations and then have to cancel because I'm not allowed in. If I had it my way, I'd have enough money to stay on Disney property and not have to worry about this, but since I do, I thought I'd ask. I'd also love to stay later and do some shopping.

I did a quick google search for you and did some research. I am 28 now, but I feel your pain as I often had trouble before turning 25. This place looked like it had really good rates. I did a search on Enterprise for a random week in April and it was almost $600, while this place was only $355.

Check it out: http://www.americancarrental.net/index.html

 

[3sweetpeas]

We used a car rental company called Traveljigsaw.com It is very large company that uses the local car agencies. We got a price that blew everybody else out of the water and for some reason I thought there was something about the age limit because it is out of Australia. I researched the company and read reviews and everything went perfectly. But I thought there wasn't an under 25 price. May be worth checking out.

By the way, this last trip (early March) we stayed 4 nights of our 13 night trip at Orange Lake and everyone loved it. The pool is WONDERFUL. We did rent a car though because we were staying there. The resort itself is so large it can be a 5-10 minute drive to the front. No joke! HUGE! How would you get to the shuttle? Specifically at Orange Lake, I think you would just have to have a car but maybe there's something I don't know.

 

[3sweetpeas]

Don't know your dates but I checked Traveljigsaw.com.au and the price from Oct.9-16 (a week) was $199 total. There WAS a charge for young drivers which brought it up to $394. Boy, that young driver fee really gets ya! Don't know if this helps...

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

Disney hasn't done the wristband thing for a while now,they don't kick you out of night EMH's but you have to show your room key to get on the rides.I think your best option for getting to and coming from the parks since a rental car would be so much is to use the shuttle to AK in the morning then take Disney transportation to park hop as well as taking a taxi at night,maybe when you leave a park at night grab the bus for Animal Kingdom lodge,eat at one of their restaurants and grab a taxi to your hotel from there.

They did wristbands when I was there last October 2010. But we did come to the park specifically for EMH, so it may have been they were only giving them to resort guests who were arriving after a certain time (we got there around 6:00 PM--EMH started at 8:00). No one asked to see our room keys except when we used them to get through the gates.

 

[The Hendies]

First, Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!
Second, Good for you furthering your education and wanting to be reasonable about your budget.
Third, We own at Orange Lake and you'll have a great time there.

OK, About the car situation. I would take the risk and find the very best deal you can and lock in. Then, just before you get on the plane, tear open your Wedding cards and grab as much cash as you can. Use that money to pay for the rental.

Another Option... is there a relative, or group of relatives, who would be willing to put $ toward the rental car?

 

[kennethsrib]

I think I saw that Hertz was waiving the underage fee?

You can combine a AAA discount code and an entertainment book code( book is on sale now) for a reasonable rate. Also, remember that you have a daily parking fee at the parks, but you only have to pay it once. If you book the shuttle is it one rate per day or per ride?

good luck to you and congratulations. we are going in July and staying offsite as well, renting a car etc and keeping our budget way under what it would have cost to stay onsite - even with a free dining code.

 

[Sherrynny]

I just saw this on the Hertz webpage:

Congratulations! If you’re 21-24 years old, here’s your opportunity to rent from Hertz without paying a Young Renter fee. (No fee means you’ll save $15 to $25 a day, depending on the car class you drive.)



Just include PC# 144314 in your reservation and pick up your vehicle on or before September 30, 2011. It’s that easy.


Hope this helps!!

Congrats

Sherry-n-NY

 

[mesaboy2]

They did wristbands when I was there last October 2010. But we did come to the park specifically for EMH, so it may have been they were only giving them to resort guests who were arriving after a certain time (we got there around 6:00 PM--EMH started at 8:00). No one asked to see our room keys except when we used them to get through the gates.

Are you sure you're talking about EMH and not MNSSHP? Disney does use wristbands for the hard-ticket events like MNSSHP and MVMCP, as those parties are clearly defined for those who paid for the extra admission. Disney is much more strict in these cases.

Genuinely curious....

 

[jmddcj]

Hertz is who we got our car through for 150.00 for the week awesome that they would wave the fees for you. Also the money you can save by eating at your timeshare is immense with even just breakfast alone. Have snacks at the park and get through your evening then grab a bite when you get back to your condo. Congrats!