A Walt Disney World Myth: Off-site is Always Cheaper

We are living in a day and time where everyone is looking to save as much money as possible in everything that we do. Let’s face it, budgets are tight. Even the magical Walt Disney World has not been immune to the economy’s downturn. A recent report showed that Disney’s park attendance was down as much as 8% compared to the same period a year ago. Because of that, Disney continues to offer discounts and vacation package specials to try to encourage the budget-conscious family to book a Disney getaway, whether on land or at sea.

So with all of these discounts that continue to be offered, I have to ponder why so many potential Disney visitors still think that it is cheaper to plan an “offsite” vacation? I think it is because so many “Disney experts” that permeate blogs and discussion boards have continued to preach, “if you want to save a lot of money, stay offsite.” Well I am here to tell you that this is a myth, plain and simple.

Sure, if you compare a budget motel 30 minutes from the parks to a non-discounted Disney package, you will probably see a “savings” if you choose the “Motel $29.95.” But do not simply assume you will save money by staying offsite until you have done your homework and compared ALL the costs of the trip and other parts of the vacation.

For example...if you choose to stay offsite and Disney is offering a free dining vacation package for its on-site guests, do you know how much money you would save in food if you stayed onsite? Free dining can equate to a $500-600+ savings for a family of 4 during a 6 night stay. Did you sit down and actually establish a realistic budget for what you will be spending in food during your offsite stay? You have to get to that level of detail in your comparison of prices before anyone can claim they are saving “X” amount of dollars by staying offsite.

Another area that many forget to adequately compare is in the area of parking and transportation. If you are driving to the parks and are planning on staying offsite, did you add in the cost of parking at the parks? It costs $14 per day to park at any of the 4 parks at Walt Disney World (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon being the exception). So your 6 day offsite visit needs to include an extra $84. Did you factor in the extra gas that you will spend by driving yourself to the parks versus staying onsite and being able to take advantage of Disney transportation? You need to before you can claim you saved any money by staying offsite.

If you are flying down to Orlando...does your offsite hotel offer free shuttle from the airport and then a free shuttle to the parks each day? If not...how much more is your rental car going to cost you or the shuttle bus? And if you do happen to choose a hotel with free shuttle, do you know how often it runs between your hotel and the parks? How much is your time worth? If your offsite stay means you will have to spend less time in the parks, is it really a better deal when you factor in that the park tickets make up a large proportion of your overall Disney vacation cost?

I hope this is making you see that staying offsite is not always the best deal. You can’t claim that you have “saved” money if you did not do your homework ahead of time to determine the true costs of staying off Disney property. I hope this helps with your future Walt Disney World vacation planning.

Questions? Comments? I would love to get your feedback.

Hawaii: What You Need To Know (Part 2)

In my previous post, I started a short series devoted to traveling to the State of Hawaii. Hawaii is still one of the most popular destinations for tourists worldwide. As I stated in my previous post, Hawaii can seem like a foreign destination due to its distance from the US mainland as well as the diversity of scenery and culture that it offers.

In part 1, we started discussing some things you need to know as you start the vacation planning process such as the length of the flight and the overall time it takes to get from most major airport hubs (minus those located on the West coast).

In this installment, I want to discuss some of the logistics of getting around once you arrive you on any of the Hawaiian islands. I get this question a lot, “will I need a car in Hawaii?” Well the answer depends entirely on which island(s) you will be visiting. If you plan on visiting Oahu and plan on staying mainly in Honolulu and the Waikiki area, the resounding answer is NO...you will not need a car. The traffic in and around Honolulu is horrid to put it mildly. Driving can be a nightmare and that is not what we are seeking when we are on vacation. You also need to be aware that parking at most of the hotels in Honolulu can get very pricey (over $20 per day). The easiest and least expensive way to get around Honolulu is by public transportation such as shuttle buses or taxis. Most major tourist sites can be accessed by hoping on a shuttle bus near your hotel. So again, if you plan on visiting Honolulu and Waikiki, I would not recommend renting a car.

But if you plan on visiting one of the other islands such as Maui or Kauai, then you will want to consider renting a car. Driving and getting around is much easier and there are a lot of things to see and do that can be quite a distance from the resort and hotel areas. Having a car will give you more freedom to drive around and see some of the sites that are easier seen by yourself than in some form of shuttled tour group. But do keep in mind the cost of parking your vehicle at whatever hotel you decide on and make sure you budget accordingly.

So in conclusion, your decision to rent a car or not should depend solely on which area you will be visiting and staying in. A good travel agent will be able to guide you in the right direction and help you understand the cost differences of the various transportation options. Sometimes the option that seems the cheapest is not always the best.

Travel Tip: Hawaii (and Quiz)

Stay tuned to the end of this video for a chance to win a $25.00 Visa Gift Card.

Understanding Airline Costs

As I have searched for client's airfare over the past few days, I am being made aware again that the general public still does not completely understand the "real cost" of a particular flight. I will have clients that say they have found a flight for "X dollars" which appeared to be the cheapest option on the surface. That one flight may have come in $50 less than another option on another airline, but was it really $50 cheaper?

You won't know the answer to that question unless you are clearly aware of each airlines fee policy.

Southwest Airlines is always a good one to use when talking about fees due to their resistance to charge for certain items or services (such as baggage fees) above and beyond the actual airfare. So let's say you have found a flight on Southwest for $250 round trip. And for the sake of the argument, let's assume you do not want to check in early (earlier than 24 hours before your flight) just to keep it simple. You then go and search some more options and find a similar flight time on Frontier Airlines and their base fare is $199 round trip and you get all excited thinking you are about to save over $50. But let's also say that you will check in at least one piece of luggage for your trip. Southwest allows up to 2 free checked in bags per person. Frontier will charge you $20 for the first check piece of luggage each way. So now...the true cost of the Frontier Flight (round trip) is $239.

See? All of the sudden, most of the cost savings that you thought you were going to get with Frontier was just wiped away when you forgot to consider baggage fees.

We can get wrapped up in all of the other fees such as fees for pillows, blankets, advance seat selection etc, but the major cost difference between airlines (anything above the base fare) will be baggage fees. So please make sure you understand each airlines rules when it comes to checked in luggage before making your final decision, especially if you are basing your decision on cost more so than schedule.

So ask yourself these questions when you start looking into airfare:

1) Will I need to check in 1 or 2 pieces of luggage for this trip?
2) Will I care if I don't get to select my actual seat on the plane?
3) Will I care if the airline tells me that there will be a charge for any type beverage or food service?
4) Will I care if I am made to pay for a blanket or pillow on the flight?

Those are areas that airlines are finding ways of getting into your pocket book. If you answer no to all of those questions, then you will be in a better position to compare one airline's base fare to another and get a true apples to apples comparison. But if those 4 items do matter to you, then you better make sure which airline is charging what and how much before hitting the "purchase" button.

I hope this helps.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

Travel Ambassadors

I had “tweeted” the other day that each of us needs to remember that when we are visiting a foreign Country, we are representing our own Country. In essence, we are ambassadors as we travel. My tweet went on to say that we should not be jerks when we travel abroad because some see us and then judge others Americans based on our actions. That is human nature. We may see a tourist here in America being rude or insensitive towards someone or something. Then the tourist speaks and we realize that he or she may be from Germany so we immediately judge all German tourists the same.

American tourists frankly do not have the greatest reputation abroad and I think I am correct in saying it is because of a few bad apples. So here are some rules we all should live by when we travel:

1. Be respectful of other human beings. Just because they work at a hotel or on a plane or cruise ship or drive a bus does not mean they are less of a person. Treat them and talk to them as you would have them treat and talk to you.
2. Be calm. If something is not going according to plan, remain calm and be nice! Being nice will give you a great chance of getting your issue resolved to your liking much quicker than being mean-spirited and rude.
3. Remember that you are the tourist. You are the one talking funny when you travel abroad. Expecting others to speak your language and then getting mad when they don’t is honestly just a trait of selfishness and arrogance.
4. Obey the rules. Just because you think a rule such as “do not touch or photograph” may be stupid for whatever it is you are seeing or visiting does not give you the right to violate that rule. The item or place may be sacred to those in that Country and it is not up to you to judge its worthiness.
5. Study their culture before traveling. Sometimes it can be the littlest of things such as knowing how to bow in Asia or which hand to eat with in the Middle East. But your willingness to learn those things ahead of time will not go unnoticed by the locals. \

We all have the ability to represent our Country in the best way possible which will go a long way in shaping international opinion of the American tourist.

You may have thought of some other rules to live by when traveling overseas. I would love to hear some of them or get your thoughts on anything I have written.

Travel Question: What are "transfers?"

A very common question keeps coming up so I felt I should do my best to explain what is meant when I or any travel agent includes “transfers” in their vacation package quote.

Whether it is a cruise vacation or a trip to South America or Europe, unless you plan on renting a car while at your destination or driving to the cruise port, you will need a transfer. A transfer is the round trip transportation from your hotel to the port or the airport to your hotel etc. They are a part of the true costs of any trip that has to be factored in and can vary widely in cost.

For example...if you were to be spending the night in Miami the night before your cruise, you could arrange what they call a “shared van transfer” which could cost as little as $10 per person each way. The cost is low due to you sharing that shuttle van with several other people. The benefit is really just the cost. Some shared vans make multiple stops and you may be the first stop out of 4 on its way to the port which means that you may be on the van a while and it can get quite crowded. Shared vans or shuttles also dictate to you when you need to be ready to be picked up at your hotel so you are less in control of your schedule.

Or you could choose to take a “private transfer” which can run as high as $40 or more per person each way depending on the distance. The benefits are that you are more in control of when you want to be picked up and the vehicles tend to be nicer and more comfortable.

Those same classifications of transfers are the same no matter if you are leaving your hotel for your cruise or flying into Mexico or Honolulu or any other land-based destination. You will be able to choose between shared or private transfers. When taking a land-based vacation, something you should consider is whether the shared transfers will make several stops at various resorts along the way to yours. For example...in Cancun, if you are staying down in the Riviera Maya area, your shared shuttle may stop again at 5 resorts and yours may be the very last stop. When that happens, your transfer time can be as long as 45 minutes to an hour once you are in the van. But if you opt for a private transfer, your shuttle time could be as short as 20-30 minutes and much more comfortable. If you are like me, when you arrive at your destination, you are just ready to get there and get your vacation started so you might consider a private transfer the next time you book a vacation.

I hope this short answer helps you better understand what is meant when your travel agent discusses the various “transfer options” that might be available to you. As always, please feel free to ask any question or leave a comment. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day" Promo

Several months ago I had conducted a short survey to see what travelers thought about Disney's latest promotion, "Give a Day, Get a Day." Disney had announced that you could receive 1 free day in one of their parks if you were able to volunteer at one of their sanctioned events held around the Country.

I was curious to see how many actually would take advantage of that promotion. My initial reaction, personally, was that it was a great customer relations promo for Disney, but that the average traveler would not be able to take advantage of getting their "one day free" due to their distance from a park or the cost in getting to the park just to get one day free.

The results were as I thought. Over 69% said that the promo would not increase their chances of visiting a Disney park in 2010. 85% of the responders said that they would not travel to Walt Disney World just for one day free in a park.

So now that we are half way into 2010...I am still curious to see how many might have participated in the "Give a Day, Get a Day" promo. I am curious to see if the numbers might have been better than expected and you were able to volunteer and go to one of the parks to take advantage of a day free. Please take the short poll aimed at gathering that information.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

What are your thoughts now concerning this promo? Great for Disney and their guests? Or maybe great for Disney, but not as great as you thought it might be for guests? Let me know your opinion..