After the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter an influx of park goers have left the attractions with the upper hand. Tickets for the attractions jumped in price and in the current economic climate, vacations have dropped from budget constraints. (Click HERE for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park review, hints and expansion rumors…)

I personally went through a marathon of saving in order to make it to Disney and the Wizarding World at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. At some points I didn’t think it would be a possibility. Hotels were demanding a huge chunk of my budget and park tickets, food and flights refused to conform into a reachable amount.

Thankfully, I had help. Dolphin World of Travel helped me score an incredible deal, gave me tons of tips and made the planning as simple as reading an email. The vacation planners took over after I gave them the details of what I wanted.

My original goal was to stay at one of Disney’s value resorts to save. The issue was my large group of 7 people traveling with me. A standard room with 2 double beds or 1 king sized bed was going to start at $82 a night and boasted views of the parking lot. It was equipped with a tv, small desk and chair, hairdryer and vanity area with sink outside the actual bathroom. I would need two rooms to accommodate all of us and would be sticking two people in a double sized bed in two different rooms for a total (with taxes) around $1260 for just over a week of accommodations for one room.

Better options are out there. The idea of sharing a double sized bed didn’t scream comfort or vacation, but it was one of the more affordable options I found on my own with the typical tools out there. Enter my amazing travel planner. For a far more reasonable nightly rate my Dolphin World of Travel planner scored a two bedroom suite at the lovely Lake Eve resorts for nearly HALF of what Disney’s Value resorts’ bill for ONE room. Same amount of nights and same taxes.

I was a bit nervous that such a huge savings would mean sacrifice in level of accommodations. My worries were completely unfounded. My suite was clean, had one bedroom with a king sized bed and a second bedroom with two queen sized beds. A huge flat screen tv was in each bedroom (and in the living room). A private bathroom with a jetted tub and separate tiled shower, double vanity and TWO closets was in the master bedroom while a separate bathroom was just outside of the second bathroom that also had a closet in the restroom and a linen closet outside of it.

A kitchen was filled with pots, pans, silverware, bowls, cups and a dishwasher to put them in. A deep sink sat under a pull-out spray kitchen faucet and a full refrigerator with in door ice-maker and water dispenser that blew away the value resort mini fridge (available for an extra fee from Disney). We even had a dining room table to eat at and a washer and dryer. The view didn’t involve parking lots. In fact, no suite overlooks the parking area. The building’s U shape gave everyone a view of the courtyard pool or the lake sitting in front of it. A large in ground hot tub and even a concrete baby pool were available for those who aren’t a fan of the cool pool. Every large balcony (fit 4 patio chairs and mini two tables easily with room to spare) had a great view even from the second floor where palm trees welcomed me with my coffee every morning.

The location was perfect. Lake Eve is on International drive which is minutes from SeaWorld, Aquatica, Universal Studios, Wet N’ Wild, Prime Outlets, Premium Outlets, tons of stores, shops and restaurants which the I-Ride Trolley stops at. Disney, Epcot and Downtown Disney (home of the yummy Irish pub Raglan Road) is about 15 minutes away. It was still incredibly quiet as it is is somewhat removed from the inner hustle of the heart of Disney/Universal/Sea World mecca.

In short we saved money on a few meals made at the resort, doing laundry on site and taking a trolley to all our International Drive needs. (Note: You will need to take a cab to Disney if you don’t rent a car, as that is the one place the trolley doesn’t take you.) The trolley is free if you arrive at the concierge between 8-9 AM to nab a one day pass for the adults in your group. Kids ride free!

Dining Savings

Here is where those coupon queens can go nuts. Hit up brochure stands. At Lake Eve there is a stand packed with them right in front of the elevators. The I-Ride Trolley pamphlet has TONS of them complete with their trolley stop number on the coupon. Free guides at places like Walgreens (look next to the newspapers) are also at your disposal. My favorite had to be the Orlando Magicard. It’s free and you can print it from home or have one sent to you. Show your card at participating stores, restaurants and attractions and you will instantly save. Pair that with days kids eat free at certain restaurants (at the time of my travel kids ate free at Tony Roma’s on Tuesdays) and you can save a ton.

Shopping Savings

The Orlando Magicard gives you the opportunity to score a nice coupon book from the information centers in the outlets. Show your Magicard to someone working the info desk at the outlets you at and they will hand over a book or voucher full of coupons. Most are a percentage off and some have save ten to twenty dollars of a specified purchase amount.

Attractions

There are many options to score discount tickets. Be wary of stands and stores offering cheap tickets. They usually require you to sit through a time share lecture or simply aren’t legit. Ask if they are a certified retailer if you will receive actual tickets or just a voucher for the ticket. If they just give vouchers… pass. You will still have to wait in a ticket line once you get to the park to receive your actual ticket. Obviously pre-buying them defeats the time saving point if you don’t get the actual ticket. Visit the site themselves and see if any promos are taking place. SeaWorld is currently running a discount on children’s tickets. You can score a $5 children’s 1-Day pass with the purchase of an adult ticket.

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