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Renowned Advice for Solo Traveling to Help you Get Away and Recharge

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People don’t always understand my husband and I because we vacation frequently without each other. One of my favorite quotes by Jason is about us and our relationship is “We live together and work together, so we vacation separately.” Now that isn’t always true, we do take some vacations together like our trip this past fall to Hawaii. However, we do a fair deal of solo traveling.

Things to Consider: Solo Traveling

There are many things you need to consider when you are solo traveling. Many of the items are the same as if you are traveling with your family, but there are some unique differences. After all, if you want to change your mind while solo traveling there’s no one to argue with you.

Solo Traveling Destination

Chose a destination for solo traveling with lots of activities to choose from. One of my favorite places to go is the state of Florida, and there is an endless supply of fun down there. Jason; he prefers to solo travel to Las Vegas. You should consider what is drawing you to the vacation spot you are picking out so you can truly take advantage and see all the things that will enhance the experience.

There are many travel destinations that seem to be made just for the solo traveler. Check out this Bucketlist.

Renowned Advice for Solo Traveling to Help you Get Away and Recharge #travel #solotravel #destinations #vacation #solovacation

Safety

Now I like to post pictures on social media of where we are and what we are doing. But I don’t post photos of where we stay or are staying until after we’ve been there. Safety is a real concern, and keeping your haven safe is a priority. Don’t tell people where you are staying, if asked about it keep your answers vague.

Technology

To really relax and recharge limit your technology usage. I’m not saying throw it all away when you are solo traveling, but truly take time to appreciate where you are. One of my favorite memories of a recent trip to Florida was driving across the state and seeing cows in pastures with Palm Trees. I’m from Wisconsin and this sight cracked me up.

Don’t get so caught up in capturing the moments, that you forget to live in them. ENJOY your vacation. This is how you relax and rejuvenate your soul.

Renowned Advice for Solo Traveling to Help you Get Away and Recharge #travel #solotravel #destinations #vacation #solovacation

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Disney World Park Tickets

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One of the most expensive parts of a Disney vacation is the Disney World park tickets.  Disney also over the last several years have moved to peak and off-peak pricing.

Disney World Park Tickets

The new pricing will cause the cost of your Disney world park tickets to fluctuate $20 per ticket, per day possibly.  This money difference will add up real quick when you take into consideration the number of days at the park and the size of your family.  This has added the additional planning part of looking at the cost of tickets, along with flight and hotel costs when trying to do Disney on a budget.

Purchase from Online Sources

There are websites such as Undercover Tourist and Mousesavers that you can get discounts getting tickets through them.  These two sites have been around for several years and were very helpful when we first started to plan trips to Orlando.

Target

The other way we have found to reduce the cost of our Disney World park tickets is Target.  With using the Target Red Card, we get 5% off Disney gift cards.  We can then purchase the tickets right from Disney as part of our hotel package with these cards.
Within the last year, they also have direct gift cards where you can purchase 2-3 day park ticket packages for Disneyland right from the gift card section.  I am hoping they will release these for Disney World also.

Other Money Savings Considerations

One of the other Disney expenses that you have to consider is your hotel costs. Disney World Hotels is an article that was written previously to help you with these costs. We love staying on Disney properties when we visit, but you could use off-site deals to help you as well.
Disney World: Cheap Airfare is hard to find. However, it is not impossible. Take advantage of all the offers you can find to make your Disney adventures amazing!

Disney World: Cheap Airfare

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Disney World is a hard trip to do on the cheap. One of the most common questions is: how can I get cheap airfare to Disney World? There are so many different costs that make it challenging.  Getting it for free is very hard, so sometimes you do steps to minimize the costs.  The easiest is to start with airfare.
You may also find our article on Disney World hotels of interest to you to help you save money on your vacation.

How do I get cheap airfare to Disney World?

One of the easist ways to get cheap airfare to Disney World is to fly from a main hub. When flying with kids, you don’t want to have to deal with possible delays, missed flights or stop overs.  If you are flying from Wisconsin I do recommend Milwaukee as there are many nonstop flights from Southwest.

Southwest Rapid Rewards

By using these miles you can get great deals on these flights.  Southwest miles are easy to accumulate and Southwest is a partner with Chase.  You can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to your Southwest account.
To get an idea on costs, for one of our trips to Orlando I was able to get round trip flights for around 13,000 miles.  For a family of three, you can get to Orlando for under 40,000 miles if you are flexible with the dates.  Chase offers sign up bonuses for their credit cards higher than this.  If you are able to do the minimal spend, this will get you enough miles for your family to fly for the cost of an annual fee under $100.  Southwest does not charge bag fees, which provides extra savings.  Just knowing this can save your family compared to other airlines.
If you do chose a different airline, do take a look at their credit card as they do provide miles bonuses and free checked bags for some.  Not all points are equal when you are trying to maximize your flight advantages. Odds are it will not be enough for all three of you to fly down, but every little bit helps.  Also through United, American Airlines and Delta, they do offer a better boarding positions.  Sometimes the ability to board early to make sure you can keep your carry on close to you is worth it just to make sure you have access to whatever you will need for your flight.
Trying to figure out how to get cheap airfare to Disney World? Come check out what we prefer #airfare #disneyworld #disneyairfare #disneyhotels #disneyworldresorts

Disney World Hotels

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I do prefer to stay at the Disney World hotels on our trips down to Florida.  They may cost a little more, but the benefits easily cover the costs. Come and read some of our favorite Disney World Hotel benefits and check out how to get cheaper airfare: Disney World: Cheap Airfare.

Disney World Hotels Benefits

Magical Express Bus

What we consider our most significant benefit to the Disney World hotels is they provide transportation to/from the Orlando International airport for a lot of different airlines.  Using Disney’s Magical Express means no long taxi ride, shuttle bus fees, or car rental worries.
The Disney Bus services also provide transportation to all the parks, and you can even get to all the other Disney World Hotels. If you do decide to travel away from Disney properties, you can always catch a bus from Disney Springs, or they will even take you to the Disney Car Rental service to rent a car for a day or two.

Luggage Delivery

Luggage Delivery is one of my favorite little perks. When you use the Disney Magical Express Service, you get your luggage delivered to your Disney hotels room at no charge. A few weeks before your trip you get special luggage tags to attach to your bags if you are flying into the Orlando International Airport.

The special tags, allows Disney to grab your bags and deliver them straight to your room, completely free. Luggage delivery frees you and your family up to explore your resort, and you don’t need to cart heavy bags around.

Free Parking

There is no need to pay another parking fee for going in and out of the resorts or parks. Disney hotels guests get free standard parking at theme parks, water parks and in the Disney Springs area.

Extra Magic Hours Disney hotels

If you are staying at the Disney hotels and visiting one of the Disney theme parks you can take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. These are hours the theme park is only open to resort guests. The Extra Magic Hours are either before the park opens for the day or they stay open later after the park closes to normal guests. We try to take advantage of these Extra Magic Hours at Magical Kingdom when they stay open late.

Travel Points

Since we love travel hacking, we are always looking for good travel programs to take advantage of. Disney does not have a real active rewards program and push more of a timeshare approach; it is hard to work towards a free trip using points.  Instead of a Disney Reward Program, this is where a cash back card that gets at least 2% builds up those balances or Ultimate Rewards points through Chase.
You can book Disney hotels through Chase using their travel portal using your points.  You will get 1.25 cents per point for all cards except if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve which receives 1.5 centers per point.  Watch the Disney website for deals also.  They do offer deals at times where you can get better pricing.

Other Hotel Options

Another option is through Hotels.com.  Amazon and eBay love to post sales on gift cards for hotels.com.  If you can pick up these cards at the 10-20% sale discount over time, it makes a big dent on the hotel stay. Even if you don’t find one of those deals take advantage of getting Disney gift cards at Target to save a few dollars. If you use your Red Card to make those purchases, you will save yourself some money before you even get to Disney World.
With Disney, you have to be creative to beat the costs, but you can get an affordable family vacation. For additional Money Savings tips sign up for our free ebook and money savings guides.