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Werner
01-19-2005, 08:23 AM
I'm planning a trip in May or early June and it's gonna be just a quickie -- flying into OC from the Bay Area, staying a couple nights in a motel across the street hopefully, and spending one full day at DL, with some Downtown Disney lingering the night before. My question is, are there really any package deals that would save me anything for such a "little" trip? Otherwise I'm thinking that just ordering everything "a la carte" would be just as cheap. it's just that the packages I've seen so far or for "mega" trips -- four or five nights, a lot of extras (Legoland, commemorative pins, etc etc) that I don't want. Thanks for the advice!

JosieGirl71
01-19-2005, 09:54 AM
I think you are going to have to do some homework and try different packages and then try a la carte. You might try getawaytoday.com and also mousesavers.com.

vegasmommytoDL
01-19-2005, 11:40 AM
The Disneyland.com Good Neighbor Hotel Packages really aren't a bad deal. If you go through AAA you get a 20% (I think) discount plus free parking. If you try www.getawaytoday.com make sure to visit the Hotel Specials page. Sometimes they give free nights. Also, Expedia has really good rates on hotels and they also sell park tickets. Plus, whenever I look for hotels I find the one I like on expedia.. then I check the hotels own website to see if they have a better price or, in many cases, a price match! Also, try tripadvisor.com because they have a "Quick Check" button that will check many websites at once (expedia, hotels.com, etc). Don’t forget that sometimes they charge different tax amounts than one another so look at the “final” costs.

Links:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g29092-Anaheim_California-Hotels.html
http://www.expedia.com/daily/vacations/anaheim-orange-county/

Duane
01-19-2005, 11:59 AM
I suggest booking a "room only" reservation at the Ramadi Inn Maingate Saga(714-772-0440) for $74 a night and buying your park hopper tickets at www.arestravel.com Good luck!

pisces
01-20-2005, 12:19 PM
I had a "mega" trip of seven nights....and I steered clear of their packages.

You have to take into account that the hotel tax is 15% in Anaheim, which is outrageous. Plus, on top of that GC charges a resort fee of $10.00 which they tack on each day.

So, for me, my priority was chopping down that hotel rate any way I could. I didn't feel taking a package would take down the hotel rate enough.

There's no tax on the Park Hoppers. It's the Hotel Rate which kills ya. So for me, dealing with the Hotel Rate separately and going for the biggest AAA discount I could, on that alone,........worked.

Plus, I wanted the flexibility of adding a night or subtracting, adding an extra park hopper day, or subtracting......and I didn't feel it would be as easy to re-configure all that, should I need to, with a package.

And, also, I found a cheaper rate for the last two night of my stay, and they were willing to match it, and do an adjustment (I was determined to knock down those expensive hotel rates any way I could). I don't think it would be as easy to do that (adjustments) with a package.

15% tax on hotel rooms is an absolute crime, and I'm not sure the packages do enough to offset that.

vegasmommytoDL
01-20-2005, 11:41 PM
15% tax on hotel rooms is an absolute crime, and I'm not sure the packages do enough to offset that.

15% really is a crime. I live in Las Vegas and they charge a 9% room tax and thats to help the state since Nevada doesn't have State Tax! Of course, they tack something like $0.23 cents tax on gas... so I guess they get you either way. Speaking of taxes... I don't get how the government can give so much money away. I get back twice what I put in... I just don't get it. (not that I mind its more Disneyland money!)

Karen256
01-21-2005, 04:53 AM
Speaking of taxes... I don't get how the government can give so much money away. I get back twice what I put in... I just don't get it. (not that I mind its more Disneyland money!)
Wow you must have a really good accountant! I didn't think it was possible to get more back than you put in! :geek:

vegasmommytoDL
01-22-2005, 11:21 AM
Wow you must have a really good accountant! I didn't think it was possible to get more back than you put in! :geek:

I use TurboTax. I answer the questions correctly and honestly and it tells me what I owe, what I can claim, etc. What happens is that they take my income and figure my tax owed. I have deductions for daycare and because I have a 401k and those take me down to almost nothing then this year with the sales tax coming off that takes care of everyting I owe so I get the money I put in back, plus the Earned income credit and the Child Tax Credit which are credits they call "refundable". So even though I don't have to pay since I make enough to file I still get credits plus the taxes withheld from my check. I actually have more deductions than what I owe but the balance of deductions are not refundable (so if you owed $1000 and had $1200 in deductions you don't get the $200 they just zero you out.)

I'm a single mom the money is important to me. I run on a cycle of using my credit cards throughout the year then paying them off when I get my tax money.... though they are about to rule on my daughters fathers child support soon. Its only taken Ohio 2 years to do it! I don't know how that will change my taxes next year but I looked it up and child support isn't considered income.

I hope everyone else makes out well. Sometimes I think its not fair to get back more than I put in. But the extra money could be the difference thats keeps me off welfare in reality so really I can understand it.... its based off my income. I have never been on welfare and I hope I never have to! I am 25 and my daughter is 3 and its just the 2 of us. Daycare alone is $520 a month (as most other moms probably know).

Good luck to you all though on your taxes!

TimBuk2
01-22-2005, 04:58 PM
I'm heading to the CAROUSEL INN in July, they have great rates, including AAA. And they are across the light at Harbor Blvd.

http://www.carouselinnandsuites.com/