Planning a Trip to Walt Disney World - Budget and savings

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 by DUI lawyer in LA

Planning a Trip to Walt Disney World - Budget and savings

Without planning your trip you’d most likely find yourself surprised and consequently overwhelmed with the place that you wouldn’t really know where to start and what to do. Worst case scenario is you’d be wasting a lot of time looking for places to go to rather than enjoying the trip in itself. Constantly surveying the area for places to go to is not your idea of fun, you want to maximize your stay and make the most out of the several days you reserved for a vacation.
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Checklist:

1. Fun in the sun gear – Vacations usually happen in the summer. It’s that time of the year when people would rather not stay in their houses. The sun is out and you can wear as little clothing as possible and get away with it. However don’t forget that you’d need to protect yourself too. If you forget to pack sunscreen you might be bringing home a painful burn at your back. Use sunscreen. It will only take you a few minutes to apply. An SPF rating of 30 protects you against harmful rays. Never forget this especially if you’re bringing kids on the trip. Their skin is more sensitive so you would want to protect them. You don’t have to pack clothes but if you sweat a lot you might need an extra shirt. Lastly, don’t forget an extra pair of slippers or shoes that makes long walks on the hot ground comfortable and easy.

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2. Advance Reservations – one of the highlights in Disney World is the great dining places. Don’t miss out by making advance reservations (tel. 407/939-3463) this gives you a sure table 180 days in advance. Call as soon as you can.

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3. Theme Park Schedule – check your favorite theme park schedule so you wouldn’t find yourself staring at a blank platform. Many go to Disney World with a particular theme park in mind and end up disappointed when they find out that the theme park isn’t operating at that time. All parks have reduced hours at certain times, for you to enjoy, you have to make sure. Some rides can also be temporarily closed so it’s a good idea to check the theme park first before embarking on a journey. Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide and Travel Insights Online has schedules that can be helpful. Check it out.
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4. Identification – never ever forget identification and never stick to just one. I’m not saying that you’d lose your ID in the theme park but it never hurts to be prepared. Do not also leave all your IDs in one place. It’s helpful to have some sort of identification in all your belongings for the sheer convenience of it. Also, make sure that at least one of those IDs has a photo in it. It’s absolutely necessary to have photo identification in airports.
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5. Emergency Medications – for occasional cases of nausea and even LBM, it is a wise idea to have a couple of prescription drugs handy. Nothing kills the buzz faster than having to go to the hospital. If you can bring immediate relief medications that would be all for the best.

6. Extra Copy – always keep an extra copy of all the necessary information like hotel room numbers, reservation numbers, tracking numbers.

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Cheap Travel and Family Values in Hawaii

Monday, September 29, 2008 by DUI lawyer in LA

Family Values in Hawaii

In this week’s column, a woman with two very different sisters asks Pauline Frommer for advice about their upcoming trip to the Aloha State. Fortunately, they all agree on one thing — keeping their costs down.
By Pauline Frommer


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Q: My two sisters and I are planning a trip to Hawaii in about a year. We range in age from 45-55 and are in good health, but one of my sisters is very outdoorsy and the other one is prissy. We want to do some hiking (well … two of us do) as well as lying on the beach and shopping. Where should we go? Also, what’s the best time of year to visit Hawaii? And how do you find the best places to stay that aren’t outrageously expensive? We don't want the tourist traps; we want to really experience the islands. — Brenda E.

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A: Well, Brenda, you’ve got a lot of good questions, so I’ll get right down to ’em:
Where to go
This is a tough one to answer because each island has its lures. I’m guessing that Oahu will be too urban for your outdoorsy sister (though it does have some swell hiking opportunities, the best shopping in the islands and wonderful museums).
Kauai has an alluring “Garden of Eden” vibe, thanks to its wetter climate, which keeps the flora here an almost neon green in places. Its wilderness areas are truly idyllic, and its hiking can be extraordinary. But I’m imagining that your “prissy” sis might be the type to want lots of fine dining opportunities, and Kauai isn’t known for that (shopping isn’t a strong point here, either).
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The Big Island is a possibility: Hiking at Volcanoes National Park is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But because the island is so young and still expanding, many of its beaches are of the rocky variety (so your plan to spend time “lying on the beach” might be bruise-inducing). Those beaches that are sandy tend to be smaller than those on other islands (often because the sand has been shipped in).
Also, a new vent recently opened on the side of the volcano and it’s been spewing noxious gases that can cause a burning sensation in the eyes and throat. I’ve heard from friends on the island that when the wind blows the wrong way, it can be quite uncomfortable. Now might not be the time for the Big Island (but keep an eye on the situation, as it truly is an eye-poppingly striking destination that should definitely be visited).
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Since Lanai is too pricey and Molokai likely too rural (for at least one of the sisters), that leaves Maui. The “Valley Isle” offers an excellent range of cosmopolitan treats (chowhound-worthy restaurants, decent shopping and such distractions as luaus, theater and movies) plus wilderness and backcountry areas that rightly inspire gushing superlatives.
Some find Maui increasingly overbuilt, but I think it still has its charms, especially when you’re watching the sunset at Haleakala (much less crowded than sunrise), tootling along the road to Hana or snorkeling among clouds of sherbet-colored fish. (For more on Maui, see our Destination Guide .)

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When to go
Timing your visit right has less to do with weather than with crowds and whales. Hawaii’s climate is reasonably stable year-round. However, because so many people schedule their visits to coincide with school-vacation periods and whale migration, some times of the year are definitely more pricey than others.
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In general, you’ll pay rock-bottom rates if you can travel in the quiet autumn, with the lowest prices in October and early November. (That being said, you’ll often score sales in January as well, after the Christmas and New Year’s rush is over.) Keep in mind that the “big spouters” don’t tend to swim into the area until mid-November, so if whale watching was on your list of “to dos,” you’ll want to visit between mid-November and mid-April.

How to stay cheaply
One word: condos. While Maui has 8,000 hotel rooms, it also has 7,000 condos, many with multiple bedrooms, which means that the majority of rentable beds on the island are in condos. (In fact, Maui now has more condo accommodations than all the other islands combined.) And because each condominium is individually owned, renting one is a freewheeling free-for-all in which bargaining (except during peak times) is an acceptable strategy, and prices can be surprisingly reasonable.
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Also, I’m guessing that your prissy sister and the outdoorsy one might get on one another’s nerves if the quarters are too close. With a condominium rental, you get much more space for the money and a full kitchen — another potential money-saver, as you’ll be able to whip up some of your own meals.
Most of the condos on the island are found in one of two areas, Kihei and Napili, and they’re as different in atmosphere (and often pricing) as chalk and cheese. Napili condos sit well off the highway in happy little clusters, right off a crescent-shaped beach. By law, no building can be taller than a coconut tree, so most are just two stories high, giving these developments an intimate, friendly appeal. On the downside, rentals are usually much pricier than in Kihei, where high-rises dominate the beachfront and the sheer volume of rooms drives rates down. Most of Kihei’s condos sit either on the beach or the inland side of South Kihei Road, a busy, strip-mall-lined thoroughfare, giving Kihei a distinctly South Florida feel.

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You also have two options when booking a condo: You can either book directly with an owner, or through a local real-estate agent. Renting with an agent is the more prudent way to proceed; you can be assured that the apartment meets certain standards, you have someone to call if anything goes wrong, and — if things go really wrong — the agency can move you to another apartment.
But agency rentals are often more pricey than
renting direct, which is why many travelers now turn to such sites as Zonder.com, VRBO.com and Homeaway.com for their rentals. If you decide to go the agent route, I recommend Chase ‘N Rainbows ( http://www.chasenrainbows.com ) for west Maui rentals (including Napili), and Kihei Maui Vacations ( http://www.kmvmaui.com ) for the Kihei area.

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As for prices, I’ve seen studio apartments in Maui drop to as little as $55/night in low season, one-bedrooms bottom out at $100, and two-bedrooms go for as little as $135. (The longer you stay, the lower the rates.) Generally, mauka (i.e., inland-facing) rooms are much less pricey than makai (beachfront) rooms, and the price drops even lower if you pick a property right across the street from the beach rather than on the sand. Keep in mind that all beaches in Hawaii are open to the public by law, so you don’t need to stay beachfront to enjoy the water’s edge. This even goes for the strands in front of the ultra-pricey resorts.

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I hope this advice is helpful and that you and your sisters have a wonderful trip! For my other readers with travel questions you’d like me to answer, feel free to e-mail me at msntrav@microsoft.com .
Pauline Frommer spent last October in Maui county, working on the updated edition of “Pauline Frommer’s Hawaii.” Other Pauline Frommer guidebooks include New York City, Las Vegas, Paris, London, Italy, Costa Rica, Orlando and Alaska.

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