Learning how to Min-Max Vacations
In a RIVETING day of learning how to cheat the internet, I concocted a 4 day, 3 night stay for two at a 3-star Disney Resort hotel in Paris with unlimited park access, breakfast included, and round-trip Eurostar train fare for both included... for 900 pounds over Easter break.
I then suddenly remembered I will not have my passport because the Border agency will be reviewing my Certificate of Approval application, and thus all of my dreams were shattered for a Paris holiday.
I then found an Executive suite in the center of London for 3 nights for only 270.00 on a WEEKEND, but Stu mentioned wanting to do a waterpark, and thus I started looking at packages for Alton Towers (think like... a big Six Flags in Britain, for you Americans).
The website said 4 days, three nights across all parks was 900. I refused to go for this, as I wasn't even leaving the country and Disney was giving me a better deal in Paris.
I then discovered Alton Towers charges tickets for its attractions by the day, so when you get "unlimited access" during a 4 day, 3 night stay, you're actually paying for "4 days worth of tickets." If you don't want to go to each park every single day, that's a huge waste of money. It makes infinitely more sense to book only the hotel, and then go only on the days you actually want to do stuff.
I opted for Alton Towers because they have a spa, and a spa experience is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do.
Thus, paying by the day, even with at-the-gate rates, I whittled a 4 day, 3 night stay down from 900 to 685, giving us each one day at the main theme park, one day at the water park, and one day to go to the Spa/snuggle in bed. It would be even cheaper if I booked a non-resort hotel, but Alton Towers is one of those places that is extremely unkind to get to via public transport. Off-site hotels were even more of a nightmare without our own car, so we nixed the idea.
And seeing as how we're splitting the cost... that's a pretty sweet deal. ^^
Now, pardon me while I attempt to min-max my Japanese homework.
I then suddenly remembered I will not have my passport because the Border agency will be reviewing my Certificate of Approval application, and thus all of my dreams were shattered for a Paris holiday.
I then found an Executive suite in the center of London for 3 nights for only 270.00 on a WEEKEND, but Stu mentioned wanting to do a waterpark, and thus I started looking at packages for Alton Towers (think like... a big Six Flags in Britain, for you Americans).
The website said 4 days, three nights across all parks was 900. I refused to go for this, as I wasn't even leaving the country and Disney was giving me a better deal in Paris.
I then discovered Alton Towers charges tickets for its attractions by the day, so when you get "unlimited access" during a 4 day, 3 night stay, you're actually paying for "4 days worth of tickets." If you don't want to go to each park every single day, that's a huge waste of money. It makes infinitely more sense to book only the hotel, and then go only on the days you actually want to do stuff.
I opted for Alton Towers because they have a spa, and a spa experience is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do.
Thus, paying by the day, even with at-the-gate rates, I whittled a 4 day, 3 night stay down from 900 to 685, giving us each one day at the main theme park, one day at the water park, and one day to go to the Spa/snuggle in bed. It would be even cheaper if I booked a non-resort hotel, but Alton Towers is one of those places that is extremely unkind to get to via public transport. Off-site hotels were even more of a nightmare without our own car, so we nixed the idea.
And seeing as how we're splitting the cost... that's a pretty sweet deal. ^^
Now, pardon me while I attempt to min-max my Japanese homework.